So, Which Way Next?

My wife (a Massachusetts transplant from Connecticut) always marvels at how well I know the roadways of my home state and how - even if I don't know quite where I am - I am able to get us home without the assistance of our Garmin. She is also keenly aware that I have inherited my mother's ability to tell the same story 3, 4, even 5 times, so a smile flickers across her face every time she mentions my directional proclivity because she knows what's coming next. I ALWAYS share stories about how my dad - on our way back from hockey games or family functions - would take me through all the ins and outs of the surrounding towns with the mission of ending up back on Spruce Hill Road asking "OK, left or right?" every time we came across an intersection.

Sure there were times where I guessed wrong but each time my dad would just smile and - this might come as a shock to some of today's new parents - let me make a mistake. But, as I think about my dad and his contributions to my successes, I've realized that this seemingly trivial game was so much more. It was my dad's way of showing his trust and confidence in me. And, even at a young age, it was his way of showing me that a sense of pride and accomplishment can only be truly achieved when there is a certain level of independence and risk attached to it.

On Thursday afternoon I was preparing for Friday's revision workshop. The kids have been working on their This I Believe essays and I was trying to figure out the best way to structure the lesson. During a team meeting we were reviewing the kids writing as part of our professional development goal and Bill (our science teacher) paused and said "you know, I don't think they need a ton of structure." At first I was shocked at the suggestion and - to be honest - slightly afraid of what an unstructured lesson might look like on the second to last Friday of the school year. But I trusted my team's judgment and we designed a few mini-lessons through Google Drive, relying on the kids' self-assessment exit tickets and looking for mentor texts from their work to share with everyone.

At the beginning of the year, when we did revision, it was in a format I called the revision train, where students would rotate from station to station focused specifically on areas of their writing that I wanted them to be aware of. While I know that those procedures and routines were essential steps towards making our kids more self-aware, independent, collaborative writers, I often noticed that I was the conductor of the train (and yes - we even had train sounds during transitions). So, instead, I decided that Friday's lesson would be a Revision Passport, where students could move from lesson to lesson on their own and come to customs (and yes - my paraeducator and I were armed with stamps) when they could show evidence they had addressed their revision goals after visiting places like Quote-a Cabana, Introduction Island, and Conclusion Cove.

But this post is less about the lesson the kids did that day and more about the lesson that I learned while watching them. Sure there were kids who needed more guidance and - of course - more redirection than others, but overall I was so blown away by how self-directed and engaged they were. It looked like an office approaching a deadline: calm, but engaged, focused, but collaborative. At first, I was even a little hurt by how little they needed me. That hurt was almost instantly wiped away with an overwhelming sense of pride. Then it hit me; this must be kind of like what it feels like for dad.

He has watched my grow since I was the little kid who needed turn by turn directions and every step of the way he has become less of a GPS and more of a co-pilot. I'm so blessed to have a dad that always knows how to strike the perfect balance between being there to hold me up when I need it and letting my stumble when I need it. With the help of my students, I've realized that the only way to make meaningful learning happen (whether in English class or the world beyond the protected walls of our school) is to constantly search for that same balance.

So thank you, Dad. Everything I do in life I do with the purpose of making you proud and making you realize the influence that you have had on not only me, but your daughters, nieces, nephews, and really anyone else who has the pleasure of needing your help at any given moment.

And Happy Father's Day to all of the other great dads out there who help coach their kids through life's curriculum. Five years in a classroom has taught me that you make all the difference.

Learning from Motherly Love

In preparation to read The Giver, we recently dissected George Ella Lyons' poem "Where I'm From." After analyzing some the imagery, we started work on our own poems. While modeling and sharing one of my drafts with the kids, I paid homage to my parents with these lines:

I am from Joe and Karen,

from the man who could say it all with the look and a woman who turned an impressive shade of crimson while counting to three.

Kids shared connections about their own parents and we all laughed while talking about how these memories influence who we are as individuals. After the discussion, I was thinking a lot about where I am in my life and my career. Some say it's scary when you start becoming your parents, but I would respectively disagree. This moment of clarity gave me the chance to step back to reflect on the five most important lessons that I have learned from one of the best teachers I know: my mom

(5) Nothing replaces being a good listener: If you have met me and my mother, then you know that I inherited her gift of gab. Yet, as I think back on some of my toughest years in school (ironically seventh grade ranks right up there), I realize that my mom was always there, not to talk, just to listen. Through the good and the bad days, she would sit at the island while I did my homework and just listen. Now, whenever I'm in the middle of a difficult conversation with a kid, I stop and think back to those afternoons at the island and remind myself that before I work towards a solution, I have to first completely understand where my student is coming from. And while that isn't always easy in the often irrational world of seventh graders, it's completely impossible if I'm not good at listening to begin with. 

(4) We should all "care more about the effort grade": My mom and dad have always been proud of me and always encouraged me to just try my absolute best and take risks. We now live in a world where kids are constantly being over-scheduled and their individuality is being under-valued. My parents taught me the value of your personal best and that is something that I strive to instill in my students. Because ultimately, we should be encouraging kids to figure out what it looks like when they - as individuals - give everything they have to something that matters to them.  

(3) It's ok to be angry: I often joke with my students that when they get "the look" from me, that is my dad. When my face gets a little red and the volume spikes up a little bit, that is my mom. Ultimately my mom's occasional frustration with us (for the record, it was usually my sisters who gave her the red face) comes from a place of love and high expectations. That's what I remember when trying to get a "you're better than this" vibe to a class during sixth or seventh period on a Friday afternoon. In fact, I contend that a teacher who doesn't occasionally express frustration to his or her students either (a) doesn't have high enough expectations or (b) isn't completely honest with his or her students. 

My mom's before and after photos. I'm so proud of her.

(2) Set Goals: And, no I'm not talking about data-driven, contrived "SMART goals" that some people think have a better chance of "saving" education than actually giving teacher time to genuinely collaborate with each other and develop meaningful connections with kids. I'm talking about goals of true, sincere passion and commitment, the kinds of goals that can truly change your life. As a child I watched my mother battle obesity until she finally said enough. Right around the time I was entering high school, my mom started Weight Watchers and - by my junior year - she had lost 80 pounds. To this day she not only maintains the weight loss, but she inspires and supports others by working at Weight Watchers. But she doesn't even stop there. She's ran in 5ks and a half-marathon through the Magic Kingdom. I'm pretty sure that - if provoked - she could beat me up. 

Of course we couldn't do a normal mother-son dance!

(1) Laugh at yourself: If you can't do this, don't even attempt teaching. Our work is messy. We make mistakes; we are human. But after all is said and done, the power to laugh at yourself is not only a necessary survival tool, but a vital component of learning and growing. Grit is the new buzz word in education and I think if we truly want kids to develop this inherent perseverance, we first have to teach them how to make mistakes, laugh and learn from them. If laughing at yourself was a course of study, my mom would have her Ph.D. Just watching the way she laughs and learns has always encouraged me to put myself out there, take risks and not worry about what others think. She has been a lifelong model of self-improvement and personal growth. 

So thank you, Mum. You have not only impacted my life but provided me with the tools to impact the lives of the seventh graders I have the privilege of working with every day. 

And thank you to all of the mom's out there who serve as a constant reminder that sometimes the most effective teachers don't have classrooms or lesson plans, they just listen and let their actions do the talking (even though my mom still chooses to talk a lot, too). 

Happy Mother's Day!

"If I get an 'A' I know I'm Fine"

Middle schoolers are notorious for asking "when are we ever going to need this?" This year, I've decided to take a crack at this question by constantly discussing how all of the skills that we focus on in each unit spiral and build. Although each genre has specific elements that make it unique, there are basic elements that all pieces must have to be successful and - most importantly - entertaining to read.

Now, my feedback on writing is geared towards overall skill mastery and personal growth. With every major piece I use the voice memo app on my phone to create and email a brief recording of some feedback that talks about individual next steps and trends to be aware of. As part of our interdisciplinary team goal (I should stop here and say I have the BEST team around...so supportive of literacy in every class and so willing to collaborate all of the time), we have worked on encouraging self-reflective practices that aren't just important for academic success; they're vital life skills. Kids are frequently reviewing previous work, identifying writing trends, and talking about their growth. The most important life lesson to take away from writing is that we can always get better; we should always look for ways to improve.

But what does a report card really tell us? 

And, yet, no matter how much progress kids make, no matter how proud they are of themselves, no matter how good they feel, it all comes down to one, little, letter. Every time a rubric is returned, the eyes quickly move to the performance grade, then the revision grade, then to their neighbor's paper. Even all of the above-mentioned self-assessment tools are just a band-aid on this wound. It's not the kids' fault; I don't blame them. They are a product of their environment, but it's an environment that has to change if we ever want to truly motivate every kid and make every kid feel successful. 

Over April break, I proposed a portfolio-based writing assessment to pilot with one class over the fourth quarter. I'm very fortunate to work for a principal that encourages us to challenge the status quo. Instead of assigning grades to each piece, students will be assessed based on a portfolio of work from the year that demonstrates their skills based on yearlong writing expectations. The process is explained in more detail in this email that was sent home to parents. 

When I presented the idea to the group that my principal and I selected, I was relieved, impressed, and inspired by their responses. Sure they had questions about the process, but many of them expressed that they knew they were too obsessed with grades and they seemed hopeful that removing the grades could help them focus on learning and growing. Parents have also responded with positive feedback, some connecting to their own experiences as a student.

An excerpt from one parent's response to my email on the portfolio-based system.

Even though this is just a pilot and I still have to report their performance/growth as a letter grade, I hope that just relieving the pressure of a grade on each piece shifts the focus to getting better and better every time. Ultimately, isn't that what learning (and life) is all about? One student did defend the importance of grades, saying "but if I get an 'A', I'm know I'm fine; I'm good. If I get a 'C' then I know I need to pick it up." This quote is all the motivation I need. By the time we reach the end of June, I hope this student will know more about what his 'A' really looks like than even I do.

People (and Moments) Worth Appreciating

So many times over the course of the year, I have to stop myself and realize that for every time a kid does not meet the behavioral and/or learning expectations that we have established as a class, there are at least five moments where a kid exceeds them. Kids do great, thoughtful, kind things every day, yet somehow it's tough to not get caught up on the one or two exceptions. 

One of the questions from the survey that I wrote about last week focused on a classmate that students appreciate. For each of my four classes I created a handout that took all of the responses and turned them into "they" statements, emphasizing that these are the kind of behaviors that we should all strive towards. I also took standout statements from each group and had my homeroom help me design a bulletin board on the first day back from break. 

The class discussions that stemmed from looking at all of this data were varied and fascinating. After analyzing the trends from this question and two others (What is something your class does well? What is something that your group needs to work on?) we started talking about the kind of environment that we want to create over the last two months of the year.  Again, the honesty rang true and kids stepped up. Some classes had tense moments as kids confronted - head on - some of the frustrations they have with peers compromising their learning environment. But, in each case, the kids (not me) moved the conversation towards a resolution and discussed their expectations of each other. 

By the end of the week, I hope to have posters with the individual group expectations displayed somewhere in the room. I know that this is certainly not a cure-all, but all of these conversations have helped us decide - as a group - how we assess positive contributions. The kids have supplied the language to use when giving them feedback. Most importantly, they reminded me that for every situation that leaves my hair one step closer to gray, there are five that epitomize why I love working with and learning from 7th graders. 

Survey Says: Instant Data from the Most Important Source

Over the last few Junes, I have ended the year with a student survey that gives me some insight into curriculum units, lesson activities, and other experiences throughout seventh grade. These surveys offer me critical information from the student's point of view and help me to transform my teaching...for the next group of kids. Wait, that doesn't make much sense.

This school year I have been trying to integrate more formative assessment into our classroom and it dawned on me that waiting until the end of the year to get valuable feedback from the kids (a) doesn't benefit my current students at all and (b) doesn't give me the kind of on-the-fly data that can immediately influence my practice. It's a lot like assigning a major writing assignment and waiting until the final draft is published to break out the red pen and go to town. How much learning actually goes on for anyone at that point? 

Instead, I decided to use Google forms to create a survey that allowed kids to rate and discuss important elements of my instruction so far this year. There was a separate survey for each of my four English classes, so some questions could focus on individual group dynamics, specifically targeting attributes that students look for in a supportive peer and group behaviors that we can modify to have a great fourth quarter.  I should stop here and acknowledge that I do have a wonderful group of kids that I am very proud of, but they are no where near perfect. Over the past few years, I've come to rely on activities like this survey to help them express their thoughts about the kind of environment they are learning in with the hopes that it can result in meaningful, student-led changes. 

Seventh graders are such an interesting breed. One minute they're picking their noses, stealing each other's pencils, and whining about their fundamental right to more recess, but in the next moment they are so carefully and accurately analyzing their actions that it makes you truly wonder how they could ever possibly regress to the above-mentioned behaviors. I was most impressed by how honest the kids were. They tackled some serious issues, ranging from distracting side conversations to disrespectful looks or smirks when someone is sharing. 

I was encouraged by how honest they were with me, too. One student noted that "I'm not trying to be rude but there's something that you do where you call on someone and they start speaking and you cut them off and move on. I don't know if it's to save time or if you don't realize but I'm just letting you know. Sorry. Don't hate me, it's not criticizing." How could I hate on this kid!? This is vital feedback that I need to hear and it will definitely be in the back of my mind while facilitating discussions in future lessons. Some students gave great tips on how to improve our weekly free reading log while others lobbied for more group projects. I'm eager to share my findings from this part of the survey and talk to the kids about some of the changes I'd like to institute.

When we return from break I plan on sharing this data with the kids in a variety of formats. For example, I used the iPad app Word Collage to create word clouds for each group's responses to the question "what is something that your group does really well to create a positive learning atmosphere?" On Monday we are going to analyze the clouds and discuss what they tell us about their group. I'm also going to share some of their responses to the question about things that we can improve on (all anonymously) so that kids can hear directly from each other and talk about changes that need to happen. 

At some point in the near future (say, Monday for example) these erudite behavioral specialists will remember that they are 12 and 13 years old. And, let's face it, acknowledging one's behavior is a lot different than modifying it. Still, I'm glad that the kids had an opportunity to share their ideas, opinions, and hopes for the final two months of seventh grade. Often times kids are better at policing themselves than we are and I'm hopeful that the student voices will help kids to consider how they can consistently contribute to the positive atmosphere that - deep down - every student really wants.  

Who knows? It might even lead to a few less noses being picked and pencils being broken, which might lead to more of that coveted recess time! 

Blue Ribbon Presentation 2014: The Most Important Part of Assessment

Hi everyone,

Thank you for joining us today. We hope that you find today's presentation engaging, accessible, and - most importantly - encouraging.

Here is a link to a Google Docs version of our presentation if you'd like to follow along on your device.

This link will direct you to a Google Drive Folder with some of the resources that we use when implementing and managing the logistics of Student Led Conferences.




For more information, please feel free to contact us:

• Jane Costa (7th Grade Social Studies): jane.costa@reading.k12.ma.us
• Brian James (8th Grade English): brian.james@reading.k12.ma.us
• Steve Olivo (8th Grade English): steve.olivo@reading.k12.ma.us
• Andrew Spinali (7th Grade English): andrew.spinali@reading.k12.ma.us