Week of February 26

Thursday Thoughts February 26

 

I figured out what we love about snow days.  It is definitely not the snow (or dust, considering what we've had).  We enjoy the unexpected and unplanned time off.  Think about it, we get scheduled days off throughout the year but we have so much to do on those days that we lose sight of the value of the time "off".  A snow day is an impromptu event that forces us to stay home.  If you are like me, you get a rush when you see our system pop up on the news or when the call comes through.  Even though we know that we will have to make it up in some capacity, we still get a tinge of excitement when school is called off.  In some ways, we are just as excited as the kids.

 

On the flip side, four snow days can cause a bit of anxiety.  We start to think about when we will make up the days and how we will cram four days of missed instruction into our students. In fact, it doesn't take long for the euphoria to wear off.  I guess it is true that you can have too much of a good thing.  As we get back into our groove (and cross our fingers that we have seen the last of the snow) I hope this unexpected break has given you a little boost and the energy to make it to Spring Break.    As soon as we have word regarding make up days, I will let you know.



Staff Spotlight

This week I would like to shine the spotlight on our ESOL Team, Melinda Gallagher, Michelle Metcalfe, Karen Gilbert and Joy Kim.  Our ESOL program has grown to well over 70 students and counting.  Not only have we experienced phenomenal growth, but we also have over 200 students in our building whose families speak a language other than English.  Needless to say, this team has their work cut out for them.  While Melinda and Michelle provide daily instruction for students, Karen and Joy provide support to the program in their own way. Karen provides support in the classroom alongside the teachers and Joy works with the parents to help them navigate our educational system.  Currently Joy is using Rosetta Stone to teach parents English.  Melinda and Michelle have just completed ACCESS Testing which is a standardized test that each of our ELL students must take.  I often say how important each department is to the success of our total school program.  The ESOL Team is integral to the success of our school and I am thankful for the work that these ladies do everyday.

 

 

 

  4C's: Collaboration, Communication, Creativity, Critical Thinking Skills

 

 

 

 

50 Questions To Help Students Think About What They Think

06/26/2014, TeachThought Staff, 2 Comments

50 Questions To Help Students Think About What They Think

by Lisa Chesser

Using the right questions creates powerful, sometimes multiple answers and discussions. Aristotle said that he asked questions in response to other people’s views, while Socrates focused on disciplined questioning to get to the truth of the matter.

Ultimately questions spark imagination, conjure emotions, and create more questions. The questions asked by a teacher or professor are sometimes more glaringly valuable than the information transferred to the students. Those questions spark a thought, which leads to a fiercely independent search for information.

If students are the ones gathering that information then they’re the ones learning it and student-driven learning cements lessons into the students’ mind making any lesson more powerful with this strategy. Even though the following list of questions are broken into Mathematics, Literature and Science and Social Science, it’s really just a set of philosophically challenging questions that should be applied to any learning environment.

The questions are unrestricted and open the mind up to unfettered thought, perfect for innovation and understanding. The sections begin with Mathematical Questions because for the purpose of this list they’re the most general and therefore the most useful.

 

Logical Questions

Within the realm of mathematics, there are certain types of questions that build up to those aha moments or topple barriers. Those are the questions that change a learner forever. They change a person because finally, the answers can only be found within.

The addition of philosophical questioning to mathematics enhances critical thinking in every learner. Basic principles of understanding help create solid ground, but questions build powerful architecture with which structures tower over one another.

Reflection & Collaboration

1. What do you think about what was said?

2. How would you agree or disagree with this?

3. Are there any other similar answers you can think of with alternative routes?

4. Does anyone in this class want to add something to the solution?

5. How might you convince us that your way is the best way?

Self-Reflection

6. How did you determine this to be true?

7. Why didn’t you consider a different route to the problem?

8. Why does that answer make sense to you?

9. (in response to an answer):…what if I said that’s not true?

10. Is there any way to show exactly what you mean by that?

Reasoning

11. Why do you think this works? Does it always? why?

12. How do you think this is true?

13. Show how you might prove that?

14. Why assume this?

15. How might you argue against this?

Analysis

16. How might you show the differences and similarities?

17. What patterns might lead you to an alternative answer?

18. How many possibilities can you think of and why?

19. Predict any number of results?

Connections

20. How does this relate daily occurrences?

21. Which ideas make the most sense and why?

22. Which problems feel familiar? Why?

23. How does this relate to current events?

24. What kinds of examples make this problem workable?

25. What other problems fit this style or example?

 

Literary Questions

Buried in every story lives a student’s own life. Anyone can relate to at least one character or dive into at least one plot twist. But, the more foreign a story, the more important the questions should be.

Students may resist the idea that they can relate to certain characters depending on their ethnicity or economic background, but deep, concentrated questions show students the story really isn’t that foreign at all and also guide students to deeper meanings.

The following questions could be applied to any story, no matter how long or short, difficult or easy. Vary them and add to them depending on how the discussion flows.

26. How did any of the characters or events remind you of yourself? Why?

27. How did the character’s actions affect you? Explain.

28. If you were this character, how would the story change?

29. What surprised or confused you about the characters or events? Explain.

30. Why do you think the author wrote from this character’s view?

31. What do you think the author is trying to accomplish?

32. How is the author thinking about the world?

33. How would the story change from another character’s view?

34. Why do you think this story could actually happen, or not?

35. How can this story teach us something about our lives?

36. How do you think the characters resolved the major conflict in the story?

37. How would you have resolved it?

38. How would you change the end of the story and why?

Science and Social Questions

Within the idea of the Scientific Method, the hypothesis stands as the ultimate question. But, there are so many more questions a scientist must ask in order to answer that one question.

The challenging questions, however, make this a universal process streaming into other subject matter and delving into deeper waters. Here are some questions to sink into and use across curriculum as well as within science itself.

39. What’s the purpose for this experiment or argument?

40. Would you elaborate on the purpose of this?

41. What issues or problems do you see here?

42. What evidence or data are given that help make this worthwhile?

43. What are some of the complexities we should consider?

44. What concepts help organize this data, these experiences?

45. How can you justify this information?

46. How can we verify or test that data?

47. What details can you add to make this information feel more complete?

48. Which set of data or information is most relevant or important?

49. How is all of this consistent or inconsistent?

50. How am I seeing or viewing this information? Objectively or subjectively? Should I then change my view?

 

 

Technology Tidbits
 http://www.gynzy.com/- Free interactive board lessons for grades K-8 in all subjects (you will have to register for the site). 

News & Notes

Volunteers Needed for  FCS Science Olympiad: For the very first time, Fulton County is hosting a Regional Science Olympiad Competition for 22 elementary teams from our learning communities. We are looking for 20 teachers who would be willing to work at the competition. It will be taking place at Centennial High School. Teachers should be able to commit to working from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 21st. A stipend will be given to those who are able to help us out. Please email Amy Kilbride, NELC STEM Program Specialist at kilbride@fultonschools.org if you are able to assist us!

 

 

 

 

 

Week of February 19

Thursday Thoughts February 19

My son (the sophomore) is failing Chemistry.  This is a big deal because this is the first class that he has ever been in jeopardy of failing.  I am not in panic mode just yet because I believe that he will pull the grade up before the end of the semester (and because my college son has failed quite a bit more than Chemistry).  I can tell you that he is handling it much better than I thought.  He is seeking additional help after school and I see him studying a bit more than usual.  So I am using this opportunity to evaluate my parenting. Of course I want to rush in and fix this.... meet with the teacher, get a tutor, complain to an administrator (you know, the usual).   However, I have learned (the hard way) that failing is a part of learning.  Now don't get me wrong, I don't plan to let the boy fail this class but I will use this as a teachable moment.  Failure gives us a reason to keep trying, step things up and seek new ways to do things.  As elementary teachers, one of the best things we can do for children is provide an environment where students are presented with problems, given an opportunity to fail and then encouraged to try and try again until they meet with success.  



Staff Spotlight

This week I would like to shine the spotlight on Erin Amideo.  Erin is the Kindergarten Grade Chair and she really advocates for the teachers and students.  Erin does not hesitate to come to us with questions or concerns as it relates to the team.  Early in the year, Erin explained how tedious the SLO testing was for Kindergarten.  As a result, we worked together to come up with a solution that would make the best out of a tough situation.  There have been other things that she has championed  throughout the year and she works to find a resolution that everyone can accept.  Erin, thank you for what you are doing for students and staff.

4C's: Collaboration, Communication, Creativity, Critical Thinking Skills

Five Minute Reading Responses

By Genia Connellon February 14, 2013
www.Scholastic.com

Nearly every day, my students have independent time built into our reader’s workshop. During this time I am meeting with small groups and trying to work with at least two to three students individually. While I would love to conference or even converse with each student about their independent reading book, time just doesn’t allow for this on a daily basis. However, having them respond to their reading in writing provides a window into their thinking and understanding. A few weeks ago I shared my reading response forms and graphic organizers for independent reading, which are an integral part of my reading program. There are some days, however, when there is only time available for a short response. This week I’d like to share with you how I get my kids thinking about their reading and sharing their thoughts in five minutes or less.

Reading Response Blogs

My class uses Kidblog to share their thoughts and feelings about books. While my students love to “blog” in response to their own independent reading books, they especially enjoy commenting on our class read-alouds. I will often begin a thread by posing a question or comment of my own, and the students soon take over. Because read-alouds provide us with a common text and experience, students not only leave their own thoughts, but become fully immersed in the process, replying to the comments of others. My 3rd graders can hardly wait to see if anyone has commented on their posts, making this five-minute reading response one of the most engaging we do.
If you have wanted to try blogging with your class, Kidblog may be a good place to start. It is very easy to set up and the teacher gets to approve all comments before they are posted.

The images above show blog threads that my students have started along with a few of their responses to a question I posted about our current read-aloud book, Wayside School Is Falling Down. Within ten minutes, there were 54 comments posted by the class!

Third grade bloggers hard at work!

Reading Tweets

My 3rd graders are very aware of social media and love to partake in this classroom version. When we “tweet” about our reading, it needs to be a thought about their book stated in 30 words or less. I normally help guide them with prompts such as What are you thinking or wondering about your book right now? or How has one of the characters changed since you started reading? Many students also enjoy adding their own hashtags related to the title of the book or the theme of their tweet.

Reading Response Tic-Tac-Toe

For years I have used a tic-tac-toe board as a way to give students a choice with their weekly spelling/word study words, so I decided to apply the same concept to reading response. On days when students are doing a “shorty” response, as they call it, they can choose an open square on the tic-tac-toe board and respond to it on a page in their reading binder. Part of the fun is trying to achieve a tic-tac-toe, but students are actually answering prompts that are within, about, and beyond the text.

Click on the images above to download a customizable tic-tac-toe board and the reading response paper my students use to respond.

3, 2, 1 Response

This “countdown” response focuses on the basics. Using this half-page sheet, students provide information about their reading, touching on summarizing, sequencing, vocabulary skills, and the asking questions/wondering comprehension strategy we work on in reading. Click the image below to download the 3, 2, 1.

"At First I Thought . . . And Now I Think"

By this time of year, my 3rd graders are becoming much more sophisticated readers; they are beginning to recognize that characters and plots evolve as the story progresses. This At First I Thought . . . response allows them to share how their thinking about a character or story line has changed during reading. I’ve had students fill this response out without its even being assigned because they’ve had a sudden epiphany while reading that they want to put down in words.

Scholastic Resources for Quick Reading Responses

Scholastic is a treasure trove of reading response graphic organizers and reading response ideas. Visit Printables and Teacher Express to check out the huge variety of response helpers. Below you will find just a few that I like. Click on the image to download the free printable.

Assessing Reading Response

These short reading responses give me a snapshot of my students’ thoughts and comprehension on the days I can’t meet with them. When I respond to their writing, I think of it as a form of written conversation between us. Because of this, I only write positive comments about what they have done well or a great insight they have had, which hopefully motivates and engages them further. While reading their responses, I, of course, take note of misunderstandings students may have, or any redirection they may need, and I save those conversations for when we meet face to face.


Technology Tidbits

http://ngexplorer.cengage.com/ngyoungexplorer/- Great nonfiction resource for younger grades and ELL students

News & Notes

The district’s  Fulton Spring Teacher Fair will be held on Tuesday, March 10, 2015 from 10:00am-2:00pm at the Georgia International Convention Center (GICC).  If you know of anyone interested in employment with Fulton County Schools please tell them to go ahead and complete the application and screening process.  At the Teacher Fair, they will be face to face with administrators from all Fulton Schools.

Week of February 12

Thursday Thoughts February 12

An emphasis is finally being placed on creativity in education, however I can tell you that it is something that scares the living daylights out of administrators.  Well, I shouldn't generalize all administrators so I will just speak for myself.  You see, one of the characteristics of a principal is that we like things to be orderly and fall into place.  Creativity is hard because there is no right or wrong answer with it.  You don't get credit for it on a standardized test and although it's right for kids, it's a hard thing to measure(and therefore foreign to administrators). But I must say that you are making a believer out of me!  I am impressed with what is taking place in the classrooms and the way that students' are expressing themselves and exploring their interests in ways that are.....creative.  Many thanks to those of you who are inviting us down to see the creative ways students are learning at MBES.  Please continue to share.  Seeing really is believing!

 



Staff Spotlight

This week I would like to shine the spotlight on Traci Fleck and Reema Ajmera.  Traci and Reema have their hands full with a couple of new students that started after winter break.  They have not only worked to get the new students acclimated to the class, but they have also had to ensure that the other students do not adopt the behaviors of the new classmates.  Traci works closely with parents to alleviate any fears or concerns that they may have as it relates to starting a new program in the middle of the school year.  Both ladies work together to provide a classroom environment that allows students to grow at their own pace.  They are patient with their students and know their unique needs.   Traci and Reema, thank you for the work that you are doing in your classroom. 

 

 

 

4C's: Collaboration, Communication, Creativity, Critical Thinking Skills

 

The Things That Linger After They’ve Forgotten Everything You Taught

03/05/2014, Terry Heick,

The Things That Linger After They’ve Forgotten Everything You Taught
by Terry Heick

Learning has nothing to do with content.
If we’re talking about learning as a personal manifestation of some kind–the two-way flow of referential schema in a fluid act of recognition and sense-making–then learning is something that happens completely inside the mind, and is, by definition then, a kind of illusion.
In education, we try to make this learning visible through assessment, observation, dialogue, and other cognitively violent acts meant to shatter that privacy. For teaching purposes, of course.

But ultimately learning is about the learner themselves. Content never changes as a result of the student-content interaction. It is mindless and neutral; students are mindful and biased.
Put simply, learning is the deeply personal act of framing your own experience on some foreign thing–like trying your own hat on a mannequin. Your hat is your sense-maker, and the mannequin is what is being made sense of. You understand both better as a result of the interaction.

The Things That Endure
As an educator, you have likely been trained to think of teaching and learning as a standards-backward process.
And this training was necessary because it doesn’t come naturally for everyone; it required you to unlearn old habits—starting with a book, project idea, or video for example—and start instead with a clear learning goal, and then establish what you’d accept as evidence of having met that goal.
At this point you’d have yourself the outline of an assessment, and, well, you’re halfway to having a unit. This, more or less, is how the planning of teaching and learning goes.
This is not an attempt to have you rethink that approach—not today anyway. Rather, the idea here is to look instead at what other factors that tend to linger long after the content has been forgotten.

5 Critical Abstractions Of Learning: The Factors That Tend To Linger

1. How You Make Students Feel
How do students feel after a conversation with you? Curious? Enthusiastic? Uncertain? Brow-beaten? Intimidated?
When they read learning feedback from you, what does their internal voice say? Yes, this has as much to do with their personality as it does anything you say or do, but it’d be nice to know just the same, yes?
Doesn’t how you make students feel matter? Can you promote high levels of understanding and inquiry if they’re constantly looking to align and comply rather than inquire and self-direct?
And further, how you can leverage your personality as a teacher–your natural gifts as a communicator, motivator, or content expert–to optimize how you make them feel.
2. The Discoveries They Make About Themselves
Dove-tailing nicely behind how you make them feel are the discoveries they make about themselves under your guidance. Key strategies here are prediction, reflection, and metacognition.
Prediction
How might it go? How might I learn? What might I find?
Reflection
What happened? What did I see? Where did I see it? How did I respond?
Metacognition
How did this event change my thinking? What were my sources for creativity or curiosity? When was I at my best?
How students feel about themselves–and what they sensed that you did accordingly–will easily outlast any bit of content they take from your class.
3. The Networks, Communities, Habits, & Tools You Help Them Discover & Use
Networks, communities, habits, and tools matter greatly because within each is a kind of self-sustaining system that whirs on without you. These are things that, with your guidance, can be set into motion and then left alone to build on themselves endlessly, or topple over on themselves and crash.
In your class, a student discovers a MOOC that explores viral evolution, and meets scientists, grad students, doctors, and field workers from global organizations doing this work every day.
It could be an app or related tool–expert, informed use of Google search, deft organization of Evernote, or some other bit of technology that they will pluck from your curriculum and use everywhere.
Or maybe they stumble on a subreddit that hosts daily discussions on how technology is changing culture. And in this subreddit, they encounter questions, people, theories, texts, videos, and ideas that are a kind of ecology to spur learning so nuanced and diverse you couldn’t possibly reproduce it yourself.
Communities, habits, and tools last.
4. Learning Strategies
Not the simple cognitive actions like “analyze” and “evaluate” that function more like assessment tools, but rather literally figuring out how to learn.
What’s worth understanding? What useful things do others around me create? What sense of purpose do others around me live by? What citizenships am I a member of, and what does that suggest that I understand?
How can I use existing, inspiring models that are already everywhere around me to drive my learning?
How can questions lead to understanding? And how can I form better questions on my own without having them flung at me constantly?
You can call it a self-directed learning model, or simply strategies that students use to learn, the result is the same: Lasting processes that students can transfer on their own, endlessly, independent of content forms or application.
An abundance or lack of accessible learning strategies will impact your students forever.
5. Reading Habits
Reading habits have an inertia about them–hard to start, and hard to stop.

 

 Technology Tidbits

http://jmathpage.com/- Hundreds of math learning and math teaching resources and games

News & Notes

 The General Transfer window is open February 23-March 13.  Please stop by if you would like more information on the process.  Employees with two or more years of service in FCS are eligible to participate in the transfer process.

Week of February 5

Thursday Thoughts February 5

 

 

 

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to stop by the FCS Technology Competition at Centennial High School.   The things that students are currently doing with technology simply amaze me.  I think many of the students (especially the high school kids) could work for Google right now.   I can't begin to imagine the kind of world we will live in within the next 10 years.  More importantly, I can't imagine the type of jobs that will exist when our students graduate from college.  I don't pretend to know what education should look like now in order to prepare students for the future. I'm the principal so I guess I should, but I don't.  Do I think personalized learning makes sense....absolutely!   Do I know the best way to accomplish it in elementary school....not yet.  But, what I do know is that we don't have the luxury to teach students the way we have always done it.  We are doing the right work at Medlock and although change is hard and messy and often confusing, our ability to implement change effectively is a trait that sets us apart from other schools. 





Staff Spotlight

This week I would like to shine the spotlight on Nancy Trenkner.  Nancy goes above and beyond to serve students and teachers.  Nancy is vital to the operation of the Media Center.  She is often working with the parent volunteers, reading to classes and pulling resources for teachers.  After school I have seen Nancy walking the hall searching for iPads that have not been returned. I often chuckle when I see her emails stating that "Dr. Seuss" is down.  I know that this is no laughing matter because it refers to the copier, however I can only imagine Nancy wrestling with the machine in order to get it up and running for staff use.   This week, Nancy even helped us out on the front desk while still managing her responsibilities in the Media Center.  Nancy we appreciate your dedication to the students and staff of Medlock Bridge.

 

 

 

4C's: Collaboration, Communication, Creativity, Critical Thinking Skills

Establishing A Growth Mindset As A Teacher: 9 Statements Of Affirmation

 by Terry Heick    12/06/2013

Establishing A Growth Mindset As A Teacher: 9 Statements Of Affirmation
by Terry Heick

The ability to change is among the least-appreciated professional characteristics of a teacher.
This is especially true as education systems react to both external pressure, and internal instinct to change into something closer to truly progressive learning environments.
As I was reading through Jackie Gerstein’s Education 3.0: Altering Round Peg in Round Hole Education, several slides stood out to me (one was the focus of a post earlier this week) including the image above, which offers statements teachers can use to both affirm the need for change, and “coach” themselves into a mindset for both change, and hopefully growth. (Number 5 is probably worthy of another post entirely!)
While teachers are constantly admonished to change, there is very little dialogue as to what that kind of change looks like, exactly how to go about making that sort of change in the face of local expectations, and maybe most critically, what kind of “internal coaching” a teacher might start with to establish the kind of thinking position of mindset that promotes fluid change.
You can find Jackie on twitter here, and her (excellent) blog here.

9 Statements Of Affirmation For Teaching (& Coaching) A Growth Mindset
1. I can use technology to make both my own and my students’ learning richer.
2. I can risk trying new learning activities
3. I can bring my and my students’ passions into learning activities.
4. I can make one small change at a time in my learning environment.
5. I can let go of my need to control all variables.
6. I can find ways to change even under adversity.
7. I value my relationships with my students (even over content).
8. I can network and connect with others for resources, assistance, and support.
9. I can make a difference in students’ lives.
Establishing A Growth Mindset As A Teacher: 9 Statements Of Affirmation; image attribution Education 3.0: Altering Round Peg in Round Hole Education from Jackie Gerstein

 

 

Technology Tidbits

 

http://www.watchknowlearn.org/-  Tons of videos that can serve as great hooks for your lessons or tutorials for any subject.  The videos can be filtered by subject, topic and even age group. 

 

News & Notes

Our Seed Fund Proposal has been approved by the Area Superintendent and is moving forward to the next phase of approval.  As a reminder, we are asking for two separate concepts:

 

1.  Improvements to the Science Force Classroom to transform it into more of a STEM lab.  We are also seeking to hire a full time designated facilitator (teacher) who can work together with teachers and students to enhance the core content curriculum with lessons that incorporate a more problem/project based model. Cost: $95K

 

2.  Transformation of our existing Kindergarten through 5^th grade classrooms into flexible learning spaces thus fostering a more collaborative classroom environment.  We are in need of furniture that can easily be moved to accommodate group work and that promotes the many different learning styles of elementary students.  Cost: $110K

 

I will keep you posted on the final approval amount for both concepts.  Keep your fingers crossed!