Graffiti Model

 Graffiti Model

This is a great cooperative learning model that gets students up and moving and interacting with their classmates, and there are lots of versions--gallery strolls, silent graffitis, etc. This model can also be used as a diagnostic or formative assessment. The key is individual accountability. 

Steps to the Model

1. Prepare the graffiti questions and group number and composition. 
• This step is done prior to class. 
• If you have a large class and only a few stations, you can make more than one of each station in order to keep the groups small and interactive. 
• Prompts can be questions, case scenarios, photographs, hypothetical scenarios, political cartoons, or whatever. Whatever you choose, your prompts need to be open-ended; otherwise groups will simply copy the responses of those that came before. 
2. Distribute materials. 
• You may assign groups a specific color to write with to track which comments came from whom, or not. 
3. Group answer questions. 
• Give students 3-5 minutes to discuss and respond to prompts. 
• Give them timing cues so they can wrap up. 
4. Exchange questions. 
• Students can agree or disagree or add on to the previous students' comments. 
• Continue until all students have time to answer all questions. 
• Groups should rotate their scribes so all are able to participate. 
• The teacher wanders around listening in for misconceptions or to ask provocative questions to keep students engaged. Conversely, depending on your purpose for the activity, you may want to stay completely out of it (e.g. if you're using the activity as a pre-assessment). 
5. Return to the original question, summarize, and make generalizations. 
• You can have students turn the sheet over to make their summaries and generalizations on the back. 
6. Share information. 
• Each group shares their generalizations with the rest of the class. 
• The teacher can fill in any holes. 
7. Evaluate the Group Process. 
• This step encompasses both content and metacognitive evaluation--in other words, the what and the how. Students need to be held individually accountable for the information (the what) but they also need to understand for themselves why this process did or did not help them learn the material (the how). 
• You must hold all individuals accountable for all information, not just the information on their original poster. 

Jigsaw Model

 Jigsaw Model

This is a dangerous model! Beware! It's dangerous because it has a tendency to break down at step 6, "hold individuals accountable." Students' learning will only be as specific and measurable as the objectives you give your expert groups. If you give your expert groups a vague goal, they will in turn teach vague concepts, and you'll have nothing to hold your students accountable for. I see this model attempted all the time, but seldom successfully. 

Steps of model: 

1. Introduce the Jigsaw process to the students. 
• The learning objectives for the lesson. 
• The composition and size of each group. 
• The differences between the expert and learning group. 
• How much time students will have to work in each group. 
• Access to the required materials. 
• The expert group task goal. 
• The learning group task goal. 
• The method of determining individual accountability. 
2. Assign students to expert and learning groups. 
• Assign heterogenous or random groups to balance achievement, motivation, gender, etc. 
• Let students establish familiarity with each other before proceeding. 
• Review the rules with the groups. 
• Team members are responsible for each other; they help each other asking teacher for assistance. 
• No student may leave team area until all students have mastered the task. 
3. Explain the task and assemble expert groups. 
• Objectives are explained to individual groups and materials are provided. 
4. Allow expert groups to process information. 
• Objectives need to be very clear (see above). 
• Make sure objectives are met before letting experts teach the learners. 
5. Experts teach in their learning group. 
• Provide a graphic organizer for students to process information all groups. 
• All students should become experts in all areas. 
6. Hold individuals accountable. 
• Assessment should be aligned with the learning objectives for the lesson or unit. 
• Individual students need to be held accountable for all information. 
• Assessment may be in the form of a quiz, discussion, essay, checklist, etc. 
7. Evaluate the Jigsaw process. 
• Debrief the jigsaw process (metacognition). 
• Students evaluate their own learning in relation to the lesson. 
• This can be done through class discussion, on an exit card, in conference with teacher, etc. 

Tips and hints to this model: 

• Do not "dumb down" your objectives or expectations just because students are teaching. Every student needs to become an expert in every objective. 
• Expert groups need very clear objectives so they know exactly what to teach in their learning groups. 

Socratic Seminar

 Socratic Seminar

This model helps students to develop age-appropriate discussion skills for controversial or multisided topics. It is not a debate. The focus is on listening, articulation of ideas, and respect. Students do not have to reach a common decision, but they should expand their thinking and come to an educated personal decision or viewpoint on the topic. Objectives and assessments should target higher-order thinking skills. Teacher should establish both content and behavioral objectives. 

If you want to learn more about developing a Socratic classroom, check out Matt Copeland's book, Socratic Circles: Fostering Critical and Creative Thinking in Middle and High School, in which he illustrates multiple simple and complex versions of the Socratic model. 

Steps to the model

1. Choose the text--Written, visual, or Audio (part of teacher preparation). 
• Text should be related to the "big ideas" of your unit, or your essential questions. 
• Text should be at appropriate age and cognitive level. 
2. Plan and cluster several questions of varying cognitive demand (part of teacher prep). 
• Have a broad "umbrella" question (e.g. your essential question) that summarizes the issue. 
• Use Bloom's Cognitive Taxonomy as a guide for creating "stratified" or "leveled" questions. 
• Questions should be open ended. 
3. Introduce the model to the students. 
• Let students know the model is to help them engage in intellectual conversation. 
• Make sure that everyone participates and no one dominates. 
• Students should prepare for the discussion by annotating the text or taking notes. (You may use annotated text as an "entry ticket" to the discussion.)
• Teacher may provide discussion "prompts" for students. 
4. Conduct the discussion. 
• Students should support their comments with evidence. 
• Only one student should speak at a time. 
• Students should sit in a circle so they are talking to each other. Teacher may sit inside or outside the circle. 
• Introduce the umbrella question at the beginning of the discussion, but don't answer it until the end. Tell students they need to build up to that questions by answering some other questions first. 
5. Review and summarize the discussion. 
• Take time at the end of the discussion for students to process the information (metacognition) or the benefits to the discussion are lost. 
• Students evaluate the content of the discussion and determine the most important ideas. 
6. Evaluate the discussion. 
• Students evaluate the process and their personal contributions. 
• Did they cite reasons and evidence for comments? 
• Did they speak clearly and listen respectfully? 
• Did they avoid hostile exchanges? 
• Were they prepared for the seminar? 
• Set goals for the next discujssion. 

Synectics version 1 and 2

 The Synectics Model--Version 1

    Making the familiar Strange! 

"Synectics is specifically designed to enhance creativity in problem solving by having students consciously develop analogies that allow an emotional as well as a rational approach to solutions." Analogies, remember, are extended comparisons that deeper our understanding of a subject. Version 1 of the synectics model allows students to look deeply at something (or someone) they think they already know, and through the creation of an analogy they are forced to look at that thing from a new and deeper perspective (making the familiar strange). 

Steps to the model: 

1. Describe the topic
• Choose a concept (a character from a novel, a behavior, an experience, an activity, an abstract idea) and have students describe that concept/person/thing. 
• List the descriptions on the board.  
2. Create direct analogies. 
• Select a category, such as movies, animals, sports, or cartoon characters, and have students identify items in that category that could be described using the same list as the one you made in step 1. 
• List these items in another column, as students explain the reasons for their choices. 
• Pick the best or favorite item from that list for the next step. 
3. Describe personal analogies.
• Students will create personal analogies from the one item by pretending to be that item and describing what it feels like. 
• List the feelings (good or ill) in a third column as students explain their rationale. 
• Work to get as many responses here as possible to help with the next step. Also, students need to address both positive and negative feelings. 
4. Identify compressed conflicts. 
• From the list created in step three, pair words together that seem to fight against each other. (The pairs don't have to be opposites; they just need to present some sort of conflict or strong tension.)
• Words can be used more than once. Experiment until you have a very strong conflict. 
• Circle the pair of words that represents the strongest conflict or greatest tension. 
5. Create a new direct analogy.
• Select another category, such as a fruit, office equipment, or historical figures.
• Have students identify items within that category that can also be described using the compressed conflict chosen. 
• Brainstorm a list so that you can pick the best one and circle it.
6.   Reexamine the original topic. 
• Take whatever item students circled in step 5 and loop back to your original topic. 
• Students now describe the original topic in terms of the item circled in step 5--how are they similar?
• Students must be deeply creative in order to extend the analogy. 
• Students present their final analogy in a summary paragraph (Your product objective should align to this step.)

Tips: The more you use this model, the better you get at it and the more categories you dare employ. Give the model a few valiant attempts and you'll fall in love! Also, you can provide a graphic organizer so students can work individually or in small groups. 

The Synectics Model Version 2

    Making the strange familiar! 

An analogy is an extended comparison that deepens our understanding of a subject. Version 2 of the synectics model allows students access to difficult, unfamiliar concepts by way of comparing the unfamiliar to something familiar through an analogy that you, the teacher, provide. The model works well because students have to be able to identify both similarities and differences between the two concepts. 

Steps to the model: 

1. Provide information. 
• The teacher provides factual information about the material to be learned. 
2. Present the analogy. 
• The teacher presents multiple similarities between the new, unfamiliar concept and a concept that is familiar to students. 
3. Use personal analogy to create compressed conflicts. 
• The teacher asks students to explain what it feels like, for good or ill, to be the familiar concept. 
• Students brainstorm these feelings while the teacher lists them on the board. 
• Students pair words from the list that seem to contradict one another. the words don't have to be opposites, but they should have conflict connotations. 
• Words may be used more than once. 
• Students select one pair of words that represents a strong conflict. This is a "compressed conflict." 
4. Compare the compressed conflict with the subject
• The class discusses the new, unfamiliar concept in terms of the compressed conflict. 
• The teacher asks students to describe how they feel on each side of the conflict. 
5. Identify differences. 
• Students explain where the analogy doesn't fit--where it falls short. 
• Responses at this point help the teacher determine students' depth of understanding. 
• This is also an opportunity to identify misunderstandings and misconceptions. 
6. Reexamine the original subject. 
• Students discuss or write about the original, unfamiliar concept using ideas that were discussed in the lesson. 
• The discussion or written piece should demonstrate deepened understanding of the new concept. 
7. Create new direct analogies. 
• Students create their own analogies for the original subject. 
• Analogy should be far removed from the subject, as that will generate more interesting and deeper comparisons. 
• This step may serve as a formative assessment. 

Academic Controversy

 The Academic Controversy Model

While resolution of conflict helps student analyze multiple sides of an issue, the Academic Controversy model works well with issues that are more two-sided, or binary, with a similar effect: your students will consider both sides of an issue without screaming and ranting. This model ultimately requires compromise. Students have to be able to defend both sides of the issue in order to succeed.

Prior to class, identify a topic as well as age-appropriate materials supporting each side of the issue (or let advanced students identify their own source materials). You should also provide the instructions both orally and in writing. Then pair students: four students per group, two per side. 

Steps to the Model

1. Students prepare their positions. 
• Pair students with their partner to review their materials. 
• Pairs come up with their "thesis" statement, as well as their supports/evidences. 
• They prepare a short presentation to help their peers understand their argument. 
2. Students present and advocate their positions. 
• Each pair presents its position. Both partners participate! 
• While the first pair presents, the second pair takes notes and vice versa. 
• There is no arguing or debating at this step, though clarification questions can be asked. 
• The goal here is for the partnerships to understand the opposing argument. 
3. Open discussion and rebuttals. 
• Pairs continue to advocate their own position and refuse the opposition through questioning and deconstruction. 
• Rebuttals should be based on counterarguments, clarifications and extensions. 
• Positions should be presented in a polite and reasonable manner. 
4. Reverse positions. 
• Students switch sides and repeat steps 1-3 from the opposite viewpoint. 
• You can provide new facts, materials or information. 
• You could also re-match your pairs (keeping original pairs together|). 
5. Synthesize and integrate the best evidence into a joint position. 
• Group members drop sides and the students compromise into a joint position. 
6. Present the group synthesis. 
• Groups can present their synthesis orally or in writing. 
• This step could provide a formative assessment to one of your learning objectives. 
• You could also formatively assess students on the defense of their own opinion if that opinion isn't represented by the compromise. 
7. Group processing of the controversy and participation of members. 
• The class discusses the positive and negative aspects of the experience. 
• Give individuals the opportunity to reflect on their own performance and participation. 

Other tips and hints: 

• You can apply this model to both process and product objectives. The literacy core provides lots of process objectives in addition to those found in your own core. 
• Give a general overview of the process before you begin; then give detailed instructions at each step. If you try to give them too many directions at once they'll get confused. 

Integrative Model

 Integrative Model

The purpose of the integrative model is to help students make sense of complex and rich relationships found in your discipline. The model supports critical thinking strategies while helping students learn specific concepts, facts, and generalizations. 

Steps of the Model 

1. Plan for the Integrative model (the teacher does this step before class). 
• Identify your topic and target generalizations. 
• Prepare a data set for your students. "Data" is any form of input you provide for them to analyze. It may be a set of numbers, photographs, words, pictures, maps, musical phrases, video clips, poems, dialogues, etc. 
2. Describe, compare, and search for patterns in the data set. 
• Begin the lesson by providing necessary background information on the topic. 
• Then ask the students to describe what they see in the data set. What patterns do they notice? What similarities and differences? 
3. Explain the identified similarities and differences. 
• Students clearly articulate the similarities and differences they have found. This requires deeper analysis than step 2. 
• Students should document what they found in step 2 with direct reference to the data source. In other words, they should defend their findings. 
4. Hypothesize what would happen under different conditions. 
• You now provide a situation in which conditions change, and ask students to hypothesize a new outcome. 
• Students should explain their hypotheses and conclusions. 
5. Make broad generalizations about the topic and the discussion. 
• Students summarize and synthesize the discussion and make broad generalizations about the topic. 

Formative assessment is offered at each step of the model through question and answer. Students should be accountable for individual summaries and generalizations about the topic (step 5). This can be done through journal entries, exit slips, working through additional problems, etc. Evaluation criteria may include the number and quality of the comparisons and the logic and quality of the explanations. 

Differentiation can be met by manipulating the data set to meet the needs of individual students, by varying the level of complexity and abstraction, or by highlighting specific pieces of information to play to student interest. Students may be part of developing the data sets by putting together matrices or graphs  to be explored. Questions are also a powerful differentiation tool because questions can be personalized. 

Cause and Effect Model

 Cause and Effect Model

The Cause and Effect model goes beyond obvious causes and effects by forcing students to analyze events for prior causes and subseqeuent (long-term) effects that may at first seem unrelated. The model also allows students to draw conclusions specific to the event being analyzed and generalizations unbound by time or place. 

Steps of the Model

1. Choose the topic, action, or problem to be analyzed. 
• The topic should be in the form of a statement, not a question. 
• The topic may be fictional, hypothetical, or real. It can be current or historical. 
• The topic should reflect a significant action, event, condition, or conflict. 
2. Ask for immediate causes and support for those causes. 
• Immediate causes are usually obvious and are often stated in the supporting text. 
• Immediate causes are written to the left of the topic you are analyzing. 
3. Ask for immediate effects and support for those effects. 
• Immediate effects are also usually obvious and are stated in the text. 
• Immediate effects are written to the right of the topic you are analyzing. 
4. Ask for prior causes and support (the causes of the causes). 
• Address each immediate causes in turn, and look for causes of those causes. 
• Prior causes are written to the left of the immediate causes. 
• Students may need to infer some prior causes, but should back up their inferences. 
5. Ask for subsequent (long-term) effects and support. 
• Address each immediate effect in turn, and look for long-term effects. 
• Subsequent effects are written to the right of the immediate effects. 
• Students may need to infer or predict some long-term effects. 
6. Ask for conclusions. 
• Read completed graphic organizer from left to right. 
• Create conclusions about the topic based on information provided in graphic organizer. Conclusions are specific to the topic at hand. 
7. Ask for generalizations. 
• Generalizations are conclusions expressed in very general terms--general observations about humanity. 
• Generalizations may be articulated in themes. 
• Generalizations may address an overarching essential question. 
• Generalizations should make the topic matter to the students (should personalize the topic). 
8. Evaluate students' performance. 
• Evaluate engagement in process/participation. 
• Conclusions and/or generalizations should align to your daily indicator(s). 

Differentiation in this model is offered through topic selection, discussion, scaffolding, choice, grouping, etc. 

Formative assessment can be offered through the graphic organizer, essays which use conclusions as thesis, observation of responses throughout the process, etc. 

Hint: When using this model, go into the activity with a graphic organizer filled out to your expectation. This way, if students miss something you deem pertinent, you can formulate helpful questions to guide them to their target. (Don't tell them what you're looking for; just prod them in the right direction).  

Concept Development Model

 Concept Development Model

This model allows students to share their understanding of a concept and then to rearrange or modify that understanding by interacting with their peers' understandings through the development process. 

This model works well as a pre-assessment because it allows the teacher to see what students already know about a specific topic. The process also allows for misconceptions to emerge and be corrected. Concept development also works as a formative assessment (students share and solidify their learning) or as a tool for organizing essays or presentations. 

Steps of the Model

1. List as many items as possible that are associated with the subject (brainstorming)
• Let students be creative in answering. Don't interrupt their thought process. 
• Correct misconceptions as they arise. 
2. Group the items because they are alike in some way. 
• Examine the relationships among items. 
• Don't leave any items out. Include them all. 
3. Label the groups by defining the reasons for grouping. 
• Students must explain the reasons for their groupings. 
• Steps 2 and 3 might happen at the same time, or you might go back and forth. 
4. Regroup or subsume individual items or whole groups under other groups. 
• Expose multiple perspectives. 
• Question previous groupings. 
5. Synthesize the information by summarizing the data and forming generalizations. 
• Students summarize trends in one or two sentences. 
• You may have a generalization for each group as well as an umbrella generalization. 
6. Evaluate students' progress by assessing their ability to generate a wide variety of items and to group those items flexibly
• Look for improved flexibility in learning over time. 

Variations on the Model

• To save time or to make sure certain items are included, the teacher may provide the brainstorming items and have the students group them. 
• The teacher may provide the labels. For example, you can have the students label their groups themselves, but then you provide them specific labels for step 4 (the regrouping).

Lone Peak High School "We See You" video

 This video went viral after it was released by staff at Lone Peak High School. I found it incredibly powerful, and not just for the message it provided, but the reminder that I personally get when I watch it. 

I remember feeling awkward and like I didn't always belong in high school. Heck, I still feel that way a lot of the time, but it's completely different as an adult, and quite frankly, when I don't belong I don't mind. 

I also remember trying to talk to my mom and she could never just listen! Partway through she would start sharing her opinion or try to fix what we were trying about and I'd get so frustrated, I just stopped talking. I didn't need someone to fix my problems or agree that someone did something nice or something mean; I just wanted to be seen and heard. 

The high school by my house says "You Belong Here" above the front doors as a reminder to everyone who enters that they matter,, which is great, but for some reason, "We See You" is more powerful to me. Then again, it would be really creepy if the front of the school said Skyridge High School in large letters and then slightly smaller letters below it said, "We See You." 

With my own teenage daughter I notice a lot of the same things I felt at her age. We have recently had a couple of talks about how as the mom I am so used to her coming to me for a solution or advice, that when she does just come to talk, I don't always realize that's what I'm supposed to do. We have tried coming up with ways for her to verbalize what she wants from me, and then for me to listen to what she wants and respond accordingly. It's a work in progress but it sounds really nice when I type it out. That said, here is the link to the video. 

Lone Peak High School "We See You" 

Strategies to dealing with difficult people

Strategies for dealing with Difficult People

1) Do not avoid the person. Yes, you may need to "gather your thoughts" after reading a strongly-worded email. You may need to take some time to carefully consider the situation before interacting; but, you will cause the problem to grow if you avoid, ignore, or "ghost" the person. 

2) Turn-down-the-temperature. Remember that others' reactions are often a result of their own, personal life issues, and have little (or nothing) to do with you. Help turn the dial down on your own emotional reaction by recalling CBT practices Links to an external site.like avoiding all/nothing language, avoiding fortunetelling and mindreading, changing "shoulds" to "wants", etc. 

3) Validate the other persons' feelings and concerns before addressing the issue. Cliché as it may be, seek to first understand, and then be understood. If others aren't great at verbalizing these feelings, you can help by doing some detective work: Are they angry their student is in a remedial class? Maybe they're feeling concerned that their student isn't going to be successful in life? This is fear. Call it out: "It seems like you might be feeling afraid for your students' future academic success. Is this right?" Is a parent angry their student didn't pass your course. You might say: "I understand you are feeling scared and overwhelmed that your student might not graduate. Is this fair?" Maybe an administrator is concerned that students aren't enjoying your course. Even though they are your boss, you could still say something like, "I understand you are worried and nervous my teaching is negatively affecting students. Is this true?" You can learn how to do this expertly with practice and time. I also highly suggest reading (or listening-to) Nonviolent Communication by RosenbergLinks to an external site. for a more detailed framework regarding feelings/needs based communication. 

4) Don't send that email! Write it. Share it with a friend. Talk about it in your stand-up comedy special. But don't send it. Only send short, empathic, professional emails. You may defend your policies and procedures. You may refer to your syllabus. You may hold to your boundaries. However, if an email is longer than a paragraph, I highly recommend setting-up a meeting. Email arguing is rarely effective and is often misconstrued. 

5) Which leads me to this: meet in person. If the issue persists or you feel like there might be a legal issue, don't hesitate to meet in person. Invite a trusted school counselor or administrator. Invite legal support or a union representative if you feel nervous about the meeting. Be clear about the goals for the meeting. 

6) Ask other teachers for advice. Find your trusted teacher friends. Make yourself a part of the fabric of the teacher community in your school. Show them the email. Ask them to give you honest feedback. You don't just want a cheerleader, you want a colleague. If you haven't already, listen to this podcast: How to Complain ProductivelyLinks to an external site.. 

7) Develop strong relationships with parents before there are problems. Remember that contempt, hate, and dehumanization often function best when we don't know one another. Seek to develop relationships with parents by sending postcards about their students successes, making phone calls when times are good, and becoming part of parent-teacher groups on your campus. I love this tedtalk about building relationships with parents and teachers:

8) Sometimes it's not worth your sanity. Cave! This may be a controversial opinion, but from much experience, I've found that if a parent or caregiver is making life miserable, you might just need to do what it takes to make them happy, despite your better judgement. Please don't misunderstand: I'm not saying this should be your default. I am saying that, at the end of the day, we need you in the classroom! We need you to teach! You love it. You worked hard for this career. Don't let one bad actor be your demise. This was a big lesson for me when an extremely aggressive, angry father shouted at me for hours about his son's A- in seventh-grade math. During this meeting I didn't cave. I cried. I explained why it wouldn't be fair to other students. He was mean. Mean as hell. I felt defeated. Afterward, I had a professor (I was getting a master's degree at the time) say this: "If this father would like his son to learn that you can get what you want, without earning it, I foresee him living in his parents' basement well into his 30s. And that's a parenting fail. Not a teaching fail." He gave me permission to wash my hands of the situation by changing the grade. Of course, I didn't do it without a snarky remark: I'm changing the grade. Not because he earned it, but because you bullied me into it. I don't usually respond to bullies, but since he's not my child and I don't have to experience the long-term ramifications of this parenting move, I've decided to let you make the final decision on the matter. That was an email I sent. And I don't regret it. 

9) Listen and learn. Although some parents and administrators do not have your best interest as a priority, many (most?) parents/caregivers and administrators have legitimate concerns and can offer valuable feedback. You're not perfect and you have a lot to learn. There are times when feedback is necessary and valid. Take ownership of your shortcomings and learn from your mistakes. Parental feedback can also have the added benefit of giving you ideas for differentiating instruction. Parents know their child well. As a parent of students, I've noticed that some teachers are great at listening to my concerns at the beginning of the year. These concerns are typically related to my child, and how their affect or habits might get them in trouble. Essentially, I ask teachers to "be on the lookout" for certain things. I've noticed that some teachers shoo me away without really listening; after all, they've been teaching 6th grade longer than I have. However, none of my "advice" is meant to be taken personally. The teachers who listen and respond typically have a better year with my child, and are in communication with me about my concerns. It feels like a partnership. If you haven't already, please take some time to listen to this podcast about getting feedback: Learning from your MistakesLinks to an external site.

Links to an external site.10) Remember, you have choices! This is my final, and most important, message to those of us who are teachers, and those of you who will soon be a teacher: You are influential. You make the final decision. Nobody can "make you" go against your values and boundaries. Part of self-care and self-compassion is setting boundaries and unapologetically holding those boundaries. You can work to design policies that are to be fair to both you and your students. Remember that the student is priority #1. However, your sanity, safety, and work conditions are also important. Be clear about the boundaries you will and will not flex. Be clear about your reasons for doing so. It could be an issue of fairness (to other students or yourself.) It could be an issue of teaching students accountability. It could be an issue of personal preference. All of these are valid. Your experience is valid. Your boundaries are valid. If you are continually walked-upon, you will resent your job, your students, and might eventually leave teaching. You must be true to yourself and practice self-care and self-compassion. You don't need to apologize for the inability to be everything to everyone, or to adapt to each person in your sphere. You can say "no" to being the cheerleading advisor! You can say "no" to meeting with a parent who is being hateful, hurtful, and caustic. Your safety is important. Will you make exceptions? Of course! Will you differentiate instruction and learn how to adapt and adjust to students' needs? Of course! None of this, however, implies that you must please everyone. Often, you will not be able to please anyone but yourself. Holding students accountable is part of your job. Sometimes this means a hard "no" or being part of dolling-out natural consequences. (And sometimes this means "caving," in order to appease a squeaky wheel and move on so you can impact the other 150 students who depend upon you.) These are your choices, and they are all valid. "Know thyself," and, I might add, "take care of thyself!" 

On a larger scale, you will not be forced you to follow a policy you believe is unethical or immoral. Some may try and convince you, threaten your job, your safety, or your life, but you have the final choice. You are not a victim of this system. As my one of my favorite authors says, “The actions of individuals can either rescript existing narratives, or challenge them” (Imani Perry, 2011.) The system is flawed, but you can choose how to function within the system - will the system move along unchallenged, smoothly, or will you throw-in a wrench or two? 

Other resources: 

Short article: How to stop mindreading

Podcast: Why Conversations Go Wrong

Podcast: Nice White Parents

Podcast: Mindreading, How others see you

Assessments and Grades

 What is the purpose of my assessment? 

Understanding students (within my subject matter, and more generally)

Getting feedback from students about their learning and classroom experiences

Formative versus summative

Formal versus informal

Creating Assessments

Reliability refers to whether an assessment instrument gives the same results each time it is used in the same setting with the same type of subjects. Reliability essentially means consistent or dependable results. Reliability is a part of the assessment of validity. (Vocabulary example; wording example; two questions in one example.)

Validity refers to the extent that a test measures what it is supposed to measure. (examples: giving feedback on “neatness” when the test was for understanding of concepts; designing a rubric that mostly favors “working well”, when the objectives were to assess understanding of greenhouse gasses; how does the assessment connect to your objectives? Theatre example: objectives performance based and assessment was to memorize names and dates.)

Age-appropriate and time-appropriate: wording, length, cultural references are reasonable for the group of students.

What Do I Do with the Assessment Information?

Feedback for the student

Feedback for me (the teacher)

Adapting and personalizing instruction

How Do I Assign a Grade?

What are my school/district requirements?

Small assessments towards grade, or “mastery” towards grade? (Or something in between?) 

What does “getting and A” in your class mean?

Issues with assessments

• Who is doing the assessing? Me? My peer? My teacher (MKO)?  The internet? A governing board of experts?

• Who is being assessed? The individual? The group? The teacher? Philosophies behind individual vs. collective/distributed cognition. 

• The psychology behind feedback. Issues with identity and ego. Connections to growth mindset. Feedback from students. Tips and tricks to teach yourself and students how to take feedback.

• High-stakes testing  culture. The goods. The bads. How does it fit my goals? Ways to mitigate. Ways to embrace. Ways to reject. Ways to object.

• Creating assessments that match goals. Whose goals? Mine? The school? The student? The future job market? The parents? The community? 

• Authentic assessment. (And shouldn’t they all be?) 

• Generative (beyond diagnoses): Could you use assessment time as learning time? How? (Examples of Geometry for teachers and calculus.) 

• Testing anxiety. Stereotype threat. Ego threat. Outcome and performance anxiety. Expectations. Revising the program. 

Vygotsky and Social Cognitivism, Zone of Proximal Development

 Piaget versus Vygotsky

Piaget: We are able to learn something when our cognitive development has reached the state which allows us to learn that thing. 

Culture, Language symbols, tools, customs/norms/funds of knowledge 

Vygotsky: When we learn something our cognitive development stretches pas it's previous state to a new state. 

ZPD, More Knowledgeable Others, Social Interactions, Peers and Imaginary Play.  

Zone of Proximal Development

• More Knowledgeable Others
• Mentors
• Teachers
• Parents
• Role Models on TV
• Peers
• The "sweet spot"--not too easy and not too hard

The concept of the Zone of Proximal Development has a subtle authoritarian tinge which distinguishes it, for instance, from Piaget's more democratic and individualistic emphasis on discovery learning. 

 

Vygotsky Lesson Plan

When teaching a Vygotsky lesson determine if students are 

1. Not in the ZPD yet. 

2. Past the ZPD. 

3. In the ZPD. 

What skills, knowledge or expertise is needed for the lesson? 

What plans for scaffolding and differentiation can I use? 

Tools for formative assessment

 75 digital tools and apps teachers can use to support formative assessment in the classroom

Fantastic, Fast, Formative Assessment Tools

Aggression and the Bobo Doll Experiment

 A social learning theory and example of how aggression can be taught. 

Short video: Bandura and the Social Learning Theory

Piaget Stages of Cognitive Development, Piagetian Lesson Plan

 

Piaget vs Vygotsky

If it were asked who are the two main geniuses in the field of developmental psychology, many, if not all, developmentalists would certainly point to Jean Piaget (1896-1980) and Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) in either order. 

Vygotsky: Sociocultural theory (social cognitivism) and Socio-cultural constructivism. 

Piaget: Stages of Cognitive Development and Autonomous Constructivism. 

Piaget: Key Theories and Ideas

• Stages of development: brain needs to develop (maturation) before cognition can happen
• Gradual process
• "universal"
• Consistent and ordered
• Cognitive Constructivism: learning happens as people make sense of new experiences; sharp distinction from behaviorism
• Peer interaction and active exploration
• Schema theory
• Disequilibrium
• Adaptation 
• Concrete to formal (connected to physical reality)
• Connections to brain development (back to front)

Piaget Stages of Development 

Schema organization and categorization

Schemes, schema, operations

Schemes: Processes of assimilation and adaptation (Concrete to Formal)

Schema: The “categories” of understanding

Cognitive Operations: The processes involved in using, adapting, and creating schemas (“Scheming?” Learning?)

Disequilibrium and Cognitive Dissonance

Disequilibrium

New information

• Mismatch
• State of imbalance (search for a schema)

Cognitive Dissonance

New information extremely different than what you know or believe

• Change
• Justify 
• Ignore/deny

Organization through Adaptations

Assimilations: Add information to existing schema (blowing up a balloon)

Accommodations: Alter an existing schema or create a 

new one (making a balloon into a balloon poodle)

Leads to…equilibrium

Adaptations through Information Processing Instruction

Teaching "Focus"

Sensory Learning (visual, auditory kinesthetic)

Rehearsal

Adaptations through Constructivism Instruction

Project-based learning, service learning (look outside themselves), structured academic controversy, discovery learning, inquiry-based learning, the importance of play and physical learning. 

Concrete to Formal Operations: Bloom's Taxoomy

Create a Piagetian Lesson Plan

Working alone or with others in your content area group, outline a lesson in your content area that implements the principles you have learned in this lesson. You can use a lesson plan that you have written for another class and add comments about how you have implemented the principles (highlight the part you want to comment on and choose Insert > Comment), or you can simply describe a lesson you would teach and how you would implement each of those principles.  Include each of the following in your analysis/description: How you will cause some disequilibrium How you will help students assimilate the new topic with what they already know How you will help students accommodate the new ideas or skills through: the use of the information process model (sensory input, focusing attention, active engagement and rehearsal in working memory, encoding for long-term memory) OR the use of complex learning environments from constructivism (e.g., discovery learning, project-based learning, inquiry-based learning, problem-based learning, service-learning, structured academic controversy, etc.) How you will help students accommodate the new ideas or skills AND work on transitioning from concrete to formal operations through the implementation of: Bloom's taxonomy OR Fischer's 3 tiers OR Bruner's modes of processing OR Kolb's experiential learning cycle For each concept above, be sure to (1) use the vocabulary and (2) clearly explain how you are implementing it in the lesson. You can use the video analysis on the previous page as an example. If you would prefer, you can submit a video response describing the lesson you would enact. Just be sure to meet all of the requirements.

Additional resources

Video Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development

Short Article: Support and Criticism of Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development

Video on misconceptions and ableism on people with disabilities.

In this video, a nonverbal autistic girl's family continues to work with her until she is able to express herself. 

Nonverbal Girl With Autism Speaks Through Her Computer

Erikson's Stages of Identity

The ever beautiful Rachel's slides about Erikson's stages of development and a short article about how to apply his theory in the classroom. 

Short Article: How To Apply Erikson's Theory in the Classroom

 

Birth to 18 months

Video on what war does to children

 This video, made in 2014, during political unrest and war in Syria portrays a girl's life for one year, starting off happy, becoming scared, dodging bombs, and running. You can read about it here. The girl is probably early junior high age and the video shows clips between two birthdays. This is a great resource if I'm teaching about the affects of war. 

Chilling viral video shows girl in war zone, today.com

The video can be viewed here

Viral video Syrian girl war zone

Powerful video on privilege

I tagged Trevor and Rachel in this because I think every educator benefits from watching and sharing this video. It's short but powerful. 

This is by far the most powerful video on privilege I have ever seen, especially for showing teenagers. I have made my own children watch and explain to them that yes, we all can technically reach the finish line, but some of us are going to have an easier time getting there. My daughter is dyslexic and my son ADHD. I show them this video and replace taking a step forward if it's easy for you to read, taking a step forward if you are well organized, etc. 

YouTube Video on Privilege

Developing Respect and Rapport

My Favorite Things!

One of my favorite things to do as a teacher is to get to know my students. I worried about whether this would be possible when I have 200+ students per semester, but then I remind myself that out of the 80 or 90 different junior high and high school teachers my two children have had the past six years, there was only ONE teacher that one child could not come up with something nice to say. To be honest, I've met her, and I couldn't come up with anything nice either. Because I love this part of teaching so much, I copied a ton of links with hints and tips, but as I was putting them all down, I realized that yes, there will be students I have difficulty connecting with but for the most part it's just second nature to me. I have also realized that by the time October comes around, the students who are the hardest, most difficult, are my favorite students because we work so much harder together to succeed. Now, that was preschool and kindergarten and this is junior high and high school and things will be different but I'm hoping this will stay the same. 

I also included some sources about poverty. I grew up pretty poor. I was one of three kids and a lot of days when we were younger my siblings and I would share a can of Campbell's soup made with water and my mom would eat air popped popcorn. My dad eventually got a master's degree, my mom went back to school and got a degree, and by high school they were doing incredibly well financially but still lived a very frugal life. I don't want to say my husband and I are rich because as far as our neighborhood we live in a shack, but we do just fine. Several of our neighbors are trust fund kids and I notice a lot of different privileges they don't realize they have. 

Ideas for Building Rapport

*Notice something the student did. 

*Send a postcard to a few students each week telling them why you like having them in class. 

*Go to games/plays/concerts. 

EdTPA Respect and Rapport

Students Interests and Assets Survey : Culturally Responsive Teaching

EdTPA:

"Establishing respect and rapport among and with students is critical for developing a mutually supportive and safe learning environment.

"Respect is the positive feeling of esteem or deference toward a person and the specific actions and conduct representative of that esteem.

"Rapport is a close and harmonious relationship in which members of a group understand each other’s ideas, respectively collaborate and communicate, and consider one another’s feelings.

"Both respect and rapport are demonstrated by how you treat students and how they treat each other."

A couple of videos with samples of building rapport 

Handshake video

Ted Talk: Every Kid Needs a Champion

Other resources: 

Short article The Myth of the Culture of Poverty

Short article: Getting to Know Your Students

Short article: Learning About Your Students' Backgrounds

Short article: Respecting Students is Essential

Short article: Strategies for Building Rapport with Students

Ted Talk: Teens experience ageism too

Podcast: America's Poverty Myth 5 parts