The Constant and The Variables

Education is at a pivotal crossroads with schools experiencing many changes.  There is a pendulum that consistently swings back and forth in educational policy.  We are currently in a rapid movement on that pendulum with shifts towards blended learning, small group instruction, and increasing technology tools to supplement best practices.  Every day I see teachers working hard to keep up with the changes to stay relevant for the students.  Because that's who this is all for.  The students.  They are our customers, and they are what drives every decision that is made.  And the great teachers I know work every day to make sure their plans will engage every student.

In my four short years of teaching, I have witnessed many changes within our school building, our district, and our state education policies.  I would be naive to think this is the only time in my career that I will experience such vast changes.  However, after one full week back at school, I have realized that there is one constant amidst all these changes.  The constant is the teacher.  The teacher is the constant image students will associate with "school" between the many innovative changes.  When asking students about their favorite class, they most likely reply with a class where they felt like the teacher truly cared.  The variables within education do not define the classroom experience.  Students need more than a research based instructional method.  Students need a teacher who guides them during some of their most defining years in their life.  State mandates do not ask students how their football game went, and iPads do not console a student on a bad day.

At this point last year, I felt overwhelmed while trying to adjust to a 1:1 iPad classroom with instructional shifts to blended learning.  Now that I start year two, I can reflect on what really makes a classroom work.  It comes down to the teacher.  The relationships formed with my students will dictate how any innovative instructional practice is perceived by them.

As we educators begin this trek through the changes, we must always remember that we are the ones who will never go away.  As we spend countless hours outside the classroom learning new tricks and adjusting past lessons to fit new practices, we must remember that sometimes the students just need us to smile at them.  As we have those days throughout the year when we feel bogged down and burned out, we must remember that we are making a difference for some students just by being there.

We must remember, we are the constant amidst all the variables.

A Controversial Approach to Reading Instruction

As a student, I always favored writing over reading.  The same applies as an adult.  Hence some of the spelling errors I find in my blog posts after I publish them.  I enjoy the writing process, not necessarily the re-reading process.  I envy the population of adults and children who can whip through 300 page books in a couple days, then pick up another, and fly right through it at the same speed as the prior.

And here's where the controversy begins.  I teach reading.

Don't get me wrong.  I agree there is absolutely nothing better than getting into a good book.  I get so into some books that it takes me several months to pick up a new one when I finish that good book.  That feeling of finishing a book is one that should be felt by every human being.  It's a sense of accomplishment, but more so, it's a time to engage into another world.  That relaxing escape is just what we need from time to time.

So as I sit in my living room preparing and planning for the upcoming school year, I have noticed something very interesting about my reading ability.  Something I have always known, but it became ever more prevalent lately.  I am a professional skim-reader.  I am not illiterate.  I know how to read, but I just cannot get through a reading that I have zero interest in.  As I prepare to teach stories that I am unfamiliar with, I feel a sense of discomfort.  I began to read a classic seventh grade short story when after a few sentences, I went straight to a Cliff Notes website.  Why should we force our students to read a "mandatory" reading just because every seventh grader in the world reads that story?  I read when I am interested in the content or when I am excited about the reading.  Shouldn't reading be the focus in an English classroom rather than specific readings?  I cannot get my students excited about a reading that I myself am not excited about.  However, I can get my students excited about the opportunity to engage in reading something of interest because that is how you develop students who love reading.

Here is my proposal:

• Teach the process of reading.
• However, if students would rather engage in a book mentally than put post it notes all over it, then let them.
• Do not put time lines on reading.
• Encourage sharing of good (and bad) readings.
• Do not force students to read something just because someone, somewhere, determined that is the reading all seventh grade students in the United States should read at that point in their life.
• Let students read any genre or format - magazines, recipes, websites, etc.
• Allow students to skim or "cheat" when necessary (Controversial? It's what a lot of adults do).
• Let students use their reading for a greater good.

Let me elaborate.  If a student has not learned the basic phonics skills to read, then that is one thing that requires skill building.  However, the majority of students I encounter in middle school know how to read, and they simply need to read more to advance as readers.  They end up hating reading because they are allotted no choice in the stories, books, magazines they read in school. Even worse, they are evaluated on their reading skills based on a few generic readings in a standardized test, that I as an adult can barely get through without snoring.  

I will admit, my proposal can become a management nightmare for a teacher, which is what scares me to completely switch to my own proposal.  However, I think it is worth the forfeit of control.  Reading and writing are extremely important skills that will never go away.  I sometimes take for granted my ability to read and write.  By teaching students to love reading, we will see students grow as readers and writers.  And when they do not necessarily love a particular reading that they may be required to read, teach the life skills to get the reading done, even if it means finding Internet resources to help them comprehend the reading.

Sure, this approach may ruffle some feathers as we tend to be bound by our curriculum resources.  I fully admit that I still teach the required readings because it is easy to manage, and because I have developed great resources for these readings.  However, I cannot and will not ignore the sight of my students grunting and groaning as I have them follow along with a required reading.  

Reading should not be "turn to page 72 and follow along".  Reading should not be "answer questions 1-5 after reading this story."  

Reading should spark curiosity.  Reading should be fun.  Reading should be a method to help us grow as humans.

If we as a community of adults take the time to reflect on our own reading practices, then we will begin to see our students as individual readers who all have unique reading habits.  We should encourage the act of reading in whatever way possible.

The Epiphany

It is very easy to forget what it feels like as a student.  Educators can research, theorize, and consequently blog (guilty) about best practice classrooms.  We can get on our pulpit and preach that things must change.  But do we truly know what it feels like for a student to sit in a classroom on a daily basis?  One of the bullet points in the current education movement is "teachers should be learners".  Makes sense, right?  Because best practice says teachers should "model" learning.  But are we truly learning along with our students?

This summer, I decided to pursue a personal interest.  Photography.  I received a fancy-pants DSLR Nikon camera for Christmas, and I came to the conclusion that Pinterest wasn't giving me enough instruction.  I needed an expert.  After browsing the community college's website, I came across a 3-week photography class.  Every Wednesday night, I now go to class, camera in tow.  We learn about the functions of the camera, and we see examples.  We are given ungraded assignments.  I look forward to these assignments each week.  I can't wait to try what I learned.  When I return to class, we sit as a group, and our instructor gives us feedback.  He even says, "If you don't get a chance to do the assignment, please still come to class!"  He actually looks for students who struggled and failed at portions of the assignment.  He says this is the best way to learn.  We are given creative freedom with no consequences for failing other than constructive feedback.  Lots of constructive feedback.  I smile as I leave class each Wednesday because I truly feel myself learning and growing.

Let's review.

1. I chose the topic to learn about because I found it interesting.
2. We are given practice assignments, with flexibility.
3. I practice every free second I can during the week.
4. Feedback is given every time.
5. Failure is okay, and it is actually beneficial to the learning process.
6. I look forward to going back to class.

This past Wednesday, as I was sitting in class learning about some of the more technical functions of a camera, I had an epiphany.

What if the instructor gave me a test on these multiple new terms and their function during the following week?  Would I still enjoy this photography class as much if I was expected to memorize everything I learned for a test?

My immediate reaction to my thoughts resulted in a pit in my stomach.  UGH.  I would hate coming to class knowing the instructor expected me to memorize and learn every single thing he taught the prior week.  I would not waste my time learning something new if that were the case.  I would stick with Pinterest.

Now here comes the epiphany.  This is what is happening in our classrooms.  It took me to become a student to truly come to understand the disservice we are doing to our future generations.  Sure, I have been a student in the past year while completing my Masters Degree, but that took place in a traditional classroom setting.  I stressed out each week rushing to read school law cases so I was prepared when the professor would randomly call on me.  I stuck my nose in the book to get that elusive "A" on the pop quiz.  I rushed before class to skim the Plain Dealer because we would get extra credit if we could contribute a current event to class.  I personally love the news, but I didn't enjoy learning about the news when I felt pressured.

I am now a student in a classroom where I enjoy what I am learning, and I am motivated to pursue the learning outside the classroom.  Reason being, I am interested in the content, and I see value in the learning.  The contrast of my experience as a student in both settings has given me a glaring realization.  With the interest-based class model with constructive and descriptive feedback, I was motivated to create these images with trial and error as my trusty sidekick husband gave me feedback (and constructed my tripod).

Why would our students want to learn when the result is a letter on a test...sometimes a sticker if they are lucky.  If the purpose of school is to promote learning, then we must structure the classrooms where learning is something to get excited about.  We must have serious discussion about the methods we use to assess students.  We must rethink how we structure curriculum.  We must begin to really take note of students' interests.  We must not ignore the obvious, and we must begin to take steps to change the culture of the classroom. 

Story of a PLC

Education is full of acronyms.  It makes sense; educators and other education professionals always seem to be juggling their work load and multi tasking every minute of the day, so it would benefit them to save time by abbreviating everything.  Sometimes, it seems as if us educators speak a foreign language full of simply acronyms.

"Did you check the BIP for the IEP to make sure we are ready for our GLM in which we discuss the value of the RTI process for individual students, in regards mainly to the PARCC, which will consequently affect OTES?"

I know you educators are smiling with pride as you feel part of the elite population who truly understands the above statement.  However, in the midst of multiple, sometimes unnecessary, acronyms, the one that stands out in extra bold print among the rest is PLC.

A PLC is a Professional Learning Community.  The term brought to fruition by Robert DuFour.  My PLC was the anchor to all things created, attempted, and revised during my first year implementing blended learning.  Much of what was accomplished in the past year would not have happened without a proper functioning, ongoing, continuous PLC.  Carmen Walker (@RidgeWalker7) and I would use our PLC to plan units, analyze data, reflect/revise, and create from there.  Each PLC functions differently, but with our district's blended learning initiative, we found the following process to be extremely vital to a successful implementation and shift to blended learning.

• Identify Learning Targets
• We always started with the Common Core standards to dictate and guide our curriculum and unit planning.  This is the only starting point that I know of that begins the PLC on a stream-lined mission in planning out the learning experience.  Without a learning target, there is no "why" behind a unit.
• Create Pre/Post Assessments
• It is always good to start with the end in mind.  What do you want your students to learn from the unit?  Our next step is always planning our pre and post assessments.  We do not always rely on traditional assessments.  Sometimes we use this step to discuss potential for alternative assessments such as a newscast. 
• Build Unit Plan Template
• We would not function without our unit plans.  With blended learning, we found unit planning to be much more beneficial than daily lesson plans due to the nature of the classroom environment.  Every student usually takes a different path to achieve the learning target, so we like to plan a unit structure as opposed a "one size fits all" daily lesson plan.  Our unit plans work in conjunction with the next step.
• Decide on Instructional Method
• As we are building our unit plan, we decide on which instructional method is most effective to teach the desired skills.  We have used learning centers, station rotations, choice boards, self-directed, and gradual release models.  We have found that committing to one instructional model all year is not the most engaging technique for middle school students.  Also, blended learning is a shift in instruction, so we experimented with many instructional models to see what gave us the best classroom environment to reach all students' needs.
• Collaborate to Build Activities
• Our unit plans are built in Google Drive which has been the best addition to our PLC.  By definition, PLCs should be ongoing and continuous.  We are constantly updating and revising our unit plans outside of our designated PLC time.  When we find an app that didn't work out well, we make note of it in our unit plan.  When we are developing center activities, we divide and conquer the work load.  Cloud based websites add that extra component for PLC collaboration throughout the school year.
• Plan Formatives
• Since many of our units require independent learning, it is vital to plan for "checkpoints" in the form of formative assessments.  We plan skill checkpoints to ensure our students are learning or if we they require small group instruction.  Most of our direct instruction comes in the form of small group instruction, so we require these formatives to plan our small group.
• Integrate and Research Digital Opportunities
• Since we are fourteen years into the 21st century, it seems about time we start altering our instruction to include the may digital opportunities provided to our students in the real world.  At this point in our PLC, we look at our unit and determine where we can include technology to supplement the learning process.  We also start the conversation of what type of technology would best suit what we are asking our students.  We spend time researching new apps as well as revisiting old digital resources.  We use these digital opportunities for each step of the unit planning process.
• Determine Areas of Intervention/Acceleration
• As we get into the unit, we use PLC to determine areas of intervention and acceleration.  These areas cannot be determined until students are engaged in the activities.  We sometimes create a separate document on Google Drive to plan our these activities as we see fit.  These activities are planned separately from the initial practice activities set forth in the unit plan.
• Reflect on Data
• PLC is a lot of discussion and reflection.  We use a great deal of time within a unit reflecting with one another about what has worked.  We use hard numbers from assessments as well as simple anecdotes from the classroom.  These conversations are crucial in growing as a PLC.  After three years of working together, we have yet to duplicate a unit the same way we had the year prior.  Now with the use of unit plans in the Cloud, we are able to add comments about our reflections to revise for the following year.

Here is my first attempt at an infographic using Piktochart that will sum up the information provided above.  

[Click infographic for larger image]

PLCs are not something to be ignored.  When each member contributes and follows a common mission, the results will show in the classroom.  With the many changes in education, it is more important than ever to rely and support your PLC partners and fellow educators.  And now, we can take it even further with yet another acronym - PLN (Professional Learning Network) through Twitter. 

Use each other.  It is the best resource out there. 

More Than a Data Point

I have always been a logical minded person.  I enjoyed math as a student because there was a black and white answer.  I enjoy putting data points into an Excel sheet and seeing the fancy graphs and pretty charts that develop.  I like to make decisions based on logical data sets.  Quantifying sets of information comes naturally to me.

Our society likes cut and dry answers.  I am guilty of this.  I like seeing a bold red line to separate the yes's from no's.  It's easy to make a decision when you have a bold red line staring you in the face.  It's comfortable.  We as human beings like the feeling of comfort.  Especially when it comes to making a decision.  As I was being forced to watch the NFL Draft the other night, I noticed how every aspect of a football player is analyzed down to a number.  However, I wondered, how can one quantify the "heart" of a player?  How does one translate personality into a number?

We are moving towards a world where every aspect is quantified.  Quantification is often seen as superior over qualification when it comes to a decision-making process. There are no "gray-area" discrepancies.  And we have now moved into the realm of quantifying children as a single data point. We often make very important educational decisions based on a single data point in that child's life.  Students move from grade to grade preceded by a number that has already been analyzed and broken down into multiple color-coded graphs and charts.

With the end of the year approaching, I wanted to take a minute to set aside all graphs, charts, and numbers, and reflect on who my students are, beyond the numbers.


Thank you for making me laugh, even when it's just to get out of doing something.

Thank you for stopping in, just to say hi.

Thank you for teaching me when I needed help.

Thank you for helping me learn the proper way to take a "selfie".  

Thank you for always being honest, even when the truth is you did not enjoy an assignment...or my outfit.

Thank you for letting me experiment all my new teaching theories with you.

Thank you for your never-ending energy at times.

Thank you for your support and kind words when needed.

Thank you for contributing to all the good, bad, and in-between this school year.

The quantification of students is not why I chose this career.  It's the small moments that happens in between that will outweigh the politics of education and shine light on the true rewards a teacher receives from his or her students.

Updating the Pendulum

As I was driving home from the grocery store yesterday, I noticed a couple sitting on their porch enjoying the beauty of the pleasant 75 degree day.  They were both on their iPhones.  Yes, I am a proponent of stepping away from the device and enjoying real life interactions; however, I began to contemplate what they were actually using their phones for at that time.  Were they reading a book?  Were they browsing Twitter?  Neither of these are NEW hobbies to enjoy on a nice day on the front porch.  We have always taken ourselves away from human interaction at times to sit and enjoy catching up on the news or a good book.  Now we just use a device.  The same goes for today's classroom.  Change can be difficult, but we cannot progress if we never change.  Resistance to an updated instructional method is comparable to resistance to getting rid of floppy disks.  Change is inevitable, but we must use that change to our advantage to progress forward.  So the question is why is updating instructional methods much more difficult to sell?

About a year ago, our 7th grade team began the transition to a blended learning, 1:1 iPad classroom.  We were confronted with many changes that we were encouraged to begin implementing in our classroom.  With many days of professional development, we slowly began to shift our thinking of what a 21st century classroom would look like.  We had lofty thoughts of a complete change.  However, after one year of transitioning to blended learning, I have realized blended learning is not swinging the educational pendulum completely to the other side, it is simply updating the pendulum.  The flash drive and Cloud-based storage sites did not change the function of the floppy disk, they simply updated it.  The function of education will always be based in learning, educating, and developing relationships; the method of delivery will just continue to be updated.

Blended learning isn't simply the addition of a device or piece of technology in the classroom.  That assumption scares educators into thinking their position will become extinct.  Blended learning, in my opinion, is the updating of instructional methods.  I have reflected on the updates below.

Unit Planning vs. Lesson Planning
In the past, I have always planned individual lessons to achieve a goal at the end of the unit - a paper and pencil test. There was one lesson per day, with the occasional choice options.  We moved on to the next lesson without pursuing further interests or slowing down for understanding.  This year, we have switched to a different approach that seems to fit with blended learning.  During PLC, we plan units.  When we begin with the the enduring understandings, we can create and develop different paths for students to follow within the unit based on interest and skill level.  When we have the bones of a unit planned, we can begin to look for areas where technology and devices will make the process more efficient.  Although it takes more time upfront, unit planning allows for the teacher to facilitate during the unit as opposed to the "stand and deliver" method.

Grading vs. Feedback
Assessment has always been my "needs improvement" area.  I have struggled with fitting blended learning into a traditional grade book.  The reason being - it does not work.  We must update the assessment model if we update the instructional model.  As I explained with unit planning, students tend to take unique, individualized paths within a unit, and this does not fit into a "one assignment - one grade" assessment tool.  My goal for next year is to focus solely on immediate and targeted feedback through the use of various technology tools.  Through the use of focused tasks and rubrics, teachers can provide students with the individualized feedback they need versus simply assigning a B to a certain assignment.  Does a B tell a student that their content was advanced, but their conventions lacked refinement?  To see student growth, we must structure our assessment model with time for feedback and revision.

Whole Group Teaching vs. Alternating Classroom Structures
In the past, I have found myself up in front of my students giving a generic lesson while they all look on and soak it in.  Because that's what they are doing 100% of the time, right?  Soaking it ALL in?  Not so much.  As a middle school teacher, I know there is a need for variety within my instructional methods and plans.  There is a time and place for lecture; lecture is not always a bad thing.  TED Talks are lectures, and they are engaging and informative.  However, if I had to watch a TED Talk every day, 5 times a day, for 180 days straight, I might lose it.  Blended learning has allowed me to experiment with different classroom structures to reach each student on their level.  Whether it be learning centers, station rotations, simulations, or self-directed learning units, classrooms should consistently utilize different structures within the school year.  Technology has allowed this to become much easier because it multiplies the teacher within the classroom.

Traditional Resources vs. Technology Resources
When I have a question or a curiosity, the first place I usually go to is Google.  I often say to my husband that I cannot imagine having to go to the library or consult an encyclopedia every time I wondered something.  We live in a world of information overload, and at times it can be daunting (especially when one uses the vast World Wide Web to consult a medical question).  However, we must not ignore the obvious.  We have any sort of answer to a question at our finger tips, and we should use this.  Yes, even Wikipedia.  In a blended learning classroom, traditional resources are not always the best option anymore.  I searched for a timeline app, and I was confronted with many options.  We do not need flash cards anymore to study with the multiple flash card apps.  If students are staring at a device more often than we like, then we should enter that realm and use it to our advantage.  This update is not always an immediate shift.  I learned this as the year went on.  I wanted to adjust every resource to a technology/digital resource, but as I learned, it has to be a slowed down process, but a process nonetheless.

Teacher Centered Classroom vs. Student Centered Classroom
Ultimately, the goal in the classroom is to have the students learning, creating, questioning, and problem solving.  This is not possible if the teacher makes all the decisions.  I have learned there is a definite value in structure; a student centered classroom does not mean a free for all.  However, a student centered classroom should give students a voice to what and how they want to learn.  After my three short years of teaching with more of a traditional style, this has also been a shift for me.  Letting go of control can be tricky, but after seeing student engagement increase, I know it's the right shift.  I can now facilitate students and instruct small groups as needed.  I have more time to develop relationships as I am working with smaller number of students than the entire class at one time.  I no longer come to work to be stared at all day long.  My goal is for my students to develop life skills as well as content, and by making my classroom student centered, the 21st century skills fit naturally.


This year has been a learning experience, and it also has solidified my philosophy of what education should look like.  As with most change, there were struggles.  However, if I give up after each struggle, progress will never happen.  Progress does not automatically come when change occurs, so it is up to us as educators to take risks, experiment, and reflect to have these changes benefit our classrooms and ultimately, our students.  As I have been told, the pendulum always shifts in education, but I truly believe this is not a shift.  I believe blended learning is simply an update.  A much needed update.

The Approach

To my students...

It's the week we have all come to mutually dread.  Testing week.  When you ask me questions about the purpose of these three hour long tests, I struggle to find an answer because I struggle with understanding the purpose of the tests myself.  I want each one of you to realize that your schooling experience is not about this one test.  These tests are one small moment in the grand scheme of life.  Yep.  I said it.  A teacher just said that.

So, you may be asking yourself, "Why even bother if it won't affect me?  It's just a small moment in time." As your teacher, that is the complete opposite attitude I want you to have. I want you to approach this test as you should approach every thing in life.

With effort.  With a good attitude.  And with pride.

Your dream is to be a professional athlete?  So what if a professional athlete never uses the quadratic formula.  But I bet they would tell you they approach every game with effort.  Every time.

Your dream is to be a doctor? So what if you never have to determine how the setting of a book affects the plot.  But I bet every good doctor would explain you must have a good attitude when working with a wide variety of patients.

Your dream is to produce music?  Maybe you won't be solving algebraic equations, but you will approach every song you write with pride.

The point is that you may not want to do a lot of things that come your way in life.  But successful people approach every obstacle with their best effort, a great attitude, and a sense of pride once they conquer the task.  I feel pride when I see you smile walking into the classroom.  I feel pride when I see you figure out a tough problem.  I feel pride when I see you perform a great solo at a concert.  I feel pride when I see you work as a team to win a basketball game.  And I know approached each one of those occurrences with a good attitude and your best effort.

I see so much potential in each and every one of you.  I have valued every laugh we have shared and every success we have celebrated.  Each one of you are capable of big things.  HUGE things.  You may not see the value in the content of this test, but I see value in the approach.  Those are the skills that you will take with you all your life.  Believe me, there have been many times I have not seen value in life events that have come may way (um... Art History class in college... sorry art history majors, just not my thing), but I learned that when you approach these events with a good attitude, you will shine.

When you leave for summer break, I hope you understand that it is not the test score I value, it's your character and your attitude.  These are the same traits that will bring you success in making your dreams come true.  And if you fail at something, these traits will push you to try again.

I know each and every one of you have the capability to conquer any obstacle, including a state test, with fierce pride.  Keep smiling, and enjoy every moment of this time in your life.  I will leave you with a popular quote that has always stuck with me.

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.  Attitude, to me, is more important that facts.  It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do.  It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill.  It will make or break a company... a church... a home.  The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.  We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way.  We cannot change the inevitable.  The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.  And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes."

Sincerely,
Mrs. Dwyer

Start With the Verb

You know you have officially become an "adult" when you begin to craft your first resume.  The resume is what sets you apart from others in the vast world of never-ending job applicants.  You scour the internet for the best verbs possible to make your resume stand out among the rest.  You begin to type, and when you think back on your schooling, these potential "achievements" came to mind:

• Filled out a plot diagram
• Summarized a nonfiction article
• Edited DOL sentences
• Wrote 178340 research papers
• Mastered math fact time tests
• Answered textbook questions

With these innovating tasks, you are sure to bounce off the paper and come alive to that potential job prospect.  Right?

WRONG.  

It takes more than recall, memorization, and acing mundane tasks in school to get a job in this current market.  We should start creating those skills within our learners in the school setting.  After doing a quick Google search on "resume verbs", I was confronted with pages upon pages of results.  Words such as collaborate, design, assist, manage, and facilitate were among the verbs included in the lists.  It makes sense to begin cultivating these skills in students as early as possible.  With the competitive market for jobs, our duty as educators is to best prepare students with the skill set necessary to succeed in their adult life.

I began to think about the connection between the verbs in the Common Core Standards and the verbs that stand out on resumes.  The Common Core is what drives and directs our curriculum content, so I was interested in discovering if any of the standards included some of these "resume verbs" that I came across when doing a brief search on the internet.  I chose to look solely at the 7th grade E/LA Common Core Standards, as I did not intend to begin a doctoral search on the matter.  Below is a chart of what I found:

Granted, I realize the Common Core Standards are generic guidelines, but I feel until we start demanding innovating guidelines, then we will continue to see generic results.  Unfortunately, I feel the verbs that have been chosen are verbs that are easy to quantify, and thus easy to test.  "Determining two or more central ideas", important nonetheless, will not stand out on a resume.  It's what we have students DO with those central ideas that make them stand apart from the crowd.  Understandably so, this is no easy task, but what would happen if we just tried to incorporate some more innovative and "resume-worthy" skills into our national/state standards?

If our nation really wants to do an overhaul on education, then we should start simple.  Start with the verb.

Bring Ancient Worlds Alive Using Minecraft

Ask any class of middle school students if they have ever played Minecraft, and you will be surprised at the amount of hands that go up.  I would even go as far as taking a bet that EVERY hand would fly up, as mouths would begin to chatter relentlessly about the recent world they just created.

Creation.  That's Minecraft in a nutshell.  If our schools are pushing for creative outlets of learning for our students, then the perfect tool is sitting right in front of our naive, adult faces.

The answer is Minecraft.

I dabbled a bit with Minecraft at the end of last year, and I was blown away by the engagement of my students.  I knew I would have to take full advantage of incorporating it into my curriculum the following year.  I spent time over winter break developing a unit that incorporates learning "exploration" centers for ancient civilizations.  My goal was to have students engaged in various content about a specific ancient civilization, then replicate what they learned every Friday during our time in the computer lab playing Minecraft.  Below is a sample screenshot of my centers each week:

My goal is to provide learning activities that appeal to all learners.  I always include a close read lesson on Mondays, then I provide two literacy centers (primary source/secondary source) during the exploration centers.  The geography center usually enforces basic geography skills specific to the current civilization, and the video station also includes online discussion boards using reflection questions from the video.  Lastly, the culture activity is usually hands-on or STEM related.  For example, students had to build/analyze the invention of each stage of the wheel like the Mesopotamians.

Building & Analyzing the Invention of the Wheel with Tinker Toys

At the end of each "exploration" day, students add to our "Wonder Wall".  The "Wonder Wall" is where students record questions or curiosities about what they learned as a method of reflection and self-directed learning.  I began to see some great "wonders" that I allowed students to spend one of our whole-group Monday lessons exploring these further.  Many of these answers were then added to their creations in Minecraft later that week.  

Adding to our "Wonder Wall"

ePortfolio entry on "Wonders"

Then comes Friday.  Friday is the our "assessment" day, yet it looks a lot different than the typical paper and pencil test that I have usually given in past years during this same unit.  Now our "test days" looks like this:

I was blown away.  I never knew the Ziggurat of Ur was decorated with blue glazed bricks until I noticed many students adding it to their Minecraft replica of Mesopotamia.  I started asking why, and they told me they read it during their center explorations.  Wow.  I have been teaching the "canned curriculum" content because it's what I always have done.  When I let students explore on their own (with some facilitation), they started to teach me things.  Minecraft has been a great motivating factor for students to explore these civilization further than they would ever have in the past when we simply used traditional resources.

Since I was so impressed with what my students were creating, I felt they needed to share it with the world.  We slowly began to add in ePortfolios to reflect.  These ePortfolios have incorporated 21st century learning skills as well as been an alternative assessment for me to judge mastery of content.  Students access my Weebly webpage, upload screenshots, and answer various reflection questions.  

ePortfolio Mesopotamia Entry

Please follow our (in-progress) ePortfolios and leave us comments!

After using Minecraft for the past month, I know I will not go back to how I used to teach ancient civilizations.  I have seen engagement increase 100%.  I have seen students read as historians.  I have witnessed typically uninterested students build exact replicas of ancient structures.  I have heard students collaborate using vocabulary words that were never directly taught.  My students may not take a test after each civilization, and some may know more about hieroglyphics than the next, but I am witnessing self-directed, motivated learning on a daily basis.  

Bottom line.  Try it.  You will not be disappointed.

A Toast to My Team

It was that moment in time last year during our faculty meeting.  The 7th grade team had just been told we would be starting a blended learning pilot in the following school year with 1:1 iPads for students.  Then the emails came.  Everyone on the team knows exactly which one.  The one that outlined the loads of professional development that was in our immediate future.  We spent most of May/June in professional development inservices learning, experimenting, and discussing this new instructional shift we would be implementing in three short months.  As August quickly approached, we were faced with the actual implementation of our grade level blended learning model.  We had successes.  We had failures.  We had moments of pure exhaustion and desperation.  Then we had moments of utter joy and pride.  And this was all in a matter of four weeks.

As we begin third quarter, we are finally all settled into our adjusted visions for blended learning classrooms.  We sat in our weekly GLM today, and we began thinking back to the beginning of this journey.  Relaxed laughter filled the room.  Laughter about our non stop planning early on in the year.  Laughter about our mistakes with technology.  Laughter about thinking we could change the world after one week of blended learning.  It was a moment where we all could look at each other and realize how far we really have come in our own personal instructional changes as well as our growth as a team.  Then we really started to reflect on the amazingly positive changes we have started to see.  Students are independently learning.  They are teaching each other.  They are creating.  Yes, we still have bumps.  But we are finally realizing, it's okay because the journey is bigger.  And after one semester, we should be proud of what we have accomplished.

I personally wish I spent some more time in the other team member's classrooms to experience the amazing things they have started to implement.  This is my goal for second semester.  However, I feel it is only right to acknowledge some of our accomplishments as a team in the blended learning pilot.  My apologies if I do not touch on every thing, as I am often one of those teachers with my nose in my plans, too oblivious to the other plans happening around me.  So here's a toast to you...

Let's start with math.  The way our math teachers seamlessly incorporate digital learning such as Khan Academy mixed with small group instruction on a daily basis is something to be applauded.  As an English teacher, I am always envious of the routines, unit plans, and record keeping done by our math teachers.  The utilization of tiered choice boards, QR codes, differentiated Google Forms with embedded videos, and peer tutoring is the epitome of what a blended classroom should look like.  Computer programming was also used in the math classrooms which has instilled a passion in many students.  Standards based grading in a traditional gradebook is also attempted successfully in one of our math classrooms.  Shocking, it took a MATH teacher to figure out how to calculate the standards-based grades into a percent based gradebook.  Cheers to you.

Computer Programming in Math Class

Now on to social studies.  Our social studies teachers are fearless and willing to try anything.  Social studies has flipped their classrooms recording their lessons into videos to allow for time in the classroom to create and engage in the content.  I have seen amazing music videos about the Boston Tea Party and movie trailers depicting battles. Now they are on to gamifying their classroom.  Students have to "beat the boss" in order to move on to the next level.  A self-directed unit that gives students choice in their learning.  Even though my classroom isn't gamified, I have heard students use the term "beat the boss" in my self-directed units.  Must be engaging if the terms stick!  

Filming Movie Trailers for Social Studies

Time for science.  Our science teachers have been amazing at trying out new apps.  Currently, one of our science teachers has students choosing from different presentation apps such as Prezi or FlowBoard to create "Survivor"-esque biome presentations.  Students are designing "Survivor" challenges for a given biome.  How cool is that?  Another science teacher has completed many self-directed units, but is currently having students record films about their use of technology in the classroom.  This teacher has truly lived the vision of a flexible learning space allowing his students to create in all parts of the building.  When I see the smile and excitement on students' faces when they run into my room to show me their creation out of cardboard for their video, I know this teacher has hit a gold mine with his project design.  I am waiting anxiously to see their outcomes.  

Building "Wheel of Tech" for Science Project

Lastly, we have English.  My niche.  I could not be prouder of my PLC for the work we have accomplished this year.  We have implemented differentiated choice boards with the use of digital content, tiered Google Forms, QR codes galore, and the use of many creation apps.  We have also implemented "blended learning centers" where we can easily track students with the use of reflection rubrics to identify who needs to be pulled for small group instruction.  We are in the works of bringing in the app Vine to our narrative writing unit.  We also have attempted Genius Hour on every Monday (a version of Google 20 time) since the start of the school year.  

Blended Learning Centers

Even as we hit obstacles in the second half of the year, be proud of the progress you all have made.  It makes me feel grateful to be at a work place with supportive, creative, and innovative educators.  And I feel a "Cheers" in order for each and every one of you.  And when you are feeling as things aren't going as planned, just remember this: