Reflections and Learning Passports from MERIT2023

MERIT 23 Travel Book

Will incorporate this Interlands world as part of our Friday M.O.Gs (Moments of Glory) and F.O.Gs (Failures of Glory) time: instead of just random moments or failures of glory, students will reflect on a way they were kind to someone or someone was kind to them for their Moments of Glory, and they will reflect on missed opportunities to be kind or when they were hurting and no one was kind to them as Failures of Glory. Incorporate playing the game by having students take screenshots of the little characters they give hearts to and draw/write their moment/failure of glory on that heart and name the person, then share to a Padlet or Figjam.

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Day #2 Reflection (Cont.)

My Canva extended video presentation for my Pride &amp; Prejudice unit choice board!

P&P Final Choice Board Instructional Video

Will incorporate these Interlands worlds as homeroom bonus work for students to earn snacks/candy or little trinket gifts (i.e. stickers or pins or writing tools) for every so many points they achieve (need to decide rates). 

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Going to buy this shirt that we saw through #ISTElive or buy this design digitally to put on my own product! It will remind me to keep being proud of what I do! &lt;3

<a href="https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/4-cs-for-better-student-engagement">"4 C's for Better Student Engagment"</a> - ASCD.org

I loved the idea of picking the one student who seems to be standoff-ish and trying to intentionally getting to know that student more every day for the next two weeks by not only asking questions, but also offering personal vulnerability. That works so perfectly into my pedagogical philosophy, and I am super excited to try that as soon as I get back into my classroom! I also always wanted to do the one-on-one meetings with students to provide feedback on their essays, so I am going to be very intentional about only offering feedback in person in the future, and structure in in-class office hours at least twice a week for students to come to me for reading, speaking, listening, and writing feedback consultations. I did it once fairly successfully with stations for my AP Lit students, and I think I'll try to incorporate it more with my regular students, too.

I've always believed that I set high expectations for my students (one being that all students can achieve AP Lit-level interpretations of text whether they are in AP Lit or not, the only difference being how long it takes a student who chooses to take AP Lit vs. a student who chooses to take a regular course to get there), but when I tell some of my colleagues my believe, they tell me to lower my standards and expectations. It's been really discouraging, honestly, but reading this article rekindled my firm belief that high expectations paired with compassion, grace, and lots of scaffolding will only do good for my students. 

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Discovering Strengths: Enabling Success for Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders: Sandhya Raman

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Give students time to literally stand up and walk around the room to talk to different people than their group members - build more community &amp; belonging

Remember: no kid comes into class desiring to fail

"...we can view teachers as&nbsp;facilitators&nbsp;of learning who can connect their students to knowledge keepers in the community while simultaneously viewing&nbsp;students&nbsp;as knowledge builders—fellow storytellers engaged in a reciprocal learning journey (Augustine, 2022). Indigenous pedagogy has much to teach us about what it looks like to discuss ideas with others in probing yet respectful ways."

"Equity is when students get to decide what success means"

Cultivating a Pedagogy of Student Voice

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Saturday, October 14th Reflection (Cont.)

Idea! Show <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1FEGjrUTWfTz-8ncdOhgpeCID_cdE8YZ_9ZmbJ4GmS7o/edit?usp=sharing">Ofelia's story</a> (starts at slide 4) to my students at the beginning of the year, and be honest/vulnerable with them saying, "I don't always have the right way of assessing your gifts and what you learned in class, but I want you to feel safe and free to express your learning in ways that you feel are your best. If you feel like one of the ways I choose to assess you isn't accessing your gifts, come talk to me about how you'd prefer to express your learning! I will always be open to a different way of expressing your learning."

I want to also try using the <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qHyLGIMpqnknYcnIF0UgKUukdRK985J1tYGCxrmEynI/edit">Manifesto Hyperdoc</a> as an opening unit for self-discovery and expression in my classroom. Working on the <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HfAXvyS0g7BlSEje9lhQ5XWHUZOl9cbcDwv2Eoc0Hcg/edit?usp=sharing">Book Clubs Hyperdoc</a> has been really difficult so far - I knew finding resources for Hyperdocs was going to be really time-consuming, but I spent an hour finding only two sources and making a Figma Jamboard (what is it actually called? "Jamboard"? "FigJam"? "Figma Jamboard"?) that's not even complete because I'm a formatting monster.

Now that I've tried making a Hyperdoc, I will definitely not use them "all the time"

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Shifting to student-led discussions: 1. Set norms for discussions (what behaviors don't belong) 2. Teach what a good discussion looks like (use videos, give sentence frames) 3. Give options for discussion types (both in-person i.e. fishbowl, Socratics, group graffiti, etc.; and asynchronous i.e. Discord, Blackboard, Nearpod Collab board, etc.) 4. Teach how to self-assess mastery of discussions (give self-assessment &amp; reflection choice boards)

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help students identify reading and writing skills they want to improve

<a href="https://www.edutopia.org/article/tech-free-experiences-schools">This is my passion</a>

I know this is really counter-MERIT (heh) but I have always believed that technology actively inhibits our abilities to truly connect with one another, engage with the world around us (being mindful), and be actively engaged learners. BUT, because of MERIT, I also see the amazing ways tech - when used with intentionality, discernment, and proper instruction - can really help every learner grow and become a better learner. So I LOVE this article because it combines both my personal convictions with what I've learned at MERIT, and I now agree with what the author of this article wrote about hoping that schools will ultimately end up being like summer camps - about half of their time at school spent on tech to gain knowledge from AI, and the other half of their time actively applying SEL, PBL, service, and gardening! My idea is to have students buy into having a small herb and flower garden inside and outside my classroom by either donating donating money or directly donating plants, and then have them help take ownership of making sure the plants do well in the classroom. I usually take students on a walk around the building once a month, too, but will make it more of a weekly thing so they just spend more time outside with each other and off their phones. I am also going to look into the book the article recommended (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/20Time-Project-educators-future-ready-innovation/dp/1502305240">The 20time Project</a>) and try to pair service learning as unit projects or mini lessons throughout units.

In your carry on, you can only fit: 1 Work Shift: having students make a yearlong digital portfolio 1 tech tool to manage pushing out and collecting content with students (aka LMS) 1 tech tool to support accessibility 1 tech tool to support student voice 1 to 2 “wild cards” (tech tools of your choice)

I thought we had to make something creative with this Carry-On Reflection X_X

Loved every single day and interaction from MERIT! Will recommend it to every teacher I know, and hope to keep in touch with everyone from this cohort on the Discord!!! &lt;3 

I put the Maya Angelou YouTube link in the rainbow as an homage to you, Sarah! xD

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Being on a year of leave this year feels bittersweet, because I am so anxious and excited to try incorporating these carry-ons in my classroom, but also just loving being with my boys and having an actual life outside of teaching and students right now, haha.

Growth goal: incorporate Shift to Student-Led workshifts into pedagogy, specifically student-led group discussions.

<a href="https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/cultivating-a-pedagogy-of-student-voice">"Cultivating a Pedagogy of Student Voice"</a> - ASCD.org

I have always been a big believer in Bloom's Taxonomy and Costa's Levels of Inquiry, and it's helpful to have concrete activities and suggestions for how to incorporate those into daily learning even as a unit of inquiry!

Another thing I read from this article that I want to explicitly incorporate into my classroom is "[teaching] revision and reflection as explicit skills and processes." I will make sure students start individual Reflection books either through FlipGrid, BookCreator, Google Sites, or some other aggregator site at the beginning of the year. I love the idea of having students not only have a weekly reflection, but note down what they learned when they learned it, and then get to look back and see their growth from beginning to end of year! (I might even make them look for pictures of reflections like Sarah put on the MERIT slides bahahaha)

I'm especially excited to use the "Normalize Sharing Real Needs" suggestion, and will create a space on the wall in the classroom where students can share their real needs with their peers. It will be a board with a title like, "Share A Need, Meet A Need", and there will be post-its readily available next to it. At the beginning of the year to teach and help students feel safe writing down any need they feel (whether to succeed in class or just to make it through the day, etc.) and addressing it to either me (the teacher) or "anyone", and attach some kind of ownership to that need by leaving some form of contact. Then, I will encourage them to take ownership of meeting a need they see on that board once a week. To meet the need, students will take the post-it from the board, contact the person who wrote it, and meet that need. I will say that even teachers can and will share their needs on that board, and invite other teachers to post their needs on the board if they want.

Share A Need, Meet A Need

I need a quieter space to do our class readings

Even on Discord, belonging in their own positive identity needs to come first for students

google Speech-to-text for essay brainstorming

Having video recordings of major assignment instructions so students who need instructional audio have access to it

I also liked the "Explore Restorative Justice" suggestion with "Start A Book Club" underneath, and I am going to try a year where I simply present all the books the students are supposed to read in my class and have them read through the books as a "book club". I AM GOING TO MAKE A <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HfAXvyS0g7BlSEje9lhQ5XWHUZOl9cbcDwv2Eoc0Hcg/edit?usp=sharing">HYPERDOC FOR BOOK CLUB</a>!

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Adobe Express BETA Text-to-Image: "cute avocado on toast"

Why did this take me 30 minutes to make? 🤦‍♀️ 

Students had trouble engaging with In The Time Of The Butterflies, so I will be breaking students up by groups to research and present different aspects of DR life; food, culture, especially regarding the areas of the Dominican Republic mentioned in the book.

Students will use Google Earth to be "tour guides" for their specific aspects of DR culture! i.e. if their group gets assigned food in the DR, they'll use Google Earth to show off where specialty foods are located and maybe try to overlay images of the food based on the location.

I will show them how to do this using Taiwan as an example, hehe. 

V.Lin MERIT2023 Digital Portfolio

MERIT2023 TPACK Project - VISUALIZE The Great Gatsby

Playing with Canva Video Creator and having fun!

...while being productive for the next time I teach Pride &amp; Prejudice!

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Day #6 Reflection (cont.)

Videos need to be downloaded in 1x speed in order to upload onto other video creators.

The automatic setting to download Loom videos is apparently 1.2x, so need to change that before downloading video for uploading to other sites.

How do we make it impossible for students to fail in our classrooms?

Four ways to lift every student voice in the classroom (cont.): Represent the following: Justice/Advocacy - teach students to use their voice to be advocators for those who they're passionate about. "Our lives begin and end the day we become silent about things that matter." - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Students who haven't experienced injustice: help students become actionable allies. Action/Critical Thinking Skills - recognize when things are unjust/unfair; allow them to discuss that. Allow students to recognize and be aware of power and privilege. Have those conversations. Ways to model and support students in healthy practices and responsible decision making for them to do action. How and when to take a stand against injustices they face, and how to create allyship. Allow students to speak up with courage and respect for others who are facing injustices. "Put passion behind your purpose and pour yourself out." - Tawon Green

<a href="https://www.nea.org/professional-excellence/student-engagement/tools-tips/racial-justice-education-key-terms-and">N.E.A.'s R.A.C.E. acronym</a>

ISTE 2.1.a Set professional learning goals to explore and apply pedagogical approaches made possible by technology and reflect on their effectiveness. ISTE 2.3.a Create experiences for learners to make positive, socially responsible contributions and exhibit empathetic behavior online that builds relationships and community.

Mariam's Google Site is so cool! Learned a lot about her and her passion for EdTech! (:

Welcome

(going to use her TPACK lesson plan in my own classroom!)

Updated my own Google Site to look more like hers. (x Feels like more concrete content is there now!

Added written lesson plan onto the page (after frantically writing the lesson)

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Give students space to reflect on and explore their identity using the identity portrait activity, then share. 																		Attach to Sawubona unit.

Make students create names and dances for their groups at the beginning of the year

Four ways to lift every student voice in the classroom: Represent the following: Identity/Engagement - Represent underrepresented voices in a positive way; in a way where they're able to see themselves in a space of joy. "Your identity is your most valuable possession. Protect it." - Elastigirl. Allow students express healthy pride and confidence in who they are; build cultural competency (don't make them afraid of letters i.e. CRT; "what does that mean, and how does that show up in different people's lives?"). Allowing students to connect their identity with the content we teach (i.e. the Invisible Man project!) Diversity/Interactions - core value of communication. Celebrate multiple perspectives in our space and uniqueness of students; amplify what we share in common, and also nothing wrong with being different. Build empathy and compassion with students; create a safe learning environment. How to celebrate students' uniqueness as well as their shared commonalities?

Use BookCreator for reading response assignments!

The idea of making videos stresses me out. But I know it's going to be helpful for connecting with my students and providing equitable access to instructions!

I'm mostly stressed because I myself don't learn well using instructional videos, and prefer to play around with tools on my own. When I receive instructions via video - for some reason - I always feel like I'm not doing something correctly.

<a href="https://www.commonsense.org/education/articles/5-questions-students-should-ask-about-media">5 Questions Students Should Ask About Media</a>

This would actually be a really great introduction and segue into the literary theory lesson created by ChatGPT! Brief intro lesson would have students pick one of their personal IG or social media posts and answer those questions, then look at one of their classmates' social media posts and answer those questions, and compare the answers they gave for their own post and what their peer answered about their post. 

<ol><li>Who created this message?</li><li>Which techniques are used to attract my attention?</li><li>How might different people interpret this message?</li><li>Which lifestyles, values, and points of view are presented -- and/or missing?</li><li>Why is the message being sent?</li></ol>

Segue with "well, before the digital era, writers wrote things down physically as their form of social media to get their desired messages across. We will connect much more deeply with what we read when we see literature and rhetoric that way, and it will allow our brains to become more critical and discerning."

I actually can't remember where I read this anymore, but I also learned it during the KCI Con: stop grading homework and formative work. I like how the article put it: "separate product and process." This has been my problem with teaching growth mindset for the past five years: "Teachers tell students a growth mindset is important, but then grade them on every attempt to learn." I can't teach growth mindset but then fail students at every opportunity they use to grow!

Students are the ones who control what they learn. So they should be the ones to: <ul><li>"Know their current level of understanding.</li><li>Know where they need to go next in learning.</li><li>Select tools to guide their learning.</li><li>Seek feedback and recognize errors as opportunities to learn.</li><li>Monitor their progress and adjust their learning.</li><li>Recognize their understanding and teach others (Fisher et al., 2023)."</li></ul>

Tried remove.bg to get these icons separatable and pasteable into different slides to talk about themes in literature!

R.A.F.T. Principles apply to daily life and our teaching skills!

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How do you contain something essentially uncontainable? How can you limit something that is now limitless?

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How can we use AI specifically as an equity tool for students with learning disabilities, neurodiverse experiences, and physical disabilities?

Literary Theory Interactive Lesson Plan made by ChatGPT

Exploring Literary Theory: An Interactive Lesson Plan

I never thought I'd use ChatGPT for my teaching, but I decided that for something like Critical Theory/Literary Theory - something I am not content-strong in - it makes a lot of sense to have ChatGPT help me with a skeleton lesson plan and give me suggestions for how to allow students to take the brunt of the learning upon themselves. Looking through the lesson plan created by ChatGPT, then using the research I already did on the topic and editing the lesson plan to my teaching style and to accommodate my students' needs really helped me see what I want to accomplish with the lesson, and I feel pretty confident to use this lesson plan in the coming years!

My entire opening unit for the school year has been updated thanks to these Learning Passports we're required to do! 

Must include personal reflections about content

Must personally assess which CCSS ELA standard(s) they want to improve in and decide at end of year through reflection on portfolio whether they grew in that standard; essentially students do their own induction project

Students need to make a whole-year compilation digital portfolio (physical if they really want) using Google Sites or Adobe Express

<a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1FEGjrUTWfTz-8ncdOhgpeCID_cdE8YZ_9ZmbJ4GmS7o/edit?usp=sharing">Hyperdocs!</a>

Hyperdocs help learners engage, explore, explain, and apply! I LOVE THEM! I WILL USE THEM ALL THE TIME! <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JEsDUsiDsmlaOp5Eh7xmFIxcT4-5MwsaK90LZ-PzI3I/edit?usp=sharing">Template for reference</a>. Can be in <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1CL25x2gA96f2d_FJ0YyXW_WAv3uNuEdYUAsGxKJtj4Q/edit#slide=id.g5fa1e0f543_0_36">SLIDES</a> form, too!!

This was written at 11 AM as Lisa Highfill was giving her presentation

Love that learners will feel individual buy-in with a Hyperdoc, but also feel belonging because of their unique abilities and gifts shared in a collaborative space like the AnswerGarden; the assessment starts to feel like it's for a greater purpose rather than just for a grade.

So you learned about _________. Now how are you going to apply it?

That's what practice (read: homework/classwork/projects) is for!

Day #5 Reflection (cont.)

Equitable Grading: Kelly Shafsky

((SUPER GOOD SESSIONS! Altered/adjusted by syllabi because of it!))

Homework = practice! Practice is a practice, but it IS optional

If a gradebook needs to be weighted i.e. 30% formative and 70% summative assessments, then all the formative they do = 100% if they do it.

If a student is brilliant and doesn't need the homework in order to receive a good summative grade, they shouldn't be penalized for being brilliant

Late practice work submitted: must see teacher personally for feedback. Late work is not fair to teacher, so it's up to them to seek feedback out. 

Tanya's Zoom background got me thinking about how to incorporate more belonging and oppose othering in my classroom. 

[Going to revamp my Sawubona intro to classroom mini unit using some tech tool we learned here!]

Why: Students need to know WHY a successful assignment looks the way it does.

How: Provide students examples of completed assignment and have them decide which ones are successful vs. unsuccessful.

What: Students come up with the rubric for themselves.

Allow students to drive discussion and reflect on formative assessments (see "Exam Wrapper" on p. 132).

Remember to keep giving students the "why" for their learning!

Student work portfolios are important for students to assess their own progress in reaching their learning goals; then celebrate!

Design+for+Belonging+Toolkit+Beta+2021.pdf

I really enjoyed reading through this slide deck and seeing the progression of helping people understand their own sense of belonging and where it comes from. Super excited to use this at the beginning of the year to help students understand where and why they feel they belong, and have them use that understanding to create belonging in our classroom. After students do the self-reflection portion, I have students write down their where and why they feel they belong on post-its and stick them up anonymously on a collaborative larger space for everyone to see. Students will then do a gallery walk through reading their peers' responses, and regroup with their original group to discuss class norms for how we can co-create a space of belonging for everyone in the class.