Proud to be Canadian

Over the holiday I have been lucky enough to travel.  Even though I am not sitting at my desk prepping for lessons, I am still constantly thinking about the classroom. 

Today was one of those relatable moments.  As I was walking around Copahagen, attempting to find the Hop On Hop Off Bus, I noticed someone waving their hand at me while I walked by.  The first thought was this is not for me, who would know me in Denmark, but then it clicked.  

She was waving with a 2013 Red Canadian Mitten.  I was wearing my 2012 Red Mittens and this is how she picked out I was also from Canada!  What a lovely surprise.  We had our moment, while crossing the street to let each other know we were not alone and had friends all over that big world we live in.  I didn't have a chance to speak with the 2013 Red Mitten lady but after our encounter, I had a bit more bounce to my step. 

This continued throughout the day.  As I was walking, I started to notice more about the people that surrounded me.  I was noticing all of the different country hats and scarves and even jerseys (yes I even saw a Toronto Maple Leafs!!).  I saw and interacted, however briefly, with people so easily just knowing we were all from Canada. 

Now, how does this relate to school?  It is our sense of community.  It's the feeling that I get when I am at the Sobeys and have students come up to say hi.  It is that smile you get on your face when you turn the corner in the street and see a coworker or a parent of one of your students and stop to chat/wave. 

It's the sense of family our schools foster and nurture.  The comfort level that we teach our students in acknowledging people that you know and saying hi.  It's helping them build the confidence to go out and say 'hi' to your teacher, when you finally get your head around that the teacher actually leaves the school. 

This is what we as teachers foster, and it is truly a part of being Canadian - always feeling like you are close to home.  

We All Learn at Different Paces

As my class is testing out our half-flipped classroom, we are truly focusing on the idea that each person learns at their own pace. 

Today, was the first day that the quiz was available for the students to complete.  Ideally, I would have liked them to come into class and be ready to write it, but with everyone working at their own pace, this was not possible.  I had the opportunity to conference with students and talk about where they are with the content, what they are worried about and what their next steps/goals were.  What an amazing feeling to be able to do this in a classroom of 20 students!   

I try to touch base with all of my students throughout the period, but some days, especially days with longer "lessons," it is sometimes just not possible.  With all of the students working at their own pace and independently, I had the chance to talk with each student today.  The chat was at the pace that the student wanted it to be, not at a pace that I needed to set to get through all of the conferences in a short period of time.  If the student had a lot of questions, then we were able to answer them and have that 1-1 time.  If the student was OK with everything and wanted to get right back to work, that was able to happen as well.

Back to the quiz writing ... after conferencing with a student, we set a plan together on what they will accomplish in class, over the weekend and when they will feel the most confident in writing the quiz.  The students get to pick when they are learning, how long they must stay on a topic for and when they show me their own knowledge.   The students were really appreciative and excited that they were able to pick when they wrote the quiz.  If they were struggling with remembering all of the material, then they had the chance to write the quiz in sections (a couple questions each time, throughout a single class or multiple classes).  It was up to the student when they were ready to demonstrate their knowledge.

Now I can already hear a bunch of educators reminding me that I have a limited amount of time to cover all of the topics and that I need to make sure that the class is progressing, and we are.  All of the students know that they must write the final unit test on Wednesday.  If they find that they need more time to learn or process the material, then they need to put in time outside of class.  If they are confident earlier than Wednesday, then they have the opportunity to take "break" classes or use the time to review further.  It is up to them; but all test must be done by 3:05pm Wednesday. 

From the quizzes that have been accomplished (we also did a quiz like this the previous week), the scores have been outstanding.  Many of the student's have improved the level that they are currently working out; it will be interesting to see if this continues throughout the unit test! 

How do you allow student pace in your classroom?  How do you let the students demonstrate their knowledge when they finally "get it"? 

Proud to be a Coach

Today the Sr. Girls Volleyball team travelled to a full day of matches within our District.  In all, we played 6 games (best 2 out of 3) and had a chance to watch the other teams practice, warm-up and play.  As the day was quite fast-paced, we did not have the opportunity to practice serving and hitting before each match and warm-up time was limited.  The gym was cold, so it was important to stay warm when having a "break" in between matches. 

Not to talk about the logistics of the day, or the benefits of staying warm and ready to play, I want to use this post as a shout out to the team.  

Today I saw a group of young ladies really turn into a team.  In our previous games, we were all over the place, losing points for being out of rotation and having quite a few holes in the court.  Today I saw a different team.  I saw a team dedicated to helping out one another, a team that knew each other's strengths and weaknesses and was willing to work with both.  A team that corrected their mistakes and encouraged excellent skill.  A team that wasn't individually driven, but driven as a team to achieve a common goal. 

Overall, we had a very successful day.  We won 5 of the 6 matches, and the match that we did not earn the title of "win" for, we did take to three sets with many great rallies and amazing hits and digs from both teams. 

Was I a proud coach! 

What was one of your most memorable moments as a coach or a supervisor of an extra-curricular activity?

Growing Pains

As my class and I continue to grow and develop our independent learning skills, we have made some great successes in the past three days.  

Our class has gone through growing pains of frustration and anger when D2L did not work or our ChromeBooks didn't do exactly what we wanted them too.  I have had students share their frustrations out loud and others take it personally and emotionally.  I have also seen these students persevere and overcome these challenges. These students are beginning to strengthen their time management and their team work skills.  I have also seen these student gain a better understanding of what they do know and what they don't and, even more importantly, how to ask the right questions to gain deeper understanding.  

I have really enjoyed seeing the students overcome their challenges.  Most of the class is enjoying the use of computers to help foster their independence in their learning but some are still hesitant to have that "messy part" of learning.  I am hoping as they develop confidence with the program and see their peers be successful they will give it a go.  

To continue the idea of learning at your own pace, the students we're asked to complete a quiz today. Instead of us writing it all together, the students go to pick when and where they wrote.  They knew they needed to get it done by the end of the lesson but they got to pick when they were ready.  Haven't marked it yet, but I think this helped boost the confidence (and grades) of those who wrote it. 

How do you help your students in becoming independent learners? 

Learning Together

Today I tried my almost flipped classroom.  It did not go how I imagined.  It was not a smooth transition from our regular classroom to a mixed online classroom, and looking back, I don't know why I assumed it would be. 

I learned a lot from the experience.  Firstly, I learned that Chromebooks do not open PowerPoints or OpenOffice documents.  This was a large cause if the students frustrations with the change.  I also learned that I am learning just as much as they are.  And that they need to know that without their input, this endeavour will not be successful.  

Many of the students felt frustration and started to give up before really trying.  This concerned me.  In life, these students are going to attempt new tasks that are not always easy or straight forward.  This was a great teaching moment! 

As a class we had a discussion that I was learning just as much as they can take away from this experience.  We talked about their ability to use this experience in job interviews or college applications, how this will help them overcome frustration and finally gaining skills in using D2L for future use.  

I also ask for them to come in tomorrow with an open mind; to give this another try.  When I asked who was willing to do this, the majority of them put up their hands. It was very encouraging. 

Tomorrow is another day and we will hope for success! 

What are your biggest challenges in bringing technology into your classroom?

An Almost Flipped Class

Tomorrow my 3C class and I are starting on an adventure together.  We are starting to flip our math class. 

Now it is not what you are exactly thinking; we are not 100% flipped yet, but we are moving in that direction. 

In talking to the students, they do not feel comfortable with going out and learning and material on their own and bringing their knowledge back to the classroom and talk and think deeper about it.  They told me that they would now know how to approach it and with finals just around the corner (and Christmas vacation), they do not want to jump into too much that they cannot handle. 

So we compromised.  Tomorrow the students will be using Chromebooks in our math classroom and using D2L to access all of their learning materials.  There are 8 activities for them to complete which will allow them to discover and learn about the world of trigonometry.  The students will complete the online activities and discussions to help strengthen their understanding.  They will be completing this in the classroom, so if anything goes wrong, or if they are stuck, they have the teacher there to help them right away.  

Although we are still not having the time for those deeper discussions, we will have "check-in" discussions scheduled throughout our classes (known in advance) when I will be able to formatively assess their understanding of the material they are independently learning. 

The benefits I hope to see from this method of instruction: 
1) Greater self-confidence
One of the biggest struggles I see with 3C students is their lack of confidence in their math work.  I am hoping by giving them the opportunity to control their learning, the students will see that they can understand it themselves and they are "smart" when it comes to math.  

2) Instruction based on student needs 
Now that the students can focus on what they understand and what they do not understand, I can help with more individualized instruction.  Instead of the entire class going over review topics, or a specific concept within a lesson, I can individually help each student with "that specific part" they are stuck on.  I can also see who is "ahead" in the class and provide them with additional learning opportunities to develop that deeper understanding. 

3) Skills for the Future 
Many Colleges and Universities are embracing the "online learning environment" so giving the students an opportunity to get their feet wet is a great skill development opportunity for them.  I am hoping that from this, the students will be less timid about learning new concepts on their own and start to foster that lifelong learner in each student. 

I am really excited to try this.  I have heard many success stories, and I am hoping that my mix of "flipped" and "regular" classroom will provide the students with their ultimate learning experience.

What have your successes and challenges be with the idea of "online learning"? 

Participating vs. Listening

This morning I took time to read some of the blog posts of amazing Educators I follow on Twitter.  Here were the posts I was reading bright and early on a Sunday morning: 
- Doug Pete
- Donna Miller

Throughout reading the posts I had an opportunity to reflect on my participation in such a great network of Educators.  Since ECOO 2013, I have taken a big leap in my professional network as well as my own professional development.  I have taken time out of my day to reflect in blogs, read other blog posts and to check out the resources and tweets on Twitter.  I was surprised with the amount of amazing   

But I feel that my learning has been limited.  I have read a ton and learned something from each thing I have read.  I have tried out some of the ideas I have read about, but I still feel that something was missing. 

I figured it out today; I was taking in the information but I was not able to talk about, evaluate it, reflect on it and create those deeper discussions.  I was able to see it but not make that strong connection.  This is what I was missing.   I was missing this opportunity because the learning was very "one way."  I was reading the information but did not choose to interact and develop the material I was learning.  I choose not to participate in those conversations which affected my ability to make the connections. 

When realizing this, I also realized that it is the same in the classroom.  As a math teacher, there is a ton of opportunity for "teacher talk" but that is not what gives students the deep understanding.  Class conversations, group/paired work, investigations and trial-and-error, provide the students with a stronger understanding.  Sharing ideas and thoughts, evaluating them, making and correcting mistakes and learning from these mistakes allow students to gain an understanding that can be transferred and adapted.  

I promote this way of learning in my classroom, but I was not embracing it.  This brings me to my challenge for this week.  I need to break out of my shell and start interacting with those great ideas and the sharers of the great ideas.  My goal is to reply with my thoughts or questions to at least 8 tweets/blog posts throughout this week.  

This is personally out of my comfort zone.  I am an outgoing lady, and in person, when collaborating, I have tons of input, but it seems that once online, and with people I do not know, I am very more reserved.  Maybe it is because I am unsure on how to start (or continue) those great conversations.  Maybe it is because I am a new teacher and not sure what is "acceptable."  But these are all feelings that we went through in school and I overcame them once, so I will be able to do them again. 

What are your thoughts on participating in conversations within your online professional network?  How do you start the conversations?   How did you feel when you first started? 

Talking with your Hands

Over the past week I have conducted an experiment with my Grade 11 College math class.  Monday, I introduced them to a new way that we would be organizing exits (washroom and drink breaks) from the classroom.  This was a suggestion that I picked up from a PD Session offered by UGDSB Administration for all NTIP teachers.  Rick Smith spoke to all in attendance sharing easy to implement classroom management strategies.

Rick suggested that she would try hand signals to indicate washroom or drink in the class.  This will stop those questions from popping into class discussions, especially at those key learning opportunities.  This week my students and I implemented four signals in total, they are shown below: 

Washroom: 


Drink: 

Yes:

No: 


So now when a student needs to leave the classroom for one of these common reasons, all they do is put up their hands with the appropriate signal.  I, from somewhere in the classroom, will respond to their signal with either a yes or a no. 

I will be honest, I did not think that this could possibly work for Grade 11 students.  Primary - Definitley, Junior/Intermediate - Maybe, Senior - No Way!  These students would not like the idea of using the signals (even if they follow ASL) even if I did come up with a creative way to present it. 

Was I wrong! 

I presented this to my class as a challenge.  It was our job to see if this would work well in a classroom at our school.  Would it be feasible to do this in all of our classrooms?  Does this help us minimize interruptions throughout the day?  I posed all of these questions  to my class and said that we would revisit this idea in a couple of weeks.  

The next day, the students were all over it!  They even helped to correct me when I was mistaken their hand-signal for a regular hand or did not respond with the correct versions of yes or no.

Throughout this week, I have seen a class take on a challenge and be successful with it.  Not only has this eliminated those annoying questions to leave the class at inconvenient time but this has improved our classroom environment.  

Before, I found that I was giving reasons for saying no to requests for leaving the classroom such as "wait until the end of the lesson" or  "there is another student out already, wait until everyone is back in the classroom."  With this new strategy, the students do not have the opportunity to argue about the answer they have been given.  The students, as there is no talking in the interaction, cannot ask for further clarification or argue the answer.  This has provided a more calm atmosphere in the classroom.  Even with my students with exceptionalities who usually argue, love this system and do not miss the arguing.  They take the answer at face value, if it is a yes they leave the classroom but if it is a no they continue on with their work.

What strategies have you implemented to remove the "arguing" from your classroom? 

The Importance of Coaching

Last night the Sr. Boys Volleyball team played their last game of the season - we were unfortunately defeated in the quarterfinals.  Truth be told, we did not win a game, or a set, all season.  This season was tough for the boys, a busy season for me, and I think that it is very important that I take a time to reflect on what we have done over the past two months. 

I came to coaching this team at the start of the year when no other teacher took it on.  Am I a volleyball guru?  Have I ever played volleyball outside of Grade 9 gym class?  No, I was completely unaware that volleyball actually had positions - I thought we just had to rotate each player out after each serve!  Was I wrong!  

I came to know the team during try-outs.  The grade 12 members of the team really stepped up and helped me out.  They came to the tryouts unknowing that their coach would have less of an idea of the sport than they were.  During the first couple of tryouts, which then turned practices, the senior members of the team came up with drills on the spot, helped me learn their previous rotations and what each position was responsible for.  They also stepped up and gave me an idea of what qualities each position should have and which player could be matched with which position. 

Our games were a mix of emotions; we would have fabulous sets with scores like 26-24, and then sets where our goal was to receive 5 points in total; most of the time these scores were all in one game.  The boys got angry with each other, down on each other and frustrated.  We had team meetings, chats individually and long practices of running to get everyone on the same page.  It was a roller coaster ride of a season. 

Throughout the season, and looking back, I could not be prouder of this team. 

They persevered through the season.  They returned after each defeat to work harder and better in practice.  When they got frustrated with each other, they allowed each other to have those negative moments, but worked together to help the team move forward.  They saw each other's strengths and worked as a team to utilize them.  They coached each other and supported one another on how to improve. 

These players came from thinking that they were the best players out there to knowing that as a team, we are the strongest.  They took their individual mindset and changed to a team think.

Growing up, I was never a part of a sports team.  I was apart of groups for dance, and for projects, but I never experienced a sports team.  I was blown away.  These guys, even on their worst days, would be supportive to one another and help each other out.  More than this, they took me on as one of them and helped me out.  Their goal was not to focus on themselves, but to focus on us as a team and that meant stepping up and helping out the coach.  

Outside of the courts, the boys are always willing to lend a hand as if we were still playing volleyball together.  Whether it is helping carrying bags and boxes to different classrooms or just checking in to see how the day has been going, these students have become a positive influence on the community.  

Without a teacher stepping up and taking on the responsibility of a coach, these boys would have never had this experience.  It is so important, that as teachers, we take on these extra-curricular activities that foster a sense of self-worth, collaboration, teamwork, and so many other soft skills, in all of our students.  There are many ways that these skills can be developed, but I know that our volleyball team was a big influence for these 10 students. 

Each student should have the chance to know what it feels like to be a part of that special team, to have the spotlight and to show off their talents.  It should not matter if they are the top students in that sport, or the worst, each student should have equal opportunity to learn from each other, overcome those challenges and feel like they have a place in the school's community.  Each student should also have the opportunity to make that connection with a teacher or other staff member.  

More than just sports, students have lots of opportunities to find their place, whether in a drama production, mathletes, computer game club or another activity, how do you help students make these important connections? 

Compliments go a long way!

Today was a recovery from the craziness of Halloween and the sugar high that most student's experienced.  There was still a lot of candy going throughout my classroom, and a lot of wrappers found their way to the trash bin.  But today, more than candy, was about the power of a compliment. 

As a teacher on an LTO, my very first LTO, I have been nervous that I am handling situations properly, giving students the right advice and moving the class at a good pace.   I have been nervous about it, outside of the classroom, and a lot of my co-teachers have been supportive. 

Today, a wonderful supply teacher came in to set-up for her class while I was finishing up with a couple of students.  The students and I were talking about their concerns for their grades as midterms are quickly approaching.  I was giving the students reassurance that they are still able to improve their mark and that I will do everything in my power to make sure they end up with the grade that they want, if they put the effort into it.  

After about 5 minutes of talking to the students, they felt satisfied and went on to their next class with a "Have a great weekend Miss. Fitz!"  I then turned to introduce myself to the supply teacher.  Before I had the opportunity to, the supply said, "You spoke to those students wonderfully; exactly what I would have done in any of my LTO's."  

WOW.  That made me feel good.  Later, I learned that this supply teacher had had many successful LTO's and was a very successful supply.  The simple compliment that she provided to me made my week and gave me confidence to go on to home instruct a student. 

Reflecting on how I felt, I have realized that giving those compliments makes a big impact on someones day.  We have the ability to change someones day with just a single sentence.  As teachers, and people in general, we should make an effort to improve at least one person's day with a compliment. 

This leads me to my goal for the weekend; my goal is to give at least one compliment to someone each day over the weekend.  I feel that if I can improve this at home, I can easily implement this into my school life.  Giving compliments to family members, I have found, is always a bit tougher than to those of strangers or friends.

What is the power of compliments in your teaching career?

Compassion in Students

Today was Halloween!  I was not sure what to expect with the different .... choices of costumes that could appear in a secondary school.  I was pleasantly surprised that many of the students made excellent choices.  Many of these costumes were not store bought, but rather they were hand made by the students.  They were a mixture of the classic costumes and witty ideas.  

More than just costumes, something happened at school today.  The students stepped up and showed their true colours and the colours were beautiful. 

At lunch in the cafeteria, the Student Council was running a best costume contest.  The final two costumes were a Shrek/Fiona couple and Bender from Futurama.  The paired costume was a student dressed all out as Fiona with a younger brother (a primary student) as Shrek - it was adorable!  The Bender costume was all hand-made and well designed.  

When the student population voted by cheers, it was difficult to tell which one received the loudest cheer.  The student council then did something a bit different.  Instead of picking the costume that was most relevant to them, they selected the Shrek/Fiona pair to win.  They knew how much it would mean that much more to the younger student. 

As a teacher; this was a very, very proud moment that they saw the good of their decision, even while influenced by the large amounts of sugar in their systems.

The Power of NO

Today I had the privilege to attend a classroom management session by Rick Smith.  It was amazing!  I learned so much, reinforced what I was doing and gave me many practical items to take back to my classroom. 

Looking back on it immediately, one thing has stuck out to me and it is the power of no.  We all know as teachers that we make decisions and that the students need to follow them.  In a secondary classroom, I find myself explaining the reasons for these decisions that takes away from the class discussion or activity.  These explanations usually allow the students to  argue about the decision made.  This affects my authority as a teacher in the classroom and distracts not only the students but all of the other students in the class.  Rick suggested keeping your vocabulary to two statements - can you guess what they are? 

1) No

2) I understand and the answer is No

I think these two statements are very powerful.  Firstly, the student is going to run out of excuses or reasons and stop sooner or later.  Secondly, this gives us as teachers an easier chance to hold our ground.  

I think that it is important, as a secondary teacher, that I give opportunity at a later time to provide that learning opportunity to the student on why I made my decision; but I agree that it is should be expressed later. 

With this strategy in mind, I am going to start implementing it immediately.  I have a couple students with exceptionalities and I think this will minimize the confrontation in the lesson.  In addition, this will minimize the number of the students who like to leave class to "wander" and chat with friends.  My goal will be to use this strategy in at least two conversations/confrontations/arguments I have with students between now and Friday.  I know that it is not realistic to have it in all of my interactions right now, but I will make a start! 

Just starting to use Technology

I think the biggest struggle I am finding is determining the best use of technology in my classroom.  I want to find a balance between all of the tools that students can use as well as f2f interaction.  

I am a mathematics teacher, so I find adding technology into the classroom a bit more challenging.  I am successful at using tools to help learning such as graphing calculators or Google Forms for exit surveys, but I feel that this is just the tip of the iceberg. 

My goal over the next couple months is to find a few tools that I can use effectively in my classroom that allow my students to develop perseverance through the tougher questions and challenge them to apply their knowledge.  

I would love to hear from you about your best tech in the classroom, especially if you have used it in a math lesson! 

Google Moderator

Have you not heard of it?  Don't worry, I had not idea this Google creation existed until I attended the ECOO 2013 Conference just this past week. 

What is it you ask? 
Google Moderator is a tool that you can use to pick the best topics.  Participants ask questions and then you get to vote on the ones your like and the ones that you dislike.  The top questions float to the top of the screen, while, unpopular ones float down to the bottom.  It is pretty neat!  

No more fighting over what topics are reviewed in a review class and no more struggling to find questions that interest the students on the new article you just read, Google Moderator will find out the top ones for you! 

Here is how one teacher uses Google Moderator, to give you a better idea on how it can be used: 

More than just a teaching tool, you can use this to determine important (or most popular) topics for department and whole school meetings and for sport teams to discuss what they would like to practice.

Today I will be using Google Moderator for the first time.  The students in my math class will be logging in at the start of the class and letting me know what topics they would like to review before the summative assessment tomorrow.  The most popular topics, for the class, will win the first spot in the review list.  

This great tool will give students a chance to have their input into their learning and show them that they are not alone in their questions! 

Google Forms for Formative Assessment

Google forms are a great way to collect data quickly and efficiently.  The bonus is that it they are also really easy to create. 

How can you add them into your classrooms?  There are a few ideas: 

• Use them as exit cards 
• Have them as peer feedback forms 
• Sign out sheets

Today was the first day that I used a Google form for my exit card.  I had the students answer three short questions to let me know how they were feeling.  If they had their device, they signed into the form themselves, and if not, they answered it on the teacher's computer on the way out of the classroom. 

Here is a sample of the form that I used today: 

I really like the ideas of giving the students the opportunity to say that they "aren't there yet."  In my classroom this allows the students to identify that they are working towards the understanding and that it is okay to not be there yet.  Not being there yet does not necessarily mean that you need extra help, you just need extra time to strengthen and connect your understanding.

Once all of the students have filled in the form, you can see the data in graphs - much easier than looking through all of those pieces of paper.  Google does the hard work for you!  

Google forms also allow for a variety of different questions from text to multiple choice.  No matter the type of question, Google will still sort the information!  Such a great tool for the classroom. 

How do you use Google Forms in your classroom?

Tech In the Classroom

It is here!  Technology is everywhere!  Your students have it, you have it and whether you like it or not, it is going to be used. 

It is our job as teachers to teach students how to use it effectively (although many of us don't know how to) and how to make the tech work uniquely for each of our students. 

Right now, there is so much information out there that you may feel like you are in tech overload.  I agree, that trying to stay up on the latest gadget, app or tool is exhausting.  There are so many options and different ideas for completing the same task that it is difficult to choose.

As a somewhat tech-savy teacher, I am now creating a home where teachers can go (mainly based on Secondary School) and see ideas and thoughts around the latest gadgets/app/tools.  There are my ideas on how to use tech in the classroom and how to make it work EASILY for you and your students. 

My mission: 

• to make it easy for teachers to integrate the technology into their classrooms
• to help teachers incorporate technology rather than fight against it 
• to assist in developing new ideas for how to engage all of your students, even your most difficult ones, using technology

As I come across other information and useful links they will also be posted. Please comment and help me brainstorm these ideas - this is part of the new tech!  Provide me with your thinking and ideas and we can work together to make useful and meaningful resources for our classrooms.

E