This blog is for anyone who shares in the job of educating children today. This includes teachers, administrators, paraeducators, parents, tutors, and the list goes on! What works? What doesn't? What resources are available to enrich learning and possibly even make our jobs easier?
Imagine calling your students to the carpet for a whole group lesson. Look out at all those faces. Now ask yourself, do all those students really need to be sitting here for this lesson? Do any of them already know the main concepts? How many students will still be confused even after this lesson is over?
What if you could transform that block of your day so each student can move at a pace that works for him or her? What if students begin taking more ownership of their learning which in turn, creates more engagement? It is possible!
Try this! Write out the steps to your lesson on Google Classroom for your students to read and follow. Include a short video to deliver the new content.
You can use premade videos but I prefer to make my own! I like to use Doceri as my recording tool since it's user friendly, quick to use and quick to upload to my YouTube Channel (I made tutorial videos for you below). Be aware that there is a learning curve here. You may end up taking a long time on your first videos but you will get the hang of it! Now-a-days, it only takes me about 10 minutes to fully create a 5 minute video. Also consider that once you create your videos, you can reuse them next year.
*Tip* Keep your videos short, ideally under 5 minutes. If you are trying to squeeze too much into one video, separate it into two videos.
It is a good idea to go through these types of lessons whole group first because students will need to be clear on the expectations. For example, I require my students take notes in their math notebooks. I also want my students to utilize the pause and rewind features on videos as needed.
This lesson format will almost feel like magic! Imagine this...
You say, "Students, begin your math plan." Students immediately open their Google Classroom (I have them save it in their bookmark bar for even quicker access). They take out their notebooks, write their target and begin watching the video.
This now gives you a chance to gather specific students in a small group to catch them up on past content. You spend about 10-15 minutes with these students before you send them back to start today's video. Now you begin to walk around and help students who are done with their videos and are starting the next step in the lesson. You notice a few kids are struggling with the same concept and you decide to pull them together for a quick intervention. As you are doing this you are seeing other kids go back to the video on their own to review a concept they realize they didn't fully understand the first time they watched it.
This lesson structure fully transforms your instruction! Your role as a teacher completely changes. You will no longer be talking at your students while managing the numerous behavior issues that arise. Instead, you will be working with individuals and small groups in a way that works for them!
Students will begin to take ownership of their learning and their collaboration and problem solving skills will flourish. Students will have many opportunities to get caught up on past concepts as other students are getting more opportunities for enrichment. Not to mention... Students will be happy they don't have to sit through anymore 10 minute whole group lessons that end up being 40 minutes!
Other things to consider:
Use headphone splitters to have more than one student watch a video on a device. This is great if you don't have one-to-one devices or if one student needs a buddy for extra support.
Teach students to go back into the video if they get stuck on the activity
Consider adding thoughtful enrichment activities as the last steps in the lesson. One idea is to allow students access to your Ipad and teacher manual. Have them create their own math videos for past or upcoming lessons! See my YouTube channel for some examples of student-created videos.
We all make mistakes when we make videos or do math. Try rewarding students if they ever catch a mistake you made! This encourages critical thinking.
Consider creating Khan Academy accounts for your students and use this as a last step in your math plan so students can progress through their grade level at their own speed and possibly go onto the next grade level!
Teach your class that every student is also a teacher. Encourage them to work together and teach them how they can help each other without just giving answers.
Tell parents about your videos and give them access to view them. I have many parents watching my videos to better support their child.
Imagine how smoothly these lessons will go when you have a substitute!
When you make mistakes in your video recording, you will have to make a decision on what to do. I normally decide to rerecord my video since I try to keep my videos short and it doesn't take me long. Some people may decide to edit their videos using a tool like iMovie or YouTube editor but this can be very time consuming. Depending on how big your mistake is, you may also decide to leave it in the video and reward students for finding it. This can provide a great teaching moment on a tricky concept.
My YouTube videos are open to the public if you would like to use them. I am just starting to create teaching videos for educators but currently, most of my videos are for 4th and 5th grade math. You will notice I also went through a learning curve while learning to make instructional videos 😥. My earlier videos actually have me in them (yikes) and are often up to 20 minutes long! I've gotten better. Most of my videos are shorter now and use the Doceri App.
I'd love to hear your ideas and what you are already doing in your classroom! Please comment. Also, if you're willing to share your videos, please include the link.
Tutorials
Basic Doceri Tutorial:
Create Example Video Lesson Using Doceri
(Note: The purpose of this video is to show educators how to create a video lesson and not on the quality content delivery. 😊 To see better content delivery, please watch other math videos on my YouTube Channel.)
The learning gap is wide between privileged and underprivileged students. Some students enter the classroom in September already at a disadvantage to learn upcoming material. This is because factors outside the classroom affect how well a student can learn new information. Of course there are many things that contribute to how easy or hard it is for a child to learn but in this post I specifically focus on the factors that affect a student's background knowledge, which ultimately, affects how quickly and deeply a student can learn. I will also focus on what we, as educators, can do in the classroom to help level the playing field for students.
Factors such as socioeconomic status, environment, family culture, etc. affect what a child will experience in his/her life. For example, a child from a family that makes a decent income may be able to travel more, participate in extra curricular activities and go places like the aquarium more than a child from a low income family. Many other scenarios can be included here but the idea is that a family's situation affects the experiences a child can have.
As children have different experiences, their background knowledge expands. For example, after going to an aquarium, a child will know more about ecosystems, the appearance of underwater creatures, as well as, some animal behaviors. This doesn't even include all of the knowledge a child will accumulate that was never intended. From the moment they leave the house, they are absorbing information from their surroundings. They are watching human interaction. They are hearing new vocabulary. The list can go on and on and these experiences add up!
When a child gets to class, this background knowledge is going to play a very large role in learning! The child with more background knowledge will be quicker to comprehend what is being taught and can spend more time thinking deeper about the content. I can't help but connect this to Depth of Knowledge. It seems that a child's amount of background knowledge directly relates to how easy or hard it is to reach different depths of knowledge! Students who have less background knowledge may spend more time in level one or level two where as a student with more background knowledge may be able to spend more time at level three or four.
Webb, N. L. (2005, July 24). Depth of Knowledge Levels.
Retrieved from http://qualityassessment.pbworks.com/w/page/45823516/Webb's%20Depth%20of%20Knowledge
Example Scenario Imagine two fourth grade students, Cory and Shawn. Both students are in Mrs. Hodges' 4th grade class. Cory lives with his single mother in a nearby apartment. His mother had Cory when she was young and was never able to get her high school diploma. She works hard as a waitress and can't get home until late. This means that Cory has to take the bus after school and waits for his mom at home. The apartment they can afford is located in a high crime area and therefore, Cory can't go outside unsupervised. He spends his time playing video games and watching TV. By the time his mother gets home, it's time for Cory to go to bed. Occasionally, Cory and his mom get out of the apartment to do something fun but being a single mom is difficult and they don't have a lot of extra money to spare. Shawn lives with his mom and dad in a suburban neighborhood. His father doesn't make a ton of money but makes enough to live comfortably and allow Shawn's mom to be a stay-at-home mother. Because Shawn's mother is a stay-at-home mom, she is able to pick him up from school. Sometimes Shawn's grandparents are also able to help out. This allows Shawn to participate in many after school activities. On the weekend, his family goes on hikes in the mountains and loves to camp. About once every year or two, they are able to travel and explore other parts of the country. In class, Mrs. Hodges is teaching about Lewis and Clark and their encounters with native tribes. Imagine how different this learning experience would be for Cory vs. Shawn. Cory is listening to what's being taught and is able to grasp the literal interpretation of the content, as well as, decode some of the new vocabulary. Shawn, however, is able to connect much of his prior knowledge to the stories of Lewis and Clark which allows the decoding process to happen quicker for him. This allows him to focus his attention on some deeper thinking. He's able to reflect back on his own experiences of nature and traveling to unfamiliar places. This helps him analyze the situations while making fairly accurate predictions and inferences. Cory is putting in effort and is learning but his lack of background knowledge is making it hard for him to catch up to what Shawn is able to do. So... What can teachers do to level the playing field?
There is no magic bullet to solve this problem. However, there are things we can do to help students gain more background knowledge. Please comment below if you have more ideas you can contribute!
Technology Resources
Technology has many great resources that can help. However, be careful not to get too distracted with the excitement of some of these flashy resources. They can be really fun but it's important to keep the purpose of the activity in the forefront of our minds and use the resources intentionally.
Google Earth for Chrome - This is one of my absolute favorite resources! The possibilities are endless.
Let's say you are about to teach a unit on the Mayan Civilizations. You can have your students use Google Earth to go see and even walk around some of the Mayan ruins. Have them connect articles they are reading with what they see when they are touring the ruins.
If you're about to teach geology, have your students explore land forms like deltas, volcanoes, canyons, deserts, etc.
Help your students connect with a story you are reading by exploring the setting. For example, if you are reading The Watson's Go To Birmingham, students can use Google Earth to learn more about the setting of the story from Flint, MI to Birmingham, AL. (Google Lit Trips is another option but I haven't had much experience with it)
Google Earth now has an option called Voyager. This is REALLY neat! It's basically a collection of tours around the world. These tours are organized into categories like travel, nature, culture, sports, history, education and layers. One tour in the "culture" category is called, This is school. It actually takes you to different schools around the world. You can walk around the schools and text is provided so you can read more about what you are seeing.
Another example is the "Layer" category. This shows you things like the age of the seafloor, the volcanoes around the world, current weather radar and more.
Google Earth has a feature called, "I'm Feeling Lucky." When you click this button, Google Earth takes you to a random place on the planet. Again, you can walk around the area or see photos taken from that location. I love the idea Ben Rossman had in the video below. His idea was to use this feature as a writing prompt for students. Students can click on the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button and write a story with the setting that is selected.
Online Virtual Field Trips, Tours and More
Museum of Flight - You can explore airplanes! Just click on the airplane you want to learn more about. Then you can click on "step inside" to see 360 degree photos or take a 3D tour.
AirPano - Explore the world with panoramic photos and more! Choose your destination and feel like you're there. They even have 360 degree VIDEOS! It looks just like you're watching a video from YouTube but you can move the view around. I am new to this resource but am loving what I see so far. You have to check this resource out because it has a lot to offer!
Global Trek - Provided from Scholastic. Students can plan a pretend trip to another city. At first it appears very similar to a travel website like Travelocity. Texts are provided to learn about the people, culture, area, etc. Students can even keep a travel journal.
Technology is not the only answer
Just reading, and reading a lot, is one really important way students can build background knowledge. In his book, Why Don't Students Like School?, Daniel Willingham goes into detail about this concept and relates it to brain research. Maybe a student can't travel the world and learn about different environments or cultures but that student can read about them. Yes... of course it's not the same as being able to experience these things first hand, but it's a start. We need to expose our students to a plethora of texts in a variety of forms and covering a variety of topics. We need to give them a chance to make more connections.
But also, as teachers, we can be more intentional with the books we read aloud or the books we display in our classroom. Take the time to think about what you will be teaching and select books that will help students connect to the upcoming material. I'm not saying to just pick out boring books because they relate but consider what a book can contribute to student learning. Choosing a book like Hatchet or My Side of the Mountain can show the importance of natural resources on human survival or decision making. You can then use some of these points to help students understand how geography affects peoples lifestyle or development of civilizations.
I'm sure those of you reading this have even more ideas and examples both with and without the use of technology. Please share your ideas in the comment section below!
If you are interested in reading a much more detailed explanation on how the brain works, specifically on the importance of background knowledge, I'd highly recommend readingWhy Don't Students Like School?, by Daniel T. Willingham. Willingham is a cognitive scientist and in his book he clearly explains what makes learning easier or harder for students and what that means for teachers.
We've Got Enough To Deal With! Let's focus on what's important... what's best for kids.
I’m sitting here at NCCE 2019 listening to Gerry Brooks and I am inspired. He is presenting about school climate and how we each play a role in developing and maintaining this climate. And let's face it... nowhere is perfect. It is so easy to listen to a topic like this and immediately place blame or identify other people that contribute to a negative environment but Gerry points out that we need to take responsibility for our role in it all. Here are are a handful of points I took away from his presentation.
Everyone makes mistakes that annoy or affect other people. We need to be understanding when other people make mistakes because mistakes will also be made by us.
Get on the same page. This one is so important! How many times can you think of that a staff meeting wraps up and then staff continue their own semi-secret second meeting right after in the hallways, in their classrooms, in the parking lot...? I think we have all been a part of this. We have to recognize how detrimental this can be to a school climate and work to stop it. After all, it's really unproductive.
Accept differences. This is a hard one. It is difficult to be okay with someone who has different views. We often try to come up with a bunch of reasons why they are wrong rather than try to find what they are saying that may have value.
Share it or shut it. This is probably one of my favorite points Gerry made and yet it seems to be one of the most challenging. If you have a problem with someone or something, you either need share it with someone who has the power to solve the problem or you shut your mouth. This is so true! It's so easy to say, "I need someone to vent to!" Let's face it, teaching is stressful! But, let's be real... when we "vent" we are really just enlarging a problem and we are often just seeking out someone to make us feel that we are right even when we are not. This just amplifies the problem.
Gerry also explained a couple points that can help us keep our sanity!
Everybody ain’t gonna like you - Your goal should be that everyone will respect you even if they don't like you. If you make decisions based on what’s best for the kids, it's hard for people to not respect that!
Remind yourself of two things when you are criticized.
Whose opinion matters to you? It shouldn't be the person who complains non-stop 😊
But make sure to ask yourself... Is there any truth to their claim?
As I’m listening to Gerry, I’m finding myself wanting to own my own role in it all. Although I'm going to work on all the bullet points listed above, I'm going to specifically focus on "Share it or shut it." I believe in problem solving rather than complaining and I want people to know they can mess up with me and still feel comfortable knowing it stays with me. Thank you Gerry Brooks! Because of your speech today, I'm taking a vow to "share it or shut it." Join me in making a vow to improve your role in your school and district climate. No matter how good or bad you think your school or district climate is, we can always get better. If you feel comfortable, comment below with one of the goals from above, or one of your own, that you are going to focus on to improve your work environment. You can find more of Gerry's videos on YouTube. They are hilarious and have some great points. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-6WUaQSC_AfKZrinPuhVFw
I'm taking an online class right now where a student explained that she has learned about the importance of brain research in education but found it baffling that it was not being taught to teachers.
Now, of course there are teachers that reach out and get this information for themselves and there might be a few quick mentions of brain research throughout the year at the building or district level, but if our profession is based on the topic of this research, how come this is not a priority? Here's a fact I recently learned more about... We have limited space in our working memory. We cannot have someone spew information at us and remember it all. In fact, our ability to think critically and go deeper into a topic is directly related to what we have space for in our working memory! To me, this has many implications for the classroom. I will mention a few. First off... why are we still discussing the importance of math facts? Of course students need to have these facts memorized! Anyone who teaches 3rd grade or above (and probably younger) can tell you how important this is! Students that have their facts memorized have more space in their working memories to solve more complex problems. Go ahead and continue to debate the best route to get students to memorize facts but I think we can move forward knowing this is important. Secondly... We need to stop getting annoyed that we have to repeat what we say!It's part of our job and if we want to do our job well, we need to get used to repeating. Believe me, I understand how frustrating it is when a kid asks a question that you just answered but reprimanding them for asking can be extremely detrimental! Plus, next time you're at an adult meeting, pay attention to how many times you tune the speaker out and need to get something repeated (or even worse, maybe you just let it go and never know what was said). Imagine being a child and having to listen to the same person every day all day! I'm guessing you'd be looking a bit like...
How about rewarding a kid for asking you to repeat what you said? Now that's powerful! Let's teach kids to own their education and feel comfortable asking for what they need. Thirdly... We need to make sure we revisit concepts throughout the year. Learning does disappear from our brains, even if we dominated the test back in October with a 100%. Today I was asked to solve a high school math problem. I could've solved it back in high school but I have no clue how to solve it now. This is because I haven't had to remember it. I haven't used that information and now it's gone. This is similar to our students. Make sure to spiral back to the big concepts all year so all students have a chance to learn and maintain this information! That is all for now! Until next time...
I would like to challenge the idea that grades are bad. I don't believe that grades themselves are bad. Rather it's the way they are used and interpreted. Grades need to be redefined.
Currently and historically, grades have been used as an end result. This makes them scary! People see grades as a label for how smart they are and this makes grades feed the fixed mindset. This understanding of grades has a terribly detrimental affect on students.
Grades should be a way we monitor growth and we need this. When I say, "We need this," I'm not just referring to educators. The students need this too! They should be able to see their scores so they can understand where they need to improve and set goals. This includes elementary students. The challenge is to teach kids and families to not fear grades but use them as motivation to grow and reason to celebrate. This is not easy but can be so powerful!
Now the trick is how do we help students (and families) interpret grades? How do we change the way grades are seen? How do we lower anxiety? There are so many ideas out there! Please share!
*Have monthly parent nights at school to discuss these topics.
*Have students track their scores and find ways to share in the celebration of growth! If students are not making growth, talk with that student and figure out together why that is. Then celebrate the heck out of it when he/she does improve!
*Remind students and parents as often as you can that grades are not the end all! They just show progression in learning.
*Make sure that you teach in a "spiral" type method so students do have a chance to improve after tests are scored. After all, if you do believe that grades should help monitor growth rather than be an end result, you better make sure your actions support it!
