My grade 1-3 teachers have been planning for next year and are looking for creative and engaging ways to build a literacy intervention block into the daily schedule. Language Arts and Math would be scheduled every morning and then one teacher would be freed up to work with students that are just not up to par with reading, writing and comprehension. I’m quite impressed with their innovative thinking because in order to make this plan work the others will need to have substantially larger class sizes for Social, Science and other non-core subjects. The literacy intervention teacher would work with multi-grade groups of struggling students throughout the afternoon. In a school where many students find themselves below an acceptable literacy level, I like their thinking.
So when the teachers approached me, asking if I would consult with my PLN for high yield strategies that could be used for this intervention block, I was more than happy to oblige. I sent this Tweet out the next day:
My Twitter PLN, which includes over 3500 followers, has become one of the most important sounding boards in my professional life. By including only individuals who share the same passion for education, I am always learning new things and having my thinking challenged and stretched. Just look at the responses I received from this Tweet.
Help yourself if there is anything here you can use.
According to Cybrary Man’s Educational Websites (@cybraryman1), “a Smackdown or Show and Tell is a sharing of websites, tools or teaching tricks that you have found to be great to use. You are given 2 minutes to present the tool to the group.”
Recently, we held an App Smackdown during grade two 21st Century Learning time. Our students have been using iPads for nearly two years now so I thought it would be a good idea to give them an opportunity to show me what they knew. The idea of a “Smackdown” has been used at teacher conferences and EDCAMPs so why not experiment with the concept with young students. Heres the experiment.
Question
With little time to prep, are seven-year old students capable of effectively selecting an educational App from a list and effectively presenting it to peers.
Hypothesis
Yes, when given the opportunity students will amaze us.
Materials
iPad for each student
Apps on each iPad
Apple TV
Comfortable furniture
Front seat for presenter
Background Research
Students have been using the iPads for two years in a variety of ways, using a variety of Apps.
Procedure
Students take an iPad, sit in a comfortable spot, and start playing to warm up.
Teacher explains what an App Smackdown is.
Teacher explains and demonstrates the “face down” rule; which means when the teacher says “face down”, students place their iPad on the floor face down and pay attention to the student up front. As an option, you can tell them that they will lose the iPad if they don’t follow this rule. I guarantee that will work.
Teacher explains and demonstrates how to take control of the Apple TV with an iPad.
Teacher explains to students that once an App has been demonstrated, it can no longer be used by others.
First student is called up to the front seat, takes control of the Apple TV, and the teacher says, “face down.” The student selects any App they want, explains how it works, and demonstrates its use. They also answer any questions that might be asked by peers or the teacher. This should take no longer than 2 minutes. When finished, the presenting student relinquishes control of the Apple TV.
Teacher tells students to pick up iPads and continue to “play.” They are reminded that the App that was just presented can no longer be used.
After about 2-3 minutes, the next student is called up.
Repeat steps 6 and 7 until all students have had a turn or as long as time permits.
A Grade 2 student describes the Pottery App to his classmates.
Observations
Engagement levels were extremely high.
Students were happy to experiment with Apps that were new to them.
If the presenting student had any troubles explaining anything about an App, there was a lot of expertise in the room.
The students were perfectly behaved.
Even the shy students appeared confident because they could use the Apple TV to demonstrate instead of just sitting there and talking.
Conclusion
It was amazing to watch as each student not only selected an App that no one else did, but presented it with great confidence and pride. Everyone, including yours truely, learned something new about the Apps on our school iPads. It was a highly engaging activity that I would recommend to others. Give it a try.
Last week a team of three amazing educators from Randolph Middle School in Charlotte, North Carolina spent two day at my little school in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. This unlikely relationship has unfolded as the result of the simple Tweet posted above, one that I answered with, “We might be interested”, when it appeared on my Twitter feed four and a half months ago. Shortly after responding to @techgirljenny and forwarding my email address I recieved a message that started out like this:
“My name is Matthew Weber. I am a French teacher at Randolph IB Middle School in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. I am emailing you today because something amazing happened to my school recently. Cam Newton, a professional American football player gave my school a donation of $50,000. We can spend this money however we feel best improves the academic environment of our school. Our administration has decided to focus this money on a project to expand the cultural awareness of our students through a partnership with a French-speaking school.”
Here is the full letter from Randolph where you can better understand the full scope of their project and see why it was something that caught my interest as the principal of a French Immersion school in Canada.
In February, after deciding to explore the possibilities of this relationship further, teams from each of our schools met via Skype to brainstorm ways in which our students could start connecting in a meaningful way. In the weeks that followed, blog commenting took place and a Mystery Skype was held using the french language. These engaging activities were a great way for our students to get to know one another and provided our teachers with an opportunity to determine whether or not a long term relationship should be forged.
Grade 6 students taking part in a virtual tour while Randolph Middle School staff look on.
That brings me to this past week where two French as a Second Language (FSL) teachers and a tech specialist from Charlotte made the trip to Southern Alberta to see our school in action first hand, meet with our staff, and plan for next year. While here they took their students on a virtual tour of our school via Skype and some of our students returned the favor. They also visited a number of french classes and spent time with me discussing our schools philosophy around connected learning and 21st century competencies. Our superintendent, @cdsmeaton even joined us when we treated our guests to dinner one evening. All agreed that it was a wonderful experience and we are excited about learning together in the coming year.
To me it’s quite amazing that a public middle school of 1200 students, in a district of 240,000 has partnered with a Catholic Dual Track elementary school of 400 students, in a district of 4500. It’s equally amazing that the distance between the two schools is 3720 kilometers (2312 miles). And it’s even more amazing that this connected learning partnership was born in a single Tweet a few months back.
I wrote this post for those of you who have yet to discover the importance of Twitter and other social media platforms as a powerful way to flatten your walls and engage students in new and exciting ways. I’m reminded once again that it’s not the technology but what you can do with it that counts. Tweet! Tweet!
As we enter the month of June, we once again find ourselves nearing the end of another successful year. For me, it will be a final good-bye as my 9 year term at École St. Mary School has come to an end. I will be moving to Grande Prairie and District Catholic Schools this summer where I have accepted an assignment as Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources.
I would like to express my appreciation for your support over the years and to thank you for the honour and privilege of leading the École St. Mary School community. The last 9 years have been an incredibly rewarding journey with numerous successes and challenges, all of which have allowed me to grow immensely, both personally and professionally. It is my hope that the school will remain a strong professional learning community and continue to build leadership capacity in teachers, students, parents and support staff. Each of you has a right and a responsibility to do your part in making this school the best it can be. I encourage you to do so.
Through the collective efforts of parents and staff, our students are learning to become contributing citizens, productive workers and competent leaders in the interconnected world of the twenty-first century. Our focus on Gospel values, assessment for learning, personalization, the infusion of technology, social responsibility, and inclusive classrooms is building important competencies in our students that they will take with them on their life’s journey. All of us in education strive to create an exciting learning environment for our students and we know that they learn best when experiencing personal connections to their school and when they are excited and motivated about learning. I see this happening every day in the hallways and classrooms of the school and am certain it will continue.
It is through the commitment, creativity and vocation of the École St. Mary School staff and the enthusiasm and responsiveness of the students and parents that this school has become a special place to learn, work, live, and grow. On that note, it is with pleasure that I congratulate our Associate Principal, Mme. Boras on her appointment as the new principal of our school. Her vast experience will serve her well but it is her dedication and commitment to the success of each and every student that makes her the best person to lead the school.
I look forward to my new assignment in Grande Prairie, but will always hold a special place in my heart for École St. Mary School. May God bless each of you!
“This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an
opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.”
If you’re an educator you’ve most likely been interviewed at some point in your career. The interview, of course, is designed to assist the hiring committee in determining whether or not a particular candidate is the best “fit” for the position being interviewed for. Give or take a few, a teacher has always been able to expect to see this traditional set of questions during an interview.
Tell me about yourself.
Why did you decide to become a teacher?
What is your teaching philosophy?
What type of classroom management structure would you implement?
How have you used, or how will you use, technology in the classroom?
Would you be interested in participating in after school activities?
Are you a positive and energetic person?
What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses?
Explain your assessment practices.
Describe your ability to work with others.
These are all good questions but if we really want to hire the kind of teachers needed today, I would like to suggest that we replace at least some of them with the questions listed below. I’ve included my thoughts on why we should ask each question.
Do you consider yourself to be a risk taker? (Give an example to back up your answer.)
We want teachers who are constantly trying new things and learning from their mistakes.
If I were your principal and we were setting goals for next year, what would they be?
We want teachers who are forward thinking and those who are able to articulate a vision of education in the 21st century.
What is the last educational book you read? Why that book?
We want teachers who are continually honing their craft, using a variety of professional resources to consider new approaches.
If you could create the ideal school, what would it be like?
We want teachers who can envision the schools of tomorrow, ones that align with more engaging and flexible learning environments.
How do you deal with failure? (Your own and that of your students)
We want teachers who are resilient and teachers who build resiliency and a growth mindset in their students.
How will 21st century competencies be developed in your students? (Provide examples both with and without technology)
We want teachers who will prepare students for the world they will enter, designing learning experiences to support the building of important 21st century competencies.
Have you built a Personal Learning Network (PLN)? Why or why not?
We want teachers who are broadening their perspective and learning from colleagues across the hall and throughout the world.
In what ways will you challenge your colleagues and the principals thinking?
We want teachers who are not afraid to challenge the status quo and able to stretch the thinking of others.
How will you differentiate instruction to meet the needs of diverse learners in your class?
We want teachers who can find ways to meet the ever growing diverse needs in todays classrooms.
Take 10 minutes to prepare yourself to lead the interview panel in a conversation about an emerging educational topic of your choosing.
We want teachers who are ever looking for way to improve the educational journey of their students and teachers who can support and defend their ideas with sound research and judgement.
My father always told me, “Be careful what you ask for because you just might get it.” As far as I’m concerned the teacher interview is a perfect place to start asking for and getting what we want.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Please share any other questions you think should be included.
On May 6, 2013, with little or no fanfare, ministerial order #001/2013 (Student Learning) was signed by Alberta Education Minister, Jeff Johnson; bringing into full force all aspects of Inspiring Education and repealing a very dated ministerial order #004/98 (Goals and Standards Applicable to the Provision of Basic Education in Alberta). It was last updated on February 10, 1998.
A ministerial order is a decision made by a minister that does not require the approval of cabinet, or the Lieutenant Governor in Council. The power to issue a MO is typically written into an individual piece of legislation, and the MO itself must make reference to the authorizing legislation. MOs have the force of law. Unlike orders in council, ministerial orders are not automatically made public in Alberta. It is not clear why: given that they have the force of law, it seems they should be.
So how many Albertans know this new ministerial order has come into effect? How many know that the goal of this ministerial order is to ensure that all students achieve an extensive list of outcomes that will enable them to be contributing members of 21st century society? How many know that this order is in stark contrast to what was previously expected of the educated Albertan? This is big and it seems to have slipped in virtually unnoticed.
For awhile now I’ve been urging my teachers to familiarize themselves with documents such as the Framework for Student Learning and this ATA Transformation Document – A Great School For All, both of which align with the new vision for our education system. I’ve even suggested that they would be positioning themselves well going forward by referring to these documents when planning, teaching, learning, and assessing. “You’ll be ahead of the wave”, I’ve told them, “if you start making small changes now.”
I wonder how ministerial order #001/2013 will play out in the weeks and months to come. It looks really good on paper. It’s easy to write it down on paper; a bit more difficult to infuse it into daily practice, especially when curriculum, PATs and DIPs remain the same.
What an exciting time to be involved in education.
My school jurisdiction is lucky enough to be located near a university that houses one of the most highly regarded teacher training programs in the country. Throughout the year, on what seems like a continual basis, we welcome undergraduates into our school at various points on their road to becoming our next generation of teachers. Here is an overview of the internship program:
Education 2500 students receive an orientation to the teaching profession by spending 60 hours (20 mornings) in a classroom. During this they function in a role that is similar to a teacher assistant.
Professional Semester I (PS I) students begin their first official practicum after being admitted to the Faculty of Education and completing some required courses. In the PS I practicum interns are assigned to a classroom for approximately 125 hours (5 weeks).
Professional Semester II (PS II) students have completed more on-campus courses and are assigned to a classroom for approximately 150 hours (6 weeks).
Professional Semester III (PS III) students complete a final15-week full semester teaching internship that not only prepares them as a teacher, it helps them to begin nurturing the kind of professional relationships that will benefit them, their career and the students they will teach.
It’s comforting to know that our teacher training facilities are providing such a diverse offering of practicums for those who hope to undertake such important work. And most likely it is in the day-to-day experiences of each internship, and not during theory classes, that individuals discern whether or not teaching is for them. Over the years I’ve watched with great pride as young pre-service teachers polish skills and take flight. At the same time, I’ve had to be involved in the challenging and difficult work of steering struggling interns in a direction other than teaching. More often than not, the relationship between the mentor teacher and intern determines the success of the practium.
Here’s how intern teachers are assigned to mentors:
In the spring interested teachers complete a Student Teacher/Intern Request and, if interested in a PSIII intern, are expected to include a professional development plan for the time they are not involved in teaching themselves.
The form is passed onto the school principal for a signature.
The form is forwarded to the Superintendent of Schools for a signature. (I’m happy to say that our superintendent expects to see first-rate PD plans or will send it back to be re-written)
The form is sent to the Faculty of Education at the University to be reviewed at the time interns are being assigned.
When a suitable match is identified, representatives of the Faculty of Education contact the school principal for approval.
If approved by the school principal, the mentor teacher is contacted and a match is made.
During the internship the mentor teacher and the intern carry out individual PD projects during their non-teaching time.
I’ve often wondered what, other than a certain amount of experience, qualifies a teacher to become a mentor. At times, the process of selection seems more like a right of passage than anything else. If you’ve been around the longest, you get the intern.
If we want our pre-service teachers to be prepared for teaching in the 21st century, shouldn’t we be matching them up with the most forward thinking, cutting edge teachers we can find? Perhaps interns should be assigned this way:
School administrators should identify their most engaging and innovative 21st century teachers. (Years of experience should not be a factor)
These teachers should be approached and encouraged to become mentors.
Collaborative action research on their area of focus should be carried out throughout the internship.
As a team, the mentor and intern should apply their new learning in daily practice, engaging in ongoing reflection and professional conversation.
Transformation of our education system will not occur unless we place our teachers in the middle of the process. In my opinion, the mentor/intern relationship is a good place to start.
This past Friday, along with 6 colleagues from my school division, I attended Calgary’s first ever EDCAMP. The day, which was conceived and organized by Matt Armstrong and Paul Genge, was a brave first step into the world of participant driven professional learning, a concept that had yet to take root in our area on this large of a scale. With over 300 participants in attendance it was definitely a litmus test on whether or not Southern Alberta was ready for this kind of learning.
I was honoured to have been asked to facilitate a conversation on a topic of my choosing and happily offered “Digital Learning Portfolios” as an area I felt would generate some interest. As the day got started I was anxious to see how this particular session would take shape. How many people would attend? Would those in attendance expect me to give a presentation on the topic? What would I do if no one wanted to share their thoughts?
Well, around 10:00 a.m., after some opening remarks from the organizing committee, I made my way to room 14 where about 30 educators stood around waiting to see what was going to happen next. For some reason there were no chairs in the room and when they finally arrived someone started arranging them in rows facing the front. I watched for a few seconds thinking “this is not going to happen” and that’s precisely when I started the session.
I asked that the chairs be arranged in a circle and invited everyone to sit down. Then I asked if anyone had experience with a day like this, and after not getting a response, took a minute to share the story of the EDCAMP we held at my school earlier this year. I think it was important for them to hear how my teachers responded so positively to the EDCAMP philosophy.
After that I got things going by explaining how my school is experimenting with blogs as digital portfolios; and that’s all it took. The knowledge in the room started coming out. It was amazing to watch as so many like minded educators engaged in professional dialogue with people they had never met before. Among other things,we talked about blogs, we talked about Weebly, we talked about ClassBadges. There was a lot of interest in how to use these methods as an alternative to traditional assessment. One individual even created a Google Doc so our group could share all the great ideas. Even after the announcement to move on to the next session came across the PA system, some in our group hung around for a few more minutes to exchange contact information. It was exactly what I had hoped for.
Last Friday I went to Calgary not sure what to expect. As my colleagues and I made the trip home at the end of the day one thing was for certain.
An EDCAMP broke out that day. Let’s hope it grows from here.
If you’ve never tried a Mystery Skype with your class, you should. It’s a highly engaging way to build important competencies in your students. A Mystery Skype is just a simple guessing game at first sight, but it’s really so much more. Two classrooms arrange to connect with each other using Skype, and then take turns asking yes/no questions to try to discover each other’s exact location. It’s a great way to make an initial connection that may lead to further collaborative learning projects. Our students have participated in several Mystery Skypes this year, all of which have been easily arranged through my Twitter PLN. Here’s one from last month:
Take a look at the jobs students take on during a Mystery Skype. Then look at the competencies they are building and ask yourself why you shouldn’t give this a try.
Greeters say hello and share cool facts about the class without giving away the location. (Leadership, Social Awareness, Cultural Awareness, Global Awareness, Communication, Self-Direction)
Question Askers ask the questions and are the voice of the classroom. (Collaboration, Leadership, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Decision Making, Social Awareness, Global Awareness, Creativity, Cultural Awareness, Communication, Self-Direction)
Question Answerers answer the questions after consulting with others. (Collaboration, Leadership, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Decision Making, Social Awareness, Global Awareness, Cultural Awareness, Communication, Self-Direction)
Think Tank sits in a group and figures out the clues based on the information they receive. (Collaboration, Leadership, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Decision Making, Creativity and Innovation, Communication, Digital Literacy, Self-Direction)
Google Mappers use Google maps to piece together clues and narrow down the location. (Collaboration, Leadership, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Decision Making, Creativity and Innovation, Global Awareness, Communication, Digital Literacy, Self-Direction)
Atlas Mappers use atlases to assist the Google mappers. (Collaboration, Leadership, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Decision Making, Creativity and Innovation, Global Awareness, Communication, Self-Direction)
Clue Keepers work closely with askers and answerers to help guide them in developing questions. (Collaboration, Leadership, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Decision Making, Creativity and Innovation, Global Awareness, Communication, Self-Direction)
Runners run from group to group relaying important information. (Collaboration, Leadership, Decision Making, Social Awareness, Global Awareness, Communication, Self-Direction)
Photographers take pictures during the call to share at a later date. (Leadership, Decision Making, Creativity and Innovation, Communication, Digital Literacy, Self-Direction)
Tweeters share real-time play-by-play of the event on a class Twitter account. (Leadership, Critical Thinking, Decision Making, Creativity and Innovation, Social Awareness, Global Awareness, Cultural Awareness, Communication, Digital Literacy, Self-Direction)
Videographers take video during the call to share at a later date. (Leadership, Decision Making, Creativity and Innovation, Communication, Digital Literacy, Self-Direction)
Entertainers share jokes, songs, etc. during a lull in the action. (Collaboration, Leadership, Critical Thinking, Decision Making, Creativity and Innovation, Social Awareness, Global Awareness, Cultural Awareness, Communication, Self-Direction)
Closers end the call in a nice manner after one class has guessed the location of the other. (Leadership, Decision Making, Creativity and Innovation, Social Awareness, Global Awareness, Cultural Awareness, Communication, Self-Direction)
“What better way to model learning and pedagogy than to actually teach?”
This quote comes from an excellent article written in 2010 by Chris Wejr, a school principal in British Columbia and key member of my PLN. The article, titled Principals ARE Teachers, suggests that school leaders need to find ways to cut down on managerial type tasks and spend more time actually teaching. In his case, teaching also provided him with the opportunity to collaborate with and learn from the excellent teachers in his school. ”True leadership”, he says, ”happens in the classrooms, hallways, and playgrounds; management happens in our offices.”
I think most principals agree with this statement and would welcome the opportunity to spend more time as the instructional leader of their school. The problem, of course, is that increasing responsibilities and limited resourses stretches principals in many different directions, making it difficult to place an emphasis on any one aspect of their school leadership role. Below, for example, are the areas in which principals are expected to provide effective leadership in the province of Alberta.
1. Fostering Effective Relationships
2. Embodying Visionary Leadership
3. Leading a Learning Community
4. Providing Instructional Leadership
5. Developing and Facilitating Leadership
6. Managing School Operations and Resources
7. Understanding and Responding to the Larger Societal Context
Most princiapls who teach, I suspect, don’t really do so for the reasons Chris speaks of above. I have always taught since becoming a principal 14 years ago, but mostly as a budgetary measure in order to provide prep time for my teachers. I’ve enjoyed teaching subjects like Phys. Ed., Health, Religion, Library, and Guided Reading but have definitely fallen short in the areas of co-planning and collaboration. It always felt more like managing resources than it did instructional leadership.
Well this year things have changed. I’m team teaching. This, I think, is the best growth as an instructional leader I have ever experienced. Here’s how it works. Each class, along with their teacher, joins me in our Library/Media Centre for a 45 minute block of what I like to call “21st Century Learning Time.” I work with the teacher to plan, carry out and assess the projects completed in each block. Each project addresses learner outcomes from a variety of subject areas. The teacher and I both bring something to the table. I bring my passion for technology integration and 21st century competencies and they bring their expertise and knowledge of their grade level curriculum. It’s a win for me because I’m gaining a much better understanding of curriculum, pedagogy, and teaching styles. It’s a win for the teachers because they transfer many of the tools and strategies to their daily practice. And most importantly, it’s a win for the students because they are better engaged in their learning. Often, the 45 minute periods turn into an hour or more. Some of the Web 2.0 tools introduced includ iMovie, Storybird, Glogster, Tagxedo, Twitter, Voki, Audioboo, Kidblog, and Skype.
If you’re a principal reading this I’m sure you’re thinking about time. Teaching, and all the important activities that go along with it, takes time. Time that must be shared with all the other responsibilities required of a school administrator. Well, I’d ask you to consider this – how many of the 7 areas of effective leadership listed above do you think I’ve addressed by team teaching this year?
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