10 Valuable Blog Posts from 2014

As 2014 comes to a close, I went back and looked at some of my favorite posts that I have read during the year.  I wanted to share them with others in case they had missed the posts during the year.  I used the term "valuable" instead of "best" in the title for the blog posts because I was able to grow from each of these posts.  Feel free to share your favorite posts from this past year.

Katrina Schwartz – How to Turn Your School into a Maker Haven

Katrina discusses the “Maker Movement” with Gary Stager, co-author with Sylvia Libow Martinez of  “Invent to Learn,” a book about the Maker Movement after their presentation at the 2014 ISTE Conference in Atlanta.  The post contains great information on how to create “maker” philosophy in your school.  

Dan Rockwell – Seven Ways to Stop Vultures and Protect Vitality

Dan has many great posts but this one stuck out for me.  Its important to discuss what is working in your organization and not always drawing attention on what isn’t working.  As Dan states, “The more you focus on problems, the more problems you see.”  So true.

Angela Maiers – Getting to the Heart of Collaboration

Angela explains that collaboration consists of three parts: team, processes, and purpose.   I completely agree with her when she points out that if collaboration is going to take place in education, it must be embedded in the culture of the school.  

Michelle Dupuis - Differentiation Through Multiple Intelligences

I believe differentiation is one of the most vital pieces of classroom instruction.  Today, we have many different types of learners in our buildings.  As educators, we need to be able to reach each type of learner so they can grow as students.   Michelle does a good job of explaining what multiple intelligences consist of and how we can reach all of our students. 

Joe Mazza – You’re Not as Bad as You Think

Joe uses a backyard game that he is fond of to explain as educators we need model resiliency for our students.  Great post that teaches us things are not as always bad as we think they may be.  

Tom Vander Ark – Leading the Shift to Digital: School, System, and City

Tom shares the keys to successful Next Generation leadership and the best way to move a system and city through education.

Jimmy Casas – New Family Tours: Do They Get What They Expect?

Jimmy shares great tips for any educator on welcoming new students into their new home.  A refreshing post on remembering how important a person’s first encounter is with your school.  Make it a special one for them.

Tom Whitby – The “C Words” of Education

Tom points out that as educators, we need to focus on communication, collaboration and creation.  A great post urging educators to stop focusing on content delivery and start getting students to utilize critical thinking skills. 

George Couros – In a world that is extremely digital, we need humanity more than ever

I believe that building and maintaining relationships is the key to education.  As educators, we need to build relationships with students, parents, and community members.  George does a great job explaining that while technology is amazing, we also need to remember that we are in a “people business” where technology can’t take the place of relationships.

Eric Sheninger – Professional Learning School Leaders Need and Deserve

As Eric states in his post, “Finding learning experiences that have professional value to us” is the basis of professional development for any educator.  In this post, Eric discusses the International Center for Leadership in Education (ICLE) Principal Academy and how the academy will change PD for administrators.

Utilize Tools to Demonstrate Mastery in Different Ways

Student mastery is a hot topic these days in education. As educators, we want our students to be able to demonstrate that they have mastered the content that they have been presented. When I was in school, mastery consisted of taking a test and achieving a score or a grade that was acceptable to move on to the next unit. Mastery looks a little different today in education than it has in the past.

Students need to have choices to demonstrate that they know content. What methods students and teachers use to demonstrate mastery depends on the content.  Digital tools gives students and teachers many more options to demonstrate mastery than a school without the use of personalized tools or resources. Students have the tools to use innovative ways to prove they know content and can formally use it in different modes.

Some important things to keep in mind when utilizing digital tools with a variety of ways to demonstrate mastery:

Use of Apps or sites

Creating a PowerPoint, while at times effective for different situations, is close to being archaic in the classroom. Students and teachers are finding more innovative ways to present information and communicate a message. Utilizing apps and different sites are great ways for students to demonstrate mastery. Some of the different apps/sites that I have seen students & teachers use include:

Haiku Deck– great way to tell a story

Toontastic – students create cartoons to explain concepts

Prezi

Video apps such iMovie, Capture, Videolicious

ShowMe, EduCreations – create tutorials for others to utilize

Tackk – great tool to use for sites, blogs, or flyers

Creative Teachers

If you want your students to be creative, the teacher should lead with an open mind. As many in education know, students will blow your mind with the different things they can create. As a teacher, make sure you clearly describe to students what you are requiring for them to demonstrate mastery of the content. Think outside the box and don’t tell a student “No!” initially out of the gate. If the student needs to provide more evidence to demonstrate mastery, tell them what they need. Trust me, the students will find ways to do it.

Creative & Supportive Administrators

As an administrator, if you want your teachers & students to be creative, you need to be willing to venture outside the box too. Encouraging students and teachers to try different methods and providing them with the key resources (funds, apps, etc.) is critical. Also, providing the teachers with professional development on how different ways students can show mastery is important.  A great way to do this is to have teachers share each day during teacher-based team meetings the different ways they utilize tools to have students show mastery. Trust your staff and students. Teachers want students to learn. Students want to prove they know content. Let the rest of it play out by utilizing tools.

Educate Your Stakeholders

As I mentioned above, demonstrating mastery isn’t just taking a test anymore. The problem is, many of our parents were in school when this was the only way students demonstrated mastery. Educate your parents on the changes in education. Have your students and teachers utilize school events and social media to demonstrate how and why we offer students different methods to demonstrate mastery.

Student Interest

While not every student will take advantage of the opportunities to illustrate mastery in different means, more students will be engaged in class. Giving students options is the key to personalizing their learning. Student engagement and interest will increase if they feel like they have a say or voice. Give students the opportunity to share their ideas and tools with other students. The creativity level in the class will increase and more ideas for mastery will grow.

The topic of demonstrating mastery and how to do it can be messy at times. With the use of digital tools, it doesn’t always have to be complex. Let the students and teachers help each other and show what they know.

Failure is an Option

It drives me crazy when I hear the term "Failure is not an Option."  While I can visualize why the term was phrased, it is counter productive in regards to our educational system.  As humans, we often fail.  I would know.  I've been failing my whole life.  One of the great things about failure is that provides us with valuable feedback.




I recently read Applying Science of Learning in Education by John Hattie and Gregory Yates.  One of the best portions of this writing is the section on "Using Feedback to Promote Learning."  After reading this, I came away with 5 reasons why as educators we need to utilize feedback to allow growth from failures:




1. Use praise in the classroom.  Just don't use it for effective feedback.
We need to praise students for their efforts, not for great scores and/or grades.  Convey effective feedback to students so they will grow.  Praise isn't effective feedback.  It is important to establish a culture that focuses on effort and growth.  Feedback needs to be specific towards a failure.




2. Feedback can influence the effort students make.
When students receive valuable feedback, they can see what their teacher thinks is important in their class.  Whether it is the way to write a formula or how to correctly site an reference, students know the importance of an area when the teachers provide feedback for that area. 




3. Create a pathway for the vision. 
Goals are important for all aspects of learning.  Students need to know their goals.  Give students effective feedback and many times students will work towards their goal.  Without goals, students don't know what they are working towards.




4. Formative feedback is vital.
Think in the terms of practice for a game.  Coaches just don't tell players, "You did it wrong!  OK, on to the next drill."  We correct mistakes and then model the correct method to ensure our players succeed.  Same goes in the classroom.  Look at formative assessments in the classroom, fix the errors by providing feedback to each student, and demonstrate to the students what is needed for success.




5. Be the GPS for your students
Show students where they are going next.  Program the destination and provide the path students need to take.   Remember, sometimes students take alternate routes.  As long as we get to the same place, growth can still occur.  Also remember to explain to students WHY they are following that path to their destination.


Failure is a part of our lives.  We need to help our students accept failure, gather feedback from it, and grow from it.  Create a learning environment where failure is encouraged so each student can gather feedback and use the feedback to grow.  I have always been a big fan of the Ken Blanchard quote, "Failure is feedback and feedback is the breakfast of champions."  Allow failure in your organization so your culture can grow and get stronger.

4 Steps to Increasing Student Engagement

I recently participated in an educational chat on Twitter where the topic for the hour was student engagement.  It was a good time to reflect on some of the things I see each day in classrooms regarding engagement.  How engagement is defined depends on who you are talking to.  Some common things I see teachers do for student engagement are:


1. Create Student Voice and Choice

• Try to personalize learning for students.  Allow students to have a say in your classes when it comes to classroom rules and procedures, the way instruction is delivered, and how they are assessed.  Let students know they have a voice and a choice, they will take more ownership of the class they are in.

2. Collaboration

• Students learn from each other and want to hear what other students think.  Allow students to work together; research states that peer-to-peer instruction is one of the most effective ways for students to learn and comprehend content.

3. Utilize Tools

• Some believe in order to engage students you need technology.  While it may help at times and in certain classes, it is not completely necessary to engage students.  Utilize resources (whatever they are) to engage students in your classes.  Whether it is with iPads or with chalk, find a way to use tools/resources to engage students.  The learning dictates the tool/resource to use.

4. Focus on Facilitating

• Teaching isn't what it used to be.  The days of the 45 minute lecture for 4 days a week with an assessment on Friday are behind us.  Create lessons and content that is student-centered.  Allow students the opportunity to lead their own learning.  Don't feel the need to dictate and control the class.  Create student-led learners and student ownership will create the engagement you are looking for.

Always remember that the foundation to engagement is building relationships with students.  When students are comfortable in their learning environment, they are more likely to succeed.  Maintain relationships that grow students and develop a consistency of utilizing the areas mentioned above to maintain engagement in your classes and schools.