Ugh.

Well - days 2 and 3 of our new groups have been rough. Many of the students don't like their new groups and one class even tried to rebel. After a little "talking to" we put an end to that. But I do have two students who "divorced" their groups and chose to do the entire project by themselves. Even though I really didn't want to approve it, I looked at it as meeting the students where they are. We have four 21st Century Skills we are focusing on this project - self direction, creativity, something else, and flexibility/adaptability. I guess those kids aren't ready for the flexibility/adaptability yet. Next project.

And I did remove two students from their groups. I felt that it was better for the groups to remove the students and make the two work as a team. Kinda like the Parent Trap when the two Haley Mills have to share the isolation cabin.

Please keep your fingers crossed - next week has to be better. Especially since we go to the computer lab to type up our newsletters the following Monday.

Be Patient.

I have watched Big Brother every season. Never missed one. And every season it's the same. I hate the new house guests and miss the old ones. I watch the first few episodes and swear I will watch no more - but I do and eventually I pick new favorites and am always disappointed when the season ends.

If you are reading this Michael - you will be hearing it again in class because it is a story that will be working its way into our next lesson. Why? Why is this relevant at all? Because we started our second projects with new teams and of course everyone is upset. I haven't heard too many nasty comments about the new teams - but I have never seen so many cases of stink face in my life. Students who were once happy to work in groups and eagerly came into class ready to work are now dreading the next 4 weeks of project two.

I will tell them to be patient, that they too will come to love their new groups - just give it time. It only took 2 months and about 8 evictions for me to like the cast of BB10. So be patient little Amphi Eagles. Yep - we are now the Amphi Eagles. "We fly high with respect and fairness" - I think.

Presentation Time!

Tomorrow brings the conclusion of our Project One presentations. And so far, I am pretty pleased. With only a few exceptions, my students have proudly taken center stage to present their maps, team identity/slogans, and class expectations. It has been so fun to watch the students show off their creativity. But I must admit I am most proud of the cultural change that has taken place in our classroom. The student groups are truly teams - and even though most students do have "BFFs" in the classroom - most students, once they enter the classroom, are focused on their team members and their project.

But being the Debbie Downer that I am - I am nervous. Once project one is over and the teams disbanded, how long will it take for the new teams to gel? Or will it completely fall apart? The second project is different - it is a newsletter project that doesn't require the posters and drawing that project one required. The second project is much more writing, which could lead to isolation. BUT . . . their final project will be graded as a team, so keep your fingers crossed :)

I hope to upload student work to my class website when the projects are completed and student ballots have been tallied. I'm excited to see what Team Three's new identity will be - I am hoping for something that has lots of easy clipart. We had the lions, lightening, cobras, "da" chocolate chips. "Da" chocolate chips brought candy. We like candy.

A New School Year - A New Plan

Today we finished our second full week of school and I think I've got some insights to share - so here goes.

I'm still teaching the same class, but it has a new name "Freshman Foundations." We like to rename stuff. The first year at a new school is always a challenge, especially when you are tackling a new curriculum, but overall I am happy with how we finished last year.

But this year I wanted to try some new things. After visiting Japan last year I really wanted to integrate personal responsibility into the curriculum. Not so much sweeping and serving lunch - but less momma bird and more, "I can do it!" I also had the opportunity to visit New Tech High School in Sacramento, California last spring. At first I didn't think I would be able to use the New Tech philosophy in my classroom - afterall they have 400 students and 500 computers and we do not. But after peeking into their classrooms and speaking to their teachers I started to see some real possibilities. They use a PBL approach (Project-Based Learning) that focuses on the integration of curriculum and 21st Century Skills. Since our Foundations class doesn't have a set "curriculum" I knew we could easily adopt the PBL philosophy even if we don't have a 1-1 student/computer ratio.

I won't go into all the boring details of our curriculum (if you want you can go to my class website and look at the project documents - assuming anyone is reading this) but I do want to share (or at least record) my observations.

So far - I love this new format. First of all, no more momma bird. I've noticed that the kids are eager to answer their own questions and get their own supplies. Now I know each class is different, but I think the fact that I am not standing in front of the class and lecturing and bossing has something to do with it. They want to help each other. We always have a lot of new kids wandering in the first few weeks and the student groups are making sure their new group members have their materials and are put to work.

And the contracts. This is one of my favorite things so far. The kids had to create contracts for their teams. Watching uptight high schoolers melt into little kids creating rules like they were inventing a new version of hide-and-seek was so much fun. Most of the contracts are pretty basic, but it gave the real creative kids an opportunity to showcase their talents. Without me bossing rules, only suggesting and coaching, the students took ownership of their groups and so far (knock on wood or light a candle) we have had very few issues.

Today was team evaluation day - at the half way point of the project. It took longer than I anticipated to go over the documents and explain the scenarios, but after "grading" their teammates, the kids were very eager to get to work and redeem themselves before the next evaluation. We do have our own teacher evaluation system based on citizenship, but they are far less concerned with my grades. No one wants to let down their team and then get called out for it. Very Japanese if you ask me.

The next big task is finishing project one and oral presentations. Even though I am hoping we have some cool ideas to choose from, I am really pleased with the social and personal responsibility I have seen so far. I'll keep you updated :)