Lowering Anxiety in the Classroom

Image from an article on anxiety (3).

Over our Spring Break last week, I had lunch with a friend who spent a day previous to our meeting at a symposium on anxiety, a topic that has lately made it onto my radar through people that I personally know who suffer with the condition.  Recently I also read the article “Surviving Anxiety” by Scott Stossel (1) , editor of The Atlantic and was very moved by its content.  I additionally learned that 18% of the adult U.S. population is affected by an anxiety disorder (2). I’ve had students that are plagued with different levels of anxiety and wonder how I can best meet their needs.

My friend described how it is important for people with anxiety to face their anxiety to the point that they feel they can’t take it any more and then back off.  Gradually they will learn that they survive the event and can survive feelings of anxiety. 

She gave the example of a student who has anxiety about a certain type of assignment.  Parents will often talk to the teachers and get the assignment somehow removed “for the child’s sake” and that, of course, makes things easier on everyone.   Most importantly, it seems better for the child because the anxiety drops as he/she realizes “Whew, I’ve dodged that bullet”.  However, at this symposium, the professional advice was to allow students to experience the anxiety to maximum tolerance levels, pushing them to complete assignments or give presentations.  Then, in the end, they realize they have survived and it will give them confidence to continue to challenge themselves.

As a teacher, I feel it is not my place to determine the upper acceptable anxiety limit.  I am willing to work with parents and professionals to build modifications for any student with an anxiety disorder.  However, I do want to create an environment that lowers anxiety levels for all students.  Here are some practices that hopefully lower anxiety levels in my classroom.

1. There is no time limit for tests, especially in grades 6-10 (IB, as always, is it’s own beast).  In the beginning, I try to give at least a 20-minute buffer time on all exams.  I make it very clear that all students can take as long as they need on an exam.  If, later in the year, I realize some students need even more time, I build it in to the schedule.  And yes, sometimes this means allocating an entire block of class-time for an assessment. 
2. No noise towards end of an exam. Once a student is finished with a test, they are to turn over the page and quietly work on the next assignment, reading, or homework for another class.  I do not want anyone to feel pressure because the rest of the class is finishing up and he/she is still only partway through the assessment.  There is no scraping of chairs and shoving of desks as students attempt to turn in exams, rather, the room remains still and quiet until everyone is finished.
3. Consult students on assignment schedule. When scheduling assessments and projects for a given unit, I check with the class and tweak the schedule as necessary, dependent on assignments or sport games/tournaments they already have scheduled.
4. Ease students into solo presentations. Standing in front of a class to give a presentation can be very stressful for students, even those without anxiety disorders.  In the beginning of the year, I pair students to present from their seats, for example, to report on some research they’ve done together to further the class’s understanding on a given topic.  Later, different pairs will actually stand before the class to present a digital presentation of choice (Keynote, Prezi, etc.).  It isn’t until students have been exposed to these types of scenarios several times before I expect them to stand solo before the class. 
5. Establish rapport. Before each class I ask the students how they are doing.  They all relax and some students share stories from their morning, day, recess, or lunch.  This seems especially important after weekends or vacations.  I am genuinely interested in how they are doing and I hope they feel that.  Furthermore, this practice hopefully makes me more approachable to them.
6. Greet students. When we pass in the hallways I always say, with a smile, “good morning” or “hello” to students, using their name, even if they initially duck their heads in that teenage awkwardness clearly hoping to not be seen.  100% of the time they return a smile and greeting.  My hope is that the students become more and more comfortable at school and interacting with teachers.
7. Attend sporting events. As often as possible I try to watch them when they play sports at home games, even if it is only for half the game.  Again, I’m sending the message that I care about them, including parts of their lives that aren’t connected to my classroom.
8. Love the job. I genuinely love teenagers. Furthermore, I honestly love what I do.  With purpose I chose to teach middle and high school.  I’m not afraid to show my enthusiasm, sometimes resulting in shared laughter with the students.

It is my desire, that taken together, these practices minimize the “scary teacher” relationship with students.  I want students to feel comfortable.  I desire to optimize the learning experience by diminishing opportunities for anxiety in the classroom.  Do you have additional suggestions for lowering anxiety in the classroom?  Please share below.

Sources:

(1) Stossel, Scott. "Surviving Anxiety." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 22 Dec. 2013. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. <http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/01/surviving_anxiety/355741/4/>.

(2) "Facts & Statistics | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA." Facts & Statistics | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. <http://www.adaa.org/about-adaa/press-

(3)  Image from "Anxiety treatment with a computer just as good as therapy, study says." ZME Science. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. <http://www.zmescience.com/research/studies/anxiety-treatment-with-a-computer-just-as-good-as-therapy-study-says/#!GbcnB>. room/facts-statistics>.

Teachers vs. Professors: Getting ready for University

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High School vs. College Life

After the post, “Assume good intentions of the teachers (and others) please” was public, my son, who is in college wrote me,  “I definitely feel like professors care a lot less than teachers do about student mastery of the material.  A professor is very much of the attitude ‘if the student isn’t doing well, that’s completely their fault’ whereas a teacher takes more responsibility in the student’s understanding”  

When thinking of my own college experience, it seemed that professors did care about students but in a more general sense regarding the well being of a student.  As far as content was concerned, it was up to me to figure it out through reading and lectures. One could also visit a professor during office hours but that was quite intimidating to me.

Unlike high school teachers, college professors are less likely to find alternative methods to disseminate information for diverse learning types as the standard format is “the lecture”.  I doubt that in a college classroom there are many sequencing activities, matching games, gap tasks, and other assorted hands-on activities that we come up with in high school.

Furthermore, a college professor is less prone to modify a testing or assignment schedule for his/her students as many high school teachers do.   Often when I schedule out a couple of weeks of assignments, I consult the affected class and have them check their schedules and if necessary, we tweak the schedule.  That does not happen at the university level.

So how can students use high school, especially the final two years, to truly prepare for the university experience?

1. Get in the habit of approaching teachers with questions and for clarification.  We welcome students’ questions.  We want to help! 
   • Parents, before stepping in to resolve issues for your children, encourage them to approach the teacher and work out concerns.  Have your child begin with either speaking to the teacher after class or by sending an email to the teacher requesting an appointment.  If this habit is established in high school, accessing a college professor during office hours will be less intimidating.
2. If you are absent, find out what you need to do to get caught up. Once  you are in college, no one will be chasing you down.
   • Parents, encourage your children to send out emails, check class websites, and communicate with teachers to determine missed work.
3. Work within the boundaries the teacher has set rather than trying to persuade the teacher to change his/her ways. 
   • Parents, support your child in problem solving and dealing with the parameters given him/her rather than trying to enforce a new or different set of standards on the teacher.  No university professor is going to adjust for a complaining student.  The attitude is, “deal with it”.
4. Learn to prioritize.  Determine what is most important to attend to.  Do it.  Then let the rest wait.
   • Parents, help your child list tasks that need to be done, prioritizing them by importance.  Students, especially IB students, need to learn that occasionally something needs to slide in favor of completing a more important task.  Students need to deal with that fact. 
5. Take ownership of your own learning.  Recognize your own strengths and weaknesses.  If you struggle to achieve specific tasks, determine what you can do differently to complete expectations.   At the university level, it becomes irrelevant whether the professor is a “good teacher” or not.  No one cares.  It becomes the sole responsibility of the student to learn the material, with assistance of the professor. 
   • Parents, do not find fault with the teacher if your child struggles in a class.  Instead, find ways to help your child become a stronger student under this specific tutelage.

In working within the framework that has been set by high school, students will better prepare themselves for their university experience.

Can you think of additional ideas to help high school students prepare for working with professors at the university level?  Please add them in the comment section below.

Teaching for the Future

Just got back from a roller blading tour with my 12-year old (a luxury of being on Spring Break). 

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The garden that spawned this post.

He examines the cute Dutch gardens as we skate by.  We pass many typical yards but at one he observes, “Those blue pillows look futuristic <pause> light blue just looks futuristic.”

I listen and he continues.

“My future company will have all blue furniture” 

“What will your future company be about?

“I don’t know but it will have all blue furniture”

“What are you interested in these days?”

“I don’t know.  Maybe that furniture thing.”

“Furniture thing?”

“Yeah, making all blue furniture.  Or maybe I’ll join Majong or Google….maybe I’ll give Google the idea for a Google car.  Imagine having Wi-Fi wherever you went, courtesy of Google.”

We laugh.  He continues to expound on a myriad of ideas.  We skate.  We enjoy the warm breeze together.

I realize that most of what he’s talking about wasn't available 10 years ago.  I comprehend that as his Mom and teacher, my most important job is helping prepare him for the great unknown of the future, to ready him for the unexpected.  After all, he might be employed in a job that doesn’t even exist yet! 

I am cognizant of the fact that, as parents and teachers, we are attempting to prepare children for a world that we aren't able to comprehend right now.

Part of me thinks, “Who cares about cell structure, food chains or DNA replication?”  What are we doing to equip our students with the skills they need to face the unexpected scenarios of the future they will certainly encounter?

What motivates Students? - Real Purpose

A scene from last year's science fair, which was a more traditional event in which students presented data and results from self-conducted experiments.

This year we are trying a new idea for the Science Fair.  In conjunction with the Going Green initiative at the school, students will be presenting an evening on the topic of Global Warming.  Each student has selected a specific aspect related to one of the following subtopics: evidence for, causes of, results of, or solutions for global warming and/or climate change

This week I probed whether the middle school students understood a “big idea” of their own topic as well as the overall theme of the Science Fair.  I was pleased to hear that most of them (not all) did, indeed, understand their own topic and how it fit into the bigger picture of the science fair theme.

Furthermore, I surveyed the middle school students in different classes to determine what they thought the purpose of the actual science far was. To my surprise the following three purposes repeated themselves in each class:

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Last year students also presented to the greater school community.

• “I want to “Wow” them with my  knowledge”

• “I want to inform them”

•  “I want to inspire them to live green.”

Wow.  Seriously?  Could I ask for any better self-defined purposes from a set of 11 – 14-year old students?  I think this explains the scene during my last middle school class on the last school day before the break:

It was gorgeous and sunny outside. The students entered my classroom directly after lunch during which they had been playing wall ball and running around out of doors.  Their flushed faces exuded joy and anticipation of the upcoming Spring Break.  I immediately regretted not having an experiment for them to do.  How would they ever settle down and become focused on their science fair blog?  I debated a last minute change in plans but knew we needed to press forward with the projects.  Minimally my plan was to determine the progress of each student  before the 10-day hiatus from anything remotely academic. 

To my surprise, these little 6th graders whipped out their computers and immediately accessed their blogs.  First came the exuberance over the statistics, “I’ve had seventy-five page views!” “I’ve had over a hundred!” and so on until everyone had shared.   Then, to work they went.  By the end of the class every single student was current with our science fair timeline and had worked ahead, nearly completing the research required for the blog due three days after our return from the break!  Not only that, but the blog posts actually look pretty good!  I was thrilled.  Literally thrilled.

The last two weeks before the science fair will still be a crunch, especially helping them to get all their information into poster form, however, as of now it seems manageable! 

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We will have judges this year like we did last year.  Bringing in experts from "the outside" raises the bar.

I attribute the momentum to their intrinsic motivation to “Wow people with knowledge”, “inform”, and “inspire”.  Where does this come from?  I think it has to do with the fact that they have truly been swept into the reality of global warming and perceive it as an actual problem that relates to them.  They sense that they can potentially make a difference in the world.   Additionally, they were allowed to choose the specific topic they will focus on for the science fair.  Finally, they feel responsibility in anticipating their roles as teachers of the greater school community at the science fair.   This project has real-world application and their presentations on the night of May 13th will be real-time with real people (other than their teachers) resulting in the process being a bona fide learning experience in every way.  

How much choice should students have in their own learning?

“Don’t you think you should let us make the decision?”

“He’s right”, I think.  But, I’m hesitant.

Normally, I send my second year IB students into the spring break with a regimented plan of review.  This year, however, I was stymied by the fact that their needs were so diverse and I couldn’t hone in on a “one size fits all” method.  From their mock exams I knew that, at a minimum, they all needed to review photosynthesis, osmoregulation, and all of genetics.

Now, it’s somewhat common to include students in deciding the rules of a classroom to enhance classroom management or to include students in building rubrics for a specific assignment to increase engagement in learning as well as quality of product.  However, I’m not so sure about preparation for IB exams.

Within a 10-second period a mental battle rages within:  The control freak inside of me wants to give them a quiz, after the break, covering their areas of weakness so that I can ensure that they will study what they need to study.  However, my logical self agrees with my students’ perspective that they are motivated enough to learn the topics they need to learn.  Then, the IB teacher inside of me reminds me of my responsibility to give them every opportunity to succeed.  The individual within me argues back that the students do know what to do and I’ve already equipped them properly.

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10 of the graduating seniors are in my IB Bio class, 7 of them intent on passing the IB Biology exam.

I listen to their individual study plans that include practice papers, reviewing weaknesses, and studying as they determined best suited for themselves.  They are convincing.

So, in the end, I decide to let them self-regulate.  After all, in a few months time they will all be at college.   They should be able to handle this on their own, right?

Of course, I’ll be doing some formative assessment upon their return from the break.  After all, I need to collect data on this little experiment, right?  And, the reality is that we still have time to go into hyper-drive mode in the event that the experiment doesn’t work.  

Small School Benefits

My son and I in front of the school.  The wonderful bike paths here in the Netherlands allow us to roller blade anywhere. However, he chose the school.  Partly, I think, because he really likes it there.  

Today we had a prospective student visit the school.  By the end of the day she had determined that she “was definitely coming”.  When students visit the school, they always choose our small, family-like environment over the larger international schools in the area (there are three within a one hour radius of us).  I wonder why they consistently forgo the impressive facades, extensive course offerings, and large social scene for our little school.  So, I’ve been thinking about it.  There are clearly some benefits to being in a class of ten students.  And when I say class, I mean the entire grade.  I think I can summarize as follows:

Participation in School Sports

Basically, everyone in middle and high school participates in all the sports.  Even if you’re not into athletics you are recruited to the teams because it’s part of the school culture to be a team member.  No one is excluded.  Of course, this also means that we aren’t the strongest teams on the courts and fields, however, true team spirit is developed as the students struggle for every win and fight hard in every loss.  The students bond and because everyone is playing, it creates a real sense of unity at the school.

Family Atmosphere

I’ve overheard our students explain to prospective students, “Well, we are a family here.  We all know each other and we all care about each other”.   There is amazing acceptance of differences, frequent offers and acts of students helping each other out, and genuine celebration of successes and sorrow for losses.  A couple of years ago we had a student, who has returned to his home country, who really struggled in science and then was absent due to an illness for a long period of time.  One student came up to me and said she’d be willing to stay after school and do all the labs with him that he had missed. Daily I see students reaching out to each other through little acts of kindness to long-term committed service to a friend in need.  It is really cool to see.  When I mention the words "family environment" to prospective parents they all nod vigorously adding, "Oh, I can feel that!"

Global Mindedness.

Many of the other bigger international schools still carry a very American cultural high school experience.  However, at our little school no one nationality dominates.  The students truly come from all over the world and are fairly represented.  It is so commonplace to have friends with entirely different family traditions, thus broadening acceptance of and appreciation of other cultures.  In the classroom this brings a vast diversity in perspective and approaches to learning.  As a teacher, I delight in the different mindsets and I see the world literally opening up to my students. 

Personalized Education.

For me as a teacher, this is one of my favorite aspects of the school.  First of all, there are almost no discipline issues.  And with such small class sizes, I can truly attend to the individual needs of each of my students. 

For example, today, in one class, a student was out for illness, a learning support teacher aided one student, and the rest of the students were working independently on their science fair project.  There was one student who had just not grasped the “big idea” of her project, was struggling to comprehend some of the research articles and generally needed some help.  I was basically able to sit down with her for the entire block and work 1:1 with her.  Afterwards she beamed and exclaimed, “Thank you so much.  Now I get it.  Now I really get it”.   And that feels good.

Equally, I am able to provide accelerated material for those students eager for more.

If a student wants a course not offered, we have a very structured access to online courses – some ridiculous amount of course offerings, like 50 or so.  I know of students taking IB Economics and IB Mandarin through the online program. 

An amazing accomplishment is that we have a 100% success pass rate for the IB diploma.  There are students who receive the diploma who probably wouldn’t have been admitted to other IB programs.  However, because of the individualized attention, they succeed at our school.

All of our students are accepted into colleges, universities and other programs of their choice. They move on to have productive and successful lives. 

Happiness.

Our school is a joyful place.  The students are upbeat and the teachers are cheerful.  The other day a new transfer student said, “I like it here because the teachers are so happy and they always smile at me”. 

Choosing A School

A small school environment is not necessarily the best decision for everyone.  However, if you’re moving to a new place and considering several schools, it might be worth your while to have your children visit the schools and allow them to be part of the decision making process.  It may take you on an unexpected and wonderful journey!

Even in a Small School, Students Cheat

Can we stop Cheating?

Pre-arrange the seating.  Spread the students out.  Collect all digital devices.  That was my agenda for the first five minutes of a class period in which I was proctoring a mock IB exam today.  Next, one pencil, one eraser, and one calculator allowed for each student.  I placed the digital devices on my table at the front of the room and distributed the exams. As I handed each student his/her individual exam I did a quick scan of any water bottle labels.  For the next two and a half hours I continued to monitor student behavior hoping not to observe “wandering eye syndrome” or other inappropriate conduct.

Later in the day, my head nearly implodes as I read through student blog posts plagued with “cut and paste” plagiarized sentences.  I suppress an irresistible, explosive urge to collect all the computers and just abort the entire blogging project.   However, after a moment of deliberation, my determination to educate overpowers the desire to take the easier route of abandonment.  I issue a mandate, “no cutting and pasting” which immediately results in a barrage of exceptions. 

“What if I’m cutting and pasting into the blog post and then editing it before I publish?”

“No”

 “What if I’m cutting and pasting into a word document and then editing and then pasting into my blog post?”    

“No”

“What if it’s just one sentence?”

“No”

“What about the url for the bibliography?”

I must admit, I was even tempted to say “no” to this one but agreed that only in the case of the website link was cutting and pasting OK.

Students were permitted to continue researching as I slowly made my way post-by-post through the class.  I interviewed each student discussing the problems with their specific post , especially any suspected plagiarized sections.  All were advised how and instructed to fix the errors.   To work they went, with increased understanding of plagiarism and hopefully better equipped to avoid it.

If you do an Internet search on academic dishonesty, you will discover a myriad of articles, essays and books on the topic.  There are tens of reasons why students cheat, hundreds of methods how to cheat, and several techniques to minimize cheating.  Jayme Gillen, an online learning examiner, argues, “Students who feel part of a school community are less likely to cheat” (1).  Thus, students at our school should be highly unlikely to cheat considering the family-like atmosphere and caring environment.  However, we, like bigger schools,  also deal with the issue of academic honesty ranging from the innocent middle school student still learning what it means to cheat to the high school student who knowingly stows answers in the pencil case or slyly accesses information on a digital device during an exam.

The article “Cheating in School: Why it happens and how to prevent it” (2) is an efficient summary of the many articles I have perused on the subject.  There are two particular points in this article that resonate with me.  The first one, “Provide personal, one-on-one feedback…it is important for students to feel like they are more than just a grade or a GPA” (2) addresses a practice I am trying more and more to implement in my classroom.  The practice of comments only grading (Click here for my post on this a few days ago) appears to not only increase student progress but will also reduce student cheating.  The second point indicates that when students are focused on mastery of standards rather than getting the grade, they are less likely to cheat (2).  I try to implement the practice of focusing on standards in grading my students in hopes of being more accurate in my assessment and reporting.  Apparently, this method of grading might also reduce academic dishonesty. 

Of course the idealist in me would like to inspire students in such a way that they simply have no desire to cheat or better yet, that the learning environment is such that they don’t even think about it. 

I do think that there is less deliberate cheating occurring in the middle school where the emphasis is less on grades.  It seems that once the pressure of grades descends upon the students in high school, the practice of academic dishonesty seems to increase.  Granted, there are other factors as well.  However, the scientist in me would like to pose the question, “How does the elimination of grades affect student cheating in high school students?”  If it could be done in a properly controlled scientific manner, wouldn’t that be a great study?

(1) Gillen, Jayme. "5 reasons why students cheat in school." Examiner.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. <http://www.examiner.com/article/5-reasons-why-students-cheat-school>.

(2) "Cheating in school: Why it happens and how to prevent it | AboutOurKids.org." Cheating in school: Why it happens and how to prevent it | AboutOurKids.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. <http://www.aboutourkids.org/articles/cheating_in_school_why_it_happens_how_prevent_it>.

What do you think parents should/want to know regarding their child’s learning behaviors?

The question is, do parents care about a child’s learning behaviors or are they more concerned with “the grade”? After all, it’s not like colleges ask for an assessment on work ethic, honesty, and collaborative skills, etc.  Grades and test scores are primarily what get kids into universities.  So are grades more important than behavior? Or are learning behaviors just as important as grades?  This is a follow up to blogs posted March 28-30.

Speaking out in in a faculty meeting, a colleague challenged the group, “If we don’t emphasize learning behaviors then why are we here?  Otherwise the students can just sign up for Kahn Academy.  They don’t need school then”.  She has a point, right?  Part of our role as teachers is, indeed, to teach and foster good learning behaviors such as academic honesty, meeting deadlines, submitting work that not only demonstrates understanding but is neat and without technical errors, collaboration, working independently, and staying on task.  Simultaneous to fulfilling this role, we definitely need to teach skills and content, for example, in my case, the ability to carry out an investigation properly employing the scientific method and a knowledge of botany, genetics, human physiology, and ecology, to name a few. 

Ultimately, I personally believe that learning behaviors do count.  They are important. They might be indicative of the kind of university student the child will become and, if the behaviors remain consistent, they might hint at what type of employee this student might evolve into someday.  If learning behaviors are important, shouldn’t we be reporting on them to parents? Or should we only report on the achievement attained? 

If you think that behaviors should be reported on, then how do we report on it? 

I recall that when I took my babies to the doctor for growth check-ups and vaccinations, the doctor measured the head circumference, height, and weight of the child.  Additionally, assessments on reflexes and motor development were performed.  Questions were posed about cognitive advances.  We discussed all of these developmental elements separately.  It’s not like the doctor gave me one number to indicate my child’s physical maturation and mental progress.

Similarly, it makes sense to me that teachers should assess and report on learning behaviors and accomplishments of students separately.  When we include behavior in the grade (such as turning in assignments on time, neatness, collaborating, staying focused in class), we end up knowing nothing about either the learning behaviors or the actual achievements of the student.  For example, in the accompanying picture, the student submitted a beautiful piece of work.  The student additionally demonstrated focus and working well independently.  However, the proper content was completely missing from the poster, indicating that the standards of achievement had not been met.  Shouldn't there be a grade for the appearance of the poster and a separate grade for mastery of the expected content?  If the grade was an average of the student's behavior (neatness, working independently, being focused) AND the content, then the parents would not know that their child was not understanding the content.  Either including behavior in a grade artificially inflates or deflates the reporting of what the students actually knows.  I’m quite confident that in classrooms where behavior is averaged into the grade, the goodie-two-shoes have inflated grades while the rambunctious, energetic students have deflated grades.  Is that a fair indication of what these students have actually achieved? Does anyone care?

I had a discussion with a parent about this the other day and she replied,  “You see my kids benefit from grade inflation due to their good behavior so I don’t mind it.”  In the end, is it really “the grade” that solely matters to parents?  Do they have any interest in what their child understands and can do? 

Just this week I received emails from a set of parents in which they expressed concern about their child’s performance in classes.  However, the communications centered on the student’s learning behaviors.  One of the parents actually wrote the following, “One of my concerns is that John spends time doing his homework, but I’m not sure of the quality of the time spent.  To me this is all part of maturing as a student, and I’m not sure where John is on that journey yet…Please trust us when we say, that we do and will continue to hold John accountable for doing his work and developing the skills required for him to be successful as a student”.  PEFECT PARENT EMAIL.  I know these parents aren’t solely focused on the “grade”.  They really care about their child’s progress both in terms of mastering content and in terms of learning behavior.  Are there more of you out there?

How do you feel about assessing and reporting on learning behaviors separately from mastery of skills and content?

Are Test Retakes (Reassessments) Fair?

 I really hate when I hand back a test and a student asks, without even looking at the incorrect answers and without any real thought, “Can I retake it?”  However, I also think there is a place for reassessment.

Two weeks ago a class of mine took an exam.  The range of scores was from 21/50 to 46/50.  Despite formative assessments, labs requiring the students to apply knowledge, and various activities that ensured me that the students were ready for the test, the results suggested otherwise.  I was simply not satisfied to “let it slide” and move on, leaving students without having mastered the standards.  All students were required to make corrections.  Those receiving a score under 75% were required additionally to schedule an interview with me to review their corrections and then to schedule a reassessment outside of class.  Students with scores above 75% could also retake the test under the same stipulations.

 The interviews were fascinating.  I think the students were anticipating that I was just going to look for correct answers and send them on their way, however, I insisted they justify and explain all their answers and then I probed and questioned them further.  I could instantly discern the student who just tried to extract “the answers” from their peers.  One student actually said, “John told me this was the answer”.    Other students struggled with the content trying to understand, referring to their notes, the text, and some getting help from their parents,  doing what it took to achieve understanding.  The ones who struggled most with the content also made the most progress.

Students who sought after the quick answer required an interview of 30-45 minutes as they had to learn the concepts properly but still left my classroom with a need to “lock it in”.  However,  students who had struggled with the content required a much shorter interview and had several “Ah ha” moments as the lights “went on” through their own verbalization of the content.

 I had warned the students that the reassessment covered the same content but looked different.  Following the retake one student said, “That was tricky.  You changed the questions!”

 The results are in tonight.  Students who struggled with the content and made a real effort to understand all improved their score by at least 10%.  They clearly have made progress in their learning.  I think students should have every opportunity to show what they understand and what they can do and sometimes that necessitates a reassessment.

There are two issues here: student motivation and reassessment.  Tonight I'm focusing on reassessment.

 Here are my criteria for test retakes:

1. You must make corrections on the current exam
2. You must demonstrate or show evidence for practicing or learning the material (in this case, I used an interview instead)
3. You must come to me of your own initiative to reschedule the test outside of class.

What are your thoughts?  What are the pros and cons of reassessment?

(Image from article "Psychological impacts of grades on a student", a good read)

Language Mayhem: One of the challenges at international schools

Today a new student started high school.  

He speaks no English. And I mean NO English.  No matter what I say or gesticulate, he just nods his head.  Not even “yes” or “no” at this point.  The instructions I received for today were to not “make” him speak and “just let him follow along”.

My students are in the middle of a lab that they started on Friday.  I feel desperate to give this new student some idea of what we are doing so I resort to Google Translate.  I formulate a series of simple sentences that I hope will translate reasonably well.  Of course, he only nods his head in response but it’s something, right?  He watches as the other students perform the lab.  His eyes are bloodshot.  He rubs his eyes, his face, trying to appear somewhat focused.  He’s clearly exhausted.  I know how tiring it can be to spend the entire day surrounded by a foreign language and that is even when I understand most of what is being said!  He has to pick up everything through visual clues.

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Despite its shortcomings, Google Translate is one of my favorite sites these days.  I’ve used it this year for students speaking French, Dutch, Portuguese, Turkish, and Japanese.  It allows us to communicate.  I ran one of the sentences I used today through a series of English to Japanese to Dutch to Hindi to Malay and back to English just to see what I got back. I figured if it was remotely close to my original phrase then my initial translation probably made sense to the new student.   I chose the languages represented by the student population in this particular class.  “We are doing a lab right now” transformed to “Now we have a laboratory” – that’s pretty good, right?  

I am incredibly impressed by the resilience of these students who arrive with no language skills. While a few shut down and refuse to move forward, thrusting themselves and those around them into a negative spiral of frustration, others tackle the challenge with vigor, engaging themselves and attempting to speak with the most rudimentary set of words and phrases.  It is incredible to watch them grow and develop becoming fluent and fully participatory both socially and academically.  I hope this new student falls into the latter category.

This relates to a previous post of mine pondering the value of providing an intensive language course for new students who are English language learners.  A friend responded on fb to my post suggesting some ideas, including tapping into the volunteer organization at the school or perhaps offering Saturday sessions for language learners.  She added, “you need a network, you can’t do it alone”.  It’s true, for the successful language learners I see they do have a network including themselves, their parents, their ESL teachers, their peers, and their classroom teachers. Oh, and Google Translate.

Does anyone have an experience of their own to share or a story of someone they know who successfully acquired a language in a short period of time?  What are the ingredients to success?

Flipped Role Models: Gender equality

This past week I heard a clip of an interview with Hilary Clinton.  She describes that as a young lawyer she was looking at advice column focusing on the work place.  A reader had posed a question on how to decorate a new office that was received following a promotion.  The columnist responding wrote that he couldn’t determine the gender of the reader due to the fact that the reader had signed the question with initials.  However, the advice was that if he was a man and pictures of his family he should put the pictures up because everyone would know that he was a responsible, reliable family man.  However, if she was a woman she should not put up any family photos as people would think she wouldn’t be able to concentrate on her work.  Hilary went on to comment that some of these attitudes still exist today, even in the Western world.

I hope that as teachers we are in a position to educate students away from these attitudes.  I am enjoying the fact that right now at my school we seem to be operating on a flipped role model system.  Our Science Department employs a 100% women staff while our Math Department has a 50/50 split of men and women and our English Department is filled primarily with men (75%).  My women colleagues are similar to me in that they have advanced degrees in their subject areas and have worked in the workplace as scientists.  They are educated, intelligent, strong, hard-working women.  To me they are great examples to both boys and girls.  Meanwhile our liberal arts male counterparts down the hallway are highly intelligent, thoughtful, and interesting individuals also providing good examples for boys and girls.  I feel like between us all we are showing, by example, a system of equality in which men and women work side-by-side collaboratively, respectfully and valuing one another regardless of gender.

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Here our team is playing in the cramped gym - you can see the bar on the right blocking parent view as we are seated in the storage area.

A couple of weeks ago our basketball teams played in a tournament in Antwerp.  I thought it was interesting that the girls’ team was consistently slotted to play on a smaller side court while the boys’ teams played in big, open courts.  Even the parents for the girls’ teams had to sit in a storage room to cheer their girls on.  I wonder now if, though surely unintentional, a subtle message of inequality was sent to the various girls teams that played on that court.

There is no excuse, in the Western world, for women and men to be viewed differently in the classroom or in the workforce simply because of gender.  I wonder if our example at the school is enough.  How can we, as educators and parents ensure that we pass on an attitude of equality such that it becomes part of the inner self and is no longer up for debate?

Meeting IB Deadlines: Will example alone help teach students?

It was 3:30 a.m. before my head finally hit the pillow last night.  After I maneuvered my way through that PSOW form (I posted about that yesterday) I wanted to read through all of the IAs one more time just to make sure I was as accurate as possible with my marking. 

The seniors walked in to my classroom at 10:55.  We only needed to compile the paper work.  It’s simple.  The two internal assessments (IAs) each with their respective document outlining the awarded marks, the teacher guidelines for all practical work and the PSOW form signed by the respective student and me.  Yet, it took an hour.  I think I had to reprint a couple of the documents five times before they were correct.  Some of the students needed an IA printed in color.  One PSOW required dates to be changed.  It seems that no matter how well one prepares these documents the need for changes always arise.  However, finally all of the forms were neatly ordered in cover slips and stacked sleekly awaiting shipment.  The IB Coordinator and I made sure the marks were uploaded online and then we were done.

There is such relief in having a deadline met.  I think I'll be glad that I stayed up late last night so that I could meet the deadline ahead of time with a quality product.  Some of my posts have generated a discussion on the fact that we need to teach students to meet their deadlines.  So do you think they’ll take notice of the fact that all of their IA deadlines in all of their subjects were met in advance of the actual shipment deadline? Can they see that even though we ran into several glitches it was relatively stress free because we had allotted ourselves the time?  Is that enough to motivate them? What do you think?  How do we actually teach students to meet deadlines?

My relationship with the laminating machine: student engagement

I used to think the laminating machine was just for elementary teachers.  They have all those fun and colorful things for their cute and cuddly youngsters and we, in the secondary school just don’t.

Last year I participated, as part of Professional Development at our school, in an EAL certification program.  During the course we were presented with all sorts of creative ideas to help the language learners in our classes.  Furthermore we were expected to trial the ideas with our students and follow up with a reporting of the results.  I took the challenge seriously and quickly came to the understanding that these activities were truly “best practices” benefitting all learners in the class.  However, I wasn’t convinced that my IB students would “buy into” such activities, I mean, really, handling laminated cards and arranging the process of antibody production on the tabletops?  I was dead wrong.  Even my Year 2 IB students delighted in the exercises and claimed that such hands-on activities helped them learn.  Thus, I’ve incorporated these type of practices into all of my units.  Wanting to preserve the material for future use, I decided to laminate.  I experienced a feeling of “initiation” and empowerment as I joined my elementary colleagues at the laminating machine.  In the meantime I have collected several binders full of laminated activities. 

Today I used one of my laminated projects on my high school biology students.  In an effort to introduce them to the topic of the chemistry of life that has a load of vocabulary I pulled out the laminated vocabulary squares.   Each pair of students received a stack of cards, half containing bolded vocabulary words and the other half with the corresponding definition or match (i.e. the structure of glucose or a lipid or an amino acid).  The students immediately spread the cards out seeking words they could identify. Discussions of roots and possible meanings ensued.  Communications of reasoning and logic followed.  During this time, I easily assessed any prior knowledge the students had.

Once the students were stumped, I allowed them to consult their book.  Captivated and animated the students immersed themselves in the text reading paragraphs to each other, deciphering meaning and identifying further matches.  Once they “were done” they quizzed each other and additionally mixed up the cards to try again.  I was able to circulate and informally assess how each student's progress through questioning and low-pressure quizzing.  They smiled and laughed as they stretched their brains for understanding and committing content to memory.

With plenty of time left, the class was prepared to begin the lab on chemical testing of certain molecules found in foods.  Thanks to our introductory activity, they were already approaching this task with scientific language and a basic knowledge that will aid them in understanding the lab.

As the students donned their aprons and goggles, I happily placed my laminated treasures back in their designated pocket in the HS binder.  My association with the laminating machine has paid off once again.  Do you have any good ideas that have worked for you or heard your children describe or remember from your own schooling experience?  Please share below!

Differentiated Learning via the neighborhood ecosystem (and the IMYC)

Activity 1: Data collection in our neighborhood canal region (I posted about the distraction we had that day).  Students recorded observations on sightings and evidence of living organisms in the forested area banking a canal across the street from our school.

Activity 2: Students constructed energy pyramids of our neighborhood ecosystem and generated an informational brochure on Google Docs that they then linked to the blog post they wrote on the topic.

Activity 3: A brain pop video and a game on making food chains.

Today, using their data from activity #1 and their learning from activity #3, students have been instructed to be thorough in drawing out food chains of our neighborhood ecosystem.  Once again there is instant energy in the classroom.   As I circulate I enjoy the enthusiasm, the focus, and the intensity that surrounds me. 

“Can we turn this into a food web?” a student queries as he holds up a marker that he has lifted from the already burgeoning web on his paper.

One student is holding his food chain poster in front of the camera adjusting the frame to capture the image “just so”. 

Several are further analyzing the data to find additional connections.

“How do I incorporate the decomposers?” a boy questions as he holds up his poster gesticulating how he imagines adding this important piece of information.

Two girls compare food chains to see if they can glean some ideas from each other. 

I survey the nearly completed food chains.  They are all so wonderfully distinct!  Language learners have drawn pictures instead of writing all the names. Left to right.  Top to bottom. Some with bubbles, some with squares, some with just the animal names and arrows. A few students have elected to actually create a food web of the multiple chains.  One student has succeeded in incorporating the decomposers.  The activity in itself has lent itself to differentiation. 

Then they eagerly capture an image of their poster to upload the picture onto their blog.  The posts are written and published.  “Class is over already?” one notes as she looks at the time.  It has flown by for me as well.

The International Middle Year Curriculum (IMYC) claims to be a “challenging, engaging, internationally-minded, concept-focused curriculum designed specifically for the unique learning needs for 11-14 year olds” through “making meaning, connecting learning, and developing minds” (1) My experience with this curriculum is that I have a lot of work to do with regard to creating rubrics, building in the scientific method, and scaffolding.  However, the overall outcome is, indeed, a differentiated, vigorous, and exciting learning experience. Any other IMYC experiences out there?

(1) "What is the IMYC?." The International Middle Years Curriculum. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2014. <http://www.greatlearning.com/imyc/the-imyc/what-is-imyc>.

Understanding success criteria

I handed out the Internal Assessment (IA) criteria for Design, along with the guidelines from the IB, and had the students analyze and discuss it.  They were to identify what constitutes a “complete” score for Aspects 1, 2, and 3.  Then, they assessed sample work that had been submitted by students during this past May exam period.  They combed through the IAs seeking to understand the research question, the variables, and whether it was a properly controlled experiment.  

I gave them explicit instructions as to how I expect the research question formulated and the variables (with units) outlined in table format.  Additionally, in the table they are to discuss clearly how they will control their controlled variables.  The students compared the expectations with the sample work before them and correctly identified weaknesses as well as strengths. 

Next they were to design, set up and carry out an experiment of their own (Investigate a factor affecting osmosis in gummy bears).  I chose something really simple this time so that they could focus on the design and their manipulative skills in the lab.  It has taken all week for them to create a design with correctly identified variables and a plan to properly control the experiment.  Today they busily did the initial preparations for the lab they will set up tomorrow.  I was able to focus on ensuring proper lab techniques, teaching serial dilutions, how to make molar concentrations, and identifying and discussing solutions to common pitfalls in the lab.  Each student had a turn to identify problems they were having in this initial phase and seek ideas and helps. 

I liked the format of establishing a clear understanding of the success criteria and then having the students actually work on unique (but simple) experiments rather than employing the identical lab for all.  The students are definitely invested.  The designs are GOOD. The understanding is keen.  Spending an entire week on making sure the students know the success criteria has unquestionably been worth our time.

The Power of Student Blogging

Hope is in the air as the middle students query, “Do we get to work on our blogs?” They are anticipatorily at attention sitting on the edge of their seats with their computers ready to open if I give the “OK”.  I had planned some blogging time towards the end of the lesson but they are just so ready NOW that I alter my plans.

One student is literally bouncing up and down in his chair with excitement.  “THREE people have viewed my blog!”   Other students immediately check their statuses as well.  “Can anyone in the world see our blogs?”  “How many followers will we get?”  The eagerness is palpable. 

They are incredibly focused as they ponder the aspects of global warming that interest them.  They are thoughtful and careful as they attempt to put their reflections into the written word.  Web sites are consulted, images are uploaded, and miraculously, everything is properly annotated with resources.  The quality of work these 11-12 years olds is producing is quite impressive.  They are invested.  It is their voice.

One student wrote, “ I have been asked to consider three effects of global warming that I’d like to do more research on.  This meant for me to think out of the box and do a lot of research on the topic.  I feel like all of my posts should be providing new information at all times.” Over and over I have been surprised by the ambitious approach students have taken with regard to their blogging. 

Using blogs as a method for students to communicate learning and reflection has so far proven to be a far more powerful tool than we originally expected.  My colleague and I initially thought the blogs would center on the progress of each student’s science fair project.  However, the blogs rapidly expanded to become regular forums documenting the progress of learning in all aspects of our classrooms. 

I encourage giving students voice in their own learning.  It empowers them.  It makes them accountable.  It engages them. Plus, it simply energizes the classroom and the learning experience.

Intensive language course for language learners?

“Go cafeteria?” he points to himself.

I look at him and the clock.  The class just came from lunch, two minutes ago.  “What do you need in the cafeteria?”

His response is unintelligible.  “Do you need food?”  He nods affirmatively.  So I figure because of the language barrier he somehow missed lunch.  I let him go.

A few minutes later he returns with the school nurse who then asks the class, “Has anyone seen Josue’s coat?  He says he left it in the cafeteria” 

With this level of language skills it feels like a waste of time for Josue to even be in science class.  He has no idea what is going on.  He doesn’t understand instructions.  He doesn’t understand the tasks.  He is just following the crowd.  He Google translates every printed word I give him.  I've had EAL training.  I have a skill set to help language learners, however, even this need is beyond my current abilities.  He has a good attitude.  He’s trying.  By the end of science class, which is towards the end of the day, his eyes gloss over.  He’s exhausted. 

It seems it would be best for these brand new language learners to just take intensive language instruction for a few weeks before entering the classroom.  Then, they would be so much better equipped to cope and more able to begin learning in their new language.

The carbon cycle: An activity that really works!

I use sticky-tack to hang my oversized laminated equations of photosynthesis and respiration on the white board (they extend the entire length of the board).  Some interest is generated.  I pull out the large, colored, laminated atoms of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen and intrigue officially settles in.  I have the students stand up and I quickly arrange a few tables into a circle and another set of tables into a second circle.  The students can hardly wait to see what comes next and they crowd excitedly around me eager to receive some atoms.  I divide the atoms, allowing students to form carbon dioxide or water molecules with the atoms given them.  I ask them to look at the equations on the board and determine what needs to happen with the atoms.  We all are “pulled into the roots of the plant” and enter the first enclosed circle of tables.  The big “LIGHT ENERGY” sign is held up and we all link arms and rearrange (albeit a bit awkwardly) our atoms to create a sugar molecule.  We release some diatomic oxygen molecules from the plant.  Then, as a big unit, still linking arms and holding our unified sugar molecule, we are “eaten” by some kind of herbivore, the students pick cow.  We enter the second circle, together as one unit of sugar, and are inside the cow.  The oxygen molecules are also brought in.  We are broken up and the atoms are rearranged with the oxygen to form carbon dioxide and water molecules again.  The big heat energy sign is employed.  We repeat the cycle several times giving different students “charge” of directing the group through either respiration or photosynthesis.  We follow the carbons and discuss how the same carbon atoms are reused over and over again.  They ponder the implications.  They get it. 

I like this activity for several reasons:

1)   It emphasizes the rearrangement of atoms during chemical reactions

2)   It demonstrates the actual cycle of the carbon cycle

3)   It illustrates the chemical processes of respiration and photosynthesis

4)   It engages the students directly with the content

5)   It encourages collaboration as students need to juggle the atoms and form the molecules

6)   It can be used as a formative assessment by having students take turns directing the group through the either photosynthesis or respiration.  As soon as a student has to verbalize the process it is clear whether they understand or not.

I have taken the activity from the US Global Change Research Program (http://www.globalchange.gov/resources/educators/toolkit/materials) site that outlines three carbon cycle activities (at the bottom of the page) to conduct with students in order to guide them towards understanding the concept of the carbon cycle in terms of photosynthesis and respiration.   I highly recommend laminating the molecules and signs and equations as students WILL handle them with vigor. 

Furthermore, I originally made the activity for my 6th graders in the context of a Global Warming unit.  However,  I find myself pulling either the molecules or the equations out for other classes, even my IB Biology classes!  They come in surprisingly handy.  Just this past week I pulled out the laminated pieces and used the entire activity on my 8th graders after realizing they still weren’t understanding the carbon cycle as I presented it to them in the context of a chemistry IMYC unit (I posted about that on Friday).  

Ownership in learning and in the school itself

“Hey Dr. Markham, we got something for you!”

“Really?”  I’m awkwardly dragging my bags and supplies out the school gate as I respond to two approaching  9th grade girls.

“Yeah.  Some fish!” they exclaim in unison.  I spot the bulging bag and am instantly touched.  Their smiling faces warm my heart that dark and dreary afternoon.  They excitedly open the bag up so I can see their selection.  I peer down into the brown paper bag and identify two guppies swimming in the plastic bag within.  I am relieved that they’ve chosen relatively hardy fish.   My heart yearns accompany the girls back into the school and help them add the fish to one of the tanks but I am in a rush to pick up my son’s cat from surgery so I explain to them what they need to do and I let them into the gate as I depart for my car.

Of course, I really hope those fish will survive the night and that the school of goldfish in the tank won’t attack them.  The next morning as I enter my classroom I immediately check for my students’ fish.  Sure enough there they are, swimming happily around the tank.   My relief sends me down the hallway to  find my students and inform them of the fish’s well being.  With full enthusiasm the girls race into to my classroom to inspect the situation themselves.  Their enthusiasm is pure joy to behold.  They analyze the guppies’ movements and are convinced they are a “pair”.  They inform me of the names of the fish and I am truly grateful for these students and their donation to the fish tank.   There is something special about the fact that students have made the effort to pick out the fish and carry them to the school and up the stairs and into my classroom.  It gives the students some ownership to the classroom itself.

I’ll also forever be partial to “Harold” and “Rizz”, the guppy beauties among the gold fish, because they were hand-picked by students.

I’ve always sensed the wisdom and power in hanging student work around the classroom and in the hallways.  Now, I see equal benefit to allowing students to be the creators of the décor themselves.  Ownership.  There is power in not only ownership of one’s learning but ownership in one’s school itself.

Another round of the Carbon Cycle or can we move on?

My 8th grade students have supposedly learned the water cycle, the carbon cycle, and the nitrogen cycle.  They’ve completed a lab “How does combustion affect carbon dioxide levels in air” and today they submitted a lab “How do plants affect the nitrate and ammonia levels in a bin of water containing two fish”.   I’m ready to have them undertake a global warming lab that will hopefully help them make the link between increasing CO2 levels, greenhouse gases, and global warming.  However, I wasn’t sure if they have really grasped the concept of the cycles.  In a PowerPoint I put together some formative assessment questions, all multiple-choice and all designed to expose misconceptions.  They answered on their whiteboards.  WOW was that ever interesting and incredibly informative!  3/5 of the students clearly had NO deep understanding. 1/5 was 100% ready to move on and the other 1/5 was 99% ready to move on.   So, it very easily told me that I needed to do an additional, very hands-on activity that I had tucked away “in my back pocket”.  I saw several “light bulbs go on” and at the end of class everyone (including those that had been ready to move on) commented, “That was very helpful”.  One more round of formative assessment on Monday and I'm quite sure we’ll be able to start the lab that day as well.