TED-Ed

The team at TED has assembled an amazing new resource that can be very useful for learners of all ages. Take a look at the TED-Ed Introduction video.


The web is providing people with the opportunity to create, share, and organize thoughts, ideas, and information in ways that can open doors to the world that were hard to imagine only a few years ago.

Karl Fisch blogs about this resource here: The Fischbowl  

How can you imagine using this resource with students?

Not Better - Different

In this TED video Will Richardson makes the point that it is time that we stop trying to do schools better and we start trying to do them differently. The problem with better is that better is measured or defined by the standardized test. It is time that we get very clear about what we want and need for our students, children, and future of education.

His presentation takes some time to watch but it is worth the time investment.

What are your thoughts, ideas, comments?
How can we continue to make our schools different?

Peer to Peer Observation - A Guest Post by Teacher and Colleague Steve Abbot

On Peer to Peer Observation:

To me, this is what is missing in high school education.  We work in almost complete isolation from our peers.  We may talk about our instruction but we rarely share it first-hand.  There are very few other professions where such isolation exists.  Even teaching at other grade levels is vastly different – a third grade teacher is accustomed to a regular flow of other adults in the classroom; parents, team teachers, aids and administrators frequently pop in and later share thoughts and ideas based on observation.

As a transition, peer observation is inherently uncomfortable.  Where such autonomy has existed, observation is an invasion.  We will feel self-conscious with a colleague in the room during the moments when classes are not engaged and lively.  Students may be distracted by another teacher parking in the back of the room.

Later though, what was a distraction for its novelty will become normal for its frequency.  Our self-consciousness will fade as our trust in colleagues increases.  The conversations between teachers will evolve from superficial greetings to substantive dialogue based on first-hand experience and the sharing of our instructional practices.

 

External control, standardization, API scores, etc. are all a call by the public we serve, for improved instruction.  If we want to maintain local control of our education system we have to pursue the obstacles to learning with creative, progressive instruction.  The best resources for problem solving in high school instruction are high school teachers. 

Steve Abbott

Mt. Shasta High School

The Bell Curve and Our Circle of Life - A Guest Post by Teacher and Colleague Dave Bruce

The Bell Curve and Our Circle of Life... 

                   new curves of insight for all our students!

Please pick up a pencil and draw a large bell curve on a piece of blank paper…

I imagine all teachers using this tool with all students!    

     WHY?  … to help them get a bigger picture of themselves and the 

      life they are immersed in …

• the beauty of normal   (middle section)
• excellence   (one end)
• balance   (overall)
• strengths & weaknesses   (each end)
• of the comfort zone    (middle section)
• the elite of discovery and excellence   (one end) … risk and deep practice
• and the radical extremes of protest and revolution (each end?) !

                    This tool is very visual & powerful

I showcase it as a political continuum. 

• Total Gov’t/Dictatorship  (far left)
• Liberals  (middle left)
• Moderates  (middle section)
• Conservatives  (middle right)
• No Gov’t/Anarchy (far right) .. and go ahead and throw in ...
• Ultra-conservatives, Communism, Socialism, radicals, extremists, progressives … etc.

Geometry teachers & students can use a compass to draw a circle, quarter it, split out the arcs to form a bell curve, create a perfect yin/yang symbol, and create wavelengths that are indicative of the rhythmic patterns in our lives.

It is important for students to …

·       understand that bell curves take on a more predictable shape as the population (sample size) increases.  If we  graph students’ heights in only one class THEN  school-wide, we find the school-wide graph more closely approaches a bell-curve and allows us to make more accurate and general interpretive statements. ß … please  √ for understanding.

·       understand that each of us falls all over the continuum of the bell curve depending on the characteristic being described … eg heart-rate, kindness, white blood-cell count, weight, political persuasion, etc.  In some areas we are normal, others extreme, or weak, or strong, or … is there a chart for that characteristic?   I wonder where I’m at?

·      understand that extremes are often the vanguard, the leading edge, the place of excellence … not just the bothersome radicals that disturb us normals! 

                                Ahhh, and is normal complacency … mediocrity?   J  Happiness?

Here’s a warm-up: graph #kernals popping (vertical) & time (start to finish, hot air popping, horizontal)  Have small groups do it separately (not actual science, just from their experience & imagination) …

then share out  …

                                  Then have them discover new categories to chart  …  weather, ???

English teachers can help students place characters on bell curves of different kinds, place the same character in different positions, chart a range of genres? ???

Music teachers …. Help me …???  Ahhh … balance in tones, voicing, styles???  Range of rhythm …

Science … Duh … J … really, so cool  … endless …. Yeah, use the yin/yang to illustrate and tie in our reciprocity in life …

Art … Business … Parenting … Psychology … Wellness …

Let’s go back to the rhythm, when we cut the circle into quarters and rearrange them into repeating bell curves / waves ………….  The cycles of our lives, our days, our patterns …   having our students draw out their cycle descriptions and awareness. 

It is this dance of life, this rhythm we have.  

Let’s have more rhythm in our classrooms!

p.s.    Someone said a strong government is a flexible one.  Contemplate that!          

                This could be turned into an essential question.

The Bell Curve Discussion Tool

Guest Post - By Mary Jo Coffman

The following is a Guest Post by teacher and colleague Mary Jo Coffman.

Here is something that has been on my mind and I find interesting in a social science kind of way.  It is interesting to note that the federal support of education such as No Child Left Behind has been an abysmal failure and will likely be on the cutting block due to budget constraints since all education issues are up for the "chop".  In this case it will not be much missed.  The state support of education while substantial has been cut and cut and cut some more.  It is unfortunate that many of state-mandated education "reforms" are politically motivated and aimed at undermining the free public education system in order to privatize and make profit from said educational system.  Public education is certainly one of the last holdouts of progressive reform and social equality.  So, with all of that said, I believe local control of education as it was originally intended is right-minded and more realistic.  I have seen a recent resurgence of local investment in the education process and evidence of that local control.  First of all I had occasion to visit with the county coordinator of the literacy project that is run through the library system.  They have had all funding cut but her network of volunteers will continue the work with or without funding.  Secondly, the library system itself, which is now a local, grassroots effort and stronger than ever.  Finally, the PBL that many of us are involved with involves the community in a very real and important way.  I would say things are looking up!

Creativity

I was inspired by a blog post on A Principal's Reflections: Creativity Fuels Innovation, by Eric Sheninger.
When I think of the project work we are developing, I can not help to think about the potential for creativity and innovation that we are affording our students. This type of curricular experience can allow students to focus on strengths and identify passions. Once these strengths and passions are identified, a student can use them to overcome or compensate for areas that may be considered a weakness. This shift in focus allows for the development of creative and innovative thinkers, problem solvers, and citizens.



As Eric suggests, I am also hoping the video above can become a catalyst for a more detailed discussion on the following: How can we ensure our curricular work nurtures creativity and innovation.  What has to be done to transform our schools in a way that embraces creative instructional strategies and thought amongst learners?  

In Support of Your Work

Dear SUHSD Staff, Students, Parents, and Community Members,

In support of your work and continued effort to provide our students with quality learning experiences, the Siskiyou Union High School District Board of Trustees adopted Resolution 11-18 at the December 14th board meeting. This is a statement of support for your work and a recognition that you are at the forefront of an effort to prepare our students for the 21st century. This efforts takes time, learning, leadership, creativity, collaboration, and risk. 

The Board of Trustees appreciates and stands firmly behind your work and as stated in the resolution:

"The Siskiyou Union High School District commends its teaching and support staff for their learning and efforts, and urges the administration, the teaching and support staff, and the communities to continue in their efforts to provide all students with relevant and engaging learning experiences that prepare them for success in the 21st century."

SISKIYOU UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT

RESOLUTION NO. 11-18

The Siskiyou Union High School District recognizes that the process of preparing students for careers, college, and citizenship in the 21st century requires our schools to be interactive and supportive learning environments that provide all students with learning experiences that are relevant, engaging, and lead to the development of identified academic standards and interpersonal skills.   To bring all students to a level of proficiency with these identified standards and skills, each school must develop projects and experiences that are intentionally planned, provide specific instruction and opportunity to use and develop a variety of skills, and provide students with direct interaction with their communities.

The Board of Education and District Administration recognizes the learning and change that this direction requires of the teaching and support staff. The Board of Education and Administration unequivocally support their learning and development of these important Project Based Learning experiences that will prepare our students for success in the 21st century.

The Siskiyou Union High School District declares:

WHEREAS, all of our students need to be proficient with identified academic standards and identified 21st century skills; and

WHEREAS, students desire to be involved with engaging and relevant projects and activities that allow them to use and develop their talents and interests; and

WHEREAS, Project Based Learning is a proven method and instructional strategy of developing identified standards and identified 21st century skills; and

WHEREAS, teachers need to collaborate with each other and with community members to develop these types of projects and learning experiences; and

WHEREAS, teachers need to learn, innovate, develop new skills, and develop community partnerships in support of the learning experiences for students, and

WHEREAS, in a variety of ways, efforts will be made to identify and enlist the support of community members for community-school partnerships, and  

WHEREAS, the Board of Education will provide teachers the autonomy, support, and encouragement necessary to develop these types of experiences for all students; and

WHEREAS, this effort involves a fundamental shift in our structural, cultural, and educational expectations; and

WHEREAS, the future of our high schools and rural communities depends on the preparation, involvement, and success of our schools and students,

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Siskiyou Union High School District has adopted this Resolution in support of a Project Based Curricular focus, in support of the learning and implementation efforts of our teaching and support staff, in support of the development of community partners to support the learning experiences of our students, and in support of the future of our students and rural communities.

The Siskiyou Union High School District commends its teaching and support staff for their learning and efforts, and urges the administration, the teaching and support staff, and the communities to continue in their efforts to provide all students with relevant and engaging learning experiences that prepare them for success in the 21st century.

PASSED AND ADOPTED this 14th day of December, 2011, by unanimous vote.

Teaching 21st Century Skills

Image from http://pathubert.wikispaces.com/21st+Century+Skills

Based on our work during our opening staff development at our Magnet Schools - Magnet Communities Educational Summit, and continued research in the area of what our students will need to have  in order to be successful after their high school experience, I have assembled a first draft of the Profile of a Siskiyou Union High School Graduate. This first draft includes the 21st Century Skills portion of the profile. Still to come will be the academic content standards, and a section of specific experiences that we want all students to have during their high school years.

The Profile opens with the statement:

To succeed in college, career, and be a productive citizen in the 21st century, students must be supported in mastering both content and skills. In addition to core subject proficiency, we must provide all students with experiences that ensure they are:

• Critical Thinkers
• Problem Solvers
• Researchers
• Communicators
• Collaborators
• Information and technology users
• Innovators
• Leaders
• Creative
• Motivated and persistent
• Resilient
• Self-aware and Self-disciplined
• Honest
• Reliable
• Civic-minded

The specific standards and skills can be viewed here:
Siskiyou Union High School District Graduate Profile - Draft 1.1

I will be going to staff, students, parents, and community to seek their input regarding this first draft of identified skills and start the process of identifying the experiences that we want all students to have. As the state makes the shift to the Common Core Academic Standards and related assessments, we will work to develop the academic portion of our Graduate Profile.

The identified 21st century skills need to be consolidated and written in a format that is user friendly. I also want to provide a reference or resource section for each of the skills that will help staff develop places and methods within their content focus that provide students with the ability to become proficient at these skills.

As we continue to develop projects and experiences for our students that will ensure they are proficient with these skills, we will build our own expertise and community resources that support the process. We must also look at what others are doing and saying about the teaching and learning of 21st century skills. This post in the Harvard Educational Letter by Nancy Walser is an example of such a resource.

• How can we weave 21st century skills into our projects, lessons and experiences? 
• How can we most effectively teach these skills? 
• What types of experiences help students become proficient collaborators, problem solvers, researchers, communicators, creative thinkers, time managers, citizens?
• How do we balance the importance of these skills with the importance of our content standards?
• How do we assess that our students are proficient at these skills?
• What support do we need from our communities?

What are your thoughts about the first draft of our Graduate Profile? How are you teaching these skills or providing students with the opportunity to become proficient with them?

Our Very Own II

Dave Bruce is working to learn about and embrace the new communication and collaboration platforms that are now available to staff and students throughout the district.

Take a look at the Learn.. To Live! classroom site he has set up using Google Sites, and the Student Portfolio start-up document  he has created in Google Documents. You can also add ideas or comments to his Learn.. to live! blog .

These communication sites are becoming collaborative resources for his students as well as interactive platforms to highlight the work they are doing.

Doing Our Best ... each day!     All of us have our areas of outstanding qualities and skills ... as well as some weaknesses.  I'll be featuring some of these strengths for our students each month.  Students are encouraged to add on to this effort of paying more attention to our strengths, talents, and dreams!  (add comments below)                 Freedom AwardsPost Comments
Posted Oct 13, 2011 10:34 AM by Dave Bruce

This is another example of the outstanding work and leaning our staff is involved with as we continue to pursue ways to improve what we do for the students of our communities. 

Dave, inspiring work and learning. 

Chris Lehmannn

Chris Lehmann talks about the concepts of Project Based Learning in a passionate and realistic manner. Chris is a principal at Science Leadership Academy.



What are your thoughts and what components of these or other ideas are we working to apply as we work on our Project Based Learning Journey.

Our Projects

I was proud to present our Fall Projects Templates to the Board of Education last Wednesday at our Monthly Board meeting. I appreciate your efforts to include these project in your curricular experience for all of our students. Remember we are on a journey to provide all of our students with an education that prepares them for life in the 21st century. As we continue this process we will be able to better define what it is our students need in the way of skills and standards and truly include students in the process of defining and enhancing their learning experience with us.

Inspiring Work!

Siskiyou Union High School District  - Fall Projects



Happy Camp High School

• Drug Fact Awareness
• Oliver, Bearding, Sherman, Laney
• Sportsmanship/Teamwork
• Ekman-Macdonald, Attebery, Bearding, Oliver, Sherman, Timbrook, Laney, Garcia
• Benches
• Bearding, Timbrook

Jefferson High School

• Shastice Park Brochure and Trail Insert
• Loughlin, Moore
• School Reform Survey
• Brown

McCloud High School

• College Visits/Presentations
• Sanchez-Alves, Michael, Spaulding
• McCloud Storage Shed/Bus Stop
• Spaulding

Mount Shasta High School

• Resource Management Issues
• Chapman
• Senior College Readiness
• Phillips
• Fit For Life
• M. Erro, T. Erro
• Careers and Jobs in Law
• Nichols-Stock
• Geometry-Linus Quilt Project
• Goodrich-Jones, Killingsworth
• Understanding Sustainability
• T. Erro, C. Harryman, C. Repass
• French Revolution Newspaper
• R. Harryman

• Assisting in Developing a Natural Habitat with Audubon Society
• Nesheim, Wallace, Eastman
• Powerful Historic Words
• Villarreal, Westcott
• Teaching Spanish at MSES
• Steve Abbott

Siskiyou Pathways

• Student Portfolios: Finding a passion in your heart and your community......
• Bruce
• Elementary School Teacher Training
• Tift, Anderson, Bruce

Weed High School

• Sustainable Schools, Sustainable Communities
• Coffman, Greenspan
• High School as a Journey
• Manley, Heilmann, Oates, England, NeVille, Van Baren
• Business and Education Partnerships
• DeRoss, Kirwin, Neel

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs: In Memoriam

http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2011/10/06/steve-jobs-in-memoriam/

Learning from others is an important aspect of what we do as educators. These are inspiring clips of his life and experience that are so relevant to the work ahead of us.

Our Very Own

Our very own math teacher, Serge Killingsworth,  assembled a group of math videos designed to provide students with specific assistance with key standard areas. Serge used a Staff Development Internship to complete a series of thirteen videos. The videos are now available for all students and staff to use. You can find them on schooltube.com or his staff web site at mountshastahighschool.com.  (here)




Great Work Serge! Thank you for sharing.

The Single Best Idea for Reforming K-12 Education

In his Article, Steve Denning discusses his concept for reforming K-12 Education. His basic concept supports our Project Based Learning Curriculum focus and Peer to Peer observations and collaboration.

 He states:

"Given this context, I believe that the single most important idea for reform in K-12 education concerns a change in goal. The goal needs to shift from one of making a system that teaches children a curriculum more efficiently to one of making the system more effective by inspiring lifelong learning in students, so that they are able to have full and productive lives in a rapidly shifting economy."







Read the full article here: 


I would recommend you also take a look at these links that are in the article:
“dynamic linking”
 ELLI assessment tool 

Thanking Our Community Partners

The Mount Shasta High School Leadership Class and teacher Sue Villareal, put together a MSHS Community Partnership bulletin board located in the front hall way of the school. This is a way they are  recognizing and thanking our community partners. Great work MSHS students and staff. In order to build and sustain our partnerships, we must recognize and thank them for their contributions to our schools and communities. A partnership is a two way exchange of support and mutual benefit.

"Embrace and Drive Change"

Happy Camp Principal, Angelika Brown, shared her notes with me from their opening site staff meeting. I was inspired by the conversation and the staff response to the question "What are the qualities of change?". It sure helps to put qualities behind a statement or value such as "Embrace and Drive Change". It helps us and our students embrace the values and work toward achieving them.

Notes from the meeting:

Norms for staff meetings:

Take turns talking, no side conversations, come prepared, and come on time!

Angelika will ask everyone for their opinion and we are taking turns so everyone will be heard or a person can say pass after they feel they said everything that they wanted to say.

When your turn comes please stay on the topic and not more than a 1 minute response.

Staff is always encouraged to share topics and can be put on the agenda for the weekly staff meetings.

Motto of the School Year:

“Embrace and Drive Change”

“Change is the end result of all true learning” Leo Buscaglia

What are the qualities of change?

Staff responded:
complain less, acceptance, focus on current needs and less on past mistakes, flexibility, awareness of different student’s needs, role modeling, look straight at the heart, open mindedness, positive focus, willingness to learn, long suffering, patience with ourselves, learn new technology, change brings inner growth, diversity being able to change quickly, innovation, change is a potential solution, “I can’t versus I can”, productive don’t get sucked into their drama, talk less, sharing/collaboration, be kind to each other, patience, more humor laughing and chocolate, support each other, be kind to each other, respect our students, remember we are the teachers and they are the children, don’t lower ourselves to their level, building rapport

Great Work

School Is Open!

You know something is different in our small communities when you experience a traffic jam on a street that is normally calm and quiet at 7:45 am. Today each of our High Schools opened for the 2011-12 school year. As parents and students made their way to their local high school, the streets filled with anticipation and excitement. This year we will graduate the class of 2012. Thank you to our staff, students, parents, and community members for all your support and encouragement during our opening staff development work and planning. We are proud of our communities and we look forward to an outstanding school year.

This year as we work with each of our communities to forge new partnerships and work to develop new and exciting learning experiences for our students, we must work with a sense of urgency. We must provide our students with the skills and tools that they will need to face and deal with the changes in our society and communities that are occurring at a rapid pace. Working together we can build a sustainable educational and economic foundation for our schools and communities and provide our students with the experiences and support necessary to become citizens of our communities and our global society.

The educational experience must look and feel different for our students. We must lead the change by being willing to learn and be the seekers of new experiences for our students and ourselves.

We are going to continue to develop our organizational values. Several that I recognize are going to be important to embrace as we move forward include (many of these are taken form Zappos.com but I believe they are relevant to our educational organization):

1. Deliver WOW experiences for all students
2. Develop partnerships that support the learning experience
3. Embrace and drive change
4. Be adventurous, creative, and open-minded
5. Pursue growth and learning
6. Build open and honest relationships with communication
7. Build a positive team and family spirit
8. Do more with less
9. Be passionate and determined
10. Be humble


Have a great year.
Sincerely,
Mike Matheson

Educators Today

How do we ensure that we are doing this? How can we keep our organization and profession current with the latest teaching and learning practices?

Proud of our Teachers and Students

This past week I had the pleasure of hosting our very own Damon Zeller and Randi Greenspan as presenters at the Weed Rotary Club. They and two students gave a presentation about the new Geometry and Construction Program that they have developed at Weed High School. It is impressive how these teachers and students have taken on a project that is bigger that any one individual teacher, student, or community partner. This is truly a collaborative effort that takes commitment, learning, and risk to implement. Take a look at the Power Point Presentation that they put together. The last slide shows the variety of community partners involved in this project. We can all be proud of the efforts and accomplishments of our Siskiyou Union High School Staff members as they work to develop the programs and experiences that prepare students for success in the 21^st century. Thank you to Randi, Damon, and your students for your outstanding work.

Welcome to geometry & construction whs

View more presentations from mathesonm.

Do Your Own Research

The other day I was working to develop a management meeting agenda and because of some articles that I had been reading I wanted to talk about 21^st century skills. What are they, how do we teach them, and how do we measure them?

So I started my research here: Google – 21^st century high school learning standards

And ended up here:

http://cell.uindy.edu/NTHS/NTHSresources.php

and here

http://cell.uindy.edu/docs/NewSkillNewCentury.pdf

and here

http://www.p21.org/index.php

and here

http://cell.uindy.edu/NTHS/NTHSVideo.php (watch the video)

and here

http://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning (wow - look at these videos)

Try it for yourself. Google 21st century learning skills and see what amazing places you end up visiting. Share them with me and others by posting what you fine here.