Live Laugh Learn

This year I have a large number of students (more than half) who are predicted to fall short of the State’s standards for 7th grade math, by a statistical program using a convoluted formula not shared with the public.

Even so, I am bound and determined they will ALL leave my class being able to calculate a 20% tip without using their smart phones! I am also committed to helping each student find something that interests them enough to WANT to find out more about it. This has always been part of my mission to help my students Learn to Love to Learn.

Then Kenan happened! Now, in addition to the basics, I’m also determined to reignite their innate sense of curiosity and creativity often lost, or suppressed, during the middle school years. I am inspired by my fellow Kenan Fellows to challenge myself and my students in new ways to help my students learn about themselves and the world around them.

 

Wow! That’s a very good question!

It’s difficult to explain the impact that my Kenan Fellowship has had, and continues to have, on me, not only as a teacher, but as a human being. The changes are visceral and seem to have grown organically from the many different experiences shared with the most AMAZING people! As we learned, and worked, and played together, we also delved deep into discussions about education, politics, social injustices, and more.

We even daydreamed about creating our own school, filled with like-minded teachers whose greatest desire is to teach to the whole child, to fan the flames of curiosity and wonder, and to help students Learn to Love to Learn <3

I am filled with gratitude for the teachers and staff I work with every day at Valley Springs Middle School. It’s so nice to work with others who always do their best to satisfy the requirements of the powers-that-be, while still building relationships, enriching the lives of those around them, and instilling the love of learning to all those we teach!

Kenan has helped me realize how very lucky I am!

My mentor’s twitter handle is @FancyScientist, and she most certainly lives up to the moniker! Here’s proof!

Even on her latest expedition, hiking to the top of Mount Kenya, Dr. Stephanie Schuttler, always looked her best!

But that only accounts for the “Fancy” part of her handle. The other half is “Scientist.” Though I may have learned a few fashion tips during my internship, I learned a LOT about @FancyScientist’s research, and it is fascinating – especially the way she hooks us with stories about her adventures, then sneaks in a few facts and figures without us even realizing it!

This is a great instructional strategy that works well with teachers – and 7th graders, too! As part of the introduction to eMammal, I shared several videos starring Dr. Schuttler – including the infamous Fox Video – the kids now feel connected and vested in the project, because they know they are helping Dr. Schuttler, the person, with her research. She didn’t even need to be physically present to build relationships; she accomplished it through videography!

During our first lesson, we were struggling with the meaning of the term “ultradian.” We had googled and read several definitions, but we were still unclear about its meaning. That’s when I decided to text Stephanie for help. The students were astounded when she responded within minutes! They were even more amazed when she responded again moments later explaining that WE had peaked HER interest and sharing a link with more information that she had just discovered on the topic. Come to find out, human babies are ultradian – “they nap, but don’t have a regular sleep pattern…” This certainly describes my 6 month-old granddaughter, Kylie!

I am GRATEFUL for the professional relationship I have established with my mentor, Dr. Schuttler. I am HOPEFUL to continue my friendship with Stephanie, far beyond my Kenan Fellowship. I am CURIOUS about what her future holds, and I can’t wait to hear about her next adventure, whatever it might be 🙂

Sounds rather uplifting doesn’t it? At least as opposed to “Professional Development,” which implies that we’re not yet fully matured as professionals. I rather like the idea of continuously “Advancing” in my profession…there’s always room for improvement, after all.

But I digress! This is supposed to be a reflection on my experiences at the three PAI sessions sponsored through the Kenan Fellowship Program. Here are just a few words that come to mind: inspirational, exhilarating, enriching, exhausting, FUN!

The best part was meeting new people who are all driven by a similar passion to help young students Learn to Love to Learn!

…no, not the kind that tracks animals, though that would be a good deduction, knowing that I am a member of the eMammal team!

The tracking tool to which I refer has to do with my students and my ability to track their learning progress by standard. During the first Professional Advancement session in Cullowhee, we were exposed to a lot of different technology tools that I had never tried, and some of which I had never even seen mentioned in the many articles I read on a regular basis.

One such tool is called Trello. This software package is designed for project management – keeping track of tasks that need to be accomplished by person assigned to each task. It is an easy drag and drop technology that is very user friendly. But we don’t have many long-term projects in Math, and those few that are assigned are typically completed on an individual basis. So how, you might wonder, am I using this tool to facilitate learning in my classroom?

Well, thanks to a quick, and probably forgotten, discussion with my colleague and Students Discover cohort member, Brittany Argall, I figured out a way to use Trello to visually track my students’ progress in achieving competency with the Common Core State Standards!

After a bit of trial and error, I was able to create lists of standards, assign students to each standard and, using a color-coding system I developed, easily track student’s individual progress and evaluate the depth of understanding by class. In so doing, I am able to determine which skills need to be revisited in depth, either individually or as a group, and which can be practiced occasionally to maintain already acquired skills. Trello even allows me to write specific notes on each student to remind me about observations I make as I grade assessments used to update each student’s status. This makes for a great source of information for student or parent conferences, as well.

By re-purposing Trello’s easy-to-use design, I now have a great tracking tool that provides valuable information to me and my students and helps us identify strengths and gaps in their knowledge of 7th grade math, thus providing yet another path to help them Learn to Love to Learn!

Students started the 2015-2016 school year by watching videos and performing several activities that scientifically support the idea of a growth mindset (videos from Youcubed ). We discussed how everyone has different starting points, and everyone will end at a different place, but all will inevitably know more than when they began 7th grade by exerting personal effort.

Our eMammal project will contribute to students’ growth by accomplishing the main objective, which is to have students participate in “real science.” Field work (setting/retrieving traps and proper documentation), data collection, and analysis of findings are the main components of our project. Success will depend on the students’ sense of wonder and curiosity as well as diligence and care in completing each task.

Can’t wait to get started!

As part of the Students Discover cohort, I learned to become a citizen scientist. What does one do as a citizen scientist? According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “[c]itizen science is defined as scientific work undertaken by members of the general public, often in collaboration with or under the direction of professional scientists and scientific institutions.”

On our first day in the Biodiversity Lab at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, we participated in a weekly update meeting, overseen by Dr. Roland Kays, the lab Director. Reports were made by each scientist and intern regarding the many different research efforts currently underway, most of which would be next to impossible to accomplish without the help of citizen scientists. Bird watchers, camera trappers, owners of GPS-wearing house cats, and more, provide these scientists with relevant information from across North Carolina, the United States of America, and other far off places around the world!

During our sojourn at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, we contributed to several different citizen science research projects. We learned to identify dragonflies and recorded our findings for researchers at the Prairie Ridge Ecostation. We set up and collected information from camera traps (eMammal’s primary focus) located at Carroll Middle School and Raven Rock State Park, and learned to identify mammals captured on the motion and heat triggered devices. We participated in a small mammal trapping expedition, logging information about white-footed mice and cotton rats. We searched through crushed rocks for sharks’ teeth to be measured and categorized by scientists. Most of all, we learned that, as citizen scientists, we can all contribute to the field of science just by being curious, asking questions, making observations and reporting our findings to trained scientists who can use our aggregated information to confirm (or reject) hypotheses about the world around us.

And so, we finally come around to how Students Discover in my classroom! Using my internship as a catalyst,  I intend to INFUSE a sense of curiosity  in my students, CREATE a safe environment in which asking questions is the norm, ESTABLISH the expectation that students make observations and conjectures about what they see and hear, and SUBSTANTIATE the importance of documenting their thinking so that others can benefit from their efforts. None of these are new to my teaching practice, but each will be integrated with a greater awareness and more focused intention in an effort to inspire my students to Learn to Love to Learn!

During our first Professional Advancement session, I learned about so many tools and so many strategies that I plan to add to my teacher toolbox. I will try Classroom Manager to help my students and their families stay informed; I will use Trello to keep track of student achievement by standard; I will use Twitter for quick updates and insights; I will use snaps and happy hands for students to show approval without being disruptive (thanks Courtney); I will use the “plain paper challenge” to help students effectively prepare for assessments (thanks Jen); and the list goes on.

One of the most insightful moments of my fellowship, however, was when Syeda got frustrated with our group. “You just don’t get it,” she kept saying, as I tried try to explain what I thought was her misunderstanding about what our students’ parents “need” from us as teachers. Finally, Syeda said, “you all are coming at this from your middle class world. You have no clue what your parents really NEED.” She then proceeded to explain how they NEED us to take care of their children during the day, so they can go to work and make what little money they can earn at their minimum wage jobs. They NEED us to handle it when their children are missing pencils or homework and not call them at work where they get in trouble for personal phone calls. They NEED us to accept their children where they’re at socially and help them learn to manage themselves in various situations. The list goes on in a very different direction than we were headed from our middle class mindset.

Thank you, Syeda, for your frustration and insightful explanation…I will remember you and your passion forever, using both as an inspiration in building better relationships with my students and their families <3

I have always been aware that students learn best through experiential practices, but find it challenging to incorporate hands-on activities into every aspect of our 7th grade math curriculum. During this summer’s Kenan Fellowship, I came to realize that such a goal may not be attainable, nor beneficial to my students. While in the lab, it became clear that “real” scientists must often complete tedious, repetitious, mind-numbing tasks in order to accomplish their overall research goals and make new discoveries to share with the world.

Understanding this aspect of life, that not everything is fun and engaging, will be very important to my students’ ultimate success in whatever field they choose to pursue – scientists need to cull through massive amounts of data to find patterns and connections, musicians must practice the same musical score ad nauseam to perfect their performance, chefs need to wait patiently for a glistening glaze – such patience and fortitude are not often expressly taught in the classroom. Henceforth, I intend to do just that in order to help my students become better prepared for life.

My realization did not crystalize in a single moment, but after reflection on the many moments of observation throughout the summer. My peers on Team Dirt had to wait hours (days?) for their bacteria to grow; those on Team Jaws spent long days in a basement at UF photographing sharks’ teeth and jaws; Team Ants faced challenges and frustrations as the first cohort in their study; and my eMammal Team sifted through hundreds of photos, many of which had no animals to identify, and witnessed interns entering data from stacks of surveys in the hopes of finding commonalities and differences among respondents.

THIS is the reality that we need to share with our students, as much as we need to share the fun and engaging aspects of our citizen science experience. THIS is the reality that many of our young adults have not yet come to terms with as they struggle to find meaningful employment. THIS is the reality that awaits my students in any field, in any part of our global economy.

The trick is to encourage students to find careers in which they are so invested and so inspired by, that those boring, tedious aspects, inevitable in every profession, seem minimal compared to the joy they receive from following their passions!

For this week’s blog we were tasked with writing about our biggest challenge and success in creating educational resources relating to our internship.

CHALLENGE
The biggest personal challenge was to ensure that I didn’t duplicate effort. Working collaboratively with PLCs has become a way of life at our school (at least in the math department). The Fellow with whom I was working, however, had never really worked with PLCs (she’s been the only 7th grade math teacher at her school for many years), and she wasn’t comfortable using a co-development process. The limited number of standards to which our project applied made it difficult to come up with separate topics, yet we decided to work independently – that was a challenge, that I’m proud to say, we were able to overcome. Ultimately, we ended up with more lessons in a shorter time span, so it all worked out for the best!

SUCCESS
My biggest personal success was developing the core process model for the eMammal project. Early on, I was having trouble figuring out how all of the many pieces of eMammal fit together, so I took some time to create a flow map (see “You Get What You Give…”). This map provides the foundation from which all other lessons can grow, allowing teachers across the State of NC and beyond, to share their eMammal curriculum.