Constant Reflection & Improvement (Kristen Hammer)

This is in a series of posts by teachers in the TUSD Connect Fellowship for the 2016-2017 school year.  I hope you enjoy reading their reflections on the impact of technology in their classroom, specific tools and strategies that have made a positive impact on teaching and learning, and their goals moving forward.

This is my second go around as a fellow, and I think this time I truly understood and benefitted from the process.  Technology has impacted my teaching and my students in a variety of ways.  I think one of the most beneficial ways has been through a what I would call a semi-flipped class.  The ability to have students be prepared through watching a video, and answering questions before coming to class for a lab or lecture has saved us time and we can spend more time on labs and hands-on activities in class.  I haven’t used a total flip, but the implementation of what I have done I can say that the prior knowledge on a topic or lab has gone up.  The class has the ability to be front loaded before coming to class and I have seen a better participation rate in answering questions about the topic.  I have saved time going over procedures that I have had to do in the past during class time.  I know I still want to work on the participation rate, and I think if I start these with guidance in class they will see the benefit of completing outside of class.

I have also used videos when I know I am going to be out of the class with a substitute.  The videos have ensured my students don’t get behind with materials or instructions when I am out.  It’s business as usual, and I don’t feel that I am wasting a day when I am out.  I can give them notes as if I was there, go over homework, and ask them questions.

I believe I have also improved my formative assessments using technology.  I have instituted Quizizzes again this year, but this time I have required the students to meet a minimum % to receive credit for the assignment.  This makes it so they have to keep trying and not give up after one attempt.  I have seen a greater participation rate when I tie it a grade.  They also seem to do better on their tests.  The students also love Quizlet live, so I really like having that available during class for a quick review before a test or quiz.

Looking Ahead...

As I think about my continued goals and next steps, there are several areas that I was able to explore with my coach this year that I want to continue to revamp.

I tried a menu assignment that I really liked this year.  This assignment gave the students choice on what genetics problems to complete.  They had to complete so many in a set, but they got to choose.  I polled the students and they said they liked the choice.  I also have given them choice in doing some assignments digital or paper.   I would like to do more choice assignments in the future.  There is a bigger buy-in with these types of assignments.

I am also looking into digital notebooks, and the idea of Google Sites for the students to keep their science work sounds, and looks really cool.  I need to research this more over the summer to implement this next year.

I made a couple of hyperdocs this year for the students to use and follow through the units.  I would like to continue this.  I see the benefit of having a one stop shop for the students to see where we are going in a topic or unit.

I also need to rethink my digital labs and doing them in Google Docs or Google Forms.  I was really bad about timely feedback when they are digital, so I think if I use the sites idea there could be more timely feedback.  I will continue to revise and revamp my lab write-up process.

I tried implementing Classroom Dojo, and it was helpful, but not exactly what I am looking for in a randomizer.  I will continue to think about this, and find the tool that works for me to make sure students are engaged and all students are participating.  Overall, I think my student engagement has improved, but I still would consider this an area to continue to improve upon.

Obviously, a big thing coming is NGSS implementation, and my curriculum will be changing due to this.  I have a lot of work ahead to make what I have now fit into the new standards and performance expectations.

Reflections on being a Fellow...

The fellowship has been extremely beneficial having someone to bounce ideas for curriculum implementation and revision off of.  Two heads were always better than one.  I believe the fellowship is only as good as what the fellow puts into it.  I was willing to try most things, some failed and some succeeded, but I feel that it pushed me more than I would have normally.  I enjoyed working with my coach, she was the perfect match for me.  She let me vent, but then got me back on track with the work ahead.  I felt if I wasn’t moving forward I was letting her down, and I didn’t want to do that.  If I thought of something, and posed a question to my coach, I always knew I was going to get a response about the idea or question.  I also needed the reminder of why was I doing something, was it going to enhance my teaching and the students learning, or was it just a replacement for the same.  I am better at reflecting on my use of technology and when and where it is best suited.

I loved that fact that although my coach wasn’t a science teacher in her past, she always tried to find examples and ideas that suited to science. This has been a worthwhile experience, and I will continue to consider my coach as my DLC (Digital Learning Coach) even if I am not going through the coaching cycle each week with her.

My name is Kristen Hammer.  I have been teaching science for 17 years.  I am currently teaching Biology, and my  science department’s chair.

I received my undergrad from Northern Arizona University in Zoology and my Master’s and teaching credential from National University.

I believe in making curriculum accessible and meaningful for all students.  I feel that each year of teaching should look new and different with the implementation and revision of a teacher’s art; their curriculum.

Thinking About Thinking: Google Forms as a Metacognitive Tool by Tracey Kent

This is in a series of posts by teachers in the TUSD Connect Fellowship for the 2016-2017 school year. I hope you enjoy reading their reflections on the impact of technology in their classroom, specific tools and strategies that have made a positive impact on teaching and learning, and their goals moving forward.

One of the most valuable parts of my two-year experience as a TUSD Connect Fellow has been the focus placed on reflection. During each meeting, my digital learning coach and I reflect on just about everything related to my classroom: student learning, lesson objectives, tech tools, instructional practices. All of this reflection has inspired the use of one of the most impactful tech tools in my teaching arsenal: the Google form.

Google forms have made a significant impact on guiding the instructional practices in my classroom. For most new activities, I request that my students fill out a Google form afterward in order to give me feedback on how effective the lesson’s components were, how much the design of the activity influenced their learning, and how much engagement the activity generated. For example, for our study of the The Great Gatsby, I decided to use Desmos (yes, this is still the post of an English teacher) to facilitate a discussion on symbolism. In small groups, students were given elements from Chapter 5 of the novel to discuss. They were asked to determine if the element was a “symbol” or “not a symbol” and to provide textual evidence with the rationale of their classification. Each group had a student recorder who typed responses for the group into Desmos (I wanted to ensure that the focus was on discussion, rather than each student clicking away silently and independently on their own device). After the class discussion activity, students were asked to complete a short Google form for homework, giving me feedback on how the activity went in their opinion. I find this type of feedback to be invaluable when designing activities to facilitate learning. This activity is only one example of the many types of follow-up forms that I ask students to complete. I have found that these forms help to tailor my instruction to my students’ specific needs.

Students also experience the metacognitive benefits of Google forms. They take greater ownership over their thinking by reflecting on the relative success of a learning experience. They consider what aided their learning, what hindered it, and what was negligible in impact. Forms empower students to think about thinking. Students are also able to rate their own performance and the performances of others in collaborative work. For a major group project, my students were scored on their “professional collaboration.” They were asked to fill out a Google form, rating each group member’s preparation, collaboration, and performance for their project. I received these scores on the corresponding response Sheet, and I averaged students’ evaluations of their peers’ contributions in order to determine their grade. Students rated themselves as well so that their self-evaluation was fairly included in the average score. Google forms also allow students to reflect on the writing process. As part of an essay revision workshop, students volunteered to peer tutor for extra credit. After they completed the tutoring session, they were asked to reflect on the challenges and benefits of peer tutoring and to consider how the process affected their own thoughts about writing. Assignments like these make manifest a student’s thoughts and capture a critical part of the learning process.

Teaching and learning alike are stimulated and refined through reflection. Having an awareness and understanding of one’s thought processes is an important component of any educational endeavor. Students and teachers can benefit from metacognition, and the subsequent reflection it engenders, and the use of technology like Google forms helps to elicit and capture these helpful thoughts.

Tracey Kent has been teaching English at Arnold O. Beckman High School for the past ten years. A lover of learning and literature, Tracey received a Bachelor's degree in English, a single-subject teaching credential, a Master's degree in teaching, and a Master's degree in English literature all from the University of California, Irvine. Teaching combines Tracey's passion for literature, writing, and grammar (yes--even grammar) with her love of learning. She delights in helping to nurture her students' sense of curiosity and nourish their intellects. Tracey is enthusiastic about all forms of expression--literature, art, film, music--and it is this appreciation of culture that most informs her teaching. Technology's impact on art and culture fascinates Tracey, and she looks forward to discovering ways in which she can use technology to help enhance students' literacy.

Turning Online Discussions into Meaningful Class Conversations

Post by: Erin Thomas, High School English Teacher

I am not a techy person by nature. The latest gadgets, fancy apps, and social media aren’t really my thing, so when I decided to commit to being a tech fellow this year, I was nervous about how things would go. One of my biggest concerns was that the technology I brought into the classroom would become a distraction from the actual learning I wanted to take place. My tech coach vehemently assured me that we would only bring in technology when it made sense and would serve to enhance the lesson I had planned.

A couple of weeks ago, I put her assurances to the test. I told her I wanted to find a way to take an online discussion and push it out into the classroom. I was curious if I could find an effective way to make a online discussion meaningful to their person-to-person interactions in class. The lesson series took a total of three days: one day for the online Verso discussion, one for the in-class 4 Corners discussion activity, and one for miscellaneous post recap and reflection which I wanted them to do. More information can be found about this style of discussion in Catlin R. Tucker's Creatively Teach The Common Core Literacy Standards with Technology

Verso Activate Learning

I decided to keep the online discussion fairly broad. I had them respond to two questions about the reading, with the goal being to simply get them warmed-up for their in-class discussion. They were asked to make both an initial post with their response to the question, and then one response to one of their peer’s responses.

That night for homework, I had them respond to a Google Form survey HERE which required them to write two open-ended questions based on their online discussion. My plan was to pull at least a few of their questions and use them in the Four Corners discussion in class the following day. This extra step really increased their buy in the day of the Four Corners activity. They were excited to see their questions from the form form filtered into the different rounds of discussion.

The in-class discussion took a fair amount of set-up to get everything into place, so they could participate in the in-class discussion I had in mind. My goal was for them to participate in four different, ten minute discussions, each with its on focus and questions. Each round they would move to a new table and would meet with a new grouping of their peers.

With the help of my amazing tech coach, we set-up a Google Sheets which organized them into groups, rounds and discussion roles. Students were given the Google sheets the day before the in-class discussion, so they could come to class prepared to make the numerous transitions as smoothly as possible. One adjustment I made to this portion of the lesson when I did it the following week with my CP students was to have them write down their assigned roles and rounds on a handout I created. This eliminated some of the issues my honors students had with forgetting where to go. CP Handout

The day of the discussion went great! It was so exciting to see them moving around and interacting with so many of their peers in one class period. My honors students tend to be really strong in discussion, but I had the same level of participation from my CP students a week later. As a teacher, I want to create opportunities for my students to think critically about a text and to articulate that thinking through meaningful discussions. The online discussion, partnered with the in-class Four Corners activity, did just that.

I did do a twenty minute recap of the information covered during the discussion with my students the following day, but it was mainly just a way for me to solidify what I observed them talking about in class. Additionally, I had them complete a final Google Form reflecting on the process HERE , their participation, and the relevance of the online discussion. The feedback they provided was enormously helpful when I went to set the same lesson series up for my CP students. In addition to the adjustment I mentioned earlier, I also chose to eliminate the role of “time keeper”, it felt fairly irrelevant to me during the discussion, and their responses confirmed that thinking.

The vast majority of my students indicated on their Google Form that they preferred this lesson series to the typical Socratic Seminars we have on a fairly regular basis in my class. Many of them shared that they felt more confident participating in this type of discussion, and that having the online discussion in advance of the in-class activity helped them to feel more prepared.

On a purely pedagogical level, I was really pleased with how this lesson turned out. While it was a bit labor intensive to complete all of the set-up required to make the Four Corners discussion run smoothly, it was completely worth it. I was so happy to see my students show how independent they can be of me while having a sophisticated, academic dialogue with their peers. And I was even more excited the following week to watch my CP students find the same success.

I still wouldn't say I am the most "techy" person, but I have learned to really enjoy it. I have seen how it can make a lesson I have planned more dynamic and engaging, while also allowing me to be creative and innovative as a teacher.

Teaching with Technology: Reinvigorating Pedagogy in an English-Language Arts Classroom (Tracey Kent)

This is the first in a series of posts by teachers in the TUSD Connect Fellowship for the 2015-2016 school year. I hope you enjoy reading their reflections on the impact of technology in their classroom, specific tools and strategies that have made a positive impact on teaching and learning, and their goals moving forward.


Technology has had a noticeable impact on my classroom this year. It has afforded me greater efficiency and reinvigorated somewhat calcified pedagogical knowledge. For my students, it has increased their productivity, accountability, and engagement.

This year, technology has added to my efficiency as an instructor in various ways. In terms of managing the requisite influx of writing assignments, Google Classroom, Goobric/Doctopus, and Turnitin.com have helped to make me a more efficient grader so that I can provide timely writing feedback to my students. Google Drive’s “Suggestion” mode has made leaving digital comments on student work just as easy as writing them by hand. The customizable nature of rubrics via Goobric/Doctopus and Turnitin.com also allows me to give directed feedback to students that pinpoints areas that need improvement. While it has definitely been an adjustment, scoring online is something I feel has improved my efficacy, and as a result, my students’ learning. I also believe that my efficiency with delivering content knowledge has improved with technology. Tools like Haiku and Pear Deck permit me to hone in on the necessary content and become more strategic about the way I deliver such information. These tech tools have helped to effectively disseminate content and have forced me to rethink pedagogy. Although much of the essential pedagogy remains unchanged (pair sharing and group collaboration and lecture all remain as effective instructional methods), technology has allowed for a reinvention of some of what is considered “tried and true.” For example, TodaysMeet and Verso provide another avenue for collaborative discussion. Pear Deck brings interaction and accountability to lecture. Google Drive helps with editing and revision. Ultimately, I have discovered that technology can enhance existing pedagogy by making it more efficient and engaging.

See the end of this post for some examples of my lessons utilizing these tools.

Technology has also impacted student productivity, accountability, and engagement in my classroom. With the aid of technology, students are able to produce more, in that certain activities once bound to class time are no longer confined to the classroom. Online discussion boards like Verso allow for conversation to continue outside of class, which extends discussion activities. Students are also able to produce differently with technology. For example, instead of using a poster, students can use a Google Drawing for a visual project. The change in how and where assignments are produced inevitably leads to increased engagement and student learning. I polled my junior honors English classes about how much the various tech tools we have used this year enhanced their learning, and approximately 80% said that Google Drive and Google Classroom greatly enhanced their learning while 73% said these tech tools “positively impacted their interest” in learning the content. 




Furthermore, sites like Actively Learn, Curriculet, and Pear Deck hold students accountable. With these tools, students cannot passively listen to a lesson or read a chapter. They provide the teacher with valuable feedback to help modify and refine instruction. In a survey of my sophomore class, 72% of students said that online reading tools like Curriculet or Actively Learn engaged them in their task because it helped them to better understand the information. One student wrote “ I think it was more engaging because there were questions to be answered as we read and it helped us to focus on what we were reading and remember.” Ultimately, I believe that student learning was positively influenced by my use of technology this year.

In the future, I plan to continue to explore what technology has to offer as an instructional aid. Technology aids instruction and learning in myriad ways, but it is important to remember that there is no replacement for good teaching. Much of my experience as a Tech Fellow this year has reinforced that idea. The process of building purposeful lessons and reflecting on teaching practice is what makes an effective teacher. Though technology brings new ways to engage students and greater efficiency, the content and pedagogical knowledge of a trained, living-breathing teacher is a combination that is not replaceable. Students need teachers who teach them how to learn and think, and technology can be a tremendous asset to skilled teachers who know how to use it to complement instruction.

Here are a few of my favorite lessons from the year and how the technology supported the learning goals.

Google Docs / Google Classroom / Goobric / Doctopus

Student essay with teacher comments submitted to Google classroom: Students completed an essay on The Glass Menagerie using a Google doc that they submitted to Google classroom. This enabled students to complete a peer review activity in which they were asked to highlight topic sentences, evidence, and commentary. They were also asked to provide a comment with the number of sentences of analysis and commentary. Then, students made corrections, de-selected highlighted text, and submitted the assignment again to Google classroom. Here I scored it using the Goobric/Doctopus extensions and made similar comments on their work.

Student essay rubric attached with Goobric/Doctopus in Google classroom

Google Drawings

Student group project Google drawing: To learn rhetorical strategies (ethos, pathos, logos, etc.), my sophomores were asked to design their own app and market their product to their classmates. They are asked to create their own advertisement and “commercial” presenting their product. During their presentation, they must provide a visual aid (Google drawing) that incorporates various rhetorical strategies.

Verso

Verso discussion: Students were asked to post a comment to the discussion board before class after reading an excerpt of Thoreau’s Walden. Before the start of the period, I grouped the responses according to those who agreed or disagreed with Thoreau’s central argument. In class, we reviewed the comments on Student Mode (student comments are anonymously displayed) before we began a discussion of the specific techniques Thoreau uses to espouse his position.

Pear Deck

Sample Pear Deck lecture on Modernism : To introduce the literary movement Modernism, I asked my students to review content on Haiku. The following day, I used Pear Deck to ask students to demonstrate their understanding of the information read for homework. For example, they were asked to define key terms from the reading. Pear Deck enabled me to make a lecture-based lesson more interactive, in that I was able to check for understanding throughout class and display and clarify student answers. At the end of the lecture, students received a “takeaway” transcript from Pear Deck in their Google drive containing the answers they provided as well as the slideshow itself.

Actively Learn / Curriculet

Actively Learn reading assignment: My sophomores used a site called Actively Learn to read some of the core works (Lord of the Flies Chapter 3 pictured below) Students are guided by questions as they read; these questions cannot be skipped, ensuring that students slow their reading pace to aid in comprehension. The screenshot shows student responses and the way in which I scored them.

About the Author: Tracey Kent has been teaching English at Arnold O. Beckman High School for the past nine years. A lover of learning and literature, Tracey received a Bachelor's degree in English, a single-subject teaching credential, a Master's degree in teaching, and a Master's degree in English literature all from the University of California, Irvine. Teaching combines Tracey's passion for literature, writing, and grammar (yes--even grammar) with her love of learning. She delights in helping to nurture her students' sense of curiosity and nourish their intellects. Tracey is enthusiastic about all forms of expression--literature, art, film, music--and it is this appreciation of culture that most informs her teaching. Technology's impact on art and culture fascinates Tracey, and she looks forward to discovering ways in which she can use technology to help enhance students' literacy.