MMM--Dont blame it on the tech--modified post from E. Sheninger

Technology often gets a bad rap in education circles. Perception and lack of information influence the decision making process. I just heard a teacher say at an inservice recently, "I dont have time to learn technology. Kids don't need it anyway." I had to confront that teacher. Not only is technology a required piece of the CCSS, but c'mon... We ofen see this misinformation resulting in the formation of rules and policies that restrict or prohibit student use of technology as a tool to support and enhance learning. Even with the proliferation of technology across all facets of society, we still see schools moving at a snail’s pace (if at all) to adapt, or better yet evolve, to a digital world.  We have to inform our policy makers and our teachers. E. Sheninger writes, "From this ignorance a plethora of excuses arise. Educators and administrators are quick to point to technology as the main culprit for an array of issues." 

Image credit: http://image.slidesharecdn.com/

Leading ed tech scholar Eric Sheninger goes on to point out, "Case in point.  Over the summer I was working with a couple hundred school leaders on digital leadership. As the presentation began to focus on mobile learning initiatives a hand immediately went up. In a polite tone the school leader expressed his apprehension with allowing students to bring or use their own devices in school.  His main fear was a concern that students would be constantly off task texting or checking their social media accounts.  I paused for a moment to decide on an appropriate response.  Herein lies some irony. For the majority of my presentation this school leader had been disengaged himself with his technology.  As the majority of the group intently listed or participated in planned activities to apply what had been learned this individual and his buddies checked their email, surfed the web, and accessed their own social media sites.

The off-task behavior in the example above was glaring. I seized the opportunity to not only call the group out tactfully and with respect, but to also hammer home a few points. Adults can be just as bad, if not worse, than our students when it comes to technology. How can we as adults set expectations for device use for kids if we ourselves are not willing to abide by those same expectations?  This is quite hypocritical don’t you think?  Change in mindset hinges on our ability to challenge certain assumptions that we have in terms of mobile technologies.  When we do, the end result is that every one of us has been guilty of the same types of behaviors that students are chastised for. 

Stay with me on this as we take a walk down memory lane.  I want you to think back to your days as a student before the proliferation of mobile technology. Through a series of questions I am going to not only ask you to reflect on what you did, but also in the process challenge some firmly entrenched assumptions regarding technology. Here we go!

• Did you ever write a note and pass it? Today’s students text or communicate via social media.
• Were you ever so bored in class that you doodled or daydreamed? Well, now kids check their social media accounts or use apps to engage themselves.
• Did any of you ever see someone with a cheat sheet or answers written on their hand? Now I know as educators you never did this, but I think you get my point. Obviously kids can use technology to do this now as well.
• Did you ever break any school rules that you didn't agree with? Students do this all the time when dictator-like policies and rules govern technology use.

The point here is that it is not a technology issue, but many people make it one. The behavior argument that many make is flawed. It is first and foremost a school culture issue, which falls on the shoulders of leaders. Schools and districts that have embraced technology through a shared vision and resulting plan focused on learning reinforce appropriate use. The other issue is a classroom management one.  It goes without saying that if lessons are not authentically engaging and there is a lack of monitoring, students will at times go off task. With any learning activity, with or without technology, effective pedagogy is key.

The process of effectively integrating devices begins with our ability to model appropriate use while reinforcing student expectations for the role of mobile devices.  Make sure the essential elements are in place to ensure that devices afford students the opportunity to:

• Support and/or enhance their learning
• Conduct better research
• Improve personal productivity
• Develop and model digital responsibility and citizenship
• Acquire and apply critical digital literacies

It is time to not only perform the job that we signed up for, educating kids, but also do so in a way that prepares them to harness the learning power of mobile technologies. Excuses plague education systems around the world. Stop making it about the adults and focus on what’s best for learners today. "

Eric Sheninger's blog post is clearly on the cutting edge, but I hope that it rings home with you. 

Blog post inspired by and quoted from hhttp://esheninger.blogspot.com/tp://esheninger.blogspot.com/

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Calendar of Events:

K Assessment collection window closes--Oct 30

DTC Training online from ODE--Nov 3-5
Teach Like a Pirate--Nov 13
E-RATE TRAINING @ Harney ESD--Nov 20 9AM-4pm
Writing Scoring--Dec 11
Teacher Voice Workshop--Jan. 8
Deadline to distribute Report Cards to Parents--Jan 15
Teacher Voice Workshop--Feb 12
Math Talk Workshop--April 15-16
Katrina Ayres--Classroom Practices--May 6

MMM-How good do you want to be?

How Good to You Want to Be?

LSU vs. Alabama is always a classic battle in college football. The teams have much in common. They are both from the SEC. They have both won national championships in recent years. Finally, they both won national championships under Nick Saban (with LSU winning another under Les Miles).

Coach Saban wrote a great book entitled, How Good Do You Want to Be?  The book was interesting for multiple reasons. First, Alabama just won a national championship, and therefore the team and its coach were news.
Secondly, even though the cover pictured Saban dressed in Alabama crimson, the book was clearly written just after his LSU team won the 2003 BCS National Championship. How does what Coach Saban wrote seven years and two coaching stints ago relate to the present Alabama team? How does this book relate to a blog about Harney County teachers?

Chapter 2, entitled "The Competitive Spirit," opens with the subheading "Don't look at the scoreboard." Saban argues that the focus should be on the process not the product. If the process is solid, the product takes care of itself. That thinking is very much in line with what the coach has been saying each season since arriving at Alabama. In the book, Saban goes on to say, "It is natural to be affected by where you are in life, but looking at the score and results can only take you away from your competitive spirit. Not only should you not concern yourself with the score, you should also avoid setting the bar or establishing benchmarks for success" (p. 58).

This year as in many other years, much talk centered around a possible national title run for Alabama. In the book, Saban says, "One of the hardest things to do in sports is to repeat as a champion. It is exceedingly rare in college or pro sports these days. Part of the reason is parity, but part of it is champions lose focus because of the distractions that success brings. The championship becomes the focus--not what it takes to be a champion" (pp. 68-69). Furthermore, he says, "We don't talk about repeating as national champions and we don't spend time thinking about the targets that are on our backs" (pp.71-72).

As a teacher, principal and now director, I am particularly interested in the three-page subheading in the "Being a Great Leader" chapter entitled "Organization." Saban says, "And to be the most effective leader, you have to be organized." Saban offers these examples of what he does to stay organized (pp.129-130):

• Every practice plan and set of game notes, going back as far as I can remember, I organize into huge binders that I can refer to when I need to.
• I keep a pen and paper with me at all times during practice to quickly write down items we need to correct.
• Our pregame routine is organized down to the minute, and areas of the field are assigned for position groups. For example, no matter where we are playing, the running backs are always warming up at the 20-yard line opposite our bench.
• I prepare an agenda and a list of items to cover the day before all daily staff meetings so nothing is left out.

Saban goes on to say, "Organization is critical to efficiency. If I have a pet peeve (and I have a few), it's wasted time..." (p. 130)

How Good Do You Want to Be? is a good read whether you are pulling for the team Saban coaches now or for the team he coached when he wrote the book. It might not only give you a better insight into the game, but also how you can come closer to achieving your own goals.

Modified post from Frank Buck Organization Blog--Thanks Mr. Buck!

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Calendar of Events:

SBAC/OAKS online practice tests available--Oct 20

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K Assessment collection window closes--Oct 30

DTC Training online from ODE--Nov 3-5
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E-RATE TRAINING @ Harney ESD--Nov 20 9AM-4pm
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Deadline to distribute Report Cards to Parents--Jan 15

MMM--Expectations

A teacher’s beliefs about students’ chances of success in school influence the teacher’s actions with students, which in turn influence students’ achievement. If the teacher believes students can succeed, she tends to behave in ways that help them succeed. If the teacher believes that students cannot succeed, she unwittingly tends to behave in ways that subvert student success or at least do not facilitate student success. This is perhaps one of the most powerful hidden dynamics of teaching because it is typically an unconscious activity.

R. J. Marzano (2007, p. 162)

Perhaps our true calling in education is to hold ourselves and all our students accountable for superior performance. 

             Expectations are a critical component of what we do in Harney County schools. Truthfully, unbelievably great students like many in our schools stand out as exceptional young people in every way. Although we have all helped them grow, they succeed primarily as a result of loving parents who hold their own lofty expectations for their children. Although not every student will realize that level of success, we can and should expect each of our students to succeed at the very highest level possible for them as individuals—even knowing that, in many instances, we are the best adult role models and parents they may have in their lives.

Anyone who has spent a large amount of time talking with me about education knows that my core charge to educators is simply this: we must clearly establish high expectations for students and then set about building relationships with them such that they will want to meet our expectations. Although this is just an educated guess based on fourteen years of teaching experience, as opposed to any massive research I have conducted on this topic, I suspect that nothing influences how well our students perform in terms of academics and behavior as much as the expectations we hold for them and the old adage of firm, fair, and consistent. Probably the most famous study in the area of teacher expectations for students is Rosenthal and Jacobson’s Pygmalion in the Classroom (1968) in which teachers were told at the outset that 20% of their students (randomly selected) were identified as “spurters” whose academic performance would likely grow dramatically during the year. Sure enough, at the end of the year, these 20% significantly out gained the 80% who were not identified as “spurters” on an academic achievement test.

            Marzano (2007) discusses two categories of teacher behaviors that communicate expectations to students: affective tone and quality of interactions with students. Affective tone refers to the extent to which teachers establish positive emotions in classrooms. In terms of quality of interactions, research shows that teachers differ in their interactions with high- versus low-expectancy students. To avoid differential treatment in terms of affective tone, Marzano suggests examining whether we treat “low-expectancy” students differently by:

§  Making less eye contact

§  Smiling less

§  Making less physical contact or maintaining less proximity

§  Engaging in less playful or light dialogue

Relative to quality of interactions, he suggests examining whether we treat low-expectancy students differently by:

§  Calling on them less

§  Asking them less-challenging questions

§  Not delving into their answers as deeply

§  Rewarding them for less-rigorous responses

There is no doubt that as I reflect on my teaching career, I have fear that I was guilty of several of the above differences in my treatment of students for whom I held lower expectations. My intentions were not malicious; rather, I thought I was doing “lower” students a favor by letting them off the hook at times or by making them deals. Of course, as Marzano suggests, this thinking—though well-intentioned, perhaps—was folly. We must work to communicate high expectations for all students.

          

          Blackburn (2007) also addresses expectations and suggests there are three ways to incorporate high expectations in your classroom: (a) through your words; (b) through your actions; and (c) through your expectations of one another in the classroom. The language we use with students clearly reflects our beliefs. Students will follow our model when they hear us using excuses or saying we can’t do something. Even more important, our actions must show that we expect all students to learn. By calling on all students and making all students demonstrate their understanding of the content, we are communicating our expectations through our actions. Finally, we must cultivate a classroom culture whereby students expect each other to learn, participate, and behave properly. Through our modeling, students can learn to reinforce positive learning and behavioral actions for each other.

            Many students at our school have absolutely no vision of anything other than where they are right now. We can help our kids create a different vision for themselves through our words (including affective tone) and actions (including quality of interactions). Many teachers at our school are obvious masters at expecting their students to perform in a certain way and holding them accountable for doing so. In a matter of days, their students are well on their way to learning more than they ever thought possible. If you have a chance, try to stop by classrooms for a peer observation visit soon or invite others to see how you use expectations to influence outcomes in your own classroom. Understanding that our expectations for students influence outcomes and acting accordingly is another way we commit Getting it Done! at our school each day.

 Have a Great Week!

Post modified and quoted from Jeff Zoul post E is for Expectations

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Webinar: Training for Cumulative ADM Exit Adjustment--Oct 13, 2pm
PST/NmSQT Testing--Oct 14/28

Public release of report cards and detail sheets--Oct 15
Collection Window for IUID--Oct 15 opens
NAEP Coordinator Deadline to provide school info--Oct 16
SBAC/OAKS online practice tests available--Oct 20
K Assessment testing window closes--Oct 22

Number Sense Training Opportunity--Oct 23-24 @ Harney ESD
K Assessment collection window closes--Oct 30

DTC Training online from ODE--Nov 3-5
E-RATE TRAINING @ Harney ESD--Nov 20 9AM-4pm
Deadline to distribute Report Cards to Parents--Jan 15

They will remember 10% of what you teach them and 90% of how you treat them!

Upon entering the field of education I had the pleasure of working with several great administrators in the Meridian School district. One of those administrators game me a quote that I'll never forget: "They will remember 10% of what you teach them and 90% of how you treat them."  I have and will not every forgot this great quote. In fact, I have it posted in a place in my office that constantly reminds me of this adage. In a recent blog post I was reminded of this quote when the following popped up. You will not be disappointed in this read! 

The blog post highlighted this quote from the article: 

"Because we want our students to think we're the very best at what we do and we believe that this status of excellence is achieved merely by doing.  But we forget- and often.  Excellence is more readily attained by being."

Here is the article for you to read: click here

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Calendar of Events:

Poverty in Mind Due Date--Oct 7
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Journeys training at Slater--Oct 9
Webinar: Training for Cumulative ADM Exit Adjustment--Oct 13, 2pm
PST/NmSQT Testing--Oct 14/28

Public release of report cards and detail sheets--Oct 15
Collection Window for IUID--Oct 15 opens
NAEP Coordinator Deadline to provide school info--Oct 16
SBAC/OAKS online practice tests available--Oct 20
K Assessment testing window closes--Oct 22

Number Sense Training Opportunity--Oct 23-24 @ Harney ESD
K Assessment collection window closes--Oct 30

DTC Training online from ODE--Nov 3-5