We all need supports. I can’t live without the "Reminders" application on my phone which I use to remind me that I need to grab milk after school or that there’s a great Twitter chat coming up. I use the "Calendar" application as well, so I don’t forget to pick up my kid from soccer … Continue reading Because we all need supports
For the first month of quarter one, I saw approximately 50% of my English 8 students. No joke. I’d take attendance and hit an equal number of Absent as I did Present into Myed. After putting my heart and soul into planning a quarter and being stoked to be back in the classroom face to … Continue reading Popcorn attendance, learning opportunities, and mulligans: musings about teaching in a quarter system
There is a solo project I do with my Drama students. I have them pretend they are a small child trying to fly a kite on a windless day. I tell the actors that despite all odds, their character should never give up. Here is what the actors show me. At first, the child is … Continue reading Let’s Go Fly a Kite
I’m an extrovert. No wait, I’m not just an extrovert. I am a certifiable, put me in the spotlight, please give me attention, extrovert. That's more accurate. Extroverts, in case you don’t know, are completely aware of their cravings for attention and are far from obtuse about it. I have no issues telling someone I’m … Continue reading An Extrovert in Isolation
Slam Poem about making sense of Covid 19- The Problem is Video reading - https://youtu.be/DUNW87sdyRM
A few months after I launched the gradeless learning scale to the teachers at my high school, it was noted by a reputable professional that students and parents alike would soon view the headings of the scale as no different than letter grades. In their view, what they were trying to tell me was that … Continue reading Going More Gradeless
Once upon a time, in a far away gradebook, oh about fifteen to twenty odd years ago, there was a keen and eager teacher who wanted to create an assessment for an English 9 short fiction unit. She laboured over the assessment and decided that a test would be the finest of fits for her … Continue reading Content, A Fairy Tale
For the first week of school, a young man (Let’s call him Brad) hid in his hoodie in my Humanities 8 room. He refused to do any work. I pulled him out, one day, and questioned him in an authoritarian manner. It's the beginning of the school year and I needed to show him I … Continue reading Syncing Maslow with Bloom
You’ve embraced a gradeless mindset. Your students are showing progress. It was a struggle at first, but you persevered in your communication of student learning to parents and they now appreciate that your focus has been on learning and not grades. Wahoo! Success! But it’s June and the Ministry of Education requires a letter grade … Continue reading The Report Card Dilemma
As mentioned in my Teachers Going Gradeless post, communication of student learning is vital for gradeless and standards based grading to be successful. By communication, I mean communication of pivotal learning points in a student's learning journey:where they are at now and how to get to the next level. Communication should highlight the growth and … Continue reading Choreographing Communication of Student Learning
my growth mindset 