Big Ideas by Sean Bishton

Big Ideas by Sean Bishton https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds Let's share articles to read and reflect on and ideas about what makes for effective instruction during this Hybrid phase. en-us 2020-11-23 13:32:00 UTC 2021-01-19 21:03:35 UTC hello@padlet.com sbishton1 https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/952217255 https://www.amle.org/BrowsebyTopic/WhatsNew/WNDet/TabId/270/ArtMID/888/ArticleID/1207/Designing-Online-Instruction-What-Makes-for-Effective-Learning.aspx?_cldee=c2Jpc2h0b25AcmljaGxhbmQyLm9yZw%3d%3d&recipientid=contact-cfa30f0d30e9e91180fc000d3a044486-f5e25833faed4182a5c280686992a84a&esid=a31404f8-0925-eb11-8108-000d3a01cfd3]]> 2020-11-23 13:33:21 UTC https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/952217255 sbishton1 https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/952384959

Connecting the technological apps to the pedagogical purpose

This point really resonated with me- use the technology when it the best way to present the content. The technology needs to enhance how we teach to the intent of the standard.

]]> 2020-11-23 14:13:19 UTC https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/952384959 https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/952603125 test]]> 2020-11-23 15:01:29 UTC https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/952603125 kwheeland https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/955974749 2020-11-24 12:59:27 UTC https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/955974749 kwheeland https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/955975023 2020-11-24 12:59:33 UTC https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/955975023 sbishton1 https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1031034079 http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol16/num02/quality-over-counting-mindsets-for-grading-reform.aspx]]> 2020-12-18 12:58:11 UTC https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1031034079 matsmith2 https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1031157988 https://www.edutopia.org/article/effective-instructional-models-hybrid-schedule]]> 2020-12-18 13:49:47 UTC https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1031157988 matsmith2 https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1031169542 I love the resources mentioned in this article! Newsela and Edpuzzle are both great resources for students to take control of their learning since they can work at their own pace but still interact with the material in a meaningful way. Nearpod is a great way for students to collaborate since you can include a "collaboration board". You can even monitor answers before students post them to give them instant feedback.]]> 2020-12-18 13:53:48 UTC https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1031169542 tcuffy https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1031229679 Student Ownership of Learning]]> 2020-12-18 14:12:24 UTC https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1031229679 tcuffy https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1031354626 14 Practical Tips for Managing Redos in the Classroom.]]> 2020-12-18 14:46:19 UTC https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1031354626 tcuffy https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1031369076 Engaging students]]> 2020-12-18 14:50:19 UTC https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1031369076 sbishton1 https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1031448538 Ms. Cuffy's post is a perfect fit for us as it aligns with the AVID way of thinking-in order for students to be successful they need to accept ownership of their learning.]]> 2020-12-18 15:10:45 UTC https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1031448538 rphillips29 https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1031502491 The purpose of grading is to evaluate the level of understanding or mastery a student has acheived. Unfortunately with a change to more skills based standards this has become increasingly difficult to acheive with a numerical or alphabetical representation. Probably more detrimental is the idea that so many of our students are only interesteed in a grade and not the learning of the material which defeats the purpose of school in many ways. I have recently dug into the issue and come across an idea that is becoming more popular; which is the idea of "gradeless schooling". It is progressive to be sure, and I have not done enough research to truly understand it, nor am I completly comfortable with the idea as it translates to the logistics of college admission, promotion, or implementation across a single school district. The premise is simply that without grades students can truly focus on the process of learning and teachers can focus on student growth and feedback. The best example I have found is the idea that kindergarderns don't ask their teachers how much an acitivity is worth, they just go and explore. As a father of a child that age who is extremely curious, I would love to know what our students would do if they had that same thought when they walked in our rooms. Some reading below, sorry for the super long response.]]> 2020-12-18 15:22:25 UTC https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1031502491 rphillips29 https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1031503605 http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol14/num31/more-teachers-are-going-gradeless-i-asked-them-why.aspx]]> 2020-12-18 15:22:42 UTC https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1031503605 rphillips29 https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1031505873 https://www.edutopia.org/article/4-reasons-teachers-are-going-gradeless]]> 2020-12-18 15:23:18 UTC https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1031505873 rphillips29 https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1031507881 https://www.ted.com/talks/matt_brisbin_start_a_learning_revolution_throw_out_the_gradebook?utm_source=tedcomshare&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=tedspread ]]> 2020-12-18 15:23:48 UTC https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1031507881 rphillips29 https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1031514566 2020-12-18 15:25:34 UTC https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1031514566 lwhitcomb https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1031595285 I read your shared article on rethinking grading. There has been a real shift toward standards-based grading in general; before the pandemic. There has been slow, but increasing agreement with the practices. Perhaps the current teaching and learning conditions will inspire more to embrace quality over quantity, performance over number and disregard grade as penalties or leverage over students. ]]> 2020-12-18 15:46:34 UTC https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1031595285 tcuffy https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1031804314 Mr Phillips - I agree. I think that the shift from kindergarten to our students is that in between the focus remains on grades. I shifted my grading to standards-based grading 6yrs ago. I spent a lot of reading figuring out how standards-based grading translates to numerical, but I think I have a handle on it now. I spend an inordinate amount of time sharing with students that everything is graded, not everything goes in the gradebook. By the end of the year most get the idea of that. We focus on Levels of Understanding and it really is difficult with the 6th and 8th graders, but it's helpful for them to be able to know how they learn when we do PBL units. I'd say that this year, I've been focused more on ownership of learning and how they can motivate themselves because the extrinsic motivation isn't working. I'm constantly having to find ways to motivate them extrinsically when the problem (they've told me) is that they're not strong enough to push on by themselves. I asked those 8th graders making 22% or have 11% why they're not doing the work. They said they know that they can do it and it doesn't have anything to do with not being able to make up the grade, it's just easy to procrastinate, they don't know how to organize themselves, and it's easy to be distracted. They lost those intrinsic motivation from kindergarten to now and I think it's important for them to figure out how to motivate themselves because they DO have to get the work done on their own during eLearning. There's only so much I can do. For the 6th graders, we've been reading articles on owning learning. For the 8th graders, I'm bombarding them with constant reflections, quotes, career advice, college research, and specifically how their brain works. Hopefully, something sticks....but who knows.]]> 2020-12-18 16:40:27 UTC https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1031804314 sdobyns https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1033927403 Here are my thoughts on the ASCD article, followed by answers to Mr. Bishton's questions: In the "Standards Over Tasks" section, it questions why do we set up our gradebooks with different categories if we want to move to standards-based grading? This question resonated with me and I immediately thought that this would need to come from the district-level, maybe even the state. I don't know if it would ever be possible for districts in SC to be given the power to let individual schools decide for themselves how their school should establish their own grading systems, process, protocols, etc. Q1: The purpose of grading in my orchestra classroom is to show the students the importance of mastery of a performance skill, technique, etc. Q2: I do think that our present system of grading is an accurate way to gauge student learning. I think about my playing assessments - when a student performs live in class or submits a flipgrid video of a playing test assignment, I can tell IMMEDIATELY if he/she has mastered the content. I conduct many informal assessments (usually without the students even realizing that's what's going on!), like I'm sure we all do. Those are helpful for me to see exactly where our strengths and weaknesses lie. Those are like alarms going off in my head of "OK-they are not getting this concept" or "Yay! Students are really understanding this!" For the past 17 years of my career, I have always given students more than one chance to redo or resubmit a playing assessment, because to me, the mastery of the material is the most important thing. Counting something for a grade makes it (or should make it) "real" and "important" for the student. I completely agree with what Ms. Cuffy said about motivation. It has been frustrating, to say the least, when you've got students who ARE capable of achieving at a high standard, but who are making the choice not to turn in work, be engaged in class, etc. I do agree with the content of this article that things do need to change, but in high school, undergraduate and graduate programs, the military, and the workforce, our students will be expected to do THE WORK, whatever that might look like for them. Our students need to understand the importance of following directions, completing tasks in a timely manner, and giving it their all, because they will be held accountable for all of those skills in whatever path they choose.]]> 2020-12-20 03:48:41 UTC https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1033927403 sbishton1 https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1038143216 https://azbigmedia.com/business/heres-how-distance-learning-impacts-mental-health-of-students-teachers/]]> 2020-12-22 14:49:59 UTC https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1038143216 https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1038233699 Try teaching outside on our E-Learning days....just a thought :)]]> 2020-12-22 15:30:39 UTC https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1038233699 https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1038295102 Several parts of this spoke to me, on behalf of the students and teachers. It is so easy for us to think, "why are they late?? They only have to go from one meet to the next..." I said that a lot at the beginnig of the year and it wasn't tardy as related to my class, it was tardy as related to core content classes. Then my own children started school (They attend school on post) and I have seen the VALUE of breaks. My own kids attend four thirty minute sessions with breaks in between. They have "independent work time" but that can be done when it's convenient for the parents. My kindergartener is probably not where he would be if he were in school, but he isn't so far behind that I worry about his educational career. He is still excited about school. He looks forward to attending classes and clicking the "submit" button when done with class.

This is one area I feel like the entire system could improve. We should not expect students to "attend" school the same amount of hours and get the same, if not more, completed. It doesn't work like that. Not to mention, we take for granted their environments. My son spilled an ENTIRE cup of milk on the floor during class and I was able to call my husband (as he is on leave). The kids are the ones being called...because they are watching over younger brothers and sisters. To be honest, I rely on my 6th grade student (the one that I still have to remind to put on deoderant regularly) to ensure that my kindergartener get on for his meets. I am not unique in this as there are MANY middle and high school students taking on this responsibility. I am lucky with the way DODEA schools are set up but I am not unaware of the tasks many of our students are responsible for completing.

Also, I took SEVERAL classes as an online students. Those classes are substantially harder than in-person classes. Being in my own environment to learn can make it hard to focus. This was as I was working on a doctoral degree (where I WANTED the information and was paying tons of money)...so I can't imagine the OVERWHELMING distractions that exist for students, many of whom do not yet have intrinsic motivation and may not have any help on subjects that don't understand.

There is no perfect solution and SOMONE will always be upset over decisions. I know we all hear the "give them grace" and may cause some to roll their eyes...but this is so true. - Anastasia Thomas]]> 2020-12-22 16:00:46 UTC https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1038295102 sbortscheller https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1038402364 “Our personal and our fun part of our day is also now completely combined with our work and our studies.” This part resonated with me the most. We have to remember that many of our students are doing their schoolwork in a bedroom - the same place they would usually relax after school. School has become intertwined with their personal lives at home. Additionally, many of our students are home alone all day. I feel socially isolated when working from home, so I am sure they do as well. 6th grade (and middle school in general) is a crucial point in students' social/ emotional growth. eLearning does not provide them with the same opportunities as face to face instruction does to socialize with like aged peers. I do my best to foster peer to peer interactions with fun daily attendance questions, but this can never be the same as real face to face interactions. Lack of peer to peer interactions combined with social isolation can have a huge impact on our students' mental health. Anyone who has struggled with mental illness knows that sometimes just getting out of bed and getting dressed can be a big accomplishment. We can never truly know what is going on inside our students' heads and homes. We cannot run things like any other school year because this is not just another school year. I'm not sure what the answer is, or if there even is one. The only perfect answer would be for covid to disappear so that we can go back to school face to face. We just have to be understanding and be willing to make changes to meet our students where they are.]]> 2020-12-22 16:55:21 UTC https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1038402364 kwheeland https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1038419270 Loved reading that article. Even though I've been experiencing it firsthand, I agree it is useful to get the perspective of others and helps me understand. ]]> 2020-12-22 17:05:07 UTC https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1038419270 sbishton1 https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1038448502 Anonymous- please expand on what you mean by teaching outside.]]> 2020-12-22 17:21:41 UTC https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1038448502 sbishton1 https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1102370847 An interesting article with some great ideas. https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/57241/six-ways-to-build-community-in-online-classrooms

]]> 2021-01-19 17:22:34 UTC https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1102370847 https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1103242057 2021-01-19 20:15:50 UTC https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1103242057 kwheeland https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1103413216 One of the important takeaways from the article is where it says "the role that student-teacher familiarity plays in learning". This is one of those things that we know in the back of our minds, but bringing it to the light and explicitly examining it is necessary. This makes me want to pour more of my personality into my classes and create lessons that are exciting, fun, relevant. ]]> 2021-01-19 21:03:35 UTC https://padlet.com/sbishton1/ybomgweusl00t5ds/wish/1103413216