Check Your Ego at the Door

One of my secret pleasures is watching fixing shows like Restaurant Impossible and Kitchen Nightmares.  It makes going out to eat questionable but I do love seeing the process move from stubborn denial to grateful acceptance.  

Last night, my husband and I watched an old Kitchen Nightmares episode where an owner was convinced her food was spectacular, she did a great job running the business and the employees were the cause of her failure.  While we watched Gordon Ramsey work his magic (brow-beat her into submission), I started thinking about the teachers I know and the future teachers I work with now in my role as a Field Supervisor. Once a teacher, always a teacher - everything is about learning. I realized that the biggest problem all these restaurant owners have is the inability to check their ego at the door.  They are so caught up in what they do brilliantly that they are closed to any idea of changing what they do to make things better.  And that is exactly what holds back teachers, too.

When we first begin learning something new, we willingly ask for advice, read up on new ideas, and accept critiques.  But once we have learned, even a little bit, we start to shut down.  You don't need to teach me how to handle behavior.  I've got this.  I don't need to learn how to make my projects more inclusive and more engaging.  I already know how to create projects. The children love what I do and love coming to class. I'm fine.

By not checking our egos at the door, we are creating a sameness.  We allow our classroom to work for just the "average" student, because the rest will come along in their own time.  We accept that "that kid" will always just mess up group work and class lessons, because that's what they do.  We encourage a baseline of instructional activities that may or may not include engaging activities, may or may not teach all our children, may or may not allow for adjustments as needed.  Because there is no need.  We have it covered.

So this is a plea to all my educator friends, to all my student interns, to all my administrator connections.  Please, check your ego at the door.  Allow yourself to be open to learning and growing.  Never be afraid to tell yourself and others that, although you know how to handle behavior, there might be some new ideas that will help you teach students how to handle their own behavior.  Live with the idea that, although you planned projects for years, there might be new ways to connect with other classes for a project or new ideas to reach every single child in your class during the project.

I clearly remember when I went to Responsive Classroom training.  I was a veteran teacher already.  I had worked in some of the most difficult inner city schools, knew how to create a "family" so the children would want to behave, and really never had too many issues (except for "that kid").  But I wanted to go to the training because I visited a district where they implemented the whole RC program and I was impressed.  So off I went.

It was difficult for me to check my ego.  I wanted to prove I really didn't need this.  Just give me the games and the posters.  I'll do the rest.  But, slowly throughout the week of training, I began to see things differently.  Maybe "that kid" had much more I could work with than struggles with behavior.  Maybe the group project could work better if I taught the children how to work together very explicitly first.  Maybe I could make all my students feel special and wanted each and every day - even just by starting the day shaking hands and saying good morning to each child.

The very first year working with RC changed my classroom completely. My students were more excited to be in school.  They were more responsible and independent learners.  They advocated for their learning.  Behaviors were almost completely eliminated.  I, the veteran teacher, the expert, could actually learn to change and, in the changing, make things better.  Later I learned more about Universal Design for Learning and CAST, which just lent itself perfectly to my RC classroom. 

Now that I am retired, I can look back on my career in the classroom differently.  I changed grades quite often, moving around in elementary school and even leaving the classroom and working with gifted students and teaching science to all the elementary students.  I looped with my class three times, which effectively eliminates duplicating projects, since the children already did said project with me.  I created new lessons, units, activities, projects every single year.  And I loved it.  I loved discovering new tools.  I loved working with new teachers, in and out of my school.  I loved going to conferences and coming back with new ideas. 

I love learning.  I still do. I have become a pretty active pickleball player in my retirement.  I never even saw the game played before.  I am on a 14 day streak in DuoLingo.  I will learn Spanish.  I will learn Spanish.  I have started cooking.  (For those that don't know, I never cook.  My husband is a great chef so why should I take that away from him. LOL)  Now I make soups and casseroles.  Still can't handle a meal because the timing throws me but I can make something that is easy to heat up later.  

By keeping the learning going, I am forced to keep my ego in check.  How will you keep the learning going in your classroom?  Go to a conference?  Read a new book?  Follow someone new online?  Be brave.  Be a learner.  Check your ego at the door and go ask for help.  You never know what will come of it.

UDL and Purpose

More and more educators today are learning about Universal Design for Learning (UDL).  Whole districts and whole states are taking up the cause, demanding teachers incorporate UDL strategies into their lesson plans, training teachers in the use of UDL tools, and hoping this translates into greater learning for children.

But many educators seems to be missing the whole point of UDL.  Adding fidget toys, flexible seating, and colored paper does not make a UDL friendly classroom.  Handing tools over to the one struggling student does not make a UDL friendly classroom. Adding technology to your lesson does not make a UDL friendly classroom.

So what does make a UDL friendly classroom? 

My goal as an educator was always to help each and every one of my students be a lifelong learner.  In order to do this, I needed to make learning accessible and engaging for all of them.  And this is where UDL comes in.

The cast.org website is a font of knowledge in this area.  On their website, they state: "The goal of UDL is to support learners to become "expert learners" who are, each in their own way, purposeful and motivated, resourceful and knowledgeable, and strategic and goal driven. UDL aims to change the design of the environment rather than to change the learner."

Change the environment rather than the learner.  Wow.  That is powerful. While this doesn't mean we stop remediating and reteaching, it does mean we rethink the classroom environment for all students.

What does this look like in the classroom?  I wrote about this in an earlier blog that you can see here. Today, I want to talk about purpose.

Every single thing you do in the classroom should be done for a purpose.  

You want a carpet in the room?  Why?  So children can crowd around you while you read outloud?  Then be sure to put a chair at the top of the carpet and books all around.  You want a carpet so children can come to the floor to work while you are teaching a lesson?  Then put your carpet in front of the board and have clipboards available for hard surface writing.  You want a carpet because it looks colorful.  Get rid of the carpet.

Little Johnny clicks his pen all day, driving you crazy.  You decide to give him a quiet fidget toy.  Good idea.  But what about Little Samir, who doesn't drive you crazy.  He just wiggles in his chair all day, folds his papers back and forth, and struggles to pay attention to lesson.  Guess what? He could also use a fidget toy.  But you only gave one to Johnny. Make the tools available to all your students.  Spend some time teaching them what all the tools are for and trying them out. 

Remember, your goal is to help the children become expert learners, on their own!!! How will Samir know a fidget toy will calm him down if he never tries one?  How will Stacey know a fidget toy will distract her if she never tries one?

I think a lot about cell phones in classrooms today.  I will readily admit that I really only worked with elementary children so it wasn't too much of a distraction in my classroom.  But...guess what?  I have a cell phone!  Every adult I know has a cell phone.  And many of the adults I know get very distracted by their cell phones throughout the day.  Me included.  I have learned that, when I am working on something important, I have to put my phone away.  And if I want my husband to really listen to me, I ask him to put his phone away before I start to talk. So I use what I know and apply it to the classroom.

At the beginning of the year, help your students learn how to learn with a cellphone.  Teach a lesson while they have unlimited use of their phones.  Then give them a quick (ungraded) test on the lesson.  

Did they learn what you wanted them to learn?  Great!  Let them use cellphones.  Did some of them learn?  Those children can use cellphones.  Did all of them miss points?  Discuss this.  Why did they miss those points?  What was distracting them from learning?  How can this be managed?  Now you start to create rules for individual students.  Or rather, they start to create rules for their own learning.

I remember one year I had a BYOD policy in class.  One child brought in his cellphone.  I was sceptical but went along with it and just monitored what was happening.  Turns out he knew he could focus better on a tiny screen than while looking at our big screen.  He could write better while finger tapping his keyboard than he could while using his whole hand on a keyboard.  So he got to use his cellphone in class.  He also learned that playing videos or games was distracting so the rule for him was no videos or gaming during lessons.  He followed the rule because he was responsible for his learning and I gave him the opportunity to try to learn while playing a game.  It didn't work.

Create an environment with many, many tools around the room.  Have those tools accessible for the children at all times.  Teach them how and when to use the tools.  Then let go.  Let children get up in the middle of the lesson to get a tool to use.  Let them request assistance in the middle of the lesson.  Then provide what they are asking for.  Remember that your goal is to create lifelong learners.  So help them learn HOW to learn.  Then let them soar!

An Open Letter to NYS Commissioner of Education Elia

Dear Commissioner Elia,

I am a veteran elementary school teacher, having just completed my 30th year of teaching in 2015.  I am now a teacher for the gifted and talented students in my school, as well as the lead teacher for PLTW, our new science program.  I have won multiple awards for global projects, co-written a book on blogging, and teach classes on Universal Design for Learning, Project Based Learning, Responsive Classroom and using Web 2.0 tools.  I work hard to keep the learning fresh, becoming a Google Certified Innovator, an Edmodo ambassador, and a BrainPop Certified Educator, among other titles.  

I am telling you about myself to let you know that I love what I do, love working with children, love helping other teachers, and take my profession very seriously.  I truly believe that my purpose in life is to help make the world a better place and I am here to help children learn how to make peace, work cooperatively, and feel that their lives matter.  I have always felt that, in elementary school, our main job is to help students learn to love learning, love school, and love themselves.  Curriculum comes second.

I work on Long Island, in the Herricks School District.  It is a high stakes district that always tops the lists of best schools, highest scores, etc.  And I know, working in Herricks, how to help my students reach those heights, while still loving school. Until testing time.

This past week, we gave the NYS ELA test to 300+ 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students in our school. We shut down programs and classes on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday in order to accommodate the requirements of the students testing.  You see, this year, in order to make things "less stressful" for our students, you chose to make the test an untimed test.  The results were scary and very stressful. Let me explain.

First, the test itself is stressful for children.  There were questions on the fifth grade exam that I had difficulty answering.  Teachers were debating the multiple choice answers, since there were many that had two choices, one being slightly better than the other.  If teachers have difficulty with the test, imagine how the 10 year old children felt looking at these questions.

Also, the children, on day 3, were asked to write two essays.  Two!  Who writes two essays in one day, much less one right after the other?  Couldn't we figure out if they could write well after the one essay they wrote on day 2?  Did we really need a third day to figure this out?

Second, the test is useless.  Teachers cannot use it to revise their instruction since we don't get scores back until August or September, when we no longer have those children.  And when we do get the scores back, they are meaningless, since we no longer have the test to see what the types of questions were.  And, you decided (rightly so, in my opinion) that we would not use this test to assess teachers. So, if the test does not inform instruction and does not assess teachers, what is the point?

Third, the timing.  When we had 90 minutes for this test, it was stressful and difficult for some children to finish.  But they mostly did ok.  With an unlimited time, we had children working for over 4 hours!  There were gifted children who are notorious perfectionists, writing 4 page essays and spending an hour on just the planning page (which, incidently was left out of the test).  There were special education children who would get stuck on a question and just stop, waiting for inspiration. And, with unlimited time to do so, would sit for 30 minutes doing absolutely nothing but worrying.

So what was my role this year?  Since I am no longer a classroom teacher, I did not have a class to proctor so I filled in where I was needed.  I proctored one day for a fifth grade teacher who was out for the day.  But mostly, I spent my time with the children who worked beyond 2 hours.  You see, after 2 hours, I picked up all the children who were still not done and brought them to my room to complete the test.  This allowed the rest of the class to move around, make noise, and relax. On Thursday, the two essay day, there were so many children taking more than 2 hours that we filled up two classrooms with those students.

In my room, in the meantime, I had children crying because they couldn't answer questions, worried because they were taking so long, upset because they were missing lunch and recess to complete the exam.  This was not "less stressful" by any means.  Less stressful might have been cutting the test down to two days or giving the children more developmentally appropriate questions to answer or giving the test at the end of the year, after all the curriculum has been taught, instead of in April, so the teachers have to rush curriculum to get children ready, or not giving this test at all and finding a better way to evaluate learning throughout the year.

Commissioner Elia, I am hopeful that things will change next year.  This is not what I became a teacher for.  I work hard to make my students love coming to school.  Nobody loved coming in last week, not the students, nor the teachers, nor the administrators, nor the parents.  I am hopeful that, since you claimed you would opt your own children out, you understand the ineffectiveness and uselessness of the NYS ELA test.  Please reconsider this test next year.  There has to be a better way.  Ask teachers.  We know how to evaluate our students and our teachers.

Sincerely,
Lisa Parisi, teacher

Starting a New Year

Yesterday I was able to get into my classroom to begin setting up for the new year.  My first day of school with children is September 6th and our first day of staff development is August 31st, so I have about 2 weeks to get things going.


I was pleased to find that, for the first time ever, the custodians put all my furniture exactly where I wanted it.  So I didn't have to start by moving around the furniture.  My husband came with me and we hung bulletin board paper, emptied my closet, set up desks, and made some small changes to the set up of the room.  


I have decided to start my year by making some assumptions about my students.  I hope it all works out.


Assumption 1: My students will be able to handle sitting in groups and moving around the room right from day one.  


Each year, I start my students in rows.  I do lots of direct instruction, slowly leading them toward group work and choosing seats.  This year, I decided to start them at tables.  I am starting a group project during the first week of school and will use that project to help them learn to negotiate the ups and downs of working with others.  So my husband and I set up desks into groups of two, three, and four.


Assumption 2: Sitting on the carpet is no different than sitting in desks.


I have a huge purple carpet in my room.  This carpet is large enough for all of the children to sit in a circle on the edge and have grand discussions.  I start each year with my carpet in the corner, tucked under the bookshelves to make it smaller.  It isn't large enough for a circle and is just barely large enough for them all to fit in a crowded group.  This year, I am going to have a grand discussion on the very first day of school.  I am going to help them learn how to have discussions without me, taking turns talking, listening politely, and contributing strongly.  We will start on day one with a grand discussion about what our class rules should be.  So we set up my carpet right in the center of the room, not tucked under any furniture, and we set up the tables around the carpet.

Assumption 3: The children don't really use the posters that teach skills.


I love posters.  I cover my walls with them.  I have, for years, had posters hung up high on the wall.  These posters were writing posters, talking about use of vocabulary, starting ideas, using voice, trying different genres.  I loved them when I put them up and kept them because they were so hard to put up and take down.  But I realize no one ever used them.  The children would see them on the first day of school and forget about them after that.  So I finally took them down.  I will use them as I teach each skill.  Instead, I put up posters about character.  I realized that teaching my students to be good people is much more important to me than teaching them about using good vocabulary.  I want them to learn to be strong individuals, willing to help others, and accepting diversity.  I can refer to these posters often, which makes them more relevant than the skills posters.  And I like the way they look.


Assumption 4: The children can handle all my UDL tools.


As any reader of my blog knows, I run a classroom with a UDL approach.  I have many tools to help the students meet with success.  I usually wait to put them out as I need them.  The fidget toys stay in the closet, the headphones stay locked in a drawer, the spell checkers remain by my desk, etc.  I have decided this year to put them all out on my UDL table and introduce the table as a tool table.  As the children look for tools or need items, I can direct them to the UDL table right away.  


Assumption 5: No one wants to spend an hour on the first day of school labeling and setting up their supplies.


The first day of school, every year, we spend about an hour labeling notebooks and binders, adding dividers to binders, unpacking pencils and pens, filling up supply boxes, and setting up desks.  It is boring and frustrating.  This year, I want my first day of school to be fun and exciting, educational and surprising.  So I am going to collect all supplies and hand them out as we need them.  This way, when we are ready for our binder, I can spend only a few minutes getting them ready at the beginning of a lesson and be done.  This is probably the biggest change for me and I am grateful for my aide, Joanne, who will be there to help make it work.


I am excited for these minor changes.  It means I am starting my year assuming my students are ready for my style...for projects and discussions, for responsibility and freedom.  I am going to spend time leading them to understand how to be responsible for their learning and I will start on day one.  I believe it will be the start to a great year.

A UDL Classroom in Action

Recently, a teacher, who I have much admiration for, asked me if I could share a UDL lesson with her.  This was when I realized that, even those who seem to know, don't really understand UDL.  So let's see what a UDL classroom in action looks like.  But first, once again, I will explain UDL. 


According to CAST, "Universal Design for Learning is a set of principles for curriculum development that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn.

UDL provides a blueprint for creating instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessments that work for everyone--not a single, one-size-fits-all solution but rather flexible approaches that can be customized and adjusted for individual needs."  

UDL is not a lesson plan, it is a program.  

Here is a typical day in my classroom.  Please note that all names have been changed.  I work in an inclusion classroom with a full time co-teacher, a full time aide, 22 children, 9 IEPS/504s, 4 gifted students, 1 ESL student, and a variety of levels, behavioral issues, and academic issues.  I also have wonderful children who love coming to school, working hard, and collaborating with each other.

8:45 - 9:10  - We unpack and listen to announcements.  Sam and Esther take the lunch count.  Sam is not comfortable talking in front of the class so he allows Esther to call for children to raise their hands if they are buying lunch.  Sam counts the raised hands and writes down the numbers.  Meanwhile, Abby's seat neighbor reminds her to hand in her homework, since she seems to forget each day.  Johnny sharpens all his pencils, since he pushes too hard and breaks his points often.  Martin gets help from the aide to organize his desk and get ready for the day.  If he has items on his desk, he gets easily distracted, so his desk is turned around.  He needs to get out of his seat to get anything from his desk.  He also puts his water bottle on the nearby table so he doesn't play with it and puts his snack toys on my desk.

9:10 - 10 - Math time.  We split into two groups.  Group one heads down the hall to the "breakout room."  There they will work on writing word problems that match a given multiplication or division problem.  They are ahead of group two.  Group two stays in the room.  They use their multiplication charts (everyone has them on their desk) to solve computation problems.  Bobby uses the SmartBoard to work out his problems since it is easier for him to work on a large area.  Susan grabs some graph paper so she can keep her columns straight.  Johnny carefully rewrites his problems then asks his seatmate to check and make sure he copied the numbers correctly, since he is notorious for miscopying problems.  Gerry starts clicking her pen, looks at me and quickly grabs a koosh ball to keep her hands busy while she works out the problems.  

10 - 10:45 - Reading time.  Book groups meet together. All groups are working on fantasy books, but all at different levels. I meet with the Amazing Readers.  They are reading a very high level book.  Their job is to read and carry on a discussion in Edmodo.  Patty, a great conversationalist, helps lead the discussion, moving her group through some pretty sophisticated ideas.  Darryl, an ESL student, sits with a dictionary to help her decipher the words.  The Lightning Readers are working on drawing pictures to match the text.  They are reading on grade level but seem to miss details.  So now they must focus on the details.  Bobby asks the aide to copy the page he wants to draw.  This way he can highlight parts of the text, as needed, to help him find details.  Allison helps her group, the Awesome Readers, decode the simple text and summarize each chapter.  They practice fluency while they read into their toobaloos.

10:45 - 11 - Snack time.  All three adults help students with homework questions, finishing up projects, and blog assignments.  The children have free time unless they are getting assistance.

11 - 12 - Social Studies.  The children are working on Constitution Projects.  Martin, who is dyslexic, grabs a textbook from the closet and rereads the chapter on the Constitution, using his EZC reader to help him read. All the children have them available as needed. Sally gets a computer and looks at some BrainPop videos for support.  Darryl goes right for the Discovery Streaming videos that were put into her assignment.  Patty opens up her Google Doc and starts taking notes, chatting, in the Doc, with Eli about the rubric and what they are missing.  The teachers sit at tables and children gravitate over for support and guidance.  The aide helps Harry negotiate collaboration techniques.  As a PDD child, he much prefers working alone.  So he convinces his group to let him take the notes and make a comic book out of them.  

12 - 1 - Language Arts - Sign of the Beaver projects are almost finished.  One group, full of artists, has decided to create a coloring book to demonstrate their knowledge of their theme.  One group is making a newscast, complete with commercials and a weather report.  One group has opted for a digital story with pictures they created. One group creates a screencast from the SmartBoard.  Each person is contributing what is best for them and the group.  

Lunch time!

2 - 3 - Writing - During my mini-lesson, I write the steps to a personal essay.  Jessica asks ifs she can please write it on the SmartBoard so it can be printed out and taped into their notebooks.  So while I talk, she types.  When it is done, it is printed for all.

That's a typical day.  We have used multiplication charts, fidget toys, computers, calculators, the SmartBoard tools, Toobaloos, video cameras, digital recorders, text books, BrainPop and Discovery videos, Edmodo, graph paper, and each other to help make learning more accessible and help make us more successful.  

I have not planned to use all these tools.  I just made them all available.  Children move around freely, sitting on the floor, on pillows, the rocking chair, their desks, and tables.  They get computers, fidget toys, calculators, special paper, special pens/pencils/markers when needed.  They ask for help or receive support from their classmates and the teachers.  There is no shame in needing help, no shame in wanting tools.  It just happens.  I introduce tools, encourage their use, and, by this time of the year, they just up and get them.  

This is a UDL classroom.  Sometimes, it looks chaotic.  Sometimes, it seems the children are more in control than the teachers.  Many times, children advocate for themselves, asking us to do something (like using the SMARTBoard to write steps and printing out the page) that just makes good sense.   But there is no excuse for not succeeding.  All the pieces have been put into place.  Now the children just need to use them.

How can you set up a UDL classroom?

Why Won't More Teachers Set Up a UDL Classroom?

Karen Janowski recently posted a tweet once again expressing her consternation with teachers refusing students tools for success.

This question seems to come up often with different tools.  It really got me thinking about the true reason teachers will not set up a UDL classroom.  But before I get into reasons, a little background on UDL is necessary.


UDL, or Universal Design for Learning, is, according to the National Center on Universal Design for Learning, 


"a set of principles for designing curriculum that provides all individuals with equal opportunities to learn. Grounded in research of learner differences and effective instructional settings, UDL principles call for varied and flexible ways to

• Present or access information, concepts, and ideas (the "what" of learning),   
• Plan and execute learning tasks (the "how" of learning), and
• Get engaged--and stay engaged--in learning (the "why" of learning)"

CAST, The Center for Applied Special Technology, does a wonderful job of explaining what a UDL classroom would look like. But I am going to simplify it here.

UDL means providing all students what they need to be successful. This can be as simple as allowing the child who struggles to remain seated, to stand during class.  It can mean providing fidget toys, spell checkers, laptops, highlighters, pencil grips,  multiplication charts, etc.  It can mean finding a place in the room for children to take breaks without missing out on learning.  It can mean giving extended time for tests to all students, not just the ones with mandated IEPs.

So what needs to be in place to actually create a UDL classroom?  What prevents teachers from creating one?  In my opinion, the following needs to be there:

1. Educators must believe that they are responsible for teaching every child.  

I know that right now you are saying, "Of course.  What else would teachers do?"  But think about this.  Have you ever given a test, had a bunch of students fail, and said, "Well, I guess they didn't study?"  Have you ever taught a lesson and watched that one child who stops paying attention and then just ignored that child?  I think we have all done this from time to time.  We say all children should be successful but maybe we really mean all children who are engaged and work hard should be successful.

Once we wrap our heads around the idea that we, as educators, are 

responsible for helping every child meet with success, then we begin to examine reasons why some children aren't.    My own daughter, who is not classified and, therefore, does not have an IEP, requires extra time to take tests.  She is a slow processor (which causes me much angst when I am trying to get her to make a decision) and she is not a great test taker.  When she has teachers who give her that extra time, she is successful, getting As on tests.  When she is held to a 42 minute period, she often does not complete her exams, severely lowering her grade.  I am eternally grateful to those teachers who allow her, and other students who need more time, to come back during lunch or after school to complete the exams.  I think this should be standard practice.  Why shouldn't she be allowed to actually demonstrate her knowledge of the content instead of always demonstrating her processing and test taking skills?

Let's talk about that child who checks out during class.  Often, it has to do with a teaching style.  Maybe this child can't really concentrate during direct instruction.  A simple solution is to use CoverItLive with your class.  This chat room allows students to discuss the content being taught while the lesson is happening.  It keeps them engaged, helps them formulate the new learning into their own words, and provides them with a new way to demonstrate knowledge.  

Another simple solution - have students draw pictures for note taking during class.  Imagine the child who sits doodling during every lesson.  Make those doodles meaningful.  Instead of drawing hearts while you are teaching about the Civil War, have the student draw quick pictures of each event.  

Hopefully, you have noticed that none of these ideas changes your teaching at all.  But it allows more children access to your information.

2. Educators must teach students how to access tools and then allow them the access.

Okay, this one does take some time from your class curriculum but imagine if your students had been taught how to access tools earlier in their school career.  You wouldn't have to teach them anything.  

I also know that, in order to show students how to access tools, you need to be familiar with them yourself.  Lucky for us, Karen Janowski and Joyce Valenza created an incredible wiki to help us in this endeavor. You can even give the URL to your students and make it a homework assignment for them to explore the site and find two or three tools that would be helpful for them.  Now you have removed the time from your class and have made it clear to students that they will be allowed to access these tools as needed.

3. Educators must give up that position of power to allow students the freedom to do what they need to be successful.

In our classroom, during a typical teacher directed lesson, we might have two students on the carpet in front of the room, one student standing in the back, three students with Koosh balls rolling around in their hands, one child typing furiously on the laptop, and one child getting up to get the Franklin Dictionary to check new vocabulary being used.  It takes some getting used to.  For most people watching, it looks a bit disorganized.  The children appear distracted with all the movement but the reality is, they don't even think about it anymore.  We start a lesson and they move into position.  Who is taking notes?  Who is drawing?  Who is typing? Who is filling out a graphic organizer?  Who is standing?  Who is squeezing a toy?  All children are engaged in their own way and we can focus on the content.  

When students in our class are working, as they most often do, on projects in groups, that's when the room really hits its chaos mode.  Children who need quiet ask to work in the hall, outside by the tree, or in our breakout room (a guided study room used for anything but guided study).  Children who thrive with noise remain in the room with their groups talking, discussing, pulling out equipment, hitting our UDL drawer for tools, heading online to access more tools, etc.  To any outsider, learning isn't occurring.  But get closer and you will hear the conversations going on...the learning, the synthesizing of ideas, the discussions about methods of demonstrating knowledge.  Also within those groups are children using their own tools to access the same information.  So one child has a textbook for its resource.  One child has opened up Discovery Streaming or BrainPop to find videos on the topic.  One child is taking notes from internet articles.  And one child is moving from group member to group member, asking questions, getting data, taking it all in.

It becomes controlled chaos.  And it was very hard for me, as an ultimate control freak, to allow.  I wanted quiet.  I wanted them all to do the same thing at the same time.  But I realized quite early in my career that doing the same thing at the same time left an awful lot of students by the wayside.  

Once educators truly embrace these three ideas, success follows and every child can feel good about what they are learning in school.  Why not try just one to start?

Image: 'Hmmm' 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42359338@N00/971611970

 'heart' 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/71477195@N00/185711235

'What CAN you do in here?' 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11080385@N05/3210445645

'Classroom Graffiti' 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28330040@N04/2642908744

UDL and the Start of School

School began one month ago. This was the start of my 25th year of school. And still I am surprised by the students. Really I am not so surprised by the students but by their behavior. You see, by fifth grade, my students have already learned how to play the game. Sit as quietly as possible, don't leave your seat unless you raise your hand and ask permission, do not call out in class, and never, never ask a classmate for answers.

So they come into our classroom and find things are a bit different. Can't sit still? Then stand up. But move to the back so you don't block anyone. Need to get a drink? Wash your hands? Go to the bathroom? Take a break? Then do so. But be sure you are not disrupting other classmates in the process. Have something important to add to the conversation? Go right ahead. But be respectful and don't talk over anyone else. Need help and your table mate seems to know what he is doing? Then ask for help. Check your answers with his. Ask him how he got his answers so you can do it yourself next time.

The two most important rules we teach in our class are to have respect for others and be an active learner, doing whatever you need to do to accomplish that task. This is unusual for children. Not so much the respect part but respect takes on a whole new meaning when you are making so many decisions. You see, when the teacher says the rules are to sit quietly and respect him/her, then respect is easy. You sit quietly and don't speak unless asked to.

But when you are responsible for your own learning, then respect changes. Maybe you need to come closer to the front of the room during a presentation so you don't get distracted. You need to be sure you do so without blocking anyone else or without making a commotion moving chairs. Maybe you need a fidget toy so you can concentrate better while touching an object. Get up quietly and grab a Koosh ball. Just don't toss it up and down or the student next to you gets too distracted. Maybe you need to take notes. Don't wait for the teacher to tell you to do so. Grab paper or your Post-Its and start writing. Or grab a laptop and start typing. But don't be distracting in the process.

By December, by November, by October even, our students have learned this. They move about freely, work well together, have conversations with each other, and are respectful - most of the time - of each other. But each September, I have to be reminded that they come to us from classrooms that don't run this way. Decisions are not made by students. Rules are not so easy to follow. And, as much as they love their teachers, their classes, their school, the learning is different here. It takes some getting used to. After all, it's hard to learn to be a learner. And that's what our classroom is all about.



'final exam'
www.flickr.com/photos/34017702@N00/74907741
'info-4'
www.flickr.com/photos/70285332@N00/3033210878
'Distraction'
www.flickr.com/photos/42219286@N00/1267858359
'"It is our choices. . . that+show+what+we+are,++far+more+than+our+abilities."'
www.flickr.com/photos/12596956@N06/2699207704

An Open Letter to Jason about UDL

This is an open letter to the science instructor who was interested in learning more about Universal Design for Learning. Thank you for your interest. And hopefully others can learn, too.

Dear Jason,
I'm glad you are interested in UDL. You want to know how to begin? Well, I have never attended a workshop so I wouldn't worry about not having any around you. Really the idea is: do what works. Your job as an educator is to reach EVERY child. The reality is you will not reach every child with every lesson. So you need to figure out what to do to reach those who were not taught the first time around.

Think of it this way: You teach a lesson on - say - what DNA is composed of. (I asked my 8th grade daughter what she has learned in science this year and this is what she came up with.) The first time you teach this lesson, you use a textbook, some pictures, and a worksheet. And maybe 50% of your students get it. Day 2 you try again. This time you also add a video. Now you have reached another 25%. That's still only 75% of your class. And you have finished with your repertoire of lessons. What do you do now? If you had time, you might be able to pull the 25% who didn't get it into an extra period for instruction. In fact, that's exactly what you do. And this time, with the smaller group instruction, you reach all but 2 students. Pretty good, you think. Maybe that's the best I can do.

Here's where you need to start reevaluating what happened. First, you might have been able to reach more students with the first lesson if you had used a video to start off with. Second, had you put them into small groups from the beginning, you might have reached all but 2 on day 1. But what about those 2. Remember, your job is to reach EVERY child.

Let's see why these 2 were struggling. Maybe one child - let's call him Joe - just really hates science. He has failed science for years, no one at home really cares anymore, and you are just another reminder that he cannot be successful. Joe would rather sit in the back of the room drawing pictures or staring at the clock waiting for the period to be over. And maybe the other child - let's call her Sally - has a very short attention span. She cleans out her pencil case during the entire lesson, not really focusing on your voice. She is distracted by the snow falling outside, by the girl next to her playing with her hair, by the vibration of her cell phone.

Now Sally needs to be able to stay focused. How do we do that? We try some things. Maybe Sally needs fidget toys. These will give her permission to play, as long as she understands that her brain needs to be focused while her hands are at play. Maybe Sally needs to move around. Let her stand in the back of the room or sit on a spinning stool or sit on a carpet on the floor in front of you. Maybe Sally needs to discuss your lesson with others. That would mean that a chatroom would be great for her. Let the students go into the chatroom and discuss your lesson. Sally can be occupied and focused at the same time. So after much trial and error, you have finally reached Sally.

Now on to Joe. Joe is more difficult. Joe has a disability which makes learning more difficult for him. He needs repeated instruction, modeling, and extra time to learn. But Joe hasn't been given the opportunity for all of this before so he just fails. You have two jobs, then. Convince Joe that he is capable and show him how to be successful. Joe loves to draw. (Remember he was sitting in the back of the room drawing.) He is very creative. In fact, the only classes he enjoys are shop and art. But here he is in science and he must learn about DNA. Joe needs a job. Tell him that, at the end of the week, he has the responsibility to create a model of DNA. He can do it with a computer, on paper, or as a 3-D model. But on Friday, Joe is going to present his model to the class. What will he do while you are teaching? He will be working on his model in the back of the room. He will have all the material needed, including resources to help him learn the concepts. Will Joe be successful? Probably not the first time. Joe might show a pretty lame DNA model. But he might just surprise you. And, either way, failure is not an option. So if you need to, you will give Joe extra time during the day to complete the assignment. Joe MUST be finished on Friday. And he will present to the class. And he will feel pride. Next time he will work even harder.

Just a warning. UDL comes in because, while Sally is standing in the back of the room, Stephen realizes he wants to stand also. And when Joe grabs a computer to look up information about DNA, Arlene wants to join him and show him the cool site she found last night. Before you know it, all of your students are learning in their own way and you are no longer teaching lessons in front of the classroom. You are now facilitating their learning. Don't be surprised by the chaos in the room. It will happen and it will be wonderful.

Does this happen overnight? No. Is it a lot of trial and error? Oh,yes. Does each trick work each time? No way. That's why children need a "toolkit" full of tools to assist them in their learning. Eventually, it is up to them to do what they need in order to be successful. And this is very difficult work. Once again, remember that failure is not an option. Not for any child. So keep at it. What else can you do? Read everything you can get your hands on. Create a strong PLN to give you ideas when you are stuck. And never give up.

Good luck and keep us all informed. We need to keep hearing about what others are doing.


Images:
'B-DNA'
www.flickr.com/photos/14829735@N00/439737690
'flickr live ~ renovated {notes}'
www.flickr.com/photos/34427466731@N01/8580051
'day ninety seven'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99757245@N00/2568818860
Candy Blox'
www.flickr.com/photos/20561948@N00/119511111