Patton @ AMLE 2017

This session presented by Charles Beaman was phenomenal.   He is such a dynamic and engaging speaker.  His main points were how important it was for teachers to try to reach students by using expression, stimulating AHA moments, use multiple strategies to reach all types of learners and have "hooks" to increase engagement.    He shared ideas on the importance of using brain compatible strategies and how critical it is to make learning fun.  He emphasized 3 things the Brain Loves:  Choice, Novelty and Challenge.  Lastly, he talked about how important it is for teachers to be  "Life Touchers" for students.  The slightest word of encouragement can make all the difference in the world and you may not ever realize just how big your impact was but how critical it is to be mindful of the impact you can have. The Difference between Teachers and Life Touchers.  All Life Touchers are teachers but not all teachers are life touchers.  Strive to be a Life Toucher.

I attended a few technology sessions rich in ideas that can be implemented very easily into most content areas. I’d like to share some of those here, in case you’d like to check them out. Hacking Google for Educators (by Brad Currie) Poll Everwhere: Add-on; Can be embedded into Google Slides Flip Grid: Post video clips (like asking students questions) and use in lieu of or in addition to a live classroom discussion; can be accessed through Google Classroom Mind Meister : Google Doc Add-On; takes bulleted lists and turns into a more dynamic mind map Screencastify: Google extension; use to create tutorials or how to’s; students can create these to demonstrate a skill; teachers can use to create tutorials which can be uploaded to Canvas ReadWrite for Google Classroom: Google extension; use to differentiate reading content for students at various reading levels Google Classroom: now has the ability to give different assignments to each student And a few good

Quizizz, Quizalize, and Quizlet Live... Oh My! Please scroll down toward the bottom to see the email from the presenter. She included links to her presentation and many useful resources. You can follow the presentor @EdTechTiff tiffany.elberfeld@gmail.com She is a former French Teacher and now serves as a tech integration teacher working throughout her district. Here are a few interesting tidbits :) Kahoot! Can now be assigned as HW!!! Big change. Other game modes on Kahoot! are: "Jumble", "Ghost Mode" and "Blind Kahoot!" Quizizz www.quizizz.com play live or as a HW assignment students can view on their own screens shuffles answer choices within the classroom Memes!!!! Scroll down to see answers inclusive Self-paced! immediate feedback question library avatars Possible uses: pre-assessment, exit ticket, review, intro a new topic, student collaboration Quizlet Live www.quizlet.live term/definition/pairing must have at

This presentation's mantra was essentially "teach the kids, not the content." It was all about how middle school is such an important time in our students' lives to be recognized as individuals and to form relationships with each other and with adults. I really responded to it. One of the tips that I took away from the presentation that I really thought, "Wow, we have to do something like this at Patton!" was about how to ensure that every student in our building feels connected somehow. The two presenters (building principals) said that something they do is that they print out an entire spreadsheet of every student in the building and ask teachers to place a checkmark next to the students whom they feel they have a good connection with. After each faculty member has had the list, it becomes evident that the students with abundant checkmarks are the very high achievers and the students who receive the most academic support. The students in the middle, howe

I think my favorite session was called "Lead Like A Pirate" which was titled after the book.  The presenter's school theme is "Making school a place where kids are banging down the door to get in, not out".  I thought this sounded a lot like our school philosophy. She shared LOTS of great ideas that her school uses including Teen Tweet, hiding secret eggs, Birthday carts, and more.  It got me thinking about different ideas we could do in our school and I can use in my Advisory to make school an enjoyable place for the students and for the teachers.  There was an emphasis on taking care of the teachers so they will take care of the kids.  It made me try to think of ways we can take care of each other.  I went online and bought the book "Teach Like A Pirate". I also went to another presentation on scheduling intervention in a tight schedule.  It gave me some great ideas for trying to help us bring math intervention into the school day.  I don't t

The "Thrive" session had some great videos that we could use in Advisory or Hawk TV.  I think students really connect to inspirational videos. Soul Pancake puts up some inspirational videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/soulpancake?disable_polymer=true

I had never heard of and did not know of Debbie Silver.   I came to find out very quickly that she had presented in Unionville School District prior to 2004, when I started in the district.   She was an engaging, enthusiastic presenter.   Debbie Silver’s sessions were full of practical and usable ideas for not only for my classroom, but also to apply in my own life with my children.   She conveyed one of the simplest principles; encourage children on Effort and Choices.   Encouraging children based on things they can control rather than those things they cannot control.   Doing so will create more intrinsically motivated individuals and learners.   Most people complement and encourage by telling children that they are so smart.   I had never thought of it this way.   Something so simple that makes a tremendous difference.   So, when you think about encouraging your students or your own children, remember praise them for their hard work and effort.   This encouragement wil

I attended the presentation of teaching throughout movement. It was really eye opening how vital preparing the brain and brain breaks are for a class to learn. The emphasis on "fitness over sitness" applied to all students. When the brain is activated it creates new brain cells which helps stimulate growth. By doing this, the brain learns through implicant learning. Implicant learning, the brain's preferred way of learning, happens through movement, emotions and life experiences. Utilizing movement and preparing the brain through either brain breaks or quick cross the midline activities (jumping jacks in circles and hand tapping-toe clapping) the student's learning will increase. The practical strategies of brain breaks and quick brain stimulation activities I can apply to my classes. Overall, the speaker was engaging and did some of his activities to give us an idea of how to apply it within our lessons.

I attended a session on teaching through movement. The speaker led with "your immune system is eavesdropping on your inner dialogue." - Deepak The speaker used John Ratey's research support from SPARK detailing the science of exercise and the brain. The emphasis was on "fitness over sitness" across all academic classrooms. Practical strategies were given to easily incorporate movement into any class that were immediately applicable on my return to the classroom on Wednesday. The speaker argues that meaning making is state dependent and learning is a very powerful tool to make learning relevant. It was an engaging session because the speaker practiced what he was preaching by engaging session attendees in many of his suggested activities.

I was struck by the importance of creating a positive environment for my students.  One presenter showed a picture of a woman who had a fearful expression on her face.  Most of the teachers in the room said she looked afraid; however, the presenter said 8/10 middle school students thought the teacher was angry.  We need to be careful how we express ourselves in front of our students, knowing that they misread some of our thoughts.

At AMLE 2017 I attended Todd Bloch's presentation, " Social Media and Our Middle School Students ."  His message was strong: Don't deny students access to social media.  Model how to use it!  While I've embraced technology in my classroom, I've been very wary in incorporating social media; I think I've been scared of putting a public face to my classroom.  But why?  Because of those news stories of teachers fired for inappropriate posts?  I have enough common sense to keep my posts professional, so why not use social media as a means of promoting and advertising my students' work?  By doing so, I'm: showing the community the work I'm proud of connecting with parents connecting with other educators from whom I can find inspiration getting students excited (they love social media!) modeling how to shape the cyber footprint I leave Remind me again why I've been hesitant?  According to US News and World Report , 35% of college adm

I attended number sense and problem solving-this was a great session confirming that many middle schoolers and more just do not understand number relationships to other numbers and are lacking in the "why" for solving problems.  In my day, most of us were good memorizers and did not understand the why.  This should not be happening in today's world and educators/parents need to emphasize the importance of understanding numbers and not just getting the right answer!! Another session I went to was Brain Basics 101-emphasized how important it is to develop socially & emotionally health classrooms. We learned the why to deep breathing exercises helping and I tried it with all my classes and the kids really enjoyed doing it and knowing the why it works!! Thanks again to Steve for allowing us to go as a team-got to reconnect with many !!

Much better than Kahoot! I have already created 4 quizzes of my own; first aid, anatomy terminology, and conflict. I have used them as a pre-assessment. We are able to see percentage of correct/incorrect answers. We can review each question one by one. It has great memes; kids like the competition aspect. They take 20 minutes to set up a 10 question quiz. There are pre-made quizzes you may borrow from other users. Two months are free; $30 a year for a membership after that. Just another neat/fun activity to get class started! Matzie

Round 1 Everyone gets to submit an idea without discussion. Round 2 Everyone gets a set number of votes to vote for their favorite ideas Round 3 Only the top idea(s) are left to create your shared vision.

The conference was filled with lots of great information and every session provided insights and snippets to utilize in the classroom. Here are a few of the highlights.  The Watershed project celebrated 30 years of a program that has had a significant impact on the learning and lives of many students.  A fully integrated program this took and continues to take a lot of buy in from all of the stakeholders. The Kinesthetic Classroom provided tons of tips interspersed with facts as to how best to keep students focused and acquiring knowledge throughout instruction. The session was lively, interactive and fun and he provided a great handout (I've printed it if anyone would like a copy).  I was disappointed by two of the sessions because it was nothing new nor was the information presented in a way that was useful. Having just had an inservice with the Mazzoni Center the program out of Arizona sounds great, but the delivery did not showcase this as I had expected. One on a girls group w

Presenter Jennifer Tamburlin showed us many great ideas for our classrooms. My favorite was Flipgrid. This site allows students to create video journals or vlogs. Classes can view their classmates in one spot and it organizes everything. Super easy and useful! All the sessions I attended were great.

I attended a session on how to create time in MS schedule for Reading and Math intervention.  While other sessions I attended celebrated the whole child, and what we can do to enrich the middle school experience, this one was focused on the basic blocking and tackling of core subject remediation.   The school that presented experienced an achievement gap that was most pronounced in its special education population.  The administrator invoked a 'moral imperative' to support these kids, which really resonated with me. A few things I really liked:  The intervention happens in 3-week rotations, in 20 minute periods at start of school day.  Each 3-week intervention period covers a specific standard in either ELA or Math, so only students who were not proficient in that standard would be invited to participate.  This makes it seem more fluid; students may be in one intervention period, but not the next. Students who are not in an assigned Intervention period attend a 'Special

As someone new to teaching middle school, I was really excited to be given the opportunity to attend the AMLE conference.  I enjoyed learning about the differences between teaching middle school as opposed to the "junior high school" model.  One of the sessions that I attended, Motivating Reluctant Readers Through Technology gave a lot of ideas for different education and reading apps and software that help to engage students with reading, especially those who don't like to read.  The session that I enjoyed most was It's Not Drama, It's My Life, which was a demonstration of the research based girls' empowerment program called Girls Unlimited (http://girlsunlimited.org/). This LGBTQ friendly program is used in middle schools to help girls learn empathy, empowerment, social media safety, kindness and respect, body image positivity, and conflict resolution.  The creator of the program presented a few of the lessons from the curriculum, and they were really powerf

Grading  Many aspects of grading reflect traditions that have been a part of education for over 150 years. Yet, no research exists  demonstrating that grades positively contribute to the learning process. Establishing grades arose from a need to rank and sort high school graduates so college admissions officers could more easily select candidates. Why? Between 1870 and 1910, the number of American public high schools exploded from 500 to 10,000. Think about that massive migration of adolescents and teenagers into schools--and that equally long line of high school graduates wanting to attend college. Unprecented growth. Colleges had no idea how to handle it. The lingering problem is that the tradition is so ingrained (we are doing the heavy lifting for university admissions offices) that we likely couldn't imagine "school" any other way. Imagine parents learning that a school district might drop class ranking, the use of the GPA, or the designation of a valedicto

I had the privilege of attending AMLE for Monday and Tuesday, as I was a presenter on both days.  This meant that, in addition to attending some wonderful sessions, I was able to share a topic about which I am extremely passionate: Warm Ups in the math classroom.  I presented this topic in two formats, but my favorite was the Speed Learning session, which is best compared to speed dating.  Educators have the opportunity to participate in three round table learning sessions in a one hour period.  The teachers who visited my table were engaged and excited to hear about the ways that I've been incorporating warm ups into my meager 42-minute class periods.  With the short periods in mind, I reminded everyone that "they could do it to" without wasting class time.  I enjoyed being able to share efficiency tips with fellow teachers, and hearing most leave excitedly, ready to try some strategies and techniques in their own classroom.  Above all, presenting allows me to better

I attended a few interesting sessions (Race in the classroom / A 6th Grade Transition Class) and a few not so interesting sessions (geocaching).  But, the highlight for me was an opportunity to sit and talk with other educators from around the country.  I found myself in a discussion group with teachers from all sorts of backgrounds - from across the country -  and vastly different socioeconomic schools...and we talked about what's best for kids in the middle school.  I got a sense of pride in that many of items other teachers "wished" their schools would do, Patton is already doing. 

This session was presented by teachers who allow re-dos, retesting, and re-quizzing.  I found this to be very interesting and tried to decide if I agreed with this philosophy or not.  On one hand I feel mastery learning is definitely a good thing.  However, How do you motivate students to do they're best on the first try?  Does this create a lot of extra work for the teacher?  Maybe a system where the students get two grades would work?  One grade for what they earned on the first try and another grade for whether or not they mastered the material.  All in all, this was an interesting session that could be interesting to talk about in the future.

The conference reminded me of many ideas I have learned over the years.  Reflecting on the day I questioned how to take all of this information and create new meaning for students to use in our constantly evolving society.  Blending the proven skills with new ideas becomes our challenge.  We have so many skills, content knowledge, and processing activities to complete each day in a short amount of time each day it becomes challenging to reach all students needs.

I attended two AMLE workshops that focused on students' emotional and social well-being.  A few takeways: * Some students' "emotional" cup is full or overflowing - they cannot learn when they are dealing with these emotions.  * Language to use: "Disregulated" - students need our help to regulate themselves. * Instead of directly addressing/asking a student about disruptive behavior use these starters: "I'm wondering why..." and "I noticed..." Using this language is a less confrontational and more supportive way to approach a "disregulated" student. * The science of breathing - breathe in like you are smelling a flower and exhale like you are blowing on hot soup.

My first session was  called Let's Talk About Race and it was very valuable. We are encouraged to consider how we deal with our students and any pre-judging (good or bad) we may do based on a student's name or appearance. The coolest part was when we separated into groups based on blood type and the races in the room were irrelevant - causing one to immediately see that human beings have far more in common than not.

I found this session to be one of the more thought provoking ones that I attended that day.  Often I look at assessments from two very different angles--one as a teacher, and the other as a parent.   The teacher in me has traditionally thought that tests/assessments, and projects should be the culmination of learning--showing off what a student has gleaned from the instruction.  On the other hand, as a parent, I have often wished that my child were given more time to prepare, reflect upon, and learn the material.  The "snapshot" of how my child performed on one assessment doesn't always indicate learning or mastery, and this is unfortunate.  I'm trying hard to reconcile how to offer this option within the confines of a middle school where many of our high school courses are subject to definitive prerequisites.  I believe that the ability to show mastery is what is in the best interest of the kids.  However, part of me feels that it is unfair to those students who st

I actually lost sleep over worrying as to whether Julie and I would get on the correct train and to the Convention Center on time. Well, we got there on time, but we took a more creative route by testing out the difference between Amtrak and SEPTA! Once we got that fail under our belts, I figured nothing else could go wrong. And I was CORRECT! I loved every session that I attended! The presenters were all so engaging and interesting. I learned more about the adolescent brain (and that some teachers in our building are still technically adolescents). I listened to a man speak about engaging students in the classroom (Beaman) and wished that I had been a student in his classroom. I listened to teachers talk about a cross-curricular project that has students interviewing community members and then publishing a book. I walked out of that session trying to figure out how I could do what they did. I sat in a session with MANY Patton teachers on all sorts of new technology that I am psyched

I attended a session given by Crossett Brook Middle School in Vermont that presented an exploratory project called Brainado.  The project was based on the Genius Hour model in which students are given time to explore a topic of their choice.  We have had individual teachers at Patton use Genius Hour projects in their classroom, but this was a school-wide project.  Time was set aside each week for all students to explore and research their chosen topics.  As I understood it, the school designated 10 hours of time for the project.  The first few sessions were spent zeroing in on a particular topic and the rest of the time was spent creating a project that could be shared with the entire student body.  Again, students could choose any topic they were interested in and wanted to learn more.  Project examples included tri-fold posters, videos, 3D models, cooking, drama, etc.  As a culminating activity, there was a school-wide fair called Sharenado in which students were able to see what oth

There were some great sessions to address the needs of ELLs and teachers of ELLs.  This was great because ELLs are often the most neglected group of students.

While at the Bridges to Wellness conference, I attended a session highlighting the program "Rachel's Challenge"  Although this program has been around for many years, and may be familiar to us, I am still inspired by its message. Rachel Scott was killed in the Columbine High School shooting, and she was a student who reached out to students with disabilities, new students, and students who were picked on.  She wrote about her moral principles in her diary, which was found after her death.  Her father has since created an educational program, spreading Rachel's ideas internationally.  The CCIU is promoting Rachel's Challenge in Chester County again. "Rachel's Challenge builds compassion in relationships and strengthens community within schools.  Guided by a set of five challenges, students and faculty are encouraged to model and enforce behaviors, and start a chain reaction of their own." The five Challenges are: 1. Look for the Best in Others

Watershed: An Integrated Learning Program for Seventh Grade This is the session I was the most excited about since it focuses on hands-on learning and sustainability. For over thirty years, Watershed has been a yearlong full day program, which has replaced the traditional 7thgrade curriculum. Skills and concepts are integrated around the comprehensive study of a local watershed through a combination of classroom activities and site visits. A heterogeneous mix of twenty boys and twenty girls are admitted each year through a lottery process. Students are encouraged to gather, retain, interrelate, apply and communicate first hand information about watersheds with special emphasis on what it means to live sustainably in the 21st century. The ultimate goal of the Watershed Program is to foster a positive sense of self within each student to be a responsible member of a vibrant close community of learners who can enjoy and learn from each other and their teachers. Watershed students are

I attended two of the sessions presented by Debbie Silver: Teaching Kids to THRIVE: Building the Other Essential Skills for Success, and Square Pegs/Round Holes-Why We Need to Pay Attention to Learning Differences. Dr. Silver did not disappoint with her insight into middle school kids and how they can best be served. She addressed the needs of the whole child and how we as middle level educators can contribute to their skill development and be more aware of their various learning differences. I particularly enjoyed how she used humor in her presentation to keep us all engaged. She always exhibits so much understanding of the middle school students and teachers and demonstrates consistent enthusiasm and excitement into her message. I came away with a refreshed sense of how to address and meet the many needs of our middle school students.

If I chose one session that was the most meaningful for me, it was a session led by Debbie Silver. Teaching kids to succeed was the focus of the session. Her approach to education is one in which children are not afraid of challenges, failure and being risk takers. Using motivational theory and appropriate strategies, we can develop environments in our classroom that empower students. Classrooms can be a place where students can accept challenge, accept failure as a path to learning and become confident and willing to be life learners. Her latest book, Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8, offers a wealth of strategies educators can apply in their classrooms. Session Materials Self-Efficacy and Growth Mindset Meg

Conferences are opportunities for growth but also an opportunity for what I call the 3Rs, reflect, recharge and renew. I attended an excellent session with Debbie Silver who I have followed over the years. Teaching kids to succeed was the focus of the session.  Her approach to education is one in which children are not afraid of challenges, failure and being risk takers. Using motivational theory and appropriate strategies, we can develop environments in our classroom that empower students. Classrooms can be a place where students can accept challenge, accept failure as a path to learning and become confident and willing to be life learners. Her latest book, Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8,   offers a wealth of strategies educators can apply in their classrooms. Session Materials  Self-Efficacy and Growth Mindset

I am so grateful that we were able to take nearly our entire faculty to AMLE, and so proud of our staff for making the day a dream come true for me! We started the day with a near perfect bus ride into Philadelphia, our driver, (Daraan DeShields), gracefully maneuvered our bus to the main entrance of the Philadelphia Convention Center. He was awesome! He started our day by greeting us with a smile, letting us know his expectations for the bus, and also letting us know he would do everything in his power to ensure our trip was comfortable and safe. From that moment, I knew it was going to be a great day. Daraan obviously buys into our vision of creating a school that teaches kids to love school. He even played the radio for us. Thank you Daraan! I think all would agree that individually we each got more out of some sessions than we did other sessions. For me Dr. Monte Selby's session on teacher morale and motivation was the most impactful for me. Monte is one of most entertain