All posts by montesyrie@gmail.com

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Chasing Better: A Journey for Each

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“Many teachers who are going gradeless have turned to social media to proclaim the benefits of a gradeless classroom in moving the focus off the points and back onto the learning. For students who need academic intervention, the additional potential benefit of going gradeless is keeping the focus on where they are in their own, unique learning journey, and off of comparing how they are performing relative to peers.” Lee Ann Jung, Going Gradeless and Special Education #TG2Chat

“Most importantly, the way we need to present data for reporting or even to guide our own reflection for instruction should never blindly drive the way we present data for the purpose of giving students feedback every day to fuel their passion for and engagement in learning.” Lee Ann Jung, Going Gradeless and Special Education #TG2Chat

 

Unfortunately, I did not get to participate in last night’s TG2Chat, Going Gradeless and Special Education. But this morning, fortunately, I did get to follow up on the chat from last night on Twitter. And as I was doing that, one question and response that I was tagged in caught my attention: number 5 (see both graphics below). One, it had the “J” word in it: journey. Those who follow me know that word means much to me and my approach to education in my classroom and beyond. Two, though the focus was special education, for me, it spoke of other implications in the gradeless classroom and the importance of “the additional potential benefit of going gradeless is keeping focus on where they are on their own unique learning journey…”(Jung). Coupled, then, with Brandon Brown’s comment below, “I feel like there’s a profound comment about ‘journey vs. destination’ to be made here. And all journeys are different.” I had to jump in. And while it may not be profound, I do have a comment to make. For I truly believe that ALL journeys are different, and as I think about ALL my kids, top to bottom, I think that the gradeless classroom provides a uniquely responsive environment for kids on “their own unique learning journey[s].”

Upon seeing question 5 and Brandon’s response, I revisited last night’s questions, and as I did, I was struck by the fact that with some minor tweaks, these same questions could also fit those who come to us ahead of grade-level expectations. For instance, number 3 could be recycled as, “With students who are ahead in all areas, how do we prioritize or select our focus?” Number 5, “How should feedback be different for those who are ahead in grade level expectations?” Please know that my goal in this line of thinking is not take away from what Lee Ann and Aaron prepared and presented for last night’s chat. To be sure, last night’s chat was significant in its own right, and I believe it addressed what special education teachers have always believed and advocated for, and I am thankful that it got its due consideration in the gradeless classroom. And I am sorry I missed it. Even so, it still carried weight with me, still impacted me, and that is why I am stepping in.  And then, when “journey v. destination” got tossed in the mix…well, I couldn’t help myself. So I am entering the discussion to once again offer that for no other reason (though I believe there are many) than feedback is the emphasis not a grade, the gradeless classroom creates a superior learning environment to the traditional classroom.

 

Journey

In the classroom, when I think of journey, I think of growth. Each kid is on a journey–to grow. And when I reflect back on the myriad journeys that I have been blessed to join in the last twenty-one years as a teacher, I have met each and every kid at a different place; no two kids have been alike, and no two journeys have been alike. Some have been way behind grade-level expectations; others have been way ahead; and most have been at different places in between. But sadly, though that’s true, I have not always been responsive to that reality. And it’s not because I chose not to be responsive. It’s because I did not how to be responsive; I did not know I could be responsive. And now that I have stepped beyond the traditional classroom, I know not only how but also that I can, meaning that there are better alternatives to traditional grading, alternatives that consider learning and feedback, not points and letters, alternatives that consider each kid in her actual place, not just her relative place to her peers. Her journey. Her learning. Her growth. This is the “additional potential” I have discovered in the gradeless classroom.

Lee Ann, in her comments that I shared above, spoke to the different lens that exists in the gradeless classroom. “keeping the focus… off of comparing how they are performing relative to peers.” As I considered this lens, I reflected on my experiences in both the graded and the gradeless classrooms. In my graded classroom, I would often hear, “Why did she get a higher grade than me?” This reality bothered me for a couple of reasons. One, I didn’t always have a good answer for what made her 88 better than her 84. Two, kids obsessively worrying about other kids’ learning as “an indicator” of their own learning drove me crazy. CRAZY. But now, in my gradeless classroom, where feedback, not grades, is the currency, I never hear Susie wondering, worrying, or whining about Sara’s feedback because its Sara’s feedback. It fits her. It’s for her. It’s her journey. They are all on their own journeys, and I have found that when I join them in their journeys, I join them in their learning, and it is there where I feel I can make a valuable contribution to their growth in the form of feedback. I can’t say with the same confidence, the same pride, that I was able to do that before with grades.

In my journey, kids have come and kids have gone. And as I get ready to join this year’s kids in their journeys, I feel better equipped than ever to meet each where she is. If she is ahead, that’s where I will meet her. If she’s behind, that’s where I will meet her. In the end, I don’t really care where she is when I find her, as much as care about where she is when I leave her, a place where I am confident that I have helped her move farther down the trail, where she is better prepared to chase her next better.

Thank you, Aaron Blackwelder, Lee Ann Jung, and Brandon Brown for helping me think even further about the significant role that “journey” plays in room 211, where I chase better every day.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

 

Project 180

Project 180: The Story

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It all began two years ago when my student Megan Lavin called me out. “Hey, Sy, you’re going to do an Independent Learning Project, too, right?” “Uh, sure,” I responded. And that set things in motion. The project required our pursuing something of genuine interest, something that we wanted to learn about. Consequently, I’d always toyed with the idea of starting a blog, so I decided to make that my project. I would start a blog.

A Blog Begins

Had no idea. No idea how to begin. So, I Googled it. “How can I start a blog?” And after some time, and a lot of trial and error, a blog was born. Going in, I knew the content of my blog would focus on education, particularly changing education, for I had always pushed for change, and now I would have an “official looking” platform. And with that, the proud papa named his baby blog, Let’s Change Education. I officially kicked it off on January 4, 2016 after winter holiday. Here’s the link to my first  “Morning Minutes” post. Below is the first paragraph.

“Good morning, all.  So, it’s officially begun, a journey to better education in anyway that I can for the next twenty years. Not satisfied with what I accomplished in my first twenty, I am newly committed and energized to help change the narrative on public education, helping it evolve to better deliver the promise of hope and opportunity to the young who inhabit a new, ever-changing world.  And, so, as with any journey, it begins with a step.  This is my first step.  And while the journey will no doubt be lonely at times, I take comfort in knowing that some will join me along the way as I cross paths with those who too share a passion for improving education.  I am eager to encounter and share your company somewhere down the road.”

 

Finding My Voice

For the next six months, I blogged every morning. But there was no real focus as I went from topic to topic, format to format. But as I continued, I began to notice that grading was a recurring topic, a topic that generated interest among my few readers (mostly family, friends, and students). So I started focusing on grading, and the more I focused, the more I came to question the validity of traditional grading practices, the more I came to despise grading’s disruption of learning. And by April, I had decided to move ahead with Project 180 (though it had not been named yet). I would turn grading upside down with a bold experiment where I would give all kids an A for the year, so we could focus on learning. I would “knock the sloth on his ass.”  

What’s in a Name?

Plenty. Here’s what’s behind the title, Project 180.

  • Turning grading upside down. 180 degrees. I would truly put the sloth on his back.
  • The school year. 180 days in the school year. It was a yearlong project, and I would blog about it each of those 180 days.
  • The triangle. 180 degrees in a triangle. Three corners whose angles always add up to 180. The equilateral triangle became the ideal. 60 degrees of ownership and responsibility in each corner: one for me, one for students, and one for parents. This is the ideal that I still pursue with 180.
  • Do. Reflect. Do Better. Saving the best for last. This has become the essence of Project 180. It is my mantra for my endless quest for better, a quest to turn my world upside down, so I can see it differently, so I can make it better. Project 180 is the approach that I want to share with the world, to share with those who are also unsettled by the status quo, to share as a means to disrupt so as to only make better. Always better. An endless cycle, 180 degrees at a time. An assurance that I will neither be on my feet nor my back for too long, for there is danger when things come to rest. So I will not rest. I will journey forth, and with each path I will seek to do to reflect to do better. No destination. Just a chase. Chasing better.

What’s Next?

The journey continues. Year two of Project 180 is just around the bend, and I will be turning things upside down again. I will also be blogging every morning as well. This year, though, instead of focusing on all that went with giving kids an A, I will be focusing on sharing my learning through the 180 lens. For each daily blog post, I will take something that I learned from the day before and present it in a do-reflect-do better format. I also plan to share more resources for those who are interested in venturing into the gradeless realm.

So, that’s the story behind 180. Nothing too exciting, but I wanted to clarify for any who wondered about the name. I am so excited to get underway with year two. I hope to walk with and continue to cross paths with all the awesome folks who are out here with me. So many, many awesome people. Glad I have connected with you.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

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Focused on Feedback

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Been thinking a lot about feedback lately, and with the new year and my next go at Project 180 right around the corner, there has been some urgency to my thinking. Ever seeking to do, reflect, and do better, I have been racking my brain to come up with a better way to get feedback to my students this year. And though–as with anything I do–I will eventually discover a “better best,” here is my latest “do better” for feedback.

Last year, with grades completely off the table ( gave every student an A), feedback was all that I had at my disposal, for there were no points to assign. And while this produced the learning culture I had longed for my entire career, it also produced a reality for which I was not adequately prepared. Oh, I was no stranger to giving feedback, and I had discovered early on the power of conferencing with students, so in that regard, I wasn’t completely out of my league. But decidedly, I was in a league that was entirely new, entirely different, and past practice was not going to cut it. But all I had was past practice in a realm not familiar with time racing ahead, and so, I had to make do. And that’s what I felt like I did last year: I made do. But “making do,” is not the “do” I seek, so this year I will do better.

The Plan

I don’t like rubrics. Never have. But I’ve never publicly admitted that, for in many circles they are  touted as THE tool of the effective teacher. Don’t get me wrong. Providing criteria for meeting standards is terribly important, I have just found that rubrics tend to over-complicate things. From worrying about micro-differences articulated through “rubric speak” to chasing the elusive “exceeds standard” to translating a rubric score into a traditional percentage grade, I have found rubrics more messy than meaningful. So, I quit. Some time ago, I quit rubrics, at least traditional multi-point rubrics. And I started using what I now know is called a single-point rubric, but I have only come to know that term in last few weeks, largely due to Aaron Blackwelder’s post,  The Single Point Rubric, which I came across in his response to someone asking for help on rubrics in the TG2 Facebook Group. I had heard folks in the TG2 group tossing around the term for the past few months, but I had never really taken the time to check my understanding. And then Aaron’s post came along (which I recommend everyone reads), and I give him credit for helping me find my next better. Thank you, Aaron. Once again I have found that our brains are eerily similar. And I find great comfort and confidence in my thinking when I learn that you shares my thoughts. 

No More Rubrics

I am removing the term rubric from my teacher talk. In its place, I will use the term “feedback form.” I am not shunning the use of rubrics by others. In fact, Aaron’s single-point rubric is really only different by name, so it’s about names, and it’s about fit. Rubric no longer fits me, so I won’t use it. In its place I will use a feedback form with language that better fits me and my classroom. See below.

 

I tend to use the term “learning target” in my classroom. I like the idea of something to aim for, and with that, I like to frame feedback in terms of “hit or miss.” Meeting standard in my classroom is hitting the target. I do not provide generic exceeds-standard criteria. I address it on an individual basis in my conferences with students, and I use it as an entry point into differentiating for that student beyond the standard towards mastery, which I believe is a pursuit, not an end.

Hitting the target is straightforward. They met the criteria. As for missing the target, I do make some distinction for the sake of clarity and convenience. I present either a “near miss” or a “far miss.” For clarity it lets the student know how far off aim she was. For convenience, it helps me tailor both feedback and next steps in regards to why/how she missed the target and what she can do to take better aim next time.

Using “next steps” fits well with the journey experience I seek to create for my students. Their work is just part of the journey, and I believe that when I frame it that way for them, they just see “what’s next” as part of their journey. Never there. Just forward. Always forward. So, that is how I will frame feedback. Next I will talk a bit about how I will get it to the students.

Feedback Folder

I have never–never–been great about getting feedback to 150 kids in a timely manner. I have gotten better, and relying on verbal feedback through conferencing has helped (more on conferencing below), but it’s largely been hit or miss for me, and that’s not acceptable, so here is how I am going to try to do better.

I am going to use what I am going to call a “feedback folder.” I will create one for each of my five periods. It will be where students place work for feedback once they feel they are ready. Any work that gets placed in the feedback folder must have a feedback form attached. The form must have the standards/learning targets on which the student wants feedback (no more than 3). I want them to take greater ownership of how they seek feedback. I want them to see that it’s not simply about handing something to someone and asking them if “it’s good.” In this case, it’s about asking me to engage them in a specific part of their work, using our target language as our means of communicating.

What about the timely part of it? My plan is to respond each night. I know that sounds daunting, and even now I am half-grimacing as I imagine what it’s going to be like, but then I remember a few things. One, in reality only a few students a day will be ready for feedback. Two, with the format of the feedback form and the limit on standards/learning targets, these won’t take very long. And, I am wise enough to know that if it’s going to take too long because there is too much to address, I will just have a conference with the student.  Three, I am a terrible procrastinator, and that’s been a part of the problem, so I am using this to force me to be more disciplined  and efficient with my time. Of course, there will be times when I do take 150 assignments in at once, and that will take longer than one night, but for the other times that students need more timely feedback, I have the feedback folder.

The feedback-folder approach also provides another opportunity for students to assemble growth evidence for their grade selection at the end of term.  And that is part of that ownership that I mentioned above. I want them to become avid seekers of feedback, so I am trying to design a system that better provides what they seek. I can’t ask them to seek what’s not readily there. This is my attempt to make it more readily available. In addition, every two weeks the students have to complete Learning Logs which requires they speak to feedback they have gotten from me, so here is a chance for them to start building their feedback portfolios.

Conferencing

I am also trying to become more disciplined with conferencing this year. To that end, I am going to present a three-week rotating schedule to my students (see below). In the past, I have utilized the sign-up-when-you-are-ready approach to conferencing, but again, this has been hit or miss, and not as many students take advantage of conferencing, which I believe is the most powerful thing that can happen in any learning experience. So, this year, I am going to make that belief a reality for all of my students. I am going to schedule conferences.

Mondays and Tuesdays are “We Are Writers” days. Monday begins with a craft mini-lesson, and then the kids are working on either their assigned writing or independent Passion Papers. We do this on Monday and Tuesday because those are our Chromebook days. In the past, I have wandered and helped or conferenced with kids who have signed up.  This year will be different.

I have roughly thirty students in every class. I will conference with five on Monday and five on Tuesday. So each week I will get to ten of my students, a third of my class. I will just lift the first ten names from my roster, placing them in the spaces on the schedule, and then the next ten, and so on. The students will know when they are scheduled to conference with me. I will require them to be prepared by having a feedback form ready, which will then become our conference record. I will address their work from the standards/learning targets they have specified, verbalizing hits, misses, and next steps as they record them on the form.  My goal is to limit the conferences to five minutes, which will then give me time to work with other students who are not scheduled for conferences. For those students who are not scheduled to conference with me that week but want/need feedback, then the feedback folder comes into play. This way, I can still “be available” to all my students.

That’s the Plan

In my twenty-one years of teaching, I have never come up with the perfect plan, and this one is no different. There will no doubt be some wrinkles to iron out, but I have come to expect that as a learner. For now, it’s my best plan moving forward. I know it’s better than what I did last year.  And really that’s all that matters. I hope you discovered some value in my plan. As always, feel free to use and adapt. If you have any questions, I’d love the opportunity to chat with you.

Do. Reflect. Do better.

 

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Student Letter: A Promise of Discovery

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As many of my regular readers know, I am a believer in the journey, and that belief has certainly carried over into my classroom, where once again it has materialized as the frame for my student letter this year.  Earlier this summer in my  TG2 post, Gradeless: A Culture of Possibility, I made mention of my personal drive to walk my talk, to make sure that my realities follow my ideals. This letter to my kids is an attempt to do just that, to create that accountability. I am not presenting the things in this letter as mere talk. This is the reality I want for my kids, the reality that I am holding myself to creating for my kids this year. When I say, “This is what I hope you discover on this journey,” I am really providing my kids with an informal contract, a guarantee that these things will present themselves and be part of their journey. Their sharing their discoveries at trail’s end will be their final. If they haven’t discovered these things by then, I will be deeply disappointed in myself, and I will tell them that when I read this letter to them on day one.  From there, I will have 179 days to do my best.

Dear Learners,

Welcome to Honors LA 10. I am beyond excited to begin and share this journey with you. And while I am not certain about all that we will encounter and experience along our way–or even where we will land at our journey’s end, I am certain that it will be unlike anything we have experienced in the past. And as we set forth to explore and experience learning, here are some things that I hope you discover along the way.

What I hope you discover on this journey.

  • I hope you discover the importance of relationships. My successes and/or failures have had everything to do with relationships in my own journey. Relationships. Relationships. Relationships.
  • I hope you discover the value of mistakes and the necessity of failing. Mistakes and failing are paths that lead to learning. Follow them. You won’t get lost. In truth, you’ll probably find yourself.
  • I hope you discover that you own your learning. From the deepest recesses of my teacher being, I believe that this is the key to true learning. You have to own it, for when you own it, you take responsibility for it. I am responsible for joining and aiding you in your journey, and I enthusiastically own that. But you are responsible for your learning, young friend.

  • I hope you discover the unique power of your voice. Language is power, a power available to all. It is not reserved for a select few. You have language, which means you have power. I will help you find your way, but it begins with your believing that you have power. I so hope you make this important discovery this year.

  • I hope you discover that literature is a rehearsal for life. We will engage and embrace literature as a way to learn about the human experience. Literature is life. Life is literature.

  • I hope you discover that learning is a circle that often requires redo’s. I will create no ends to your learning. You may have as many attempts as necessary. I can control that. However, I cannot control time. Over that end, I hold no control. Time expires, but learning never ends. And as long as you are in my locus of control, I will always give you another shot. Always.

  • I hope you discover the power of a growth mindset. I firmly believe that our attitude about anything means everything. With that, I would like you to add a tiny word with gigantic implications to your learning vocabulary. Yet. I hope it helps you bridge the gap between “I can’t” and “I can.”

  • I hope you discover the power of reflection. I hope my “forcing” you to reflect on your learning each day will help you develop this essential learning skill for life. I will use the broccoli effect for this, “Whether we like it or not, broccoli is good for us.” Whether we like it or not, reflection is good for us. #sorrynotsorry #eatyourveggies #reflectionrules

  • I hope you discover that feedback is the most essential ingredient in learning. Travelers get hungry. The need for fuel will be significant for our sustained journey of 180 days. Fortunately, I have an unlimited supply of the necessary nutrient: feedback. I will not feed you grades. I will only offer feedback. It is the stuff of learning. It is the most vital thing I can offer you. I really hope you make this important discovery as well.

  • I hope you discover the value of community and the power of empathy. Though our learning journeys are unique, we all travel similar paths. When we come to realize that through our similar trails we share a bond, we begin to understand that we are not alone, that we can learn with others, that we can learn from others. When we connect with others, we learn. When we connect with others, we can understand. We will connect. We are a community.

So, we set out. 180 days from now we will arrive at some destination. But before we start down the trail, consider what I have said; consider what I hope you discover. I will be with you every step of the way, but you must take the steps. I cannot take them for you. Months from now, as we look back on our explorations and experiences, and you consider this list, I hope you have added them to your packs as mementos of our time together. Thanks for letting me join you. I am honored.

Let’s get started,

Syrie

I am so excited to begin this next 180 day journey with my kiddos. I am eager to get to the doing, reflecting, and doing better that I so crave. I am hungry to learn. I am ready for kids.

Do. Reflect. Do better.

P-180 Plan

Learning Logs: Reporting Progress in the P-180 Gradeless Classroom

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This post will be more practical than inspirational. It represents my latest “Do” in the 180 classroom, which means as I move forward with it, I will no doubt “Reflect,” which then, of course,  means I will eventually–hopefully–“Do Better.” The gist of the 180 approach.

Today, I am sharing the current manifestation of how I will seek to consistently report progress to parents this year. My students will complete and share Learning Logs with their parents every two weeks. I have also included the documents that led to this current creation. I will offer brief commentary for each below.

Learning Log

I will share this document every other Friday with my kids through Google Classroom. They will then have time in class to complete it and print it off. I have them complete it in class for two reasons. First, it’s important, so I feel I have the obligation to make “real time” for that which I deem important. Second, I am available to help kids if necessary as they work through the different sections of the Log.

 

Grading Policies

Here are the grading (gradeless) policies that we are using for all tenth-grade ELA classes at Cheney High School. I have shared them before, but I am sharing them again to help add some context and clarity for some of the things mentioned in the Logs.


Standards

We offer “three-levels of articulation” for our standards. We begin with the Common Core State Standards, which we then translate into classroom Focus Standards. As mentioned above, we distinguish some of those as “*Must-Meet Standards.” Finally, we present Learning Targets (see below) which really become the criteria for meeting the Focus Standards, though they too are generally broken down even further into single-point rubrics, so we can give even more specific guidance and feedback to our kids.

As always, please feel free to use/and or adapt. If you need me to share access to docs, please DM through Twitter @MonteSyrie. Hope you found some value in today’s post.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

P-180 Plan

Identity Matters: Starting with Stories

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“The strongest teacher-writer relationships I have experienced and studied begin with the writers themselves, with the teachers discovering and developing the writer’s identity. Let the students get the message that they possess untapped potential in learning writing. And through that belief, one of a growth mindset, every day is an opportunity for growth. Let me define what I mean by “writer’s identity.” To me, it’s a self-concept a student has, that is comprised of current skills, curiosities, insecurities, memories, and experiences as a writer. Much like a snail carries its shell on its back, a writer has inside a shell full of interests, talents, particular likes, and dreams–and it’s our job to discover and enhance them throughout the year.”

–Patty McGee, Feedback That Moves Writers Forward, p. 53

In my recent Reality’s Reflection post  Learning is a Story I made mention of my using reading and writing stories to set the stage with my kids as a means for them to consider, discover,  and share their reading and writing identities. Since then, a number of people have inquired about the stories, seeking more information about how I use them in my classroom. And since then, I was lucky enough to come into contact with Patty McGee with whom I recently co-moderated a #TG2Chat, Now’s the Time to Save the Humanities. This contact prompted me to buy her book, Feedback That Moves Writers Forward, from where I lifted the above passage, which poignantly articulates the importance of discovering our writers’  identities.

Not only does this passage mirror the purpose I have sought to achieve with my reading and writing stories, but also it carries implications beyond the writing classroom. I believe that “writer” can be exchanged with “learner,” and that “writing” can be exchanged with any subject. “Let the students get the message that they possess untapped potential in learning…[any subject].” And that message, that belief begins with helping our students discover and develop their learning identities. Below is how I will use reading and writing stories to begin that process of discovery in my classroom this year.

Reading and Writing Stories: Mining Identity

In an attempt to be novel, I created what I have come to call, Twitterviews. I will use these to prompt my kids to begin digging into–mining–their reading and writing identities. I will share these documents with them through Google Classroom.

Reading and Writing Stories: Sharing Identity

My kids keep a Journey Journal. These stories will be their first entries. They, though I don’t tell the kids this, will also be their last entries. That is, we will update their stories at the end of the year. My hope is that from their experiences in my classroom this year, they will be able to add rich content to their stories. I use the document below to get my students started. I realize the introductory frame may be a bit over the top, but it is a true reflection of who I am and how I communicate with my kids.

Our work begins with knowing our kids. The kids’ work begins with knowing themselves. We, I believe, have not only the power but also the responsibility to make that a reality in our classrooms, regardless what we teach.

I hope you found some value in my post. Please feel free to use and/or modify to make it fit you and your classroom.

Do. Reflect. Do Better. 

P-180 Plan

P-180 Plan: We Are What We Believe

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DO

I recently began my planning for the year by creating the document below. I wanted to organize my thinking so I began putting stuff in tables trying to capture both the focus and routine of my desired culture. I am an “ideas” guy, and if I don’t get them down in some kind of format, my ideas sometimes don’t become my realities. What’s more, if I don’t have a schedule and routine, my ADD becomes problematic as newer and shinier ideas pop into my head, and I get lost, bouncing here and there. And while I like the responsive flexibility that this problem presents, it can make for a bumpy ride for my kids as I am prone to wandering around a bit. So, in an effort to do better this year, I am trying to contain my energy and ideas into a focus-and-routine approach. It is my current “do.”

And as we do, we reflect, and as we reflect, we seek to do even better. This morning, I made some minor changes. I will share why in the “reflect” below.

Reflect

“…we need our writers to have a positive writing identity to truly reach their greatest potential as writers.”

“I have come to believe that yes, developing nurturing writing environments is critical, but that we must start with the writer, each writer, and build the collective ‘we’ from there.”

–Patty McGee, Feedback That Moves Writers Forward

And then, we read a book, and our world changes. Two days ago, I received and began reading Patty McGee’s book Feedback That Moves Writers Forward. It was already on my to-read radar from the TG2Reads  post and promotion, but then I learned I would be co-moderating this week’s #TG2Chat with her, so I rushed it to the front of the line. Thank goodness for Amazon Prime.

Anyway, yesterday afternoon, the above quotes caught my attention, and I began thinking about environment. I want my kids to consider themselves as writers; I always have, but I just haven’t always done a great job of creating the necessary context and conditions for this to occur. I have changed names in the past: writer’s notebook instead of writing notebook. I have also used “writer’s workshop,” tracing all the way back to Atwell and her work that I learned about in college. But my efforts have always really been experimental dabbles, not resulting in my desired outcome: that kids view themselves as writers.

So this year I set out to make writing an even greater priority, seeking to give my kids ample opportunities to work through various modes so they can develop the craft of writing. I even carved out two days per week, planning to schedule conferences each week, so I could consistently meet with my kids and conference with them about their writing. The list goes on. I am a huge believer in the necessity and power of feedback, a belief that was further cemented from my Project 180 experience last year when I took grades completely off the table and came to rely on all that was left, all that mattered: feedback. In short, we were going to be writers this year. But I found a flaw in my plan. After reading from Patty’s book, I started wondering about my plan when I was watching Star Trek Voyager last night, and I wondered what I had written for the “focus” in my planning document. Had I written, writing or writer’s workshop? Surely, I had written the latter. I would check in the morning. I checked. I was wrong. I had written “writing.” And I am not sure why. I know better. So, I reflected. And I did better.

Do Better

As you can see in the document above, I struck through the former titles of writing and reading workshop, etc. I was simply going to change to “writer’s” and “reader’s” but I got stuck on workshop. What did I mean by workshop? Why workshop? What was I really trying to communicate through my title? And, as I reflected, I discovered that what I wanted most was for my kids to believe they are writers. A firm believer and practitioner in mantras, I changed the titles to what fits my purpose and my culture best. Mondays and Tuesdays are no longer “Writing Workshop” days. They are “We Are Writers” days. I believe in the power of mantras on mindset. I believe that if we hear, we say it, we come to believe it. The “writer” is there the “work” is implicit, but I also want the “belief” to be there. So I, we, will refer to our to ourselves and our work in this manner.  We will become what we see, hear, and believe. We will become writers.

Do. Reflect. Do better.

P-180 Plan

P-180 Plan: Parent Contact

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Do. Reflect. Do Better. During my Project 180 journey last year, I made a lot of discoveries. The most important discovery was that kids will do and can learn when grades are taken off the table. But I made another important discovery as well, one that has become my mantra, my guide for the endless journey that still lies ahead.  Of course, at any stage of any journey–personal or professional–we can only do our best at that given moment. But, importantly, “best” should not be a destination. It is simply a path to our next better. And to get started down that path, we must reflect on our moment, on our best, and take our first step towards better, which then becomes our “better best” when we encounter similar situations down the road. Of course, I was aware of and made use of the power of reflection prior to my 180 journey last year, but it was during this time of exploring this radical new realm, that I came to rely heavily upon my mantra as I sought to make learning experiences more meaningful for my kids. I tried. I struggled. I failed. I succeeded. I learned. In short, I did; I reflected; and I did better. It was all I could do.

This coming year will really be no different. I will employ my “better bests” as I make my way, reflecting on the moments, taking those first steps towards my next betters. But, this year won’t be the exactly the same either. I have a year of learning under my belt from my explorations in the gradeless realm, and I am poised to share some of my discoveries.  And so, I am going to share from what I have begun to call the P-180 plan, the do-reflect-do better approach to teaching.  But I do not share from a position of this is “the” approach. That would suggest “best,” and I don’t believe in best. I believe in better, and if my betters can help others find theirs, then my journey will be worthwhile.

And so, with you, I will share. Please use if you find some value in my discoveries, and as always, please adapt to your needs. My betters can’t be your betters. It has to fit you. Feel free to make it fit.

P-180 Plan: Parent Contact

Do

I wanted a simple way to make consistent contact with parents to communicate praise and/or concern for their children’s progress in my class. With a 150 students this was not easy to manage, and adding one more thing to my plate did not seem possible. Still, I felt strongly about the importance of connecting with parents, so I made it happen. This is what I did.

  • I created an email template like the one below. I did a boy one and a girl one. I started with just one template, but after a few mistakes with pronouns, I created one for each. I did not have one for my transgender kids, but I  asked them what their pronoun preference was, and I adjusted accordingly.

Good morning. I have ______________________ in my language arts class. I wanted to pass along how much I enjoy having her in class. (Insert personalized praise or concern message). I believe parents and teachers have to be partners, and I believe that partnership begins with communication, so please feel free to contact me at any time with any questions or concerns you may have. Thank you.

  • I committed to two emails per day. One boy and one girl. I know this does not seem like enough, but I could commit to this. For the first few minutes of my planning period, I wrote and sent the emails. Obviously, the two-per-day approach will never result in my reaching all my parents over the course of the year, but it was an intentional effort on my part to consistently make contact with parents. As you all know, we can only do so much.
  • The majority of my emails were focused on praise. Parents get so little positive information from school that I wanted to make these primarily positive, relating things like kids scoring well on a test, having an awesome attitude, or making a kind gesture. Other emails focused on concerns.
  • To spread it across my five classes, I used a rotating schedule. I would select from second period one day, third period the next, and so on. I would repeat this over the course of the year.
  • To keep track of which students’ parents I contacted, I kept a list of names with the date and a code (P for praise, C for concern).

Reflect

Overall, I was pleased with the approach. I received many positive comments back from parents, and I was able to emphasize the desired praise-and-concern-related items from my classroom. I was mostly able to keep my commitment of two per day, though there were times when the immediate trumped the important, and I would miss a day here and there. Still, generally speaking,  it was a success. However, one thing left me a little unsettled.

I didn’t always like how it felt. That is, though I tried to perceive it as something I was doing “for” my kids, it sometimes felt like it was something I was doing “to” my kids. Yes, I connected with parents through the approach. That was the goal. But I felt like something was missing. And now, looking back, I believe it was the kid. I was tossing a line across the gap that connected me to the parent, but I was not building any bridges; I was not connecting. The kid is the bridge. It is she who brought us into contact, and it is through her that we can make the connection, build the bridge. So this year, I will do it differently. This is how I will do it.

Do Better

  • First, I will change the name, “Parent Connection” instead of Parent Contact
  • Then–and this is the big change here–I am going to bring the kids on board. I am not going to do it “to” them or “for” them; I am going to do it “with” them. Instead of deciding what I am going to tell Jill’s parents, I am going to ask Jill what we are going to tell her parents. Oh, I will still send the email, and it will still be on a template, but the personalized message will be co-created by the student and me. It will be a negotiation. I will give my two cents, but I want Jill’s two pennies in there as well. This also creates the opportunity for dialogue between Jill and me regarding her progress in class.
  • Logistically, I will have to make some changes in how I select kids. I will have to know the day before, so I can ask each kid what message we are going to send home. This will be a challenge for me to remember to do it every single day, so I am going to make it a public component of our classroom community, which means I will have to make it an active part of our culture, not the passive part it’s been. So, I will sell it. And, as part of that sell, I will introduce that on one select day per week (five classes, each will get one of the days) we will randomly pick two kids for Parent Connections. I will do this right after our Smiles and Frowns entry task each day, so the selected kids will have some time to think about it. Then, near the end of the period, I will have a quick conversation with each. I will also have to have some way of recording it, so I don’t forget when I go to write the email the next day. I suspect I will probably just keep a document on my computer and I will quickly type myself a quick note next to the student’s name as we discuss the content of the message.

I don’t want this to be a scary thing. My goal here is not “to get” kids. My goal here is to build connections. I don’t want my kids to perceive this as, “Oooh, Syrie’s emailing Jill’s parents.” I want it to be, “Cool, Syrie’s emailing Jill’s parents.” I want all my kids to see that connecting with parents can be both a positive and productive part of their learning experience. And this approach will be one of my first steps towards my next better in that regard.

Do. Reflect. Do better.

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Hearing Voices

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Many of my readers know that I have had the great fortune of connecting with Mr. Moore and his class in Australia this summer.  A few days ago, Lynton sent me the letter below and I wanted to share my response. Dang kids are cool. No matter where they live.

Dear Lynton,

I am pleased that my response resonated with you. And your response certainly resonated with me. In particular, I loved this line, “…a class without a student’s voice is not a classroom at all. It’s more like a graveyard where dreams are destroyed….” I love the imagery that it creates as I imagine a desolate, dark place where kids are not chasing their dreams but rather running from a nightmare. I think you have the makings of being a writer, young man. Bravo.

Thank you for taking the time to write me a note, Lynton. I am thankful that this connection has helped you find your voice, a voice that speaks loudly, clearly, and wisely across half the globe. Enjoy the rest of your year with Mr. Moore. Also, I have a small favor to ask. I really want to give everyone in the class a high five, but distance is a problem. If you are comfortable and willing, would you please give everyone a high five for me? Oh, one more, will you also shake Mr. Moore’s hand for me as well? Thank you, Lynton. Your note made my day.

Thank you,

Monte Syrie

 

Reflection's Reality

Reflection’s Reality: Learning is a Story

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Learning as Journey

Each a journey. Each a story. Each a young spirit with whom I get the privilege to experience life and learning. For 180 days each year, my students and I join journeys, and for the briefest of  whiles our experiences are shared, our stories are intertwined, and we are connected. We are bound by learning. That is our journey, a journey of shared responsibility in our common quest to grow as we make our way down the road. And in that bond we’ve each a role. My role is to provide opportunity and support. Their roles are to take ownership and responsibility. And so, with those packs snugged securely to our backs, we face feet forward and venture into the land of learning, the realm of possibility.

Okay, my flight of fancy has passed, but that is my ideal approach to learning. I don’t want learning to be a tentative transaction, a simple exchange. I want learning to be a committed connection, an exhilarating experience. And while I have wanted that, chased that ideal for most of my career, last year I finally caught some of what I sought. The journey. The difference? I took grades off the table. When I did that, it was no longer my writing their stories in the gradebook. When I took grades off the table, they had to pick up the pen; they became the authors. When I took grades off the table, I opened the path to learning. I discovered the journey.

And on that first 180-day journey, I learned about learning. I learned about reflection. Oh, I had always valued reflection’s role in the learning process, but last year on my trek, I stumbled onto something that I came to call learning stories. Learning stories are reflections. But they are not merely reflections: they are the moments, the chapters, the pages of one’s learning journey. I only dabbled in and experimented with this last year, but my trials were revelatory. When I gave kids the ownership of their learning, they were truly capturing their experiences in the classroom. This wasn’t about writing a reflection out of compliance. It was about writing a story out of commitment. A story. Her story. Her learning. Her journey.

This year it moves beyond the experimental dabble. This year, this 180 day cycle, it will become a full-fledged part of the journey. Learning stories will be a daily component for the kids and me. I am going to call them “Journey Journals.” In a recent, #TG2CHAT, I mentioned “learning stories” in reference to student reflections, and some folks expressed interest in hearing more. Knowing I could not do it in a 140 characters, and knowing I had to get it put together before the year started anyway, I promised a post. Here it is. Here is how I will use Journey Journals in my classroom this year.

Finding Their Stories

Most kids do not regard their lives as stories, and even fewer regard their educational experiences as stories. Sadly, I believe it’s due in part to their feeling that the adults in their lives are the ones writing their stories. So, I have tried to change that. For years, one of the first things that I have my kids write is their reading and writing stories. By the time they reach me in tenth grade, they have strongly-set attitudes on both. So, I ask them to explore those attitudes by tracing back through their experiences and capturing them in a story. If a kid “hates reading,” I want to know why. More importantly, I want him to know why. If a kid “LOVES writing,” I want to know why. I want her to know why.

This year, this will set the stage differently than it has in the past. This year it’s about recognizing where one is and having the power to do something  with it. Before it was a well-intentioned activity, but it was just that. Now it is the first page. It settles the kids in the content and context of our journey. It is the first step, a step that is not exclusive to the ELA classroom. Every kid has a science story, a math story, a health-and-fitness story, etc. So, for those of you reading this who teach in other contents, this can be done in any class.

One cool thing to note is that at Cheney High School we are having all kids in all ELA classes write their reading and writing stories, and they will keep in them in their 9 – 12 writing portfolios. They will revisit the previous year’s story before writing the next. The goal here is for all of them to have four stories from which they can see their growth over the four years with us. A lot of work remains with this, but I am excited by the possibilities. Back to the Journey Journals.

Capturing Their Stories

How’s it going to work? Based on the premise that each day, each unit, each lesson, each activity, really each interaction–academic or not–is a learning experience, here are the basic nuts and bolts of my approach.

  • I will provide composition notebooks for each kid. These will be our journals. I will also have one, and I will do everything that I ask the kids to do. Well, actually, I will have two: one for honors and one for regular. I believe that my doing this along with the kids is vital. If I am selling it, I have to buy it.
  • Our journal entries will be our exit task. Monday thru Thursday, for the last 5 minutes, we will capture a part of our day’s journey. On Friday, our scheduled reflection and reading days, the kids will have more time to capture something from the week’s journey.
  • All entries must include an entry number, date, and title.
  • If students are absent, then they will still be required to capture something from their day. The journey extends beyond school.
  • There will be no points attached. The kids will have the opportunity to bring their journals to our learning conferences to share what they select as evidence of growth. I will share from mine as well. I am looking for commitment here. I am not interested in compliance. They will also have additional opportunities to “publish” (see below).

The capture. To help my kids catch their stories, I am going to give them learning lenses through which to view their experiences.  Here is the basic premise. Our experiences can be looked at in different ways, examined in different contexts. I will ask the kids to look at their experiences through five different learning lenses.

  • Learning Targets: These targets represent our planned route for the day. This is a relatively straightforward lens for the kids. What’d we do today? How’d I do today?
  • Growth: My hope is that this is a consistent consideration for kids. Am I moving? Am I growing?
  • Proficiency: This, too, will likely be ever-present in the kids’ minds as this will represent the major milestones (standards) throughout the journey. How’s my confidence. How’s my performance?
  • World: Here is where I would love for kids to connect their experiences with the broader world–life, the human experience. How does this relate to the world? What connections can I make?
  • Self: Best for last. If my kids can discover the magic of the impact of on experience on self, then there is little more that I could hope for. This is reflection. What did I learn about myself? Who am I?

Pen to paper. Once the kids have considered context, it’s time to start writing. To help them get started, I will provide the story stems in the graphic below. Some kids, my “natural reflectors,” won’t need these; they will jump right in. Other kids will need help getting started, so for them I generated questions to serve as starters, as stems for their stories. I believe these are particularly important for the daily entries, especially early on, for the kids will need help capturing moments. So, to help prevent the, “I-dunno-responses,” the kids will have these to rely on. I will be capturing my own moments from the day, so I need the kids to become self-sufficient. These stems will serve as my support for that.

Sharing Their Stories

I will never collect the kids’ journals. But I will expect that they have their journals with them every single day, and I will also expect them to share from their stories every single day. Without grades to hold over their heads, this becomes my means for holding kids accountable. I will come at it from a you-are-a-member-of-this-community angle. I will further leverage this as a way to create a community of contributors. I will seek to instill the notion that as members of a community they have a responsibility to make contributions; in a learning community each member learns not only for himself but also his community. We learn with, from, and for each other. So we will share. We will contribute. Here are some ways that we will do that.

  • Audience: partner, group, class, teacher, parent
  • Share a word, a sentence, a passage. This will be our most frequent “publishing” opportunity. We will simply share aloud one of these options with either a partner, a group, or the class.
  • Post-it. There will be times when the kids publish a word or sentence on a Post-it and place it on the front whiteboard. I like this because other classes will get to “hear” their peers’ stories.
  • Poster. This will be a big poster on the wall that I will occasionally ask kids to publish a word, sentence, or passage. Similar to the Post-it, but this is more “permanent.”
  • Pass the Paper. This one will take the longest, so we will only do it a few times a semester. Here, each kid will begin with a blank sheet of printer paper. He or she will publish a word, sentence, or passage and then pass the paper. Each kid will publish onto his/her peers’ papers until the paper returns to its original owner. By the time the activity is done, each kid will own a classroom published document.
  • Learning Logs. Every two weeks kids have to complete Learning Logs (my form of progress reports in the gradeless classroom). As part of the required information, I will ask them to quote themselves from their Journey Journals.
  • Learning Conferences. This one was not included in the brick wall below, but when the kids have learning conferences with me, I will ask them to select and share a passage from their journals to give me a sense of where they are in their journeys. I will also share from mine.

Journeys Join

Thus, we are bound. We are one in our journey. We are one in our learning. We become part of each other’s story. That is the ideal I’ve sought for years, and this year I feel like my ideal finally has a chance to become my reality. I will no doubt have to make some changes along the way, but for now, it’s my best “Do.” I will reflect. And I will do better.

Please feel free to use and adapt to suit your classroom needs if you are interested. That is key, folks; it has to fit you, or it won’t work. Good luck on your journeys this coming year.

Do. Reflect. Do better.