PISA test scores? Wait a minute!

I read the following on Diane Ravitch's blog: "Let others have the higher test scores. I prefer to bet on the creative, can-do spirit of the American people, on its character, persistence, ambition, hard work, and big dreams, none of which are ever measured or can be measured by standardized tests like PISA."  I respect Ms. Ravitch for her credentials.  For a long time she supported standardized testing, teacher accountability and school choice.  After serving as an assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Education during the Bush administration and as a member of the National Assessment Governing Board that supervised national testing she had an epiphany about teaching, learning, and assessment.  She realized she had been wrong.

PISA is the Programme for International Student Assessment.  This year's test results are in, and American hair is on fire.  "Stagnant!" declared NPR and other news outlets.  

But is our position in the middle of the pack truly something to be alarmed about?  I don't think so, and here's why.

A test is a snapshot on any given moment on any given day.  A test like the PISA (try it for yourself here) only measures things that can be measured - questions that have a right and wrong answer.  A test like this cannot measure creativity, critical and innovative thinking, problem-solving abilities or people skills. 

It's little wonder that US scores rank behind those of Asian countries.  First of all, many of those countries simply do not include scores of all students. Special education students are not tested (and may not even be in the schools), neither are those who are not proficient in the testing language.  In the US, we test them all (special education students and students who do not have proficiency in English) and include all their scores, even if (in my opinion) is is not appropriate to do so.  To compare our scores as if they were apples-to-apples is a flawed comparison at best, and should push readers toward a careful analysis of the testing sample.  Secondly, the type of educational environment in Asian countries that produces the high test scores is one that is not likely to be embraced in the US.  Regimented learning, long school days, pressure from parents and stressed out students may be a stereotype, but it comes from recognizable and identifiable characteristics of the educational systems in those countries.

Think for a moment about the 21st Century skills that students need and that we hear so much about.  Employers are looking to hire people who have them, and teachers are being evaluated on how they teach them, but are they - CAN they - be assessed or measured on a test like the PISA?  Leadership, ethics, accountability, adaptability, personal productivity, personal responsibility, people skills, self-direction, and social responsibility all appear on the rubric I use when I observe teachers in their classrooms as their instructional coach.  You will notice that these skills are NOT content in and of themselves, yet they are critical components of success in life and success in employment.  These are "soft skills" and as far as I know, there is no standardized test for them.

Let's return to Diane Ravitch's thoughts about standardized tests in general, and the PISA test specifically: "We measure whether students can pick the right answer to a test question. But what we cannot measure matters more. The scores tell us nothing about students’ imagination, their drive, their ability to ask good questions, their insight, their inventiveness, their creativity. If we continue the policies of the Bush and Obama administrations in education, we will not only NOT get higher scores (the Asian nations are so much better at this than we are), but we will crush the very qualities that have given our nation its edge as a cultivator of new talent and new ideas for many years."

Click here to read Ms. Ravitch's entire post. 

Why Teachers Teach

Okay, let's get it out of the way right now, it's not for the money!  And it's not for those long summers off (most teachers use time in summer to take classes and work a second job).  The more I work with teachers in my new job as an instructional coach, the more I see teachers who themselves are passionate about learning.

One thing I have always loved about teaching is that I am always learning new things!  I learn from kids and their parents - I learn from colleagues - I learn from classes I take - I learn from research and books - I learn from conferences I attend - I learn and learn and learn.  To be able to apply what I learn in my practice is deeply rewarding.  Sure, I wish I was paid more, and frankly, teachers deserve to be paid more.  We deserve more respect from the media too, and that's another blog post at some point.  But if someone asked me why I teach I would have to say it is because I love to learn, and I want to get my students to love to learn too.  I want them to see a wide world, to ask questions about the world, to understand the world (as much as possible), to make their way in the world and leave their mark on the world.  

Too many students don't have access to that wide world due to circumstances beyond their control.  They are in our classrooms and we often don't see them.  My colleague and friend Bob Downs was so good at seeing them.  They may be the "invisible" students with special needs like I wrote about in my last post, or they might be students with lives full of heartbreak and heartache.  These students need teachers like by Anthony Mullen, National Teacher of the Year for 2009.  He is a remarkable man who, like Bob, has a heart for the hard-to-reach kids.  Read his story about empathy, self-reliance, unpredictability, perseverance, and redemption by clicking here.  Find out why he became a teacher and why he is STILL a teacher.

Are you teaching today? 
 Let's Go Change Some Lives!

Does anybody see me? Do they like what they see?

The title of this post was originally supposed to be "relationships", but when I thought about writing, I could not get these two questions out of my mind.

In October I attended the Education Minnesota Conference in St. Paul.  This is a wonderful (free!) event that I wish more teachers would take advantage of.  Having said that, in full disclosure, I went on Thursday morning and then headed out of town... BUT - I was SO glad I attended Jonathan Friesen's session.  Admittedly, I chose it because by attending I earned the mental health CEU required for my teaching license renewal in Minnesota.  But in doing so I was moved beyond my mercenary pursuit of a credit hour.

 
Jonathan Friesen is a special education teacher and author with a particular heart for the tough kids.  As a child he was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome.  The stories of his his experiences being ostracized, bullied, and outright ignored broke my heart.  When he began his presentation he told us that he didn't have a fancy power point presentation or video to show us, but that he would leave us with a message we would remember.

"Does anybody see me?"  

"Do they like what they see?" 

How many of our students are invisible?  How often do we walk through the halls of our schools and miss an opportunity to make them visible?

The need to be noticed (even if we work hard not to stand out) is basic and primal.  Being significant and important to someone is affirming and moves us forward.  

When my girls were little we had a family doctor that told them all that children needed hugs in order to grow properly.  Sometimes one of them would come to me and say she needed her hug right now or she was going to stop growing.  

As teachers we may stop hugging our students physically as they get older, but do we remember to hug them emotionally by using their names, giving them our time, affirming their accomplishments, and never giving up on them?  I hope we do!

Last week I went to the musical at Chanhassen High School - "Urinetown" - and it was terrific.  The singing, dancing, and musicianship was top notch!  One of my former students was in the chorus, and he stood out because of the effort and enthusiasm he brought to his part.  He was a kid with a big heart, but not a lot of social skills, and not many friends.  I sought him out in school to tell him how much I enjoyed the show and how much I enjoyed his part in particular.  "But I was just part of the chorus", he said.  "Doesn't matter", I said.  "You stood out to me."

I saw you.  I liked what I saw.

 

Instructional Coach

"Here we go TEACHERS - Here we Go!"

This year I stepped out of the classroom and into a new role as an instructional coach for my district.  I have been assigned to one of the high schools where I feel a little out of my comfort zone, but I'm embracing the discomfort. 

At first, I was worried that teachers would be wary of us coaches.  After all, they didn't really ask for this.  It is a requirement of the Q-Comp plan that the district adopted.  But the more I learn and practice coaching, the more I see the value that I can bring to dialogues with the teachers I observe, and the more I see teachers welcoming the support and encouragement they can get from a coach.

 "But what if all the teachers are found to be proficient?"  Awesome!  Shouldn't they be? Wouldn't that be a wonderful reflection on the district and the caliber of teacher that they hire?  I detest the bell curve model.  Teacher Evaluation & Development is not based on a bell curve which would force coaches and administrators to find a set number of teachers below proficiency.  No - we use a growth model.  We assume the positive.  I've observed ten teachers so far, and I am impressed with the passion, dedication, and expertise I've seen.  They all want the best for their students.  I see the job of coach as a sort of conveyance for the teacher - I help them get from where they are to where they want to be with their practice.  I just hope the ride's not too bumpy this first year.

 

How Do You Evaulate Teachers Who Change Lives?

What a question!  But I can answer it.  You don't.  You can't.  You shouldn't.  The kind of impact that a life-changing teacher has simply cannot be measured by a standardized test score achieved by students who are not themselves accountable for the score.

This article - How Do You Evaluate Teachers Who Change Lives? - is a must read for anyone who has thoughtfully considered this question.  If you do read it, I'd love to hear what you think!

For the past twelve years I have had the great privilege to teach on a team with Bob Downs, a man that I greatly respect, a man who makes every student feel special and cared for, who brings out the best in young adolescents.  He doesn't care much for the latest swings of the educational pendulum and doesn't have time for things that don't pass the "what's best for kids" test.  He has changed lives for more than forty years and he is retiring at the end of this school year.  I am very sorry to see him step back, and I'm sad that more kids won't have a chance to feel the magic in his classroom.  I am a better teacher for having worked with him.

Armed and Dangerous

Sorry NRA.  I don't want to have a gun in my classroom.  And furthermore, I think it is lunacy to suggest that the solution to the problem of gun violence is more guns, and that the way to keep children in schools safe is to arm teachers.  The article I am writing about is satire, but is nonetheless disturbing.

Many of my middle school students come from families that have strong  the classconnections to hunting or target shooting.  Great.  But I don't see any need to own "assault" style weaponry for these kinds of activities.  And the idea that citizens need these weapons to arm themselves against their own government is further lunacy.

I'd like my students to be safe in my classroom, but I don't think that armed guards in the schools or guns in the hands of teachers is the answer.  I believe that the key to safety is the sense of belonging and inclusion, a feeling of community, that "we're all in it together" and that "everyone does well when everyone does well" ideas that transcend the classroom. 

I'm Not Scared

I came across this short video on Facebook today (What Lots of Teachers Think but are Scared to Say) and was intrigued by it.  I wish that all parents understood the incredible time, effort, and passion that I and other teachers put toward educating their children.  Teaching energizes me and feeds my soul, but it is demoralizing to be demonized by politicians and individuals who see us as "lazy" and/or "overpaid".  Spend a day in my shoes.  I am worth far more than I am paid.

A Fun Web 2.0 Tool

My Science X class is required to two two current event reports each trimester.  My colleagues and I really tried to make sure that these were meaningful exercises that kept kids' eyes open to the science around them. conscious of science-related stories in the news.  Students not only have to find and summarize a news article or report, but they have to make and articulate a personal connection with the story, including an opinion about the story as well.  We hoped that our students would find creative ways to present the current event that were not the typical typewritten paragraph.  

My students have been reluctant to do anything but the printed version, so I created the video below on the xtranormal site - a free resource:

 

Science X Current Event 2
by: mjonairn

"Who (or what) Am I" activity

It never fails!  I always learn something from the learners in my Saint Mary's community members.  This morning it was a new twist on a post-it note activity that many groups have used during icebreakers or energizers.

Typically when I'm asked to participate in this type of activity, my skin starts to itch and I get anxious.  I hate not knowing things and am afraid to look stupid.  Someone slaps a post-it on my back and my mind starts to race because the word on the back that I'm supposed to guess seems to be too hard - too wide open.  But our energizer group today offered a new way to do the activity that not only gets learner out of their seat and onto their feet, but it has the possibilities to be used with content curriculum as well. 

The leaders of our group this morning broke up the group of about 35 into 5 smaller groups, then they asked us to come up with a "theme" for the activity.  Themes could be: popular vacation posts, zoo animals, popular singers, etc.  After the theme is created the people write on a post-it note the name of something that belongs in that category.  The post-its go on people's backs and then they ask yes/no questions to try and figure out the word on their back.

I really liked the way this activity was structured because it too the anxiety out of doing it it a wide-open way.  Creating categories was a very effective way for participants to begin the process - talking together - and then narrow the focus.

Learners shared ways to use this activity in the classroom to connect curriculum.  I could use this as a vocabulary review with science terms or to review the famous scientists we studied during our scientist project.  Another learner told about how she used a similar idea with name tags at the beginning of the year.  She teaches science and creates name tags for students with an "easy" science term on the back.  The tags are on a string and hung on the kids back instead of the front.  First they do the "who (what) am I" activity with the term, and then when they figure it out they group up with others who have the same term for another get-to-know-you activity.  How fun - and how connected to the content, right form the first day!

Snow Day

My phone buzzed at 5:30 AM, after my husband was already up and readying himself for work.  Eastern Carver County Schools closed for the day due to weather conditions.  So the snow day dance the kids were doing at school yesterday worked!

But after sleeping in, I got up and worked most of the day, taking care of the grading that I haven't been able to get to during the busy school days in the past few weeks.  Is this what working from home would be like?  Still, it was good to be home, stoking the fire and listening to a little TV in the background.

Eventually I pulled on the long undies and pulled the cord on the snow blower my dad gave me years ago.  it worked a treat and made short work of the driveway that had at least a foot of show covering it.

What a gift of a day!

Great article from Ron Clark

Several weeks ago I received an email from a parent who was letting me know that they were going on vacation and their daughter would miss a week and a half of school.  They wanted me to give her all her assignments well in advance so she could do them before their trip and be able to have fun while she was gone.  I didn't.  For several reasons - I wasn't planned out and knew there would be some changes, I didn't have copies made yet, and many of the learning activities in science are done in class.  I assured them that their daughter would be able to make up labs, or catch up with the other work when she returned.  Of course, when she got back and picked up her assignments she went home and told mom and dad they were all due in two days.  Cue the angry parent email, letting me know that had I done what they requested in the first place, their little princess wouldn't have to to double work now, and judging by what they saw come home, I could have given it all to her ahead of time.  They didn't ask questions, or ask for clarification, they attacked.  And I emailed back, deliberately charitable and talked them off the ledge.

 I saw the movie about Ron Clark (starring the dreamy Matthew Perry) a long time ago and I use it in one of my grad classes because his story is a compelling one.  The article I link below is an honest and reasonable perspective from a veteran teacher about parents who "body block" for their children, rarely letting them experience the struggles that will help them build resilience or become effective advocates for themselves.  In my decade of teaching, I've seen some really great parents, and I've seen some of the ones Clark describes in his article.

Ron Clark: What Teachers Really Want to Tell Parents

Khan Can Help

My sixth grade Science X students are struggling with balancing chemical equations.  I can't really blame them, because I tried out a sort of constructivist approach to teach this concept and it caused more discomfort than the kids really could embrace.  In last week's lesson we watched a short and simple Brain Pop video in which Tim and Moby taught a quick lesson on the basics of chemical equations - how reactants yield products - and I tried to get the kids to make the connection between balancing equations in chemistry and the basics of algebraic equations.  Since these sixth grade wonders are our brightest and best I assumed that they'd catch on quickly.  As we did the mini-quiz at the end of the Brain Pop video, it looked to me like they were getting it.  

But they didn't.  In the same class period students used their iPads to  access an interactive website called ChemBalancer which offers an interactive activity for balancing equations.  Despite being reminded to read the directions and then try the activity, most jumped right in and became frustrated when the examples proved difficult to solve.  I have every confidence that the kids can do it, but not without a good deal of effort on their part.

Today, I brought in reinforcements in the form of Sal Khan and a very effective Khan Academy tutorial on balancing chemical equations.  It was fun to tell the kids about how Khan used to record tutorials for his nephews and then it blossomed into this major Microsoft-backed web resource, used by millions of teachers and students around the globe.

My "scientists" seemed to get a better grasp of balancing equations after the video, and I showed them were to go to Khan's interactive practice on this concept.  Not only will they get immediate feedback as they try out the practice equations, but if they get stuck, they can click on a button that will offer them a hint - I think of it as online scaffolding. 

I'm excited to see if my students find Khan Academy as helpful as I do!

Blogging Baby Steps

My wonderful group of Saint Mary's adult learners have taken the big leap into the world of blogging!  They are all at different comfort levels with technology, and it was such fun to see them help each other out when it came to creating the blog itself, choosing a name for it, and trying out an initial post.  I hope that the blogs will be used to make connections with other teachers, and as outlets for not only some M.Ed. assignments, but for their own musings about the experiences as teachers and as learners.

Google, Google, Google!

Google, Google, Google!

It seems to be all about the Google at school these days.  Even our last professional development day was all about Google.  Goodle Docs, Forums, Groups, Presentations... we were immersed in Google.


So, always willing to try something new and take a risk, my Science Colleagues and I created a wonderful collaborative Google activity for our Science X students to do as they studied elements and the periodic table.  We generated a template with the numbers 1 through 96.  The plan was for students to choose 3 elements, research them, and then use the template to make informational slides for each element.  We thought that the kids would need at least 3 slides per element. It was going to be GREAT!

But after I introduced the activity to the students and they got all excited about it, they jammed the server and the Google presentation was nearly inaccessible.  Students used shortcuts that deleted work done by other students. Photos were hard to load. Slides could not be added.  Yikes!  In the end, students would up learning about their elements, and they logged into our collaborative Google presentation from their own homes and worked on the activity as homework.  It seems that when there were fewer users on the site at one time, it worked better.  Linked below is the not-quite-final product.  I still need to edit it and re-order some of the slides. 

All in all, it was a great idea, but didn't go as planned :(

Elements are Everywhere

We need a technology levy to pass!

Voters in my district defeated a levy last November.  The purpose of the levy was to provide money for technology enhancement in classrooms across the district.  It didn't pass, and students are paying the price for it.  

I am fortunate to have the use of iPads in my classroom, but an iPad is by nature a personal device; it is not designed to be shared by multiple numbers of students.  It does not have the capacity to create personal user folders to house documents or presentations, and as a result, there have been numerous occasions of student work being deleted or "revised".

Today I was trying to have students write a script to use as they record their Element podcasts in the next several days.  But the lab we were in had only Dell minis and many of them wouldn't allow the kids to log onto the server and then wouldn't allow them to get to the website area where I had sites bookmarked for them to use.  

We need a technology levy to pass!