A Celebration of OUR Story

It's hard to believe the end of our year is coming to an end!  It's been a year of growing and reflecting as we've been thrown many curveballs.  One of the most exciting chapters of learning during the 2016-2017 school year, was earning our STEM certification.

Beginning in December 2016, we spent countless hours working during PLC, over coffee on a Saturday morning and even some nights after school!  There were times when the end seem so far away but with the help of each other, we all achieve what seemed to be the impossible...our STEM certification.

Sure we spent time watching videos and submitting our digital reflections, but it was the impromptu conversations we had during our school day and over text during the weekend.  The conversations that brought reassurance that we are all a team working towards one common goal....student success!  You could often find us talking with each other about certain indicators that we struggled with or indicators that brought success.  Celebrations occurred as we each received the infamous "firework" email stating we had completed our certification process! 

 

I couldn't be more proud of our teachers.  Over the past six months, a change in mindset began to unfold in the hallways of NRMS.  A change from teacher-led instruction to student-centered classrooms. A change from pencil and paper tasks to inquiry-based activities.  Teachers began to step out of their comfort zones and try new ideas that we learned about during the certification process.  We began to lean on each other in ways we never thought possible.  

As a department, we have common goals for our upcoming year.  Those of having the same group roles for our learners to truly implementing interactive notebooks, where learners are reflecting on their learning.  

Yesterday, all of the 6th & 7th Falcons and NRMS staff members, came together to celebrate becoming the first nationally STEM certified middle school.  Hearing words from our district leadership team, as well as Dr. Judy Zimney, from National Institute of STEM Education, were truly inspiring.  We have so many supporting our STEM journey!  

                

As Dr. Clarence Simmons spoke to our Falcons, he left them with the question of, "What will your legacy be?"  It is so imperative that we all think towards the future and what impact we have on each others' success.  As we move into our new building, our 7th graders will be the first to graduate from NRMS.  They will set the tone for our year together.  I'm excited to be apart of their legacy and hope to help them achieve their goals!  

Dr. Zimny followed Dr. Simmons by encouraging our school community to think like scientists during the summer and beyond.  In order to think like a scientist, we must be a learner.  Look at all situations as learning opportunities, rather than obstacles.  They more we know, the more we can do!  She encouraged us to be strong and have an I can mindset; to be the best we can be.  Dr. Zimny's final point was to be resilient.  We must not allow failures to define us.  By following these three guidelines, nothing will hold us back!  

Our day of celebration continued that evening with a dinner hosted by curriculum and instruction.  Our science department chair, Karen Sanchez, and myself were asked to share about STEM experiences, which was an incredible honor.  I love sharing about how proud I am of our department and their desire to be the best for our learners!  

Hearing the excitement during these last days of May, from both each other and our leadership team, make this next chapter in our learning journey that much more exciting!  We are preparing our learners to be 21st century learners, which alleviates the chaos of packing and moving into our new building more bearable.  

Stay tuned as we turn the page in the story of NRMS...

The Impact of 140 Characters

Twitter has become a way of life for me.  I find myself scrolling through to catch the latest headlines, as well as following inspirational educators.  I've been on Twitter since 2014 and love the connections I have made with others.  Twitter has become the digital platform I use to share the story of the learners in Room 27!  (just search #nrmsproud to see all of the great accomplishments of our Falcons!)  

One of my most favorite parts of Twitter is being able to connect with others around the world!  During a recent Twitter Chat, hosted by @DiscoveryEd, I read about the Power of STEM Day.  I couldn't help but think this would be an incredible experience for our Falcons and what perfect timing as we were about to embark on our first PBL, focusing on STEM careers and higher education.

#DESTEMchat

The more I read, the more excited I became!  Check out Power of Stem Day hosted by Siemens for more information.  A STEM challenge was planned.  Each group's goal was to create the strongest tower that would hold the weight of one marshmallow.  Students were split into groups and given 20 pieces of spaghetti, 3 feet of masking tape, 3 feet of string and 1 marshmallow.

Prior to officially starting the 5:00 minutes, learners were asked to think about how they could contribute to the team, based on the task.  Would it be by managing the supplies?  Leading the creativity? Or encouraging others?  After the 1 minute was up, our 5 minutes began.  As I walked around our room, I noticed how each group took a different approach to achieving the task.  Some collaborated first, while others jumped right into creating!  I love how all learners are respected for their contributions to the group.   The timer was set for 5 minutes and the innovative problem solving began!

The timer rang and everyone stopped.  Again, I asked that each learner reflect on how their group was working and to write it down.  Stress was high as they only "had" 5 minutes to create.  Another 5 minutes was put on the timer and the creativity continued!  Tension was lowered due to not having a time constraint of only 5 minutes.  Many learners mentioned that the time parameters stressed them out.  Again, all real world learning opportunities!

When we achieved our goal of creating the strongest tower, it was time to take our reflecting past the standard Post-It note and to the digital world!  I shared my Twitter feed with all classes, explaining who I choose to follow and why, as well as what I post.  It was a great lesson in creating our digital footsteps.

 

As students began to tweet about our STEM challenge, they became more excited as others across the nation liked and retweeted their pictures!  Opening their eyes to what the world holds is what learning is all about.  I love sharing new learning opportunities with our Falcons and can't wait to see what amazing things they do with the digital resources they've been exposed to this school year!  

How are you using Twitter with your learners?

Reflecting Using Google Forms

During PLC, our campus digital specialist, Rashel Larson, led our day of learning about creating and using Google Forms within our classroom.  Because we have such a variety of digital experience, we started with the basic way to create a Google Form, by creating a End of Year survey.

I love how excited our teachers were during our time together!  Ideas were being shared about how to use Google forms to make our lives easier.  I shared with them how we use it in 8th grade math to help grade our STAAR reviews, as well as to hold our learners accountable during intervention.  Teachers were amazed at how much data you could gather from the use of Google Forms.

As I left our time together, my head was spinning with ideas on what I could do with a Google Form.  I already use them for documentation for the restroom, late arrival and incomplete assignments.  Using QR codes, allowed for students to use their phones to be responsible for their actions!

   

I decided I was going to create a Google Form for our end of year reflection.  Student voice has been a focus of mine for the past few years.  I use this Your Voice Matters survey to gather input on the strengths and areas of improvement for each unit of study.  The feedback has been huge as we move forward with creating meaningful learning opportunities.  

End of Year Reflection

The feedback I received from our EOY Reflection was meaningful.  I'm grateful that the learners of Room 27 feel safe when it comes to expressing their feelings.  In fact one child made a point of asking me to read his response, since I was the first math teacher he has ever had that he felt important.  

Data has been collected and analyzed.  Of course there are areas of improvement such as getting corrections or late assignments graded faster as well as making more time for after school tutorials.  Some of the strengths included the ability to make corrections on all assignments, the pacing of our class and most of all the love of our STEM challenges and Hour of Code.  

Some of my favorite quotes from the evaluation:  

"The class was always kind of like an open discussion rather than a "raise your hand and be called on" sort of thing.  It was like a book discussion every day!"

"Wow, where to start. I think I will always remember when I came back from being in Colorado for a week, and everything was crazy. I remember going up to Ms. Pauley, and freaking out over schoolwork and things that I didn't understand, and she told me to stop freaking out, and to just get my work in when I could. I will forever be grateful to Ms. Pauley for being such a chill teacher, even when we are all freaking out!"

"I have grown in so many different ways, in learning, believing in myself, and growing as a student. You have helped me understand the impossible!"

Stepping Outside of our Comfort Zone

Having only a rubric to guide their creativity was a new concept to our Falcons!  Our learners are so used to being told what their final products should include, down to the exact location of where to put their name.  Rather than giving exact requirements, guiding questions were given to the learners of Room 27.  

As learners embarked on creating their solutions, they were asked to focus on what STEM meant to them, why were were focusing on STEM careers, what learning looked like during the 2016-2017 school, how technology had enhanced their learning environments and most of all how could one pursue a higher education, without going into debt.

On Friday, May 26, just 20 instructional days after our learners were first asked to create a solution to our driving question:

"In 2017, learners are being encouraged to become responsible global citizens by being innovative and creative in their ideas of the future.  However, it is expensive to obtain STEM training needed to be successful.  With the increasing amount of personal debt the average American has, how might we increase the amount collected in savings so that a person will graduate from college debt-free?"

Our Falcons grabbed the problem with both hands and created outstanding visuals, both digital and concrete, of their findings and solutions.  The pride of our learners was heard throughout the cafeteria as they shared their solutions to various stakeholders.  Parents, BISD administrators and teachers were seen walking around the cafeteria, speaking with our Falcons as they shared their learning.

Overall, the past 20 school days have made me proud to be a member of the NRMS math department.  I'm grateful to work with other educators who are willing to take risks and step out of their comfort zone, trying their first PBL.  I'm grateful for our administrative team and campus digital specialist for supporting both the teachers and learners as we embark on new learning opportunities.  Most of all, I'm grateful for the learners of Room 27, as they let go of traditional "school" and embraced 21st century learning.  They make me proud to be their teacher!

Using ThingLink to Describe the Best University

As most of our students were taking their math & reading STAAR tests, we are out in the land of portables, creating infographics using ThingLink!  ThingLink is a website digital tool that allows learners to create an infographic.  By "tagging" their image, learners are able to consolidate many digital resource into one place.  

Though I've had previous experience with creating Thinglinks for lessons and professional learning experiences, I thought this would be the perfect way to introduce our learners to a new digital presentation.  It's time to move away from the safety of a Power Point presentation and step into the 21st century!

The 8:40 bell rang and learners quickly logged into Google classroom to find today's task...Creating a ThingLink for the Best University!  Because of the newness with this presentation platform, we thought it was best to create a Google doc with step by step directions, including helpful links and pictures to guide our learners.  Some kids chose to go step-by-step by themselves, while others worked with the guidance of a teacher or peer.  

Students were given access to directions as well as a sample TCU ThingLink 

Despite having our classes mixed together in 10 different groups, our learners were able to access Google classroom all of their research materials!  One joy I had during these 2 days was teaching our learners how to save images into their Google drive.  They were truly in amazement that they could save their file in drive and then access it from a different device...true example of Joy!  

As I walked around our temporary classroom, in the land of the portables, I was amazed at the various colleges our learners were researching.  From schools in Texas to the coast of the United States and across the oceans, conversations were sparked about why they chose their school and what made their school a great choice for them.  

After we saved & uploaded an image that represented our school, learners hit the web and found a version of their school fight song.  Copying the share link and adding a tag into our Thinglink was the next task on our to do list.  

Because not all resources are web based, we walked through the process of adding text to our Thinglink.  Students used either their chromebook or phones to determine the mileage between our campus and the school they felt was the best choice for them.  Many were once again amazed how we encouraged our learners to use technology to devise a solution to their questions.  In fact, it was amazing to watch them step outside of their comfort zone and use Google to find their answers.  

Here are some samples of our students' ThingLink infographics

MIT

Penn State

UT-Austin

Texas A&M

Standford University

Arizona State University

What is STEM?

Imagine about 75, 8th graders, working in groups of 4-5 students, anxiously awaiting the challenge...the challenge of collaborating with each other and determining a solution to a given problem.  As we continue to embark on our first PBL, today was the day we sparked our learners' interest and gave them a common experience of what "STEM" is in the real world.  It's being able to find a solution to a given problem!

Our first and second period learners, focused on building the longest chain, using only a sheet of paper, glue stick and a pair of scissors.  Throughout the 15 minutes, students worked together and justifying their choices as to why their idea or suggestion was the better route to take.  It was interesting to watch both Algebra and 8th grade math students work together.  Many groups jumped right into creating, while others discussed what they should do first.  By the end of the 15 minutes, we had chains wrapped around our cafeteria, measuring which group had created the longest chain!

As groups began to measure their chains, discussions evolved as to what the definition of a chain is.

We quickly looked up the meaning and decided that we needed to have two winners, 

in this challenge!  

Longest Chain Link 

Longest Chain

Learners in 3rd period focused on building the tallest tower, given a file folder, tape and a pair of scissors.  This group brought a various levels of experience, as my current 3/4 students have had multiple experiences with STEM challenges and having to think "outside of the box."  As I walked up and down the walkway between our cafeteria tables, students were asking questions if they could cut the folder, how tall could the tower be.  Many kids were afraid to "make" changes to the file folder and at first just rolled the folder.  As they looked around, students quickly realized that there were no definite directions.  It's all about creativity!

15 minutes were up and here are the winners! Each group said their success was because they were able to listen and collaborate with each other.  From a teacher's perspective it was interesting to watch the confidence of our learners explode as they stepped outside of the box and began cutting their file folders.  Ultimately, each group was a winner and accepted the challenge!  

       

 

Our 6th period group consisted of both Algebra and 8th grade math learners.  Again, the vast amounts of experience brought a new level of engagement for most.  I wonder if some of the learners who had little experience with a hands-on lesson chose to remain "quiet" during the 15 minutes, while those who have done similar investigations took control of their group and guided their peers!

As the conclusion of our building time, we had a great discussion as to what made the tallest tower.  We had 2 groups that built from the table to the ceiling and taped their tower to the ceiling....again thinking outside of the box.  We all agreed they were definitely the most creative in their thinking!

Thinking Outside the Box

Our winners that followed the guidelines! 

Today's STEM challenge not only provided an optimal learning opportunity for our learners, but also for us teachers!  I'm grateful to work with a team of teachers who is willing to step out of their comfort zone and try new ideas, even when we have to be flexible as far as grouping or our location.  We modeled being solution seekers, rather than problem finders which ultimately is what 21st century learning entails.  I love the conversations that we had as educators as far as why certain events happened within our classes.

Today served as a reminder of why I love being a teacher, as well as a life-long learner!  

Planning Our First PBL

Over the past 5 months, both the math and science teachers have feverishly been working on earning our national STEM certification.  In Domain 3:  Engaging Students in Science and Engineering Practices, we as math educators stepped out of our comfort zone and entered the world of science.  We observed science classrooms, collaborating with both the students and teachers in these classrooms, as well as our administrative team.  One of the newest "ideas" in this domain was Action 13:  Implementing Project-Based Learning.

Within Action 13, there were 3 indicators:  authenticity of problem, student autonomy, communication skills.  Having had previous professional learning on PBLs, I had an upper hand in our conversations.  The only exposure to project-based learning most of my teammates have, as of May 1st, is a brief 30 minute discussion in February combined with a few videos and web searches about PBL....we have lots to learn, which is coming this summer during a week long focus on project-based learning!

My teammates agreed that doing this PBL would allow us to have some common experiences to reflect on during our June professional learning!  As we meet each day and discuss the next day's events, I remind myself what it was like to be in their shoes years ago and how taking these small steps is huge in becoming a 21st century educator.

Despite having a limited number of digital devices, we all agreed using Google classroom would be vital to our students' success!  Folders were created, resources were added and our daily PLC collaboration began.  One of the best parts of Google drive is being able to collaborate on the same document, no matter our location or time of day.

Our Planning Document

As we began to plan our PBL, we realized we needed to gather data throughout the learning process.  We created a google form survey that assesses our learners prior knowledge of STEM, college and financing their college education.  The timing could not have been more perfect with our Digital Specialist lead PLC over how to create a Google Form!  

Most of our student assignments can be found in the tasks folder.  Here our Google docs for research are stored, as well as a salary breakdown task, using Google sheets.  Our learners are pretty amazed at how the digital documents work and continue to become more familiar with them, as we begin our STEM career research!

Stay tuned to find out how our Falcons collaborate and and begin to justify their solutions to our driving question:

"In 2017, learners are being encouraged to become responsible global citizens by being innovative and creative in their ideas of the future.  However, it is expensive to obtain STEM training needed to be successful.  With the increasing amount of personal debt the average American has, how might we increase the amount collected in savings so that a person will graduate from college debt-free?"