How Did We Get Here?

I am not watching Game of Thrones.

I tried my best to get into the show over Winter Break over a year ago, but I just couldn’t wrap my head around it all. For a person who can’t remember whether he turned the oven off or what he got his mother last Christmas, Game of Thrones is an overwhelming experience. I can’t tell a Snow from a Stark, a Targaryen from a Lannister. There are too many kingdoms, too many relationships, and too many long-ago conversations in heavily-accented English for me to keep track of.   

If you’re lucky like me, you have others in your life who are thoroughly invested in the final season of the show, so you get to overhear the post-show analysis. “Wait—so she is the one who, back in the first season, killed the guy who—we found out in season three—was really the one who. . . .Since the dragon let him ride it, that means that now he will be the one who. . .and because she is third in line to the throne, after so-and-so and whatshisname are killed. . . .” There’s a lot of discussion of the backstory, figuring out all the moves to explain how they got to this point.  

Whether or not you are keeping up with a fantasy series on HBO, you are in real life nearing the end of another school year, a time when it’s useful to spend a few moments considering how you got to this point. Do your own post-show analysis. Take stock of your classes—what your students are doing or not doing—and reflect a little.

I’m sure there are things that are going well. Perhaps your students have become a tight-knit community of learners. Maybe they are reading and analyzing text at a sophisticated level. Or they are using academic language stems and switching appropriately from a casual to an academic register when having classroom conversations. Whatever they may be, take note of these things you want to replicate, the behaviors or skills you want next year’s students to exhibit, too. Then consider the teacher moves you made to get your students to this point. Examine the backstory. Jot down what you did so you’ll remember to do it again next year. Consider what you might do differently (or earlier) to get your students to the desired point more quickly or to move students even further along.

I assume that there are also things in your classroom that aren’t going as well as you hoped. Your students seem unmotivated. Earbud and cell phone use has spiraled out of control. Fewer students are completing work in a quality manner—if they are completing it at all. Now is the time to take note of those things so you can start planning now about how to solve the problems that are driving you crazy in the final weeks of school. How did you get to this point? What did you do (or not do) that created this problem, and what might you do differently to prevent its recurrence?

Instructional coaches on your campus or at the district level are excellent sounding boards to help you troubleshoot in advance for next year. Or find a willing colleague who would like to be an accountability partner. Putting plans in place now, when you aren’t in ready-set-go mode, lessens the chance that you’ll forget to make those plans next year.

Start preparing now so that next season is only a continuation of what you’d like to see in the future. August is coming.

Two Ideas to Let Steep During Your Summer Break

One of the joys of summer during my childhood was sun tea. There was something especially wonderful about filling a big jar with water, dropping in a few tea bags, and letting the tea steep in a sunny spot in the backyard for the afternoon. A tall glass of sun tea with a sprig of mint snipped from the garden and a squeeze of fresh lemon surpassed the quality of traditional boiling-water-brewed tea and, not surprisingly, the instant Nestea or Lipton varieties. Perhaps the difference was merely in my brain, but I’d like to think that allowing the tea to brew slowly over a long period of time produced something superior.

Ideas are a lot like that. The ones we let steep for a long time are often better than the ones we cook up in a jiffy. When I have a problem to solve, I often find it’s useful to let it marinade over time rather than try to solve it in an afternoon. The summer is the perfect time to passively ponder over something that you can put into place at the beginning of the new school year.

If you don’t already have a burning question you hope to ruminate over during your vacation, I have two suggestions of topics that, because of their complexity, might not present easy answers at first but could transform your teaching practices in the fall if you had an opportunity to think about them in depth:  the state of your gradebook and your classroom expectations.

The State of Your Gradebook       

Grading has been a hot topic in recent years, and, if the chatter I see in my Twitter newsfeed is any indication, it’s not going away anytime soon. There’s a call for change in schools because people have realized that our long-held practices about grading don’t accomplish what grading is supposed to.

Your gradebook should do more than just provide a numerical proclamation of a student’s performance in your class. The numbers are meaningless unless your gradebook provides worthwhile, usable information about a student’s progress toward mastery of objectives in your class. This means that every entry— major or minor— communicates to students and parents what a student does or does not know or know how to do. This also means that things such as “completion” grades and “participation” grades need to go. Teachers embracing gradebook reform have to rethink what their gradebook looks like, what constitutes a meaningful grade, how many grades need to be taken, when and how students can redo an assignment to reach mastery, how this intersects with the district’s curriculum, and what this looks like in a teaming situation with multiple teachers teaching the same class on a campus. Such change will certainly necessitate discussion among teachers and administrators and some re-education of students and parents.

Wrapping my head around this boggles my brain because it’s hard to unlearn something that was a part of my upbringing in the school system as well as my accepted practice for decades of classroom teaching. I’m convinced, though, that it’s time for a change, and this is something I might need a summer to ponder to figure out for myself.  

Clarifying Classroom Expectations

A second thorny topic has to do with classroom management. Once upon a time, I’d spend hours over the summer devising a new set of rules and consequences to be unveiled on the first day of school to a new crop of future offenders. What behaviors are unacceptable? How many times should a student be allowed to leave the room and for how long? How many warnings occur before something terrible happens? How will I display my rules and consequences so my students will know what dreaded fate awaits them if they violate my policies? Should I underline the word “not” each time it appears on my list of rules, put it in boldface, italicize it, or do all three?

The reading I’ve been doing lately on the subject of classroom management says that punishment it out and expectations are in.

Effective teachers teach students the behavioral expectations for each activity that occurs in their classroom: how to enter and leave the room, what to do when the tardy bell rings, what reading time looks and sounds like, what happens during group work, what to do when you finish an assignment early, and what to do if you have a question or need assistance. At the beginning of school, teachers communicate, practice, and model these expectations, and then they hold their students accountable for them consistently throughout the year, reteaching as necessary and reinforcing the desired behaviors as they observe them.

What this means is that I need to spend some time clarifying my expectations for myself. What situations are likely to occur in my room, what do I want the students to be doing in each instance, and how can I communicate those most clearly to my students at the beginning of school? Setting up clear procedures at the outset is the best way to have a classroom that functions smoothly throughout the year, and that requires clarity in the mind of the teacher. I’d let that one brew over the summer so I have a clear picture in my mind when it’s time to go back to school in August.

Sun tea doesn’t take a lot of work or effort to make, but the result is worth the wait time. Similarly, having an idea in your head— one of the ones I suggested or one you’ve dreamed up yourself— gives you something to ponder in a low-stress environment, the kind where the best ideas develop slowly over time without a lot of conscious work on your part. Maybe you’ll have some inspiration and clarity in a moment of unconscious reflection that will pay off for you in the fall.  

I just read on the internet that sun tea might harbor deadly bacteria because the water doesn’t get hot enough to kill the bad microbes in your tea. So don’t get so gung-ho about the nostalgia that you poison your family and friends. Maybe you could enjoy a snowcone instead. The metaphor isn’t as good, but at least it won’t kill you.

Reining Them In: A New Year's Tradition

Teenagers think they can make better decisions on their own behalf than they actually can.

This is why adults have to say things like things like, “It’s time to turn off the Nintendo and go to bed,” “Don’t eat that package of Ho Hos; you’ll spoil your dinner,” and, “Put the phone down and finish your homework.”

I’m not saying that teens unilaterally make poor choices. I’m simply observing that oftentimes what a student thinks is in his or her best interest at the time may not be.

For instance, if a teacher decides--in the name of giving students some autonomy--to allow her students to determine where they want to sit in class, a handful of students will consider legit factors, such as where they can best pay attention or where they can see the whiteboard without having to put on their dreaded glasses, while most will seize the opportunity to sit with their besties and put learning on the back burner. Inevitably, this leads to classroom management headaches for the teacher and decreased productivity for the students.

Thanks a lot, you’re thinking. Now you tell me, Craig, after I have spent 14 weeks trying to be the “cool” teacher while struggling with unruly students who sit wherever they please, feel entirely too comfortable, and are now running the place.

Sorry to be the late-breaking bearer of bad news. Don’t fret, though. There’s hope around the corner. In a little over a month, we will be beginning a new semester, and the new year is a great time for a natural readjustment of your practices and procedures.

I’ll let you in on a little secret I have learned after doing this education thing for a while: Young people secretly love structure.

In the same way that many dogs love crawling back into their kennels because confined spaces provide them comfort and security, students seek predictable routines and boundaries, even though they may try to push them at times.

I recently finished R.J. Palacio’s novel Wonder (a “wonder”ful, heart-wrenching read for middle grade children and adults, too) and cringed at the narrator’s description of the horrors of the school cafeteria.

Via had warned me about lunch in middle school, so I guess I should have known it would be hard. I just hadn't expected it to be this hard. Basically, all the kids from all the fifth-grade classes poured into the cafeteria at the same time, talking loudly and bumping into one another while they ran to different tables. One of the lunchroom teachers said something about no seat-saving allowed, but I didn't know what she meant and maybe no one else did, either, because just about everybody was saving seats for their friends. I tried to sit down at one table, but the kid in the next chair said, "Oh, sorry, but somebody else is sitting here."

He vividly describes his anxiety over finding a friend to sit with and his dread of facing the cruelty of the social pecking order. It’s a situation that reappears in books, movies, and on television, so it must be a universal adolescent terror.  

A seating chart is just one way to take that stress out of a student’s day. Imagine being the kid who is trying to do the right thing and make a learning-conducive seat choice while being pressured to sit with his friends who would rather socialize. If the teacher makes that decision, there’s a scapegoat to blame. No one gets ostracized. Everyone has a place. And students learn to work and get along with with others they might not seek on their own.

The seating chart is just one component of a mid-year do-over. My general advice to teachers is to create a classroom environment that is “comfortably structured.” Harsh rigidity doesn’t promote learning. Efficiency does.

If you look around your classroom during these first few weeks of December and wonder how things reached this point of chaos in just three short months, take the opportunity to set some resolutions to rein your students in on the first day back in January. Establish some guidelines for running an efficient classroom. Clarify (or create) expectations. Concentrate on minimizing non-instructional class time. Plan carefully, and take that extra moment to make sure you’ve got everything in place before the day begins. Create routines for partner- and small-group work. Post and explain learning targets and goals for each day. Sure, it’s not as fun for kids as letting them be in charge, but I promise that, even though they may not say it, most of them will be grateful for it.    

When you show up to class looking like you are in charge, your students will respond accordingly. Don’t be a tyrant. Just be a leader who knows what is going on, has a clear direction, and is acting in the best interests of those you are leading. That’s what everyone wants from a leader, right?

A Discouraging Word

            Home, home on the range

            Where the deer and the antelope play,

            Where seldom is heard a discouraging word,

            And the skies are not cloudy all day.

The range must have been a pretty happy place. Not only did the deer and antelope want to be there, but they also wanted to play. It felt like home.

 

Can the same be said about our classrooms?

It is so easy to notice the negative. I’m the worst.

I can read a wonderfully written essay and become fixated on one fairly insignificant comma error. I will sit through an exciting and engaging concert and come away thinking, “If only they hadn’t chosen that song as their encore. . . .” The one item out of place on an otherwise tidy kitchen counter makes me feel like the entire house is a mess. And that kid in the third row who is staring off into space while all the other students are reading makes me a little bit insane.

For most teachers, it’s so much easier to notice the students who are not meeting expectations than it is to notice the ones who are.

When we notice the negative, we often feel compelled to correct it. Once we start, it’s hard to stop. Our class becomes a dysfunctional family, and we are the nagging parent:

“I told you yesterday to bring your textbook. Why did none of you remember?”

“You don’t have a pen? What did you think we were going to do today, just sit here and do nothing?”

“What part of ‘Be quiet!’ was confusing?”

“You didn’t bring your homework again? You need to learn to meet deadlines and follow through. The real world has deadlines.”

“If you don’t start working and paying attention, you’re going to find yourself in summer school or taking this class again next year. And let me assure you, we don’t change it up and make it more interesting for those who come back a second time.”

“Stop. Talking.”

“You know where notebooks are stored. You’re not new. Go get yours. You’re holding up the entire class.”

“I’m waiting….”

“Susan, turn around and pay attention. Joel, we are on page 147. Get out your books, everyone. I don’t want to have to tell you again. Lisa, stop talking! Page 147, Jennifer! Michael, this is not gym class. Sit down!”

The discouraging words fly with such velocity and frequency that no deer, antelope, or human would want to spend time in this maelstrom of negativity.

It’s so easy to slip into the routine of letting the toxic negativity spew. This kind of negativity, unfortunately, permeates the lives of many of our students. They hear it at home; they hear it from peers; and then they get to hear it at school. Some of them have learned to tune it out. Others let it beat them into submission. No one thrives in its presence.

Some researchers believe that the human brain responds to negativity and criticism by shutting down. The “fight-or-flight” impulses of the amygdala take over, and the brain enters into a self-preservation mode during which no learning occurs. We can all think of times where criticism or negativity has affected us to such an extent that we could focus on little else. Teachers’ well-intentioned efforts to correct negative behaviors may be blocking student learning.  

Pay attention to the negative and positive comments you make in class. Perhaps you can record a class and count the interactions, noting the ratio of negative to positive interactions. Or ask a colleague or instructional coach to visit your class and tally them for you. If you’re like many teachers, the negative will outweigh the positive in a big way.

Once you notice that you’ve fallen into the rut of pointing out the bad, you can take steps to change your own negative behaviors. It’s time to become a celebrator of the good.

In his book High-Impact Instruction, Jim Knight devotes an entire chapter to becoming a “witness to the good.” He writes,

We are a witness to the good when we are attentive and intentional about noticing everything our students do--not just the misbehavior. We are being a witness to the good when we are especially attentive to the times when students are making the best of learning opportunities. We are being a witness to the good whenever we recognize and encourage students for acting in ways that are consistent with expectations. (316)

Becoming a witness to the good helps build connection with your students. Students who feel this bond of attachment, loyalty, and comfort will be more willing to do what you ask them to do in your classroom.

Praise should significantly outweigh criticism. Some experts recommend a six-to-one praise-to-correction ratio; some even advocate for more positive comments than that.

The type of praise matters, too. Praise can actually be harmful or counter-productive if students perceive that it’s insincere or hollow. One of the best ways to give productive praise is to make your comments descriptive rather than attributive. Praise students’ work, efforts, and behaviors rather than their traits and characteristics. Instead of saying, “You are such a kind person,” consider telling a student, “People seem to respond favorably to you,” or, “The words you use to speak to your classmates are very respectful.”  Telling a student that she is smart is less helpful than telling her that her thinking shows depth, that her analysis is specific and thoughtful, or that she understands the material and is able to think about it in a complex way. Thanking a student for having his materials on his desk will have more impact than giving negative attention to his neighbor for not being prepared.

Using praise effectively--becoming a witness to the good--can reduce classroom management issues while simultaneously transforming your classroom into a happy oasis of learning for the students...and any stray deer or antelope that might wander in. 

Thank you for keeping it positive and squelching the discouraging words. 

O is for Organization

When I was a teenager, I sang in the school choir.  (I took a hiatus for a few years because of some embarrassment issues stemming from a rather late puberty and getting teased for being a ninth-grade soprano, which is interesting character development but not important for this particular example.) In addition to practicing the music we would perform in front of adoring parents snapping Polaroids and wielding camcorders, we also spent what seemed like hours practicing lining up, walking onto the stage, and filing onto the risers. This seemed tedious and unnecessary to me at the time, but hindsight tells me that my choir directors were extremely wise. They knew about the importance of organization.

Do you ever have those days when you think your seventh period class looks like the Hollywood example of a classroom out of control? Either your students are literally bouncing off the walls or they’re drooling face-down on their desks and occasionally snoring. Student engagement seems like a far-flung fantasy. You stand helplessly in front of the class and consider other career options. You silently count to ten and then start over at one, hoping not to blow your top. Most of us have experienced this a time or two. Or daily.

Of course, there’s no simple solution to this, or I would have written about it in a book and retired wealthy. But one way that can help any teacher gain some extra control and carve out a few moments of sanity is to implement some new organizational strategies in the classroom. Classrooms with efficient procedures minimize downtime and maximize student productivity and engagement. When the teacher is organized, he or she appears prepared, and the students respond favorably. Additionally, impeccable organization makes efficient use of time and materials, which inevitably lowers teacher stress.

Organization,the O in AVID’s WICOR acronym, is also vital for student success. When students learn to manage their stuff and their time, they get things done, turn things in, and perhaps even have a few spare minutes after checking off their to-do list to play a video game or text their friends. Just think. If you were transparent with your students about your mid-year improvements in the organization of your classroom, this could spark some valuable conversations about the importance of organization for your students, too.  

Here are a few of my thoughts about some organizational areas that will give you maximum bang for your efforts:

Managing Time:  Do you have a procedure for your students to get them working as soon as the bell rings so you can take attendance and tend to teacher tasks? Do you plan out your transitions between activities so there’s little or no downtime? Kids with nothing to do are kids who run amok. My mom, who was a second grade teacher, knew that, so she kept my brother and me busy. Keep your students working bell-to-bell. Move smoothly between tasks. Set clear expectations for what students should do when they finish work before the others. The more time you spend planning things like this, the more smoothly your class will run.

Managing Materials:  How long does it take you to hand back papers and distribute handouts? Do your students have something to do while this is taking place, or do they wait on you? I have found that passing out handouts and handing in papers across the rows (if you still have rows) instead of from front to back is more efficient, and it keeps the kids facing the way you want them to face. If your class is set up in interactive pods (because that’s how collaboration happens!), have your handouts sorted into piles with the exact number you need for each pod. Or ask one student from each row or pod to get up and fetch the materials for the others. This gives that wiggly student a chance to release some energy. Or how about trying a brain break for the kids while you’re handing things out? You can give instructions that allow students to stand and stretch, jog in place (time them!), or play a quick game of rock/paper/scissors with their table while you move about the room and distribute things. Another option is to deliver the next handout to rows or tables face-down while students are working on something else. When it’s time to transition, ask them to pass the handouts around the table or across the row. I find that it’s easy to alphabetize papers I need to hand back and then ask my students to line up in front of the class in A-B-C order so I can give them their papers as they file past me. This takes no time at all and gives the kids a stretch break, too!

Giving Cues:  What do you do when you want your kids to get quiet and pay attention? I’ve witnessed many effective strategies.  Yelling isn’t one of them (I mean, it works sometimes, but it’s not good for your blood pressure nor for creating a positive classroom climate). One teacher I know says, “Loud…,” and her students know to respond with, “...and clear,” and turn their attention to her. Another says, “Watch me whip,” and her students get quiet after answering, “Watch me nae nae.” Choose something that is fun and that fits your unique personality.

Knowing What Goes Where:  Do your students know where to get makeup work when they’ve been absent? Is there a place where students are supposed to turn in assignments so you’ll be sure to find them? Having clear locations for these two processes to occur solves many problems and keeps things running like clockwork.

Giving Time But Not Too Much Time: Are you aware of how much time it takes for your students to finish an assignment or activity? Do students who are finished early know what they’re expected to do? A good rule of thumb, is to allow less time than you think it will take for all students to finish. Set a timer (perhaps on the screen where the kids can see it). As the time gets close, ask the students to hold up fingers to indicate how many more minutes they need to finish. Adjust the time if needed, and make provisions for those who are finished.

Dealing With Devices: I’m the first to say that handheld devices have an educational place in the classroom, but without a plan in place, cellphones will creep out of hiding constantly and become a barrier to learning. Devise a method for letting students know when it’s okay to use their phones and when they need to stay out of sight.

Posting Important Announcements in a Predictable Place:  Prominently display assignments, due dates, objectives, and other essential information consistently, and make students aware of where to look to find them.  Encourage students to keep a planner, and provide time in class for everyone to record important dates and assignments. 

Having organized materials and procedures is the key to efficiency. That’s how Southwest Airlines gets everyone to line up in an orderly manner and board the plane quickly. That’s how the post office handles long lines and numerous needs without having customers go postal. 

I’d like to give a quick nod to another useful resource if you decide you’re serious about adding some new organization to your teaching life. Two of my outstanding educator friends, Allison Venuto and Laura Blankenship, are creating podcasts that help teachers be more efficient, handle stress, and leave work each day with a smile (or at least not with a frown.) Check out their podcast here. It makes perfect listening on your commute to work.

Best of luck on your new organizational endeavors. I hope that at least a few of these tips will help add some sanity and calm to the chaos.

I Dare You: Formatively Assessing the Teacher

Formative assessment is all the rage now, and rightly so. It's important for teachers to check on their students throughout the learning process to see how they're doing, to take steps to correct any misunderstandings, to strengthen any weaknesses, and to avoid a costly "gotcha" at the end when the grade counts. Teachers who use formative assessments are in a constant state of troubleshooting; they're adjusting course at every turn to steer their students onto the road to success.

As reflective practitioners, many teachers solicit feedback from their students. The end-of-course evaluation was a staple in my college classes but not so much in the earlier stages of my education. Sometimes--time and self esteem permitting--I polled my own students with a feedback form at the end of the school year, asking them to tell me what went well and how they thought I could make the class better. I vividly remember the elation when students said kind things and being a bit hurt when they were frank about their dislikes. Occasionally, a particularly negative comment gnawed away at me for weeks into the summer.

The feedback I received, overall, was extremely helpful, and I would compile a list of things I wanted to make sure I did differently the following year.

This was helpful for next year's students, but it did little good for the ones who were giving me the helpful feedback. They moved on to someone else's class while I changed for the better.

Why is it, I now wonder, that I never thought of the idea of having my students evaluate me in the middle of the year so I could actually do something about it?  A formative assessment in December would give me some insight about how I'm doing as a teacher, and I could return in January ready to announce any changes that resulted from the students' feedback.

Imagine how awesome it would be for a student to know they had a teacher who asked for their opinions, considered what they had to say, and then did something about it. What a great way to model the way I hope they'd respond to the feedback I give them on essays and assignments!

This would, of course, necessitate having a thick skin. Asking for honest feedback from kids runs the risk of unveiling some answers I don't want to hear. But if I can dish out the comments on students' papers, shouldn't I be willing to hear some of their remarks about me?

I'd also have to carefully consider the questions I ask. No amount of student complaining is going to convince me that writing and reading are unnecessary components of my classroom instruction. And I'm not likely to install a vending machine in back of my classroom, no matter how vehemently the students argue that having snacks would help them learn.
Here's a list of the things I'd ask in a mid-year survey:
_________________________________________________________________________
Answer the following on a scale from 1 to 5 (1 = definitely yes; 3 = sometimes; 5 = never)
1.  Does Mr. McKinney treat you and other students with respect and fairness?
2.  Do you enjoy the class?
3.  Do you feel like you are growing as a learner in this class?
4.  Do you receive feedback about your assignments in a timely manner?
5.  Do you know what to do if you want to improve in this class? 
6.  Is Mr. McKinney available and approachable if you need help?
7.  Is the classroom environment suitable for learning?
8.  Are the homework assignments useful and meaningful?  
9.  Is Mr. McKinney prepared for class on a daily basis?
10.  Do you feel successful in this class?
11.  Do you have enough opportunity to interact with your classmates as you are learning?
12.  Does Mr. McKinney communicate his expectations clearly?
13.  Does Mr. McKinney use class time effectively to help you learn?
14.  Does the use of technology help you learn in this class?
15.  Do you understand what you are supposed to be learning each day?
16.  Do you have the opportunity to show what you are learning in multiple ways in this class?
17.  Do you think this class is challenging enough?    

Respond in the space provided: 
18.  Outside of class time, how much time do you spend preparing for this class (homework and studying) in an average week?
19.  What could Mr. McKinney do to help you be more successful in this class?
20.  What else do you want Mr. McKinney to know about you or about this class at this point in the school year? 
  
_______________________________________________________________________________

Being a bit of a technophile, I'd probably create a Google Form for the survey and allow my students to respond electronically so I could compile the data online easily. I could, however, also conduct my survey on paper the old-fashioned way.

Here's the catch. Since I'm not in the classroom anymore, I don't have a class of students to take this survey. So I'm daring you to make yourself vulnerable and conduct a similar survey in your own class in the next two months. The data will give you a clearer picture of how you're doing, you'll have the opportunity to fix some issues in the middle of the year to help your students succeed, and you can even follow up at the end of the year with another survey to see how you've improved. And, perhaps most importantly, you will create a classroom community that honors student voice and will model a growth mindset--something all students can benefit from witnessing in action.

If you take me up on the dare, shoot me an e-mail to let me know how it goes. I'm excited to hear about it!

Secrets, Secrets Are No Fun...

I don't like Starbucks. There! I said it.

It's just not my kind of store. First off, I'm not a coffee drinker, so my menu choices are somewhat limited. I'm fairly adept at brewing my own tea at home or on the go and, if given a choice, prefer water. Tap is fine. So the idea of paying a big chunk of change for someone to make a beverage for me isn't my cup of tea, literally.

But those are not the real reasons I don't like Starbucks. In truth, I'm uncomfortable going there because I don't know how to "do" the Starbucks thing. In some stores, I don't even know where I'm supposed to stand to place an order. Then, when it comes to making a decision, I have to choose from sizes that don't make sense to me (Why is "tall" only slightly larger than a Dixie Cup?) and employ a whole vocabulary of terms that somehow everyone else seems to know but me. I have to decide what sort of milk I want, how frothy I want it, how many shots of caffeine I need, whether I prefer room left at the top to add goodies of my own, and whether I want flavorings, sweeteners, or toppings. There's an entire article on WikiHow explaining the ins and outs of this process, with baffling insider tips like this one:  "A tall typically comes with a single shot of espresso, a grande comes with a double shot, and a venti also comes with a double shot, unless it is a venti iced drink, in which [case] it comes with a triple shot of espresso." When I order at Starbucks, I feel like a stranger who doesn't know the language or the local customs.

You know what else? I don't see what's the big deal about In-N-Out Burger. I realize them's fightin' words to some of my West Coast friends, but, really, this fast food joint doesn't dazzle a guy raised with Whataburger and Braum's nearby.  On a trip to Sacramento years ago, some locals said, "You must try an In-N-Out Burger while you're here." I did. Fortunately for me, I didn't have to ask, "Which burger should I order?" The In-N-Out menu only offers three options:  a hamburger, a cheeseburger, and a "Double-Double," which is apparently a registered trademark term. The sole side order option is fries (not much of an option, is it?), and the adventurous may select from three flavors of milkshakes. During my taste test, burgers and fries were fresh and tasty but nothing special. Due to the simplicity of the menu (Their website even says, "Ordering is as easy as 1."), In-N-Out avoids the mind-boggling complexity of Starbucks.  Or so I thought....

Imagine my surprise when I learned that for years In-N-Out Burger has had a "Secret Menu" that only those in-the-know order from. You can get your burger "Animal Style" (which includes a mustard-cooked patty and grilled onions), enjoy your meat nestled in a lettuce wrap instead of a carb-filled bun, or appreciate the simple beauty of a grilled cheese sandwich if you know about this hidden menu. It might have been helpful to have this info while I was in line.

Once again, like Starbucks, In-N-Out has become a place that only people with a knowledge of unwritten or hard-to-find secrets can navigate successfully.

I wonder how many similar secrets we keep from our students in the daily operation of our classrooms.

Do we make our expectations specific and clear? Are we transparent about why we are doing a particular activity? Are policies and procedures spelled out and easy to follow, even for the uninitiated? Could a person walking into our classrooms off the street (after passing the interrogation and identity check at the reception desk) tell what our students are supposed to be doing and why? Do our students feel that sense of panic that I feel as I inch to the front of the line in Starbucks or the jealousy and sense of helplessness I feel when I watch the guy at the next table at In-N-Out devour a sandwich I couldn't find on the menu?

Recently, I discovered that some of our cherished educational practices may inadvertently be "members only" experiences for our students. An article in the New York Times last week revealed that the traditional college practice of lecture-only instruction was biased toward white male students from wealthy, educated families. Every student benefited more from active learning strategies than from lectures, and the students who saw the most positive effects from active learning (and were the least successful at learning during our lectures) were women, minorities, low-income students, and first-generation college goers. This is a powerful reminder that the sit-and-get methods of "instruction" are largely unsuccessful for the majority of the kids we teach.

So what can we do to divulge those secrets and let all our students in on the workings of our classrooms so all can benefit? Here's a list of a few ideas:

• Post daily objectives (learning targets, essential questions, or whatever you want to call them) in kid-friendly language and point them out to our students before the learning begins.
• Engage our students in experiences that enable them to immerse themselves in the learning, struggle with the concepts, and figure out things for themselves. 
• Utilize word walls for academic and content vocabulary that may be unfamiliar to some. 
• Establish clear procedures for what students should do when they enter and exit the classroom, how they should keep track of their learning, what they ought to do when they miss class, and what you expect of them.
• Provide rubrics for assignments ahead of time, and help students make sense of them before and during the time they're working. 
• Conference with students (even for tiny amounts of time) to make sure they understand what's going on. 
• Let students in on the "why" of the lesson by establishing a practical reason for what you're teaching them or asking them to do. 
• Explain specifically what you mean when you say "study for the test." Give students concrete activities or processes so they'll know what "studying" means. 
• Communicate with students and parents (via e-mail blasts, a class blog--Blogger is extremely easy to figure out and links with your Google login at school--, or whatever method you prefer) to let them know what's going on, what's coming up, and how they can seek extra help if they need it. 

Here's a quick example:

Earlier this week I visited several middle school language arts classrooms that did an especially effective job of taking the mystery out of expectations and procedures. In one, a clear objective was posted prominently for all to see, a word wall let me know what vocabulary words and roots they had studied so far this semester, a display informed me of what the teacher was reading and what she had finished reading, and the teacher gave crystal-clear instructions and then followed up with students individually as they worked to make sure they knew what they were supposed to be doing. In the other, the teacher opened class with a slide on the screen that contained an objective, a list of activities on the day's agenda, a photograph of the items the students would need to have on their desk to begin class (writer's notebook, a pen, and a highlighter), and--this made my AVID heart happy--the letters WICOR with the elements of the acronym highlighted to show the students that during class they would be using inquiry, collaboration, organization, and reading. In both classrooms, I had no doubt that the students felt equipped for success.

None of the items on the above list are difficult to implement. And why not do all you can to make your students comfortable and confident when they enter your classroom?

After all, grabbing a cup of coffee, ordering a burger, and participating in school shouldn't be stress-filled activities shrouded in mystery.

Thank you for all you do to help your students find their way. 

Craig

   

How to Give Instructions That Kids Will Follow

How many times have you given what you thought were clear instructions only to discover that your students completely misconstrued what you wanted them to do? Or they responded with a billion questions after the fact?

Giving clear instructions can make or break a class activity. Poorly-delivered directions can cause confusion and chaos and can impede success and increase classroom management issues. In the past few years, one of my professional goals has been to work on the oral  instructions I give when I work with students and with adult learners.  I’ve listened, observed, and pondered pitfalls to determine what works and what doesn’t. Here are a few tips teachers can apply if they want to strengthen their direction-giving:

1.  Tell the students where they’re headed.  Remember what life was like before a GPS guided us everywhere?  For a few years, many of us relied on Yahoo Maps and other online tools to provide printed lists of driving directions to get us from here to there. Oftentimes, the detailed instructions were especially confusing if you didn’t look at a map first; it might take five separate steps to explain that you were supposed to get onto the Tollway going southbound. Taking a moment to preview the route could prevent confusion along the way because the driver could use the big-picture idea to make sense of the smaller instructional steps. Previewing the map also could've helped the driver get back on track when an instructional step was missed or misunderstood.  The same idea applies in the classroom. Unless it needs to be a surprise, teachers should probably let their students know what they’re about to do before providing instructions.  It can be something as simple as, “Today we’re going to learn how to use and share a Google Doc, how to create a folder to organize your Google Drive, and how to submit an assignment on Google Classroom,” or, “We’re about to set up our Writing Notebooks.”  Expert direction-givers Gordon Ramsey, Alton Brown, Emeril Lagasse, and Rachel Ray always let their at-home viewers know what they’re concocting before they start throwing ingredients together. Students, like TV-watching wannabe chefs, love knowing what they’re doing before—bam!—the instructions start flying at them.        

2.  Avoid the fillers. Someone at some point in history taught teachers to be too polite:  “Okay, so…Now, what I’d like you to do, if you don’t mind, is to take out a piece of paper—if it’s okay with you—and a pen, preferably, or, if you don’t like pen, a pencil.  I need you to be quiet so that you can hear the next instruction, if you will.”  Some teachers spend so much time apologizing in advance, avoiding giving commands, asking "if you would" or would you please" questions, and sugarcoating their verbiage that the directions get lost in the shuffle.  How about this instead?  “Take out a piece of paper and a pen.”  I don’t think this “harsh” demand is going to damage any students irreparably, and the fewer words we say, the more important each spoken word becomes.

3.  Make sure students are ready to receive instructions before you give instructions.  Don’t tell students how to fill out the top of the scantron while you’re in the middle of handing out the scantrons unless you want half the class to turn in a scantron with no name and no information on it.  Don’t start explaining where to find a Google Form when ten students are still turning on their computers.  Don’t begin instructions when a gaggle of girls is huddled in the corner of the classroom discussing the homecoming dance proposal that occurred during the passing period.  Establish your class routine for getting students’ attention, get their attention, make sure all students have what they need, and then begin your instructions. If you don’t make sure they’re ready, be prepared to repeat yourself or to watch your students invent their own interpretations of the instructions.

4.  Keep the instructions simple and direct.  This one is self-explanatory. Tricky instructions overwhelm learners. Break the procedure down into manageable steps, and state the steps clearly.  Verb + direct object.  “Take out a piece of paper.”  “Fold the paper in half, hotdog style.” “Trade papers with your elbow partner.”  

5.  Provide written instructions, too.  Simplified written steps projected on a screen or on the board can help students who are visual learners or who lag behind. Pare down your written instructions to the most essential wording, and elaborate as needed while you present them orally.

6.  Have a signal so you'll know when to proceed.  "When you've finished marking the text, put your pen down so I know you're ready to proceed." "Sit down in your seats after your entire group has shared their prewrites." Simple visual cues can help you determine when to give the next set of instructions. 

7.  Help the slowpokes catch up by providing “bridge” instructions.  You'll inevitably have a few students who lag behind the rest of the class. Some of them might be dragging their heels because they're unsure of what they are supposed to be doing. I'm fond of adding a little bridge to let everyone know how to catch up with the rest:  "After you've underlined the sentence you think is the main point of the article, write a paraphrase of that sentence in your writer's notebook."  The students who are confused or delayed then know to speed up the previous step and rejoin the class.                         

               

8.  Keep them from jumping the gun.  When you begin giving instructions, some students start before you've finished what you have to say. Starting off with, "Stand up and find a group of three people who don't sit at your table," will cause several students--or the entire class--to leap from their seats to locate their group before you tell them what to do. I recommend giving a cue at the beginning of your instructions to let them know when to begin.  "In about a minute, when I turn on the music..."  "After I finish these instructions, on the count of three...." Providing a clear signal prompting them to begin the activity will keep them in their seats and attentive while you tell them what they need to hear. 

9.  Don’t overload.  We're all guilty from time to time of giving too much information at the beginning, which leads to us having to repeat ourselves later. We begin by saying something innocent like, "Stand up, find a partner, discuss the question on the board, and then draft a summary of your response in your notebook. Then, you're going to list pros and cons for the statement you wrote down." A better approach might begin like this: "When I say 'Go,' stand up and find a solemate--someone who is wearing shoes similar to yours. When you find your partner, stand side-by-side, face me, and quietly wait for the next instruction. Go!"  Once you've ensured that everyone has found a partner, you're ready to continue. 

10. Ask for questions in a way that will get the questions you want.  I've found that "What questions do you have?" works better than "Are there any questions?" This doesn't give the students an easy "no" answer and doesn't presuppose that there will be no questions about your instructions. Even the best instruction givers sometimes leave the students with legitimate unanswered questions. 

The art of giving clear instructions is not easy to master. All of us can continually improve. But if you are mindful of the pointers above, you'll soon find that your students become more compliant and that your classroom runs much more smoothly. 

Now, when I say 'Forward this blog post,' send this to three of your teacher friends who might need help with instruction-giving so they can learn what you just learned.  They will thank you later. 

Thanks for all you do to make your classroom a successful learning environment for all your students. Forward this blog post!

Craig

Why Can’t the Whole Year Be Like the First Day of School?

Why Can’t the Whole Year Be Like the First Day of School?

Two weeks ago, I started a new position as an English Language Arts Instructional Specialist after years of teaching English, Humanities, and/or AVID at Shepton High School. Consequently, Monday was the first first day of school since 1993 that I was not standing up in front of a roomful of teenagers with whom I would spend the next 180 or so days.  Instead, I spent most of the day visiting five middle or high schools around the district, meeting some teachers, and tracking down everyone I’m supposed to support at those schools.

As I stepped in and out of classrooms and walked through the halls, I noticed a few things that seem to be generally true about middle school and high school students and teachers on the first day of school:

• Nearly everyone looks excited to be there.
• Students are eager to please, want to succeed, and are willing to make an effort.
• Teachers are polite, patient, and well-rested.
• Students don’t mind asking adults for help, and the adults don’t seem to mind being helpful.
• The teachers are prepared and organized. So are the students.
• The classrooms are full, but the hallways aren’t.
• No one is failing.

Wouldn’t it be nice, I thought, if most or all of these things were still true in May? I realize that is a Pollyannaish idea, but it’s worth considering. Here are a few thoughts about what teachers might do to make this “schooltopia” a reality:

Nearly everyone looks excited to be there.

My buzzword for the school year is “joy”—so much so that my coworkers keep jokingly asking me “Where’s the joy?” if they happen to catch me with a furrowed brow. I’ve been urging teachers at back-to-school inservices to make their classrooms joyful places for students. “How do I do this?” you may ask: Share your love for your subject. Enjoy the exploration with your students. Laugh. Play. If you’re not having fun, I’m pretty sure your students aren’t either. Find the joy in what you have to teach, and it’ll make coming to class easier for you and for the students.

Students are eager to please, want to succeed, and are willing to make an effort.

In an inspirational and hilarious TED Talk, Rita Pierson said, “Kids don’t learn from people they don’t like.” They will, however, keep working for a teacher who likes them and believes in them, even when the work gets more challenging.  Although Machiavelli in The Prince suggests that an effective leader strive to be feared rather than loved, I’m not sure that’s the best advice for teachers. Though students may work in a classroom with a climate of fear, they won’t be excited to be there, and they won’t do anything more than required. You can’t make teenagers like you, but you can let them know you like them, which makes it much harder to dislike you in return.    

Teachers are prepared and organized.  So are the students.

Even Pigpen from the Peanuts comic strip had an organized binder and a clutter-free backpack on the first day of class. When students have their time and materials organized, they are primed for success. Help your students with organization, the O in WICOR, by providing them with structures for calendaring and keeping up with assignments and classwork. When teachers are prepared and organized, the classes run more smoothly, more learning occurs, teachers are calmer, and there are fewer disciplinary issues because lessons move seamlessly from one activity to the next, giving students no down time to cause trouble or get bored. Also, calm teachers are happy teachers, which makes them infinitely more tolerant and patient. 

Teachers are polite, patient, and well-rested.

You may be the only adult in a student’s life who reacts to the world in an adult manner. Show students how to treat others through your actions. Handle conflicts and disciplinary issues with logic and maturity. Take care of yourself. Get plenty of rest. Breathe more often than you think you need to.  When we get stressed and overwhelmed, we become less patient and pleasant. Remember that your students are not fully-formed adults, so they will do things that will test your every last ounce of self-restraint. Be the adult who responds calmly and pleasantly.

Students don’t mind asking adults for help, and the adults don’t seem to mind being helpful.

Is your classroom a place where students can ask questions safely? Do you encourage students to take risks? Is a struggling student an opportunity or an imposition? When a student comes in with a question, do you stop what you’re doing and help? Making your classroom a safe place to learn, to mess up, to explore, to get frustrated, and to ask for help is a key to making learning happen. 

The classrooms are full, but the hallways aren’t.

After years of seeing students wandering the halls without a sense of purpose or urgency, I have concluded that most of the students in the halls don’t really have to go to the restroom.  They’re just bored and restless.  Make your classroom a fun place to be so they’ll want to stay there. Ensure that they feel the time spent in your room is worthwhile and that they’ll miss something important if they aren’t there. And utilize state changes and activities that involve movement frequently so they can get the wiggles out in your room and not have to roam. 

No one is failing.

Isn’t it great when students feel successful? The beginning of the semester offers hope to all. As our gradebooks fill up, however, we chip away at the self-esteem of some of our students as they find themselves unsuccessful and increasingly see the futility of trying to dig their way out of the hole. I think, though, that if teachers work on the other six items on this list, they will create an environment that makes failure less desirable, encourages students to work harder and seek help when their efforts aren’t paying off, and maximizes success for all students.

I can already hear the naysayers telling me that these things could never happen. I concede that they’re probably right.  But isn’t it worth making an effort to make things perfect even if we don’t quite achieve perfection?

Thanks for the work you’re doing and will continue doing to help shape the future positively.

Have a wonderful new school year!

Craig