We Not Me - Ours Not Mine

Why is it that as teachers, we are sometimes the worst role models in the world? We cut to the front of the lunch line because we are limited on time. We chew gum because we drank coffee. We use our cell phone because... and the list goes on and on. Yet, we expect our students to follow the very rules we struggle to follow as adults.

This leads me to my philosophy of education and the drastic change that needs to occur.  These are OUR students, not mine, and is about what WE do as educators and schools, not ME as a teacher. I truly fear that as budgets have become tighter and communities urge school districts to operate more like a business, we are going to only further hinder education by creating a greater need to isolate as teachers. Not to mention the adoption of Teacher Effectiveness in Wisconsin and its close relationship to pay increase.  Are teachers really going to share what they do in fear that their colleague may become rated better and earn more?

One of the greatest attributes of my Flipped Classroom has been the collaboration and teamwork students have displayed to help each other understand video lessons and challenging questions. For one of the first times in my class, I feel I am adequately promoting the idea of looking out for others! And as I have continued to share my ideas here, through Technology Conferences, Twitter, and with colleagues, I feel I am not unique in saying that I truly care more about what OUR students learn than the paycheck I earn!

Let's face it...odds are we all got into education for generally the same reason, "To make a difference in the lives of students!" It should not matter if I teach students math, my colleagues Mr. Dagit and Ms. Rodig teaches students math, Mr. Booth in Elkhorn, WI teaches students math, or Mr. Johnson teaches students math in Canada. If I can share something with them as teachers that will help students grow, don't I have an obligation to help? Isn't that the greatest impact I can have as a teacher?

Keep fighting the good fight.  Always remember, "Mistakes are Proof that you are Trying!"

Flex Time in the Flipped Class

There is no such thing as FREE TIME in our Flipped Math Class (that would indicate a freedom to do whatever you want!) Rather, we use a philosophy called FLEX TIME - a time that is flexible to each individual student to choose an activity that will continue to build their math skills and knowledge. This Flex Time has been an ever growing and learning curve for both teachers and students.  We have slowly began to build our arsenal and offer students many more choices to become better at math.  We have found that by giving students more choice and freedom, their learning has become more authentic and meaningful. Below is a list of some of the activities we use during our Flex Time!

1) Sumdog.com - Sumdog is a web-based gaming site that helps students build on a wide variety of math skills from K - 6.  Create free accounts for students, enter them into contests by state, nation, and the globe.  Watch students have fun as they build their basic math skills.

2) Word Clouds - By using tagxedo.com or wordle.net, students have been developing word clouds for the chapter vocabulary.  Through these word clouds, students begin to notice what words are used the most and essential to the chapter content.  Tagxedo even offers unique word cloud layouts that students have really had a blast using. 

3) Challenge Problem Video - We encourage our students to use technology and video taping skills by recording themselves solving a challenge problem.  Often, they will use our Smart Board or white board to become the "teacher" and share the video with us.  Students have really started to take off with this idea, and some have even become using software to enhance their videos. Yet, other students have begun to explore the Educreations App for the iPad - which allows for some pretty cool video casting. 

4) Tic-Tac-Toe Tasks - This activity asks students to complete three activities from a Tic-Tac-Toe board that will create a "winner" when they've finished their three tasks.  We use many enrichment and textbook resources to have students take the current unit a little deeper.  The key to this Flex activity is offering student choice to control their own learning.

     * See our Ch. 5 Tic-Tac-Toe Tasks Sample - Click Here

5) Tutoring - During our Flex Time, some of our students have mastered a certain skill or objective and become tutors to peers that might be struggling.  We have only begun to explore this option, but feel there is a ton of potential in peer-to-peer tutoring, when done correctly.

6) Prezi.com - Students use Prezi to create a Unit Review presentation as a tool to review unit content.  Students will often capture pictures of their work, and upload them to their Prezi as examples of a specific skill.  The more students continue to use Prezi, the more they continue to explore and find to create some amazing presentations.  

7) Watching Video Lesson - Only about 60% of our student population has viable Internet options to watch our Video Lessons.  Therefore, we do encourage some of our students to use their Flex Time to view the next video lesson.  Because watching each video lesson is critical to our Collaborative TWIRL Groups, we really want to make sure each student has the ability to view the lesson.

While this list is not finite, these are the options we have given our students during their Flex Time.  While it creates more work for me us teachers to make sure we have everything prepared for each chapter, the benefits we have seen in our classes remind us that we are doing something right.  As we continue to provide more choices and options for our students, they continue to amaze us with their work ethic, learning, and responsibility for their own learning.  

As we continually remind our students, "Mistakes are proof that you are trying!" 

Empowering the Un-Motivated

Undoubtedly, every year teachers have their handful of students that seem less interested in their class and more interested in the opposite sex, the next big game, or when they get to home and chat. While most of these students have the skills necessary to be successful, they are highly unmotivated and struggle when pushed. As teachers, there is a delicate balance needed between pushing these students and empowering them in their classroom.

Enter the flipped class...my means of reaching the various needs of ALL our students. You see, the flip class puts less emphasis on the video lesson and more emphasis on the learning opportunities created within your classroom. Simply put, I value the time I have with students too much to lecture to them for 30 minutes. I want the time I have with them to be more productive and meaningful.

How do I empower the unmotivated you might wonder? It's a rather simple approach. First and foremost, I get to know them as an individual. I need to build trust and respect with them so they understand my intentions are genuine. I seek out their interest and hobbies, the methods they feel work best for their learning, and their struggles within my class and school.  This picture that they paint for me provides valuable information moving forward.

After I have build this trust, I am able to begin pushing them slowly to show me what they know and have learned.  In the flipped class, students are all at different places of learning.  Some are experts, while others are only beginners. My ability to differentiate between these students is critical to empowering them to push themselves.  Frequently, I offer enrichment activities to students that have shown they have mastered a skill.

Many of these enrichment activities take a skill learned and dig a little deeper.  Group work is often involved and students like to see how a topic might be related to something in 'real-life'. I am also able to tailor some of these enrichment activities to student interest - hence I can reach the unmotivated rather easily.  Students enjoy their FLEX time in my class and the ability to work on something that interests them and they enjoy.

Meanwhile, I am able to meet with those struggling learners and provide them a bit more attention to help them overcome an obstacle they have encountered.  If an unmotivated learners fails into this category, I can again fall back on the relationship I have built with them to help them see where they can go. These small-group, guided instruction opportunities have proved very valuable to many unmotivated learners and they begin to realize they are capable of far more than they give themselves credit for.

I cannot speak for every teacher, but I can speak for myself.  I know I got into teaching to make a difference in the lives of as many students as possible. My flipped class experience has truly helped me maximize the students I can reach and enable ALL students the opportunity to learn and grow in math as they are ready.  Creating more face-to-face time with students has been critical in empowering all students to want to become better at math!

"If you aren't making mistakes....then you aren't trying!"

Saying Goodbye

As the Holiday Season is upon us, our school district must unfortunately say good bye to a young teenager that unexpectedly passed away.  While saying good bye is never easy, it becomes especially difficult for any teen to process how their friend is no longer with us.  As a teacher, I cannot imagine the pain and suffering the family and friends are going through. While I can't even come close to having the right words, I know that my role is to be there for them or as simple as an ear to talk to or a shoulder to cry on. Normalcy - whatever that may be - will be tried to be conducted in every class. Undoubtedly, some classes will be easier than others, yet some a struggle to not see that bright smile and hear that laughter.  And as I reflect on my time with this student, their amazing character and joy for others will be truly missed.  As I struggled with words for this time, I decided to write a poem that I only hope can help others in this time of struggle.

Saying goodbye
Can bring such sorrow.
We can only hope
It will get better tomorrow.

Why the Good Lord took her
We will never know.
It's perfectly okay
To let your emotions show.

An amazing student
And even better friend.
It is so sad
Her story had to end.

As we sit here
To say our good byes.
Hug the ones that love you
Before the time flies.

For she is home now
And as a bell rings.
God has given his angel
Her first pair of wings.


Perhaps we should not say Good-Bye.....rather, "Until We Meet Again!"

Learning from our Mistakes

"Mistakes are proof that you are trying!" - a quote on the front of the wall in my class!

When did students become so afraid of making a mistake? Has our current education system and standardized testing policies forced students to be less creative and lack critical thinking and problem solving skills? In a world that is evolving and advancing quickly - our students are going to be left behind in a dust storm that engulfs them. 

As I have reflected on my teaching and instructional practice, I have found that I am slowly beginning to transition to exploratory learning. Students need to be cut loose and explore problems on their own, develop their own understanding, and share their ideas with others.  Right or wrong, these are the skills that today's students are going to be asked to display in the work force of the future.

One of our favorite class activities has become "Passing the Problem". This activity asks students to explain how they would solve a given problem on their slip of paper.  They only have a short amount of time to come up with a possible solution and explanation. They staple their answer to the back, and then pass the problem to the next person.  When they get the next problem, they ARE NOT allowed to look at any of the previous solutions.  Students should create their own solution and process.  After about 4-5 problems, students then switch problems one more time. However, this time they look at all the possible solutions and choose one that they think would best solve the problem or is most clear.  We then share our problem and solution with small group and the class.

This activity is usually done between chapters as we are trying to transition from one unit to the next.  The amount of Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Mistakes that occur are invaluable to student growth. Illustrating that having the correct answer isn't always important has helped students grow in math. They have become more willing to try and explore before complaining about not understanding. I can only hope this will help them in the world that awaits their future!

Meeting Their Needs

The first quarter of the school year has officially ended, and with that end came the dubious task of administering our WKCE State standardized test. Although the students highly dislike this test and teachers don't like taking away instruction time, it does provide for an ample amount of time to reflect and plan for the second quarter.

After some discouragement with how the first quarter ended and students not giving their best effort, I knew I needed to take a long hard look at how I was meeting ALL of their differing needs to be successful in my math class.  Many students knew what was required and were able to perform very well on unit assessments.  Yet, too many students were far lower than expected and their assessment scores were less than desirable.

Therefore, students needed to be pushed a little harder to complete tasks in class so that I can help guide them through the learning process.  Thus, I have created leveled learning in my math class to help differentiate my lessons and meet with struggling learners on a daily basis.  While my classroom still operates as a Flipped Class, many students are unable to watch the video outside of school, or just choose not to.  These students are automatically put into a "Basic" group that works directly with me throughout the set of practice problems.  We review skills required for each particular lesson, and then proceed to the lesson itself.  After 2 weeks, students seem to be grasping the concepts much better and even worker much harder - maybe they actually know what is going on.

The rest of the students choose which level they think they are ready for after watching the video lesson - average or challenge.  If at any time, students feel they are struggling, they can come over to the basic group and watch or ask questions.  As I have observed, many students will work together and help teach each other what is happening.  The amount of math conversation with in my classroom continues to grow on a daily basis.

On our second day of each lesson, students continue to take a mini-assessment from the lesson. Again, dependent upon how they score, the students are broken into these three groups to extend their learning or re-teach the lesson to obtain the required material.

I am very excited with the possibilities of this differentiation piece.  Students seem to be engaged more in their math and willing to help each other out.  The struggling learners are getting some guided instruction that they so desperately need.

What is an A?

The debate over Traditional Grading and Standards Based Grading is continuing to heat up across education.  Too many expectations are tied to traditional letter grades - grade point averages, class rank, scholarships, college acceptance, and parental expectations. While the system in place does very little to adequately rely how much knowledge a student has in a given subject, standards based grading can more accurately show and measure what a student does and doesn't know.  However, the transition to standards based grading will not only be a transition to educators, but parents as well.

With the increase in demand for differentiation in the classroom, teachers continue to struggle with marking a grade for students that work hard but fail to meet the grade level expectations.  For example, this year I have 5 math classes with class sizes ranging from 14 - 28 students per class.  In any given class, I have 4 - 7 students that fall below grade level according to NWEA MAP testing data.  Therefore, how can it be a realistic expectation that these students perform anywhere close to average work, or a C grade.

My ability to differentiate each lesson for these students has put immense pressure on myself to carefully select what the students need from each lesson to be successful.  In the meantime, their deficits will only continue to grow as they struggle with remedial math facts and competencies. Yet, parents want to know, "Why is my child failing math?" As I try to explain, they are not able to illustrate through summative assessments (i.e. Unit Tests), that they understand a given skill or task.

A standards based report will clearly tell parents what their child does and doesn't know pertaining to the material that I am teaching.  While it will not give the student a letter grade, it does indicate what strengths and weakness the student has.  Thus, parents and teachers alike might be able to pinpoint the root of a struggle more easily.  Creating grade level standards will help to hold all more accountable for what is to be learned each year.

While this process is not an easy process, I believe it is a necessary process.  Tests need to be recreated, assessments redesigned, and thinking shifted.  Teachers and parents must be willing to work together to understand that letters are nothing more than letters, while standards are a clear indicator of the expectations required!