Fusion Take-Aways

The Hays CISD Fusion conference is always a highlight of my summer. Educators across the district gather to explore technology integration and how we can better meet the needs of the 21st century students we serve. George Couros delivered a keynote that inspired educators to innovate, celebrate, and participate in learning with their students.
                                         

Photo credit: Ashley Flores

Below are my top take-aways from Fusion 2017:

BookSnaps: Power of Sharing

Tara Martin has created a powerful, relevant way to get kiddos posting their thoughts about reading. I presented on this technique, and likened it to the sticky note teaching I first implemented after reading Strategies that Work by Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis.

Reflective readers are highly metacognitive while reading: questioning, connecting, and talking back to the text. #BookSnaps takes this work and provides a digital way to not only reflect on reading, but to share those reflections with a global audience. Read more about #BookSnaps here.

Twitter: Power of a Hashtag
  I have been on Twitter professionally for about three years, and I am excited that more educators in my district are jumping on board!

Image Credit: Sylvia Duckworth

I recently got to present at Tobias Elementary and talk to their teachers about the power of developing a PLN and how to celebrate their school and their students by using Twitter. These teachers have blown up the internet with their positive celebrations! They were out in full force at Fusion and it was great to see!

                                       

Image credit: Jim Cullen

                     
                   

Growth Mindset: Power of Resiliency
About a year ago, I read an article by Carol Dweck, author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success that brought to light an issue with the current Growth Mindset movement. She feared that people had misinterpreted the meaning of her research and that we are all running around celebrating failure! George Couros, who keynoted the Fusion event, added weight with the idea that it's not failure we should celebrate, but resiliency after the failed attempt.

                                    

Image Credit: Sylvia Duckworth

Laughter: Power of Humor
What is it about laughter? Maybe it's because education is the most fantastically ridiculous arena of hope, learning, growth, and failure and if you don't laugh about it, you may cry. The power of the keynote was that George Couros shared sentiments and challenges that were infused with humor and humanity. Stories of education gone wrong were juxtaposed with hopeful anecdotes of students, parents, and educators that got it right. One of my favorite things he said was, "Teachers don't wake up, go to work and think...I really hope I suck today." It is our job as educators to consistently reflect, constantly learn, and consciously try every single day to innovate for our students and build relationships that will empower life-long learning. I'll leave you with one of my favorite videos of a kiddo that demonstrates the highlights of my Fusion experience: He tries, he's resilient, he celebrates, he laughs, and he connects with a broad audience.

Until next year, Fusion!

A Day in the Life of the Writing Project...

It's almost time for the Central Texas Writing Project! Last weekend, a group of teachers, professors, and authors gathered at Texas State University for our first pre-institute meeting. We gathered to share food, make introductions, and learn a bit about how the Writing Project works.

                                                "my mom holds her accent like a shotgun, 

                                                 with two good hands. 

                                                 her tongue, all brass knuckle 

                                                 slipping in between her lips

                                                 her hips, all laughter and wind clap."

The day began with a poem by Denice Frohman. Her poem, "Accents," set the stage for our journal writing time. After we had several minutes to write, we opened up the floor and got to hear from several brave teachers. Participants used Denice's poem as a springboard that turned into stories about their mothers, words they remember from childhood, stories of pain and strength, and the love of a family. Author's chair is one of the most special parts of any writer's workshop, and especially of the Writing Project.

Next, I got the opportunity to model a demonstration based on the book A Squiggly Story by Andrew Larsen. I've blogged previously about this gem of a book. We focused on kindergarten writing goals, invented spelling, and how important student ownership is in the writing process. The teachers put themselves in the place of 5 & 6 year old writers and practiced writing from a student point of view.

During lunchtime, the teachers met with their coaches to work on preparing the demonstration lessons that will be presented during the Writing Project. This time allows the future teacher consultants to match their classroom practice with behavior and education theory. They get an alternative viewpoint, a new mentor, and the encouragement of someone who has been through the Writing Project experience before.

We ended the day much the way it began. We watched a brief video on the What's Your Sentence project by Dan Pink.

After the video, we all reflected on the day, the video, and wrote our sentence. We shared our sentences around a circle, with bold statements about the teachers, men, women, and people we wanted to be. We wrote of how we want to be remembered, who we want to influence, and the children we hope to affect.

If you ever want to be a part of a professional development experience that will change your life, please look into a local Writing Project site. I cannot wait to get started!

Central Texas Google Summit

Image Source

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend the Hays CISD Central Texas Summit. This great day of learning was held at McCormick Middle School in Hays CISD, a beautiful campus with a design that inspires collaboration, design thinking, and student autonomy. This summit drew educators from all over Central Texas, including Hays, Dripping Springs, Brenham, Austin, and several other districts. 

Kasey Bell delivered the keynote. Kasey’s website and blog, ShakeUpLearning.com, provides teachers and educators with digital learning resources, tech tips and tricks, and classroom technology integration ideas. This video from her presentation truly showcases the need for today's educators to embrace the idea of change and how teachers must work to meet the needs of the learners that are in our classrooms today.

Cool people I met that you should follow:

Deborah Petty

Kari Potter
Kelly Garner
Tommy Spall
Ann DeBolt
Amy Mayer

Cool ideas/extensions I learned about that you should know about, too...
Quizlet

KhanAcademy
iStation

Nearpod

Prodigy

The bottom line seems to be this: Educational technology can be leveraged in so many positive ways, but like all change, is going to take a commitment to professional development, access, and real-world application.  

I appreciated the Growth Mindset approach that I heard throughout the day at the Google Summit. 

• I'm not sure; let's find out. 
• Does someone in the room know? 
• Let's ask on Twitter and see what we find out. 

Image source

What Great Educators Do Differently

This weekend, I had the opportunity to attend the What Great Educators Do Differently conference in Katy, Texas. It was a smaller conference with high-energy presenters, ed-camp options, and lots of opportunities to connect with educators who are making an impact in schools across the nation. I love my district and the fantastic teachers I work with, but there is something validating about connecting with people you are NOT around every day, people that will open your mind and heart to new ideas.

LaVonna Roth, part of my PLN and wearer of glittery, silver flats. I wish I had photographed them. Her session focused on the Ignite Your Shine platform, which focuses on empowering team members to be confident, creative, and present. 

Jeff, my favorite partner. It's clear he is way more attractive than me. I loved the vibe of this conference because there were opportunities to visit with other educators, learn from each other, and pose questions, even in the sessions with a main presenter. I even stepped out of my comfort zone and proposed a topic for an edcamp session. I was amazed that 35 brilliant educators showed up to discuss ideas for moving high-perfoming campuses ahead and empowering teachers to challenge themselves to even greater teaching.

Todd Whitaker, keynote speaker

Todd is a quick talker and shoots straight. I appreciated how he focused on meeting the conference participants, listened to us, and shifted the focus from programs to people. Todd has published many books, focusing on effective leadership, teacher motivation, and school culture.

Pernille Ripp, my literary soulmate

Pernille is a mesmerizing speaker. She is confident, composed, and speaks from a genuine place that is grounded in her work with real students in her actual classroom. Her session made me miss teaching so much. Please check out her website; it's a treasure trove. I want her to do the audiobook version of every book I ever read the rest of my life, so I can listen to her voice and feel calm.

I highly encourage educators to check out the What Great Educators Do Differently conference. It is unlike other conferences I have attended. It did not market programs, formulas, or trendy ideas. The focus remained on those things that continually impact teaching and learning:

Commitment

Passion

No excuses

Leverage technology for learning

Know your students

Celebrate your colleagues

Collaborate instead of compete

What are your favorite types of professional learning? What should I set my sights on next?

Books by authors I met...

                              

The Art and Whimsy of Mo Willems

My best friend just turned 40. We celebrated in New York City with our husbands, comfortable shoes, and an itinerary that wouldn't quit. One day, as we were heading from a movie tour of Central Park to the American Museum of Natural History, we happened to see banners for a Mo Willems exhibit outside a smaller building called the New-York Historical Society Museum & Library. Um, two teachers in NYC with a Mo Willems exhibit?! Yes, please. Our husbands sat at the museum bar. It was a win-win.

You can't quite see this Mo Willems quote, but it says, "All of my characters are thoroughly neurotic, and have very deep emotional lives." If I wasn't sold on these books before, surely I am now Mo's biggest fan, even if it is only because I am thoroughly neurotic and have a very deep emotional life. I mean, I'm passionate. Well, I cry a lot. I am emotionally present. Whatever. It's fine.

In addition to fun character cut-outs, explanations of plots and series, and getting to hear Mo's voice narrate the entire adventure, we got to see samples of his pre-writing process. He sketches out designs, plans dialogue, and explains how he changes the text on the page to reflect the emotion of the particular character.

When you enter the exhibit, you get a little remote that corresponds to bus stops along the way. You type your stop number into the phone and you get to hear Mo explain details of his creative process. This was the only hour of the trip that I wished my kids were with me. Kacee and I were like kids in a candy store, but we felt a tiny bit strange on our double date. We kept explaining to everyone that we were teachers as we took thousands of pictures of animated elephants, pigeons, and pigs. 

My niece lives in New York, and when she was first adopted I sent her Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems because it is hysterical and set in Brooklyn, New York. It was so fun to be able to finally experience this setting since it was my first time in this cool city. Of course, we had to pose with Knuffle Bunny. #thisis40

Happy birthday to my dear friend, Kacee! We have been teaching together for 18 years and it was such a fun, unexpected treat that we got to celebrate our love for a cool city, a favorite author, and each other, all at the same time! I heart NYC! 

What are your top two children's authors? I am always looking for new people to follow!

Grown-ups Need Teachers, Too…

I am a teacher. Most of my days are filled with asking and answering questions, facilitating discussion, filling out nurse passes, collecting and disseminating money, and trying my best to deliver a curriculum that is way, way, WAY different than what I was accountable for when I was in elementary school. Oh, and I try to do that in ways that are innovative, creative, pedagogically sound, and fun. It sounds easy. It is SO, SO not.

Here’s the thing. I am also a learner. I LOVE learning. I know that sounds cliché and Eddie Haskell-ish, but I do not think I am alone. I believe most teachers are learners by nature, I’m just not sure that there are adequate opportunities for teachers to expand their knowledge, hone their craft, extend their ideas, and to really, truly grow as educators.

Enter…the Self-Directed Professional Learning Model. Designed by me. It’s actually not a model. Or even an actual real thing. I made it up because teachers should be learning. Adults need to learn. You want your doctors to understand the newest techniques, you want your plumber to stay apprised of the best ways to…um…plumb? You want your dentist to learn new ways to keep your dental experiences efficient and pain free…Do we not want the people that spend the very most time with our little humans to be at the top of their educational game? Wouldn’t it be fantastic if educators could just sign up for a training that they need and attend? It sounds easy. It is SO, SO not.

Teacher friends, I feel your pain. The SDPLM (that’s my model, that’s actually not a model) involves you taking charge of your own professional learning. It is reading research and educational blogs and talking to your teacher friends about what matters in the classroom. It is inviting other educators into your classroom and watching them teach and learning from them. It is talking to that teacher at your campus that you know is really good at (insert thing that teacher is really good at). It is trusting that tiny little voice inside yourself that says, “I know what’s best for kids and it may not be teaching three properties of multiplication all in 47 minutes…” It is having tough discussions and standing up for kids whenever the need arises. Even if you cry in a dad-gum meeting. Again.

And for me, it is seeking out mentors.

Teachers need mentors. Actually, all adults need mentors. We need people that are wiser than us, people with more life experiences, people who can show us perspectives, ideas, and angles that we may not have thought about before. We need it in all areas of our lives, I suppose. Last week, I learned so much about myself at a lunch date with an education professor, that I was close to tears (SHOCKER) because I left with a new goal, a new reading list, and a new outlook on this profession that I love, but lately has gotten me all tangled up.

Truth is, I am so fortunate to be surrounded by mentors of all ages…

*I learn EVERY single time I shut my mouth and really listen to my mom. She is beautiful and wise and funny and so accepting.

*I gained true insight the other evening when I met my aunt for dinner and we talked and laughed about life and teaching and parenting and sangria.

*The baby teachers that I get to work with mentor me on Snapchat, boot socks, technology integration, and how to use a curling wand without getting third degree burns. Again.

*The intensely passionate and HIGHLY driven sister I have been blessed with teaches me about parenting, going after what you want, networking, and public speaking.

*My dear friends, who challenge me, celebrate when I am up, console when I am down, smile knowingly when I go, “off,” and bring me Summermoon.

*My Kacee, who texts me at 4:57 in the morning to talk about professional development, our kiddos, life plans, and outfits.

No matter how you spend your days…at school surrounded by kiddos, at home taking care of your own little ones, at a high-powered office or a low-powered coffeehouse…find a mentor. Commit to your own Self-Directed Professional Learning Model. Find a person who challenges, inspires, teaches, and offers a new lens. Surround yourself with solid, happy, interesting people that push you to grow. You may just discover that you are the mentor. You are the one to inspire. Maybe you are the one that will help someone else to grow.

The student has become the master.