Further reflection on what awesome looks like has me thinking about what changes that means for me in the teaching style that I have used over the years as well as how I have been taught in the past.  One theme that continues to come up for me is learning to embrace the chaos that sometimes ensues when I am changing a lesson or tweeking my approach with a certain unit or activity.  Awesome probably involves embracing the change (and the chaos) and continuing to reflect and adjust in this process of creating the best learning environment for the students.

What does awesome look like in my room

Awesome is helping your students own their education, learning, and outcomes.  Awesome to me is accountability of the students to accept the choices they are making.  I have been making a transition for several years now in environmental science and now this year in earth science where the students produce rubrics, lab questions, and projects.

I am hoping that by "owning" the process the students will feel more relevance and be personally vested in the procedure.

Here are a few things students have done:

1.  Students designed a project in which the class "built a house".  Students sent emails, made phone calls, and set-up appointments with contractors and building supply companies to learn about environmentally-friendly products and then organized it in a portfolio that they presented in a round table discussion to the class.

2.  Earth science students are writing their own lab questions this year based on the lab activity that we did.  Students write several factual, one inductive, and one analytical questions.  Students then answer the questions properly based on the type of question.  Students are finding this task challenging but worthwhile.

3.  Earth science students have designed and executed several labs.  For example a lab on surface area students came up with some great ideas, from melting butter in different forms, to snow in a cup versus spread out snow (good real-life application to the April snow spreaders), to medicines that are chewable (quiet reaction) to medicines that are swallowed whole for a slower reaction.

I also have taken advantage of technology this year by adding review videos to my curriculum.  When I teach ESRT charts, I post a review video and a few questions.  Students can use the videos all year to keep studying for the Regents exams and my cumulative exams.

A fresh start with exploring "awesome"

I feel that to explain what "Awesome" looks like to me, here in Lake George, I need to share a little bit about my past experiences as a teacher in Minerva. I taught science there at multiple grade levels for over a decade, which gave me the unique benefit of really knowing my students, their families, and the community as a whole. By the end of my career there I feel that my role in the classroom had really shifted to facilitator - the kids made a lot of the choices about how we proceeded with class even on a day-to-day basis. The curriculum in so many of my science classes really lent itself to how we interpret the landscape we live in/on - from both either a biologic, geologic, or ecologic perspective.  I filled in a lot of potential "gaps" in the learning process by becoming sort of like a storyteller, explaining to them why and how the landscape of their community came to be. I had been so familiar with what students had learned either in their previous schooling or would have known from growing up in the community, that this was an easy thing to do.

Here's an example:
In a PBL project that I designed for my sixth grade students, they learned all the skills needed for a unit on mapping as they worked to design a trail for a trail-less mountain that is commonly referred to as "Sleeping Giant" (which is actually Hoffman Mt. in Schroon Lake). This is an iconic area for Minerva as it's the famous view from the center of town. I taught this unit in science at the same time that the students were learning about the concept of rate in math class (rate of change = gradient or slope of land). In social studies they had just finished learning about different landforms and why geography was important to an area and the development of culture. They designed their trail in my class and then wrote persuasive essays to the DEC about why their trail should be chosen (peer edited and proofread in English class). In the several years prior, these same students explored the art and music indigenous to the area, and we pulled out several of these pieces that had referred to Minerva's "Sleeping Giant."

You might think that this was a monumental project to pull together. But I was really fortunate. An opportunity presented itself in that the community was currently engaged in another trail design project. In a small school such as Minerva, the teachers didn't have to try hard to know what was being taught at each grade level and when. And we often taught the same students over multiple grade levels so building on prior learning was inherent and did not have to be "planned."

So needless to say, moving to Lake George has taken a bit of an adjustment in my teaching style. As far as planning, I feel like a first year teacher all over again. To be honest, the number-one way that I would define "Awesome" is that nothing feels planned, but this has been pretty hard to accomplish, and certainly not on any sort of grand scale. Instead, awesome has become the fact that my students have access to a wealth of technology and resources that I could only dream about before. The ability to conduct virtual labs, provide opportunities for research by the students themselves, and organize information digitally is my new toolkit for providing "awesome" in my classroom. The students are challenged to think on their own, and they recognize it. I give my classes a survey after each marking period to have them reflect on their growth and challenges. A couple of comments made me laugh... "Computers are supposed to make things easier, but actually we are doing much harder work!" and, "Can we please just have one lab that is simple where we don't have to research the answers?"

I think that we all strive to live in the center of the TPAK diagram - where technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge overlap. For me, the pedagogical key that is missing right now is to really make learning authentic for my students, I feel like I need to have a better understanding of where they come from natively and academically. I want to be able to experience Lake George as an "insider." Right now, I still feel like a bit of a "tourist."

Here's an "awesome," albeit random, video. This is a student that wants nothing more than to do literally nothing in and outside of my class. But darn it if she doesn't come and visit me every day and play with all the cool science toys (of course venting about life at the same time). Maybe someday this will translate into some self-motivation... someday...

Learning isn't Silent

Although the question asks us to speak to what awesome looks like, the first thing that comes to mind, when I want to define awesome in the library, is how it sounds.  Awesome in the library isn't usually quiet, because learning isn't quiet.  Learning is active, and activity creates noise.

I love to see the library being used as a learning commons, with groups of students creating, collaborating, and problem solving in all different contexts and mediums.  There are groups of students engaged in a variety of academic activities, from quizzing each other in preparation for a Spanish test to editing a PSA for government to creating a spreadsheet in Google for lab data.  Students are working together to master concepts and make good use of the technology tools available.

There are students exploring the books, searching for titles on the library catalog or browsing the displays.  Students are helping each other make good choices.  Our young people still love to read!  We had a great book club last week, out of which our book review blog was born.  Students are asking to have a voice, they want to contribute to our school learning commons!

There are students playing games, engaging in problem solving and strategy development as they communicate effectively with others.  Our gaming area has really taken off this year, and I have been excited to see students learn new games, teach others, and play with classmates with whom they might not naturally spend time.  These games encourage inquiry as players are forced to think critically, be willing to take risks and learn from their failures.

Our MakerSpace is being used effectively, as students work together to solve a new challenge with critical thinking and problem solving skills.  The creativity which has been displayed here has been really exciting to see.  Our students love a challenge, and the MakerSpace gives them an opportunity to get a little messy as they meet a variety of STEAM challenges.

Because all of this learning is happening simultaneously in the library, awesome can look a lot like chaos to the untrained eye, but when you engage with the students you recognize all of the learning taking place.  These are learning experiences which I hope they will carry with them beyond their high school years.  Learning that will enable them to continue to learn throughout life.

What does awesome look like?

Awesome to me, as a librarian, is when a lesson/ unit is designed collaboratively with the classroom teacher and the librarian. When designing a lesson we keep the student and the end in mind. Together the classroom teacher and I discuss the skills and standards we want the students to have mastered in the end. Then as we begin to plan the unit, we are able to integrate our skills and content in an inquiry based lesson or unit that is student focused and we as the teachers act as facilitators. Each of the units take the students through the WISE process where they are required to ask questions, investigate, synthesize, and express. Through this process students are taking charge of their own learning and developing critical thinking skills where they are required to infer and apply knowledge in order to make decisions.

One of my favorite units that we did last year & have just started doing again this year is with fourth grade. The entire fourth grade teaching staff worked collaborative with Megan and I to set up an inquiry based unit that integrated, SS,  english language arts, information literacy and technology skills. We followed the process that I discussed above to create this unit. This is a student centered activity where students are given the EQ: If you were a colonist living in NY during the time of the American Revolution would you have been a loyalist or a patriot? Students have to build evidence for their decision and are walked through the entire inquiry process. Students need to figure out what they need to know, develop questions, use the resources and skills they are taught through instruction from me (databases, primary resources, encyclopedias, keyword searching, etc.), then they need to synthesize their information and often times make inferences from the information they have gathered. Once they have gathered information they need to evaluate whether they have enough information and are ready to develop a knowledge project or if they need to go back through the cycle of inquiry and gather more evidence to make their decision. In the end students have to create a knowledge product that shows their decision to become a loyalist or a patriot backed with evidence from their research. Last year all the kids produced an i-movie, but this year since each of the students have an ipad, they have a much larger toolbox of apps and they are able to app-smash to create an individualized knowledge product.

When looking at our notes from the last meeting on PBLs, this unit has everything in it from driving questions, inquiry, need to know, voice and choice, revision, and reflection, significant content, and 21st Century Skills. One area we could continue to work on is the public audience. Although we do share the knowledge products with the class, it would be nice if we could make it a bit more authentic.

One final thought is just like Megan mentioned in her meeting about making her learners (us) aware of the way her instruction was set up. When teaching this unit, the teachers and I make the students aware of each stage of inquiry that they are going through when trying to answer their question. After all we want to provide students with the life-long skills that they will need to solve problems, why not make they cognitively aware of the steps as they are going through them?  One tool that really seems to help with this is the Inquiry poster that Lynne Gauger and I designed last year.

As a librarian, I am beyond excited to be able to work at a school where the teachers are willing to collaborate with me on this unique and valuable approach to learning. It is AWESOME that we are providing students with the skills to take charge of their own learning, collaborate, create, and critically think. These are skills that they will need to be life-long learners. If they have they skills they will be equipped for success and that is AWESOME!

An “Awesome” classroom is hard to define--but I know it when I see it!

I understand AWESOME by how it feels: standing in the center of my classroom with a mixture of incredulity, satisfaction, and shout-it-from-the-rooftops joy, observing students taking charge of their learning--arguing, defending, questioning; reflecting honestly and insightfully; coming to consensus. To borrow from Potter Stewart, I can’t define AWESOME, but I know it when I see it. I wish my classroom were always AWESOME, but sadly, it is not. I can only keep pursuing that ideal, and build on the successes.

One project that at least approached that sweet spot of intersection of  technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge was a short story PBL. We had read two stories with a common theme--”The Scarlet Ibis” and “Raymond’s Run”--and the premise of the PBL was that the Curriculum Committee was only allowing us to keep one of the stories in the curriculum. 

Each team had to create a presentation that explained the criteria for a good story, and then make a recommendation of which story to choose by explaining how that story better fulfills the criteria. They were required to include the elements of literature in their criteria--and to explain those elements to the “committee”--along with their team’s additional evaluation criteria. During the process, they learned far more content than I could have taught--and remembered it better. And they were practicing all sorts of 21st century skills at the same time.

However, I was reminded during the project that part of my job is to expand their digital literacy. Sometimes I assume, since they are 21st century kids, that they are much more expert that they actually are. As part of that short story PBL, they had to consider at least 3 different presentation methods, and then defend to me why they finally chose the method they did. The groups had a hard time coming up with three choices, and almost all of them made Google Presentations--because they are familiar with them and therefore they are easy. I like Google Presentations, but I was hoping for more variety and creativity.

Another successful change was using Scoop.It and Blogger for our research project. A couple of years ago, I wanted to update and energize our research. With the help of our AWESOME Mrs. Olson, the sophomores started gathering their resources using Scoop.It, an online curation tool. Mrs. Olson had already introduced Easybib years ago, so the students were comfortable making Works Cited lists on Easybib. Notetaking changed, however: They took notes right on their scooped articles--using the “insights” box for text codes and annotations. Another improvement was the use of Google Blogger for their output (the research “paper”). The research part was preceded by regular blogs--I have found the blogs useful for promoting the writing of persuasive arguments--where students became familiar with Blogger features.

AWESOME definitely feels good--but I’ve also felt the flip side, when nothing seems to be working, when students are bored and lethargic, when I wonder if I am making any positive difference in my students’ lives. I have to remember to consider the importance of the process and the progress when I evaluate my success--every time students (or I) engage in wondering, investigating, synthesizing, expressing, and reflecting, we are growing as learners!

What awesome looks like in LG

Write your first blog post answering the question: "What does awesome look like in your classroom?"  During our first session we talked about Project Based Learning, TPAK, and the new literacies according to Heidi Hayes Jacobs.  Consider how you are already addressing these with your students, and share your experiences with the group.  Also, brainstorm new ideas that you might try after exploring these concepts. 

LG creates an environment that allows both teachers and students to show up with both their left and right brains engaged in meaningful activities.  This happens on so many different levels and in a wide variety of disciplines such as art, music, social studies, foreign language and english.  Students and teachers are creative and purposeful in the projects that are developed and the products that are created are everywhere to be heard and seen in the halls.  The boundaries of learning are stretched on a regular basis and everyone is encouraged to push them further in their own ways as part of the learning process.  As a teacher in this setting it is especially fun to be able to try teaching lessons in different ways and to experiment with new approaches in an effort to keep students engaged and interested in the material.

Awesome in Lake George

As the Director of Instructional Technology I don't have "a classroom."  However, I am fortunate enough to be invited into many classrooms in the district, where I get to see so many examples of Awesome!

Awesome is found throughout Lake George and in many forms, but I will share one example that I saw recently.  Lisa Lindsay and Kathy Aspland asked their 4th grade students to make a Geometry movies using iMovie trailers.  The students were given a rubric that outlined the different lines, angles, and shapes that needed to be included in the movie, along with the type of information that should be included for each (an image, a title, a definition).  From there, students were on their own to make choices about technique and tools.

I stumbled across this project as I saw Lisa in the hall with some of her students.  They were using their iPads around the school to take pictures of the lines, angles, and shapes needed for their movie. She explained the process and invited me to come in the following week as they were building their movies.  Here are a few things I saw:

• Independence -  Both Lisa and Kathy pulled small groups of students for individualized math instruction, leaving approximately half of the class to work on their Geometry iMovie.  The students were extremely focused on working through their rubric independently.  Students decided which apps to use to create what they wanted.  There was freedom of choice, but the students had to use their prior knowledge to determine the right tool and the steps involved.
• Problem Solving - When students did run into a problem they were very comfortable finding answers without interrupting the small group lessons.  Several students asked for my assistance, but what struck me was how clearly they articulated exactly what they were trying to accomplish and what steps they had already tried.
• Collaboration - In addition to using me as a resource, students were using each other as resources too.  They were asking their classmates to remind them of steps, or to inquire about how they did a certain technique.  
• Self and Peer Reflection - Students were required to have me or the TA sign off on a piece of the rubric before they could move on to the next piece.  This process involved the modeling of the reflection process with questions such as; Do you think you met that requirement?  Is it clear where the angle is in that picture?  Will the viewer know that picture is for a right angle?  This questioning was later heard between students as they were sharing parts of their movies with each other through out the process
• Revision - This self and peer reflection led to revision, one of the most painful steps to have students do.  The most amazing part was that the revision was completely self motivated.  Often times what they had met the rubric requirement, but they wanted to make it better.
• Drive and Motivation - I think the self motivated revision speaks to the students' drive and motivation.  However, I can't pass up an opportunity to share this experience: A student was describing how she used 3 different apps to create an image with test, animation, and drawing before pulling it into an iMovie trailer.  I asked her how she decided to use those apps, wondering if she was directed to or not, but her answer spoke for itself.  She told me, "I just wanted to make something that no one else would make."

For me, this demonstrated AWESOME!