Category Archives: self-paced approach

When Going Back to Step 1 is a Good Thing (and Your Students Agree)

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As I pass the midway point in the Semester, I have found that my Social Advocacy class is realizing that each team needs to be on different steps in the Design Think process. In the first half of the semester all of the teams were approaching the Design Think model in a linear fashion, and I believe that this served them well. Now that they have be testing their prototypes, they are realizing that they need to rethink their original plans.

In the class we discussed the idea that when we test, we are trying to discover the problems with our designs. Instead of taking the approach that we will succeed, rather we are eager to explore ways that we can grow in our designs. Realizing that we won’t have a perfect solution, this changes the emphasis of the project. Now instead of the teams look at the impact that they will be making on the social justice issue, they are invested in putting the user (the people effected by the issue) first and wanting to revise what they have planned to better serve them.

One specific group that I would like to highlight are a group looking into ways to reduce date rape on college campuses. They had an initial idea of using the idea of “Angel Shots”, but creating their own version of it to avoid copyright and permission issues. This faltered for a variety of reasons, but it hasn’t put a damper on their project. During a video conference with a Post Graduate student from Cambridge University, the team presented their project to date. Madi Vorva (Post Graduate Student) invited them to seek out other organizations and clubs to partner with them. Now the team is effectively going back to the Empathize Phase to learn more from people in college invested in this issue, just as the girls from Carondelet are. At our last meeting the team was reaching out to women empowerment clubs and Professors of Gender Studies at Colleges.

Although it could be seen as a negative that they are essentially back to step one, they see this as an exciting step because they know what didn’t work. They know that they need more support to make this project a success.

Interestingly I haven’t had any of my students ask what this will do to their grades. Throughout the project the emphasis has been on growth in the project, and that we are never done. Our goal is to keel pushing forward, and the most important people are those effected by the social justice issue. We aren’t the most important people. Our grades aren’t the primary focus. People matter more, and that is our motivation.

Algebra – Initial Thoughts

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Now that we have survived the first 5 weeks of our new Algebra program, I thought it would be helpful to write down some initial thoughts on how things are going.  It has been really exciting to see something that was just a crazy idea last year morph into a real program that we are already really proud of now.  There have been some adjustments already and there are some things we are still trying to figure out but overall the feedback from our students and the teachers involved has been positive.  

Here’s what has worked well:
  • We spent the first two and a half weeks establishing a group culture of the class.  We discussed growth mindset and had all of our students take the “How to Learn Math for Students” course.  We spent time discussing the messages from this course with our students. 
  • There are a lot of moving parts to this course (online learning through Carnegie Learning, collaborative activities, how Schoology is organized, GoFormative exit tickets, topic guides, etc.) which can be overwhelming if everything was explained at once.  Instead we used the first two and a half weeks to chunk things out and explain each one separately before putting it all together. 
  • We had all of our students take the Mathematic Diagnostic Testing Project High School Readiness test.  We will also test them again when they complete the Algebra program.  This will be one way we measure the success of this program.  
  • Students are truly moving at their own pace.  Those who are familiar with the concepts in the first topic have moved quickly through it and already taken their first assessment.  We also have some students who need the extra time to really master the content and are moving at the right pace for them.  This wouldn’t happen in a traditional classroom.  
  • The four teachers who are implementing this program (shout out to Mary Beth Dittrich, Kristina Levesque, and Christy Marin!) work well together.  We communicate often with one another.  We are all flexible with what we need to do each class period (even when it’s decided 10 minutes before class).  We do not always agree with one another but we are comfortable speaking our thoughts.  We are able to discuss things openly and honestly to come to a solution that is best for our students.  
  • Carnegie Learning is a good tool for our online component of the program.  The problems are rich and require students to be engaged.  The reporting section allows us as teachers to determine where they are struggling and what the students need extra support with.  Students are also able to go back into the program in review mode without losing their saved data which is a huge plus. 
  • The new furniture is amazing.  This program would not be what it is now with the old desks.  The new furniture allows students to work well in groups, using their smaller white boards when needed.  The individual desks work well for the online learning or assessments.  Plus the colors of the chairs brighten up the room and change the learning environment.  
This is just a short list of what has worked well.  There are so many more including hearing students comment that they really understood something or watching them work well with their groups on collaborative activities.  
We do have some challenges:
  • We have 4 teachers for over 94 students in period 3.  Sometimes we need an additional teacher (or two!) in the classroom to work with students, particularly those who are struggling.  In the past these students would have had 2 periods of math in a smaller class setting.  One requirement we’ve established in our program is that a teacher signs off on the collaborative activities.  When doing so we ask each student in the group to explain to us what they have just learned.  This is a great way for us to gauge student understanding and to see that everyone is responsible for their own learning.  However at times multiple groups need to be signed off and we just don’t have enough teachers to get around to everyone.  
  • Space is an issue.  The new furniture is great but having separate classrooms isn’t as ideal.  As teachers sometimes we are in one classroom but can’t necessarily see what is going on in other classrooms.  We try and pop in and out of the classrooms during the period but it’s not always possible.  If we had a larger, open space we would be able to  spread ourselves out to help the students more.  
  • The 45 minute class periods are tough.  It’s not quite enough time for students to transition to more than one activity once you account for taking attendance in the beginning, explaining which classrooms are for each activity, and ending a few minutes early for the exit ticket. The block periods work better for this program.  
  • As teachers we need to find more time to meet to discuss how things are working and what adjustments we need to make.  It’s hard finding that time even with a common 7th period prep.  Teachers have other classes they are teaching and need to use this prep for those classes at times.  We also have so much to discuss that even if we used every 7th period, there’s still always more to talk about.  This collaboration is so important though.  Yesterday we graded our first topic assessment together and this was necessary to make sure we are all grading the same way.  But it takes time which has become a precious commodity.  
Despite the challenges I am so excited for what we are doing.  I am loving watching our students engage in mathematics in a totally different way.  I’m inspired by the dedication and commitment from my colleagues.  I know that we will continue to reflect on what we are doing and revise it to continuously improve as we strive to meet the needs of all of our students.  
We would love you to come visit the organized chaos of our Algebra program.  We meet periods 3 and 4 in rooms 2, 5, 6, and MacLab.  Come by anytime as we would love to hear your feedback on what you observe and any ideas you may have to improve on this program.  

No More “Fake Reading”: Self-Paced Reading and Assessment in English classes

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This year I have decided to take Michael Schooler’s approach with reading in my classes. After years of frustrations due to “Fake Reading” (not reading at all; Sparknotes and Shmoop; or just reading to meet the deadline and not reading closely), I was intrigued by what Michael did in his classes last year.

However, it didn’t just require me to let go of the reins and control, it also required some new approaches to assessment and classroom culture. So, I made the decision to make classes blended and to minimize whole-class direct instruction as a means to allow students to take control of their learning and to remove myself as the expert they look to for all the answers. I am now a facilitator and focus on encouraging individual growth as students and human beings on their own terms.

The first step was placing a premium on authentic reading in my classes and to encourage, encourage, encourage. I did this on the first day of class as I told all my classes my biggest goal was for all students to authentically engage the texts we read. Sometimes boys have been the hardest to motivate readers in my experience. However, the initial results are highly encouraging as I have seen boys reading in class and making progress in a self-paced approach.

Next, I have done away with the busy work of reading questions and reading quizzes. While this served as a barometer for grades, it did little to encourage authentic readers that engaged themselves in the texts. Rather, reading questions and quizzes actually promote “Fake Reading” in my teaching experience as students play the game of earning just points for a grade.

Finally, I have removed reading deadlines (other then when the entire text needs to be completed by) and allow students to self-pace through the book.

So, now that this is done how do I assess student engagement and progress through texts? The answer is three-fold.

First, students are required to engage a small-group reading community in Schoology discussions that live both in and out of classtime. Students are tasked with showing how they engage texts authentically and I am able to quickly assess that through the discussions. Each student is asked to post authentic responses to what they have read. They begin with an insight about the human condition and/or society, followed by connections in the text (characters, plot, etc.) and quotes from the text to support their assertions before posing questions based on their post to their group mates. Thus, students promote an active conversation outside of class and reply to one another as they work their way through the texts together. Additionally, I purposely didn’t give students a number of posts or responses they must have, instead telling them their task is to show me their authentic engagement in a learning community and throughout the entire text. I assess students reading responses at the midway point of a book (ex. so three weeks in on Glass Castle, which they have six weeks to read) and once again at the end of the book. These grades stand in place of reading quizzes and questions.

Next, I have created space and time in my classes for one-on-one conferences. I check in with students each week for progress and then ask them questions about what they have read (ala an oral quiz) and am able to assess authentic reading in those conversations. I have created google spreadsheets that allow for me to track individual reading progress and I also have a place to take notes about our one-on-one conferences that I can reference in our next check in.

Finally, placing a premium on reading in my classes means I need prove that I value reading. So, I have freed up Friday’s in my classes for reading time for students. I also have cut back on my direct instruction. I use Monday’s for a particular skill (ex. close reading of a section to model indirect characterization through setting). These mini-lessons are mainly from the texts they are reading, but I also use excerpts from other works to model.

I have also freed up Tuesday’s for groups to meet and prepare for small-group Spiderweb discussions and Socratic seminars. I host these small-group discussions on the block days and students are only required to be in class for their group conversation. Again, with an emphasis placed on creating time and space for students to self-pace while promoting time to read and show that authentic engagement to me in autonomous fashion.

With self-paced reading, online group discussions, one-on-one conferences, and small-group discussions in class, I believe I have found the answer to eliminating “Fake Reading”. No more busy work or reading quizzes that don’t assess true engagement. Instead, allowing student autonomy and assessing in these three ways forces students to truly engage if they want to succeed in my classes.

I will then survey students at the end of a unit to gage if this approach resulted in authentic reading for students and how it compares to traditional approaches I have used in the past and students have encountered in high school English classes.

If you are interested in learning more about reading conferences, Mitch Ward and Michael shared a great article with me that is posted below:

Reading Conferences