Building a District Innovation Team

This quote is something I work to aspire to as a classroom teacher with my students, as an instructional leader sharing and presenting with other educators, and most recently as a curriculum coordinator.

A few weeks ago the topics for #satchatwc were Creativity and Innovation.  As usual the discussion inspired me to think about how I can facilitate creativity and innovation in my school district.  This year has been a transition year for me from the classroom to a coordinator position.  As I have worked to define and figure out my new role, connections to my life as a classroom teacher have started to help in my transition.  As a classroom teacher I worked to empower my students to take control of their learning.  Now instead of directly impacting students, I need to empower the administration, teachers, and anyone else directly linked to students and instruction to do the same.  Just like in a classroom, I do not get to hand pick the adults who work in our schools and district.  In the classroom I worked hard to empower all students whatever their background or experience and now I need to do the same with the adult learners I work with by meeting them where they are to begin movement however fast or slow.

One of my projects for next year will be to leverage the instructional experts that already exist in our schools.  The following is a "rough draft" of an idea to foster creativity and innovation in my school district.

My goal is to create a district "Innovation Team" to empower teachers to become leaders, share their expertise, their learning process and inspire them to lead and support their colleagues.  Next year we will be expanding our use of Google Apps for Education (GAFE) into our K-5 elementary schools.  So our Innovation Team will be focused on GAFE and other instructional technology tools.  Keeping the quote from Lao Tsu in mind I want to use a model that I am familiar and comfortable with.  I want to build a Professional Learning Network based on the National Writing Project summer institute model.

• Begin by sharing a best practice or sample lesson (model the instruction)
• Discuss/debrief the lesson see how it can fit into each teachers practice
• Take it to your classroom and try it out and document the results to share with the team
• Read, watch videos, reflect, collaborate, struggle, invent, design, and question as a team
• Encourage members to choose a #20% or #geniushour topic within our team to become an expert

The goal is to build capacity and confidence within the team so we can leverage their expertise and use it to provide models of professional development within the district.  At the beginning I may need to facilitate with ideas, documents, resources for discussion, but the true strength is that the team will take over and guide the direction.  I will sit back, ask questions and provide needed materials and they will do it themselves. This will enable a variety of practices to be established such as:

• #edcamp staff meetings or staff development days
• Professional development planned and lead by Innovation Team members
• Instructional rounds where teachers go and observe each other and discuss
• Administrator/leadership team participates in this process as coaches rather than evaluators

Again, these are the beginning thoughts and draft ideas.  We are starting from scratch with Google Apps for Education and I want to start small with a team that is willing and able to explore and learn and then share with their colleagues in a supportive way.

I'll take any suggestions, ideas and input you have to share.

How I Taught my Middle School Math Students to Blog

I posted this information last summer, however, it was embedded into a post that had other parts and pieces.  I am thinking it would be a good idea to post it individually so here it is.  This is not only how I start student blogging but also how I begin the exploration of student passions that will transfer to connecting their lives to mathematics and the start of #geniushour

Unit Overview:

It is my goal in the 2013-2014 school year to have monthly writing assignments that will become blog posts for each student in my math classes.  Each writing assignment will be tied to the 7th grade Common Core writing standards and the 7th grade Common Core math standards.  Since we start school August 20, our first assignment will need to be completed by the end of September.  

At the beginning of the year I like to build a classroom community of learners.  To do this successfully, we need to learn about each other and build a supportive environment filled with passion, empathy, and understanding.  This will enable us to create a collaborative classroom environment (either online or face to face).  The students will work together in a variety of ways, with a variety of people, and will look for commonalities rather than differences.  With this in mind our first writing assignment will be a “Passion Paper” which will address the Narrative Essay Standards:

Writing Standard 7.0:

The student will write grade-appropriate narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences (W.7.3):

• Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally

and logically (W.7.3a)

• Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, and description, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters (W.7.3b)

• Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence and signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another (W.7.3c)

• Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events (W.7.3d)

• Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on the narrated experiences or events (W.7.3e)

Activities:

• The students will create a heart map that will require thoughtful reflection on the things and people that are important to their lives.  They can create digital or hand made heart maps and we will post them around the room for inspiration and so that the students do not forget their hearts.  Heart Mapping and Inspiration Station Questions/Ponderings
• I will introduce online discussions through Schoology by having students share what is important to their hearts and practice commenting (to at least 3 others) appropriately to each other by 1. writing a relation 2. asking a question 3. making a prediction 4. commenting appropriately
• The students will create a “dot” that represents their mark on this world.  This activity is based on the book “The Dot” by Peter Reynolds.  Link to International Dot Day Again those can be digital creations or hand made
• The students will use Schoology to explain their inspiration for their dots and comment on at least 3 other’s explanations.
• All of these activities will lead to the writing of their 3 paragraph passion paper.

Passion Paper:

Based on the Common Core Standards for writing a Narrative, I will provide instruction and practice in all of the areas:

• Interesting lead or begin by grabbing the reader
• organization of events/paper
• varied techniques: dialogue, pacing, description (showing not telling), development of characters, experiences, events
• use of transitions and varied language to make writing interesting and varied
• how to write a conclusion

Formative Assessments:

I have found that the best way for students to consider and revise their writing is to provide opportunities for them to “revise” someone else’s writing.  So my formative assessments will be on Schoology.  I will post a paragraph and ask the students to “revise” the writing keeping in mind the standards we are working towards.

Formative Assessment #1: Writing an Interesting Lead

• I will provide three different leads and ask the students to “vote” on Socratic for the one they like the most.  I will evaluate their votes and note which students are struggling and need more instruction and/or support.
• Then I will have the the three leads posted on Schoology and have the students critique and then revise using the standard rubric as a guide.  The students will see what others have posted and then discuss with each other.  I will provide guidance and questions.  I will evaluate the revisions and base my instruction on their understanding of what makes a strong lead (introduction) to their writing.

Formative Assessment #2: Using transitions effectively:

• I will provide three different writing samples with transitions and ask the students to “vote” on Socratic for the one they like the most.  I will evaluate their votes and note which students are struggling and need more instruction and/or support.
• Then I will have the transition examples posted on Schoology and have students critique and then revise using the standard rubric as a guide.  The students will see what others have posted and then discuss with each other.  I will provide guidance and questions.  I will evaluate the revisions and base my instruction on their understanding of what makes a strong lead (introduction) to their writing.

Formative Assessment #3: Showing vs. Telling

• I will provide three different writing samples with showing and/or telling and ask the students to “vote” on Socratic for the one they like the most.  I will evaluate their votes and note which students are struggling and need more instruction and/or support.
• Then I will have three samples of showing and/or telling posted on Schoology and have the students critique and then revise using the standard rubric as a guide.  The students will see what others have posted and then discuss with each other.  I will provide guidance and questions.  I will evaluate the revisions and base my instruction on their understanding of what makes a strong lead (introduction) to their writing.

Formative Assessment #4: Putting It All Together:

• Using a Google Form I will have students write examples of an effective lead, varying transitions, and showing instead of telling.
• This will enable me to evaluate each individual student and know where he/she is in his/her understanding of the important components of a narrative essay.
• I will use the results of this formative assessment to group students and provide instruction as needed.

Summative Assessment:

Common Core Narrative Essay Rubrics K-8

After their Passion Papers are in final draft form with all revisions and editing done, the students will turn them into a word cloud and then into a paper blog (see example below) and then they will become the first blog post of the school year for each student using either Blogger or Kidblogs.

#A3WP, #NWP, #letsgetdigital Week of Reflections - Monday 06/24

TechConnect Reflection Prompt:

Think about how the Internet has impacted your own personal learning, communication, and sense of community. Write a new post that includes a screenshot showing your participation in a social or ...

Monday's Writing Prompt:
"The essence of social media is knowing your audiences and engaging them in something they love."

Since I have been an avid twitter user for nearly 3 years, I completely agree and believe in this statement.  For those of you new to the "social media" party, you may not see the importance of these words.  The thing I like best about social media is that it is very personal.  As an educator,  I can choose who I want to follow and learn from (way too many to list here).  I also choose which hastags (#sbgchat, #ptchat, #geniushour, #sbar, #mathyladies, and many more) to follow and learn from.  I have completely personalized interactions and professional development built into one account: @teachteKBeck.

Twitter has been my gateway into blogging.  I write about education with an emphasis on standards-based grading, homework, and geniushour.  I have a particular audience in mind and I make sure I tailor my writing and interactions accordingly.

I know it is hard for some educators to understand the power of twitter or other social media outlets as an educational tool for teachers and/or students.  I admit I resisted for a long time, however, once I found my way there is nothing that could make me give it up.  I am still teaching because of the support and free professional development I receive everyday.  I also feel closer to educators I have never met in person than some of the educators I teach down the hall from.

I know you have heard this before, but GET ON TWITTER if you want to grow as and learn as a professional.

There are times when Twitter can be a distraction, however, it usually compliments what I am doing for the classes I am teaching and/or the classes that I am taking.  If I think about my students and the effect social media has on their learning I believe that it is not a distraction.  The students we have in our classes are very adept at using technology as a learning tool in both good and evil ways.  If they are not monitored there are many ways for students to "cheat".  However, if teachers are asking the students to participate in authentic learning experiences using technology then the issue of cheating ceases to exist.  I believe that we have to teach students to use technology appropriately to learn, socialize, collaborate, create, etc...

To support my students in a blended learning environment I will work to build a sense of community.  Then, I will teach then how to be responsible with what and how they post ANYTHING.  I want to encourage and teach responsibility.  In middle school I get to deal with what is called the "adolescent brain" which has impulsive tendencies among other issues.  My students need to understand the consequences of their actions while participating in various social media outlets.  It is my goal to teach them how to use these tools for good instead of evil.