What does it mean to be engaged?

Three weeks ago I had the opportunity to sit down with @legrandeurdm and plan out a video coaching program. This idea was brought to us by our district AISI leader @neillangevin. The plan, is that we record our classes, and then review the video individually and together, in a coaching role. Great idea right? I think so. In my athletic experience it always was more effective to see what I was doing on video and then adjust; so why not in my classroom?

Well, this week I recorded three of my classes, and the answer is obvious…I sound and look funny up there. Seriously, I think I got more out of watching myself for 20 mins than I could have in an hour following an admin visit. I believe this was the case because as individuals we are inherently harder on ourselves than others.

As an educator committed to improving my teaching, and more specifically the learning of my students, I appreciated the opportunity to see myself in action, and as a result, my students inaction.
I want my students to be engaged, but in all three of my videos there was a common obstacle in the way, me. It was about me, not them. Maybe because I was conscious of the recording, or maybe it was because I wanted @legraduerdm to think I was a good teacher. Regardless, I now know what I want to change, and only after watching one class!

So I ask myself now, what does it mean to be engaged? Dave and I developed a pretty spiffy checklist, complete with educator jargon, but will it really tell us if our students are engaged? I guess we will see, and learn, through this process.

Wait…maybe I shouldn’t be asking you, maybe I should be asking THEM, you know them, right?

Yes, the 65 12-13 year-olds I see everyday.

How do you measure student engagement?

This week I had the opportunity to sit down with a grade level colleague of mine,  @legrandeurdm and plan out our video coaching program. Originally the idea of video coaching was brought to us by our district AISI leader @neillangevin. For those of you unfamiliar with video coaching, let me try to explain what we are up to.

The plan:

To record our classes from two points of view. First, from a class point of view where the camera is focused on us. This way we will be able to focus on our own tendencies, mannerisms, etc. Second, a whole class point of view where we can see the students. This will allow us to focus on what the kids are doing during our class. How do they react, interact, and engage? After recording our lessons, we will sit as individuals, and then together, to watch each others classes. Using a checklist of focus questions that we have come up with, we will discuss or “coach” each other.

Our Focus:

Our focus throughout this project will be on student engagement. We will be looking more specifically at:

• instructional methods
• questioning
• pacing
• differentiated instruction

Sounds pretty straight forward right? Maybe not. We really had a hard time answering the following question:

“How do we, as educators, measure engagement?”

My Request to you!

So I’m putting it out there to you.

How do you measure the engagement in YOUR classroom?

Being Comfortable: Dangerous to your health

I had the privilege to have dinner with a friend and fellow educator the other night.  Unfortunately for my wife, the conversation quickly turned to “shop talk”, as it often does when teacher’s get together.

I enjoyed our conversation, as we looked back on the first four months of the year at our respective schools. We focused on our successes, struggles, teaching loads, and future plans.  INterestingly enough, our friend was also my supervising teacher in my second professional semester in university. She coached, and now co-coaches basketball with my wife at the University of Lethbridge. The reason I felt our conversation so valuable, was that she also has 20+ years teaching experience, and is currently completing her M.Ed. Two things that I intend to accomplish in my teaching career.

As we discussed our teaching practice, and the various methods we use to engage students, a word came up that often makes me shudder. Both my friend and I have the same viewpoint of this word. As a matter of fact, I refuse to use this word when describing my teaching, I will go as far as calling it education’s “C” word.

Comfortable.

Definition of com·fort·able according to Merriam-Webster

a : affording or enjoying contentment and security

b : free from stress or tension

That’s it, comfortable. Although being free from stress and tension sounds great, I have witnessed various types of  ”comfortable” in my 5 years.

Comfortable is something that I never want to be in my profession. At the moment that I begin to feel comfortable in my teaching practice, I feel the need to mix it up. This is very similar to other aspects of my life.

Perhaps I am over thinking this simple word. However, the type “comfortable” that I have witnessed can easily be mistaken for another “C” word, complacency.

My fear is that some teachers who feel comfortable, have allowed themselves to become complacent. If I am complacent in my classroom, am I providing my students with engaging and dynamic material, or am I just sticking with what “I” know best?

These are my goals

By florriebassingbourne via Flickr

Every year, teachers in our province complete goals that they strive to achieve by years end. Some goals however, can be completed at various times throughout the school year. We call these “Teacher Professional Growth Plans“, or TPGP’s for short.

These were my goals for 2011-2012:

• Use preparation time at school more efficiently in order to complete tasks such as planning, marking and parent communication.
• To create a PLN (personal learning network) and learning community not only online but within our own building.
• To complete my first sprint triathlon in spring/summer 2012

As part of my growth plan I came up with strategies to achieve my goals. Yet already this year, I have found myself straying from my well planned path and designed strategies. Of course, I can think of 100 excuses why it has been hard to stay on track; “our school is too busy”, “not enough prep time”, “class numbers are too large”, “coaching has me too busy”, and my favourite “the Flames are playing!”

All these excuses sound great, and at any given time allow me to rationalize my maintaining the status quo.

Be honest, you know the status quo, the plan/show up/teach/email/coach/ go home/mark/sleep/repeat model. None of which challenge me, my students, or the parents of my students. The status quo will not satisfy me. So what will? What will help me get what I want? I’ve decided to simplify my goals.

I want to be better. This could mean many things. I believe in this context it means that I want to be more effective in and out of my classroom. This includes in our building, community, and online. A big part of this is communication.

I want to teach better. I truly believe that I can only achieve this by seeking out the advice of others. Guidance, direction, criticism, and feedback are all necessary here. I cannot be afraid to take risks.

I want my students to learn better. As hard as it is, especially with middle school students, I believe that in order for the students in my classroom to learn better, I must give the students more control over their learning. I have witnessed that this must be done in a correct way in order to maintain sanity, but I’m getting there. Again, I view this area as a work in progress.

If you look at my TPGP’s, or my simplified goals, and think “Wow Cam, you’re way off”, please, tell me why. Likewise, if you have any suggestions, directions, or words of wisdom, please do not hesitate to share!

Open Doors!

If you read my post last night (“Will the doors open?”) you know that this morning I looked for an opportunity to get into a colleagues classroom to observe, assist, or be part of their class.

Well, I successfully received 5 replies to my mass staff email. Out of these replies, I would have loved to visit any one of the classes. I chose to visit a grade 8 science class taught by an experienced/veteran teacher in our building. What an excellent experience!

I loved every minute of it. To see how another teacher manages a large class in a not so large room was great. Not to mention the order of the day, testing a person’s density, involved this teacher and a few brave students jumping into a garbage bin full of cold water to measure their volume. The class loved it, and everyone was engaged.

I hope that I have an opportunity in the future to get into another classroom, and quick!