Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Drowning in Our Standards and Curriculum!

Being pulled behind our family ski boat recently made me better understand how struggling students can feel overwhelmed. Skiing on top of the waves and frequently "catching some air" made me think about how most of our students feel when they're collaborating, learning and really understanding. However, several years ago, I was knee boarding behind our family boat when I lost the board from underneath me and found I was being pulled along by the ski rope caught or wrapped around my wrist. I was being dragged along with little to no control over the situation. Instead of "catching air", I was "catching water" or drinking gulps of the lake water. There was little to nothing I could do until the spotter in our boat finally realized I was in distress. Only at that point did the boat stop and my anguish begin to subside.

Now that I think back on the sensation I had being dragged along, I now know how some of our students feel when we drag them along with our standards and curriculum. Some students feel like they're drowning. Today, one of our students eluded to the fact that he's drowning and can't keep up with "all this math". At that moment, my mind went back to my incident of being helplessly dragged through and occasionally under the water. Now, I'm dragging him through our spiraled standards to achieve somewhere between proficiency and mastery. I need to stop this "Rowe" boat so he can catch his breath, stop feeling overwhelmed and have a chance to breathe and learn what our course is offering. I hope it is not too late to rekindle his interest.

Educators need to find the right balance between keeping the learning fresh and new, spiraling concepts to integrate and keep it all current while making sure we're not losing anyone in the wake of being overwhelmed and possibly drowning. Now I realize I should have been a better "spotter in the boat".
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Friday, April 4, 2014

Learning by Feedback, Abstraction and Differentiation

The more I understand about learning, the more I believe Feedback, Abstraction and Differentiation are not a "FAD".

Feedback - In a couple of our classes, we have a collection of review questions due every ten days. The review questions are concepts from two to three weeks prior to the current date. The review questions are always changing while attempting to show the integration of various concepts. What I've noticed recently is that students are completing all the review questions and submitting them to me several days prior to the requested due date. Students pass in their work and ask for feedback in the form of "Mr. Rowe, would you be willing to circle the question numbers I don't yet have correct so I can try to find and fix my errors prior to passing it in?". These aggressive learners want to learn from their mistakes and have the opportunity to fix them in time. I'm so grateful for the attitude and grit of these dedicated students! They've taught me to provide learning opportunities where we can revise our thinking and understanding to reach higher levels of proficiency. Many of these students resubmit their corrected work accompanied by the statement, "Mr. Rowe, you'll be proud of me because I corrected all my mistakes. I promise!". I see the appreciation and confidence in their eyes when they hand in their revised learning.

Abstraction - I've recently begun to introduce material in a top-down or abstract way. As a class, we're discussing the structure, significance and abstraction of the new concept. We're collaborating at a 10,000-foot view prior to delving into the specifics of the material. We're examining the behavior of the mathematical concept generically before taking it apart specifically. Recently, our students have shared with me that their "brain hurts" and that they keep having mind-blowing experiences. One specific student has been expressing his mind-blowing learning by placing his hands on either side of his head and then quickly extending his hands out to simulate a cranial explosion! These students are extremely bright in my humble opinion and appreciating the challenge. There is no compliance here. It's pure focus, pondering and questioning. I'm often tempted to prompt them slightly, but I reflect and wait. It most instances, the wait was exactly what was needed to give our students the time to wrap their heads around the meaning. One student recently muttered to me as he left class, "Rowe, you're killing me with this approach. Thank you!". Yes, I was speechless!

Differentiation - Students try to find time to learn with me during the first eight minutes of our class when we're working on our Warm-Up, during my duty period, during their learning center period or after school. They're looking for one-on-one time with me since they have specific questions. They've taken a question as far as they can and are stuck. For some reason, their questions are getting more pointed, specific and intriguing. These students have started asking really thought-provoking questions. I'm not sure I can put my finger on why now, but we spend a considerable time during our class where we're asking questions, one after another about the whys of the process. The more time I spend individually with these students, the deeper their understanding, engagement and commitment. Many of them attack me with their questions the moment they get to our class. They've become relentless in their quest for understanding.

I continue to be so grateful for the Culture of Learning that we've fostered that enables us to crave feedback, be patient learning abstractly and insist on face-to-face learning until the "aha moment" ignites! Learning can and should be this stimulating!

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Saturday, March 29, 2014

Inspired by our Professional Learning Network (PLN)

I expected to just "lurk" in a new Twitter chat for me, #paesspchat, with true leaders in education. However, their stimulating conversation drew me right in!





Facilitated by Dr. Bill Ziegler, with a Guest Moderator of Eric Sheninger, the conversation of Digital Leadership was intriguing. Most participants in the chat were Principals, Assistant Principals and other schools leaders. It was refreshing to tap in to the minds of these visionary leaders as to the direction of education. The 3-27-14 #paesspchat archive is available. #paesspchat stands for Pennsylvania Association of Elementary and Secondary School Principals.

Saturday mornings would not be complete without the camaraderie and learning from our moderators Dr. Darin Jolly, David Culberhouse and Shelley Burgess in #satchatwc. The "wc" is for West Coast.








This weekly learning or Professional Development (PD) encourages and empowers me with innovative thoughts and ideas for the week ahead with our inspirational high school students. I equate the time I spent in these valuable Twitter chats as my HW for the week. This weekly PD energizes me to become a better educator each week. Our students deserve our very best!

Finally, speaking of our students, I continue to learn from them each week. Whether it's during a class discussion, an after school face-to-face extra help session with a student or a clarifying question from a student during a written Formative or Summative Assessment, I am better learning how they learn. The more time I spend collaborating and communicating with our students, the better I find I can help to facilitate our learning. Each week, I'm learning alongside our students. This is mostly due to the culture of learning we have fostered built on relationships, trust, respect and a genuine willingness to listen to one another.

I am a very blessed and grateful educator. I dedicate this post to our students and our PLN that inspire me each and every week. Thank you ALL!
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Friday, March 21, 2014

Timely Feedback is Crucial in the Learning Process


Since my last post, I've been more mindful about providing useful and timely feedback to our students. I've always been cognizant of how valuable feedback is to learning, though now I'm more attuned to the timing and specifics of it.  After learning alongside several students this week after school and answering student's questions through Twitter or texts, I've realized that students are more receptive to the feedback when the feedback is offered during the learning, not after. Students appear to apply the feedback more constructively when it's during the learning and they can immediately adapt their learning based on it. During our class collaborative questioning, through a Twitter thread with a student or during a face-to-face learning experience, students can immediately apply the answers to the questions to the learning that is happening real time. Getting an answer to a question during the learning is so much more valuable than getting that same question answered after class. I found that to be true in my college days. There were several instances this week during class and after class when students applied the correction to their learning with genuine understanding resulting in an "ah-ha" moment, a "Oh, so you mean..." or "When we see this type of structure, we can apply either of these processes? Got it!". When I get feedback to my learning during the process, it's so much more beneficial and applicable than receiving that same feedback a week later. I had several instances of this manifest itself in slightly different ways this week. One that stands out in my mind was the young man who passed in an assignment early and wanted to know how he did since he claimed he worked so diligently on the material. I offered him my answers to compare to his. Upon seeing a few of his mistakes, he immediately responded "I see exactly where I went wrong". His next question was not one I had anticipated. He asked, "Could I please fix these now as I understand my error in applying these concepts?". With a stunned but grateful look on my face, I replied "Of course. Make it happen!". A few minutes later, he resubmitted his assignment and thanked me for the encouragement and my willingness to allow him to fix his mistakes. To me, that was genuine learning based on timely feedback.

Two of  our Intro to Probability senior classes this week sensed some confusion differentiating two concepts and knowing when to apply them. I detected this during our class discussion and was further convinced after reviewing their exit tickets. In an effort to resolve the confusion, I created a student-centered activity where students could work through various situations collaboratively. During this time, I could be available to offer individual suggestions and guidance for our learning. After giving students time to work though these questions on their own or in their groups, I listed the ten question numbers on the board and welcomed student initials next to them as students willing to show and explain the workings of each question. Student literally erupted into shouting which question number they wanted their initials next to. Some students offered the initials of another student giving someone else a chance to demonstrate proficiency. Within a minute, all ten questions had initials and there were countless students at our boards writing away! It was thrilling to witness their willingness to engage, watch their collaborative learning and work through any errors in understanding once the questions on the board were discussed.

The high point of my week came from a young man in our Algebra 2 course. This young man regularly demonstrates engagement and understanding during our class time. However, he has been applying minimal effort to our course outside of class. Last week he handed in some evidence that was much less than what he was capable of submitting. I told him it was time for me to get his Dad involved. He acknowledged, but asked for one more chance to prove himself. I agreed. After reviewing this week's evidence, I communicated with him that I was calling his Dad. He understood. I did. Dad and I had a heart to heart chat about the potential of his son and the decision his son was making to delay learning outside of our class time. His Dad was very supportive and thanked me for the call. I then contacted my student and told him that his Dad and I has just discussed the situation. He replied, "I know. My Dad is talking to me right now.". Within five minutes, I received a text from my student thanking me for calling his Dad, helping him to get back on track and caring enough to be his safety net. He said, "If it weren't for you and your call, I would have continued on a downward spiral. Mr. Rowe, thank you.".

Let's be inspired by the engaged learning that our students deserve and offer timely feedback to empower their learning!

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Sunday, March 9, 2014

Expand Your Influence

  • I've been influenced and encouraged three weeks in a row by the Christian Educators in our Thursday night chat (#ChristianEducators). It has been a joy to converse with several new tweeps and deepen communication with individuals already in our Professional Learning Network (PLN). We look forward to sharing, hearing about and supporting each other in our challenges. Dr. Bill Ziegler (@DrBillZiegler) has led our chat and welcomed us graciously!
  • Jasper Fox Sr. continues to be one of the most influential individuals to me in our PLN! Not only does he take time to join us in our #COLchat (Monday's at 9pm ET) and #SBLchat (Wednesday's at 9pm ET) weekly, engages in educational conversation in Google Hang Outs (GHOs) when he and I need them, but he takes the ideas we're brainstorming about and field tests them in his classroom or on his blog! Jasper has been a great encouragement and an individual I know I can count on for fresh ideas, needed corrective criticism and someone who models what I believe a real educator should be. Jasper, you're the Man!
  • A group of individuals at Gradeable (www.Gradeable.com) on St. James Street in Boston created a collaborative learning environment for educators this last Thursday to discuss assessment, its benefits, its variations and its affect on students and teachers. The influential panelists included Jennifer Spencer (educator at Match Charter School), Alexis Rosenblatt (Director of School Support at the Achievement Network) and Jonathan Ketchell (Editor at Hstry). Our discussion of Formative Assessments (FAs), Summative Assessments (SA) and the continued state mandated standardized tests was eye-opening as well as the need for regular and varied FAs. There were also opportunities to discuss how the Gradeable website provides support for educators and grading assessments. 
  • Then Friday rolled around and I had the opportunity to share with Daniel Hakim, an individual working on his Administrative Practicum. To say we had a mind-blowing conversation puts it mildly. We both learned a great deal from each other about educating youth, services available to our youth and sometimes the number of students that more than fall through the cracks. I was dumbfounded to become aware of youth that are not being given a fighting chance to become educated and contributing members of society. Our brief conversation really opened my eyes. 
  • Our Twitter Professional Learning Network (PLN) continues to expand virtually daily. The Professional Development (PD) I've experienced over the past year with these dedicated educators, administrators and various leaders has transformed my learning, our classroom and the mental horizons I've had the opportunity to view. I feel compelled to express my deepest and most humble appreciation toward Jasper Fox Sr., Darin Jolly, Garnet Hillman, Michele Corbat, Rodney Hetherton, Adam Hartley, Brian Durst, Catherine Morrison, Steve Mefford, Jim Cordery, Dave Burgess, Kimberly Hurd, Bethany Hill, Dave Mulder, David Culberhouse and Lisa Palmieri. There are countless others. But the appreciation for these consistent contributors to my professional development is more than I can put into words. 
  • This post would certainly not be complete without expressing my appreciation for the dedication, perseverance and culture of our Wilmington High School students. This year I've had the opportunity to learn from and with students who bring a tremendous desire to learn, an appreciation for all we do together and an unending willingness to go above and beyond! With their grit and zeal for learning, I've been able to transition from being their math teacher to a facilitator of learning with math being our content. Their ability to question, collaborate and communicate so effectively has transformed our learning environment. I am honored to have learned so much from these exceptional students! Thank you all! 
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Sunday, February 9, 2014

WHS Students Take On #COLchat (2-3-14)

The following is a snippet from our first Twitter #COLchat (Culture of Learning):
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Saturday, February 1, 2014

Reflection on Learning After Adapting New Practices

Standards-Based-Grading and Learning

Participating in our recent #EdCampMadWI (Madison, Wisconsin), I had the opportunity to engage in several conversations about genuine learning, standards-based grading and learning and the need to differentiate instruction, assessments and support to empower all students to learn. I’m realizing that offering a standards-based learning environment enables more students to engage in genuine learning and retention for the sole purpose of learning compared to the traditional environment where students are prompted to “play school” and “earn points” through a variety of ways that do not tend to contribute to their education. When students learn to “play school” well, them become compliant and cooperative, but the focus in not necessarily on learning for application and retention. I have noticed a huge shift in how and why our students are learning via our standards-based approach. Students are focused on understanding and relating concepts rather than just doing them to get them done for a grade. Most students have realized that our standards-based learning environment fosters real understanding through questions and reflection. Students are provided choice and several opportunities to prove their proficiency. Thanks to several enlightening conversations with Garnet Hillman (@garnet_hillman) and Jasper Fox Sr (@jsprfox), I’m now differentiating instruction, assessments and support for the benefit of many learners. During a single class, students can be working on a variety of related concepts that are tailored to their needs as opposed to providing a “one-size-fits-all” classroom. After an EdCampMadWI session where educators conversed about how to design learning environments to empower challenged and high achievers, I’m now facilitating better learning environments rather than teaching to the “average student”. After watching a recent TED talk about the fact that there are no “average students”, I’ve learned to offer more meaningful and relevant learning where fast and slow learners are encouraged and challenged.


Open Communication with Students

In addition to facilitating a standards-based learning environment, I’ve learned that keeping communication open between students and teachers fosters more tailored learning, more opportunities for meaningful feedback and opportunities for reassessment. After providing relevant feedback to several students, we have engaged in useful conversations around learning and proving proficiency through face-to-face conversations, additional practice opportunities and reassessment. I’m still stunned by the progress that several of our students are making purely based on having an aggressive desire to learn, a willingness to provide more practice to get needed feedback and a reflective mindset that is enabling them to ask pointed questions resulting in regular “ah-ha” moments. More and more students that are unsure about new concepts are willing to facilitate our learning by leading the class through a thoughtful reasoning process to arrive at a meaningful solution. Several of our students are using divergent thinking to arrive at the same solution and discussing why the varied approaches converged. Toward the end of the first semester, I had several students approach me with the desire to prove a higher level of proficiency. They have recently received feedback from me that suggested they might want to make some adjustments in their thinking. We then discussed additional practice opportunities and follow-up times where they could prove higher levels of proficiency. Every one of these students was willing to learn to a higher level, engage in relevant and meaningful additional practice and re-assess to proficiency!


I am so proud of how dedicated our students have become based on our standards-based learning environment, suggested practice opportunities and willingness to reassess until they achieve proficiency.
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