SCHOOLOGY!!!!!

G

2	Getting Started	Developing	Proficient	Transfer
Formative Assessment	I’m revisiting / getting familiar with this concept of formative assessment—one of the most high-yielding strategies in education, when it comes to improving student performance.	I design more targeted practice and invite students to play a more active role helping me diagnose how / whether to adjust my / our approach in order to improve performance.	I can design targeted practice that increasingly looks like the desired performance, and I use student performance results and their feedback to inform my / our next steps.	I’ve been / begun practicing formative assessment in other settings to target practice and seek information to inform my /our next steps.

Monica and I have been going full force with schoology.  We have multiple projects going on at once.

1.  Skills Mondays:  Every student takes a pre-test, checks their grade, then assesses whether they need to re-learn the topic using khan academy or other resources.  This acts as a formative assessment for the kids on a topic that they have learned in elementary school, but maybe not entirely successfully or they may have forgotten it.

I have done multiple revisions, and have changed the settings on the quizzes embedded in schoology so I can provide instant feedback to the students.

I'm also doing the same stuff for the 8th grade curriculum.  

This has been a learning process for me, and I am constantly changing the way I assess students while I am teaching them.

OH! I almost forgot to mention how much I am loving EDpuzzle!!!  I get instant feedback from the student if they understand the lesson from a video.  I am following up those EDpuzzles with Eit Tickets on schoology so I also have that data on there.  

I am using socrative as an on-going tool to assess student understanding of grammar concepts and reading comprehension.  I have additionally used kahoot for the same reasons.  Interestingly, I have noticed that as students are engaged in this activity mastery has increased.

I’ve identified and committed to collecting and reflecting on the story of my students’ learning in ways that improve my capacity—and my colleagues’ capacity—to improve student performance.

Formative Assessment

 I consider myself to be in the "developing" phase of this rubric.

Formative assessments help me gage students' level of comprehension in the text we are reading in class. While we read portions of our class novels together, I do assign reading at home and independent and small group reading in class.

This reading is followed by either a subjective writing prompt or a lower-order thinking, multiple choice quiz. Sometimes both.

For subjective writing prompts, I often use google classroom and at times, old-fashioned pencils and comp-books.

For quizzes, I use either nearpod or socrative, which Brian has clued me into. The "team" quizzes are engaging and get the students talking to each other.

To move to the next level on the rubric, I believe I need to use formative assessment to inform the direction of my instruction, and not simply whether or not I need to reteach or reread.

Here is an example of a quiz that includes basic "prove you read and understood" questions and subjective higher order thinking questions created through socrative.

The kids took the quiz in teams of 2-3 and each team was represented by a rocket that raced across my projector screen.

I have been using Nearpod as well as Kahoot as a formative assessment centered around plate tectonics and the vocabulary involved.  Prior to this professional development, the only on-line methods I used was through Google docs and the use of Galileo.

2	Getting Started	Developing	Proficient	Transfer
Formative Assessment	I’m revisiting / getting familiar with this concept of formative assessment—one of the most high-yielding strategies in education, when it comes to improving student performance.	I design more targeted practice and invite students to play a more active role helping me diagnose how / whether to adjust my / our approach in order to improve performance.	I can design targeted practice that increasingly looks like the desired performance, and I use student performance results and their feedback to inform my / our next steps.	I’ve been / begun practicing formative assessment in other settings to target practice and seek information to inform my /our next steps.

I personally do not remember exactly where I said that I was last time that we met.  I do however have a bit more insight on some of the formative assessment that I have used with my students recently.  As far was placing myself on the rubric, I would say that I am moving along from developing to proficient, though not fully there yet. The formative assessment that we (Alison) used Notability, it was pretty cool trying to get the material on there...not real pretty, sorta messy but it worked and it was valuable for us as teachers...The next challenge we encountered was the tech part...the students using Notability and even further using that in their device and accessing it, switching screens and trouble shooting problems...but again this was valuable...as a learning moment. The part I did not like and was the grading...I was not able to give them valuable feedback in time because it was such a pain in the ass to grade it in this particular format.  In the future, Alison and I would like to trouble shoot these problems maybe through schology or some other management system that could reduce screen changing and such.

Nov. 18 Agenda

Formative Assessment Follow Up

Please revisit your learning scale for Formative Assessment

After last session's work with formative assessment tools and your ability to practice in the classroom with one or two of them, please revisit the scale:

• Find it in your Google Drive
• Decide if you should move yourself along the continuum based on this learning and application.  
• Write a quick blog post on our shared Hazen blog with a screenshot of the current scale and describe why you have rated yourself this way.  The key is to add a link to evidence to support your self-assessment

Blogging with students - the power of tagging/labeling

• Sick and tired of blogs & reflection?
• Franklin West Supervisory Union blog

Open Educational Resources:

Online Courses for Passion Projects:  

Driving a Google Search for Differentiation

Open Educational Resources Search

The Middle School Math team is researching Schoology and how we can use it as a platform to organize everything digitally. We would like to use Schoology to organize a variety of activities, lessons, formative and summative assessments. The possibilities are endless and we are only beginning to understand the power of Schoology! We set up our classes, added all of us as administrators- now we are ready to go! This weekend, I was able to upload 2 activities for the students to do during class this week and our Rubrics for the Community Survey Project. I am not quite sure how to grade using the rubric online, but will figure it out!   BIG LEARNING CURVE- here we go!!!

My first Google classroom.

I created a google classroom. I uploaded drive documents from my lesson plans to guide discussion and created questions for my next unit pre-assessment--next week! I also created Socrative assessment for the lessons on character I am wrapping up this week. The Socrative assessment was lost due to reaching a "break point" and this was the exact error message.

App Application for class project on Thursday 10/22?2015

I played with the Adobe Voice app. I spent time learning some its tools and features.

Then I went about adding it to a unit my students are currently working on.  My enrichment class is working on a truss bridge construction project. Once they have completed their bridge they need to complete a technical report about their bridge. Now they will need to use Adobe Voice to create a story based around the prompts I have provided. Once this story is created they will imbed a link to it on their finished report.

Here is a link to a sample a made. If you click on the link under bridge presentation , it will open to my adobe voice story.

Al and I got some great curriculum work and planning accomplished today, brain storming great project ideas too!
here is a link to some of the work... 7th grade Global Studies and Citizenship

Socrative is a cool little tool

These quiz-like assessments could be engaging starters for kids.  I also like the potential of using the team response/race feature to bring readers who struggle with recall along with those who do not have that issue.

Curriculum!

Finally getting to collaborate on our new curriculum,
and brainstorming ways to use technology to further engage our students. 

Agenda 10-22-15

Formative Assessment Tools - Exploration

Back Channel Discussion - https://todaysmeet.com/HazenAssessment

REAL Framework Reflection Blog Post

   The REAL Framework

We #Struckgold with Soil Profiles

                        

I can explain based on evidence for how the geological features of Hardwick that have been created over a long period of time.

I can work collaboratively and respectfully with my peer group.

I can develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth’s materials and the flow of energy that makes the process of change happen to Earth.

Today was one of those idyllic beautiful almost fall days. House II  had the chance to spend it outside with 50 middle school students digging soil profiles. To be honest we were asked more than once, by students,  if we were having them look for buried treasure. In a way we were. If you consider the 8 science practices as well as graduation proficiencies, "Treasure" like we do. 

 We took the approach of trying to engage students through inquiry, communication and investigation.  Students at this point don't have much experience or background knowledge about how Hardwick was formed, or the Geological history of Vermont in general. Allowing them to jump in and become Geologists for a day let them develop questions that they WANT to know the answers to. It also will help us start to hash out our "I can statements," and be a solid real life experience we can relate new learning to. In the past I may have spent time giving them information before allowing them to experience something. I thought that they wouldn't be able to understand, or become interested if they didn't have background knowledge/vocab/info. 

Now, the current research into best science practices say just the opposite. Teachers need to allow students to develop interest, wonder and then let them help guide where the learning takes us all together.

For more info about best practices in Science check out VSI

And to see the work we did today check out the Hazen Union Live tweeting we did today too. Kids developed their hashtags to tell the world what they were doing:

Soil Profile Tweets

Successes and Challenges

Successes...

There have been many.  One of my favorite moments of the year so far was watching one hundred middle level students in two different rooms engage in a google hangout with students at a school an hour and a half away.  Ideas were shared, students were inspired, and collaboration made it to the twenty-first century.

Challenges...

While our meetings have been frequent, necessary and productive, they are a struggle for me.  I have a hard time sitting still and not being in high-power production mode.  The second reason is that with the frequent meetings, I feel I have no time within the school day to get done what I need to get done.  I am frequently bringing work home and staying up later to write emails and create materials for students.  I plan to purchase stock in the under-eye makeup that I've been using to cover up these  circles.

The greatest success these past weeks has been creating an envioronment of mutual learning and flexibility in our school.  Students have been teaching instructors and vice versa.  There has been a sense of comradrerie amongst staff and a sense of professionalism that is vibrant as well.

The challenges have been changing the standard paradigm of student teacher relationships and allowing for flexibility at a new level for planning.

Not just watching...

Success and failure is all subjective to me. We've worked hard, tried some new things, and have some bumps to smooth out. That happens over the next 4-5 yrs. Nothing is ever perfect.

 As the old saying goes...practice makes...better.

QUARRIES IN VT (Super-fun sites.)

#VolcanoFail

Successes and Challenges

Success:  Students are excited about their iPads. They have played around with apps, taken pictures, and challenged themselves to go beyond their comfort zones.  I believe that the students are starting to see that the iPads are tools to support their learning and make it more fun.  

Challenge:  The main challenge I have encountered is when I am not able to use the technology (as in, the internet isn't working, or a website doesn't work, etc.).  I also have a challenge reaching those few students who have a very negative viewpoint of the technology, seemingly coming from their parents.  I see this challenge going away once we get all parents on board.

Challenge & Success

The race track...

Strengths:

• involved, engaged kids
• lots and lots of great conversations
• exciting field trips and speakers
• a whole team of 8-10 teachers colabrating, sharing and planning

Challenging:

• a whole team of 8-10 teachers colabrating, sharing and planning
• the steep learning curve of new endeavors
• the internet going in and out
• staying focused as teachers and students with all of these endeavors

Success and Challenge

                                         

                                                                                      >






One Success: I have seen real potential for Nearpod (which I've attempted using frequently) to make segments of direct instruction more interactive and engaging. Definitely better than powerpoint, slides, etc.





One Challenge: At times, technological glitches become a major distraction and technology slows down or even stops learning, rather than enhancing it.

We have been doing some great things, one of the best so far was a google hangout with the edge academy.  It was great but could have been better with a better connection.

Hazen Middle School Rocks!

The 1 to 1 initiative is in full swing at Hazen. We have been using the iPads to help our learning in all subjects. We have been learning about Digital Citizenship A LOT. The students really enjoyed the APP from Common Sense where it was a choose your own adventure! They made choices and consequences happened based on their choices. The APP is called Digital Compass. Students for the most part made great choices but some chose to go back and see what happened if they made a poor choice. One student was very surprised when, in the story, the police showed up at his door for copyright violation!

We have talked a lot about how we represent ourselves digitally!!! 

I also want to say a huge THANK YOU to both teams as I had a rough start to the year. It was super great to have everyone chip in to help when I was out!!

My Brain feels like it has been quarried, but there is a lot of granite left over (hopefully)!

@OldManCraig's First Two Weeks Successes/Challenges

Success:

Challenge:

Kids teaching kids.

Successes & Challenges

Share the Learning

Take a few minutes to reflect on what has worked well and what challenges you, your team, and your students have faced in the first few weeks in this 1:1 environment.   

You can do this as individuals or as teams, in whatever combination makes the most sense to you.

Post to our shared blog an image for each - one to represent a success, another to represent a challenge, and be ready to share.  

The image(s) can be pulled from:

• student work, 
• something from your own practice, 
• images from the school, or 
• something you've found online - take a screenshot of it.  

Examples:

Success

Challenge

Blogging on the iPad

Many of us faced challenges using the iPad to post to this shared blog.  Here's some step-by-step instructions from Richard Byrne you can use or share with your students:

A Short Guide to Using Blogger on Your iPad

Learning Scales reflection

In reflecting on where I fit on the learning scales I feel I fall between developing and proficient on both #1 and 2.
I do very well at collecting the story of student learning but could improve upon sharing with a group.
Currently I post to my website. This year I will look into connecting to a group blog. In regards to #2 I reflect often on student performance informally but could improve on this in  a deliberate formal way.

Barb's PLP

What can I say... Big goals to get to proficient... All year- let's go-

I think I am at this stage because I have a lot to learn but I have some back ground.

Formatting off due to technical difficulties🙀🔥

1	Getting Started	Developing	Proficient	Transfer
Collecting and Reflecting on Our Students’ Performance	I am here I’m considering the best ways to collect and reflect on the story of my students learning this year in ways that improve my capacity—and my colleagues’ capacity—to improve student performance. I am here	I’ve identified and committed to collecting and reflecting on the story of my students’ learning in ways that improve my capacity—and my colleagues’ capacity—to improve student performance.	I collect and reflect on the story of my students’ learning in ways that improve my capacity—and my colleagues’ capacity—to improve student performance and share on our group blog and during our meetings.	Collecting and reflecting on the story of our students’ learning this year has helped me and my colleagues design learning in ways that have improved student performance.

Having not met my students yet, and considering the wealth of resources and things I "could" do to 

get to know them as learners, I definitely feel like I'm just getting started. Please highlight in yellow where you currently are with this particular skill:   Comments / questions about where you are in your development of this particular skill:

2	Getting Started	Developing	Proficient	Transfer
Formative Assessment	I’m revisiting / getting familiar with this concept of formative assessment—one of the most high-yielding strategies in education, when it comes to improving student performance.	I design more targeted practice and invite students to play a more active role helping me diagnose how / whether to adjust my / our approach in order to improve performance.	I can design targeted practice that increasingly looks like the desired performance, and I use student performance results and their feedback to inform my / our next steps.	I’ve been / begun practicing formative assessment in other settings to target practice and seek information to inform my /our next steps.

🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆

I think I'm getting started on collecting and reflecting on thr story of my students learning. I feel like i say this as I need to be open all the time to the changing needs of young adolescents. This means I need to be aware of where they are starting, where they need to go and being intential in my planning on getting them there. I also think the way this is worded makes me stop and think about exactly what it means.

I have been committed for years to designing targeted formative assessments that show me where learners are at and what I need to do to get them there.

What I need:

Clarification on what the first rubric piece means. How it connects to 1:1. I also need more time to work out the glitches that roll-out is about to throw at us.🐣🙏🐲🐀

Barb's PLP

1	Getting Started	Developing
Collecting and Reflecting on Our Students’ Performance	I’m considering the best ways to collect and reflect on the story of my students learning this year in ways that improve my capacity—and my colleagues’ capacity—to improve student performance.	I’ve identified and committed to collecting and reflecting on the story of my students’ learning in ways that improve my capacity—and my colleagues’ capacity—to improve student performance.

Generally speaking, I do collect and reflect on "student stories."  However, since this is a new way to do that, I am clearly not proficient at using the blog for this purpose.

2	Getting Started	Developing	Proficient
Formative Assessment	I’m revisiting / getting familiar with this concept of formative assessment—one of the most high-yielding strategies in education, when it comes to improving student performance.	I design more targeted practice and invite students to play a more active role helping me diagnose how / whether to adjust my / our approach in order to improve performance.	I can design targeted practice that increasingly looks like the desired performance, and I use student performance results and their feedback to inform my / our next steps.

All of my teaching revolves around the iterative process of formative assessments.  The indicators of student achievement are the primary drivers of instruction.

*  The smooth use of I-pad would be helpful.