The Doctor Visits

Love when students make nerd references in their costume selection (it's a pep rally day with a theme of Halloween)

Simply Amazing!

If the goal of education is to inspire students to learn and foster innovation, then this group and school have it. I hope to one day to provide students the space and ability to be this innovative within my classroom.

Students Invent New School Lock

8 Weeks into the Year: An Observation

So we have completed 8 weeks of our school year - a forth of the school year is done!

Here are a couple observations ...

1. My students are more engaged, and are performing well on (in their words) "hard assignments." In the past (P.F. or Pre-Flipped Era) my class was straight forward - I would lecture, students would take notes, we would do a review and then test. Nothing overly fancy - except my random Superhero/Star Wars references. Now my students are finding the information they need (with guided helped at times), putting their findings into practice, and then producing a product of their findings (be this a graph, video, or some other product).

2. My students are struggling - they are so use to being handed the material they need. They struggle to work with not very detail, step by step, directions. I give them parameters, the problems, a starting point on what they need to solve the problems, and we even talk as a class on the material needed. Yet they struggle because we have trained them over the years to do not learn. Teaching them how to find the material they need, and then how to apply that information is a struggle - both for me as a teacher and the students.

In a lot of ways my class is harder than it has been in the past, and I think this is a good thing. And yet with this increase in rigor, my students are stepping up (though there are growing pains) for the most part.

Looking forward to see what the rest of the year has in store.

Updating an Effective Project: The (Digital) Poster Show

So this year's motto for my classroom is the wise word's of Yoda
     "Try not! Do or do not, there is no try"

And I was reminded of these words after reading a couple blogs by some inspiring teachers (Flying by Coffee with Chloe and The Story of Carl by iTeach and iLearn). With those blogs rolling around in my head and knowing I was coming up on an effective project I have my students do in class, I decided to update the project and move it into the 21st century.

The project is a poster show. In short the students work in small groups and create a poster over a section of the unit material, including a summary of the material, key vocabulary needed to understand their section, and an illustration. The students also must develop 2 questions from their section, and then will go around answering each other's questions to cover the whole unit. Students not only learn the unit (they put things into words their peers can understand, and usually come up with good illustrations and examples) but they also learn how to write effective questions (sometimes by seeing how some groups wrote bad questions that are hard to understand).
The updated version - students will no longer be making posters but Prezi's. No longer will I just give them a few pages from the book to cover, but topics (they can still use the book but know outside resources are required as well). They are still responsible for coming up with questions and examples/illustrations on their own. The new wrinkle is they are also going to have to teach the other groups their material as they do a gallery walk. My hope is this takes this effective project deeper.

Thanks to iTeach and iLearn and Coffee with Chloe for pushing me to do something instead of just thinking of doing something.

20% Model (Genius Hour)

So after much research, reading, thinking and planning for this school over the summer I decided to put all that time and thought into action. I wasn't going to try something new, because that means at the first sign of failure, I'm done and reverting back to old habits and ways. No I was taking the words of a wise man ...

"Try Not! Do or Do NOT, there is no try"

This has become the theme for this year in my classroom. I expect my students to do not just try.

So today was the second day of Genius Hour, and things are going great. Students are excited to come to class on these days, they are reading medical journals, studying architecture, and watching TED Talks. They are challenging themselves in ways I never would have imagined before.  

Love Trying New Things (Doesn't Always Mean They Work)

So we are three days into a new school year, and I'm already tired. It takes some time to readjust to teaching each year. But getting me through this year - new ideas, activities, and philosophies.

So far this year I have decided to try a couple new things - flip one of my classes (AP Euro, more on why in a moment) and the 20% model (in standard economics). These new adventures in education have me and my students excited about the possibilities this year holds.

In my AP Euro History class, it's the first year I'm teaching the course which adds its own excitement, I have decided to flip as much as possible. Since it is my first year teaching this particular course, it made since for me to pick it to flip. I'll be making most things from scratch anyway, so I decided to just flip it from the beginning rather than redo everything later. The possibilities that this brings are exciting. I look forward to holding more in depth Socratic discussions in class and less stand and deliver lecturing. The thought of this also has the kids excited - they also like the idea of trying to flip sections of chapters as well.

In my standard economics class, I am experimenting with a new concept to me - the 20% model. Giving the students almost complete control of their learning for 20% of the class. They pick a topic or question they want to find the answer to and they research and report their discovery back to us. I have kicked around lots of ways to do this, to keep the kids accountable, and read the Nerdy Teachers post about the same idea and will be stealing his (seeThe Nerdy Teacher) for details. The kids loved the idea of this - and I love the idea of it but also love the idea that it may or may not work. And as I told my students, it's okay to try new ideas (based on good research, thoughts, and reason) and they not work. It means you do more research, thinking, and reasoning and then try again. This has me the most excited - it will either succeed and be awesome or (in the words of my seniors) be an EPIC FAIL.

Here's to 2013-2014 - the year of new ideas (and possible failures, and that's okay)

New Year = New Adventures

So in addition to teaching my usual dismal science productions (economics and AP Macroeconomics) I have added two new roles for myself.
1. I'll join the fellowship of AP European History teachers. Very excited by this, I am a history major that until now has never actually taught a history course.
2. I am now the social studies department chair for my high school. This is both exciting and terrifying all at once.

So next year promises to be one that is challenging in many ways. I'll be continuing the journey of integrating edtech into my classes, adding a new course to my schedule, and taking on a larger leadership position.

Stay tuned, it'll be a fun year.

2013-2014: The Fellowship of Challenges

And We've Come to the End

So it's that time of the year for seniors, we have come to the point in the year where the students are done. It's May, I can't blame them to much. Yet as I passed out the same old review (revised to cover this years material, but still same concept of previous years) I couldn't help but think - THERE AS TO BE A BETTER WAY TO END THE YEAR!!!

I mean, ever since I was given the chance to go digital, and even to some degree before then, I have tried to not do the ordinary. You can see it in the kids face's most days, they hate school - and who can blame them. We ask them to come to a building and sit in desks, and go against human instinct - be quite and work with little breaks. And then we ask them to repeat this process over
and over
and over
and over (we have 8 periods in my building)
day after
day after
day ..... (you get the point)

It's boring.

Most teachers want to do engaging things, at least those that I read and try to emulate in my building. We are human beings as well, and doing the same thing everyday would be just of a big of beating on us as the kids. Yet knowing this - I feel into the same trap!!

I passed out a long, uninspiring review. Here do this. Define this.

What?!?! I know better!! What the hell happened!

As a teacher of seniors I'm torn - I have my college bond kids that need to be shown how to take a semester worth of information, boil it down, study and then take a pressured exam over it - like traditional college (though I hope they are changing a we below them push to change the way we teach as well). Yet I also have tons of kids that college isn't in their plan, and knowing how to create a meaningful product would be a worth while experience.

So I ask, ponder, and think about - How do we end the school year and do both - prepare students for college, yet not bore them to tears in the process?

It's Been a Whirl Wind of a 10 Days

So in the last 10 days or so I've ...
1. tried unsuccessfully to have my AP Macro kids take the AP test (we are rescheduled again for next Thur May 30). We missed the first date due to school closer (more on that in a bit) and the second attempt was missed due to failure to actual have the exam in our district to give to the students.

2. seen my town literally torn apart, and then come together to start to rebuild. We were hit by a EF-3 tornado damaging two schools within our district, and several neighborhoods. During the next two days, and everyday since, parents, students, community members have come together to clean-up and start to rebuild. And when another community was hit by storms just days later, while we are still trying to fix ourselves, my students are also figuring out ways to send aide. It's amazing.

3. started to reflect on myself as a teacher. Looking at what worked, what didn't work, and what is truly important to me. And I've come to some good, and yet painful, conclusions  I had a lot of successes this year. I had some failures, but I learned from those and have made myself a better teacher.

I've also learned that I'm a teacher. I love to teach. I love seeing that light come on a kids face when the succeed. I love seeing the joy that comes now as we close in on graduation. I love seeing them grasp not just economics, but start figuring out life. I've come to the conclusion that no matter what may come in the future but I will always be a teacher.

4. I am getting excited about next year already. I have started started the transition  to integrating technology in my class the past couple of months. My students and I have been willing to experiment, fail, and try again. It's given me something to work on and plan for. I look forward to reexamining how, why, and what I teach for next year. It's May, but I can't wait for August so I can start, try, fail, and try again new projects, lessons, and technology for my class. I know I'm crazy.

So till next time - Live long and proper, May the Force be with you, and remember with great power comes great responsibility.

Coming to An End

Having seniors and it being May, it's that time of year when we are all done - or at least we all wish we were done. We have just a little material left to cover, yet we wish we could make it all just disappear. The students are anxious for graduation (though some are nervous about being able to actually pass to graduate).

Part of me wishes we could hurry up and it just be June 7th (our graduation date) but I know that these are also some of the best days of teaching still. I get to talk about life, not just economics. I get to calm nerves about what comes next for them. I get to see the joy of them getting scholarship and acceptance letters. I get to see relief after AP tests are done. These are the rewarding days. yet these are the hard days - we are all done.

So keep pushing and keep teaching. It'll be June before to long.

Too Often

Not sure how much more I can do this. Yesterday was a hard day for my campuses. We had a student suddenly and tragically leave us. This is the fifth student that 4 years that my campus has lost. Wow we rallied as a staff and community, we are becoming to good at doing so.

I find it hard to even think about prepping my courses (and my AP kids have their test next Thursday). Losing students is something that a teacher, community, staff should never have to deal with, yet it seems to becoming more and more common. I'm getting tired of responding and feel a need to be proactive.

We as teachers love our students, we care for them. Otherwise we wouldn't do what we do. Yet we continue to watch them harm themselves. We need to let them know that we care. And not just when there is a tragic loss, but routinely.

I'm drained. I hurt for my kids, those directly and indirectly affected by our loss. I hurt for the staff and teachers that were closest to our loss. Yet I'm fearful that this is becoming routine.

We will move on. I will continue to teach, it's what I do best. I'll have my kids as prepared as I can for next week. I'll just do so with a heavy heart.

Overcome and Be Surprised

So earlier this week I vented about the frustration (Here) I was having with technological roadblocks due to my districts' policies and lack of fully understanding the speed at which a flipped classroom can move. Well the latest is that while most of my district is onboard and willing to trust those of us that are pioneering this digital age in the classroom, there are a few that are holding on to old ways of doing business.

But we've overcome, we have found ways to work within the system we have now and still fight for more access. It'll take time.

----   ----   ----   ----

Switching subjects, students were creating video projects advising Clark Kent on how to solve an economic problem he uncovered while researching the use of kitten tears as a diet supplement (I know strange set-up but I use superheroes in the business world all the time to teach my economics class). Here are some observations I've noticed this week, keep in mind this is the first big project my students have taken on using the new technology (we got the class iPads just a week ago) ...
1. As a teacher, it is hard to give up control (at least for this OCD control freak) of exactly how and the pace of the students gain the knowledge needed to complete their projects.
2. I've learned quickly the importance of having built in check points on long the road to completion. I knew this going in, but having these check points gave me the ability to see if the students were on the right path, and to keep them moving down the road.
3. I was surprised, pleasantly surprised by the level of knowledge my kids gained from this project. They looked forward to working on the iPads everyday, and while they were on task 100% of the time (and be honest who of us is) they did a lot of work to complete their project. There were times when I doubted whether this was going to work, did I not give clear directions, was my expectation for them too high, and so on. But as they are turning in projects today, I'm seeing great work, with thought and insight.

In the end - I'm sold on blending my classroom and using project based learning!

Annndddd We Come to a Grinding Halt

The kids are excited, they are willingly working, discussing, debating, thinking.

Then we are forced to divert or stop.

We are creating a video giving sound economic policy advice to Clark Kent on how to best help save the planet for his friend - Superman. The kids are excited about this project. They are digging deep to find the best solution, and to poke holes in other groups potential solutions, so their policy will be selected.

Then we are forced to divert or stop.

I had done the prep work, created the assignment, though-out what I wanted to kids to debate and discover. Figured out the steps needed to complete the project successfully for my students, so they experience success along the journey. I tested the apps needed, I even tested them on the school network so I knew they would work. I was excited. The kids are excited.

Then we are forced to divert or stop.

The students don't have access to the app. Why? Somebody at central office said so. I wasn't notified.
I'm told here you want to use web 2.0, we want web 2.0 students, we want deeper thinking students, we want engaged students - but first wear these handcuffs.
I am challenging the ruling to block the app, but it takes time I'm told. I have to submit a request, somebody has to read that request. Then it is forwarded on to the tech supervisor. They will then review the request. Then if deemed worthy, they take it up the food chain. Then maybe it'll get unblocked - this process, I'm told could take a week. A week!
We live in a technological age, and it takes a week to unblock a educational tool!
I could travel the world in a week.This process needs to happen faster.It must happen faster!

 I understand, kinda, the need to limit student access to certain things. But if I'm a professional that you trust to educated 150+ students each semester, and you've entrusted me with helping start an digital push in our district, then trust me to be a digital  professional teacher. Remove the handcuffs. Or at least trust me that when I request something be removed, to remove it in less time than it takes me to travel the world!

End of rant.

New Week, New Day - New Conquests

So Friday is dead and gone - done! Prom is over and now we can refocus our energies and finish this year strong. today has been a marked improvement over last week.

Why? New project - new excitement!
We started a new project over comparing all the different economic policies available to economic advisers  The students have to take on the role of an adviser and figure out what the problem is, how different economic philosophies would solve said problem, and then give their opinion on which policy is best.

They are doing this is Vimeo and publishing (hopefully) their finished product on Friday. Along the way they will be turning in check points to make sure they are progressing well and have the correct information. It's a small step toward my eventual goal of project based learning.

I saw excitement today. I saw collaboration  I saw learning. And they were just doing research. It's early in this process but today things are looking up.

End of Year Frustration

SO I teach Economics and AP Macroeconomics in TX ... which I love (most days).

Today is one of those days that having seniors can be frustrating, and it's for one reason - PROM!! While I understand the social norm and glory that is prom, as a teacher I hate prom. It consumes my kids, and makes today a useless one.

I've had kids engage in multiple conversations on topics ranging from the pros/cons of tanning the day before prom, the car they are driving to prom, where and when they are getting their hair did (and yes did is the correct term here according to my seniors).

No matter that we are working on completing a project on iPads (one in which they are creating videos and offering their own creative solutions to economic problems). Or that in my AP class we are studying for the AP test in small groups solving multiple choice problems using chalk (a cheap, engaging tool overlooked). All topics revolve around PROM!!!

Now that's not to say that all of today has been a waste, a few of my students have broken through this PROM forcefield and created great products today. And we've had some great breakthroughs in AP Macro with students creating FRQs instead of answering them (details can be found here). But the day before PROM is ..... Grrrrrrr!

Till next time