Collaborative Teaching : One Awesome, Engaging, Royal Mess

“Take this card from English and bring it to World Geography. Write all of the things that overlap. Topics researched in English that you talk about in Geography. Then take the card to Math and do the same thing. Same thing with Science. Then to Band, choir, art, tech ed, and FACs. Every day you will have a card filled with topics and themes that cover all of the content areas. Use these to cement facts and ideas in your mind. File them in your ‘Cross Curricular Receptacle’ in your locker.”


Imagining an education system which would work like this makes me insanely excited. There is nothing more advantageous than to link relevancy to material in class. Students are much more likely to recall information and apply difficult themes when they have received it in several different places and possibly different methods. This type of instruction is referred to as Cross Curricular Teaching or Collaboration or Interdisciplinary teaching. But they all basically mean the same thing. Students are taught, sometimes with several teachers, material which spans the different curricular areas.


My own experience with this type of instruction was complicated! I agree and advocate for collaboration with teachers and content. I believe this is the best way to link relevancy to material which doesn’t directly apply to their lives outside of school. Plus, I believe it denotes the nature of education being that it is not to be segregated but built upon. I teach a concept in English that my fellow science teacher also teaches (even something simple as research and I use the Big 6 Research method) and it would be great if we used the same method, same terms. Students latch on to this because they are already comfortable with or at least familiar with this method. But it can be so hard to do this in a small school where the system isn’t set up to directly easily accommodate this type of teaching.


When I student taught in Fargo, I was lucky enough to be in a middle school where it was set up in teams. Cross curricular occurred all the time! We had team meetings daily where we would discuss how we were approaching certain topics and it became easy to say, “I want to teach research methods in my classroom, what do you guys use in your classes so I can teach something they will be familiar with or use later?” Plus we all taught seventh grade so if we wanted to team teach a class it was as easy as saying, “Okay Math and English together today in the team center.” This system was smooth and forward thinking.


However, when I accepted a job I went to a small rural school where I taught seventh grade English this was not the system. Though the positives of teaching in a small school are many, there are also many challenges. One of these was the difficulty in setting up collaboration with other teachers. I did make this happen as often as I could. However the first time, it is almost comical how difficult it was to make it happen. The first step was to search out a teacher who would be willing to do this with me, no matter what. I found one in an 11th grade social studies teacher. Odd combo to say the least but we planned and planned until we came up with an interdisciplinary unit which we felt would be a positive experience for students. With this arrangement I felt our students also benefited from learning to work with students of a different age and especially with my seventh graders this would be an opportunity for personal growth. So then we went and presented it to the principal. He was accepting and positive about it. He said “figure out how you are going to do it and let me know what you need me to do.” That was the tough part! We taught several periods in which the other did not have students. We had to adjust our lessons for the classes which would not be paired (one only 7th grade lesson and one only 11th grade lesson). And then we had to reschedule our days (my eating lunch at a different time as well as my students from one period). We had to teach through our own preps and keep all of this straight for our students. In general we made a royal mess out of the schedule. But it was worth it. Seeing the students working together and on their group projects which included research, presentation and a creative writing piece was amazing. Students requested this activity again and again through the year.

I was lucky to find a teacher who was as dedicated to this project as I was because there were many times where it would have been easier just to drop it. But the rewards of cross curricular teaching are immense and we need to strive to include in our curriculum this as much as possible.

Motivation Proclamation

When we go out looking for information about our students, our classrooms, our target demographic, we find it. Overwhelmingly we find that we need to figure out how to “motivate” our students. How to reach the students by understanding where they come from and what is important to them. Our students are constantly changing. Each generation is different than the others. However, it seems that motivation is a perpetual problem. Teachers have taken it upon themselves to try to motivate their students to learn with different techniques. The techniques of motivations are varied. However, they are pretty consistent. These techniques, if implemented, could change the level of realistic student learning.

In Carol Wells article "Motivational Techniques for Improving Reading Comprehension Among Innercity High School Students," several techniques are listed to motivate students. The article references "Innercity" students but states that it can relate to any students that have turned off or tuned out. I believe the techniques can be applied to all students as a way to motivate students.

The first technique for motivating students to read is to maintain a relaxed atmosphere. This can be accomplished by taking an interest in what students are interested in. Then books can be selected for students based on those interests. One way to determine what students are interested in is to have students complete a questionnaire. It is important to know that there is a different direct way to have students to do specific tasks. It becomes set how students will do tasks and sometimes our current technology falls short. With the technology available, it is only a matter of time until something perfect comes out allowing all of these things to be done for the teachers and students alike.

A second technique for motivating students to read is to make time for sustained silent reading or what I refer to as independent reading time. By showing students how to create time for reading they will be motivated to read more. This is an example of modeling when teachers also do the same thing. As a teacher, I try to give time to read. When students are assigned time to read, I try to do that as well. This shows students reading is as important (if not more) than the current filing or copies to be made.

Another motivating technique that I found particularly interesting was make the school library inviting. It was suggested that libraries arrange books just like a book store by displaying attractive covers rather than the uninviting Dewey decimal notations. This technique discusses the issues of the standardization versus patron needs. It is a fine line but when the audience is clear, it may be best to keep it in the bookstore layout.

Providing a reading list is another way to motivate students to read. This list should be developed based on the answers to the student questionnaire. The list will help students to find books that match their interests and will keep them excited about reading.

Finally, another technique that is given to motivate students to read is to form a book club or reading club. With the rise of social collaboration web sites, there will soon be the option available to teachers and students to join an online book club community. That issue will have to be explored in a future blog.

Censorship

The dirty word in library circles echoes in the school classrooms

The constant flux of the education system is not ditch right outside the doorway. This perpetual change trails into the Media center just like any other place in the school. Media Centers are full of energy, books, policies, information seekers and, hopefully, guidance. One thing that has no place in the media center is censorship. Library Media Specialists, ones who are true to their profession, fight to keep censorship out and the Right to Read in the Media Centers. These individuals are advocates for intellectual freedom and educate students about their rights to all materials. This blatant support of student’s rights is awesome but is implied for their positions. It is the other teachers and staff that are often overlooked when thinking about censorship. There are so many ways that classroom education has changed with technological advances and modifications in education. However one thing that hasn’t changed too much is sadly the censorship of books and materials in the classroom.

Censorship is not only not allowing books but also censoring what students can write about . Both of these are happening daily in American schools. When reading about acts of censorship in the public schools it is fascinating. When Carrie Courogen wrote an article about censorship for her high school paper she was surprised to have this article censored by her advisor. She did make a particularly interesting quote, “If school districts deem something inappropriate, they have a responsibility to protect the rights of the majority before the rights of the minority.” The power to censor student works is in the hands of the school districts. Teachers are often held responsible for their student’s work and in a system where teachers who are not willing to do this are often fired or ridiculed. The issue of whether or not teachers should be held responsible for the student’s work is often debated. Though it is not easy to make a clear statement of where the responsibility lays, the true point is student rights. Though society wants to figure out to whom we can point a finger at, we also may need to decide that students could be responsible for their actions. If we let student’s take responsibility for their actions we could enrich their sense of self and teach them about results of their actions. Giving students their rights and teaching them the responsibility of these rights could be the best teaching tool we have.

When we think about student’s rights, we need to focus on this poignant statement about censorship by Courogen:

“Students should not be asked to abandon their rights at school doors. They should not be the subjects of constant censorship of school officials. The school environment is one of the few places that students should feel comfortable expressing themselves in an effort to grow and mature intellectually.”

Professional Support Community

I had something else completely planned and ready to submit when it hit me what I really wanted to talk about. The fascinating part about education, as well as other parts of life, is that it is perpetually changing. We either change with it and create something better. Or we don’t. When we choose the later we know that eventually one of us, either the system or our method will cease to exist. More often than not, it is our method. Eventually no matter how long we held out, it seems we need a computer to succeed. Eventually we had to give up the hopes that that square wheel would roll. Will this be the same with our virtual learning communities, our online high schools and colleges? Will we have to give up the idea that “this too shall pass” and get on board for real?

In this course of study it would be great to say we are all on board with online education. However, there are drawbacks. One of the biggest drawbacks is the social aspect of college and high school. We don’t get the face to face communication, the making things work with individuals in groups in person. There are the times of bumping in to people after class or in the hallway and discussing the Shakespearean plays which are awesome and in online education are almost impossible. However, there are ways around it. With Pronto and discussion boards we get some of this social aspect.

But what we miss, what we lack, what we don’t realize we don’t have until we get a glimpse, is a group of professionals. The professional interaction just doesn’t happen. Suddenly I realized this at the Summer Institute. We were walking from one event to another, our demographics all across the board and discussing an issue in education. Suddenly it was clear that the peer to peer sharing online which we boast in Web 2.0 all had roots. It is nothing new that we listen to those around us more than we look for advice from outsiders. But online it seems so different than in person. In person we feel so empowered because you can see the bodies around you discussing the issue and becoming passionate alongside you. Online we feel that we may find others like us but can never tell just how truly into it they are.

A professional support community is a force with which to be reckoned. These communities of individuals are people who may support you when things are not going your way. They may create a gateway to other information which would support your lifelong learning.

Online learning is proving more and more to be a constant. It isn’t going to go away. So we have a choice. We can either embrace it or we can repel it. Embrace means change, means creating the tools so we can have to social interaction that constitutes a professional support community.

Recovery High School - Post Rehab High Schools

Lately I have been thinking a lot about our students. Our students who are diverse and able to do amazing things with tools we never had as students. But these students also face more issues and struggles than ever before. It is amazing to think about and even after we come to grips with it. Sometimes reading an article can still take us by surprise. Recently I was reading an article titled "Recovery high school a 'soft landing' for post-rehab teens" about Recovery High School which details a high school aiding students with substance abuse histories graduate from high school.

While it is clear that technological advances have made more opportunities available to student than ever before, we also have to acknowledge this struggle with substance abuse and other issues which has only increased. Drugs and alcohol are not a new problem for students to be facing but that does not make it any less daunting. Reading this article reminded me that this struggle is alive and well. This quote is poignant and says it all, “Adolescent drug abuse cuts across all demographics -- race, class and geography.”

Cuts across all demographics? Really? It is easy to believe that some students are more likely to become drug addicts or maybe it is that whole “it couldn’t happen here” mind frame. But even after coming to grips with the students being addicts, I hadn’t thought about students needing to return to school. School which is supposed to be safe and welcoming can suddenly stay sober in the same old environment. This same school could not be part of the solution for these students but rather be part of the problem.

This article tells the story of Northshore Recovery High school whose curriculum is standard but who support is directed towards keeping students clean and sober. This school is new but not the first school of this type. The first actually was Sobriety High in Edina, MN which was opened in 1987. This high school and the several other ones have started to create the place for post rehab high school students.

The graduation rate of Northshore Recovery High School is high - 90% high which is boasted to be higher than most public schools. With graduation rates and support this high, there is no doubt that Northshore Recovery High School as well as other post rehab high schools serve these students. With education, our students as well as our materials and methods have changed. Needing to figure out how to deal with these changes and educate our youth is exactly what the founders of these alternative schools did.

Let’s follow their lead and figure out how to meet our student’s needs.

Teaching is Funny Stuff: Humor in the Classroom

We know having fun in the classroom is beneficial but we have not always been able to eloquently state why. Humor is good for the brain. This doesn’t come as a huge surprise because we are old hat with the physical benefits of endorphins but how it really works in education is coming to the forefront. David Sousa discusses the physical reaction to humor. In education we strive for retention and real learning. This goal is so valuable that we try many different methods to get there. Sousa explains that remembering and retaining facts is so important. One key to remembering in detail is emotion spikes. These emotional spikes in the brain cause direct links to the memories, the content, learned. These spikes can either be positive or negative. These spikes, if harnessed, would create a solid memory. With retention being our main goal, Sousa has suggested that these emotional spikes can be caused by humor in the classroom.
Using humor in the classroom is very fun but some teachers may find this to be a struggle.

There are a few things we need to keep in mind:

· One is to keep it down about the sarcasm – really. Students often cannot tell when a teacher is joking when they used sarcasm and can be offended.


· The teachers actually doesn’t need to funny - only the material does. Even silly jokes which even cause a groan do prove to keep student’s attention.


· Self deprecating humor is best for high school and junior high students. One reason is that most adolescents feel they are the only ones who ever do anything dumb and telling them about the time when you fell down the stairs in front of somebody you were trying to impress can really make them engage with you.


My favorite use of humor in my classroom is definitely self deprecating. My students started to feel a lot more comfortable and engaged in class when I started to do silly things in class. I would tell them stories about walking into walls or doing funny things accidentally. This approach to my students goes hand in hand with my Funny Box. My Funny Box is a simple black index card box in which I keep track of funny/silly things my students and I do during the year – Freudian slips or silly comments mostly. The last day of school I read my comments to the students. They loved them and then had their opportunity to write their won. Reading these comments was fun but also was awesome to hear them say things like “One day we were doing this lesson about verbs and Mrs. Drellack was jumping around demonstrating and fell over in the commons.” Reading the ones which aligned with the class content were most fun. Also, I tried to implement crazy activities and movements with the main concepts in the classroom. On assessments I would ask them about the activities and students would often link the memories to the concept pretty easily.

A Funny Box is something all teachers should have to record these great memories when teaching!

Web 2.0 in the classroom

Web 2.0 is an exciting time and set of tools for all people. Determining how integrated this can be in the classroom can be difficult. Recently I had a workshop on the importance of technology in the classroom. Some of the tools presented were not particularly tech savvy but it did get me thinking.

Personally I feel excited and passionate about technology. There are so many potential ways to integrate and use the Web 2.0 tools in the classroom. The possibilities are endless! Being able to be on the edge of all of this is awesome but all goes back to meeting students needs and Web 2.0 can aid in meeting needs.

However, the decision to incorporate technology into the classroom can be the easiest part. We can clearly see that students react to and are excited about learning different technologies. After coming to the realization that this is definitely positive, determining the appropriate technology to learn and apply can be the most difficult part.

Some of my most familiar include (this is a variety of sites, open source, and tools) :
Saywire Mobi United Streaming
Moodle Twitter Ning
Facebook MySpace Elgg
Blogspot Study Island Kick Apps

There is so much to say about any one of these but there is only so much to put here in the initial post. It seems that every time you learn about one of these sources, another open pops up. It is fascinating!

So even more influential (as you can basically find or create any technology to meet your needs) are determinates as to what technologies can be used in your classroom. Some questions/factors include:

o What technology best fits your needs in your classroom?

o What do students use outside of class?

o Accessibility

Just like other teacher methods in the ultimate, best case scenario we would use what is best for the students. But with this situation, with reality, we need to pick the best for the students taking into account the factor determinates. In my classroom I was unable to use these Web 2.0 tools for a variety of factors. One was the accessibility of the computer labs. I was unable to use the computer lab often because there weren’t a lot of times available. But it also was my first year teaching and I wanted to make sure the content was set up best rather than my use of technology. In subsequent years I would integrate more technology which would fit with my curriculum seamlessly. I believe technology should support, not overshadow, the content.