Monday, August 26, 2013
Jeanna Scheve's Blog: Jeanna Scheve's Blog: Challenge #1: Collaboration ...
Jeanna Scheve's Blog: Jeanna Scheve's Blog: Challenge #1: Collaboration ...: Jeanna Scheve's Blog: Challenge #1: Collaboration to "Teach Up" : This is the first of a series of blogs I want to write in ho...
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Jeanna Scheve's Blog: Challenge #1: Collaboration to "Teach Up"
Jeanna Scheve's Blog: Challenge #1: Collaboration to "Teach Up": This is the first of a series of blogs I want to write in hopes of soliciting a challenge amongst educators. I mentioned not long ago that ...
I Challenge You: Collaboration to "Teach Up"
This is the first of a series of blogs I want to write in hopes of soliciting a challenge amongst educators. I mentioned not long ago that I had taken on a new role. I earned my masters degree, with the hope of being able to engage in instructional partnerships. They call it "instructional coaching", but I have a problem with that phrasing. I've learned that the moment you say you are a "coach", it coincides with every other meaning for coach that a person had before - leader, superior, know-it-all. Though this is the LAST series of meanings I ever intended, I naively went with my training and introduced myself as an "instructional coach" to a new staff. Mistake #1. Not only was I a new staff member, but the idea of instructional partnerships was not well known. I successfully isolated myself. Where is the "edit" button in live conversation? What I meant was partner. Purely and simply - a partner.
In 2007, this vision hit me like a Mack truck. My whole department of science teachers had left (for various reasons) and that included my colleague, mentor, and friend, Kelli. The collaboration I had with her on a daily basis helped me to "teach up". I learned so much from her and at the same time, she empowered me to develop my own classroom and style of teaching. Starting the 07-08 school year without that "partner challenge", I came to the realization that every teacher should have access to someone to bounce ideas off of, someone to help look at student data, a resource for tips and strategies, an outside perspective to walk around in my class and help me to see things I was missing. I was lucky to have teachers in my building that wanted that kind of partnership as well, and we helped one another to grow.
Despite the verbal beating I gave myself after that first meeting with staff, about three or four forgiving teachers actually began coming in with problems we could solve together. As a teacher, I was always searching for that collaborative peer (regardless of their subject) who just got kids - knew how to work with them and make them tick. Classroom management, lesson organization, individualization, and assessment methods are all things that no matter what our specialized content, I could collaborate with other educators on. I fell in love with collaboration. As a mentoring program coordinator for five years and a mentor for seven, I was re-energized with every meeting with both new and veteran staff members. This became my calling: I wanted to help teachers, to be there for them as someone who understands kids and had success in the classroom for thirteen years. Nine years as a presenter in multiple formats and levels also helped to hone in on collaboration skills.
Yet, the idea of me in my own classroom and you in yours is still very much engrained. In my own classroom, the greatest growth I experienced, hands down, was from collaboration. I wanted to steal ideas from the best of the best and make them my own. I wanted to be someone's favorite teacher; that one they felt connected to; the one who made a difference. I didn't settle for mediocre from myself or my students, and my heart was wrapped around those students that were hardest to reach. My vision as a collaborator is to inspire growth and help others find fulfillment in a field that is so precious and important to me. Our future (that's our students) literally depends on it.
I truly think that this is where most educators start in their careers. Hungry, determined, and ready for a challenge. Somewhere between loading up our young teachers with extra duties that no one else wants, and letting teachers of seniority determine that "those" kids get dumped in the newbies room, the sink or swim of the first year alone is daunting. If they make it a second or third year, they've got a shot at pulling through. After about 5 years, you feel like you've gotten the hang of it, but if you are not challenging yourself, you may end up rolling down the road of contentment....or become just plain idle. Don't be the teacher on idle...embrace collaboration. Take every opportunity you can to learn about yourself as an educator and greet each day with, "What am I doing to get better today?"
This has a ripple effect. Your students will notice! I was honest with my students when we tried new things. They were given ample opportunities to voice their opinions or concerns, as I asked for their feedback after I tried something. I was transparent in saying, "This is a new way of doing things. It'll either flop or be awesome." They knew if it flopped, I'd own it and say, "Wow, that stunk. Let me try again." What happened next? Well, my students knew they could take risks, too! They were taking more chances in their projects, in asking questions, and in receiving feedback. Wouldn't it be awesome if we, as educators, collaborated and took risks in this way? The same way we expect students to in our own rooms?
Therein lies the needs for collaboration. It keeps you fresh and on tap with what others in your field are doing. New ideas spur on new passion. We have too much to do in education to be on our own islands. We must break down walls and build bridges with our colleagues. As an instructional collaborator, I want to give my teachers everything I've got. If I don't know something, I'll find out. If a strategy we tried isn't working, we'll try something else. It is a journey we take together, and all for the benefit of student learning and achievement. .
My challenge to you: Take a planning period or get a colleague to cover you so that you can go sit in another teacher's room. Ask them if you can sit in (what a compliment) with the intent of walking out with a new idea to try. Follow up with them and ask questions or converse about what you saw. This practice alone is a great way to get your bridge started. Let me know how it goes.
In 2007, this vision hit me like a Mack truck. My whole department of science teachers had left (for various reasons) and that included my colleague, mentor, and friend, Kelli. The collaboration I had with her on a daily basis helped me to "teach up". I learned so much from her and at the same time, she empowered me to develop my own classroom and style of teaching. Starting the 07-08 school year without that "partner challenge", I came to the realization that every teacher should have access to someone to bounce ideas off of, someone to help look at student data, a resource for tips and strategies, an outside perspective to walk around in my class and help me to see things I was missing. I was lucky to have teachers in my building that wanted that kind of partnership as well, and we helped one another to grow.
Despite the verbal beating I gave myself after that first meeting with staff, about three or four forgiving teachers actually began coming in with problems we could solve together. As a teacher, I was always searching for that collaborative peer (regardless of their subject) who just got kids - knew how to work with them and make them tick. Classroom management, lesson organization, individualization, and assessment methods are all things that no matter what our specialized content, I could collaborate with other educators on. I fell in love with collaboration. As a mentoring program coordinator for five years and a mentor for seven, I was re-energized with every meeting with both new and veteran staff members. This became my calling: I wanted to help teachers, to be there for them as someone who understands kids and had success in the classroom for thirteen years. Nine years as a presenter in multiple formats and levels also helped to hone in on collaboration skills.
Yet, the idea of me in my own classroom and you in yours is still very much engrained. In my own classroom, the greatest growth I experienced, hands down, was from collaboration. I wanted to steal ideas from the best of the best and make them my own. I wanted to be someone's favorite teacher; that one they felt connected to; the one who made a difference. I didn't settle for mediocre from myself or my students, and my heart was wrapped around those students that were hardest to reach. My vision as a collaborator is to inspire growth and help others find fulfillment in a field that is so precious and important to me. Our future (that's our students) literally depends on it.
I truly think that this is where most educators start in their careers. Hungry, determined, and ready for a challenge. Somewhere between loading up our young teachers with extra duties that no one else wants, and letting teachers of seniority determine that "those" kids get dumped in the newbies room, the sink or swim of the first year alone is daunting. If they make it a second or third year, they've got a shot at pulling through. After about 5 years, you feel like you've gotten the hang of it, but if you are not challenging yourself, you may end up rolling down the road of contentment....or become just plain idle. Don't be the teacher on idle...embrace collaboration. Take every opportunity you can to learn about yourself as an educator and greet each day with, "What am I doing to get better today?"
This has a ripple effect. Your students will notice! I was honest with my students when we tried new things. They were given ample opportunities to voice their opinions or concerns, as I asked for their feedback after I tried something. I was transparent in saying, "This is a new way of doing things. It'll either flop or be awesome." They knew if it flopped, I'd own it and say, "Wow, that stunk. Let me try again." What happened next? Well, my students knew they could take risks, too! They were taking more chances in their projects, in asking questions, and in receiving feedback. Wouldn't it be awesome if we, as educators, collaborated and took risks in this way? The same way we expect students to in our own rooms?
Therein lies the needs for collaboration. It keeps you fresh and on tap with what others in your field are doing. New ideas spur on new passion. We have too much to do in education to be on our own islands. We must break down walls and build bridges with our colleagues. As an instructional collaborator, I want to give my teachers everything I've got. If I don't know something, I'll find out. If a strategy we tried isn't working, we'll try something else. It is a journey we take together, and all for the benefit of student learning and achievement. .
My challenge to you: Take a planning period or get a colleague to cover you so that you can go sit in another teacher's room. Ask them if you can sit in (what a compliment) with the intent of walking out with a new idea to try. Follow up with them and ask questions or converse about what you saw. This practice alone is a great way to get your bridge started. Let me know how it goes.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Jeanna Scheve's Blog: Designing Units for Differentiation
Jeanna Scheve's Blog: Designing Units for Differentiation: I taught science for the past twelve years until this past May when my family moved closer to my husband's family ranch. The system that m...
Designing Units for Differentiation
I taught science for the past twelve years until this past May when my family moved closer to my husband's family ranch. The system that my colleague, Kelli Allen, and I developed over time, ended up in the following form upon my departure from the HS classroom:
1) Pre-assess students
2) Identify the big 3 (what students must know) and plan unit based on pre-assessment
3) Use formative assessments after each big idea is taught
4) Students that pass the formative, go on to enrichment - research, posters, blogs, partner presentations, self-designed lab, etc.
5) Students that did not pass the formative, go on to a choice-based "menu". We started out with 4 assignments students could choose from (based in 4 different learning styles). These assignments were for remediation and were done with explicit instruction. We made them in a way that when the student chose the assignment, they could guide themselves through it well. We called it "individual work time". Students would choose one, work on it, work with the teacher as needed, and then have a reflective conversation with the teacher at the end. If the teacher and student felt ready, another formative assessment would be given.
6) In the end, all students were working towards mastery the whole time and then given a summative assessment (in multiple forms - many times project-based).
1) Pre-assess students
2) Identify the big 3 (what students must know) and plan unit based on pre-assessment
3) Use formative assessments after each big idea is taught
4) Students that pass the formative, go on to enrichment - research, posters, blogs, partner presentations, self-designed lab, etc.
5) Students that did not pass the formative, go on to a choice-based "menu". We started out with 4 assignments students could choose from (based in 4 different learning styles). These assignments were for remediation and were done with explicit instruction. We made them in a way that when the student chose the assignment, they could guide themselves through it well. We called it "individual work time". Students would choose one, work on it, work with the teacher as needed, and then have a reflective conversation with the teacher at the end. If the teacher and student felt ready, another formative assessment would be given.
6) In the end, all students were working towards mastery the whole time and then given a summative assessment (in multiple forms - many times project-based).
I taught 9-12 grades in a 4A school with over 55% free/reduced
lunch. My classes were always full. Kids loved being able to choose
and felt empowered to do their own projects. They wanted to get to
mastery to be able to research parts of topics they were intrigued
about.
It is a lot of work - if you try to do it for every unit all year long. I taught 4 preps and so did my co-worker. We just aimed for one unit at a time to change up. In my trainings, I tell teachers to pick one per semester. Then those are done for the most part for next year, when you can pick a couple more.
It is a lot of work - if you try to do it for every unit all year long. I taught 4 preps and so did my co-worker. We just aimed for one unit at a time to change up. In my trainings, I tell teachers to pick one per semester. Then those are done for the most part for next year, when you can pick a couple more.
Once created, we
only tweaked things for the next year - always looking for fresh
activities the kids would enjoy. My colleague and I wrote two books (Yes ! Can and Understanding Learning Styles) that feature
our system and have traveled for the past 7 years to schools/conferences
to teach others how it can be used for all content areas.
If you'd
like a sample of a science unit, I can forward one to you to look at.
JS
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Risks beget risks: Take one with your students
I like to try new things in my classroom. I like to learn. Mistakes are a crucial part of that, and a humbling one. It is risky business to do something you've never done before and to try to become proficient at it. Yet, is that what we ask of our students on a regular basis? If it isn't, shouldn't it be?
I do not like to settle into familiar paths, especially if I see my students failing to thrive in those paths. My course changes as they need me to change it. Sometimes these changes lead me in directions that are uncomfortable, unfamiliar, and have a high potential of being (in my student's words) an epic...fail. Despite the skill I may feel I have in determining learning gaps and prescribing individualized anecdotes, sometimes things do not go as I planned. It is a scary place and can leave me feeling silly for trying in the first place. Little voices around me can tout, "Stick with what you've always done"..."It's easier just to recycle your plans"..."Why go to all that work for the same pay?"..."Who are you trying to impress?"
But then again, there are those risks you take that pay off in extraordinary measures. Some of the finest moments I have had in the classroom have come from a risk I took, a gut-feeling that paid off.
Consider my most recent risk - a CyberSurgeons simulation with my Anatomy & Physiology students. A tip from a colleague spurred my research into this potential experience for my students, and I went for it. There were funding set backs, which ended up resolving themselves when CyberSurgeons provided our initial mission using their own education grant funding. There were moments when I wondered if the weeks of preparation beforehand would be worth the experience,...an experience I had not had for myself. The encouragement of a parent (who is also our Tech Coordinator) compelled me to move forward.
The literature that I read about CyberSurgeons was limited, but from what I saw, it looked like a great opportunity. Should it be a hit, I thought ahead to inviting possible benefactors to watch the simulation for potential funding in the future. So, I went through the teacher training and then I trained my students. Overall, I was just excited for the mission. And then reality set in.
I had invited community members, local representatives from the school board, a few foundations, the local hospital, and my own administrators in to watch something I didn't know would fail or be successful. In addition, I did not even have my own experience with it to bank on, as it would be my first time, too. I had invited an audience in to watch a first time experience for my students and myself. The night before the mission, this is the thought that kept me awake throughout the night.
The morning of the mission came, and I knew my students were a bit nervous, too. However, both the morning and afternoon missions went off without a hitch! My students were incredible in their missions and had nothing but positive feedback to share two days later in our reflective conversation. I confessed to them how it was one of the most rewarding experiences I had had as a teacher in my twelve years, and I thanked them for taking a leap with me into something that was unknown to us all. I am so thankful to each of them for going with it and for their hard work.
I do not know if they realize what a risk I felt I was taking on both them and myself, but they were taking a risk too. They were doing something new and most reported, "It was a rush." CyberSurgeons, for those science teachers out there, is an experience worth checking out! I had several students tell me they were looking into jobs like clinical interventionist and medical surgical specialist after learning through the simulation what valuable positions these are in the medical field. Bonus!
And lastly, I'll leave this thought. Taking risks is a gamble you take on yourself. Can you imagine if we as teachers model this for students, how many of them may become that much more comfortable with taking risks (or chances) on themselves? How far could we see ourselves go? or grow? How far would they go? Can our courage beget their courage? Our risks beget theirs? Should we provide encouragement to try, and help them to find the lesson even amongst possible utter failure, I believe more of our students would take risks with us. Otherwise, the fear of failure can leave many of them paralyzed yet comfortable in the stagnation of daily education.
Tomorrow, most of us will be in an in-service. Let us dare to learn something new and pay attention to an opportunity for taking risks, and remember the fun in learning along with our students. Go on, you risk-taker you...
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Jeanna Scheve's Blog: Have a Little Help from Our Friends
Jeanna Scheve's Blog: Have a Little Help from Our Friends: The "uncommon" start to Common Core enhances the need for a K-20 conversation and teamwork!
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