Pam's Pages
Week of April 4 - 8
Newsletter Topics
Campus News
5 Apps to Transform Teaching and Personalize Learning
Classroom Management
District News
TRIPOD
DRA and Observation Survey Professional Development
Core Content Directors Update
CAMPUS NEWS
5 Apps to Transform Teaching and Personalize Learning (Edutopia)
Excerpts from: https://www.edutopia.org/users/ann-feldmann
Knowing how to craft learning experiences that meld technology with the curriculum is key to crafting digital-age lessons. As digital tools are integrated seamlessly with sound pedagogical practice, a new classroom culture emerges. This is a culture focused on student-centered, personalized learning and shifting away from traditional teacher-centered classrooms.
The digitally-rich lesson format below has evolved as technology has been infused into these lesson components:
- Whole-group instruction
- Guided practice
- Independent practice
- Reflection
1. Personalize whole-group instruction and gather formative data.
Whole-group instruction has traditionally been delivered in lecture format: the teacher stands in front of the class and presents the same lesson to everyone at the same time. Lessons can be personalized using Nearpod, which allows the teacher to control delivery from his or her device. The material appears on any student device, whether tablet, phone, or computer. The formative component allows teachers to embed quizzes, polls, a draw feature, and open-ended responses into the lesson.
Teachers can immediately see the data and can share student work back to their screens in just a click. This is a powerful way for students to see peer responses and explain their reasoning.
Nearpod is a free presentation tool available for all computers, tablets, and phones. There is an app for Android and iPhone/iPad. All Nearpod features mentioned in this post are free, and additional features are available as in-app purchases.
2. Provide feedback to every student during guided practice from anywhere in the room.
Research shows that timely and immediate feedback has a significant impact on learning. Classkick allows teachers to see every student iPad screen, privately provides feedback while students are working, and has a feature where students can raise a virtual hand. These features transform how teachers provide feedback to students and how students interact with teachers.
Classkick is a free iPad app that allows teachers to assign student work, see iPad screens, and provide feedback as students work. Students can also edit and provide feedback to their peers.
3. Use screencasts for truly independent practice.
Screencasts are a powerful way for teachers to duplicate their presence and provide each student with his or her own personalized lesson. A screencast is a short, teacher-created video lesson. What makes this so powerful is that each student controls the lesson and can work independently. They can pause, rewind, and listen to their teacher again. Additionally, those who miss class no longer lack the instruction, instead receiving the same lesson presented to their classmates. Students can even slow the narration to ease comprehension. This has been especially beneficial to English-language learners (ELLs).
Educreations is a free screencasting app for the iPad. Videos open in the app and are hosted on the Educreations server. For a fee, you can add more features and storage.
4. Use video reflections for closure.
The Explain Everything app can be sued for students to show what they know. By the end of a unit, they can have video reflections showcasing all of their learning. These videos can be exported to the iPad's camera roll. They can upload their video to Seesaw, a digital portfolio app that allows them to view and comment upon one another's work. Students can check the Seesaw class feed and leave their peers either a written or audio comment. The audio feature makes it easy for our youngest students to leave comments. Seesaw portfolios are also easy to share with parents.
Explain Everything is available through both iTunes and Google Play for $3.99. This whiteboard app has a number of tools that allow for creation and exports in many formats. Primary teachers like the simple interface available in settings. Seesaw is available as an app in iTunes and Google Play. Students can share their work by taking a picture of it, uploading a photo or video, and adding text or narration. Peers can comment and "favorite" posts. Parents can also access their individual student's portfolios.
Classroom Management
Good classroom management will help you thrive (instead of just survive) in April and May. Here are some articles with helpful information. The articles are from the website:
How To Stop Repeating Yourself And Start Speaking With Power
Do you repeat yourself when giving directions? Besides wasting time and energy, repeating yourself weakens the power of your words. It causes students to tune you out and they know they can take their time following your directions.
How To Speak With Power
Repeating yourself is a habit you must break if you want your words to have impact. Just follow these eight steps:
1. Stop moving.
Before addressing your class, stop moving and stand in one place. This helps students focus on you and your message. It also acts as a modeling device; they’ll mimic what they see from you.
2. Ask for attention.
Ask for your students attention using a normal speaking voice. Then wait until every student is quiet and looking at you before opening your mouth.
3. Say it once.
Give your instructions once using clear, direct language. And don’t over explain. Giving too much information is a common mistake. Keep it simple. Tell your students only what you want them to do.
4. Pause.
A longer-than-normal pause will keep students focused on you. If you speak again right away without a generous pause, you’ll lose them.
5. Ask a negative.
Ask your students if any of them does not know what to do. This helps shift the responsibility for learning from the teacher to the students. If a student does raise his or her hand, tell the student to ask a neighbor after you give your signal to begin.
6. Give your “Go” signal.
Go is a power word that initiates action. As soon as you say it, your students will get busy doing something. If you follow the guidelines given here, however, they’ll do what you ask of them.
7. Don’t help.
The responsibility to carry out your instructions lies with them, not you. If you notice a student lost or unsure of what to do, resist jumping in to help. Give the student a chance to figure out what to do on his/her own or to ask a classmate. If you’re the type of teacher who is quick help, then you’ll create dependent students (i.e., learned helplessness).
8. Do not repeat.
If a student asks you what they’re supposed to do, answer by telling the student to follow your directions. This encourages students to 1) listen intently to directions and 2) take responsibility by finding out from a classmate. This is key to creating a classroom of sharp, independent students.
Big Benefits
By following the guidelines above and never repeating yourself, you’ll cut the amount of talking you do in half. You’ll have better energy at the end of the day. You’ll get a lot more done.
But best of all, your words will have power—power that causes students to tune in to the sound of your voice and to carry out your directions with speed and accuracy.
How To Have A Nicer, Friendlier Class
If one day you realize that your class isn’t very nice—to you or to each other—it can be disheartening. It can be frustrating and bewildering as to what to do. And, at some schools, it can feel like this every year and with every class.
Teachers tend to respond in one of two ways.
Either they get angry and demand civility through lectures, threats, talking-tos, and how-dare-yous.
Or they overwhelm their students with kindness. They shower them with reminders and second chances in the hope that their example will spread throughout the classroom.
Unfortunately, neither approach is very effective.
The first will cause your students to dislike you. It will cause behind-the-back rebelliousness and resentment. It will bring tension into your classroom and cause more incivility, not less.
The problem with the second approach is that your students won’t respect you. They’ll view you as a pushover. You’ll be brushed aside, if not run over. Surprisingly, they won’t like you much either.
In the student-teacher relationship, respect and likability are intertwined. They go hand in hand to create a leadership presence students are drawn to and influenced by. And herein lies the solution.
To improve the civility in your classroom, you must combine a kind, easygoing disposition with a faithful and unwavering commitment to accountability. You must be both gentle and strong.
This sends the message that while rudeness and disrespect toward you or their fellow classmates won’t be tolerated, even a sliver, it isn’t personal.
It’s never personal. Every day is a new day and forgiveness is always extended.
There is some mystery as to why this recipe is so effective. Sure, behavior improves, but how is it that the class is now so completely different? Why are they now so calm and nice to each other and so polite to you?
Your kindheartedness and consistent adherence to your classroom management plan equals a nice and friendly class every time—no matter how challenging they are to begin with.
Just add one part strength, one part tenderness, and stir.
8 Things Teachers Do To Encourage Misbehavior
Teachers cause much of the misbehavior in their classrooms. True, students come to class with behavior issues and personal agendas. But more often than not, the teacher is the problem.
The following list represents things teachers do unknowingly that encourage misbehavior.
1. Talking over students.
Talking over students breeds inattentiveness, side-talking, and poor listening. The simple solution is to wait until you have the full attention of your class before speaking.
2. Rushing around.
Being in a hurry creates tension in the classroom, causing restlessness, excitability, and poor behavior. This common mistake is easily corrected by being better prepared, and then slowing down.
3. Answering call-outs.
Answering students who do not raise their hand communicates to your students that what you said about raising your hand is no longer valid. Condition yourself not to respond no matter who asks a question or how insightful it may be.
4. Moving on.
Continuing with lessons or instructions when students are inattentive–or worse–lets them know that less than their best is good enough. Wait until your students are giving you exactly what you want before moving on.
5. Negative thinking.
Negative thoughts about students always bubble to the surface– body language, tone of voice, sarcasm–causing resentment, misbehavior and, ultimately, revenge. Choose to see the best in your students… and that’s what they’ll give you.
6. Irritability.
Showing frustration, taking behavior personally, reacting emotionally. These self-sabotaging behaviors will weaken your influence and undermine your ability to control your classroom. Instead, keep your cool and follow your classroom management plan.
7. Clutter.
Classroom clutter shows a lack of pride that rubs off on students and leads to unwanted behavior. A neat, attractive classroom, on the other hand, is congruent with, and transfers to, values like hard work, neatness, respect, and character.
8. Self-defeat.
Believing that students decide whether or not you have a good class is a belief that virtually eliminates the possibility of creating the teaching experience you really desire. The fact is, we create the class we want, not our students.
The Heart Of The Matter
These 8 teacher behaviors cut straight to the heart of why so many teachers struggle with classroom management. Rules and procedures. Incentives and consequences. They’re important, to be sure.
But they alone are not the answer.
You must get to the heart of the matter, which is deeper than stickers, strategies, charts, or time-outs. It’s more than outside circumstances. More than names on a roster.
The heart of the matter is you.
DISTRICT NEWS
TRIPOD
Back in January, Tripod Education Partners sent all participating teachers an email requesting a non- SBISD email so that they could send out the teacher reports when they become available in mid-to-late April. Failure to comply with this request will hinder teachers from receiving their report. Please provide a non-SBISD email address as soon as possible.
New Scoring of Tripod Results
In the past, the results from Tripod were delivered to teachers and administrators using favorability percentages.
Tripod now uses scale scores referred to as Tripod scores. Tripod scores have a range of 202 – 398 with the average score set at 300 and the majority of scores falling between 270 and 330. Scale scores have the benefit of equal units between scores which provides the advantage of comparability across contexts and years.
DRA/EDL and Observation Survey Teacher Professional Learning Opportunities
how to administer the EOY district assessments
importance of administering the EOY district assessments with fidelity
reporting the data accurately
Use the links below to register for the appropriate session.
Observation Survey Training for PreK-2nd Grade Teachers
- 4/21/16 (3:30-5:30 PM) at Administration Bldg., Room 270 http://eduphoria.springbranchisd.com/wshop/default.aspx?cid=15555
DRA2/EDL2 Training for PreK-3rd Grade Teachers
- 4/19/16 (3:30-5:30 PM) at Frostwood Elementary, Multipurpose Room
- http://eduphoria.springbranchisd.com/wshop/default.aspx?cid=15531
DRA2/EDL2 Training for 4th and 5th Grade Teachers
- 4/14/16 (3:30-5:30 PM) at Administration Bldg., Room 270 http://eduphoria.springbranchisd.com/wshop/default.aspx?cid=15532
iCoach District Reading Assessment
- 4/14/16 (3:30-5:30 PM) At Administration Bldg., Room 275 http://eduphoria.springbranchisd.com/wshop/default.aspx?cid=15560
CORE CONTENT DIRECTOR'S CORNER
· Monthly update from our core content directors as well as Special Education and BIL/ESL
· Highlighting the work that is being done throughout the district for our students and teachers.
Penny Konicek-Guerrero, Director of Elementary Humanities:
This is what we are focused on:
· PD for K-1 teachers on the CCP Units of Study
· Data sheets for 3rd & 4th STAAR practice
· Work sessions for campuses to study 3rd and 4th STAAR practice data and create a campus intervention plan
· Instructional support for IR campuses upon request
· 5th Grade curriculum to use between 1st and 2nd administrations of STAAR
· Reading Workshop Residency for Grades K-2 teachers
In the future Elementary Humanities will focus on:
· Grades 1-4 summer school curriculum
· Developing summer school teacher training
· Supporting campuses w/5th grade accelerated instruction
· Developing summer professional learning sessions
· Identifying priority standards for curriculum
Donald Burken, Director of Science
For the last month, the science team has been focused on the following:
· Support teachers in planning and visiting classrooms
· PD showcasing upcoming content
· Worked with 5th grade and 8th grade teachers to review Practice STAAR Data
· Met with administrators, iCoaches, and science teams to discuss campus Practice STAAR Data, identify areas of growth, and provide lessons for teachers
· Continuing to work with the teams to create common assessments, analyze the data, and create plans of action
· Provided training for 5th and 8th grade teachers regarding creating folders for students to utilize during instruction.
· Worked with principals on how to look at data
The science team is looking forward to working with:
· Working with 5th, 8th, and biology teachers to ensure student success on STAAR
· Teachers and grade level teams to purposefully plan
· Teachers to create blended learning lessons
· The science workgroup to revise curriculum to reflect personalized learning for next year.
Ann Worley, Director of Mathematics
We are supporting campus leadership, teachers and students as we move toward the end of this school year.
· We are providing individualized campus data analysis based on campus performance as it relates to the four indices of our state accountability system.
· We are collaborating with Reading and Science to provide uniform and comprehensive data analysis across all subject tests to help campuses identify students who need support from high performers to middle performers to low performers.
· We are working with campus leadership, interventionists, and teachers to support necessary interventions while continuing to meet the demands of ongoing classroom instruction.
· We are supporting interventionists across the district.
· We are meeting one-on-one with campuses that struggle and all campuses who request our attention.
Gretchen Holtsinger, Director of ESL/Bilingual:
For the last month, we have been focused on::
· Added central Calibration sessions for TELPAS.
· PD for TELPAS raters not successful on TELPAS calibrations.
· Overseeing Reliability and Validity checks for campus TELPAS holistic ratings.
· Development of core viable curriculum at all levels.
The ESL/Bilingual team is looking forward to working with:
· American Institutes for Research on initial needs sensing phase of PD framework English Learner Support.
· Selection of 24 campuses for intensive EL AIR support in Year 1 (2016-2017).
Joni Warren, Director of Special Education
Special Education is working on:
· Providing support to self-contained classrooms
· Visiting campuses and classrooms
· Meeting with campus admin to learn more about their Special Education Programs
· Gathering data for PBMAS
· Analyzing data for staffing allocations
· Interviewing for the 2016-2017 school year
In the future Special Education will focus on:
· Distributing staffing allocations to all campuses
· Relationships with Administrators
· Visiting campuses and classrooms
· Compiling Suspension data for all campuses
Summer Camps
https://cms.springbranchisd.com/district/For-Students/Summer-Camps
Camp Kolbe
Code Camp
Robo Camp
Summer Camp Reading for Kids
Two Way Dual Language Camp
REFLECTION
Meadow Wood Elementary
Email: pamela.redd@springbranchisd.com
Website: mwe.springbranchisd.com
Location: 14230 Memorial Drive, Houston, TX 77079
Phone: 713-251-6200
Facebook: facebook.com/Meadowwoodelementarysbisd
Twitter: @pam_redd