my version of transparent, collaborative leadership...with a Teamann twist

Speedgeeking SD

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Tomorrow will be the first speedgeeking event here at Luna. The concept, similar to “speed dating” is going to introduce you to five different technology integration pieces. This is meant to give you a lil’taste of FIVE different easy and fun ways that you can add these tools into your lesson plans. We will be asking to see ONE of these used by your class for the final grading period. I repeat, one of these tools will need to be seen in your lesson plans this final grading period.
Technology presented this late in the year can be confusing. It’s past TAKS when I’ve seen teachers feel as if they have time to add in a technology piece. Anything that you see tomorrow will actually have a HUGE impact on your students, even before TAKS. We talk so much about student engagement and keeping students on task and motivated. Guys, these kinda activities are PERFECT for that. You have an extra computer in your room now!! There is NO reason why one of your kids couldn’t complete all of these activities during the course of a lesson. We know you have students who are busting out 100’s on your daily class assignments. Do they really need to do the multiple practices and same activities that your lowest students are struggling with? Me thinks not. I’ve offered before, and this time I mean it, I can have a 5th grader who is FABULOUS come into your room and teach one of your students what to do…
Watch it spread like wildfire.
Trust me. I know this will work. Go into this training with an open ALL YEAR MIND, not just an after TAKS mindset. Pleaseandthankyou.
supportingly,
Amber

Homework Headaches

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Homework, homework, homework! We all give it, we all grade it, we all have our purposes behind it. As we move into the spring, and the time of many an educator head ache, I want us to REALLY think about what we’re sending home and why. Thanks to my PLN, (8amber8), I came across a great articlethat looked at homework from a parent’s perspective. There were a couple of different sentences that jumped out at me…

So often, what comes home seems either mind-numbingly excessive (25 long division problems, anyone?) or beyond the scope of what is reasonable (three-page book reports, typed please, and make a diorama to go with it). My experience as a mother of four and as a teacher with 18 years’ experience has led me to the realization that practicing something, or being asked to produce something for which one lacks the skill, does not breed perfection, or even learning. It breeds frustration.

I can tell you from experience how homework is done in my world. If MT is at home it is completed, checked, discussed, rechecked, rediscussed and then put away. Nice and neat. If I’m home, I think I usually remember to say “Hey, did you finish your homework?’ She says yes, I say great, and we’re done. Nice and neat. 🙂 And I’m the former teacher, remember!

I want you to think about the homework you’re assigning. Just repeating something does not automatically strengthen learning. If you’re unsure of a skill or concept, actually doing it wrong repetitiously may do more harm than good! There is no research that supports homework as a tool for increasing academic achievement in the primary grades. Are you assigning it because you want them to practice? How many times do they genuinely NEED to do something in order for you to feel better? Do you have a goal? Is there a way to assess what they were “practicing” and see a correlation to what you are doing in class? Because if there isn’t, you’re creating headaches…we discussed at the beginning of the year students sitting out from recess because they ” didn’t do their homework”. We don’t like to see that happen, especially when in some students you’re depending on the self starting initiative of an 8 year old to get it completed.

 

ASCD had a great article in it’s September Educational Leadership magazine (hush, I’m behind in my reading!) that provided an awesome chart that gave some homework alternatives.

 

 

In This Learning Situation. . . Instead of This Try This
You introduced new material in class. Assigning a question set so we will remember the material. Ask us to think up a homework task that follows up on this material and to explain our choices.
You want us to read an article before a class discussion. Making us answer questions that prove we read it. Ask us to write down two or three questionswe have after reading the article.
You want to see whether we understand a key concept (such as literary irony). Making us complete a worksheet. Ask us to demonstrate the concept for the class in small groups, using any medium.
You want us to see how a math procedure applies in various situations. Assigning 10 word problems that involve this procedure. Ask small groups to choose one word problem that applies this procedure in a real-world situation, solve it, and present it to the class.
You want us to memorize facts (such as dates in history). Handing out a list that we will be tested on. Ask each student to share with the class a memorization trick (such as a visual cue) that works with one item on this list.
You want us to remember what you taught last month. Assigning a review sheet. Give frequent short pop quizzes about earlier material. Go over each quiz, but don’t count the grade.

 

 

I would love to see you experiment with some of these options. In the same way that the dynamics of the way we’re teaching has changes, let’s think about homework in a different way as well…

 

Homework HelpN,

Amber

Friend, foe, or strong leader?

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I’ve touched on this topic before but it has been brought back to the forefront of my attention after Alan November’s speech last week at Convocation that threw Facebook back into the mix. Social media is everywhere. Between Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, FlickR, etc, not one facet of our being hasn’t been touched by this change in society. Our President even utilized and took advantage of the generations that exist living in a world of status updates and constant awareness: 66% of voters electing him were under the age of 30, a HUGE factor in his election.
As educators, we know we are held to a higher and different standard within society. That stands to reason that the way we handle social media should be different. I go back and forth on my opinions and stances on this subject, leading me to believe that I may not really know what to think. I use Twitter for professional development (8Amber8) and highly enjoy my PLN and all that they offer. A constant stream of new, of different, of challenges that I am able to turn around and share with my peers. I use Facebook for my social butterflyness…it’s my sorority sisters, my high school classmates, and my family. However, I also have several colleagues that are “friends”. This is where my lines get blurry.
I have made it a point not to “friend” students. Of course, I work in an elementary school, so that isn’t shocking. While teaching, I also made it a point not to friend my student’s parents. Again, it made sense to me. Now as an assistant principal, I have a new dilemma. Do I mix my business with pleasure? I am “me” on facebook. There are pictures of my family, I rant about my husband cutting baby wipes in half, and get to brag about my beautiful niece Zeta. If I have a bad day, I vent. If I have a good day, I share. My sense of humor is my own and I get all kinds of worked up during Cowboy games. At my first administrative driven conference, I discussed with a group of my new “peers” about whether or not they friended their teachers on Facebook and while the answers varied, more erred on the side of “no” than yes.
After thinking this through since Alan mentioned it on Thursday, and re-discussing with several people I highly respect, I have reminded myself of the leader I want to be. I want to be approachable. I want to be seen as human, one who makes mistakes, who values relationships and people. I want to be REAL. One of my favorite people in the world made the comment today that “relationships reduce rebellion”. I think that is a gem of greatness. Enabling my staff to see me as personally as well as professionally lets them see me transparently. I think it is an old fashioned style of leadership that requires leaders to maintain a certain distance, to keep everyone at a safe and equal distance. There was a GREAT article in TEPSA last month that suggested while that may be true, it also led to a cold and sterile environment. That isn’t what we want for our students, why would we want it for our staff?
What are your thoughts? Professionally speaking, do you think it makes you a better leader if there is no connectivity between your personal life and your professional persona? Is it hard to respect someone you know IRL (in real life) if you’re privy to what they think about a certain store or how their daughter did in soccer over the weekend?
Facebook friendR,
Amber