The Shift Show EDU

This week’s show is an excerpt from a conversation between Jesse Stommel and HDSB Educators on ungrading. In this section of the conversation, teachers and Jesse were discussing the many ways that teachers communicate with their students and in the absence of grades, how students seek to fill the void with any information they can glean from their interactions with their teacher.

Links Mentioned
Ranking, Evaluating, Liking: Sorting Out Three Forms of Judgment - Peter Elbow:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lqeZOlHiwPOn48TGjZUGiDDhsxYEQnBi/view?usp=sharing
Connect with us on Twitter
SHIFT: https://twitter.com/HDSB_TheShift
Rachel Johnson: https://twitter.com/dr_r_johnson
Rebecca MacRae: https://twitter.com/RebeccaMacRae14

Do you have an idea that you have wanted to try, but you need the time and support?
Well, we have an opportunity for you and a team to try something incredible and innovative in your school: Ready, Set, SHIFT Innovation Grants!
The big framing question for this grant is:
How might we use innovative approaches to improve the student learning of transferable skills (global competencies)?
We hope that this gives some like-minded teams the time and support to work together on something they are passionate about and get their mojo back! Check out https://hdsb-theshift.com/13 for more details, including how to apply.

This week, we are talking about Yes, And! There have been a lot of NO’s or YEAH, BUT’s over the past couple of years, so we wanted to talk about a slight SHIFT in the language that we use to open ourselves up to new ideas and possibilities. In other words, we need more YES, AND in our lives, both personally and professionally, as we slowly emerge from COVID restrictions.

So where does Yes, And come from? It’s actually taken from improv techniques and also used in Link Crew. The basic premise is to continue to move the story forward, providing total support for all of your team members and valuing all of the voices at the table. By using AND instead of BUT, you are signifying a willingness to problem solve and/or grow and add to ideas versus shutting down the conversation.

We invite you to give it a try! Next time you find yourself saying YEAH, BUT why not try on YES, AND instead?

Links Mentioned
Two Words That Can Change Your Life https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1SK_qNLx5U&ab_channel=TEDxTalks
Link Crew - The Boomerange Project
https://www.boomerangproject.com/
Connect with us on Twitter
SHIFT: https://twitter.com/HDSB_TheShift
Rachel Johnson: https://twitter.com/dr_r_johnson
Rebecca MacRae: https://twitter.com/RebeccaMacRae14
Matt Coleman: https://twitter.com/MrColemanArt

This week, we are discussing the idea of using lesson classifications from the Modern Classrooms Project (MCP) in real life. In the self-pacing structures module of the MCP free course, lessons are classified as either Must Do, Should Do, or Aspire To Do. Here on the SHIFT, we’ve noticed that these classifications are infiltrating our life in everything that we do. We are finding that we are using these classifications in our email inboxes, for our to do lists, and even for reimagining adult learning models. It’s a great way to create focus on the tasks that are most important and find those places where you can give yourself a break. Give it a try!
Links Mentioned
Modern Classrooms Project Free Course: https://learn.modernclassrooms.org/courses/hdsb
How to set up must do, should do, and aspire to do notes in Google Keep: https://youtu.be/SCNaQfEbBuY
Custom Google Keep Headers Blog Post: https://edugals.com/how-to-create-custom-google-keep-headers-for-better-organization/
Connect with us on Twitter
SHIFT: https://twitter.com/HDSB_TheShift
Rachel Johnson: https://twitter.com/dr_r_johnson
Rebecca MacRae: https://twitter.com/RebeccaMacRae14
Matt Coleman: https://twitter.com/MrColemanArt

This week, we are chatting all about our recent Shift Pop Up event with the amazing Jesse Stommel and how we can focus on building quick and effective feedback into our everyday practices as educators. We discuss ways to leverage technology to save you time and build connections with your students, as well as having both students and families as active participants in the feedback cycle.
Links Mentioned
Did you miss our pop up event? Good news! We recorded it - check out our One Pager on Ungrading for all of the resources: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1NbcoKsQZU9ep6idy9NOFN-82n9tEou967uiIlzhpY78/edit?usp=sharing
Flash Feedback by Jennifer Gonzalez (Cult of Pedagogy) https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/flash-feedback/
Grading Student Writing: Making It Simpler, Fairer, Clearer - Peter Elbow: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GoE_wbnRD5ogyCSkyw95W11RSOtJsKV3/view?usp=sharing
Connect with us on Twitter
Rachel Johnson: https://twitter.com/dr_r_johnson
Rebecca MacRae: https://twitter.com/RebeccaMacRae14
Matt Coleman: https://twitter.com/MrColemanArt

In this special episode of the Shift Show EDU, we share the audio from our virtual pop up event on Ungrading with Jesse Stommel. This episode includes Jesse's talk walking through the philosophy and some of the how tos of ungrading, as well as the Q and A session after the talk, with questions from participants in the session.

For the video, slide deck and all resources mentioned in this event, check out this link: https://tinyurl.com/ShiftPopUpUngrading

We’re back! Welcome to our first episode of the 2021-2022 school year. AND… we’re so excited to be joined by a new member of our team this year, Rebecca MacRae.

We’re trying out a different format for the podcast this year so we’d love your feedback. We are embracing the mentality of “Try-Fail-Learn” as we podcast and publish our raw, unedited conversations. It’s been a busy start to the year so we are “going for done, not perfect”!

This week, we are discussing the idea of ungrading and getting started with the single point rubric. Ungrading is about “raising a critical eyebrow” at our current systems and practices around grading. We’re hosting the amazing Jesse Stommel on Thursday November 4th at 7pm to start the ungrading conversation in our board. We also talk about what a single point rubric is, why you might use one in your classroom, and how to get started.

Links Mentioned
Registration Form for the SHIFT Pop Up with Jesse Stommel – Nov 4th at 7pm EDT
https://forms.gle/tG4C96YfjW2PVNmb9
Meet the Single Point Rubric blog post from Cult of Pedagogy
https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/single-point-rubric/

Connect with us on Twitter
The Shift: https://twitter.com/HDSB_TheShift
Rachel Johnson: https://twitter.com/dr_r_johnson
Rebecca MacRae: https://twitter.com/RebeccaMacRae14
Matt Coleman: https://twitter.com/MrColemanArt

In this episode, we are super excited to be chatting with Stuart Miller, the Director of Education at the Halton District School Board. Director Miller has had a long and successful career with HDSB which began in 1984. Stuart is leaving the board at the end of this school year to begin his most exciting adventure of all - retirement!

Detailed show notes for this episode can be found on our website at https://www.hdsb-theshift.com/7

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Connect with us on Twitter:

Stuart Miller - https://twitter.com/HDSB_SMiller
Rachel Johnson - https://twitter.com/dr_r_johnson
Sarah Nykoruk - https://twitter.com/SNykoruk
Matt Coleman - https://twitter.com/MrColemanArt

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Be sure to connect with The Shift on Twitter @HDSB_TheShift (https://twitter.com/HDSB_TheShift) or through our website at https://www.HDSB-TheShift.com

In the second part of this two part episode we talk to four secondary students who are learning in a knowledge building classroom, instructed by Pieter Toth, at Dundas Valley Secondary School (HWDSB) in Dundas Ontario. Alberta, Grace, Ruby, and Wasaal are all students in the Grade 12 business leadership class and they reflect on what it is like to learn in a knowledge building classroom and their thoughts on the future of education.

If you are interested in reading more about the knowledge building principles mentioned in this episode, you can read more about it here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hILdBj2hgXRZk8YYXY26B8MIj7Ryq-te/view?usp=sharing

In this two-part episode we talk to two educators who are using knowledge building in their classroom, Pieter Toth, teacher at Dundas Valley Secondary School (HWDSB) in Dundas Ontario and Christine Vanderwal, Viola Desmond Public School (HDSB) in Milton Ontario. Both educators bring their perspective of using knowledge building in their classroom, Pieter Toth in a secondary business class (Gr 9-12) and Christine Vanderwal in a grade 7 classroom.
If you are interested in reading more about the knowledge building principles mentioned in this episode, you can read more about it here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hILdBj2hgXRZk8YYXY26B8MIj7Ryq-te/view?usp=sharing