Critical Friends

Today in German 3 we began the critical friends process.

Yesterday we talked about what a critical friend is; what those words mean when juxtaposed. Students said that it was an important friend (critical=important) as well as a friend who gives you constructive criticism to help make you a better you. Then they listed three people in the class who they felt would be a good match as a critical friend for them.

I matched friends last night. The kids who said that they could work with anyone were nice to have in one scenario… otherwise the names mostly worked out.

Today I handed back the quiz answers they wrote yesterday. I handed the answers back to the critical friend… not to the original author. Then we “corrected” the quizzes.

Here’s the key: Instead of correcting (checking off right and wrong for some point value), the students tallied the skills that needed improvement based on the mistakes made in the answer.

For instance: He should eat Pizza. Answer should be: Er soll Pizza essen. There could be a plethora of ways that someone might not get this answer correct, and instead of assigning random parts of the sentence some arbitrary point values, the students looked at what the student might not be understanding… thus getting part (or all) of it wrong. Some of the things someone might need help with for this sentence are: pronouns, modal verbs, verb conjugation, vocabulary, capitalization of nouns, word order.

So the students finished the ten sentence quiz, tallying the skills needed after each sentence. Then we made a “critical skills” list. The skills that were most often lacking went at the top of the list. Both the critical friend and the partner wrote down this list on a post-it note I handed out. They kept their post-it notes in the cover of their notebook/folder so they know what to help their critical friend with. They also then know when to give praise once their friend has figured it out.

I’m looking at doing more skill based assessment like I did earlier… instead of just points assigned for right/wrong… because THIS gives them a starting place. And critical friends give them the support.

SLA Goal

In the spirit of transparency:

This year I set a goal for myself (through our version of QComp) that I would spend even more time having the students . Specifically, my goal is for students to look at pictures and have discussions about the pictures. Keep it low key. Keep it fun. Keep them learning.

Today I read Ben Slavic’s site where it talks about traditional language learning… and it just reaffirmed that under-the-surface-bubbling that I have in my gut. A really interesting read… and motivating as well.

I rarely have problems with students with their heads down… but I would really like to be able to empower them to use the language more… thus the pictures and stories.

So for these first two days I have done the pictures with my German 3 class and it has been a fantastic way for students to speak and listen as they learn. One site I love to use (ripe with opportunities for interesting speaking) is Bent Objects. Are there any sites you use?

The other goal I have (and might choose to switch the paperwork to this one) is to work more with Moodle in each of my classes, trying more things. I am currently working with and in the Workshop module. I think it has fantastic capabilities for self- and peer-assessment. We just ran into a SNAFU as students weren’t able to see each other’s work as I had hoped. We’re going to try again soon.

Technology (for Cows)

 I recently had the distinct pleasure of touring a brand new major dairy barn that is being built in the family. Since everything is new, they are switching over to RFID tags for the cattle. It all begins as they put a little round piece of plastic in the cow’s ear. From that point, the cow is a pawn in a fantastic tracking system.

As they enter the milk parlor, they walk to their place and the RFID chip is recognized.

  

The cow’s information comes up in the technology. The farmer can choose to milk/no milk along with other things.

As the cow is milked, the technology monitors the flow and amount of milk. This information is tied to the cow via the number on the RFID chip. Once the cow is done being milked, it’s time for the exit strategy.

As the cow leaves the parlor, she walks down the ramp and can be automatically separated by an electronic gate. The farmer (herd manager at this point, in my mind) sets up that certain cows need their hooves clipped or vaccines and enters those RFID numbers into the system. As that cow leaves, she gets separated via electronics into the area where she can be helped.

SOOO… What is the application? (AKA Why are you reading this?)

With the legitimate movement toward more and more formative assessment, we are empowered with information.  Through our empowerment, students are able to achieve at higher levels and it makes other things, like differentiation (for even more success), easier.

Technology can make our job easier, just as it does the herd manager. Maintaining and managing information about student ability through technology becomes easier and easier. The ability to aggregate and disaggregate this data can be almost fluid (after, of course, you learn how).

The technology I’m excited about for all of this, and plan on working with even more this year, is Moodle. Moodle has the ability to set up groups in your classes (separated and maintained by anything you think is meaningful) that can be visible or invisible to your students. You can then customize any assignment to certain groups.  You type in their number (add them to a group) and they can be separated for the help they need… online… (almost) effortlessly… seamlessly… and invisibly. Invisibility and seamlessness: the keys to meaningful technology.

Animal School: A look at (special) education

Animal School

Today at an inservice about special education, we watched the video called “Animal School”.  Honestly, I think it is true for all students… not just special education kids. It is a powerful video from Raising Small Souls about our kids (both at home and in school). Click the link above and take the time to watch it. It is powerful.

This is why we teach.

Perspective

I remembered reading this quote sometime in my younger years and finding it interesting… and I ran across it again today.

“The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.”

~Socrates (469-399 B.C.)

I think it’s less of “kids will be kids” and more of “adult perspective never changes”… but that’s what I love about the edu-blogosphere… it’s less “those darn kids” and more “what great kids… how can we help them be even greater?”

Just a random thought for today.

A case for funny?

From Think Progress in “Colbert, Stewart viewers more well-informed than those watching O’Reilly,  Dobbs“:

 A new Pew Survey on News Consumption released yesterday reveals that viewers of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are more knowledgeable about current events than those who watch Bill O’Reilly, Lou Dobbs, Larry King, and the “average consumers of NBC, ABC, Fox News, CNN, C-SPAN and daily newspapers.” Thirty percent of Daily Show and 34 percent of Colbert viewers correctly identified Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the majority party in the U.S. House of Representatives, compared to the national average of just 18 percent.

What I’m seeing here is that the people who enjoy (heavy emphasis on the enjoy)  watching Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert actually retain more information than those who watch Bill O’Reilly, or just any random news show. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are (mostly) humorous and definitely engaging entertainment. We already know that stimulating emotion helps people remember, and that positive emotions are most closely tied with retention. So is the fact that The Daily Show and The Colbert Report viewers retain more information surprising to anyone? 

So let’s look at the application: How do you take advantage of this in your classroom?

Know Yourself

He who knows men is clever. He who knows himself is wise.

To Thine Own Self Be True.

Throughout many of the major religions of the world (and time), it has been clear that one of the biggest journeys we go on is the journey into truly knowing ourselves. I might (shudder) dare to say that it could even be a universal truth.

It seems that dy/dan is finding some truth about himself: finding what works for him in the form of classroom management. He discusses many fantastic ideas such as being the “teflon teacher” so kids can’t pin you down (long enough for you to show them “that you c*re”).

My concern is that Dan is masquerading what works for him as some sort of universal truth. I have no doubt that he is a fantastic teacher and that his students are lucky to have him… and that he has found a great way to relate and conect with kids. But simply calling it “The teacher your students want” doesn’tmake it a “just add water” formula.

What works for him would probably be silly if I were to try it.  Bill Fitzgerald commented on Dan’s post with something very wise: Never pretend to be something that you’re not. This is sage advice for the readers out there who might feel ashamed because they’re just not like Dan, or, worse yet, might throw away what they already do (that works) to try to be someone they’re not.

It’s what we would hope for our students, to be uniquely unique and change the world with their uniqueness… so why should teachers fit a cookie-cutter idea of “The Ideal Teacher Profile”?

So, who am I? That’s probably Teflon: hard to pin down. I might tend a little more toward the “soft edges and kittens” than the “cruel teacher”… but, ultimately, I want my students to know that they are worthy of my time and consideration… in the same way that I am. So we have fun, laugh a lot… and get a lot of learning done. The most important part, though, like Dan says, is to show them how much I care.

Honestly? I’m still pinning myself down. Who I am, who I want to be… I think it’s probably a long journey ahead.

Thoughts from a preschool perspective…

Last night I went to a “parent orientation meeting” for my daughter who will soon be in preschool. (She is psyched, by the way…) The owner facilitated the meeting. She is well-read and deeply entrenched in child psychology, educational best practices and sound pedagogy… so it’s always fun to see and hear what they do here. During the meeting, she took out a picture chart (appropriate for preschoolers) that gave the overview of the day… and she said some things that really struck me. Let me boil some of the day’s events down for you:

Meet/Arrive/Play: Kids come in when they arrive and take care of their needs: eating, playing, cuddling… most importantly: seeing their friends (who, apparently in this age group, become more important than their teachers)

Group Time: this is where, in small groups of about 6, they meet in a quiet place and talk. They work on things together as a group. Instead of learning the alphabet by saying “this is ‘A’ week”, they will do things like take the name cards and look at letters, talk about what letter it is, talk about what sound it makes, talk about whose name it might be if it starts with that sound, move on to the next letter, etc. They also talk about social things (because, the owner says, the preschool teacher’s job is really to facilitate social growth) like how they might deal with something if more than one person wants to do something at once (talk, play with a toy, etc.).  Low-key and personalized.

Work Time: (yep, it’s called work time… I love it because when preschoolers “play”… that’s what they are doing: learning and working) Work time is key… but before I talk about that, let’s chat about the things that “hug” work time. Before work time, there is something called “planning” (with a picture of a head with a question mark), and after work time, there is something called “recall” (with a picture of a head with lines written across the forehead). So here’s “work time”:

• Planning: During this time (5-10 minutes), they talk about the options everyone has (so many different centers!) and what each child would like to do.  The discussion is “personalized” (let me foreshadow, it’s differentiated) so the older kids can, for instance, write or draw what they would like to do while the younger kids might bring something from that area to show what they would like to do.  The benefit, she says, is that when it is time for them to get to “work time”, there is no one walking around slowly wondering what to do. They go right to their place and get going on the fun.
• Work Time: With six teachers in the room (each at their own station), the kids do their thing… and the teachers are really there just to facilitate any social issues that come up (if everyone wants the same dinosaur, how could we solve this?). In these places, the kids practice those skills they have been working on in group time.
• Recall: Once work time is finished, the kids sit down with their teacher and write about what they did during work time. This shows these little minds that language/ideas can be written and shared with others.

Throughout the day, there is “a nice transition and movement between small, medium and large groups every day.”

Okay, so granted my child attends a daycare/preschool that is built around the “strong willed child”, but if this works for 3-5 year olds, why couldn’t the ideas of it work for high schoolers? Is sound educational pedagogy sound no matter the age? Do these practices fall into the realm of “Best Practices” (and here)?

I looked again (knowing that this entire discussion and quasi-epiphany must have been hitting me for a reason). Everything they are doing is student centered. The work time itself is the hands-on, concrete, experiential learning. The work they do in group time: focusing on names and weather and whole ideas instead of just the letter “A” or just cutting for the sake of cutting (the preschool equivalent of worksheets and busy work) is holistic. And by keeping it that way, looking at the whole idea, they are definitely not watering anything down: authentic. The choices they have for areas to explore during work time as well as the things naturally built into the day span the entire expressive spectrum.  The recall work these young minds do after their immersion in work time is reflective. The whole experience is social and the play (especially at this age) is collaborative (instead of the parallel play they often engaged in while in the toddler room). Finally, the skill the teachers are helping them with is democratic. They talk about how to solve the problems, how everyone can be happy (compromise) and the kids get choice. They get to choose where they want to work and what they want to do.

In a mini-sized classroom, they are implementing some pretty big ideas… spot on with best practices. I’m (beyond) glad my daughter is there.

So this works for 3-5 year olds. It is definitely best practice, but now the question is,  how, on a high school schedule, can I make it work for high schoolers? Where are the parallels here? What could I boil down and what can’t I lose? How can I be facilitator  of their skills and knowledge while letting them play?