Class Dismissed

Lisa Ainsworth spent eight years teaching 3rd and 4th grade at two public schools in Mississippi.

She was applauded for being a great teacher because of her infectious love for reading, plus her students always scored well on state tests. But when Ainsworth switched to teaching at a private school her world was flipped upside down.

Ainsworth's classroom has a large selection of books and unconventional seating.

Ainsworth says her students didn't seem to enjoy reading, and Accelerated Reader was an incentive for the wrong reasons.

"It (AR) didn't work for my students," said Ainsworth. "Some of them saw it as a competition and only read to earn stickers. And some of them didn' t care if they ever took a test and never wanted to read anything."

On top of that, she didn't have a way to measure her progress.  In public school, she always had the state test, but her students did not take the state test at the private school.

Ainsworth needed a reset; she needed to discover a new formula for inspiring her students. She began reading the works of Donalyn Miller, author of "The Book Whisperer" and "Reading in the Wild."

That's when she realized she needed to break away from the "whole-class novel study” and instead allow each student to read whatever inspires them.

Ainsworth's students often read and write on elevated surfaces that allow them to stand and work.

In Episode 35 of Class Dismissed, Ainsworth explains how she manages a class where each child is reading a different book. We also discuss how inspired reading led to flexible seating in her class. Students often learn upside down on sofas or even do classwork standing up.

Other noteworthy links in Episode 35.

Flexible Seating

Nerd Camp 

Colby Sharp

A principal met a student she expelled, and it changed her approach to discipline

All Rights Reserved. Class Dismissed Podcast 2018

The ability to consume news on our phones and computers is an incredible tool. With a few clicks, we have access to endless information about current events, politics,  and pop culture.

According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in August 2017, 43% of Americans report often getting news online, just 7 percentage points lower than the 50% who often get news on television.

But the convenience the information age offers is not without consequences.  Over the past decade, we've seen an increase in websites offering poorly sourced and sometimes intentionally fake information.

David Cutler is a high school history and journalism teacher in Massachusetts and he recognizes the importance of teaching how to distinguish between legitimate news sources and news sites designed strictly for political or monetary gain.

Cutler authored a column featured on PBS Newshour titled “How I use George Washington to make kids care about fake news.” and he went into detail on his methods on Episode 34.

All Rights Reserved. Class Dismissed Podcast 2018

A year ago, January 2017, Catlin Tucker made an ambitious New Year's Resolution. She decided to no longer bring grading home.  The California English Teacher says she loved her job, but she resented having to grade papers during her personal time.

"It really robbed me of the time that my kids want with me.  You know, I have a nine and a ten-year-old and they want my attention. And it robbed me of that time and space and ability to relax and be creative that drives a lot of my lesson and project design.

Tucker, an avid blogger, and author of several blended learning books decided to put her blended learning models to the test and see if she could create time in the classroom and make assessments real-time as a conversation between her and her students.

Tucker managed to pull it off, "I have yet to take a stack of grading home, said Tucker."

How did she do it?

Tucker says she used three blended learning models.

* Station Rotation Model

* Flipped Classroom

* The Whole Group Rotation Model

To take a deep dive into each of Tucker's methods, listen to Episode 33.

Tucker says there are not a lot of credentialed programs that support teachers in learning about the different blended learning options.

"What are the different models? When would I use a station rotation and what would that look like? And when would I use Flipped Classroom and what would that look like?"

Tucker is not planning an education-related resolution for 2018, but she wants educators to ask themselves WHY they're in the classroom. You can read her thoughts on that here.

All Rights Reserved. Class Dismissed Podcast 2018

 

 

Rich Czyz knows that some school districts struggle to provide meaningful professional development.

"It could be a time thing. It could be that they [administrations] are not up to date on whatever is happening in education."

Czyz says that consequently, teachers can find themselves stuck in staff meetings that end up being just a list of directives and policies.

This was part of Czyz's motivation to write "The 4 O'clock Faculty: A Rogue Guide to Revolutionizing Professional Development."

The whole idea of "Rogue" is the idea being that if you're not getting what you need, maybe you need to go out on your own.

"Maybe you need to start a weekly group that's going to discuss a blog post that you found online."

In Episode 32 Czyz tells how educators can have a grassroots movement to change the culture of professional development at their school.

All Rights Reserved. Class Dismissed Podcast 2018

The Class Dismissed Podcast debuted in the Summer of 2017.  In just six months, the weekly podcast has interviewed 29 educators about creatives methods and tools used in the classroom.

In Episode 31, Nick and Lissa talk about some of the standout moments of their first 30 episodes.

With kids having access to smartphones and iPads at a young age it's important to teach them about their digital footprint and the pitfalls of oversharing.

Our guest in Episode 30 is the  Senior Director of Learning and Engagement at Common Sense Education. Kelly Mendoza shares with us the tools they offer to help guide educators when teaching digital citizenship.

Mendoza explains how crucial it is for children to be aware of their digital footprint and she tells us where teachers can find free posters, lesson plans, and interactive games to make the learning process easier.

All Rights Reserved. Class Dismissed Podcast 2017

Flipgrid is a video discussion tool that educators are integrating into classrooms around the world. The concept is relatively simple.  A teacher creates a grid, inserts a topic and then students respond with short videos.

Joey Taralson, Flidgrid's Head of Engagement says educators are using it for a wide range of subjects like math, book reviews, and historical reenactments, "It provides an avenue for the more introverted students to have their ideas and their reflections represented, right alongside the more extroverted students."

The Minnesota based company has experienced explosive growth in 2017. Taralson says the company is now adding about 40,000 new users a month.

Educators on Twitter are Flipgrids best ambassadors, and teachers often share how they're using a Flipgrid using the #flipgridfever hashtag.

This is why I @Flipgrid! Every student really does have a voice! Even the ones who are shy and nervous on camera! #StudentVoice #FlipgridFever #TheWildcatWay pic.twitter.com/NVIkkKnYYD

— Askia Jackson (@AJacksonRHES) December 13, 2017

Wrapped up our week analyzing political cartoons with @Flipgrid #rprd #flipgridfever @ramaypride1 pic.twitter.com/YfMcBT35Q3

— Leah Rose (@leahkay33) December 8, 2017

To learn more about Flipgrid listen to our conversation with Taralson in Episode 29.

All Rights Reserved. Class Dismissed Podcast 2017

Steve Isaacs motivates his eighth-grade students using video games coupled with a quest-based learning system.

The New Jersey teacher works at William Annin Middle School, and his current tool of choice is Classcraft.

Classcraft is video game software designed for the classroom. Teachers overlay their content onto interactive maps, and students work their way through the curriculum.

"I've had kids write to me and say, can you approve this assignment because I'm really excited about the next armor I could get for my character and I need 100 gold pieces."

Everything in Isaacs class is based on a quest line. As his students work through the quest, they learn and advance their character.

"Some kids go so far above and beyond what's required because they just can't wait to see what's next."

To hear our full conversation with Isaacs, listen to Episode 28.

All Rights Reserved. Class Dismissed Podcast 2017

For the past seven years, students at McKinney ISD in Texas have had the opportunity to take in-depth aviation courses.

The program has strengthened in recent years and now juniors and seniors are meeting at an airplane hanger at the McKinney National Airport to help construct an airplane.

Nathan McAfee and Todd Curtis are instructors for the McKinney Aviation Academy and they join us on the Class Dismissed Podcast to talk about the program that enables students to learn about the history of aviation, attend air shows, and construct airplanes.

All Rights Reserved. Class Dismissed Podcast 2017

This week is Thanksgiving week….So we’re taking our short break to spend time with our families.

However, we're extremely thankful for all of educating professionals that  listen to the Class Dismissed Podcast and we didn’t want to go a week without giving you something to digest so we’ve woven together a couple of our favorite interviews.

3D Printing

Andrew Jackson Elementary teacher, Jayda Pugliese raised money for the classroom printer in 2016 and when she finally got the printer she was terrified.

“Because it was like, ok, I have a 3D printer, now I need to make sure I can integrate this into my instruction.”

Pugliese says she went into it honest with her students and told them she had no idea how to use a 3D printer.

“They embraced my honesty and we all learned together,” Pugliese said.

Pugliese and her students taught themselves a lot about 3D printing by watching YouTube videos.

After a year of becoming more comfortable with the printer, they took an aggressive step.

“I actually ran into a parent and she had a four-year-old daughter that was born without a hand,” Pugliese said.

“And I discussed with the parent that there could be the potential of me creating a prosthetic, but I couldn’t guarantee anything. Because I was still new at this, but I will try with my class to make one.”

Pugliese’s students were enthusiastic to take on the challenge.

“It took us a lot of tries. There was a very big learning curve”

It took several months to build the hand, but Pugliese was ultimately able to present the mother with a usable prosthetic hand.

It became more real to her students when they actually saw it printed out and they saw where it was going. “I actually had a few students start crying”

Pugliese built the hand for about $25. This is significant because insurance companies often don’t cover the cost of professional prosthetics for growing children.

Personalized Learning

A small town in Idaho is allowing their students to learn at their own pace.  If a student walks into a class and wants to study math, they pull out their iPad and begin a math lesson. No lectures from teachers, just mentoring and guidance.

Meanwhile, another student may not be interested in doing math at the moment. That student may have been inspired them to write because they saw something on the way to school. So the student walks through the door and begins writing.

This new form of education is known as personalized learning and Superintendent Jeff Dillon in Wilder, Idaho says it’s the result of the best year in education of his life.

It may sound like the students are in control of their learning, and they are, at least partially.  Students still have goals and if they don’t keep up, they can fall behind and have to work extra hard to make-up for lost time.  It’s what Dillon calls “failing foward”.

We talk with Dillon about the challenges and benefits of rolling out a personalized education program in his public schools.

All Rights Reserved. Class Dismissed Podcast 2017