A change can do you good

This year for our robotics clubs we decided to change things up a little bit. Coaching FIRST Lego League, we have four aspects of our competition to prepare for:
#1. A research project
#2. A LEGO robot we build and program
#3. The performance of said LEGO robot on a game field
#4. Our teamwork

Typically the season starts in September and runs through the middle of November. Halfway through we host a scrimmage and invite other teams. We mostly run it to show our students they need to get cracking and quit slacking or else they're not going to do well in the competition come November.

The problem we've been encountering in the past is that nobody wants to work on the research project and everybody wants to play with the robot and the LEGOs. 10 middle school kids and nobody wants to do research- surprise? I thought not.

This year, instead, we decided to dedicate ALL of September to the project. Exclusively. No robot. No LEGOs until October. All of the team members would just research, brainstorm, consult experts, and work diligently on that year's research problem. I feared we might get burn-out and kids might stop coming, but the students have actually been doing an awesome job. My team watched the movie Food Inc (well, most of it anyway, I fast forward through some of the slaughter house stuff) to learn more about the Food Industry. The year's theme is Food Factor. My team has decided to reconfigure how they set up feedlots for cattle and they want to feed the cattle GRASS instead of CORN because cattle are supposed to eat grass! The whole problem with corn vs. grass is the e-coli the cattle produce as a result.

So, in one short month my team has gotten some really good, deep information (better than any previous years), has developed an awesome solution, and is well on their way to doing a great job for the project. Now we have time to dedicate more resources to our robot and hopefully have an awesome season.

Definition of insanity - continue doing the same thing and expect different results. We changed this year how we run things, hopefully we'll have different and better results. :)

One on one

This past week I had an awesome experience working with a student in one of my classes. This student is not the high flier super achiever student. Typically I struggle to keep him engaged and focused in the class. As a class, we decided to do a second video project after the first initial one for the video unit in my communications technology class (this decision was 'forced' upon us because we got kicked out of the computer lab I use for the class). After an entire day to plan their videos, this student and his group were sitting around staring at each other. No plans were evident, and they were missing out on the first of two periods they had to film. Since most of the class was out in the halls doing their filming, I was free to be able to give this group a little additional guidance. I sat down at their table and started trying to get them to come up with some good ideas for a video. "What do you want to make a video about?"
"I dunno.."
"Do you want to make a movie, a commercial, a documentary, what?"
At this point, one of the students in the group remarked they should make a commercial about soda. With this one suggestion from the group, I was able to shape their discussion and brainstorming session. By the end, they decided they wanted to make a movie about how drinking soda is bad for you and you can get fat. To illustrate, one of the group members was going to stuff their shirt with extra clothes to appear like they were fat. They got really excited, and actually got a pencil and paper and started writing out their script. This student who normally doesn't do much took the lead in writing and drafting up the plan for his group. I was so proud I could almost cry. This is why I teach. These are the experiences I strive to have. It is so great what can be accomplished when students are given the attention they need.

An active student body

The halls of Russell Middle School continue to be busy even after the bell rings at 3:40 p.m. to dismiss the students for the day. In the past, I've noticed clubs meeting after school that have very few members, and some clubs that disappear all together because of lack of attendance or interest. In fact, when my co-worker came to me explaining he would be doing TWO robotics teams this year (BEST robotics along with FIRST Lego League), I feared he wouldn't be able to get enough students interested or involved because at our school it seemed the top 10% of students were involved with EVERYTHING. They play in the band, they are in the art club, they sing in the show choir, they play the sports, they do everything. Typically the top 10% don't have time for the technology or engineering clubs or activities because of everything else they do.

To my surprise, my prediction/fears were quite unfounded. Not only did my co-worker have enough students to participate in the other robotics team, he has nearly 20 students who come on a regular basis. Not to mention one of the parents of one of the students comes to most practices to serve as a mentor. This is after we had the largest turn-out in years to try-outs for our FIRST Lego League teams.

Other clubs that have experienced an influx of members are drama club, forensics, art club, Raiders REACH Out (a service club), and many other clubs. I've been very impressed this year that the students are becoming involved in their school and doing things outside of the school day. I've particularly been excited to see that some of those top 10% are actually participating in our technology clubs.

Part of the reason for my co-workers' success with his BEST robotics team I believe lies in the fact that he's flexible. "Come when you can," is his philosophy. He stays with his team from the time school lets out until 6 p.m.! He also hosts practices on Saturdays for those who can't make it during the week. Raiders REACH Out also offers a morning time or afternoon time. Just like when working with adults, I think the more flexible and accommodating we can be to meet students' time demands, the more we'll be able to see participating in our clubs and after school activities.

I remember in middle school, while I was only there for two years instead of three, I didn't get too involved with too many clubs. I played sports and played in the band, but outside of that, I didn't join too many clubs or organizations. I'm glad to see the student body of Russell really getting engaged and participating in some really enriching out of the classroom activities sponsored at school.

What have you done to get students involved? Families? How has the involvement of students in after school clubs helped foster better relationships between teacher/mentor and student?

I am grateful for the technology clubs we run, because some of the students don't have time in their schedule to always get into my class, but I get to see them once a week or several times a week as they participate in the clubs I sponsor.

Check out all of the clubs Russell sponsors here.

Its good to be missed

Last week I had to take off on Monday because of being sick, this being after I took off the previous Friday for being sick. Usually around this time of the year I've taken a day off, even though it is early in the year. This year I did not even plan on taking off, but came down with something nasty. I did not really want to be at home, I would much rather have been in the classroom. I think I am finally getting to the point where I'm able to establish better relationships with my classes and have them run smoother, so I'd rather be at school.

Unexpected sub days can really be a pain especially when classes are in the middle of projects that substitutes can't easily supervise or help students complete. My communications technology class was in the middle of completing their first major film project. Having students out in the hallway filming with a substitute was not a good idea, so they were grounded to the classroom. My pre-engineering classes just completed learning about the design process, and were about ready to start designing a major project. The beginning industrial technology class was poised to start designing bridges for their structural unit/activity. And then I had to get sick.

I scrambled to find a sub on Friday but couldn't find anybody among my first choices of contacts. In fact, I couldn't get a hold of anybody, someone eventually picked up the job. As far as I know things went ok, but then on Monday I just called in the absence on Sunday night and had to trust somebody would pick it up. As an educator, especially one who struggles at times with classroom management, you hold your breath when subs come to take care of your class. Will the students behave? Will the sub ever cover my class again? (I have had a sub tell me flat out he will never cover my classes again) Will the material I leave get covered? And perhaps the most interesting question of all- will the students prefer having a sub over having me there?

I think I am finally get a hold of things, because check out a comment one of my students left when I returned:

"HI MR. TWINING!!! YOUR BACK!!! YEAH, YOUR NOT SICK ANYMORE!!! HOPE YOU FEEL BETTER!!!"

Any comments on how things go when you're away?

Comic Character Development

At my school we are working on using a new character development curriculum which has us integrate character development lessons into our present content curriculum. We took an entire day of professional development at the beginning of the year to learn about how to do this. I will be the first to admit, I HATE doing new stuff because I'm always swamped with work as it is. Working on goals, looking at data to guide my instruction, teaching, grading, etc, etc. I have taken the time to use one of the handouts and suggestions that was given and I was rather proud of myself for having done so. One of the other things I've been doing is working character development discussions into my weekly comic warm-ups.

A little background on the comic warm-ups:
This past summer during one of my master's courses, I noticed my professor using comics occasionally in his instruction. I always have loved it when professors or teachers use comics during their instruction. They are funny, they help to drive the point home, and it just lightens up the mood of the class. After the weekend with that professor I started looking closer at comic strips and picking ones out that I might be able to use in school. I made a goal to have a 'comic of the week.' I would post the comic on my classroom website for the week, and sometime during the week I'd link my warm-up question to the comic.

Well, I found some awesome comic strips to help with character development! Check this one out:

here are the questions I asked:

• How can words, even joking ones, be harmful?
• Who won this argument?
• Does it matter? Why or why not?

You can read some of the student's answers here:
3rd period
or here:
5th period

Some of them had some pretty insightful answers. I especially liked the students who said "the mom won because mom's always win." We had a good discussion in class about this comic and the effects of our remarks/comments to others.

or how about this one, that I used this week:

• How can our comments affect other people?
• Is this good or bad?
• Why?
  

I have not yet had the opportunity to read their responses to this week's warm-up, but I am sure they are good. I have enjoyed using comics in my instruction and I know they hook the students because when I change them at the beginning of the week on my wiki, I see the students lingering on the opening page a little longer to read the comic and see what it is about. Then, we are able to engage in a more in-depth discussion about the comic when the time comes for that to happen. (they certainly enjoy the comics more than they do the current event articles I post for them once a week)

Learning should be messy....right?

Well, I read on one of the blogs I am now subscribing to about a sign that hung up in the entrance of a media center at the school. No cell phones, no iPods, no CD players, no Food/Drink, etc. The reason why? For a neat and quiet media center. What??? That was my reaction, as was many other people who followed this guy's blog and twitter account. Welcome to the 21st century my friends! Is learning neat and quiet? The classroom of the 50's and 60's with the teacher at the front of the room and all students seated quietly in their seats giving undivided attention is gone. The 21st century is all about collaboration, group work, innovation, experimentation, discussion, participation, gone are the days of the teacher knowing everything and passing it onto the students. Our global society has eliminated that. Our students will be competing not only against those in their hometowns, but also students across the nation and the world. If we subscribe to the idea that we have everything that needs to be given to our students we are fooling ourselves and doing our students a great disservice.

As the guy who blogged about this here said - "
When I was in the classroom, my room was rarely quiet and rarely clean. In science, we had experiments continually going, data collection all over, papers, books, technology stations. But it was controlled chaos." That's what I feel my classroom is like a lot of the time. Sometimes not as controlled as other times, but still- things are happening. Students moving throughout the room, discussions being held, media production happening, its great!

Its okay to be funny

This is the second year now that I am teaching a class on communications technology. The four units I take the students through are: video, audio production, graphic manipulation, and web design. In order to teach my students about the various aspects of making videos, I have them do several labs where they film 20-30 second segments and then we watch what it is they came up with. I myself am a very serious person and take my filming and teaching so. My idea of students completing the lab successfully is to do get things done, not take forever doing it, and show the techniques I want them to show. Well, teaching 8th grade students they take a little director's liberty when creating their videos. They add things, they embellish lines, in essence they 'have fun.'

At first this sort of annoyed me that they did what I considered to be stupid things in front of the camera or made fools of themselves. But I came to realize that as long as they were doing the assignment, I shouldn't be flipping out. For example, one of the labs I have them do is on lighting. Each group is supposed to film the same sequence or set of lines, but with different lighting. The line I got from a Laffy Taffy bar- what do A's and flowers have in common? Answer- B's come after them. So check out the videos my students came up with- while they are goofy, they did the assignment.