Remember these names: Soma Hebbar, Nerissa Wong, and Ying Meng. These young Ridgely Middle School students are going places.

Before I began to integrate blended learning practices in my classroom, learning was repetitive…we did the same types of activities every day and it had an impact on my student’s engagement.

I felt that I was restrictive in my instructional delivery, as I could only get to a few students at a time, and have those meaningful conversations around my content with them. I was in a “keep the train moving” mentality to try and get everyone to the same place at the same time...even if some weren’t ready yet.
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Being involved in the Formative Assessment professional learning community (or Flock as we call it) helped me to break from that one track mindset. I learned that the assessment cycle is on-going and after I had given assessment, I don’t need to move on no matter what; but build in structures to accelerate or remediate students… we call that being responsive. 

I have also been exploring how to leverage technology to enhance my instruction. I have been recording my feedback conferences for revision on student writing and uploading them to a lesson tile. This allows my students to have a personalized experience and receive a one on one conference, while also saving me time (I don’t have to write feedback for each of my students).
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In my PLC and during my personal coaching conversations, I have also begun to explore success criteria. 

​The impact on my students’ work ethic has been noticeable as they see the relevance in what they are doing and the expectations are clearly set. I am excited to continue to learn more about not only the formative assessment process; but acting on the data in order to be a more responsive teacher.

The Classroom Bots program is a STEM program that introduced students to coding in an engaging students centered learning environment.  Through the Education Foundation grant students were introduced to the power of coding.  They became programmers as they wrote they commanded their robots to succeed in various tasks.  Working in groups wrote line code to program Ozobots, making them jump, dance, zigzag, change speeds and change color. 

The program achieved two main goals.  First being that it introduced students to coding.  Additionally, it introduced teachers to coding in order increase their comfort integrating this kind of technology into their classrooms.  As a result of the model/co-teaching practices, teachers have been given the tools to integrate 21st century skills into their lessons.  For example, the day after our lesson, one teacher integrated the Ozobots into a math multiplication lesson. 

This project aligned with key actions from the BCPS Blueprint 2.0: Our Way Forward plan by immersing students in a blended learning environment.  Teachers used Classflow to help deliver instruction and resources to the students for them to reference as they worked through the lesson.  One of the key actions in the Blueprint 2.0 is “Identify and embed in curriculum and staff development the characteristics of high-quality teaching and learning including 21st century learning skills and innovative technologies.”  Teachers in grades 1 through 5 had the opportunity to either co-teach or observe model teaching of coding using Ozobots.
 
The program also addressed the Church Lane Elementary School 2017-2018 school progress plan.  Key action 1 is to “implement strategies to teach the importance and acceptance of interpersonal boundaries and respect”.  With twelve robots, students had to complete their coding challenges in groups of two or three.  They had to share materials, space and ideas.  Using this kind of technology increased student engagement and was highly motivating.  Students had to listen to their peers and resolve conflict positively in order to complete their work.  Through their evaluations, students indicated positive interactions with their classmates.     

​Teachers are always searching for ways to make writing exciting for students. As a primary teacher, you are also looking for ways to help students of varying writing abilities to be able to express their ideas and understanding.  Luckily we have a lot of technology available that provides just that! Students can add video, pictures, files, text or draw to respond to any prompt. They can also respond to their classmates’ work.  Technology has been a great tool that has transformed my teaching and how engaged students have become with their writing!

This year we were lucky to have extra professional development hosted by our wonderful co-worker, Mrs. Alison Doubet, who has provided multiple technology sessions to our staff this school year. Professional development is most useful when you know you can use what you learned from it in your classroom the very next day. I knew that I loved her tech tools and wanted my students to start using it as soon as possible. However, I didn’t feel comfortable enough to introduce certain things to my class yet. This feeling can often make you put great teaching strategies on the back burner until you forget about them.
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The best part about working in a Lighthouse School is that intermediate and primary classes pair up for “Tech Buddies”. Mrs. Doubet’s third grade class taught my first graders how to use tools in about 15 minutes! Not only were my students excited to work with older kids but they were motivated to use a new tech tool.

Technology has motivated my students to want to write and express their thoughts with more detail then they do on paper. They are excited to listen and or read their friend’s work and share a praise or question. Using this interactive tools has given us the opportunity to talk about how to show respect and be responsible online.
 
Technology often gets a bad rap for taking communication away from the younger generation. At Joppa View we are using “Tech Buddies” and technology to deepen and enrich our communication across the grade levels. 

​Our 3rd Annual Academic Extravaganza took place on Thursday, April 26, 2018 from 6:00-7:30 PM. This spectacular evening event invited families to tour the building to view outstanding student work samples and projects from every subject and over time that were displayed throughout the school. 

The evening began with a kick-off skit for the One School, One Book™ novel program. All students in the school received the book, The Adventures of a South Pole Pig, which they will read at home with their families. Follow-up activities take place at school daily to reinforce comprehension of the text. 

​The Maker Faire featured special projects made by students in Grades 3 – 5 and was truly an “A Faire to Remember”! This STEM competition encompasses the Next Generation Science Standards and provides students the opportunity to use P21 skills to solve a local or real-world problem. 

Fifth grade students worked in cooperative groups of no more than four to research and design a solution to Governor Hogan’s Conowingo Dam challenge or for a local problem or issue. They designed or constructed a prototype or developed a new case law as a solution. Then they presented a 2-3 minute “sales pitch” to a panel of judges in a Shark Tank-like format.

Fourth grade students created a trash collection device for picking up schoolyard trash as part of their Rubbish Rescue Unit. The trash collection devices did not have to be fully functional but had to be a valid solution to the trash collection issue and had to convert energy in at least three separate ways! Their designs included “The Garbage Muncher 9,000”, “The Clean Machine” and “The JXM 2018”.

Third grade students participated in a Safe Racer competition, where they constructed model cars to see which car would travel the furthest distance while keeping an egg from cracking or breaking. There were restrictions as to materials and design, requiring students to apply their knowledge of forces and motion to design a winning car. Along the way, there was lots of research, revisions, and roughed up eggs! At the conclusion of the unit, each car was released down a ramp to see how far it could travel. While not every egg survived the competition, there were plenty of cheers and tears (of joy) in the halls on Safe Racer day!
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Fifth grade musicians provided an additional highlight as they showcased their instruments with an "Instrument Petting Zoo."  All who wanted to try out an instrument they have always dreamed of playing had the opportunity! Students taught guests how to hold the instrument and make sounds using it. Students as teachers- music to our ears and at the very heart of a learner-centered environment! 

The evening concluded with dinner in the cafeteria which included a community sing-a-long. A great night was had by all!  ​

​In my first year, if anybody asked me to change my strategy or try something new, I would politely smile and decline. Who could blame me? It is difficult being a first year teacher, and keeping my head above water was my first priority.  After working with Maggie Cummins and Mathew Doty, my perspective has changed completely.

Needless to say it was scary to try something new in the classroom, but through constant co-planning, communication, and many early mornings, I can confidently say my practice has changed for the better.  Ms. Cummins and Mr. Doty were understanding of my hesitations, and were able to help all along the way. If I was ever unsure of assessment/engagement techniques or how to integrate technology seamlessly, they were available to help. The coaching conversations have given me the opportunity to receive multiple perspectives on my lessons that I had not had before, and thus aided in the feedback process. In addition to this, the conversations allowed me to view my content in different ways, and forced me to think more meaningfully about my content and how my students are viewing my lessons.

After the coaching I have received this year, there are several strategies that are now commonplace in my classroom.  First and foremost, the use of cards in group activities in order to quickly separate students into mastery and break out groups is now in my room almost every week.  This strategy allows for random grouping, and makes for seamless transitions due to the playing cards “suit” and “number” respectively.  This strategy is used along with Targeted Small Group Instruction (TSGI).

I was uncomfortable with the idea of using TSGI based on student achievement, and instead use it to explain difficult concepts in station activities.  This strategy replaces the “lecture” aspect of the class, and lets me make sure that students can understand, and connect key concepts.  Finally, the use of tiered, self-paced assignments changes the environment of the classroom, and allows students to work at the pace that suits them, without any students being left behind.  This, coupled with tech integration, gives students the ability to increase their web and print literacy, and give meaning to the new devices.

​I am looking forward to the rest of this and next year, where I will continue to master these strategies, while continue to try to flip the classroom, and give students more meaningful assessments and feedback every day!

Fourth grade has taken on the wonderful task of exploring Genius Hour during the last half of the school year. The students are exploring their passions to further their interests in various subjects and skills. Some of the projects include:

• Researching computer programming,
• How dance promotes healthy living,
• The positive effects of video games,
• How slime can be created to assist with our cool down centers.

The class decided on their passion, created a power point slide show or poster, and presented their passion to the class to obtain tips and ideas about where to begin their research.
 
We are also learning to celebrate our failures during Genius Hour, or what we call "epic fails." Researching can be challenging and sometimes we just don't get the results we want, so instead of shutting down and getting frustrated, we post it on our #epicfail board to remind us to persevere through the hard stuff.  We can't wait to report back with the amazing projects, displays, and products at the end of the year!