7-9 hours for everyone. Even if you’re one of those people who say you don’t need at least 7 hours, research says otherwise (maybe you’re suffering from sleep debt). A few years ago, Apple introduced Bedtime, which operates within their clock app. After answering a series of questions, you can be in more control of your sleep schedule. I use this because I usually get into some sort of evening project, whether it’s reading, writing or exercising, after my kid goes to bed. It’s easy for me to lose track of time, but this little feature politely reminds me when my bedtime is approaching so I can take care of a few things before turning in.
When I sent the mystery tweet, Sam Buckles from McCall Elementary also enthusiastically responded that she wanted to do anything related to technology that would benefit her 4th graders. Sam is new to Aledo and brings with her extensive experience implementing technology in the classroom, so this challenge was definitely something she wanted to tackle.
I need one teacher volunteer to get us started with a new movement in @AledoISD You can be the start of something amazing! #aledomindset
When I went to visit Sam’s class, her students began by reading in their Texas History textbook for a few minutes about the early settlers of Texas. Then, she transitioned to the Chromebooks where students worked in groups to discuss and respond to questions she assigned them through Google Classroom.
As I moved around the room, I saw students reading, talking and helping one another. Some students sat at their desks in groups, one group sat on the floor and another at a half-circle table near the teacher desk.
I saw one little girl smile and say to herself “I like this,” so I asked her a few questions when she reached a stopping point. She said the reason she liked the activity they did with the Chromebooks was because she liked switching things up a bit. That’s one of the coolest things about the #AledoWSChallenge–it starts this sort of snowball effect. It can begin as a small change, but that small change seems to spice things up enough to excite the students. When the teacher sees this, s/he feels better about investing time into pivoting toward something new for another activity, continuing the cycle.
I was also interested in finding out what the students thought about Google Classroom. There’s sort of an ever-running debate about which grade levels can and should use Classroom because of the navigation that’s necessary for turning in assignments, finding artifacts in Google Drive to share with the teacher, and the level of maturity and etiquette required to participate in a forum-esque space with the Stream in Classroom.
When I asked the students how they felt about Mrs. Buckles using Google Classroom, they said they preferred it to the more traditional methods.
One student said, “I like when she uses Google Classroom because she can write comments to us and we can write them back. I like this better than reading what she writes on my paper because I can write back and it’s like we’re talking. It makes me feel important when she writes back to me.”
Therein lies one of the fundamental advantages to using technology in the classroom–it can help build student confidence. Sam noticed this, too. She said she feels like students who might not normally speak up in front of their classmates or come to her with a question or comment are more likely to do so through Google Classroom. So often, we focus on how the digital veil encourages negative things like cyberbullying, but we need to also recognize that it can create a distance that empowers meeker students to engage in an exchange they might not pursue in person. Sam’s students are fortunate that she noticed this and responded by building in different formats for them. This is a true example of what it means to meet students where they are and differentiating appropriately to help them grow as students as well as people.
Thanks for inviting me in, Sam. I can’t wait to see what you’ll do next!
Sam challenges Samantha Hatton, Hannah Parsley and Lendy Nicholson (you can also think of this as the ENTIRE 4th grade team at Walsh) to do the next #AledoWSChallenge.
Last month, April Riley tweeted about #NoWorksheetNovember because she thought some Aledo ISD teachers were probably ready to transition to more project-based alternatives to worksheets. She was right.
The thing I really liked about the #NoWorksheetNovember movement is that it encourages baby steps for teachers. In my experience, the idea of project-based learning can be overwhelming. Similar to the times we talked about “going paperless,” the idea itself is daunting when thinking of it as an all-or-nothing shift. The least damaging result of this assumption is teacher burnout which commonly results in the more damaging–simply digitizing worksheets and calling it creative/innovation/progress/improvement/(insert latest buzzword here). With #NoWorksheetNovember, teachers are encouraged to start with just one worksheet they’ve used in the past and rework it to make it more engaging.
My only hangup with #NoWorksheetNovember was that November’s a short month for schools and I wanted to keep a movement like that, well, moving. So I turned to our amazing teachers to get things started.
Think back a few years to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge that took social media by storm. People poured ice water over their heads and challenged someone else to do the same to increase awareness of ALS and encourage research donations. I thought if we merged the bite-size progression of #NoWorksheetNovember with the challenge concept of the Ice Bucket Challenge, we could inspire our teachers to take some positive professional risks to improve student learning.
Sometimes in life, it feels like things just sort of line up. I don’t think it was a coincidence that Anna Mazzei, 6th grade Math teacher at McAnally Intermediate, was the first to accept the challenge when I sent this mysterious tweet/Facebook post:
I had several responses from others (some who were all-in without knowing details, some who wanted to know what they were getting into) which was wonderful. I love how our teachers are always hungry for ways they can improve learning for our students. The additional volunteers are working on the challenge as I type this!
At McAnally, Anna decided to tackle this #AledoWSChallenge for her lesson on ratios.
Before:
Anna says she taught the concept of ratios using activities and used a worksheet to help students practice what they learned.
After:
Research shows that students learn better and retain information longer (among other benefits) when concepts are taught across more than one subject area. For her lesson on ratios, Anna collaborated with Micah Sapaugh, McAnally’s Art teacher, to create something truly amazing–a lesson in ratios inspired by the artist, Piet Mondrian.
After first learning about the artist, Anna and Micah shared a 10×10 Google Sheet with students and had them change the color of cells in order to create their own version of Mondrian art.
After they completed this portion of the activity, Anna taught the students about ratios.
I love how Anna and Micah hooked the students by having them form a personal connection to the art itself and (therefore a real-world application) before breaking it down and discussing the link to ratios. Once students understood the concept, they used the art they created to figure out the ratios for each of the colors.
And they didn’t stop there. After practicing ratios using their own pieces, they moved around the room, manipulated ratio representations, and performed calculations of their classmates’ art, too.
Anna was a perfect person to start this movement toward more project-based activities in Aledo. She displays excitement about innovating her current practice while reminding others that it’s okay (better than okay, really) to take baby steps.
“Although I have not fully transitioned to a paperless classroom, the challenge has inspired me to take a minimum of one paper-based activity and turn it into something more hands-on for each lesson. My goal has been to activate each student’s creativity and to create an atmosphere in my class that invokes a love for learning.”
Anna says her students were more engaged and interested as a result of the changes she made. Here’s what they had to say:
“Overall, I believe it has made me a better teacher and stokes a fire inside of me that serves as a clear reminder of why I love my profession and why I chose to become a teacher in the first place – to serve kids, and to serve them to the best of my capability.”
Thanks again for accepting the first #AledoWSChallenge, Anna!
Hope Tuel, you’ve been challenged by Anna for the next #AledoWSChallenge!
