A fifth grade class at El Carmelo Elementary School in PAUSD had the following footprints taped in the classroom after a series of lessons and discussions of the impact of our digital footprint with their teacher, Jeanne-Marie Atieh. This is definitely an important concept for everyone, and it's great to start learning about our digital footprint at an early age.
In this digital age, it's important to be mindful of our online posts, pictures, blog posts, and social media interactions and what kind of digital footprint we're leaving.
A fifth grade class at El Carmelo Elementary School in PAUSD had the following footprints taped in the classroom after a series of lessons and discussions of the impact of our digital footprint with their teacher, Jeanne-Marie Atieh. This is definitely an important concept for everyone, and it's great to start learning about our digital footprint at an early age.
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I have had such a pleasure partnering with so many professionals through the Palo Alto Unified School District and districts all around the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. In this first year as a Math & STEAM Coach / TOSA (teacher on special assignment, it's been extra special because I have the opportunity to go into many more teachers' classrooms, partner with them, collaborate on lessons and projects, and learn and grow together. Two educators I've had the incredible pleasure of partnering with are Kristi Van and Valerie Sabbag, both from Fairmeadow Elementary School in the Palo Alto Unified School District.
This week, the first week back from winter break, has been an incredible experience with STEAM and robotics. On Tuesday, January 5th, I had the pleasure of partnering with Kristi Van, a third grade teacher at Fairmeadow Elementary School as her students had a free exploration of Spheros. The students had a wonderful time with the Spheros and they quickly caught onto the user interface of the iPad app to control their Spheros. Blog post about this experience. The fun with the Spheros continued it the afternoon with Valerie Sabbag's fifth grade class. I had the chance to touch base with Valerie during lunch about her plans for her students with the Spheros. She told me they've explored maneuvering the Spheros the day before and she developed a few courses for her students to take their Spheros on. These 4 to 5 courses became the students' "Driver's Ed" class as well. An example of one of the courses was to drive the Sphero down a straight line of blue tape, stop on an "x," and then drive it back to where it started. Another course involved maneuvering the Sphero around the classroom and under stools without hitting the legs of the stools (if you did, you had to start over). One other course was to circle around the three round picnic tables outside the classroom without bumping into the legs.
It was super fun to see the students' excitement after they passed their "driving test" and I asked them for their names to print on their Sphero Driver's License. As I printed the students' licenses on card stock and cut each one out, Valerie Sabbag gave her students the opportunity to design obstacle courses with any material in the classroom. The students definitely showed a lot of creativity as they used math manipulatives, pencil boxes, white boards, stools and benches, and supplies from their science explorations to construct their obstacle courses. Not only was this activity fun, hands-on, and creative, the students exercised a lot of academic skills and lifeskills. Valerie and I were able to hear the students talk about the angle their Sphero had to rotate to make a particular turn. Students calculated the distances of their obstacle courses. Students worked collaboratively, communicated their ideas, and showed flexibility as they revised their obstacle courses after some test runs.
Here are two more videos of some of the creative obstacle courses Valerie Sabbag's fifth grader made. The one on the right is definitely an example of how the students persevered to achieve their goal of dropping their Sphero into the tub of water.
As you can see in that last video, the students landed their Sphero in the tub of water. It was super fun. A fun connection was Valerie's comment, "This is how we use textbooks" which was a reference to Matt Miller's book, Ditch That Textbook. Of course I had to tweet it to Matt right away.
As you can see, it was such an incredible time for those fifth graders. I feel so honored to have the chance to partner with such amazing professionals. I can't believe that I get to have these experiences of being able to support Valerie Sabbag with the Spheros, STEM, and robotics! This week, the first week back from winter break, has indeed been an incredible experience.
Word Cloud of student responses to using the Spheros. Click "Read More" to view one last video of fifth grade students in Valerie Sabbag's class explore making their Sphero jump, dance, ... in the tub of water.
What an amazing way to start 2016! Today, the third graders in Kristi Van's class at Fairmeadow Elementary School in PAUSD had the pleasure of exploring Spheros. It was a fantastic experience where groups of students shared the iPads, explored the user interface of the Sphero app, and had a free exploration time with those fun robots. The third graders were very quick with finding and trying the different controls on the app. The students loved being able to change the speed of their Spheros, adjust the color, make their Sphero into a disco ball, and make their robot jump.
I received this message from a teacher at a school I support today and it was definitely my #flyhighfri moment. Teachers at Fairmeadow in PAUSD have the opportunity at each Tuesday's staff meeting to recognize a colleague with a shout out. It meant so much to me to receive this note because the teacher not only thought of me, but she kept it, held onto it, and made sure to give it to me. Today wasn't a work day for me and I was just dropping off things at the school. What a wonderful way to start winter break. I am touched, honored, and humbled for this heartwarming note. I've had the pleasure of partnering with Diane Darrow, a fifth grade teacher in the Palo Alto Unified School District, throughout this school year so far on math instruction, setting up her math workshop, using Problem of the Month packets for extensions, analyzing formative assessments, and leading the students in number talks. It's been a pleasure getting the opportunity to watch her students learn and grow.
On Tuesday, December 15th, I led the students in a number talk on fractions. Diane and asked me to design a fractions number talk since her students had been working on fractions during their math workshop. I thought of using the easier operation of adding fractions but setting the challenge in the problem with unlike denominators. The denominators I chose could lead to a large common denominator or a smaller one if the students reduced the fractions first. As our Number Talk progressed, the students shared responses and strategies that Diane and I both anticipated. Many students were able to see the relationship and equivalencies between fractions. Toward the end of the Number Talk, Diane and I were both incredible impressed by the flexible thinking from one of her fifth graders. Instead of trying to find common denominators with 8 and 10, the student thought of a way to make the denominator (8) of the first fraction (6/8) into the value of 10 in order to match the denominator of the second fraction (6/10). As a result he multiplied 8 by 1.25 in order to have common denominators of 10. What was interesting was he also multiplied the numerator by 1.25 to make it an equivalent fraction and got 7.5 as the numerator. That led to a wonderful conversation of whether you can have decimal numbers in a fraction. What do you think? Professional development is an essential and crucial part of any educator's career. No matter how much you know, there is always more to learn, countless ways to grow, and many opportunities to reflect and revise. Professional development is the way to stay on the cutting edge and to give our students what they deserve - the very best of who we are and who we can be. Four Types of TeachersIn any professional development session, workshop, or opportunity, there are four categories that all teachers can fall into. This, of course, is just one perspective on this and one analogy for professional development.
Speedboats Rowboats Rafts Rocks Speedboats are the teachers that are also referred to as your "early adopters." They are the ones that hear an idea and run with it. Often the best thing to do is to set them free because their interest, drive, passion will propel them beyond anything you could imagine. Their journey includes creativity, curiosity, and often becomes the basis for further peer-to-peer PD opportunities. Rowboats are the teachers that may need a bit of support to get started. They are the ones who are interested in the topic but may need the objectives, a structure of their implementation of the PD topic, an example of a final product to work towards as their goal, and/or support to set them on their course. Going with the analogy, this could be simply a push of their rowboat in the right direction. Rafts are those that require more support. These teachers may be more hesitant to get started, need more support and structure for full implementation, require consistent and effective monitoring, and benefit from follow-up and check-ins. Sometimes, "rafts" need the presence of a coach or peer mentor to guide their journey. Rocks. Rocks are your resisters. These are the teachers that just sit at professional development workshops and sessions and oppose any direction of initiatives, new or modified. Phrases like, "Why do we need to change?" and "What I'm already doing is good enough." are sometimes heard from teachers in this category. Granted, if teachers sign up for workshops, there is an inherent interest in the topic; teachers who are "rocks" are those that attend required or mandated PD. No matter how much support or guidance you offer, these "rocks" will just sit and stay. The "glass half full" perspective on teachers in this category is that eventually when the pressure of the "water" is great enough they will move. Rocks will eventually move when everyone has moved onto in the river and they start feeling left behind and/or the pressure from their administration or the parents propels them to move. Speedboats, rowboats, rafts, and rocks. Teachers move in and out, and between these four categories at various points in their careers. As mentioned, when PD sessions and workshops are required, sometimes teachers are rocks. When topics don't interest us, we may not be the "speedboats" we sometimes are. We have been in each of these four categories. The factors that affect where you are in these categories include mindset towards change, prior experience with PD, prior experience with the professional developer, and your professional learning network. What category are you in? No matter how much you know, there is always more to learn, countless ways to grow, and many opportunities to reflect and revise. Professional development is the way to stay on the cutting edge and to give our students what they deserve - the very best of who we are and who we can be. One more thing: I've shared this analogy in a few recent Twitter chats I've participated in and an educator in my professional learning network, Roland Aichele, offered this additional perspective on rocks. Eventually the pressure will smooth rocks out so they row alongside with their colleagues, perhaps behind their colleagues, but still there's movement. It has been such a great few weeks leading up to this week of Computer Science Education Week and the #HourOfCode. Teachers and students throughout #PAUSD were getting excited about spending an hour engaged in computer science, computer programming, and coding. I had the pleasure of helping a few teachers get set up on code.org, work with their students in going the lessons and modules on code.org and Khan Academy, and had the pleasure of capturing some of the excitement. Below is a video I put together on my phone of Kindergarten, third grade, and fourth grade students at Fairmeadow. It was such a pleasure of me to share the #HourOfCode with those students and teachers, and to capture their experience for them.What a pleasure for me to join Mr. Libert's 4th grade class at Escondido Elementary School as they Skype with a classmate traveling in Paris and London.
Students at Fairmeadow Elementary School in PAUSD have the pleasure of listening to Patricia Polacco's storytelling. What an incredible experience for everyone in the room! Patricia Polacco are sharing amazing life stories focused on imagination, creativity, and values of exploring the world (vs spending hours and hours in front of a TV watching television shows and playing video games).
Patricia Polacco addressing the students - "We are all gifted. We just open our gifts at different times." "Look how many my bridge can hold!"
"Look how strong my bridge is." It was so much fun leading the Kindergarten students at Fairmeadow Elementary School in a STEAM bridge building activity. The students showed a lot of perseverance building their bridges, creating new prototypes and iterations, and testing the strength of their bridges. Number TalkOn Friday, October 30th, I had the pleasure of leading the third graders in Charlotte Fang's class at Juana Briones Elementary School in a Number Talk and the students were highly engaged, shared strong mathematical thinking, and engaged in powerful academic discourse. This was my second time leading a Number Talk with Mrs. Fang's students and it was great to hear the student name the strategies we discussed during our first Number Talk, such as decomposing, using place values, and using friendly or landmark numbers. This this Number Talk, I led the students in two related problems, to check their application of strategies and concepts from the first problem to the second. It was great to hear the students' strategies, mathematical thinking, and the academic discourse we had around the two problems in the first image above. As in all Number Talks, I chose the problems 4 + 6 + 5 and 24 + 16 + 25 purposefully to see if the students would be able to make an connections between the two problems. It was great to see some common strategies used across the two problems. It was truly amazing to see the students work so hard on the math problems, especially when the day was filled with Halloween-themed activities. What an amazing pleasure it was for me to share that Number Talk with them Open-Ended Problem StemMy day at Juana Briones Elementary School continued in April McCandless' second grade class. Mrs. McCandless had asked me to demonstrate how to do an Open-Ended Problem Stem with her students from having that activity introduced to her and other math lead teachers in PAUSD earlier the previous week. I had a fun time coming up with the problem so I could demonstrate the format of an Open-Ended Problem Stem while making it engaging with a Halloween-theme.
After beginning with a quick warm-up problem and reviewing the importance of showing our work, including every step so our thinking is clear, and labeling our work, I introduced the problem above. I got scared at a Halloween Party and hid under the table. Eventually I built up my courage and peeked from where I was and saw 19 legs. Who could be at the party? The students immediately had this confused look on their faces. "How could there be an odd number of legs?" "What?!?!" "Do you get it?" "I don't understand." Those responses were just the reactions I anticipated. After a bit of encouragement to attempt the problem, suggestions to talk with their partners, and to think creatively, the students really into the problem. It was really great to hear and see the students' increased flexible thinking with the problem. As you can see in the pictures in the above gallery, some ideas included an alien costume with three legs, a pirate's costume with a peg leg, and a costume of an elderly person whose cane was mistaken for a leg. In my closing, I complimented the students with the lifeskills they showed during the lesson. I twas great to see the students demonstrate perseverance, collaboration with partners and as a table group on a difficult problem, effort, and a growth mindset. Those second graders definitely showed an incredible sense of accomplishment and pride when they reflected on their work. For me, it was an incredible day being at Juana Briones Elementary School - participating in the Halloween Parade, sharing a Number Talk with Charlotte Fang's third graders, and demonstrating an Open-Ended Problem Stem to April McCandless' second grade students.
Today, my district's Chief Academic Officer of Elementarty Education asked our TOSA team, "What does classroom supporter mean to you?" A mirror and a telescope. A mirror to help highlight the good teachers are already doing and help foster megacognitive mindset. A telescope to help teachers see goals and possibilities. Build community. Smile. Listen. Listen to the student voices. Connect with your students. Attend their birthday parties and sports events. Let them know you care. (They don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.) These phrases, and many more, are ones that we hear in our teacher prep and credential programs. These phrases are ones we continually hear for those who are just starting their careers and those well into their careers. These phrases are true no matter how long you've been teaching. The connections we make with our students, no matter how insignificant it may seem to us, means the world to them. I received a message today that is an amazing example of how the power of the connections we form with our students. The following is a message through a Google Hangout message from one of my fifth graders from last year. Needless to say, it really filled my bucket! Build community. Smile. Listen. Listen to the student voices. Connect with your students. Attend their birthday parties and sports events. Let them know you care. (They don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.) I challenge you to share your contact information with your students. They may or may not contact you, BUT if/when they do, you'll be amazed by their message. Today I received an amazing piece of feedback about my professional development presentation last week. It was truly a moment that I wanted to capture so I can remember it on days that are tough, which they will inevitably come.
Trust.
In an activity led by the coordinator of professional learning, Kelly Bikle, we discussed the aspects of trust in a coaching relationship. Kelly shared a book by Tschannen-Moran, 2014, in which 5 aspects were proposed for trust and collaboration. Openness, competence, reliability, honesty, and benevolence. The above sketch was my visual representation of the coaching relationship and the trust that's needed in the relationship. I visualized an image of a safety net at the bottom of a burning building. In order for someone to trust the coach/mentor enough to jump, that net needs to be held up with these five pillars. As coaches, do we start our coaching relationships built on these five pillars of trust?
There was such a buzz in the air at the Back to School Nights at the four elementary schools in Palo Alto Unified School District that I got to experience this evening. Teachers were prepared to share their grade level curriculum programs, expectations, and structures; parents were eager to meet their child's teacher; principals and assistant principals were roaming throughout the schools greeting families and supporting the entire school community, and administrators from the district office were able to stop by to support the entire evening. It's always great to see the excitement at this point of the school year! One thing I really want to highlight was the process a third grade teacher at Fairmeadow used for her classroom families to sign up for parent volunteer opportunities. It was definitely a great way to manage the sign up process in a paperless manner.
Escondido Elementary School in PAUSD had its Back to School Night last night and I had the pleasure of attending to support the staff, meet some of the members of its PTA, and see the community. It was incredible to see the number of families there for the first hour to get a sense of the after school activities from the booths of programs. There was such an excitement in the air at that time. In my opinion, it was ambitious to have Back to School Night on day 3 of the school year. Mr. Merrit, Escondido's principal, shared with me that the school's tradition has been to hold its Back to School Night early in the year so parents may have the opportunity to immediately get to know their child's teacher, build relationships with others in the school community, and continue to feel a sense of belonging at the school. That is truly a powerful and purposeful vision for Back to School Night. As we all enter this new school year, let's remember those things:
How many dots do you see? Today, Laura Reeves and I were invited to join the Pre-K, transitional Kindergarten, and special education teachers at Greendell for their staff development day. It was a great experience for me since I've seen many of those teachers in previous workshops and trainings. The first thing about today was learning where Greendell is. Up until today I had no reason to go onto the Greendell campus since workshops with those teachers were often at the district office and the former portable C. I had driven by the sign indicating Greendell's campus for years but I never knew where it was. What a lovely campus it was! Such a gem in the Palo Alto Unified School District. Dawn, Greendell's principal invited Laura and I to lead a discussion and training on Number Talks/Dot Talks. It was great to examine the structure of Number Talks, discuss how they connect to the Common Core State Standards, and explore the benefits of Number Talks for students and teachers. One of the best parts of the workshop was the experience for Greendell's teachers to put the practices into place. It was good to see the teachers practice giving their Dot Talks and also play the role of students explaining their mathematical thinking. I hope to have the opportunity to partner with the Greendell teachers again really soon. |
Joe YoungMath & STEAM Coach / TOSA in Palo Alto Unified School District. Categories
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