Screencasting Feedback

I'd written about using Explain Everything to provide feedback back in 2016. I then started using Screencast-O-Matic for most of my feedback, as we are now a 1:1 Chromebook school. I had in my notes this year to try Loom, a Chrome extension. (Thank you to whomever suggested it!) I'm a large proponent of FREE tools, so I'm going to share today how Loom compares to Screencast-O-Matic.

First, here's what Loom video feedback looks like. The only difference in looks is that it's the entire tab, and my photo/video is in the corner.

And here's how I add the link to the document students are working on - it's just like how I added the Screencast-O-Matic YouTube links:

Screencast-O-Matic

• free (up to 15 min)
• easy to find on my computer
• can be used on both home and school MacBooks
• can edit the name of the video
• captures student writing and my mouse or highlights as I read it aloud and provide feedback
• can share the video with a single link
• can embed the video if you'd like
• students can respond

Not the best: 

• need to set the screen size
• uploading to YouTube takes almost the same amount of time as recording the video
• when I upload to YouTube, I need to make sure it says "unlisted," so only those with the link can view it (me, student, parent)
• I need to go to and look up on YouTube who's viewed their feedback

Better than Loom:

• can choose exactly what to screencast - can size it to where you want it
• can see the timer

Loom

• free trial of Pro, and there's also a free version (up to ?? min)
• easy to find as a Chrome extension
• can be used on both home and school MacBooks
• can edit the name of the video
• captures student writing and my mouse or highlights as I read it aloud and provide feedback
• my picture is in the bottom left - I hear students take feedback more seriously when they can see you
• captures student writing and my mouse or highlights as I read it aloud and provide feedback
• can share the video with a single link
• can embed the video if you'd like
• students can respond (right in the video? I'm not sure yet)

Not the best: 

• no embedded timer - I need to look at the clock or set a stopwatch

Better than Screencast-O-Matic:

• no upload time - it's instantly ready
• can simply hit "record current tab" instead of setting the screen size
• I can be alerted when someone views it - if I choose to not be alerted by email, I can easily see in the extension who's viewed their video
• fun reminders to smile pop up for a second when you open it (see examples here):

 

It wasn't until I'd completed my PRO trial, that I saw the limitations of the free version of Loom... Here are the full pricing details: www.loom.com/pricing

I currently have just under 70 students, so we need access to more than the last 25 videos.

The debate in my head was a quick one. I'm going for it. The time I save uploading the videos is worth the $96 in my opinion. Others will think differently, especially if they don't give video feedback on students' writing. Since my students value the video feedback (only four this year said they'd prefer the comments only on their documents), I'm going to stick with this for the long run. I think the personal touch and the instant uploading time is worth it.

20K?

What does "20K Followers" mean?

I used to want tons of followers. I was excited when more people followed me.
Then I became intimidated by the number of followers going up. I thought I really had to watch what I shared. I still watch what I share, but it's always been a professional account, so I don't really worry that I'll slip up. Much.

So... What does "20K Followers" mean to me now?

It means...

-My words, thoughts, and ideas are viewed my many.
-I am followed by men seeking women. (This is fairly new. Hubby and I get a kick out of it.)
-I am followed by companies as part of their advertising.
-I am followed by Harlem GlobeTrotters for some reason. (I'm not even a lefty...)

-I am asked to speak more often - and I have to remember that my own students and family come first. (By the way, head to #USMSpark in Milwaukee, WI while I'm still in school on June 11-12 and #NEXTSchool conference in Montreal while I'm camping with my niece and nephew the week of July 30th!)
-I am asked to moderate educational chats. (I've asked many educators, as well.)
-I am asked to retweet "please vote for my class" ideas (see why I won't retweet many here).
-I am asked to read books. (I've asked a handful of educators to read Shift This before it was published, as well.)
-I need to be an even better role model for my students than ever.
-I will continue doing what I'm doing - educators must find some value in it.
-I will continue to share other educators' ideas more often.
-I will continue to share ideas from my own book, along with other books that have transformed my teaching - I have a wider reach now and if other educators implement these ideas, students will benefit, and we won't run into so much resistance!
-I will continue to share my own workshops and presentations - again, so other educators implement these ideas, and students will benefit!
-I will continue to try to lead in these ways, by modeling what I think it means to be an educator.

Parent Night

I keep looking back at the parent night post I wrote in 2013. I've looked back at it each September for four years now, and each year I tweak it for myself a bit. It is past time for a new post. Here's what I was hoping to convey this year...

I have no syllabus. We are starting the year with a pilot curriculum that I'm actually looking forward to. It's reading and writing workshop, which is what I believe we need right now in ELA. The bookmark I hope you picked up on your way in has a link to our class website, among other resources, where you can explore to learn more about the content in our class.

Instead of telling you all about me, I’d like to start with asking you to think about a question:

Who was a teacher you liked - or at least respected - in 7th grade?

Now try to come up with WHY this person was someone you remember.

I hope to be all those things.

I asked your children to finish this statement in a survey this past week -

"A great teacher is _____"
Your children hope I am the following:

kind, funny, fun, helpful, fair, understanding, friendly, respectful...
I let them know I expect the same of them:

kind, helpful, fair, understanding, friendly, respectful…

Without these expectations, we won’t have much learning occurring.

One more question: What CONTENT from 7th grade do you remember?

      (Long pause... Nobody seems to remember!)

Your child won't remember very much either. What will he or she remember?

My hope is that once your children leave 7th grade, I hope they will remember that I never gave them answers. I only guided them towards tools they can use for the future. We shared our ideas in a respectful manner, and learned how to learn even more about topics that interested us, or bothered us... topics that kept us reading, writing, and discussing.

I am the most fortunate of all of your child's teachers you'll see tonight.

I get to enjoy your child’s presence for 80 minutes of every day - and I really get to know them.

I’m also the most fortunate because I don’t expect your child to memorize any FACTS.

We get to explore great writing, share what we’re reading and writing, and figure out how to read to enjoy and learn, and how to write for an authentic audience - not just for their teacher.

Hopefully, by the end of the year, your children will have learned EMPATHY in ELA.

Hopefully, by the end of the year, your children will want to continue learning outside of school hours.

We spent the first ten days of school building community, respect, trust, and understanding of why we need to read and write. I will continue to try to reach them through literature, nonfiction, and their own writing.

I will also be offering more choice than I was ever afforded in 7th grade.
We will have choice in our reading, writing, and sharing what we've learned.

Our first activity to get to know each other a bit and decorate the room was our Six-Word Memoirs. I'd like to show you the video now. If you'd like to use this time to chat, feel free. Each six-word memoir movie will be published on our blog, and you'll get an email reminder when I send our next two-week update. [Insert video here!]

⏟⏟⏟⏟⏟⏟⏟⏟⏟⏟⏟⏟⏟⏟⏟⏟⏟⏟⏟⏟⏟⏟⏟
Instead, somewhere during this beautifully-planned speech, I got derailed a bit. One parent asked, "What can you tell us about the grading in here?" 

To which I responded, "What did your child tell you so far?"

This led to a super awesome passion-filled me-on-my-soapbox quick explanation of why feedback is more effective than grades or marks. (I only had a total of 18 minutes!) I hope I also made the point that they needed to contact me as soon as they had any questions or concerns - that I would be so saddened to hear them tell next year's teacher to "disregard my child's grades last year - he got to choose them."

I further explained, "Your child and I will sit down together and both of use will bring evidence to the table to support what we believe the final grade should be each quarter. We will share achievement and struggles, and make plans to improve during the next quarter." 

No more averaging. 
No more using practice for points. 
Let's see what each child knows so far, and then see where we can improve.

My "gradeless" resources so far: "FaR" tabs of our classroom Weebly

                                    Feedback Instead of Grades LiveBinder for parents to inspect
                                    My own reflections on this journey

Change

Every time I come home from the Building Learning Communities Conference in Boston (BLC), ideas swirl around in my brain, and I have so many things I feel I need to share with other teachers. This year, however, our last keynote, Dr. Rob Evans, had the message I think all agents of change need to hear and understand.

FULL KEYNOTE PRESENTATION HERE

He started by telling us (with much humor) who he was and what he does. The short version is that he is a psychologist and the director of Human Relations Service in Wellesley, MA. He used to teach HS and preschool students, and just can't imagine why anyone would choose to work with middle school students... (I LOVED laughing with him.)

Dr. Evans then dove in to share his wisdom about CHANGE. I believed him right away, because what he first shared, I share in my "Shift the Culture of Your Classroom" presentation --> We like the idea of change if it is OUR idea. When change is imposed upon us, we resist. So many conversations this week at BLC revolved around going back to school and meeting with resistance when we want the educational system to change. He threw in humor throughout his presentation, but this is the one gem I wrote down so I could quote him...

Because he has so much to share, this is going to be one of those bullet point posts - just laying it all down.

Points I need to remember and share regarding the reasons WHY change isn't easy in education:

• Consider changes in your life - the ones you've wanted and the ones you have resisted. The "good" changes we wanted in life came with some unexpected consequences. Same for the unwanted changes - they most likely came with some unexpected consequences that were good. And, if we think of those changes in our lives and the lessons learned, the stronger lessons that were more valuable probably came from the changes that were NOT wanted. We learn in the context of loss, failure, and disappointment. Change is full of ambivalence. 
• People resist change - ESPECIALLY if they were not the ones to come up with the idea to change. Our brains are hardwired to seek out patterns - even if we think we don't like the patterns, our brain wants them - they make life make sense. "We cling to patterns because they give life meaning, not necessarily because they make us happy. People often hate the pattern they're in, but also hate to change their situations."
• When we're asking for colleagues to change, we need to consider this: What does this change mean to them? We think it means progress, growth, development, learning... Yet what it means to them often includes LOSS - grief and bereavement. Suddenly, an assumption they've had has been DEVALUED. So ask... what's the loss they will feel?
• Resistance to change is NORMAL and NECESSARY.
• Businesses deal better with conflict and problem-solving than schools do. Schools are more personal - and they should be! A school is "much harder to change than a business because a school is more like a house of worship." In schools we're skilled at congeniality (warm, friendly connections), but not at collegiality (which focuses more on growth and performance). Because of this, we have what Dr. Evans called "non-discussables" - things we don't talk about openly - only in the parking lot. "We get along great as long as we agree. When we stop agreeing, we stop talking TO each other, and start talking ABOUT each other." (He did add that if we were TOO candid, we would have a "collapse of society..." There's no need to go around telling people what you think every moment of the day!)

• Side note: During this keynote, I was sitting next to Carol Salva, a teacher who is a brand-new author and who used to be in sales prior to teaching. (I'm sure she has a much longer story, but we didn't get to chat too much!) She said when she received harsh feedback, she would do what they suggested, get better at her job, and earn more money. It wasn't her nature to have thick skin - she grew it in this position. The feedback - although it meant change - was effective. Instead of taking the feedback personally, she used the feedback to improve. 

• Too much pressure from agents of change will drive the resistance underground, yet pressure makes it harder for people to remain status quo. We need a balance of pressure and support.
• Schools need more tolerance for conflict.
• Teachers CHOOSE to spend time in the presence of children or adolescents. There has to be something inside us that helps us connect to these students (if we stick with the profession). Being in the classroom makes us happy. ... HOWEVER ...  "The characteristics (nurturing, sacrifice, kindness, etc.) that make us good with kids don't help us work well with ADULTS."

WOAH.
Mind blown right there.
WHY is this? Is this true?
He could have stopped, and I'd be satisfied knowing the reasons why schools aren't changing (fast enough - yet).

However, he kept sharing - and he got to the HOW...

• First of all - and this notion is directed towards administrators - if you want teachers to lead change in your school, you need to tell the other teachers to listen to them. If these change-agents are not the boss, then others don't have much motivation to even begin to listen to the ideas.
• "Buy-in" is an end state. It's not a beginning condition. Don't look for buy-in right away.
• What matters is that people KNOW if they're going to be listened to during the process of change, or if the decision has already been made. The decision itself actually doesn't matter, even if people don't agree with the decision. It's the clarity of the process - who is involved, and who isn't - that matters. If we had to choose someone to work under, we'd choose someone who is clear about their decisions over someone we agree with but is not clear about who is deciding what. If you want change, be clear and truthful about who is involved in the decision-making process.
• Be ready to support - What are people losing with this change? What will they grieve? 
• When asking for change, change-agents need to be clear about the 
• WHY - Why can't I keep doing what I've been doing? Why do I have to do this now? Why should I listen to you?  -- This is the stage where we cause the loss. This is also the stage that is often skipped. Change won't come if this stage is skipped.
• WHAT - What do you want me to do?
• HOW - How do you expect me to do it?
• Difference between problems and dilemmas:
• People solve or fix problems. People cope with dilemmas.
• Remember that almost everything we're trying to solve in education was once a solution to something else.
• The most productive, successful, engaged, happy people have someone who cares about their development. This is why conferences like BLC are so successful and invigorating.
• Let's do with teachers what we do with our students...
• Ask teachers about what they do well.
• Build on teachers' strengths. This will help them cope with the loss and get them to where they're learning. Then change will be transformational.

THANK YOU, Dr. Robert Evans.

The Human Side of School Change is on its way to my house, and I'm sure it will be by my side when I go to the next conference where teachers wonder, "How can I get others at my own school to try this?"

And thank you to my online and face-to-face PLN who continue to challenge me. Whether I choose change or it is imposed upon me, this quote from George Couros is true...

Kudos to this teacher for sharing this mindset with her students!

Update 12/31/17:

     Want more? I've finished the book!

          Part 2: Reluctant Faculty

          Part 3: Leading Innovation

-----------------------

I'll be adding more references to change below as I find them or they are shared with me:

     3 Crucial Elements of Being a Change Agent - George Couros

     Addicted to Change

     Overcome Resistance to Change with Two Conversations - Harvard Business Review

     Managing Change - podcast with Dr. Rob Evans (18 min)

     How School Leaders Can Attend to the Emotional Side of Change - Katrina Schwartz on Dr. 

     The Fallacy of the "Either/Or" Scenario - George Couros

     Dare to Go First (How to Be a Change Agent) - Shanna Peeples in Educational Leadership

     Convince ME - George Couros

     The Grief of Accepting New Ideas - Rick Wormeli

     A Reminder for When Others Seem Resistant to Change - George Couros

Have the Discussion

May is one tough month!

I had a rough day Friday. Seventh graders playing with fidgets, touching each other ("I was just kidding!" "He's poking me!"), blurting out, not wanting to work...

I believe it's tougher when you're not grading anything, but I admit I did that to myself.

So... I revamped my behavior tally sheet, and I started using it today in a new class (it's effectiveness in one class meant it was time to implement it in another).

The first forty minutes of class were pretty brutal, as I could not get two students who were bickering alone, away from the rest of the class. I needed to share our plans with the entire class for the next two weeks, and I didn't want to call them out in front of the whole class. (Although one time I had a "very stern" warning / tone / eyes - it worked for perhaps five minutes...)

Before I shared the "new" plan with two students, I sat down on the floor to have a quiet conversation (they were supposed to be starting to read The Outsiders, but they were not... yet).

"I have to show you something."

"He did it! I didn't do anything, Mrs. Kirr!"

"Stop. Listen. I need to show you something."

Once the arguing back ceased, I was able to share with them my thoughts.

"I do not have children at home. I do not know what it's like to live with 13-year olds. I have never had any brothers. I didn't grow up with any boys my age. I don't know what it's like to be around two best friends like you two. All I know is that Friday was very rough on me, and I knew I needed to do something so the last three weeks of school are fair to me - and to you. I'm tired of getting upset and frustrated, and I'll bet you're tired of me getting upset and frustrated with you, so I'm going to show you what I've devised that has seemed to help other seventh graders."

They looked at me with questions on their faces as I talked to them like this. It looked as if they were truly listening. Their mouths weren't moving, and they were looking at me in the eyes. I showed them the sheet, explaining especially the two sections I tweaked - "arguing about or ignoring specific teacher directions" and "tattling on another student in order to deflect from misbehavior being addressed." We talked about what those meant, and they acted like as if they understood.

I then asked them, in our 80-minute period, how many tallies they think they would be fair before I emailed home. They came up with four total. I agreed (it's what I use in my other class with the few I use it with)! I put the half sheet by each of them and said, "It can stay here with you. If we use it, so be it. If we don't, even better. Thank you for understanding and trying this method with me."

For the next forty minutes, I had no issues with these two students. I thanked them quietly for not disrupting class as they walked out the door. I heard back, "See you tomorrow, Mrs. Kirr."

Talk to the children.

Today was a good day. One day at a time...

Visit and Inquire

Shift This! came out, and I put two in our school library so teachers didn't need to purchase it if they wanted to read it. (Would they want to read it??)

At least four people at my school are currently reading it. So surreal. Our ELL teacher came up to the room this week (this never happens), and she asked to see the student station (my post about it is here, and I discuss shifts to the classroom environment in chapter four). She then wanted to see the filing cabinet that has become my "desk," and I confessed that my things have been spreading out a bit more than I want to on the shelf by the window.

Once she left, I wondered, "Doesn't everyone at school know about the student station??" On the drive home, I wondered just how many teachers at school DID know about it? And why not? I'm going to blame time once again. I don't take the time to explain it to others, and many teachers (myself included) don't take the time to visit other classrooms and inquire.

I'm going to make it a point of mine to go into classrooms towards the end of this year, chat with the teacher, and ask one question about the classroom environment, so I can learn from him or her. If our time is such that we are not provided specific time to take classroom tours of other classrooms in our own school, we should take the reins and do it on our own time, little by little, so we can continue to learn all we can! Ask the questions!!

Shift Report Card Comments Over to Your Students

So you don't want to go "without grades" yet, but you do want to BEGIN to go that route...

One way is to incorporate REFLECTION into more of what you do in class.

At the end of the quarter, why not let students choose their own comments for the report card / progress report?

Here's how I give this responsibility over to the students...

We currently have 100 comments from which teachers can choose. Many of these do NOT apply to ELA class, such as "Needs to study harder for tests" (we don't have "tests" for students to study for in ELA) or "Does not meet minimum class standards" (because if THAT happens, I'm not doing my job!), or "Shows all steps in math work." So I share with students the comments that DO apply - and there are still about 60 from which to choose!

Sixty comments is a bit much to look at. I go a step further. I separate them into "Comments that show room for improvement" and "Comments that show what you do well." I ask students to find one of each, and then explain WHY they chose those comments.

Feel free to make a copy of this document and edit your copy to add the comments your district uses.

What I can NOT tell from the choices students make is if they truly believe this is true or not. I often wonder... Did he put that comment on there because other teachers have chosen that one for him? Did she choose that comment because she truly believes she "contributes positively to the classroom atmosphere?" What I CAN do is ASK. I ask for students to chose one comment from each side (with a possible third comment thrown in if they'd like it), and then I TALK with them about the comments.

Here's what I find...

• There are miscommunications I can clarify, such as when one student chose "Is easily distracted" along with "Is attentive and a capable student." I don't have to ask how he thinks he can be both distracted and attentive, because I see the answer in his reason why... He wrote, "I attend class every day, and am capable." Ahhhh... Here's a great opportunity for him to learn what "attentive" means. 
• Some students are so very hard on themselves, and some think they are the best students ever. They are in 7th grade, so not everyone is good at reflecting yet. One more reason to do this!! 
• Other students are spot on. Check out these comments, and what students said about why they chose them, just from this past quarter alone...

Student-chosen comments, and their reasons why...
Is doing satisfactory work, but could do better.
     - "You can always try more."
     - "I am okay in reading, but I could look back in the text more."
Is not working up to ability.
     - "I could do a little extra."
Needs to listen and follow directions.
     - "Sometimes I need reminders to stay on task."
Needs to be prepared on a daily basis.
     - "I always forget my binder."
Is easily distracted.
     - "Sometimes I don't pay attention."
     - "I get distracted and off topic a lot."
     - "I just get off track. I have a short attention span."
Needs to improve organizational skills.
     - "Sometimes I can't find things in my ELA binder."
     - "My binder is a mess."  (So she took the time to organize it right then!)
Work is satisfactory, but could improve with less socializing in class.
     - "I sometimes talk a lot."
     - "I do talk in class, but my work still meets expectations."
Has some difficulty concentrating in class.
     - "Sometimes I get off task."
     - "Sometimes I zone off. I think I would do better by not getting distracted."
Greater care with assignments would improve performance.
     - "I know I can do better with some things."
Has weak grammar skills.
     - "Sometimes I rush through things and don't use my grammar skills."
Completes own work well, but is disruptive to others.
     - "I'm disruptive sometimes."
     - "I do complete my work, but I sometimes distract others when I'm done."
Completes work satisfactorily.
     - "I could do better."
Is attentive and a capable student.
     - "I know I can do anything if I try."
     - "I can do better, but I don't try."

Now these comments and reasons why are sent home to parents, so they can see their thinking and ask them about it, as well. They are not surprises to students when they get their report card, and they are not blown off... "Is a joy to have in class - I always get that one." (In fact, only a handful of students chose "Is a joy to have in class" this quarter!) Some parents, however, still think that I chose the comments, and sometimes I get an email that says, "Why would you say this about my child?" I cringe, and ask them to talk to their child or read what I sent home (the paper that shows the child's reasons). When a child says, "Is doing satisfactory work, but could do better," that actually means he or she is reflective. One parent said that comment should be reserved for a "B" student. I disagree.

And then there's Jimmy.* He chose comment #80 - "Maintains on-task behavior." In ELA, Jimmy does all his work, participates in class, revises his writing, reads at home and at school... and he chose this comment, which I think is quite boring. I went through the list and checked off about twelve other positive comments from which he could choose. He tells me, "I was trying not to be too narcissistic." Gotta love seventh graders learning how to reflect! (I had to look up how to spell that one, too!)

*Jimmy is not his real name.

My resources so far: "FaR" tabs of our classroom Weebly

                                    Feedback Instead of Grades LiveBinder for parents to inspect
                                    My own reflections on this journey

How To... End the Quarter When You're Not Giving Marks

There are so many steps when you're teaching without marks. I only use narrative feedback as of this year with my 7th grade ELA students, so I needed to create a spreadsheet with the list of items that need to be done during the quarter and then what needs to be completed at the end of each quarter.

The spreadsheet is located HERE, and an explanation of how I use it is in the video below. It's long, and it's not perfect, but it's finished. I hope you can use it or the documents included to begin something like this with your own students!


One of my "geniuses" is being organized. (Thank you to Angela Maiers for asking me on a Skype call one time!) It takes some sort of organization to take on something like this. I've tried to make it easy on you, just in case you'd like to join me in this wonderful adventure...

My resources so far: "FaR" tabs of our classroom Weebly

                                    Feedback Instead of Grades LiveBinder for parents to inspect
                                    My own reflections on this journey

Challenge Your Own Ideas

I just finished reading The Radioactive Boy Scout: The Frightening true story of a whiz kid and his homemade nuclear reactor, by Ken Silverstein, from 2004.

David Hahn lived in Commerce Township, MI (a suburb of Detroit), and loved science. He wanted to collect each element on the periodic table. He wanted to... well, you can tell by the title of the story. Feel free to read it for details, but this is not a book review.

This is what caught my eye, from my teaching viewpoint:

If he'd been interested, David would have found it a simple matter to learn about the cons as well as the pros of the atomic age. But as with newfound converts to any cause, David wanted his ideas reinforced, not challenged. Certainly, the Curies and some of the other nuclear pioneers had suffered as a result of their labors, but that hadn't kept them out of the laboratory. For David, as for his heroes, the thrill of discovery made worthwhile any risks. (p 56)

Myriad stories of nuclear disasters and failed breeder reactors later...

Hence, despite coming of age at a time in which all the assorted screwups and accidents of the atomic age had generated a powerful antinuclear movement, David remained comfortably cocooned within the confident optimism of the 1950s and 1960s. His passion for the atom was fueled by the conservative family and community environment in which he was raised, as well as a natural aversion to intellectual challenge (which does not bode well for a career in science). "I tried not to read anything that would disappoint me or make me negative," he said candidly of his research strategy. "If I knew it had a critical perspective, I wouldn't even pick it up." (p 133)

YES. I remember when I first started learning about Genius Hour, I would NOT look at any blog posts or articles that went against what I wanted to hear. After awhile, however, words written against this type of learning really stuck in my head. I started to leave comments on their blog posts, sharing my thoughts. I really didn't want to see what they wrote back, but gradually I became interested more in the conversation than the one-sided "echo chamber" that I had fallen into. I created a new tab on the LiveBinder for opposing views.

My seventh graders experienced something similar this week. No matter how much we stress that we discuss ideas so that we may LEARN from others, I have a few who believe in one way or the other and will NOT budge during a fishbowl discussion... yet. They do NOT want to hear the other side... yet. They say they are listening, and yet they keep going back to what they'd already said before, or they share more of their own ideas, not even taking time to acknowledge that someone else spoke. They wanted to continue the discussion in the next period because, "I just have one more thing I need to say."

My last class, however, came to find peace in their fishbowl discussion on Friday. They admitted that there are different perspectives, from different times in the story. I happened to catch it on camera.
After this was said, their discussion petered out, and they agreed to disagree, without any animosity afterwards. They're learning to accept different opinions - so difficult at this age. I have a plan to help my other two classes see different perspectives the next time we conduct a fishbowl discussion... I'll let you know how it goes in a future post!

As teachers, we NEED to research. It's our duty to seek the opposition. Seek out other educators who have tried what we want to try in the classroom. Read or hear their stories of triumph, and of failure. Read about successes they celebrated and pitfalls they endured.

I believe it's also our duty to share what we're trying, so we can INVITE opposition. I share with parents every two weeks (our class updates are here). When parents express that they are not happy about something I'm doing (or not doing) in the classroom and my ideas are challenged, I become more reflective. I see through another lens and question the ideas once again. I conduct more research. I ask more questions. When educators challenge my ideas on Twitter or on this blog, I can now see it as an opportunity to GROW.

Here's my challenge for you: Start a blog if you haven't already. Write about what's important to you. Share your ideas. Watch your reflection become more useful, and watch your ideas develop and change. Do not become like David Hahn - in jeopardy of hurting yourself or those around you. Share, and seek responses - positive or negative.

Ready to start your blog? Here are seven tools compared by Richard Byrne!

Listen

Talk. Talk. Talk.

So much negative talk on television. On Facebook. On Twitter.

It can get to me sometimes - I need quiet. Solitude. And then Monday rolls around...

How am I supposed to be my happy camper self around others when I'm so bummed by what I'm seeing on television and social media? First, I thank my parents for my first name, and then I do what I'm really good at - start a new day with a fresh perspective. This attitude has always helped me through what life may throw my way.

So what do I do? Well, first I tweet out what I think is a beautiful message...

Only it has a terrible error for an ELA teacher... SEW?!   REALLY, JOY?!?!   SOW!! SOW!!
I don't see it until I'm at school when I'm on the class Twitter account and see that my superintendent retweeted it! Yikes!! It has 30 retweets! Oh, my... there goes my reputation!

Anyway... I get to school and say "good morning" (with a smile!) to all I see. One response sets me back five paces, however...

"There's nothing good about it" is one response as this person continues down the hall, obviously not wanting to talk. Sigh. I'm back where I was Sunday night. Thinking about all the negativity.

Since I've resolved to try to complain less this year, I don't say anything until I confide in a friend at the end of the day. She listens (she's one of the best listeners I know!), and offers something to this effect... "Maybe there's something else in their life that really is getting them down."

Bam. It hit me. I should have listened. I should have not thought about my OWN thoughts. I should have turned around and followed this person and LISTENED.

I'm good at listening to students. They are my focus throughout the day. I need to truly listen to coworkers. If I want more for our world, it starts with listening. Why didn't I take my own advice and show kindness by simply listening?

I made up my mind to chat with this teacher tomorrow morning - to see if I can help in any way. Even if it's just to LISTEN.

More Here: 3 Reminders on How 'Just Listening' Is Sometimes the Best Approach
                   8 Ways Listening Leads to Learning

Feedback In Lieu of Grading - Quarter Two

My reflection this quarter is for my students... I'd like to share with you your thoughts and suggestions, and how I'd like to proceed. Let's keep having the much-needed conversations about learning!

First class, block 2/4 Responses:

Let's address the concern in the last comment. (Yes, I moved the comments I wanted to address down to the bottom in each of these photos so I could see them better and be able to share them with you in order to write this post.) When we meet in our 1:1 (one-on-one) conferences, I let students know if I agree or not, and why. There were only a handful of students this quarter that I did not agree with, and those students didn't have evidence to support the grade they chose. In those cases, students created goals (or in some cases, we created small contracts) so that next quarter the student would be more accurate in his or her reflection. I also stated on those students' sheets that I did not agree and reasons as to why we had disagreements. In eleven (out of 67) instances this quarter did the final grade a student gave him or herself not match my own assessment of those students' reading, writing and grammar skills combined. The parents were made aware through the comments on our 1:1 conferencing sheets. I usually share something along the lines of "Your child was very reflective in his assessment of himself this quarter" or... "Your child and I disagreed on her grade for writing (or reading, or grammar), and have created goals to help her more accurately assess herself next quarter." Since we need to focus on learning, those eleven students have stricter guidelines now that, in fact, promote more learning through revisions or showing their skills during comprehension checks.

As a result of similar feedback from a parent last quarter, I added a small spot on our 1:1 conference sheet so parents would have a better idea of what I thought. Since I believe that school should be focused on learning, and that grades will reflect that learning, what I added was a reflection scale. This scale is to communicate to parents how reflective and how accurate student evidence was. I will continue to revise our 1:1 conference sheets to reflect parent and student suggestions.

Second class, block 5/6 Responses:

That last comment - "...sometimes I want to know what my grade is during the quarter..." Let's do it! Let's use the documenting sheets I provided each person, and figure out the midterm grade half-way through the quarter! The reason for creating the documenting sheets was so that students can pretty much always know what their grade is at any moment. Also, at any time during the quarter, you and I can meet to discuss the current evidence. Just ask!

Third class, block 8/9 Responses:

The last three comments here caught my attention. "It is challenging..." I like the challenge aspect - proving your claim is what so much of writing in our class is about. Proving it with evidence that students choose seems fitting for ELA class (and social studies, and science...)

The fact that "some students will truly benefit... and some will not because they will slack off" seems to be true for any type of grading.

"I prefer teachers grading us so that it is definitely the grade you are getting." Since we agree on a grade together, that is definitely the grade you are getting. If I truly disagreed with the final grade, I would intervene, parents would know I did not see the same evidence the student provided, and we would create a plan for the next quarter that would help the student be more reflective and accurate in his or her self-assessment.

Suggestions from all three blocks:

Line 2 & 9: Here are more writing prompts that you can use throughout the year. These are on our class Weebly under "Student Resources --> Writing Challenge" and also under "FAR --> Writing Guidelines." ;) It may seem as if I have not been giving more encouragement to write in class. I try to balance our reading with our writing, and it's always in my plans to provide more time for writing in class. Some students ask if they can write instead of read during independent reading time. That is an option for those who read on a consistent basis at home. You can always choose to write outside of class, as well. Add it to your independent reading practice at home.

Line 3: Let's remember to provide time IN class for this to happen. (Note: Some students already do this on their own.)

Line 4: I'm back and forth on "participation" points, as I've read a lot about introverts and how they are still retaining content from the class even without participating. Participating can cause introverted people actual, physical pain. We will have times when we need to present, but the culture of our classroom is trust, and I do not think it is fair to grade oral participation in this class.

Lines 5, 11, and 12: I will provide a mid-term check in this next quarter. We will use our documenting sheets to do so. This may be a good time for me to provide you with what I think your grade should be for reading, writing, and grammar at this point in time.

Line 6: Sorry. I have read too much research against traditional grading to go back now. Until our district uses standards-based grading, this system is more accurate and fair than how I used to grade.

Line 7: One time I made a change in a student's grade - by accident. I typed in the wrong letter on the wrong line. The parent gave me a heads up and I was able to correct it before it appeared on any final grade report. I have triple-checked our 1:1 conferencing sheets this time, so as to not repeat that error again (I hope!).

Line 8 & 10: I'm aware that for some students this type of grading can be "nerve-wrecking." I ask you this - can "traditional" grading also be nerve-wracking if you're at a 89.6% or if you have a test or a project due on the last day of the quarter? Use the documenting sheets to their full potential. They're with you so you know where you stand at any given moment and have more control of your final grade. Share more books with the class (orally or written) so you counter-act any "low" comprehension check data by proving you understand what you read. Submit more writing than is assigned so you have more choice as to what evidence you'd like to use for your writing and grammar portions of class.

I hope this is what students will feel by the end of this school year...

My resources so far: "FaR" tabs of our classroom Weebly

                                    Feedback Instead of Grades LiveBinder for parents to inspect
                                    My own reflections on this journey

Feedback In Lieu of Grading - Quarter One

We made it through the first grading period without ANY grades for all three of my 80-minute block classes!

My students and I met to discuss their learning two weeks before the grading period ended, and we came up with a grade together. Students were asked to bring this document to the table, and some did. Others did not fill it in. I had the evidence on a spreadsheet, however, so we still had proof of students' current skills.

Statistics from first quarter:

• I have 66 students
• 61% of students earned an A
• 31% of students earned a B
• 8% of students earned a C
• I gave audio/video feedback on 230 pieces of writing
• I gave more feedback on 97 revisions from 36 students

Here's what my spreadsheet finally ended up looking like for my own notes regarding writing and grammar pieces (it will be refined for next quarter):

Yellow highlights mean that student should be revising that piece. Dark rectangles mean the student decided to not use that piece for evidence. NI = needs improvement, D = developing, P = proficient, and M = mastery... Only my co-teacher and I saw these "scores." The YouTube links are unlisted links - they are not public. The question marks are because I neglected to jot down my own thoughts on their achievement! This happened with a couple of the first pieces I was giving feedback to. I was still working on a documentation system that would work for me. You can see it didn't at first!

What I learned from one-on-one conferences:

• At least one student didn't know what "revise" meant. He thought he had to re-write pieces or start anew.
• Students that I hadn't really connected well with (yet), have approached me more since we've met.
• Students who did "A" work and had all their evidence ready ahead of time had very quick conferences. Students who were not reflective about their work took approximately 10-12 minutes to conference.
• One student said she thought she deserved a "B+," but wanted to put down an "A-" for her final grade. She said her parents expected it. She then agreed to accomplish the goals she set for herself for next quarter, or she'd give herself the "B."
• I need to send home the goal setting sheet in the report card envelope.
• I need to send home student reasons for choosing the comments they chose.
• I need to copy the last two pieces of documentation so I can remind students of their own goals throughout next quarter. Heck - I need to give a copy of their goals back to them!!
• I needed to make a new document for students to keep track of their reading and writing. Here's the new reading documenting sheet, and here are the new writing and grammar sheets (thank you, Yvette!!).
• Now I need to make sure students update these three documents when we're in class together...

A fact that totally surprised me:
       I have never had so many entries into the gradebook!!
Check 'em out:

Each one of those dots is a written comment... Some have narrative feedback regarding enunciation and volume, some include a YouTube link to the audio / video screencast feedback on their writing, the comprehension checks have scores separated for literal and inferential questions, "book shares" have narrative feedback from this feedback form, and some are behavior notes (using ind rdg time wisely, preparation, goals...). Yes. I've been busy taking myriad notes and documenting them on the online grade book - without any grades but the one in the final slot.

After we met one-on-one, I asked students to fill in an open-ended survey. The question: Please let me know how the first quarter has gone. (I will ask parents to fill out a survey the day report cards are sent home.)
Here are student responses I received regarding grades (copied & pasted):

• we did not have as much stress as other classes and you could always inprove your grade
• If someone wants to see their grade, I would let them, but if someone wants to not see their grade then write comments. If you have grades, you could see how you could improve but without you can struggle a bit.
• I really liked how the students had to show evidence form their grade. I think it was good to learn. when you get a job you do monthly check ins and many adults don't know how to handle it. Once we are old enough to get a job we will all be great at this which will help us in our life. I also liked how we got all quarter to write different stories and we got to pick our three favorites. I also feel that many students tried very hard for the grade so they worked their best. I don't think i noticed many negatives personally. I think that everything was handled the right way by teachers and by students.
• I think grading ourselves is an educational good idea and that would help us realize what we need to work on.
• I think this was a good quarter, and it went by fast. I'm happy with the grade I got and the grading system is pretty good. At some points I really wanted to know my grade and I would get frustrated. I think our ELA class is fun, and has is different from other classes. Based on how the first quarter went, I thing the rest of the year will also be good.
• You are not as pressured as other classes to get a good grade on it but, you still get a grade. which is awesome. 
• I think this quarter has been really fun! I really like how we're learning how to give our opinions and back it up. It actually reminds me of debates on CNN when they have to back up what they're saying or else it's not true. Being able to say what we think our grade should be is a really good way for us to learn from our mistakes and do better next quarter. I guess the only thing I would like to do is do more creative writing than narratives.
• I like how we get to chose our own evidence because if you have one bad assignment it won't bring your grade down a lot like it usually would.
• I like how we don't have to stress over grade and can work at our own pace.
• I really like how the first quarter has gone. The grading system is really good. You have to grade yourself, but you need to support why you deserve this grade. So it's almost like the grading itself is a lesson of some sort. It's also sort of stress-free. There is a little, but it's not that stressful.
• I think first quarter went well for most people the no grades think was amazing. I think the no grades thing grades lots of people by not giving them stress helped lots of people have stress from other classes. Their were no real pit falls. 
• one benefit is that we make our own grades but we need the evidence, it is beneficial because it shows that you need to work for a grade.
• This quarter has helped me a lot with writing, grammar, and revising. It is also helping me become more organized and independent. I have gotten more into reading, I have found a genre that I love, and I have also found some books that really interest me. This quarter has been really fun and it has become my favorite subject in school. I do feel I need to read more and improve my vocabulary. I love the fish bowls and I hope we do more of them. I want to improve my debate skills for high school. I also love the "grading" system. 

My resources so far: "FaR" tabs of our classroom Weebly

                                    Feedback Instead of Grades LiveBinder for parents to inspect
                                    My own reflections on this journey