Monthly Archives: August 2017

Project 180

Project 180: The Story

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It all began two years ago when my student Megan Lavin called me out. “Hey, Sy, you’re going to do an Independent Learning Project, too, right?” “Uh, sure,” I responded. And that set things in motion. The project required our pursuing something of genuine interest, something that we wanted to learn about. Consequently, I’d always toyed with the idea of starting a blog, so I decided to make that my project. I would start a blog.

A Blog Begins

Had no idea. No idea how to begin. So, I Googled it. “How can I start a blog?” And after some time, and a lot of trial and error, a blog was born. Going in, I knew the content of my blog would focus on education, particularly changing education, for I had always pushed for change, and now I would have an “official looking” platform. And with that, the proud papa named his baby blog, Let’s Change Education. I officially kicked it off on January 4, 2016 after winter holiday. Here’s the link to my first  “Morning Minutes” post. Below is the first paragraph.

“Good morning, all.  So, it’s officially begun, a journey to better education in anyway that I can for the next twenty years. Not satisfied with what I accomplished in my first twenty, I am newly committed and energized to help change the narrative on public education, helping it evolve to better deliver the promise of hope and opportunity to the young who inhabit a new, ever-changing world.  And, so, as with any journey, it begins with a step.  This is my first step.  And while the journey will no doubt be lonely at times, I take comfort in knowing that some will join me along the way as I cross paths with those who too share a passion for improving education.  I am eager to encounter and share your company somewhere down the road.”

 

Finding My Voice

For the next six months, I blogged every morning. But there was no real focus as I went from topic to topic, format to format. But as I continued, I began to notice that grading was a recurring topic, a topic that generated interest among my few readers (mostly family, friends, and students). So I started focusing on grading, and the more I focused, the more I came to question the validity of traditional grading practices, the more I came to despise grading’s disruption of learning. And by April, I had decided to move ahead with Project 180 (though it had not been named yet). I would turn grading upside down with a bold experiment where I would give all kids an A for the year, so we could focus on learning. I would “knock the sloth on his ass.”  

What’s in a Name?

Plenty. Here’s what’s behind the title, Project 180.

  • Turning grading upside down. 180 degrees. I would truly put the sloth on his back.
  • The school year. 180 days in the school year. It was a yearlong project, and I would blog about it each of those 180 days.
  • The triangle. 180 degrees in a triangle. Three corners whose angles always add up to 180. The equilateral triangle became the ideal. 60 degrees of ownership and responsibility in each corner: one for me, one for students, and one for parents. This is the ideal that I still pursue with 180.
  • Do. Reflect. Do Better. Saving the best for last. This has become the essence of Project 180. It is my mantra for my endless quest for better, a quest to turn my world upside down, so I can see it differently, so I can make it better. Project 180 is the approach that I want to share with the world, to share with those who are also unsettled by the status quo, to share as a means to disrupt so as to only make better. Always better. An endless cycle, 180 degrees at a time. An assurance that I will neither be on my feet nor my back for too long, for there is danger when things come to rest. So I will not rest. I will journey forth, and with each path I will seek to do to reflect to do better. No destination. Just a chase. Chasing better.

What’s Next?

The journey continues. Year two of Project 180 is just around the bend, and I will be turning things upside down again. I will also be blogging every morning as well. This year, though, instead of focusing on all that went with giving kids an A, I will be focusing on sharing my learning through the 180 lens. For each daily blog post, I will take something that I learned from the day before and present it in a do-reflect-do better format. I also plan to share more resources for those who are interested in venturing into the gradeless realm.

So, that’s the story behind 180. Nothing too exciting, but I wanted to clarify for any who wondered about the name. I am so excited to get underway with year two. I hope to walk with and continue to cross paths with all the awesome folks who are out here with me. So many, many awesome people. Glad I have connected with you.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

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Focused on Feedback

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Been thinking a lot about feedback lately, and with the new year and my next go at Project 180 right around the corner, there has been some urgency to my thinking. Ever seeking to do, reflect, and do better, I have been racking my brain to come up with a better way to get feedback to my students this year. And though–as with anything I do–I will eventually discover a “better best,” here is my latest “do better” for feedback.

Last year, with grades completely off the table ( gave every student an A), feedback was all that I had at my disposal, for there were no points to assign. And while this produced the learning culture I had longed for my entire career, it also produced a reality for which I was not adequately prepared. Oh, I was no stranger to giving feedback, and I had discovered early on the power of conferencing with students, so in that regard, I wasn’t completely out of my league. But decidedly, I was in a league that was entirely new, entirely different, and past practice was not going to cut it. But all I had was past practice in a realm not familiar with time racing ahead, and so, I had to make do. And that’s what I felt like I did last year: I made do. But “making do,” is not the “do” I seek, so this year I will do better.

The Plan

I don’t like rubrics. Never have. But I’ve never publicly admitted that, for in many circles they are  touted as THE tool of the effective teacher. Don’t get me wrong. Providing criteria for meeting standards is terribly important, I have just found that rubrics tend to over-complicate things. From worrying about micro-differences articulated through “rubric speak” to chasing the elusive “exceeds standard” to translating a rubric score into a traditional percentage grade, I have found rubrics more messy than meaningful. So, I quit. Some time ago, I quit rubrics, at least traditional multi-point rubrics. And I started using what I now know is called a single-point rubric, but I have only come to know that term in last few weeks, largely due to Aaron Blackwelder’s post,  The Single Point Rubric, which I came across in his response to someone asking for help on rubrics in the TG2 Facebook Group. I had heard folks in the TG2 group tossing around the term for the past few months, but I had never really taken the time to check my understanding. And then Aaron’s post came along (which I recommend everyone reads), and I give him credit for helping me find my next better. Thank you, Aaron. Once again I have found that our brains are eerily similar. And I find great comfort and confidence in my thinking when I learn that you shares my thoughts. 

No More Rubrics

I am removing the term rubric from my teacher talk. In its place, I will use the term “feedback form.” I am not shunning the use of rubrics by others. In fact, Aaron’s single-point rubric is really only different by name, so it’s about names, and it’s about fit. Rubric no longer fits me, so I won’t use it. In its place I will use a feedback form with language that better fits me and my classroom. See below.

 

I tend to use the term “learning target” in my classroom. I like the idea of something to aim for, and with that, I like to frame feedback in terms of “hit or miss.” Meeting standard in my classroom is hitting the target. I do not provide generic exceeds-standard criteria. I address it on an individual basis in my conferences with students, and I use it as an entry point into differentiating for that student beyond the standard towards mastery, which I believe is a pursuit, not an end.

Hitting the target is straightforward. They met the criteria. As for missing the target, I do make some distinction for the sake of clarity and convenience. I present either a “near miss” or a “far miss.” For clarity it lets the student know how far off aim she was. For convenience, it helps me tailor both feedback and next steps in regards to why/how she missed the target and what she can do to take better aim next time.

Using “next steps” fits well with the journey experience I seek to create for my students. Their work is just part of the journey, and I believe that when I frame it that way for them, they just see “what’s next” as part of their journey. Never there. Just forward. Always forward. So, that is how I will frame feedback. Next I will talk a bit about how I will get it to the students.

Feedback Folder

I have never–never–been great about getting feedback to 150 kids in a timely manner. I have gotten better, and relying on verbal feedback through conferencing has helped (more on conferencing below), but it’s largely been hit or miss for me, and that’s not acceptable, so here is how I am going to try to do better.

I am going to use what I am going to call a “feedback folder.” I will create one for each of my five periods. It will be where students place work for feedback once they feel they are ready. Any work that gets placed in the feedback folder must have a feedback form attached. The form must have the standards/learning targets on which the student wants feedback (no more than 3). I want them to take greater ownership of how they seek feedback. I want them to see that it’s not simply about handing something to someone and asking them if “it’s good.” In this case, it’s about asking me to engage them in a specific part of their work, using our target language as our means of communicating.

What about the timely part of it? My plan is to respond each night. I know that sounds daunting, and even now I am half-grimacing as I imagine what it’s going to be like, but then I remember a few things. One, in reality only a few students a day will be ready for feedback. Two, with the format of the feedback form and the limit on standards/learning targets, these won’t take very long. And, I am wise enough to know that if it’s going to take too long because there is too much to address, I will just have a conference with the student.  Three, I am a terrible procrastinator, and that’s been a part of the problem, so I am using this to force me to be more disciplined  and efficient with my time. Of course, there will be times when I do take 150 assignments in at once, and that will take longer than one night, but for the other times that students need more timely feedback, I have the feedback folder.

The feedback-folder approach also provides another opportunity for students to assemble growth evidence for their grade selection at the end of term.  And that is part of that ownership that I mentioned above. I want them to become avid seekers of feedback, so I am trying to design a system that better provides what they seek. I can’t ask them to seek what’s not readily there. This is my attempt to make it more readily available. In addition, every two weeks the students have to complete Learning Logs which requires they speak to feedback they have gotten from me, so here is a chance for them to start building their feedback portfolios.

Conferencing

I am also trying to become more disciplined with conferencing this year. To that end, I am going to present a three-week rotating schedule to my students (see below). In the past, I have utilized the sign-up-when-you-are-ready approach to conferencing, but again, this has been hit or miss, and not as many students take advantage of conferencing, which I believe is the most powerful thing that can happen in any learning experience. So, this year, I am going to make that belief a reality for all of my students. I am going to schedule conferences.

Mondays and Tuesdays are “We Are Writers” days. Monday begins with a craft mini-lesson, and then the kids are working on either their assigned writing or independent Passion Papers. We do this on Monday and Tuesday because those are our Chromebook days. In the past, I have wandered and helped or conferenced with kids who have signed up.  This year will be different.

I have roughly thirty students in every class. I will conference with five on Monday and five on Tuesday. So each week I will get to ten of my students, a third of my class. I will just lift the first ten names from my roster, placing them in the spaces on the schedule, and then the next ten, and so on. The students will know when they are scheduled to conference with me. I will require them to be prepared by having a feedback form ready, which will then become our conference record. I will address their work from the standards/learning targets they have specified, verbalizing hits, misses, and next steps as they record them on the form.  My goal is to limit the conferences to five minutes, which will then give me time to work with other students who are not scheduled for conferences. For those students who are not scheduled to conference with me that week but want/need feedback, then the feedback folder comes into play. This way, I can still “be available” to all my students.

That’s the Plan

In my twenty-one years of teaching, I have never come up with the perfect plan, and this one is no different. There will no doubt be some wrinkles to iron out, but I have come to expect that as a learner. For now, it’s my best plan moving forward. I know it’s better than what I did last year.  And really that’s all that matters. I hope you discovered some value in my plan. As always, feel free to use and adapt. If you have any questions, I’d love the opportunity to chat with you.

Do. Reflect. Do better.

 

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Student Letter: A Promise of Discovery

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As many of my regular readers know, I am a believer in the journey, and that belief has certainly carried over into my classroom, where once again it has materialized as the frame for my student letter this year.  Earlier this summer in my  TG2 post, Gradeless: A Culture of Possibility, I made mention of my personal drive to walk my talk, to make sure that my realities follow my ideals. This letter to my kids is an attempt to do just that, to create that accountability. I am not presenting the things in this letter as mere talk. This is the reality I want for my kids, the reality that I am holding myself to creating for my kids this year. When I say, “This is what I hope you discover on this journey,” I am really providing my kids with an informal contract, a guarantee that these things will present themselves and be part of their journey. Their sharing their discoveries at trail’s end will be their final. If they haven’t discovered these things by then, I will be deeply disappointed in myself, and I will tell them that when I read this letter to them on day one.  From there, I will have 179 days to do my best.

Dear Learners,

Welcome to Honors LA 10. I am beyond excited to begin and share this journey with you. And while I am not certain about all that we will encounter and experience along our way–or even where we will land at our journey’s end, I am certain that it will be unlike anything we have experienced in the past. And as we set forth to explore and experience learning, here are some things that I hope you discover along the way.

What I hope you discover on this journey.

  • I hope you discover the importance of relationships. My successes and/or failures have had everything to do with relationships in my own journey. Relationships. Relationships. Relationships.
  • I hope you discover the value of mistakes and the necessity of failing. Mistakes and failing are paths that lead to learning. Follow them. You won’t get lost. In truth, you’ll probably find yourself.
  • I hope you discover that you own your learning. From the deepest recesses of my teacher being, I believe that this is the key to true learning. You have to own it, for when you own it, you take responsibility for it. I am responsible for joining and aiding you in your journey, and I enthusiastically own that. But you are responsible for your learning, young friend.

  • I hope you discover the unique power of your voice. Language is power, a power available to all. It is not reserved for a select few. You have language, which means you have power. I will help you find your way, but it begins with your believing that you have power. I so hope you make this important discovery this year.

  • I hope you discover that literature is a rehearsal for life. We will engage and embrace literature as a way to learn about the human experience. Literature is life. Life is literature.

  • I hope you discover that learning is a circle that often requires redo’s. I will create no ends to your learning. You may have as many attempts as necessary. I can control that. However, I cannot control time. Over that end, I hold no control. Time expires, but learning never ends. And as long as you are in my locus of control, I will always give you another shot. Always.

  • I hope you discover the power of a growth mindset. I firmly believe that our attitude about anything means everything. With that, I would like you to add a tiny word with gigantic implications to your learning vocabulary. Yet. I hope it helps you bridge the gap between “I can’t” and “I can.”

  • I hope you discover the power of reflection. I hope my “forcing” you to reflect on your learning each day will help you develop this essential learning skill for life. I will use the broccoli effect for this, “Whether we like it or not, broccoli is good for us.” Whether we like it or not, reflection is good for us. #sorrynotsorry #eatyourveggies #reflectionrules

  • I hope you discover that feedback is the most essential ingredient in learning. Travelers get hungry. The need for fuel will be significant for our sustained journey of 180 days. Fortunately, I have an unlimited supply of the necessary nutrient: feedback. I will not feed you grades. I will only offer feedback. It is the stuff of learning. It is the most vital thing I can offer you. I really hope you make this important discovery as well.

  • I hope you discover the value of community and the power of empathy. Though our learning journeys are unique, we all travel similar paths. When we come to realize that through our similar trails we share a bond, we begin to understand that we are not alone, that we can learn with others, that we can learn from others. When we connect with others, we learn. When we connect with others, we can understand. We will connect. We are a community.

So, we set out. 180 days from now we will arrive at some destination. But before we start down the trail, consider what I have said; consider what I hope you discover. I will be with you every step of the way, but you must take the steps. I cannot take them for you. Months from now, as we look back on our explorations and experiences, and you consider this list, I hope you have added them to your packs as mementos of our time together. Thanks for letting me join you. I am honored.

Let’s get started,

Syrie

I am so excited to begin this next 180 day journey with my kiddos. I am eager to get to the doing, reflecting, and doing better that I so crave. I am hungry to learn. I am ready for kids.

Do. Reflect. Do better.

P-180 Plan

Learning Logs: Reporting Progress in the P-180 Gradeless Classroom

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This post will be more practical than inspirational. It represents my latest “Do” in the 180 classroom, which means as I move forward with it, I will no doubt “Reflect,” which then, of course,  means I will eventually–hopefully–“Do Better.” The gist of the 180 approach.

Today, I am sharing the current manifestation of how I will seek to consistently report progress to parents this year. My students will complete and share Learning Logs with their parents every two weeks. I have also included the documents that led to this current creation. I will offer brief commentary for each below.

Learning Log

I will share this document every other Friday with my kids through Google Classroom. They will then have time in class to complete it and print it off. I have them complete it in class for two reasons. First, it’s important, so I feel I have the obligation to make “real time” for that which I deem important. Second, I am available to help kids if necessary as they work through the different sections of the Log.

 

Grading Policies

Here are the grading (gradeless) policies that we are using for all tenth-grade ELA classes at Cheney High School. I have shared them before, but I am sharing them again to help add some context and clarity for some of the things mentioned in the Logs.


Standards

We offer “three-levels of articulation” for our standards. We begin with the Common Core State Standards, which we then translate into classroom Focus Standards. As mentioned above, we distinguish some of those as “*Must-Meet Standards.” Finally, we present Learning Targets (see below) which really become the criteria for meeting the Focus Standards, though they too are generally broken down even further into single-point rubrics, so we can give even more specific guidance and feedback to our kids.

As always, please feel free to use/and or adapt. If you need me to share access to docs, please DM through Twitter @MonteSyrie. Hope you found some value in today’s post.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

P-180 Plan

Identity Matters: Starting with Stories

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“The strongest teacher-writer relationships I have experienced and studied begin with the writers themselves, with the teachers discovering and developing the writer’s identity. Let the students get the message that they possess untapped potential in learning writing. And through that belief, one of a growth mindset, every day is an opportunity for growth. Let me define what I mean by “writer’s identity.” To me, it’s a self-concept a student has, that is comprised of current skills, curiosities, insecurities, memories, and experiences as a writer. Much like a snail carries its shell on its back, a writer has inside a shell full of interests, talents, particular likes, and dreams–and it’s our job to discover and enhance them throughout the year.”

–Patty McGee, Feedback That Moves Writers Forward, p. 53

In my recent Reality’s Reflection post  Learning is a Story I made mention of my using reading and writing stories to set the stage with my kids as a means for them to consider, discover,  and share their reading and writing identities. Since then, a number of people have inquired about the stories, seeking more information about how I use them in my classroom. And since then, I was lucky enough to come into contact with Patty McGee with whom I recently co-moderated a #TG2Chat, Now’s the Time to Save the Humanities. This contact prompted me to buy her book, Feedback That Moves Writers Forward, from where I lifted the above passage, which poignantly articulates the importance of discovering our writers’  identities.

Not only does this passage mirror the purpose I have sought to achieve with my reading and writing stories, but also it carries implications beyond the writing classroom. I believe that “writer” can be exchanged with “learner,” and that “writing” can be exchanged with any subject. “Let the students get the message that they possess untapped potential in learning…[any subject].” And that message, that belief begins with helping our students discover and develop their learning identities. Below is how I will use reading and writing stories to begin that process of discovery in my classroom this year.

Reading and Writing Stories: Mining Identity

In an attempt to be novel, I created what I have come to call, Twitterviews. I will use these to prompt my kids to begin digging into–mining–their reading and writing identities. I will share these documents with them through Google Classroom.

Reading and Writing Stories: Sharing Identity

My kids keep a Journey Journal. These stories will be their first entries. They, though I don’t tell the kids this, will also be their last entries. That is, we will update their stories at the end of the year. My hope is that from their experiences in my classroom this year, they will be able to add rich content to their stories. I use the document below to get my students started. I realize the introductory frame may be a bit over the top, but it is a true reflection of who I am and how I communicate with my kids.

Our work begins with knowing our kids. The kids’ work begins with knowing themselves. We, I believe, have not only the power but also the responsibility to make that a reality in our classrooms, regardless what we teach.

I hope you found some value in my post. Please feel free to use and/or modify to make it fit you and your classroom.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.