Category Archives: Uncategorized

Cheating!!!

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Now that I have your attention, let’s talk about students being assessed through Schoology while giving everyone a fair chance.
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Catching a student cheating on an assessment is never fun to deal with. From confronting the student, to reporting the student to the administration. As teachers, we use different methods to try and curve this behavior, putting up a partition, printing out different versions of a test, and even moving desks around.

There is no doubt we want to provide our students a fair chance to do their best while making the testing environment as equatable as possible.

I use Schoology for assessments for a few reasons, you can see the reasons at the end of this blog, but I would like to have an online environment for assessments that maintains the integrity of my assessments. This way I do not have to worry if a student is opening other tabs on their device.

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There is a plug-in for Schoology called Respondus. What this program does is it provides an independent browser, when used, locks a students laptop or iPad. The student cannot take a screen shot nor can the assessment be exited until the student submits their work. Also, the browser cannot be accessed by any other browser. By having this in place the teacher can use the test time more efficiently either by grading other work, or catching up on emails. If you want to check out the functions of Respondus click HERE.

These are the steps I have taken to test this browser:

  1. Working with Joan to talk to the rep. from Respondus about setting up a test run of the program.
  2. Talked with Josh in IT about having them also be part of the test so they can see how the program runs on both laptop and iPad, while trying to test (hack) the system.

If you are interested in helping me test this product please send me an email (mbrecht@carondeleths.org) stating you would like to help. Everyone is welcome!!
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My reasoning for using Schoology is threefold, efficiency, organization, and assessments. In regards to efficiency, you are able to change settings so the order of the questions will be different from person to person. If you are doing a multiple choice test, it can go even deeper and randomize the order of the answers of the question from person to person. Also, if you are doing a multiple choice test, you can have Schoology release their score as soon as the student is done with the test. That makes it easier for grading!!!

My second reason is because of organization. When giving a paper test you are keeping track of the work turned in and the test questions to make sure they do not walk out the door. In Schoology, all of the testing material stays in one place, you do not need to lug a bunch of papers around, and you can see who has not taken the test (easy way of taking attendance). Less clutter can always be helpful. Also, if you are giving a short response or essay question you can do all of your reading and grading in one screen. The comment box is there as well to share ideas with your students.

Lastly, Schoology provides multiple ways of assessing students. From true/false to ordering, and from short-answer/essay questions to fill in the blank. Having this range of assessments can help provide different ways to assess the students.

Enough of the swooning over Schoology. Thank you for reading.

Is Video Game Music the Key to Improving Concentration?

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Is Video Game Music the Key to Improving Concentration?



Students at Carondelet use a variety of strategies to manage stress and anxiety levels while stimulating productivity in and outside the classroom. One of the most widely used and underdeveloped strategies is the use of music and noise to increase concentration and focus, and elevate mood. Students use their headphones and earbuds to block out distracting noise around them and choose their own playlists and soundtracks while working independently. Few teachers would disagree with the benefits of noise cancelling tools, but most would argue that the specific choice of music type is an equally important aspect.

In 1993, a study was conducted to investigate the effect of listening to music on spatial reasoning, speed of processing, and creative problem solving. Popularized by misinterpretation and a Georgia governor, the public was told listening to Mozart’s music would increase their IQ and mental functioning. Baby Mozart products of the mid-1990s claimed to improve listening disorders, dyslexia, ADHD, autism, and other physical and mental disorders. In 2006, research focused on the effects of types of music by beat count on specific tasks. Dr. Emma Gray1 concluded music in the 50 to 80 beats per minute range has a calming effect on the mind that is conducive to logical thought, allowing the brain to learn and remember new facts. Her research also encourages the use of familiar songs, stating known music is predictable and requires less focus when listening. These positive effects are greatly reduced with the addition of lyrics or “intelligible speech,” as studied by one Finnish group of researchers2. They found a decrease in performance in 48% of their subjects, compared to those participants listening to “masked speech” or continuous noise.
Most recently, conversations have shifted to the benefits of an unexpected genre of music – Video Game Soundtracks.  Video game music is specifically designed to provide ambience while you concentrate on the task at hand. Intentionally meant to be background music, the genre of music is designed to keep players engaged in the game without becoming distracting. This genre has the unique characteristic of being progressive and positive in nature, corresponding to the achievements earned and advancement in the actual gameplay. When we translate this to school performance, it can yield similar results: an increase in focus, a level up in productivity, and a decrease in distractions. Gaming music fits all the metrics researched for optimum work sounds without becoming repetitive or boring. Best of all, there is a whole world of vintage video game soundtracks and daily uploads of user’s remixed versions to explore. The next time you or your student are creating a playlist for work or studying, consider exploring the familiar and nostalgic soundtracks of Skyrim, Legend of Zelda, or Assassin’s Creed.  
[Modified from an article originally posted in 2016]
1  Clinical Psychologist Dr. Emma Gray, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy at The British CBT & Counseling    Service in London  2 Venetjoki, N. “The effect of speech and speech intelligibility on task performance.” National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, Sept. 2006.

Limitless Mind

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I was beyond excited to hear Jo Boaler speak about her new book. Through my undergrad the idea of a growth mindset was very relevant and interesting to me. I am at fault for having a fixed mindset. I have put off writing this blog post for the last couple of days because I do not think I am a great writer and feel stuck by this barrier. I struggle with writing so I say I am just not an English person. I need to practice what I preach and give it a shot. Each day I practice my skills when writing emails or responses to students. This is just another effort that I am putting in to improve my growth mindset.

During the seminar Jo talked about the six keys that will enable you to learn, live, and lead with no barriers. Each key plays an important part so that you are able to feel there are no boundaries. You will find anything is possible because our brains and lives are adaptable to change and will bring positive outcomes. Jo’s new book is not just geared toward math but can be used as a general guide and aid in your whole life.

The 6 keys to learn, lead, and live without barriers.
1) Brain growth and change
2) Struggle
3) Mindset
4) Engaging and valuable content
5) Flexibility and depth not speed

6) Connections and collaboration


One thing that really stood out to me was how to cultivate a growth mindset in your classroom. You can do this by creating relationships with your students where they feel you really care about their success. I want to continue attending the girls sports games or theater events or whatever they have going on. Another small thing that I heard and want to implement when giving feedback is to end with, I am giving you this feedback because I believe in you. This is so simple and positive and will help build a community with a growth mindset.

Questioned Out

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When I decide to make the transition to teacher, I knew there would be some adjustments. I had handled undergrad freshmen before, and grad students, and law enforcement professionals who were not science-oriented, so I told myself I’d be fine. And so far, I think it’s been going pretty well. No one has caught on fire yet, and it’s been almost a month.

One of my struggles currently is finding the balance between being responsive to their seemingly endless (but seemingly genuine) questions and the need to move forward with the material. Related to that is the constant request for study guides and a list of exactly what will be on the test. Between dealing with students concerned about a big upcoming exam and the questions of my kids at home, I found myself completely. Questioned. Out.

A corner of my brain was still working though, and it figured out a different way to run a review session. Spoiler: it worked so much better than I expected. Kids who have been getting exponentially more stressed throughout the week were laughing and engaging with the material in a much more positive way- and within peer groups were spontaneously tutoring and studying with each other.

Lead-in: I had the kids crowd-source what topics they thought were fair game for the test. Then we did the same for study resources.

Go time: multiple stations were set up around the room. Girls traveled with a partner and could choose to hang out at each station as long as they wanted, or they could work on practice calculations I gave them on another worksheet.

The flipgrid is hilarious, and my older daughter is super excited to decide who wins the Flipgrid competitions. I got to focus in on specific questions here and there, the students could review what they wanted at their pace, and I still had just enough questions left in me to be able to answer my own kids’ questions tonight, which included “What are cannibals?” and “How did the guy who did the genie’s voice die?”
So what are your ways of switching gears for review time? Or managing questions in the classroom so you can still stay on track? And for those of you with kids- how do you manage to keep a part of your patience for your own kids when you get home?

News in Slow Spanish Podcast Vlog #3

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NEWS IN SLOW SPANISH


When teaching modern language, one must address the various different modalities: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. One must also not forget to focus on grammar, culture, art and literature analysis, current events, AP themes pertaining to the environment, technology, ethics, personal relationships, aesthetics…only to name a few. There is a lot of material to cover, all in a different language. A modern language teacher also teaches these, and other subjects using varying techniques and must also consider the students who are only taking a language to “fulfill the UC requirement” or because “my mom made me”, and much to the teacher’s dismay, really don’t love the language. 
One way that I have have to tried to make Spanish more relevant is by using podcasts to engage student learning and to teach current events, culture, grammar, and listening comprehension. I recently introduced “News in Slow Spanish” to my classes. It’s complex enough, to address current events and keep students engaged, but it’s slow enough that with some scaffolding, the information is attainable to students and it’s just enough of a challenge to keep them focused, but not frustrated or discouraged. Once students are frustrated or discouraged, many become disengaged, and give up. This is a way to keep the material relevant, useful, and engaging for students. Check it out, link’s at the bottom!

News in Slow Spanish Podcast

Everyone loves a good crime scene

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Everybody loves the idea of a good mock crime scene. To be honest, as soon as I heard I would be teaching a forensic science class, my imagination had been running wild about how I was going to run the crime scene.  I wanted to scaffold the rest of the semester off of the evidence they collected there to emphasize how important it is to do it correctly; I wanted the scene to spark their imagination and pique their interest. I wanted it to be tough enough to make them show they had been paying attention, with enough red herring stuff that they couldn’t really collect all of it (spoiler: they still did).

As I set up the scene on Tuesday night, I worried that the students would be disappointed that it wasn’t as complex as a real crime scene, that it wasn’t bloody enough, that there wasn’t a lot of random purplish lighting and dark shadows everywhere like in CSI.  I worried that I wasn’t giving them enough space or that it was silly to do it indoors, after hearing one student tell another that of course we’d be doing it outdoors (mental note for next time).

Then the kids walked in and sounded awestruck.  Awesome!  Nailed it!  Score one for me!  Then various faculty and staff started coming in and messing with their crime scenes, and the students all but tackled them to get them out of the scenes (thank you to everyone who came!). Then the students started working it, and did okay.  There were definitely some things that didn’t get absorbed in class, like why we package things certain ways (so that Mario can’t just reach into the bag and steal your evidence), or that they need to change gloves as though you are touching blood every time you touch something. But they definitely showed grasp of the major stuff, like documenting stuff before you move it, and there was some great critical thinking about what evidence would be useful and what wouldn’t.

A summer MINDSET

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I had heard the term “growth mindset” used over and over again and figured it seemed straight forward enough – a basic concept, but an important one.  Before leaving for summer break I grabbed the book Mindset by Carol S. Dweck, it had been recommended to me by a non-teacher friend and I needed something to read for Alludo.

If I am being honest, I feel we have used the term “growth mindset”  as some kind of set state of being.  Like “I have brown hair”.  What I quickly found in my reading is that it is not a static situation but actually more of a verb.  Something that has to be worked at, tried or taught over and over again.
I found myself thinking about what a growth mind set is or how one acquires this outlook most directly related to myself and my own children.  After a frustrating basketball practice, I had an interesting discussion with my youngest son, Brady.  He was upset that the coach had stopped the drill focused in on something he was doing, gave him suggestions on how to fix it and then put him back into the situation.  Brady felt he had been punished and was embarrassed.  So there it was driving up Ygancio Valley Road and I had an ah-ha moment, this was an opportunity to teach growth mindset.  We talked about what value there was in having this moment with the coach, was there anything that he could learn from the interaction? Though at first he did not want to admit it he realized that he had learned and improved from the feedback – this is a big deal, he’s only 12.  We talked about seeing moments that were not perfect as opportunities to get better and not just repeat the same thing or settle.
Throughout the summer there were many instances where I was re-directing the way my kids viewed something and helping them to see what came from the situation, what could be learned, what opportunities there might be in those moments.  It was through this I realized that this mindset is not fixed its not something you have or don’t have but a process that needs to be re-examined and practiced.  For some it may be harder then others, but we have great opportunity with children to re-direct their thinking and hopefully make it a habit, at least sometimes.
 In the book, I appreciated the discussion that a growth mindset might come easier in some areas of our life but not in others.  This is real and important for us to remember, especially in classrooms.  this process and way of thinking will come easier for some then for others.  Or they might be more open to it in their sport and not in the classroom. Its not to stay we don’t keep trying but just a point to remember.
From a teaching perspective I have thought about growth mind set in two ways.  The first view is in reminding every student that they can grow in science, they can find value and application and that will lead to success.  The second, is my view of each student and remembering to see every student as capable.  It is easy to discount a students ability after failed exams or quizzes or a perceived lack of effort.  We can work to see each of these situations (students) as having growth potential.
I gained a lot of perspective reading this book.  Most importantly, I believe that having a growth mind set is an action that needs practice, teaching and re-directing.  It’s not like you wake up one day put it on and you are set for life (at least not for most people).

I love my Fitbit

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Ok, so I’m a bit late to the Fitbit craze…but this summer my sister was raving about how much she loved hers and since numbers motivate me, I thought I’d give it a try.

In a recent goals meeting with Elizabeth, she shared with me that most of the stuff we are currently interested in is heavily influenced by what we desire to work on, and that many things relate and can be sort of thematically linked. This got me thinking…

Since using the Fitbit I’ve noticed:

  • I feel better and I have more energy.
  • I think more creatively when I’m out walking and often get some of my best ideas. (Here’s a link to a previous blog where I talk more about this…)
  • I have more face-to-face interactions with colleagues. These are about school stuff and/or about life and friendship.
  • I love data! I’m on my Fitbit app more than any other! (Who knew sleep cycles could be so fascinating?!)

I write this blog entry because (1) *selfishly* I want to put this print and hold myself accountable for continuing this type of exercise because I believe it is good for me, and (2) this little device is bringing together some pretty awesome school goals: collaboration, data, creative thought, and relationship/team building!

So, if you see me doing a quick lap around the school…now you know!

Heartwork Vlog #2

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This vlog is a work in progress, but it’s been fun playing with it. (Sidenote: I noticed that I say “um” A LOT, my apologies, that’s something that I’ll be working on…)

HEARTWORK:
here…watch my face!






Here are some other Heartwork ideas that I’ve done in the past (none of these are required. If students want to do it, great! If not, that’s fine too): I also had a recent one: don’t judge people. 
1. When you wake up in the morning, look in the mirror and say 5 nice things about yourself that don’t have to do with anything physical. Examples can be: “I am worthy, I am loved, I am curious, I am creative, I am brave…etc.”
2. Give 3 sincere compliments to people today.
3. Do 3 acts of compassion (that was after discussing what compassion means to them)
4. Cook (or help cook) a healthy meal for you and your family/loved ones/guardians
5. List 3 things that you are most grateful for today. Share those thoughts with others. If you’re grateful, it’s harder to have a negative attitude.
6. Read about something that’s happening in the world today (in the news). 
7. Buy someone a cookie in the Garaventa. 
8. Thank a teacher, parent, coach, bus driver, etc.
9. Spend time with a sibling or family member for 30 minutes.
10. Spend 15 minutes in silent meditation. When thoughts come racing in, accept them and release them. 
11. Listen to the song “Weightless” by Marconi Union, (it’s scientifically proven to lower blood pressure and decrease anxiety) Check it out! Marconi Union-Weightless
12. Go for a walk, hike, practice yoga, pray, for 30 minutes.
13. At lunchtime encourage your friends to stack their phones and have a phone free lunch and just talk.
14. Adopt a Freshman. This is for upper classmen to keep an eye out for the Froshies. They actually really take pride in this and they become very protective of our 9th graders. This is one of my favorite heartwork assignments. 
15. Make a new friend, and report what you learned about that person back to me.
16. Hold the door open for at least 3 people today.
17. Smile at as many people as you can today.
18. Name 5 things that you love about yourself. (They find this to be a very hard assignment)
19. Create a “peace place”. A place where you feel safe, and comfy, and you can be at peace and rest. It can’t involve social media.
20. Volunteer somewhere, soup kitchen, food bank, hospital, etc.  


The ideas are limitless and I’m constantly coming up with more. If you have suggestions, I’m open to reading/hearing about them!

We can all practice Heartwork too! 




First Week of School

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For my first week at being at Carondelet, I was able to meet a lot of good well behaved students.  The 3 freshman classes are very respectful and polite.  They like to work together and its actually a pleasure watching them.  I have been putting the girls in different groups for every lab so far, so they can meet more than just their table mates.  The outcome has been a positive one so far.  I saw many girls outside of the classroom talking to each other about the projects that we had done.  It is an exciting time for them and myself to beat this school.  I can see it in their faces and expressions. 
In the APES class it has been a blast.  These students are very excited about environmental science and so am I.  I decided to do  Mineral Mondays, so every Monday I will bring in a new miner or rock and I will talk a few minutes about it.  Last Monday I brought in an obsidian, and the class was highly impressed.  It got them thinking about rocks and minerals which I think is great. 

My first week so far has been great, and I actually am looking forward to coming to work everyday. 

-Mario