Fair Play Can be More Than During Play Time

     This past months lesson was ironically very timely.  Our class had just finished writing biographies on war heroes and I recognized that more students needed to take a better look at properly writing essays or research assignments.

     I am actually still amazed that students are writing essays and doing as much research as they are today.  Comparatively, I think I wrote my first essay in university.  This is not to say that we did not do research, but with the invention of the internet, there are many authentic assignments that can be developed to assess students abilities.  Along with this is an education paradigm shift that encourages teachers to create assessments that help to develop problem solving skills in a project based environment.  With this increase in research comes the need to teach our students how to share their learning in an academically appropriate manner.  A small portion of this is attending  to the conventions of academic honour code.  This important part of research and essay writing encompasses properly citing references, understanding what copyright means,  and how to paraphrase information so that it contains the important information that must be shared in an assignment.  Understanding this is very important, however students must also realize the value that academic honour code has in helping to maintain ethics and code of conduct in educational settings.

     Part of a teachers job is helping students to understand the ramifications of not following laws, rules or suggested guidelines.  Academic honour code can be difficult for students to fully comprehend the impact their choice may have had on someone.  This is very similar to fair play.

     This months topic of Fair Play, with Classroom Champions, was not a new one for my students.  Having taught them Phys Ed. from grade 4 - 7, we were all aware of fair play and how it could impact our PE class.   I wanted my students to learn more about fair play, by looking through a different lense.  What does fair play look like in the classroom/academic setting?   In the monthly video that Tristan Walker and Justin Snith shared with us, on the topic of fair play,  our Olympic mentors taught us the following:

1. Fair play is all about having respect
2. It is important to always follow the rules
3. You can display fair play in how you win or lose
4. Make sure to show Fair Play in class as well as at home1

How much more could I ask for, from these two men; not only did they hit the nail on the head, when describing what fair play was, they also took the time to explain what students do when they are showing fair play, and it incorporated more than just during sports or play.  

     I am fortunate that @BTPS28 has invested in a technology and has made use of Hapara Dashboard and Workspace.  Technology is not meant to be the "be all and end all" for education, but is simply a tool that can help students and teachers facilitate learning.  With access to the tools within this suite, teachers are able to share Workspaces with fellow colleagues, globally.  Searching to find a project that would include all that I was looking for was made easier with the search option.  With in a short period of time, I found a project that was fitting to what I needed. 2  For those who have access to Hapara Dashboard here is the link to the project Digital Citizen's:  Academic Honour Code.  If you do not have access to the Hapara Suite, you can find the information here.

     

     In this project students are broken into the categories Citations, plagiarism, copyright, honour code upheld, honour code violated.  Each group was to then develop a Public Service Announcement that was geared towards grades 4 - 6 students.  Knowing their audience, my students then became aware of the importance of speaking to the audience and at a level the younger group could understand.  As part of this project, students were graded on the following criteria using this rubric:

• Content - original, accurate and interesting material
• Fair Use - follows copyright permissions
• Collaboration - listens, shares and supports the group
• Technical Production - Tone, voice, graphics and images, overall appearance

Stuudent work examples:

Julie and Adam

Erinn and Emmalee's Slides presentation

Grade 8 ELA Curricular Outcomes covered in this assignment

3.1 Plan and Focus

• EXPERIMENT with several ways to focus a topic, and select a form appropriate to audience and purpose
• IDENTIFY and TRACE the development of arguments, opinions or points of view in oral, print and other media texts
• SELECT the most appropriate information sources for topic, audience, purpose and form
• CHOOSE a plan to access, gather and record information, according to self-selected parameters

5.2 Work within a Group

• PROPOSE ideas or advocate points of view that recognize the ideas of others and advance the thinking of the group
• USE opportunities as a group member to CONTRIBUTE to group goals and extend own learning
• CONTRIBUTE ideas, knowledge and strategies to identify group information needs and sources
• ORGANIZE and COMPLETE tasks cooperatively by defining roles and responsibilities, negotiating to find the basis for agreement, setting objectives and time frames, and reviewing progress

Evaluate group process

• EVALUATE the quality of own contributions to group process, and OFFER constructive feedback to others; PROPOSE suggestions for improvement

2.  Unfortunately, I am unable to credit the author/creator of this project, as it was found through Hapara Public Workspaces.

Goal Setting Is Only the First Step

     During the month of September, my students watched the video for the monthly lesson on the topic of Goal Setting, by Canadian Olympic athletes, Justin Snith  and Tristan Walker.  It only took a few short moments for my students to challenge me on how I was going to make this not about only Classroom Champions, but about their ELA or Math class.  If you have not watched this video yet, take a moment to watch it, as it is very encouraging and motivating, to say the least.



     In the short, 4 minute video, Tristan and Justin explain in a way that all students can understand, the importance of setting goals and how to create a strong, SMART goal that will help people reach success many success.  Below is a quick outline of what was covered:

• Setting goals need to be part of keeping track of anything that needs to be achieved
• SMART Goals break down into 5 important components that help  build commitment to the end result of achieving any goal
• S - Specific goal that has specific details that you can "pin-point on"1
• M - Measurable - How do you know if you have reached your goal
• A - Agreed - When you are working in a group, is everyone on the same page?
• R - Realistic - Is it something you are in control of, or are their other factors that you cannot keep control of
• T - Time Based - Do you have a time-line to check to see how you are progressing.
• Long term goal - a month - a year 
• Short term goals -  easier to achieve; check points to achieving your long term goal.
• Who will you share your goals with??
• Challenge for this month
• Set 1 long term goal for this school year
• Set 3 short term goals that help you to reach your long term goal.

     Something that I chose to do this year, that I had not done for the past 3 years was to make it about academics.  This took goal setting to a new level for my students.  Each student now had to actually set a plan in motion to see if they could try and come up with 3 realistic goals that would help them achieve better academic in the long run.

STUDENT TASK

     To help complete this task, the students had to first plan out their work by using the Student SMART goals worksheet that I developed.  Instead of using the same acronym that Justin and Tristan used, I used another version of the SMART goals.  You will notice that I have:

•  A - Attainable - What resources will you need to be able to attain this goal?  
• R - Relevant - How will reaching this goal affect who you are or what you will do later in life?  How is it relevant to you?

     It is easy for students to pick goals that really do not impact who they are, which is ok when you are starting out on learning how to goal set.  But to make sure you are setting goals towards bettering yourself, it is important to set goals that are going to help you in many other instances, besides that one specific goal.

     Once students completed their planning sheet, and because we are working on the writing process in ELA, students then had to peer assess a classmates to help each other understand the importance of making sure we are following the correct criteria that has been outline, as well as to make sure that conventions of writing are being followed.  

     After I made a few suggestions to goals and planning sheets, and everyone's goal planning sheet had been approved, we began the fun part; creating the posters.   We took a picture of every student, printed them out and everyone received:

• 8 1/2" x 11" black poster paper
• 3 pieces of coloured 3 x 3 card stock   - record the 3 short term goals
• 1 piece of  4 x 6 card stock frame for their picture
• 1 piece of die-cut cardstock speech bubble - record their name, and what their academic goal was for this school year.

Completing the project

1. Using pencil first, students recorded the information they wrote on their planning sheet onto the new cardstock.
2. Their peer assessors then gave them feedback on the proof reading.  
3. Placing each of the cardstock papers on the black poster paper, each student then organized a layout for their posters.  To help them make decisions on how to organize the material so that it was visually pleasing, we discussed which layouts would be appropriate and which would impede the audiences ability to fully appreciate what is being shown on the poster.  
4. Next, the their individual pictures where glued to the larger cardstock, to work as a frame.
5. Being careful to leave room for the speech bubble, the picture and frame was then glued to the poster, followed by the speech bubble and the short term goals.  
6. Over the year, we hope to embellish these posters, as we address how well we are progressing individually, towards achieving our successes.

The Finished Product

     

Personal Reflection

     As I was beginning to record this post, I began to look for some more information that would help to support my pedagogical and philosophical beliefs on goal setting.  Not that many teachers would disagree with what I was sharing, as the goal setting process is a basic requirement for many professionals, as well as those who strive to become better people.  

     I uncovered a very informative article written by entrepreneur and behavioural psychology analyst , James Clear, who wrote a blog entry titled Forget About Setting Goals.  Focus on This Instead. Clear explains that you need to fall in love with systems as "goals are good for planning your progress and systems are good for actually making progress."2 

     Mr. Clear was prompted to write this post after reading/watching interview hosted by Gary Rosen of the Wall Street Journal.  The topic of this event was to discuss Scott Adams' Secret of Success:  Failure..  Some may know Mr. Adams as the creator of what may be the first "reality" television cartoon based on the life of  one white-collar work,  named Dilbert.  

     In his book, How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, Adams reflects upon his own experiences and observations that it is not always a great idea when developing a business to follow your passion.  Now before you click the little red x in the corner of this web page, listen to what is shared her; it just might make sense.  

1. Is your passion rational - This goes directly back to the goal setting piece; is your goal relevant for what you want to achieve.  I may truly love sail boats, but that doesn't mean that I am going to put hours off effort into achieve goals related to sail boats.  Ironically, I am land locked and do not find it logical to even own a sailboat to sail down the Mighty Saskatchewan.  this doesn't mean that I cannot set a goal to eventually have a summer home on the coast of the Maritimes where I can sail.  It is also quite easy to be passionate about something while it is work, but once it begins to be less successful, we tend to lose our passion.  
2. People that have a good business plan find more successes with their plan - The analogy Adams gives is to someone who is requesting financial support from a bank.  The person who comes in with a business plan that says they wish to open a dry cleaning business, which may sound like a a great money laundering front (no pun intended), along with the numbers to show the bank that it makes financial sense to invest.  
3. You need to have a system or a process - There is nothing wrong with setting goals, but that you need to have a system in place.  To connect this idea, Adams explained he did not have a goal to have the above mentioned book published by a certain time, but instead he had processes that would help him to get to the point that he would have a book published.  
4. Failure is good - This isn't to say that being successful a bad thing, and luck does play a big part of it.  I am sure this does not pertain to the fact that you should go out and follow the MLB playoff "unwritten rules" of success of not shaving for the entire playoff season, wear the same jersey to show your support for the team, and be sure to put that lucky rabbits foot in your pocket while your team is playing.  But instead you will have better luck at finding success when you try multiple steps/things to help you reach your success..  This is what becomes the process or the system.

The Thumb Switch

     In this journey as a Classroom Champions teacher, I have learned many practical and important lessons.  One of which, always takes me back to the simple exercise that developer and facilitator of the Life Synergy for Youth  pre-crisis intervention action plan program taught our students at Provsot Public School while on a visit; the thumb switch.  For just a moment, put both your hands together and fold them.  Now normally we always put our hands together with either  the right thumb or the left thumb on top.  There is only one way that feels comfortable to you, yet the next person may find the opposite way more comfortable.  Next, shake it up a bit...if you have your right thumb on top, switch it so that you have your left thumb on top.  You can either keep all your fingers exactly where they are and just switch the positions of the thumbs or you can actually move the fingers and the thumbs so that they are positioned exactly opposite to what you usually do.  As my students always say when I use this exercise, "oh, that feels so weird!"  Yes, it does feel weird, different, odd, backwards or whatever you are thinking.  But the idea is the same, it is only different.  It is not improper, it is not impossible and there is definitely no right or wrong way to fold your hands.
   
     When you do a "thumb switch" it doesn't have to be a long, drawn out, complicated process, but instead can be as simple as looking through a difference lens. We can still function with this difference, and can still continue with life as we were heading and planned and not change our charted destination, however, we may be able to appreciate aspects of the journey we may not have otherwise been able to.

     When you apply this analogy to the mind and how we think about what is the right way, the best way or even the perfect way, based on pedagogy in education, we are then able to embrace other possibilities that just might  help ourselves or others make the connections in learning, that we as educators work so hard to nurture.

     Before signing off this post, I want to share with you an piece of work I found on the Life Synergy For Youth site.  It is a person folding their hands, in prayer, and in the back ground of the hands is the sun glowing around the hands.  The bible verse "We do not face the storm alone", Psalms 27:5, is written to the right of the hands.  This can represent many thoughts, depending on a persons belief system, but in the end it means the same.  Connect the praying hands to the thumb switch, then we have a whole other interpretation of the verse and the image, but it still represents the same end; that no matter what challenges we face, and what changes we need to make to work through the challenges or systems to reach the end result, there are always people around to support us.  It may be our family, friends, teachers or colleagues,  it may even be the support of the Holy Spirit, God  or any other number of spiritual beings that we may believe.  But when all is said and done, we are not on this journey alone and we can support each other through out the process.

1. Snith, J., Wlaker T, , (19 Sept 2016), Tristan Walker & Justin Snith: S.M.A.R.T. Goals Help You Keep Track of What You Want to Achieve [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQluFq9eKBE

2.  Adams, Scott. "Scott Adams:  How to Be Successful." WSJ.Wsj.com, 12 Oct. 2013. Web. 29 Oct. 2016

My Journey as a Classroom Champion Teacher

My Journey as a +Classroom Champion Teacher

     This year has been moving forward quite quickly, and now that I am not teaching Phys Ed, I am looking at embedding each of the +Classroom Champions lessons into the core curriculums of English 8 and Math 8.  At first I thought this would be a breeze, afterall, teachers try to embed cross curricular competencies in their lessons, all the time. However, then I began to actually think about this deeper and I thought, uh oh, how can I embed Friendship, Fair Play, Healthy Living or Leadership into Math and ELA.  Well, I guess that is why I am a teacher; I need to figure how to do this so that I do not relate such topics to Phys Ed or Health.  

     To better understand this, I need to share some background information.  I am currently teaching our grade 8 students.  This will be their third year in this mentorship program.  Needless to say, the biggest concern the students have is how am I going to make this different than the other two yearss???  Well, one answer is simple, we have 2 charismatic mentors this year, not just one....that is like a #BOGO at the local shoe store during "Back to School" days.  @TristanLuge and @justinsnith bring a whole set of awesomeness, that our students have not had the opportunity to be part of.  However, I do need to make sure I follow the curriculum so I do not lose class time on topics that I do not have to necessarily teach.

     This is where the light bulb came on, as if the circuit had been temporarily cut off during a huge thunder storm.  I now realize, the challenge was not actually tying it into class, because we know that many students will agree that a break from the everyday of the 3 R's, is always a welcome.  But to tie something exciting into something that is unrelated and B-O-R-I-N-G for some students, was what I needed to do.  Let me share a secret with you about this new enlightenment.  Some of you may not realize it, but, guess what.  That is what teachers do everyday.  We take the mundane and turn it into magic.  Not only is i magic, it is meaningful and relevent to students lives today, tomorrow and in the future.  These young #padawans may not know it yet, but when they are adults and thinking back to their youth, they realize that it all makes sense.  It clicks; just like when the lightbulb turned on for me.

     Each year, many professionals take time to set professional goals that will help them to become a better employee and an all-around better person.  My own professional goal for this school year will be that I take the time to go through the topics for each month in Classroom Champions, relate it to  to those boring, "non-Phys.Ed"curricular outcomes, and still tie it in so it is engaging and meaningful for the students.  Not only am I going to do this, I am also going to do this while managing my personal life, my duties as an educator in a public school, herding my football players to where they need to be, and keeping my sanity.  That is right folks, I am going to do my job as a classroom teacher.

     To assist me along the way, I am going to begin looking at my time management skills, organizing my course materials effectively, share as much of my material online so others can take what they would like and tweak what they need to, stay on top of educational apps and programs that truly connect with other useful apps, so that I am not redoing steps in multiple ways and become a certified  trainer in computer programs and apps that help me to provide an environment to nurture a #StudentLearningCommunity.  My first short-term goal is to address my time management skills.  I already know they are not where they should be; after all, I spent a half hour this morning, looking at ink wells on #Ebay, #Amazon and other stores where you purchase fountain pen paraphernalia...slightly ironic for a person who uses digital technology where ever she goes.

     To outline how I envision this to look, I have created a chart to begin narrowing down the topics that I can connect with.  Throughout the year, I am going to add more information to become more specific on my goal.  I will also use this as a working Professional Development Plan to record the answers to the three most important questions I can ask when reflecting on my growth:

1. What did I do that went well?
2. What did I do that really did not go well?
3. What am I going to change to make this even better?