teaching Archives - Rachel What If

How I’m Learning To Be More Student-Centered

If you are like me, we grew up in a time where if you wanted to listen to music you turned on the radio. To have to wait for the weekend and Casey Kasem’s Top 40 to feel that favorite song flow through your veins was absolute torture!

I’ll always be grateful to my daughter for introducing me to the world of Spotify. My car and I are center stage for Celine’s It’s All Coming Back to Me Now whenever the urge strikes.

Student-Centered Learning

Stick with me here, Student-Centered learning is to Spotify, as Teacher-Centered learning is to radio. In other words, creating a Student-Centered classroom is not only a new way to teach, it really is a better way. Student-Centered classrooms puts students in the driver’s seat. Ultimately, learners make decisions about what to study, and how and why the topic is interesting to them.

If you have ever taught in a classroom of at least 20 students, written lesson plans based on standards, or been held accountable for test scores, you might be asking some questions like:

“How would I manage 20+ students who have all decided to study different things?”

“What about units, standards, pacing guides, data, and curriculum maps?”

“How do students know what is important to learn, how to learn it, and why?”

These questions will most likely not be answered in this blog post. What I intend to do here is give you two stories: One failed attempt at student-centered instruction and one successful attempt at student-centered. Both took place with the same group of fourth grade students, the same teacher, similar content, and a growth mindset.

Questions about student-centered practices — Risk taking is part of the process!

A Failed Attempt

When my district first introduced us to a student-centered model for instruction, I was excited. Until I actually tried it. My somewhat orderly classroom visited a town a little south of Chaos (Friends anyone?).

Students were given a goal setting sheet, and a preplanned math menu. Our math block consisted of students setting goals, getting onto their computers and following the unit plan I had set up for them. They watched videos to learn concepts, practiced the concept with a partner or individually, and signed up for a conference with me when needed.

Here is where it all fell apart. I’ll let you imagine the rest.

The Misunderstanding

You already know what I am going to say about theory and practice. Let’s just say they almost always don’t have anything in common. They might seem like the perfect couple, but when you get real, practice always wins.

In that short description of my first attempt at creating self-directed, self-paced learners, you can clearly see my misunderstanding of what student-centered actually means. Just because I gave students a goal setting sheet and a menu in no way means that this process was at all student-centered.

Basically, students were still required to move through curriculum, with very little flexibility, and with absolutely no student input on the planning. I planned units based on the curriculum, found relevant teaching videos, gave them a couple of choices about how to practice those concepts, and expected them to wait for my attention and sign up for a conference. Yikes.

Let’s just say our math block became a thing to be dreaded. Like, maybe lets just skip math today.

When I look back on this attempt, I can see the good intentions underneath. What I wanted was to give students an opportunity to move at their own pace, to honor their ability to problem solve, and more time for me to meet with them individually.

All good things, all good things.

Needless to say, this idea fell by the wayside pretty quickly. Leave it to a classroom of twenty five fourth graders to deliver a useless practice to the chopping block, pronto.

Once you take a risk like this to change your practice and fail, you can go back to the way you did things, or…

Try something else!

A Successful Try

Focusing on those good things I knew I wanted more of in our classroom, and wanting to move toward a more student-centered learning experience, I decided to try again.

One of the good things that is part of a student-centered classroom is honoring the student’s ability to problem solve. Part of problem solving includes a bit of struggle. (Read more about how and why struggle is actually fun in this blog post.)

How could I give students an opportunity to problem solve, and move toward a more student-centered practice?

Give them a problem to solve and see what happens! That might seem like a no-brainer, but here is how it went.

student centered think time — Use math notebooks as a place to store thinking.

Silent Think Time

To begin our math workshop, students learned a new routine. They were to have their math notebooks ready, turned to a new page, and honor a silent think time. Student’s were given a “juicy” problem to read through individually.

The silent think time gave them each an opportunity to at least read through the problem one time. Students were also given a strategy, which we had already created an anchor chart for, which included problem solving annotations.

During think time, I would circulate to take notes about what students were doing. Are they trying something? Are they annotating? Did they choose a strategy? This is similar to a conference, although I am not actually conferring, just noticing. I might nudge a student or two to volunteer to share their thinking after think time.

Students Teaching Students

At the end of the silent think time, students were invited to share with their classmates any thinking they had done about the problem on the doc camera.

Students may or may not have a solution at this point, and hopefully, the problem is juicy enough that it will take a bit more effort than what is required by one student in such a short time.

Student’s are taking a risk in this moment. Not having an answer is actually encouraged. What we are honoring is the process. What did you try? How did you know where to start? What can I learn from you?

At this point, students are fully engaged, looking for ways to either replicate a strategy, or build upon someone’s ideas.

Now we can move toward the cooperative part.

Cooperative Learning: A Student-Centered Practice

Hopefully, the problem is juicy enough that its going to take some manipulatives to work toward a solution. Hopefully, the problem is hearty enough that its going to take students working together, discussing, debating, and iterating to come to a solution.

However students decide to work together, in pairs or small groups, naturally they understand the value of working with someone else to solve the problem. Student’s start to gather materials. Are they going to draw this problem out or build it? Are they going to act it out? Will they need a graphic organizer?

Once again, my opportunity to confer is everywhere. How are they planning together? What cooperative structures could support their learning together? What Math Practices will they need to employ? Are there additional tools I can suggest? How will they show their understanding? Is the struggle just right?

The Debrief

Before you know it, time is running out. The school day is ending, or we have to move on to a special, a lunch, or ug, even recess. A student-centered learning experience like this is exciting. Most of the time, student’s don’t want it to end, especially if we don’t have a solution yet.

Our first attempt at this took us an entire week! Perhaps you are thinking “Must be nice.” Yes, it was nice.

Remember the goal here is to build a student-centered classroom. We honor the student’s ability to solve problems, participate in struggle, make choices, and all those good things. But how will we know if we’ve accomplished anything? You’ve got to debrief.

~~Every chance you get.~~ Make it happen.

How did you grow as a mathematician today? — Anchor chart for an inclusive debrief experience. www.mathcoachcorner.com

During the debrief we notice, name, and celebrate our experience. When we name our experiences, our triumphs, and our challenges, we place value on them. We record these thoughts and feelings on an anchor chart and we honor how we have grown. Growth is the goal. How can we measure growth if we aren’t noticing it, naming it, and recording it?

Debrief allows for authentic discourse as well. All voices are valued, we listen and make decisions about how we will move forward. We may even find new ways of thinking or talk about how our thinking has changed as a result of our experience. Students might get the chance have to convince one another that their strategy is correct, explaining their thinking with writing and visuals.

And what do you know? We now have a student-centered learning experience. All because we dove into a juicy problem.

The Take Aways

All this to say, try something different.

My view on student-centered learning was forever changed for the better because I decided to try something new, in just one class, for just one subject. This small change centered on my ability to set up a new routine, and honor the student’s ability to solve problems.

Here is a pdf of the plan and procedure for this lesson you can easily use as a model for your own version of this story. I hope you will try it and see what happens. If you already do something like this, please share in the comments!

Don’t forget to have fun!

Teaching Writing is a Problatunity.

I’d like to use a word I just read in a book, used by an actual doctor, which makes it a real word. The word is problatunity. My Grammarly app just put a big red line under that word telling me I better fix it. I’ll use it in a sentence: Teaching writing is a problatunity.

Don’t you just love when people take two words and smoosh them together and make a new word? Why not? Its two things we know, problem and opportunity, and creating something new and more delicious. Like the first person who decided to put peanut butter and jelly into the same sandwich. Problatunity.

Yes, it’s a problem and an opportunity. In order to turn that frown upside down, let’s focus on the bright spots, build on the strengths, and look for what’s working.

Here’s some opportunities:

Writing is connection. A writer uses craft and structure to reach out into the world, searching for another heart and mind to create a spark. A spark, which if tended and encouraged can become a fire, giving warmth and comfort.

Writing is expression. It’s art. We have this desire to be seen and loved for who we really are. Writing is a mirror for ourselves and others. It shows us the way, or reminds us of what is important.

Writing is a conversation, happening regardless of time and space. If there were no one to read the writing, would it still be writing? If a tree falls in the woods…

Here’s some problems:

Writing is a privilege. There are many who might like the freedom to raise their voice without persecution. Most of the time the persecution comes from the very same pen that did the writing in the first place.

Writing is translation. It is essentially trying to express abstract thoughts into organized concrete symbols on a page in a way that conveys meaning. Think of all the processes those thoughts have to go through, all the decisions that have to be made. Ug, it’s exhausting. I’m exhausted right now.

Writing is hard. Words on a page are tangible, real. Words you write have the potential to stay. Anything you write can and will be used against you. Yes, we have freedom of speech in this country, but a verbal contract just isn’t what it used to be. I’m just sayin’, seems like writing matters a bit more.

Writing is rules. Every good writer knows the rules. All of them? And how do you use a semicolon again? Don’t get me started on spelling.

Here’s the problatunity:

According to something called the Standford Study of Writing, we are in a writing revolution folks. Hallelujah. More people are writing now than ever before: social media, emails, reports, books, posters, blog posts, etc. Writing is actually working. As in, it’s doing some work in the world. Writing is creating change. And as things change, rules change.

However, the rules may not be changing, we are. This writer calls rules lampposts in an ash-ridden apocalypse. Boy do I love me some lampposts on a dark and dreary night.

Maybe this means we actually like rules, just not when they hold us back. We want to get out there and create new rules, rules that keep us safe but also allow us to explore and discover and create our own rules.

Its kinda hilarious that the problem is almost always the solution. Life, this funny thing. Rules are the way, know them, break them. I’m sure some yoda-like character said that in some movie, somewhere.

Here’s the application:

How can we take what is working in the world and recognize it in our students? That’s really what we should be doing every day right? Seeing ability in our kids, naming it for and with them, and guiding them through how to use it in powerful ways.

Students are learning the rules. All the time. Rules for this classroom are different than the rules in that classroom. Rules for the cafeteria, rules for the playground. Rules for friendships, rules for safety, and on and on we go.

To be honest. I love rules. I almost dare say I can’t function without them. When I walk into a room, I immediately try to figure out the rules. Knowing the rules helps me understand how to behave, because I also like to have fun. Having fun usually includes breaking the little rules. The really tiny rules. The ones no one really cares about. Ya, I’m that crazy party animal breaking all the tiny invisible rules. Back it up everyone.

The point is, how can we teach our kids the rules, but also how to break them?

Let’s remember that the rules for writing are lampposts. They are guidelines. Practice. Write every single day. Play. We learn the rules and we decide if they apply today. Writing, people, I’m talking about writing.

Here’s the Practice:

When teaching writing in our classrooms, we want our students to see more of the opportunities and less of the problems. It is time to lower the stakes. Low-stakes writing is defined by where the value is placed. As teacher’s we often place all the value in writing on the rules, otherwise known as grammar and conventions.

What if we emphasized the value of the student thought, expression, and ideas? Students have learned to keep quiet. Specifically, “be quiet” is generally a rule in education. Let’s break it.

What if we develop a practice of writing where none of the rules matter? What matters is that they stop editing and revising their thinking before it ever even gets to the page. You can bet they have a lot to say. I dare you to sit down with an eleven year old and ask them about anything.

Here’s the Magic:

Set a timer. Set it for 2 minutes. Stop. Count your words. Set a goal for more words tomorrow. Share your writing if you want.

That’s it folks. The magic is in the time limit. Its the only rule.

Ah, and rules are meant to be broken.

Read my 6 Big Reasons to Love a Writer’s Notebook post for additional classroom structures that will have your students loving writing and you reading their minds!

What Do You Do With A Problem by Kobi Yamada speaks to everything I have mentioned above and is a powerful read for humans.

*“When the child finally musters up the courage to face it, the problem turns out to be something quite different than it appeared.”*

Ish by Peter H. Reynolds is one of my favorite mentor texts for supporting students as they learn to let go and write a first draft.

**A creative spirit learns that thinking “ish-ly” is far more wonderful than “getting it right.**
“

The Name Game- A Powerful Cooperative Learning Strategy

Do a google search for “The Name Game” and you might never forgive me for getting that old tune stuck in your head all day: “Judy, Judy bo Budy, banana-fana fo Fudy…” How did that song become such a sensation?

Annoying soundtracks aside, The Name Game I am sharing here is a powerful, easy, and fun cooperative learning strategy that you will set on repeat every chance you get.

Three Good Things

Lots of good things come in threes: The Three Little Pigs, the original Star Wars, the Sanderson Sisters, etc. When facilitating The Name Game, just remember the number three. You will need three balls, or other objects to throw, at least three people, and the three rules below:

Say the person’s name that you are going to throw the ball to before you throw it.
Throw the ball in a way that the person can catch it.
Throw the ball to the same person.

The First Ball-Follow the Rules

These “footbags” or hacky sacks are the best for the first and second rounds

Don’t be fooled by the implied simplicity of The Name Game. Often, when something looks easy, it’s because we have spent countless hours perfecting it to look that way. Think brushing your teeth: years of reminders from your parents, cavities, cleanings, etc.

Be a stickler about following the rules for the first round, and use a ball that is easy to catch and throw, like a beanbag or hacky sack. You will probably even hear a comment or two about how this is too easy, cue the 5th grade boy who is trying to show off by using just one hand.

Rule #1- Say the name

Saying a person’s name shows respect. According to an article in the Washington Post, “A person’s name is the greatest connection to identity and individuality.” When we look at someone and say their name it sends the message that we see them. Such a small thing, but a moment of connection can be the anchor that keeps us steady in a day filled with choppy waters.

Also, saying a person’s name before you throw the ball shows kindness. Again, this is a small act that sends the message, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to throw anything until you are ready.” When you say their name, they will automatically look toward you, signaling they are ready for whatever it is you are going to “give” them.

Rule #2-The trust throw

The second rule to remember is to throw the ball in a way that the person can catch it. This builds trust. “I trust you that you are going to throw it in the right direction, with just the right amount of height and velocity. Not only that, but you trust me, that I will catch it. You believe I can catch it, and we are building a two way relationship-throwing and catching.”

rule #3-same same same

The third rule is to always throw it to the same person. This builds consistency. Consistency creates of feeling of safety in some ways because it sets us up to know what to expect. I know that you are going to throw the ball to me, and I am going to throw the ball to the next person. This becomes the most important part of this game and is a big part of why this is considered a cooperative learning game. We will know we are successful when we can complete at least one full round of ball tosses without dropping the ball. Having met the goal, we can now tackle more complex tasks.

The Second Ball- Create a Sense of Urgency

Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, i.e., life in 2019, you’ve got another think coming my friend. (Check out this blog post on how we’ve been saying that saying wrong forever.) Adding a second ball to The Name Game adds a level of intrigue and a little thing I like to call urgency.

Knowing that another ball is coming soon, means I have got to get rid of this ball I am holding. Sometimes, when I feel a sense of urgency, I lose my ability to maintain the things I have already built, just little things like respect and trust. I might forget to say your name, I will probably throw the ball a little harder or faster and you will feel set up for failure. But, if we can trust ourselves and each other, we can still be successful and even have fun. Urgency can create a level of challenge that is fun!

Remember the goal is still success still here, so having a second bean bag or hacky sack is best. We are leveling up the challenge just a little at a time. Even leveling up to a tennis ball could be too much for many groups. Always wait until success is achieved, getting the ball all the way through to each person, before adding a level of complexity.

The Third Ball- Ready to Take Risks

People are interesting. When they experience the level of challenge a second ball brings to the group, and they also see the potential for success, they seem a little hungry. They want to live on the edge, or at least take a peek over it. They want to see what it is they are made of. (link to my own blog post)

Don’t get too hasty. We can’t just go jumping off cliffs without first checking to make sure we’ve got a parachute and we know how to use it. Your group has to earn it. I know its just a Name Game folks, but get excited with me.

When you feel they are ready, here are some ways to level up: With young players, adding a small but somewhat heavy stuffed animal will be plenty of excitement and challenge for these guys. Don’t forget high school kids are still kids, and are excited to throw around a little stuffed Bigfoot. You could also add a medium sized ball that bounces, like a basket ball to the mix. Now, participants have to change the way they throw the ball. So its a thinking activity. “I threw that last one, but now I am going to bounce this one.” Brain change.

The Secret Sauce-Debrief

When will be know we are successful? Add an element that seems just out of reach to the group. Say something like, “You will know you are good, really good, when you can add something with a lot of risk.” Anything with liquids adds a lot of risk: a small water bottle, a milk carton, a gallon jug. The stakes get higher when there is a possibility that someone could get covered in milk. Don’t get too carried away. There are risks, and then there are big mistakes. We aren’t going to start throwing knives or anything.

Name what the group has learned, how the experience felt, and what was done to overcome obstacles or correct mistakes. Why was this important? What were the challenges and triumphs? How did you feel and how does this transfer to other tasks in our day and life?

Check out this blog post, four easy ways to bring cooperative learning back to your classroom, for more cooperative learning ideas and to get an overview of the challenge and triumph debrief I use.

Enjoy The Name Game the next time you have a group and some time to build cooperation.

8 Reasons You Prefer to Work Alone and How to Fix It.

Working alone is in my comfort zone and I am a cooperative learning enthusiast!

Every time I walk into a classroom, I look for opportunities to get students to do the work of learning together.

Light bulb moments, new ideas, inspiration, realization, revelation… So many ways to describe what happens when two or more minds are in sync. It’s learning magic!

And yet, I set up boundaries for my work. Looking for alone time to get things done. Working with colleagues requires a higher skill set, and more energy, and is almost always less efficient.

It’s also just plain uncomfortable. Here are just eight reasons I’d rather work alone despite everything I know about the value of cooperative learning:

I’d rather work alone because…

I’d rather work alone because I’m not willing to take on your failures.
I’d rather work alone because I care more about a job well done than building a partnership.
I’d rather work alone because I’m not sure you have anything of value to offer.
I’d rather work alone because the only person I can trust is myself.
I’d rather work alone because I know I will always do a better job than you will.
I’d rather work alone because I don’t have time to help you figure it out.
I’d rather work alone because I don’t need any help.
I’d rather work alone because this job is too important to make mistakes.

Yikes.

Sometimes it’s not such a fun thing to do some honest self-reflection. And yet, even as those words came flowing out onto the page, I felt of sense of relief. Maybe we all feel this way, or maybe I am a control freak and a perfectionist. Probably both of those things are true.

We teach best what we most need to learn.
Richard Bach

A New Definition of Safety

circle and discover — What can you control?

Classrooms are places where control and perfectionism have lived quite comfortably since around the time of, I don’t know, one-room schoolhouses.

But we forget that joy is not found in control or perfection.

Sure, we need safe places where people can learn. Heck, we need safe places period. Shouldn’t everywhere be a safe place? Maybe we need to redefine our idea of safety, and maybe it doesn’t have a whole lot to do with control.

Self-awareness is such a great way to start our discussions about safety and control.

Using an empowerment tool like the My Circle of Control worksheet either in classrooms or for ourselves is a practical and visual way to ask yourself some questions about your own sense of control and even reveal your ideas about perfection. Using it along with This big list of things I can control shifts our perspective because it allows us to see that we actually do have control over the things that are most important.

Not only does it empower you to let go of lots of heavy baggage that serves little purpose in your life, but also it gives you permission to set up your own definition of safety.

For me, it feels safe to know that I am curious and will make mistakes. That I can ask for help, try new things, and be honest. It feels safe to know that I am a work in progress, will never be perfect, and even that I can rely on imperfect other people.

Two Reasons to Work Together

I am a star — Gold stars for perfect ideas.

Let’s reframe those 8 reasons we would rather work alone and change our perspective. Learning should be fun, and it’s okay if it’s a little uncomfortable sometimes too. Also, two is easier to remember than eight, and it can really be summed up with the following:

Finished is better than perfect
Nothing is ever finished, so nothing will ever be perfect.

Now that you are armed with these two reasons to work with others and get things done, try to have a little fun at the same time!

Long Live the Snow Day!

Did you know there are people in the world who have never experienced a snow day? They live in Arizona and I can’t help but feel so sad for them.

It’s difficult to describe the feeling of waking up to fresh piles of snow, especially on a school day, and waiting for the call. The call that gives you permission to stay in your pajamas, make a big breakfast, and stare out the window at the gift of time – the snow day.

How to Get a Snow Day

Most people believe snow days come to us by luck, coincidence, or even prayer. But as the ancient Roman philosopher says…

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
Seneca

To prepare properly and invite the several inches of snow needed to call off the school day, I advise the following steps to be performed in order.

On a Sunday night before bed, put your pajamas on inside out.
Next, take a bucket of ice and pour it into your toilet.
Tap the side of the toilet bowl with a spoon.

Remember, this is only going to work if there is an opportunity for precipitation in the forecast. Also, it really helps to be in an area cold enough to support the snow. We are looking for a little luck, maybe even a dash of magic, not a miracle.

What to do on a Snow Day

Now that you have your snow day, you’ve had your breakfast, and you’ve stared out the window in utter satisfaction, get outside. You really never know how long it will last and you can bet a snowplow is most likely on its way. is urgency in getting to the freshies with your rail sled, or just any old sled, or skis, or snowshoes before it melts or before that pesky snowplow.

A rail sled is my choice as it has the potential to take you as far as you want to go with just a little grade and the perfect conditions. The true power of a rails sled lies in testing just how far you can ride it. Every trip down the hill stretches just a little farther than the last.

Will Snow Days be a Thing of the Past?

It’s up to us to preserve the magic of a snow day. I hope it doesn’t become a story we tell our kids about the old days, before this thing we call remote learning stole our chances for more play and less work.

We cannot let snow accumulation overnight go unnoticed and uncelebrated!

Long live the snow day! I hope you will stand with me in preserving this celebration of a generous gift of moisture. We must honor the tradition and ignore the urge to continue with business as usual.

The next time there is a hint of snow in the forecast, I’ll be wearing my PJs inside out. Will you?

Three Reasons You Should Be Reading Picture Books!

I’m a grown-up and I love picture books. Maybe I’m not a very good grown-up. Sometimes I still wake up on Saturday mornings wanting to eat cereal and watch cartoons. I’m thinking this would be a much better start than watching all that bad news.

A great picture book reminds you of you. It reminds you of the simplicity of life. Words and illustrations work together to bring a smile, and if they are really doing their job, they give you goosebumps. Hopefully, everyone has had at least one picture book in their life to help them along, to make them less lonely, to laugh, cry, and feel a little empathy.

Here are three reasons everyone, including grown-ups, should be reading picture books.

Picture Books Have Less Text

Picture books are by definition, short on words and heavy on illustrations. Less writing means more space for the reader to make their own meaning. It is an opportunity for the reader to join in on the conversation, rather than passively listen in. Authors must choose each and every word wisely. I wonder if picture book authors learn to trust their readers or give them permission to make their own meaning while they read. It feels a bit like they are being generous with their ideas, allowing participation in the story.

With less writing, readers have the opportunity to continue the story, play with it a bit more. Perhaps there is more freedom to explore or wonder what could happen next, or what is happening somewhere else. I love it when authors create different versions of popular stories or tell the story from a different character’s perspective. Readers are allowed to dream and laugh and cry and learn in shorter more manageable chunks.

Picture Books are Full of Pictures

One of my favorite picture books is What Do You Do With a Problem, by Kobi Yamada and illustrated by Mae Besom. I have read it aloud to both children and adults and every time it is a meaningful experience. As the problem grows darker and bigger with each turn of the page, we also get to see hints of light and symbols of direction. This book would in no way be as powerful as it is without the pictures.

Sometimes, well meaning teachers will discourage readers from choosing picture books, or books with pictures in general. We worry that readers won’t be able to visualize the story for themselves. Good readers visualize when they comprehend, its part of the fun of reading, but who is to say illustrations do not ignite an even more imaginative experience?

Comprehension is a complex skill and picture books are just the tool to help readers build that skill. They help us notice and name our world or made-up worlds, and they help us identify ourselves in others, otherwise known as building empathy.

Picture Books Inspire More Authors

Obviously, I love books. We need all kinds of texts in our lives. Picture books inspire us for all of the reasons above and more, but perhaps the most exciting reason we need them lies in our ability to see ourselves as authors. Although I haven’t published any books, I know the process isn’t easy. Still, we all have stories to tell. Maybe we will tell them in words, pictures, music, or poetry, but we must tell them. What if we weren’t so intimidated by writing or the process of publishing and we all just told our stories?

Let’s not forget the most important reason of all: Picture books are just a lot of fun. In this world where we are all trying to find a variety of ways to spend our time, reading sometimes gets the short end of the stick. I raise my voice along with this grown-up author who reads picture books regularly and not to a child, just for herself.

Will you join us? If you are interested in filling your life with a little more laughter, a lot more joy, and a whole world of empathy, I’ll be sharing my favorite picks over the next few months.

Happy Picture Booking!

4 Big Reasons to Love Breakout EDU

Three years ago, I used the majority of my teaching budget (very small) to buy a Breakout Edu Kit. It was, and still is, one of the best teaching tools I have ever invested in.

If you still haven’t heard of this awesome teaching tool, the concept is a little bit like the popular escape rooms popping up all over the world.

Escape room victory photo! L-R my older sister, younger sister, mom, and me

My first Escape Room experience was ~~mind-blowing~~, ~~like going to Disneyland~~, super crazy fun.

After paying for our tickets, our little group was invited into a small room together, where we were asked to give up our cell phones. We listened for a few minutes as the game master explained the rules of the game, and also how he would be available for support if needed. We then followed him into another small room where we were left with one hour to figure things out and get our picture taken to admit defeat or claim ourselves geniuses.

Ok, now can you just read that paragraph again with your teaching lenses on?

I am resisting the urge to italicize the entire paragraph for emphasis. Is this not everything we want in education, maybe minus the small rooms?

My escape room experience left me with no choice but to find a way to recreate as much of it as possible in my classroom. Thankfully, I discovered BreakoutEDU!

So… here are my three BIGGEST reasons for loving Breakout EDU.

Stickers to decorate my box are on the way!

1. Reason #1- Competent and Connected

The way to motivate people to work hard is to give them challenging tasks that they can figure out for themselves while making them feel competent and connected.
USA Today

Struggle doesn’t feel good. That’s why it works. Sometimes we just want people to give us the answers. Actually, I wish someone would please tell me what to do everyday to be blissfully happy, content, successful, and to finally have the carefully sculpted arms of an athlete.

We do have to work for things, especially the things I mentioned above. Work can be a struggle, but it can also be fun. There is nothing more powerful than knowing you can do something. Independence is not about never asking for help, its about being a good learner.

How much could you accomplish if you felt competent and connected? Feeling competent means you are willing to recognize that you do have skills and apply them to the current situation. It may take a loving nudge or an encouraging word, but you can do it! You got this.

Feeling connected means you can also appreciate and recognize that other people have skills and perspectives that can also be applied to the current situation. Collaboration is not just a nice thing to try, it is absolutely essential, especially when solving problems.

Reason #2- Curiosity and Urgency

The concept for Breakout Edu’s kit is a bit different from an escape room in that you aren’t actually trying to break out of a room. Instead, you are working to break into a box.

Why would you want to break into a locked box? What could be so great about whatever is in that box that you need to spend all this time trying to get locks open to get into it? Aha! Your wondering right now aren’t you?

Curiosity. This is what led Alice down the rabbit hole. This is what killed the cat. This is what… ok, ok. You get the point.

This quote is one of my all-time favorites. I might have a thing for Godmothers lately, which you can read about in my previous post, How to Teach Like Cinderella.

Speaking of Cinderella, another important element that is a big part of the breakout experience is the sense of urgency.

Urgency makes things important. Cinderella had to get away from the castle before the clock struck twelve, or…her horses would turn into mice, and all that.

I currently have a Breakout Edu game going at a friend’s house. It’s been over a month now and they still haven’t solved the puzzles. This is not for lack of curiosity. The last game I set up for them had them working on it relentlessly and solved within a couple of hours.

This time, there isn’t a sense of urgency. There really wasn’t before, but it was new and novelty trumps most things. I guess I need to go get my box.

Reason #3- Backward Design and Failure

Every Breakout Edu game starts with backward design. Backward design is the first element of effective instruction and a best practice for planning. It provides the structure, and when you have structure you allow for creativity.

Solving all the puzzles leads to opening all the locks, which leads to getting the box open. When you plan your first breakout, you will start with the final box. You’ve got to think through the game from end to beginning. Now, don’t let your control freak come out here. You are simply setting up a pathway, the absolute magic happens when your players collaborate, problem-solve, create strategies, and fail. They fail and they fail and they fail until they get it right.

The funny thing is failing doesn’t feel so bad when you don’t have time for it. Sulking is a complete and utter waste of time and everyone understands that pretty quickly in a timed breakout.

However, your first breakout should be set up in a way that is building the stamina of your players. Even better if you have players that have done something similar in the past. Do you not love that we are calling our students players now?

Backward Design gives us the gift of a destination, while allowing us to creatively chart our own course.

#4 When Time Runs Out

Time. The thing we all want more of, and the thing we fear the most. You know that feeling when you have a room full of energetic kids and nothing planned to fill that time? Yikes.

When the time runs out on your Breakout Edu game, it runs out. Your players may not have gotten into that box, and this is actually a good thing. Kids, and adults, are so used to getting what they want, when they want it. That feeling you get when you realize its not happening is a healthy thing.

Its called following through with what you said, and also reality. We are not always going to solve everything. What we can do is play a new game and apply what we learned from the last one. This is one of the best parts of the game. Do not let your game end without a discussion about what went well, and what wasn’t working. This is called learning.

I can’t wait to hear about your experiences using a breakout style lesson in your classroom, or with your friends at your local escape room! What if we changed the way education is done by calling ourselves players instead of students.

How To Teach Like Cinderella

A little magic gives us the proper lenses with which to see the world and ourselves. The pixie dust, sparkles, and twinkle of a wand make things visible we would have never seen with our every day, unmagical eyes.

Teaching during this time, we can learn a lot from a young girl, living in tough times. Teaching like Cinderella helps us to have a little hope, want a little more, and be brave enough to enjoy the experience.

Having a Little Hope

“To wear dreams on one’s feet, is to begin to give reality to one’s dreams.”
Roger Vivier

I used to have a beautiful pair of silver sequined heels. Living on a dirt road in Colorado doesn’t make for the best care of silver sequin shoes, but having them just proved I was prepared. Imagine how happy my godmother would be to find that she had just a little less work to do. Yep, I’m that girl.

You know the kind of girl I’m talking about. She’s the kind of girl who has little mice for friends, she sings as she does her endless, meaningless chores, and when the birds wake her in the morning, she gazes out at the beautiful castle in the sky with a hint of hope.

Cinderella had hope, and that, my friends, is why so many of us love this classic and why it’s been reimagined so many times and in so many ways.

Wanting a Little More

In Disney’s Godmothered, we get to see a twist of this same story in the modern world, where everyone has given up on happily ever after, or maybe even wanting more for themselves.

We also learn a valuable lesson about change. When I saw the godmother’s classroom, where all the godmothers in training go to learn, I immediately recognized it as the typical school setting. Teacher at the front, students in desks, ready to learn. What you just can’t miss in this version is that all the students are gray-haired and probably nearing a hundred.

They are also a bit bored out of their minds.

I get it. We want the comfort of our kids learning the way we learned. We believe it works and we are the proof.

Thank goodness a bumbling young fairy is brave enough to try something new.

And what we learn from her story is that we should listen more and talk less. While we are in the midst of change, and we are trying lots of new things, don’t forget to listen to your kids.

I hope we will find through all of this that what we really need in education has been there all along. It’s inside our students. Listen to them. Help them develop what is already there and our jobs become a lot more focused and a lot less overwhelming.

Having a Little Experience

We have to remember that Cinderella never wanted to go to the ball to marry the prince, it just happened. What she really wanted was to go to the ball to have the experience. She wanted to know what it felt like to be in the castle, to wear a nice dress, to even feel a little beautiful.

When her fairy godmother arrived, she ended up with a whole lot more, but the best gift she was given was the shoes.

The other gift her godmother gave her was a little confidence. It must have taken a lot of bravery for her to climb all those stairs to see inside the lives of the people who lived so differently.

The best part is that all of the tools the godmother gave were just an illusion. The true magic was inside the girl. She was already enough and more, and thank goodness the storytellers at Disney knew how to help us see her before she became a princess.

6 Big Reasons to Love a Writer’s Notebook

Using a writer’s notebook is a simple way to recognize yourself first as a writer, then as an author. Teaching kids to recognize themselves as writers and authors is one of the best things you can do for them. Here are my six biggest reasons to love a writer’s notebook.

P.S. The following ideas have evolved from some of my favorite resources, but mostly from this book, which was a critical guide for helping me get my students started, and this article which is sooo worth your read.

1. A Writer’s Notebook as a Classroom Structure

A writer’s notebook can be whatever you want it to be. If you are like me, you have a spiral-bound, lined notebook you can get pretty much anywhere for around a dollar. I also keep a digital writer’s notebook in my drive. This is to encourage the use of my daily writing for publishing. The format doesn’t matter, the purpose does. Whatever you choose, it should be something so accessible you practically trip over it daily, reminding you to write something.

The writer’s notebook is not only something you should have and be writing in on a very regular basis, but your students need it as well. For students, I suggest a non-digital format for their notebooks.

Notebooks will become a personal item for students to collect their own thoughts and ideas, and a place to notice the world around them. A writer’s notebook can be a classroom structure that is used as a consistent tool to organize student and classroom thinking all in one place, over an entire year!

2. Making Thinking Visible: Reading Their Minds!

What I love most about writer’s notebooks is that I can look into them and it’s a peek into my student’s brains. I tell my students that their thinking matters so much, that they need to write it down. The writer’s notebook is where we keep and hold onto thinking. It’s also how I know how I can do my best work as their teacher, for them.

By reading their thoughts, I can better understand their thinking. Maybe I will find places to push their thinking, fill in some gaps, or discover something to share with others. What teacher doesn’t want to be able to read their students’ minds? We are literally becoming mind readers here! This website has some great tips and visuals for getting kids started.

3. A Place for Building Relationships

In the back of their notebooks, students have a section called Lit Logs. This is where we practice the skill of writing letters back and forth to each other and connect on a more individual level.

Essentially, it is a conferring tool! Students know they can write to me anytime in the Lit Log and submit it to me, like sending a text message. I will also use this section to ask them to respond to a prompt, or a problem we may be having in our community. Check out my previous post for ideas about how I’ve used the writer’s notebook to give students some mindfulness time.

I collect these and respond with a short, personal message. This really helps them feel heard and seen and is so important for building relationships throughout the year. When you have a strong relationship with your students, they are more likely to engage in the content you are delivering.

4. A Place for Building Learning Communities

The writer’s notebook is also where we store our class thinking, such as copies of anchor charts, mini-lesson notes, and discussion protocols and norms. Students know that they will be held accountable for their engagement in our collaborative learning community. They will also be asked to share some of their thinking with other class members, and it is easier for them to do that if they already have it written down and are prepared in advance.

5. A Place to Experiment

A notebook is by nature a processing tool. Its a place to capture thinking, jot down notes, sketch ideas, experiment and play with language. Students understand that it is their notebook, but that I will be using it to formatively assess where they are in the processing of content.

When they have a place to try things out, they will discover their own thoughts and even be able to see the learning taking place over time. The process is critical to their ability to create a product that can be used for summative assessments later.

6. A Place to Live the Writing Life

Finally, the reason I love writer’s notebooks is because I use them in my own life. People are thinkers, if you can think, you can write. If students can get into the habit of writing down their thoughts, they will pay attention to them more, they can become more metacognitive.

Writer’s notice the world around them, and pay attention to their place within it. Authors know they must practice writing on a regular basis, and that what they have to say is important. They intend to publish their writing for other people to read. By keeping a writer’s notebook over the last several years, I have been able to have articles published in magazines and online.

How to Build a Self Directed Learner

Teaching students to be more self-aware through Metacognition, Mindset and Mindfulness will build them into more self-directed learners. Self-directed learners are more likely to engage and find motivation because they recognize themselves as learners, rather than participants.

Motivation

Motivation, or reasons for taking action, is a little hard to come by these days. Heck, motivation was a little expensive before the pandemic. Nowadays, you better have a whole lot of intrinsic drive saved up and a heaping tablespoon of purpose to push through to the other side. And what about your students? Purpose? Intrinsic motivation?

In my classroom, motivation was a sometimes thing. As in, sometimes my students were intrinsically motivated, and sometimes they were extrinsically motivated. As a professional, I knew it was a big part of my job to move them from extrinsic to intrinsic. Teaching is an art form in this way because this is where your creativity and enthusiasm can be powerful, and contagious.

Compliance

At the end of each day, my students were given 30 minutes of “Your Time.” Everyone understood that most of the day was considered “My Time.” Really, it was communicated this way: “If you will do the things I and other teachers are asking you to do for most of the day, you will be given a fraction of time at the end of the day to do whatever you wish!” The lines between motivation and compliance get a little fuzzy here.

Is that a bargain or what? It worked so well because I could use this last bit of our day to catch the kids who needed some reteaching, or who were just not able to complete something for whatever reasons they had that day. It also saved me from having to threaten to take away their recess time, which ends up working against you in the long run.

Incentives

Aside from the daily time compromise, there were other mostly successful tactics for getting kids to be compliant. Celebrations are an important part of life, and I wholeheartedly believe we should be celebrating our achievements big or small as often as possible. Incentives are pretty effective in the workplace, at home, and yes, at school. If I’m going to be at school every day, you can bet I’m looking for ways to make it more fun, and not everything is inherently fun. The possibility of earning an ice cream and movie party after learning all my math facts is just good stuff.

Of course, we are all finding ways to recreate what we were doing in the classroom before. We are digitizing as much content as possible, and striving for as much collaboration as we can get synchronously and asynchronously. However, engagement continues to be the missing piece. Even for those students who want to please, who will do everything they can to complete the tasks they are asked to complete, and even for the families who value everything their student’s teachers are sending out, the engagement gap threatens to grow at an alarming rate.

The Engagement Gap

As educators, we talk a whole heap about achievement gaps. Have you ever heard of an engagement gap? In the spring of 2016, pre-pandemic, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development published a report with the following profound statement about the purpose of said report.

Because achievement is unlikely to improve if students are not engaged in their education, finding ways to close the engagement gap is
an essential goal to ensure that high school seniors graduate well prepared for the rigors of college and careers—and become well rounded, successful, contributing members of society.
Introduction, The Engagement Gap -Spring 2016

This report followed a previous report published in 2014 titled The State of America’s Schools: The Path to Winning Again in Education, where we come to the meat of my argument and the motivation 😉 behind this blog post.

The current focus on standardized testing assumes that all students should have a similar educational experience. We leave little time for students to figure out what they love to do and where their greatest talents lie. We waste time and talent.
Connie Rath, Gallup Education

The Self-Directed Learner

Students need to figure out what they LOVE to do, and WHERE their greatest talents lie. Let’s not waste any more time. Students can become more engaged, more motivated, and more successful, but they need to start with self-awareness.

It’s like the old parable of teaching a man to fish. Shall we continue to hope our students will be motivated to do the things we are asking them, or can we give them the skills to discover who they are, to value their uniqueness, and then to recognize their contribution?

This awesome student friendly rubric from Awordonthird.com identifies ways students can evaluate themselves as they move toward becoming more self-aware and more self-directed.

The 3 Ms: Metacognition, Mindset, and Mindfulness are just three of the many tools that are available for creating more self-awareness. These Ms were the foundation upon which I built my curriculum for each and every school year, and are also what I find to be most valuable as I continue to develop my own sense of self and purpose.

Metacognition

Metacognition is the awareness and understanding of one’s own thought processes. I first learned about this concept in a PEBC conference a few years ago. This awesome article from Edutopia explains it as a way to “drive your brain.” When I first teach it to my students, I tell them it is just thinking about your thinking.

Teaching students about their brains, and how to have some control over its processes, is one of the most magical things we can do as educators. When we name and notice what we are doing or thinking, we are gaining self-awareness. I love the PEBC framework for teaching metacognition using thinking strategies. Visualizing, Inferring, and Determining Importance are a reimagining of the same reading and comprehension strategies teachers have been using for years. The captivating part comes when you notice yourself or someone else doing it and name it.

The naming and noticing that comes with teaching these strategies is where we start to uncover the real value in these strategies. When students understand that their brains are already doing these things, they start to see themselves as learners. They might even start to believe that they are capable of learning anything. Well, a teacher can dream, can’t she?

Mindset

Ever since Carol Dweck gave the world her research on Growth vs. Fixed Mindsets, our brains have never been the same. Again, it reminds us that we have the ability to control our thoughts, and maybe even to some extent, the course of our lives.

If this were the case, we would all be living the high life. (Is that still a saying? I live in Colorado, so I’m thinking the meaning of this phrase has changed.) The concept of control is so closely related to the concept of self-directed. When we understand ourselves, we can better organize ourselves. I’m not saying you must be organized to be successful, but I do believe it to be a skill we should all strive to develop in order to better care for ourselves and others.

Big Life Journal has a wonderful resource for teaching your students about growth mindset. Probably one of my favorite parts of teaching growth mindset is the fact that mistakes are critical to learning.

This unit from Angela Watson has several weeks of step by step instructions for teachers and a student journal. I love the videos that were selected for this unit because they include some very well known people who have made tons of mistakes before creating success in their own lives.

Mindfulness

Every day after lunch, my students would come in from recess with loads of complaints and problems. It could take up to 20 minutes of instructional time to resolve these issues. We decided to try something new.

As they entered the classroom, the lights would be low, and soft music would be playing. They could lay on the floor or sit anywhere in the room, but they had to be away from other students. They could doodle or write in their writer’s notebook, but they absolutely could not talk for ten whole minutes.

Here is one of my favorite videos to play on the Smartboard during this time.

We created an anchor chart showing the only reasons anyone could break the silence of that time. Some examples included aliens landing outside our classroom, someone was either bleeding a lot or throwing up, or if bigfoot walked into the room.

My students grew to love and look forward to this tiny bit of silence in the day. This became such a sacred time that they began to ask for it from their other teachers. What an awesome example of a student advocating for themselves and recognizing a need. All for the price of just ten minutes a day.

What are your students looking forward to each day? How are they motivated, and how do they engage in your lessons? I’d love to read your thoughts in the comments.