Mirror, Mirror

At the end of every school year I have my students complete some sort of written evaluation of their math/science class and of me as their instructor.  For the first time I used a Google form which allowed the students to respond anonymously to specific questions.  Remember, I teach middle school.  What I love about seventh and eighth grade students is that they are brutally honest.  They will tell you that they think your hair looks horrible, not intending to be mean, but to just spew the thought that is currently in their adolescent brain at the time.  I also have to honestly admit that although I appreciate my students no holds barred honesty, it is sometimes difficult to take in.  So, here are some insights into my students' responses.

Standards Based Grading:
The Good
Overall my students liked my implementation of standards based grading.  They liked the fact that it was based on their understanding of math standards and not on behaviors such as homework completion.  They also liked how they could easily track the standards and know their proficiency levels, which enabled them to take responsibility for their learning and prove understanding of the math standards.  They loved that they could improve their grade as their understanding increased.  They noted that I needed to provide more timely feedback and more frequent feedback which is something I know I need to improve!  They also noted a difficulty with my grade book not matching the rest of the schools which made checking grades difficult.  This is something I plan on working through this summer.

The Bad
It was interesting because many of the students who appreciated standards based grading were also extremely mad at me as an instructor.  They were mad because I did not spend class time lecturing and giving them a step by step process for solving math problems.  Class time was a time to struggle with difficult problems in groups rather than me spoon feeding them specific steps to follow.  They were appalled that I was forcing them to problem solve, think, and build understanding instead of giving them a "recipe".  They felt ripped off because I did not embrace the passive lecture style that other math teachers in my department utilized.  This students summed it up perfectly:

"My least favorite part of math this year was the inconsistent learning environment and curriculum.  I would have liked to go more in depth with each math concept rather than do real life math problems.  This is because on the CSTs (our standardized test in CA) I didn't understand the majority of the material, when my friends in other classes understood it with great ease.  I enjoy working with real life math problems because it is practice for how we will actually use math later in life.  But unfortunately that isn't how the Rocklin District and California State Tests view math.  I believe I would be better prepared for Geometry next year if we had learned more of what the district expects from us."

This student comment summarized the general feeling for most of my algebra 1 students.  They appreciated the fact that the real-life problem solving I did with them would relate to their future jobs.  However, they were concerned about their state test scores and the fact that I did not tell them how to do/think which in turn left them feeling inadequate. It is also interesting to note that we have common unit assessments so my students did learn the same exact standards and took the same tests as the other classes.

The Ugly
Even though the students appreciated my use of standards based grading, a few suggested I go back to letter grades.  These folks knew how to manipulate the letter grade system.  They did not like that they had to continuously prove their understanding of standards.  Again it was about me doing the work for them so that they could regurgitate and get the grade.

A Long Hard Look in the Mirror
I have to be honest, when I first started sifting through the student responses, I asked myself why in the heck I had the students fill out this evaluation.  Then after my ego got over itself, I stepped back and looked at myself as an educator and this is what I learned from my student responses:

• I really appreciate my students honesty even if it is difficult to hear
• I need to provide more frequent and effective feedback
• I need to backward map my classes and create meaningful and useful formative assessments
• I need to teach middle school students how to "practice" math and how to individualize their "practice"
• I need to help students apply their mathematical understanding using real life problems and connect the application to district and state expectations
• I need to teach my students to "find, filter, and apply" their mathematical understanding

The Amazing

As I reflect I have to acknowledge that with the implementation of standards based grades I no longer heard the sentence: "Is this for a grade?"  I also no longer heard the sentence: "can I have some extra credit?"  What I did hear on a daily basis was: "Can I prove to you my understanding of this standard?" and/or "What do I need to do to prove my understanding of this standard?"  It is easy for me to be hard on myself and feel defeated by the 140 honest responses by my students.  But instead I appreciate my students' candid responses and how they have forced me to look at myself and work to improve myself as an educator for my future students.

Ending the Year on a High Note 2012

During a conversation with one of my close friends at the beginning of this school year,  we discussed how we would go "out" of teaching either by retiring or by making a career move.  We decided that we would approach each year as if it were our last and that we would make sure to make it our best year.  We made a sort of a pact that we would make sure to go out on a high note no matter what.
I am a huge Seinfeld fan so I have shared a video of George Costanza going out on a high note...
George Costanza Leaving on a High Note

Shortly after that conversation, we had to endure the daily countdown of days left in the school year recited from a teacher who was looking forward to retirement.  I can appreciate the anticipation, but hearing the count at lunch everyday got on my nerves a bit.  Being a math teacher, I figured a good way to quiet my colleague would be to give the count of days I have left which was quite large for a number of reasons one being my 6 year old son (5 at the time) and me having to send him to college and have the funds to do so.  The number I so boldly shared at lunch made everyone laugh and did not silence the countdown at all.

An educational blogger who has influenced me greatly this past year wrote a bit about cruising at the end of the school year: Josh Stumpenhorst - Cruise Control
Even though our state testing took place a month ago I decided to end my school year on a high note and not hit the cruise control button.

Last year I was inspired by Dan Meyer.  I combined what I learned from him with the need to prove to my husband that I could utilize a smart phone in my teaching and created "Real Life Mathematics Connections" for my students.  Connecting Math to My Life  I took pictures of the mundane activities my family and I did on the weekends and it morphed into the link above.  In the process, I was banned from taking pictures in our local supermarket until I had a chat with the manager and pleaded for my math students.  I now have permission to use my smart phone camera if I "check in" when I enter the store.

The link requires many more blog posts describing the process etc... it was also the impetus for the end of the year project  I assigned this year: What Does Math Have to do With It?  I made the decision to be vague in the description of what I wanted my students to do.  They created math blogs using blogger at the beginning of the year and I had them write about their passion.  My intent was to have students make periodic math connections to their passion.  It did not work out that way for a variety of reasons (again to be discussed in a future blog post).  I did get some interesting work from my students What Does Math Have to do With It?  I am not pretending that  this is stellar work.  This is a first attempt at students connecting math to their passion or interest and some of the examples I have included hit the mark and others are not close.  The important thing is that I have 120 or so student samples that will help me make this project more meaningful for my future students.

Check out the links and student work and let me know what you think!

Testing Week Down Time

Testing week is upon us.  From Tuesday through Friday we will have full school days and I will be spending over 7 non-testing hours with a rotating group of 130 students.  Three fourths of these students I have not had any class time with at all this year.  So, I sit and ponder how to provide quality activities that will make their testing week as positive as possible while they are spending time with me, a complete educational stranger in their lives.  I think I have come up with some low tech mathematics ideas and resources I would like to share for those of you who are in a similar boat or are just wondering what the heck I am planning on doing with these middle school kiddos for four days.

Last Monday April 23 - the day after Earth Day my students explored the Brita Water Filter 3 Act Math activity from Dan Meyer's Three Act Math Activities.  I showed the short video about plastic water bottles circling the Earth and it really hit home with the students.  Here are the questions my classes came up with: Brita Questions.  The reason I am bringing this up is because it is leading up to my first activity for testing week

A Year Is...  I will begin by showing all of the students the Brita Commercial (19 second version) to remind those students who got to play with the math what we did, and for those who did not, to introduce the idea of a year of their life.  Then I will share some of things that I am considering for "A Year Is... in my life.  I will be thinking of those this weekend.  Then the students will have some quiet time to list some thoughts, then share with their groups, then we will make a class list of ideas that will enable the students to steal from each other.  We should have some interesting ideas and discussions.  My goal for this activity is to give the students a mental break while connecting to their lives and integrating math that is meaningfully applied to a topic they are interested in.  The students will produce posters that can be displayed in their homeroom classes for our "Showcase Night" which is our schools version of Open House.

The other activity will be math art which will be some form of tessellations since that incorporates pre-algebra standards.  It again allows the students to explore math topics but gives their brains a break after testing and allows for cooperative interactions and a relaxed atmosphere.

Finally, I have one of my classes everyday because it corresponds to our lunch schedule.  For this class I am going to use the book, Creating NIM Games.  I am not sure how many of you are familiar with NIM games or the game of Poison, but it is something I love to do with my students EVERY year.  I begin by showing the students the basic NIM Game Rules, it is not a fair game and so it is a hoot watching the students play and discover strategies and collectively create moves and counter moves.  I let them practice and play each other and then we have a class "tournament".  Right when the kiddos feel confident in their ability to win, I introduce a new NIM game (the above book has a plethora of them).  If we have time the students will create their own NIM game which is the culminating activity in the book.

My goals for the week:

• Give students a mental break while still providing learning opportunities
• Creating an atmosphere that is relaxed, collaborative, and creative
• Allow a brain break
• Respecting the students' need for learning experiences that  are the opposite of the testing environment
• Mix seriousness and fun
• Lighten up the atmosphere during a stressful week for students

Thank you those I stole ideas from!

My Favorite Time of the School Year, NOT!

I was not planning on blogging tonight but as I was cruising twitter, my awesome PLN shared this post by Lee Colbert and because of the events that transpired this past week, I felt compelled to write.

This past week was the worst week I have had as a teacher this year.  Teachers returned from spring break on Monday to district in-service and the students returned on Tuesday.  Our state testing starts the first week of May and so, like so many other teachers in my shoes, I am feeling the pinch of the material I have yet to "cover" before the testing begins.  I am a math teacher for those of you who did not know and I have spent this year implementing a standards based grading system that is new to me and my students.  I have also worked to make my math classes more about problem-solving and thinking rather than teaching rules for students to follow.  I work everyday to build student confidence in their ability to use their brains to think through problems.  

I fear that all of the time I have spent this year empowering students to create foundations for their mathematical thinking and understanding was demolished this week.  Even though I worked to provide discovery learning activities for the students, they were confused, frustrated, and questioning their math ability and understanding.  The culminating event was my last period of the day on Friday when one of my higher level math students was brought to tears as he struggled with the content he thought he understood and was feeling stupid and incompetent of which he is neither.  

As I consider my plan of action for the next two weeks, keeping the events of the past week in mind,  I have decided to change course.  Instead of cramming material down my students throats and causing an erosion of their confidence, I will take a different path.  

These next two weeks will consist of me reminding my students how smart they are, what great problem solvers they are, and working to build their confidence back up by reminding them that they already know so much about mathematics and mathematical thinking.  My only hope is that they still have faith in me and believe me when I tell them they can do this and anything they set their minds to.  I have to make sure my students understand 1) I trust in their ability and 2)I know and believe the last thing they as students want to do is fail.

I really HATE standardized testing because of the way it makes my students and me feel about ourselves.  Even though I will be re-planning this weekend, my heart feels lighter because my classroom will be one of celebrating and reinforcement  instead of cramming and discouragement.

The Blessing and Curse of Using Standards Based Grading

Reflecting on my implementation of standards based grading, the blessing is the conversations with students about their understanding.  The curse is the lack of responsibility the students take in keeping track of the standards they do and do not understand.

At the end of class on Friday, one of my students approached me with a question: "Mrs. Beck, can you help me, I worked really hard on a project for one of my classes, I spent many hours outside of class, and put everything I had into it, and I failed.  What can I do to fix it?"  This student was desperate, he did not want to fail a major project.  He came to me because in my class this failure would be a learning opportunity that he would be able to fix.  As I searched for some encouragement and hope for this student, I knew that if I had not implemented standards based grading this conversation would not be taking place.  What words of wisdom could I give this student as he searched for advice as to how to advocate for himself?  I realized I had blessed and cursed this student with standards based grading.

As I was catching up with the #sbar (standards based grading) hashtag on twitter this morning I came across some great blog posts that really hit home with some areas I am struggling with in my process of implementing standards based grading.  

My biggest struggle is getting my students more involved in the process.  I am working towards the time when students will walk up to me and say something like, "Mrs. Beck, I need some help with these standards, and I need to prove I understand these standards."  Right now, many of my students are coming to me to ask what standards they have 1's or 2's in.  Although this is frustrating, I also know that this is part of my journey of implementing standards based grading.  Enter the first blog post I read today:

Brian Bennett - Changing Teaching by Changing Grading

After reading Brian's post, I have the following plan for increasing student participation in the standards based grading process.

• I can statements for each of the essential math standards for our unit on quadratics for each student
• Self assessment grades (similar to status of the class) three times a week from each student based on the I can statements
• Opportunities for the students to show proof of understanding in multiple ways each week
• Using Brian's 5 point scoring system for self assessment so that the students really consider where they are in the learning continuum.

One change I have made this year is to have students correct their own assessments.  In the past I would correct them and then after handing them back, have the students reflect and write about what they understood and what they need work on.  It was a struggle until this year when we began correcting the tests together.  When we go over the various ways to solve the problems together, the students see the errors of their ways and their reflection is more meaningful.  And because of standards based grading there is not a need to try and change their answers (or cheat), because the students know they can always show proof of understanding at a later time.  I am looking forward to using Brian's guide to increase my students' participation in the #sbar process.

My next area is that of communicating more effectively with parents.  I had a parent email me this week asking for help with her son and that she did not understand what the 2- for his grade meant.  I teach in a district that is known for the high test scores on standardized tests.  The parents are also very comfortable with the grading system and rankings that are in place.  Implementing standards based grading can be a challenge in this community.  So, I really appreciated Terie's blog post.  I will be working hard the rest of this year and each following year to communicate with my parents more effectively in regards to standards based grading.

Terie Engelbrecht - Communicating Standards Based Grading to Parents

Finally, Stacy's post hit home for me in many ways.  She reminded me that kids want to succeed and that as teachers we need to make sure we are teaching our grade level standards!  As a parent I can really relate to her post!

Stacy Piacentini - That's Someone's Child

When I started #sbar, I had blind faith, I closed my eyes and jumped because I believed it was what was best for my teaching and my students' learning.  I also knew that because I was trying something new it would be a learning process.  I have been making adjustments as I progress.  It has been a giant science experiment, lots of tweaking and tinkering and re-calculating.  Even though I am a beginner, I feel supported by the #sbar folks on twitter who are on the path with me.

Is It the Place or the Relationships?

This past week while on winter break, I visited a place that was significant in my formative years from infancy through college.  As I anticipated the visit, my heart changed, a calmness spread and I could not help but smile.  When my family and I arrived and stepped off the plane, I was overcome by the familiar even though I had not visited this place for fifteen years.  The smells, the sights, the streets, I remembered it all as I piloted the rental car without any maps (of course my phone with Google maps was there if needed).  As I navigated my way to drive by childhood landmarks my eyes teared up as memories showered down on me.  I suddenly realized that it was not the place that held the significance, it was the relationships I had built there that caused the feelings I was experiencing.  Some of the relationships were with people and some of the relationships were with the environment, but the relationship was the key.  As the week progressed my relationship with the place changed.  When I arrived my heart was melancholy thinking of the people who have passed and the fact that aging has occurred.  As the week progressed the calmness came back as did the smile on my face.  There were new relationships forged and when I left I wasn't longing for the past as I had when I arrived.

Of course this made me think of school and my classroom - even on vacation (I know, pathetic!)  I have written in other posts about the importance of building relationships with kids in our classes.  I began thinking about the kiddos that struggle and/or are willful non-performers.  Which caused me to immediately jump to these kiddos as adults.  When they become parents, how are their attitudes towards school going to affect their children?

A few weeks ago I attended a Classroom 2.0 Live Saturday webinar that featured Joe Mazza a principal who is known for parent involvement.  Since listening to him and following him on twitter, I have been thinking about parent participation and getting parents on my side.  This week made me think about the parents who avoid school as a place because of the relationships they had while in school.

I have complained about parents not showing up for conferences, yet did I stop to think about why these parents may be avoiding coming back to school.  Just as my place had extremely positive memories flooding in, school for some has very negative feelings tied to it.  If a parent has these negative memories, could those feelings be passed on to their child who is in your class and struggling?  How do we get these parents to not let the place of school interfere with building new, positive relationships with the adults who educate their children?  If I think about it, these parents are usually contacted by school in regards to their child getting in some sort of trouble which perpetuates the negative relationship with school as a place.  How do we change that?

Just as struggling students need an advocate, school phobic parents need advocates who can build a positive relationship and help them to see school as a partner rather than an adversary.  I know I need to change my interactions with these parents and look for positive interactions.  How do we pull these parents in when they are masters of avoidance?  I will be pondering all of this for a while!  I would love ideas and suggestions!

Softy the Discipline Queen

Recently I have been struggling with discipline with my 6 year old son who is in kindergarten.  It is interesting because I have been known as the teacher who has a highly functioning classroom with regards to discipline.  In fact I have often been "punished" for my ability to turn unruly students into working students.  I say that I have been "punished" because there have been times when students have been moved into my class mid-year for a behavior adjustment because their teacher was unable to "work" with the student.  I felt it was a punishment because I would be given students who were unsuccessful with other teachers half way through the school year which would turn my classroom upside down for a while.  However, I should see this turn of events as a blessing instead of a punishment because the students that were sent to me received a second chance at success.  My administrators told me it was a compliment.  I still do not quite see it that way.

Anyhow, as I reflect on my past practices, I am ashamed of my actions when it comes to disciplining my students.  Luckily for me, my philosophy has always been to build a relationship with my students.  This has enabled them to forgive my unforgivable discipline practices from the beginning of the school year.  So even though I  have used coercive tactics to supposedly "control" student behavior, the students still respected me because I made a point to respect them.  I have to admit that I am not proud of my behavior in the name of discipline.  Fortunately I have always been the type of teacher who has to problem solve and talk out situations with her students.  So when I went overboard, I would almost immediately have a pow wow with the student to problem solve the situation and come to an agreement together.

So how have things changed in my classroom, and what does it have to do with my 6 year old son's behavior?  Here are my discipline beliefs:

• I believe that all students want to be successful and "behave" in class
• I believe that "behave" means different things to different students
• I believe that some students come into my classroom unable to "behave" for a variety of reasons
• I believe it is my responsibility as an educator to collaboratively problem solve with my students if they are having a problem "behaving" in class.
• I believe that behavior is not a grade and if a student struggles to conform it should not reflect on their grade if he/she can prove understanding in a content area.
• I believe that a student not "behaving" in my classroom is not personal, it is something that is out of my control as an educator.  It is my job to take time to build relationships and respectfully understand that there is most likely a plethora of things that could be going on in my student's life outside of the classroom.
• I believe that it takes effort and time to cooperatively problem solve to build relationships with students and that it is much easier to write a referral or "punish" a student
• I believe that referrals and punishment do not in any way improve the behavior of a student.
• I believe that natural consequences for a behavior do provide a teachable moment for students and have the ability to change the students behavior
• I believe it is important to remove the behavior from the student

I could go on but you get the point.  I have struggled this year because it seems as though I have gone soft.  I like to think of myself as enlightened.  I look upon my students differently for a variety of reasons, one being I am the mother of a six year old who has decided to be a willful non-performer and classroom disrupter.  As my husband and I contemplate taking every Lego and Star Wars toy away, I realize we need to cooperatively problem solve with my son just as I do in my classroom. 

So, the softy (my new name for myself) gives lunch money to kids who forgot their lunch, so that when they come to my class 6th period they can concentrate on math and not the fact that they are hungry.  The softy also squats down when a student is acting up and asks the kiddo what is going on and allows him/her to take a walk around the field to clear his/her head.  The softy lets students listen to their iPods as they work on math in class.  It is difficult because when my colleagues walk in and question what they see in my class, I start to question my jellyfishness, but I recover quickly.  They notice that I am letting the students break the "school rules" without noticing the engagement of my students with the math activities they are working on.  

So, I need to lighten up on my son - he is a great kid who is testing the boundaries of his teacher which shows intelligence and gumption.  I will leave it up to his teacher to give him natural consequences and he will get the picture and make adjustments.  As for me, I have a very loud critic in my head who questions everything I do.  I have decided to put duct tape on her voice and continue to embrace my new friend Softy.

Below is a nice post by Josh Stumpenhorst @stumpteacher
School Fails Boys