Why Don't You Just Tell Us the Answer? - Ch. 3

Using the Rail Strike of 1877 to Teach Chronological Thinking and Causality

In order to fully understand chronology, students must also understand causality.#sschatreads #sschat pic.twitter.com/XuwfXCyeTK

— Carlene Baurichter (@MrsBaurichter) July 31, 2018

The Importance of Chronology

In Chapter 3, Lesh discusses the importance of chronology in teaching history. More importantly, instead of simply teaching the order in which events happen, we must make sure to help students make connections concerning the causality that links various events together. It's no use knowing what happens directly after an event if we can't make a connection as to why it is happening, instead of a different result.

Using Original Documents vs. Transcribed Documents

Lesh does mention the virtues of using images of original documents during historical investigations, but he makes a more important point: "These same yellowing documents, with their archaic and sometimes misspelled words, can turn a good historical investigation into a battle with students who shut down because of the language or readability of a source" (Lesh, 85). If students can't read the source, they won't be able to conduct the investigation. As a result, Lesh suggests that including an image of the original source is beneficial, but transcribing the source and retyping it can help students reach the intended goal: comprehending the primary source and being able to use it as historical evidence in their historical investigation.

Chronology Doesn't Work Alone

Lesh also warns against teaching students to read documents in chronological order.

"Chronology, when developed by historians, is not simply placing documents in chronological order, but making determinations about relationships among information contained within a historical source and then using that information to craft an accurate telling of the event. Just because a document is dated later than the others dos not mean that the information does not inform an earlier telling of the event" (Lesh, 89-90).

Just because a document was written after another document doesn't mean that it won't help explain causation, or other information that could be needed to set a foundation for the investigation.

Source Credibility Over Time

Lesh makes it clear that "time does not destroy the utility of a source to a given problem" (Lesh, 91). I am guilty of telling my students that "memory fades over time, so beware of memoirs," but Lesh makes a valid point here. Memoirs and sources written years after a historical event might distort the facts a bit, but they are still useful resources to give us a glimpse into the past. Some sources written long after the fact can be even better than a source written the day an event happened because they can "present a broader view of an issue, depoliticize it, or deepen its political value." That's an excellent point! Someone writing the day of might be very emotional about the event, but in reflecting years later might have a level head about what actually happened and why it is important. We can also see how the event has created an impact if we examine the thoughts of its participants years later.

CUE Craft #DitchSummit Takeaways

"Find ways where you can be flexible and give [students] a little more latitude in telling the story their way."

- @BenForta#DitchSummit #stuvoice #sparkmade pic.twitter.com/PdR3nEAodh

— Carlene Baurichter (@MrsBaurichter) July 30, 2018

Insight on flexible seating and classroom design by @RLH_DesignED / #DitchSummit #sparkmade pic.twitter.com/7ApGCOaNQJ

— Carlene Baurichter (@MrsBaurichter) July 30, 2018

Insight on flexible seating and classroom design by @RLH_DesignED / #DitchSummit #sparkmade pic.twitter.com/izpHbmix4e

— Carlene Baurichter (@MrsBaurichter) July 30, 2018

On the merits of using a single-point rubric:

“Why don’t we just tell students what we’re looking for instead of all the different ways that they could fall short?”

- Jennifer Gonzalez, @cultofpedagogy, #DitchSummit #sparkmade pic.twitter.com/oVRZIB2l9c

— Carlene Baurichter (@MrsBaurichter) July 30, 2018

“Getting crafty… is about redesigning the way you bring the content into your classroom.”

- @CateTolnai, #DitchSummit #sparkmade

Let's mix it up a bit! Try something new! pic.twitter.com/Ue3KUn2Gug

— Carlene Baurichter (@MrsBaurichter) July 30, 2018

Why Don't You Just Tell Us the Answer? - Ch. 2

Chapter 2: Introducing Historical Thinking: Nat Turner's Rebellion of 1831

"... the notion that history is alive, debatable, and connected to the present affords my students the opportunity to realize that although the key figures and events of the past are gone, their influence lingers today and defines many of the political, social, and economic characteristics of the modern world." - Bruce Lesh

Graphic made with Adobe Spark

This is a quote that I want to share with my students. This is why the past is important! Every action in the past was a choice. Every choice had an impact, big or small. Each of those choices have changed the world in which we live in today. Historical investigation can help us see the connections and determine how our choices can also have an impact on the world.

In this chapter, Lesh walks the reader in detail through the first historical investigation that he does with his students every year. There is a great deal of substance in this chapter and it really spells out how to implement this strategy with success.

One tip that he gives is to "ensure that text sources are used in conjunction with visual elements" because this allows students to make connections and analyze different types of sources. Lesh also points out that many students are more used to interpreting visuals than textual sources, so including images can play to the strengths of those students.

Lesh includes a culminating activity where students determine whether Nat Turner was a hero or a villain. This part of the activity drives home the point that history is the result of interpretation and perspective. Depending on the sources used and the perspective of the person analyzing those sources, the conclusions reached about a historical event can vary widely.

Why Don't You Just Tell Us the Answer? - Ch. 1

Chapter 1: Reinventing My Classroom: Making Historical Thinking Reality

Getting started on the first few chapters of Bruce Lesh's book, Why Don't You Just Tell Us the Answer? There is a lot of good insight so far! #sschat pic.twitter.com/FPJGjufCZq

— Carlene Baurichter (@MrsBaurichter) July 28, 2018

The "History Laboratory" Approach

Graphic made with Adobe Spark

"In the history lab, students would confront information (conduct experiments), draw conclusions (analyze data), and defend their hypothesis (do lab write ups)." - Bruce Lesh

I love this idea because this is a different approach to "doing" history instead of simply memorizing history. As Lesh states, other disciplines teach students the process of "doing." They focus on the tools and skills necessary. History needs to be the same way! I am going to make sure that I am focusing on how to interpret historical events instead of just teaching rote memorization. I will present my students with sources and the facts, help them learn historical thinking skills, and allow them to make hypotheses and come to their own conclusions about historical events and their impact on the current day.

Graphic made with Adobe Spark

Essential Questions

"[Essential] questions must be worth discussing, not have a simple or single answer, and be linked to significant historical evidence."

This is excellent advice to keep in mind as I move toward implementing the new Social Studies standards for the state of Wisconsin. As I plan the revisions to my Social Studies units, I have to make sure that I include essential questions that spur curiosity in my students instead of asking my students to simply "identify" or "describe" vocabulary. Vocabulary is important, but students will remember it much better, as well as its connections to the wider context of history, if they use the vocabulary within their analyses of historical events. Lesh focuses on essential questions on pages 15-18 of his book and does a great job of providing criteria for teachers to assess the effectiveness of the essential questions.

Text, Context, Subtext

Lesh encourages his students to interpret history through analyzing the text, context, and subtext. I love this strategy because it pushes students to look beyond the meaning of the words alone and encourages them to focus on the influence of the author's perspective, the events occurring at the time in history in which the source was written, etc.

Why Don't You Just Tell Us the Answer, Bruce Lesh, 2011, p. 20

Conducting a Historical Investigation

Lesh does a great job of explaining concisely how to conduct a historical investigation on p. 23 of his book. He starts with introducing a focus question and walks the reader through the steps all the way to assessment of student learning. I'd encourage you to buy his book for that page alone! UMBC also has a page on History Labs that includes a video and some additional reading.

Why Don't You Just Tell Us the Answer? Takeaways - Introduction

This post will be my first reflection on the book Why Don't You Just Tell Us the Answer? by Bruce Lesh.

So far, his book is very insightful, and I'm looking forward to hearing more strategies from him. Some reflections will be longer than others, but essentially I am using my blog to keep track of my thoughts as I read. Here goes!

"History does not pivot on the provability of theories... [it] is about the debate between competing interpretations of events, individuals, and ideas of the past based on the utilization of historical evidence." - Bruce Lesh

This is something that I want my students to really understand. History cannot be proven. There is no single right answer. Instead, it's all about interpretation and the perspective from which we view the facts that leads to a construction of history.

Historical thinking skills that Lesh covers in his book:

• Causality
• Chronology
• Multiple Perspectives
• Contingency
• Empathy
• Change and Continuity Over Time
• Influence/Significance/Impact
• Contrasting Interpretations
• Intent/Motivation
• Source Work

Shake Up Learning: Ch. 19: Your Dynamic Learning Plan

The planning process is setup in a very logical way, and it helps me think through each important part of the process. I’ll be using it in the future so I don’t miss out on any necessary parts of the planning process!

I can still make the unit more dynamic. I want to find a local reformer that I can have come into class and speak with my students about making a difference. It doesn’t have to relate to history at all; it just needs to be a meaningful discussion for students to connect history to the current day, and empower my students to realize that they can make a difference as well.

Check out this previous blog post to view my planning document.

Shake Up Learning: Dynamic Learning Experience Planning Document - Progressive Era

In Shake Up Learning, Kasey Bell challenges the reader to brainstorm how to make a learning experience more dynamic. Here is my brainstormed document all about how I can restructure my Progressive Era unit!

Click here to learn more about how to create a Dynamic Learning Experience.

I began putting together a finalized form of this Dynamic Learning Experience. Take a look!

Shake Up Learning: Ch. 18: What Does Dynamic Learning Look Like?

I liked the learning experience examples because they showed what a wide variety of activities we can do in our classes, regardless of grade or subject.

I like the #goaltime project in Chapter 18. Because we do National History Day and that takes up a lot of time, I don’t think that we would be able to dedicate much class time to a project like this, but even a few minutes here or there would be very beneficial to students. I want to start the school year with having students create vision boards like the ones that Kasey shows in Chapter 15, and that would tie in nicely as an introduction to a #goaltime project.

For me, the hardest part of planning a lesson is deciding what the priorities are. As a Social Studies teacher I know that we can’t cover everything, but I have to choose which content will reach my students and teach that within the context of teaching historical thinking skills. Focusing on the skills and allowing students choice over the topics (within the context of a unit) seems to work well, but it's hard to decide which parts of history are more "important" than others.

Above and Beyond

https://youtu.be/zTbuFN8_D_s

The main message that I got from the video above is that if students collaborate creatively, they can go beyond their own expectations and the expectations of others that have been placed upon them. The other students were critical and even put Maya and Charlie down, but they persevered and soared high above everyone else. I think it’s commendable when students have the skills to follow directions, but adding a personal touch makes any project, big or small, better.

Shake Up Learning: Ch. 17: Facilitating With Finesse

Because many activities are open-ended, I find that I don’t have to guide my students too much as a whole group. This frees me up to facilitate. I also package my digital assignments which saves a lot of instruction time, as all of the instructions are listed on Google Classroom already. We also use some protocols, so students are very familiar with certain activities just a few weeks into the school year. I don’t have to instruct the students on what they are going to do because they already know the drill. I like to be pretty hands-off and allow my students to discover for themselves. Prepping activities ahead of time and anticipating misconceptions makes this process a lot easier.

Last year I had a Smart Board that I despised. It froze often, not allowing us to project things, which was a huge pain when students were doing presentations (and we do presentations a lot!). Because we are 1:1, a couple students were ok with me pushing out their project digitally through Google Classroom so the other students could follow along on their screens instead of looking at the Smart Board. I don’t always like doing this because students can get sidetracked, but they were very respectful in listening to the presenter due to the circumstances. I am always prepared with a plan B just in case, because technology is not always reliable. There are other things that we have done on paper (like twitter “chats” on a large poster board) because we could not do the same activity online. Sometimes the students like a change of pace!

I suppose I don’t use any specific strategies for facilitation, but I like to allow students to collaborate in groups. This encourages students to work together and ask each other questions that would normally be asked to me. This frees me up to sit with a group and help them through a concept if they are struggling. I try to circulate as much as possible, too, without looking like I can’t stand still. I make sure to visit each and every group, asking for clarification, or just listening to their discussion. At the beginning of the year, many students get quiet when the teacher comes around because they don’t want to be wrong, but they get much more comfortable with this as the year goes on.

I love the idea of student tech experts. I’m thinking of adding this as a job in my gamified class, and students can earn Gold Points that they can use in our classroom economy. I know this will really encourage some students to be more involved with other students and it will empower them. I think it is a really powerful way to get students involved.

I give feedback on digital assignments through commenting. We do a lot in G Suite, and comments are an excellent way to give feedback. I try to give feedback as students are working on assignments, but I don’t see many of the assignments until they are turned in. I should find a new way of doing this. My students also give peer feedback sometimes, but we should do more of this too. I have experienced students sharing their work with other students and the other students proofreading and leaving comments, doing peer feedback without my prompting. I talk to these students individually and commend them for finding an honest and productive way to improve their work. Many students think this is cheating and they hide it, so they are surprised when I tell them that it is beneficial and is what many adults do, as well.

I assess digital work the same way that I would assess a hard copy assignment. I’m unsure of how to describe this. I do want to change how I assign points, though. I would like to grade less and give feedback more. I would like to have digital work shared with me when it has just been created instead of after it has been turned in. I can do this if I use Google Classroom to create a copy of an assignment or a blank Google Doc or all of my students. Then I can see their progress before it is turned in, as I am the owner of the document.

For long-term projects, we have weekly goals and check-ins. We do National History Day projects from September until February. Every week there is a new assignment and students complete it, turn it in, and see their feedback. They are held accountable for completing the assignment for that week and if they don’t, I have a record and can work with them to get it completed during study hall time. I have a master Google Sheet where I keep track of each week’s assignments (completion, grade, if it’s late, etc.) If students are chronically late with the weekly assignments, I look into why that is happening - for some, they need help with citations, they can’t find sources for their obscure topic, they need accommodations, etc. I find out why it is happening and can help them to get back on track. The sheet is a life saver!

Shake Up Learning: Ch. 17: Facilitating With Finesse (Takeaways)

I had a few awesome takeaways from this chapter.

First, I like the idea of using the "Yes, and...?" approach. If my goal is to make learning more dynamic, I need to ensure that students are thinking beyond what they consider to be the "end product." If a student answers a question and feels as if they are done, I want them to think to themselves, "Yes, and...?" They could then add more details to their answer to make it more robust. For projects, this will help lead students to new information or analysis that they can add to their project.

Second, the "ask three before me" strategy is one that I have heard of, but barely used. I like this idea, as it makes student more accountable for their own learning, and the learning of their peers. Many students are helping each other anyway, but some prefer to ask the teacher everything. If my students are answering questions for others, I will be able to facilitate more efficiently. In addition, I allow my students to collaborate, but some students believe that copying someone's answer is collaboration. I want to facilitate healthy, positive collaboration in my classroom, where each student is doing their part to help the whole. If I am freed up from answering many small questions, I can be sure to help my students learn positive collaboration.

Third, I like the idea of having go-to tech experts in my classes. There are some students who know a lot about technology, but are very introverted. I was one of those students! By giving my students the opportunity to be tech experts, I can empower them to share their knowledge with the class. Of course, this would be an optional opportunity for my students. I'm considering gamifying the experience and "paying" the tech expert for their work with digital Gold Points. This will be motivating for students, so I'll have to limit the amount of time that a person can be the tech expert and I will have to create an application process.

Fourth, I already try not to grade for numbers of slides or photos included on a project, but I struggled in the past with how to get students to make more dynamic presentations. I think gamifying this process a little bit more and giving experience points for creativity and effort is the best way to go with this. This way I will be grading for the learning that they are doing, but they can still be awarded for their effort in a way that won't affect their grade.

Lastly, I love the "TAG" strategy. I have struggled with the process of my students giving peer feedback, and this is a great place to start! Here is a poster that I created to show the TAG strategy:

Shake Up Learning: Ch. 16: Purposeful Planning

My district is blessed to have 1:1 iPads. I would prefer that my student have the opportunity to type on a keyboard, but we do have access to Chromebook carts and a lab, plus we have attachable keyboards for the students.

As I am in a new district, I’m not yet sure what the policy is about publishing online. I am definitely going to find out if this is possible, and I can have students use pseudonyms if necessary. I hope that it is alright for us to publish, as my students need to be the ones to tell their story and to begin building their online portfolios
.
Plan A works out about half of the time, but that’s what happens when you take risks in the classroom! My students still learn what they need to learn and meet the goals that they have to meet, but I often find myself switching up a lesson or a small part of a lesson to inject some enthusiasm into the class, or to fix a small issue or glitch in our activity.

I have a website where I post everything. I am beginning a new one this year (again, new school district), but students know they can go there to find links to assignments. (My Website: http://tinyurl.com/Baurichter) In order to find more specific information, we use Google Classroom. This is the first place I want my students to visit; the one-stop-shop. If they need to get to my website to find something from a particular unit, the link to the website is in the “About” tab on Google Classroom.

I package not only assignments, but lesson plans for the day. Every day I post an agenda of what we are doing in class. It includes the following:

• Learning Targets
• Assignments that are Due Today (if anything)
• Steps in the Lesson
• Starter Question
• Mini-Lecture (5 min)
• Activity
• Assignment (due date, with a link to the assignment details)
• Assignments are posted separately, though I do link to the assignment details in the daily agenda. For assignments, I post the task, expectations/rubric, due date, and pertinent links that can help the student complete the assignment.

Read more about packaging assignments: How to Package Your Online Assignments

Examples:

When it comes to using digital tools, I like to try out what is new. If we do this, I have plan B ready to go, and I start with a disclaimer. I tell my students that we’re trying something new, so just have fun with it! I never grade anything that is connected to something we are trying for the first time. Overall though, I know that I need to focus more on the learning target than the tool. Often I think that a tool is pretty awesome and try to use it without considering what I want my students to learn first.

Once we tried out a new review game app and it didn’t work at all. The kids understood, and asked when they could try it again. They know that glitches happen, and it’s nothing to be upset about! I used to get visibly frustrated because I thought it made me look unprepared, but the students understand. It also eases their discomfort when it comes time for them to present something. They know that if it doesn’t work, they can try out their plan B and not get frustrated about it. Teachers need to model many things, but one that all students notice is when you model the proper way to respond when things don’t go as planned.

The most difficult of technology integration is when a student does not want to try a new tool. I had one student who despised technology and never wanted to participate if we were using the computers. It turned out that he just had no experience with computers and did not understand how to use it. When we would try out a new app or website, I would be there to help him launch it. Soon a friend of his picked up on this and was there to help him. Once he saw how it was done a few times, he was able to do it on his own. By the end of the school year he loved going on the Chromebook and was talking about wanting to get one so he could go online over the summer, though he said he would still spend almost all of his time fishing instead. It helps to discover why a student isn’t interested and solve that problem in order to make it easier or more entertaining for them in the future.

Shake Up Learning: Ch. 15: The Dynamic Learning Framework

Shake Up Learning - Dynamic Learning

My classes can be dynamic sometimes, but not as often as I'd like. I try to connect previous lessons with current lessons by using overarching themes. My history classes focus on the BAGPIPE themes (Beliefs, America in the World, Geography and Environment, Peopling, Identity, Politics and Power, Economics). We are always connecting back to the themes, and over time students see the connections between topics and events as well. This keeps our learning from being “we’re done with that” to “this is how it connects to the current day.” We also do the National History Day project, which we begin in September and present in February. Students research and revise throughout the year. Other than that, I need to incorporate more dynamic learning. I wrote about how I could do that in my blog: Opportunities for Dynamic Learning

I couldn’t say for sure what percentage of assignments in my classes are dynamic, but the number needs to be higher. I don’t know if I could make 100% of my assignment dynamic, but I will start by increasing dynamic assignments and decreasing my use of static assignments.

As a Social Studies teacher I often hear students say that the topics that we are covering don’t matter. It’s hard to convince a student that they do matter when all assignments are static. If the teacher is constantly giving students assignments that are over as soon as they are turned in, then there is no connection to the future. There is no connection to anything at all. The teacher, then, is assuring the student that the topic no longer matters after your assignment is graded. I don’t want that. I want my students to see the value in what they are learning, so they pay closer attention and become productive citizens who think about the consequences of their actions before they act. Utilizing dynamic assignments is one way that I can help my students to understand the importance of Social Studies.

Without even knowing what the 4 C’s were, I can say that I integrated them about half of the time. My students are given many opportunities to collaborate and communicate. I gave plenty of opportunities to think critically, though some of those opportunities were optional and students did not take advantage of them. I am aiming to incorporate the 4 C’s as much as I can from now on.

Push Boundaries with Dynamic Learning

Opportunities for Dynamic Learning

In her book, Shake Up Learning, Kasey Bell challenges her readers to, "Look at your curriculum and lesson plans, and make a list of five places where you see opportunities for dynamic learning."

I will be teaching in a new district and will be teaching 4 different classes that I haven't taught before, and I will be teaching US History in a different way. Instead of teaching all of US History in one year, I will be teaching Reconstruction to the current day in one school year. As a result of these changes, I don't have very specific answers here, but I will list some ideas.

Here are some places where I could move my students' learning from static to dynamic:

• All Classes: Each student will create a blog at the beginning of the year where they will reflect on the following throughout the course of the year:
• The effort they are putting into their projects, and the process by which they complete them
• Critical thinking or opinion questions that I pose during class
• How a particular lesson activity went - this will help give me feedback, which I need as much as my students
• How their learning connects to their personal lives
• Current events and how they are affected by the event
• Personal stories that answer questions such as, What inspires you? What is the most important thing that anyone has ever done for you? These questions could help build our classroom culture. Before doing this though, we'd have to make sure that students change the names of people they are talking about in order to retain confidentiality.
• Anything else we decide to write about!

• World History and US History: Instead of doing a handout about famous historical inventions, my students can do a Shark Tank project. We could connect the inventions to the modern day by asking local business owners who could actually be interested in buying the historical inventions to be our Sharks, which will make the experience more authentic. Students could present their inventions to them in order to persuade their audience of the importance of the invention.

• Sociology: I considered having my Sociology students create children's books that teach about digital citizenship. In addition to doing this, and to make the learning more dynamic, my students could mentor elementary students throughout the school year in order to teach them digital citizenship skills.

• Psychology: In Psychology class, students could conduct a case study throughout the year. As they learn new information, the way that they perceive their findings will change. We can reflect upon this process in their blogs.

• Economics: I think that my Economics class will provide many dynamic learning opportunities. It will be easy to find current events that we can connect to concepts in class, and students can reflect on the connections in their blogs. We could also have a classroom economy where students can earn "money" for completing classroom tasks. We can discuss supply, demand, scarcity, etc.and students will have personal experience to which they can attach their learning. Many students also have jobs, so we can discuss how the larger economy affects their job (minimum wage, unemployment, taxes, etc.).

Shake Up Learning: Ch. 14: The Dynamic Learning Model

Chapter 14 of Shake Up Learning covers the 4 C's and the ISTE Standards. Below are two infographics that I created showing the 4 C's.

These are the difficulties that my students and I have with the 4 C's, and some ways that I plan to address them:

1. Creativity - Sometimes students are afraid to be creative. Some students believe that their grade in the class might be negatively affected if they move too far outside of the box, but I have been working to change this. I give my students experience points (XP) in my gamified class for creativity. Students do not lose grade points if they choose not to be overly creative, but they are motivated to try to be creative in order to gain XP.
2. Communication - Some students do not enjoy communicating to the class as a whole. Though there are other options (small groups, using tech to speak anonymously, etc.), students must become accustomed to speaking in front of others. Sometimes communication can become a problem if students are not friendly with each other. The same can be true if students are working with their friends. Too much communication can be distracting if it is off task!
3. Collaboration - Students do pretty well with collaboration, but some students are strong leaders and others choose not to put much effort into group work. I’m aiming to solve this problem by assigning roles. In my gamified class, students are broken into teams. Each team has a warrior, a mage, and a healer. One day I could make the warrior the spokesperson, the mage the recorder, and the healer the task keeper. The next day I could switch up the roles, or create new ones.
4. Critical Thinking - Critical thinking is important, but it requires more than the minimum effort. Some students have days where the minimum effort is all that they are willing or able to put forth, or they might not understand the activity or the material, or they might have difficulty voicing their thoughts. In these cases it is difficult for students to think past the obvious and dig deeply into a concept.

As for the ISTE Standards, I am not yet familiar with them! I need to dig into the ISTE standards more, and make sure that I am really implementing them. I have helped my students meet some of them, but we have done so without being knowledgeable about them.

Some dynamic learning upgrades that I am thinking about include reaching out to our global community more through Twitter, creating a project in which my students take on an entrepreneurial role, and perhaps having my students author a children’s book about digital citizenship that they can share with the elementary students. These would be dynamic because they can change over time. As entrepreneurs, my students can alter their products. We can share on Twitter throughout the school year. The digital citizenship books could be shared with multiple classes over multiple years.


Visit Kasey Bell at Shake Up Learning to read more about dynamic learning.

Shake Up Learning: Ch. 13: Empower Your Students

I empower my students by giving them ownership. I do not refer to the classroom as “mine.” It is our classroom, and we build our classroom culture together. My students have ownership over the rules of the classroom, which we refer to as our “culture” instead of calling them “rules.” I encourage my students to speak up if they are uncomfortable with something, or if they don’t see the merit in an activity that we are learning. I am open with my students and I want them to know that they are free to question. If I can’t explain the importance of an activity or concept, why would we waste our time on it anyway?

When starting something new, I always offer just a bit less guidance than I am comfortable with. I make sure that my students know what we are trying to accomplish, but I let them work through how to get to that end goal. If they struggle individually, I am there to help them. If the whole class struggles, I can help redirect them. My goal is to help my students become fully independent learners, especially because I am teaching high schoolers who will either move onto the work force or to college. They won’t always have someone to help them with everything, so I help them find the strategies that they can use to be fully independent.

My students have a lot of choice in everyday activities and summative projects. They are given choices on topics to study whenever possible. I even offer different exam questions for students to choose from. For example, if I ask my students to prove to me that they understand how protest can lead to change, they can answer by explaining any topic that we have covered (or who knows, haven’t covered) in class. They can discuss the Boston Tea Party and how that catalyzed the Revolutionary War, or the Montgomery Bus Boycott and how that helped push toward bus integration. Both topics, when analyzed fully, answer the prompt, but they are so incredibly different. Social Studies is about understanding the repercussions of our actions, not about memorizing names and dates. My students have to include specific historical evidence such as names, places, and dates, but they do not have to memorize and answer rote multiple-choice questions to do well on a test.

It is not always easy to get a high school student to be curious about history, but framing the class by using larger themes (conflict, change, causation, movement, etc.) has helped a bit. Connecting past events to current events can pique curiosity as well. Luckily though, practicing Social Studies requires a lot of research. When a student is able to research a topic that really interests him or her, curiosity can be their propellor.

US History Final Project

At the end of the year in my US History class, I assign a final project. I give students free reign over the topic they would like (as long as it pertains to US History), as well as the medium in which they would like to create their project. I have a minimal rubric, linked below.

The first page introduces the project and gives example topics. The second page includes my rubric. I use a similar rubric for other projects as well.

I check with students as they work and give feedback, and students have multiple opportunities to revise, so that's why the first section on the second page says that they don't get a grade without the first five requirements. They can also get points back on any portion of the project, including presenting the project again (with improvements) for more points.

I also gamify my classes, so spelling and grammar error-free projects earn XP, and creativity does as well. Going above and beyond on each requirement earns the student more XP as well. Those items don't affect their grades at all.

Let me know what you think! Does it seem pedagogically sound? Does it require changes? Any feedback is helpful feedback.

US History Final Project Rubric

Shake Up Learning: Ch. 12: Go Global

To be honest, I need to help my students connect with the world more. I have encouraged students to seek out interviews for their National History Day project, but only a few have taken the initiative. I should provide more guidance to my students to connect with the people they would like to interview. My students have publicly published to the web, but we did not seek to share out on social media. This year I am planning to have a twitter hashtag for each of my classes where students can tweet out their work to a live audience. I can connect with other classes that are doing similar work for peer review.

I was thinking about the entrepreneurial learning tasks of students creating online businesses where they can sell real or imagined goods (which we would make obvious to our audience, of course). Perhaps this work could be published to an authentic audience, especially if the online businesses are selling real goods. Students could publish their research findings for my history, psychology, and sociology classes. Students could even poll people online for their research purposes.

It would be pretty cool to find a person that could be a primary source for a historical event that we might be studying.

Bonus Challenge: How can we go global?

This year my students will be sharing most of their work with a public audience. I haven't decided if I want to use Blogger or Google Sites yet. We will also have a class Twitter hashtag, where students can promote their work. More specifically, we could work with local businesses (Economics class), or create studies that we can work with professionals on (Psychology or Sociology class), or we can talk with authors and professional historians, or create museum exhibits--maybe a contest for the class?--for a local museum (US History, World History class).

Shake Up Learning: Ch. 11: Share Your Voice, and Share Your Story

There are four things that I am truly passionate about: my family, photography, travel, and history. I share these passions with my students through my photographs. When I travel with my family or my husband, I take plenty of photographs. I use these when we talk about the places that I have visited during class. All of my passions meld together well. Teaching is a passion of mine, but it would be empty without my other passions.

My photography: DeviantArt

Here are some of my favorite photographs!

This image shows me in the White House
with my favorite possession... my camera!

 My family in Minnesota, on our way to Yellowstone National Park.

My wedding: July 7, 2018. I married my best friend, Clint!

These are the only two photographs that I did not take.

Shake Up Learning: Ch. 10: Connect and Share

I am active on Twitter and I sometimes use Facebook. I also blog about my educational reflections on Blogger. My Twitter is used solely for educational purposes. My Facebook is personal, and much of it is private. I only post what I would be happy to share with my family, parents, students, students’ parents, etc. I make sure to keep personal information private, such as my address. I have used SnapChat in the past, but I no longer have a smart phone and as a result, I have stopped using SnapChat. Next school year I want to have a hashtag for each class and have students post to the hashtag. They can post things they’ve learned (like starters or exit slips), projects they are proud of, links to their portfolios that they will be putting together on Google Sites or Blogger, etc.

In general, I want my students to know that they have a voice that they can share with not just their friends and family, but with the world. In my very rural community, many students don't believe that they can have an impact on the world. I want them to see how far their influence can reach, and reaching out on social media in an appropriate way is the first step.

Shake Up Learning: Ch. 9: Unleash Creative Thinking

Most of my projects allow student choice in topic (within a time period), medium (digital or physical, website, podcast, video, poster, board game, etc.), and level of creativity (creativity earns students XP in my gamified class, and does not affect their grade). Students love the competitive aspect of gamification and many will go above and beyond even my expectations of what an incredibly creative project looks like. When a student wants to try something new or really challenge themselves with something they’ve never tried before, they can earn XP for creating a challenge for themselves. One time I had a student that loved woodworking. She made a box and used that as her medium of presentation, attaching her information to the outside and inside of the box. It was very creative and she was able to do something she loved by woodworking.

Each project is an opportunity for creativity and problem solving. Sometimes a student will challenge themselves to create a project such as a music video, and they will run into problems along the way. I help them through the best that I can and we recruit help from other students. Most students push through the challenges and complete the project by solving the problems they encountered because the bigger the challenge, the more points they can earn for themselves and their team. We also do gamified challenges that encourage students to problem solve. I would like to incorporate more of these challenges this year.

Some day-to-day formative assessments have to be rigid, because I am checking to see what my students have learned, but the practice can be more flexible. My projects are already extremely flexible.

I don’t provide my students with very many rigid expectations for working on assignments and projects. Most of the time when I assign research, even just a short answer to a research question, I don’t provide a text for my students to read. I take away the obvious resources and have my students find resources on their own. At first they seem lost and many just try to Google the answer, but this is a learning opportunity. We talk about how to Google using the advanced search, how to avoid websites that lack credibility, how to corroborate resources to make sure that we’re finding the truth, how to avoid websites that are basically just ads, etc. Taking away the obvious resources such as the text has helped my students learn to find credible answers for themselves.

Example of a Creative Project:

I think the best way to make an assignment to unleash more creativity would be to give less specifics in the rubric. Make the learning target clear, and let students find a path to it. If you spell out each and every part of the project, you will get identical results from each student. Boring! Allow students more choice. Giving a choice in topic, medium (video, podcast, website, poster, song, etc.), and whom they would like to work with as well can open many creative doors.

This was a final project I used with my US History class. The only requirement was this:

"Choose any topic that interests you, as long as it concerns US History. Your task is to research your topic across at least two different periods of US History. The two time periods that you research must be at least 20 years apart. Compare and contrast how your topic is/was perceived by Americans, as well as how your topic has changed over the course of time. (Historical Thinking Skill: Patterns of continuity and change over time). You must cite your source in MLA format."

Everything else was up to the kids! Some freaked out a little because they didn't have much guidance, but in the end most students liked the freedom. Presentations went very well because there was such a great variety of topics and types of projects!

My first piece of advice: Be patient with your students! They will ask you a million questions, mainly, "Is this what you want?" Just let them explore. Also, encourage peer feedback. The kids are willing to help each other more than you'd think. Also, start small. I did similar projects with minimal rubrics on much smaller scales before we did the final project. The small projects were minimal amounts of points as well. Students are less likely to be creative if the risk is too high. My classes are gamified too, so I give extra XP to students who take risks, try more difficult projects or something they haven't done before, or really put an incredible amount of effort in.This doesn't affect their grade, so students really get creative and show you their strengths!

Shake Up Learning: Ch. 8: Uberize Your Learning and Curate Resources

I am always finding new resources on Twitter and Pinterest.

Pinterest is an excellent curation tool and I have many boards that I pin to. I also use Google Keep, mostly for my favorite ideas that I find on Twitter. I love that I can label my notes for easy organization. I have used Delicious in the past, but my account hasn’t been accessed in a while and I bet that most things on there are outdated. I also have a YouTube playlist for each unit for each class. I don’t use all of the videos, but if students are struggling with a concept or need more information, I point them in that direction. I also have each of these linked on my website, where I keep a digital copy of everything that we do in class, including a day-to-day agenda of what we did in class that day. Students know that if they need anything, they check the website first. This saves me a ton of time and saves my students a ton of headaches.

I want to continue using Google Keep more regularly to keep track of the ideas that I have on the fly. I like that I can take voice recordings on Keep as well, especially because I used to use a voice recorder if I came up with ideas while listening to podcasts on my long drives to work. I rarely ever listened to the recordings though. Keep automatically transfers the voice recordings to written text, which is extremely helpful.

Shake Up Learning Ch. 7: Always Be Learning

Twitter is my number one source for news about my favorite digital tools and for ideas for new teaching strategies. I also subscribe to newsletters, such as the newsletter that Google sends out about updates to G Suite.

I love to learn new skills and I am always seeking out new knowledge. I read tutorials, watch YouTube videos, or just use trial and error until I figure out what I am trying to accomplish.

If my students are struggling to learn something on their own, I send them to YouTube first. Googling answers can sometimes work, but that also requires the skills to find the right website to help you learn something. I tell students to start with Wiki How, as they have great tutorials that are written and also include images.

Shake Up Learning: Ch. 6: Breaking Barriers and Bad Habits

Some of my assignments and projects allow students the opportunity to choose a topic, medium, and form of presentation, but I could expand this to more assignments. Some students benefit from teacher-led instruction as well. I could offer more of this as a centers-based activity. Allow students to work individually, collaboratively, or with me, their teacher. I’m also adding flexible seating this year to allow students to find a place in the room where they can concentrate the best.

In my gamified class, behavior is already completely separate from the grade in the class. I do still take off a maximum of 10% for late work. I can work to get rid of this, but I have to have an alternative to add to my gamified class. Including a consequence in the game will separate the behavior from the grade, but it must be compelling enough to show kids the importance of turning in their work on time.

Behavior and learning are measured completely separately in my classes. All assignments and assessments are based on learning targets, which are based on standards and essential learning outcomes. I have to alter this quite a bit in the next couple years, as Wisconsin’s standards for Social Studies are changing in the near future.

Shake Up Learning: Ch. 5: Get Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable

My students and I are always taking risks. I model risk-taking. Last year I tried sketch-noting on the whiteboard. It was my first time trying it out, and I let my students know that. It didn’t look great, but we tried it again later, and I improved. By showing my students that I’m willing to try something that didn’t go very well the first time, I showed them that it’s ok to fail. Try again, and you will improve. If my students don’t grasp a concept or skill right away, we reflect. I reflect on my teaching and preparation of the lesson. My students reflect on their understanding and their effort to understand. We do this together as a class. Again, modeling reflection is key. Once we figured out what we have to work on, we work on it. It doesn’t pay to scrap everything and start over if the students have mastered some of the material.

My students are given opportunities to take risks often. My classes are gamified, and my students can take risks without worrying about affecting their grade. They can try a more difficult assignment for XP (experience points), or present their project in front of the class for XP, even when that isn’t required. They can be creative and earn XP for going above and beyond. Students are encouraged to try different mediums in making projects so they can expand their horizons.

I model risk-taking by trying new things myself, and making it clear to my students that it is something new. I start out by telling them we’re trying something new, and if it doesn’t work, we’ll give it a try another time. Just because it doesn’t work one time doesn’t mean it can’t work a different time. I will be starting at a new school this year, and much of what I will be doing there will be a brand new risk and adventure.

I currently do National History Day with my students. These projects are started in September and the contest is in February or early March. Students are encouraged to set their own goals, but I mostly provide weekly assignments for them. I think it would benefit my students if I provided more independence in this regard. I would like to try some long-term learning experiences that provide students with more independence and control over the topic they are interested in researching in order to increase motivation; I’m just not sure what to start with!

Honestly, I’m a risk taker. I am rarely in my comfort zone. I almost avoided applying for the White House History Teacher Institute, but took a leap. Due to my risk, I spent an amazing week in Washington, D.C. with 29 other educators, learning all about the White House and collaborating on lesson plans. I learned an incredible amount, and that is where I discovered the power of using Twitter to grow my PLN. I can’t imagine how stagnant my teaching career would be without having taken that risk. Since then, I leap at opportunities that can provide me with a similarly spectacular experience. I vowed to push myself and ignore my limitations, as they will disappear if I work to surpass them. Even my new position in a new district next year is a leap. I was teaching US History, Civics, Government, Geography, and APUSH at my previous district. Next year I will be almost starting from scratch, teaching US History still, but switching to World History, Psychology, Sociology, and Economics. I am seeking certification in Economics on top of it all. It will be a busy year, but a great adventure!

Shake Up Learning: Ch. 4: Technology Is Not a Solution

Technology has offered so many opportunities. I have been in a 1:1 classroom since I started teaching in 2014. Out of the seven different classes that I have taught in my four years in the district, only two classes have had textbooks. Both of those classes were Advanced Placement classes. Technology has opened a world of information to my students. It has also allowed them to publish their findings online, collaborate remotely, and share their work with others. My students have become creators, not just consumers.

My district is not a wealthy district. There are some students that don’t have access to the internet outside of school. Other students are actively involved in extracurricular activities or work that take up their time after school. I have been working to solve this problem by allowing my students more collaborative time and work time in class. This allows me to give feedback while they are working instead of only when their projects are complete. Other than that, I haven’t encountered many issues with technology that my students and I couldn’t fix or be flexible about.

I think it is ideal to have one device per student. I don’t think that they should always be on that device, and they sometimes should share devices to better collaborate, but it is ideal to be able to have all students working individually on their device if needed. This also allows students to bring the device home and collaborate from there.

Shake Up Learning: Entrepreneurial Learning Challenge Board

Shake Up Learning: Entrepreneurial Learning Challenge

I haven't incorporated entrepreneurial learning much into my classes, but that will change this year. I have a few ideas as to how to incorporate entrepreneurship more:

• Have students collaborate, peer review, and create together, while taking on various leadership roles
• Publish student work to a website or blog, and share out on Twitter
• Have students publish children's books or short stories or self-help books
• Publish e-books or hard copy books
• Can put online to sell, as well
• Create a fictional business that sells historical inventions
• Shark Tank with historical inventions
• Re-think a historical invention with a new, futuristic purpose
• Create a new product and market it
• Reflect on how the product fits into the economy as a whole, who the intended market is, create an advertisement, etc.

All of these ideas fit into the curriculum of my classes, which are as follows:

• US History
• World History
• Economics
• Sociology
• Psychology

My classes are already student-centered, but projects such as these will allow students to take more ownership of their creations and will hopefully motivate students to try such ventures in the future.

Shake Up Learning: Ch. 3: The Rise of the Entrepreneur

My current curriculum does not support the entrepreneurial mind set. I’m not quite sure how to get it there, especially with classes such as Sociology and World History. This will be much easier to do in my new Economics class, where students can create businesses to simulate our larger economy. I do encourage my students to think for themselves and use their creativity, but that alone is not entrepreneurship. It sounds like a lot of educators feel similarly; we just aren’t sure where to start! A couple of ideas that I liked from other educators were:

• Collaboration
• Self-publishing (students publish their work)
• Publish Choose Your Own Adventure Stories

Students need the following to survive in this changing economy:

• The ability to collaborate, yet to work productively on their own
• Curiosity
• The ability to learn a new tool on their own
• Willingness to try something new
• Resilience and flexibility - the ability to bounce back when something doesn’t go according to plan
• Willingness to ask for help when they need it

Shake Up Learning: Ch. 2: Technology Has Changed the Way We Learn

Technology permeates my daily life. I currently don’t have a smart phone, but even without one, I can still check Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, E-mail, etc. Technology fascinates me, yet overwhelms me. I love learning about tech, but sometimes I just need a break. I didn’t realize how nice it was to disconnect until my smart phone broke. Having a phone that can’t access the internet actually feels freeing. Technology can make so many things quicker and easier, but I do realize the benefits of using it sparingly. My professional life hasn’t changed too drastically due to technology, considering that I am entering only my 5th year teaching. I started in a district that had 1:1 MacBooks and iPads, then moved to 1:1 Chromebooks. I can definitely say that I have a preference, but that’s for another time. The changes there were minor. Students could still perform the same tasks, just on a different machine. I foresee that things will continue to change, but I have always been adaptable when it comes to technology.

In order to make a lesson into something that will prepare students for the future, I have to consider the task that I am asking them to do. Regardless, the standards are set in stone for the time being. If I can insert the learning targets into an activity that fits into the context of my students’ lives, I can do a much better job of reaching them. Similarly, if I can put the learning targets into the context of a future career or skill they need (such as trying something new without any guidance), then my students can learn valuable abilities such as learning to problem-solve. If students are given all instructions word-for-word, chances are, there will be some that don’t read them anyway. Last year I started something new. I gave my students a new tool at the beginning of the year, knowing that we would be using it all year, and I didn’t give them any instruction. I simply gave them a task to do. Some failed miserably. Some succeeded. All were not graded. Starting with low-risk activities such as this give students an opportunity to try something and fail without fearing for their grade in the class. Long story short, in order to prepare students for the future, I have to let them loose. Set them free. Have them try something that they have never tried before without any hand-holding. We can’t teach students how to do everything, because there is too much and it changes every day. The best I can do is teach students how to figure things out on their own. I’ll be there to support them, but they are capable of doing a lot more than they let themselves believe.

I suppose I could spend hours on reddit, twitter, etc. to learn the new "vocabulary" of this generation, but often it just takes showing a little bit of interest, such as talking to students before class starts or taking a few minutes to ask them how their day is going, even (gasp) in the middle of class. Stop to watch a YouTube video that a student is watching during class. Ask them about it. Show some interest, build some rapport, and lead that student back into the task at hand. Who knows, maybe the students might be less likely to get off task later, and I will have learned something in the process.

I barely remember learning before the 21st century. I was 9 when Y2K came around. 21st Century Learning has been my entire life, and shouldn’t be set aside as something “new.” As Kasey said, it’s been 18 years. It’s time to accept technology as a part of what we do, and just start calling it “learning.”

There is a place for memorization, but not a sole focus on memorization. Luckily, the new Social Studies standards for Wisconsin reflect this. There is more emphasis on the skills that historians (or simply, informed citizens) need to know how to do, versus what date this significant event happened. One thing that I really struggle with is citation. It changes every year. I teach my students the importance of citation and why we give credit to those who provide information for us. I teach them the important information to look for (author, title, etc.). Then I teach them how to use citation machines and how to know if your citation looks correct. Memorization of citation formats is absolutely unnecessary in my opinion, though citing sources is absolutely necessary.

Both of these things (balancing the needs of the “system” and preparing students for the future) can happen simultaneously. One way to prepare students for the big test is to help them get accustomed to the way that it will work, and to ease their fears. Practicing protocols can make standardized test tasks become muscle memory. The best part is, the practice does not always have to apply to the content. Simply practicing the skill is useful. In my gamified class, I intend on using questions that are similar to those on standardized tests as an incentive for students to gain XP (experience points). They will be optional, and some will be based on pop culture rather than content. I am willing to give up a couple minutes every week for something that can help students ease test anxiety. This practice will be minor, but will hopefully help. This way I can spend more time working on preparing my students for the future, rather than spending all of my time trying to convince students to do boring homework that looks like a standardized test.

Shake Up Learning: Ch. 1: 21st Century Change

I have joined Kasey Bell's book study for her book, Shake Up Learning: Practical Ideas to Move Learning from Static to Dynamic.

Here is my reflection on Chapter 1, 21st Century Change:

Last summer I took part in an incredible opportunity in the White House History Teacher Institute. It was there that I created my Twitter account and gained my first followers. Since then, my eyes have been opened to a whole new realm of possibilities. I discovered individuals such as Kasey Bell who inspire me to be the best teacher I can be. I want to break the mold and be inspiring. My goals are to beef up my repertoire and to learn new ways that I can try new things and, most importantly, encourage my students to be fearless and do the same.

In the 21st century, learning is primarily self-paced. It is based on the interests of the individual. It is instant. If I suddenly have the urge to try a new DIY project, I can look up how to do it online and find hundreds of thousands of results on Pinterest, YouTube, etc. If one method doesn’t work for me, I can simply try another method. This is how people learn now. We don’t always wait for someone to tell us what we should know, and how we should learn it. Once we are interested, we go for it and try to accomplish our goals on our own. Some people continue on their own. Others find more people in the same situation and collaborate in order to meet their goals. In general though, one thing is the same: Self-motivation is necessary to begin a successful journey of learning.

As for my students, I am trying to help them realize this. As their teacher, I am a facilitator. It is not my job to stand in front of the room and tell my students what they should know. Instead, my job is to spark their curiosity, and to get them interested in learning the subject(s) that I am teaching. Once they are interested, the rest comes easier. I model the skills that they need to continue learning on their own, and let them loose. Students need to try things, and to fail, in order to learn. Absorbing information is not enough. All students must be willing and able to try new things in order to reach their goals, or to perfect the methods that are most useful to them individually.

I embrace change, and I work with my students to help them to do the same. Change is inevitable, and things are changing faster than ever. All of us (teachers and students) must be prepared to adapt to these changes and to make the best of it. This doesn’t mean reinventing the wheel every time something changes. This is changing what works well to fit the new model, or changing the new model to fit what has been working well. Keeping this in mind, not all changes are good changes. I also hope to help my students learn how to tell when to jump toward a new change and when to resist a bit. We have to have our goals, priorities, and what is best for us in mind before blindly starting a new initiative.

Sometimes I do feel like part of the “factory.” Every school has rules to follow, and even if some are a bit silly, they are there for a reason. Enforcing silly rules sometimes makes me feel like part of the factory, but if, even in minor ways, the silly rule helps my students learn, I will stand behind it in order to help help keep up the cohesion in our school staff. On the other hand, I encourage my students to push back against rules that they don’t like, as long as they can prove a foolproof, ironclad reason for not liking the rule. Encouraging my students to think for themselves is essential, and sometimes friction is a good thing.

I am beginning a new chapter at a new school this year, and I can’t wait to make this classroom into everything I’ve dreamed of. The new classroom will belong to my students and myself. It will be a collaborative environment where students feel safe to share and collaborate, while still providing quiet spaces for students who need to be alone to work some of the time. Student work will decorate the classroom and students will help me design the space. Lighting will include a variety so we can adjust lighting easily: a floor lamp, some table lamps, overhead lights, and/or a wall of windows. I have inviting, warm, colors to bring in; navy blue, brown, a cream color, mostly colors that I would like in my living room because they are relaxing and comforting. Once my students feel at home and comfortable, learning can become less stressful. I will allow them to find the spot that helps them learn the best. Students who enjoy a traditional school environment can sit in a desk, whereas other students can use the kitchen table or the window seats. I also have a desk built into the wall that will seat 2-3 students. The rule here will be that students in this area prefer to be left alone to work. No one will be allowed to disturb them there. My favorite change is that there is no teacher desk, and there is no front of the room. The learning is focused in the center, right where my students sit.