One step back

I have taken lots of steps forward in my health odyssey this fall, so one step back shouldn't frustrate me as much as it is.  While I was at PT on Friday evening, I suddenly had my right calf muscle cramp up and immobilize me. I was doing an exercise I have done other visits with no problem, and actually thought I had been moving at a snail's pace that session.  We immediately stopped that particular exercise, and they rushed to fill up a plastic teaspoon with yellow mustard which they had me swallow with a water chaser....now, I actually really like mustard. As a child, I routinely got my burgers "mustard only." I've never ate it without a piece of protein or in something yummy like potato salad before though. While not hideous, I'd rather not repeat it. I posted something on Facebook and one of my high school classmates explained the effect-he's now a doctor. Apparently, it helps muscle cramps because of the acetic acid which does something with the production of acetylcholine in the body and helps ease muscle cramps. I'm happy to learn something new every day. 😁 Unfortunately, the muscle cramp has not eased as the weekend has progressed. As a result, I'm now slathering on Ben-Gay and limping a bit. The limping motion has made my right hip ache and I just feel like I have lost so much ground. It's kind of depressing. I just want to move forward more quickly than I am and this is frustrating.  

It does speed up my search for a home TENS unit as well.  My doctor wrote me a prescription last week so I can use my FSA account to pay for one. For my readers who don't know what a TENS it is, it stands for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation.  At the end of each therapy session, they hook me up to one of these units, slap a massive ice pack over my back and hips and let it him along for about 15 minutes. It is probably the second best part of each session...I'm going to have to rank the personal massage as the best part each time.  After my initial 15 sessions of PT, my doctor ordered 12 more and insurance only approved 8. I view that as a sign that they want to wean me soon, so I figured it would be good to have one of these available at home. I've been doing research online and just can't make up my mind.  The best site to help me that I've found is http://www.tensunitreviews.net.  There are just too many choices! While the costs are reasonable for one unit, they lose reasonableness if you pick wrong and have to buy another!

I am choosing between a unit from LGMedSupply, a Healthmate Forever unit or one which isn't rated on this site but has terrific customer service reviews on Amazon.  I need to quit suffering from analysis paralysis and just purchase! That is my goal this week....beyond work related goals like finalizing grades and curriculum planning!

Wild and crazy weekend....well, not really

I spent this weekend working on curriculum planning and grading.  I will be the first to admit that I like lesson planning a whole lot more than I like grading, but then, everyone has parts of their job that they prefer to others. For me, the best part of my job is getting to work with young people and learn with them.  My love for that aspect of education even spills over into my choice of where to get my hair cut. I go to Aveda and let beauty students cut my hair...partly because it's a great deal monetarily, partly because I love having my scalp massaged while they wash my hair, but mostly because I love being part of helping someone master skills..if they make a mistake? It's just hair - it will grow back!

So, how does all of this relate to my weekend? I spent HOURS on both Saturday and Sunday working. Over the last week, I have developed a unit for my regular classes that I'm really excited about. I have researched a technique called the layered curriculum...once I knew there was a "term" for what I wanted to do, it made finding examples and research a lot easier!  We will start the unit on Tuesday and they will have two weeks to master the content related to federalism. Each student will have control over how they choose to learn the content and prove their learning from within a framework of choices.  The curriculum layers up from the bottom two levels of Blooms Taxonomy to the very top of the taxonomy. If students are content to stay at remembering and comprehending, their grade will reflect that they only have minimal mastery which translates to a C. If they want to master through application and analysis, they will earn a B. If they want to show mastery through evaluation and creation of new learning products, they can earn an A.  On Saturday, I finalized putting all of the assignments and links to resources in Moodle.  I then created several flipped lectures for the unit...watching lecture and taking notes is a choice in the bottom of the pyramid.  The most important part of this process is the face to face conversation that students will be required to have with me as they finish each lesson. It's going to be labor intensive, but also rewarding. I hope they like this unit as much as I do!

I spent the afternoon today catching up on reading my AP student blogs. It was really interesting to see what they chose to write about. I am gaining quite a few insights into their personalities through this assignment and I am watching them grow as political thinkers...it is quite fun.  The less fun part is assessing their writing. Oh, how I wish students could be motivated to work without grades!  Actually, some of them could be I think, but I'm not in a position to test that theory.

On a personal level, I am slowly making progress in physical therapy. They are bumping up the activities a little bit each time. As a result, I come home wiped out, and sometimes uncomfortable. I have a second epidural block scheduled for this Wednesday afternoon. I need to write out my questions about it before that appointment. After the first block, the pain eased quite a bit and my mobility and ability to proceed with therapy improved dramatically.  However, the sciatica on my right side returned. I need to ask whether we should direct the second shot to the right or elsewhere. I just want all of the pain to ease so I can get back to normal sooner. I'm thankful to have the insurance to do this....no complaints.

Progress Report

I really need to add "update blog" to my calendar. I'd add it to my to-do list, but that wouldn't necessarily get it done!

We are halfway through the first nine weeks of school now, which means 25% through the AP Government class...when I think of it that way, it is a bit stressful.  We are on track with last year though, so I feel o.k. about our pace.  We are acclimated to each other now and into the groove. I'm enjoying all of the students, and especially enjoying reading their blogs. A few of them have expressed to me that they are also enjoying this assignment...I'll take that as a win since many of them were really reluctant at first.  I'm getting some good ideas from them as well...maybe my own writing style will improve and my "voice" will get more engaging.

For now, a recap of my week:

It's homecoming week, and it's been fun seeing the kids dress up. The only day that appealed to me was Monday which was pajama day. As luck would have it, though, I was leaving campus for a professional meeting so I didn't get to dress in my comfy PJ's that day. Sad face!

The professional meeting was an opportunity to go and hear Jon Bergman, one of the authors of a flip classroom book and host of some flipped class websites/communities on the web. He was speaking at the University of Montevallo to education majors and the head of the department let our administrators know about it. I was lucky to be able to attend. He inspired me to push harder toward a mastery classroom in my regular classroom. I'm going to do some flipped elements with them, but plan to introduce a layered curriculum model with them. My goal is to have elements of that model prepared for every unit by next fall.

I have been to physical therapy twice so far this week, with another session planned for tomorrow afternoon.  As I grow a bit stronger, they are adding more exercises each time. This means I'm there longer and I'm tireder each time, but I'm so pleased to be improving that I have no complaints.  A bag of frozen popcorn as an ice pack before bed, and a pain pill at the end of a long day allow me to sleep and refresh for the next day.

Tuesday was Constitution Day and we had a birthday party for the Constitution in every class.  I offered a few bonus points if they could connect their edible contribution to the Constitution or the government. I look forward to reading those this weekend as well.  My favorite of the day had to be these from the first class period of the day.

We watched episodes of "Constitution USA with Peter Sagal" in my classes and then discussed it. Thank you PBS for streaming the series. It's got so many great current examples. The kids appreciated that too!

Today was a long day. Amelia wanted to go to dance, and Olivia had mock trial team practice.  Since the family is still driving me everywhere and Will was working, I just stayed at school for 13 hours. Yes, as I type this, I just took a pain pill and have that popcorn at my back!  It was a productive day. I knocked out a good rough draft of a layered curriculum unit for my regular classes on the next unit. I look forward to reviewing it with a colleague tomorrow. After work, we ran to Joann's to buy Amelia some fabric for her toga tomorrow...senior tradition. I got a good laugh when she described a project assignment she has due tomorrow. I applaud my colleague's attempt at creativity, but it it is hard to do a fake social media profile on an object rather than a person....I had a good belly laugh coming up with slightly ridiculous examples of status updates she could include! We were both crying...that's some good laughter!

Eleanor is coming home tomorrow for a long weekend...she's staying until Monday this time since she has a dentist appointment on Monday morning. I look forward to visiting with her. I'm hoping she hasn't been scheduled to work on Saturday. Amelia has the homecoming dance on Saturday night and Olivia wants to spend the night at a friend's house. That would let us have a little mother-daughter time.  We haven't had that in awhile.

My goals for this weekend include laundry and catching up all my grading...I'm terribly behind on assessing blogs and still need to grade the last test for AP... Grocery shopping would probably be good too, and it's time to pay bills this month. Oy vey!  It just never stops!

P.S.  Awesome feedback from former AP students this week...had tweets from two. One liked the candy bar above and wanted one...I managed to snag him one. Another said he used our supplemental reader for a public forum at his private college for Constitution Day--score one for me and Lanahan. Then, I got a news story tweeted to me telling me that perhaps I could use the story in AP...thanks, I think I will!  On a more humorous note, Amelia's boyfriend met one of my former regular students in a class. He moaned about how hard I was and asked how Conner knew me...she's my girlfriend's mother was probably a bit of a shocker for him! :)

Into the Swing of Things

The first two weeks of school are so important to get everyone acclimated and ready to work again.  I've had a great first two weeks this year!  My students are respectful and are working hard.  My AP class not only grew from 1 section to 2 sections, but the numbers exceed double last year's total enrollment.  While this does present the challenge of more to grade, it also gives the blessing of many more young minds who are engaged in the process of learning about civics and participation willingly!

Overall, all of my students are much more engaged than last year's classes and we are mostly acclimated to the procedures and platforms that I am using for their work.  I hope the experience is just as enjoyable for them as it is for me.

On a personal note, I had an epidural block last week and the pain has dissipated enough for me to move around more freely and have a hope that physical therapy will begin working more effectively for me.  One of these days, it is my hope that my family will allow me to drive again.  I did drive a little bit this weekend, and they are right about taking it easy while they are willing to chauffeur me around.  Driving does present stresses on the spine that you don't notice unless you hurt yourself.  I spent the long weekend catching up on my grading and I'm moving forward in a "caught up" position today.  That changes quickly though, so I better get back on it.

My next challenge is lesson planning for 9-11.  I have been perusing lessons plans and ideas on the web and I find myself tearing up as I preview videos, slideshows and interviews with survivors or the families of those who lost their lives that day.  I'm wondering how I will ever make it through a solid day of lessons - it's still a bit too close for me.  It's important though and we will mark the day with appropriate solemnity.

Update on my medical condition

I had an MRI today....while I am very thankful for the medical technology that allows for that diagnostic, and I am very thankful that my insurance company finally approved the test (and paid for it 100%), I have to say that it is a very unpleasant test.  The chamber you are put into is very small and cramped and yes, claustrophobic.  The noises that the machine emits are painfully loud (they give you earplugs but if you have good hearing, they don't block enough sound).  And, when you have disc degeneration in your L3 through L5, laying flat on the machine for 30 minutes is excruciatingly painful - especially when you are already inflamed and in pain.  I'm glad it's over.  I'm glad I have a diagnosis.  I'm thankful that I can go to physical therapy, although they can't schedule me until Monday unfortunately.  I am thankful for medications that might make this whole process less painful, although they aren't doing much to touch it so far since I refuse to take narcotics (they make me too nauseated).

I put out feelers among my friends today to see if anyone has a wheelchair I can borrow and I'm following up some leads on that.  I am DETERMINED that I will not miss the first day (or week) of school!  I have spent entirely too much time confined to my bedroom and this house and the first day and week sets the tone for the entire year.  Besides, I don't have any days to spare in AP Gov - we have to make them all count!  Since I'm a pro at sitting still and stable, I can always teach that way if I can just find one to use.

Final note - found a GREAT substitute for a bag of frozen peas as your ice bag...popcorn!  Not the microwave bags - a good, old fashioned bag of kernels.  Freeze the bag and use it as an ice pack.  It conforms to your body like a bag of frozen peas or corn will, but it doesn't become mushy and melty like the softer veggies do.  Thanks to my cousin Karen for giving me that tip - it's a keeper!

End of summer update

I have done a very poor job of keeping up with this blog over the summer!  My last post was, I think, from Princeton, NJ which was in late June.  So, what have I been doing since then?

In July, I taught summer school.  I used it as a time to experiment with some activities that I had not tried during the regular school year, including some online games.  While I thought some of the games were pretty elementary, the students did seem to gain value from playing them, so I will probably leave them in the line-up for the regular school year.

I read the book "Teach Like a Pirate" as part of a book study with some of my colleagues.  I did take away a few ideas from the book and will be concentrating a bit more on "hooks" in my class, and trying to make sure my passion is transparent and obvious to my students.  I also read the book "Who Owns the Learning" which gave me some ideas about making my classroom more student-centric - a goal that has become more and more important to me over the past year.

I have thought a lot in the past couple of weeks about the importance of taking time for myself and family.  We went to stay at my husband's Aunt's lake house the last week in July and I aggravated a condition that I didn't know I had.  I had been dealing with some sciatica this summer and had even seen my doctor for it.  His recommendation had been to exercise.  At my oldest daughter's urging, I did create the habit this summer of going to the YMCA and exercising - which anyone who knows me knows is a HUGE lifestyle change!  I was regularly walking 2 miles on the treadmill and doing a few strength training machines on a regular basis - at least 4 times per week.  While at the lake, I wasn't able to continue this regime.  I played a little "Goldilocks" at the lake - this bed is too hard, this bed is too soft, etc.  I never found the "just right" choice and by the end of our week, my back had me incapacitated.

I spent a week balancing some professional development teaching commitments last week with bed rest and finally went to the doctor last Friday afternoon.  First, the urgent care facility took x-rays and told me to consult the ER or my regular doctor.  They gave me some oral steroids and offered more pain pills/muscle relaxers, but I refused the extras because I already had prescriptions for those from my regular doctor.  On Saturday, the pain was so debilitating that my left leg would give out within 3 steps if I tried to maneuver around, so I went to the ER.  All in all, that visit was satisfactory because they did a CT scan and gave me a double shot (steroids and anti-inflammatory) that made me feel almost normal for about 24 hours.  They also called my GP and made an appointment for Monday morning first thing.

On Monday morning, my doctor examined me and talked with me and put in a request with my insurance company to approve an MRI.  The CT scan showed a bulging disc in the L5 region, arthritis and degenerative disc disease.  The one of those that disturbed me the most was the "A" word since there isn't much treatment you can do for arthritis in my experience.  The others can be resolved with physical therapy and strengthening my core.  He told me I had to stay home until I had the MRI done because PT without it could complicate the injury - this is where it gets complicated.  I was supposed to go back to work on Monday for teacher development days.  It is Tuesday evening and here I sit - getting some work done on my online course materials, but taking sick days and hearing nothing back from insurance at all.

I am extremely grateful that I've never been at the mercy of the bureaucracy of a health care organization to approve medical tests that my doctor deems necessary before, but I'm certainly not enjoying the experience now!  The insurance company still hasn't approved my MRI and I can't start physical therapy until after I have that test.  Since students come to my classroom on Monday, I am getting more and more frustrated by the delay!  I'm ready to feel better and to do what's necessary to make that happen....

This cartoon was funnier before I felt like I was prey to the system....it's from 2007 and highlighted the debate of that presidential election.  I've always been a little dispassionate about the argument since one of the blessings of being a teacher in Alabama has been good health care coverage.  Even with "good" healthcare coverage though, I'm now dealing with this major frustration.  There is definitely something wrong with a system that requires me to get "sicker" or hurt more before someone in an office decides to look at my physician's request and grant me testing that will help me get better!  Enough on that soapbox....I'm sure it's just my pain speaking.

Speaking optimistically, I'm hopeful that I will get a call early tomorrow, a test, a diagnosis and physical therapy started....pray with me for that result!

What have I learned on a personal level from all of this?  I need to take time to take care of myself!  I often let myself get caught up in taking care of everyone else except me.  I need to be the first priority for awhile so that I can take care of others too.

Greetings from Old Berry HS

Summer school is in full swing - and actually now more than half over.  I haven't posted in a couple of weeks because my time has been consumed with planning and grading during summer school.

Moodle Rooms, which manages our Moodle site, updated features last week and I've been busy figuring those out and playing with them, which is good because I have been asked to train teachers on setting up a class in Moodle during our "Teacher's Academy" the week before teachers return to school next month.  Summer school has given me an opportunity to play with some of those new features and identify things that I need to point out to a teacher starting to use Moodle for the first time.

Summer is winding down, more quickly than I'd like.  Hopefully I will feel refreshed on August 19 - which is only a month away now.  Yikes!

I think I need to get busy planning for fall now too...it never ends.

Home again...this time from Princeton, NJ

Princeton University, Princeton NJ
Building under construction/restoration

So, have you ever wondered what happens if the readers don't finish scoring the AP exams by the end of the session?  So did I....and this year I found out.  First, they offered some overtime to anyone who was willing to work it, up to one hour per day on the last 3 days of reading, plus the morning after we were supposed to finish (if it didn't require changing travel plans).  Before you get too excited - that OT rate was not even equal to our regular hourly rate (FYI), but I did put in an extra hour and a half.  When that didn't give enough time to finish for our question, they called up some of us and invited us to come to New Jersey and finish over 2 days. I was honored to be called and invited for the "mini reading" in NJ.  I prefer to feel it's an honor and not ponder whether they hit desperation point on finding anyone willing to do it.  This rate of pay was much better too - an unexpected financial bonus to our family this summer.

I returned from SLC on Monday, 6/17, got a call from ETS on Tuesday, 6/18, made travel plans on Wednesday, 6/19 and travelled on Thursday, 6/20.  This week was shot.  I returned home last evening (6/23) from the reading, with all essays completed by the 60 or so of us that went.

Now, I don't normally mingle a whole lot after hours with the other readers at the main reading.  I pay to have a private hotel room and I'm usually so brain-fried from the reading every day that I mingle at dinner and then go back to my room and either watch mindless TV, read something undemanding or knit.  For the mini reading, we were flown into the Philadelphia airport and shuttled to Princeton, NJ where we were accommodated in private rooms at a local hotel which was on the outskirts of town and therefore seemingly "in the middle of nowhere" if you don't have a vehicle.  As a result, I mingled a lot more with my peers at the mini-reading and really enjoyed getting to know a few people better.  I think that was a definite advantage.  We read all day on Friday, 6/21 (300 essays for me), and then came back on Saturday morning to finish.  With a stellar and focused effort by everyone, we managed to finish up by lunch (about 12:30) (another 200 essays for me - there were a number of "no attempt made" essays in that number unfortunately- that did speed me up though).  That left us with an unanticipated opportunity to explore.

I went into the town of Princeton with a small group and we explored the campus of the famed University, checked out a little local brew pub (good burgers), bought some souvenir cupcakes from the winner of "cupcake wars" and a t-shirt for each of my girls and then returned to the hotel around bedtime, thanks to the hotel shuttle service.

Sunday morning, I travelled home via Charlotte, NC (a lovely airport, by the way) and am now settling back into home and the chores that inevitably need to be completed.

What did I learn from the reading this year?  First, the test is a moving target (more than I realized).  Some of the advice I've given students in the past was not good advice.  It was at the time, but isn't any longer.  For instance, in a chart question, talk about trends over time.  In this year's test, they really needed to give exact numbers or ratios from the chart itself.  That goes into the advice now.  On the complicated question that I scored, I learned that although understanding the policymaking process is easier if it is done as a "piece" - they really need to be able to break it apart fully too.  I'm not sure I have ever taught the process in the way that they wanted students to articulate this year (and neither were most of my colleagues - both HS and college).  I will improve on that as well.

I am now anxiously awaiting score breakdowns overall - and of course my own scores.  I had some REALLY STRONG students this past year.  I hope their performance reflects their strengths, but I will admit I'm more and more nervous about it as I watched this reading unfold.

Onward and upward.  I'm in the process of reviewing supplements for next year's students, and preparing for summer school next term.  I asked for a new course shell in Moodle from our tech coach and will work on organizing the summer school regular course in the next few days.  Then, I'll work on refining activities for the AP course in the fall.

Greetings from the AP Reading in Salt Lake City, Utah

I flew in on Sunday evening, June 9, for a fun-filled (o.k., exhausting) week of scoring AP Government exams in Salt Lake City, UT at the Salt Palace Convention Center.  Check-in for my single room was easy and I actually like that they put me in a handicap-accessible room - it has a lovely shower with a seat and adjustable sprayers.  My view out my window is pretty blah, but that's o.k. since I'm working from 8-5:30 every day anyway...who has time to look out the window of the hotel room.

They always feed us very well at these things, with a full buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner and two snack breaks, followed by a hospitality suite at the hotel which includes snacks and soft drinks too.   It will be amazing if I don't roll out of here - actually, I have skipped most of the snack breaks - but that's offset by ingesting the bite-sized candy at the table when I need a little sugar pick-me-up while reading about 250 of these essays a day.

I love the collegiality of the reading and meeting people who I have only "talked" with on the teacher community forums in the past.  I organized a meeting on Monday night of AP Gov teachers who are interested in flipping their classes and it went very well.  They are going to start a special thread for us on the AP community so that other teachers who are interested can also focus our talents together as we step out in this adventure.  Two of the teachers who had planned to come ended up at my table at the reading as well, and this year seems to be the first of my readings where I think I have made contacts with teachers that I will keep after the reading is over.

So, what have I learned from scoring these FRQ's this year?  Every year I learn something.  The first year, I learned that the rubrics they post are so incomplete as to be laughable.  You REALLY need to come and do this as an AP teacher for the professional development.  I have grown in my ability to successfully teach this class and in my ability to help my students become even more successful on the test.

Last year's lesson was about context.  There is so much vocabulary in AP Gov and a caucus is not a caucus is not a caucus - it all depends on the context of the question.

I tell my students to answer the question they are given - not the one they wanted - but this year I really see that playing out.  They all told me they felt good about the question that I'm scoring.  I hope their intuition is right.  So far, students are not scoring well on this question - and no, I haven't seen mine come through - wish I would!  For those worried about my integrity - I would tell the table leader to back check me if I ended up grading my students - additionally, I don't look at school codes until after I've already scored a test - but I would read every FRQ they wrote if I managed to get my student's responses in the randomized stream of folders they bring me!  I'm not stupid or crazy!

This question is about policy formation, enactment and implementation.  The real take-away that I have for my students next year (other than answer the question you are asked - not the one you wish you were asked) is that it is a banner idea to include examples if you can.  There have been many instances where a student just wasn't getting the points for the question, and then they threw in an illustrative example (even a picture diagram once) and they got the points.  Many of the best examples (here is point 2) came from current events!  So, as I get students to follow current events in the fall while they are taking the class, I hope I can convince them to keep up that habit!  Many of the illustrations that students included were from current events in the last couple of months.

That's it on my thoughts for now.  I have three more full days of reading to complete.  I am learning lots from the common errors that I see - it will help me warn my students about alligators they need to hop over!

Summer time Update 1!

I have fallen behind ... two weeks I think.  I had a goal of posting once per week.  It's summer time though, and the living is easy (quick - name the cultural reference).  Actually, not so easy around here.  We slid into the Memorial Day weekend easily, but then it got a little crazy.  My oldest daughter was working on getting a job, which has now been accomplished.  She actually was offered a second job today but had to refuse since first job considers anyone who sells any similar item to them a competitor (verbotten).  My oldest turned 19 on the first and we attended the wedding of two colleagues from Hoover High up at her parent's lake house in Scottsboro.  It was lovely, and wet.  We made it through the ceremony, but the skies came pouring down during dinner.  It was fun though....none of us was sweet enough to melt.

This week, my oldest daughter had her wisdom teeth removed - that is a miserable process, one car broke down (luckily it was a cheap fix), my husband took off for his last 2012-2013 sports season gig, my youngest turned 15 and got her driver's permit, I substituted at summer school (and am now very happy that I wasn't hired to teach it), got my school releases for my children and need to prepare to go to the AP reading.  Who said summertime was easier and more laid back?  Not in this household!

I have also embarked on the task of trying to write a textbook in iBooks Author for my students.  I am starting to get the hang of the program - now to figure out what to include and how to do so without plagiarizing anyone or anything!  My favorite feature is the ability to embed links to videos, documents, etc. for students.  That is going to come in handy - at least so long as those people leave their videos, documents, etc. up on the web in the same place they presently reside!

I have also organized a group to meet at the AP USGOPO reading in Salt Lake City to discuss flipping the APGOPO classroom (pssst....that stands for US Government & Politics).  There are presently about 15-20 of us who want to discuss ideas and activities.  I am hopeful that the number will grow after we all arrive.

Other than that, I've done a little knitting and a little reading.  I'm starting to read "Teach Like a Pirate" as part of a professional development book club with teachers from school.  Hopefully that will net some benefits for my students.  I'm also catching up on some pleasure reading at the same time...current book is "Once Upon A Tower" by Eloisa James.  I look forward to more of both types of reading.

Plans for Summer

It's all over except the shouting now.  As I write this, I'm about 30 minutes away from needing to get appropriately clad for graduation this evening.  As one group leaves, my thoughts turn to the next group.

What can I do to better prepare for them?  How can I improve upon the mistakes of the past year?  What is my action plan?

First, I think I need to take a little time for relaxation and refreshment.  I have two weeks until I travel to Salt Lake City for the AP reading.  In that time, I plan to do a little decluttering and organization at home, read for pleasure and reacquaint myself with my yarn and needles.  Knitting has been sorely neglected this year and I feel it in my stress levels.  I have also found this year that I am a bit more refreshed if I'm surrounded by a decluttered environment.  My bedroom is in desperate need of cleaning and decluttering and that is a chore I plan for this very weekend coming up.  My eldest daughter and I have started going to the Y a few nights a week to exercise.  While I walk about 1-1/2 miles on the treadmill, she manages about 6 on the elliptical - oh to be 18 and in great physical condition!

I made movement this week toward planning some positive professional development at the reading beyond that which I gain from scoring exams.  I reached out to other AP teachers through the forums and asked if anyone was interested in an informal gathering to discuss ideas for flipping the classroom and delving deeper in class.  The response has been gratifying with about a dozen positive responses already.  As soon as the schedule comes out for our evenings, I will plan a specific time and place for us to meet.  I'm looking forward to the experience and hope that I can come away with some new, fresh ideas.

Another goal I have this summer is to write a textbook for the regular Government classes -- yes, you read this correctly.  I plan to write a textbook.  I cleaned up my Mac hard drive this past weekend, backed up all my documents and photos to an external hard drive and then upgraded my operating system to Mountain Lion.  This allowed me to download iBooks Author.  I've spent a little time this week playing with it, finding video tutorials on youtube, etc.  I've made a start with the organization of it.  I believe my colleague, Amy, is going to help me write, leaving me the task of finding video clips, pictures, creating interactive widgets, and pulling the project together.  We plan to publish to an internal network which will download it only to our students' iPads.  This will help us update the information from our last (2005) textbook adoption and put it in a format that is readable on the students' iPads.  I'm both apprehensive and excited by the possibilities in this one.  I wish there was an easier way to build the works cited.  Even though I'm only using creative commons searches, I know I still have to keep up with the citations, and iBooks Author doesn't do it automatically...pity that.  I hope to have at least a good first working copy available by the time school starts, which we can tweak as necessary along the way.

I am trying to decide whether I want to participate in a professional book group this summer with my colleagues.  Two of our administrators are hosting book groups on one of two different books:  Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess or Do Your Know Enough About Me To Teach Me? by Stephen G. Peters.  I'm most intrigued by the "pirate" book and have downloaded a sample on my Kindle.  I think I need to give it a little more thought before I jump into yet one more endeavor this summer.  I really should consider some of that relaxation part as well!

To finish up and get out of here for the school year, I need to spend some time tomorrow doing my filing - it's amazing how much of it there is considering I went almost completely paperless this year.  I feel a purge coming on!  I also need to transfer my personal video library and reference books back into the closet for summer I think, and do some general straightening up.  My desk has stayed pretty organized this year, so that part is done - hooray!  We can't "check out" until Friday morning, and I hope to have everything complete tomorrow so that on Friday morning, I can go and check out and then just clock my time once it's done.  Summer is almost close enough to taste it - yippee!

Time to go and change clothes, I guess.  Till next time...

Moving toward blended learning...

After my last post, I started thinking about professional development and targeting my mis-steps with some professional development.  I started by looking at what was being offered by the State Department of Education this summer in Moodle.  After logging in, I looked through the courses I've taken in the past (including those I didn't finish because of lack of time) and was reminded about a series of free courses offered by Intel called "Teach Elements."  These are free and very well designed.  If you take them seriously and really fill out the action plan as you move through the modules, you can design the changes you want to implement.  There was one on "blended learning" and so I started working through it.  It is helping me focus on what "blended learning" really is, and includes more ideas on flipping the classroom, designing projects that move students toward more collaboration, and it includes lots of ideas about apps, websites and programs that help you do just that.  I'm now in Module 4 of 5, and I'm gathering lots of information that I will then sift through as I plan this summer.

The other step I've taken in this direction involves talking a little more with students.  I can't ever seem to get them to fill out a survey on Survey Monkey or on paper, but today I had the opportunity to talk with some students.  Seniors were essentially finished yesterday and very few are here today - if they were able to exempt their exams, they are finished until graduation.  I asked for some informal feedback this morning from the students who were present.  There is lots of irony in this scenario, mind you.  The ones who were present are those who have to take my exam, mostly from failure to complete assignments.  That is probably exactly the right demographic to ask about assignments and their effectiveness, right?  They would be the ones to tell me why they didn't do any work and/or which assignments were most difficult, etc.  That is not the feedback I got.  Essentially, I got the feedback that much of what I'm doing is precisely what I should be doing to move them toward independence, collaboration and critical thinking - however, they just didn't want to do it.  On the one hand, that is encouraging - and I really don't think they were saying it because they thought I wanted to hear something like that - but on the other, it strikes exactly where I'm most vulnerable again.  If I'm designing things that are meant to engage and encourage buy-in, why aren't they buying in?  I really struggle with the idea that they are just too lazy and/or too disengaged in general to make the buy-in.

My exam isn't until Friday and I'm considering coming up with a written survey between now and Friday (basically tomorrow) and sliding it into the folders for them to fill out after they finish their exams.  It would be anonymous and could be turned in to me in a box separate from their exam.  I think that might be a good plan - need to get on writing it.

Let's start at the end and work our way forward

Welcome to my whirlwind of a life.  I teach high school seniors at Hoover High School in Hoover, Alabama.  I am blessed with a rich diversity of young people daily, all of whom are a blessing in some way (some when they arrive and some when they leave).  We are staring at graduation in about 2 weeks and they are getting more and more antsy with every click of the clock.

As we wind down this semester, I am already anticipating the next semester, and turning my thoughts to ways to improve my instruction.  We just finished a pilot year with 1:1 iPad implementation and it has been stressful and fun, in turns.  I have intensely examined my practices and put myself under a magnifying glass this year as I worked through how to harness the power and promise of these wonderful new tools we were given.  It has been a year of experimentation - some things worked really well and I will repeat them - others not so much.  Failure in itself isn't a bad thing - not learning from those failures is the problem.  The practices and activities that didn't work won't be back!

To focus on changes that did work:

Shifting to a paperless classroom - I have fully implemented the LMS (learning management system) of Moodle for all of my classes.  All assignments and resources are posted in the Moodle classroom, and all assignments are turned in through that portal as well.  It also gives us the flexibility of taking quizzes online, engaging in online discussions and collaborating more easily outside the classroom.  It's a winner and it's staying!

Flipping the AP classroom - I have taught AP US Government & Politics for about 6 years now.  My scores are good, but it is a sprint through the entire semester.  At the end of the semester, we are all breathless and frustrated at the lack of time and speed at which we must move.  While my scores have been great (ranging from 83% to 89% passage rates against a national average just about 50%), my enrollment numbers never increase because of the perception that "it's too much work."  A lot of my reading at the beginning of school was about flipped classrooms.  I decided it was worthy of trial and in we jumped.  The kids were great and were willing to try it with me, with the understanding that we'd quit if it wasn't working.  It worked SO WELL!  We found an introductory PSC class on iTunesU with a professor who was interesting and engaging (and competent) and we all downloaded the lectures.  Students watched this professor's lectures and read from an online textbook which we rented from Coursesmart.  Other than readings and lectures, almost all of the assignments that might normally have been done at home flipped back to the classroom.  This allowed for more collaboration and discussion amongst peers, time for simulations and games, and lots more time for DISCUSSION which we all loved.  My students enjoyed it as you can see from this video:

The really good news is that enrollment is up for next year!  These students really bought into this program and recruited for me.  I can't wait to implement even more simulations and collaborations.  A lot of this year was done "on the fly" - my summer will be spent tweaking and improving on those assignments for the next group of students!

So, what didn't work?

Classroom Management of Technology - I tried to trust students with this major distraction in their hands and didn't set firmer guidelines from the beginning on its appropriate use.  I will do a better job of that next year, although I am not going to set all the rules myself.  I want to guide students into the rules and consequences for breaking them.  I think they will be more effective if they are part of that process.

Engagement and Motivation - I made the mistake of thinking that students would instantly be engaged with the iPad and harness its potential as an educational tool the way I did.  WRONG!  They immediately saw it's entertainment value, but educational value....that was slower in coming for many...and not at all for some.  This ties back to the first mistake, but it also reflects my failure to adequately redesign my activities to get this buy-in.  I will be working on this mistake over the summer as well.

What's next?

Beyond what I've already mentioned, I want to introduce more reading and writing as we implement the common core standards.  Blogging is one method I want students to use for authentic writing...so practice what I preach.  Here is my attempt at building this habit in myself as well.

I also want to give more control of learning to students.  I'm tired of being the "sage on the stage" and so are they.  We have literally placed the world in their hands with these iPads and a robust Wifi network.  I want more student-directed learning along broad curricular parameters.  Figuring out how to make that happen effectively is bound to be an ongoing process for the rest of my career, but I want to make some positive strives in planning this summer so that we start off stronger (and end stronger) next year!  My regular students can expect more "blended learning" this upcoming year, including more flipped lessons.

Come along on that journey and we'll see if I can teach them all to fly (figuratively speaking, of course!)