Becoming the learner

Part of being a teacher is being reflective on how I am teaching, what I am teaching, and how my students are reaching their goals. This week after talking to Sarah Chu about Class Craft, I decided to jump in and start using it with my class. Class Craft is a little overwhelming to understand, but I knew my kids would love it. I think this will help solve my problem of trying to motivate some boys in my class. I explained it to my students Thursday after a day of PSTAAR testing and they were so excited. I knew this was a good thing even though everything wasn't clear to me. I just needed to jump in and try it. I did tell them this is new to me, so please be patient.  Today students created their avatars and as a class we decided on positive behaviors & consequences or sentences. We officially start Monday. As students left for the day they were saying, "I love this so much! I can't wait for Monday!" What a great way to end the week.

A Sphero has landed in our class this week too. I feel very much out of my comfort zone, but isn't that what I am trying to have my students do when I ask them to take a risk? I introduced the Sphero to my class and immediately excitement filled the classroom. Two students have one at home and many have used one at Bendwood, so they already knew exactly how to use it. One student even showed me how to use it. She was so sweet saying, "Ok Ms. Choy. Now it's your turn. Press this button and see what it does. Good job!" The student and teacher role was reversed. I told her she could be my expert. Immediately students asked if they could earn coding time during lunch. I said absolutely!

Lastly, I asked my students for feedback on our Pathways time. They all agreed I gave them too many tasks! They were being pulled for small groups, so completing their independent work wasn't happening as quickly as they would like. They love the Storyworks readings and Flipgrid responses. Some wanted more choices on how to respond. The best thing about it they like is the independence. They like being able to choose what to complete and not being told they must do x first. Mastery Connect and their reteaching/reviewing resources I have posted in itslearning were big hits with them.

              1st Choice Board                           Revised Choice Board post student feedback

I can't wait to see how next week goes!