The sweet spot. The place where learning happens. The place where teaching happens. The place where I meet my kids. It is here where I make the difference. I call it the feedback-response process. They have done, and now, together we will DO BETTER.

And it is this that I use to encourage my kids to DO, telling them that I cannot teach them anything until they DO something. It is also the same message I will share with parents when I connect with them concerning (not) learning–because of not DOing. Simply, I need your kiddo to DO, so I can DO, and, then, together we can DO BETTER.

As I shared in Part One, I initially (passively) communicate this in Skyward (our online grade book) with a .6, which is an invitation to DO. If this initial, passive communication does not yield any action, then I take a more active approach by contacting parents, concerning learning. And, again, here, the frame matters.

I want both kids AND parents to understand the role of DOing in my classroom. We DO to DO BETTER. We DO to learn, to grow. That is what I want them to know.

And so, to that end–DOing BETTER, I also offer an invitation.

.7 = an invitation to DO BETTER

When kids and parents see this in Skyward, I want them to understand that there is an opportunity to DO BETTER. A .7 means not only have they DOne but also they have feedback waiting for them so they can DO BETTER. A .7 means that the feedback-response process has begun, and there is an open opportunity to continue DOing BETTER, one engagement at a time. Until, they reach a 1, which signifies done (they have met standard).

1 = DOne (Did)

Above is what the Learning Record (grade book) looks like in my classroom. I use this hard copy to capture movement (color shows movement). Circles indicate I have entered it in Skyward. As you can see there are a lot of .6’s. A lot of Didn’t. A lot of learning missed. And that’s not okay. I have too many kids not DOing. And that’s why I wrote this post. I have to DO BETTER. I know this. And as I shared in Part One, I am compelled to DO BETTER, which I believe always begins with a question,

better Builder: How do I get my kids to value doing in my classroom?

Tomorrow, I have an opportunity to begin again with a new semester, with a new group of kids. And though I have experimented with this point system for a while now, I am eager to renew my view of DO in the 180 classroom. I need to turn Didn’t to did–for each kid.

Not sure if you will find much value in this reflection, but I needed to work out it here, where I have worked out so many of my betters before. Thank you for letting me share my messy journey.

Happy Monday, all. Day off for me. Mid-winter break for us.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.