Week of August 27

Thursday Thoughts August 27

 



My message in today's blog is primarily a reminder for myself.  If the message will help you too, then great! However, I REALLY have to step back and think about a few things.  First, we are just completing our third week of school.  That's it!  We are only 14 days into the school year.   Yes I wanted the shelving in the Science Force lab to be completed (or started) by now; and yes I wanted to have all of the placement and scheduling kinks worked out with our classes; and of course I wanted to have our digital content in place so that we could begin using it immediately .  But the reality is that I have to work with the present situation.  I could focus on the things that are not yet where I want them or I can focus on the things that are working out in spite of the challenges. My goal is to do the latter. I know that patience is a virtue so I will keep striving to get there.  If this is area is a strong suite for you, I welcome you to hold a session for those of us still working on it.  But please.....hurry up!

Staff Spotlight

This week I would like to shine the spotlight on Tiffany Moss.  Tiffany exemplifies adaptability and perseverance.  Last year, Tiffany was hired after the 10 day count for 3rd grade and had only a couple of days to open her classroom and begin teaching students.  I am sure that she never anticipated starting this year in an even worse position than last year.  Tiffany started this year in 4th grade and as of last Friday, had to begin the painstaking process of collapsing her 4th grade classroom, saying goodbye to her students and relocating her room set up to 2nd grade (in the exact same room that she had last year).  This is not an ideal situation for anyone, but can be especially discouraging to a new teacher.  I must say that Tiffany has maintained a remarkably positive attitude and has remained focus on doing what is best for students.  Tiffany, we thank you for your dedication to students and your patience with us and the process.   Although it got off to a rocky start,  I hope you have a phenomenal school year!


Personalized Learning

5 Ways of Bringing Student Passions to Student Learning

Edutopia, August 19, 2015             

Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher

         

 

Exciting classes interest students. These classes spark their curiosity. Sometimes, the learning here feels like play. A school may not be able to use these exciting ideas everywhere, but they should be used somewhere. If a school can't be interested in things that students care about, students will lose interest in caring about school.

 

 

Curiosity, Passion, and Making a Difference

Here are five current practices to promote student curiosity, student interests, and play.

1. Unleash Student Involvement: Turn Any Project Into a Passion Project

Look at Ronald J. Bonsetter's "Inquiry as an Evolutionary Process" chart below. See how student-led inquiry gives students more of a decision-making role in the project?

Some teachers are afraid that, by giving students too much freedom, they won't meet standards. First, share the standards with your students. Second, let students propose an inquiry-based project to meet the standards. This empowers student choice.

Teachers will need to engage with students. Students will need coaching. They'll need advice as they create their final product. Rubrics can help them stay on track, but teacher involvement is essential.

All projects are not alike. A teacher-directed, hands-on project can be as unexciting as an old-fashioned worksheet. Passion projects inspire curiosity and interest while still meeting standards.

2. Make Time to Create: Schedule Genius Hour, 20 Percent Time

Many classroom best practices are circulating around Genius Hour and 20 Percent Time. In my classroom, I've learned to give students choices and help them set goals. By using a tool like Trello, I'm able to coach and track student work.

Don't have an hour? There are other ways to foster a time to create and innovate. Some schools have puzzles or tools laid out in a certain place and change them out each week. Others issue a design challenge and let students invent ways to meet the challenge.

I've found that great Genius Hour work revolves around problem solving or creating. Genius Hour is not recess or free play. It can help students reflect, incorporate the scientific method, provide materials and tools to spark creativity, and deliver an audience for finished student work.

Image Credit: Sylvia Duckworth (click image to enlarge)

 

 

3. Supply Creation and Innovation: Create a Makerspace or FabLab

Some libraries are putting a makerspace in their learning commons. STEM labs, STEAM labs, and FabLabs are other ways to create places for making. Other schools have classes around making, robotics, or design challenges.

In my opinion, every school board and parent should be asking these three questions:

1. Where is the makerspace in this school?
2. Who has access?
3. How often?

A well-used makerspace means that students are inventing and creating. A makerspace might be in a corner or in a full classroom, but it should be somewhere.

4. Spark Technology Innovation: Create an Online Student Makerspace

Let's discuss the ignored place for a makerspace: online. Why do teachers neglect one of the easiest places to create a makerspace? An online makerspace can be a web page, blog post, shared document, or anywhere.
As you assemble this virtual creativity destination, include tools and apps to complete various projects by category, such as image editing, presentation, collaboration, drawing, cartooning -- you name it. Students and teachers might not be using these tools yet because they don't know what's available. You can change that by sharing the makerspace with everyone.
A great way to start assembling your online makerspace is to have students do it. They can research different tools, test them, and add the ones that they think will work in this online environment.
Tip: When assigning a project, never require a specific tool (unless you're teaching it). Instead, tell your students, "Create the multimedia artifact of your choice" or "Create a spreadsheet in the software of your choice."

5. Know Your Students: Empower Student Interests and Dreams

Help students be social entrepreneurs. Help them map their heartbreak. Join the #choose2matter movement and connect your classroom with other students who want to make a difference in the world. Survey your students' interests at the beginning of the year. Create projects where they share their dreams with you and the class.
The better you know your students, the better you'll know how to teach them.

Turning Excitement Into Action

Want your students excited about learning? Then become excited about your students. Here's how we can share and direct their excitement:

• We can know our students' interests and passions.
• We can convert projects into passion projects.
• We can schedule times to create.
• We can provide physical and online tools to create.

When you include students in learning, you can meet standards, but you can also meet more excited students at your door every morning.

Habitudes- (Growth Mindset)

 

Looking Ahead
UPDATE ON MILESTONES SCORE RESULTS


 On September 3, preliminary state level results will be public.  District and school level results, including individual student reports, will become available in mid- to late-October.  The first wave of reports will be electronic, followed by paper.  Prior to the release of district and school reports, as well as the final state-level results, two important things will occur.  An independent third party will complete a forensic analysis of the Spring 2015 EOG data to investigate the impact of the online interruptions experienced by some students.  Additionally, a mode comparability study will be completed to ensure students were neither advantaged or disadvantaged by their mode of administration (paper/pencil or online).

Georgia Milestones will include four achievement levels:  Beginning Learner, Developing Learner, Proficient Learner, and Distinguished Learner.  The Proficient Learner will signal college and career readiness (or that the student is on track for college and career readiness).  The Developing Learner signals that the student has partial proficiency and will need additional support to ensure success at the next grade level or course.

Georgia Milestones represents a significant change and opportunity for our state. The 2014 – 2015 results will set a new baseline. 

Week of August 20

Thursday Thoughts August 20



Well it is the ninth day of school.  Most of you know that the first ten days can keep a principal on edge, especially if our enrollment is very high or too low.  We anticipated opening a second grade classroom after the tenth day and we will open it.  We had hoped to keep the other grade levels fairly stable but we will have to reduce a class in 4th grade.   Tomorrow is the official tenth day so we can always hope to get a dozen or so kids to grace our doors (wishful thinking...I know). We will spend the day tomorrow making phone calls, so we ask that you please allow us to do so before sharing the news.  As educators, we find ourselves making lemonade more and more (figuratively speaking of course).  I think that Medlock Bridge squeezes every lemon to make the best lemonade around.  Thank you for the great work that you have done these first two weeks of school.

Staff Spotlight

This week I would like to shine the spotlight on Elizabeth Lumpkin.  Elizabeth was hired to assist Mrs. Padgett in Special Needs Pre K, however she has been been pulled hither and yon to help us meet the needs of many students over these past two weeks.  Elizabeth hardly had the chance to learn her way around before being asked to pick up and drop off students in various locations throughout the building.  She has done everything with a smile and several staff members have mentioned how wonderful she has been.  We know it's hard to be hired for one area and have to jump right into many other responsibilities.   Elizabeth we appreciate your willingness to pinch hit where needed.  Welcome to the MBES Family!!

Personalized Learning

A Simple Way To Clarify Personalized Learning
06/28/2013, Terry Heick

Personalized learning is a term that’s becoming increasingly common as education becomes more ambitious and self-aware, moving away from whole class sit-and-get towards a model where new tools (e.g., apps and learning simulations) and new thinking (e.g., blended learning and game-based learning) are used to craft learning experiences that actually fill an existing need.

The fact that as educators we have to shift our perspective to make sense of this is interesting.
Quick story–I’m an old man, so my lower back hurts. I recently sought out a chiropractor to help me run/jump/lift the way I could even five years ago. After taking X-rays and reviewing film from a recent MRI, they created a routine of exercises for me, and for 4 weeks I went in 3 days a week to complete this routine, along with a handful of other treatments.
The unsettling thing for me was that no one was extracting new data–no new information, range of motion, pain thresholds, examine results, or other nuggets that could then be used to modify and personalize the more general treatment plan. As I looked around, the overlap of the course of treatment between myself and the patients around me was about 90%.
We did almost the same things, the same ways, for the same amount of time, in the same order when beyond a universal need for core strength, there is little chance that our bodies, injuries, and overall needs were so similar.
“Just in time, just enough, and just for me” is an easy way to articulate the concept of differentiation/personalization of learning, much in the same way “Show me, help me, let me” captures the spirit of the Gradual Release of Responsibility model so well.
If we could just be as insulted by whole class direct instruction (supplemented with only brief, minor attempts at truly personalized learning) as I am when I receive the same in a chiropractor’s office.

Habitudes- (Growth Mindset)

Looking Ahead

The top three print resources for the new Math textbooks are listed below and are available to be reviewed by the local school level and public from August 21 – September 21, 2015.


Listed below are the titles for review:

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Grades K-8

• Dixon, J., Larson, M., Leiva, M. & Adams, T. L. (2015). Go Math!: Teacher Edition with Solutions Key Grade K (Vols. 1-2). Orlando, Florida: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

McGraw-Hill
Grades K-5

• Carter, J., Cuevas, G., Day, R., & Malloy, C. (2014). My Math: Grade K-5 Teacher Edition. Bothwell, WA: McGraw-Hill Companies.

Grades 6-8

• Carter, J., Day, R., Cuevas, G., & Malloy, C. (2013). Glencoe Math: Course 1-3 Teacher Edition. Bothwell, WA: McGraw-Hill Companies.

Pearson

Grades K-6

• Bay-Williams, J.M., Berry, R.Q., Caldwell, J.H., Champagne, Z., Charles, R., & Copley, J. (2016). enVision Math 2.0: Grade 3 Teacher's Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

Grades 7-8

• Fennell, F., Milou, E., & Schielack, J. (2015). Digits: Grade 7 Teacher's Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

Displays with print and digital resources will be displayed for teacher and public review from August 21 – September 21, 2015, at the following locations.

North Locations

• Administrative Center (6201 Powers Ferry Rd, NW, Atlanta, GA 30339)
• Crabapple Crossing ES (12775 Birmingham Highway, Milton 30004)
• Northridge Learning Center (450 Northridge Parkway, Sandy Springs, GA 30350)
• Creekview ES (3995 Webb Bridge Road, Alpharetta 30005)
• Hillside ES (9250 Scott Road, Roswell 30076)
• Wilson Creek ES (6115 Wilson Road, Johns Creek 30097)
• Sweet Apple ES (12025 Etris Road, Roswell 30075)

South Locations

• Asa G. Hilliard ES (3353 Mount Olive Road., East Point, GA 30344)
• Feldwood ES (5790 Feldwood Road, College Park, GA 30349)
• Tri-Cities HS (2575 Harris Street, East Point, GA 30344)
• Sandtown MS (5400 Campbellton Road, Atlanta 30331)
• E. C. West ES (7040 Rivertown Road, Fairburn 30213)
• Stonewall Tell ES (3310 Stonewall Tell Road, College Park 30349)

Feedback from parents will be gathered through an electronic survey which may be completed on a school computer or on a smart phone.

Week of August 13

Thursday Thoughts August 13

Well our first week is down and we only have 35 more to go...lol. Just kidding!!  I don't want to start the countdown just yet.   It has truly been a great week and I hope that you have taken the time to enjoy getting to know your students.  As I visited the classrooms, I was amazed to see how quickly the boys and girls were learning the routines, following directions and ready to get to work.  I am excited about this school year and the phenomenal things that are in store for our students.   As we begin the shift in how we instruct children, please know that we will run into road blocks, have times of doubt and even get frustrated with the process.  All of this is okay.  We don't have to have all of the answers or do everything perfectly.  We just have to put one foot in front of the other everyday, be willing to try new things and give our very best to EVERY child. 

Staff Spotlight 

This week I would like to shine the spotlight on Ingrid Parham.  Ingrid, our IST, has been working diligently to ensure that all of our special education teachers have the support that they need.  We have several students who are new to Medlock and she has been reviewing IEPs, meeting with teachers, calling parents, calling former schools and trying to get our students squared away.  Ingrid has even initiated  monthly Autism Cohort meetings for the AU teachers at Medlock Bridge and Findley Oaks. Often Ingrid is caught between the district demands and the needs and wants of our school.  I thank Ingrid for her desire to support our teachers and her dedication to our students.


Personalized Learning

Blended Learning: Behind the Scenes

 Heather Wolpert-Gawron   Edutopia October 22, 2012 

It feels like we're on the precipice of a more common, universal implementation for blended learning, but for a while still, blended learning is still dependent on teachers knowing what to teach and how to teach it. It still feels still like a grassroots movement from key teachers who are looking ahead to the future. We know that being able to function online is a 21st-century skill, but for some teachers, it's still as futuristic as Logan's Run.
And while having to jump into using online strategies can be scary, it's really all about our mission of preparing students for their future. It's about having your ear to the ground about the skills these kids will need to know, and the determination to teach to those skills even if the world of education or your school site or your fear factor is not on board.
While I am passionate about online integration in the traditional classroom, I do not know yet if blended learning is really for everyone. It isn't just about the technology or the understanding of online interactions. It's also simply a temperament thing.
So let's look at the behind-the-scenes of blended learning. What does it really take to be a blended learning teacher?

1. Flexibility

Things go wrong all the time. Have a digital Plan B on hand or, if necessary, a way to teach the same goal, but offline, using the resources in the room. Model patience. No cussing. I know it's hard.

2. Problem-Solving

The school tech person can't focus only on your needs even though you might be using technology more than others. You need to great creative in your problem solving. As a computer teacher once said to me after helping me solve a problem: "You should be able to do this (pretends to feed herself with an invisible spoon), but sometimes you have to do this (wraps her arm around her head, still bringing the invisible spoon to her mouth, but going the long way around.) Here's a hint: train students to help problem solve. Code word: Tech Team.

3. Willingness to Handhold

Go back to my point about patience. You have to help all the stakeholders far more than you think: like parents, other teachers, and some students who don't have access elsewhere. On the flip side, however, there are many students who can figure things out with very little handholding if just given the chance. Being a blended learning teacher is about giving students that chance.

4. Ability to Scaffold More Than You Thought Necessary

Make sure you lead up to your expectations in a step-by-step way. For instance, you can't just ask students to blog. You need to help them first understand what the heck blogging is. Here's an early post I once wrote on this very topic. It doesn't have to be baby steps, but you do have to help them climb.

5. Willingness to Learn from Students

See the problem-solving step above. You can learn from your students in ways you never even knew. And it isn't just about the technology that they know and you don't. It's about being there with them when they make that discovery online and being a voice of reason in their heads as they explore the wide world around them.

6. A Full Toolbox

You need a toolbox full of both digital and traditional tools and knowledge. After all, moderating an online conversation is both similar to leading classroom discussions and somewhat different. Setting up groups, giving feedback, engaging students, all of these are still needed when interacting online, but use different tools to accomplish.

7. A Big Inbox

So many interactions go through your email. Make sure you are able to accept them all. Also, get into the grove of being able to check your mail, sort mail into boxes, or delete notifications all together once they are dealt with. Keep up with it all or your email inbox will fill up quickly. Mine often sends me a really cold notification. I haven't solved this problem yet, because when students submit assignments or are engaged in a real great back and forth my inbox turns bold really quickly.

8. Willingness to Give Up Time After School

Be prepared to get sucked into awesome online conversations long after the school bell rings. It won't seem like a chore. It's a pleasure.

I know that blended learning may not be everyone's cup of tea. Having said all that, however, even those who may not be partial to these techniques may soon have to learn to be. It's our students' future. And what's their future is ours too.

Habitudes- (Growth Mindset)

Looking Ahead

Tony Vincent is Coming!! 

Our first Professional Learning Day is going to be awesome!  On Friday, September 4th, both certified and classified staff members will enjoy hands on PD with Tony Vincent.  Tony is a former 5th grade teacher who is a leader in digital learning.  Please check out his website at http://learninginhand.com/about.  You can also follow him on Twitter @tonyvincent.  Please note that this is a RFF (Request for Flexibility) day which means that most other FCS schools will be in session on this day, but our students will not come to school.  Please go ahead and make child care arrangements (if applicable) so that you can be here on that date.  Absences on this day will require a doctor's note.  The school hours will be 7:10am-3:10pm.