Today was the first day of the CAG conference in Oceanside. The keynote speaker was Dr. Sandra Kaplan! I am looking forward to the next couple of days in this training. In one day, I continue to be amazed by what Dr. Kaplan has to say. So much of what she shares is exactly my belief/philosophy when it comes to teaching children. It all comes down to guiding our students to be life long, self-directed learners. Using the GATE strategies help a teacher facilitate the thinking and skills necessary for students to be successful learners. This is one component I always want to use when developing students to be deep thinkers who strive to continually learn.
What I took from the today was how to create lessons that are differentiated which is to differ the curricula in some way to meet the styles, abilities, and interests of ALL students. It is not just using the formula: T/S (thinking skill + C (content with Depth and Complexity) + R/S + P = Differentiation. We need to also think about other layers in the development of our lessons, so that we will fully engage and "know" our students. We need to think about the 3 Rs (replace, reinforce, and redefine) when differentiating our curriculum. We also need to think about this acronym:
D - Discriminate
I - Imagination
F - Flexibility
F - Follow - up
E - Engagement
R - Relate
E - Exposure
N - Nuances
T - Theory
I - Intellectualism
A - Attitude, aptitude
T - Tenacity
I - Individualizing
O - Opportunity
N - Navigate
As teachers we need to recognize that all students will take different paths toward their learning. With that said, we need to provide instructional opportunities for our students so that they get the help or push they need to progress on their learning journey.
One last point that was mentioned today at CAG was the notion of not giving students grades. Why not provide parents and students with commentary on their learning journey, lessons, or projects? I am a firm believer that when we can give kind and specific feedback to our scholars about their work, they will learn more from that rather than just receiving a letter grade or even a test score. I was chatting with my husband tonight about this idea. We equated it to the game of baseball and practice. When a baseball player is struggling with bunting, he must practice to perform better. We don't see a coach tell the player, "Hey, you're a C+ bunter." Instead, what we find a coach doing when a batter is struggling with baseball is showing or telling the player specifically what they need to do to improve their skill. Without this specific feedback, the player doesn't have anything to help them improve. They are left to practice, but on what? How will they improve? This commentary is what is key to improvement and motivation. I love the idea of having a conversation for learning. I would like to propose this pathway for our scholars:
1. Students would start the year off with generating their own learning goals (long-term and short term goals) and complete a self-evaluation of the intellectual traits.
2. Students would start this pathway on their digital portfolios. Students would create a place on their digital portfolio for reflection.
3. Students would have periodic pathway/portfolio check ins where they add evidence or work to support their goals. Students would also continue to reflect on their progress. It would include an affective piece where they can write how they feel about their journey.
4. Midway through the reporting period - students would complete or create something that showcases their learning. See Language Arts Reflection Toward Progress. https://docs.google.com/a/juliancharterschool.org/document/d/1d9jO3Nrb8hQfXps4udRiX7AThVce91-O_Wohz9Dpojo/edit?usp=sharing
5. Have parents look at their child's digital portfolios - have parents "jot" likes and wonders. (have a parent meeting to discuss how to give critical friend feedback)
6. Report cards go out - students reflect on progress and complete their own evaluation.
7. Continue the process the whole year.
8. End the year with Scholarly Presentations - presentation of their learning journey. Reflecting on Long Term and Short term goals and providing evidence (work samples) to show growth.
Work in progress I know! But what a way to start my conference! Love the ideas!
What I took from the today was how to create lessons that are differentiated which is to differ the curricula in some way to meet the styles, abilities, and interests of ALL students. It is not just using the formula: T/S (thinking skill + C (content with Depth and Complexity) + R/S + P = Differentiation. We need to also think about other layers in the development of our lessons, so that we will fully engage and "know" our students. We need to think about the 3 Rs (replace, reinforce, and redefine) when differentiating our curriculum. We also need to think about this acronym:
D - Discriminate
I - Imagination
F - Flexibility
F - Follow - up
E - Engagement
R - Relate
E - Exposure
N - Nuances
T - Theory
I - Intellectualism
A - Attitude, aptitude
T - Tenacity
I - Individualizing
O - Opportunity
N - Navigate
As teachers we need to recognize that all students will take different paths toward their learning. With that said, we need to provide instructional opportunities for our students so that they get the help or push they need to progress on their learning journey.
One last point that was mentioned today at CAG was the notion of not giving students grades. Why not provide parents and students with commentary on their learning journey, lessons, or projects? I am a firm believer that when we can give kind and specific feedback to our scholars about their work, they will learn more from that rather than just receiving a letter grade or even a test score. I was chatting with my husband tonight about this idea. We equated it to the game of baseball and practice. When a baseball player is struggling with bunting, he must practice to perform better. We don't see a coach tell the player, "Hey, you're a C+ bunter." Instead, what we find a coach doing when a batter is struggling with baseball is showing or telling the player specifically what they need to do to improve their skill. Without this specific feedback, the player doesn't have anything to help them improve. They are left to practice, but on what? How will they improve? This commentary is what is key to improvement and motivation. I love the idea of having a conversation for learning. I would like to propose this pathway for our scholars:
1. Students would start the year off with generating their own learning goals (long-term and short term goals) and complete a self-evaluation of the intellectual traits.
2. Students would start this pathway on their digital portfolios. Students would create a place on their digital portfolio for reflection.
3. Students would have periodic pathway/portfolio check ins where they add evidence or work to support their goals. Students would also continue to reflect on their progress. It would include an affective piece where they can write how they feel about their journey.
4. Midway through the reporting period - students would complete or create something that showcases their learning. See Language Arts Reflection Toward Progress. https://docs.google.com/a/juliancharterschool.org/document/d/1d9jO3Nrb8hQfXps4udRiX7AThVce91-O_Wohz9Dpojo/edit?usp=sharing
5. Have parents look at their child's digital portfolios - have parents "jot" likes and wonders. (have a parent meeting to discuss how to give critical friend feedback)
6. Report cards go out - students reflect on progress and complete their own evaluation.
7. Continue the process the whole year.
8. End the year with Scholarly Presentations - presentation of their learning journey. Reflecting on Long Term and Short term goals and providing evidence (work samples) to show growth.
Work in progress I know! But what a way to start my conference! Love the ideas!