My perfect PLC!

#Flipclass chat tonight is about PLC's. The #flashblog assignment is to write about our perfect PLC.  I am stuck. I really don't know what I would want in my perfect PLC. I want to compare it to my #flipclass PLN, or my #flipcon15 voxer group, or possibly my newly found #paedchat group.  Is that fair to do so?

I know that I want it to be a community that fosters risk taking, that encourages each other to think outside the box, to not be afraid to challenge one's thinking, and to have a number one goal of "What is best for the students!" I want it to meet when we are all not-exhausted, and in a comfortable area to work. My ideal PLC probably would happen after school hours, at someone's house or a small cafe, with a coffee or an adult beverage in hand. If not in the same physical space, then maybe in a google hangout or through google or twitter chats. I want it to meet without the requirement of meeting, for the good of the student and teacher. I want it to be cross curricular and cross grade levels. I don't want it to have rules, or mandatory topics. I want to feel connected to the people in the PLC. I want it to be more than one person.

I guess I do know what I want in my ideal PLC.  Is my ideal PLC possible? How can I make it happen?

I wish my teacher knew...

I finally got to sit down and spend some time reading the "I wish my teacher knew.." responses I had my students complete on the first day.  Some of the posts made me smile, cheer, laugh out loud, and proud to be the students teacher, while others made me sad, angry, and more determined to help my students.  

The very first one I read justified to me why building community and relationships is so key, and why it must start on the FIRST day of school. This students wrote:

Other things I learned about my students:

• One student's parents divorced this summer forcing her to move in with her brother. She still is unpacked.
• One student moved here from Illinois this summer and is quiet.
• One student's dad had a stroke 3 years ago, and still is wheel chair bound.
• Many of my students are involved in some type of activity after school. Some say they may be tired in class, while others admit that time management is going to be important, with some hopeful that being in a flipped class will help with it all.
• Some of my students have much younger siblings that add responsibilities to their after school schedules.
• One of my students only gets to see his dad for 9 hours every other weekend.
• One student was bullied and picked on in elementary and middle school, and is hoping that things will be different in high school. She is hoping for a fresh start.
• Some students love math, and others take it because it is necessary.
• Some students love working with others, while others would rather work alone.
• One student writes that he wishes his teachers knew that encouragement goes a long way.
• I have quite a few tennis players and track and field participants.
• I have some students that love to travel and be adventurous, while I also have a few that would rather stay at home and not travel.
• One of my students is a farmer, and wanted me to know that his free time is spent with his animals.
• That I have taught quite a few of my students' siblings.
• Some of my students are afraid of failure.
• Many are excited to be in a flipped classroom, and are really excited to learn math this year.

This is the first year I did such an activity, and I will definitely do it again. I may even have them write another at semester break to see if there are new things I need to know.  

I promise my students that:

• I won't let ANYONE in my presence bully, tease, or pick on another student.
• I will encourage each and every one of them to do their best, and to take risks. Failures may happen, but failure always leads to learning.
• I will always listen, give a hug, cry (or laugh) with them, give them a high five, and to celebrate along the way.
• I will help them fit in, and to find activities that may be of interest to them.
• I will never let a student be left out that wants to be included. 
• I will ALWAYS care!

This is going to be an awesome school year! I already love my students.

Building Community

Building Community is one the absolute most important concepts one must employ in order to have a successful school year. It must also be done starting on Day 1. Students need to know that you care, that they opinions are valued, and that you will treat them like humans.  Students will only take risks when they are comfortable with you and the classroom environment.

That is why I will do practically no math on Day 1 of each of my classes. We will do various activities to help facilitate the growing of a community. Here is my plan.

Remind- Students will sign up to receive weekly remind texts from me and gain the ability to chat with me via texting.

Answer Garden- I have a question asking students to give me their first reactions to when they hear "math class."

Google Survey- Students will answer 10 questions about themselves in a google form. I am going to use this survey to make Kahoots about the students so that everyone gets to know their classmates.

Learning Style Survey- Students are going to visit a site and answer questions about learning styles, and will then post their results into a padlet that I created.

Kahoot - The class will play a kahoot that will be mostly about me, my family, my hobbies, and what a flipped classroom really is.

Socrative Space Race- Students will join pairs and compete in  Socrative Space Race using 10 Algebra 1 Review Questions.  (Can't share this because I don't know how.)

Blog- Students are going to blog in the LMS answering the following prompt "I wish my teacher knew...".  They may write about anything.

While these activities are going on, I will be distributing graphing calculators and note packets.  This will be the only day I had anything out. The students will be responsible for their group material after this day.

Possible issues may involve getting the really shy student to participate or joining the vast age differences 12-17. I will be anticipating these and will be able to help each of these situations.

I want my students to go home on that first day and tell their parents that I really wants to get to know them and that I care.

Flipcon15 Reflections

As I sit here reminiscing about FlipCon 15 this summer, many things stand out in my many memories.  These memories include old friends and new friends, my PLC, volunteering to moderate the virtual sessions, attending some other great sessions, the boat ride and the dinner at the baseball stadium. What I took away from  FlipCon 15 was so much more than that too.

First let me briefly explain my experience with flipping my class and what aspects of it I use. I teach high school mathematics, particularly Algebra 2 and a remediation of Algebra 1, and will be entering my 4th year of flipping. I use flipped learning with three of my classes and flipped mastery with the other two. After teaching the same thing for 16 years, I needed a change, and chose to start flipping at that time. I loved teaching the second level of Algebra, but I figured if I was bored, the students had to be. I also wanted to build better relationships with my students, and to give them more engaged class time. Flipping was the perfect fit.

Back to Flipcon15.  I miss my “flipping family.” It was nice not be the only one that understands and supports the power of flipping, not being the only one that is willing to take risks for the students’ benefits, not being the only one that has a chaotic classroom, and having others completely understand you when you say, “the louder my classroom is, the more learning that is taking place.”  

Having participated on a weekly basis in the #flipclass chat on Monday nights since October of 2013. Here is my first tweet to #flipclass:

It took me several months to get up the nerve to actually really participate in the #flipclass twitter chat. Once I did, I learned so much and met so many people. I mention this PLC in this reflection of Flipcon15, because it allowed me the opportunity to meet people prior to attending the conference. It also made attending Flipcon15 by myself less scary, since I felt like I was meeting old friends.  I wasn’t shy to hug Kate Baker (@KtBkr4) the first time I met her because it was like I knew her for many years. I didn’t hesitate to walk up to Crystal Kirch (@crystalkirch) and ask her about sharing her WSQ with newbies. I introduced myself to Lindsay Stephenson (@MrsStephenson3) after her session and we became best buddies. I invited Carla Jefferson (@MrsJeff2u) to ride with me to the evening events, because I knew she was staying at the same hotel as I was. This is why I refer to “missing my family” since it truly was like a huge family reunion. As I reflect, I think it is imperative to possibly get everyone registered to attend these conferences involved in a twitter chat. It really makes the experience so much more.

This was my first year volunteering as a Virtual Moderator, and I truly enjoyed doing that. Not only did I get to sit in some great sessions and hear and see the presenter first hand, I also got to see the conversation going on in the virtual world and facilitate that conversation. I was the voice of those online as I asked their questions to the presenter. I will most certainly volunteer to do that again, and hope others get the chance as well.

My take aways from the conference are so many, that I am still trying to work through it all. I attended the Grade Divide presented by Kate Baker and Lindsay Cole, and felt that the conversation on grades and grading could have been the Keynote Speaker or a whole day discussion. What does an A in a class really mean? Is that A the same understanding in some other teacher’s class, teaching the same course? Is it fair to have a 60% chance to fail and only a 40% chance to pass (for those on a 60% is a D- scale)? I have hated grading for the last 20 years, and as my philosophy of teaching changes, I hate it even more. We aren’t giving the right feedback, nor are we grading the right things, in my opinion.

Another session that I attended that I am still trying to wrap my head around is Crystal Kirch’s, Formative Assessment on the Fly. Her session was so jam packed with great ways to assess students progresses in your class, that I am trying to explore and see which ones work and which ones I could do without. The issue I am having right now, is that I really feel that I could use them all, and am trying to figure out those appropriate spots for each. Right now, of all of them that are new to me, as some I have already used and like, I am really like goformative.com, since it has many different ways to assess in a formative way.  Since I have 19 years of work done, goformative allows you to upload already created worksheets and create answer boxes for problems. That’s pretty cool.

The keynote speaker, Paul Anderson, was absolutely amazing. His presentation was thought provoking, funny, engaging, and brilliant. He had all of us laughing and chatting about ideas in twitter. He used great cartoons and connections that we all know to get his points across. Some of my favorite quotes, which are listed below, come from this Keynote presentation.

Jon Bergmann and Aaron Sams also kept us entertained and continued to challenge us to think outside the box and to take risks. They encouraged us to not get stuck in a rut, and not to get too comfortable, because we should always be moving forward.

Some quotes that I got from this two day conference are listed below. There are many more, but these are the ones that touched me or really encouraged me to be a better teacher.

“You are the most important resource in your classroom!”- Paul Anderson

“Technology should be the hub that leads us into the real world.”- Paul Anderson

“From STEM to STEAM to STREAM to HAMSTER FLOAT.”- tweeted by Kristin Daniels (during Paul Anderson’s Keynote)

“Don’t put a grade on it if you want students to keep working. Putting a grade ends the conversation.” - Lindsay Cole and Kate Baker

In summary, Flipcon15 and the #flipclass twitter group is the absolutely most important professional development one can attend. The support is so superior than any other group I have been a part of. One the last day of Flipcon15, I commented how I really wished it was much longer, and it did feel like you do when you leave a family reunion. You were really starting to be a huge part of it, remembering the family, when it is all over. Flipcon16 can’t come soon enough.

Emotional labour

Honestly, if you teach, and don't have emotional labour, you aren't human. Fact! (in my opinion)

Avoiding it, shutting it off, decompressing about it aren't my strong point. I internalize everything I do, and deal with it. There are days I am so happy that I skip around the house singing, other days, so sad that I cry, and yet other days angry, because I feel as if I am being taken advantage of my certain people.

Having a husband that is also a teacher (of the same subject, in the same high school), it is very tough to not talk shop at home. It is hard to turn off school and just enjoy family time.  However, it is my husband that helps me. He is so laid back, not a #gogogo type of person and is always so very reasonable. He lets me vent (and doesn't try to stop it), will vent with me, but in the end, he is always has something positive or refreshing for me. It may just be, "I love you, Shai!" or "You are right, but wait 24 hours before doing anything about it!" or "Did you stop and think about what .......?"

I love attending basketball games, football games (every home Friday), volleyball, music recitals, soccer games, orchestra concerts, jazz concerts, plays, etc. The students LOVE seeing their teachers support them, and I truly enjoy it.  My husband on the other hand, loves being home. So, as we were raising our son, unless he was involved in one of the music events or plays, my husband stayed home and I went alone. Now, that my son is away at college, I still go alone.  Some may call attending these events emotional labour, but labour that I love. It helps me to decompress.  I have been known, though, to take papers that needed to be graded with me to basketball games, and grade them in the stands while watching the game.

The emotional labour that entails from the constant paper chase teachers have to do, or the constant changes and add ons that happen, or the constant responsibilities that are added, I could do without. However, I love teaching and I love my students each year, I do it for them.

So, I guess it all comes down to the fact that I endure this, for my students.

Building Community outside the classroom.

Tonight's #flashblog assignment from out #flipclass chat was how do you experience community outside of your classroom.

There are several ways I experience community outside of my classroom. I participate in many different twitter chats. #flipclass is my favorite PLN and twitter chat, since I am with very like minded people that only help me become a better teacher. I also participate in #edchat, #mathchat, #ntchat, #teachherfriends, #edcampPGH #teachedchat, ##21stedchat and others as I happen upon them. The twitter chats are a safe place to throw ideas out, get feedback, tweak ideas, and gather support. Just tonight, @samcarney and @justinaglio and talking about starting a #edchatPA. What is really very valuable about most of the twitter chats that I participate in is that there are so many disciplines represented that you grow in many ways.

Another way that I build community outside of my classroom is to attend conferences. This past year I attended both #edcampPGH and #flipcon15. After both of these conferences (or unconference for the #edcampPGH), I left with so much excitement, motivation, and yearning. The yearning was more selfishness. I really wanted to keep chatting and learning from everyone, that I didn't want it to end.

A more recent way of building community has been active participation in voxer groups. The voxer groups are a bit different from twitter chats, since you are limited to 140 characters and you actually get to hear voices. Hearing the voice of someone you look up to professionally, while learning from them, is very rewarding and impressionable.

I am already trying to figure out, plan how I am going to attend #flipcon16 next year. I promise that I WON"T miss it. It is about a 22 hour drive from my house, but half way there is Nashville, TN. I think I am going to meet my twin in Nashville, spend several days there, and then head to Allen, TX. The ride home will be a bit harder, but possibly another over night stop back in Nashville. I have a year to figure it out.

As for #edcampPGH that is already on my schedule for Nov. 7, and again, I won't miss it. Those folks there were awesome, and an extension of my family. After all, at that edcamp, we all speak the same language. (Pittsburghian!)

I will continue to build my community! I am #alwayslearning.

Puppets here, puppets there, puppets everywhere.

I was introduced to using puppets in the classroom by Cheryl Morris (@guster4lovers) and Andrew Thomasson (@thomasson_engl).  I started to think about what ways could I possibly use puppets in the high school math classrooms.  "Puppets wouldn't get students excited, just like stickers don't," some of my colleagues would remark.  Ha! Nothing gets a student to more excited than giving them a sticker (especially scratch and sniff), and puppets did the same.

I did not create a project sheet, nor a rubric, nor anything else except a list of K-2 math topics and social issue topics.  Here were my directions:

Create a puppet, out of a sock, or any other material, that has to have:

1. eyes (buttons, wiggle eyes, etc...)
2. clothing. (the sock can't be just a sock...needs clothing..no nudity in math!)

I also told the students that they will choose a K-2 math concept to teach.  These puppet shows will be shared with live elementary classes, so they had to be authentic.

That's it.

I did this project during the 2 week of our state testing, so, my students were just working on their puppets during class, and the evenings were to be spent studying for their state Biology test and their AP World History test.  All of my students have already taken the Algebra 1 test, since they are in my Advanced Algebra 2 class.  It was my way to allow my students time to relax and not stress over math during this very stressful time of the year.  

I listened, watched, and learned as the students worked.  I knew nothing about what program the kids would use to make their videos, or even how and where we would record the videos.  This all came about with the help of a great IT media specialist.  We made a closet into a video recording stage, and he recorded each period for my kids.  We, together explored programs, and since my students have mostly Chromebooks, we used We Video.  (Some did use iMovie on Macs).

The videos came out spectacular. 

It was a very rewarding project, and one that I can definitely build on and enhance.  I am so excited to share and talk about this process.

Here are the padlet links to the puppets (my colleagues are voting for the top 3 puppets in each class period, so that is why the Letter and Number) and also a link that has the video links if you are interested in watching.

Period 2 Puppets

Period 3 Puppets

Period 8 Puppets

Puppet Shows 

Please let me know if you look at these and what your thoughts are.

I am thinking that next year, I will have the students build puppets earlier on in the year, and then use them as alternative assessments.  Not sure, and am still thinking through this, but there is certainly potential with using and #teachingmathusingpuppets.