The Reluctant One and How to Help

The Reluctant One and How to Help

Everyone learns in their own way.  While this is something we typically keep in mind regarding how we present information for students, we sometimes forget the same idea applies to teachers as well.  Teachers who are brand new to the classroom may be more apt to have an instructional technology specialist/coach offer suggestions or ways to improve in the classroom.  A veteran teacher may not be as open to the suggestions.  As I have provided training and coaching this school year, I have found the above statement to be true.

I am working with two teachers for the coaching project.  Teacher A is a second-year teacher and eager to continue to improve her instruction and classroom management skills.  She is open to any suggestions that are offered and wants to learn new skills to share with her students.  Her coaching sessions have not been a struggle.

Teacher B is a little bit different. Teacher B is a 15-year teacher that has seen success in the way she handles her classroom.  She attends workshops, training and coaching sessions but has a more difficult time with accepting and implementing these strategies in her classroom. Once she implemented the first strategy and saw some success, she was a little more intrigued by the conversations in other coaching sessions.  During the first coaching session, the honor confidentiality technique was implemented.  I wanted to make sure she knew that I was there to offer my help and would not critique her or the outcomes.  

I know not all coaching experiences will be as easy as these two have been. However, the same mentality will need to be implemented with any coaching situation.  The text mentions six techniques for working with reluctant teachers (Marzano, Simms, Roy, Heflebower, & Warrick, 2013, p. 216).  These techniques ensure a classroom teacher the instructional technology coach is there to help improve teaching opportunities not evaluate the teacher or critique them.  Once this is established and agreed, the coaching conversations should be more enjoyable.

Regardless of the coaching situation, if a teacher's attitude to change is negative, the coaching experience will be more challenging (Marzano, Simms, Roy, Heflebower, & Warrick, 2013, p. 215). Keeping things honest and fun might help the situation. Since I work with elementary teachers, this video could be used to encourage reluctant teachers to at least try to improve their instructional practice. References:
Marzano, R. J., Simms, J. A., Roy, T., Heflebower, T., & Warrick, P. (2013). Coaching
  classroom instruction. Bloomington: Marzano Research Laboratory.

Pixar Life Lessons - Disney Top 10 [Video file]. (n.d.). Retrieved from 
http://video.disney.com/watch/pixar-life-lessons-disney-top-10-510e036c45743d0e047be35a

Class Norms Are They Necessary?

First year teacher…  for those of us who have been teaching a while, when we hear that simple phrase we just close our eyes and  take a deep breath.  In my experience, most first year teachers are very inexperienced, even if they have participated in “hundreds” of observation/student teaching hours while in college.  Unfortunately, most first year teachers are not as prepared as needed when it relates to setting up effective classroom rules and procedures.  In the text, Coaching Classroom Instruction, the author mentions forty-one elements that are necessary for a successful routine classroom.  Element 4 is “establishing and maintaining classroom rules and procedures” (2013, p. 40) which I feel is the most important element.  

Classroom structure is key to student learning.  When students know what is expected of them they no longer have to guess what they should do.  This will help deter misbehavior and confusion.  In the section regarding classroom rules and procedures, the author mentions establishing a small amount of rules and procedures, let students have by-in when creating the rules/procedures, posting them around the room, and review the rules/procedures regularly (Marzano, Simms, Roy, Heflebower, & Warrick, 2013, p. 40).  In my experience, students who have by-in to setting up class rules and procedures tend to take ownership and strive to follow these rules.  

As a coach, I have the opportunity to assist new teachers in setting up class rules and procedures with regard to technology.  Our school rolled out a 1:1 Chromebook initiative this school year and for the most part, all of our teachers (veteran and novice) were unsure of how to set up rules and procedures regarding all the new technology in the classroom.  Through faculty trainings, I offered many of the guidelines mentioned in the text.  While majority of the teachers followed the suggestions on setting up procedures the first week of school, some did not.  The teachers who have rules set in place have had little to no issues with behavior ir damage to the devices thus far.  Most of discipline issues related to technology are from classrooms without well defined technology rules/procedures.  Helping teachers set-up their rules/procedures is not a hard task but can be challenging if they are resistant to change.  The article written by Kristen Masters (2017) offers ten guidelines on how to be a successful mentor.  These guidelines are similar to the ones mentioned in the text.  The last guideline states "this is a living document”.  I love this guideline.  This leaves room for growth and change, which is always needed, especially with a first year teacher!

eMINTS professional development offers teachers a deeper way of thinking about their classroom set-up.  Through the trainings, teachers create classroom norms (i.e. rules/procedures) of how they want students to use technology or classroom behavior while using technology.  This allows the eMINTS trainer (such as myself) the opportunity to help guide the process.  The image here is from a classroom in Baldwin County who set her norms the first week of school.  She then  had her students to sign stating they were committing to following the norms.  If a student has a moment of weakness and does not follow the norms,  all the teacher needs to do is redirect the student back to the list of norms and guide them to continue with following the norms.  When norms/procedures are set in place, this process is very effective.

Classroom climate is top priority in ensuring student learning is happening.  As a coach, offering guidance to new teachers regarding setting up rules and procedures is a challenging task but is rewarding and beneficial.  Once the rules/procedures are set in place, allowing the students to create an infographic or video like the one below is a fun way to ensure they understand what they are agreeing to follow.    

References:

Classroom Rules [Video file]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://youtu.be/ddvTFgzkSSM

Marzano, R. J., Simms, J. A., Roy, T., Heflebower, T., & Warrick, P. (2013). Coaching classroom

instruction. Bloomington: Marzano Research Laboratory.

Ten simple rules for developing a mentor–mentee expectations document. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005709

Coach or Mentor? What do educators need most?

When you hear the word team, you usually think of a group of people who share the same interest (i.e., sport, ideas, goals, etc.). A team of teachers usually are individuals who want to see students succeed and grow in learning.  However, over time, this team can dismantle, and some can lose the desire to work together.  The coach has the job of bringing the team members back together to reach the common goal.  

Coaches in sports and the classroom often have the same problems, team members that do not want to a coach.  A coach is a person who helps “someone move from where he or she is to where he or she needs or wants to be (Marzano, Simms, Roy, Heflebower, & Warrick, 2013,  p. 4).  This situation can cause frustration and dissension on any team.  What steps can be taken to overcome this issue in a school setting?

Schools often assign new teachers a mentor or “someone who is a friend or counselor” (Marzano, Simms, Roy, Heflebower, & Warrick, 2013,  p. 4).  This person is designed to help answer questions and get them started as they begin their teaching career.  While this is a great resource, often a mentor does not guide the new teacher to being an effective teacher.

Is there a big difference between a mentor and a coach?  In my personal experience, I have seen differences between the two.  During my first year of teaching, my mentor was the department head.  While she was very knowledgeable in our field, she seldom helped me improve my lessons or offer advice on how to reach the needs of my students in the classroom.  On the other hand, our instructional technology coach has provided me more guidance and resources to improve my lessons in the last two years, than I received during my first three years combined.  What was the difference?  The coach worked with me one on one, observed my instruction and offered suggestions on how to improve.  My mentor told me what to do with all the papers that came in on a weekly basis.  Coaching may not improve student’s scores, but there is evidence that “coaching increased teacher’s efficacy” (Marzano, Simms, Roy, Heflebower, & Warrick, 2013, p. 7) which in turn will enhance student learning.  

To be an effective coach, you must meet the teacher where they are at that time.  Is there one right method to reach this, I would say no.  However, the model of effective teaching mentioned in the text (Marzano, Simms, Roy, Heflebower, & Warrick, 2013, p. 19) is a great place to start.  When working with teachers, it is vital that the students are clear on expectations of daily routines, presentation of new information, expectations, and consequences.

Over the past year, I have had the opportunity to assist in coaching a group of teachers as they incorporate technology into their instructional strategies.  This professional development has been a challenge as some of the teachers did not want to be a member of this team.  In spite of the rocky start, a  tremendous amount of growth has occurred in this team of educators.  This team has participated in hours of training, pre-lesson planning, executing planned lessons and reflection conversations after the lesson.  The discussions reference back to the teacher’s comfort level, desires for student learning and student needs.  Even though this team is small, the excitement in student success has carried over to other teachers throughout the school.  

This video offers a different explanation between coach and mentor.
There is a fine line between the two and coaching is not an easy task.  However, when a coach is open to listening and willing to accommodate the needs of the team members, success can be expected.  I am excited to learn how I can improve in the area of coaching fellow team members.  

References:

Coaching vs mentoring. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://youtu.be/3fFQiLOtDkc

Marzano, R. J., Simms, J. A., Roy, T., Heflebower, T., & Warrick, P. (2013). Coaching      classroom instruction. Bloomington, IN Marzano Research Laboratory.

 

 

Elements of Instructional Design

Instructional design can be defined as “the analysis of learning and performance problems, and the design, development, implementation, evaluation, and management of instructional and non-instructional processes and resources intended to improve learning and performance in a variety of settings, particularly education institutions and the workplace.  Professional in the field instructional design and technology often use systematic instructional design procedures and employ instructional media to accomplish their goals” (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018, p.  5).  Throughout this course, I have learned about how much planning needs to be done in order to make a learning course effective.  Many times learning opportunities such as conferences or workshops are developed as a “sit and get” session. We all have attended our share of these sessions.  When a presenter is able to grab and hold the learner's attention, the learning curve usually goes up.  Unfortunately, there are classrooms with the same type of learning environments.

One factor of instructional design I recently learned about is how important the planning stages are. The most common model used for planning is SAM (Successive Approximation Model).  Through this process, the presented “repeated attempts to achieve closer proximity to perfection (without expecting to achieve it) ( Reiser & Dempsey, 2018, p. 43).  Other key factors of the instructional design include creating active authentic learning, motivation and using media wisely.  When all of these factors are fully developed, professional training or class instruction becomes engaging and memorable.

During this school year, I will have the opportunity to provide monthly training for the teachers at my school.  I plan to incorporate active and engaging activities in each of these sessions to help teachers remember what was presented at the sessions.  They will be held after school which is always a low time of the day for teachers.  Hopefully, with the change in how I plan/organize these sessions, they will gain more knowledge on how they can turn around and use it in their classroom as well.

For my training, our school system will be hosting a Digital Citizenship week.  To kick off the week, I will present to the teachers of my school, the importance of digital citizenship, statistics about online use and how we can better educate our students to be safe.  Throughout this course, I hope teachers gain an understanding of how important digital/online safety is and how to prepare lessons to relay the importance.  We will participate in an activity where the teachers will Google themselves and share the results on a Padlet.  We will also view several videos regarding the importance of digital footprints. The teachers will look at how they can encourage students to create positive digital tattoos.  The resources provided will help teachers as they plan lessons to share with their students.  I will also offer my assistance in helping to prepare these lessons.

Overall, I think the teachers will be responsive to this training.  The information is pertinent and the activities are engaging.  I wanted to incorporate as many hands on activities as possible in my training. From my experience, when I am engaged in a training, I tend to remember the content presented on a much deeper level.  Feel free to take a look at my training as I have posted a link and brief introduction to my blog.  If you have any suggestions on how to improve the presentation, please make comments on the blog post.

References:
Reiser, R.A. & Dempsey, J.V. (2018). Trends and issues in instructional design and technology. New York: Pearson.

UBC Digital Tattoo: If we looked you up online, what would we learn about you? [Video file]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://youtu.be/T3awgYhZjdQ

Digital Citizenship 101

As educators, our main goals are to educate and keep students safe.  With the rise of technology use in schools, digital security has also become a concern.  Digital Citizenship is not a new theme but is one that should be reviewed yearly for educators, students and parents.

Digital Citizenship 101 for teachers is a presentation to inform teachers about how to stay safe while online.  Hopefully, the viewers will learn something new and be able to share with their fellow teachers or students.

The handout below is a great resource for teachers as they begin the planning of their digital citizenship lessons.

STORIES by Jaclyn Rivers

Let's Blab

Elementary schools across the nation are full of creative students who want an exciting education. They may not know how to share if they are bored in class but their actions often share. With the availability of devices in schools, boring classes should be non-existent. Now, I do understand every single lesson will not be as fun as some, but resources should be available to allow for creativity and excitement. Using these tools will help eliminate boredom. Reiser and Dempsey (2018) mention “perhaps the most important consideration when deciding whether and how a particular technology might be employed in a particular classroom situation is to first think about whether the use of that technology will enhance teaching and learning” (p. 182). Technology should never be just a babysitter but should enhance learning.

There are literally hundreds of different online tools that can enhance student learning. I recently discovered Blabberize and have become amazed (and amused) by this tool. Blabberize is an online creativity tool that allows an image to have a voice. Setting up an account is free and easy to create. You can choose any image, choose the location of the “mouth” and record a voice (by mic or phone) and you have a finished product. Students have used this tool to make reports come to life! Check out this video by MMS History on Twitter.


My students will use Blabberize with their author study unit. They will create locate an image of their author and record the information they gather during research.  To practice Blabberize, the students will take a picture of themselves and share their favorite book with a table partner. Oh, how my mind is spinning with the activities this tool can provide. Online tools such as these allow students to be creative while learning at the same time.

The text also mentions that the learning benefit with meaningful visuals increases by 1.39 standard deviation (p. 262). While not all learners benefit from visuals, “lessons with words and visuals offer the brain two opportunities to build meaning- one from the words and the second from corresponding images- and encourage learners to make connections between them” (p. 262). In addition to students learning about key concepts in the classroom, learning can be fun!

To get started with Blabberize, check out this video.

References: 
Reiser, R.A. & Dempsey, J.V. (2018). Trends and issues in instructional design and technology. New York: Pearson.

Professional Learning Design

Let’s face it, many of the professional development sessions we attend as teachers are not the most engaging.  I have left some professional development training and thought that was a waste of my time.  I am sure there have been days where my students left my class thinking they just wasted their time also.  We all have been in these situations.  In my opinion, it is more difficult to keep the attention of adults than students.  Adults often attend the training because they are required to or they thought the topic could help with their professional growth.

One series of professional development I have had the privilege (yes, I said privilege) to participate in is eMINTS (enhancing Missouri’s Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies). This program has been in operation for 15 years and provided training to thousands of educators to enhance their classroom instruction with the use of technology.  It is a partnership between Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Missouri Department of Higher Education and the University of Missouri.  I am in the second year of a two year process to become a certified eMINTS instructor. The eMINTS core standards include instruction in high-quality lesson design, a community of learners, authentic learning all powered by technology.  While the requirements are rather demanding, the reward will be well worth it.  Each session I attend motivates me to become a better instructor for students and educators.  

Reiser and Dempsey (2018) mention a major component of a successful instructional design is motivation (p. 79).  Motivation can be defined as “a person’s desire to pursue a goal or perform a task, which is manifested by choice of goals and effort in pursuing the goal” (Reiser and Dempsey, 2018, p. 79).  Instructional design needs to include limited distractions, promote curiosity, be related to goals set, allow for control over the learning situation and create a satisfying experience. Individuals who experience a learning environment where the instructional design creates motivation will benefit greater than those learning environments that do not.

Learning strategies can make or break a lesson even for adults. Through the eMINTS program, I have participated in many different types of strategies.  Some appeal to me more than others.  I received the most from using the fishbowl learning strategy and Think-Pair-Share learning strategy.  

The fishbowl strategy was introduced to me this past spring and a little confusing at first. When implemented, this strategy allows the class to observe how a specific task should look.  For our lesson, we had a group of learners who were conducting research on a new concept.  They were to divide the jobs among the group of four and work on a shared Google Doc.  The rest of the group was to watch their interaction and make suggestions on how they could have spoken or worked together.  The onlookers did not have a rubric or guide but were asked to take notes. The strategy would have been more useful if we had a guide to what the instructor was actually looking for from the group.  This can be a very powerful strategy if implemented correctly.

The following videos offer more insight into the fishbowl learning strategy.

TeachLikeThis video provides more details about how this strategy needs to be organized.

TeachingRocks video is an excellent example of how this learning strategy should look in the classroom.  It is a little long but a great resource.

The think-pair-share strategy is one that has been around for a while now.  This strategy allows the instructor to pose a question or idea, have learners to pair up and then share their ideas and thoughts about the posed question or idea.  I always enjoy this strategy because I am able to glean different viewpoints from others.  eMINTS offers different pairing strategies as well such as find someone with the same birth month as you, wearing the same style/color of shoes, how you like your salsa (mild to hot), etc.  These strategies always add fun to class lessons.  

Learning strategies and motivation are just two components to consider for the instructional design. As an instructor to fellow adults, I want the outcome to be meaningful.  Upon completion of a strategy, I try to brainstorm with the teachers how they can turn around the same strategy to use in their classroom.  When teachers own a strategy they are more likely to it.  Students then are engaged and motivated to learn.  

References:

eMINTS. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://emints.org/

Reiser, R., & Dempsey, J. (2018). Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology.

Instructional Technology and Design

When I decided to go back to school to pursue my Educational Specialist degree in Instructional Technology, people looked at me with a confused look on their face.  I heard from a lot of people, “what kind of degree is that?”  I started to explain to them my version of what the degree entailed.  In the text, Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology (2002) there are several definitions that better explain what instructional technology includes.  “Early definitions of the field focused on instructional media - the physical means via which instruction is presented to learners” (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018, p.1).  Technology in education has changed quite a bit over the past 100 years. This video briefly describes the changes of technology in education.

Instructional Technology has developed into

“the analysis of learning and performance problems, and the design, development, implementation, evaluation, and management of instructional and non-instructional processes and resources intended to improve learning and performance in a variety of settings, particularly education institutions and the workplace.  Professional in the field instructional design and technology often use systematic instructional design procedures and employ instructional media to accomplish their goals” (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018, p.  5).   

As I began learning more about this field, I needed more information regarding one component of the definition, using instructional design procedures.  Instructional design can be described as “a system of procedures for developing education and training materials in a consistent and reliable fashion” (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018, p. 23).  One might think designing training materials is a relatively simple task.  To start, a trainer could simply poll their audience to see what training they needed.  Next, the trainer would create content around the needs and then present the material.  Sounds simple, right.  As I have progressed through the program of Instructional Technology, I have learned there is much more in planning effective online learning.  

Instructional design is a process that needs to be followed carefully.  Many models have been created to offer guidance in the planning.  Two of the most popular processes include ADDIE and SAM.  ADDIE was created by the military to accelerate production of training materials (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018, p. 31).  Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation are the components of the ADDIE process.  Each phase must be complete before moving to the next.  Much documentation needs to be kept in order for the process to be effective.  As you can imagine, this process tends to be slow and loses the learner in the meantime.  

On the other hand, SAM (successive approximation model) was designed to review, evaluate, and correct planning.  The ultimate goal using SAM is to produce the best instruction while keeping time and money at the front of the planning.  To do this, SAM thinks about the outcome before planning occurs.  This tends to make the planning process easier.  With using the SAM model, planning can flow among all components and be adjusted as needed.  The flow is easier to follow and overall provides better outcomes than ADDIE.

Instructional design is more complicated that I originally thought.  As I continue with the second half of the program, I am looking forward to learning more about how to create learning opportunities that will benefit adult learners while using different Instructional Design models.

Reference:

History of Instructional Technology [Video file]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5_v9Aqb9XA

Reiser, R., & Dempsey, J. (2018). Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology.

3.. 2.. 1, Virtual Classrooms!

INTRODUCTION

The number of virtual classrooms is growing each school year across the country.  Recently, Alabama legislature required all schools to offer students the opportunity to receive their high school diploma “entirely in a virtual, or online, environment, beginning in the 2016 - 2017 school year.”  “The goal of the Alabama Access Distance and Blended Learning model is to provide equity through additional high-quality course offerings for all Alabama public high school students” (ACCESS Virtual Learning).   Even with the growth of virtual classrooms, there is much planning that needs to take place before a school system can offer distance learning for students.  

The information posted by the instructors is protected by Copyright laws. These laws are similar to the same copyright laws of text but do have some distinct differences. Copyright laws can be a tricky topic.  Teachers need to remember when posting information found online, give proper credit to the original creator.  It is ok to use the information, just give credit where credit is due.  Is it likely you will get caught if you do not give credit?  Maybe not, but “it has become increasingly likely (especially with the advent of web-crawlers used to search out infringements) that you will” (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 260).

In order for virtual classes to be successful, there needs to be not only teachers and students but a distance education administrator as well.  This individual’s “responsibility is the matter of readiness - institutional readiness, faculty readiness, and student readiness” (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p.280).  

Virtual classes can be a significant benefit to a school system and the students that are enrolled. I created the infographic listed here. The information describes some of the benefits of virtual classes.  As you can see, schools in Alabama have seen the benefits enough to increase the number of courses and school districts that are now offering these courses to their students.  To determine the level of effectiveness, a school system needs to evaluate the program at the conclusion of the course.  The text mentions using the AEIOU approach in evaluating the course.  This approach evaluates the Accountability, Effectiveness, Impact, Organizational Context, and Unanticipated Consequences (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 313-314).  Courses can be updated each session offered and evaluated at the end of each offering.   

 

Teachers have the opportunity to apply to become a virtual classroom educator.  Each school system/program will have their own application process.  While it is relatively easy for someone to become a virtual classroom educator, it is not the job for everyone.  Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek (2015) mention using the acronym VOCAL to evaluate the educators.  How do systems handle removing an ineffective virtual classroom educator?

Student readiness is also a concern of mine.  Most programs offer a checklist for students to complete before enrolling in a virtual class.  However, if students feel they “need” this option but are not adequately ready for the class, the end results could be disastrous.  What precautions can a distance education administrator set in place to ensure student success?  

With the rapid growth of virtual classroom across the state and nation, what are the chances of each school or school system hiring an instructional educational specialist?  The number of technology directors across the state is large, but will individual schools have the funding provided by the state department to supply the needed resources at each school level similar to the Reading Coach several years ago?


I have the privilege of participating in the eMINTS certification program.  Check out this video from Baldwin County school system on how eMINTS certified instructors and educators are changing the look of education.

EMINTS from Baldwin County Public Schools on Vimeo

Reference

ACCESS Virtual Learning | ACCESS Virtual Learning. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://accessdl.state.al.us/

Baldwin County Public Schools. (2016). https://vimeo.com/165958653EMINTS on Vimeo [Video file].
Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/165958653

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S. E., & Zvacek, S. (2015). Teaching and learning at a distance:
Foundations of distance education. Charlotte, North Carolina: Information Age Publishing, Inc.