The Way We Talk to People

Photo by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash

I have been thinking a lot about feedback this week. 

I went in to see a teacher's lesson. She is a specialist teacher teaching some kids who were in my class last year. They are a challengin group of kids and I just wanted to see how they were with her. When I went in, I helped kids I could help and took mental note of what was happening around the room. Afterwards, she approached me about what I saw and what I thought could be different, so I told her rather directly, while being polite, what I thought. 

I thought a lot about this interaction, wondering if I was too direct since I don't really know this teacher too well yet. But then again, she asked for feedback and has a desire to improve on her practice.

A while back I was in a an accredidation preperation session where we were asked to make something for the visit. Everyone got to work on what they were making. Another teacher came up to me and asked what I was doing. Her line of questioning led me down a path to self-doubt. Now maybe my idea wasn't good, but I think she should have allowed me to try out my idea and adjust myself. I ended up not finishing anything since I 1) lost all that time, and 2) was worried about her coming back to me and critiquing my work.

I am beginning to think that there are two kinds of feedback - bottom up and top down. 

Bottom Up Interactions

I look at bottom up interactions as those in which someone is seeking feedback as with this teacher. In these interactions it might be easier to speak more freely and directly. 

Top Down Interactions

In top down interactions, someone is not necessarily seeking out the feedback, but is getting it regardless. 

The Green Thumbs

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Students exploring worms in gardening club

A post shared by Thomas Hammerlund (@thomashammerlund) on Sep 14, 2020 at 1:53am PDT

 

I started a new after school gardening club today, with two other teachers, that will focus on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The whole idea for the club was to integrate gardening with the idea of sustainability, so Sustainable Development Goals are a natural way for us to organize the club and it's activities.

By Unknown author - Traced from File:Sustainable Development Goals.png, originally at un.org, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=81280117

In the first meeting, we initially got together, introduced the club, and tried to "tune in" to what their [students] prior knowledge was. Some great vocabulary came out of the first ten minutes

Eco-Friendly
Reduce
Reuse
Recycle
Soil
Nutrients

So, they know something.

One really awesome scene was when a co-teacher asked if the students knew what worms are. Most of them squirmed and said they were icky. Then he said that he has some and asked who wanted to touch them. They all raised their hands.

The first day's activity was then to create composting bins using the plastic boxes we had, and fill them with damp cardboard, soil, food scraps, and worms.

It was awesome.

This club will also spur action (naturally) but it could get other classes involved in the garden as well. It has also gotten kids to start talking to their parents about food waste. One family brought some in today and will bring in scraps each week.

Google Hangouts Meet Cheat Sheet

This is a cheat sheet for Google Hangouts Meet I made while virtual learning. Go ahead and use this with attribution. And if you do use it, and especially if you change it, please share it freely.

https://bit.ly/35vSlTE

This post is also posted on my tech tips blog.

The Workshop Model

One thing that worked well at KAS was a culture of workshops and peer coaching. Maybe it was because the school had 10x the teachers this one has, but every time I would post a workshop someone would be there.

Photo by Bruno van der Kraan on Unsplash

Yesterday I had my first workshop of the year. The topic seemed on point as I had heard many teachers asking how to do it. I set a time of 30 minutes in the working hours, but after school, so people would be free. I sent out reminders - even on that day - and still I was alone.

A suggestion was made to have time with me scheduled for teachers. I don't know how I feel about that since people would be forced into it.

I will give it this month and reevaluate.    

Teacher Training Newsletter

Last year when we were taught/shown how to use an app, the IT Director would come around and show each teacher individually. I now understand why the IT Director was going around last year to each teacher as he wanted to respect the teachers' time.

Now that I am the Tech[nology] Coach here I see that this is taking a lot of time. 

I keep thinking about that quote: "If it can be said in an email, make it an email." I heard this again mentioned on the Check It Out podcast. One of the hosts said that instead of sending videos, he just shares the document or presentation by email. 

This could be the way to go.

It kind of relates to a weekly "Tech Email". At KAS, the IT Director sent out a weekly email (gathered from blog posts) that had three parts - 

• Tip of the Week: A larger article about a bigger education topic.
• Tip of the Web: A shorter article highlighting a tool that teachers could use.
• Tip of the Hat: A short article highlighting a teacher.

I should do something in this same vein. 

Slow and steady

Photo by Matt Seymour on Unsplash

We have just started Week 3 of the 2020-2021 School Year. 

What a year!

Not only has the school just opened a new campus about 15 minutes away for the MYP/DP students, but those students have to move between the campuses each day - along with some teachers. Add COVID-19, and it has made everything just that much more challenging.

On the PYP side, I feel like a 49er, sifting the gold from the sand, trying to sort this role out. So far I have worked mostly on the tech side, and there is a lot here to do.

But gradually I can see a light at the end of the tunnel and the solution has been to communicate with people more.