Communicating the "why"

I'm starting a new position in a new district as the Science and Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator.

This is VERY exciting!  Also very stressful.  (see my post on my complexion)

One thing I'm struggling with understanding is the "why" behind what we do.  I'm wondering if we communicate that enough.

We start every year with good intentions and lofty goals.  Do we ever communicate why we made those goals?  Often not.

I am working hard this year to not only put together a seamless plan but also communicate the why and how we will move.  I'm very focused on communicating not only the what, the how, but most importantly the WHY.  Also determining how we will know we've arrived....

Below I posted my WORKING DRAFT!  of our work this year.  Please feel free to give feedback and offer support.  I would also love to connect with other people doing this same work so don't be afraid to find me on twitter (cmcgee200 or wgsdsciss) 


Working Draft of Mission/Vision - The Why...

Mission:
The mission of the Science and Social Studies Curriculum is to instill in each student a passion for learning and the skills to solve global issues.  This will be accomplished by creating systems that meet the unique needs of each student through high expectations, innovative strategies, and partnerships with parents/community while increasing teacher engagement within the content.

Questions:
Determine common storage availability Server? Workgroup?

Assessment:
1.  MAP/EOC data as rated by dese
2.  Local summative assessment data (Quarterly) as rated by educators
3.  Ability for teachers to accurately personalize instruction (differentiation) as rated by survey
4.  Comfort of teaching Sci/SS as rated by teacher survey

Action Plan:
Phase 1: AST (Art and Science of Teaching) Chapter 1, 6, 10
Write curriculum map of content/skill
Write Learning goals referencing CCSS/GLE
Build database of activities/choices
Build database of Youtube videos, DVDs, United Streaming, websites
- THROUGH “LET” document


Phase 2:
Identify our essential vocabulary K-12
Identify essential questions
How will we track student progress
connect goals to GLE, SMS, and CCSS through highlighting/dotting

Phase 3: AST Chapter 2, 3
Determine scoring guide for goals
Determine activities by goal

Step 4: AST chapter 4
Write Assessment and scoring guide
Determine how report data/performance
Item analysis
Goal analysis

Phase 5: AST Chapter 10
revise/review how to grade assessment
Connect vertical alignment of concepts

Phase 6: AST Chapter 1, 3, 5, 9
How will we know if they “get it” (revise scoring guide?) (exemplars)
How are we tracking progress? Can we improve that?
What is effective feedback?
improve report results

Phase 7: AST Chapter 9
How to Pre-Assess knowledge and differentiate experiences
Reevaluate key vocabulary
Determine Anchor activities/projects/experiences
How are we giving feedback?

Phase 8: AST Chapter 6
Discuss and investigate grading practices
Discuss plan and proposition for revising grading resources
Discuss personalized learning
Improving Feedback

Phase 9:
Revise and improve


Factors impacting our progress
1.  Numbers on team
2.  Commitment to goal
3.  Fi/T = momentum (F=focus, i=intensity OVER time)
4.  ?????


Presentation Ideas:
About me
This i Believe = Tom Cruise
Hope = having something new to try and being willing to try it

Art and Science of Teaching: Chapter 6

This chapter is by far the area where I am the least strong.  I do not make great rules, I'm not really a great "rule follower" which I guess makes me a not great rule maker.  I do, however, L-O-V-E procedures.  I love routines and being able to automate my class to the point where kids know what to do when and the whole room runs like clockwork.

I only have two rules for my classroom:

1.  Accept any offer
2.  Make your partner look good.

These are two of the essential rules for improve as noted in this video:

When it comes to procedures, I feel like I have tons and students just seem to figure it out.  I take a great deal of time the first week.  I allow students to look around the room in a 10 minute no-holds-barred activity I call "Snoop Doggy Dog."  This is followed by a discussion about what was found.  I then take the students on a tour of the room.  We literally get up and walk the room like a tour guide.  I show them everything and anything and explain when and where we have things in the room.  I even go down to the point of explaining why I hung a picture in a certain location.  This helps communicate and explain all of my procedures.

While reading chapter 6 here were my highlights:

• Students need rules to keep learning efficient
• Don't be afraid of devoting time to teaching rules, practicing procedures and revising as the year continues
• Rules and procedures need revising throughout the year.
• Rules and procedures are best revised by having a weekly class meeting to discuss progress and process.
• Classroom management receives top rating amongst all things that impact student achievement in the classroom.
• Rules and procedures are best determined at the beginning fo the year.
• "effective teachers spend a great deal of time establishing rules and procedures."
• Students who have rules at home score "10 percentile points higher"
• It is important to explain WHY you have a rule or a procedure
• Be flexible with your rules and allow students to give input to change them.
• "five to eight rules and procedures"
• Create, Interact, review, meet about the rules

We have been recently looking into PBIS for our rules.  Here are ours.

Art and Science of Teaching: Chapter 1

Our district is investigating The Art and Science of Teaching by Robert Marzano (@robertjmarzano).  

I originally read this book in 2008.  I loved it.  I fell in love and used it to catapult my craft of teaching for the last five years.  Since taking a new job in a new district I have started over in more ways than one.

I'm going to use these spaces to post my largest takeaways from each section.  Enjoy, challenge me, question, use this to move yourself forward.  I'm excited for this new endeavor.

Here goes:

Introduction:

• Schools have little impact on student achievement that is independent of their background and SES.
• Better teachers yield better results from students
• "Mathematical models are false" there are patterns but no certainties
• No matter the strategy there is no silver bullet that works for every student
• Effective teaching is 1-part knowing your students and 1-part knowing how to teach

Chapter 1:

• "Set goals, track progress, celebrate success"
• "Goal setting has a general tendency to enhance learning"
• Feedback is as important as goal setting
• Celebrating effort is as important as progress or product
• Capitalizing on student interest has a positive effect on student motivation
• "A learning goal is a statement of what students will know or be able to do."
• Two kinds of learning:
• "declarative learning: informational in nature"
• "procedural learning: Strategies, skills, and processes"
• After a learning goal, write a rubric.
• Have students write what they know, want to know so you can wrap up with what they learned in a unit. (KWL strategy)
• Even though teachers make a rubric, let students make their own student friendly version.
• Challenge students to track their own progress and take charge of their own learning.

GTA a no :-(

Well, today I got the bad news.  I was not selected to attend the Google Teacher Academy this year in New York.

Here is the email I received:

It would have been great to get some feedback or advice moving forward but none was given.  I'm not sure how to proceed.  I am SURE I will apply again when it becomes available next time.

See my application here

Zits are temporary. Change is exciting!

So I'll admit apparently my eight years of teaching middle school has rubbed off on me.  

I still chuckle when someone says the word "duty," I still find it funny to throw in a "your mom" joke every now and again, and apparently I still get zits.

I wear stress on my face.

I'm starting a new job, in a new distinct, with new responsibilities.  I have a "to do" list a mile long and so, so much to learn.  I'm stressed and it shows on my face, literally.

Regardless of all the stress is a palpable excitement.  To be able to dive into work that I love in the area of curriculum.  To begin a transformation from the ground level.  Communicate a vision of where we can go and marvel at the possibilities.  I'm stoked.

Every morning I'm overwhelmed at the possibilities and excited by them in the exact same way.  I am hopeful for the best but excited for the hidden learning opportunities.

Bring on 2012-13!

If you have goals you set for yourself this upcoming year.  Please post a link to your blog post in the comments.  I'm working on developing my goals outside of surviving....

Google Teacher Academy Application

Whew!  My application made it!

This past Sunday was the submission day for application for Google Teacher Academy.  It is ironic that the submission day was also my birthday.  I'm hoping that is a good sign.

I'm hoping to be selected to learn aside many other GTA educators and continue to network and build my Professional Learning Network.

What do I hope to gain from GTA:

• Connect with educators from all over the world
• Build and grow my Professional Learning Network
• Add my expertise in grading, assessment and flip-teaching to the GTA
• Improve my knowledge and skill in the area of Google Apps
• The ability to come back to my district and train other educators since we are a google Apps district.
• Become a better user of sketchUp
• Begin and continue my love of Google Products!

My GTA video:

Information about Google Teacher Academy:

The GTA is a FREE professional development experience designed to help primary and secondary educators from around the globe get the most from innovative technologies. Produced by CUE, each Academy is an intensive, two-day event during which participants get hands-on experience with Google's free products and other technologies, learn about innovative instructional strategies, receive resources to share with colleagues, and immerse themselves in a supportive community of educators making impact.

-http://www.google.com/edu/teachers/google-teacher-academy.html

What is Google Teacher Academy?: http://www.google.com/edu/teachers/google-teacher-academy.html

About Google Teacher Academy: http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2012/04/about-google-teacher-academy.html

Google Teacher Academy Resources: https://sites.google.com/site/gtaresources/

Sample GTA agenda: https://sites.google.com/site/gtaresources/events/2011-04-20


Fingers crossed.....

Take a day off! 20% time

As I wrap up this year and begin to reflect on some of the things I've tried in my classroom.  My ultimate goal was to reach 100% of students scoring proficient on our common assessments.


I didn't reach my goal.  I was able to increase student performance to reach 84% however I still have work to do.


Throughout the year I was also able to utilize 20% time to increase student engagement.  I was motivated by Greg Miller to reflect on my students work on their 20% projects and share some of them.


I've been working on this concept all year thanks to the efforts of not only Dan Pink but also Josh Stumpenhorst.  Dan's book Drive gave me tremendous starting points when thinking about giving kids autonomy.


I started the year showing students his TED talk:

I followed up the TED talk with creating class rules.  Any time we got into a difficult situation in the class or with a group of students working on a project I always came back to this video:

My classroom had two rules:
1.  Accept any offer (for help, advice, constructive critisim, anything)
2.  Always make your partner look good.  (by partner I explained that could be me, your classmate, your parents, etc.)


This video and these rules were the backbone of our class.  Sure, every once and a while a group or individual was off-task, it was an easy conversation that they were not making me look good.  When they were behind on due dates, they were not making me look good, so when I adjusted their project, I encouraged them once again to accept any offer.


Student made some EPIC projects and below are some of my favorites.  I asked students to not only share their work but also explain why they chose to dive into that project.  It was very eye opening.


Below is the topic students chose, a link or picture of their project, and why they chose their project.   Here they are:


_____________________________________________________________________
"6th Grade for Dummies"
Search 6th Grade for Dummies on Google and click the first link or click this link    http://sites.google.com/site/6thgradefordummies/
I chose my project because I wanted to make it easier for 5th graders coming into 6th grade.  I have made a site that talks about all the key elements of 6th grade at our school.


"The Binder"
sites.google.com/site/nipherbinder/
i chose this because i wanted to do something to do with a website and to also tell about our fair school, and henceforth, the binder was born.


GarageBand Tutorial
https://sites.google.com/site/garagebandtutor/
"I chose to make a website about GarageBand to teach people how to use the differing versions for iPad and Computer.  Some people don't know how to use it so I show them how."


Why the world won't end in 2012
https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AbqRfbMjFr10ZGZmeDVzamJfMTdkYjI2MjNmZg
I'm tired of everyone saying the world will end on December 21, 2012, so I proved it wrong with some facts and some of my opinions


Written in Red movie
(Have to ask the girls permission to post the video)
i chose this movie because I wanted to try and see what being a director was like. I thought it would be cool to find out what goes on behind the scenes of a movie by making one myself with my friends.
Hannah, Hanna, Bridget, and I chose this because we really wanted to "produce" our own movie. We had some awesome ideas for the movie. It took a lot of time but it was really cool!


CHESS!
https://sites.google.com/site/chesschesschess100/
Because I really like chess and I wanted other people to like chess too.


I choose this project because I love chess and I like it when other people start to play chess. This website can teach you a lot about chess


Hockey
https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0ATFJ_0cyBuyPZGRoNGtzZzNfMGhodmR4a2Q2
because i like hockey


Piccolo
(Student memorized and played a song on his piccolo, THIS WAS AMAZING!)
I am interested in music and pianos are heavy.  That's why played a nice march on the piccolo


iPad
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1aecObwGPW2NhzD7065s3Na5wcqmI3AbNrQNEDFlIg1o/edit?pli=1#slide=id.p
Because my dad got the new iPad when it came out in March, and at the time he had the two so I decided to make a presentation on the differences and similarities between them.


Basketball
https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AcDV__0QiqSJZGdnc2ZyM3FfMGR2NHpuc2ho
I chose this project because I speed my free time playing basketball, but I didn't know how it started or who created it or practically anything about its history.


Drawings

Because i wanted to get better @ drawing!! :)














http://www.wix.com/josh4robertso7/howtodraw_beginner-expert
I like to draw anything and everything


Bullying
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/15s1Ta9Zah0Y1YTWAttMJAbSOl0jgu7iLTmY7fO4wsMY/edit#slide=id.g2192016_0_0
Just some things that can be led to because of bullying. Though It's not complete.


Candy
https://docs.google.com/document/d/12lMfShrQtleXFPSvuzXb8qGfjSuYop179h0Ugxrb_gc/edit
I hose this prodject because I love candy and I thought that it would be an intresting project to other people!


LOL CaTz Game

I liked lolcats over the summer and started creating a card game that was just right; not too hard or to easy. That was postponed due to school, but when Dr.Mcgee told us about 20%, i restarted the project and finished 2 decks and a playing mat, and i am working on decks ""ancient meowmix"" and ""popular pistachio"" and i will continue to work on them over the summer.




NOTE:  This product is Patent Pending thanks to amazing parents that see the excitement in students that love playing this game.  We are also hoping that a game company will take the idea and actually create the game.




Homemade LOL CaTz
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Jz3ICiRYpPiKwhZS-2oC3hoUWQRBOkU7B66wEMxhGno/edit#slide=id.p
I was thinking about Beckets project and i wanted to sort of do the same but not in card format.


Players on Steroids
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1bz1rfquAZZZeVYBomXeEBQw9FVVdWreJqRqSiMp5zXg/edit#slide=id.p
I was curious about baseball players who took steroids and wondered who was caught and who was thought.


Duct Tape Flowers
https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=df6d6m7g_72fc6k2qcn&revision=_latest&start=0&theme=pinknpretty&cwj=true
I like making duct tape items so I decided to learn how to make duct tape flowers for my 20%, instead of purses or wallets


Baritone
https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=df6d6m7g_72fc6k2qcn&revision=_latest&start=0&theme=pinknpretty&cwj=true
because I am interested in the baritone, I play it.


10000 Jakes
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Imz0ktxz_R6ytTYD3hpgB_V4sE_PHNbqubD0X6T2OkI/edit
because I like typing my name and I was bored


Cat Video Game
http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/bhcseri/2385354
i like video games.


Fish Game
http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/paylow03/2541680
This is a game created on the scratch software and I wanted to create it my self.


Best Baseball Moments
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1eDrn0NBoLLTDUSH_cJgdjEESHIGn0N4BDUCTSu6oH74/edit#slide=id.p
Because baseball is my favorite sport and I wanted to learn more about the greatest plays ever.


Trumpet
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1YwGiS8XewMTR-ioDZZlnKLincWHfokgrHQFQ7GKgbaI/edit#slide=id.p
Because I play the trumpet and I like it.


Statutes at Night Book

I love to write so I made a story on a website from a previous story I had wrote.  I basically made a remix or new version of it.


Bar Mitzvah
Because my family is mostly Jewish, and I thought it would be interesting 2 make a collage for preparation for my Batmitzvah a year bfore my actual ceremony.


_____________________________________________________________________


Motto of our class and of every project we had:

It's About Error Recovery 

NOT 

Failure Avoidance.

I used the following scoring guide to assess and give feedback to students.

Other resources on 20% projects in schools:
http://stumpteacher.blogspot.com/2011/03/innovation-day-2011.html


http://stumpteacher.blogspot.com/2012/03/innovation-daythe-sequel.html


http://www.convergemag.com/training/Googles-8020-Principle-New-Jersey-School.html


http://lifehacker.com/5497057/set-up-your-own-google+style-20+percent-time-to-try-new-projects


http://www.edtechteam.com/workshops/2012-03-15


http://www.ictsteps.com/2011/08/20-time-your-own-learning-time/


http://educationismylife.com/the-20-project-like-google-in-my-class/