The Cabeza Chronicles

NHStv: Behind the Headlines

 

The Real World is In Your Classroom

Visualize a small group of kids huddled in a middle school flex space, Expo marker in hand and video camera staged in front of them, confidently drawing shapes and lines on the whiteboard as they explain the steps to solve an equation. Picture students, who otherwise avoid math, passionately debating the best place to ask a question: is it before or after an example? Can you hear them, animated, discussing the best way to teach someone about complementary and supplementary angles?

This was the scene in Jennifer White’s math class at Pike Middle School when she challenged her students to create Edpuzzles that teach other students new math concepts. Determined to engage her students in rigorous and authentic learning, she asked them to design video lessons that would be used as warm-ups and tutorials in other classes.


If you don’t know, EdPuzzle is a video platform that lets teachers turn any video into a lesson by embedding questions, comments, and/or audio. Teachers then assign their video lessons to students and collect formative data, like who watched the video and what they understood. Because the videos are self-paced, students can re-watch them as many times as they need, and even share them with others.

For this project, in teams of 2-3, students chose a topic from their next unit of study. Before creating their video lessons in EdPuzzle, they explored resources, researched their topics, and planned what comments and questions would best help their audience learn the concepts.

White gave students a choice to either find an existing video or create their own to use in the EdPuzzle. Some were excited to make their own videos using their Chromebooks. Giving choice helped her differentiate for students who needed more time during the ‘discovery phase’ and for those who needed an extra challenge.

Before publishing and sharing their work with their audience, students gave each other feedback (using Google Forms) about how they could improve their lessons. Mrs. White gave students time to apply the feedback they collected. This step also worked to expose students to all of the terms they needed to know, and to reinforce the concepts they would eventually see in class.

In the end, this whole project took 3-4 days, provided a whole department with student-created peer tutorial resources, and gave students the chance to learn with a purpose. You can see examples of student work here: Example 1 & Example 2

It is hard to imagine what authentic learning looks like in practice because there isn’t a ‘single right way’ to approach it. John Lamar, with bie.org, put it simply, “In fully authentic work, students are doing work that is real to them... [it has] a direct impact on or use in the real world. (The “real world,” by the way, could still be school, which is a very real place for students.)”

It’s easy to get caught up in preparing kids for the future, but don’t forget: to our students, the real world is here and now. The real world is in your classroom as much as it is outside of it.

One of Mrs. White's biggest takeaways from this project was that students owned their learning throughout the entire process. That happened because she gave students a purpose and audience for their learning. Students were proud to contribute to their immediate environment and motivated knowing that other people would see and benefit from their work.

Ultimately, when educators design authentic learning opportunities they empower students in the present. Instead of hoping students will become leaders, creators, and good citizens one day, teachers can give students the chance to be those people today, to contribute to their real world in the here and now.

"R"edefining Review

"R"edefining Review

          

          When creating another semester exam review seems like a daunting task, why not flip the script and allow for creativity and innovation to take over.  At least that is what Mrs. Ashley Anthony decided to try in her class at the end of the Fall Semester.  "I just want to try something different for this time around," Mrs. Anthony explained.  "My goal is to challenge my students to think out of the box to create a resource for all of my other students to be able to use to study for their semester exam."  Naturally, she knew that if students could explain a concept thoroughly, they had a true and deep level of understanding for that topic.

          Collaboration and communication were instrumental at getting this project off the ground.  From its inception, Mrs. Anthony knew that she wanted this project to be completely student-driven, even from the very beginning.  Any teacher would simply give their students a project description and a rubric to follow.  However, as an exemplary teacher, Mrs. Anthony had her students define the rubric themselves, rooting this project in a rich research-based best practice.  Giving them the basic expectations in the middle column of the rubric, students then were tasked, through small-group and whole-group discussion, to create their own exemplary and needs-improvement criteria to demonstrate success.          

          The time came for the students to begin creating their collaborative Google Site.  Students partnered together and self-selected the math topic that they felt most comfortable with explaining.  The directions were clear.  Keeping in mind the Math Workshop Model, students had to create a lesson that taught the concept in an opening, ask higher-level questions through a work period, and finally allow for students to reflect on what they learned through a student-created formative assessment.  The only parameters students were given were the project description and the rubric they created.  Then they were off.  Immediately there was a buzz about the classroom about which platform to use.  Rylan suggested, "We should make a self-paced Peardeck presentation because it is interactive, so students will be engaged, and they can continually review their work."  Kate's enthusiasm with embedding a Google Site in the review site was exemplified when she said, "This is the best way we thought to organize our topic of ordering fractions, decimals, and percentages."  Will quickly got busy combing videos into WeVideo to teach his topic.  He shared, "I loved this project so much because we each got to find our own way of sharing our learning through teaching others."  Other preferred methods of delivery were Google Slides, Powtoon, and Google Docs.

          The aspect of this project that stands out most is that Mrs. Anthony knew what her students were capable of and knew that she needed to differentiate for this class.  In having her students create this resource for all of the other students at Chisholm Trail Middle School, she exemplified the "R" in the SAMR model.  SAMR is an acronym standing for Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition.  This model is a way for educators to assess how effectively they are using technology in their classroom.  Redefinition is in the transformation range, and it is quite clear that this entire project, from beginning to end, screams just that.  A transformation of a tried and true method of reviewing for a semester exam to one that is student-led, student-created, and serves as a method of instruction that reaches beyond their own classroom.  When asking Mrs. Anthony what her thoughts were on the entire process, she said, "I can't believe that it has taken me this long to try this with my students.  Every class is different and you have to know what they are capable of, but when you let them take the lead, they can produce great things.  This entire project seemed to transform the process of review and was an exciting way to do it."

Check out the 6th-Grade Compacted Math student-led semester review from Chisholm Trail Middle School by clicking the link below.

Permission to Be Creative!

Mrs. Johnson (a 5th grade teacher at Granger Elementary) created a collaborative Google Site with the purpose of expanding learning in the ELA and social studies classroom. On the homepage of the site, students find permission to be creative! The site reads, “This will be a place for you to take your learning to the next level by using your creative mind to build on what you’ve already been learning about in class. Think outside the box, explore new ideas, and discover topics that you’d like to know more about.” The license to be creative has led to student ownership that can hardly be put into words.

How did this site come about? Mrs. Johnson states, “Some students finish their classwork quickly and need to have a project to work on, or they need to be challenged to take their learning to the next level. I also have students who simply thrive when having projects to work on. I had many students who fell into these categories this year, and I really wanted provide them with more than just the everyday ELA and social studies classwork. With a blue crayon and a piece of notebook paper, I began jotting down their suggestions. We came up with a few ideas, such as making Google Slides, designing games, and creating Kahoot quizzes. Then, I asked these students about some of their topics of interest. That afternoon, I took their suggestions and organized them into a Google Site. By adding their ideas to the site in an organized way, many more ideas started flowing. I added more ideas of my own, and then I gave about seven students access to this site so that they could add more ideas. Together, we formed the basic structure of this enrichment site.”

Here is how the site works. 1. Students use the “Topics” and “Activity Option” pages to gain inspiration and decide on a creation project that they are interested in. 2. Students click on the timeline spreadsheet and sign up to create a project. 3. Students create the project of their choice using the tool of their choice. 4. Students insert their project into the “Finished Projects” page.  5. Students record a FlipGrid video explaining the what, why, and how of their project. They also explain how their project will impact other students and reflect on what they would have done differently if they were to do the project again.

Students lit up as they shared about their projects. Samanvita, Amari, Kaden, Shabbeer, and John could have chatted for hours about projects they had created and project ideas that were marinating in the back of their mind. "It's not like other classes because we’re getting to chose what we create" said Kaden. "It's really cool," says Amari with a smile, "It's like we are student teachers!" 

Samanvita shares a little about her creation, “I made a Powtoon about point of view, a WeVideo about story elements, and there is is lego website that I’m hoping to make a Stop Motion video from. Right now, I’m using Tinkercad to create a gun from the Revolutionary War. I also made a George vs. George quiz. I think I made it a little too tricky because most people only got 30%.” Samanvita asked me to take the quiz and I’m sad to say that I failed as well. All that said, she had feedback woven within the quiz and was able to help me learn from my mistakes.

Other created projects include, a 3D print of the Boston Tea Party ship, a mini Lexia series to help others who may want extra practice, various Kahoot and Google Form quizzes over covered topics, and even stop motion videos. According to these students, the most challenging aspect of the project is time management and choosing the right tool for the resource that they are making. They are learning that some tools are limited and they need to be purposeful when choosing. Many of these students get excited about their projects and end up working both at school and at home.

John's Mini Lexia Quiz and a Point of View Google Form

Kaden's Boston Tea Party Scratch Game

 In closing, Mrs. Johnson points out, “I was most surprised with how smooth the transition has been and how little guidance is needed. My students are extremely self-driven and self-motivated with this website. I am impressed with the variety of products that they have created as a result of this website. I am also thrilled about how excited they are to create so many different projects.” She adds, “One of our campus initiatives is to raise the level of Masters scores by 10%. I definitely believe that by doing these types of self-initiated projects, our students will show growth in their reading and thinking abilities.”

Be on the lookout for some of these student created products at EXPO 2019!

Why You Shouldn't Be Afraid to Replace a "Tried-and-True Method"

Tired of the same old pen-and-paper, drill-and-kill nature of test corrections, Algebra 2 teacher Mrs. Kubacki at Northwest High School wanted to shake things up and to make math a little more engaging for her high schoolers. Of course, her existing method was working just fine; students were completing the corrections and often showing growth. Still, she wanted to take a risk.

Quiz corrections are a staple task in her classroom because they give her students the opportunity to earn back missed points on tests. Many of her students rely on them as a way to boost their grade, and she relied on them as an important step in assessing her students progress in advance of a test. She wanted to ensure that when she replaced a tried-and-true method she would still end up with meaningful evidence of learning, so she turned to an tool that is rising in popularity: a video discussion platform.

Tools like FlipGrid and Recap are becoming more renown, but with any new tool, it’s how you use it that truly matters. Though a great tool for virtual classroom discussion or Vlogging, Kubacki instead challenged her students to create with it. She wanted to see student-created tutorials, to be shared with the class.

Using Recap, also known as Let’s Recap and Recap That, her students created video tutorials for one another solving the questions they had originally missed on their quiz. Prior to filming, she gave them clear-cut, high expectations: they had to show their work, use and even define academic vocabulary words for their audience, and show their work step-by-step so their peers could better learn from their video. As a class and before they first participated, they created a list of video norms and best practices for their tutorials. (This list included rules like: No filming and walking. Eliminate as much background noise as possible. Rehearse your video before filming...)

It's probably worth mentioning that many students did have reservations at first; a selfie generation who constantly Facetime, SnapChat, and learn from YouTube are afraid to be on camera. Just like many adults, they were nervous to document their learning and share it with an audience. Anticipating this, Kubacki did not force her students to be on camera, but instead gave them a choice. She also artfully paired students up for the task, sure to consider their personalities. And since she knows it’s helpful when a leader takes the first risk, she was sure to create her own video first, modeling the class-created expectations.

On the day students finally created and published their video tutorials in class, their teacher was both mobile and available to help anyone in need -- this is one of the many benefits in giving students tasks of creation; the teacher can move out of the driver’s seat and into the passenger’s seat. In the event a student did get stuck, they were expected to create a "point of confusion video" --to post their problem step-by-step, up to the point of confusion, and to finally ask their peers for help. Because she expected students to comment on each other’s videos (they established norms for this too), students were able to get help on their corrections and were able to get immediate feedback from both their peers and their teacher.

Of course, Mrs. Kubacki could have stayed with her tried-and-true method of pen and paper, but what would her students have missed out on? Would they have felt as challenged? What academic or even personal growth might they have missed out on? By instead asking them to create video tutorials through Recap, she gave students a platform where they could immediately share their personal growth with a community of learners who could also benefit from their hard work. Taking this risk gave a larger purpose to students' time and to an otherwise mundane task such as quiz corrections. Even more, these students were empowered to own and share their learning by creating something that would help others.

*This blog has been corrected to clarify that the assignment, quiz corrections, was designed as a formative assessment tool leading up to a final summative grade.

Create Your Own Adventure Books: Real Authors with Real Readers

Authors in Mrs. Bass' 5th grade class at Hughes elementary recently published work for an authentic
audience at their own school! 1st grade students were learning about Caribou while 2nd grade was studying Christmas traditions around the world. Knowing their needs, Mrs. Bass allowed her students to write both fiction and nonfiction stories that the younger students could learn from. These were not ordinary stories. Students used their knowledge of story elements and plot to write create your own adventure books. The beginning and middle of the story was written collaboratively as a class, while the ending was written by each individual. Students choose a unique ending and a picture icon that symbolized what their ending was about to hook the reader and give them a hint.

Zoe, Aubree, Lainey, Hailey, and Terrance got a lot out of this project. When asked what they enjoyed most about the project, Aubree stated, "I loved that we got to write to younger students. We knew lots of people would be reading our work. I also enjoyed getting to read other people's stories and seeing how creative they were." Haliey added, "I loved that every ending was completely different." Some stories ended in Canada, while others ended in Hawaii, Times Square, giant homes, and even Krusty Krab's House.

Terrance explained the project in his own words, "At first we wrote as a squad and then we went solo. I'm glad we got to choose between fiction and nonfiction stories." Terrance is new to Hughes this year and said that he learned a lot about Google docs and how to format documents. He has also noticed that he got better at typing the more he wrote. This project allowed students to learn about writing, while simultaneously learning technology standards. Lainey comments, "I learned that every story needs to have a problem and a solution." Aubree adds, "we also learned how to get a shareable link for our Google Doc and copy and paste shortcuts such as Ctrl C and Ctrl V."

"The hardest part of this project was deciding on the beginning of the story with the group," states Lainey. "We all had ideas and had to choose which one would be best."

Perhaps the best part about this project was getting to share writing with others. All of the stories were published on a Padlet wall for readers to not only read the books, but also give them a 1-5 star rating. "My mom loved me story," said Hailey. "Over Christmas break I read everyone's story from the class. They were all so interesting." The class hopes to have the Padlet bookshelf available in the library for others to read. They are hoping that more people read and rate their stories.

Terrance concludes by saying, "I hope next year's 5th grade class gets to have as much fun doing this project as we did. We learned a lot about writing, but we had a lot of fun at the same time. This project was good for everyone, even the students who are shy because we start in a group, but then get to finish on our own. We all got to show our creative side."

These students are excited to present this project at EXPO 2018 in February!

Read and Rate Student Created Stories Here:
https://padlet.com/cbass5/ReindeerWriting

Highlighted Student ISTE Standards: 
Students communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals.

• 6d Students publish or present content that customizes the message and medium for their intended audiences.

Students use digital tools to broaden their perspectives and enrich their learning by collaborating with others and working effectively in teams locally and globally.

• 7C Students contribute constructively to project teams, assuming various roles and responsibilities to work effectively toward a common goal.

Multiple Intelligences = Multiple Products

Do you know your strengths? Mrs. Champion’s 5th grade GT class at Hughes Elementary School recently did some self reflection and explored multiple intelligences. After taking a survey and watching Soar (a five minute short film), students identified their highest scoring multiple intelligence. They learned that knowing their multiple intelligence can help them solve problems, communicate ideas, and work with others. Students were asked to create a product, using the tool of their choice, that would allow them to discuss the Soar film using one of their high scoring multiple intelligences. They truly took ownership of this project and created a product unique to their own strengths.

Keet decided to focus on “Music Smarts.” Keet created a rap by Mara and Lucas (characters in Soar). He also chose to pull in his classmate Josh to help him. Keet commented, "Josh and I came together as a team. I could have done the rap alone, but I chose to add Josh because he's really good at editing video." Josh and Keet used Sock Puppets for their rap because they thought it would portray the characters well and make their class laugh.

Josh focused on "Word Smarts." Soar is a silent film, so Josh decided to create a comic that would predict what the characters were thinking and saying during the film. “I enjoyed coming up with what each character could have been thinking,” commented Josh.

Macy and Connor focused on "Body Smarts." They collaborated to build a model of the plane built in Soar. They used a Google doc to collaborate and created a summary of their model. For Connor, the most enjoyable and challenging part of the project was building the plane. "It was fun learning that we could use classroom scraps to build a plane." He added, "we had to try multiple times to get our model correct."

One neat aspect of this project was that learning was differentiated for each student. Some built digitally, some built models, some created visuals, etc. 

Intentional Feedback: 
All students shared their final product on a class Google Slides presentation. This allowed students to not only learn from each other, but also to leave intentional feedback. Students gave specific feedback, received feedback, and made changes based on the feedback of their peers.





















ISTE Standards:

• 1C: Students use technology to seek feedback that informs and improves their practice and to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways.

• 3C: Students curate information from digital resources using a variety of tools and methods to create collections of artifacts that demonstrate meaningful connections or conclusions.

• 4A: Students know and use a deliberate design process for generating ideas, testing theories, creating innovative artifacts or solving authentic problems.

• 6A: Students choose the appropriate platforms and tools for meeting the desired objectives of their creation or communication.
• 6B: Students create original works or responsibly repurpose or remix digital resources into new creations.