student engagement – wmarkhall

What Are We Doing Today?

March 9, 2014March 9, 2014Posted in "Student engagement" transformational, Classroom, Student engagementTagged binders, classrooms, Education, engagement, PBL, student engagement1 Comment

You would think that after eighteen years in the classroom I would really be zeroed in on what my curriculum is going to be one year to the next. You might think I have this big file cabinet full of project outlines, or binders full of project ideas. When I started teaching all those years ago I thought that was where I was going. I bought binders, lots of them, so I could save student projects one year to the next so students would have exemplars; students could see what a good project looks like. I was told a good teacher knows where the class is going, and has a clear roadmap, or curricular plan, on how to get there. A good teacher has a binder with all of the assignments for the year. Students will do this, then that, then the next. A good teacher plans each detail of the year. Thats what I was taught.

So what happened? Where’s the binder?

Well, technology happened. It would be absurd for me to ask my students to do the same things I was asking them to do just 5 years ago. The things they were doing and spending a week on can now be done in five minutes with any number of apps on their cell phones. What was impressive and engaging for students a couple years ago is old hat now. So I have to take risks. I have to try this, and try that. Some things just don’t work either technologically, or I can’t capture kids interest. Other things work. They engage kids. I don’t know from one week to the next what is going to really click, or from one kid to the next. The heck with two or three years down the road!

A tweet caught my eye the other day-

“Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing.” – Warren Buffett

— MichaelSmithSupt (@principalspage) February 17, 2014

I usually do not know where my students are going with their work in class. I have no idea what form their “projects” are going to take a month from now. I will show them a tool, suggest some kind of topic, provide an example, and challenge them to use the tool. Yes it is a standards based class, but that doesn’t mean everyone is doing the same, preplanned thing at the same time. They aren’t. We are figuring it out together as we go. Some times it works, and sometimes it doesn’t work so well. But I am really glad I don’t have those binders that used to seem so important.

Being proud and actually saying it.

November 3, 2013Posted in "Student engagement" transformational, #caedchat, Classroom, learning, pbl, UncategorizedTagged Education, FallCUE, feedback, high poverty schools, learning, motivation, PBL, student engagement, TeacherLeave a comment

I was able to attend Fall Cue this year again. It was, as usual, a great experience. It was a little different this year in that I didn’t come home with a great new tool. Usually I learn of a great tool that is new to me; an app, a web site, or a gadget. This year there was no such discovery for me. The learning for me seemed to center on attitude. Mostly my own. I really wanted to refine my thinking about the maker concept and design thinking, and I was able to do that, but it wasn’t really new.

The opening keynote by Ramsey Mussalum, which can be seen here, was great. Does Ramsey do anything not great? (Why do they call it the opening keynote when it is delivered at the midway point of the conference? But that is an aside.) Ramsey talked about why so many kids hate school, and to combat that we, as teachers, need to love our jobs. If you don’t love your job it shows, and you make it all the more likely that your students will #hateschool. Fortunately, #Ilovemyjob.

The closing keynote by Angela Maiers was equally powerful. She talked about how kids just want to be acknowledged and valued. Call them by their name Angela said. All of them. Make them know you notice them. In a good way.

One of the reasons #Ilovemyjob is because I work at a small school where I can know every kid’s name. We have less than 250 kids. I need to do better about knowing all of their names, even those who don’t hang out in Awesomnesity Central, or for those who don’t know, Room 17. I came back to school with the plan that I was going to seek out those kids who think #Ihateschool and say hello to them, by name. It seemed simple enough, and sounded like a pretty good idea.

It was Tuesday afternoon, the last period of the day. I spent most of the day honestly amazed at the work my students were doing. We were doing some pretty complicated GIS stuff on a school network that doesn’t like GIS stuff. We had lots of issues, and the kids were just plowing right through them. They were almost finished with a project and I was just beaming with pride. I said it.

“You guys are really doing amazing work, sticking to it, working through problems. Its amazing to watch. I am proud of you.”

One girl turned around and asked “Me? You are proud of me too?

“Yea, you. Everyone in here. You guys are doing amazing stuff.”

“But you mean me? You are proud of me?”

“Yea. Of course. Your data was gone, you got it back, like it was no big deal. You have been doing great work. Why are you acting surprised?”

“Because no one has ever said that to me.” Long pause. “No, no one. No one has ever said they were proud of me.”

I am glad I went to Fall Cue.

Is it Good Enough?

November 2, 2013Posted in "Student engagement" transformational, Classroom, Student engagement, Student workTagged Education, engagement, fail, learning, PBL, Student, student engagementLeave a comment

Something different is happening in my classroom this year. To start with my students are moving along faster, doing much more complicated work than I have ever had happen before. They are working through difficult technical issues with good, positive attitudes. Lots of “well that didn’t work, lets try this” types of things are happening. One afternoon a kid yelled out, with his arms raised in triumph “Yes, our point data is displaying right, we did it!” As he finished the sentence the bell rang and he said “Dang, I still need to make a layer package!” It was fun to watch. In past years many kids would have given up, and I would spend lots of time trying to coax them into continuing. But its different this year.

I think part of the reason for the difference is I have made a deliberate effort this year to “encourage kids to fail.” Not fail as in flunk, but to take risks. I tell them they are supposed to mess up- that’s why we call it school. I dare them to break the software. I remind them to save often, but don’t be afraid to push buttons and see what happens. If something breaks don’t push that button next time. And if you figure it out (we even have a song “figure it out”) don’t be stingy, show someone else. If you can’t figure it out, ask someone who did.

I find myself sitting in the corner of the room many days just watching and smiling. Its busy. Its noisy. And its a bit messy. Often times every student is working on something different, no two screens look alike. Its awesome. Lately kids have been asking if they can do a project over because “mine came out boo boo. I need to fix this and that.” In years past they would have just said it was “good enough.” But my favorite comment so far this year was the girl who said “Hey Mr. Hall, come over here. Its time you learned how to do this too. Sit down right here, I am going to teach you how.”

Mom’s on the phone

September 27, 2013September 27, 2013Posted in "Student engagement" transformational, #caedchat, Classroom, learning, phones, school policy, Student engagement, Student work, studentsTagged AUP, Cell Phone, Cell phones, classrooms, Communication, Education, Facebook, iPod, learning, Mobile phone, PBL, student engagement, Text messagingLeave a comment

This year our school district changed a policy concerning cell phones used by students. While there seems to be some contradictions, my understanding is that it is ok for students to have and use cell phones on campus, as long as they do not disrupt instruction. While some teachers are still taking phones from kids I decided to try something new. I gave them an assignment and encouraged them to use their phones to do it. Then I told them it was ok to use their phones as long as they were not just texting, Instagraming, Facebooking, or what have you. I promised them I would not give them grief about their phones, if they kept it professional.

So far it has worked out well. Almost everyone has a phone, iPod, or tablet out and plugged in. They have their ear buds in while they are working, they take them out when I need to talk to the class. They take pictures of things they need to remember. They step outside to make audio recordings, and they compare apps for given tasks. And yes, they text. Every now and then I will see someone talking on the phone. I tell myself it is ok. I asked a student who she was talking to on the phone. She said “My mom called.”

Yesterday I asked a girl if she thought she might be texting too much. She didn’t argue with me at all. She said “You’re right.” She turned to her friend next to her, handed her phone to the friend and said “put this in your bag and give it back to me after class.” No argument. No disruption. No referral. No calling campus security to search for a phone. Just kids doing their work. It looked and sounded a lot like a bunch of adults working in an office. I like this policy much better.