Student Choice can set a Tone of Invitation
Everyone loves to receive an invitation, but it is rare that our students feel invited to learn. In fact, more often than not, the opposite is true. Students feel forced, cornered, or trapped into learning. In my experience of focusing on, creating, and encouraging student choice in my classroom, I have found that providing student choice changes the tone of instruction. It changes the tone of the learning environment from a forced requirement to that of an invitation.
Perhaps we can all relate to the experience of an obligatory family party that we feel forced to attend; we don't feel as though we really have a choice in the matter, and we reluctantly go through the motions of arriving with a gift, making small talk, and creating an excuse to escape before the end of the event.
Compare this to receiving an invitation to a coveted event; the tone changes. We anticipate, we plan, we prepare. We make an effort to arrive on time, dressed to the nines, and we eagerly enjoy the event. On the drive home, we reflect about the conversation, gossip, and events.
The same is true of student choice. When orchestrated effectively, student choice sets a tone of invitation. Students take on autonomy in their learning, and become engaged in their own achievement. The invitation of choice helps to establish a feeling of anticipation, planning, and preparation in our students; they make an effort to arrive on time, prepared and "dressed" with eagerness. Finally, they self reflect-a keystone of autonomous engagement.
Recently, I introduced a research assignment that required students to research a particular element of Elizabethan Culture or Shakespeare's biography and present their learning to the class. Students were invited to choose their topic from a list, invited to choose to work alone or with a partner, and invited to choose how they would demonstrate their learning in a product. Some of the product choices were to create a newspaper, brochure, presentation, screencast, game, map, children's book, and many others. I have the blessing of being in a 1:1 Chromebook setting, and I took advantage of technology based tools with which I am familiar.
What did I hear from my students as I introduced this assignment? I expected the usual groans and moans that might accompany a research project, but (and I believe it's because of the tone of invitation that was established with student choice) instead my students exclaimed, "I think this will be fun." A few mentioned that they were excited to find out about a topic that interested them. The music kids learned about music, the fashion minded kids investigated fashion, and so on.
The basic assignment is linked below if you're interested.
I would encourage you to send out the invitation to learn to your students by enhancing student choice. Let me know how it goes!
Much Ado About Research Teaching Stations Elizabethan/Shakespeare Assignment
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Monday, January 11, 2016
Three Reasons Screencasting is a Win-Win-Win
Three Reasons Screencasting is a Win-Win-Win
Students show their thinking
Students practice their thinking
Students engage in their own learning
Students show their thinking. Instead of just writing in their answer, screencasting allows and even insists that students show the evaluation, inference skills, and critical thinking skills that went into problem solving. Screencasting takes advantage of the introspective reflection, and, when incorporated into a lesson as a formative or summative assessment, screencasting allows students to verbalize and visualize their thought process. Why is this a benefit? Maybe I guessed at an answer, or I know the answer but can't evaluate it. Maybe I just copied the answer from a friend. Screencasting helps to ensure that the critical thinking process is verbalized and explained.
One use of screencasting I've used in class was for students to explain the influence of different persuasive techniques in their own persuasive writing. They wrote a persuasive piece and screencasted how they hoped the audience would be impacted by their use of rhetoric. This extra step extended their thinking and demanded self-evaluation and analysis. Win.
Students practice their thinking. When I have students deliver speeches using a slide presentation, I send them home with a slip that a parent signs stating that they have practiced their speech three times, and this practice is only mildly successful. When I had my students screencast and watch their own screencasts as a form of practice, they practiced many, many, many times without complaining, without prompting, and without hesitation. The first student asked, "Can I redo my screencast?" and all of the others followed suit. This intentional, focused practice and self-evaluation was not required or prompted by me; it was an organic extension of self-evaluation. Students watched themselves on screen and wanted it to be just right, so they practiced and re-recorded numerous times. Win. Win.
Students engage in their own learning. Despite some students saying that they preferred to speak in front of a live audience instead of screencast (we mix it up), most of my students were more engaged in their own learning and reflection when I asked that they screencast their thinking. No one wants to look foolish on camera (well, almost no one...), and most teens are so aware of peer reactions that they are much more invested in a recorded representation of their learning they are in a simple discussion or speech. Win. Win. Win.
Tools I've found successful for screencasting with students include Screencastify, Screencastomatic, and Movenote. I love using screencasting for tutorials or directions, and find it's even better when students direct the learning by creating their own tutorials.
How have you used screencasting in the classroom and what are the benefits and drawbacks you have found?
Students show their thinking
Students practice their thinking
Students engage in their own learning
Students show their thinking. Instead of just writing in their answer, screencasting allows and even insists that students show the evaluation, inference skills, and critical thinking skills that went into problem solving. Screencasting takes advantage of the introspective reflection, and, when incorporated into a lesson as a formative or summative assessment, screencasting allows students to verbalize and visualize their thought process. Why is this a benefit? Maybe I guessed at an answer, or I know the answer but can't evaluate it. Maybe I just copied the answer from a friend. Screencasting helps to ensure that the critical thinking process is verbalized and explained.
One use of screencasting I've used in class was for students to explain the influence of different persuasive techniques in their own persuasive writing. They wrote a persuasive piece and screencasted how they hoped the audience would be impacted by their use of rhetoric. This extra step extended their thinking and demanded self-evaluation and analysis. Win.
Students practice their thinking. When I have students deliver speeches using a slide presentation, I send them home with a slip that a parent signs stating that they have practiced their speech three times, and this practice is only mildly successful. When I had my students screencast and watch their own screencasts as a form of practice, they practiced many, many, many times without complaining, without prompting, and without hesitation. The first student asked, "Can I redo my screencast?" and all of the others followed suit. This intentional, focused practice and self-evaluation was not required or prompted by me; it was an organic extension of self-evaluation. Students watched themselves on screen and wanted it to be just right, so they practiced and re-recorded numerous times. Win. Win.
Students engage in their own learning. Despite some students saying that they preferred to speak in front of a live audience instead of screencast (we mix it up), most of my students were more engaged in their own learning and reflection when I asked that they screencast their thinking. No one wants to look foolish on camera (well, almost no one...), and most teens are so aware of peer reactions that they are much more invested in a recorded representation of their learning they are in a simple discussion or speech. Win. Win. Win.
Tools I've found successful for screencasting with students include Screencastify, Screencastomatic, and Movenote. I love using screencasting for tutorials or directions, and find it's even better when students direct the learning by creating their own tutorials.
How have you used screencasting in the classroom and what are the benefits and drawbacks you have found?
Sunday, January 10, 2016
The Book Trailer Project Google Innovator Application
The video here highlights The Book Trailer Project, my Google Innovator Application.
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Don't count the days, make the days count. I have this quote in my classroom near the door, and I view it everyday. It's one of the first comments I make to students so that they can get to know me and what I'm about. It's also sort of an inside joke because I hate to count; numbers simply are not my game. Even simple math often sends my head spinning. So when I'm pondering what to write in my first blog post as "seeyoulatermrsschroeder", this is what comes to mind.
How can we make the days count more? I live in a minimum of two worlds: teacher and mom. And I daily try to navigate making the days count more and more because I see how quickly the clock spins in each of my worlds. In my teacher world, it's suddenly October and almost the end of the first quarter. In my family world, my oldest is in high school (what??) and my other two children have changed overnight from sticky toddlers to young men with underarm hair. To top it off, I have wrinkles. Sigh.
How can we make the days count in our classrooms? This is the challenge for every teacher out there, and I certainly don't have the answer. I do know from my personal experience, from my reading, and from my Twitter PLN that reaching out and making personal connections with our students is the number one way to impact students in a positive, impactful way. Not test scores, or Lexile scores, or MAP percentiles....but eye to eye, face to face, human to human connections. Can I ask my student about their pets, their music tastes, their hobbies, their family life, their favorites and make a connection? It's a step, and my hope, my passion, is that I can be a positive influence on these young humans that have been entrusted to my care and guidance. Maybe when they are interviewed for their first job and are asked if there was a teacher who inspired them, their answer will be, "Ummm. Mrs. Schroeder. Eighth Grade." Success.
Why "See You Later, Mrs.Schroeder"? I want them to remember my name (and it's pronunciation, SCHRAY-DER ). I want my students to remember that I challenged them, that I cared for them, that I helped them find a book that they actually read and enjoyed. I want them to remember that we laughed, we worked, and we learned. I want them to remember that the days need to count. So, I end my class every day with, "See you later." My hope is that they respond, "See you later, Mrs. Schroeder!" I tell them that it brings me joy to hear them say it, and it does. But even more powerful in my purpose of this playful banter is that I feel reassured to know that they will remember some of the learning that we've done that has made the day count.
How can we make the days count more? I live in a minimum of two worlds: teacher and mom. And I daily try to navigate making the days count more and more because I see how quickly the clock spins in each of my worlds. In my teacher world, it's suddenly October and almost the end of the first quarter. In my family world, my oldest is in high school (what??) and my other two children have changed overnight from sticky toddlers to young men with underarm hair. To top it off, I have wrinkles. Sigh.
How can we make the days count in our classrooms? This is the challenge for every teacher out there, and I certainly don't have the answer. I do know from my personal experience, from my reading, and from my Twitter PLN that reaching out and making personal connections with our students is the number one way to impact students in a positive, impactful way. Not test scores, or Lexile scores, or MAP percentiles....but eye to eye, face to face, human to human connections. Can I ask my student about their pets, their music tastes, their hobbies, their family life, their favorites and make a connection? It's a step, and my hope, my passion, is that I can be a positive influence on these young humans that have been entrusted to my care and guidance. Maybe when they are interviewed for their first job and are asked if there was a teacher who inspired them, their answer will be, "Ummm. Mrs. Schroeder. Eighth Grade." Success.
Why "See You Later, Mrs.Schroeder"? I want them to remember my name (and it's pronunciation, SCHRAY-DER ). I want my students to remember that I challenged them, that I cared for them, that I helped them find a book that they actually read and enjoyed. I want them to remember that we laughed, we worked, and we learned. I want them to remember that the days need to count. So, I end my class every day with, "See you later." My hope is that they respond, "See you later, Mrs. Schroeder!" I tell them that it brings me joy to hear them say it, and it does. But even more powerful in my purpose of this playful banter is that I feel reassured to know that they will remember some of the learning that we've done that has made the day count.
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