Thursday Thoughts November 14
I have waited all week to share the most amazing true story with everyone! As I was walking to my car last Friday (around 6:15pm) I saw a car pull into one of the parking spaces in front of the school.
A woman got out of the car and it was obvious that she had been crying. I thought that she was picking up a child from Primetime and was possibly running late. I asked if I could help her and she stated, "I used to attend this school". Although I really needed to get home, I was worried that she was in some sort of trouble or pain. I introduced myself and invited her to come in and look around. She shared how she had attended Medlock from 2nd to 5th grade and she began naming teachers. Most of the teachers she named are been long gone but I took her to the kiosk to look at pictures of the current staff. As she looked at the pictures, she began to share with me how much the school meant to her and that her fondest memories of childhood were associated with Medlock Bridge. She remembered Judy Zollman and wanted to know if Mrs. Doyle, her favorite teacher, was still teaching. I told her that Debbie works with students and teachers now and we watched the photos on the kiosk until we got to Debbie's pictures. This brought the biggest smile to her face. As we talked, she shared that she moved to North Carolina after 5th grade and never really got to come back. This particular weekend she was in Atlanta for a work related conference and decided to visit her old elementary school. She thought things looked just as she remembered and although we didn't tour the building (it was getting late) we did visit the media center. By the time she finished reminiscing, Retta Hunter, age 29, was no longer crying and was so thankful to get the chance to come back to a place that holds such a special place in her heart.
We may never know the impact that we have on children's lives. The time they have with us may create memories that will last a lifetime. I hope that twenty years down the road (when most of us are enjoying retirement) some child will return as an adult and reminisnce about his/her time here at Medlock. What you do matters....don't ever forget it.
This week I would like to shine the spotlight on Craig Gendreau. Mr. Gendreau makes music come alive for students. From the welcoming music he plays on the guitar as students arrive to class to the soulful grade level musical performances(which put big smiles on many faces), Craig is truly dedicated to his craft. Craig is a team player and does not hesitate to pitch in and assist wherever and whenever needed. You can find him each Monday and Thursday after school with the chorus and steele drum band students respectively. Medlock students are fortunate to have a teacher like Mr. Gendreau who offers all students an opportunity to be "rock stars". Craig, thank you for the work you do with students everyday.
4C's: Collaboration, Communication, Creativity, Critical Thinking Skills
11 Ways to be an Inquiry-based Teacher
It’s hard to run an inquiry-based classroom. Don’t go into this teaching style thinking all you do is ask questions and observe answers. You have to listen with all of your senses, pause and respond to what you heard (not what you wanted to hear), keep your eye on the Big Ideas as you facilitate learning, value everyone’s contribution, be aware of the energy of the class and step in when needed, step aside when required. You aren’t a Teacher, rather a guide. You and the class find your way from question to knowledge together.
Because everyone learns differently.
You don’t use a textbook. Sure, it’s a map, showing you how to get from here to there, but that’s the problem. It dictates how to get ‘there’. For an inquiry-based classroom, you may know where you’re going, but not quite how you’ll get there and that’s a good thing. You are no longer your mother’s teacher who stood in front of rows of students and pointed to the blackboard. You operate well outside your teaching comfort zone as you try out the flipped classroom and the gamification of education and are thrilled with the results.
And then there’s the issue of assessment. What your students have accomplished can’t neatly be summed up by a multiple choice test. When you review what you thought would assess learning (back when you designed the unit), none measure the organic conversations the class had about deep subjects, the risk-taking they engaged in to arrive at answers, the authentic knowledge transfer that popped up independently of your class time. You realize you must open your mind to learning that occurred that you never taught–never saw coming in the weeks you stood amongst your students guiding their education.
Let me digress. I visited the Soviet Union (back when it was one nation) and dropped in on a classroom where students were inculcated with how things must be done. It was a polite, respectful, ordered experience, but without cerebral energy, replete of enthusiasm for the joy of learning, and lacking the wow factor of students independently figuring out how to do something. Seeing the end of that powerful nation, I arrived at different conclusions than the politicians and the economists. I saw a nation starved to death for creativity. Without that ethereal trait, learning didn’t transfer. Without transfer, life required increasingly more scaffolding and prompting until it collapsed in on itself like a hollowed out orange.
So how do you create the inquiry-based classroom? Here’s advice from a few of my efriend teachers:
Because everyone learns differently.
You don’t use a textbook. Sure, it’s a map, showing you how to get from here to there, but that’s the problem. It dictates how to get ‘there’. For an inquiry-based classroom, you may know where you’re going, but not quite how you’ll get there and that’s a good thing. You are no longer your mother’s teacher who stood in front of rows of students and pointed to the blackboard. You operate well outside your teaching comfort zone as you try out the flipped classroom and the gamification of education and are thrilled with the results.
And then there’s the issue of assessment. What your students have accomplished can’t neatly be summed up by a multiple choice test. When you review what you thought would assess learning (back when you designed the unit), none measure the organic conversations the class had about deep subjects, the risk-taking they engaged in to arrive at answers, the authentic knowledge transfer that popped up independently of your class time. You realize you must open your mind to learning that occurred that you never taught–never saw coming in the weeks you stood amongst your students guiding their education.
Let me digress. I visited the Soviet Union (back when it was one nation) and dropped in on a classroom where students were inculcated with how things must be done. It was a polite, respectful, ordered experience, but without cerebral energy, replete of enthusiasm for the joy of learning, and lacking the wow factor of students independently figuring out how to do something. Seeing the end of that powerful nation, I arrived at different conclusions than the politicians and the economists. I saw a nation starved to death for creativity. Without that ethereal trait, learning didn’t transfer. Without transfer, life required increasingly more scaffolding and prompting until it collapsed in on itself like a hollowed out orange.
So how do you create the inquiry-based classroom? Here’s advice from a few of my efriend teachers:
- ask open-ended questions and be open-minded about conclusions
- provide hands-on experiences
- use groups to foster learning
- encourage self-paced learning. Be open to the student who learns less but deeper as much as the student who learns a wider breadth
- differentiate instruction. Everyone learns in their own way
- look for evidence of learning in unusual places. It may be from the child with his/her hand up, but it may also be from the learner who teaches mom how to use email
- understand ‘assessment’ comes in many shapes. It may be a summative quiz, a formative simulation, a rubric, or a game that requires knowledge to succeed. It may be anecdotal or peer-to-peer. Whatever approach shows students are transferring knowledge from your classroom to life is a legitimate assessment
- be flexible. Class won’t always (probably never) go as your mind’s eye saw it. That’s OK. Learn with students. Observe their progress and adapt to their path.
- give up the idea that teaching requires control. . Refer to #8–Be flexible
- facilitate student learning in a way that works for them. Trust that they will come up with the questions required to reach the Big Ideas
Technology Tidbits: (If you have websites to share please email me and I will share with all)
Check out the following websites:
www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/ A site with learning through the use of multi-player games.
(A large selection of free games)
www.cookie.com/ A great site for educational games and teacher resources.
News & Notes
GA DOT to hold Parsons Road Detour
Open House Nov. 21; 5-7pm
On November 21, 2013 at
Taylor Lodge at St. Benedict Catholic Church 11045 Parsons Rd, Johns Creek, GA
30097 the Georgia Department of Transportation will hold a detour open house
concerning a proposal to replace an existing bridge (ID. # 121-5022-0) on
Parsons Road over Johns Creek located in the City of Johns Creek. Go to Parsons Road Detour Open House for more
information.
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