We are all Scientists

Did you know that you are a Scientist?  Everyday you are using the steps of the Scientific Method and you may not even realize it! I know that until this week I had not made the connection that what I am doing everyday can be correlated to the Scientific Method.  I was asked to read the book A Framework for Understanding Poverty by Ruby K. Payne, Ph.D. If you have a "to read" list, I would recommend this book for you. There is a wealth of information and insight that I have learned from reading this book, and making the connection to Science is what I took away from my reading this week. Let me show you how it relates!

Ask a Question:  Why are my benchmark scores ______ (so low, not what I expected, different from the other teacher...You choose what you think)

Background Research:  Looking at Data, researching the data, connecting the TEKS, lessons and content.

Hypothesis: I think my scores are low because I need to teach _____ and students need to know more about ____.

Experiment:  This is our reteaching, the changes we are making for instruction, small groups, interventions, and all those other awesome ideas you have for helping your students!  Are the "experiments" I have in place working? Do I need to try something different or are the students on the right track?



Record Data:  We know about data collection! How are your students responding to your instruction, the interventions and how can we keep track of that? How did they perform on the reassessment?

Analyzing Data and Drawing Conclusions:  What are we going to do with the information we collected? Nothing, the student is more successful, SST/RTI because the student is still struggling, or do we need to communicate with parents? How can we use this data to improve instruction and facilitate conversations during planning?

Communicate Results:  How can we share with others?  Can we call on our peers to help us in areas that our students are struggling?  Sometimes I need help with content knowledge or instructional strategies. Our campus is amazing at helping one another and I sometimes ask 3rd grade or 5th grade teachers for help.  Megan and Amy help me understand what they teach in 3rd grade that my students have been exposed to and Tracie and Courtney help me understand where students are headed and what is very important for students to know when they leave 4th grade. We have adjusted the amount of time we spend in some standards based on feedback from these other grade levels. I encourage you to talk the the grade levels you are next to and have those conversations about your "Data Results". Anytime we can collaborate with others we have an opportunity to learn something new.

Our job is so important and each day we are helping students build Cognitive Strategies that help them learn.  According to Ruby Payne, Ph.D., there are three stages to the learning process. Those are input, elaboration, and output. I have listed a few cognitive strategies that students need to build in each category below, but if you would like to see them all you can find that information on page 93 in her book.

• Input: Explore Data, Organize Data and be able to consider two sources of information at once.
• Elaboration: Build inferences, make a plan using the data, and use appropriate labels.
• Output: Communicate clearly the labels and process and visually transport data correctly.

If we can help build these strategies in students, then it helps them become better learners. We are already doing this when we ask students to make connections to prior knowledge, when we ask higher level questions, and when we ask students to compare and contrast information. Another way we are helping students build cognitive strategies is when we ask them to use the Scientific Method. If we can tie this method to our teaching practices, can we tie this method into all content areas? Can we change the way we look at instruction to facilitate cognitive growth within ourselves and our students?  Deep down we are all scientist and each one of you are doing amazing things in each part of this Scientific Process.

Share some ways you are using the Scientific Method for instruction in other content areas beyond Science.

-Blog post written by guest blogger Nicole Young

How do you know you are growing as an educator?

I think I heard someone say as I walked in Monday morning... "Only ten more weeks."

Part of me was like, "Yes, I didn't die!" and part of me was like "No, I thought I would be better at this at this point in the year. I need more time to reach the goals I have set for myself!"

I could have let that defeat me. Instead, I decided I would not let the fact that I am not as far along as I would like to be in this new role as assistant principal be the determining factor of whether or not I am progressing toward success. Instead I am moving into a time where I am reflecting, reviewing and revising my goals. I am evaluating for myself what I have learned, how I have changed- for the better- and what I need to continue to work towards or abandon.

I think that is one of the beauties of the process with T-TESS. It creates a space for us to set goals, work toward those goals, monitor our progress (collect evidence), and reflect. It helps us measure and identify how we are growing as an educator. In this way, I believe it reminds us of how far we have come and shows us where we can journey next in our professional growth.

I came across the article "How to set smart goals that motivate you to action"  this week as I was thinking about where you all are in preparing for the end of year T-TESS conference. I love being challenged to grow, to set goals that may be almost unattainable but make me want to strive to try. We (John and I) look forward to meeting with you and learning more about the goals you have set for yourself for the upcoming year. Goals that grow you, excite you and most of all empower you as an educator.

We would love for you to share the process for how you are determining your goals for the upcoming year in the comments.

How will you "taper"...

As runners, training for long races like a half marathon, we are very strategic. We build our stamina slowly, over several weeks. The one thing many don't know is that we purposefully slow down before the big race... we give our bodies some margin to rest and store up for the long run. It is called a taper run. The distance of that last training run, about a week out from the event, is half the distance of the competitive run. For example, if you are running a half marathon, the weekend before you run six to seven miles. Your spring break is your opportunity to "taper" before you hit the ground running to complete the last couple months of the school year.

We have been training for this last leg of the year. As we move into the last week before Spring Break there is a lot of pressure that is felt by everyone. When we return we are within days of our first round of STAAR testing. Many of you may be taking vacation over the break... some of us will be staying close to home. For those of you staying close to home, don't let your vacation become your project week. Take some time to truly relax. Break away from the cleaning out of closets, deep cleans, food preparation and home projects, and HAVE SOME FUN!!! Give yourself room for margin. Rest, Relax and Rejuvenate your soul. Give yourself the chance to "taper" so you can run the distance when you return.

If you are like me, I like to plan things that are not only fun, but FREE or inexpensive.

Here are a few things my family may be taking advantage of during this week of "taper" to Rest, Relax and Rejuvenate:

Free Spring Break Monday at the Modern

Moviehouse 10 am Showings...

Lego Americana Roadshow at Stonebriar Mall

I am also looking for a good calzone recipe. Kristopher is determined that we are going to learn how to make homemade calzones!

Here is a link to Mari's Moments from the Star Telegram with other ideas that are free.
http://www.star-telegram.com/living/family/moms/maris-moments/article135720623.html

These are just a few ideas. I would love to hear your ideas/plans or if you have a good calzone recipe please share! We all need ways to plan our "taper" so we can run the race set before us as we return from Spring Break.