When in doubt, do it.

     I don't feel well today. (Which is truly terrible as it is a gorgeous day outside on a long weekend!) I made myself go to school today to get sub plans ready. Now, I could (should) be resting so I could get better, but as soon as I tried, I panicked. How is this sub going to manage my room with the flexible seating?
      Just to give you a little background, I need to start from the end of last school year. When I was packing up my room, I told one of my teenaged helpers to recycle a lesson or something. She asked me why didn't I want to keep it and use it for next year, and I told her (a quote which has stuck with me since college), "You can teach for 20 years, but don't teach 1 year 20 times." So I go into every year determined to make it different and better. During last summer, I did a book study about increasing comprehension through inquiry circles and did the National Writing Project Summer Institute.  I also chose not to have a desk this year. I cleaned it out, gave it away, and put my computer on a small table. (Other teachers guffawed at my choice to do this. Their  biggest concern was where was I going to put my stuff.) Then during the year, I joined the Innovation Team at school. I learned about ways to offer choices for learning including assessment and spaces. Then I switched to flexible seating about halfway through the year.
     Since deciding to go with flexible seating, I have gone through ups and downs & back and forths, with trying to figure out its implementation. First, I had to try and explain it to the students. There isn't any trying - they got it! They were so excited about it they wanted to start that day! They were excited to not have a desk. Different than what I had read on other blogs while doing some research. Most of the concerns were about where were the students were going to put their stuff. Next, there had to be some ground rules we could all accept. As we discussed the rules, I learned the students were more ready for this change than I was. Kismet! And they had some reasonings behind the rules I hadn't thought of!

        Here are the 3 rules we have in our room for flexible seating. Rule number 1. You have to find a spot where you can do your best learning. Students came up with the notion that if they were allowed to sit wherever, then some students might take advantage of that and sit next to their best friend and talk all day. The students were worried about their own learning being affected! Rule number 2. You had to sit in a different spot each day. They were worried about everyone not getting the chance to sit in the 'best' spots. Rule number 3. You could only move if your spot wasn't working out and you spoke with the teacher. They were concerned people would just be picking new spots all the time throughout the day - and distracting from others' learning! They also gave absolute power to the teacher - if someone was being a problem, I had the right to move them - no questions asked. How nice of them, right?

     Now - without the desk and what to do with the stuff?  I found magazine file holders to use as desks.  They were donated to the Teacher's Closet from the local library getting rid of their periodicals. They are heavy duty and can also be purchased online (Demco) for just under $2 a piece.They also have book boxes and pencil boxes. I'm working on replacing the book boxes with small book totes which I will hang from my outdated chalk rail. Next year, I won't have pencil boxes as we will have community supplies. Somethings you just have to learn as you go.
     We started with just a few students 'losing' their desks a week. This was the highest motivator for on-taskness I have seen to date! Students showed engagement, organization, and participation - all to prove to me they were ready for the responsibility of not having a desk. It continues to evolve as the weeks pass. I have new, or really - new to my room, furniture waiting in my garage  - so the seating options can change and evolve as needed.
     I have a very busy classroom. I have 28 students with a wide variety of needs. I have a number of paraprofessionals - couldn't live without them - whom float in and out of my room throughout the day. I don't mind what others may see as wandering about the room. I have a bubbler in my room and let students use it when they are thirsty. I let them get up to blow their nose when they need to. If they have to go to the bathroom, they don't have to ask. We have a procedure in place that works and doesn't interrupt anyone. I have many partnerships established so then students need help, I'm not the only one who can or has to help them. Our classroom may not be the best oiled machine, but there are very few squeaks.
    We have now successfully made our full transition to flexible seating. I still have 4 desks in my room. I will probably keep them for next year too. The students who have them are either students who have expressed that a desk IS their best place to learn, have little to no organizational skills (despite my best efforts), or have chronic behavior issues that keep them from being able to sit and work by others without distracting them.
     Doesn't my room sound great? But remember how this all started? I don't feel well and won't be at school tomorrow. This will be my first absence since flexible seating started. I can't lie, this freaks me out! I had a very hard time trying to explain all of my philosophies and expectations without writing a book for the substitute coming in. I don't have a seating chart. The beginning of my day looks like a time-lapse movie of the inside of an ant hill with everyone going in different directions! It only looks like this because of all the jobs that occur in the morning and it only looks like that for 12 minutes. Transitions are also a chaotic time but this also allows for the brain to get an active break so great learning can occur. Should I just tough it out and go to school sick?
    AND then it also makes me also think -what do I do next year? I started half way through this year and the students were excited for the change. Now I have a whole new set of ups and downs & back and forths. How do I explain this at open house? How will I know which students should be in desks? How can I build what I have this year with next year's class that I haven't even met yet?! What if? I'm glad I didn't and don't take these questions too seriously. It will all work out fine. We teach our students to be flexible and adaptable, we must be the same.

    When in doubt, do it. I'm going to nap now.

Tanya Schmidt
4th Grade

Flexible Seating: What I Have Learned So Far

Earlier this year I was presented with the opportunity to join our school’s Innovation team.  We started by reading a book called The Innovator’s Mindset. This book is amazing and has so many ideas for giving students choice in our classrooms. One of the challenges that I decided to jump into head first was flexible seating.

Implementation:

I already had a few different seating options like beanbags and rugs in my classroom, but there were very specific times that these could be used by students and I wanted to be more fluid with my seating throughout the day. I was lucky enough to have a group of really flexible kiddos this year, so we worked together to create a system that works smoothly.

My end goal was to have no assigned spots in the classroom and really allow students to choose their seats at all times. The first step was to find space for everybody’s supplies. I decided to use their book boxes for notebooks and folders. Then I bought drawers which is where students keep the books they are reading, pencils, math supplies, and other odds and ends.  They have a shelf for their pencil cases and small buckets for their coloring utensils.  My kiddos have really adapted to this well. Some of them like to carry their drawers around with them throughout the day and others like to take what they need and leave the drawer there.

The next step was introducing some new seating options for my students to choose from. I added a few bumpy seats, yoga balls, and some tables for standing in addition to my rugs and beanbags. It was important to me that everyone understood how to use each new seat. We talked about where they were to be kept when they weren’t in use, what the appropriate way to use each seat was, and how they could choose them. It was also understood that I was able to move anyone for any reason at any time.

Some bumps along the way:
Who got there first: Some students were having trouble understanding when a seat was already chosen by another student. We decided to implemented a new routine to our day. Each option for seating during all mini lessons now has a piece of velcro on it and each student has a number that they can put down to reserve their spot. This alleviated most disagreements over whether or not a seat had already been taken.

Rushing to get a seat: At first there were a few students who were rushing in the halls to get to a seat before others. We now always meet on the carpet when we come in in the morning or when we get back from recess. When we get back from specials they stay by their hook after they are done changing their gym shoes or taking off their art shirts.  I dismiss them from these locations by choosing students who are following expectations. This has also helped with some of my chatty kids as they now enter quietly which sets a calmer tone all around. Also, none of my kiddos forget to change their gym shoes before recess. Bonus!

Arguments over seating: Although their are things in place to prevent most arguments at this point, there are still a few times there are arguments. When this happens, the two arguing over the spot both lose the privilege and the spot opens up for someone else.

Too much movement: The yoga balls were new to me as a teacher. At first I didn’t know what to expect when I had my kids used them during instruction. There were two issues when I first started using them; they were distracting because students were bouncing, and some students rolled off of them (no one got hurt, but it was a disruption every time). To help with these issues we now have a no bouncing rule and both feet need to be on the floor. These rules have helped tremendously and the kids have adapted well.

Overall Feelings:

Overall, I love this change to my classroom. It was a slow process that is still being fine tuned, but the kids are more engaged in their learning and are much more focused during work time and instruction. They love having the choice of where they sit.

One big concern that I had when starting was that they would choose to sit by their friends. I was worried that this would create a situation where they would talk when they shouldn’t and they wouldn’t necessarily choose the spot that was best for their success.  I have found however, that there is much less talking than there was before and once the novelty of some of the spots wore off, they have been choosing spots that are successful for them.

I plan on making a few more changes over the summer. I have worked it out with our school custodian that my desks will be gone and they will be replaced with tables. I am also looking to add some wobble stools and a small lounge area.

I highly recommend giving flexible seating a try. There are several teachers in our building who have implemented this idea and it looks different in each of our classrooms. The main thing is to give students a choice of where they sit and find what you are most comfortable with.

Elizabeth Crain

4th Grade Teacher

Building Relationships With Students

Building long-lasting bonds with my students through our mutual respect requires giving them consistent expectations and boundaries, so they know what the outcomes will be for each of their actions.  I work hard to help students understand our well defined roles as teacher and learner. I use language like: This is my job as your teacher, and this is your job as a student.  I reinforce our roles constantly and consistently through rewarding wanted actions and creating natural consequences for unwanted actions. My goal is to construct mutual respect, which leads to interdependence. This interdependence has proven to build trust.

Image Credit: www.childrensministryleader.com

Building a strong and life lasting relationship between teacher and student is as simple as creating trust, providing you take the steps to grow the trust.  Primarily, through trust, mutual respect is developed, fostering an interdependent relationship.  That relationship allows students to trust you, not only as a professional, but also as a real person who shows love and safety.  As a result of building this relationship, students will continue to return to you for guidance, leadership, and nurturing.  

Finally, students in my class have visual and oral signals as we end our day reminding them of my deep concern for their well-being.  As they fill out their planner, the last thing they see on my board is, “Love you”, “Love ya”, or “Heart you” followed by my cell phone number.  Our day concludes as my students walk out the door with me saying,  “Call me if you need me.”  My students know that they can call me for homework questions or how to survive the night when things aren’t going well at home.  Sometimes they remember that statement later in life, even in their 20s and 30s, and they call to let me know they are graduating from physical therapy school, or that they are in active duty with the military and just need to touch base, or they are getting married, or they had their first baby. Not only am I connecting with these students to ensure their happiness and well-being (after all, we all want to be loved and needed), but I love having an impact on their future and making a difference in their life. Creating these relationships fulfills me as both personally and professionally, and I feel a sense of accomplishment in helping students to develop motivation to succeed in everything they do. Developing relationships in the classroom is critical to community and bonds that ensures learning for all.

Bill Buyarski

5th Grade Teacher

Embracing the “Innovator’s Mindset” as a Pre-Service Teacher

Critical and creative thinking: necessary elements in any classroom. As a pre-service teacher, I have heard these terms repeated from one methods course to the next. “Teachers need to require their students to think critically,” and, “Teachers must inspire creative thinking,” (Although we hear less about the later type). These are required elements for true learning to occur. Sometimes, it is difficult to prescribe exact formulas to see these desired outcomes. We’ll come back to that in just a minute.

Often, there is a disconnect between my college courses and what is actually happening in my field of study. This could be for multiple reasons, which, for the purposes of this blog post, do not necessarily matter. Rather, this is a story about a course that made a significant impact on my educational philosophies and overall future career in education. I arrived to my Educational Leadership 325 class (Better known as “Ed. Tech” class) with the expectation that my professor was going to “teach” me about the same old things that I have been doing since I was about twelve-years-old. Skills like using a computer or maybe a SMART board (In the dark ages, it could be comparable to taking a class that simply taught bulletin board design.) However, as you may have guessed, I was happily surprised and challenged as a learner in my #EdLdrsp325 class, and, I have managed to condense my very long list of takeaways into three main points for those of you who may appreciate them.

  One of the first and greatest takeaways from this course had to do with technology use. On day one, Mandy Froehlich (@froehlichm), the adjunct professor teaching this course, introduced the class to George Couros’ (@gcouros) book, The Innovator’s Mindset. College kids don’t get particularly excited over required texts--we’re usually just wondering if there is any possible way we can make it through a class without having to purchase them. I, however, am a self proclaimed bibliophile and like reading textbooks. So, I bought the book. I assumed, since this was an Ed. Tech. course, that this would try to shift my ideals about technology use in the classroom. Which, it certainly did, but not in the ways that I expected.

Pre-service teachers are constantly hearing opposing views on technology in the classroom. We hear things like, “It’s too hard to keep up with,” and, “Screen time isn’t good for kids,” or, “Find a way to fit technology into your lesson plan.” It is hard to know what exactly we are supposed to do with technology. Should we use it minimally? Not at all? Or should class be a total instructional video? The answer is, none of these. Rather, technology needs to be used efficiently and intentionally as a tool to reach higher learning. In his book, George Couros stressed this idea that technology is a tool, not an outcome. “Squeezing” tech into a lesson plan happens when you just have students slap a prezi or slideshow together for no particular reason--thus, technology is used as an outcome as opposed to a tool used to encourage the learning process. Prior to his book, I planned multiple lessons with the mindset of just squeezing technology in because that seems to be the expectation these days. This use of technology is not creative, and does not help students reach higher level learning. However, not using technology in this world is almost like being an illiterate now. Technology is so common, that it is nearly necessary to understand it in order to function within society. Teachers need to offer technology experiences to their students--what better way to utilize such a tool than through learning? I’m not convinced that there is a higher purpose for tech than that of learning!

The next aspect this course stressed to me is the importance of forming relationships and pursuing professional development within one’s field of expertise. Mandy Froehlich introduced the class to utilizing Twitter professionally. I was extremely skeptical about this at first. The young adult age group is known for utilizing Twitter as a way to complain about almost anything. I had actually stopped using this form of social media a number of years ago because I got tired of seeing negativity on my feed. But, I gave the idea of a Professional Learning Network (PLN) a shot. I was amazed by how many excellent educators were connecting through this medium, and how many were utilizing Twitter chats as a way to learn through inquiry and discussion. It has actually blown my mind! I started joining in on some Ed. Tech. Twitter chats (#edtechafterdark), and I could not BELIEVE the kind of excitement involved in participating in an hour-long chat. I started to discover other chats of interest (#ntchat, and #wcchat), and I have already learned so many practical philosophies and creative approaches to multiple aspects of education! Seriously, let go of the scepticism for a minute, and give a Twitter chat a shot--if nothing else, you will be encouraged by the obvious passion demonstrated by so many teachers all around the world!

 As the title suggests, George Couros’ book had a lot to do with innovation. Innovation, what a fun buzz word! But, what does it mean? George defined it as, “a way of thinking that creates something new and better” (p.19). Much like the aforementioned critical and creative thinking, innovation is necessary within a classroom. I am a critical thinker. I like logic, questioning, philosophy, and research, but it is much harder for me to think creatively. For years, I have wondered if I could be good teaching students to be creative thinkers. I realized that often times, I provide myself too much structure to think creatively. This book taught me that innovation--which requires one to think both creatively AND critically--can be fostered by one’s environment. That is, teachers need to create a classroom environment that doesn’t punish students for trying something new--one where failure can, and will, safely happen and where risk-taking is highly encouraged. Creative thinking grows when someone has direction but also has freedom to pursue that direction through his or her own ideas. This is one reason why choice is so unbelievably powerful for students.

So, how do we get students to think critically and creatively? What does that look like? There is no exact method--it will not be the same for every group, in every subject, but we can start by implementing some of these ideas. We intentionally and efficiently utilize the tools (like technology) we have around us to reach relevant, higher learning. We learn from other professionals in the field in order to maintain our own passion for teaching, learning, and to offer our students the best learning experiences we possibly can, and we create an environment where innovation can THRIVE by being open to new ideas, allowing for choice, and by continuously questioning how we can make our own practices better. If we want our students to learn, we should also be modelling learning. Critical and creative thinking will flourish when we all choose to learn together.

Jessica Anderson
@jfandersong
Pre-Service Teacher Candidate
Dual Education & Psychology - University of Wisconsin Oshkosh

References
Bill Ferriter/
Edutopia - Willingness to Learn Correlation (Image)
George Couros - The Innovator’s Mindset (Print)

Empowering Students in Assessment

As an educator I am always setting new goals for myself. How can I improve my teaching to better help the students? Being reflective about my own practices is not an easy task. This year I was challenged by my technology coach to become more of an innovative teacher. Finding out what this meant to me personally was my learning journey this year.

Part of this journey was reading and reflecting on The Innovator's Mindset by George Couros. One section of his book has us compare engaging students versus empowering students. We are always taught to create engaging lessons to keep the interests of the students in our classrooms. These lessons help get the children excited about our content. Mr. Couros challenges us to empower students. Empowering students gets them excited about their interests and passions. We have to find ways to give students the knowledge and skills to to pursue what they are interested in. According to Couros, "Kids need to be empowered, NOT engaged."

After reading this section of the book I decided to try this theory out. We had just finished a science unit on light. I had an assessment all set to give to the students where they had to answer questions in a test format. Instead, I used the benchmarks for the unit to create a rubric. The students were shown the rubric and then had to decide how to prove to me that they understood the expectations for this unit.

Wow! The excitement was immediate. Even though the topic was set for them, the children were given the power to choose what platform they would use to show their knowledge. I had students create posters, articles on Seesaw, Animotos, Google Slide Presentations, and speeches. I was amazed at how much information the children presented to me. The depth of their knowledge went beyond what I would have assessed them on in a written test. The fact that they had control over the sharing of their learning brought out creativity and innovation.



I am using the "empower not engage" theory in my reading groups now. Students are given a choice as to what they want to learn more about. They then research the topic and create a presentation of their choice with which to share their new knowledge. By helping to empower my students I am setting them up to be successful in their future endeavors.

Patty Luft

Moving to Online Book Discussions

As part of my nightly routine, I lay in bed and inevitably begin thinking about what parts of my lesson weren’t working the way I wanted them to. I was noticing a pattern with my students. Year after year, they always start out well after my lessons leaving tracks of their thinking. Post-its flag the sides of their books and the once boring, dusty, novels become bright and colorful when littered with sticky notes. And then the books begin to fade. Little by little, they return to the old yellow pages left untouched.

After much pondering on how to liven up our book discussions, I decided to take the plunge to move from the paper-and-pencil Discussion Grid drill to an online book discussion using Google Classroom. I was hoping to find a way to keep my students engaged, while using the resources we already had. I also wanted to ensure my struggling writers could participate by allowing them to use the voice features.

www.digitalmediadiet.com

I planned to have my students use their already-prepared Discussion Grid to select a thinking track that they would post online. After they posted their first question, they could begin commenting on each other’s. To make sure everyone could participate, I’d borrow tablets from another classroom so that all students could be working on their iPads. Everything seemed to be coming together seamlessly.

The night before my big launch, however, I was troubled with thoughts of what it would be like the first day. I could envision me walking around like a mother duck, followed by a trail of 9-year old ducklings carrying iPads, each pleading for my help with their technical difficulties. I’d be running around like crazy and I could already feel my hair beginning to frizz. My intervention students would be abandoned, and I’d end up juggling a mess of problems. I debated abandoning my plan.

Instead, I decided to start small. The next morning, I rearranged my plans so that I could begin with one group and then carefully selected the bunch I thought could handle the technology the best. I explained the purpose of furthering our book discussions and they all excitedly agreed to be my guinea pig group. Together we created a list of expectations for their posts. I posted the assignment on Google Classroom, said a little prayer, and let them do their thing.

I sat and stared at the blank screen, waiting for the first post to pop up. I was nervous and excited at the same time. The rational part of me knew my kids could rock this and that I had nothing to worry about. However, I was panicking with questions. Were they going to do what they were supposed to do? What did I get myself into?  Within seconds, the first question appeared, “On page 27 in chapter 5 the text says: We’ll have some baby's before July and I'm thinking are they trying to overpopulated chickens”. Yes! I thought. She did it. She linked her thinking to the text, she’s using background knowledge, and it’s a real, genuine question! I was bursting with pride.

Whew. This was going to be great. The next few questions came rolling in, and then the responses started. This group was nailing it! All of the lessons culminated throughout the year to our main event, and it was much easier than I originally imagined. I began commenting on posts right away, reminding them of our non-negotiables and online expectations. But the content was surprisingly sophisticated. They were showing a higher level of thinking than I’d seen from them before.

The biggest reward was when one of my girls came to me after school, grabbed my hand and mumbled, “Thanks. I like doing this without dealing with the people and stuff.” I knew exactly what she meant. She was finally able to express herself without the anxiety of talking to others. The social aspect wasn’t her thing.

You might be wondering if your students will type things like this: “On chapter 4 page 23 I was wondering what do they mean Miss Eula says she played strip poker with Grandpa Garnet did she play it in a bar or Casino?” and they will. It will make you question your book choices, and your teaching, but don’t let it dismay you. Look for the silver lining: the text was linked and written with decent non-negotiables, no one in the last 5 years of reading Ruby Lavender has caught that line before, the responding students backed up their thinking with evidence and background knowledge, and based on the discussion that ensued-they have no clue what strip poker is!

Were there struggles along the way? Absolutely. Has it been worth it? Every second. My students are discussing daily and trying to trick our student teacher into more digital discussion time. They are commenting whenever they can and staying on topic. They are moving beyond superficial questions and onto more engaging discussion questions. And most importantly, the dingy paper books have returned to a beautiful rainbow of thinking tracks.

Teri Rucinsky

Welcome!

I think blogs are a phenomenal way for educators to share what they are doing in their classroom with others. I am positive, as a Technology Integrator, that I work with teachers who have amazing students that do awesome things that need to be shared with the world. While we have many teachers who are rockstars every day, I have one particular group called our Innovation Team (you can read about the Innovation Teams on my personal blog here) that will kicking off this blog and shouting out what they have learned so far on flexible learning spaces, allowing for voice & choice in the classroom, and the Innovator's Mindset - just to get started. I am unbelievably proud of the educators that have put time and effort into this adventure with me with no extrinsic rewards for their extra work. Their interest is solely in bettering themselves for their students and profession.

Please follow and share our blog. Follow us on Twitter. Ask us questions. Give us suggestions. We are super excited to have a vehicle to share our learnings with the education community.

Mandy Froehlich