Gaming Grammar--What I've Learned

Last year I decided to jump, both feet, into the flipped--game-theory-classroom with my 8th grade during their grammar unit. I spent hours at school, recording all of the videos, putting together all the resources, and then trying to stay one step ahead of my accelerated learners who devoured and mastered everything I set in front of them. I was nervous about the whole thing--I have books upon books that tell me I shouldn't teach grammar in isolation, yet I had years and years of students not learning in context. I had friends who had mastered the flipped classroom and others who were asking me how to do it. In the end, I felt like the most frazzled, incompetent, overworked teacher ever, and I wasn't so sure it was worth it.

But when my students sat down to take that final, end-of-the-year grammar test, 95% of them passed  with an 80% or above--something I never thought I would live to see. And even better, for the remainder of the year, I heard them using grammatical terms when working with their writing and revisions. And finally, this year's high school teachers report that most of my students are retaining  and applying the information still.

So it couldn't have been the flop that I had thought it was, when I stood in the classroom, quickly grading quizzes, punching numbers into a calculator, not answering every question, forgetting which students needed help, juggling mountains of paperwork, feeling completely overwhelmed, but too far in to admit defeat.

This year, instead of scrapping the unit because it was difficult and I had made many many mistakes, I hesitantly decided to tweak it a bit. Currently, we're three weeks in, and I am hearing comments like, "I LOVE what we are doing in your class right now!" When I hear them say this, I want to take them squarely by the shoulders, look them in the eye, and say, "You DO know that we are studying grammar, right?" I mean, I've never heard a collective group of kids equate pronoun agreement with fun. But really, we are having fun. And while I'm still making mistakes, they are not quite as grievous as last year's. I feel more in touch with students and have found ways to manage the workload a bit better.

So...for those of you playing with the idea of flipped classrooms and game theory? Here are the mistakes I made. Try to avoid them, if you can:

• I didn't check in w/ students at the beginning of class to make sure they had notes taken, so many kids wouldn't watch the videos & use class time to do this. That meant I didn't have time to work with them or get a feeling for where they were.

• I did all of their assessments on paper, and they weren't allowed to move on to the next level w/o an 80 or above, so I spent most of class time grading papers and not working with students.

• I had a graph paper spreadsheet for grades & points, so when I wasn't grading, I was adding up tallies to give to the students.

• In my state of being overwhelmed, I didn't give many formative assessments, so I never knew who was struggling until they had taken the quiz and failed.

This year, things are different. The classroom is calmer, and I am connected with every student. What are we doing different?

• Students are required to take notes by a given day--these notes are checked & counted as a grade or points (and a quick aside: when doing game-theory, points are much more important to the students than grades!). Videos are only watched in class if they need reinforcement or are moving ahead.

• All assessments are hosted on Edmodo. They receive their grade right away, and if they didn't do well, sit with me. I can spend my time breaking it down for them, recognizing where they need further help, rather than just spitting out numbers.

• On Edmodo, the points are automatically tallied--no calculator for me!

• Every class period starts with a quick, formative assessment. Based on how they did, I am able to group and regroup students for more practice, further instruction, or studying. On any given day, some students are working with me, others are practicing with a friend who has already mastered the material, some are playing a computer game for practice, some are sitting with an old-style grammar book, and others are moving on to the next topic. I know who struggles, who is stuck, who needs a quick reminder, and who is marching on at full speed. 

As with anything, all or nothing generally doesn't work (I would like to say I have moved from flipped-classroom to blended-classroom), and when we do things for the first time, we are likely to fail.  As teachers, we want our students to understand the benefits of learning from failure, but we are too afraid to model that risk-taking ourselves. Yet, anybody who is contemplating playing with a flipped- or blended-classroom model (and I highly recommend it!) or integrating game theory into his or her classroom must be prepared for imperfection. But if you are willing to learn alongside your students, change your pace midstream, and admit your downfalls, you might be surprised at what blooms within your classroom walls.

Why You Should (& How To) Be On Twitter

At a workshop, I asked the participants, "How many of you are on Twitter?" One teacher raised her hand. "Hmmm. Another question for you. How many of you think Twitter is stupid?" Every other hand went up quickly.

And I understood, because I too once thought that this world where Lady Gaga leads an army of followers while thousands of others spew whatever 140 character drivel flits through their brain seemed like the most idiotic concept of modern technology.

But then a teacher I respected mentioned he was on it. And then another. And then I finally caved and signed up with a great deal of sighing and hesitation. At first I wasn't sure how to navigate it and still felt unclear of its purpose. But within a few months I had gotten the swing. And now, I can't imagine my teaching life without it.

Now, at my fingertips are hundreds of other English teachers, writers, tech integrators, administrators, and professional organizations. I suddenly experience daily doses of interactive, high quality professional development. I have met the most incredible educators--from authors who write books on innovative research practices to some of my writer-heroes to other teachers doing their best to make their tiny corner of the teaching galaxy all it can be. The resources, humor, insight, lesson-sharing, and questions they are willing to share have helped me rethink my own practices this past year.

How do you get started? Once you've signed up on Twitter, you can find people to follow on sites like We Follow. You can also look up your favorite authors or specialists in your field. Search for professional organizations like NCTE or NCTM. As you start to select people you follow, you will see other suggestions over on the left hand side of your screen--these suggestions can be quite helpful.

After you begin following people, you will find that you want to do two things: 1. Share the ideas you are receiving and 2. Bookmark them for later. Both of these are easy tasks. For sharing (otherwise known as retweeting or RT), you just click the retweet button. If you want to save an idea or a resource (this is my most used Twitter feature), click on the star. It will save your favorite tweets so you can access them at a later time.

One of my favorite things to do for professional development is attend a "twitterchat." I spend every Monday night from 7-8 pm with #engchat, where English teachers get together and talk about current issues in our field.  And every week I walk in with a new resource or practice to try out in the classroom thanks to the innovative and dynamic teachers I have met there. There are hundreds of different twitterchats happening for everybody from Kindergarten teachers to brand new teachers to Social Studies teachers to Technology teachers. You simply have to find a platform to use (I use Tweetchat, but there are many other choices out there), type in the hashtag of the group you are participating in (for example, on Mondays, I type in #engchat) and then presto! You are part of a larger group experience where you will meet incredible and engaging educators.

In the teaching profession we too often teach behind closed doors. Too many schools have cut professional development funds, and those who haven't often do not give teachers choice about the PD they will receive. Twitter is a great way to reach out to your profession and take ownership of your own PD.

One thing to remember--everything you post on Twitter is public--it can be accessed by anybody at any time, so it is not the place to air your dirty laundry. I solely use Twitter as my professional "voice" and save my pictures and family for my invited friends on Facebook.

And finally, Twitter is only as good as the people you choose to follow.  If you follow the hordes of people allowing extraneous drivel to escape their parted lips, then you will be immediately discouraged. If you follow organizations who send out ten tweets every minute, you will be immediately overwhelmed. Seek out educators who inspire you, keep your interest, and offer you insight, and then you can do no wrong.

Good luck--I hope to see you there! (You can find me at @angiecmiller74)

Struggling With Technology: Some Answers

Recently, while teaching a "Technology for Dummies" class to 40 veteran teachers, I asked them why they were there. "What urged you to sign up for this workshop?" I inquired. We went around the room, and I heard over and over the same lament: I want to know how to use technology in my classroom, but  don't have the support in my school.

On my long drive home that afternoon, I reflected on this disconnect between teachers and technology--one that I have heard over and over from educators across the country. And I was curious about why teachers from every grade level, subject, and size of school blame their tech "guys."  It is very easy to blame them--I have done it myself. After all, they are the experts in the building, and we so often crave their expertise. And when we don't get it, we feel abandoned while these new worlds of apps and sites and clouds go whizzing by us.

I think however, there is a conundrum here. Technology teachers were trained to be teachers in their own classrooms. And that's what they do--they do the research they need to do, plan their lessons, and  go in and execute those lessons just like the rest of us, all while maintaining the technology that exists within the building.

They have not been trained to be PD providers or teacher leaders. They have been trained to be computer teachers. And they feel like classroom teachers expect them to be more than what they can be. The reality is though, that teachers need them to be different than they are. Because of this, our schools should be taking two imperative measures:

1. When hiring new technology "teachers," hire those who have been specifically trained through tech integration programs. We need technology experts who think like educators and can help provide onsite PD daily to their staff across curriculum and grade level.

2. Help current technology staff shift from the old paradigm of being a tech "teacher" to becoming a tech "integrator." Provide them with readings, workshops, and exposure to current pedagogy in their field. The old paradigm of having a computer teacher is outdated. But we have many talented people in the field who just need guidance and support to mold into the new paradigm of integration. This needs to be a priority.

In the meantime, teachers need to stop complaining about not having the support. We need to shift our own thinking.

1. Teachers need to play with technology and not be scared. No child has ever said that they won't use technology because they haven't received PD in it. They get on, they play, they make mistakes, they get frustrated, and then they figure out how and when they would use it. Be that person. Learn from your students. You do not have to have everything figured out in the beginning.

2. Classroom teachers need to become PD providers and teacher leaders in their own buildings. Don't wait for somebody else to do it. Once you know how to use an app or you find a transformative website, you must share it. Go across the hall. Bring it to a meeting. Send out an email to your colleagues. Model what you wish your tech "guy" would do. Because in this day and age, we are ALL "tech guys."

3. Start a "tech junkie" support group. Meet once a month and share your frustrations, epiphanies, struggles, and successes. This will increase collaboration among you and your colleagues, and suddenly you will see everybody in the building becoming a teacher leader in terms of technology. 

I too yearn for a technology expert who can come running to my side every time something new comes out or every time I have a question. But that will never be the case. And even when we all have technology integrationists in our schools, the world has become too vast for them to treat every teacher's classroom individually. So not only do we need to retrain our tech people, but we must retrain ourselves--take risks, experiment, and always share.

Emily Dickinson is Banned

(originally published on Boundless on October 3, 2012 during Banned Book Awareness Week)

Any search for Emily Dickinson is blocked on my school server.  Because her name has the word “dick” in it.  Yes. Seriously.  So that means Dick Cheney, Josh Reddick, Reddick, MA…they are all blocked too. We can still look up Massachussetts, cockroach, and the Constitution, but I have yet to bring that to anybody’s attention in case they decide to block all sites that may have unintended anatomical vernacular in them.

This may seem ridiculous to those who do not work in public schools, but unfortunately it is an all-too-common reality.  This summer at a nationwide conference, a teacher told me