I Said No to Homework...

I've been following the homework debate for years. As an educator, I've read Alfie Kohn's The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing (here is a summary of his ideas) as well as numerous articles, blog posts and online discussions of research, theory and practice regarding homework. (For some bloggers whose writing reflects my own thoughts well, check out Dr. Justin Tarte and Pernille Ripp.) I was an avid follower of the now-defunct site Stop Homework and learned a lot from following discussions there.

As a mom of two school-aged children I've tried to present a positive attitude about homework to my kids while letting it be "their thing." 

Image Credit

When I thought about returning to classroom teaching I knew that I could not, in good conscience, assign homework. 

I felt conflicted, not with the rightness of the decision, but with how to best express it to parents.  I wrote several drafts of my "homework policy," referring to research and seeking feedback from those I trusted.

I felt nervous to be starting my brand new role by pushing back against a dominant and deeply ingrained culture where homework = rigor and responsibility. 

School started, and I had no choice but to post my homework policy on the classroom blog. I referred to it as "do it yourself homework" and wrote the following:

Language Arts Homework

This year, we will implement the Daily 5, as our structure for the language arts classroom. The five daily activities for building strong basic literacy skills:

• Read to Self
• Read to Someone
• Listen to Reading
• Work on Writing
• Word Work

Any of these activities are excellent practice for home, as well as school, and students are strongly encouraged to read and write regularly at home.Our language arts classroom this year will be holistic and personalized. Each student has different needs, interests and aptitudes. Each family also has different needs and rhythms.

Parent involvement in the development of literacy is invaluable. This can take many forms- from reading stories aloud to playing word games and puzzles to conversations about what each family member is reading. Students can work on blog posts at home, as well as taking time to read and comment on classmates’ blogs. After school might also be a good time to practice cursive writing or keyboarding skills.

Regular daily/weekly homework will not be assigned or collected. There will be times when, in order to meet class requirements or finish projects, students will have to continue working at home. In these instances, I will be happy to notify parents via email.

My fear, it seems, was largely unfounded. From the feedback I've received so far, our "do it yourself homework" is working out just fine. Maybe better than fine. I've actually been hugged in the hallways by more than one grateful parent! Students are excitedly talking about the books they're reading at home and several of them have become addicted to Words With Friends. 

And as an overwhelmed "new" classroom teacher, collecting and keeping up with everyone's homework is one thing I won't miss at all!

Building a Community of Readers, Writers & Thinkers

My mission as a 4th/5th grade language arts teacher this year is:

• to motivate students to do and be their best
• to build a safe, accepting and inclusive classroom community
• to inspire each student’s love of reading, writing and words in a creative, student-centered learning environment
• to be a role-model for lifelong-learning and an ethic of excellence 

Right now, after 13 years out of the classroom and a mind jammed with 13 years worth of ideas, that is proving to be a tall order. But every journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step. 

My first step toward building the community of readers, writers, thinkers and creators that I envision starts with building community.

So I have spent the first week of school trying to do just that. We have begun each day with a community circle where we share, listen to one another and review our classroom norms. The norms are the foundation, and they must be reviewed, modeled, lived and breathed.
An important part of our community is going to be having students do meaningful work in terms of documenting, creating and sharing our learning, our ideas and our 1:1 iPad pilot with the world.

The first "job" I introduced was "documentarian." The plan is for everyone to do the job the first time, and eventually, once all the roles are introduced and practiced, there will be some kind of rotation so that everyone gets a chance to try their hand at different ways of participating in and contributing to the community.

We used the Pic Collage app this week as our tool for documenting, and I gave the students free reign. I love their creative interpretations and the feedback it provided for me.

My "Classroom Theme" is Learning!

Earlier I shared my thoughts about conscious classroom design and the kind of learning environment I hoped to create in my classroom. Guided by our school's learning target, I have started off the school year with bare walls, no desks, as many books as I could gather, and different areas for different activities. The walls will be used to document collective knowledge and processes as well as to showcase student creations. 

Except for a few small challenges with space (I regularly move the tables back and forth away from the rug where we gather for community circle and direct instruction) and storage, I am pretty pleased with the results. 

Our Choice of Words

This is my review of the book Choice Words by Peter Johnston. Each teacher at our school was given a choice of books for summer reading as part of our ongoing professional development. I chose to read this book, as I had heard a lot about it and am always (obsessively?) interested in the development of literacy in all its dimensions.

Although Choice Words, by Peter Johnston, is ostensibly about basic (reading and writing) literacy, its message, about the language teachers use and how it shapes what students learn, is relevant for all teachers. We all use language as a primary shaper of classroom activities, environments and direct instruction. Some of the implications are subtle, but powerful.

For example, he talks about teachers' use of  the word "good" to describe readers and writers. This is something I've regularly done, trying to clarify for students what "good" readers and writers do as a means of giving direction (i.e.: these are the things we should all be doing when reading or writing). According to Johnston, use of the word "good" implies that some of the students in the class are those "good readers and writers," and, therefore, others in the class are not. He asks us to think about the subtle shift in intent that occurs by simply removing the word "good."
Here's an example. I like this poster that outlines the work of writing.

But after reading Choice Words, I would probably, if I were to use such a poster in my classroom, cover the word "good." We are all writers. These are the steps of writing. Do you see the difference? 

Ultimately, it comes down to a lot of thought about "who we are and what we are doing" because those thoughts that ground us and impact the way we teach and the language we use. We can't plan every linguistic interaction in advance, so we must have a pervasive sense of the work we're doing with students and the kinds of communities we hope to create. 

I thought the book was a worthwhile read. It validated my overall approach and  goals. If you are interested, but don't want to read the whole book, I would recommend reading the appendices at the end. In those, Johnston shares interviews with students from different classrooms talking about themselves and others as readers and writers. It is so telling to hear what they absorb  from subtle classroom messages, and it will really make you think (I think it could easily be applied to other subjects as well). 

We're Going 1:1 with iPads- Here's Our App List

We (a team of teachers and coaches) have spent many hours meeting virtually and in-person to prepare for our 1:1 iPad pilot program for 4th and 5th grade. As I work at a private school, parents are required to purchase textbooks each year. We have requested that the iPad and apps be purchased by parents to replace most of the textbooks, which we will no longer be using.

I will be teaching language arts, but our students our fortunate to have the opportunity to learn from a team of specialized teachers. (As a teacher, I also feel fortunate to have the opportunity to focus on language arts which is my great love.)

I have set for myself many goals, but the most important one (at least for purposes of this blog) is this: I will regularly share my process. Each week I commit to sharing something- a lesson, a reflection...something I've seen, heard, thought, created, messed-up or otherwise learned in the classroom. The commitment to regular blogging is something I have always found challenging, and as such, I have neglected this important step in the "learn, reflect, share" process.

If I do share something helpful, something that inspires or resonates, something that requires clarification, etc. I would love to know that. I'm trying to get better at writing, creating and connecting.

So, without any further babble...I share with you our app list.

App List for 1:1 iPad Classroom by Andrea Hernandez

Writing Quality & Practice

"Practice makes perfect."
When I was a child and was told this, I never thought to question if "perfect" was, in fact, a reasonable goal. As an adult, I am certain that the idea of perfection is an obstacle to growth, learning and getting things done.

I'm thinking specifically about the teaching of writing. What are the right ratios of practice, guidance, and breaking the whole into parts?  If you've ever played a sport or an instrument, you know the importance of practice. Without regular practice, you are unlikely to improve. However, if all you do is practice, you may very well be practicing and learning in a way that is inefficient or incorrect. Regular guidance is just as important as regular practice.

Image Credit

One of my strongest beliefs as a teacher is that students need to write. Often. Students need to write for real communication, not only to satisfy teacher's goals, but to express, develop and understand their own ideas. With blogs giving us the ability to instantly publish, many teachers (and parents) fear letting their students (and themselves) look bad by publishing work that isn't "perfect."

I go back and forth. I have no problem letting kids write the way they write, up to a point. However, a person's writing should not stay the same over time. There should be growth, in both content and form.  And this is where teaching plays its role. This is also a great reason to have students blog.

I like Seth Godin's advice to "Write poorly. In Public. Every day."
Godin compares writing to talking and says that we are good at talking precisely because we do it freely and often. We never get "talker's block."
But are we really so good at talking? 
There are plenty of lazy talkers-- people with poor grammar and boring usage. Plenty of words that don't add anything to anything, that might be better left unspoken. Talk, unless recorded, is cheap. The words, once spoken float away with the breeze. Talk is easy, precisely because of its ephemeral nature. Writing has permanence. Writing is craft. It is meant to be edited, changed, suffered over and only then, read by another.

I edit my blog posts constantly. Almost every time I re-read one of my own posts, I notice something that seems awkward or a missing punctuation. Perhaps this is one of the reasons I don't post frequently. I worry over the words I use, the message I'm trying to convey.

I notice, too, that (as I learned on Sesame Street when I was little) everyone makes mistakes. Oh yes they do. It doesn't matter how educated the writer nor how many editors have proofed the article. Mistakes happen- in writing, in talking, in everything.

Here's my point- we learn by doing. We will make mistakes. Learning happens when we start making new (better?) mistakes. Students learn to write by writing. Writing matters. Please, let kids write and publish!

Conscious Classroom Design

I'm Going to Have a Classroom!
I have so many posts in draft; most might never be published...but, who knows?  I started writing this one last summer. I had the idea to create a classroom design challenge, based on thinking about the kinds of spaces that might be optimal for learning. Now, I have a more urgent reason to revisit these thoughts, as...(drumroll please) I am, after many, many years of being a non-classroom educator, going to be teaching 4th/5th grade language arts (and piloting 1:1 iPads with my students)!

Just before this opportunity presented itself, discussions about classroom design had been coming up in my coaching meetings with 4th/5th grade math/social studies teacher, Shelly Zavon. I encouraged her to begin the year with a blank slate, a room that would be co-created with students.

"White Wall" http://www.flickr.com/photos/93702978@N00/313983053

What's the Theme?
So....now is my chance to put my own ideas into action! It was funny and surprising to me that, once the students learned that I would be their teacher, many of them asked me about the "theme" of the room. I had no idea this was of such interest to them! I got some strange looks when I explained that the theme would be "learning" (as opposed to bears or turtles or outer space...), and that we would be creating the classroom space together. [This is another example to me of my differentness as a teacher. Judging by Pinterest, Teachers Pay Teachers, and the abundance of whimsical teacher blogs, I am led to believe that most elementary school teachers are super-duper organized, colorful and cutesy. I am none of these things.]

My Vision 
I envision sort of a Starbucks feel (without the coffee)-- comfortable, with long tables and soft, cozy chairs. I'd love to find a couch. I have requested to have the desks removed and replaced with tables. I like plants; they add life and color to a space. The room is fairly small, so I am hoping to get rid of any furniture that is unnecessary or extra. A language arts classroom should be filled with books. As for the walls, they will be almost completely blank (with a few exceptions- more on this later) until the students begin to create (at which time they will be covered with words, thoughts, ideas and documentation of learning that is happening within them). I've begun collecting visual ideas on a "classroom design" Pinterest board.

All the Cool Kids Are Doing It
Top Private Schools Adopt a Homeschool Model lists ways in which the innovative Avenues School  more closely resembles an informal home school environment than the traditional classroom with rows of desks and a teacher at the front of the room. The Avenues School seems pretty awesome.

Despite the fact that I am not a cutesy teacher, I am a very visual person and a huge believer in the importance of design. When I created my first teaching portfolio, over 20 years ago, I wrote:

"One of the most important tasks of the teacher is to set up a physical environment which is comfortable and which encourages students to interact with each other and with their surroundings. "

I still believe this as wholeheartedly as when I first wrote it.

The Challenge
Below is the post I started writing last summer. I thought it would be good to engage in some thoughtful reflection about designing spaces for learning. 

As you are dismantling your classrooms and packing away materials in preparation for summer break, I invite you to begin envisioning how you will set-up your classroom for next school year. Now is the time to get rid of outdated materials and resources rather than putting them into storage.

Here is the challenge. Feel free to pick and choose from the ideas below.
1. Write, revise or refer to your philosophy about learning.
2. How do the design choices you make support your beliefs about how students learn?
3. Take lots of photos of your classroom and post them- before, during and after.
4. Try to look at your classroom through the eyes of a child. What does the child see? Is it inviting? Over-stimulating? Comfortable?
5. Now look through the eyes of a parent. When a parent looks into your room for the first time, are they excited for their child? Is the room well-organized? Alive? Does it look like a place for exciting learning?
6. Look at the walls and use this rubric (from our school's learning target) to self-assess and set goals.

 

[Note: I really like this focus on classroom walls. It's easy to see where you are and easy to move forward. It's a concrete, external change that can also change the way that students are co-creators in the learning environment. So many teachers use pre-made posters with information about math or language arts, but do students actually use the information? Do they know in what situation it might be useful? Are they more likely to access the chart that they, themselves, helped to create? 

Image: Angela Stockman

For a great example of the highest level of classroom wall-use, read Angela Stockman's post about her daughter's 5th grade teacher with descriptions of how that teacher used her walls to create, document and extend learning. 

7. Visit other classrooms in your school or check out other classrooms virtually (try flickr or Pinterest). Take photos or otherwise make note of good ideas for classroom spaces.


What else? What are your ideas for adding to the list of challenge activities?

--You might also be interested in Christopher Brantner's post "18 Tips to Give Your Classroom the Coffee Shop Feel."

If You Give a Kid an (iPad) camera...

One of my favorite activities to do with young kids is the digital camera scavenger hunt.

• It is fun.
• It is creative. 
• It is outdoors.

In the past, I have had to scrounge up enough cameras for each group to have one camera. Now that we have 20 iPads to share, I was able to give each child their own iPad. Awesome.

In the past, we put together slideshows of the photos. It was somewhat labor-intensive and usually took a second session (session 1: take pictures, session 2: make slideshows). Not a huge deal, but I had to be involved with the students to help them put together the slideshows. I had to have the account for the slideshow creator. I had to download all the photos and push them out to the kids' computers. There was prep involved.
Not with the iPad.

scavenger hunt list- tweak according to your curriculum

• One hour with first grade. 
• Review the handling of the device.
• Read the scavenger hunt page in the classroom. Answer any questions. 
• Go outside and have fun taking pictures. 
• Return to classroom, and each student made a pic collage with their favorite photos. 

 

Connecting the (Learning) Dots

We talk a lot about the importance of making connections. In fact, many people put "connect" as one of the "4 or 5 C's of learning in the 21st Century." When I think about connections, two ideas come to mind.

• human connections 
• connections we help students make that enable learning to be relevant and deep.

Sometimes I feel like the pieces of the puzzle are coming together in small and big ways as a connected culture becomes more the norm in our school.

Here is a small example:
In the MJGDS first grade, we have a brand new teacher and new assistant teacher. Their spark of excitement about what is possible have ignited a classroom open to the world in fun and transformative ways through the use of Skype. (If you are interested in specifics, the teacher, Pamela Lewis, has blogged almost every single day of her first year of teaching- an amazing accomplishment!)

On Monday of this week, they Skyped with the wonderful author and artist, Peter H. Reynolds (human connection). I was scheduled to be their "mystery reader" on Tuesday. Since I follow their blog and Twitter, I knew about their Skype, so I decided to read his book The North Star (learning connection). I also connected my learning to their learning by recalling an activity that I read about and found intriguing. I brought the iPads and offered them the opportunity to visualize and doodle the story, just as I had read about in the blog post. Had I not been a connected teacher, constantly learning from the sharing of others, I doubt I would have thought about doing this.

When the dots start connecting, it feels right.
See below for the Animoto video showing some of the doodles.

Teacher-Led Evaluations

As my job has evolved over the years, my role and responsibilities have changed to reflect our school's understanding of the changing paradigm in education. When I started at the school in 2006, my job title was "technology coordinator." I always had the seeds of something else inside, but it took time and other changes to bring that to the surface. After a brief stint as "21st century learning specialist," I adopted the job title, this year, of "Director of Teaching and Learning." Teaching and learning-- that's it. No need to specify that we are currently alive in the 21st century or that digital technologies are commonly used tools for learning in this day and age.

This "quasi-administrative" role is not only new for me, it is new for the school. Much of it is still in the process of being defined.  A lot of it looks the same as what I've been doing in previous years and previous job roles. Two new responsibilities I've adopted are working with the K-5 general studies teachers to outline a professional development plan at the start of the year and, for this same group of teachers,  twice-yearly formal observations.

Observations. Evaluations. Whatever they're called, many teachers find them a source of anxiety, the job-equivalent of high-stakes testing. One of my goals was to transform this process into something that felt natural, meaningful and useful, part of an ongoing pathway of growth and learning. Of course, this was only possible when I was already walking that road with the teacher. As Jim Knight writes about in Unmistakable Impact, A Partnership Approach for Dramatically Improving Instruction, so much hinges on the relationship.

Speaking of this book, another facet of my job was to participate in a book discussion group with our head of school, Jon Mitzmacher, learning and literacy Specialist, Silvia Tolisano and librarian, Karin Hallett. In the course of reading and discussing Unmistakable Impact, we realized the importance of working to design a collaboratively-created one-page target that would help us clearly outline goals for professional growth and development in the context of our school's vision for teaching and learning.

adapted from and inspired by galileo.org

The creation of the target was a challenging undertaking. There were moments when I thought it might be an impossible task. However, as I look back, it seems that the discussions, debates and discomfort were part of the process.

Part of the learning path was the individualized professional development plans (PDPs) I co-created with each teacher.  4th/5th grade math and social studies teacher, Shelly Zavon's PDP focused in large part  on piloting our school's first student-led conferences (or SLCs). As the days went by and the separate but interconnected responsibilities of my job progressed, pieces of the puzzle started to come together. 

A question arose. If it made sense for students to "own" their conference, couldn't and shouldn't this idea apply to teacher evaluations as well? We started talking about the teacher-led conference or "TLC" and wondering what it would look like. What form would it take? How would feedback be shared? We know from experience that the best way to answer these questions is to try things with the mindset of "learn, reflect, share." So that is what we did.

I had the opportunity to experience the piloting of the first round of TLCs from both the perspective of listener and giver of feedback, as well as putting together my own documentation of growth and goals. I did not give my teachers much structure, as I wanted to see what they would put together. All I requested was that they tie their artifacts to the learning target, reflect critically and set goals. I received everything from handwritten pages of reflection to deeply self-evaluative Google docs with images and links.
Some samples:
 Shelly Zavon, shared some of hers on her blog.

My "TLC"

I decided it made more sense for me to use the ISTE Nets for Coaches for my TLC as opposed to the schools' learning target. As I went through the coaching standards, finding examples and artifacts of how I fulfilled each one, it was an extremely useful process for me. I had struggled during the year with the lack of clarity around what my job entailed. Being typically self-critical, I often felt like what I was doing wasn't enough, wasn't what I was "supposed to be doing" and I often wondered if I was making any kind of impact. Looking back, using this strategic reflective lens, gave me the opportunity to see my work in a more objective light and realize that I was actually fulfilling almost all of the diverse roles and responsibilities of a digital learning coach. 

Teacher-Led Conference 2013 from Andrea Hernandez