Chocolate, Pirates, and Planet Earth

Now that the Easter chocolate coma (Cadbury Creme and Mini Eggs are supreme) has come to an end, I suppose I should get back to posting.  It certainly wasn't my intention to take this much of a rest from blogging.  However, the combination of submitting report card marks, the much-needed arrival of Easter break, and a potent bout of stomach flu that made its way through half of my family provided more than a few distractions.

There are a few things that I want to touch base on.

Takeaways from 'Teach Like A Pirate'

This was one of those reads that I actually devoured pretty quickly.  I had seen the book before and was really hoping to come across some strategies that would help me to develop greater student engagement.  Every teacher knows that this is important, so just what exactly could Mr. Burgess offer?

I suppose that the biggest thing that I liked about this book was the reminder to let loose and have more fun in my classroom.  A lot of the teachers that I remember the most fondly are those that weren't afraid to be themselves and showcase their own personality and strengths for their students.  I've taken liberties to steal adapt a lot of favourite lessons and activities that I enjoyed with the hopes of being able to capture and recreate the sense of fun that I once had.

It's all too easy to get caught up in all the professional expectations that come with the job... report cards, meetings, grading, meetings, parent contact and outreach, and meetings all come to mind.  This can be a tremendous drain on my enthusiasm and if I'm being honest, I feel more 'tired' after nearly a decade of teaching and don't always feel like I want to put myself out there.  It's just too hard.  Reading TLAP, though, reminded me of why I got into the profession in the first place: I wanted to have a positive impact on the learning of my students.  I am way more likely to have those moments when I can bring my own unique brand of humour and excitement to what I do.  I may not do it exactly as Dave Burgess might do, or any other colleague for that matter.  But that's the whole point... there is a whole outlook on learning and fun that is totally unique to me.  I can focus on that a bit more.

When it comes to actual strategies that I can start using today, the most important thing that I took from the book has to do with using 'presentational hooks'... the key questions that I can ask myself when planning and coming up with lessons and activities.  Burgess provides a good sampling of the kinds of questions that I hadn't really been taking the time to think about in my own practice.  Examples are conveniently broken up into seven different sections that seek to address the different learning styles and interests of students.  Some favourite examples include:

• How can I incorporate movement into this lesson?
• Where would be the best place(s) on campus to deliver this content?
• How can I most effectively use music as they enter the room?
• What can my students make that relates to the material?
• And many, many more...

I have to focus quite a bit on what I'm expected to teach.  Like many others in the profession, there is always that feeling that I can't stray too far from stated outcomes and objectives.  However, taking a minute to think about some of these types of questions has already helped to make things a bit more meaningful in the limited time since I read the book.  I'm not just looking at content delivery, but taking a more active approach to consider student engagement.

I look forward to seeing more growth in this area.

Planet Earth II

I can still remember sitting with my parents and siblings in a crowded living room in Edmonton watching the first Planet Earth.  Even before the days of High-Definition and Blu-Ray, all of couldn't help but be amazed at the beauty and wonder of this tiny blue planet.  It was a series that had me uttering frequent wows and left a big impression on me.  It was only natural that I would grab the sequel as soon as I saw it in stores.  Only this time I would get to spoil myself just a little bit more with a larger HD television and improved sound system.

This was an impulse purchase in every possible way: I simply grabbed it as soon as I saw it and went on with my errands.  I had some nagging worries that it couldn't possibly be as good as the first but I can assure you that my fears were quickly put to rest.

The first segment we watched was on islands and there were more than a few moments that left us feeling pretty awestruck.

Like this clip.

I have one more segment to watch but I have once again been left very impressed by BBC to showcase our wonderful planet in such a way.  I highly recommend Planet Earth II for anyone who enjoyed the first series AND if you were one of were one of those who didn't get around to it.

Enjoy your weekend!

~Mr.T

How to Approach Student Apathy, and What a Huge Nerd I Am...

After yesterday's inspirational post, I thought I would tackle something a bit more challenging: what to do when student's just don't seem to care.  I don't know a single teacher who doesn't encounter this in one way or another.  The reality is that we have a number of students who have either made the decision not to engage or no longer see the value in education.

It's important to remember that the reasons for this are as diverse as the students we are trying to reach.  Maybe the material just isn't exciting enough, or perhaps the student has other more important things on their mind from social concerns to troubles at home.  Whatever the reasons might be, this has become one of the most frustrating issues for me on both a personal and professional level.

I came across an article in the Washington Post that offered a few suggestions that I started to mull over a bit.  It begins with recognizing that "teachers are expected to combat apathy by continually finding new and innovative ways to reach students - through multimedia lessons, group work, games, alternative assessments or whatever it takes."  According to the author, "the real danger is that this way of thinking has shifted the responsibility of learning, and of caring about learning, from the student to the teacher."

So far so good, right?  Seeing the world as Principal Skinner can't be all bad, can it?

As a suggestion, the author offers two suggestions in order to see the much desired improvement:

1. There is a need to change the conversation about education.  Teachers and policy makers should naturally strive to make improvements to instruction and assessment, but this also needs to include clarifying the role of students in their own learning.
2. Teachers and parents need practical strategies to encourage students to take responsibility for their own education.  We need to help kids develop the habits and discipline that will lead to success.

This isn't anything I hadn't heard before and admittedly left me wanting for more.  Fortunately, the author provides at least one promising strategy that I have seen work: chunking.  At this time of year, I've already been involved in a number of conversations with students regarding their academic fate and it can be pretty overwhelming for some of these kids who have chosen to tune out most of the year.  The task of digging their way out of such a huge hole, though, is incredibly daunting and I can understand why some would still continue to 'take the zero' and give up.  Breaking the task into smaller, more manageable steps can certainly help to build a feeling of accomplishment.

While each student should be considered individually, here are a few other things that have helped me:

• Always go back to the relationship piece.  This can be tough but it has always surprised me just how powerful a positive relationship can go to improving things.  Finding time to get out of the classroom for a bit and walking next to some of my more apathetic students only to ask them something... ANYTHING... about their plans for the weekend or where they got their new hat.  I don't always take the time to ask about their lives and having genuine interest in who they are has more often than not given me just enough energy to start turning things around.
• Ending so-called 'lectures' on the upswing.  Maybe they deserve it but I can do better to remind myself that some of these kids hear the same things over and over at school and once they get home.  I will try to end one-on-one conversations with students on some sort of positive note.  "You haven't been doing your homework and you stole that phone from another student in the class.  These are problems with real consequences.  But... I think you are a leader in this class and people look to you more than you realize.  Let's try to use this energy a little bit differently.  What are some things that I can do to help with this?  

At a recent District PD, Dr. Jody Carrington told us that "every kid deserves a champion."  I know that I can keep this in mind a bit more regularly, and especially with some of my more challenging students.  Without knowing that someone is there for them, how can I possibly expect to care about anything I have to say?

What strategies have worked for you?  Feel free to leave your thoughts below.

Dungeons and Dragons

Back in February, I was watching the following video with my older boys:

And then we kept watching it.  I was honestly a little surprised at how quickly I soon found myself online making a bit of an order...

I even ended up taking my kids to the local Comic shop and buying them their own set of dice.  I'm still feeling pretty overwhelmed with the whole thing, and certain distraction has probably pulled me away from my efforts to learn and understand game mechanics.

I'm hopeful that I can get a handle on things during the Easter Break (which can't come fast enough).  I may just have to report on my progress.

~Mr.T

Quick Thoughts on Getting Back...

Once again, I find myself as a lapsed blogger.  Truthfully, there were many times when I really tried to find the will to sit down and reflect but... (insert poor excuse here).  If I'm being honest, though, the biggest inspiration as of late has been my own wife who has really taken a liking to the craft.  While I can take credit for helping to introduce her to the bells and whistles of blogger, and regularly provide valuable tech support, she has an ability with words that I remain envious of.  Feel free to check out her thoughts here.

My early offerings might be light until I get back into that blogging groove, but here we go...


Gamer Brain

I recently came across an article on Edutopia that addressed some of the bigger ideas behind gamification and how they can be effectively used within the classroom.  In particular, the author address four main points:

• Leveraging the Gamer Brain... identifying the types of games that students enjoy and crafting learning objectives that can tap into that interest
• Embracing Failure... recognizing that most games provide regular and timely feedback about what is going well and not-so-well; evaluating assessment practices to ensure that students can learn in the same efficient manner
• Celebrating Epic Wins... getting excited over 'Fiero' or the feeling of triumph over adversity; students need to be challenged but they also need to feel the win
• Fostering Voluntary Learning... most of us play games because we want to and not because we have to; teachers need to strive to create an environment that invites wilful participation in spite of being so regularly mandated and structured

There is a tremendous demand in my school for gaming.  I continue to host my school's eSports Club several times a week and the numbers continue to steadily grow.  In addition, a 'Gaming 101' option as FLEX Learning for Middle School received likely the greatest number of interested students.  

The challenge remains to have this be about more than just playing games.  This needs to be about recreating the learning and interaction found in most board and video games.

More to come...

Oooo... A New Toy!!

It's no shock that I've been into gaming for most of my life.  And I'm a sucker when it comes to new experiences that allow me to continue enjoying the pastime in ways I couldn't before.

Despite some initial reservations, I managed to secure a pre-order for the Nintendo Switch.  Of course I have selfish reasons to do so, but I'm also intrigued by the portability aspect and ways that I can share the experience with others, including my classroom.

Less than a month to go...

~Mr. T

Back-To-School Blogging, Summer Recap, and "The Book Whisperer"

The return to classes can be an exciting and overwhelming time.  I imagine that like many other teachers I have spent a good deal of time thinking about the new things that I can bring to my classroom.  I'll get to some of those things in a minute, but I must, once again, acknowledge my failures to be a regular blogger.  It seems that in addition to the new, I must continue to work on some of my previous commitments.

Here we go...


How I Spent My Summer

I'll keep this brief, but I can't help but take a moment and reminisce about the exciting adventure that I was able to embark on with my family.  It was something that my wife and I had been planning and looking forward to for years and I was so grateful to be able to share so many memorable experiences with my children.

Without going into too many details, here are a couple of highlights:

• Driving around 6000 kms through the western United States
• Spending a week on the beautiful Oregon coast
• Enjoying 5 glorious albeit exhausting days at Disneyland
• Travelling to Calgary for a family wedding; we will be travelling to Edmonton for a second wedding in a week
• Other trips back and forth to Calgary to spend time with family, enjoy the zoo, and a day at Calaway Park

Much has been said about how good teachers have it when it comes to summer.  All I can really do is express my gratitude for having a career that allows me the freedom to spend this time with my wife and children.  I'm no busier or more special than a lot of other people, but it feels really good to unplug after what has often been a very busy school year.

Here are a few pics for good measure...

Liam exploring the trails near our condo in Oregon.

The tidal pools along the beach were always neat to see.

Our second go on what became our favourite ride at Disneyland.

Hard to beat a picture with Oswald.

"The Book Whisperer"

My wife has been encouraging me for years to read "The Book Whisperer" by Donalyn Miller.  She kept telling me for years that it might give me some ideas about how I could help give reading a jump start in my classroom.  I was genuinely interested in the concept, but often told myself that I was too busy during the school year to really have a look at it and I could maybe check it out in the summer.  I finally caved... and I'm glad that I did.

I won't give a detailed review or breakdown of the main points now, although I will likely touch on them over the course of the year.  Suffice it to say that my perspective on the value of reading was given a good wake-up call.  I was reminded of what reading is intended to be: something of interest that will draw you in.

I was so excited about some of the ideas that I even took one in particular and started running with it.  Donalyn Miller strongly advocates for the need for students to see constant reminders about the value of reading in the classroom.  This doesn't necessarily mean a dedicated reading area, although that would be great.  She does stress, though, that there is need for kids to be around good books.  In previous years, I have relied too heavily on whatever happened to be left in my classroom.  That wasn't going to cut it anymore.

With my wife's blessing (and eager offers to help, I might add) I began putting together my own library.

I will be giving myself a monthly budget to work with so that I can be constantly adding to the collection.  My hope is that I can create a library with something for every Developing, Reluctant, and Underground reader that enters my classroom.  I'll be reporting on my progress throughout the year.

Much more to come...

~Mr.T

Gamification and Student Buy-In

I took a longer break from blogging then I was planning on, mainly because I got caught in that trap of looking for wider relevance and therefore sat down and have written, re-written, and scrapped this post a number of times.  I really don't want this pattern to take hold again so I told myself that I just needed to get some quick thoughts down and move on.

I recently came across a post from Vicki Davis who talked briefly about gamification in classrooms.  For the uninitiated, this refers to the application of traditional gameplay elements within regular school routines.  Having grown up playing a lot of games, board- and card-based and electronic, this seemed like something right up my alley.  My thinking was that if I loved playing games and I saw that lots of my students also loved playing games, this would be fairly easy to implement.

I was wrong.

Don't get me wrong, though, as I have had some successess in this area.  Last year, I started using ClassCraft as another layer on top of the work that we were already doing.  Students can receive XP for doing well on assignments or for demonstrating positive behaviour.  Likewise, they will receive small penalties for not completing assignments or being a disruption.  However, I can't help but feel like I'm not really using this as well as I should.

Vicki Davis (courtesy of Kae Novak) wrote about the idea that gamification can't just be "chocolate on broccoli."  It can't just be throwing in meaningless points and rewards in addition to the work that needs to be done.  Instead, it has to become a complete approach overhaul to how classrooms are done in the first place.  I haven't really done this... I've merely thrown in the appearance of something new and exciting and the result has realistically been something of a casual level of tolerance.  "Oh, look.  Mr. Thompson's gave me points.  Or something."  This won't do.

I've decided to look a little bit more into this, beginning with Lee Sheldon's book "The Multiplayer Classroom."  I also want to engage with my students on a more meaningful discussion about the kinds of things that they feel would make for a more relevant and enjoyable experience.  It's with this post that we're going to begin looking more at online commenting and the building of digital connections.

Here we go...


One More Cool Thing

I came across this a few days and have viewed it a few times.  Not only is the song one that I've found myself humming to myself every now and then, but I'm just amazed at the work that went into making this possible.

~Mr.T