Flexible Grouping and A Great Question to Ask Your Students

Excellence in Education: Flexible Grouping   

In overseeing special education, I’m blessed to see many examples of flexible grouping, but this isn’t a strategy that is limited to special education classes.

Most teachers deliver information in a consistent manner that usually involves whole class, small group and individual student opportunities. Recognizing that each student is different, flexible grouping allows teachers to match students and their instructional needs.*

Advantages to flexible grouping:

• Differentiates and individualizes learning
• Motivates students because students are placed in groups where they can be successful and through peer influences
• Addresses social needs
• Promotes student collaboration
• Provides different experiences with different outcomes

Some Flexible Grouping Strategies

Group Pass: The teacher poses a question (this could be factual recall or an open-ended statement) and each student responds by writing an answer down. Students then pass the paper to a peer who checks the answer. The process is then repeated. In using this with factual/recall information type questions, students can be grouped with similar ability students and different questions can be asked to different groups, or students can be grouped in differing ability groups where stronger students help struggling students.

Student vote: A question is posed to the group with different possible answers. In a history class this could be an opinion question with strongly agree-agree-disagree-strongly disagree answers. In a math class a question can be posed with different answers or solving strategies and in another class this might be would you like to learn more / read about topic A, B, C, D. Each student then goes to one of the corresponding four corners. This can be used to group students by interest.

Readiness: Students are grouped by proficiency.

Administrative Notes

Flex tomorrow.

Learning Walks on Wednesday.

Positive Referral Link: http://goo.gl/s0KXRB

Work Order Request Form: http://goo.gl/H7hFwK

Comment Box: http://goo.gl/forms/KAHNoGf5D2

Some upcoming dates:

April 18: Prom

April 30: Honor Breakfast (Top Decile)

May 17: Scholarship Banquet

May 18: Senior Picnic

May 26/27: Now sent in stone: Senior Exams

May 29 @ 6pm: Graduation

Some upcoming edcamps (opt-out credit can be earned):

May 9: Edcamp MetroDC (Potomac, MD)

Worth Your Time

Distracted by Rewards: Moving Away from Carrots and Sticks

The Real Stuff of Schooling: How to Teach Students to Apply Knowledge

An Open Letter to My High School Self  This might be worth sharing with your students. 

Pew Survey Results about Teens, Social Media, and Tech

Tweet of the Week

This has been circulating on Twitter for a while. I think it’s a great idea and worth sharing.

Give your students an opportunity to complete this statement, “I wish my teacher knew…”

Making Points in a Lecture, PEEL

Excellence in Education: Major Points in A Lecture  

I’ve seen several examples of this strategy used by several teachers, and based on a couple of conversations with teachers I’ve had recently I wanted to share it with everyone.

First, please allow me to explain the conversations frequently centered on teacher frustration with students not taking notes during lectures. While we each have different strategies: guided notes, PowerPoint presentations posted on BlackBoard, etc. the simplicity of this strategy works in all instances.

1. At the beginning of the lecture the teacher briefs the students on the key points of the lecture (somewhere between 3-6 ideas). This, of course, is a great way of sharing the learning target with the students!
2. Students are then responsible for completing an outline or a graphic organizer (web diagram, chart, etc.) for each of the main points. With younger students, it may be beneficial to discuss ways for students to organize their notes.
3. After conclusion of each main point, students may be given time to jot down key ideas, to think-pair-share, for formative assessment, etc.

Excellence in Education: PEEL Graphic Organizer  

A highly rigorous, college-prep class requires students to analyze and support their analysis with facts and reasoning. The PEEL strategy is a graphic organizer that can be used by itself, as a pre-writing strategy (especially DBQs and other shorter, social studies essays), in preparation for a class discussion/Socratic Seminar, or more. Simply, it’s a great way to get students started because it helps them determine a main idea and find supporting details.

What is PEEL?

PEEL stands for Point-Evidence-Explanation-Link

Point: provide an opening statement for your argument

Evidence: provide evidence (this can be direct quotes, facts, etc.)

Explanation: explain the evidence through purpose and context

Link: a statement that links back to the main point

Here’s a link to a PEEL Graphic Organizer: http://teachingrocks.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/peel.making.connections.pdf

Administrative Notes

Hall Coverage: We must do a better job of being in the hallways before school, between classes, and after school. àThis is a blanket (shotgun-type) statement that I try to avoid, but I feel comfortable making it because I’ve tried to thank teachers who I consistently see in the hallway. It really needs to improve! In addition to being a student safety issue, I’ve blogged about other reasons to greet students at the door http://goo.gl/kMh3xA We understand that things come up at the end of the class and that often you need to prepare something for your next class, but please make a concerted effort to be in the hallways. Thanks!

Flex tomorrow.

Learning Walks on Wednesday.

Open enrollment meeting : Thursday

Positive Referral Link: http://goo.gl/s0KXRB

Work Order Request Form: http://goo.gl/H7hFwK

Comment Box: http://goo.gl/forms/KAHNoGf5D2

Some upcoming dates:

April 18: Prom (Chaperones needed)

April 30: Honor Breakfast (Top Decile)

May 17: Scholarship Banquet

May 18: Senior Picnic

May 26/27: Now sent in stone: Senior Exams

May 29 @ 6pm: Graduation

Some upcoming edcamps (opt-out credit can be earned):

May 9: Edcamp MetroDC (Potomac, MD)

April 18: Edcamp Delaware (Wilmington)

Worth Your Time

Support Struggling Students and Help Them Develop Better Attitudes : An article from Robyn Jackson, author of Work Smarter, Not Harder, including some good tips about redos, retakes and instilling a growth mindset.

Three Simple Ways to Differentiate Instruction While differentiation might be the theme of the article, it really includes great instructional ideas that transcend beyond differentiation.

Four Ways to Turn Distracted Students into Engaged Learners

What the ‘thoughtless’ New York Government Just Did to Teachers : Be glad you’re not in NY, even though they pay well.

Sharing Rubics and Models, Buncee

Cougar Communication

Excellence in Education: Sharing Criteria (Rubrics) and Models

As a teacher I was sometimes reluctant to share students models of excellent work for fear that they would simply copy the previous work. Truthfully little thought went into this poor decision and eventually I saw the light and shared student work from previous terms. I used the student work to demonstrate various performance levels by comparing it to the rubric (or having students evaluate it with the rubric). Recently, I’ve seen several teacher do a much better job than I ever did by using the same student examples and the criteria throughout the unit to help students better understand high-quality work.

Doing so benefits the students and learning. Even the best-written rubric may not be clearly understood by students. By sharing the rubric and work examples, students are more likely to know the desired criteria and will be able to set goals for their work. It takes the guessing out of the work, allows students to self-assess and will ultimately rid the teacher of having a student exclaim, “I don’t understand why I only got a B on this project.”

Tech in Education: Buncee

Buncee is a web-based creation tool that allows teachers and students to incorporate multimedia onto a shareable digital canvas.

1. It allows you to record audio straight into the canvas or alternatively you can upload it.
2. Easily embed links to other sites
3. You can add multiple canvases (slides)
4. Works great with YouTube videos
5. Simple interface and use
6. You share your canvases through Social Media posts or email
7. Integrates well with Social Media, so you can add/upload from Social Medi

Possible uses:

1. Student or teacher presentation
2. Using it to flip your lesson with lots of multimedia
3. You can create a teacher dashboard which enables you to add students and to submit work to your Buncee Dashboard. Doing so creates a very friendly student dashboard as well.

Administrative Notes

Grades are due March 25 at 8am.

Positive Referral Link: http://goo.gl/s0KXRB

Work Order Request Form: http://goo.gl/H7hFwK

Comment Box: http://goo.gl/forms/KAHNoGf5D2

Some upcoming dates:

April 18: Prom (Chaperones needed)

April 30: Honor Breakfast (Top Decile)

May 17: Scholarship Banquet

May 18: Senior Picnic

May 26/27: Now sent in stone: Senior Exams

May 29 @ 6pm: Graduation

Some upcoming edcamps (opt-out credit can be earned):

May 9: Edcamp MetroDC (Potomac, MD)

April 18: Edcamp Delaware (Wilmington)

Still waiting for more info about Edcamp MetroDC and Edcamp95 (Virginia/Prince William maybe)

Worth Your Time

Finland schools: Subjects scrapped and replaced with 'topics' as country reforms its education system: An interesting artcle about reforms to Finland’s education system in which they are moving away from subject-based teaching

How Teenage Brains are Different

TEDTalk : 3 Rules to Spark Learning from a high school chemistry teacher   

Image of the Week

Plickers

Excellence in Education: Plickers

In the past I’ve shared several digital tools (Socrative, PollEverywher, Kahoot) that are great for formative assessment. But what if the students don’t have a device or if the Internet is limited?

Enter Plickers.

Before I explain Plickers, one other reason to use it instead of other digital tools: there’s no waiting for students to log-in on a computer or their device.

Plickers uses a teacher’s device and a series of QR codes that you print out for your students to create a student response system. After downloading and printing a series of cards, each student is assigned one card. Each card can be turned in any of four orientations (A-B-C-D).

When you have a question for students to answer, you simply ask each student to hold up his/her card in the correct orientation (just like using a whiteboard) and quickly scan the cards. A bar graph of the student responses is instantly created. 

Some advantages to Plickers:

• Because each student code is unique, students don’t know who got the answer right or wrong.
• You can create a demo or saved class. Demo classes are quick and easy. A saved class means that you take the time to create a class and assign each student a card. The latter allow you to see how each student responded to the question.
• Only 1 device is needed
• Scanning is easy. Essentially, you can just take your device from one side of the room to the other. You don’t need to scan each individual card.
• It works great with Cooperative Learning Strategies such as Thinking Pairs, Numbered Heads Together, Showdown and more.
• Great for formative assessments and pre-assessments
• Provides students with timely feedback enabling them to gauge their understanding
• Can easily be used for “concept-testing” where students commit to an answer before learning, making the students more engaged and curious about the outcome (the lesson) 

http://youtu.be/bejiz2HzUz8:  For more info on Plickers 

Administrative Notes

First marking period was quite discombobulated, but we made our way through it. I know it was difficult staying positive and getting into the flow, but your professionalism, adaptability, and perseverance enabled us to “weather” the storm(s). Hopefully, the winter weather is behind us. In talking to the students, it became clear that many teachers made use of BlackBoard and other means to continue teaching while students were not in school. If you’re interested in creating screencast of lectures, Brian has installed some software on a couple of computers that enables you to do this. Additionally, of course, there are several free screencasting programs. If you’re interested, please let Brian or me know.

As a general reminder, please be sure to contact families of any students with D’s or F’s. As a whole we’ve received tremendous feedback from families about how teachers have been phenomenal at using BlackBoard to update grades, but the sad truth is that for many of our struggling students, their parents are not as engaged and don’t check BlackBoard (I think this can also be said of the students themselves). A phone call goes a long way towards increasing parent engagement.

Positive Referral Link: http://goo.gl/s0KXRB

Work Order Request Form: http://goo.gl/H7hFwK

Comment Box: http://goo.gl/forms/KAHNoGf5D2

Some upcoming dates:

April 18: Prom

April 30: Honor Breakfast (Top Decile)

May 17: Scholarship Banquet

May 18: Senior Picnic

May 26/27: Senior Exams

May 29 @ 6pm: Graduation

New Marking Period Dates:

                  March 20: End of MP 2

                  No ½ days or exams

Some upcoming edcamps (opt-out credit can be earned):

March 21: Edcamp Arlington http://edcamparlington.org/

                    Edcamp RVA (Richmond)

April 18: Edcamp Delaware (Wilmington)

Still waiting for more info about Edcamp MetroDC and Edcamp95 (Virginia/Prince William maybe)

What I’m Reading

10 Tips for Increasing Student Engagement

Talk A Mile A Minute: A Great Vocabulary Learning Strategy that Engages Students

Classroom Strategies for Helping Depressed Teens

Quote/Visual of the Week

Children learn the most from struggling with complex tasks and making mistakes, not from mastering easy tasks.

Student Self-Monitoring and Warm/Cool Feedback

Excellence in Education: Student Self-Monitoring

As we’ve expanded our RTI procedures to over 20 students receiving intensive support, I’m proud to say we’re having success! While there are a multitude of reasons for increased student achievement, one that I believe is something that all teachers use in their classes is a form of student self-monitoring. Various research (Hattie, Brookhart, Wiliam, Marzano) all prove that the self-reporting is a high-impact strategy. Simply providing students with structures and tools such as logs, graphs, charts, etc. to reflect on their success equates to higher quality learning. When students are involved in monitoring their own progress, research indicates that they are more attuned to their academic performance and are more engaged in their own learning by developing a growth mindset.

Excellence in Education: Warm & Cool Feedback, Peer Editing of Document-Based Questions

While this video is for World History DBQ’s, it could be applied to any peer-editing process.

Administrative Notes

Positive Referral Link: http://goo.gl/s0KXRB

Work Order Request Form: http://goo.gl/H7hFwK

Comment Box: http://goo.gl/forms/KAHNoGf5D2

Some upcoming dates:

April 18: Prom

April 30: Honor Breakfast (Top Decile)

May 17: Scholarship Banquet

May 18: Senior Picnic

May 26/27: Senior Exams

May 29 @ 6pm: Graduation

May 29 (full day) and  June 1: Exams (as it stands now)

New Marking Period Dates:

                March 20: End of MP 2

                No ½ days or exams

Some upcoming edcamps (opt-out credit can be earned):

March 21: Edcamp Arlington http://edcamparlington.org/

                    Edcamp RVA (Richmond)

April 18: Edcamp Delaware (Wilmington)

Still waiting for more info about Edcamp MetroDC and Edcamp95 (Virginia/Prince William maybe)

What I’m Reading

Last week I talked about the 2x10 approach for challenging students and several teachers asked about it. Here’s a link for more information.

Recent High School Grads Are Not Prepared for College or Career

Twelve Ways to Empower Student-Driven Learning

Lawmakers Look to Rein In Alternative (Special Education) Diplomas

  

Quote of the Week

Hannel and Hannel (1998, 7), student engagement “should not be optional…. Students come to school to learn, and when they are in school they do not have the right not to learn. Students are undertrained not underbrained.”

 

Building Relationships

Excellence in Education: Building Relationships 

It's about relationships. At the heart of our mission are the relationships we create with our students. As a first-year teacher I remember being told to be a firm disciplinarian, to establish my authority as a firm dictator. Perhaps you were told, "Don't smile until November," "Don't let students see your weakness," or "Never show emotion." 

So on my first day, I listed rule after rule after rule. You can't do this, this or this. Then I laid out the consequences--well let's be real, the punishments. The endless listing of rules continued; the students were only saved by the bell. Of course, within days, students saw right by my facade. In due time I became more comfortable sharing personal stories, my enthusiasm with their learning, and at times my disappointments with their lack of progress. 

I know this isn’t rocket science, but science does prove that student-teacher relationships are one of the most important influences on student achievement. In Visible Learning, John Hattie’s research ranks student-teacher relations as #9 out of #138 influences.

Some simple every day steps:

•  Greeting students at the door
•  Pre-do now: As students enter your classroom post a picture or a message about you. Possible postings: Last night I went to...I made xyz for dinner last night...A personal goal of yours...I feel great about myself because I met my goal of losing 5 pounds last summer. 
•  Create activities that will help you relate to your students 
• 2x10 : Choose your most challenging student and talk to them every day for 10 consecutive days for 2 minutes each day. Make the talk about something non-school related. This one might take a little time away from “instruction,” but the rewards are worth it.

Most of these activities take away from class time. What they will do, however, is create meaningful and lasting relationships with your students. And isn't that why we became teachers? Soon students will seek you out after class to share their own experiences, their own success and failures and to simply talk. As you open up to them, they’ll open up to you.

So please ask yourself, "Do I know enough about each of my students to teach them?" 

Administrative Notes

Positive Referral Link: http://goo.gl/s0KXRB

Work Order Request Form: http://goo.gl/H7hFwK

Comment Box: http://goo.gl/forms/KAHNoGf5D2

Some upcoming dates:

April 18: Prom

April 30: Honor Breakfast (Top Decile)

May 17: Scholarship Banquet

May 18: Senior Picnic

May 26/27: Now sent in stone: Senior Exams

May 29 @ 6pm: Graduation

May 29 (full day) and  June 1: Exams (as it stands now)

Some upcoming edcamps (opt-out credit can be earned):

February 21: Edcamp NOVA (Ashburn): I’m registered but unable to go because I’ll be at another conference http://edcampnova.org/  Because of the snow, this event has been rescheduled! I’ll let you know the details as they become available.

March 21: Edcamp Arlington http://edcamparlington.org/

                    Edcamp RVA (Richmond)

April 18: Edcamp Delaware (Wilmington)

Still waiting for more info about Edcamp MetroDC and Edcamp95 (Virginia/Prince William maybe)

What I’m Reading

Marissa Meyer, Google VP, 9 Principles of Innovation : Not an education article, but a lot of this pertains to what we should strive for in our classrooms

Recent High School Grads Are Not Prepared for College or Career

Do Your Students Talk AT Each Other or WITH Each Other

 

Quote of the Week

Dylan Wiliam: If we create a culture where every teacher believes they need to improve, not because they are not good enough, but because they can be even better, there is NO limit to what we can achieve.

Brain Dump

Excellence in Education: Brain Dump

I’ve seen several teachers use Brain Dump, or some sort of variant, as a Do Now, a Sponge Activity, a Sponge Activity, or an Exit Activity. The more I see it used, the more I like it and cognitively it works!

Students are given a topic and are given several minutes to write down all they know about the topic without using any resources. Students can then work with a partner to share or add to their lists or they can be allowed to reference their notes or other resources.

Note: It’s important that students don’t reference their resources in the first step. Make them think to make learning more permanent.

Ideas for Education: Feedback from Grant Wiggins

According to Grant Wiggins effective feedback is:

• Goal-referenced
• Tangible and transparent
• Actionable
• User-friendly (specific and personalized)
• Timely
• Ongoing
• Consistent

 Administrative Notes

Flex starts tomorrow.

Positive Referral Link: http://goo.gl/s0KXRB

Work Order Request Form: http://goo.gl/H7hFwK

Comment Box: http://goo.gl/forms/KAHNoGf5D2

Some upcoming dates:

February 10: New Flex Start Date

February 13: Senior Trip

April 30: Honor Breakfast (Top Decile)

May 17: Scholarship Banquet

May 18: Senior Picnic

May 26/27: Now sent in stone: Senior Exams

May 29 @ 6pm: Graduation

May 29 (full day) and  June 1: Exams (as it stands now)

Some upcoming edcamps (opt-out credit can be earned):

February 21: Edcamp NOVA (Ashburn): I’m registered but unable to go because I’ll be at another conference http://edcampnova.org/

March 21: Edcamp Arlington http://edcamparlington.org/

                    Edcamp RVA (Richmond)

April 18: Edcamp Delaware (Wilmington)

Still waiting for more info about Edcamp MetroDC and Edcamp95 (Virginia/Prince William maybe)

What I’m Reading

The Neurochemistry of Positive Conversations: A great follow-up article to last week’s one-on-one conversations posting and a great reminder to me.

Toontastic, an ipad app, is now free. Some great opportunities for some creative student-created projects.  Google buys Toontastic  and an example of toontastic in education.  

19 Superpowers All Teachers Have