My Journey to Moving towards a less Constrained Classroom

I recently blogged about a moment in the classroom when I had little to no kids. In fact I only had 8 due to various reason, so I decided that I couldn't go on with traditionally teaching and instead moved to a choose your own adventure model of learning. I let my kids explore whatever they want to do or work on any projects that they wanted to. This got my brains thinking about:

"What if learning was like this everyday?"

I had many questions about this process and trying to make it a whole class approach:

I know that we are hampered with the curriculum but are we?  
Is it possible to let all kids explore what they want and for us to assist with the learning? 
Is there benefit to have all kids learning the same thing at the same time? or should students do what they feel like? 

I also struggled with the idea that if this is a better model of teaching how do we do train teachers and sustain this model. I loved the responses that I received from my PLN and I am still researching and learning more about this process.

However, though I still have more questions then answers I have decided to go ahead and try something for our next unit of study in Social Studies.

The idea started with Myron Dueck's tweet:

in project-based learning, this template helped to keep Ss on TARGET from the start. #Assesspeel #PeelABC pic.twitter.com/x3G7yD4MdJ

— Myron Dueck (@myrondueck) March 10, 2016

I loved his insertion of choice of medium and how will I showcase the learning expectation. As you know I have been struggling with how do I let the openness to happen while still maintaining the curriculum. My thought is for the students to complete a series of challenges anyway that they can.

I devised five challenges that link specifically to the curriculum big ideas. I tried to leave it as open as possible focusing on a key question for them to investigate and then let them decide on how they will showcase their learning.

Here is my plan. I still have to create the website along with what the badges will look like but its a work in progress.  Thought I would share with you my process and if you have any advice please let me know.

What do you think of this idea?
Do you think it will work?
Any advice?
Anything that you would change?

I cannot wait to hear your ideas. Thanks for helping me with this plan.

To Code or not to Code?

I know that this seems like a topic that is in everyone's blog post but that because it is in my own personal opinion one of the most important concepts to be teaching.

This isn't because of being the coolest new buzz word to get everyone's attention but because it actually makes our students smarter. Now I really don't have any research to back me up here but from what I have seen in K-6 it has made my students smarter. Not book smart but thinking smarts.

Coding didn't teach my kids to memorize facts or to follow procedures but to think about what they are doing and why. Sure many of them often followed other people's ideas but the thinking that went into understanding code was tremendous.

Coding in my classroom is not just about computer science. I do not believe that in my role am I a)qualified to teach the skills and b) is the place but what it is, is part of my everyday teaching.

For me coding is a tool, a vehicle for me to teach with. I treat it like I do any piece of technology or paper. It gives students a platform for learning. But it is the teacher that brings out that learning. I will be the first to tell you I only know the basics of code. But it is amazing to see kids understand and practise knowledge concepts through the act of coding.  Coding makes my students think about what is going on. It makes them understand the algorithms that we teach and learn in class and it gives a place to solidly knowledge that we normally solidify with a test or some sort of worksheet. 

Coding makes kids think and makes them creators and innovators. It teaches them to problem solve, to think and isn't that what we want for them?

I love this info-graphic:

Source: https://datascience.smu.edu/blog/kids-and-computer-science-infographic/

So the questions then becomes how do I start?

Simple answer like you would another lesson. Have a big idea that you want to teach with, plan possible outcomes and find ways to modify for various students. Now think of a way to insert coding. You see it is not coding that makes it a great lesson but the planning that you do before hand. You cannot go into a lesson a just say hey let's code, you still have to plan.

Some lessons that I have done:

Measuring the distance around my hand in pixels: this grade 2 lesson had kids have their pixie move around their hand and count the pixels of their movement. We then compared the distance of our hand to fingers or the width of our thumb to that of our pinkie.

Design a game to create a pattern rule:

Students made a game for their partner to guess their rule. I also had them ask what is the algebraic statement. Students had to use algorithmic language to tell the computer what to say

Lightbot and codeable:

Are two great iPad apps that have many great practical knowledge built in. Counting, rotation, spatial sense, Cartesian planes, etc.

Coding has endless possibilities it is all up to your planning and own innovation. Remember it is not the tool that teaches but the teachers. Coding is a tool but you still need a good plan to teach.

For more ideas you should check out:

Brian Aspinall

Lisa Anne Floyd

Let me Google that for you

This post has been in the works for quote some time.  In fact it started with a conversation with my good friend Michelle Cordy in China on a high speed train.

We were joking about a tweet on downloading youtube clips on chrome and I tweeted that I found this on google. This was then replied with: did you just let me Google that. My reply was yes.

This is a conversation that we are having more and more as the power of technology grows. Our students have in their hands a whole universe of knowledge and this is just what they are doing. Can you blame them?

However, just googling it is so much more and this was were Michelle ' s and I conversation went. When I google I don't just let the first response dictate the information I use, I don't just keyword something and believe the information, I curate.

The funny thing is curate means to be a priest in charge (a fact I didn't know till today and yes google told me this); however, to:

curate something (especially on the Internet) to collect, select and present information or items such as pictures, video, music, etc. for people to use or enjoy, using your professional or expert knowledge.

When I search for information for friends or myself I use Google but I collect and select carefully. It isn't just any information that I use but ones that I feel are important for my research.

So how does this relate to today's classroom. Lately I have heard a lot of fear that we are raising a society that jusy google and that is not good enough. My fear isn't that I am raising kids who google but that we are raisin kids to memorize and not critically think about the facts they consume.

Information isn't like it was when we were kids, even when our parents were kids. Information is rapidly changing. In my lifetime I have used encyclopedias (book form), to digital Cds, to having it at my finger tips. Information changes so quickly that we have new phones every Six months. The information we are giving our kids will not serve them when they head into the work force. What will is being able to critically think and search for that information.

So I am fine that my students are googling, in fact they should be because my assessment and learning doesn't depend on the facts they find but how they use those facts. Googling is a tool that our kids should learn how to use. They should be curators of data and learn how to search, find, and use the data that is at their finger tips.

What do you think? Love to hear your thoughts.

Love every student

I still remember my associates teacher words in teachers college, love every student. I know its simple but it is also hard to follow up on sometimes.

Now I am not saying that as teachers we don't, we all came into this profession because we love kids but I also know that as the year goes on there are students that can just bug or irritate us just so and we cannot wait to the year ends.

Lately I have been reading some books by Dr Greene Ross, the explosive child and lost at school. This has been mainly because of my daughter who I know is one of those kids that by the end of the year we just can't wait to have a break from. I mean I want that break and she is my kid. However, as I have been reading my daughter has a lot of lagging social skills that need to be developed. We all know that ALL kids want to be good.

Take a look at this sheet.

It was developed by Dr. Greene to help identify the types of problems that a child may have. This is the first step to Plan B as he calls it.

Plan B is where you collaboratively with the students to solve problems. Once you identify the problems you can then start the empathy stage. Here you seek the students perspective. It is important that we do not force our perspective. At this stage we are just hearing the child out. It is also important to note that this stage may take time. Many kids are not familiar with being asked what they think is up. Once you identify the concern, re-voice to see if it truly is the problem. Then state your concern and seek help to solve it. The last note is that this does take time but in the end you save time because you are solving problems.

This year I plan to do this with my whole class and have a whole class collaborative problem solving period every week and maybe more if we need it. 

I think about all of the students that I have had in the past and how even though I thought I was talking it was me telling. So as you start your week out, getting to know your students academically don't forget the social side. Remember that ALL students want to be good just many don't know how.

What it is Like to be an ELL Learner?

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be an ELL learner in your classroom?

For me I would have to say I never really have.  Not that I haven't thought about how I could help but that the perspective has always been from the other side. Me the English learner, teaching English with good pedagogy. But never really with the lense of what it was like to receive a foreign language.

I will have to say I have never experience life as an ELL learner until I was in China. I mean I knew what it was like to be a teacher of ELL students, I know the pedagogy and the approaches that I need to do in order to engage and help my ELL students but I have never felt what it was like to be one until two weeks ago.

It is probably safe to say that the majority of us in North America as teachers can say the same thing as I did just above. Born and raised as an English speaker, in an English country I have never known what it was like to not understand the language around me. Well that changed dramatically when I went to China for the Global Education Summit.

Even though this summit was a Global Education Summit it was predominantly meant for Chinese teachers so it was predominantly or pretty much all in Chinese. In addition to this our interpreters didn't understand English that well and there was not enough of them to go around for all of the English speaking teachers.

This meant that I spent the majority of my day listening to the cadence and rhythm of random words and sounds. Though it was pretty and every now and then I picked up a word or two it was quite frustrating and often times I tuned out and wasn't engaged in the conversation. I mean why would I want to be when all I heard was the Charlie Brown teacher. WanWAA WANAA

This was quite a frustrating experience. My brain was able to comprehend what was going on but I wasn't able to communicate all of my thoughts in a manner that was acceptable to the audience I was talking too.

To help with this there was a lot of hand gestures, asking questions, visual cues, lot of review of english and Chinese, repeated practise or listening and talking, etc. But in the end many of times I was just bored and lost interest.

This got me thinking about my own classroom. Is this how my students feel? Is this what they are going through as they learn a new language?

In my head I was thinking no way, my classroom is amazing! but to be honest it is most likely the reality that many of my students have just tuned me out.  Can you blame them? It is a lot of work to listen intently, to try and pick up words that you think have meaning. I mean I wanted to learn, I wanted to be there, I wanted to participate but I just didn't know what was happening. Even with translators it was hard work and after a day of it my brain wanted to explode.

I know as teachers we do amazing things in the classroom to engage our ELL learners but it was truly humbling to be in the other shoe ( so to say) and really shifts your paradigm and perspective on your own classroom.

What do you do in your classroom to help engage the ELL learner? What strategies do you find work best? 

This post s more of a umm...I never thought about this. I have more questions than answers but wanted to put this thought out there. I would love to hear your ideas and thoughts.

No grades no problems

I had to laugh a little when I heard the news this morning on my way to work, "there may be no formal report card for public elementary students this year!"

"Oh, no! The world is coming to an end."  I don't mean to make fun of anyone who feels this way but at the same time it feels a little "sky is falling mentaility."

For me the final report card is a labour - some task that many only see the letter grades and not the helpful comments that go with it. They are often a cause for smiles on kids faces as they beam with pride or hidden because the child doesn't want to disappoint or face the eye of failure.

However, I want you to think about a couple of things:

1) should the final report be the first time you hear success or failure? 

       If not then how important is this report card? Why is it so honoured the without it the world is done?

2) are your elementary marks or any grades for that matter, tell how successful you will be in the future?

     Don't get me wrong they are good indicators but are they everything?

     If no then again why are they so important?

Is it an accountability piece? If so then I can give you every mark and note I have ever done on any student at any time. Why because that is my job as a teacher.

For me assessment is about learning and  learning is not shown in a final letter grade but in growth and reflection. I can't speak for every classroom in Ontario but in my classroom, all students have access to the class coconstructed rubrics, success criteria and their own reflections. We are always talking about their performance and they all know what their strengths, and weaknesses are. All assignments come with formative feedback based on our rubrics the have comments on how they did and what they can do better next time.  We have constant conferences with parents and students and all work is posted in their portfolios.

Kids have private class YouTube channel that they vlogg, blog and tape their thinking.  Assessment is truly an open door policy.

So in closing I ask you two more questions:

What is more important, a formal document with my EDU speak and grades or a child telling you how they are doing and what they can do next to improve?

                          Or   

What is more important a document that comes to you three times a year or ongoing formative refections and assessment that comes every assignment?

For me it's the ladder of the two and why I find the discussion of no report cards quite hilarious we need to relax and ask our children or their teacher.

If you ever want to know how they are doing, just ask.

Love to hear your thoughts.

Is our job as a teacher obsolete?

I know that the title may be a little disturbing but it did catch your attention?

When I ask this question I gt a varying degree of answers and it is because of these answers that I have decided to write this post.

Lately I have been thinking a great deal about the role of a teacher and the role we play in the grand scheme of learning. Putting aside various fees on teaching pedagogy I think we can all agree that teaching is currently undergoing a dramatic change in its profession. I think that we can also agree that knowledge is no longer obtained the same ways in which we use to obtain it and it is very rapidly changing. It seems that every second there is some new break through in technology or some new scientific break through.  So if this is the case should our teaching change to reflect this?

This actual idea started with a post from my good friend Brian Aspinall: 

We used to attend school because that's where the knowledge was. pic.twitter.com/tdLppg5kQf

— Brian Aspinall (@mraspinall) May 17, 2015

Catch the whole conversation here: https://twitter.com/mraspinall/status/599915516254236672.

This started a chain reaction and conversation that was truly amazing to be a part of. There was two main parts to this conversation. The role of a teacher and 2) creating and sustaining this change.

The Role of the Teacher

The bases was that teaching has not changed, our role continues to educate and motivate students to learn but what has and should be changing is how. Now this may stir some to stand up and revolt about what I am saying but I truly believe that the teaching profession needs to change their methods or we will become obsolete. 

I think this for three main reasons: 1) With the ever increasing access to information students can obtain anything in manner of seconds. Its as easy as saying, "Siri, whats the population of China?" Presto you have that information. The problem lies in how do we assess which information we need and what is true. This is critically thinking. This is the skill that needs to be taught. However, we often find classrooms a place of regurgitation of information that is outdated the moment we learn it.  Now please don't get me wrong, facts are important to learn, basic skills are needed and yes memorizing is important too but all of this can be learned at the same time as critically thinking and evaluating information. 2) Learning is happening whether we like it or not. Now this is not a new phenomenon but I do find a lot more students are taking to youtube, books, and other information to learn about topics that interest them. My own five year old daughter knows how to youtube minecraft in order to figure out how to do something in the game. If we are not careful in our teaching soon students may soon see school as an obsolete place.  3) My final reason is that I am ever depressed to see that school itself has not really changed since its inception. What I mean by this is schools, physical space and mental space. We can still walk into a school and it looks the exact same way it did in 1880's. Yes materials, tools, and colour has changed by the premise of school hasn't. Kids sit in rows or even groups, they walk in straight orderly lines, we go to school 8-3, Sept to June, its endless at the similarities between the eras. But with the rapid changing world this needs to change.

If we are going to make this shift then as a teacher our role needs to change. No longer am I the wise person who stands before the classroom to impart all of my wisdom in one fell swoop, no longer am I the end all to be all for information and no longer am I the one to start, initiate and carry the conversations. These areas fall on the students.  However, I am the one to plan rich and engaging lessons, I am the one who anticipates the majority of work and possible answers, I am the one who is constantly walking around my classroom, inspecting students thinking, strategies and work samples. I am the one that is assessing as I work, thinking about next steps, where students are and what I need to do to make that happen. I am also the one that plans purposeful questions and comments that at the right moment can make many students go "Aha."  I am also the one that if I recognize real struggle that I differentiated for them but only when they need it.

In addition, school shouldn't be this archaic place of learning. Space needs to be reinvented, times and timetabling needs to be more flexible. We need to go back to a place of learning.

Creating and Sustaining

This last part is the one I am currently struggling with. It is very easy to get discouraged by how slow progress seems to be going.  We have often debated, the time factor, the money factor, the willingness to learn but to me these just seem like excuses as to why something is failing. They are all factors in they why but I think that instead of focusing on the why we should be asking how do we support this change?

What do we need to do to allow fellow teachers to grasp, understand, implement and then affect change in others?

What is missing that isn't done already?

or How can we change what we are doing already in order to affect this change?

I don't think this is a simple answer but I do think that it needs to happen faster than it is currently. Our students are embarking into a world that rapidly changing, information that use to last us a life time is no longer lasting these students more then a year. We need to change our teaching methods, strategies in order to meet this. Then again, this is only my opinion, would love to hear yours.

#MakeSchoolDifferent: Five things we have to stop pretending

Last week (I think) I was challenged by Aviva Dunsiger to think about my five things that we have to stop pretending in education (You can read her post here: http://adunsiger.com/2015/04/21/makeschooldifferent-what-we-need-to-stop-pretending/).

I am finally getting around to writing it.  These are in no particular order.

1) That differentiating for each student is not possible:

I know that this may seem like a pipe dream statement but I think that as teachers we need to think about each of our students in the classroom. I know that we do but we truly need to think about how we can teach to each student and meet the needs of each student. Fosnot makes a great statement in one of her books, "[Teaching and learning are often seen as synonymous words and ideals but] without learning there is no teaching."  This statement has made we really think about how I am meeting the need of my students. It has made me think about the philosophies, strategies and assessments that I use in order to teach. Not every student is the same, so why is our teaching styles?

2) That students are vessels in which we impart our knowledge to:

I know that this is a very hot topic but to be honest most if not all people learn not from listening but from a combination of listening and doing.  I love this picture from Syliva Duckworth.

I know that we need to have some knowledge given in order to move forward but to be honest we need to give credit to our kids that they know a lot of things and can solve many problems we through at them.  As a teacher we need to find that balance between saying enough and allowing our students to explore, to muddle through and figure things out on their own. Learning is so much richer when this is accomplished.

3. That a test is the only way in which to assess students knowledge:

For centuries, students have gone to school, sat in desks, listened to teachers and then regurgitated information on a sheet of paper to show their understanding.  But is this the best way to understand our students learning? Is this a true test of their abilities? Is this really making them learn? or is it making the cram for a bit and then forget?  The true nature of a test shows you what a student understand at the particular moment in time. There is a purpose for it but I personally don't think that it is the end all to be all like it is being used today. In all honesty I don't think a test should be used at all. I think that teachers need to and should move into learning portfolios and project based learning. We need to have more conversations and observations of our students and communicate that as a grade. This is again is actually a lot harder then giving a test. Teachers need to know their content matter, curriculum and have a really good assessment strategies in place. Their needs to be clear communication and more communication with parents and students, but in the end this type of assessment is a lot richer. 

4. Parents don't care about their children's education: 

I hear this a lot in education, "Our parents just don't care about their child's education."  I know that their might be some parents who may feel this way but deep down inside I would say that all parents want their children to succeed and all parents do care about what is happening in the classroom. The problem is that they may think that the only time to contact teachers is when their is a problem, when you contact them or during parent interviews. Why? because that is exactly what happened when they when to school. For the longest time and still today, the classroom is this mysterious place. Its like the Bermuda triangle. Kids go in and come out but no one knows what happens inside. The only communication parents have is what their kids say. If their kids come home happy or say nothing is wrong then parents don't question it. We also have to keep in mind that it is really hard to raise kids today and many parents work various hours in order to support their children and household. It may be more that they can't care because they actually can't or more don't have time. However, when kids come home excited to learn and excited about your classroom I will guarantee that parents will take notice.  We as teachers need to do more to open our classroom up and bring in parents; excite them to be a part of the community. 

5. That we don't need to teach diversity and inclusion: 

This last one is an important one as it is something that I have been dealing with personally this last week. I teach my children about diversity and inclusion. I teach my children all about the ism's, everyone of them. I teach my children that we need to love one another, allow others to have opinions and honour those opinions; whether you agree with them or not. I teach my children that just because some one is different then you (whether religion, believes, physically or racially) you do not discriminate, you do not hate and you do not make public comments about it. You may at home believe many different things but in the classroom and out in the world we need to be tolerant, loving and accepting. I teach these things because I want to make sure our world is loving and peaceful. I don't want wars, I don't want hate. However, I am constantly reminded and moreso this week then ever, that this needs to be done more in the classrooms. I feel this because this week I have seen close friends bombarded by hatred and slander because people don't believe the same thing as they do. I have seen people lash out at me because I stand up for anyone who is being discriminated against.  Unfortunately it is never the children we teach but one day those children will become adults and I want to make sure that they know that hatred is hatred. That even though you may not believe or think the same as the person next to you, when you make that comment or thought public you are crossing a human rights line. That you are perpetuating further war and hurt. No one has the right to judge as we ourselves are not perfect. It is okay to have differing opinions and believes but there always needs to be discernment and tolerance in what we say and do.

Again these are my thoughts and observations about teaching. They are always up for discussion and I would love to here your thoughts on how we can make school different.

I am now calling on:

Betsy Callanan

Jay Wigmoore

Roland Chidiac

Matthew Oldridge

Michelle Cordy

If they have not done so.  Of course I would also love to hear from anyone and their amazing ideas.

Teaching Diversity

It seems that about this time of year I am always writing a post about diversity but yet here I am again talking about it. Not just because today is the Day of Pink but because I think that this is a very important topic to be discussing. (last years post)

I want to first start out by saying in no means am I trying to offend but to provoke your thinking.  I truly believe that we all have our students learning and feelings at heart. We want what is best, no matter our believes.

As I mentioned above, today is the International Day against Bullying, Discrimination, Homophobia, and Transphobia across the world. Now I know that many of us are very comfortable about teaching or stopping bullying and discrimination; especially when it comes to race. I mean we don't debate slavery anymore do we? We recognize that this is wrong but what about homophobia, and transphobia? Are we just as ready to stand-up for this discrimination?

I already know the answer and for many of us it is no.  I know this because I was there. I wasn't ready to do this. I know that before I learned more about discrimination that was the case. So what changed?

For me it was a realization that what I was doing was wrong. Yes, wrong! If I was prepared to stand up for what was right for other forms of discrimination why not for discrimination against the LGBTQ communities?  I started learning more from a great friend and colleague Alicia Gunn. Along with her wife Shannon (@gunnteach) I learned so much about all social justice ideas and ALL forms of discrimination. I started to change my practise to teach my children how to be the difference in the world. And I slowly learned that its never the kids who have problems with this; its often the adults.

Kids don't see differences. I mean they notice them but they never really care about them. All they really care about is how they are treated. This should be the focus. As one of my students said the other day, "We are all human so let's treat each other that way!"

I totally understand that there is a lot of factors: Religion, personal believes, being uncomfortable, and or not knowing enough. However, as I said before we don't debate slavery so why this? How is this any different then any other form of discrimination? Is it because of religion? Is it because of the backlash?  Discrimination is wrong. Period.  If we as teachers, parents and adults don't start modelling this then we are creating a cycle of hate. We are the ones who are responsible for creating the wars and terrorism that is happening in the world. We are responsible for the violence that we are so ready to shake our heads at. WE, no one else!

WE as teachers need to stand-up for what is right, to be the models that our kids look up to. I don't know about you but I don't want to be the reason for perpetual violence happening in the world. I want to be the difference that makes this stop?

So how do we do this: 

The first step is recognizing that diversity starts with you. We have to put our personal believes and feelings aside and realize that its about love and not hate. It's understanding that I know some parents may be offended because they don't understand but it is my job to educate and make them see this difference. Its not easy but we healthy relationships and if ALL of us are doing it, it makes it a lot easier.

Second step is that this can't just be a one day event. Social diversity needs to be incorporated into our programs whenever we can. To be honest these social justice topics are so easy to incorporate into any subject matter. They also create a real powerful context that our students can latch on to and as we know research shows that when students have powerful contexts to learn with they learn a lot better.

I would love to here from anyone about how they incorporate and celebrate diversity in their classroom. Also if you have any questions please ask away.  Love to hear your comments and ideas.

Role of a Teacher

I have been having a great discussion on the use of coding in the classroom with some amazing g educators (Aviva Dunsiger, Brian Asinall and Enzo Ciardelli  ). The conversation has been about using coding in the classroom and the reasons why and how we use it. You can read some blogs here.

Today Brian posted this

What do you think @ECiardelli @nobleknits2 @MrSoclassroom @avivaloca @hewettja http://t.co/KZY9Shrgq6 ? #csk8 #oncsed
— Brian Aspinall (@mraspinall) March 28, 2015 and 

@avivaloca @ECiardelli @hewettja @nobleknits2 @MrSoclassroom @kkeerybi @Sharon_Drummond what about this? @mrswideen pic.twitter.com/EHhAPHgaXq
— Brian Aspinall (@mraspinall) March 28, 2015

The conversation has been amazing so much so that I cannot keep my thoughts to 70 characters with everyone involved. So I thought I would state them here. 

In this conversation I stated that a teacher can change the outcome of a task. I have also stated in other blog posts that the role of the teacher is critical to the learning of students and the speed of their growth.

I see many things in our education releam as really cool things to do. We have iPads, Minecraft, inquiry, problem based learning and coding. The problem is that these are just cool things, if I can dumb it down to that (and please do not take me for saying that these things are not important. In fact I think they are all highly important).  What I am trying to argue is that without good teaching a task is a task and even if it's the newest thing or an important thing with out good teaching it is useless and can hurt student development.

What is good teaching?

We have numerous ideas as to what that is but for me a good teacher does:

1) Puts students first: I know this is suppose to be obvious but a good teacher knows ther students, is able to understand them and is able to meet their needs.

2) anticipates problems: there is a lot that goes into planning a lesson but one thing is that a good teacher knows how to foresee problems and misconceptions because they have anticipated these problems

3) uses contexts for deep learning: A good teacher is always thinking about the context in which students are learning in and from.

4) able to guide and redirect the learning through questions: A good teacher has a bank of effective questions that will facilitate good rich discussions. They also know how to ask questions that will scaffold student thinking and move them along a continuum of learning.

5) understands both content and curriculum really well.

6) makes mistakes, acknowledges mistakes and is always learning

Now why is this important? Because a good teacher, through these qualities, can turn any task into an engaging, thoughtful and amazing lesson. Because they have a good understanding of student development, content and curriculum they are able to turn a basic plan into one of rich discussion. It is these lessons that we are striving for.

So when we argue that Brian's task may be a task card or a list of checks and skills a good teacher can turn that activity card into an amazing lesson where students are creating, checking, reflecting and then discussing the curriculum links to what is there. Yes you can take it at its face value and see a list of skills but you can also see a lot of learning goals both in curriculum and in soft learning skills. It transcends the application of coding.

I would also suggest that even though coding is not in our curriculum a good teacher recognizes that there are many important skills that students need to learn outside of our stated curriculum. Yes our curriculum is important, yes it must be taught but a good teacher knows how to manipulate it so it's not a series of checks but deep conceptual learning. They know how to incorporate the necessary skills of the future into a lesson not because it says we have to but because kids need to learn it.

To me the curriculum is important but it's not the end all that we make it out to be. Learning is! Now we cannot forget the development of that learning and the curriculum does provide that nicely for us but we should be looking at the learning. Coding provides that opportunity to learn and learn about learning.  Students are engaged in problem solving, rethinking, being creative, being mathematicians, etc. Yes it is not the end all to be all and yes it is something that I wouldn't spend all of my time on but I think it is still something that must be taught and should be taught.

I guess in the end what I am saying is that an effective teacher knows how to manipulate the curriculum so that students are always engaged in rich contextual lessons no matter what that may be. A good teacher can make all the difference to any task.

I am not too sure if I am making a local argue net but I would love to hear your thoughts:

1) what do you think makes a good teacher?

2) what is the role of the curriculum and how should we use it?

3) what of soft skills?

4) what about these "fun" things like coding, minecraft, iPads, etc? what do they have to offer?

Coding and Math

Coding has been a hot topic in education lately and rightly so. It is an important subject. I was recently talking to a friend of mine who has to learn how to code because her job now requires it. More and more coding is becoming essential to any job of the future. The saying is so true we are training students for jobs that don't even exist yet.

Now it has taken me a while to get into the coding wave, per-say. The reason is that I have had a hard time figuring out how to fit coding into the curriculum. You see for me curriculum is and should the foundation for all of our learning and teaching. However, now that I have had some better understanding of coding I think I feel more comfortable incorporating it into my classroom. 

I am writing this post to share some of my learning and to share some of my big ahas.

Why Code?

If you haven't tried coding once then you may not see the potential that coding has for your classroom. Coding is amazing, I have always thought this. Coding is a built in problem. The very essence of coding is creating something from nothing. The Code that you write ends up creating endless possibilities. You are only confined by your imagination. So why code? Because it teaches students to problem solve, to be at a disequilibrium, to be collaborative and engaged with the 21st century learning (yes I know that many of you may not like that term). 

What programs are there for me to play with?

There are a lot of programs to play and learn how to code. First and foremost I would suggest going to code.org as this is an amazing website dedicated to coding.  I would also suggest connecting with Brian Aspinall (@mraspinall) and Lisa Ann Flyod (@lisanneflyod). 

There are also some great iPad apps: 

Lightbot

Hopscotch

Scratch Jr

Code.org has an app too. 

There are also many computer programs out there but one that I love is scratch.

So how did I start?

To be honest I just thought I would jump in but then had to rethink that plan as I really had no idea what I was doing. So the first step was coming up with an idea. At the moment we are studying measurement. I thought this would be a cool way to introduce coding and measuring concepts, especially non-standardize measuring. 

So my assignment was: Measure the span of your hand.

Step 1: I allowed the students to explore the program of scratch. I think that it is important for students to explore the programs they are using, as they will do this anyways may as well give them time to do so. 

Step 2: Gave them a set of challenges:  (import a picture, draw a line, make a scratch move, and add a sprite)

Step 3: Write a program that would measure the span of your hand. (first test) (second attempt)

This process was amazing; however, it wasn't until I tweeted our first program to a friend (Lisa and Brian) of mine that we started to see where we went wrong. This is also where I learned about adding variables to my code would help to improve it. To be honest I had no idea what variables meant.

This is the amazing part of sharing your ideas. Lisa offered us great advice and my students took the learning opportunity. Hear is what they did:

Lisa's 

Our remix

My Learning:

1) Students can do remarkable things: 

Don't hold back because you don't have a good understanding of coding. You will be surprised at what students can accomplish. 

2) Learn with the students and then share your learning:

Often through this process I was learning and working on the problem along with my students. As the students or I made a finding we stopped the class and talked about it. We even shared the links and had students remix the code. 

3) Plan the curriculum expectations before hand: 

Now make sure you have a plan of the big ideas in your mind. I often hear that these types of plans do not go well because the kids went wild or off task. If you don't have a plan they will. Keep the curriculum in mind.

4) If at first you don't succeed, try, try and try again.

Coding is worth it. It is such a rich task with high possibilities. I have made a lot of mistakes with coding in the classroom but to be honest even those mistakes the kids learned a lot both curriculum and with coding. 

Overall, adding coding to my classroom was a lot of fun and so worth the struggles. The students are so engaged in the lesson and learned a lot. In fact without thinking about it my students learned about the relationships between adding and subtracting, coordinate grids, negative numbers, Cartesian planes, what a pixel was, and how to find the distance of a line. AMAZING!!! 

I hope that you attempt some coding in the classroom and if you do I would love to see and hear what you have done. 

My Ideal Classroom

There has been a lot of talk lately on "the classroom space."  Seeing all these fantastic posts has me thinking about what my ideal classroom would look like, sound like and act like ( You can't tell that I am a primary teacher :)).  I would like to think that my classroom at the moment is very close but there is always that aim for perfection.

A lot has changed since I was in school. I can still remember most of my classrooms in rows with the teacher at the front of the classroom and us the students copying, practising or doing school work.  I also can remember very little about these experiences. In fact the two strongest memories that I have of my school career was my grade three and four classrooms. I remember my grade three teacher because of the amazing stories that she would tell of her childhood. She was a fantastic story teller and really tried to connect with us as students. My fourth grade classroom memory is of a space unit. I remember this because I was basically told, "Jonathan, go as far as you want with this!" and I did.

In many ways it is sad that I only have two really great memories of school.  Some one once asked me that if you went back in time 50 years would the classroom look any different?  The sad reality is no it wouldn't. However, that doesn't mean it shouldn't.

I think back to even how my classroom has undergone some dramatic changes since I started teaching.  I will start by saying that I have always felt my classroom was a place of inquiry. Since the beginning of teaching I have been an admirer of Piaget and Vygotsky. However, my classroom space continues to evolve into more of my ideal space.

Maybe I should have started with this but here is my vision. My ideal classroom is a classroom where all are contributors. Each student has a voice that is respected by peers and teachers. As a teacher I am not the wise sage that I grew up listening too but one who sets the conditions for the learning and asks questions along the way. My ideal space has places for all types of learners, not just particular sets of minds but places for all to feel comfortable in learning. This may mean quiet zones, maker spaces, work spaces (both collaboration and single desk spaces), and a carpet space. I want the classroom space to also be a positive space, where ALL are welcomed and appreciated.

I think when I first started teaching I knew kind of what I wanted but not really how to get there. My first classroom was a POD. It was amazing to see no walls and four classrooms. I think if I could I would go back to this type of open space. It was amazing to see such a big space for learning. However, I think that even though I wanted a classroom where I didn't talk too much, I think I did. It was still a place of inquiry but it was my inquiry and not the students. As my career developed so did my ability to bring students inquiry ideas into real authentic learning.

Presently the my classroom is probably the closest it as ever been to my vision. My students are amazing thinkers and learners. I have amazing group collaborative spaces and singular spaces. My students don't really see a table as their table spaces but places to work. They are on the floor, the carpet or at tables, where ever they seem to work best. At times because of the noise I even flow out to the hallway. At the same time my students feel like they can ask any question to anyone, as well as, answer questions without waiting for me to answer. Now this space did not happen over night. In fact I remember coming home in August ( I teach in a balance calendar) wondering if I would ever reach the ideal learning space. But with a lot of work both on my part and the students, I think we are well on our way of achieving it.

I would love to hear your ideas of what an ideal Classroom is?  
How did you achieve it? 
What is the most important part of your classroom?

Before I finish this post thought I would share some of my space with you.

My Classroom in Action:

10 Greatest Things of 2014!

I know that we are three weeks into 2015 but I was recently challenged by a great friend and colleague Brian Aspinall  about reflecting on the 10 best things of 2014.  I loved that in his blog and in many others that they mention how great it is to share their success and how it also is amazing to be reminded of all the positives that have happened.

I think that it is very easy as people to get bogged down with the negatives in your life that we loose site of all the great things that have happened. If you have not done so I highly recommend that you take up this challenge and share with the world what success you have had.  That being said without further discussion here are my 10 greatest things of 2014, hope that I can do this.

1) My son was born, July 7, 2014:  This has been the signal most important thing that happened in 2014. It has been amazing to see him grow and see the interaction between my daughter and him. When all is wrong with my day all it takes is a smile from both of them when I enter the door to make you think about what is really important in the world.

2) I finished my Masters' of Education: Yet another amazing achievement in my life. It took some time but four years well worth it. If you have not done so I really recommend that you do, and go the thesis route not the course. The course route can be quicker but the learning in your own research is amazing. At times I wanted to throw it out the door but it has also allowed me to be a better educator.

3) Presented at the Ontario, GAFE Summit: Being pushed by my other great friend Rolland Chidiac into presenting at this conference was a blessing in disguise. I was already using GAFE in the classroom without knowing it but after going to this conference my eyes were blown open.  GAFE goes well beyond the bells and whistles of amazing tech, it has sound pedagogical learning and enhances student success.   Because of this I started my own admin for my school and implemented it fully into the classroom. I was also able to network with truly amazing educators: Julie Millan, Michelle Cordym, and Scott Mohanan.

From these connection I have been able to meet other amazing educators like Sharon Moskovitz.

4) Met amazing educators: This was also the year that I continued to build amazing relationships with amazing people. These educators have become great friends and colleagues. I will list some but there are so many:

1) Matthew Oldridge
2) Helen Chapman
3) Brian Aspinall
4) Shivonne Lewis-Young
5) Aviva Dunsiger

There have been so many more and just want to say thank-you to all who I have talked to. It has been an amazing journey.

5) Year of presentations: Wow, this year has been filled with amazing opportunities to share and learn from wonderful people. I was able to present at the NFO leadership conference, Bit14, OAME14, GAFE summit, TDSB google Camp and was invited to Waterloo for a numbers talk presentation.

6) TLLP project:  For those not familiar with the TLLP it stands for teaching leadership and learning program. It is a government funded project that gives leadership to teachers to run their own PD. Last year my project was chosen and it was amazing. Not only that but from it came an opportunity of a life time. Ann Lieberman, who is the head researcher and professor at Standford University, asked me and my great friend Michelle Cordym (mentioned above) to go to China with her. Truly a blessing.

7) Started working with amazing group of educators in Peel on our first Google Camp: Now I know this camp is happening in 2015 but it all started in 2014. I am lucky to work in a board full of amazing people and educators. We are not the largest board in Ontario but pretty close and it is full of diverse thinkers and people but that is what makes it special. Peel is an amazing place to work. This group is no different. It has been an amazing journey planning this conference. And a lot of learning too.

8) I maintained my goal of two blog posts a month (except July and December but I was on break)
Now I know this may not seem like a big accomplishment but blogging has been a major goal of mine. I am not the best writer in the world. It is very hard for me to communicate in writing and get my ideas clearly on paper. It often takes me many revisions and even then it still is laden with mistakes. But it is also a lot of fun and very therapeutic.  Maintaining this goal was a big accomplishment for me and one that I stuck with.

9)  My Daughter Started Kindergarten: During my first year of teaching I was told that my teaching would change when I had kids. I didn't believe them and you know what it didn't; however, it did change when my daughter went to school this year.  I have included this in my accomplishments because it made me a better teacher. For the first time in my career I realized what it was like to be on the other side of the table. I was that parent who wanted to ask, "how are they doing?" and it made me realize the power that a great parent relationship has to a child's success.

10) I continue to work with amazing people everyday: I am truly blessed with the school that I am at. We started the journey at Ray Lawson two years ago, built the school from the ground up (not literally but educationally). It has been an amazing journey to be on and one that is so well worth the ride. It has made me a better teacher, a better person and a better leader.

Thank you for reading my top 10 things of 2014. Thank you Brian for challenging me to think and reflect.  It is truly amazing to keep the positives going in our life. If I mentioned you above I for sure want to hear your success and I challenge all of you reading this to do the same. Here is to 2015!! Keep the positives going!

What does it mean to be a Teacher?

I came across this quote last week:

Teaching is...
“inspiring students to discover on their own, to challenge if they don’t agree, to look for alternatives if they think there are better ones, to work through the great achievements of the past and try to master them on their own because they’re interested in them” (sorry cannot remember who said it).

I also received a personal message from a previous student's mother. In a nut shell she told me her son said that he missed me as a teacher. He said that he remembered my crazy antics and that he missed the learning and fun we had. She further stated that it made her realize the impact of a great teacher on a student.

These two statements got me thinking about teaching in general. More specifically, why I got into teaching and what teaching means.

It is very easy to forget how we can impact, for better or worse, a student in our class. We see them for the year but then off they go.  If we are lucky we see them in the halls or they talk to you as you go by but off they go into the yellow sunset to live their lives.   Every now and then we hear stories, read success stories or get a quick email that makes us think of the times we had in the classroom.

These moments in time make me think about why I became an educator. For me it wasn't a story of I have always known that I wanted to be a teacher from childhood. In fact I wanted to be a musician but my Dad told me that that was no way to live. I went to school to be an accountant but soon realized that I was doing this for all the wrong reasons. I volunteered at a local school and fell in love with teaching.

It was the light bulbs that did it for me. To see the mind work, explore, invent and be creative was truly inspiring. Not only that but to think that I had a small hand in that is really surreal.

Seeing this light bulb is one of the most important part of teaching for me. But how do we create that light bulb?
What got you into teaching?
What is teaching mean to you?

I would love to hear your thoughts.

"How are they doing?" Famous words said by every parent, ever thought why?

Famous words of every parent during meet the teacher night and words that many of us teachers cringe at.  For me I always felt that the students should be able to articulate this point of view to the parents, and to some degree I still do; however, I was picking up my daughter for the first time from school the other day and had to use every muscle in my body to stop myself from saying, "How is Izzy doing?"

This got me thinking: Even though, I knew my philosophy on this and yet I still wanted to ask those dreaded words. Why? Because I truly wanted to know how she was doing?  

Its been an interesting phenomenon having my daughter enter the world of school. I mean I know how she reacts at home, I know how she learns and yet when she is off in a different time and space then I wonder how she truly is doing? 

Million questions run through my mind: How is she behaving? What is she learning? How can I help at home to make it smoother? etc. Its a lot of stress and anxiety to have. As a parent all you want is the best for your child and I know that teachers will always give their best for my daughter but I also know its a very difficult job. I also know my daughter and I really just want to help. 

And lately this has gotten me thinking about my own students and their parents. What do they feel like when they drop their children off at school? Are they wondering about the same types of things (most likely yes). 

Now I know that we as teachers will often have interviews for students of concern or with parents we need to talk to, or we often see parents outside on the playground and say hey they had a great day but I know from experience that this doesn't really alleviate the stress of wondering what your child is actually going through every day.

With this in mind it has gotten me thinking about how can I alleviate this anxiety? So here is my plan:

1) continue using twitter and storify in the classroom.  In know that in previous post I have talked about this but these are amazing tools to have the parents see into the classroom. However, they don't necessarily give a picture of a particular child's strengths and next steps; just what they did and lately questions that can help with home.

2) So here is my insane idea, monthly summaries for each student.  Now I know many of you are thinking that this means more work for you as a teacher but I don't want to write them just give time for them to be completed. 

My biggest concern as a parent is what is she working on, and how can I help at school. Having these monthly reports would be, at least in my opinion, a great way of communicating this. This also will coincide with our schools philosophy of goal setting and making those goals public.  Now I am also about not making more work then what is needed. I have a new born and my own daughter that I want to spend time with. I mean as we speak I am writing this blog as my daughter is having a bath. So how can we make this work?

Conferencing has been always been an important part of my teaching but even more so now.  My goal is always to meet with the students four times a month.  During these meetings we discuss: reading goals, reading levels, math strategies, next steps, and classroom questions.  My thinking is that we turn these conferences back on the students and once a month we write down what we worked on this month, what our reading level is, where we would like to be and what our next steps are.  I was also thinking of adding in a parent connection where I can or students write what they would like to see at home.

3) I want to send home weekly good news. I hear this all the time in other amazing classes and I keep saying that I am going to do this but I really will now. Every week I want to send home five good news tickets, telling parents what amazing things that their child has done. Doesn't have to be academic just something that they can be proud of.  Now this may be a little more work but I think it would be worth it to build that community and trust.

4) Quarterly classroom visits: Now this is something that we already do.  Twice a term I want to invite the parents into the classroom during the day so their child can talk to them about what they are learning. This will primarily be on #geniushour but it can also be on any other topic.

I have learned more and more how important this connection is between the teacher and parent.  As my daughter starts her career in school, I and my wife just want to be a part of it.  She is our child and all we want is success.  Creating this team dynamic will only help her's and our student's success. 

Now this is a work in progress I am not too sure if it is logistically sound but I think it will work.  What do you think? Have you experienced this personally? What do you do in the classroom to communicate with all of the parents not just the ones that struggle? 

Teaching through Inquiry: A reflection on a reflection Part 2

I recently came upon a post by my friend Aviva (@avivaloca). In her blog (http://bit.ly/1zZi78y) she was reflecting on teaching through inquiry. I started to respond in her comments but was thinking of so much more to write.  In fact it even made me split the blog post into two posts for sake of space and time for readers.  

This is the second part which in my opinion focuses more on the teaching parts of Inquiry.  The first focuses on the planing portions. Though to be fair they often blur together.

Here is Aviva's questions in regards to teaching: 

• How does this impact on classroom design? What role will students play in this design?
• How does this impact on scheduling and specialist teachers? If students are on rotary, I wonder how the teachers can work together to create longer blocks of learning time even when they don’t naturally exist.
• How do we improve our questioning skills? How do we get comfortable with “wondering,” and not always having the answer in mind?
• How do we get better at understanding curriculum expectations and seeing the links between expectations?
• How do we balance “student interests” and “curriculum expectations?” What does this balance look like?
• How are teachers supported in this shift towards inquiry?
• How do we gain a shared understanding of what inquiry means (helping to ensure the success of the approach)

1) Classroom Design:

I am not the best at design but teaching through inquiry has really played into my hand. Because Inquiry is a lot about student learning so is classroom design.  My classroom is built around my students. My walls are their work, my tables are just that tables.  Students are free to work where ever they want. 

2) Schedules: 

This is so important.  I think that for Inquiry to really happen schedules have to be in place for it to happen.  This comes through admin and staff working together to really create something special for the students.  inquiry cannot happen in one period blocks of time.  Their needs to be a lot of creativity, planning and thinking on all to make it happen.

3, 4) Teachers:

I have clumped these altogether because I think they go hand in hand; however, the answer is a politically sensitive one.  In order to have better questioning and understanding of the curriculum teachers need to know their stuff.  Their has been numerous debates over the importance of inquiry and its failures.  Where it does fail is when as teachers we do not know enough to help our students learn.  We cannot let them just wonder the universe searching for answers.  Their needs to be a balance between skill and exploration.  I always use the idea of Wayne Gretzky (though I know that this may create debate in itself).  Gretzky became great because he had skill and he practise but he also had coaches along the way that shaped and modeled his abilities.  They told him when he was doing something wrong at the right times in his career.  These coaches had to know their stuff to help him improve.  I couldn't go into the rink and say fix your shot, your pulling to the right because I would have no idea what to do.  We also don't ask a brain surgeon to come and do a heart transplant. He may fully understand what to do but he doesn't have the right skill for the task.  Teachers are the same.  To improve our questions and our ability to learn we ourselves have to learn.  

I recently completed my Masters of Education in the effects of teachers Questions on students learning in Fractions.   I had to do a lot of reading, and a lot of learning.  It is because of this learning that I was able to hone my craft in asking questions.  I am in no way an expert (in my opinion) but through practise, more reading, watching others, learning, and reflecting I am always getting better. This is exactly what teachers need to do.

I understand that their is a time factor but it is time well spent.  Until we get our profession (all of us) willing to do this than Inquiry will not be fully implemented.

6 and 7) Teacher Support: 

I am skipping five for a moment.  Teachers need support, that is plain.  If the boards and the ministry want inquiry to happen than teacher training is a must.  How is this to be done.  I think that we really need to rethink our professional development days and staff meetings.  Give time for teachers to explore and learn inquiry through inquiry.  I always think it is funny when we teach that inquiry is the vest way yet we disseminate information in a lecture style.  It contradicts inquiry.  

Last year I was involved in a Teaching and Learning Project with the government.  I was given funding to run a school wide math focus on problem solving.  We are in no way fully school wide but we made huge strides.  How was this obtained: 

1) It made us as teachers talk

2) Instructional Rounds became best practice

3) Common Planning

4) Co-teaching, Co-planning, and Co-debriefing

With these four critical components our whole school understands what problem solving is, what resources to use, and some critical questions to be asking through the whole process.  On a whole our staff does two to three problems a unit for inquiry in math.  Our next steps are to continue this and to further implement it.

We can take a note of this small study for a bigger picture.  Implementation will always be slow the more people you have but through these four steps it can be done.  The more conversation the better it becomes. 

5) Student Voice versus Curriculum:

This is a nice way to end this conversation.  I believe that the best part of Inquiry is students get a voice.  Students feel a part of the classroom, even though you are for the most part deciding what is being taught, students are exploring at their pace, with their words and with their ideas.  With Inquiry they are the lesson. Its their questions, their answers and their opinions that drive the discussions and learning.  Sure you had the big idea in place, maybe the activity but it always comes down to their learning.  Be willing to give into this and amazing things will happen.

Once again, these are only my opinions and as Inquiry continues to evolve so will my thoughts.  I love hearing from people so if you have any ideas please share.  Love to hear them.

Teaching through inquiry: a reflection of a reflection Part 1

I recently came upon a post by my friend Aviva (@avivaloca). In her blog (http://bit.ly/1zZi78y) she was reflecting on teaching through inquiry. I started to respond in her comments but was thinking of so much more to write.  I believe a lot in Inquiry and I think that it has a lot of potential to really impact our students.  I also know that there is a lot of misconceptions around inquiry or a feeling that because of it students are falling behind.

I want to first start of by stating that for me Inquiry is probably the best way to teach.  If done right it can offer a perfect balance between students choice and teacher taught skills.  I know in other blog posts I have mentioned how I go about teaching through inquiry but will attempt a short intro here.  In my classroom students solve problems or sort through provocations that all them to explore as a individual, group or class.  As students are exploring, questions and observing I am conferencing with individual students.  Every now and then we stop and ask questions to the whole class.  This allows the learning to be shared and focused.  At the end of the exploration period (which can be longer then a period or day) we have a consolidation time where we bring our findings to the class. During this time I am focusing the talk to the big ideas that I saw transpire.

As I mentioned this blog post is in response to Aviva's questions. Now Aviva had a lot of questions and for the sake of the length of a blog post I have split the conversation into two groups.  The first centers on planning needs and part two will center on the teaching needs.  Though in all truth they go hand in hand.

In her blog Aviva asked these planning centered questions: 

• How does this impact on long-range planning (i.e., we need to teach all of the overall expectations, but could student wonders impact on how and when this information is taught)?
• How does this impact on the use of tests and culminating tasks? How “formal” do assessment tasks need to be for students to show us what they know?
• How does this impact on the marking? Will a focus on inquiry also eventually lead to a provincial change in evaluation methods (i.e., moving from grades and percents to specific anecdotal comments, such as the ones used on the Full-Day Kindergarten Report Cards)?
• How does this impact on homework? How do we inspire students to want to learn outside of school, and how do we show parents the value in learning that does not rely on a textbook or black line masters?

Let's get into answering Aviva's questions:

1) Long Range Plans: 

I believe that you still need to have a set of long range plans.  In Ontario we have a curriculum that must be followed.  Even though students are exploring and observing, their is still is guidance that a teacher must follow.  Not only this but having long range plans allows me to keep in mind what subjects, themes and big ideas I need to blend in.  I also post these long range plans for my parents to follow.  If they want to help at home (which I highly encourage) they know roughly what subject matter we will be focusing on. Now even though I have long range plans they often focus on curriculum big ideas, problems and often have questions that I will be asking the kids.  My plans are not focused on the specific expectations because I know that through problem solving and inquiry these will be covered.  I also find that my problems cover many various expectations not just the subject that I am teaching.  However, without my long range plans I wouldn't be able to make those connections or be able to comment/ communicate to parents what is happening in the classroom.

2) Tests and Culminating Tasks:

This for me has undergone the most transformation in my teaching career.  At first I was yeah we need tests or their has to be some sort of culminating task but to be honest as the years have progressed I have used less and less of these tasks for assessments.  As students are working on problems I am always tweeting, conferencing and recording notes.  I have found that I actually understand my students more than I ever did. So much so that one day I was giving a test and as I looked around I knew what their answers would be before I gave it to them.  I also new what their next steps would be, what errors they would be making or what questions to ask them.  This made me think first was this assessment necessary and why was I doing this.  Instead of wasting two periods on a test I now make it a learning experience and use the time to discuss the big ideas with my class.  Now all students benefit from the assessment not just the ones who got it right.  In addition, I know that most test or tasks were designed for parents to know what their child is doing in class.  I now assess pretty much everything (just in different ways).  My notes are sent to parents through duo-tangs, notebooks or rubrics.  With GAFE my students and parents can see comments in real time for writing.  It is this formative feedback that is the most rich and engaging.  In fact if my students or parents don't know what mark they are getting on their report card than I haven't really done my job right or communicated effectively.

3) Assessment: 

Marking is way different.  Before marks where from tests or assignments.  Now I find that everything to some degree is marked; definitely commented on. I now have a general assessment form that I use through GAFE, this allows me to have a record of my conferences and comments throughout the year.  I also believe that assessment belongs in the hand of the students.  Through constant conferencing and talking my students should know where they are on the landscapes and trajectories that we make together.  They should know their next steps and goals.  We also do a lot of goal setting and planning to help them learn how to grow.  This again helps with parents because the students are always thinking about their learning and talking about it.  I also have been using social media like twitter and storify to allow parents into our classroom.  By asking questions within the storify it helps parents connect with their child's understanding of the topics learned in class.

4) Homework: 

I have never been a fan of homework.  I don't know if this stems from my own experience with it or not but I find that this (in a traditional sense) does nothing for students learning.  Now don't get me wrong, practise is important.  You can never be great at anything without practise.  But doing mind numbing and senseless worksheets is not practise.  In addition, in elementary much of the research shows that it doesn't help the students in fact it often hinders their learning.  Successful students (in my teaching experience) are the ones that have had experiences to draw upon.  They are the ones that have been read to as a child, done things with their families, play outside or play games.  Their is a lot of learning in the family model.  Students also have their own passions and interests that they should be encouraged to pursue.  In my classroom, reading is the homework.  In fact its not really considered homework as this is a must for success.  I also give one math problem a week and encourage my students to play math games from our bin.  I also have Youtube videos for the students to watch and learn from.  This helps with the teaching when they come back to the classroom.

This has been a hard transition for many of my parents (for my whole career) but I often explain to them about what to they think is valued more in life: knowledge or use of knowledge?  AS they are in the work force who do they want to hire or work for them: Someone who has all the knowledge in the world but doesn't know how to use it or someone who can critically think through the work given to them and problem solve?  This often brings many interesting discussions.  They are also always impressed at the learning that is happening with their child.  I often get: they actually want to come to school! All they can do is talk about what happened today! They are so independent! When this happens I often don't get too many questions.  Now occasionally I have parents who want more, for them I offer this:

I cannot cover everything in the curriculum on my own, many things may be glanced over or skimmed because it is not where the class needs to be.  Please encourage you child to try and learn this on their own and bring it back for the class to learn.  I always give opportunities for students to present their learning and be the teachers in the classroom.  I also mention that as Parents they have every right to teach anything that they want to their students and I encourage it.  Its these experiences that will help them grow and learn together.  All I ask is that they have a growth mindset and not think that what they are learning is the only way.  This also goes for my teaching too.

As inquiry continues students start to learn how to critically think and evaluate the information given to them. This is such an important skill to have.

This brings me to the end of the first part of Aviva's questions.  This of course is only my thoughts and in no way is it a final answer.  That is the best part of inquiry learning, it takes a community of learners to bring about understanding.  I would love to know your thoughts, as I am always rethinking Inquiry in the classroom.  Please share them with your own blog or comment below love to hear them.  And stay tune for part 2, which will probably be posted shortly after this.