tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38544934474697028182024-03-16T04:46:10.031-07:00iLearn A Community of Learners Focused on Revolutionizing LearningUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger128125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854493447469702818.post-39848738797166579222016-01-12T09:48:00.002-08:002016-01-19T19:17:54.575-08:00Ownership of Learning Begins in Kindergarten<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"> A student in Ms. Regner's class reads his </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> original story </span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">aloud to fellow kinders.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> School is where kids go to watch adults work.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As much as I’d like to dismiss this aphorism as ridiculous and irrelevant, it is painfully true. As we all work to transfer ownership of learning to our students, we must consider that classrooms </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>have</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> successfully placed students in the driver’s seat of the learning since the very first day of school. Kindergartners in our district are working in teams, making choices about their learning, evaluating their own learning, and demonstrating their work to the class. If you have just started to give your students more ownership of learning, you may have noticed that this change is not always received enthusiastically by students (especially in the upper grades).</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.8; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you are starting to doubt yourself during this journey, keep the following in mind:</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is happening! There are great examples of student “owned” classrooms throughout the district. Ask to observe another teacher.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Expect some resistance (especially in middle school)</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Just because you face resistance doesn’t mean it is not the right thing to do in the interest of students.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Examine what might be getting you “stuck” - what are your beliefs about learning? Struggle? Your role?</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In several classrooms throughout the district, students are owning and showing learning. While observing Mrs. Regner’s kindergarten reading and writing workshop, I noticed students engaged in a variety of learning activities and learning spaces. Some students sat in pairs at tables while others sat independently on a rug. Some students used iPads to record and listen to their reading, while others flipped through personalized cubbies of picture books. Other students worked on writing a story of their own. At one point, I</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">noticed a student standing in the back of the room near the sink holding something a boomerang. I suspected that this particular student was not on task. When I asked him what he was doing, he told me that it was his turn to look at Mrs. Regner’s items for sharing. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qklArqNKogs/VpU3q4gy7UI/AAAAAAAAAh8/JquEDqHH50U/s1600/IMG_5811%2B4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qklArqNKogs/VpU3q4gy7UI/AAAAAAAAAh8/JquEDqHH50U/s320/IMG_5811%2B4.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This classroom environment offers choice for learners.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This student knew what choices he could make during class time, and he chose to use five minutes during reading and writing time to take a look at the sharing items placed. After observing a boomerang and a photograph, this student returned to work on writing his story. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This example highlights the benefits of offering students clear choices in the classroom. Given more ownership of their learning, these kindergarteners are able to exercise choice as independent learners. Noticeably, these kindergartners demonstrated a sense of pride while organizing their learning materials and working on a skill of choice. By giving our students choices, we communicate our belief that they </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">can </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">make choices of their own regarding their learning. In addition, when we give students ownership of their learning, we communicate our belief that they </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">are </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">capable of being independent learners--which they are.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L85AoOEX5LU/VpU8DgXZNrI/AAAAAAAAAig/SNSrpFObgPE/s1600/IMG_5808%2B3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L85AoOEX5LU/VpU8DgXZNrI/AAAAAAAAAig/SNSrpFObgPE/s320/IMG_5808%2B3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you teach in the upper grades, you may experience a different response. Stay positive, but </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">do</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> prepare for resistance, eye-rolling, and groaning. For our historically passive learners, this “gift” of independence and ownership also means that we expect students to do </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>more</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A few years ago, I decided that it was time to give my seventh grade students ownership of their work through choice and reflection. Even though I knew better, I romanticized that my students would enjoy being given more responsibility and choice. How wrong I was. Of course, there were </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">some</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> students who appreciated the opportunity to select a topic of choice for research, but the overwhelming response was a resounding groan of the seventh grade type . Many students had become perfectly accustomed to being spoon-fed. And now I wanted them to think and question and select? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After this initial shock, students eventually became more comfortable with the idea of thinking on their own and making choices about their learning. Some students who had not been very engaged earlier in the year seemed to burst to life. Seeing students rise to the occasion made me realize that I </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">had</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> been underestimating their ability. Unless we give our students a chance to own their learning, we may never know what they are truly capable of. </span></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com97tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854493447469702818.post-37951877875944281342015-11-11T11:32:00.000-08:002015-11-15T14:45:17.957-08:00An Uncomfortable Step in the Right Direction<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Frustration, anxiety, and struggle are comfortable. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Said no human ever.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Accepting and sitting with uncomfortable emotions that accompany change</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is not something that we, as humans, do very well. In an effort to avoid discomfort, we will catastrophize, act out, and procrastinate. As an English teacher, I know this all too well. Rather than deal with the discomfort related to grading 140 something essays, I found a distraction--usually in the form of a domestic task. Removing lint from the dryer and dusting the blinds offered relief from something far more anathema ... a ghastly spire of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ulysses</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> essays. In the end, my essay-evasion tactics did little to erase my unease. Discomfort persisted until I finally sat down and started my sixteen hour task, one paper at a time. I had to experience discomfort before making any progress. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="420px;" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/O1nkcJWyjkrWsqWh2k8a9uzJk0BD6KmqXxnxaLcORsha2kRM1_f39uuuzCzG_6Q9QkkXvnAkJFxdpZu5PvTw6hSVlXs_EhKF1ROn1CZ0i9Xk1uxq5yi4M27K9Jf9nS8lcfN_BrU" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="427px;" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Struggle is in fact necessary for progress. This week, middle school teachers in LASD persisted through discomfort and were able to accomplish some progress worthy of celebration--the publication of quarter one reports using the Standards- Based Gradebook in Haiku. Everyone in the LASD community can recognize the hard work that made this progress possible. This publication of quarter one reports represents the first step towards mastery-oriented learning. </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; white-space: pre-wrap;">This was a Herculean task . Although there was plenty of discomfort, anxiety, and uncertainty along the way, these teacher-pioneers have taken the first steps to adopt a reporting system that promotes individual mastery and ownership rather than performance and compliance.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="427px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/RTSfVOq8BZEcle3-BQ-xE3a_70MqPXECzJHSWO0qSGS1nfd4ABkLsWZrRnzJbWXnWlm9wws9DaVxapKjRmf4kC-TkOwODy45ncWYy69U4ICAyvKo7LnS8uC2KFPiDrXpK9OXd8E" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="427px;" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contrary to performance orientation, m</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">astery orientation, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">directs students’ focus on developing new skills and improving competence, and is associated with self- regulation, increased effort, autonomy, and the belief that effort will lead to academic success (Ames, 1992; Pintrich, 2003; Seifert, 2004). If we want to instill and nurture a growth mindset in all of our students, we must also implement tools and systems that support the belief that they </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">can</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> learn and improve. If we want students to dig deeper into their learning, they must be given opportunities to improve and master before moving on.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The first step to allowing for mastery includes identifying precise learning targets or standards. This is where SBG comes in. Once students are able to identify the specific learning targets they are responsible for, they can begin to create individual learning goals. Standards-Based Grading moves the “what students need to be able to do” from the background to the center-stage. In addition, the mastery model remains true to the values we want to instill in our students:</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Importance of effort, improvement, and working toward a goal</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">School is about learning, not just performing</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Student ownership of the learning</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Student responsibility and reflection</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Growth mindset</span></div>
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</ul>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While most of us would agree that these values are essential, we can also notice what is missing--such as time on task and timeliness of assignments. We want our students to manage their time and prioritize, right? When I think about this question my mind always arrives at one image--a giant stack of ungraded, late essays. This is where the anxiety sets in. This is where I get stuck.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is when I consider the alternative--keeping our current system--that I am able to become unstuck. I consider the many students who stare blankly, exert minimal effort, and just “play school” to get a grade so that they can “stop learning.” I consider the fact that many students are unable to reflect upon their own learning. I consider the fact that teachers often feel more responsible for student learning than the students themselves. I consider the fact that many students take little ownership and interest in their own learning. This is when it becomes clear that we must change our system to one that promotes the same values we want in our students. A mastery model of education and the adoption of SBGs is an uncomfortable step in the direction of progress. </span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854493447469702818.post-20952475931982031352015-09-10T10:06:00.000-07:002015-09-10T11:56:25.377-07:00LASD Teachers are Ready to Take Flight!<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<h2>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>LASD Teachers Prepare for Flight!</b></span></h2>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Early in its life cycle, the monarch butterfly exists as a single egg, then as a larva, and finally as an unmoving, translucent chrysalis. While observing a monarch in the pupa stage, it looks as if nothing is happening. The stillness is deceiving. Beneath the static chrysalis, there is an increase in cellular activity. The cells that will soon become the legs, wings, and eyes, are rapidly developing.The butterfly is in the process of developing the wings it will need to fly.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While many teachers intend to use summer solely for frozen daiquiris and poolside lounging, the truth is that summer is a busy time for teachers. Empty classrooms and infrequent Tweets might suggest inactivity, but it is summer when many teachers are most active-- re-evaluating, re-organizing, refining and refocusing their craft for the upcoming school year. It is under the still of summer that many teachers develop their wings. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1M035UNFPfA/VfG4NGyo-VI/AAAAAAAAAcg/fHUt4JGj5j4/s1600/Summer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1M035UNFPfA/VfG4NGyo-VI/AAAAAAAAAcg/fHUt4JGj5j4/s320/Summer.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Many diligent LASD teachers took advantage of professional development opportunities this summer. These opportunities included Responsive Classroom training, the NSTA (National Science Teacher Association) Summer Institute, the Logo Summer Institute, the SVMI (Silicon Valley Math Initiative), as well as MERIT and mini-MERIT Programs (Making Education Relevant and Interactive Through Technology). Not only did each of these learning experiences provide teachers with skills and confidence as a professional, but each experience also supports one or more of the seven LASD Learning Principles. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Providing students with social-emotional learning that extends beyond classroom walls, the Responsive Classroom supports four out of seven Learning Principles---</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Connected Experiences</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Valuing Process</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Empowering Students</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nurturing a Growth Mindset</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. At the heart of the Responsive Classroom are “C.A.R.E.S.” (Cooperation, Assertion, Responsibility, Empathy, and Self-control). Common Responsive Classroom practices include morning meeting, offering academic choice, and allowing students to create class rules with logical consequences. The value of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">process</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is demonstrated by the positive language and thinking routines observable in morning meeting as students practice C.A.R.E.S. (Cooperation, Assertion, Responsibility, Empathy, and Self-control) though a handshake, eye contact, and a kind greeting. </span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_bguvMzJ3RI/VfGzJJfwwfI/AAAAAAAAAcM/YkY3u_KuvZE/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-09-10%2Bat%2B9.43.01%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_bguvMzJ3RI/VfGzJJfwwfI/AAAAAAAAAcM/YkY3u_KuvZE/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-09-10%2Bat%2B9.43.01%2BAM.png" width="301" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mrs. Hu's class practices eye contact and listening during morning meeting.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In addition to Responsive Classroom training, teachers also gained expertise in the areas of STEM and Next Generation Science Standards through participation in the NSTA Summer Institute and the Logo Summer Institute at M.I.T. Attendees of the NSTA Summer Institute maintained laser focus on implementing (NGSS) Next Generation Science Standards to be used </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ASAP</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">! Similarly, the Logo Summer Institute in New York was yet another opportunity for LASD teachers to elevate their expertise to a new level. At Logo, STEM teachers explored design-based constructionist technologies such as Scratch, Arduinos, Bee Bots and 3D printing. Over the course of five days, teachers used the power of technology to engage and provide deeper learning experiences for students.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Both MERIT (two intensive weeks during summer @KCI ) and mini-MERIT (one intensive week during summer at your school site) introduced teachers to a variety of technology tools to facilitate the 4 C’s of 21st Century Learning. At the core of the MERIT program is the use of technology for communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking within a student- centered learning environment. Several of the LASD Learning Principles were echoed throughout the MERIT experience: the importance of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">process,</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> providing relevant, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">connected experiences</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, as well as using technology to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">personalizing learning.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<div style="line-height: 1.38;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Over the summer, LASD teachers did a tremendous amount of learning, collaborating, and developing as professionals. While your colleagues may appear similar to the way they appeared in June, it is very likely that a transformation has occurred. Perhaps this transformation is revealed through a new focus, philosophy, or attitude. Like the monarch butterfly in the final stages of its metamorphosis, our teachers have developed wings and are ready to take flight!</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.38;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Comfortaa; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Comfortaa;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contributed by Lisa Waxman, Technology Instructional Coach</span></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-ff6d70c5-b820-ce9c-9750-27f85e263107"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854493447469702818.post-28456067044185874532015-05-12T09:31:00.000-07:002015-05-12T09:31:00.556-07:00LASD Filmfest - Student Agency in Action!<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CfzVqqQ-81E/VVIp7W0qe4I/AAAAAAAABx4/xPZeosPakrw/s1600/FullSizeRender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="128" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CfzVqqQ-81E/VVIp7W0qe4I/AAAAAAAABx4/xPZeosPakrw/s200/FullSizeRender.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Many educational conversations around change are focusing on student agency. What is it? “Student agency refers to the level of control, autonomy, and power that a student experiences in an educational situation.” (</span><a href="http://www.knewton.com/blog/ed-tech-101/student-agency/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Learn more here.</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) An incredible example of student agency in LASD is our Film Festival. For anyone who attended, you saw student agency in action. The LASD Filmfest just celebrated its fourth year. The film festival began as a PBL (Project Based Learning) project and two sixth grade classrooms. Each year, the film festival is passed on to a new classroom at any of our schools to be planned and implemented. The festival is a student run event, meant to celebrate and encourage student creativity through film. For students, by students. </span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p1LXyhemm_0/VVIqG5-ivsI/AAAAAAAAByA/JRr0NjIStmc/s1600/IMG_2086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p1LXyhemm_0/VVIqG5-ivsI/AAAAAAAAByA/JRr0NjIStmc/s200/IMG_2086.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This year the festival was created by Mrs. Nguyen’s fifth grade class at Almond. They went with an Academy Awards theme with red carpets and paparazzi. Those who entered were encouraged to dress up and come with an acceptance speech. It was great watching two kindergarten students, one in a fancy dress and one in dress slacks and a white shirt, walk solo to to the stage, open up a folded up piece of paper and read their prepared thank-you’s as they accepted a first place award for their class collaboration film. Students who entered, cheered for each other as they anticipated the announcement of each winner. It was a well crafted celebration of student learning and Mrs. Nguyen’s fifth graders owned that event. They were in charge, excited, and came prepared to deliver. It was awesome!</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In LASD, student agency is reflected in our Empower Students, Personalize Learning, and Connect Experiences Learning Principles. Speaking to the transformation happening in education, </span><a href="http://www.fastcocreate.com/3043107/most-likely-to-succeed-shows-how-classrooms-modelled-after-real-life-can-help-kids-succeed-i" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Most Likely to Succeed</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Shows How Classrooms Modeled on Real Life can Help Kids Succeed in Real Life”</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, is an article from Fast Company, with a focus on a new film that studies High Tech High in San Diego. The film previewed at the Sundance Film Festival and Tribeca Film Festival and is gaining momentum across the country.</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4ddd100e-394c-0b1f-bd11-c44241945f18" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The students showcased in </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Most Likely to Succeed</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> represent what’s possible when you give kids more responsibility than you think they can handle and ask them to bring all of their knowledge to bear on a single task.”</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Student Agency is the goal, and we’re working on ways to encourage and build more of those experiences for our LASD students. The LASD Filmfest is an incredible example of our efforts. A huge thank you to all students who participated and Mrs. Nguyen’s’s fifth grade class. You rocked it!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Contributed by Kami Thordarson, Interim Principal Oak School</i></span></div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854493447469702818.post-44338013561230013332015-03-30T09:55:00.001-07:002015-03-30T15:38:35.731-07:00STEM to STEAM: A Teacher Field Trip<br />
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The acronym STEM has been around for awhile now. STEM is the integration of science, technology, engineering and mathematics to solve a real-world problem. So what is STEAM?! It is the same thing, but with an addition of art! When we talk about tinkering and making which is part of STEM one cannot be within that wheelhouse without the idea of art. Since LASD has a STEM program and an Art Docent program we decided to bring the two worlds together for a day of collaboration.<br />
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It was a brisk Tuesday morning when a group of LASD teachers and Art Docents met to carpool over to the <a href="http://sjmusart.org/">San Jose Art Museum</a>. It wasn’t a teacher’s day off, but a special fieldtrip that was arranged in order for teachers to experience learning in a different way. One of our districts <a href="http://www.lasdschools.org/District/5303-Instructional-Strategies.html">Learning Principle</a>s is “Connect Experiences” and one way to do that is to be out in the world and have shared event. A field trip is a great way for teachers to collaborate and share ideas.<br />
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We started in a room with nothing on the walls, nothing on the tables and just a sign-up sheet in front. I wouldn’t have imagined an art museum being so stark, but that didn’t give us any indication of what was to come… As we stepped outside the room there was a beautifully created sculpture hanging from the ceiling made of paper clips. We looked at one another and many of us repeated the same thing “I love that - how can we make that for our rooms?!”<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAppg4TAaWzCtlQJHvxwdkPj7d13CBjv312i8r7xg1TezmfNObHKxSnnUcgE2_BDwQlF3Q3camCf6xkRXv_TFCvbbgizKme5qzfU8WRbZ-QzzprXQcACRdJsgbHDJ1zm42AV1YTTJYiZNu/s1600/IMG_4697.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAppg4TAaWzCtlQJHvxwdkPj7d13CBjv312i8r7xg1TezmfNObHKxSnnUcgE2_BDwQlF3Q3camCf6xkRXv_TFCvbbgizKme5qzfU8WRbZ-QzzprXQcACRdJsgbHDJ1zm42AV1YTTJYiZNu/s1600/IMG_4697.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a>The first part of the day we spent in the museum learning about interpretation of photos or paintings. This was an exercise where everyone participated either with only one word or a story about what they thought was going on in the image. It was truly engaging for all. We even had a chance to be <br />
part of a painting. The focus shifted to the classroom and how as educators we can bring these types of discussions into the classroom, how to honor everyone’s opinion and interpretation as well as having students explain their thoughts by using evidence from the image. Now it was time to apply what we learned about interpretation into our own work. When we entered back into the room with the sign-up sheet I noticed that there was a lot more in the room now. It had materials ready for the city creation project.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidY1jQ4HuIx8Z-CepUMhraBHvvzU9b1LJldq_169gCZUev3ekssd8HKP14N5mk83n5eSbinQU3L5ffwYutowMsZyevVspZ__ZXlRILBTwOMcsGkxJamjrR0s7SnNBrPX5V3Ff4eF3n3n8q/s1600/IMG_4701.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidY1jQ4HuIx8Z-CepUMhraBHvvzU9b1LJldq_169gCZUev3ekssd8HKP14N5mk83n5eSbinQU3L5ffwYutowMsZyevVspZ__ZXlRILBTwOMcsGkxJamjrR0s7SnNBrPX5V3Ff4eF3n3n8q/s1600/IMG_4701.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a>We worked in teams of 3 to 5 creating our city or town, but we didn’t jump right in as many of us wanted to do! We first had to brainstorm alone all of the things we could imagine or want in a city or town. Then we had to discuss those items as a whole group and decide what was going to be in our collective living space. The next step was a little difficult for my group. We had to sketch it out on paper. The paper we recieved was the same size as the plot of land that we will be using for our build. Each of us picked up a pencil, but no one wanted to make the first mark. I know personally, drawing is not my forte, so I was nervous that the image in my head was not going to translate on paper. Once<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJvks2LWsbejUIFLnD3_94eRbB3oKTvfio7MQh9p14ITdF-FNPbSG8r56ARDHwRwusFrFz03EBAfEYWcAX0tGWv3q53HTEmqSoI5MmXk_8nyKXwHTANOhsyVnsFlnZwEgV8MyobJSkRUuA/s1600/IMG_4721.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJvks2LWsbejUIFLnD3_94eRbB3oKTvfio7MQh9p14ITdF-FNPbSG8r56ARDHwRwusFrFz03EBAfEYWcAX0tGWv3q53HTEmqSoI5MmXk_8nyKXwHTANOhsyVnsFlnZwEgV8MyobJSkRUuA/s1600/IMG_4721.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
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Erika, a team member, took the first step and made a mark we all jumped in and started to sketch. We finally had something to work with; a blueprint which became very handy as we brought our town to life. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj02y1RsIydgMGf2J__ncFJYst4tFwQDMAFfJ3Hq9wE2B3v3SxvZWukmphvaqdNeigTsjrM5u9JDI2aPItcwUO7e9eNxkKa3wvuPLanbItYvpHixGJhaPZOh_Msucq_9TtYV3yAcmgToABM/s1600/IMG_4724.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj02y1RsIydgMGf2J__ncFJYst4tFwQDMAFfJ3Hq9wE2B3v3SxvZWukmphvaqdNeigTsjrM5u9JDI2aPItcwUO7e9eNxkKa3wvuPLanbItYvpHixGJhaPZOh_Msucq_9TtYV3yAcmgToABM/s1600/IMG_4724.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a>Now it was time to start assembling the town. I watched and listened as other groups began their builds. There was a definite buzz of excitement as the teachers and art docents began putting their towns together. We received a small lesson on some paper techniques to help us create buildings and other essential items for our town. As I looked around the room there were four towns/cities erected, all with some similarities and some differences. We had an opportunity to reveal our towns and explain the layout as well as the features. One of the similarities between all of the towns/cities was a water feature where people can sit, walk or bike around and some of the contrasting features were wineries, civic centers and churches.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA0cpGetRhugPffC03e6_u3t98ahAz4gMoracdqpOzNjhMYq3wUHI-mDYjAuDdb5fkOcUFUepkap-B-awVVH3kqcTWS66kWp8c2sO_7K9eEsrBz_OOTq2WtfpKbGy0dIl-QBTAJaJYIGi-/s1600/IMG_4725.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA0cpGetRhugPffC03e6_u3t98ahAz4gMoracdqpOzNjhMYq3wUHI-mDYjAuDdb5fkOcUFUepkap-B-awVVH3kqcTWS66kWp8c2sO_7K9eEsrBz_OOTq2WtfpKbGy0dIl-QBTAJaJYIGi-/s1600/IMG_4725.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a><br />
It turned out to be a great day full of creativity, collaboration and application of STEAM. Teachers walked away with ideas on how to implement more art into the classroom and ways to use active listening skills as part of the <a href="http://www.vtshome.org/">VTS</a> (Visual Thinking Strategies), a technique the art museum uses for teaching about art. VTS includes asking questions and tips on how to respond to student's comments as well as emphasis on being open to student interpretation. When students are responding the instructor then uses paraphrasing as well as focusing on accepting students responses neutrally. I think this technique is useful not just for art, but in all subjects!<br />
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Contributed by Karen Wilson, STEM Coach</div>
Karen Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00483145534921597442noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854493447469702818.post-4627829368326636542015-03-24T21:44:00.000-07:002015-03-24T21:44:40.196-07:00How Might We Transform Education? <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>LASD Participates in Re-Imaging Education Project in Washington, D.C.</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LASD was recently asked to be a part of a national group re-imagining education, </span><a href="http://www.convergencepolicy.org/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Convergence Center for Policy Resolution</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. This group is focused on creating a new paradigm for learning. The request for LASD participation links back to relationships developed through our blended learning work. Convergence created a vision that outlines five interrelated elements essential to a new learning paradigm:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">learner agency</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">open-walled</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is considerable overlap between these five elements and the seven LASD Learning Principles we have identified as critical to our vision of “Revolutionizing Learning.” Simply put Convergence recognizes the current educational system was designed in a different era and structured for a different society. Their vision is a call to action, not to tweak or modify the current system but to create a drastically different paradigm of learning that will serve all children.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Convergence hosted a “Pioneer Base Camp” of educators who have demonstrated their belief in one or more essential elements outlined in the vision. “Pioneers” were identified by Convergence team and then if interested asked to interview. LASD was selected as a Pioneer, interviewed and attended the Pioneer Base Camp in Washington DC last week along with 150 other educators from 35 organizations. The invitation to participate in this event is testament to the work we have accomplished over the course of the last few years. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our team consisted of: Jill Croft,</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> teacher at Covington</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Alyssa Gallagher, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Director of Strategic Initiatives & Community Initiatives</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">; Katie Kinnaman, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Principal of Gardner Bullis</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">; and Sandra McGonagle, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Principal of Blach</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After spending time with educators, policy makers, private corporations and foundations dedicated to improving our education system for ALL students, we all returned to LASD with renewed commitment to revolutionizing learning for all students and BIG ideas about how to accelerate our work in LASD. It was a tremendous experience to connect and learn with so many diverse groups. Here is a list of some of the other Pioneers that attended: Big Picture Learning, Design39 Campus, High Tech High, Iowa BIG, Lindsay Unified School District, MC2, Quest to Learn, Re-School Colorado, and Roycemore School. Our reactions to hearing what is happening elsewhere in the country ranged from “We do that, too!” to “Ooooh, we </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">could</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> do that!” to “</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in the world did you do that?” </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fundamentally, our world is changing and so should our education system. We are fortunate in LASD to have already embraced this mindset. However, knowing we need to grow and adapt is only the first step, we must now apply new strategies and approaches across an entire organization. This is challenging. Especially, when we are talking about making changes to a system that so many of us are products of. Too often we hear, “I survived school…. It worked for me, what’s wrong with it?”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yes, that system worked for me, too. Everything I needed for research could be found in the Encyclopedia Britannica and I relied heavily on my ability to memorize content. In this traditional system, we “learned” at school, and then we left to “do” at work. This approach no longer works - in today’s world learning and doing have become inseparable. If we continue down the same path, are we preparing students for a world that no longer exists? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Having just participated in this national conversation about transforming education, we are asking a lot of questions - questions that challenge the core of our learning system. Here are a few of the questions swirling in our minds - </span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why do we determine what a child learns and is exposed to based on how old they are?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How can we design a system that embraces the fact that not everyone learn in the same way or at the same pace?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What role does learning outside of traditional school “hours” and “walls” look like and how can we partner to make sure we are expanding opportunities to learn, not limiting them?</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How can we re-organize our current resources (time, money, people, space) to shift our system now, rather than waiting for a full-scale, start-from-scratch re-design?</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Knowing that there are big challenges ahead for all educators and educational organizations, I am extremely grateful to work in a school district that has already recognized the need for change and created three year goals headed in this direction. I am more excited than ever to work on meeting the individual needs of all students. While we don’t yet have answers to all of the questions posed above, we are working on them and committed to re-imaging what is possible for all students. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contributed by Alyssa Gallagher, Director of Strategic Initiatives & Community Partnerships</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854493447469702818.post-86842591652089458052015-03-13T06:38:00.003-07:002015-03-13T06:40:28.262-07:00How Might We Be Shutting Down the Intelligence of Our Students With the Best of Intentions?<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>5 Things We Can Do to Bring Out the Best in Students</b></span></h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J2VkKhOThf0/VQLnSOwJ0xI/AAAAAAAAAXk/kom7JK6qefI/s1600/Multiplier%2BSketch%2BNotes%2B(dragged)%2B1%2Bcopy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J2VkKhOThf0/VQLnSOwJ0xI/AAAAAAAAAXk/kom7JK6qefI/s1600/Multiplier%2BSketch%2BNotes%2B(dragged)%2B1%2Bcopy.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sketchnotes by @leoniedawson25 <span style="background-color: white; color: #292f33; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Last night I had the privilege of hearing Liz Wiseman, best-selling author of </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Multipliers-Best-Leaders-Everyone-Smarter/dp/0061964395" style="line-height: 1.38; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Multipliers: How The Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rookie-Smarts-Learning-Beats-Knowing/dp/006232263X" style="line-height: 1.38; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rookie Smarts</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, speak at a parent education event at Hillview Middle School in Menlo Park. It is always a treat to hear Liz speak about Multipliers and Rookie Smarts, but I was even more excited to know that that she would be sharing information on both of these topics through the lens of education.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Liz began her research several years ago with a fairly straightforward question: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How do some leaders create intelligence in the people around them, while others diminish it?</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Her research uncovered two fundamentally different types of leaders. In the first group are the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Diminishers</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. These leaders tend to believe there are few really smart people and that people will not figure things out without them. The second group of leaders are </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Multipliers</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. These leaders bring out each person’s unique intelligence and creativity. They see their organization as filled with intelligent, capable people and create the right opportunities for continued growth. As you can imagine these two types of leaders get very different results. Multipliers tend to get twice as much from their resources as do Diminishers. Liz goes on to identify a leadership continuum with Multipliers and Diminishers on opposite ends of this continuum. As you might expect, just a small number of people fall into either polar extreme of being a Multiplier or a Diminisher 100% of the time. Most of us find ourselves along a spectrum functioning as Accidental Diminishers.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This concept of Accidental Diminishers is especially intriguing to me in education, as most educators I know are extremely well intentioned, following popular leadership and instructional practices which may actually have a subtle diminishing influence on those we lead whether they are teachers or students. With some focused effort, we can shift our accidentally diminishing tendencies and develop skills to lead and teach more like a multiplier. In fact, Liz shared five thing you can do tomorrow in your school or classroom to bring out the best in students. (All of these suggestions work in work in parenting as well!)</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5 Things You Can Do to Bring Out the Best in Students</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shift From Answers to Questions</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What if we stopped operating in telling mode and shifted to questioning mode? Too often we fall into the trap of telling our students things they might already know. Test this out by going extreme and only asking questions of your students for an identified period of time. What do you notice? Chances are everyone will learn more and you’ll improve your ability to ask questions in the process. </span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play Fewer Chips</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Often as adults we just take up too much space. We have so much to share, that we actually end up shutting down what our students have to share. What if we thought of our contributions as poker chips to be played? When planning, try identifying a number of “chips” to be played. By limiting your contributions, you might actually create more space for students to do their best thinking.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Offer Bigger Challenges</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Imagine for a moment that the challenges we give our students are like the stretch in rubber bands. Now imagine that you are holding tight to one end of a rubber band and a student is holding tight to the other end of a rubber band - if you pull the rubber band to it’s maximum tension point (without breaking) the person holding the other end has a couple of choices: let go or they can step in and move closer to you. In teaching we need to experiment with the amount of stretch on the rubber band. Are we stretching too much so that students give up? Are we not stretching enough? Are we stretching but then lessening the stretch at the first sign of struggle? Try thinking of challenges in the amount of stretch offered. As a teacher, do you tend to over stretch or under stretch? Human beings are built for challenges, in fact our best learning happens when there is maximum tension on the rubber band and we have to step into the learning.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Find Their Genius</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What if we learned to see our students differently? We all know our students are unique and have their own innate talents. What might happen if we saw our primary role as teachers to identify and nurture the native genius of our students? Challenge yourself to observe and identify the native genius of every student in your class. Help students see this native genius and nurture it. </span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Give the Pen Back</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We all know that learning is a messy process and there are times when people get stuck. As educators our goal is to help students but sometimes when we jump in to help we end up taking the ownership of the learning. What if we helped just enough to get students unstuck but then quickly gave the pen back, transferring the ownership of learning right back to the student?</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Experimenting with these five shifts, may help you teach more like a multiplier and unleash genius in your students. If you try any of the above experiments, I’d love to hear what you and your students experience! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contributed by Alyssa Gallagher, Director of Strategic Initiatives & Community Partnerships</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854493447469702818.post-80629344636735702562015-02-10T12:10:00.001-08:002015-02-10T12:13:41.206-08:00A Recipe for STEM<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What do Scratch, MaKey MaKey and regions have in common? A great recipe for a STEM project! In LASD we have been working on integrated STEM, not only in our STEM labs, but in the classroom too. Classroom teachers and the STEM teachers are working together to make the curriculum and STEM blend together. The 5th grade team at Gardner Bullis did just that with the social studies curriculum. Amy Shelley Bayani, the STEM teacher, brought the idea to the 5th grade teachers as a way to apply the learning of Scratch with the use of Makey Makey to create an informational game about regions. Here is her story...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img alt="amy bayani 2.jpeg" height="65px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/2yBx89szz1TFYGVwPdgGc__4gABjL7FoK_D3rv4e3eqKvsGk7L-4nv-VkjSoFL21JyTK32FiOaOEZtFhbiJ5x1PWFiuY1F6OqcA9hq9Q9a-s2JPbuICTCf4I3-OZ4rYKpcw" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="65px;" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Amy Bayani, Gardner Bullis STEM Teacher</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEielZxkGSW6NLUyD7Ntt_kgN71BpUjENkh84HiJx-YsUzm_WNmj_3-e_FGtpjZGFWoHO9nVAjhzt3eH-2i-FGqjGOdfP7MR_r-suO_aO4PaOK21jSJfAsLd3Bm9PM1GZxEjeVHdhNMVYQt5/s1600/IMG_4318.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEielZxkGSW6NLUyD7Ntt_kgN71BpUjENkh84HiJx-YsUzm_WNmj_3-e_FGtpjZGFWoHO9nVAjhzt3eH-2i-FGqjGOdfP7MR_r-suO_aO4PaOK21jSJfAsLd3Bm9PM1GZxEjeVHdhNMVYQt5/s1600/IMG_4318.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The 5th grade students were learning about regions of the United States in their Social Studies unit and in previous years they would build a 3D model of their region and then do a research report about it. I was brainstorming ways to enhance and integrate what we were learning in computer science with the content in their class. After some brainstorming and consulting with others I designed a project that could enhance their old 3D model project while integrating Scratch and MaKey MaKey. While students build their 3D model they each picked 4 places on their physical model of their region that the user could learn more about. For example, the agriculture, the river as a water source, mountains, and local animals. Each region would have a “touch point” or a paperclip that would be connected to an alligator clip that went to a MaKey MaKey. Once the physical model was designed we programmed a Travel Game Show on Scratch. The user, or player of the game, would be greeted by a travel guide that would take them to each region on Scratch once they touched the “touch point” on the physical model. Once in that region the travel guide would provide information about the area and then ask a question. The player of the game could type in the answer. If they were to get it correct they would earn a point.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Hb-6w3ySrWOns1Re-0q3Fe6GP3Cde6eK1GnF5-elT1svBAYPRl2vqDnG2LkX9qDCxikifwLJ_dMvbYSeIupgGgJ2vExgHv1Da0GP7now289UjF8qc4ykX68GEsMyB_qYF1puYmAXSIBW/s1600/IMG_4315.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Hb-6w3ySrWOns1Re-0q3Fe6GP3Cde6eK1GnF5-elT1svBAYPRl2vqDnG2LkX9qDCxikifwLJ_dMvbYSeIupgGgJ2vExgHv1Da0GP7now289UjF8qc4ykX68GEsMyB_qYF1puYmAXSIBW/s1600/IMG_4315.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If they got it wrong the facts of that region would repeat and give them a second chance. The goal was to get 4 questions correct in order to win the game. The students were excited and engaged throughout the whole project. They learned not only about the regions that they were studying, but also how to program a game and make it interactive. This was such a huge success that as a STEM team we quickly realized that this model of using Scratch, MaKey MaKey, and engineering a physical 3D model can be used across many other content areas. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After sharing this idea with the STEM team many other thoughts arrived about how to apply it to other subjects. Katie Farley at Covington shares her experience with this concept.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img alt="katie.jpeg" height="84px;" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/Dab4MQ9qMrxKlUPpFuaE0l2fuTdNioAmj7vysa8bjcexk8Q-klFkdkAncWFSWzicuGnie7etgnw13Jv0dqZe2YDWUzSmXS47GOi57zY3VL35gD-Dyr7AocXyq2a2Vk4JGrc" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="84px;" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Katie Farley, Covington STEM Teacher</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Inspired by Gardner’s project, our 5th graders will be integrating MaKey MaKey and Scratch to demonstrate their newly-acquired knowledge of state trivia. With the touch points on their 2-D and 3-D models of an assigned state relaying important facts and information, participants can have a museum-like experience. The platform also allows for a personalized learning experience for the viewers as the information presented on Scratch will be tailored to their level of understanding. For example, students may be invited to “touch the teepee to learn more about the Native American tribes that originally lived in Arizona”. When the teepee is touched on the 3-D model, pertinent information about the Navajo tribe will appear on the computer screen. At the end of this project, students, teachers, and parents will be invited to take a “museum walk” through the projects to learn more about each state in America.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The idea of mixing MaKey Makey and Scratch to enhance curriculum can be applied to just about anything. It is an engaging way for students to learn about a content area as well as learning to code with a bonus treat of understanding circuits. If this interests you try it out and share how you used it! We’d love to learn from the recipes you create.</span></div>
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Karen Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00483145534921597442noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854493447469702818.post-44109075718306986372015-01-11T19:26:00.000-08:002015-01-14T14:01:23.155-08:00Tech on the Go!<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Technology is all around and is moving at the speed of light. It can get your head spinning with everything that is out there like 3D printer, laser cutters, vinyl cutters, GoGo Boards, Arduino just to name a few. Many schools are moving in a direction that incorporates STEM into the classroom or have developed a STEM Lab, Innovation Lab or MakerSpace. Are these technologies or equipment needed in these spaces? I had the opportunity to visit the </span><a href="https://tltl.stanford.edu/project/fablabschool" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">FabLab</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> at </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stanford University where they are researching <a href="https://tltl.stanford.edu/project/multimodal-learning-analytics" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Multimodal Learning Analytics</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to find out if some of this equipment has an impact on student learning. They also do outreach programs where students come to the lab to create all sort of things. One of the widely used piece of equipment in the lab is the laser cutter. Katie Farley, one of the STEM teachers at LASD, had the opportunity to use the laser cutter. It was so fascinating to watch plywood being cut into a shape of a smilie face. Brogan, the director of the lab told us that watching the machine cut the object was part of the learning process. It is watching the precision of the cut that will allow a person to see if their design works with the material being used. In some cases, if the design is cut too thin, the pieces will break off. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As a public school system how can we keep up with it on a limited budget? We just recently met with Raffie Colet, Senior General Manager with the </span><a href="http://www.techshop.ws/index.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">TechShop</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. The TechShop is a makers dream destination! They have all the latest equipment from 3D printers, laser cutters to welding stations and even a textiles department. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is a huge facility where a member can make just about </span></span></div>
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<a href="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/bf020ab21a4acf1df210c91c24d0621c/201205322/tchshop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/bf020ab21a4acf1df210c91c24d0621c/201205322/tchshop.jpg" height="129" width="200" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">anything. It sounds fantastic, but how can this help schools get to equipment they need to create a maker space for students? Yes, a field trip is possible, but not always cost effective or not easy logistically. Now the TechShop can come to you! They have just launched their innovation truck called <a href="http://www.techshop.ws/press_releases.html?&action=detail&press_release_id=82" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“TechShop Inside”</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> similar to Stanford’s </span><a href="http://sparktruck.org/about" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sparktruck</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. It is a 24-foot trailer with a maker lab inside equipped with laser cutters and 3D printers. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LASD is looking forward to moving toward using this type of equipment in their STEM program, but not ready to make such purchases. The TechShop Inside will give us the opportunity to explore if this type of equipment is impactful to learning and the ability to enhance the students’ experience with STEM/STEAM. We hope to have the truck visit in the Spring with an Innovation class happening at one of the jr. highs when the students are in the prototyping stage of their project. Other ideas will be to have the truck visit the elementary school STEM Labs. More to come as we explore this new adventure. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Contributed by Karen Wilson, STEM Coach</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>Karen Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00483145534921597442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854493447469702818.post-49679627101478914012014-12-04T10:21:00.001-08:002014-12-04T10:21:31.855-08:00PBL: Project "Balanced" Learning!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oZcPTWhO6vc/VIClm73HSsI/AAAAAAAABwY/24IwCAkmqYw/s1600/balancenose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oZcPTWhO6vc/VIClm73HSsI/AAAAAAAABwY/24IwCAkmqYw/s1600/balancenose.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Project Based Learning </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is a teaching strategy in which students learn through the investigation of a complex question, problem, or challenge, and units usually occur over an extended period of time. In-depth inquiry driven by a need to know, allows students to gain 21st century competencies, or the 4 C’s: critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity skills, as they work to problem solve and produce for a public audience. One of the keys to success of PBL is Balance.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Balance of Teacher and Student Voice:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of the best features of PBL is the opportunity it allows for students to guide and direct the course of the project. Often times teachers find themselves doing most of the creating, instructing, and decision making during a class project, but students miss out on important learning moments and are less invested in the outcome. When designing a PBL unit, you need to balance the important content focus with areas of flexibility and open-ended exploration. Think of it as developing guideposts along an unmarked trail. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A great place to start is with a well crafted </span><a href="http://www.authenticeducation.org/ae_bigideas/article.lasso?artid=53" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Essential Question</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Essential Questions are about big ideas. They spark conversation and create more questions. Through a well facilitated discussion leading from the Essential Question, you can often guide students to co-creating a </span><a href="http://bie.org/object/webinars_archived/driving_questions" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Driving Question</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in the direction you want them to go, allowing students to own the learning. The Driving Question gives them the ending destination, but there could be many different routes that will get them there. A good PBL unit will have a well thought out Essential and Driving Question to get students started in the correct direction, but allow for student voice and choice to pave the trail. Developing guideposts along the way, such as check-ins to update their need to knows and timelines, will help keep students moving towards their destination and keep them from getting lost in the weeds. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Balance of Skills:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A teacher becomes a master conductor of a learning orchestra during a project. Each student has their own unique talents and instruments that they bring to the concert. Taking the time to blend those talents in a productive way is critical to each group’s success. Starting out with teacher selected teams can help with balance. You can build in some self-selected group or whole group activities to help relieve any team tensions and allow students to gather new insights and perspectives as they move throughout the project. Since collaboration and communication are important skills in PBL, students need opportunities to recognize each other’s talents and know where their own strengths and abilities can benefit their team. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As you are designing the project, also look to see that your scope is large enough to offer students a variety of work options. Think about how the project will integrate tasks for those linear thinkers as well as offer challenges for those divergent thinkers. While students need practice and exposure to new skills to build their creative confidence, it’s also important that they have places where they can stretch and expand their natural talents. We may want to play every instrument, but there is usually one that draws us in and makes us shine. It’s designing a delicate balance between those solo moments and blending all of the voices that creates a successful performance at the end. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Balance of Time:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Time is usually the critical factor when planning a PBL unit. Instructional time already feels overcrowded with various curriculum demands and although PBL is an integration of subject areas, most classrooms are set up to teach subjects in isolation. In the planning phase, look for those skill based lessons that are needed to support the project and how those lessons can be integrated into those isolated subject lessons. Perhaps students will need to strengthen their nonfiction reading skills and need some different strategies for curating information. Spending time on focused skills before starting the project will help students make better use of their collaboration time. Gathering continual feedback through visual thinking strategies and quick formative assessments will help point out surprise areas where students may need more support or direct instruction. Projects nearly always take longer than you think so providing yourself a time cushion will lessen stress.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Balance of Group and Individual Work:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Finally, a good project should balance group and individual work. Whenever I would introduce an assignment or project in my classroom, I would hear the same two questions: “Can we work with someone?” and “Do we have to work with someone?” Because PBL is focused on collaboration, group work is expected and often times students are set up in team units. However, in order to honor all working styles, it’s important to include individual accountability as well as team accountability. Also, having a protocol in place for students to follow when needing adult help to problem solve group conflicts is also helpful. Students need to feel valued as team members but also feel that their individual efforts are being recognized.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Project Based Learning can feel like tight-rope walking. But with careful planning and practice, the well-orchestrated chaos can seem more like a walk in the park.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Contributed by Kami Thordarson, Innovative Strategies Coach</i></span></div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854493447469702818.post-46609329186707852362014-11-20T09:20:00.000-08:002014-11-20T09:20:33.771-08:00Blended Learning is the Now!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r_mhMByjWHY/VG4h8uCii-I/AAAAAAAABwE/VPHiSGcv8aw/s1600/blendedlearning_mainmiddle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r_mhMByjWHY/VG4h8uCii-I/AAAAAAAABwE/VPHiSGcv8aw/s1600/blendedlearning_mainmiddle.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from http://www.totaltrainingsolutions.com/blendedlearningsolutions.html </td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We can all agree that we have entered a digital age and live in a digital world. And students take heart, schools are catching up and entering that digital world as well. In fact, in September, the U.S. Office of Educational Technology began encouraging Superintendents to sign a </span><a href="http://tech.ed.gov/futurereadypledge/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Future Ready pledge</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, focused on blended learning. Over 1000 Superintendents have already put pen to paper, or in this case, filled out the Google form and electronically “signed” the pledge. The pledge commits school districts to foster and lead a culture of digital learning, empower educators through professional learning opportunities, and provide access to high quality digital content and more. </span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-261d4975-ce2e-c387-0ea3-9969f843dda0" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s a great start to the conversation and it’s exciting to see districts that are moving beyond the talking and getting to the doing. I am impressed by the work at Summit Public Schools, a charter based network of schools here in the Silicon Valley. As they built their blended learning model, they were in need of a personal learning platform to help empower their students. Rather than wait for something to be developed, they hired an engineer and partnered with Facebook engineers through Facebook’s </span><a href="http://admin.1fife.org.uk/uploadfiles/publications/c64_TE12_Secondment_Guidelines.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Secondment Agreement</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> program to design their own. They are working to scale it out beyond their own district in the near future. (Learn more </span><a href="https://www.edsurge.com/n/2014-11-17-summit-friends-facebook-to-expand-personalized-learning-platform?utm_campaign=542679052c-Innovate+197-HMHCO&utm_medium=email&utm_source=EdsurgeLive&utm_term=0_0f1ec25b60-542679052c-292134353" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here.</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For many districts, the constant development of blended learning tools is a bit overwhelming and confusing. The market is continually changing and new products are popping up every five minutes. How many more passwords and log-ins must we remember? The landscape seems to be progressing however, as we see more open educational resources (OER”s) become available. A recent article in </span><a href="http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/11/19/11-state-coalition-to-develop-oer-for-k-12-math-and-ela.aspx" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Journal </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">highlighted an 11 state coalition that is developing OER materials for math and ELA for K-12. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The </span><a href="http://k12oercollaborative.org/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">K–12 OER Collaborative</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #445d6b; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">will build resources that will be aligned to Common Core State Standards and will include instructional materials, contain tools for differentiated instruction, and offer a full suite of assessments. Hopefully, we will also start to see Learning Management Systems more fully develop to become single sign-on, one stop portals for all of the many different learning tools as well as better gathering places for student data and progress reporting.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Blended learning is no longer the future, it is the now. Because of the need for individualization and the many open learning opportunities for students, schools need tools that are adaptable and gather good information on student learning. Teachers need a better understanding of how to use data to drive their instruction and incorporate a more blended approach. As we move from the “one size fits all” strategy to a more personalized model, classroom tools, spaces, and strategies must shift to a new model. Here in the Los Altos School District, we are working to build and expand our blended learning model. Designing relevant professional development and adopting strategic tools to help us achieve better personalization.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was exciting to look at the agenda for the</span><a href="http://excelined.org/national-summit/2014-agenda/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> National Summit on Educational Reform</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> taking place in Washington DC this week. There were strategy sessions that focused on the need for better assessments, a session that speaks to the way we craft our message around educational reform, and looking at ways to innovate the teacher certification process. It’s uplifting to see forward thinking and such an important conversation happening on a national level. As we work to reform education, blended learning is clearly becoming a part of the conversation.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Contributed by Kami Thordarson, Innovative Strategies Coach</i></span></div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854493447469702818.post-32940041418237922912014-11-14T09:20:00.000-08:002014-11-14T09:21:47.028-08:00Nurture a Growth MIndset<b id="docs-internal-guid-6c0f874c-aa17-66b9-b0cb-0a3cfcb607ed" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="560"></col><col width="20"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="background-color: white; border-bottom: solid #000000 0px; border-left: solid #000000 0px; border-right: solid #000000 0px; border-top: solid #000000 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px; vertical-align: top;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the Los Altos School District, we have designed a set of learning principles that we believe form a foundation for all of the work that we do. There are seven learning principles.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9cBNnPRCIos/VGTjrZqMrKI/AAAAAAAABvs/31GA34hmdoA/s1600/learningprinc.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9cBNnPRCIos/VGTjrZqMrKI/AAAAAAAABvs/31GA34hmdoA/s320/learningprinc.png" width="245" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Through our iLearn program, we are developing and offering our teachers an after school professional development series focused on each one. We started with growth mindset as we believe that forms the foundation for everything that happens next. </span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Carol Dweck, a leading Stanford psychologist, argues that a critical quality that separates successful people from those that are less successful is whether they think their intelligence can be developed or whether they believe it is fixed. "Being mastery-oriented is about having the right mindset. It is not about how smart you are. However, having the mastery-oriented mind-set will help students become more able over time."</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Part of developing a growth mindset involves the practice of embracing challenges, persisting in the face of setbacks, and seeing effort as a path to mastery. Mindset is everything. Some tools to practice with yourself and your students:</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Small Wins</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Ask a small question to make big changes. Caroline Arnold, author of </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Small Move, Big Change</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, calls this "working within the margins." She says, "There's really no such thing as a small behavioral change in terms of impact. By working the margins, you gradually get to where you want to be." Celebrate the small wins which repeated over time can lead to a growth mind-set.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Praise Effort</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Get gritty and focus on the effort and strategies rather than the intelligence. Pay attention to the words you choose when commenting on students work or your own. (Process & Outcome)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Focus on the Value of Learning</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - While grades are important, the value of learning should be prioritized. Take time to notice and comment on the learning that is happening outside of the expected outcomes. (Process & Outcome)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Collaborate</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Working with others helps build motivation and a sense of responsibility. The positive feedback loop of effort and success can also encourage a growth mind-set. </span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nk53gEJcsns/VGTj5YpC5eI/AAAAAAAABv0/-V9LXkErnXo/s1600/All%2BPrinciples-05.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nk53gEJcsns/VGTj5YpC5eI/AAAAAAAABv0/-V9LXkErnXo/s200/All%2BPrinciples-05.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Having a growth mindset doesn’t always come easily and needs to be practiced. As we move forward and explore other learning principles, it will be important to embrace a growth mindset and remember that we are all in this together.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contributed by Kami Thordarson, Innovative Strategies Coach</span></div>
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<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854493447469702818.post-47142840975191370902014-11-11T16:12:00.004-08:002014-11-11T16:12:54.945-08:00Step Into the Learning Zone<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5V-cZBLXM6g/VGI9doEvJYI/AAAAAAAAAWw/vJa_Uwc7AM8/s1600/comfort-learning-panic-zones.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5V-cZBLXM6g/VGI9doEvJYI/AAAAAAAAAWw/vJa_Uwc7AM8/s200/comfort-learning-panic-zones.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How is it possible to operate at your best even when you are doing something for the first time? In a new book, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rookie Smarts, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">author Liz Wiseman shows how, with the right mindset, it is possible to recapture the enthusiasm, curiosity and fearlessness of beginners. In a rapidly changing world, experience can actually become a curse as it allows us to operate in our comfort zone. Some time ago, operating in the comfort zone worked for people the span of their entire career, but with the pace of change around us that is no longer the case. For many types of roles, constant learning is now more valuable than mastery. For a short synopsis of </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rookie Smarts, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">you may enjoy watching this short </span><a href="http://rookiesmarts.com/rookie-smarts-resources/news/secrets-behind-rookie-smarts-video/?utm_source=Multipliers+and+Multiplier+Effect+Book+list&utm_campaign=173e366eae-Rookie+Launch+eBlast&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd436bb52e-173e366eae-52418773&ct=t(Rookie_Smarts_5_LAUNCH10_14_2014)&mc_cid=173e366eae&mc_eid=0ee2d57d48" style="line-height: 1.15; text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">video</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. In her recent work, Wiseman reveals the different modes of the rookie mindset that lead to success:</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 40px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 12pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Backpacker:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Unencumbered, rookies are more open to new possibilities, ready to explore new terrain, and don't get stuck in yesterday's best practices.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 40px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hunter-Gatherer:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Rookies seek out experts and return with ideas and resources to address the challenges they face.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 40px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Firewalker:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Lacking situational confidence, rookies take small, calculated steps, moving fast and seeking feedback to stay on track.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 40px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pioneer:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Keeping things simple and focusing on meeting core needs, rookies improvise and work tirelessly while pushing boundaries.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What might Rookie Smarts look like in the field of education? While writing the book, Liz reached out to people across different industries and challenged them to help create a specific learning itinerary for someone wanting to take on the rookie mindset in their world of work. I had the opportunity to collaborate with Elise Foster, co-author of </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Multiplier Effect: Tapping the Genius in Our Schools,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to create a learning itinerary for educational leaders. Our challenge was to create a learning itinerary that would “Help Recharge a School’s Leadership Team.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As any school leader knows, the daily pressures of leading a school can be exhausting and time consuming. The constant pressure can make it challenging to lead and execute on a bold vision for a school. Here are some experiments school leaders (or really anyone in education) can try that may help unleash their inner rookie and actually bring new insights to their work:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make a Map:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Try seeing your school through the eyes of a student. Sit in a student, teacher or colleague’s seat and walk the school as they do. How do these observations inform the work of your team? How do they inform your teaching?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Talk to Strangers:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Connect with other principals or educational leaders outside of education together. Recharge yourself by learning what is happening in other schools, districts or industries. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Try to Get Fired:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> List the top ten changes you would make to improve student le</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">arning if you weren’t afraid. Share the list with your Principal, Superintendent or School Board. How might these ideas spark discussions that lead to improvements for students?</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Risk & Iterate:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Set up a playground for your team, where everyone can experiment with procedures, processes and the status quo. Let your staff meeting be your sandbox - change the location, invite students or frame the agenda with three big questions to encourage collaboration.</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--ADwie6DYus/VGI9pB5jzrI/AAAAAAAAAW4/YIN21ALCkPY/s1600/imgres-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="//1.bp.blogspot.com/--ADwie6DYus/VGI9pB5jzrI/AAAAAAAAAW4/YIN21ALCkPY/s1600/imgres-1.jpg" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By stepping outside of our daily routine and challenging ourselves to take on new learning, we actually become happier and do better work. This new perspective can even help us be more present with staff, students and community. A fresh perspective and recharge may be just what you and your team needs to deliver on that bold vision (or make it even bolder). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is a lot of evidence of the <i>Rookie Smarts </i>mindsets and practices in play at Los Altos School District. In fact LASD Superintendent, Jeff Baier is acknowledged in Wiseman's work for introducing a new hiring criteria for teachers. "They (LASD) have established a specific set of qualities beyond a teacher's technical skills, which include: open-minded, adaptive, growth-minded, sense of humor and joyfulness." With this new hiring criteria we are finding that new teachers are better able to innovate and adapt in the perpetually shifting field of education.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;">How can you stay fresh in your role at work? I encourage you to read <i>Rookie Smarts </i>and challenge yourself to adopt the practices of a rookie. I'd love to hear about your journey, especially anyone who "<i>tries to get fired" </i>with a top ten list of changes needed in education.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contributed by Alyssa Gallagher, Director of Strategic Initiatives & Community Partnerships</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854493447469702818.post-14537308000845961762014-11-10T18:51:00.000-08:002014-11-10T18:56:43.742-08:00How Might We Reimagine the K-8 School Experience? Collaboration with Design 39<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HkJziTyFVvc/VGF4dZOXpQI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/ApUUV4vjvOw/s1600/B1ycpWgIIAALCt-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HkJziTyFVvc/VGF4dZOXpQI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/ApUUV4vjvOw/s1600/B1ycpWgIIAALCt-.jpg" height="240" title="" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Last week a small team from LASD had the opportunity to visit <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/design39campus/home" target="_blank">Design 39</a>, a brand new public school located in the <a href="http://www.powayusd.com/" target="_blank">Poway Unified School District.</a> The school is currently a K-6 with 840 students but will grow to a K-8 over the next two years. Our visit down south was triggered by a desire to learn from other educators who are also on the path to revolutionize learning. Design 39 is especially interesting as the school was built with a new paradigm of learning in mind. A core team of educators, including the principal, Sonya Wrisley and a few lead teachers, spent over a year learning from leading educators around the country and planning for their new school. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We had the opportunity to meet Design 39’s core team last fall during their EdJourney and spent a day collaborating in LASD around professional learning models, STEM education, learning management systems and a variety of other topics. While we have continued the relationship and collaboration since their initial visit to LASD, it was extremely exciting to visit Design 39 while school was in session and see their vision realized. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When you arrive at Design 39, you can’t help but be impressed by the building itself - a magnificent new multi-story building, but the real WOW happens inside. Here are a few of our key take-aways from our time at Design 39:</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Language Matters</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - “</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The School Office</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">” has been renamed “</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Welcome Center</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">,” “</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Teachers</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">” are referred to as “</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Learning Experience Designers</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">” and “</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Noon Duty Aides</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">” are referred to as “</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Motion Managers</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.” These may seem like small shifts but they are intentional shifts that communicate the beliefs of Design 39 and highlight how the language we choose contributes to the overall culture of the school. </span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Space Impacts Learning </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">- Learning spaces around campus are designed with what is best for students in mind first, as a result teachers don’t have their own classroom. Teachers may teach in a variety of classrooms within their pod depending on the groupings of students within a multi-age span. Multiple teachers share a “Design Studio” - think collaborative office space - where they store their personal belongings and collaborate with their colleagues during planning time every morning from 7:45-8:45. Learning spaces are large relatively uncluttered and varied depending on the learning activity - large group spaces, interactive screens to display student work, makery spaces, etc.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Learning Flow Matters</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Students at Design 39 have the opportunity to be truly immersed in what they are learning. The day is structured with fairly large chunks of uninterrupted instructional time. In the morning, students are working on integrated learning (think Language Arts, Social Studies, Science) then after lunch depending on the day they will either have 90 minutes of math, or a deep dive (an elementary version of electives) followed by an hour of “Minds in Motion” (a new take on PE, think kids crossfit, dance, basketball… It doesn’t matter what class students choose, what matters is that they engage, get sweaty and have fun!). Learning isn’t ever disrupted by bells, even body breaks (aka recess) are taken when it makes sense for that particular group of students. This -ish type of schedule requires much more collaboration on the part of the adults at school, but results in a much better day to day learning experience for students.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4En24NqXpmw/VGF4dSrur6I/AAAAAAAAAWU/GiQpP-QRHOY/s1600/B1sm8E7IQAAfIBk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4En24NqXpmw/VGF4dSrur6I/AAAAAAAAAWU/GiQpP-QRHOY/s1600/B1sm8E7IQAAfIBk.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kindergarten Reminder List</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Question Everything </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">- Why do we require students to respond to bells, walk in straight lines and raise their hands to speak? What do these routines communicate to students about our belief in them? Design 39 has reimagined many of these of practices. Students know it’s time to head to class when a song is played over the intercom (Songs are dedicated to particular grade levels) and students still eating or playing enjoy the music. Students are taught how to respectfully get from point a to point b on campus but are never required to walk in a straight line.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">BYOD Can Work at Any Grade Level</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Design 39 is a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) school beginning in Pre-K. All students are encouraged to bring a device from home to use a learning tool. Students without devices may check out a chromebook to use for the year. We saw a variety of devices in use throughout the school, it doesn’t really matter as all instruction & instructional tools are web based and device agnostic. </span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Are Report Cards & Grades Necessary?</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Student progress is being reported via “Growth Guides” instead of formal report cards. Growth Guides are a definite work in progress, and aren’t fancy (currently an elaborate shared google doc between student, teachers, and parents) but they communicate actionable feedback about learning in a timely way. </span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Change is Hard, Personal Flotation Devices Help</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Teachers are engaging in a very different way of planning and teaching. Most of the teaching staff has previous experience as a teacher which is sometimes helpful but can also be challenging as they consciously don’t want to fall into comfortable traditions or patterns. With so much change at hand, their principal encourages the use of a “Personal Flotation Device” when needed. This may be a personal practice not entirely inline with the new direction of learning but one that is helping the teacher stay afloat for the time being. The personal flotation devices are only temporary and provide teachers a way to say, “Hey I’m working on this, but am not quite there… yet.”</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WvQfzhPU4WA/VGF4enjRxqI/AAAAAAAAAWg/Jl2f-tZW0W0/s1600/IMG_3322.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WvQfzhPU4WA/VGF4enjRxqI/AAAAAAAAAWg/Jl2f-tZW0W0/s1600/IMG_3322.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">School Vision in Student Language</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Those were a few of our big take-aways from the day of learning, but what personally impressed me most was the dedication of the staff. It is clear that the entire staff is working with a lot of ambiguity, they are out on the leading edge doing work that hasn’t necessarily been done before in public education. It is uncomfortable for the staff, but necessary as they learn a different way to work. Leading author and business leader, Liz Wiseman suggests, “We have to get comfortable asking people to be uncomfortable. Don’t ask people to do more work, ask them to do harder work.” It is clear that under the leadership of Sonya Wrisley, the Design 39 team is being asked to do harder work as they reimagine learning for their students. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While there were a lot of ah-ha moments for our team, we also recognized that much of the work we are doing in LASD has helped pave the way for a new learning paradigm in LASD. With our new Learning Principles, we are actively engaged in questioning practices and reimagining learning for all LASD students. We look forward to continued collaboration with the Design 39 team and other innovative teams of educators on this journey. For more information on Design 39, you can go to their website at </span><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/design39campus/home" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://sites.google.com/site/design39campus/home</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contributed by Alyssa Gallagher, Director of Strategic Initiatives and Community Partnerships</span><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854493447469702818.post-10659359449974373862014-10-14T17:38:00.000-07:002014-10-14T18:18:40.792-07:00Lunchtime is Not Only for Eating!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6E6PGs9V7-CD7qmKFLSsN6bvoptFWN6J_bLaOWjt57nDtaebAd8vmapF6doRK9ty9WShSs6jU4h6SMWgd7UL7T5ueIFXuqM4yFmOoEbrxN2RBWwgiC0vsrnBVTzZSeHvn_pkj51h-KWUl/s1600/IMG_1874.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6E6PGs9V7-CD7qmKFLSsN6bvoptFWN6J_bLaOWjt57nDtaebAd8vmapF6doRK9ty9WShSs6jU4h6SMWgd7UL7T5ueIFXuqM4yFmOoEbrxN2RBWwgiC0vsrnBVTzZSeHvn_pkj51h-KWUl/s1600/IMG_1874.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The bell rings! Hooray!, it is lunch time. Students are excited because it is their day to go to tinker club where there is always a challenge to meet. After students get filled up from eating their lunch they walk into the STEM lab to find straws, newspaper and tape. They are asked to build a bridge with these materials that will span across a specific distance between two tables. That’s challenge one... the second challenge is making the bridge strong enough to hold a book. Students get busy building by rolling up paper, using tape and affixing straws. They start to line up to test their prototype and if they don’t succeed then they get the opportunity to ideate their prototype and try again. This is all part of the engineering process. Although students are learning this process through their STEM classes it is reinforced through the lunch club challenges. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The lunch clubs are a big part of the LASD STEM program. Students have an opportunity to attend lunch club at least once a week. Some of the challenges have consisted of creating musical instruments, zip lines, catapults, oobleck, Rube Goldberg, reverse engineering, egg drop and the list goes on and on…</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Students at Loyola put a creative spin on their egg drop challenge this year by hurling them through the air using a sling shot. The students were so excited to see their egg drop vehicles sail through the air in hopes that the egg would land safely. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu_GvvIkpiRbpIbYnfvMTDztyMnuLDvwSNRJqG9olnjckgfmKGVQl8xlTMeVLaeVpSobtmAG14fKJIj2la1hejmT2VHJ6ps7c57NAfmmxG9uYMYC_1nWTT8h0TTp5jcLuIiQXlVlhgIzGo/s1600/photo%5B2%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu_GvvIkpiRbpIbYnfvMTDztyMnuLDvwSNRJqG9olnjckgfmKGVQl8xlTMeVLaeVpSobtmAG14fKJIj2la1hejmT2VHJ6ps7c57NAfmmxG9uYMYC_1nWTT8h0TTp5jcLuIiQXlVlhgIzGo/s1600/photo%5B2%5D.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fun? Yes! Are the students learning how to persevere through the challenge, collaborate with their peers, build and create? Yes, it is all part of the STEM learning experience. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here are some responses from students about Lunch Club:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I get to work with my friends!” </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It's ok if it doesn't work, Mrs. Rafferty even likes it when we fail!”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Cool stuff happens that we don't get to do in the classroom.”</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyASAT7aUqXpSLTIf0JdGP1JfWbQbOhekVr9hCZHdj94DQayluy_V3Xj-x18-9DimAcFD-084eDRI1AJ4534giJvJ7NwndZJoP5yZz1ocOK_3y6lRWXJcjjLleH_N2N4OYRRKWoXSt9b2c/s1600/IMG_1672.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyASAT7aUqXpSLTIf0JdGP1JfWbQbOhekVr9hCZHdj94DQayluy_V3Xj-x18-9DimAcFD-084eDRI1AJ4534giJvJ7NwndZJoP5yZz1ocOK_3y6lRWXJcjjLleH_N2N4OYRRKWoXSt9b2c/s1600/IMG_1672.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kelly Rafferty, the STEM teacher at Santa Rita, said “I like lunch club because it lets me connect with all grade levels every week, even when I am working with their class. I think they feel connected to me and the space as a place where they can try anything, it doesn't have to be perfect and we all love when something doesn't work as planned, because then we get to try again and make things better.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lunch clubs are happening at all 7 elementary schools in the STEM labs, 2 to 3 times a week. Many of the schools are doing themes for the month, for example Gardner Bullis’s November theme is “Come Fly Away with Me.” The students will be challenged with rocket building and launching, creating and analyzing Balsa Wood Gliders, and a zip line challenge. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lunch clubs are not only fun and social, but a learning time for all! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contributed by Karen Wilson, STEM Coach</span>Karen Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00483145534921597442noreply@blogger.com52tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854493447469702818.post-51911778214227772892014-10-01T09:41:00.000-07:002014-10-01T09:55:34.365-07:00Choose Guideposts over Pavement<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gvbBiNFzh0E/VCwtvVwY_jI/AAAAAAAABvI/k2063dw1TjA/s1600/guidepost.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gvbBiNFzh0E/VCwtvVwY_jI/AAAAAAAABvI/k2063dw1TjA/s1600/guidepost.jpg" height="206" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My son sent me a </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nF9bO-tPxKE&feature=youtu.be" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">preview video</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of the new Assassin’s Creed Unity game because he knows I’m a huge fan, have played most of the series, and pre-ordered both of the coming editions. It was exciting to see that in this new world, they have provided the player with a large array of options for achieving a goal. Previously, the game play was somewhat laid out before you and if you followed the road and did some serious button mashing in spots you found success. Engaging and fun, but didn’t require a lot of finesse or deep problem solving. This new landscape appears to require some further contemplation, planning, and decision making as you take into consideration strategy, skills, historical context, and reputation. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How does this relate to education? In the classroom, we’re trying to achieve the same goal. Provide our “players” with an engaging and fun learning experience but one that provides depth and many different avenues to the learning objective. That idea of personalization which keeps cropping up but is difficult to achieve on a large scale. In the traditional classroom, standardized curriculum guides carefully lay out a paved road to learning outcomes, with little room for deviation. There is differentiation, but not personalized learning. It gets a bit confusing as we start tossing around terms such as differentiation, individualization, and personalization, because on some level, they address the same idea, but they are very different. I love this </span><a href="http://personalizedlearningatparkside.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Personalized Learning Chart</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Barbara Bray and Kathleen McClaskey and shared through Sue Strautz’s blog, as it clearly states that the main key to personalization is that it’s learner centered instead of teacher centered, a key difference. This can be difficult to accomplish in a large classroom with various student needs, testing pressure, and technology access that can vary. The good news? It’s not an all or nothing. </span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In this </span><a href="http://www.personalizelearning.com/2014_02_01_archive.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stages of Personalized Learning</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> chart from Bray and McClaskey, there is a progression through three defined stages. The first is more teacher centered with a gradual move to giving students more choice and control of their learning. I think of this as teachers starting personalization with a dirt trail. Students need a path to follow as they learn to navigate a new learning trail with a few forks in the road that allow for choice but that ultimately lead them to their destination. As they become more comfortable, teachers can slowly remove the path and replace it with guideposts, suggestions that point them in the right direction but allow them many different routes to the end. When they fully understand how to map their own trail, that’s when we turn them loose. At that point, we’ve given them something that is far richer than anything that comes from a textbook; skills, tools, and grit that will get them through the rough patches and lead them to the finish. It becomes more than just personalized learning, it becomes a way to navigate the world.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Contributed by Kami Thordarson, Innovative Strategies Coach</i></span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854493447469702818.post-6900799261038397812014-09-23T22:37:00.000-07:002014-09-23T22:55:24.165-07:00EdSummit LASD - A Stepping Stone on our Journey to Revolutionize Learning for all StudentsOver the past four years, Los Altos School District has been on a journey to revolutionize learning. This journey has led our entire team down a path of continuous learning, growth, creation and questioning. This year, we created <a href="http://edsummit.lasdschools.org/" target="_blank">EdSummit LASD</a> to help fuel the desire to learn. EdSummit LASD was a three day learning event designed to begin "breaking silos in education." While the primary audience for this event was teachers, we also invited parents and community members to join the conversation. After months of planning, it is hard to believe the three day event has come and gone. Looking back on the summit, I am happy to share EdSummit LASD was a huge success. Here are a few of the highlights...<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fMcbZaFI75Q/VCJcASWu07I/AAAAAAAAAUw/2r_AlvcLRzc/s1600/Bx32MUeCUAAyNCH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fMcbZaFI75Q/VCJcASWu07I/AAAAAAAAAUw/2r_AlvcLRzc/s1600/Bx32MUeCUAAyNCH.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a><br />
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<b>Opening Keynote: Creating Conditions of Discovery & Inquiry in Our Schools</b><br />
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Acclaimed authors, Lisa Kay Solomon and Warren Berger engaged attendees in a provoking conversation about innovation in schools. Drawing on their insights from their newly published books <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Moments-Impact-Strategic-Conversations-Accelerate/dp/1451697627" target="_blank">Moments of Impact: How to Design Strategic Conversations that Accelerate</a> Change (Simon & Shuster, 2014) and <a href="http://amorebeautifulquestion.com/" target="_blank">A More Beautiful Question</a>, Lisa and Warren explored new ways of thinking about how to create cultures and conditions for discovery and lasting impact. The conversation also explored the rationale for why it is critical for us to create more inquiry driven models of instruction that foster discovery and personal engagement. The opening keynote was held at the Mountain View Center for Performing Arts where we were able to welcome all interested parents, community members, teachers and administrators from across the Peninsula.<br />
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Lynn Carruthers, a graphic artist and visual thinker, beautifully captured Warren & Lisa's conversation. (image below) Lynn even managed to capture a personal favorite from the talk - depicting a four year old girl as the "Super Ninja" of questioning! <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vrfmn6X4l-o/VCJN-ZZ35AI/AAAAAAAAAUA/cSNCYnvG7wU/s1600/LASD%2BBerger%2Band%2BSolomon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vrfmn6X4l-o/VCJN-ZZ35AI/AAAAAAAAAUA/cSNCYnvG7wU/s1600/LASD%2BBerger%2Band%2BSolomon.jpg" height="228" width="400" /></a></div>
<b>EdSummit LASD Sessions, September 19</b><br />
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Excited to learn more about questioning after the opening keynote, 380+ attendees gathered at our Covington campus to explore, learn, network and collaborate together. Attendees were able to choose from 65+ sessions facilitated on a range of topics. Sessions were either 90 mins (allowing for a deeper dive into a topic) or 45 mins (meant to ignite thinking and start conversations). A special thank you to all 74 of our facilitators! While facilitators came from all over the state, we are especially proud that we had so many of our own teachers facilitating sessions. Just under half (46%) of all facilitators came from LASD. It was incredible to see our teachers taking risks to share what they have tried and what they are learning as we work together to revolutionize learning for students.<br />
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We were also thrilled to have several incredible authors join us to share their thinking: Grant Lichtman, author of <a href="http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1118898583.html" target="_blank">#EdJourney: A Roadmap to the Future of Education</a>; Patricia Ryan Madson, author of <a href="http://www.improvwisdom.com/Welcome.html" target="_blank">Improv Wisdom</a> and Dave Burgess, author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Teach-Like-Pirate-Engagement-Creativity/dp/0988217600" target="_blank">Teach Like a Pirate</a>. If you are not familiar with these books, I encourage you to read them - collectively they paint a picture of the future of education that we hope to create for our students! With so many sessions happening simultaneously,it is nearly impossible to capture all of that took place. Thankfully twitter helped us capture and share some wow moments from attendees. Below are a few, more can be seen by searching #edSummit on twitter.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AW00aiiw6z8/VCJTt36Kp2I/AAAAAAAAAUU/92TNDO_IvjA/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2014-09-23%2Bat%2B10.13.50%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AW00aiiw6z8/VCJTt36Kp2I/AAAAAAAAAUU/92TNDO_IvjA/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2014-09-23%2Bat%2B10.13.50%2BPM.png" height="320" width="216" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--fkIh2xnPpM/VCJTtmO2fKI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/IlWSF1LgNPw/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2014-09-23%2Bat%2B10.15.23%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--fkIh2xnPpM/VCJTtmO2fKI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/IlWSF1LgNPw/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2014-09-23%2Bat%2B10.15.23%2BPM.png" height="249" title="" width="320" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cJcc0hgTCOM/VCJTts-EqVI/AAAAAAAAAUY/S0VPoLWzGpA/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2014-09-23%2Bat%2B10.15.44%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cJcc0hgTCOM/VCJTts-EqVI/AAAAAAAAAUY/S0VPoLWzGpA/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2014-09-23%2Bat%2B10.15.44%2BPM.png" height="320" width="307" /></a></div>
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<b>EdCamp Los Altos, September 20</b><br />
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After a full day of facilitated sessions, we intentionally scheduled a Saturday morning <a href="https://edcamp.wikispaces.com/edcamp+Los+Altos" target="_blank">EdCamp Los Altos</a>. EdCamp is a participant driven learning event, which means there are no formal plans, or presentations. The attendees decide what they want to learn and how they will facilitate these conversations. We had about 60 EdCampers attend bright and early Saturday morning - the topics included formative assessment, to rethinking report cards, student centered learning, using technology to simplify your life and many others. To understand more about the why behind EdCamp, take a look at this recent article by Kristen Swanson, founder of EdCamp: <a href="http://www.kristenswanson.org/2014/09/why-we-attend-edcamp.html?m=1" target="_blank">Why We EdCamp</a> Fueled by the previous day of learning and networking, EdCamp Los Altos was the perfect ending to EdSummit.<br />
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<b>It's a Wrap!</b><br />
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That's a quick summary of EdSummit LASD - an incredible event and one that we certainly hope to continue. Creating high quality teaching learning experiences is one of the most important things we can do to improve student learning. It's necessary and greatly appreciated by our teachers. <br />
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<i>"Thanks for all of your effort in providing us with the most useful and inspirational learning day that I’ve ever had the pleasure of attending!" </i></div>
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<i>"I left EdSummit feeling so inspired, reflective, excited, and eager, which is food for an educator's soul. The format of today, the choice, the presenters, the content, the time with colleagues...it was priceless."</i></div>
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Stay tuned for more information on future EdSummits hosted by Los Altos School District. Join us next time and add to the conversation.<br />
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<i>Contributed by Alyssa Gallagher, Director of Strategic Initiatives & Community Partnerships</i><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854493447469702818.post-39146262651499187172014-09-23T11:12:00.002-07:002014-09-23T11:12:42.672-07:00LASD a Leader at the CA STEM Symposium<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0VVsk5Y1nR8/VCG383SXiPI/AAAAAAAAATw/Vld_y3tbblA/s1600/STEMCaLogo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0VVsk5Y1nR8/VCG383SXiPI/AAAAAAAAATw/Vld_y3tbblA/s1600/STEMCaLogo2.jpg" height="320" width="304" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">In the spring of 2013, Los Altos School District with the support of the Los Altos Educational Foundation made a decision to invest in STEM education for all elementary students. We hired a STEM teacher for each of our seven elementary schools and created STEM learning opportunities for all students beginning in Kindergarten. It has been wildly successful! Our STEM teachers are incredibly motivated and dedicated individuals who have helped us create rich experiences for students both inside and outside the structure of the traditional school day. In our first year, our team focused on building out a new computational thinking strand, engineering, and physical science. We are proud of our accomplishments and are equally as excited to continue learning, growing and improving our STEM program.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">While we are only in year two, it is very exciting to see that Los Altos School District is a leader at this year's <a href="http://www.stemcalifornia.org/pages/Californians_Dedicated_To_Educ/STEM_Conferences/2014_STEM_Symposium" target="_blank">California STEM Symposium</a>. This annual symposium brings together 3,000 teachers, administrators, students, high education representatives, program providers, philanthropic representatives and industry representatives to engage them in STEM education by providing strategies and resources for program implementation. The Symposium is designed to highlight leaders in classroom innovation from across the state. Los Altos School District STEM teachers presented nine different sessions over the two day symposium. Below are the topics/sessions presented by LASD STEM teachers:</span><br />
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<li>Maker Movement</li>
<li>Creative Circuits</li>
<li>STEM in K-5: Bee-bots to Lego We-Do</li>
<li>Bring Creative Computer Science into STEM for all Students</li>
<li>Bee Bot Buzz: Computer Science in Kindergarten, First & Second Grade</li>
<li>Computational Thinking in STEM through Scratch</li>
<li>Khan Academy Spout Bot: Building a Robot</li>
<li>Literacy & Engineering</li>
<li>Teaching in Depth: Implementing Virtual Labs in the Classroom</li>
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<span style="background-color: white;">We are thrilled to have our district acknowledged as a leader in developing STEM education programs as we know providing these new learning experiences enhances our students ability to think critically, problem solve and work collaboratively. Thank you to our parent community for donating to Los Altos Educational Foundation, the LASD STEM program is a direct result from your contributions. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><i>Contributed by Alyssa Gallagher, Director of Strategic Initiatives & Community Partnerships</i></span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854493447469702818.post-37111846879571750412014-08-18T22:37:00.001-07:002014-08-19T05:08:35.955-07:00What will you add to the conversation? EdSummit LASD: Breaking the SIlos in Education<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G_FpBVZ9L2w/U_LiPsh-mwI/AAAAAAAAATg/9elSLGbHhW4/s1600/EdSummit_Logotype_black_F.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G_FpBVZ9L2w/U_LiPsh-mwI/AAAAAAAAATg/9elSLGbHhW4/s1600/EdSummit_Logotype_black_F.png" height="174" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The start of a new school year holds so much promise. There are so many questions to ask, opportunities to explore and learning experiences to design...all that will positively impact the lives of our students. This year is especially exciting in Los Altos School District! For the past four years, we have been on a journey to revolutionize learning for all students. We have encouraged all of our teachers to question, experiment, and take risks, but most importantly we have created a culture of learning in LASD that includes everyone. We have created a culture of learning that we are eager to share and broaden. For the first time we will open our teacher learning experiences beyond LASD by hosting the first <a href="http://edsummit.lasdschools.org/" target="_blank">EdSummit LASD: Breaking the SIlos in Education.</a> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You may be wondering, “Why would a public school district voluntarily take on additional responsibilities and attempt to engage educators beyond LASD in the vision of revolutionizing learning for all students?” </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As a district, we have decided to engage more educators because we are eager to continue learning. The more we learn the more questions we have and the more we value collaborative dialogue. The more we experiment, the more we value experiences of educators also engaged in improving student learning. We see value in adding new and different voices to the conversation and invite you to attend <a href="http://edsummit.lasdschools.org/" target="_blank">EdSummit LASD</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is guaranteed to be a gathering of innovative educators who are interested in pushing the boundaries of learning. Every session will be interactive with opportunities to discuss ideas, connect and create actionable next steps that will actually translate to improved learning experiences for students. We recognize that learning must be networked and have intentionally designed time and space to help foster the growth of your network. We offer you time to learn, time to connect, and spaces to do both. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">EdSummit LASD will kick-off on Thursday, September 18 at 6:30 pm by exploring the power of discovery and inquiry. Below is a preview of the first of many conversations to be had during EdSummit- </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Creating Conditions of Discovery and Inquiry in our Schools</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Conversation about Innovation with Lisa Kay Solomon and Warren Berger </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How can we best prepare our students with the foundational critical thinking and creative problem solving skills required to thrive in times of increasing ambiguity, complexity and uncertainty? What will it take to shift our classrooms from stand and deliver models to more inquiry-driven methods that foster discovery and personal engagement? How can our teachers, administrators and parents create environments that promote questioning, experimentation, co-creation and collaboration? And, how can we do this all amidst the realities of performance demands, testing requirements and quantified measurement assessments? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Join authors <a href="http://lisakaysolomon.com/" target="_blank">Lisa Kay Solomon</a> and <a href="http://www.warrenberger.com/" target="_blank">Warren Berger</a> in a provocative conversation with power to influence schools, classrooms and community organizations. Drawing on their insights from their newly published books</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Moments-Impact-Strategic-Conversations-Accelerate/dp/1451697627" target="_blank">Moments of Impact: How to Design Strategic Conversations that Accelerate Change</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (Simon & Schuster, 2014) and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://amorebeautifulquestion.com/" target="_blank">A More Beautiful Question</a>, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lisa and Warren will explore a new way of thinking about how to create cultures and conditions for discovery and lasting impact.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then on Friday, we will engage all participants in a variety of learning experiences facilitated by incredible authors/teachers. Here is a glimpse of a few of the incredible facilitators that will be joining us on Friday -</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://daveburgess.com/" target="_blank">Dave Burgess</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -Dave is a teacher and highly sought after speaker, well known for his creative and outrageously energetic style. He is the New York Times Best-Selling author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Teach-Like-PIRATE-Engagement-Creativity/dp/0988217600/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349014759&sr=1-4&keywords=dave+burgess#http://www.amazon.com/Teach-Like-PIRATE-Engagement-Creativity/dp/0988217600/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=U" target="_blank">Teach Like a PIRATE: Increase Student Engagement, Boost Your Creativity, and Transform Your Life as an Educator</a>.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.grantlichtman.com/" target="_blank">Grant Lichtman</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Grant is a nationally recognized thought leader in the drive to transform K-12 education. He speaks, writes, and works with fellow educators to build capacity and comfort with innovation in response to a rapidly changing world. His most recent book, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1118898583,descCd-buy.html" target="_blank">#EdJourney: A Roadmap to the Future of Education</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, chronicles more than three years of research and visits with more than 70 schools on a solo tour of the United States to find how schools are successfully moving off of the assembly line model of education. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://blog.mrmeyer.com/" target="_blank">Dan Meyer</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #312f2f; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dan taught high school math to students who didn’t like high school math. He advocated for better math instruction here and on </span><a href="http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=6827" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #4d4c4c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CNN</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #312f2f; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><a href="http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=5154" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #4d4c4c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Good Morning America</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #312f2f; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">,</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #312f2f; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Everyday With Rachel Ray</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #312f2f; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and </span><a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_meyer_math_curriculum_makeover.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #4d4c4c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">TED.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #312f2f; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. He currently studies math education at Stanford University, speaks internationally, and works with textbook publishers, helping them move from education’s print past to its digital future. Dan was recently named one of </span><a href="http://www.techlearning.com/features/0039/the-tech-and-learning-10030/47165" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #4d4c4c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tech & Learning’s 30 Leaders of the Future</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #312f2f; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and an Apple Distinguished Educator.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://web.stanford.edu/~patryan/Home.html" target="_blank">Patricia Ryan Madson</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #312f2f; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Patricia is the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Improv-Wisdom-Dont-Prepare-Just/dp/1400081882" target="_blank">IMPROV WISDOM: DON’T PREPARE, JUST SHOW UP.</a>(Bell Tower, 2005) and a professor Emerita from Stanford University where she taught since 1977. In 1996 she founded the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #312f2f; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Creativity Initiative </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #312f2f; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">at Stanford, an interdisciplinary alliance of faculty who share the belief that creativity can be taught. Patricia has taught Design Improv for the School of Engineering, and was a guest lecturer for the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #312f2f; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stanford Technology Ventures Program</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #312f2f; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and for the Mayfield Fellows Program.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Please join us and add your voice to a unique experience where we strive to break the silos in education. What will you add to the conversation? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contributed by: Alyssa Gallagher, Director of Strategic Initiatives & Community Partnerships</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854493447469702818.post-32697134291598995412014-06-25T21:53:00.002-07:002014-06-25T21:53:56.001-07:00How Might We Design Innovative Learning Experiences for Students & Teachers?<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tLfZdynvIcM/U6ulEKR_N-I/AAAAAAAAAS0/WXRXxmr8W70/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-06-25+at+8.58.27+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tLfZdynvIcM/U6ulEKR_N-I/AAAAAAAAAS0/WXRXxmr8W70/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-06-25+at+8.58.27+PM.png" height="307" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Last week we spent five days exploring this question with twenty-three teacher leaders in LASD who all committed to being “Lead Learners” on their site for the 2014-2015 school year. During the iLearn Summer Academy, we explored how different learning can look, connected with our inner creativity and engaged with innovative instructional practices. The entire week was a journey of discovery and learning for everyone involved!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As a “Lead Learner”in Los Altos School District, teachers commit to spending a full week immersed in rethinking learning experiences for students, but more importantly have also committed to being a force of change at their school site. With the encouragement and support of our school principals, each “Lead Learner” has autonomy in how they choose to share the work with their colleagues. We require each Lead Learner to document their year long journey using an ePortfolio with three general areas:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">iLearn:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> What is their journey like as a learner? How are they continuing to learn and grow as an educator?</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">iTeach:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> How is what they are learning impacting their instructional practice? What is different in their classroom as a result of this learning?</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">iInspire:</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> How are they sharing what they are learning with colleagues? </span></div>
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</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NlARcT_GuUc/U6ul0lsAM4I/AAAAAAAAAS8/5eFfeSWl6ng/s1600/Bqhj7vZCMAEL-7w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NlARcT_GuUc/U6ul0lsAM4I/AAAAAAAAAS8/5eFfeSWl6ng/s1600/Bqhj7vZCMAEL-7w.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teacher Adventuring Through MineCraft</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">iLearn Summer Academy is different than many teacher learning events, because we don’t set out to make sure each teacher walks out feeling competent implementing a prescribed solution for a specified content area. Instead we engage our teachers in active conversations, questioning sessions and collaborative experiences to develop possibilities that might be implemented across content areas to meet diverse needs of their students. We trust our teachers as professional educators and value the ability “to learn, try, fail, reflect and try again” together. We recognize that this isn’t an easy process and build in support along the way.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">During this active learning experience, questions guided both our learning & our schedule. Here are a few of the questions we explored together:</span></div>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How do you incorporate passion driven learning into the classroom?</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What are the qualities of innovative practice?</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What does it mean to be “a designer of learning?” </span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What does blended learning look like? sound like? feel like?</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How might we improve teacher collaboration?</span></div>
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</ul>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vaWfV6oIfUI/U6umgIbkQWI/AAAAAAAAATE/nJMnQYy0z4Q/s1600/BqgS9olCYAAcK0r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vaWfV6oIfUI/U6umgIbkQWI/AAAAAAAAATE/nJMnQYy0z4Q/s1600/BqgS9olCYAAcK0r.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Active Learning & Playing Go Together</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While we may not have explored each question to it’s fullest, we have certainly planted seeds and inspired passion in our teachers that will positively impact students across LASD. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is our third year investing in “Lead Learners” and we couldn’t be more excited by the cumulative impact our Lead Learners are having in LASD. This unique learning experience is created and facilitated in-house by three amazing instructional coaches and financially supported by the Los Altos Educational Foundation. A big thank you to Kami Thordarson (Innovative Strategies Coach), Karen Wilson (STEM Coach) and Erin Zaich (Technology Integration Coach). To get a glimpse into the iLearn conversation via twitter, check out the </span><a href="https://storify.com/am_gallagher/ilearn-summer-2014-los-altos-school-district#publicize" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">#iLearn14 Storify</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Stay tuned to learn more and follow the collective journey of our “Lead Learners” during the 2014-2015 school year!</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Additional Background Information on iLearn Summer Academy:</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<a href="http://lasdilearn.blogspot.com/2013/01/building-teacher-capacity-recognizing.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Building Teacher Capacity & Recognizing Excellence</span></a></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<a href="http://lasdilearn.blogspot.com/2013/07/lasd-ilearn-2013-taking-teachers-to.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">iLearn Summer Academy 2013: Taking Teachers to Wonderland</span></a></div>
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</ul>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contributed by: Alyssa Gallagher, Director of Strategic Initiatives & Community Partnerships</span></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854493447469702818.post-71686073068479971182014-06-04T17:23:00.000-07:002014-06-06T14:48:44.091-07:00Rethinking Lois Lowry's The Giver with Minecraft EDU<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ouiRtUV1VQU/U49w8z2JnXI/AAAAAAAAAP4/vVroTk1KKHI/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-05-29+at+8.42.40+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ouiRtUV1VQU/U49w8z2JnXI/AAAAAAAAAP4/vVroTk1KKHI/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-05-29+at+8.42.40+AM.png" height="240" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In embarking on the challenge of leveraging Minecraft in an English classroom, Lisa Waxman, 7th grade English teacher, and I, learned and realized that the basis for the project was to focus on a culture of innovation and exploration. Structuring a culture of innovation requires a focus on certain principles. One of the main principles we focused on is summed up well by Soren Kaplan in an article titled “6 Ways to Create a Culture of Innovation”: “Giving up control when the pressure is greatest is the ultimate innovation paradox.” Thus, a huge aspect of this project was to turn over control to students. </span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-f92e6aa3-67be-85fb-2204-17dfb6edfb00" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By challenging our own interpretation of an “English Project” we discovered the benefits of thinking beyond simple tools and challenging ourselves to integrate something new. We debunked the myths that students need a specific rubric to follow in order to produce a well-thought out assignment. Rather, we forced a close reading of the text by giving kids less structure, again relying on principles of cultivating innovation: “ A better option: Give just enough structure and support to help people navigate uncertainty and tap into the creative process without stifling it, ” (Kaplan from FastCo <a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/1672718/6-ways-to-create-a-culture-of-innovation" target="_blank">6 ways to Create a Culture of Innovation</a>) . </span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyXP4H1GgpBTx9XgAxJAgIo3STUEwfwEGjsAsDAvxZqynZSC4e0QrbzLQ55pV-PRhlWs9aEdbPAbq3CpNktwQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Using the principles of connected learning, we decided to tap into student interest in Minecraft as a way to bring students more deeply into the world of the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Giver</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Moving through a variety of stages in production, we originally thought about having students adopt roles in a dystopian society and then switching halfway through the project to have them operating in a utopian society. </span></div>
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<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In this, we thought it would be fascinating to use Minecraft as more of a player versus player interactive game rather than a sandbox building game as it is so often used in the education setting. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">However, as we drafted the world, we thought about what draws students into Minecraft. Realizing that the way into the game for kids is through the building, we shifted our strategy and simply laid out gray spaces for the buildings in a flat world. </span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hrXlT4-VaY8/U4-3--sh-FI/AAAAAAAAAQg/Dij4WNU4YC0/s1600/2014-05-29+10.04.55.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hrXlT4-VaY8/U4-3--sh-FI/AAAAAAAAAQg/Dij4WNU4YC0/s1600/2014-05-29+10.04.55.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then, students were challenged with the task of figuring out what squares corresponded to what buildings in an open class discussion. This in and of itself was a bit tricky as students all interpret text slightly differently based on the author’s description. Therefore, this act on its own forced students to take a close reading of Lois Lowry’s text and infer based on relationships of buildings what would be next to what. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Prior to building, students drafted a set of parameters within which they would all act. Actions that were unacceptable in Minecraft, for example griefing or destroying others buildings, students would face a consequence. </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jev4CPX0LNo/U4-4LU43wvI/AAAAAAAAAQo/t9xgU8FyRRs/s1600/2014-06-03+11.46.28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jev4CPX0LNo/U4-4LU43wvI/AAAAAAAAAQo/t9xgU8FyRRs/s1600/2014-06-03+11.46.28.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When building started, students at first were hesitant to admit their interest in the project. Having taken about 45 minutes to move through the tutorial world, students were at a variety of levels of comfort. That being said, students were very willing to help and to work with others to build their skill set up. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As we progressed over the course of three weeks with 5 to 6 hours of building, the speed of the students and the uniqueness of their creations were incredible. Rather than giving students a rubric with requirements, we left the details and the justification of their building decisions up to them. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Checking in throughout the period with hints and suggestions about color and material use, (the world of the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Giver</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is gray, uniform, etc.) students began to understand the need to draw upon a close reading of the text in order to construct their buildings accurately.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lMmwFv46lfU/U49zO_gGrFI/AAAAAAAAAQA/EkQWBaNgRUw/s1600/2014-05-22+10.21.44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lMmwFv46lfU/U49zO_gGrFI/AAAAAAAAAQA/EkQWBaNgRUw/s1600/2014-05-22+10.21.44.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With five different periods, it is incredible to see the variety of buildings that students create, each depicting a personal touch while still relying upon the novel. Every building session, students came in eager to craft away, many even brought in their own external mice! Their dedication to the tasks at hand solidifies the importance of meeting students where their interests exist. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Students did decide to launch firecrackers and build underground trap doors and tunnels during the project, but kids are kids right? And lets be honest launching firecrackers in Minecraft is pretty sweet. So we simply had individual conversations with them and kids were incredibly responsive as they were eager to not lose the privilege to play in Minecraft. </span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oROlhwOtbZc/U4-1LdtDENI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/0lb845Ksknc/s1600/2014-05-29+10.21.54.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oROlhwOtbZc/U4-1LdtDENI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/0lb845Ksknc/s1600/2014-05-29+10.21.54.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As the project came to a close, we used our final two sessions to have students write about their building as well as take on a role from the book. During the first of the two sessions, students used an essay block from Minecraft EDU to use textual evidence to justify the aspects of their building. Rather than writing out an essay, students were able to write within Minecraft. </span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dybEdqOBCt-5Q0QnUGbVwL73AIEymy8aly2lCmFgxRoA8MQlut5lmOxFHRu8HCmh36QyID-GA2lxYtTuXH56g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Finishing up the project, we will conclude with a survey to collect data on how students interacted with the unit and where we can make improvements for next year. Additionally, they will self-evaluate using guiding questions we create. We decided that because the outcome of the project was to encourage students to focus on their own justification of their buildings and interactions, that a self-evaluation would be most suitable. </span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F0DwFpBM9Ck/U4-2Y9fj4CI/AAAAAAAAAQY/k6Ang5loz-8/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-05-29+at+10.37.25+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F0DwFpBM9Ck/U4-2Y9fj4CI/AAAAAAAAAQY/k6Ang5loz-8/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-05-29+at+10.37.25+AM.png" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Overall, the project allowed us to look at Minecraft through the context of the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Giver </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">which allowed for a unique experience for both the students as well as us as instructors. </span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/17UV6Un_GSp_Mcuymg0oeyBa_Re2ZyP7st0FNJP2Ov7M/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Day by Day basic Schedule</a></b><br />
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dIH6GqzvMoSasHaY4epKo_AdTlT3W75D9dZLhJPwRf4/edit?usp=sharing" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Minecraft and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Giver </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Project Overview</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xSlbohR0OcnRNj2gv2Aud-1PDYht2tGchQT-vxWG1Ic/edit?usp=sharing" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Student Role Assignments</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VqQTSjkHwp5BSJY075E0Xp-6Bd15ZjcQLMQfnseVlfk/edit?usp=sharing" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Minecraft Quicktime Directions</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MMQ8yAiYnZcDFAmdKUJ1hWUjvSEjW8-zCUs_p3AXH78/edit?usp=sharing" style="text-decoration: none;">Student Self-Assessment</a></span></div>
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854493447469702818.post-56679713968134940442014-05-26T21:41:00.002-07:002014-05-26T21:46:17.407-07:00LASD STEM Connects with Engineers<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What does a closed box with only two small openings have to do with surgery? A group of 10 engineers from Intuitive Surgical, located in Sunnyvale, came to LASD and presented at each of the elementary schools, speaking to our 6th graders about what they do and how it’s related to what the students learn in STEM. Intuitive Surgical introduced the first daVinci robotic Surgical System in 1999 and are the pioneers in robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimuYDqLpSMaNQEA0ovcNLhfNgxj3K2zwZR2iuyblb7ODg42rcUnhj6FfhGKptE7g8-fAEdXs1xcbCi5LNV-9ckYIjAhYjUCmWFgZ_kduQb-ZCP_ZHQRz38h8y8FPCOklILs3eUPZ2T7Lod/s1600/photo%5B3%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimuYDqLpSMaNQEA0ovcNLhfNgxj3K2zwZR2iuyblb7ODg42rcUnhj6FfhGKptE7g8-fAEdXs1xcbCi5LNV-9ckYIjAhYjUCmWFgZ_kduQb-ZCP_ZHQRz38h8y8FPCOklILs3eUPZ2T7Lod/s1600/photo%5B3%5D.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">During the presentations the 6th grade students of LASD participated in a hands-on activity where they were asked to figure out how to get objects out of a box without their hands and only using a handmade tool. The boxes were closed except for a small hole on each side of the box. The students used pipe cleaners, created tools out of popsicle sticks, chopsticks, tape and other items supplied to create their instruments. It was challenging enough to pull the objects out, but they also could not move, shake or pick up the box. As they worked together it was interesting to experience the creative and innovative thinking flowing from the minds of the students at work as they attempted to get the items out. Some of the interesting tools they came up with could give an engineer a start on something big! All students were successful in pulling the objects out of the box, discussion followed to probe into how the students came up with their prototype designs.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well, how does this activity relate to surgery? The students found out… </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0GPicTaTofdYTblYswqGCQKNCJyD_J4GYBpOEiM4hgBMUUjz6a-ZKsDrcu6MNrI_NoEVKYT1Gd38ePEK9jc3eXdzcXojl-m0VTo17AUpBsoCUVniohJVNWCRbM30LYhNLseLzEHdX-OOs/s1600/photo%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0GPicTaTofdYTblYswqGCQKNCJyD_J4GYBpOEiM4hgBMUUjz6a-ZKsDrcu6MNrI_NoEVKYT1Gd38ePEK9jc3eXdzcXojl-m0VTo17AUpBsoCUVniohJVNWCRbM30LYhNLseLzEHdX-OOs/s1600/photo%255B1%255D.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The engineers connected the activity the students performed to the challenges surgeons face everyday during minimally invasive surgery. The precursor to the activity demonstrated open surgery. They had a student volunteer come up and unwrap a gift quickly and then had them try to put it back together neatly with tape. They all discovered it did not look the same as how the box was originally wrapped. It was discussed that open surgery is easier and faster, but it’s harder for the patient to recover and there is also scarring. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8J9S4Gx3AayWE-xGHURMYuTbq2YMR1p4FjtOWn2zciYGUDI3VFFpcqKWVgbzwafEWHsAXxhRQScNLAQv8bDMc-4eJ8kLAqNImxUKW4x7NazqeCYNu4wnTXcMiSRAE7NlynIR3jrWOlcCv/s1600/photo%255B2%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8J9S4Gx3AayWE-xGHURMYuTbq2YMR1p4FjtOWn2zciYGUDI3VFFpcqKWVgbzwafEWHsAXxhRQScNLAQv8bDMc-4eJ8kLAqNImxUKW4x7NazqeCYNu4wnTXcMiSRAE7NlynIR3jrWOlcCv/s1600/photo%255B2%255D.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The importance of the human factors element of the engineer’s job was pointed out when creating a system as well as instruments that will be used to operate with the surgical robot. They need it to provide the best care for the patient as well as being precise and ergonomic for the doctor. These are important factors when they start to design. Engineers talked about the design process and how they solve problems. The students heard about the many iterations of prototypes the engineers create and the extensive testing that needs to be done through each stage of the process.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx6lhdcxFgVORyp_ctppBLRYUImFemL80gv3gVrz152z63StKDEt5PZD1T1yfgc8T7H6S6koSRX0JGYA9tFhL6f0xX25dgod3DMWIc3O7aBBusRBALka6tw3ayK1YDfRtXn4b_ejp-L-f6/s1600/da+vinci+image.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx6lhdcxFgVORyp_ctppBLRYUImFemL80gv3gVrz152z63StKDEt5PZD1T1yfgc8T7H6S6koSRX0JGYA9tFhL6f0xX25dgod3DMWIc3O7aBBusRBALka6tw3ayK1YDfRtXn4b_ejp-L-f6/s1600/da+vinci+image.png" height="200" width="149" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The daVinci Xi</td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The engineers also discussed the different positions within the organization and how they all work together to develop and market a product. The engineer presenters included mechanical design engineers, clinical engineers, as well as human factors and technical marketing engineers. The students were fascinated with holding some of the actual surgical instruments and enjoyed viewing a short video about the latest daVinci robotic system, the daVinci Xi. They had very good questions for the engineers. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The students can now see and connect why design thinking and design challenges are used in the classroom. These are some of the same processes that are used in a high-tech industry; therefore, it provides relevant meaning to students when these strategies are used to solve a problem.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was very exciting to see how inspirational these speakers were for the students. One student went up to one of engineers after their presentation and told him that she wanted to be a surgeon and hoped someday she will be able to use the da Vinci when performing surgery. As we all smiled with her I thought to myself, I have no doubt that this experience helped to solidify her goal, because she was able to connect what she does in class today with what she dreams of doing in her career!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Contributed by Karen Wilson, STEM Coach</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><br /></i></span></div>
Karen Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00483145534921597442noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854493447469702818.post-60686951100725004412014-05-19T11:37:00.000-07:002014-05-19T11:38:47.348-07:00The Power of zSpace: Two Teachers Reflect<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fQMhGBsKFnI/U3pPA-_UPXI/AAAAAAAABtU/npqrFPzPN9Q/s1600/IMG_4476.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fQMhGBsKFnI/U3pPA-_UPXI/AAAAAAAABtU/npqrFPzPN9Q/s1600/IMG_4476.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This year, LASD, in partnership with a local tech company called </span><a href="http://edu.zspace.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">zSpace</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, developed a one-of-a-kind pilot program to bring the innovative technologies of zSpace into four of our elementary schools’ STEM Labs. As this year comes to an end, we would love to share with you a small part of our amazing experience with using zSpace in our labs. </span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-9c07e693-15b7-ab71-dff1-d2537af4e3b5" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Springer Elementary</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contributed by Joanie Craddock, STEM Teacher </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Working with zSpace was an unbelievable opportunity! We were given the challenge to create lessons for grades 3-6 during a 6-week pilot period. With only the heart lesson as an example, it was quite an undertaking. Luckily, it was a team effort, which included our STEM teachers and coach, zSpace employees, classroom teachers, and anyone else I could get to listen to me. Together, we were able to come up with a few ideas to implement zSpace into the curriculum at each grade level.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6th Grade Lessons</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sixth grade spent the most time using zSpace in the STEM lab at Springer. We were able to teach lessons in math, science, and social studies. All three 6th grade teachers were on board to use this innovative technology to enhance learning for our students.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of my 6th grade teachers met with me to discuss using zSpace for a project with her math class. They were about to start a unit on ratio, scale, and proportions. Together, we came up with a plan to use SketchUp and zConcepts to create physical models from 3D models. The students were able to manipulate the 3D models, take measurements in zConcepts, and then adjust the scale to build their cardboard model. We had quite of few issues with the rulers, size adjustment, and other aspects of the program but the zSpace engineers have fixed most of it for the next version of zConcepts. The students spent hours cutting cardboard and taping their models. It was powerful to see the same building model in varying sizes. After finishing the project, the students used zView to present their struggles and successes and to compare the physical model with the virtual model. It was a longer project than I had anticipated but watching the perseverance of the 6th graders as they measured and built their models and listening to them explain the process to their parents made all the hours of prep worth it. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Although our current 6th grade science curriculum does not include life science, Kami Thordarson suggested teaching about the parts of the brain. Having years of experience with 6th graders, she definitely knew what would interest them. We started our lesson with a quick song from </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pinky and the Brain</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. It stuck in their heads throughout the lesson. Students were assigned different sections of the brain to research online and given the opportunity to dissect the brain using CyberScience. On zSpace, students created slides to demonstrate the placement of their section of the brain and what would happen to a human if that part was damaged. It was a quick and enriching lesson.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kKrq05C71h4/U3pM5I5BZdI/AAAAAAAABtA/gnnaom5tfpo/s1600/Parthenon.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kKrq05C71h4/U3pM5I5BZdI/AAAAAAAABtA/gnnaom5tfpo/s1600/Parthenon.png" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Finally, we were able to make a connection to 6th grade social studies. My 6th grade social studies teacher hasn’t been able to utilize STEM this year and we were hoping to figure out something we could do together. We thought it might be possible to do some archeology in virtual reality or walk through ancient civilizations. At this point, we couldn’t make it work. However, one of the benefits to working on a pilot is being able to ask for something to be created. zSpace found a model of the Parthenon just for us. One of their engineers even spent an entire day enhancing the original model so the details of the engravings on the frieze could be seen. It was beautiful! The students were able to explore the Parthenon for the first lesson. The next lesson was a building challenge. In teams of four or five, students were given scotch tape, scissors, white paper and a foam board to build on. Each team could send two people at a time to review the 3D model on zSpace. They all worked diligently on the task and even requested another building day to finish. I was so impressed with their enthusiasm. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Covington Elementary</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contributed by Katie Farley, STEM Teacher</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now that the zSpace systems have moved out of my classroom and into another, I can say with confidence that my STEM curriculum was far more enriched than it is without them! Using zSpace in my STEM Lab offered me the opportunity to motivate my students to learn about some very complicated concepts that can often be difficult to visualize. The 3D technologies of zSpace allowed my students to become fully-immersed in their learning experience by being able to pull apart and analyze various parts of cells, compare and contrast skeletons from various points in human evolution, and to identify pathways for blood flow in the human circulatory system. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Throughout my seven weeks with the systems, I was able to develop lessons and activities with zSpace across three grade levels. From the beginning of the pilot program, it was obvious that we would need to have some classroom management variation in order to best utilize the new technology. We had only six systems in the lab, and with almost 30 students in each class, there would be no way to have every student active on a system at the same time. This challenge offered me the opportunity to rethink my activity formats, and to begin embracing the idea of blended learning in my classroom. Making use of centers in my classroom allowed my students the chance to become immersed in learning instead of waiting. The following depicts two sample lessons and one example of using zSpace as a support resource for learning in the Covington STEM Lab.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3rd Grade Lesson</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Our third grade classes decided to transition into the NGSS standards this year, which means that they needed some additional resources to support the transition. We decided to use zSpace to help the students better visualize and understand the concept of evolution, particularly from a scientist’s perspective on human evolution. In order to do this, I set up two centers - one for computer research, and another for zSpace model comparison. We set up the zSpace systems with a pre-designed CyberScience 3D model of three skeletons from various points in human evolution. The computers were opened to a teacher-made Google Doc of links and information on human evolution. Halfway through the class period, the groups switched centers. The following class period, we reviewed their discoveries, which led into a discussion of human evolution from a scientist’s perspective.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4th Grade Resource</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our fourth grade classes were already active in a clubhouse redesign project to correlate to their scale, ratio, and proportion when the zSpace systems came into my lab for Phase 2 of the pilot. The students were building physical models of their clubhouses, as well as creating “3D”, virtual models of their clubhouses on Google SketchUp. We decided to integrate the zSpace systems into this project by allowing the students to upload their “3D” models from SketchUp into the zSpace systems to see them in “true 3D”. The students were able to independently upload their models onto the systems to view their models for precision and accuracy. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5th Grade Lesson</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yusym_PdwLI/U3pOXh3bk_I/AAAAAAAABtM/kXAASq6ErfE/s1600/IMG_8763.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yusym_PdwLI/U3pOXh3bk_I/AAAAAAAABtM/kXAASq6ErfE/s1600/IMG_8763.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our fifth grade classes were preparing to learn about plant and animal cells in their classroom science lessons at the beginning of Phase 2 with zSpace. The fifth grade classroom teacher and I decided to create a blended learning activity where students would rotate between three centers in the classroom - a computer research center, a microscope slide creation center, and a zSpace center. The students were split into three groups before entering the classroom, and they were assigned to a center. At the computer research center, the students were asked to open a teacher-created Google Doc with information, links, and labeled images to introduce the concepts of plant and animal cells. The microscope slide creation center had students creating slides from scratch, using various materials to view under the microscope. On the zSpace systems, we had adjoining systems pre-loaded with two CyberScience 3D models - one model of an animal cell next to a model of a plant cell. The students were asked to compare and contrast the two cells, using either observation of both cells or discussion and communication between each group to compare parts. The groups were rotated every 15 minutes to allow each student to visit each center one time. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">FUTURE HOPES</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> zSpace will be coming to all the LASD schools next year for Phase 3 of the pilot program. During that time, we will have the opportunity to utilize the curriculum- and standards-aligned software that is currently in development. This software will give us the capability to extend our lessons past using models, and into creating opportunities for students to build their own unlimited learning experiences in a virtual world. They will be able to explore forces, electricity, magnetism, and atomic composition, all while having fun. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for the zSpace and STEM curriculum alignment in LASD! </span></div>
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<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854493447469702818.post-52669266457857934022014-05-07T15:01:00.000-07:002014-05-07T15:02:39.505-07:00Working to Define Blended Learning<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JOGDHlfx5L0/U2lVyVzTuvI/AAAAAAAABsk/cQl36grTh74/s1600/Blended+colors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JOGDHlfx5L0/U2lVyVzTuvI/AAAAAAAABsk/cQl36grTh74/s1600/Blended+colors.jpg" height="188" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the world of education, many people have heard the term “blended learning.” If you Google the term, you will find over 9.3 million results. Within those results are many definitions but most agree that blended learning is a hybrid educational model where students are learning through traditional classrooms along with an online component. There are many recommendations for how to implement this type of program along with many different models. As an instructional coach, it’s difficult to paint a clear picture of a blended learning classroom due to the many interpretations of the term. In Los Altos, we have been working to more clearly define our blended learning model in order to help teachers with successful implementation.</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-f1388bae-d374-bf1f-c0bd-3e5b7313388f" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our blended learning journey began four years ago with our Khan Academy pilot. The four of us who began working with Khan Academy in our math classrooms began discussing those emerging best practices and sharing our experiences. We were often labeled in the media as “flipping” the classroom, and at that time, flipping had somewhat of a negative reaction from educators. As we explored and developed our practice, we knew that we were not flipping the classroom but creating a more blended learning environment. Blended Learning was a new term and the </span><a href="http://www.christenseninstitute.org/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Christensen Institute</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was taking lead on defining this hybrid learning model. As we began to roll out Khan Academy across our fifth and sixth grades, we started looking to define our own unique definition of blended learning.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fast forward three years, and we are still looking for that allusive definition. It isn’t that we disagree with the basic idea that blended learning is the combination of an online learning platform mixed into a traditional instructional model, we just believe that it’s so much more.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While Khan Academy has gone through its own growing pains and iterations, we too have struggled with clearly defining and painting a clear picture of what blended learning looks like in the classroom. It’s difficult for teachers to step out of textbook routines and try something new that seems to be continually shifting and changing, and that is a part of how blended learning works. It’s not a procedural approach but rather a dynamic and multi-faceted teaching strategy.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As we build our model, we are focusing on the math classroom. This year we pulled a small focus group of fifth through eighth grade teachers together and really examined the tools we are using and our approach. We started with the “why.” Our top three reasons:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To meet students where they are</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Textbooks alone will not meet both teachers and students needs</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Allows students ownership of their learning</span></div>
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<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We then built a working definition of blended learning:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Blended learning is a data, driven instructional approach, that offers personalized learning in a flexible, adaptive model that draws from multiple resources and an integration of technology.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ReRcP8JuwdA/U2lV8efg_LI/AAAAAAAABss/nP5O0lAazdY/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-12-03+at+2.44.41+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ReRcP8JuwdA/U2lV8efg_LI/AAAAAAAABss/nP5O0lAazdY/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-12-03+at+2.44.41+PM.png" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our definition is still a bit lengthy and needs some iteration but we have a starting point. One of the key pieces to remember is that the core of blended learning is technology and teaching informing each other and that using dynamic material helps reach students of varying learning styles. While Khan Academy is a valuable component of our model, it is simply one online tool that teachers can access from their blended learning toolbox. While the online component is important, the question we are most focused on is "How might we increase the value of our face to face time?" Less worksheets and more collaborative work with an authentic purpose is the real benefit of blended learning.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As we look at how to share this vision with all teachers, we discussed the value of “seeing is believing.” Our focus group teachers have volunteered to create learning videos that can be shared with all teachers where they record and then annotate a blended learning math lesson. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We will also spend some time re-introducing Khan Academy and the many new features added in the last year. Our approach may be a somewhat modified blended learning model, but in the world of one size does not fit all, it seems to be a starting place.</span></div>
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854493447469702818.post-40216179823214823722014-04-23T10:06:00.001-07:002014-05-26T21:43:54.277-07:00Fraction Fun<div style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/R0lQRA6ekGiBT7Z3dfXEqj6rZY6tmi1uw9hTmLpf_WAeruycdy8ndLLA4dkg6Z_R0eLN5aZBurwqzdDmZWYj_Y9rBP3WPiMFnbTMPtycMJLP9WFj6Qdx7i7Q9J5s1gKocA" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="IMG_3138.jpg" border="0" height="320" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/R0lQRA6ekGiBT7Z3dfXEqj6rZY6tmi1uw9hTmLpf_WAeruycdy8ndLLA4dkg6Z_R0eLN5aZBurwqzdDmZWYj_Y9rBP3WPiMFnbTMPtycMJLP9WFj6Qdx7i7Q9J5s1gKocA" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0rad); border: none;" width="240" /></span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
When you first walk into the classroom you see buckets of math manipulatives along the wall. There are tiles, cubes, little bears, people, bugs, geoboards, etc. The room is bright and full of energy! What is about to happen is a math lesson where students have an opportunity to show what they have learned about fractions. </div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">The students have been working on fractions, learning about regions, sets, and fractions on a number line. Mrs. Pomposo, a third grade teacher at Covington Elementary, wanted an activity where the students can demonstrate their knowledge in a fun unique way. She came across a video of a lesson that did just that. The lesson is called "Fraction Museum" and it allows students to be creative in the way they express their knowledge of fractions. </span><span style="line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was very enjoyable to watch the students as they thought about what fractions to display in their museums. </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Above is the video of the original lesson.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The students received the following instructions at the beginning of the class:</span></div>
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As a curator of a museum your job is to design five exhibits of fractions. Be able to explain your factions collection and what you know about fractions.<span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Try to incorporate a variety of exhibits, include an exhibit that shows fractions with a region, a set and a number line. Write a small tag to go along with each exhibit.</span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">You can feel the excitement in the room as the students picked out all sorts of colorful objects to build their museum. Allowing the students the choice of how to display and explain their museum brought about so many creative and thought-provoking discussions.</span></div>
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One student had 7 bears lined up and had a fraction of 5/7. I looked at his bears and said there are 7 bears and your fraction is 5/7. Is it 5/7 because you have 5 blue bears out of the 7 bears? He said no, the 5 bears are something else. Hmmm, I said, then I noticed the way the bears were facing. He explained to me that he had 5 bears facing left and the other 2 were facing right; therefore, the faction represented the 5 out of the 7 bears were facing left. I thought to myself, how clever! The students had great fun creating and explaining their museums and were proud of what they created. One of the important parts of the activity was the ability of the students to explain their fractions to their peers.They were all calling me over to their exhibits wanting to show them off and explain them to me. Some students realized that their fractions where a little off when explaining, but quickly added or removed a piece to make it correct. They were able to self-correct through their explaining.</div>
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/O9OpaY4usyUPcuJaB8m5LLG6Ic4sfMyU1eu13VVQE5abm9yxlSRL7uQ55-J6uHM18fVsVMCaVqBYBlA56jIHp8ESadqo-iiT1S_h-vKyTcnIlTijsUUWJgJRPDlqtFNKTQ" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="IMG_3155.JPG" border="0" height="199px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/O9OpaY4usyUPcuJaB8m5LLG6Ic4sfMyU1eu13VVQE5abm9yxlSRL7uQ55-J6uHM18fVsVMCaVqBYBlA56jIHp8ESadqo-iiT1S_h-vKyTcnIlTijsUUWJgJRPDlqtFNKTQ" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0rad); border: none;" width="266px;" /></a></div>
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The exhibit they had the most fun with was the mystery fraction. The students created a fraction with the objects, but labeled this one with a question mark. It was up to the observer to figure out what fraction the exhibit displayed. For most of the students this was their favorite part, in fact during our class discussion one student suggested that next time they do this activity that they would like to have all of the exhibits be mystery ones. </div>
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At the end of the activity there was a class discussion about their exhibits, what they found challenging, what they liked, how would they change the activity. The student voice and choice in their learning is extremely important. It not only helps the teacher in finding out what students know, but also how to connect with them. One of the students made a comment about the activity saying “we had fun, but we were learning, but we were having fun.” It is my hope that students feel this way for every lesson. </div>
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<i style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Contributed by Karen Wilson, STEM Coach</i></div>
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Karen Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00483145534921597442noreply@blogger.com1