This morning several FHS staff and students got up super early and participated in the Lagoon Valley Trail Run! Even though each of us ran a different race and had our individual time, we supported one another before, during and after the race. Kelly Briggs was the catalyst that got us to sign up. Her challenge to us was motivating and a chance to be part of a team. During the race, each of us found our own inspiration by keeping in pace with that individual that was just in front of us. Knowing that someone was behind trying to pace with you was also a motivator to keep going. Think of your classroom environment as one where you can tap into each student's strengths. It doesn't have to be just the teacher that motivates, pushes, and teaches. The students themselves are your best ally in moving your classroom forward. Challenge your students, then allow them to find support amongst each other. Show them the path that they need to take, then step aside and allow them to pace themselves in finding meaning. There will be some falls along the way, but that is part of the learning process. Students need to be involved every day in finding meaning and purpose. We CAN DO this!
If you are looking for new ways of engaging your students, I have included a few Youtube/Edutopia videos that I found this weekend!! These videos encourage you to think "out of the box. Remember to include your students in your planning conversations, you may be surprised by what you will find.
Me, Shelmae, and Beth pumped up before the 5K!
Me and Kelly after finishing our 5K!
Mary Llewelyn came out to cheer us all on!!!
The FHS Crew after finishing the 5K and 10K!!!
We even had the privilege of being interviewed for Channel 27. Check it out once it posts on their Facebook page. Channel 27 Interview
Many more great things are in store for Fairfield High!
Continue to be innovative, creative, and a model of excellence!
Teach Thought Online has posted a challenge to ALL teachers. Embark on a blogging quest for 30 days where you reflect on your teaching. This will empower teachers to become stronger educators and will give teachers a platform to connect with a global audience. A few of you have taken on the this challenge and have started to blog. This is an exciting endeavor!! I have provided links to both the Challenge and to two of our teachers' blogs. It is not too late to start blogging, reflecting, and developing as an educator.
On Tuesday and Wednesday of last week we watched a video as a staff and compiled evidence of student engagement. There is engagement happening not only in your classroom but in the rooms to your left and to your right. I say this to encourage each of you to step out of your room and walk around campus and see what others are doing. Spending just five minutes in another teacher's classroom can help give you a new perspective and more tools for your teacher "tool kit." The collegial collaboration that is occurring is fundamental. Adding the live classroom environment to this collaboration will help take all of us one step further in our quest for EXCELLENCE!
My tech tips for the week. I highly encourage each of you to download the following FREE apps to your iPad. These apps will be time savers for you!!
Gmail App. This will save you a lot of time. Once loaded on your iPad and synced to your work Gmail and any other Gmail account you have, you can quickly access your email by one tap of the app. You can move easily between different Gmail accounts by simply tapping the account in the bottom left hand corner.
Google Drive App. This will save you a lot of time. Once loaded on your iPad and synced to your work Drive, you can access all of your Drive files by just simply tapping the icon.
Educreations App. This app is a virtual whiteboard. You can create lessons in advance and record your voiceover. Another idea is to use Educreations while you are teaching, save the lesson, and post to your website. Students can also find this app useful to create presentations for your class.
Pic Collage App. This is the app I use to make photo collages. It is a very useful tool to show many photos from an event on one screen.
Each of you already has iMovie on your iPad. Here is a short compilation of FHS that I made using iMovie on my iPad this weekend. I used the trailer template. You just need to place your pictures and videos in the template and adjust the tag lines. iMovie is another great tool to use in the classroom!!!
Many more great things are in store for Fairfield High!
Continue to be innovative, creative, and a model of excellence!
As we head into our fourth week of school it is increasingly important that ALL lessons contain rigor. At times, it can be hard to decipher between the difficulty of a task and the rigor of a task. Just because something is a difficult task, does not mean that it is rigorous. Many of you had the pleasure of seeing Dr. Tamara Hall present last Thursday on Depth of Knowledge. Her presentation broke the concept down quite easily.
Depth of Knowledge or DOK, is a measure of the cognitive complexity of a task. The complexity level of thinking required by a standard, task, or test item. Why do we need to know the DOK level? There must be alignment between the intended depth of the standard, the depth of instruction, and the depth of assessment.
I have created a quick visual for you here using a FREE iPad app called Skitch.
DOK Levels I-IV:
DOK Level I: Recall and Production
DOK Level II: Basic Application of Skills & Concepts
DOK Level III: Strategic Thinking
DOK Level IV: Extended Thinking
Since we want to encourage and support our students to be problem solvers and critical thinkers, we need to provide many opportunities through lessons planned at DOK Levels II and III. We can "visit" Levels I and IV.
Here are two student created videos. The first link is a video from Rancho Minerva Middle School that shows each of the four DOK levels in action. http://youtu.be/VW7mSAAuFM0 The second video is a student created video from Kings Canyon Middle School. Let's have our students create and demonstrate what DOK looks like in the classroom! Here is to you planning many more rigorous lesson plans where ALL students are engaged, ALL students are challenged, and ALL students are learning!!
Many more great things are in store for Fairfield High!
Continue to be innovative, creative, and a model of excellence!
We are now entering our third week of school. We have already completed 8 days of the school year. Routines have been set, policies are clear, and now is the time for Innovation to be set free and Learning to SOAR.
With little under an hour that you have each day with your classes, you want to capitalize on every minute with the students. Think of ways you can "flip" your instruction so that the basic building blocks are introduced at home and then students "apply" those principles in the classroom. Encourage students to be critical thinkers that take the knowledge they have and apply it to new scenarios and new problems to solve.
There are many teaching strategies grounded in research that have shown over time to be the most impactful on student learning. I have focused on four strategies here. These are also the strategies that I am looking for in my class visits. Using the strategies as a starting point, I will provide feedback and coaching to each teacher.
Teach for Success Strategy
What it Looks Like
Communicating the Objective
Research says…
Students who can identify what they are learning significantly outscore those who cannot.
--Robert Marzano
Teachers post, share, and clarify learning objectives so students know:
What they are learning
Why they are learning it
How this learning connects to previous experience or previous learning
How they will learn
Engagement Techniques
Research says…
Research at all levels of schooling has indicated that students learn and retain more when they have agency in their process and have opportunities to speak, listen, share, interact, reflect, and move.
--Paula Kluth
Teachers actively engage students in the learning vs. being engaged in an activity.
Involving all students in classroom discussions through various individual and group strategies vs. raided hands
All students are required to interact with classroom concepts and skills even if only one or two students will respond
Students can describe success criteria and know what they are expected to do to reach mastery.
Formative Assessment
Research says…
The act of checking for understanding not only corrects misconceptions, it can also improve learning.
--Fisher & Frey
What evidence do I have that this is working or what evidence would convince me I was wrong in using these methods?
--John Hattie
Teachers engineer their classroom environment to continually elicit evidence of student understanding/learning on a daily basis.
Teachers use classroom questions, discussion and learning tasks as evidence of understanding or misconceptions for all students.
Teachers require student to think and use a variety of strategies to collect evidence from all students.
Engages all students to respond to a question(s) by signaling, writing, or performing in order to check for understanding.
Facilitate Student Interactions
Research says….
When students provide feedback to each other, they are forced to internalize the learning intention and success criteria but in the context of someone else’s work which is much less emotionally charged. Activating students as learning resources for one another can, therefore, be seen as a stepping stone to students becoming owners of their own learning.
--Dylan William
Students support each other as instructional resources in understanding and performing through a shared understanding of the learning expectations and success criteria.
Students assess each other’s work and provide feedback using classroom success criteria
Students talk through problems with each other to find common solutions or share ideas to solve problems
Students discuss issues with peers to reach a more complete understanding
For those of you that are visual learners, here are a few YouTube videos that show "flipped" learning in action. Yes, this can be done in high school!!
Many more great things are in store for Fairfield High!
Continue to be innovative, creative, and a model of excellence!
The first three days of school were AMAZING!! Staff came dressed to impress, students moved busily around campus finding their classes and meeting their new teachers, ALL teachers introduced the new policy changes, and REAL learning and teaching was happening from the moment students walked through the classroom door. Continue to push the rigor in your classroom. Focus your planning on the appropriate level of Depth of Knowledge for what is being introduced. And remember..... the learning needs to be in the hands of the students. Introduce the material and step back, allow students time to ponder, think, struggle, and make meaning. Provide students a safe place to make mistakes, the right answer does not always need to be presented the first time. And....for many situations, there are multiple right answers and maybe even some that we have not thought of yet.
Honors Chemistry students working on a Dry Ice lab on day 3 of school!
Teacher May Cranford assisting a student in AVID on how to navigate the College Board website.
Teacher, Laura Shafer, getting the Hon Chem students their dry ice for the lab.
Teacher, Von Wolf, using Chromebooks & Edmodo in his Math 1 class.
FHS Staff Day One
Club Rush @lunch 8.15.14
Club Rush @lunch 8.15.14
Club Rush @lunch 8.15.14
I had the pleasure of attending the Visible Learning Conference this summer. The overarching theme was Know Thy Impact, Make the Learning Visible. I have included a few of my Tweets from the conference and added a link to resources. visiblelearningplus.com You can also check out many more Tweets from all attendees at the conference at #vlconf2014
#VlConf2014#everydayvl Learners are thinkers: Connect, Feedback, Collaborate, Persevere, Wonder, Reflect #VlConf2014#everdayvl Think of the scene from Nemo. ALL fish swim down together!!! It works when you work together! #VlConf2014#everydayvl Engaging start to presentation!! Resources: http://tinyurl.com/WSD3-VL #VlConf2014 Growth mindset vs fixed mindset. Embrace and do what is possible for all learners. Meet the needs of the student. #VlConf2014 Cause learning, Be determined, Be Courageous.... #VlConf2014 Ensure learners experience being stuck. Equip learners with learning strategies, progress visible.... #VlConf2014 "Learning is way beyond 9:00-3:00 when kids are engaged." @sarahmartin74 #VlConf2014 A visible learner knows where they are at and the next step. You can see the progression. #VlConf2014 Surface to Deep, Near to Far. Making Meaning, Apply Understandings, and Build Knowledge. The Learning Process #VlConf2014 Ask yourself this question: "Would your kids turn up for school if they didn't have to?" @sarahmartin74 Think differently! #VlConf2014 Teaching self-regulation. The skill of knowing when to think fast or slow. Reciprocal teaching, problem solving. -John Hattie #VlConf2014 Learning: The process of developing sufficient surface knowledge to then move to conceptual understanding. -John Hattie
Many more great things are in store for Fairfield High!
Continue to be innovative, creative, and a model of excellence!
I have taken a hiatus from blogging for the last few weeks. My focus during the summer was reconnecting with my family. I am now back to work and ready to blog for the 2014-2015 year!!
This year I embark no longer to a middle school campus. I have happily made the transition from middle school to high school. I am the very proud principal of Fairfield High School, Home of the Falcons. FHS has a spirit of family and collaboration unlike any other I have seen. It is going to be an amazing journey this year since so many staff members are already invested, committed, and ready to take on the hard work and challenge of making FHS a shining beacon in FSUSD.
Departments are busy at work collaborating and developing rigorous Common Core aligned units. Project Lead the Way courses are finding more students joining. This year we have a four year pathway for students! One course has students designing and creating original computer applications that will be tested on the newly purchased tablets. The Scarlet Brigade is going strong and completed an amazing week of band camp. Our No Excuses team is hard at work branding our Student Learning Outcomes. Teachers are moving into newly renovated classrooms and embracing the new furniture design that is highly conducive to group work and student led learning. We are embracing 21st Century skills and methodologies.
I encourage FHS staff to continue to "think outside the box," to challenge your students to accomplish more than they thought possible, and lastly to challenge yourself to not be complacent and INNOVATE!
I look forward to capturing "Student Voices" this year in my blog posts as well as reinforcing the fundamentals found in Daniel Pink's book DRIVE. We must have Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose in all that we do!
To the 2014-2015 year!!!
Many more great things are in store for Fairfield High!
Continue to be innovative, creative, and a model of excellence!
Each year we tell our 8th grade class that they are closing one chapter of their lives and moving on to the next. We encourage them to remember their middle school years fondly, and to take with them the knowledge and skills they have built during their time at Crystal.
I'm in a unique position this year as I too am closing a chapter of my life and moving on to the next. I can say that I am moving on to high school with our promoting class of 2014. The four years I have spent at Crystal Middle School have been priceless. The relationships I have built with each and every staff member have left and indelible mark. Each one of you has helped to make me a better administrator. Each one of you will never be forgotten.
Remember that Crystal Middle School has always prided itself on being a family. Family members move on in their lives but they are always and forever connected by the bonds that have been built over time. Continue to reflect on who each of you are as an educator and how you will continue to grow. No matter who stands at the helm of Crystal Middle School, the teachers and the support staff make Crystal what it is. The collaboration and communication between each and every staff member makes it work like a well oiled machine. Who would of thought four years ago that we would have the pleasure of hosting the State Superintendent of Education? Who would of of thought four years ago that we would allow the students to design an entire day of learning? Who would of thought four years ago that technology would be such an integral part of every classroom setting at Crystal? That IS the reality of Crystal Middle School!!
I am extremely confident that each of you will continue to grow in your professional capacity and blow others out of the water. I can't wait to see what is to come for Crystal. I will always hold a place in my heart for the Crystal Family. I will never forget what you have done for the thousands of kids that have had the pleasure of attending Crystal. You have changed their lives. You have given them the academic skills and the social strength to be whoever they want to be. You have instilled in the minds of every Crystal student that they can make college a reality. Continue to innovate and be out of the box thinkers. Don't ever compromise your true beliefs. Keep on the path of improving your instructional approaches so that you can capture the hearts and the minds of every student that walks through your door.
Thank you for allowing me to lead you these last three years. It has been an incredible journey and one that I will never forget.
I would like to thank Tammy Collin for being relentless and convincing me to participate in a trail race on Saturday. It was a great experience!!! Tammy Collin, Tia McCormick, Melissa Apostolos, and student Zach Wahid were among those that participated in the Nitro Trail Race at Point Pinole on Saturday. I look forward to continuing to enter more races with Tammy and the Brazen Crew.
8th Grader, Zach Wahid, running in the half marathon. Zach came in 4th overall!!!
Tammy Collin and her dog "Stell" kicking butt on the course!!
Melissa and Tia running in the 10K.
Tammy checking people in before the start of the race.
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Thank you Lisa Lewis and Shannon Balthazor for creating the Crystal Dance Crew. The Dance Crew performed before school on Friday, May 30th. Many of you were also able to witness the "flash mob" that took place. Unfortunately, my Ipad had no more space and I was unable to capture the "flash mob" on video. It was a GREAT performance!!
"Don't try to master a tool. Figure out what you want your students to do, and then reverse engineer your plan from there." --Josh Harris, Ed Tech Specialist
Many more great things are in store for Crystal!
Continue to be innovative, creative, and a model of excellence!
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