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The Big Picture Chapter 9

7/7/2016

My vision for my classroom is to create an environment where all students are comfortable, safe, and motivated. I would like to be able to support them in what they do, and help them discover an appreciation for learning. I think that, each year, my classroom evolves a little closer to my vision because I try new things and let other things go. Each year I try to put more effort into my relationship with my students. I try to incorporate more hands-on activities to pique their interest. I try to provide ways for my students to voice their opinions and suggestions about what we do in the classroom. Most importantly, I try to find ways for them to have fun.
When I first started teaching I was very reluctant to get too close to the students. I really felt the need for there to be a definite separation between teacher and student to maintain order and control in the classroom. Over the last several years, I found this to be an absolutely incorrect way of thinking. The more I build strong relationships with my students, the better every aspect of the classroom is. I have become much more comfortable with controlled chaos and with not always being the one leading. I have let the students follow their interests more. I have tried to find ways for them to have ownership over their education. My classroom is, and always will be, evolving. It is nowhere near where I want it to be, but I feel like I am moving in the right direction with each new class that comes through the door.

Reflection 5

7/6/2016

I did genius hour for the first time last year, and I found it to be a really interesting experience. For many of my students, it was possibly the hardest thing they had had to do all year. Our students are so accustomed to being given an assignment with explicit instructions, that they are not sure what to do when they have real choices in what they are going to learn about. I think that is one of the things that makes genius hour so powerful.
When I first presented the idea of a genius hour project, I tried to give my students a wide variety of examples without leading them in any particular direction. I emphasized the idea that they should investigate something they find interesting and that they should not think about it as writing a report about a topic. I found numerous videos online that depicted different types of projects and showed kids talking about their projects. I felt like I had done a really good job of presenting the assignment, but the project proposals I received from my students were really research report topics.
I revisited the idea of getting outside of the research report “box,” and also started meeting individually with students. We would discuss their interests and try to build a project idea from there. I had one student who was very interested in basketball and wanted to write a report about it. We discussed his ideas and tried to channel them in another direction. He ended up creating a basketball dream team. He was able to pick players for each position and explain why he thought they should be there.
I had another girl get really interested in helping the homeless after watching one of the videos I showed. She put together a clothes and toiletries drive at the school. She contacted the shelter she wanted to donate to, made fliers advertising the drive, went around to all of the classrooms and talked about her project, and took everything she collected to the shelter. She had a really positive experience with her project and wanted to work on it during every spare minute she got during class.
After reading The Big Picture, I get the feeling that the philosophy behind genius hour is really a central part of Littky’s educational philosophy. The fact that his students are pursuing what they are interested in at all times increases their interest in school. While not all of my students were excited about genius hour, the ones who were excited were extremely motivated to work on their projects.

Reflection 4

7/6/2016

I had never really given any thought to my classroom being a blended classroom because it really isn’t. That being said, I have tried to incorporate computer-based programs in my class on a regular basis. I have found that the ones that are most helpful, and most appreciated by students, are the ones that allow for independent growth and achievements. Three years ago I set up several of my students on Khan Academy. It became one of the go-to sites that students could work on when they completed class work early. I really liked the way it was set up and, for the most part, so did the students. Unfortunately, the following year brought new suggested sites to our school, and my use of Khan Academy pretty much ended. The major site that teachers (and the district) started suggesting was Frontrowed. At the time, Frontrowed was exclusively (I think) a math program. It provided a diagnostic and then had the students work on math concepts at their own pace. It’s a good program that has since added a language arts component. I have been using it for the last couple of years. While I think it is a good program and it definitely has its benefits, I am thinking that I may like to try returning to Khan Academy this coming year. My students have been forced to work extensively on Frontrowed by the time they get to me, and it has lost a lot of the novelty that it once had. Most teachers at my site do not use Khan Academy, so hopefully its newness will appeal to my students.
There are many online resources that really help students. I enjoy using online quiz “games” like Kahoot and Quizizz, as well as online lessons through sites like Brainpop. These are especially helpful for students because they are done in interesting videos and students can watch them independently and work at their own pace.
In the coming year, I hope to do a lot more with stations and regularly use some of these programs (and more). Since meeting with groups has grown increasingly difficult, the station rotation should provide me with the opportunity to meet with and help a lot more students on a daily basis.

Reflection 3

7/6/2016

A major focus today was on the concept of blended learning. I agree with the comment that teachers have a tendency to simply try to “throw” technology into their classroom without fully considering the best ways for it to be properly incorporated, or blended. It was beneficial to learn a little more about how blended classrooms can really work. The presentations gave me some insight into some things I am already doing that go along with blended learning, and some ideas for how I can take it further.
I was somewhat familiar with the concept of a flipped classroom, although it was good to get a little more solid information. I really like the idea of students getting instruction at home online and then coming to class prepared to go further with the information or apply it in some way. I think this is almost an ideal setup, but I am very skeptical concerning its practicality. I am not sure of all the changes that need to be enacted before this would be a possibility at my site, but there are several. In addition to the fact that not all of my students have access to the internet at home, I do not think they are all independently motivated enough to complete the assignments each night. Many of them would not be independently motivated to put enough time into the assignment to really understand the information being taught. I know some of them would, but what happens with those students who do not access the material when it is assigned? How can they be an active participant in the classroom?
The two rotation models are quite appealing to me because I can really see how they can be implemented. Although our site does not have a computer lab that my students can rotate through, I absolutely can and should do more station rotations in my class. As the group was presenting this model, I started thinking about the different ways this can be implemented. I really like the fact that it allows for small group instruction because this is an area in which I need to improve. I have been concerned about keeping students focused on their task during stations in the past, but I think that if the expectations and guidelines are properly set up at the beginning of the year, it could really be a beneficial part of my classroom.

The Big Picture Chapter 8.5

7/6/2016

Like many teachers, I have significant concerns about standardized testing. More than anything else, it worries me that students are supposed to prepare for a single test that is meant to measure their worth over an entire school year. Not only does this set most of them up to fail, it also places a tremendous amount of pressure on the students and the teachers.
When a single, high-stakes test is the major concern of schools, there is a lot of potential learning and growth that gets pushed aside or forgotten entirely. I don’t know how many times I have thought of fantastic extension activities that would truly benefit my students, but I have opted not to do them because of the amount of time it would take. When your life is determined by an unrealistic pacing calendar that is designed in such a way that all standards can be addressed before a high-stakes standardized test, you are frequently unable to do the really meaningful and memorable lessons and activities for which a more relaxed and fluid calendar would allow.
At the same time, I understand that teachers and schools need to be held accountable for teaching, and I am honestly not sure what the best method is for measuring accountability. It seems really obvious that the current tests are not the ideal method for measuring student growth and outcome. As the author points out, not all students can be measured and tested in the same way. While this is true, it does not seem to address the need for school accountability. It doesn’t seem that the author has a solid suggestion for how a more individualized approach to testing could be implemented on a national level. I wonder what practical (and feasible) advice he might have for implementing individualized testing while maintaining accountability.

The Big Picture Chapter 8

7/5/2016

I think the idea of narratives is really great, although it does sound like it could be a lot of work. One of the teachers I work with used to teach in Massachusetts. The school she was at did narratives in lieu of (or possibly in addition to) grades. I have heard her comment more than once that she would like to see this practice adopted in our district. She really believes narratives paint a much better picture of the student, which is precisely what the author is arguing. When the topic has come up, it has struck me as a tremendous amount of work at the end of each trimester. Report cards are already so time consuming, the idea of writing 1-2 pages about each student does seem a little overwhelming.
I didn’t have a really good picture of what narratives looked like, so I was glad to see some examples in this chapter. I am not sure if the author included the entire narratives or if he only provided excerpts. If his examples were narratives in their entirety, I think they seem a lot less daunting that I previously thought. I can see many benefits to narratives, not the least of which is the amount of information they convey about each individual student. As a parent, I think the idea of getting a narrative about my child’s progress would be much more informative than letter grades.

The Big Picture Chapter 7

7/5/2016

Why do schools so often seem to resist, or even fear, parent involvement? What can parents do to change this? What can schools do?

I think that schools resist parent involvement because parent involvement can complicate matters for the school. While this can certainly be a good thing, I think that it worries many administrators and teachers because they believe that they know best and want to have control in the educational realm. While teachers and administrators arguably do know more than the average parent about education, we cannot ignore the superior knowledge that parents (usually) have about their own children. Given the fact that the school and the parents each have important input that can be brought to the table, it makes sense that they should work together to encourage the best school environment possible.
In order to change this mentality, parents can make a greater effort to be involved at the school. The author mentions numerous questions that parents can pose to the teachers and administrators in an effort to better understand the school. On top of that, parents can also volunteer to help out in the classrooms or at school activities. They can also become involved in the PTA and use that platform to encourage other parents to increase their involvement. They can make sure that they maintain regular contact with teachers regarding their child’s education.
I think the major shift probably has to come from the teachers and administrators. It is difficult to listen to parent suggestions, and it is even harder to invite parents to really have a say in the way the school is managed. First and foremost, the school staff needs to get on board with having parents as a regular part of the educational process. Once they are okay with that, other changes can follow.

The Big Picture Chapter 6

6/30/2016

The example the author gives of “fake real” work is the planning for a trip/vacation project done by a classroom of students. He pointed out that the students were not as invested in it as they had been in other, more “real,” learning assignments. As a result, they did not do as well on this assignment. The reason for this, he argues, is that they knew they would not really be taking the trip.
In this example, the author really slams the idea of “fake real” by pointing out how incredibly inferior it is to the authentic experience of, presumably, planning and getting to actually take the trip. While the experience of going on a trip is obviously preferable to merely planning for the trip, I do not think that this makes the experience of planning for the trip “fake,” or worthless. Many of our classrooms employ these types of activities, and I would argue that they are capable of incorporating many different skills and subjects and do in fact have a great deal of merit. It might allow the students to explore using maps, budgeting practices, airline booking, travel company procedures, tourist attraction websites, and many more aspects of trip planning that are valuable and useful in our lives. While they may not be able to go on the trip at that moment, they have learned skills that they can use when they are ready and able to take a trip. I don’t think this should be discounted as “fake.”

Reflection #2

6/30/2016

The article entitled, “At the Core of the Apple Store,” included excellent points about what a classroom environment could, and perhaps should, look like. Central to the Apple work model is the idea of play. Children are drawn to Apple products and find the interface one that is appealing, fun, and easy to manipulate. Just like a child picks up an iPad and starts mashing the touchscreen, so are adults encouraged to explore and play with the products in the store. This is an enticing aspect of Apple’s business model because it plays into the childlike wonder and interest in play that most adults still possess. Apple provides a safe place and opportunity for adults to play, explore, and make mistakes. These are what we need to be doing in our classrooms for our students as well.
Another enticing aspect of the Apple business model is the focus on individualized, or catered, learning. Apple has employees who facilitate customer learning by helping with precisely what the customer wants to learn about. The idea of a “Genius Bar,” where customers can go to learn and explore is really neat. It was suggested today that we could even have students be the facilitators at a classroom “Genius Bar.” I thought this was a really appealing idea that I would like to explore more.
The article on Apple’s business model reminded me of what I have heard about Google and Pixar, at least insofar as play and the personal interests of the employees is taken into consideration. A great deal of the school day is dry and boring, so teachers need to be making a concerted effort to bring excitement, play, and exploration back into the classroom.

The Big Picture Chapter 5

6/30/2016

Imagine you’ve found out that a kid you know is really interested in astronomy (or cooking, or video games, or fashion, or baseball, or music, or police work, or whatever). How would you help her go into depth in this area? What might she learn by exploring her interest more deeply?

Since Genius Hour projects are supposed to be about a topic of particular value or interest to each student, it is precisely what I would suggest for a student who has a particular topic they want to delve into.
Last year was the first time I tried out a Genius Hour project in my class. Genius Hour is an idea inspired by the work environment at Google. Google employees are encouraged to pursue their own interests for 20% of their work week. During this time they can work on anything they think will improve Google. This practice helps keep the employees motivated and really into what they are doing. Like 20% Time, Genius Hour is an opportunity for students to work on a project that they feel passionate about. In the traditional school setting, Genius Hour provides an excellent opportunity for students to experience choice and work on something that is totally relevant to them.
When I first introduced the concept of Genius Hour to my class, I was met with a great deal of hesitation and reluctance. Students are not used to having choice in their assignments and, as a result, they really don’t know what to do with it. Many of my students were very stuck in the idea that they were supposed to pick a topic on which to write a research report. We looked at numerous examples of Genius Hour projects, and slowly some of the students began to catch on. I really tried to let the students follow their interests, and simply acted as a sounding board for ideas. While I still ended up with a lot of reports, many of my students produced wonderful projects that they really got excited about working on. I plan to continue the practice of Genius Hour in my class. My hope is that each new group of students will be progressively more comfortable with the freedom and choice that is inherent in these projects.