Together, we move forward!

Rick DeCarr

Our sixth graders have worked tirelessly to create a collaborative learning environment. At the beginning of the year, we worked together to set our environment together.  Students wrote and talked about what they love about learning, and also what drives them crazy.  Students also had a chance to discuss both student and teacher behaviors in the same way - an eye opening experience for me. This classroom setup evolved into classroom discussions and meetings, where students and teachers can voice successes and struggles. Just recently, we had a group discussion around some of the obstacles that present themselves in a safe, positive “best day ever” learning environment.  The kids were sharing slowly, some of the different things that bother them throughout the day, week, month, year, - whatever period of time.  The conversation was floundering until one of the students spoke up about being compared to other students.  The student shared how being compared to another student/class makes them feel less than worthy - not good enough.  The flood gates opened and students that never choose to participate were sharing similar thoughts and feelings.  It was then that they were finally able to act like a cohesive unit - they finally found a common ground, where they all could agree.  It was a huge light turned on for them - but more importantly me.  They learned that each person can have a different perspective on social interactions. I learned that competition in the classroom has to be carefully crafted, keeping the purpose in mind - motivating students to be their best self.

Best Day Ever with 7th Grade Life Science

Cheska Robinson

My best teaching day ever was with my all-girls 7th Grade Life Science class from Brighter Choice Charter School, when they presented their Code Blue “Grand Rounds” Project to a team of doctors and medical residents from Albany Medical Center. 

For a month, the girls role-played as medical residents who were working towards their board and speciality certifications.  They worked in small collaborative groups to research human body systems and teach other the major structures and functions. When each group passed their board exams, they opened a medical clinic and received a mystery patient case. They had to use what they learned to create a patient profile, figure out the symptoms, and propose a diagnosis. The girls created models and presentations, which were shared with and evaluated by a team of doctors and residents for “Grand Rounds” Day. It was one of my most exciting and memorable memories because the girls were fully engaged and invested in their learning. All students and adults were excited to share their work with each other, and it was a day full of sharing and learning together.

Student Led...Finally!!

Michael Sheridan

Trying to isolate my best day ever is like picking the best ice cream flavor or the best cookie - it’s tough to narrow down from such awesome options.  But, one that certainly sticks out in my mind is when things finally “clicked”.  We have worked hard to incorporate discussion circles in the classroom, from the expectations of our class lessons to the physical seating arrangement.  Well, as many things go in the classroom, it was being dominated by the three or four dominant students in the class.  But slowly, more and more realized that it was a “safe” place for them, free to take risks without being judged by their peers.  

Classroom discussions became more and more fluid, more and more student centered, and I found my role becoming more the moderator then the teacher.  Finally, one day...it all clicked.  We were discussing the role of cell phones in schools...and bam!  Success.  Students were sharing, building off one another - changing minds, being respectful, and all the while, working towards a greater level of understanding of the issue at hand.  What struck me that day were the contributions of my students with disabilities - as a teacher of an integrated Sixth Grade classroom, a culture of collaboration and respect had been established enough for every student to feel comfortable enough to contribute...to step off the edge, to go without a net, and to take a risk.  I found myself at the end of that lesson realizing that I had done little to no talking over the entire discussion, and my students had built their own learning.  

As we progressed throughout the year, those types of inquiry discussions became the norm - but the feeling of seeing your students do it the first time - what a feeling indeed.  

Teachers for Mangoes!

Emily Gilbert

My best day teaching ever was actually before I was a teacher! I was working as a tutor for struggling 1st grade readers. I had a curious and bright young man, I’ll call J, from Haiti. At home, his parents did not speak English, his older siblings read to him but he was on his 2nd year of 1st grade and was well below in reading. I had been working with him for weeks and his reading level barely budged and I was getting frustrated. I had asked veteran teachers for ideas and suggestions, I tried high interest and easily accessible texts, I even tried bribery but nothing seemed to work.

One day we were reading a repetitive text, “Mom goes to the store. Mom bought 2 fish. Mom bought an orange.” You get the idea. For weeks, we had been reading the same 3 books getting no where - It was killing me but on the next page of this book was the key: it said “Mom bought Mangoes.” J read it aloud as ‘Man’- ‘Goes’. He turned and asked me what a ‘Man-Go’ was. I pronounced it for him and asked him if he had never had a mango before? He said no and I proceeded to explain them. J asked more questions and I answered them as best I could. I explained red and green mangoes, the taste, the smell and the many different ways to eat them. J was fascinated and engrossed. He asked me if I could buy him one. I told him I would but only if we had a really good two weeks of reading. To my surprise, he was hooked.

Those two week J applied himself like never before, we blew through books and levels. He read all the books and asked really good questions. He reminded me every day not to forget the mango on Friday! I asked him if he wanted to try a red or a green one. Shyly he asked if he could try both - I said if his classroom teacher was impressed with his efforts I would definitely get both.

The Friday came and he had move 3 levels and his classroom teacher asked me what I did - I told her and I also told her I was concerned that he would stop once he got the mangoes. She suggested we read the text again before eating the mangos. Mango day came and it was a big production. I took him to the teachers lounge (that alone blew his mind) then we prepared and ate the mangoes.

He loved them but what I loved was I actually saw the switch go off in his head. He learned that there were things in books he didn’t know about and if he read he could find out about these things in the world. And he was actually hooked - he ended the year actually ahead of the class and this year he graduated high school. What I learned was I wanted to become a teacher. I still see J around town, and when I see him - he still asks me if I remember the mangoes and smiles.

Progress Through Failure in 7th Grade Math

Justin Rentschler

One of my best teaching days was just this past week when I was able to help a preservice teacher experience the joys and challenges of teaching.

The preservice teacher was from a local college and in her junior year.  She was very anxious about everything being perfect and making sure the students enjoyed her lesson.  Technology was not her friend at the time due to her laptop crashing. She lost lessons and was frantically trying to get everything ready for the first class of the day.

I coached her through some of the issues and she was ready to go just as the students were finishing up the start of class activity she created. She cruised through her lesson with ease, allowed the students to learn from her mistakes, and watched the students has they moved around the room completing a surface area of volume scavenger hunt.

The students loved the change of pace and were anxious to get the task done to find the clue at the end of the hunt. She allowed the students the opportunity to learn from not only their own mistakes, but each others as they searched around the room for the correct answers.  She had some great reflective moments about her successes and failures.  I loved being able to coach a future teacher through the stress and watch reap the benefits of her success at the end.  She even was excited about teaching middle school students even though, previously, she thought teaching high school was the only path for her.

Letting Students Choose Research and Going Outside the Classroom

Jess Fraser

It’s so difficult to choose my best teaching moment of all time, so I’ll choose a project that empowered students to have a voice and to interact outside of their classroom.  Two years ago, my fifth graders in Anaheim collaborated with fifth graders in La Habra on a science project.  In groups of four, two from Anaheim and two from La Habra, students used Skype to communicate with one another, Docs to plan and collaborate, and Flipboard to curate their science research.  Each group determined questions they still had unanswered after learning about outer space using their science textbook.  They worked together to find the answers to their questions and place the resources in their shared Flipboard magazine.  At the end of the curation period, groups decided how they would display their learning.

The main reason why this was one of the best teaching moments for me was because my students were fully empowered by having choice in their project.  With many of my students being English learners, communicating via Skype allowed them to develop their language skills in a fun and non-intimidating way.  My students were, for probably the first time in their lives, actually excited about research.  I loved the buzz that this project created and how my students worked after school hours late into the evening, as I enabled notifications to keep track of their activity on Flipboard.  My students said this project gave them more confidence and showed them a new way of learning.  The kids who were normally unmotivated in school told me how much they loved learning throughout this project.  It gave them hope in the fact that they could have voice and choice in their learning.

Green Screen in 7th Grade Science

I introduced it to my students with a warm-up question, "What makes Magic School Bus magical?" We discussed, and then I told them we were going to try out green screen--they were giddy with excitement. Their anticipation grew even more when I told them I had never done this before, and we were going to learn together.

The premise of their project was to form groups of 3 and create a 2-3 minute video where they creatively explain a chemical reaction. Then, their first task was to collaborate on a script on Google Docs. We spent the rest of the block period (105 minutes) outside writing scripts on the grass and on benches.

The next block we were on a field trip (yay!) and students finished their script on Friday (30 minutes). On Monday, I projected the workflow (see below), and students worked either inside or outside in their groups for 105 minutes. I had two groups record on Monday, which was a huge success because we learned how to use the DoInk app together!

On Wednesday, I had 8 groups that needed to record, so I assigned them each a "call time" for 10 minutes of recording time and sent everyone else to practice outside. For this first time using green screen, I limited my students to one background to keep things simple. In the future, I'll allow them to record with multiple scenes.

My two groups that already recorded had also edited outside of class. I asked these 6 girls to manage the recording process using my iPad. Something amazing happened: they took over the entire recording process, including downloading the image from Google Drive, using the app, directing the recordings, managing props, uploading the video, and alerting the next group it was their time. I was amazed that they took on this leadership without being asked! And, it freed me up to check in with other groups and not stress about getting everything done.