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"3 Reasons Why Faculty Meetings Are a Waste of Time By Peter DeWitt on April 10, 2015 6:50 AM Faculty Meeting.png Many school leaders walk into a faculty meeting with a single idea of how they want to move forward and walk out with the same idea. That's telling... John Hattie talks a great deal about the Politics of Distraction, which means we focus on adult issues, and not enough time...if ever...on learning. That is happening around the U.S. for sure. Recently the Assembly of NY State only furthered those distractions, which you can read about here, which means that school leaders and teachers have to work harder to maintain a focus on learning. Quite frankly, well before mandates and accountability, school leaders focused on the politics of distraction and not on learning. Compliance is not new in schools. Faculty meetings were seen as a venue to get through and something that teachers were contractually obligated to attend. During these days of endless measures of compliance, principals can do a great deal to make sure they don't model the same harmful messages to staff that politicians are sending to teachers. Jim Knight calls that "Freedom within form." In Talk Like Ted, Carmine Gallo quotes Marissa Mayer (CEO of Yahoo) when he writes, "Creativity is often misunderstood. People often think of it in terms of artistic work - unbridled, unguided effort that leads to beautiful effect. If you look deeper, however, you'll find that some of the most inspiring art forms - haikus, sonatas, religious paintings- are fraught with constraints. (p. 190)" Clearly, constraints have a wide definition. There is a clear difference between the constraints of compliance and the stupidity of the legislation just passed by the assembly in NY. As we move forward, principals still are charged...or at least should be...with the job of making sure they offer part...inspiration, part...teacher voice...and a great deal of focus on learning. There is never a more important tim

There are many tools... (explanation to be completed...) There is a tension between following many people to broaden your information pool and being overwhelmed with the flow of tweets. It's an individual decision on how many to follow - why not start small and experiment? Most teachers prefer to network with other educators, but there is great value in having a diverse set of people to follow within Twitter. Below, you will find a number of tools and resources that can help you find interesting people to follow.

"One of the conversations was going back to the idea of Twitter and does it actually promote literacy.  Thinking about, jumping onto Twitter years ago has led to many amazing opportunities for me, but I also think that it has led to tremendous growth in my own learning over time.  Since I first started connecting with others through the medium, I have written over 88,000 tweets, written over 1,100 blog posts, and one book.  I am a firm believer that if you want to become better at writing, the best way to do it is to write more. Without connecting on Twitter, I truly believe that I would not have written in the other mediums.  I have started blogs before, but never made it past a few posts.  As for a book?  I doubt that was something I would have ever done without Twitter.  I am not the only one; so many educators that have connected through the medium have written and published their own books.  I have seen people criticize that so many educators are writing books now, and I think, "Wow! So many educators are writing books now!"  Educators sharing their wisdom with different audiences all over the world is a pretty powerful thing."

"Many educators are aware of Carol Dweck's research on growth mindset. The Stanford psychologist has found that the way students think about and approach challenge makes a big impact on their learning. Students who believe that they were born with a certain amount of intelligence that cannot be changed - a condition Dweck calls a fixed mindset - are often afraid to seek out challenging tasks and are resigned to one's perceived set of abilities. Students who see intelligence as something that can grow and change with effort - known as a growth mindset - tend to persist at difficult tasks, trying new strategies and ultimately performing better in school. Many schools have begun to focus on building growth mindsets in students because of this research. Helping students develop growth mindsets is made even trickier because mindsets about learning can change depending on context. And unfortunately math class is a time when Many students have preconceived notions about their abilities. Many adults, including teachers, grew up receiving negative messages about their math ability and can unintentionally pass on unhelpful messages to students through casual words or actions. That's why it's impressive that educators at Two Rivers Charter School in Washington, D.C. recognized a culture of math fear among the staff and worked hard to change teachers' relationships to math as part of their broader strategy to improve math achievement. The school's Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Jeff Heyck-Williams, described their efforts in an Education Week article:"

"I often wonder if what we see as teaching at professional learning events would be acceptable in a high school classroom. If the purpose of professional development (Pro-D) is professional learning, then what is our evidence that learning does, in fact, occur? Are we using effective teaching practices in Pro-D? Although Pro-D is evolving, the "Sit'n'Git" way of learning seems to still be alive and well in many conferences and workshops throughout Canada and the U.S. In the past five years, I cannot tell you how many times I've sat in a large conference room for a number of hours with hundreds of other dedicated educators and not been provided with the opportunity to even talk to the person beside me. People are spending hundreds and thousands of dollars to attend these events to listen to a series of lengthy lectures without the opportunity to network and wrestle with the presented ideas. I'm not opposed to a keynote address to start off the day with some inspiring, thought-provoking ideas; however, if there is no opportunity to take these ideas and move deeper, many of the thoughts that are initiated in the keynote get lost as I move on to the next session or listen to the next presenter. It's no secret that in order for deeper learning to occur, we must DO something with a new concept; we must apply new learning to take it from an idea to implementation. Our current typical model of Pro-D makes deeper learning a challenge and often only leaves participants with a few ideas that are unfortunately left on the shelf with the many glossy white binders from workshops of years past. At some point we need to stand up and say that a high volume of "Sit'n'Git" style of Pro-D is no longer acceptable and is an insult to those who have spent money, time, and effort to attend. While doing this, we also need to rethink the conference model and professional learning so that it better aligns with what we want to see in classrooms."

"One year ago, I wrote the article, Why Good Teachers Quit. It was hard to write and I struggled with sharing my friend's frustration and exhaustion. Yes, it was actually about a friend and not me. Today, I am happy to report my friend is still teaching. I am also sad to report her situation is no better. In fact, I might even say it has gotten a little bit worse. She still works long, hard, physically and mentally exhausting days. She is still overwhelmed by data and binders and often superhuman-like expectations. She still does it everyday because she knows she makes a difference to her students, to their lives, and their learning. The article I shared created a conversation I was humbled to read. Every few weeks, I would check the link and see a few new comments posted. Recently, I had another friend tell me that an educator she connects with from across the country via Facebook posted it. It thrills me that others enjoyed the article and it continues to live on a year after I shared it with TeachThought. It also scares me in so many ways. It frightens me that there are so many good educators who feel the same way. It scares me that there are so many educators who feel helpless in their fight to achieve more for themselves and for their students. It saddens me that the conversation has turned to unions and stress-related health sabbaticals for many teachers."

"Math has been a traditionally thorny subject in many American schools. Lots of children dislike math and many more adults stopped taking mathematics as soon as they are able, even when they were successful in their classes. At the same time, mathematical thinking is a crucial part of many of the most exciting and growing careers in science, technology, engineering and math, not to mention important for a general understanding of the mathematical world around us. So, what can U.S. math educators do to shift this dynamic? Stanford Mathematics Education Professor Jo Boaler is championing a dramatic shift in how many math teachers approach instruction. Rather than focusing on the algorithms and procedures that make mathematics feel like a lock-step process -- with one right way of solving problems -- Boaler encourages teachers to embrace the visual aspects of math. She encourages teachers to ask students to grapple with open-ended problems, to share ideas and to see math as a creative endeavor. She works with students every summer and says that when students are in a math environment that doesn't focus on performance, speed, procedures, and right and wrong answers they thrive. They even begin to change their perceptions of whether they can or can't do math."

"At TeachThought, we often provide lists of digital resources, and many of them are apps. Apps for struggling readers. Apps for struggling writers. Apps for project-based learning. Any while many of these apps are for students, the following list of apps from Sam Gliksman can be considered for both teachers and students, and an excellent foundation slew of apps for any 21st century teacher. From GoodReader and Slide Shark to Printopia and Air Display, all fill different niches of 21st century learning, and the many possibilities the iPad affords."

"Mention robots to many English teachers and they'll immediately point down the hall to the science classroom or to the makerspace, if they have one. At many schools, if there's a robot at all, it's located in a science or math classroom or is being built by an after-school robotics club. It's not usually a fixture in English classrooms. But as teachers continue to work at finding new entry points to old material for their students, robots are proving to be a great interdisciplinary tool that builds collaboration and literacy skills. "For someone like me who teaches literature by lots of dead white guys, teaching programming adds relevance to my class," said Jessica Herring, a high school English teacher at Benton High School in Arkansas. Herring first experimented using Sphero, essentially a programmable ball, when her American literature class was studying the writing of early settlers. Herring pushed the desks back and drew a maze on the floor with tape representing the journey from Europe to the New World. Her students used class iPads and an introductory manually guided app to steer their Spheros through the maze. Herring, like many English teachers, was skeptical about how the Sphero robot could be a useful teaching tool in her classroom. She thought that type of technology would distract students from the core skills of reading, writing and analyzing literature. But she decided to try it after hearing about the success of another English teacher across the country."

"Teachers in Littleton, Colorado - like teachers in many places - are increasingly asking students to read and write online. Free tools like Google Docs have made it easy for students to work on the same piece of writing at home and at school, and have allowed teachers to explore collaborative writing assignments and synchronous editing with students. There are also many digital tools that can support students as they learn how to read deeply, take well-cited notes, and navigate the writing process. While many teachers are finding efficiency in allowing students to write and submit assignments online, not all students or teachers want to use the exact same set of tools. That's why Littleton's Instructional Technology Specialist, Dana Levesque, started compiling resources on a site that both teachers and students can access to find the tools that fit their needs."

""You don't need to teach us.  That's what Google is for." That was the message a student shared with a surprised audience of educators during a popular technology conference. The students went on to say, "If I can't figure something out I prefer to watch a YouTube video or text a friend rather than ask a teacher." The other students in the room nodded their heads in agreement. Many teachers understand this is how today's students prefer to learn, but what does that look like? As danah boyd recently shared on her site, "too Many students I met were being told that Wikipedia was untrustworthy and were, instead, being encouraged to do research. As a result, the message that Many had taken home was to turn to Google and use whatever came up first. They heard that Google was trustworthy and Wikipedia was not." Here's what happen when you do that."

"As the school year draws to a close, many reflections are running around in my brain. The biggest one though stemmed from a question I have asked myself about our school mascot, the penguin. Why a penguin? They are cute, and fun to observe; but where is the value in having this little formal wearing bird as a mascot? After much reading and many discussions all via twitter chats, I have come to discover that being a penguin is an amazing feat...maybe even more amazing than one may realize. I have observed and interacted with my students in new, scary, unchartered, and sometimes crazy fun waters this year (Genius Hour, Maker Space, STEAM, getting ipads, etc.) and through it all have come to  realize what it means for my students to Live Like a Penguin. I am sure many of you educators out there have heard of the author, Dave Burgess, who wrote "How to Teach Like a Pirate", "How to Learn Like a Pirate", etc. In his books he assigns term to each letter of PIRATE that encourage innovation, risk taking, and determination.  Taking inspiration from him, I have come up with an acronym for our mascot, the PENGUIN that seems to truly fit how my students and I lived this year of teaching and learning and how I hope we both continue to so in our futures. ​Live like a PENGUIN:"

"My post last month on Why a Makerspace isn't a Magic Cure-all for Your Problems gained a lot of notice.  I've seen a vibrant social media conversation take off since then.  I have heard many people say in the conversation about making and libraries that they have reservations.  many are worried about sacrificing literacy or reading when they create a makerspace.  They feel that traditional library programs and values will suffer.  They worry that the makerspace will replace the reading programs that they love. But I feel like they're missing out on something - the beautiful connection that can happen between making and literacy.  You don't have to give up your literature and reading programs when you start a makerspace.  Rather, makerspaces can help to bring a new dimension of literacy into your library.  There are so many elements and activities in makerspaces that fit perfectly into the types of library programs we all know and love."

"Math has been a traditionally thorny subject in many American schools. Lots of children dislike math and many more adults stopped taking mathematics as soon as they are able, even when they were successful in their classes. At the same time, mathematical thinking is a crucial part of many of the most exciting and growing careers in science, technology, engineering and math, not to mention important for a general understanding of the mathematical world around us. So, what can U.S. math educators do to shift this dynamic?"

"A quick count showed that over 15% of the politicians actually had iPads and nearly 70% iphones, many of which were being used to text or twitter during this time. This makes an interesting model for our students. There are many teleprompter apps available for the iPad and there are many instances where these would be beneficial for yourself, your students or your colleagues. class presentations or speeches book reports prepared monologues scripts for student videos teacher notes school assemblies staff meetings. Here are a list of 10 Teleprompter apps we have found useful. "

"Infographics are popular. They're a fun way to present and read data, and many people believe that information that is presented visually is often retained better (at least for some learners). many teachers today are using infographics, both in their classrooms and for their own professional development. There are so many tools out there to make your own infographics. In the education realm, most people I chat with say that they use Piktochart because it is free and very simple to use. One of the (newer) trends we've been noticing lately has been that more and more infographics are interactive."

"For years, it has been no secret that many students who start post-secondary education programs drop out early. To address this issue, many schools and institutions decide to redesign their courses with the hope that students might gain a greater feeling of success, continue with their chosen program and graduate. When considering courses for redesign, many questions are asked but the most important is this: "What data should be considered to ensure our course redesign efforts are successful?" Data metrics like grades, attendance or participation rates are obvious considerations. These can be reliable metrics in driving decision-making. However, I recommend also considering student feedback, faculty load, student experience, and assessment performance as additional data points which can better inform decisions that directly impact the course redesign process."

"It's not easy being a teacher today. National, state and local politicians, philanthropists, researchers, journalists and many other people who have never actually taught a K-12 student are deciding how and what teachers should teach, and how their effectiveness should be assessed. Sadly, I've met many veteran teachers who are seriously considering retirement. Worse, I've encountered many promising young teachers who are wondering if they chose the wrong profession. How do I counsel teachers who share these thoughts with me? I remind them of two simple words: you matter. Indeed, teachers matter more now than ever."

"Using games or game play elements in the classroom to drive learning outcomes is sill gaining popularity. Though most teachers aren't ready to embrace bringing serious games like Minecraft into their classrooms, many are willing to gamify learning or use other types of games. That said, getting an idea of how many teachers are (or aren't) using gamification (or are interested in doing so) is a somewhat difficult task: many people define gamification in different ways, when it may be a more accurate description to identify different levels of gamification. The handy infographic below takes a look at gamification and more 'serious gaming' in organizational learning. It offers some interesting statistics on just what types (or levels) of gamification are happening in classrooms. Keep reading to learn more!"

"Google Classroom is quietly becoming the most powerful tool in education technology. It may lack the visual appeal of iPads, or the student credibility of a BYOD program. It may not be as forward-thinking as we'd like here at TeachThought, but Google Classroom excels in providing solutions for a broad swath of teachers who have a variety of expertise and comfort level with education technology. It also uses Google's familiar template that many teachers have used for years. As such, it scratches the itch for many teachers in many classrooms right here, right now. So below are (at least) 60 thing you can do with Google Classroom. We'll be updating this list as new ideas come in, the platform changes, and we learn more about its subtleties on our own."