Teacher Evaluations

As something of a refurbished librarian turned computer skills teacher, the process of teacher evaluations will be relatively new to me. I embrace it gingerly and with a sense of trepidation! But in learning more about this process, it has become clear that this really  is - or should be - much more a part of the learning process for teachers - an opportunity to gain insight and reflect on what we are doing, and how well it is working. Or not.

Although i have been teaching for a several years, I have had only one observation that I can recall. Presumably, I have not had others because  I am primarily a librarian. Teaching IT skills was something I was asked to do to fill in since we are a small school, and could not afford additional teachers. But having been forged in the fire, I have learned quite a bit and have developed approaches to teaching that seem to have worked for me, for the most part.

In the coming weeks and months, however, as I step into my Clinical Practice, I will be experience a number of observations. In reflecting on the materials provided for this topic, I have analyzed some current teacher evaluation systems, and I’ve identified some  elements which I  think would be important points of focus during my evaluations.

The National Educators Association (NEA) has highlighted six key principles that must serve as the foundation for developing or reforming any teacher assessment and evaluation system (Teacher Assessment and Evaluation, NEA, 2010):

1. Safe and open collaboration is necessary.
2. Measures of teacher performance should be based on multiple ratings and clear teaching standards.
3. Evaluation systems must be integrated with curricular standards, professional development activities, targeted support, and human capital decisions.
4. Validated evaluation measures are essential.
5. Teachers’ input in determining performance and learning outcomes should be part of the evaluation process.
6. Assessment and evaluation systems need to be jointly created or designed, with local teacher association involvement.

They go on to define effective teaching by providing numerous examples definitions of effective teachers and teaching, and outlining their ten principles that “describe the essential knowledge, skills, and support that teachers must have in order to be effective.”

They go on to discuss Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC): Model Core Teaching Standards which outlines their are ten model core teaching standards:.

1. Learner Development.
2. Learning Differences.
3. Learning Environments.
4. Content Knowledge.
5. Application of Content.
6. Assessment.
7. Planning for Instruction.
8. Instructional Strategies.
9. Professional Learning and Ethical Practice.
10. Leadership and Collaboration.

In fact there is a lot that is similar between the two systems. As we can see there is some overlap in these principles, such as the emphasis on collaboration, standards based assessment of the teacher, and the emphasis on integration of evaluation with curricular standards, and the emphasis on teacher content knowledge, clear and actionable feedback based on comprehensive, transparent standards, and the use of instructional strategies.

From my perspective the most important points of evaluation for teachers are:

1. Evaluation and observation process that is a collaborative activity where the mentor and student teacher are able to work side by dies to develop the strengths of each individual teacher. Learning should also include peers and go beyond the mentor trainee relationship.
2. Common, clearly stated standards must be shared prior to evaluation, and should be  very clearly stated, between the mentor and the teacher candidate. When the standards as clear, it is much more likely that they will be met.
3. Teachers’ input in determining performance and learning outcomes should be part of the evaluation process.
4. Assessment and evaluation systems need to be jointly created or designed, with local teacher association involvement.
5. Planning for Instruction and Instructional Strategies should be the meat of the evaluation process, as well as the most important points for collaborative learning.

All in all, there are many ways one may look at teacher evaluation. But what is most important is that the teacher is reflective. It is essential that the teacher trainee have very clear standards that they will be evaluated on. And finally, is vital that the teacher trainee receive good, clear, honest and routine feedback in order to foster deeper understanding and growth. For as is said by the NEA in their report Teacher Evaluation and Assessment: Ready, Set, Go  “it is important to ‘resist pressures to reduce the definition of effective teaching to a single score obtained on an observation instrument or through a value-added model’ Comprehensive evaluation systems must contain many lenses for looking at teachers’ abilities to promote student learning.”

Pre-Assessment in 6th Grade Computer Skills

As a computer skills teacher, my main goal is to develop students who are confident with using technology, develop a sense of curiosity and a spirit of exploration when it comes to using technology. My goal, as is the goal set by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Standard 1, "Empowered Learner" is that student are then able to channel these energies into effective self-directed learning strategies, that they are able to reflect on their learning, contribute to meaningful discussion about their learning, and ultimately, to be active, progressive, and innovative users and adapters of new technologies in order to produce creative, meaningful, informative  products of their own.

Middle school is the perfect launchpad for developing this kind of attitude and ability, since students in this age group are, for the most part, either already very curious and interested in technology  or they are timid and apprehensive about it. In both cases, a computer skills class that encourages the enthusiastic, and helps the more timid to feel confident about trying new things, is going to be most effective. But in order to properly know who these students are and what their skills sets are, it is vital to perform a per-assessment to identify their unique set of strengths and weaknesses.

For my sixth grade class, as for all of my middle school students, I have used a few pre-assessment tools to help me understand my students better.

Checklist
My first per-assessment tool is a complete skills checklist. It is provided in an interactive PDF format, and students are able to self-asses using the list, checking off each item that they are familiar with, in a systematic manner.
 

Quizlet 
 A second level of assessment involves students looking at a specific aspect of the overall grand checklist. In this example, my sixth graders are asked to identify parts of a computer. I use Quizlet which provides them the ability to do this using a game, as well as enabling them to study and learn the parts using flashcards and other learning tools. This enables me to get a quick fix on where they are on a specific aspect of their computer technology skills, while also enabling them to learn the skills.



Word Document Activity 
A third measure of per-assessment enables me to measure their abilities for myself. I provide them a specific activity, such as  "Letter to My Future Self" in which students are asked to write a letter to themselves, 10 years into the future. At that time they will have finished high school, will be in college, and figuring out what to do with their lives. In this activity, students are to use Microsoft Word to write the letter, and are given a specific set of formatting rules for crafting the letter.  They will have to demonstrate that they know how to do each of the specific skills (indenting a paragraph, centering a title, changing fonts, inserting images, etc. ). 

High Stakes Testing in the International Schools Arena

I've been trying to find a my voice on the issue of High Stakes Assessments, for quite a while, now.
I found inspiration in recent days, when all the world's attentions are focused on this High Stakes Election. But there are similarities -- the outcome of one can have dramatic impacts on our future - for good or ill. Regardless of a host of variables that may conceivably confound the result, ones fate, it would seem, rests squarely upon this one day, this one test or ballot, and the outcome at the end of it. But, I would say, that's not entirely so.

Whether its an election or a High Stakes Test, like the SAT, for example, there is always the counterbalance of free will, self determination, and the kindness of strangers.

The subject of high stakes testing has been on the hot seat, particularly over the past 15 years or so,  since the implementation of the No Child Left Behind (NCBL) laws. These laws, which were introduced as an education-reform bill in 2001, were signed into law by President George W. Bush on Jan. 8, 2002, and represented the most sweeping change in education law since the the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act, that was signed into law by Lyndon B. Johnson.  The NCBL imposed national and state level norms of testing on students across the United States. Their stated intention was to try to raise the bar in terms of academic expectations, hold teachers accountable for their students' learning, and to bring all students to a same level of high performance.

However, in practice, it did not necessarily meet these goals. In practice there were many unintended consequences.

Over the years, the laws and their insistence on high stakes testing led to to bitter debates about the cultural biases of such tests, the potential of using them unfairly to penalize and control teachers, and to unfairly discriminate against students of different categories. The laws and their emphasis on high stakes testing results were criticized for forcing teachers to "teach to the test," rather than to engage and instruct children. Last year, Barack Obama signed a new law into place that was meant to address some of these concerns, called the  Every Student Succeeds Act.   

As a student of education, coming from years as a librarian and information professional in the states, and now working for the last nearly ten years, in an international school in Cote d'Ivoire, West Africa, with a population of students who come from countries around the world, I am looking at this  question through my own particular lens.

As a librarian, I am both a champion of intellectual rigor, and of free expression. As an educator, while I am obviously concerned with similar issues, my focus is more individualized, and centered on the unique strengths and talents of each child, and upon how I can differentiate, scaffold, and otherwise assist each child in reaching his or her potential. As a teacher in a school like ours, I find myself questioning the place of High Assessment Assessments for our students, when the students come from such varied backgrounds, language abilities, and test taking experiences.

At our school, about a third of the students are English language learners, and all of our students are coming from school systems that are based in one of three philosophical positions, that are at odds with one another -- one third from European countries, particularly the Netherlands and Belgium where education systems are very to extremely student centered;  another third from countries that are moderately to extremely test centered such as those the Middle Est countries like Lebanon and France and other Francophone countries, like Cote d'Ivoire and Cameroon, which follow the French educational system, to those from Asian countries such as Korea, Vietnam, China, India; and finally there are those students who come from moderately to extremely traditional teacher centered systems, such as the more moderate American, and the more extreme British school systems, as can be found in South Africa and Ghana. How is it possible to use high stakes assessment in any meaningful way, when our students are coming from such diversity?

Well, we are trying. In this richly diverse setting we're applying an American curriculum and American styled approach to education - including the use of our standardized assessment - the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP).

The MAP test provides a very detailed analysis of students' progress, over time, and provides actionable data about where each child stands in relation to other students in their district, and around the world - and in relation to his or her own learning path. We are asked to use the results of the MAP results to determine whether or not students may be accepted into our school, and if so, at what grade level they are to be placed.  Students are tested at least twice a year, and every other year, there is a third, mid year assessment as well. This enables us to measure academic growth throughout the school year and from year to year in reading and math. 

Such a test can be a wonderful tool - it helps us to really see into the specific strengths and weaknesses of each student, therefore helping teachers to make strategic decisions about what to address with each student. However, when we look at our scores in comparison to other benchmarks -- other test takers throughout the world, for instance, our school's unique characteristics come in to play. With high turn over every year  of both teachers (our overseas teachers change every two or three years) and students (many students leave, many more new students join us each year) how we can we ever have true measures of our school progress, grade performance, or development over time? With so many students at various levels of language proficiency, how can our scores ever be counted on to give us an accurate reflection of their learning?  And with large numbers of students coming from places where testing is never done,  as well as from places where students may have been taking tests since the first grade, and pressure to succeed is extremely high, how can we be sure that the test results are not skewed and impacted by degrees of test taking ability? 

In cases like this it is easy to see the strength and weaknesses of high stakes testing. In our case, they are best used for prescription, with regard to strategic teaching. Beyond that, there are too many unknowns to make them trustworthy. 

So. what does that have to do with the High Stakes Election? Well, not much in reality.  

But we can we regard the outcome of this High Stakes Election result and wonder and debate how it will impact on our society and our individual lives. Depending on your position, your expectations may be rosy or quite bleak. But will the results of this one election - and our one test - have any lasting impact on  our individual long range future? Hard to say. Maybe, Maybe not. There are always the counterbalance of free will, self determination, and the kindness of strangers.

But, perhaps we can learn something of value from it, even if not exactly what we intended.   
For just as our MAP tests' greatest value may not be it's ability to predict the future, but in the diagnostic story that it begins to reveal about  each individual child, and where he or she is coming from,  so might the value of this high stakes  election rest mainly in the diagnostic story it begins to reveal about our society. By offering a glimpse into the workings of our nations' collective conscience,  with regard to a host of different factors,  perhaps this election  can teach us more about where we are coming from - and how far we have to go - than it does about whether or not we will every actually get there. 

Planning Assessments

When  trying to asess a students learning onw may choose to use formative or summative assessments. FOrmative assessments are given frequently and provide information about a students learning, as well as where they need assistance. For this reason, formative assessments should take palce frequently, and should provide a lot of feedback to the student. SUmmative assessments on the other hand,should occur less frequently, and should reflect the totality of learning. If a students has had frequent formative assessments, with thoughtful, constructive feedback, the student should be well prepared for a summative assessment. 

In my 8th grade computer skills class, my students are building robots, This is an easy call since they are easly engaged and love this project from the vasics of building the robot, to the ends, whereby they learn to program the robot to performa avariety of tasks. In addistion to the fun of building the robot, however, they are being taught some basic aspects of robotics, such as the vocabulary for the parts of the robot, input and output devices, and the purpose and soncstruction of flow charts. These are the kinds of skills that are the subject of ISTE Standard 1 Empowered Learnier, objective 1d:

In  order to asess students on basic input and outputs in a system (BIOS) in general, and the input out put devices on our specific model of a robot, I used a variety of assessment tools. 

Entrance Ticket

Initially, I used a formative assessment similar to an Entrance Ticket. Assuming that students have some familiartiy tow input out devices already, they were asked  a simple question - to name an input or output device that they knew of, and place the name of the item on an sticky note. The stickies were then posted on a large notepad at the the beginning of class, before we began the lesson.

Once we began the lesson, I explained what input output devices are, discussing these devices in the context of computers, their purpose and how they fit into an information system. We then discussed the various responses that were provided on the index cards.

Explain What Matters

Another way to measure student's understanding of basic input output systems and the devicese used on computers and on their robots was to have them describe these devices and their purposes to someone else. 

In the Explain What Matters assessment, students are challended to explain the most critical characteristics or functions of an input or output device, to audience of their choosing , such as an alien just landing on earth, a favorite musician, or a small child or, even more challenging to digital natives, their grandparent! THe trick is to do it in  in two or fewer sentences,

Venn Diagram

As students learn to make distinctions among the different types of devices, their functions, and their roles in the system, they will come to see that there are some types of input out put devices that are both input and output, and some that they have named that do not fit into either category. A third method of assessing their understanding of these degrees and variations is to have them create venn diagroms - one circle designated for input sevices, and the other for output devices - those in the center will be of both input and output. ANything else will rest outside the bounds of the two circles. 

At each point along the way, these formative assessments will reveal the varying degrees of understanding that the students' have. These formative asessments will provide opportunites for feedback either from myself or their peers as they refine their understanding of the key concepts of a system, and its component parts of inputs and outputs. 

Summative Assessment

In addition to these tools, the terms, devices, and definitions have all been entered into an online Quizlet that provides another avenue for students, particularly those with language or lower readiness levels, the opportunity to review in a variety of ways including with games. 

After a period of time, and when it seems that all students have been addressed and have had time to absorb and work with the terms, a summative assessment will be provided to measure their learning about a BIOS. 

Understanding and Applying Standards in a Nutshell

During the last few weeks, we have been delving into the process of developing units and lesson plans that are founded in educational standards. This can be -- no, IS -- a daunting task at the outset
However, when the approaches of unpacking a standard, backwards mapping, and writing objectives are utilized in a systematic approach, it all begins to make much more sense, and all the pieces begin to fall into place.

Identifying Standards
The first step is identifying the standards you are to work with. In my case I am teaching iinformation technology and computer skills. There are a number of different sets of standards one may use to address these skill sets. As Computer Skills is not a Core course, there is a lot of variety and freedom in our choice and approach to the subject. I had identified and have used up to three different sets of standards, and had to determine what set was going to be required for our school going forward with our new curriculum. After some discussion about the various options out there, I settled on using the International Society for Technology in Educational (ISTE) standards.

Unpacking Standards
The first step in this process is to break down the standard, or unpack it, into meaningful, bite-sized chunks. By first identifying the key verbs and nouns in the standard and its' objectives, it becomes easier to identify the key concepts and competencies that the standard actually addresses.
This was very powerful as it transforms the idea expressed into easily stated, specific steps and processes that can be addressed, one by one, in simple specifically designed lessons.

Backwards Mapping 
This technique, called Backwards Mapping is very helpful method for ensuring that units and lessons will lead to the desired end result. The idea is to first identify the end produce you would like students to produce -- a presentation, a report, a model, website, or other project. Then, identify the objectives to be met in producing the end product and then develop lessons based on meeting those objectives. This method helps to keep the focus of each lesson pointed in the right direction, so that ultimately, they are like building blocks towards the end product.

SMART and SWBAT Way to Write Objectives

Once you have identified the end produce and "backward mapped" from there, to identify the specific objectives you'd like to meet with a particular activity, the next step is to break those objectives down in to easily digestible parts, each one delivered in a strategically planned and accessible lesson. 

Objectives need to be SMART, both literally and figuratively speaking, in that they should be;

• Specific
• Measurable or observable
• Attainable for the audience
• Relevant and results oriented
• Target to learner and desired level of learning

A great tool that can help one to meet these criteria is to use the following acronym SWBOT, as a guideline. This stands for:

Students Will Be Able To...

By using this guideline, one can more easily frame ones objectives so that they meet the SMART criteria for specific measurable and attainable objectives that are relevant to and targeted to the learner's desired level of learning.

Taken together, these three basic methods for developing units and the lessons within them, provide an unshakable foundation for building a solid educational experience for our students.

Backward Mapping for Technology Learning

In today's world learning about technology is no longer as simple as knowing the components of a computer, or how to format a Word document. We've moved beyond these rudiments, as if they are the letters of the alphabet as compared to the words and concepts of a novel. By Middle School students are (or should be) competent with many of these rudiments, and are (or should be) embarking on learning journeys that allow them to explore the myriad of ways technologies may be put to use to collaborate, investigate, use, and create information.

Technology changes so rapidly, that the skills required now are the ability to self-instruct, to seek solutions, and create new methods using the variety of technologies available, and to to quickly adopt and adapt to the many new technologies that are emerging every day. Computer skills classes must rise to meet these challenges.

The rapidly changing, bubbling conflict, and even outright explosive controversy that are characteristic of this ever evolving field, are reflected in the myriad of confusing points of view and demands regarding the aims and directions of educational standards for technology education. The Common Core, AERO, and other major curriculum guides have mixed views,  and, for the Computer Tech Teacher, confusing messages as to what students are expected to learn.

In their wake, the organization ISTE - the International Society for Technology in Education - has become a leading voice with regard to standards in Technology Education. This June they formally introduced their latest version of the standards by which Computer Tech teachers may develop their classes, and guide their students towards the 21st century - and their  future in it.

This year we are embarking on a completely new design for our Middle School into High School IT (Computer Tech) classes, using the ISTE standards to frame teh development of these courses. As an example, let us examine the first of the ISTE Standards - Standard 1: Empowerd Learners.

This year, in each of my classes, from grade 6 to the grade 9/10 elective, I will be teaching students methods for developing their own learning strategies, creating their own learning networks, and sharing their learning resources with others. 

For example, in the 9th 10th grade elective, called Future Technology, students are learning about the process of discovery, inspiration, to creation and invention. They are exploring how technology innovations have taken root in the past, where technology innovations may be leading us in the future, and the impacts of those technologies on our ever evolving world and society.

This topic lends itself to the exercise of developing Empowered Learners, as students must not only learn the history of technological innovation, but learn to broaden their perspectives and be creative in their vision, applying history their own unique world views and cultural perspectives, to help envision an unknowable future. To do so will involve identifying an area of interest that they would like to explore, then researching the developments in that area, identify the experts and leading thinkers in the area, and following their thinking towards future ends, and sharing their newly attained understanding, as well as evolving questions with others.

To that end, One of several activities that these 9th/10th  grade students will engage in will be to create a blog where they will share their discoveries each week. They will be expected to read or watch relevant videos, websites, or books, annotate those materials, and then summarize their findings in a brief blog post. Once each week, one student will present their post, and engage the class in a discussion.

Proficiencies Developed

Through this activity, students will develop proficiences around Standard 1 parts 1a, 1b and 1c:

• 1a - Articulate and set personal learning goals, develop strategies leveraging technology to achieve them and reflect on the learning process itself to improve learning outcomes.
• 1b - Students build networks and customize their learning environments in ways that support the learning process.
• 1c - Students use technology to seek feedback that informs and improves their practice and to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways. 

Asessment 1: Student Driven Learning Log
For proficiency in articulating and setting personal learning goals, students will be taught to create a Google Document logbook, listing questions that they want to explore, related to their are of interest. The list will be developed both from an assessment of their current skill set, as well as from personal interests related to the course theme.

The document will be shared with me, initially, and in another lesson, they will extend the list to sharing with an appropriate faculty member. Through this tool, students will begin to gain access to select resources that can become a part of their learning. Working together with me, they will develop strategies and identify appropriate resources.

Asessment 2:  Reflecting on Learning
Another aspect of this lesson will revolve around learning to annotate and reflect on their learning. They will use various technologies for helping them to reflect on their learning materials. If they are using videos, they may use a service called Videopath for annotating the videos. Or, if reading webpages online, they may using highlighting tools, such as Pith.Li  or Marker.to  to highlight and annotate these text sources.

They will be assessed regularly, using a rubric that will evaluate both the quality of their annotations, and the summary that will be posted in the blog.

Assessment 3: Building Networks, Sharing Learning
A third measure of student achievement will occur when the student presents his or her learning to the class. Through this presentation, the student will bring his classmates into his learning circle, taking in their feedback - their observations, arguments, concerns, viewpoints, and ideas,  and allowing them to inform their learning and discovery process. Later, the blog will be shared with appropriate others, whether faculty or other outside experts and peers, as part of the process of developing their network.

They will be evaluated using a rubric that addresses not only their performance skills, but also the quality of the dialog their presentation inspires, and their ability to promote discussion by identifying provocative key points or questions, and then driving the discussion based on the topic and materials they have submitted, and the key points they have identified for discussion.

Through activities such as these, we can begin to develop empowered learners who are capable of creating their own learning methods and strategies. They will have the ability to use technologies in ways that help them to explore and expand on their learning, as well as share their learning with others. 

Dealing with Misbehaving Students

It's my first week as a "real" teacher and already all that I've been learning recently is coming into
play. It's our third class together this week, with a brand new type of schedule. Most classes are going well - I was laying it on thick with the positive reinforcement, and generally, the students were really responding well. But on the third day, I faced my first opportunity to try out my new set of "behavior modification" tools - negative reinforcement measures were in need!

The first day, I greeted each student at the door and gave students specific seats. Almost immediately, we reviewed the rules of the IT Lab which are prominently posted on the walls around the room, and we discussed this early on. They were the rules that govern the use of the school's technology, They are irrefutable, given, writ in stone, by the Technology Department. The Classroom rules, I explained, will be created by all of us, together, over the next few days. They are the rules and procedures that we will use to help create a great learning environment for ourselves. They included entering quietly, respecting the equipment, and no swirling in the computer lab chairs.

At the end of my  introduction, and following their initial sharing with me about themselves, I displayed  a broad set of norms that I had in mind for our class. We discussed each norm and we all agreed that they made a good basis for our classroom. I asked them to think about what kind of rules and consequences we should put in place to create the kind of environment I was describing. I  explained that we would work together to decide on rules and consequences that will help us to create the kind of environment we're looking for. there are a couple of basic rules that we all agreed on immediately, such as the need to raise our hands, be respectful of teacher and each other, and following school rules in the classroom as well.

At the end of that first brief session (we had only 20 minutes with each class on the first day) I allowed each student to choose a "gemstone" from a huge pot of colorful glass stones that I had collected. Some were clear, some opaque, some with jagged edges and irregularly shaped, and some were perfect ovals and smooth. These were a gift, I told them. But once we set up our rules, they will be tokens we can use to earn rewards, both individually and as a class.

The second day as they entered class, I again, but this time, I told them that since we'd had such a great first day, I felt they deserved a reward - I told them that today they could choose their own seats, and it would be their permanent place for the rest of the quarter -- but with a word of caution: choose wisely,because they will be moved if they prove that they need to be.

They were happy about having a choice, and they all made their best effort to follow the rules -- they entered quietly, made big efforts to be prepared with pencil and notepad, and to put their backpacks in the cubbies at the entry. We continued class with their introductions to me, and we had a couple of tools we used to help us with that, including those gemstones that they selected - they used them as a jump off point for telling me something about themselves.

However, we had some struggles with the temptation to swish from side to side and twirl around in our new computer chairs. I had to remind several students, and they quickly adjusted their behavior -- but this was virtually irresistible, especially for kids. So at the end of the class, I tried giving each class a One Minute Twirl- A-Thon when they could twirl as much as the wanted to get it out of their system. This was given as a reward at the end of the class period, for having been such an attentive class --- and  because I realized that they had had to struggle a bit with that temptation, and I appreciated their effort! I think that was a good thing, but time will tell!

The third day, however, trouble struck. The younger grades, 6th, 7th, even 8th, responded very well to the rules and the introduction games. They seemed to have selected good seats for themselves, and it was lots of positive reinforcement, with only a few incidents of verbal reminders. The 9th grade, unfortunately, and predictably,  was a bit more challenging.

On day three I had my first real trouble. In a class of only 12 students, 3 are identified English Language Learners ( F, T, S), Another student (A) may also be ELL, but doesn't speak much and has not yet been identified by the ELL team. It was quickly apparent that another 5 of the students were high-level computer skilled and intellectually developed (D, J, E) -  one of which was apathetic (J), one of which was a bit hyperactive and trying to entertain himself and/or his classmates in negative behaviors (D), and the third of which was very engaged but trying hard to entertain his classmates (E) with humorous, albeit a bit random and esoteric commentary. The last 2 were well behaved, acted with self-control, offered appropriate responses, and were generally ideal students (M and B). The last 3 were students who appear to be of average computer skills and ability, and to be of appropriate intellectual level and English language ability. They were (P, V, and K)

What I've learned is that it is extremely important to take the right action - a balance of positive and negative reinforcement, right from the beginning.

My first mistake was in permitting them to choose their seats, the grouped themselves in ways that turned out not productive for the class dynamic. I learned that all bad things stem from poor seating arrangements!

The trouble began when one student - a student (A above) who is new to our school, and possibly English Language Learner, entered class late, without a pass. He then failed to quickly and quietly put his things in the cubby, instead he engaging in talk with one of the students who was sitting next to him. Next involved the same student, wearing his hood in class, which is a school rule that had been discussed at orientation. Third, another student, (D) seated in the same row as A but with one student in between them, put on his hood, going one better, covering his face with the hood, and moving about in his chair.

At each point, students were addressed, and they complied. Lateness was due to the guidance counselor keeping him late. Getting organized for class was apologized for and quickly finished.
The hood was removed, too snickers and some commentary about why was that necessary.

Enter my second fatal flaw. When D put his hood on, and was asked to remove it, he raised a question as to why that was necessary. After stating, because it is in the school rules, etc. Both students had removed their hoods, at that point, but there was still some dissatisfaction about it.  I, trying to gauge the situation, and not wanting to alienate any student so early in the game, especially over something so minor, thought I would try to engage them by making this hood wearing thing, part of our "getting to know you" activities. Bad idea.

I moved closer to the students in question but enabled them to have the chance to talk about this rule. tt went from bad to worse, as I inadvertently gave D the stage for launching into his historical understanding of the significance of hoods, why they were worn, and why people stopped wearing them, and how none of the conditions applied in our situation, so therefore the wearing of hoods should not be deemed an offense. Of course the other students didn't quite know how to respond to this, nor did I because it was spoken in low tones, so we could not hear him, nad what we did hear did not make sense. But what I'd really done was to engage the student in argument. Definite mistake,

After that, the middle student, a faultless young man (P) who I have had before who has never given me trouble, but... had seated himself between D and A. He raised his hand after D's long dissertations, and asked "Why is it some teachers care about the hoods and other teachers don't?" To which D made loud protestations, "Don't say anything! Don't say anything!"

In the meantime, I looked to the other side of the class and realized several other students had completely disengaged and were involved in a discussion of their own.

At long last, I thought better of the "getting to know you" defense.  I thanked and silenced D and P with a request to see them after class, and returned to the lesson.

Ultimately, the students ended up in the principal's office, and he set them straight, as did the guidance counselor. I understand that their advisor is going to have something to say, as well.

As for me, the next day when they came to class, I had rearranged all of the seating, separating the students who were giving me trouble, as well as the small clique on the far left side of the room. They were all rather shell shocked, I am afraid. But there were no problems with hoods in the classroom that day. Or any day since.

Creating High Performance Learning Environments

As teachers in an ever changing, rapidly evolving world, we need to be prepared to evaluate our teaching practices and adjust and change as necessary. Currently, there is emphasis on setting high standards for our students, especially for those we believe to be low achieving students, for one reason or another. 

The idea is that by holding to the highest standards for all students, and then working towards their achieving those standards using any number of teaching methods and strategies, we can elevate all students, including those expected to be low performers, to high achieving status.

According to the research and writings of those such as Doug Lemov, in Teach Like a Champion , he realization has been that the higher one sets the bar, the more students will achieve. Theory and practice have proved this point, with one caveat, most notably reported by Robert J. Marzano in The Art and Science of Teaching, - that to be truly effective, the teacher themselves must first undergo a sincere and honest measure of self reflection, so as to be very clear on their own perceptions, beliefs, biases, which when left subconscious, may unwittingly be translating into their behaviors and affect towards students, and undermining their efforts. Such self reflection operates as a diagnostic by which the teacher may then prescribe appropriate strategies necessary to create a culture of high expectation within their classrooms, that is, or can be, as needed, tailored to the needs of each child. The most important thing is to know yourself, and your students as well as possible.

This week, we've been reviewing how we may set high expectations using the techniques of Project Based Learning and Whole Brain Teaching. These are methods which seek to involve the student in a more holistic way, activating all areas of the brain during the learning and teaching process, with the expectation that this will help students learn and perform to higher standards.

Academic expectations 
The examples we were given all seem to show that the teachers have high academic expectations of their students. We were provided two examples of American Project Based Learning and Whole Brain Teaching, and one example of a Chinese school system. However in the American teacher works with students on academic tasks, presenting a portion of information, then engaging students to become involved -- teaching each other, collaborating - and then producing a final product. However the Chinese system, was the most academically challenging of the three.

This was exemplified in the video of Crystal Chen's 3rd Grade Chinese Math recited their times tables in Chinese, which was provided context through Qingyang Chen's (who goes by Coolog in Youtube) video Interviews with Chinese High School Students. Here we were able to see the epitome of setting high academic expectations for students, As Qingyang Chen showed, it was clear from the moment you walk into the school, where you may see signs saying "nation," "future," and "pride" and in the classroom hallways, words such as "self motivation" "self-improvement" "innovation," and "triumph" are prominently displayed. For the Chinese, their entire young lives and academic program are geared towards students entry into one of two fields; and their ability to succeed and continue on to college depends on their performance in those fields. 

On the one hand, this seems a great way to ensure that the masses of the population do indeed, have a good education, have mastered academic skills. They must do so, just to survive trough high school. But, to my mind it is extremely short sighted, and very limiting. The potential of so many people is completely lost when there is so little room for any other expression or development, and basically those who are best at rote memorization are most valued and prized. 

The students interviewed seemed to understand this, in as much as they expressed that though they were interested in leadership, community service, or arts clubs, there was very little time for them to pursue those interests, or they were reserved for only a select subgroup of students. Another student expressed how much she enjoyed her one year of a project based type of learning -- only to have to return to the same grueling hand written homework that she had had before. This young lady also expressed that she had a liking for geography but, she said, she's in science so she can't study geography. One can only imagine what could come of a child with such cross curricular interests!

Behavior Expectations

From my perspective, I found that the Project Based Learning programs provided in the examples of Donna Migdol's Roller Coaster Physics and Liz Loether's Project Based Blended Learning of a Space Probe were much more promising. These are simple amazing strategies! I loved the Roller Coaster Design Challenge the most, because it was the most practical, and probably the method most suited to my personality and style. I love watching students take what they have learned and turn it into something that works in the real world.

It was clear in each case, though I think more so in the Roller Coaster Physics Challenge, that the expectations were high, not only academically, but in terms of behavior. In this case, the teacher treated the students as if they were professionals, providing them roles within their teams, expecting them to "show the science that they know" to each other, collaborating correcting and assisting each other. I love that the students talk to one another, not so much to the teacher. The expectations are that they are engineers, and they are to behave in that way. The teacher guides them through the process, and provides them the science tools that they need to know, but in effect, the students are testing their learning as they go. 

In effect, this, too, is what the Whole Brain Teaching is really all about, too - engaging the entire brain in an activity. In the case of the roller coaster, many of the same elements were present --

• Prefrontal cortex - students were involved in decision making and planning 
• Motor cortex - Students were involved in physical movement as they actually got down and dirty, bending twisting taping their roller coasters together. The reasons for each movement were related to some fact or concept that they were learning about, so this physical action related to the content will certainly help them to retain information. 
• Visual cortex - Through the use of the computer simulations, as well as drawings, and actually running the roller coasters, the visual cortex is also engaged, and this all contributes to learning and problem solving 
• Limbic system - The roller coaster challenge is competitive, but ultimately, there is the inherent challenge and thrill of accomplishment in itself --- as well as the sinking sensation of defeat when things don't go as planned -- that comes of working on such a project . Definitely the emotions are involved in this process. 
• Wernicke’s area, Broca’s area - Language was involved in many levels, as teachers led and students listened, as students discussed and learned from one another, and as the teams worked together to collaborate and share their ideas, and create new solutions. All of that involves language. 
• Nucleus acumbens - Hope has a power and an energy in itself! Engaging in any kind of activity where there is the hope of accomplishment or of experiencing some form of success -- seeing that marble make its way all the way to the end, hoping it would, wondering if it will.. all of that creates that dopamine producing effect that WBT talks about. 

The  Whole Brain Teaching video was powerful and very exciting to see as well. 

It is amazing to see how much more quickly we can remember things when we are engaged in them so completely. This was similar to what we saw in the 3rd Grade Chinese math class - this kind of rote memorization by way of using physical, language, sound, gestures to help the brain absorb the information.

I had mixed feelings about this video, though. 

As I watched the teacher engage in whole brain teaching strategies as she delivered her lesson on longitude and latitude, I am sure that all the students got the point and learned what longitude and latitude were. But, I am just not convinced that it was all necessary. In the case of this video, I am actually prone to think that the teacher's expectations were actually set rather low, if she believed that these strategies would be necessary for her students to absorb these concepts. Perhaps I missed something in it, but it struck me as a lot of activity for something that could have been learned much more quickly and easily in a more old fashioned manner.

I watched another video, How To Begin Whole Brain Teaching: 1 that was an intro to how to do Whole Brain Teaching, and it worked great for learning rules - but I am not sure how i would use it to teach an actual lesson. This method attempts to engage all parts of the brain - the areas listed above - by using a system of call and response, using physical movement, and building in some sort of challenge or expectation of reward. These elements each serve to work from a different are of the brain, presumably then strengthening the students' ability to learn the content being presented.

My impressions - there is something militaristic about the approach - like Army running cadences. Or, from another perspective, it reminded me of the way some eastern practices are taught. For example, in typical and traditional Ashtanga Yoga and Tai Chi (and other martial arts, to be sure) the class performs the entire series of movements, similar to the Chinese 3rd graders. Newcomers and beginners simple begin with the class, and perform as much of the series as they can remember. At the end of the session, the teacher turns attention to the beginners, and works with these small groups to bring them up to the next level. Slowly but surely, each student adds to his or her ability, bit by bit until they are able to perform the whole series, too. In the 3rd grade class, there were students who definitely were not participating as much as the other students. I wonder if that is what was happening in that video? 

Norms and Procedures

In the end, the one thing that all of these approaches have in common are their norms. No matter which method one may use, it is clear that the norms must be clearly set from the outset. This was most obvious in the example of the Chinese school system, but they are evident in the way the classes work together, and how the students move through their work. It would not be possible to engage in these kinds of projects if there were not firm norms and rules in place. 

As I embark on this new school year, I have a lot to think about. At our school, we are also embarking on a new philosophy, culture, and approach to learning in our Upper School - the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program.  A lot of what we are learning in these discussions of Project Based Learning, Whole Brain Learning, and of critical thinking and collaboration, classroom culture and norms and procedures -- all of this lends itself to my ability to successfully prepare my middle school students to participate in the IB program when the time comes. 

And so I aim to establish high expectations in my classroom beginning the moment they enter the door. Like the Chinese schools, I'll have posted words (along with Mr. Spock and the Peace sign!) around my room that will let them know clearly that I expect the best form them, and that I believe that they can be their best. The IB has a series of terms that are meant to describe the Learner Profile:

• Inquirers
• Knowledgeable
• Thinkers
• Communicators
• Principled
• Open-minded
• Caring
• Risk-takers
• Balanced
• Reflective

However I think it's important to note. While these terms represent high expectations, they are not the same as those in the Chinese school. These are terms that symbolize high expectations of another kind - it's way more than getting a high score on a standardized test. 

I appreciate the concept of whole brain teaching and thinking. I believe that there is value in this method. After all, the teachings of unity of body breath and mind is signature of yoga, and the mastery of mind and chi (energy) are the domain of many other eastern philosophies and practices for thousands of years. But I think that the way that the Whole Brain Method is demonstrated here, makes it a method that has its place and purpose and should be used judiciously. Whole Brain Teaching In a Math class for learning one multiplication tables? Yes! Or Geography, working on the capitals of the world's nations? Absolutely. Perhaps in Science, running through facts about the Table of Elements, or in Language Arts, learning vocabulary or memorizing a poem. Perhaps. But for areas requiring problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration and creativity, I don't know that this method would be very useful. 

I guess what I am getting at is that I think there are times and places for each of these techniques, and that it's best to find a combination that suits the teacher and the particular needs of a particular class or individual student.

In another discussion, I spoke about my son. He is going into 3rd grade, in an American curriculum school using Singapore Math. I have found that many times, I really wish that he had been taught the rote memorization of math facts, because it definitely helps in later math, if you can quickly pull the basic math facts into play without having to figure them out all the time. I see this with my son. He's learning really great conceptual aspects of math -- I see him doing things that remind me of algebra, and I know that the students work with each other to work their way through these problems, so I know he's getting a great foundation for algebra, for critical thinking, collaboration, etc. But there is no denying it - it's so hard to see that he still has to count and figure out basic arithmetic and multiplication facts before he can move on and get the answers he's looking for!

I can see the value of all of these approaches. I hope I can, and I will try to use as many different techniques as I can, to help my students. Though it is hard to imagine me actually teaching in the Whole Brained Teaching method, I imagine it will be useful when it comes time for them to learn certain technology facts, or for, say memorizing a keyboard or something. For me, my preferred method and what suits my style best would be project based learning. 

What I will take from these examples are some of the methods used for maintaining structure and forward movement. I like the idea of providing the challenge with restricted resources, and challenging them to come up with solutions using the materials provided. I also like the way their progress is staged, moving from theory to planning, to testing, then actually constructing a product to test the theory. I like the idea of chime sessions, where students who have been working in a similar project in small groups, are brought together to share their experiences, and learn from and help each other.

To conclude, it is clear that the world of education is exploding with new possibilities as we learn more about the brain, how we think, and how we are meant to work and learn together. We are carving out new ways to teach - but I think the lesson is that there must be a thoughtful mix of strategies. There are times when techniques like Whole Brain Teaching may have incredible teaching and learning value -- making addition and multiplication facts quickly memorable and well embedded in the memories of our students. But these must be balanced with lots of opportunity for project based learning approaches, where students are challenged to use their critical thinking, where they can collaborate and work with and learn from each other, and develop their leadership, creative, diplomacy, and other skills - all while having the ability to call on those math and science facts quickly and readily, when needed -- so that they don't lose time counting on their fingers, while trying to solve real world problems.


Bibliography 

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