Instructional Strategy - Thinking Prompts

My favorite part of my job as an instructional coach at Stilwell is seeing the innovative instructional practices of my colleagues. One example of this is Thinking Prompts. While at a training with Jim Knight (The University of Kansas and The Kansas Coaching Project),  I heard him talk about “Thinking Prompts” as an instructional strategy. Others probably have different names for these activities (Bell Work, Hooks, Anticipatory Sets, etc.), but here, I’ll refer to them by Knight’s label.

Thinking prompts are “any device a teacher puts in front of students to prompt thinking, discussion, and dialogue.” As I listened to Knight describe different types of prompts, my mind connected my colleagues’ work I have observed over the past few weeks:

• Video clips - Walk by Ben Stein’s class during its first five minutes, and you’ll see him teaching current events. His daily video clips engage students in thinking about social studies in their lives. Laws, history, politics, wars, and social issues dominate the beginning of every period. Kids are immediately engaged and primed to study Stein’s curriculum.
• Cases or short stories - Recently, Katie Ernst found a unique way to explicitly teach an implicit skill: inferencing. “Minute Mysteries” interfaced with google forms and clickers give her students a quick opportunity to study and practice one of the most crucial reading strategies. Instead of teaching reading one way, Katie uses multiple methods and devices to engage students.
• Cartoons - Right under my nose, Tammy Zenti showed an engaging thinking prompt through using comics to also demonstrate inference. Through illustration and humor, Tammy showed kids how they inference without even knowing it. Luckily, I share a classroom with her, and I was able to borrow her comics for my same lesson that day!
• Songs - As an instructional coach, I have learned so much just by walking through the halls. One day, I heard music coming from Ruth Henderson’s room. As a colleague of several years, it doesn’t surprise me to see Ruth employing higher order thinking in her students, but I hadn’t yet seen her use songs. The hilarious youtube clip was perfectly suited for her learning target.
• Quotations - Leslie Nedved shows 180 quotations that directly relate to her daily lessons. Students copy the quotes into their planners, and have a reference (sometimes historical; sometimes pop culture) to start the day. This is one of the many reasons students cite Mrs. Nedved as their favorite and most inspirational teachers.
• Poems - Another teacher who uses every school day to expose students to different thinking is Cameron Gale at Valley. Gale gives his students 180 days of culture through his use of daily poetry. In one year, his students have been exposed to more poetry than most people are in a lifetime. The poets, emotions, and beauty his students experience is undoubtedly part of the success his students feel.

When searching for Thinking Prompts, Knight recommends spending no more than 2 minutes searching. Anything longer takes away critical planning time that teachers need. So, type your topic, theme, or idea into google and briefly peruse the videos, images, and links to see if there’s something that catches your eye. Knight provides a checklist for what makes an effective thinking prompt:

☑Provocative: People cannot wait to talk about it.

☑Complex: There are many different ways to interpret it.

☑Personally Relevant: It speaks directly to individuals.

☑Positive: It fosters learner-friendly emotions.

☑Concise: It’s not too long to view or experience.

Knight recommends 30 seconds for viewing time, but I think up to 3 minutes is appropriate if combined with a series of effective questions to foster discussion - more to come on this.

I know so many other teachers at Stilwell and all WDM schools are practicing Thinking Prompts, but maybe under a different title. Use the comments section below to give a “shout out” to others using Thinking Prompts that I’ve missed here. I’ve appreciated seeing the above examples, and I would welcome the opportunity to see others and/or help incorporate them into your class!

The Power of Video, Part Two

Back in August, I wrote a post titled "The Power of Video". In the post, I talked about the need to videotape ourselves so we can gain a clearer picture of our practice. I also mentioned that upon returning from maternity leave in October that I planned to videotape myself in order to grow as an instructional coach. It may have taken a few months, but I, along with Katie Seiberling and Tammy Zenti (both part-time instructional coaches and part-time English teachers at Stilwell Junior High School) videotaped ourselves in a coaching situation involving co-teaching.

Katie and Tammy approached me a few weeks into January with a request for me to observe them co-teach their 8th grade English class. Although they felt fine about their class, they wanted to look for ways to improve their practice. So we decided that I would observe them co-teach and videotape the lesson.

A few days after the lesson, we met to debrief. We watched clips of the videotaped lesson to observe their teaching styles and interactions with the students. Viewing the video gave us a clearer picture of the lesson, and it allowed Katie and Tammy to brainstorm new ideas for co-teaching in future lessons.

To help me improve my practice as an instructional coach, we also videotaped the debriefing session. While watching the video, I listened to the conversation, analyzed body language and facial expressions, and reflected on my interactions with them. This gave me the opportunity to see what I am doing well and determine what changes I need to make to improve as an instructional coach.

Videotaping both the lesson and the meeting afterwards turned out to be very beneficial. It allowed us to observe the whole picture of what transpired, and we were able to analyze the events. Although it can seem daunting at first, we highly recommend using video as it can be a valuable tool for teachers to improve their effectiveness.

Below are links to the edited videos of the co-taught lesson and debriefing session.

The first three videos are clips of Katie and Tammy co-teaching. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfFm1sshgGs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCj4j5X6yxg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeXHkWOvYbM

The rest of the videos are clips from our meeting after the lesson.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyUP4qB_X4c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y241v1eTMuc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEaT_kAwUFs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GWizQzzpkk

New Year's Resolutions

With the beginning of a new year comes new resolutions. We want to lose weight, exercise more, quit a bad habit, etc. This year, I decided to make a change nine days into 2015. My resolution? Strive to be more optimistic in my professional life. To assist in this process, I turned to the article "Teachers: Staying Positive in Trying Times". This article gives the following list of suggestions to remain positive in the field of education.

1. Pinpoint what you love about education and live in it.
2. Find others who can offer solutions, not just an ear.
3. Pick and choose the news you read.
4. Know your limits.
5. Never close your door to collaboration.
6. Be supportive of one another.
7. Pick your battles.
8. Don't get sucked in.

I also read some other great articles about remaining positive in the field of education. Based on my findings, I made a list of ways to help me achieve my goal.

1. Converse more with other educators. I plan to make a more concerted effort to collaborate and learn from my co-workers.
2. Focus on what I can do, instead of what I can't do.
3. Teach part-time to middle school students at my church, which will give me more opportunities to grow and learn as a teacher.

Teaching can be a stressful profession. It is easy to fall prey to the negative forces surrounding us. Next time something gets you down at school, don't let it consume you. Instead, figure out a way that works for you to remain optimistic and persevere.

References:

"Teachers: Staying Positive in Trying Times" 
"5 Powerfully Positive Teaching Strategies"
"Staying Positive in Negative Times"

Pinterest and Exit Slips

If someone would have told me last year that Pinterest would be one of my frequently visited websites as an instructional coach, I would have laughed. Sure, I completely understand that Edutopia, the Teaching Channel, and YouTube are bookmarked websites... but Pinterest?

It turns out that Pinterest can be a valuable tool for educators. It is a great place to go to find new ideas for the classroom. During a recent perusing of Pinterest, I found some pins on how to quickly assess student learning during the last few minutes of class (aka- exit slips). Below are just a few of the pins that are creative, informative, and fun.

• Hashtag Mania: Students summarize their learnings as a hashtag. 
• Tweeting: Using no more than 140 characters, like a tweet on Twitter, students answer a question or describe what they learned in class.
• Instagram Photo: Students take a photo they believe best reflects the learning that took place and post it to a class Instagram account.
• Vine Blog: Students create a video that captures the most important six seconds of class. 
• Exit Slip Poster: Create a poster with pockets. Number the pockets, and assign students a number. Students answer a question on a small piece of paper and place it in their assigned pocket.

WILLPower

It is the middle of December, almost halfway through the school year, and the time of year when teachers feel the most frustration and failure. It is a time when we are bitter and complain endlessly about the job. It is a time when we want to throw in the towel and say we will start anew in January.

It is precisely at this time that we can all learn from Willie Burton. Born two months premature with cerebral palsy, he cannot walk unassisted, has limited use of his right hand, and struggles with speech. Yet, Willie has more gumption and drive than most people. Despite having the odds stacked against him, Willie went out for wrestling in ninth grade and never quit. His perseverance inspires us all.

At a time when we feel the negativity overpowering us, I implore you to watch this video. It may give you the motivation you need to push through until Winter Break.

WILLPower- ESPN Video

How to Utilize an Instructional Coach

The vast majority of people I have worked with in my thirteen years of teaching are excellent educators. They challenge, motivate, and inspire their students. Their classrooms are well-oiled machines where students are maturing, growing, and learning. But just as there is no perfect person, there is also no perfect teacher. We can all improve in our trade.

And this is where instructional coaches enter the picture. Instructional coaches support and collaborate with teachers as they continue to master their craft. Whether a person is in his first or twentieth year of teaching, he can partner with an instructional coach to develop or enhance his skills.

Below is a list of some specific examples for how instructional coaches can work with teachers.

Behavior

• Collect data on the ratio of positive to negative interactions with students
• Help create effective, corrective comments when addressing student behavior
• Document students' time on task
• Provide support to increase the number of opportunities student have to interact in a learning activity

Content

• Assist with the creation and modification of learning targets
• Work with PLCs to determine power standards and mastery or learning
• Organize a unit of study
• Clarify what content will be taught in a unit
• Help enhance instruction so students master more content

Instruction

• Model lessons
• Collect data on types of questions asked in class
• Improve the quality of student activities

Formative Assessment

• Aid in developing appropriate, high-quality assessments
• Assist with providing student feedback that is quick and authentic

Flipped Learning

Are you looking for ways to differentiate learning in your classroom? Would you also want to create more opportunities for higher order thinking? One of the newer trends in education that incorporates differentiation and higher order thinking is flipped learning.

What is flipped learning?
According to the Flipped Learning Network, flipped learning is "a pedagogical approach in which direct instruction moves from the group learning space to the individual learning space, and the resulting group space is transformed into a dynamic, interactive environment where the educator guides students as they apply concepts and engage creatively in the subject matter." In other words, flipped learning is where the instruction occurs outside of class, and the activities and deeper learning occur in the classroom. In flipped learning environments, the students have direct access to the knowledge, freeing up the teacher to be a guide and mentor to their learning.

What is the difference between flipped classroom and flipped learning?
Flipped classroom and flipped learning are actually two different terms. Flipped classrooms are classes where students learn the material outside of class and complete the homework in class. Flipped learning is like a flipped classroom on steroids. It includes the basic notion of a flipped classroom, but it requires a more interactive environment within the classroom. To create a flipped learning environment, educators actively engage in the Four Pillars of F-L-I-P.

What are the Four Pillars of F-L-I-P? 
The Four Pillars of F-L-I-P stand for flexible learning environment, learning culture, intentional content, and professional educator.

• Flexible learning environments include changing work spaces and timelines for learning based on student need. 
• Learning culture refers to a classroom where the focus changes from teacher-centered to learner-centered. 
• Intentional content is when teachers determine what they should teach and what students should learn on their own in order to maximize learning for all students. 
• Professional educator is when the teacher monitors student learning and reflects on his/her practice as a flipped learning educator.

Why should I flip my learning environment?

• It allows students to take charge of their own learning.
• It fosters development of 21st century skills.
• Flipped learning lends itself more easily to higher order thinking skills.
• It allows for differentiated learning to occur.
• It enhances learning outcomes.

What do I do when students don't have Internet access at home?
Several options are available for students in flipped learning environments who do not have Internet at home, including:

• place materials on a flash drive or DVD for students to use at home
• go to a public library or another person's home to access the Internet
• use a smart phone
• utilize school technology during study halls or before or after school

How do I go about making a video?

There are numerous platforms for creating a video. Teachers can record on a camera, use a webcam, create a podcast, and much more. Once the video is created, teachers can upload it to a classroom website, a common drive, or another place that is easily accessible to students.

Aaron Sams, founding director of the Flipped Learning Network, has tips for creating videos for flipped learning.

• Sit in a room with good lighting, a quiet background, and a non-distracting background.
• Don't worry about creating a perfect video.
• Create videos that are approximately the same number of minutes as 1-1.5 times the grade level of the students (e.g.- videos for 8th grade students should be 8-12 minutes in length).

What do I do when students don't complete the assigned learning outside of class?
Just as there are students who don't complete homework assignments, there are students who will not complete the assigned learning outside of class. There are safeguards, however, to engage students and keep this number to a minimum. Examples include:

• require students to take notes over the material and show these to the teacher the next day
• include a Google form with basic questions of understanding for students to complete after watching the video
• pose a question in the video that students must answer as an entrance ticket into class

Even with these safeguards in place, there will be students who come to class and have not watched the video. These students will need to watch the video in class while everyone else partakes in the other activities and receives assistance on the more difficult tasks. 

What do I do when my students watched the video but still don't understand the lesson?
Many times, students don't understand the lesson because they passively watched the video. They don't have the skill set to view a video for learning, and as a result they watch a flipped lesson video the same way they would watch a movie or a television show. When creating a flipped learning environment, students need to interact with the video.

Teachers can use numerous methods to bring interactivity to a video lesson. Here are just a few ideas:

• Create a graphic organizer or notes packet for students to complete as they watch the video.
• Create a Google form for students to answer questions during or after viewing the video.
• Use free tools, like Zaption, to assist in creating interactive videos.
• Require students to post questions and comments about the video via Google Classroom or Edmodo.

Do I need to flip every class or can I go back and forth between flipped and traditional learning environments? 
The great thing about flipped learning is that is does not need to occur everyday. Teachers can flip a lesson, a unit, or an entire class. Jon Bergmann and Aaron Sams from the Flipped Learning Network recommend starting small. Pick out something that students struggle with and turn it into a flipped lesson. Doing so will create the opportunity for differentiated learning and deeper understanding.

Want to learn more about flipped learning? Check out these videos.

The Flipped Classroom Model

What a 'Flipped' Classroom Looks Like

References:

http://flippedclass.com/

http://flippedclassroom.org/

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/flipped-learning-toolkit-common-hurdles-jon-bergmann?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=blog-flippedlearning-overcoming-hurdles-rss

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_p63W_2F_4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojiebVw8O0g