Building Anti-Racists White Educators

Posted on May 13, 2020 by Elizabeth Chaponot

Racism, sexism, and elitism were institutionalized long before the first English settlers arrived at Jamestown in 1607. The class I just finished through the UC Berkeley History Social Science Project focused on racism in the United States and what we, as educators, can do to help our students and the public understand the long standing and insidious nature of racism and to pursue actions to accelerate the process of ending racism.

Racism in the United States is a subject that cannot be ignored. We read in the news about white people carrying guns while protesting coronavirus restrictions. These people are praised by our president. We read about a black man who is shot for jogging in the wrong place at the wrong time. The discrepancy is obvious. These are just two examples of endemic racism in white America.

Closer to home, when I hear my Carondelet black students telling me about how they are followed by store employees when shopping alone or with their mother, but not when they are accompanied by white friends. And when I hear about Carondelet Latina students telling me about white adults telling them they should go back to where they came from, it shows how deeply racism is ingrained in the minds of so many white Americans. This is not something happening in some southern state or in the midwest. These are Carondelet students who experience racism on an almost daily basis right here in Contra Costa County.

We also need to acknowledge that it is white people who are the problem. And that includes all of us white people. Sure, none of us are racist, but can we even pretend to know what it is like to be not seen by others as being white? Can we know what non-white students hear when we speak to them? We can have the purest hearts in the world and still be seen as racist. We need to talk about racism as teachers who want to better understand how it affects our non-white students. We need to talk to students to see our reflections in their eyes. Most important, we need to explain to our white students how ingrained racism is in our society and what can be done to eradicate racism before the next 400 years pass by. Understanding is the first step to making change. Doing nothing is not an option, not for those of us who wish to “serve the dear neighbor.”

All-New Flipgrid, Seriously!

Posted on February 23, 2020 by Elizabeth Chaponot

I used Flipgrid for a few lessons back in the day. My students and I were not overly impressed. If you
are a long time S.F. Chronicle reader you will understand our rating. We were paying attention, but not really excited. It was a little man politely sitting in his chair reaction.

When I stumbled across a web page “introducing the all-new Flipgrid curiosity forced me to to take a look. I could not believe what I was reading. The individual student time limit was raised from the old 1.5 minutes to walloping 5 minutes. What student can speak for five minutes straight about an academic subject? If you find such a student, these five minute segments can be linked together seamlessly for as long as you might desire.

Students can also create their videos in iMovie or some other video program and import their files by simply dragging them onto their Flipgrid. Another amazing new feature.

The teacher can sort and link the student videos in any way she wants simply by dragging them up or down, or by creating a new grid for selected videos. This is beyond cool. I just divided my class into six teams. Each team researched an example of United States imperialism. Each student read a segment of the example with inserted images. I ordered these sequentially to make coherent (sort of coherent for this first attempt) videos that covered the whole subject. When we played them back, bada bing bada boom (this set had more bing than boom). It’s a work in progress, but with such potential.

There’s more! Flipgrid has a rubric for grading built in. No kidding. Here is a screenshot of a custom rubric. Students can also see the criteria for the top level of each category. How cool is that?

Notice that you can email individual feedback to each student. No one will have any doubts about their grade, especially after they read the comments section. How cool can you get without being redundantly cool?

I have become a Flipgrid aficionado. The possibilities are so many. The all-new Flipgrid really is all new and had me jumping out of my chair. Give it a try. I bet you will like it as much as the little man.

Website Project Final Exam

Posted on December 18, 2019 by Elizabeth Chaponot

This is the second time I have had my students create websites for their final exams. This time I asked them what they thought of this type of final. I was blown away by the consistency and strength of their answers. The eight questions each began with “Which type of test is better for…” The answer choices were bubble sheet, timed writing, and website project. From memorizing to creating, the overwhelming choice was the website project. You can view the results here.

The last item called for comments. Here are a few of the better typical comments. You can view all 138 comments here.

I believe that ultimately each asks for a different level and way of thinking and analysis. A bubble sheet test asks for memorization and no in depth analysis, simply a regurgitation of facts. Timed writing requires one to take information and develop it further into a grander and deeper idea. A website takes both of these ideas and allows for the deepest and most well thought out development of them.
I think it is more valuable to do projects because you can more creatively show and connect what you have learned rather than just memorize stuff and spit it out on a test and then forget about it after.
Bubble sheets are more stressful in a time that is already stressful. The website was given to us earlier in the year giving us more time to make it the best we can. I also learned a lot more creating a website rather than studying for a test.
The three are very different but I think the website lets you write to the best of your ability and get put out all the knowledge you’ve learned. Timed writing would give us less time and won’t let us be able to out as much information.
Bubble sheets are good for memorizing dates and names, but often it is forgotten soon after. A timed write allows you to go into detail on a subject, but the time limit makes it harder to consider different options. A website allows to cover a range of topics in depth and gives enough time to think deeply about the benefits and consequences of the fact
I believe bubble sheet tests are good assessing your knowledge but you won’t necessarily remember the information later. Timed writes are good at assessing your knowledge as well but I find myself making up information to take up space in the essay. I feel like website projects are the best type of final exams because you have to be an expert on the subject to write about it.
The bubble sheet and timed writing tests are faster and better at assessing factual knowledge, but the website project leaves more room for creativity and for us to express our own perspective on topics. I think the website project is just as effective at educating us, but it is less stressful.
Bubble sheet tests can encourage studying, but more common than not students will cram information into their brains, take the test, and forget it immediately after. Timed writing tests are stressful and don’t always produce the best work because everyone is rushing to get their thoughts into words. Project tests are by far the best because they are fun, collaborative, and make learning about a project enjoyable and fun. It also encourages collaboration between students.
I think website projects have the most value because they allow students to synthesize new information while applying other information we have learned throughout the semester. They are also good because it is an interesting project that does not cause a lot of stress.

The comments were amazing. There is really nothing else to add. I did not know students thought about learning in this depth. Of course, this is just one example of the power of Project Based Learning, but firsthand experience makes it so much more meaningful.

I would enjoy hearing about and discussing PBL with others. Please let me know if you are using it in your curriculum.

Blended Strategies

Posted on November 28, 2019 by Elizabeth Chaponot

I have a problem and would like to know if anyone can help. I have a love/hate relationship with blended classes. I love the quality student to teacher and student to student contact time afforded by blended classes. I hate how many students do not make good use of their out of class blended time. I hate how it seems there must be a trade-off between quality class time and hit and miss out of class time. There must be a better way.

Just to add another layer, I would like my student teams to work together on some of their out of class blended days. Students see the benefits of teaming. When I have teams sit on the patio or in the hall, they can complete much work in their teams. Just having that extra space that allows them to not be sitting back to back in a crowded classroom really helps, but they still need supervision. Instead of monitoring a group discussion, I must patrol the teams to answer questions and to insure students are staying on task. There must be a better way. There is too much good about blended classes to give them up just because there are some problems.

One other great attribute of blended classes is that they prepare students for college. I still vividly remember when the president of San Jose State back in 1965 addressed my freshman class. He said he really appreciated the opportunity to meet all of us this one time because only half of us would make it to graduation. Wow, a fifty percent dropout rate! That really shocked me until I learned how many distractions there are in college. The current average college dropout rate seems to be about thirty percent. That’s still a lot of students who never learn how to discipline themselves to study independently. What better place to learn independent study habits than in high school? In college there are not helicopter parents and no incentive for teachers to be helicopter teachers. Blended classes can provide that transition students need to be successful in college.

So, here is the question. How do we wean students from depending on a closed and structured classroom environment without losing them to the myriad of distractions right outside the classroom door?

This second semester I am going to try some “in house” blended teaching. Students will have time on their own outside the classroom, but must stay on campus. Since I will be in the gigantic I-Center, there should be plenty of quiet spaces for students to work. But I need ways to insure they are really working. One idea is to have team members spend the last few minutes of the class time summarizing what they have learned is a short discussion. They will record the discussion and turn in the recording as an assignment. Another is exit tickets. These can be done as a team or individually at the end of the class. The students would not be in class, but it is the same idea. I thought of journals, but so far I have found that students tire of them and I don’t have time to look at them. Maybe I am doing it wrong. This is not a long list of ideas. I would like to have a few more, especially ones that work.

I don’t want to go into this cold turkey. I will have had enough of that after Thanksgiving. Please let me know if you have tried anything to monitor blended independent time work. What has worked for you? What has not worked for you? Am I the only one who thinks about this?

Hot Seat Two

Posted on November 13, 2019 by Elizabeth Chaponot

How do you have a successful whole class discussion with 30+
students? The secret is to keep them moving and, of course, having a killer
topic to discuss. The latest format I have found that works well combines the
fishbowl, jigsaw, and Socratic discussion. I call this one Hot Seat Two. I have
already written about my hot seat discussions, thus the “two.”

For this discussion I started with the topic, “Is there a
natural law or a divine law that dictates the predominance of one group of
people over another?” In U.S. History we explore such topics while studying the
Gilded Age.

To prepare for the discussion each student must use two
sources and find at least five relevant and unique quotes from each source. My
students are in teams of five to six students. No member of a team allowed to
use sources chosen by any other team member. When all research is completed,
team resources are combined for a total of at least ten sources and fifty
quotes. The team members then share and discuss their individual work and share
their ideas about how the information might help answer the essential question.

On the day of the discussion desks are arranged in a big
circle like a fishbowl with all team members side by side, but with only one
seat in the inner circle for each team. Team members in the inner circle are
each given two opportunities in a random jigsaw manner to present two arguments
supported by evidence, or to respond to another student with more or
conflicting evidence. No one has to speak, and the discussion order is random.
Students did get points for speaking and none for silence. As soon as the round
is over, another teammate takes the hot seat and the discussion continues.
Between discussion sessions I give about a minute for team members to discuss
what the next speaker might wish to contribute. These team discussions are
short but animated.

Each round goes quickly, about five minutes. I have each new
speaker come from the right hand seat
from the team’s outer circle and have everyone move over one seat to the right.
This, and the one minute reviews, relieves the boredom of sitting for a long
time. The standing and sitting actually encourage team discussion. Short
sessions and moving around keep the discussion fresh and lively. In a long
block everyone gets to join the discussion at least twice, and everyone stays
engaged.

Here are a few typical responses from students’ Friday
Feedback.

“The thing I liked the most is that everyone got an
opportunity to speak during the discussion and no one dominated.”

“Everyone brought up important subjects that we found on our
own and the discussion was productive.”

“I liked hearing everybody’s different perspectives and
gaining new ideas from them. I liked that I was able to have more perspectives
because of this discussion.”

“Whenever I had something to add but wasn’t in the hot seat
I couldn’t. I suggest adding an empty hot seat to the circle that anyone can
jump in.”

“I don’t like class discussions because I’m shy but I think
it worked really well.”

The only negative responses were about not having enough
time to talk more. I think the key factor for the positive responses was the
movement. Complaints in past discussions involved too much sitting and
disengagement through lack of participation. Being able to move and talk about
ideas between each round of discussion keeps the blood flowing and makes
everyone feel more involved. Try a Hot Seat Two and see if it works well for
you.

Surrounded by Experts

Posted on November 4, 2019 by Elizabeth Chaponot

Sometimes our school focus on collaboration has felt like an added pressure, a box to check or a goal to complete. When asked to be intentional about collaboration and include it in my goals, I have sometimes felt that I am trying to force something to happen. Who will I collaborate with within my department? What about across departments? How do our subjects align or complement each other? How can we help students make connections?

At the beginning of this year I created goals to help me collaborate effectively. My most collaboration-centric goal focused on my teaching of the Frosh Wellness: Mind, Body, Spirit course, which requires intense, daily work between religious studies and kinesiology. While I have been focusing a great deal on effective collaboration for the Frosh Wellness course, I have also found myself collaborating in surprising ways.

This year I have taken advantage of the fact that I am surrounded by experts in their fields. For those who may not know, this is my 8th year at Carondelet, but my first year full time teaching. As you can imagine, this new role has brought about new challenges and opportunities. I teach 3 sections of the junior religious studies course, Symbols & Ethics. The two central focuses of this course are Sacraments and social ethics. The students learn about the 7 sacraments, as well as topics such as sustainability and the environment, abortion, poverty, hunger, immigration, racism, the criminal justice system, sexism and a variety of other topics that impact our world today. My background is in theology and yet I find myself touching on climate (the environment), art (sacraments & spirituality), biology (abortion), economics (poverty & hunger), globalization & politics (immigration) and the list goes on and on. With every social/ ethical topic that we cover we look at

Sacred Scripture – What does the Bible have to say about this topic?

Sacred Tradition – What does the Catholic Church have to say about this topic?
Logic/ Science/ Reason – What can we learn about this topic from experts and from the world around us?
Personal Experience – What experiences have you had that impact your understanding of this topic? (Example: Your race may impact how you understand racism)
When teaching #3 – What science and experts in the field can teach us about a particular topic – I have found myself seeking out colleagues for help. When I taught about our responsibility to care for all of God’s creation, I sought Susan Domanico and Michelle Koshi for help. I had the students research environmental concerns and write advocacy letters to people in positions of power (politicians, CEOs of companies, etc). Susan helped me come up with a list of potential environmental concerns and gave me an extensive list of resources. Similarly, Michelle, connected me with a number of online resources based on the different topics that students would be researching. Susan’s knowledge of environmental science and Michelle’s competency in library science empowered me to teach with greater confidence and depth.

When I taught the Sacrament of baptism, I wanted to incorporate religious art to highlight the important symbols and theological themes of baptism. I reached out to Andrew Kjera and he was able to come into my class to share a guest-lecture on symbolism within religious art. The students were then invited to create a piece of art using Sketchbook (an app that I was not familiar with, but that Andrew recommended), to express their personal connection to the themes of baptism through symbols. The outcome was tremendous! See a few examples below…

When teaching about Hunger, students watched a documentary called “A Place at the Table,” which tells the story of hunger in the United States. The documentary touched on US agricultural policies and farm subsidies. Knowing very little about this topic, I sought out Mitch for conversation. Our short conversation in room 26 during break helped prepare me to tackle this topic in class. Similarly, when teaching about poverty, I wanted to touch on income inequality, and taxes. I went to Christina Leveque who teaches Financial Algebra with my questions and after a brief conversation felt ready to include these topics in my lesson.

I have brainstormed best practices to help students think critically about assigned reading with Michael Schooler. Phil Miller and I have talked about the history of labor unions in the United States (my class studied labor unions as part of our unit on the Dignity of Work)… and the list goes on and on.

If you are like me, you may feel slightly intimidated by the culture of collaboration at Carondelet. However, I have began to overcome my apprehension to collaborate by recognizing the great resource that my colleagues are to me. Collaboration is not a forced goal to achieve, but instead begins with an acceptance of the gift of my colleagues – experts in their field, thoughtful and eager to share what they know. Any time I have asked colleagues about their area of expertise I am always humbled by their willingness to share their knowledge and time. They are excited about their subject and have such great insights and ideas. I have truly learned so much from these mini collaborations that have taken place this year and will continue to seek out the expertise of my colleagues in the future.

I’m wondering – what kind of mini collaborations have taken place for others this year? Who has helped you understand a topic with greater depth or brought expertise to your curriculum that has enriched your classroom?

Processing Content

Posted on October 3, 2019 by Elizabeth Chaponot

How’s that for a catchy title? It’s about as exciting as discovering that most of your students did not read the assigned reading or watch the assigned video. The remedy might be to assign outlining or note taking. Maybe give a quiz! How about doing a reflection? Even after all of these are you still getting blank stares instead of a great discussion?

Recently, I had my students in four classes read or listen to a chapter in the book, “The Half Has Never Been Told.” They were required to take “prolific” notes. I broke the reading down into three parts that were due during three consecutive days.

Now for the good part. Instead of having a discussion, I had a contest following each day of reading. I would read a question aloud. Teammates (I have five to six teams in each class) were given a few minutes to discuss their notes and come up with a good answer to the question. The first answer was determined by “Popsicle Sticks”, an app that randomly selects students. When you select the one student at a time option, the app even says their name aloud. That got everyone’s attention because no one knew who would go first. After the first answer, team reporters were allowed to either dispute the answer or add to the answer. For every answer given by a teammate, the team was given a point. I included about five or six questions for each contest. At the end I announced the team standings.

I noticed that most everyone was really engaged. The engagement improved each day over the three days. On the first day someone always asked about how this contest would be graded. It told them we were doing the contest to experience the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. No grades would be given. Everyone seemed to be perfectly happy with this. On day two and three the contests were met with anticipation.

One great outcome was that students were really thinking about how they could add value to the previous answer. Many ideas were suggested, most expanding on the previous answers. We were having a good discussion in the form of a contest.

Many students mentioned the contests in their “Friday Feedback” assignments. Many commented on how the discussions helped them understand the material much better. They thought it was a great way to use their notes. They enjoyed the contests and asked to do more of them. They were not too thrilled about the “Popsicle Sticks” random name selection but agreed that it helped keep everyone engaged. Overall, the comments were overwhelmingly positive. This one is a winner! I will be doing it again.

Extrinsic Motivation: It Might Be Even Worse Than You Thought

Posted on August 10, 2019 by Elizabeth Chaponot

Extrinsic vs intrinsic motivation has been a controversy since before I began teaching some 50 years ago. I have used grades, M&M’s, gold stars, rubber stamps tickets, and smiley faces to reward students for their good work and good behavior. I have done away with all of these except grades. That’s still a work in progress.

According to several studies these methods get results, but not the right results. A recent attendance study I read in Edutopia had unexpected negative results.It concludes that, “It’s a reminder that extrinsic rewards can be demotivating and actually decrease the behaviors we want to encourage.” Another study concludes:

Conversely, intrinsic motivation exists within the individual and can be harnessed and enhanced by environments that support the individual’s autonomy and competence. Intrinsic motivation underlies people’s natural inclinations to seek out novelty and challenge, as well as to learn, develop, and grow. Unlike extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation is associated creativity and vitality (Deci and Ryan 2008).

If we want students to seek out novelty and challenge, if we want them to be truly engaged in understanding the subject matter, we should de-emphasize grades and focus on the joy that can be found in learning the subject by projecting our enthusiasm and by showing the relevance of the subject.

I will conclude by telling you why I am posting this. The extrinsic motivation is minimal. I don’t even know if it will enhance my standing in the evaluation process. I do know that I want students to love learning for the sake of learning and I want teachers to love teaching their students to love learning. This intrinsic motivation is lasting, meaningful, and productive. It is the motivation that will make our students the 21st century lifelong learners we want them to be. I hope this will help other teachers to maintain their focus on ways to enhance intrinsic motivation in their students instead of the self defeating extrinsic motivations. And I hate it when students ask, “What I have to do to get an “A” in this class?”

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