Target & Re-Assess: A bat, a ball, and an older brother...

At Wapsie Valley we pride ourselves on two things recently established in our district:

1.  Mission Statement
• "Guaranteed Learning for Every Student."  
2. Core Instructional Values: 
• Through a collaborative environment, we:
• Focus on learning.
• Communicate clear learning targets.
• Provide timely feedback based on evidence of learning.
• Ensure a responsive system based on results.

Our professional development efforts (more on this in the blog post I have started, but just can't seem to finish) have been built predominately around both 1. and 2. above.  Our PK-12 admin team has worked to create a unique unit planning process that has allowed us to create PD opportunities to staff similar to what we want to see in their classrooms.  It allows them to improve their units and lessons, it emphasis effective instruction (see Characteristic of Effective Instruction), it challenges them to question past practice, and it has allowed us to create differentiated PD.  It is a work in progress, but it has been a game changer for us.
Two important aspects to teaching and learning that we have engaged in conversations with staff during this unit planning process have been targeted instruction and re-assessment efforts.  When we successfully target instruction with students, we see natural differentiation in pace and style of learning, and therefore a noticeable need for re-assessment. Differentiation, pacing, re-assessments, learning styles, all pose their own unique challenges on our way to meeting the needs of all learners.  The following was my best attempt to show our staff the importance of this process.....
......by breaking down my then 11 month old son, Dax's efforts to accomplish a very important life skill (at least from a baseball family's perspective) standing up and hitting a ball off of a tee.

It all began with a fascination with a bat, a ball, and an older brother.....

At 11 months, Dax could do very little with the bat and ball besides pick them up, drop them, and chase them around. He was able to stand without assistance and was not able to walk on his own. It was quite obvious there was a lot for him to learn in order to stand and hit the ball off a tee such as:

1. Learn to stand!
2. Grab and handle a wiffle ball!
3. Put the ball on a tee!
4. Lift and handle a bat!
5. Swing the bat!
6. Hit the ball!

Each one of them important skills needed to complete the objective.  As a parent (teacher) it was my job to work on these skills with him.  We got started with an introduction to a tee and a pre-assessment:

Dax's instant obsession will later be documented by his observation of his older brother Ajay (providing the background noise) modeling these skills for his younger brother.  However, you can see that Dax's journey begins with some obvious skill deficits including:

1. He cannot stand up
2. He cannot handle the ball or reach to put it on the tee
3. He is not strong enough to lift the bat 
4. He cannot accurately hit the ball

He has a lot to learn!! Even after some initial instruction and practice, he still struggles...

...so lets take the four skills above and find ways to target our instruction to help him learn: 

1. He cannot stand up
1. Work with him inside the house by letting him walk along furniture
2. Make him practice every night!
2. He is not strong enough to lift the bat with only one arm
1. Make sure to help him place both arms on the bat each time
2. Give him a lighter tool (plastic golf club) to practice his form
3. He cannot put the ball on the tee
1. Start with getting a ball w/o holes so his little fingers don't get stuck!
2. Cut the tee in half so he can reach it w/o standing
4. He cannot control the bat well enough to accurately hit the ball
1. Again, make sure to help him place both arms on the bat each time, and give him a lighter tool
2. Cut the tee in half, so he doesn't have to lift the bat so high

Let's re-cap:  We pre-assessed for a baseline assessment of his skills and planted the seed for learning, we worked with him on his skills, we re-assessed him, we worked some more with targeted instruction to develop his skills.  All that and this is what we get.....

....a frustrated student who is clearly fed up with this task and an angry teacher. (It felt better to put student and teacher and not son and father in that sentence!) "Clearly, this student didn't do his homework and just won't be able to get it!!!"  "Give him an F and move on, he has has his chances!!"  "All that work for nothing!"
However, this particular angry teacher will not give up, Dax clearly needs some help, so let's try again. His latest struggles and possible interventions include: 

1. Putting the ball on the tee
1. Get him a ball that is easier for him to pick up, smaller or squishy
2. Picking up the bat from the ground
1. Lift it up off the ground slightly to cut down on distance
3. Keeping his composure
1. Any advice for tantrums is welcomed here...
2. Don't let him give up!  Come back the next day and help him do the work!

We teach a little more (actually a lot more) targeting our instruction to his needs, we re-assess, and we continue the learning loop until we get.......

...SWEET SUCCESS!
Dax's process to be able to learn how to stand up and hit a ball off a tee was not easy.  Some of the skills came to him rather easily. However, it was difficult for him to learn a lot of the skills, and that is not taking into consideration the physical limitations he had to overcome.  He became angry, tired of attempting, and frustrated with himself and the task at hand. I become frustrated at times b/c of his attitude and resistance to keep trying. Not to mention it took him nearly a month to learn these skills...who has that kind of time!!
What we confirmed....learning is messy and can be a difficult task for teacher and student.
Our jobs as educators is to concentrate on what is effective in teaching, and important part of that is targeting instruction and re-assessment efforts to meet the needs of all of our learners.
Easier said than done?
Yes!  But it is worth the challenge.
Sometimes all you need is an older brother to show you why!

Top 10 Reasons I'm Reflecting on Reflecting

I recently tweeted a quote from John Dewey, "We do not learn from experience...we learn from reflecting on experience." The reason behind the quote was that several recent events have led me to think about the power of reflection and what it means for us to think about our experiences through reflective practices.  Here are my top ten recent events, people, and/or reasons why improving my reflective practice has become a popular theme in my life and why it will become a personal goal of mine:

Top 10 Reasons I'm Reflecting on Reflecting is to be able to...

10:  ...finally say, "Please check out my latest blog post,"
I will finally be able to Tweet this!!!!!  Every time I saw a blog post on Twitter, I initially wondered what the big deal was and why blogging has taken off. As began reading more and more, I changed my wonder to why I am not getting the clue.  My blog exposure began with Connected Principals but has now grown to several educators from around the country that I subscribe to and read on a daily basis.

9: ...show learning is messy!
Guaranteed Learning For Every Student.  Our district mission statement is simple in text, but loaded in meaning.  Learning is messy, there will be bumps, hurdles, pitfalls, freefalls, and everything else along the way.  As I break down Dewey's quote further, the only way to overcome the challenges in education is to reflect, which leads us to learning and adapting.

8: ...avoid hearing, "This too shall pass..."
Often times big changes in school district lose steam or support and fizzle away, allowing time to reflect the the "why" or "how" of those efforts will help.  Our PBIS committee is making a concentrated effort to promote our school and sell our "brand." Through their efforts campaigning, The Warrior Way, throughout our district, we have found ourselves reflecting constantly on how to sustain our efforts.  Working with this committee has given me a model of sustaining success with the use of reflective practice throughout the year and that is paying dividends to our student on a daily basis.

7: ...get my wife off my back! :)
Short and sweet, my wife is incredibly supportive and she takes an interest in my job.  Sometimes she doesn't appreciate my lack of participation in at-home work discussions, specifically when it has been a tough day.  This way she can read about it! Love you Lydia!

6: ...be able to give people a S/O!
I like to brag about our students, our staff, our school, and our communities any chance I get.  Through reflection, I can find more powerful ways to acknowledge what is great about our district and recognize those responsible for it.  Reflection can be a motivating experience as much as it can be a learning experience.

5: ...surround myself with the smart people.
My PLN has grown substantial over the past two years because of my exposure to all of smart people in education via social media outlets, conferences, local school district personal, and other networking opportunities.  When I learn the most from all of these smart people is when they reflect, and I listen.  When they reflect in their own blogs, on Twitter chats, presenting at conferences, and through constant questioning on a quest for student leaning, I reap the benefits that have helped make me a better educator.

4: ...push my "agenda"......joking, but seriously....
All joking aside it is time for me to walk the walk, I titled my blog after a sign that has followed me around my entire educational career, "It is not what you SAY, it is what you DO that counts." We constantly ask our staff to "think about this strategy," "reflect on that approach," or "tell me what you can learn from that experience," but rarely do I openly practice the same virtues.  It is time I model the importance of reflective practice to my staff.

3:  ...sit in my room and think about what I just did!
We recently facilitated a "Notice and Wonder" protocol with teachers to share their work with our unit planning professional development artifacts, receive critical feedback, and reflect on those comments from their colleagues.  It was a simple process, and something we have done with similar exercises, but the feedback was overwhelmingly positive because it gave them things to "think" about or simply put they reflected.

2:  ...become Divergent?
While co-teaching with my 8th ELA teacher, Mrs. Pavelec and working through the popular teen novel Divergent as one of our text, my relationship with Mrs. Pavelec has evolved into one of several e-mail and Google doc correspondence for our planning.  What I have found most beneficial are the reflective conversations we have on a daily basis about 4th and 6th periods.  She has shown me the importance of reflecting on each 42 minute period, so we can plan what is best for our students and the next 42 minutes we have with them.  The influence our reflective conversations have had are a great testament to the importance of providing time and structure that allows for staff collaboration and more importantly it has had a positive impact on our students.

1:  ... because Shaelynn Farnsworth told me to!!!
As, I sat with Shaelynn planning some technology integration ideas, digital citizenship curriculum, and overall conversation about what is good in education, she asked if I blogged.  I responded sheepishly, "No."  The look of disappointment on her face, was enough for the final push I needed.

What better way  for me to reflect than to blog.  I can already tell I will benefit greatly from it, and I hope at least a couple others (besides my wife!) will as well.  If nothing else, I have just counted 10 my first 10 blog post items!