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.