Liza Basden is a chemistry teacher in Illinois that I connected with earlier this year. Periodically, we’ll share resources with one another for labs or other activities that we run in our classes. Last week, I was browsing for a lab to run with students on the different types of chemical reactions when Liza sent me some awesome pictures from her own class:

@bennettscience Inspired by your How Big is a Mol activity to find more ways for my Ss to express their creativity pic.twitter.com/86J2ljP

—Liza Basden (@lbasden) February 1, 2013

` <https://twitter.com/LBasden/status/297358080230952960>`__

I really like the fact that she pulls in inquiry to get the students thinking about similarities and differences in the chemical equations before the students begin to categorize them as single replacement, double replacement, etc. It forces the students to make connections between various chemical equations that are really quite obvious when we sit down to compare. Plus, asking them to draw out a representation of the reaction pushes critical thinking and analysis of what they’re learning, which increases retention and understanding.

She was kind enough to share the prep materials and the student papers and has given me permission to share these materials with anyone that may want to use them in their class.

If you end up using this activity, we’d love to see some photos of your student’s work shared either here in the comments or shared Twitter.

All photos in this post are from Liza Basden, used with permission.

One of my new favorite stops in my morning reading is the Fast Company series. I subscribe to the Design blog, but I also browse the Create and Exist blogs as well. I came across a post on the Exist series on a new initiative by the city of Bristol in England. Citizens can text codes on inanimate objects in throughout the city and have conversations. The point is to have fun in the city. The point is to interact with our surroundings. Are you a ghost? Photo is mine Nooooo! Photo is mine.

I got to thinking about how we don’t interact enough with the spaces we have in schools. So, I began a small project. I created QR codes with simple text. Some are little quips such as this gem from Brett Clark:

@bennettscience Are you a ghost? How did you walk through me?

—Brett Clark (@Mr_Brett_Clark) February 1, 2013

Another awards a “Curiosity Badge” (totally made up and unofficial…for now) that students can retrieve just for being curious enough to stop and scan. The whole point of this is to be fun, and to get kids and staff to interact with their surroundings.

I chose to use Delivr to create the codes because they offer tracking and scan analytics. I haven’t received and data yet, even though I scanned a few myself just to make sure they worked properly, so I don’t know about reporting times to the account. Hopefully, I can gather some unofficial data about technology our students already have in the building as we continue to improve instructional tool use.

Hopefully, if this catches on a little bit, I’ll add some small quests and other achievements students can earn. I’m also planning on entering small challenges like, “Tell someone they matter to you,” in an effort to get people in the building communicating in positive ways with one another. I’m also hoping students begin to have “random acts of creativity” that help us grow together as a school.

Have you started something like this in your school? What suggestions do you have?

If I were to track the number of copies that are made in school each year, I think it would turn into a fantastic conversion problem for my students. How deep would we be able to fill a room with used copy paper? I’m sure we’d all have our eyes opened at the amount of material that goes through our classrooms each year.

Schools are also looking to go as paperless as they can in order to cut costs. While I don’t agree with the rationale for cutting paper, it is an important factor to consider when we think about the amount of waste we put into the environment. But, the infrastructure required to go completely paperless is often out of reach. There are some ways you can cut down on paper in your class, even if you can’t go completely paperless.

1. Use your space – This year, I was introduced to the neon Expo white board marker, and they have changed my life. These markers write on top of the lab tables and wipe off easily with a damp paper towel. Kids can now do scratch work on the table, and then call me over to check their progress. Plus, kids always love being able to write on things we usually tell them not to write on. I have also seen teachers use regular white board markers on desks that have polyurethane veneers. (Be sure to test it yourself before handing out 30 markers, though). http://instagram.com/p/UgolGlDk9D/ Neon dry erase, my photo.
2. $2 interactive whiteboard – Frank Noschese wrote this post a couple of years ago, and I went out and did the same for my class last year. I think for my classroom, it cost me $35. And, Lowe’s or Home Depot will cut the boards for free. Double win.
3. Track large handouts – I provide note packets for each unit my students go through. This is a lot of paper, considering each packet is 4-5 pages (double sided, of course) and 120 students looking for a copy with each new unit. So, I print them once, and then post the packet on Google Drive. The problem I had, is that students would often lose the packets, and then they would tell me that they never got one in the first place. In the moment, I would usually go print another one, which led to a lot of wasted paper. Now, I keep track of who receives a copy by having them sign their name on my grade sheet. It saves me extra copies, plus, now they can’t pull the wool over my eyes and they manage to keep track of their papers the first time around. Checkout signatures, my photo
4. Class sets – This seems silly, but go back to making class sets of materials. I do this with quizzes, and I ask students to either do the question on the desk or on scrap paper. Which leads me to…
5. Keep scrap paper – I started keeping a scrap paper bin in order to reuse as much as I could. Oftentimes, a student would make one mistake and then throw their paper away. Now, it gets trimmed and thrown into the scrap bin. Now, rather than using notebook paper to complete an assignment or exit slip, students grab some scrap and we can reuse perfectly good white space. Scrap box, my photo.
6. Post it on the Internet – This one seems to counter the title, but ask yourself, “Do my students really need a hard copy of these questions?” Often, I say no. Now, with that being said, I definitely recognize the benefit of having something right in front of you. But, find ways to create prompts or questions that can be put online as a Google Doc and then answered in writing on scrap, in their notes, or even on the table. It’s easy to throw up on the projector if you don’t have computers available, and it’s there for homework if you run out of class time.

These are just a few simple suggestions. Any others are welcome in the comments.

I think we really need to redefine what it means to interact with something. Part of the problem is that our schools (and even our culture) have developed into things that want to consume. Our students come, and they want to just get the answer to move on. Teachers have even developed into people that give the answers so they can move on. There is no meaningful interaction.

Learning is interactive. We need to talk, digest, challenge, and question new ideas or tools. It takes two-way communication. It takes hard conversations and furrowed brows.

So, can we create truly interactive content? I think there are some ways to begin to build a bridge to cross the gap, but I’m not totally convinced that even come of the best iBooks out there can do that yet. They’re still built for students to consume. We need to move beyond clicking play on a video as our interactive portion.

How have you seen students interact with content, digital or analog? What are some versions of things titled interactive, but are really meant for consumption only? How do we bridge the gap?

I’d love some thoughts in the comments.

Photo Credit: incurable_hippie via Compfight cc

I’ve been following Dan Meyer for about 15 months. I don’t teach math, but the way he talks about teaching math makes me want to teach it. If you’re not familiar with his writing and development of Three Act Math, you should read the linked post and go check out his site dedicated to free materials.

Recently, he’s moved into developing web-based “textbooks,” if they can even be called that. Essentially, he’s taking intuitive knowledge of math (draw a square) and then directing the user through the process of either confirming their previous understanding or correcting their misconceptions. What really caught my attention was this activity on squares. Stop reading now, check it out.

Dan teamed up with a teacher/programmer named Dave Major (who also wrote a post about the squares activity). I really began to think about how this could be done in science.

Flipped Learning is all over the web. I use it, my friends use it, and we’ve all seen some amazing things happen in our classes. Honestly, I think video is reaching a point where it can help move us into meaningful digital learning spaces, but it isn’t enough. We all know that.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how to move content into adaptive digital environments, much like the Better Best Squares activity. PhET simulations by UC Boulder are a good first step, but there is still a disconnect between the task (usually paper based) and how the student interacts with the program.

I’m wondering how we can begin to make responsive programs like the squares example for science. One thought, initially, is that simulation parameters could be set by a student, much like the square they draw. Every following step would be A) integrated with the class responses, and B) based on the initial setup.

How else could we do this in science? Are there any programmers that would be interested in trying to build some kind of pilot program? Any teachers that would be interested in writing curriculum for this project? Let me know in the comments.

This spring, I’m asking my homeroom students to perform some type of service project. The type of project is up to them, but I’ve encouraged them to think as locally as they can. Whether that’s the school or the neighborhood they live in doesn’t matter to me.

I have a couple that already have ideas to build off of, but I’d love to see some other types of projects that were successful. If you have some examples (or know people with examples), I’d appreciate your feedback on the form embedded below.

On Saturday, 1/19, we held the first Michigan Flipped Learning conference in Byron Center, MI. We recorded as many of the sessions as we could, so I’ve linked them all below. They were recorded with Google+ Hangouts On Air, so some of the audio and video might be a little less-than-HD, but the resources are valuable nonetheless. I’ve also linked public Google Documents created with links and other notes from the sessions. Feel free to share these resources with colleagues that may be interested in Flipped Learning.

Morning Keynote – Keynote Slides

Flipped Learning 101 – Notes Only

Flipped Learning in Science Discussion – Notes

Flipped Learning in English Discussion

On Saturday, January 19, over 150 educators from across Michigan and northern Indiana are converging on Byron Center High School to spend the day talking about Flipped Learning. The event is free, and I’m excited and proud to be a part of the planning and running of the conference.

We’ll be streaming various sessions throughout the day using Google+ Hangouts On Air. This means you can watch live during the session or you can go back later and watch an archived copy. The sessions will be broadcast by the presenters (see below) and all of the videos will end up in a playlist on the official MIFlip YouTube channel. The segments being streamed are highlighted in yellow on the document.

You can also follow the learning with the #MIFlip hashtag on Twitter all day.

[UPDATE 11:17] – This sessions link (as well as the one above) takes you to the conference schedule. Hyperlinks are being added to the document so you can easily navigate to the proper YouTube channel for viewing live.

You may have missed this story out of California last week.

A student brought a shotgun to school with the intent of killing some other students who had bullied him. He shot one student, and two other students and a teacher were injured. What the headlines missed is that the teacher and a colleague managed to talk the student into giving up his weapon.

No other shots were fired.

The shooting is a tragedy, but the real story here is that, contrary to what the NRA says, there are other ways to stop people with guns.

These teachers are heroes because they risked their lives to protect the victims but also to protect the life of the shooter. Relationships are the way to protect our students, not more guns.

I did a webinar yesterday afternoon with Marc Siegel, Deb Wolf, and Ramsey Musallam on the various ways Flipped Learning can be incorporated into a science classroom. We spoke about changing mindsets, thinking about mastery learning and standards based grading, and using video tools in class along with other ideas and tips.

Ramsey spoke near the end of the broadcast about using inquiry learning in his Explore-Flip-Apply method. I asked him, “Ramsey, how do you train your kids to work well in an inquiry environment? I’m not sure mine could handle that from day one in the semester, so what do you do?”

Ramsey came back by saying, “Actually, I drop them right in from day one. I don’t really train them in anything at all. Kids have an innate curiosity that we have to tap into in order to fully engage them in the content.” (Or something along those lines.)

Now, let me preface this by saying I’ve heard Ramsey say this over and over as I’ve gotten to know him. But, I never really put any faith in my students.

I decided to take it to heart. Today, I had an entire lab planned out with procedures, data tables, and follow-up questions. I knew what my kids would do, and they would fill in the blanks and then move on. I decided to scrap the entire lab and go with one statement:

I have a sample. It has water attached to it. I need to know how much water it contains.

The only question I asked them for this lab is: “What percent of my sample is water?”

I didn’t have enough faith in my classes. I didn’t really trust them to do anything like this. I was proven wrong this morning. For you science folks, our average error from the first two classes is two percent. Two. My students have encouraged me, and from what I’ve observed, they’ve felt proud of their work. They were so excited to hear how close they had come. I haven’t seen energy like this in a while.

I’d lost sight of the excitement that should come from science…from discovery. I’d lost sight of the process because I’d focused too much on the end result. I can talk about the process, but I need to have them go through the process.

My students can now explain how to find the mass percentage of part of a compound. They can do it better than if I had stood up or recorded a video and taught them. Tomorrow, we’ll involve mols somehow and see what happens.

Hopefully, my students will begin to feel more trusted and more empowered in the process.

I want to propose something crazy: I think we talk too much about education technology. I’m guilty of it, and it’s been weighing on me over Christmas break. Maybe I’m projecting some of my concerns out there, but let me explain a little bit.

2012 seemed like an edtech explosion to me. Every week, I would hear about some new tool that lets teachers and students do this or that, which is great. But all of the focus was on how the tool will revolutionize or change your teaching. The problem I have with this is that too many people are falling into the trap of trying to teach to the tool, rather than using the tool to teach.

There is a major distinction that needs to be made: pedagogy must be the focus of any teacher improvement plan. What is our philosophy of teaching and learning? How do we approach instruction and assessment? What content is important? How will we work with students to support learning? Then, at the point where we are supporting learning, when the ground work has been laid, we can begin to look into technology. I am saying this as a confessed non-practicer (at least consistently) of the workflow.

I’ve fallen into the trap of seeing something awesome and trying to squeeze it into the class for the sake of using it. There is no lower connection for me, so meaningful use doesn’t translate to the classroom space.

What I’m hoping to see (and participate in) are blog posts and articles that walk readers through the process of choosing a tool. What goals are you trying to accomplish? How does that tie into your learning process in the big picture? How are students supported? How is your process supported? How did that tool meet or not meet those goals?

We’ve got the resources and we’ve got the product reviews. It’s time to start putting them to better work together.

As part of my stress detox, I’ve begun dabbling a little more in #ds106 creative work. I did this right as the GIFfest started on the ds106 hub, so I decided to jump in.

So behold, my very first animated GIF:

This is a repost of an article I wrote for Brett Clark’s 12 Days of Dreaming series.

f you have kids, know people with kids, or work with kids, you know that they will face some painful days as they grow. First comes teething, which I’ve heard is a nightmare. Then, the awkward pubic years when bones are stretching faster than the brain’s balance centers can keep up. Years pass, our joints begin to ache when the weather changes, and we can’t heal up from injuries as fast or as completely as we used to.

The business of growing is difficult.

But, through all the pain, we learn a valuable lesson: pain and growth have to come together to be meaningful.

I don’t know many cyclists that learned to ride a bike the first time their parent let go of the seat. A scraped knee from falling off of a bike helps us learn that balancing is much easier when we’re moving forward. As we move through the pain of growth, we come to expect better things when it’s over.

Schools are a prime example of pain and growth. Students, you have stories about working through very difficult classes. Teachers, what about the student that tested you every day of class? Administrators, you can tell us about the first year teachers that have come through your building.

Pain is an indicator of growth.

Education is in a painful place right now. Schools and governments are polarized against one another over education. We are being blamed for many social problems, and there isn’t much trust in the state or federal leadership. Teachers are fearful for their jobs and the role testing will (or won’t) play in how we are evaluated.

Within the frustrations and the stress, though, we have an opportunity to implement better schools.

It is our responsibility to model growth to our students. Brainstorm with your colleagues on how to implement changes. Work with student advisory groups to solve problems. Encourage someone more frequently than you complain about a particular circumstance.

The attitude shift begins with recognizing that if there is no pain, there is no growth..

Don’t be soured by painful situations. Recognize the opportunity for growth and focus on the goal rather than the immediate. There is no silver bullet for any single problem. But, we can turn a lot of silver BB’s into a comprehensive solution.

Let us know in the comments what growing pains you’re having and what you’ve learned as you’ve worked through them.

Today, I came to the realization that I’m approaching burnout, and that I need to do something to stay healthy for the break and the second semester.

I’ve also learned this year that I need a creative outlet to stay healthy, which is problem numero uno. I haven’t taken time to truly be creative since the summer. So, I’m turning my needs around to help push the creativity of my students. (I don’t think this is unethical, but if you do, please let me know in the comments).

I have a split elective class: one half is working on web design, and the other is working on photo editing. Both groups are doing a similar assignment, pulled from the Digital Storytelling: 106 archives. The web design side is hijacking the HTML of a website to tell a different story. The photo editing kids will be redesigning an existing website’s logo using GIMP. I will be doing both projects along with the kids so we can continue to learn together.

The final deadline is January 12, but I’ll begin posting finished assignments as they begin to roll in from the students. I’m hoping that as I dive into working with students, I’ll begin to feel a little more relaxed and less burnt out. If you have other ideas on how to beat burnout, I’d love to hear them in the comments.

Featured image photo credit: Skley via photopin cc

My wife showed me this video the other night. If you haven’t seen it, consider taking thirty seconds to watch it. I’ll wait.

At the time, I was entertained. The ending really surprised me, and the video itself was engaging. But, as soon as it was over, I wasn’t thinking about buying a refrigerator or dishwasher any more than I had been before the clip.

How often are our classrooms like this? For me, I’m constantly asking myself whether or not a particular tool or activity is a gimmick (edutainment, if you will) or if it really has substance. There’s a very fine line between the two, and I’ve definitely been duped in the past.

To determine if its going to make a long-lasting impact, I have to be able to connect it to the unit-at-large. How will the tool or activity come full circle from the initial hook? I think Dan Meyer does this better than anyone I know with his Three Act Math website. He begins with a short video or image that prompts a question from the students. Teachers then work to scaffold through the questions to help students build meaning. I’m amazed at not only how thorough his work is, but also that he shares it for free. (For proof that these aren’t gimmicks, check out Dan’s post from December 12.)

In science, I need to make the move to labs before instruction. Terie Englebrecht wrote a short post earlier this week about how she’s moved to labs before instruction. Students move through the unit having been exposed to the “real” part of the content. I stink at this, and as I work on bring labs to the front of the cycle, I need to really make sure to build a program that feeds back on itself.

If you have ideas or suggestions on how to accomplish this, I’d love to hear about them.

` <http://www.flickr.com/photos/13524378@N03/2397881577>`__I’m going to take a hiatus from Twitter.

I love sharing learning with my network. Lately, Twitter has become somewhat of a frustration for me. Being involved is great, but I think it also narrows my vision and I begin to focus on fitting a particular mold or norm based on what my network is doing at the time rather than trusting my own decision making and direction.

In all honesty, some of this has to do with a lot of the discussion surrounding Flipped Learning. With so many ideas, arguments, and questions flying around, I feel like I need to take some time and personally reassess what I do daily in my room. I need a working definition, and to do that, I need time to myself.

I will still be writing email and possibly a blog post, so you can still get in touch with me. But as for Twitter, we’ll talk later.

Photo credit: mfilej on FlickrCC

I want to preface this post by saying that in my perfect world, we wouldn’t grade at all. But currently, that isn’t my reality. I will continue to do the best I can with the rules and requirements placed on me.

We have progress reports coming up this week and as I was sitting and staring at my spreadsheet, I began to think about grading again. Let’s get deep.

One thing I love about my teaching is that I’m committed to Standards Based Grading as part of my Flipped Learning implementation. It communicates ideas and progress much more clearly than traditional grading practices do.

Essentially, there are two kinds of students in my class: those with an A and those with an F. Now, without getting too political about grades, I want to say that I really like the way my book plays out. Here’s why.

First, I don’t have to rationalize all of those middle areas. SBG eliminates point-grubbing because you’re marked on your ability to demonstrate your understanding in any way you choose. It is a binary system (for me, at least)…you know it, or you don’t. Therefore, any student who can demonstrate their understanding of a concept automatically is marked with a 100%.

Second, as the teacher, I do not feel like I have the right to assign a letter that describes a student’s learning other than a simple yes or no. I want my students to be able to explain the nuances of their learning, not hear it from me. This happens with reflection and discussion as we go through the problem-solving and application process in class.

Third, it simplifies my life. I’d rather not focus on grades at all. When I’m constantly hunting for points for students (“Why did I get an 18 instead of a 19?”), I cannot focus on supporting their learning. The student is also not focusing on learning. Grading with a binary system helps keep the conversation on skills and demonstration, not completion for points.

Finally, the conversation about grades changes with parents. We don’t discuss which assignments their child can turn in to improve their grade. We can focus on what learning strategies might work best for their son or daughter. School becomes a place where teachers are supporting learning rather than just somewhere to go and work for the day.

How do your grades communicate learning to parents? I’d love to hear more examples in the comments.

I don’t mean the “point” of learning in why we need to learn. I mean the actual cognitive place we must find in order to learn.

This year has been the hardest year of school I’ve ever had. I fight battles every single day with students over the simple act of thinking. I have had some begin to see the value, but 90% are still pushing back on nearly everything we do. If you were to come to my room, I think the most common phrases you would hear are “Bro…” and “I don’t know.”

Will Chamberlain had some thoughts a few weeks ago about the “I don’t know” response. It is resignation. It is a student openly stating that they are not going to put in the effort to think about a question or problem. And it is totally acceptable in our schools. Rather than abolishing “I don’t know,” teachers and schools traditionally respond by giving the answer.

I think the point of learning is when students feel challenged and supported at the same time. This balance comes from every teacher, administrator, and student in the building working toward the same goal. The point of learning is the hardest part of school because it is in an educational “sweet spot” where everything is working together the way it is meant to.

When you’re trying to reach that point, these are a few things to consider:

1. Does your space communicate the physical aspect of learning? Is your space open, flexible, and inviting? Or is it static, “cookie cutter,” and bland? If we can adapt our space (I know we all have limitations) to accentuate learning rather than compliance, you’ll begin moving in the right direction.
2. Do you meet the needs of your students? As teachers, we have an eye for what our students are proficient and deficient in…we use formative assessments to judge progress and make changes if necessary. What we can’t do, though, is read our student’s minds. Ask them questions. Have them reflect on their learning. Make learning a discussion rather than an announcement.
3. Do you work alone, or are you connected? The most important piece of working in a school is being connected with your peers. Find someone to work with as much as possible. Eat lunch together, plan together, form goals together. The accountability and the support will help you do your job better. At the same time, consider forming a digital PLN through Twitter, Ning networks, or even your professional organization (NSTA, NMCT, etc). No two points look the same. What is yours like? Feel free to share how you overcome some of the hurdles in the comments.

photo credit: ogimogi via photopin cc

Schools and children are dictated by the bell schedule. Classes are 57 minutes, except for math and English, which are 87 minutes, because they’re tested at the end of the year. You have three minutes to get to your next class, where you then wash, rinse and repeat.

Unless we can break the cycles that drive our schools and really model the real world, we cannot have meaningful reform. Ask any professional. Their days do not come in neat chunks of time. Our students are not taught these skills and that hinders many as they head into a world that expects some basic life management out of them.

“21st Century Learning” is becoming synonymous with “[tech tool] in Kids Hands,” which is way off the mark. Yes, they need to be trained on technology, but we can’t stop there.

To me, a true 21st Century School would have flexible schedules, much like college. Teachers would have blocks of time for class and blocks of time for office hours. Students would be free to come and go as they needed, scheduling extra appointments on their own. Attendance would be tracked, and they would need to meet a minimum number of class hours each day or week.

In Indiana, we’re required to have six hours of learning a day. Learning, though, is often limited to classes. Any teacher worth their salt knows learning is much bigger than that. A true 21st Century School will have internship opportunities in place where students can focus on what they want to do, or take a range of opportunities to help narrow their ideas down. We cannot measure learning by seat time alone because usually, the greatest learning happens when we’re not in a seat.

We’ve lost sight of the value of flexibility. We can’t be flexible with schedules because student’s aren’t responsible enough to take them seriously. But, we can’t teach flexibility because there isn’t time in the mandated schedule. It’s a horrible Catch-22 that is holding American schools from making serious improvements. I say its time we begin to let go a little bit and really put our words into action.

photo credit: ASurroca via photopin cc

This Halloween, I did a demonstration in chemistry that’s usually called “*`Genie in a Bottle <http://youtu.be/u7nrQ6dNsXM>`__*.” This year, I decided to tell a short parable along with the demo. I’d like to hear your thoughts in the comments.