Updates and Completion: 365 Days of Blogs

Today is my 365th day in a row of writing my blog. A full year. But I looked back over all the entries and about 13 of them never posted for some reason. They were saved as drafts, but never posted. So I just went back through my long expanse of writing and updated all the posts, sent the drafts through and now, at 365 posts I feel a sense of relief. Accomplishment. I am so thrilled to be at my destination #blog365 but the destination is merely a connection point to my new adventure: writing and discussing my classroom and how I solve problems and grow with my students. Nothing has changed-only the timing has caused me pause. July 27th, 2016 I began this journey and shortly thereafter I joined the Twitter universe. Both have changed my life. Have made me more observant and collaborative. Broken me out of my shell. I am grateful for everyone who has shaped me over this last year, my PLN and colleagues. My family and friends.

A new beginning....closure on a goal and the opening of so many more doors all leading to insight, growth and joy.

Edit, Play, Pause: What's in your Personal Documentary?

Movies, whether comedy, drama, horror, romantic-comedy, fantasy or Science-fiction impact us in different ways. We commit to 90 minutes or longer, we invest ourselves in the characters, put ourselves in the setting, feel a part of the action, why? They are visual escapism's. We go to release our minds from the daily grind, the stress of life and live vicariously through some of Hollywood's greatest characters. We become heroes and heroines for a few hours, all the while remaining safely in our seats. We laugh, scream, and cry in the dark as we watch our counter-parts save the day, experience sorrow and joy, love and fear. As their on-screen lives fulfill our farfetched fantasies and worst nightmares, we can conquer ours in the real world. If we can watch someone else achieve what we want to achieve maybe that will be the instigator to push us to do the same. These characters become a part of us, we use their victories to get us up out of our seats and active in our own lives. They propel us through our own milestones. If so and so can do it, so can I. 

These larger than life persona's and teleplays help us create our own mental setting where we play out the day’s events and pause... to find clarity. It’s not just Hollywood movies or television that create this sense of courage and hope. We have our own independent film we are creating every day. The only one who gets to see our personal documentary is us. It is a single viewing room. We add to the video, our interactions with others, the dialogue we exchange, the support we get from our peers, all adding frames of our lives, to the reel. Family, friends, school, every struggle, adventure, observation, action and pause form the digital hard drive that is our life. When we close our eyes, and see our memories unfold they do not look like a grainy reflection of our past but rather a panoramic, colorful, wide screen version of our journey thus far. During the editing process, some scenes are cut while some are added after re-filming. It is what we deem important, meaningful and moves the story forward that remain in the movie. Those scenes that are irrelevant to the plot, we disregard because we need the feature to make sense, to be enjoyed and remembered.

Every new adventure begins with a new sense of excitement. A great screenplay sets the tone for a great film. The more we commit to our role, the more exciting the performance. When we live in the moment, embrace action and change, the script becomes more ad-lib and free, creating more comedy than drama. The more we let the supporting actors enter and move the action forward the more interesting and intriguing the plot. Every role we play makes it to the director's cut. We get to decide our genre: comedy and laughs, drama and tears, action and exhilaration with a little fear, Science-fiction encapsulating progressive thinking and conquering the unknown. Every reel of every life has these at some point. It is the struggles and setbacks that lie in many of the frames, that allow for the continuation of the documentary. It is our choices that edit the script and ultimately the "dailies" we see at night. The most important thing we can do as the actors of our existence is to commit. Jump into the action and not sit in the background as part of the crowd. Those extras have no lines.  Grab some popcorn, Junior Mints and a soda and take a seat, your life is your documentary and you are the director, script-writer and most importantly the lead. It is your life after all, go out there an win an Oscar.

To Badge or Not to Badge: A Matter of Preference

Badges like all rewards aren't necessarily a good thing nor a bad thing. In life we have rewards, incentives and 'points' we earn from just about everything we do whether it is buying gas, airline miles, BOGO deals, coupons, even if you switch over to....get three months free. Every where you look we are being enticed by advertising. Many classrooms are using some sort of reward system in their design. Earning a trip to the mystery box is always a good motivator for younger children and older alike. I see why they can be successful. I choose not to use them however, because I feel a student-centered classroom operates best not from compliance but from community. I do not reward for what is expected. Students write the rules and goals. They enforce the behavior by making good choices. Of course they make mistakes but peer pressure keeps the community running smoothly most of the time. A little pressure and modeling of mindful strategies for both joy and personal motivation. We want to work and do our best when we know the outcome is not what matters most but the journey. Journeys are individual, you get what you get out of each adventure because you choose to commit and enjoy the experience. Even the grumpiest of spirits may lose out on a roller-coaster ride if they are not willing to have fun.

Badges work for some people. I have never given incentives in my classroom in the form of candy or a sticker. But after they have done a fantastic job I usually give them some token of my appreciation. They do not always get it, rarely in fact but the anticipation that they might be free to go outside for a bit or play on their phones is enough to keep them motivated. But what truly engages them is not the off chance of free-time but rather not having homework. If they work hard and stay on task they never have any homework and this badge of accomplishment means more to my students then anything. Knowing that they didn't earn anything but accomplished a goal, a task and they feel good about that. Many authors I have read recently have explained this phenomenon as desensitizing or devaluing a task. Once we as teachers put a value on something it makes it seem like work. In our classroom we complete many tasks that are not graded. Students create their own activities that are used to demonstrate knowledge not add to their grade per se. So early on I instill a sense of growth over grades. Knowledge over reward. It may sound like a cop out but students buy into it quickly when they know that everything in our student-centered classroom is based on choice, self-determination and pride rather than a letter in a grade book.

Rewards can be motivating. But for me, student-centered achievement is the reward. The ability to choose and design their own learning does not need a rewards program only my patience, their freedom and our community support.

Making a List and Checking it Twice

How can we improve our teaching? How can we ensure that this year will be better than the last? Reflection of course is one way to look back and recognize what worked and what didn't in the last school year. But, is that enough? Sometimes I see the things I need to improve upon but I never figure out how. I enter the new school year determined to change things up, try new things, take-risks but I never plan them in advance, they just happen. I have a 'big picture' personality. I write ad-hoc lesson plans but rarely follow them because I truly teach in the moment. Each class varies a little based on their needs & personalities. When a team member comes in and asks me for the lesson plan for what I am doing, because they like it, I have to verbally tell them, to their dismay because I rarely write it down. I just work it through moments before the bell rings. My mind is never at rest. I know the TEKS, I know the pacing, I know the content it is simply the presentation that is fluid and spontaneous. When students are in control- you honestly have no idea what is going to happen. You have to be prepared for anything.

Throughout these nearly 365 days of blogging, I have written many posts about particular lessons. I spent the last few days reading over most of them. It is amazing to see how much my writing has improved over the last year. It is a great history of my teaching as well. We tend to focus on what worked not what didn't. So this post will be about what didn't and creating some strategies to make sure that this year they do. I have set a goal, well many actually, for myself this year: create a stronger team, keep my mouth shut and let them lead, take more risks and try a different approach, do not get comfortable. Those are the main two. To make sure I do not get comfortable and complacent I must tweak and experiment with former lessons. Stir the pot. Create a little anxiety in myself because that is what pushes me- fear and anticipation. Not failing, I do that all the time. Just not presenting an idea or lesson clear enough to engage my students- challenge them and inspire them. So below are a few ideas I have to make the flow better and to keep myself more focused on the pacing and integration of mindful design.

• One-min Check ins: start day one, have students write questions and sign up for a specific time-less free flow on this
• Cell Book-PBL allow for more comic book style writing, more freedom means more engagement
• Use more children's books through out the class-have a reading as an opener some days just to relax before the lesson starts
• Business cards- have students create their own- a logo and three of their skills they would like to use in the classroom, then pin them to wall like a college quad bulletin board and group based on interests and skills
• Field Trips- set up one for Fall and one for Spring for GT students-they deserve to do something special just for them
• Helpers- each class has a different part of the room as described in earlier post BUT also stream-line classroom helpers- more community less responsibility
• EDISON board- first year doing this- do not turn it into an interactive word wall, keep it flowing and changing daily-make sure students are doing the work 
• Makerspace-put it in the center of the room so it is accessible from all sides- carts in the corners so kids are more willing to use it daily
• Laugh more. Last year I smiled a lot. Had fun with my students. This year really dig deep and play music daily and just have more fun.
• Create a playlist on Spotify each student picks one song-appropriate and it can be the jam for the class period (each class a different playlist)- less classical more pop culture music

Riding the Small Waves, Surfing the Big Ones: Remediation and Enrichment Circles

The Ripples Begin

"Spit it out, it won't taste so bad." I love to say this to my students. After a few weeks, I hear them saying it to each other. Like the salt water that enters your nostrils and throat after a wipe out, you need to spit out the failure quickly. Being from California, I use a lot of surfer slang, “Totally rad or Epic dude.” It becomes a part of the classroom vernacular. It is all about failing fast and reinventing your ideas to keep the flow. The bedrock of our student-centered classroom is flow: if it becomes stagnate, learning ceases. If the atmosphere is too tumultuous, it creates a sense of discontentment and upheaval. It is important, with any 'Goldilocks' design, for everything to be balanced, not to fast-paced, not to mundane.

The first day they enter our classroom, we talk openly about failure and mastery. We discuss how during both journeys, we may find ourselves struggling or excelling from day to day. Some topics are easy while others just don't make sense at first. For all of us to ride the small waves and surf the big ones we need to work together. Surfing is all about skill, balance, patience and fortitude. Some waves, powerful and dynamic knock us down into the current, while others create a tube of stability that we can ride with ease. Either way, surfing is all about observing others and learning from our mistakes.

The best way to make sure that students feel in charge and connected to their learning is by unpacking the standards (TEKS) and letting them know unequivocally, the objectives and mission for the week. I am as specific in this regard as possible. I do not tell my students how to get there, merely, what they need to know once they arrive. As a class, we talk about the content related expectations. What it is exactly that they need to master. Then students discuss the topics together, design a plan, and throughout the week conduct activities to learn the material. I often have some mini-lessons on complicated concepts, but most of the investigation and discovery is in their hands.

The Waves Form

Our classroom, 1161, like my Twitter, You Tube and Class blog handles, is collidingwithscience. Yes, one word, like a collision.  This is the theme of our learning environment: constant bombardments between strategy, content, conversation. A synergy of science, writing and self-expression. Turbulence keeps momentum and an open-mind. Independence does not isolate students, they are not out on the open ocean, but rather, they are in a cluster of surfers and swimmers, where every member of the community has a role to play. One week a student might grasp the topic and feel enlightened to guide others- be a tutor of the group. They take the responsibility of helping others find their way through the obstacles of ocean tides. The next week this same student may struggle a little, we all have busy lives and maybe they just got lost along the way, the next week they may need help.

If the waves aren't there, they aren't there. You are in a holding pattern, sitting on your board, just waiting for the next one to arrive. The cool water, circling around you. You must have the foresight to wait for the wave to come to you, it always does. Like learning, we must stay patient, diligent and let knowledge find us. However, we may need someone to help prepare us for the ride, help stabilize our footing. Therefore, in our classroom, we have remediation and enrichment circles. Every Friday for 20 minutes, students focus on their strengths and weaknesses and search for their next wave.

Riding the Wave, Surf’s Up

Step one, students find their spot at the perspective table and the collaboration begins.

No one knows where they fit into the fold better than students themselves. We talk during one-minute check-ins and they ask me questions, but come Friday they know if they need to sit at the swimmers, remediation circle, or the surfers, enrichment circle. Generally, they choose wisely, however, I have been known to nudge them in the right direction if they lose sight of their mission. I make eye contact and give them an inquisitive look, this usually does the trick. After a few sessions though this quiet urging is no longer needed. They quickly see the impact of this model and growth becomes exponential.

Everyone gets a chance to be the leader of the group. At first there are only a few who are brave enough to dive into deep waters, but over time even the quietest of students finds the confidence to take the lead. The remediation circle generally is focused on reviewing the vocabulary, talking through assignments and activities from the week and helping those who may not have caught the wave yet, to at least jump up on the board. It is awesome to hear them talk things through. They understand what it means to be confused and ‘off your game’ so they are well-equipped to help one another. After 15 minutes, they choose three “light-bulb” moments to share with the class.

At the same time, there is an enrichment circle taking place, this takes a little more preparation on the participants parts, they must come to class with something tangible to present. Usually it is the form of a short-video (related to the topic) or an article they found. They share their ideas and make connections back to the weeks learning objectives. At the end of the 15 minutes the remediation group will agree on three successes of the circle, three things they discovered about the content they didn't know before. This gives students a way to reconnect and find purpose for this activity. Finally, both circles will share their discoveries with the class, helping to make connections others may have missed. A total of 20 minutes including share time. It may seem like a waste of time for some teachers, but I promise you it is not. It is a necessary time for students to learn from each other, reflect and grow as a community. To build the trust and respect needed for a student-centered classroom to be successful.

Paddling Back Out

If students feel safe to try new things they will take-risks and surf even the largest of waves. Having the opportunity to just talk and figure things out makes all the difference. No judgement, just strategy and support. When they are comfortable crashing into the current and are willing to jump back up on the board quickly they will become novice surfers, quickly. This skill of stealth and agility comes from collaboration and trust. Believing in yourself and finding strength in numbers because when we solve problems as a community, it benefits future endeavors. It solidifies the pack, the flock, the pride.

When students can see the shoreline, and recognize the importance of trial and error and observing and modeling then these circles of trust will only enhance their ride. These hives of hope create a reliance and camaraderie like nothing else. Students want to catch the wave. They just want to know someone has their back. All we should do, as teachers, is provide the board. They will seek out the surge and watch for the ripple and vibration, if we let them take it all in. Once they have confidence and faith in each other they will lose any reluctance to just ‘waste it completely out there.’ Instead they will look for opportunities to become better surfers. Let them sit for a moment on calm waters and reflect and to enter the crest at their own pace. They will in turn, hold their own against the swells and curls. If we point them toward the beach they will break the waves at their own speed. It is all about timing.

I Love the Smell of Ozone in the Morning

The sweet, pungent aroma tickles my nose as I walk outside. The sunrise is pink and orange bringing to mind an image of carnival cotton candy. Swirling colors of spun goodness. The senses together form a sugary taste in my mouth, both honeyed and pleasing. It is monsoon weather here in the higher elevations of New Mexico. Down at sea level, in the Houston area we call this phenomenon hurricane season. Both areas flood, get tremendous thunderstorms and down pours, but the names bring very different connotations to mind. A monsoon sounds more deliberate, continual, natural. Whereas hurricanes seem punctuated, dangerous and spontaneous. Of course I know the truth, but watching the rain approach over the Sandia's just feels different up here in the clouds. At home in Texas the rain feels more forceful and ominous. 'Turn around and don't drown' the mantra on the weather channel in both locations, is a gentle reminder that Mother Nature has a voice and she spills over. We need to watch out for the after-effects. Simply soaking it in on a tranquil hillside, I am both safe and content.

Afternoon, sunny, warm and dry. It seems brighter here. The clouds move faster, they are awesome to watch. Remember as a child when you would lie on the grass and just watch the clouds make shapes and designs across the sky? Sometimes they would stay a certain shape for minutes as the white puffs floated, calmly across the blue. Here they change frequently and it is fun to anticipate what they are going to change into. I can sit on the back patio, facing the mountains or turn to face the city and just imagine, dream, meditate for hours. Each moment bringing clarity and focus. It is a beautiful, quiet place to reflect. I will miss it when I go home next week. The sweetness lingers in at about 4:00 every day signalling the onset of a storm or squall. I plan on being outside at 4:00 to smell the oncoming summer rain. To feel the winds pick up and watch the clouds roll in. Smell the sharp, tangy smell of ozone in my nostrils. Monsoons are cool.

Constructing an Extraordinary Learning Environment: Believe in the Space

A learning environment will always be under construction, or at least it should be. Depending on the participants it can change within a short amount of time to accommodate the needs of the group. It must be pliable and workable. Unlike a laboratory, this dispensary of knowledge, must have tools of the trade but it also needs to be user friendly and accessible. A classroom must be stream-lined for learning and thus appear cluttered and disheveled due to usage. Scientists design their own work space. In order to conduct their experiments and dive deep into research they need their materials to be organized. Each device having its specific place, means both efficiency and regulation. Some teachers design their classrooms along the lines of a laboratory, these are often sterile and antiseptic leading to compliance and passivity. A student-centered classroom, however, must incorporate the demands and obligations of every student. A teachers persona should be apparent in the atmosphere, for me some quirk and oddity with a lot of nerd. But, ultimately it should look and feel like the personalities and charisma of my students. If it feels like I laid the foundation, that is a good thing. The bedrock of the space should have my fingerprint. But the scaffolding, framework and ultimately masonry should all be put into place by student hands. This not only reinforces their ownership but also creates a space they feel comfortable, motivated and energized to work and grow in.

It is our inclination as educators to make our classrooms feel inviting. We hang subject related posters, or inspirational quotes on the walls. We put our tubs of supplies where we feel they will be reachable and available. We set up our desks with our memorabilia and trinkets. We basically make our work space feel like home. We need to, to a certain degree, because we often spend as much time in our classrooms than we do in our own residences. It is a second home for many of us. But, I have been putting a lot of thought into this and when I put my stamp in too many parts of the room: I choose what is displayed on the surface, I create an isolated personal space in a corner of the room, I decide where to put the organizational containers, I OWN the space. I am merely an observer, the space belongs to my students. I have never had empty walls the first day of school. The room has always been designed and clean, sterile and antiseptic. This year I have a new plan. It is extreme and radical, but I am going to do it. For the good of my classroom community, I am going to begin the year with a blank slate. How am I going to do this?

I will keep my posters and decorations in the cupboard. I will keep my crates and drawers empty and stacked along the wall. I will have the teacher desk not isolated in a corner, but in the middle of the room: it is no longer my desk but a student exhibition and presentation lectern where they can sit to address the class. The framework for the EDISON board (see earlier blog post) will be up on the back wall, merely to inspire. When students walk in the first day of school, the room will not be set up. Each class will have 'control' over a section of the room: makerspace, organization, think tank/quiet center, softer side of seating/cushions and rugs, front wall/student "community board" (like a college bulletin board in the quad), and the back wall "lets collide with science" (a wall all about science). This way they control the flow of information and how they want to stay organized. Each six weeks we will rotate the location between class periods and this will keep the flow of the space malleable and fresh. All my posters and classroom items will be available to them but the choice of how to integrate them into the learning space will be all theirs. Ownership and responsibility both keystones to a student-centered classroom.

It is imperative that we believe. We must believe in our students the moment they walk into our classroom. When we give them the respect and trust needed in order to set up their own learning environment, this shows we have faith in them instantly. This will empower them to work collectively as a community to create a space that works for every student. It will build camaraderie and rapport, day one. We must also believe in the space. While some classrooms are small and awkward in dimension, others may be large science labs. Whatever the architecture, we must believe in the space. Use every nook and cranny to establish an active, authentic, intimate learning environment for our students. The walls of our academic arena should not be the ends or sides of a crate. They should not box us in. They should be an opening to the landscape of our students imaginations, windows not barricades. If the flow of the space is boundless, in constant motion with new ideas and an endless expanse of choices, students will continue on their journey with anticipation. In the immortal words of Gene Roddenberry, "space the final frontier," these are the adventures not of a star ship but of a commonwealth of learners. All we have to do as teachers, is to provide the implements, handover the command and equip the travelers with free will and let the odyssey begin.