Teaching Mathematics with Power (TMaP) PD

I’m wrapping up a great week with K-4 teachers in Kannapolis City Schools as part of our NC Quest grant, Teaching Mathematics w/ Power (TMaP). It’s been a great week w/ lots of great dialogue among teachers from various schools about mathematical tasks, questioning and discourse.

Here are some resources for those interested.

A National Curriculum?

Interesting thoughts…

Common Core website

Reports published by Common Core about America’s problems in schools

Education week article about content-area organizations wanting a voice

Technology and Literacy- great resources!

I dropped by Day 4 of a workshop for teachers on Digital Literacies taught by my colleague Dr. Bruce Taylor here at UNC Charlotte. His graduate students have facilitated 4 half-day sessions about integrating digital technologies into literacy instruction.

Here is the wiki with resources (PPT slides, videos, links). Enjoy!!

Principal search…creating the ideal Principal profile

One of our Professional Development Schools is going through another administrative change. Last week 16 teachers, administrators, parents and university folk gathered to create a “Principal profile” which describes the characteristics of an ideal school leader.

Of all the categories we were asked to comment on, leadership was the most hotly discussed, in terms of leadership style and relations to individuals.

What type of leadership style is best suited for a high-need urban elementary school? Do incoming Principals need to have experience as an AP or Principal in an elementary school? Do incoming Principals need experience in that demographic? Interesting conversation we started that I’m still working through.

Unemployed Teachers Facing Heavy Competition to find Jobs

From the Charlotte Observer today…

The 1,300 employees axed from the CMS payroll have plenty of company in the region.

Gaston, Union, and Cabarrus county schools are also bracing for hundreds of potential layoffs.

Schools in Lincoln County are planning for the loss of 63 teaching positions, according to the district’s website.

About 70 teaching assistant jobs may be eliminated in Iredell County, a spokesperson told NewsChannel 36.

Kannapolis City has experienced the loss of approximately 20 teachers…

When will this turn around?

Can school districts dictate teachers’ after hour actions and online presence?

Edubloggers  Miguel Guhlin recently posted questions about teachers’ privacy and whether or not school districts have authority about what teachers do after hours and post online.

Clif Mims followed this by posting the following questions…

• Do/Should schools districts have any say about what staff members (Secretary, custodian, cafeteria staff, bus driver, mechanic, maintenance, etc.) do after hours? Post online?
• Do/Should parents and the community have any say in these matters?
• How does this translate to higher education?
• If the answers to these questions are “yes” then is the same true for individuals in other professions (Nurse, news reporter, radio DJ, police officer, elected official, unelected government employee, or store clerk)?

Thoughts?

Teaching math in a problem-based manner pays dividends…

So end-of-grade test scores have come back. I’ve spent this year co-planning mathematics lessons with a 3rd grade teacher, Laura, at a school near my university in Charlotte. Laura is a 2nd year teacher and graduated from here (UNC Charlotte) 2 years ago. At the beginning of the year we committed to doing things right– planning a balanced math curriculum that was heavily standards-based and very focused on problem solving.

At the beginning of the year her students ranged from Level II to Level III….all students have to reach Level III by the end of the year in order to move to 3rd grade. 22 of her 23 students passed the first time and all of them showed growth from the pre-test score. The one student who retested passed on the retest…giving her a 100% pass rate!!

For me, the commitment that we made to teach problem solving and use a standards-based approach was not a risk. I was confident in it. But for Laura it was a risk. While we had planned and worked together the year before, teaching nearly the whole year from a standards-based approach was a risk that she was willing to step and take.

During the year we knew the kids were learning. When they were able to solve tasks like the classic 8 + 4 = __ + 5 or multi-step, multi-operational tasks, we had a hunch they were moving in the right direction. They talked about mathematics and reasoned at a high level. Still, we were uncertain how it would carry over into a standardized testing situation. It is refreshing to know that in this case, the commimtent paid off and there was evidence of student learning, not only in students’ communication and reasoning, but also on the state mathematics exam.

Twitter for Teacher Professional Development

Here is a google docs spreadsheet sharing ideas about how teachers use twitter for professional development.

Higher-order thinking skills (HOTS)- why bother?

As we spent time in class this week unpacking the North Carolina standards in light of the revised Blooms taxonomy I was left with the question- “why do we care about students’ higher-level thinking skills?” I’m sure my students had the same question.

The last few years, articles, policy documents and experts (e.g., ISTE Standards, 21st Century Skills, and  Metiri Group) have talked about the need to prepare K-12 students to have 21st century skills. In some cases that means preparing our teachers and students to work in environments that don’t currently exist. Whether its virtual worlds, online classrooms, or face-to-face classrooms in which every student has a hand-held computing device, there is no doubt that in the next 2 decades, access to technology and the potential for schools will continue to shift for the better.

In that spirit, if we end up teaching students only content with no process or HOTS, then our students will eventually become the kings of weekday night trivia at the local pub, but expendable in the work force. Whether teachers are situated in a technology-rich environment or a rural school in Mbita, Kenya, teachers must stretch their students by designing complex activities, asking the how and why questions, and developing students’ reasoning skills. Sure, resources- curriculum, technology and other materials- matter, but it’s amazing what can happen even without those resources with a teacher willing to challenge their students and students with an elastic mentality, willing to be stretched.

Why we do what we do….

As I introduced my students to blogs last night, their first post was why they are interested in becoming a teacher. That and a few events in the past few weeks have caused me to reflect on my own experiences as well.

Facebook has led to a lot of connections with former students and soccer players that I have taught and coached in the past ten years. There are students I’ve worked with that have fought incredible obstacles- lack of home support, parent illnesses, divorces, low socio-economic status, disabilities. Hearing stories about their high school graduation, their pursuit of careers in college, and their ambitions to impact people in their life has been emotionally touching, to say the least.

I ended up falling into teaching- a pre-med/pre-phyiscal therapy student at William & Mary who had slacked off in some biology courses, was faced with a few options after my sophomore year- youth ministry or journalism. I went away to Kanakuk, a Christian sports camp, to serve two months, and got the call from my Mom in mid-June that my grades weren’t very good, and my parents were encouraging me to look at other career options. It just so happened that I was in week #2 of being a camp counselor for 5-6 yr old kids at an overnight camp, and while others seemed bothered by wet beds, crying campers and having to eat standing up while serving food to young kids, I had latched onto it.  Working with kids was fun, and more than that, it was rewarding to make an impact on their lives for only a short time.

Fast forward twelve years later, into a career where I currently get to impact students in a few classroom, work with lots of teachers, and impact those aspiring to be classroom teachers. We’re in a climate, where those that I work closely with in schools are facing layoffs, furloughs, budget crunches and tough times. Teacher morale is low in many places, as they are ready for the year to end and get a much needed summer break. But, the seed has been planted, and while the rewards of teaching isn’t necessarily tangible, it’s something that I’ve learned to appreciate. In some cases we never see the impact we have on those we teach and interact with. In some cases we are blessed to. EoG scores,while the gold standard according to the Dept of Ed, are only part of the puzzle. If you ask my former students a decade later what they remember about our time together, the test is nowhere near the top of the list. Rather, I would suspect, the fun projects, the discussions and community we had is more central in their memory.

Teaching is a joy. As a colleague of mine says, “I don’t go to work, I go to school.” Regardless of the trials and issues that we as educators face,  I count it nothing but pure joy to be blessed to be able to help and support those wanting to learn how to effectively teach the youth of tommorrow. Now back to work!