Spring Middle Link Digital Newsletter

MAMLE publishes a digital newsletter for its membership three times a year.  The spring Middle Link has just been sent to member schools and individual members.  Please encourage your administration to forward it to all staff members!

Here is a preview of what is in the current Middle Link:

Effective Practices Around the State

Commentary by Bill Zima on Competency-Based Learning

Who Are These People?

Read Middle Link to Find Out!

 

If your school is a member of MAMLE, your principal received a digital copy–remind them to forward it to staff!  If your school is not a member, ask why not?

Ready to Stretch Your Thinking?

Summer is made for days at the beach, hiking spectacular trails, and reading a good book in a hammock.  It is also the one time during the year when educators have the leisure to pause, reflect, and review their beliefs about teaching and learning. New learning in courses and institutes help stretch, clarify, and reshape the way we think about our classrooms.  For over 25 years the Middle Level Education Institute (MLEI) has provided Maine educators and those from away with ideas that are innovative and effective.  This year will be no different.

I have learned many important aspects of instructional strategies.  Of most importance is the fact that it is not about the teacher, but rather it is about the student learning that takes place.

2012 MLEI Attendee

Join us July 29-August 1 on Bowdoin College’s beautiful campus in Brunswick, Maine to continue the journey toward more powerful learning for our students. We invite you to join the quest to re-envision schooling in a bold way that systematically models as well as promotes the essential capacities students need to successfully confront the challenges of their futures and the future of our world.

In many ways it is indeed a hero or heroine’s journey to pursue powerful teaching in today’s social, political, and economic climate. We believe, however, that spirited middle level educators want to explore…

• Empowerment and engagement
• Community and collaboration
• Content with meaningful context
• Assessment for reflection and growth

Are you ready to pursue this bold vision that…

• Cultivates learning that is engaging, challenging and meaningful?
• Shifts the classroom environment from teacher-centered to learner-centered?
• Incorporates student voice and choice in a substantive way?
• May rock your vision of teaching and learning?

This Institute has given me hope and the courage to take the full journey.

2012 MLEI Attendee

The journey continues July 29 – August 1 at MLEI on the Bowdoin campus.  All of the details and registration information can be found at http://mleimaine.net/home

Techno Wizards: Students Model Good Digital Citizenship

Recently Warsaw Middle School’s Techno Wizards presented to elementary and middle school students and their parents on various aspects of digital citizenship. Eight students from Warsaw’s (WMS) new student technology team shared research, insights, advice, and tips on several critical topics—digital natives and immigrants, private and personal information online, password security, digital footprints, cyberbullying, and intellectual property. The students were professional, cool, and knowledgeable while presenting information and answering questions posed to them. But this was not their first public presentation.

The Techno Wizards have been busy since last September under the able direction of advisor and mentor, Ms. Lori Stevens, Warsaw’s technology integrator. Key functions of the Warsaw student technology team are to provide technology and learning assistance to teachers and fellow students, to assist with needed technical repairs and set-up, and perhaps most importantly of all, to serve as positive digital citizenship role models for both their school and their community. Digital citizenship refers to understanding and knowing how to navigate the digital world responsibly, safely, and ethically, obviously a set of skills that are becoming more important everyday.

Fourteen students applied for and eventually joined the Techno Wizards because they enjoy learning about and using technology; they also take seriously “giving back” to their school. It shouldn’t be a surprise that they are emerging student leaders at WMS. The Techno Wizards don’t get paid and they don’t receive academic credit for their work. Those types of external awards aren’t what motivate them! They do meet with Ms. Stevens every Tuesday morning at 7:20 a.m. to prepare for their next presentation, learn about applications of software to learning,  or how to assist their own teachers in using an app or software more effectively.

What else do the Techno Wizards do? Early in the school year they learned about Google Sites, a tool that every student at WMS will use to build his/her own digital portfolio. (A digital portfolio is a “purposeful collection” of a student’s best work in an electronic format, required by more colleges and workplaces.) Techno Wizards learned how to operate Google Sites first so that they could assist their teachers and eventually fellow students. I attended one of the professional development sessions and loved seeing the interesting role reversal as teachers learned from students!

Each week several students assist Ms. Stevens as she instructs fourth  grade students at the elementary school across the street. Every Techno Wizard also offers daily assistance to teachers and students in their classes. This ranges from trouble-shooting computer problems, to showing how to save, find, or send information to others, how to print, or how to use new tools as they are introduced. In short, the 14 Techno Wizards become 14 additional teachers for WMS.

But make no mistake…this is not simply a modern-day “AV Club” focused on computers, tablets, and projectors. Today’s student technology teams, like the Techno Wizards at Warsaw Middle School, use student expertise, leadership, enthusiasm, and an uncanny ability to work with a variety of people to strengthen the learning missions of their schools.

How do students assist with technology and learning in your school?

“I Pity The Fool!” Leadership Advice From Mr. T

 An opening workshop conversation I often have with school leaders around the world is to share three words of wisdom from a well-known figure—Mr. T. Even people outside the United States recognize the scowling muscular character from “The A Team,” and his signature commentary about his adversaries, “I pity the fool!” delivered in a menacing, rumbling growl. Of course, it’s not this four-word phrase I’m referring to. “Mr. T” is an acronym I use to remind us how to effectively advocate for, support, and sustain the integration of technology and learning in our schools (or any aspect of school effectiveness for that matter).

The “M” in Mr. T represents the need for school leaders to model what they want faculty, staff, and students to be doing in their classrooms. The importance of modeling is echoed in the famous quote “We must become the change we want to see in the world” by Mahatma Gandhi. Leadership must be seen as leading by example. Albert Einstein stated that “Modeling isn’t another way to teach, it is the only way.” As the lead teachers in a school, administrators must use and integrate today’s tools and resources in their work with colleagues, staff, and students on a regular basis if they want this to happen in their schools. School leaders should learn about and use both online and offline digital tools and resources in daily work and routines. Using hardware such as laptops, interactive whiteboards, smartphones, and document projectors to share and communicate ideas should be business as usual. Principals who use software tools for presenting ideas, facilitating and archiving conversations, and collaborating are modeling what teachers and students should be doing in their classrooms. “Walking the talk” matters!

The “R” in Mr. T represents the importance of taking time in our busy schedules to pause and reflect. Our days, and often nights, are filled with meetings, deadlines, data, and emergencies. We seldom take the time to stop and reflect on the meaning and significance of our activities. Yet, we regularly pay lip service to the importance of being reflective learners and practitioners as we rush from one agenda item to the next. Or we admonish students to stop and think about the consequences of their decisions. We fall into bed each night then get up in a handful of hours and begin again.

Here again, if we want to implement learning technology in meaningful ways we must periodically stop, or at least slow down, and make time to consider what we are doing, why we are doing it, and its significance in light of our overall vision. The great Chinese philosopher, Confucius, advised us to keep in mind that “Learning without reflection is to become lost.” As educational leaders we must model reflection, and we must create space and the expectation that reflection will be a key aspect of the learning process. This can be accomplished as simply as pausing after an activity and doing a simple “think, pair, share” around the question, “What implications does this activity have for our vision as a school?” This can be accomplished in under five minutes, and can be extended using online tools such as a wiki.

Finally, the “T” in Mr. T represents the critical process of transfer. Transfer happens when we take an experience in one setting and actually apply it in a meaningful way in another situation. If we do not figure out a way to transfer and apply an experience in our own lives or work, that experience is soon forgotten. We can all complete the oft quoted aphorism, “If you don’t use it, you…” It is the responsibility to the leader, whether it’s the school leader or the leader of the classroom, to plan for, build in, and facilitate this transfer. Transfer is critical when it comes to integrating learning and technology where the interest is often focused on the novelty of the latest application or tool. The leader must take advantage of the interest and move the work forward by asking and requiring the staff to grapple with and answer the question, “How can we use this in our own work?”

So, take 30 seconds and ask yourself, “Am I like Mr. T when it comes to modeling, reflecting, and transferring what I want to see in my school?” If not, you know what Mr. T would have to say!

This entry is reposted from NASSP at http://tinyurl.com/NASSP-Mr-T

Finding our way through the curriculum maze

The other day I plumped up my pillow, grabbed my favorite fleece, and settled in to read yet another article/commentary/opinion piece about the Common Core. I was asleep by the third paragraph. But, 45 minutes later, my newly recharged brain was swirling with visions of curriculum that are creative, exciting, engaging, and meaningful! (Modest, aren’t I?)

These unit ideas are all based on current issues or problems that local or global communities are facing or will face in the not too distant future. Issues and problems that engage our middle level students because they are about real life issues, offering our students opportunities to both find and solve problems. Real life, real learning. (And yes, I am serious about these ideas. But they are only examples. You can come up with your own ideas from your own community.)

Unit #1—On Thin Ice. I’ve always lived in northern states with lots of snow and ice. For the last 30 years I’ve watched and marveled at Mainer’s who insist on taking their cars and trucks on (supposedly) frozen lakes and rivers.  Honestly, I don’t understand why anyone would drive a $25,000 truck on lake ice if there was the remotest possibility of it plunging through!  And that isn’t even considering the safety issue of humans getting dunked or worse. This happens in hundreds of small towns in the U.S., maybe beyond. And there are dozens of questions to answer. Are there different kinds of ice? Do different bodies of water freeze differently? What are the conditions that inhibit ice formation? What about the insulating factor of snow on ice? How thick does ice have to be to support a truck, snowmobile, ice shack, or a person? Lots of other issues as well—What are the social aspects of ice fishing? What are the economic implications of ice fishing in northern climates (say Maine, Minnesota, and Michigan)? How has climate change influenced the number of days of safe ice for on-ice activities? What are the predictions for such in 2028? (For warmer states, this unit could also be a cultural study of this unique behavior.) Doesn’t this sound like the beginning of an interesting unit of study?

Unit #2—And You Think You Have Trash! The March 2011 Japanese Tsunami, as devastating as it was to Japan, has had global implications. For example, a 185 ton pier (65 feet long by 20 feet wide by 7.5 feet high) that washed up in Olympic National Park in Washington state in December 2012 is particularly troublesome, not only for the pollution that the pier is causing as it breaks up and releases its styrofoam core. More importantly, are the potentially invasive species that are attached to the pier and threaten the fragile ecosystem where it landed. The intertidal area of the Olympic Coast is home to the most diverse ecosystem of marine invertebrates and seaweeds on the west coast of North America; this is being threatened by the many species attached to the pier. Here are some potential questions—What currents and weather allowed this gigantic pier to move from Japan to the Washington coast? What species are unique to the Olympic Coast and what species are attached to the pier? How will each set of species interact? What responsibility does the Japanese government have for any potential Tsunami-caused damage in the U.S. or other countries? What types of debris from Japan has found its way to other locations in the world and what have been the implications? On a larger scale, what do scientists know and what are they doing about the massive amounts of trash floating in the world’s oceans…and how could that affect humans?

And several other ideas for developing DIY units—Google Art Project (visit the most famous art galleries in the world); Snapshot Serengeti (visit this site for dozens of web-based Citizen Science projects); Discovering Lance Armstrong (Why did Lance Armstrong dope, why did he lie about it, and what are the implications for what he has done? Lots of opportunities here from studying the history of Armstrong’s racing career, the geography of the racing venues, the science of racing and inevitably the science of doping, and the ethical issues of the doping and Armstrong’s actions then and now).

Please note that my questions have only scratched the surface. Lots of other questions to ask and answer. Collectively, each “unit” will include critical thinking, problem finding and solving, creative and critical thinking. Oh yeah, and massive amounts of content and skills from math, art, science, foreign language, social studies, language arts, and so much more. The magic window into these types of units of study for those of us lucky to live in Maine with one-to-one programs in every middle level school is of course, Internet access. And that adds another level of complexity…and opportunity.

No doubt that I need to learn more about the Common Core and how it can help improve curriculum for all students. Will the Common Core solidify even more “test prep” or will it move us in the direction of more student-generated, project-based, and real world learning that it promises?

But for now, I’m headed back to the couch for er…some more thinking time about this vexing issue!

My challenge for you…what type of unit could you and your students develop around a locally engaging or globally relevant topic? Please respond in the comments section below.

Photo cc licensed (BY) flickr photo shared by Fatboo

7 Habits Team

Biddeford Middle School

Recently at the MAMLE conference held at Sugarloaf I sat with a team of educators at lunch and we had a delightful conversation. Much to my surprise when lunch was over and the awards were presented the three teachers were representing their middle school team from Biddeford who received the MAMLE “team award”. The following briefly explains the recognition and why their team was celebrated.

As a result of a year and a half preparation by the 7 Habits Committee, Biddeford Middle School devoted a week last January to unfold, introduce and practice the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens/People Porgam. Staff read Covey’s book over the summer of 2011 and spent the fall semester developing the program.

The 7 Habits Program is directly related to developing positive habits and relationship among teens and pre-teens. The habits focus on “private victory”:

1. Be proactive
2. Begin with the end in mind
3. Put first things first. Then students learn about “public victory”.
4. Think win-win
5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood
6. Synergize. Finally the focus changes to personal renewal
7. Sharpen the saw

Ray Sampson, Jeff Mears, and Doug Bertrand, representing Biddeford Middle School

Staff and students participated in activities and skits that reinforced all habits. The 7 Habits Committee helped students become leaders in various activities throughout the week. Parents were invited to the activities and the community newspaper reported on the festivities. All in all, every member of the school was involved and continued to live by the seven habits throughout the spring. Reminders through visuals and actions of students and staff were witnessed every day. A great deal of interest and enthusiasm was generated well beyond the Biddeford community.

If you know of a team or a teacher who has a practice that you think should be nominated for MAMLE’s Exemplary Practice Award please go to MAMLE’s website and download the nomination forms.

A Handful of Leadership Sessions at this Week’s MAMLE Conference

Hopefully we'll see you at Sugarloaf this week for the annual MAMLE conference. (And it's not too late to register if you're thinking you'd like to go!)

If you aren't sure which sessions you'd like to attend, I'll invite you to the three Leadership sessions Mary Callan and I will be leading:

Tools and Strategies for Leading Change (Thurs 2:00-3:00 – Kennebec, Hotel)
Leaders are faced with expectations to lead complex change in their schools, change that may seem daunting despite the fact that you “Leadership is everything!” What are the specific things that leadership needs to insure happens, what are the key components to address, and what are the effective strategies to get you there? This session will offer a variety of practical strategies, models, and tools that you can use to lead change effectively in your school.

Making Change Manageable: Leadership Teams! (Thurs 3:15-4:15 – Kennebec, Hotel)
How can principals manage all of the expectations of them as instructional leaders during these times of rapid and complex change? By establishing school leadership teams! This session will provide strategies and ideas on how to leverage the power of multiple perspectives, insure a stronger design to yor initiatives, and distribute the effort to ease your load.

Connecting the Dots: Common Core, Customized Learning, and More (Fri 8:00-845 – Spruce, Base Lodge)
How do school leaders make sense of the never-ending change initiatives they are faced with? This session provides ways for you to connect the dots between various change efforts so that you can lead your school in the direction that you know makes sense for students and learning.

Hope to see you there!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Students at the Center–Sugarloaf–Oct. 25 & 26

Students at the Center

MAMLE Annual Conference

Sugarloaf

October 25 & 26

Music by the Medomak Middle School Pantastics!

What Does Learner-Center Instruction Look Like?

Innovative educators who are experts at creating student-centered classrooms will be sharing their classroom-tested strategies and activities during Best Practice Sessions.  Session descriptions can be found at: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aDfQv4XiHQRtsUlbaMiLqbTuyQde2Knp2ICdHtU33tQ/edit

What is Proficiency-Based and/or Customized Learning All About?

Bill Zima, principal of Mt. Ararat Middle School, will be leading an interactive panel discussion focused on Customized Learning on both Thursday and Friday.  He is also the featured keynote speaker on Friday.  His topic: Yeah, We Got That! Why The New Reforms in Education Are Middle Level Minded

Sherry Levesque from Gray-New Gloucester will be presenting on her school’s transition to proficiency-based learning on Friday.

What is a Sane Way to Approach the Complexities of Leadership in 2012?

Jeff Rodman, principal of the Middle School of the Kennebunks, will lead an interactive panel on both days.  Panel members include international workshop leader, Chris Toy and NASSP’s Associate Director for Middle Level Services, Patti Kinney.

Specific Best Practice Sessions include:

• Tools and Strategies for Leading Change
• Making Change Manageable: Leadership Team
• Connecting the Dots: Common Core, Customized Learning and More
• Customized Learning–Transforming Our Schools and Classrooms to Meet Needs of Our Students
• School Change
• iPads, Conversations, and Observations

GREAT DEAL for Administrators!  

Register 4 staff members and your registration is complimentary!

Allied Arts–Where Do We Fit In a Standards-Based World?

Specific best-practice sessions and an interactive panel on both days take on this critical issue! Creativity, Art, Health, Music, and Technology Integration weave their way through the program.

What About Our Students at Risk–What Strategies Have Been Successful Around the State?

One of our most highly rated interactive panels last year was the one focusing on supporting students at risk.  The panelists will be back to continue the conversation.

Best Deal in Town!

The 2 day MAMLE Conference costs about the same as many one day events. $175

Plus, when a team comes and stays in a condo the professional conversations and problem solving continue late into the night.

Where Do We Find More Information About This Fantastic Opportunity?

Registration materials at http://www.mamleonline.org

Email Dr. Wally Alexander, MAMLE Executive Director: wallace.alexander@umit.maine.edu

Ask Your Administrator If Your School Is A MAMLE Member. 

If so…ask them to please forward all MAMLE communications (e.g. newsletter went out recently).  If not, ask why not?

See You On The Mountain!

Inquiring Minds Want to Know…Have you Read These Three Key Documents?

How about a monthly poll of Bright Futures readers? While we’re at it let’s share some online resources, three key documents and a free online quiz/polling tool, socrative.com.

To what degree are  brightfutures4me readers familiar with these three key documents relating to our work with young adolescents?

Here’s how to access the poll. It’s short, only four quick questions.

Start by going to m.socrative.com You can access this online tool on any laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

The room number is “chris”

Respond to the questions as they appear.

The poll will be open for the next 2 weeks and then we’ll share the results on the Bright Futures blog.

Here’s the links to these three key documents.

The most recent edition of AMLE’s “This We Believe: Keys to Educating Young Adolescents” was published in 2010. Research and cumulative, empirical evidence have confirmed that implementing the practices described in This We Believe leads to higher levels of student achievement. For more information about this key document visit AMLE’s website.

Another important document released in 2012 is “Education Evolving: Maine’s Plan for Putting Learners First”. It sets out objectives and action steps for building an education system in Maine that meets the needs of all learners. At its core is something middle level educators have always advocated, developmentally appropriate, student centered teaching and learning! There’s a lot in Education Evolving that reflects what is best for our students. For more information and a PDF of the Key Document visit the MDOE website.

And of course, we can’t forget Maine’s own Bright Futures! The Commission on Middle Level Education, under the leadership of Mary Callan and Ed Brazee, created the report on the current state of middle level education. IT contains recommendations to the Maine Department of Education about what’s best for educating all of Maine’s 10 to 15 year olds. To download a PDF of the 2009 report and a descriptive poster visit the MDOE website.

Whittier Middle School teacher named Maine’s 2013 Teacher of the Year

CONGRATULATIONS to Shannon Shanning

Shannon Shanning receives an award from Maine’s Commissioner of Education, Stephen Bowen

POLAND – Shannon Shanning, a seventh- and eighth-grade special education teacher at Whittier Middle School, was named the 2013 Maine Teacher of the Year in front of students, colleagues, family and other distinguished guests Monday. In keeping with Maine tradition, Shanning was not informed ahead of time that the “all-school assembly” was called to honor her.

Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen presented Shanning with the award – the first awarded to a special education teacher as far back as program records indicate. Bowen also read a letter of congratulations from Governor Paul LePage.

There are connections to many components of the Bright Futures report in how Shannon teaches. For example, Core Practice 1: Students have access to curriculum that is relevant, challenging, integrative, and exploratory and is organized and executed to maximize accessibility for all students. Shanning’s nominating committee wrote, “Shannon provides an environment of high engagement, challenge, and support that inspires students to become more confident, capable, and productive learners.” This is demonstrated by her remarkable ability to embed learning in real-world experiences and connect students to the school and greater community.

Shannon’s program involves strong connections with the local fire department and fire fighters. They research survival and build shelters in the woods behind the schools, and hold a bake-off for Top Chef Challenges.

One of Shannon’s students said in her nomination: “She’s always coming up with new things. Just this past week, she created an Edmodo page for our ELA, Math and Fire Station classes, we can stay caught up in our lessons. it also helps our parents to see what we’re working on. We’re researching and videotaping surival-in-the-wild strategies. This spring, we’ll be making a public service announcement for the fire station. She’s putting Book Share on our laptops.”

The selection process began in February of this year with eight nominees from elementary, middle and high schools across the state. A district-wide nominating committee prepared the application packet to nominate Shanning for the 2013 Teacher of the Year recognition. Nomination packets were scored by a group of educators, administrators, business partners and past Teachers of the Year to determine the semi-finalists. The semi-finalists then underwent review by a team who spent a day at each of their schools last spring. During the summer, the semi-finalists compiled professional portfolios and gave a scored teaching demonstration to graduate students at the University of Maine. Those with the highest scores were named state finalists and interviewed by past Teachers of the Year to make the final determination.

Shanning will go on to compete in the selection process for the 2013 National Teacher of the Year, who will be announced in April 2013 at the White House.

The nomination process for the next Teacher of the Year begins this November. Those interested in nominating a teacher should contact their school principal or visit the Maine Department of Education website at: www.maine.gov/doe/toy.

The Teacher of the Year program is managed by the Maine Department of Education in collaboration with the Maine State Board of Education and the Maine State Teacher of the Year Association. The program is fully funded by Hannaford Supermarkets, and Bangor Savings Bank is reimbursing the winner’s school district for the cost of substitutes while the Teacher of the Year is out of the classroom on official duties.