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Vicki's Blog

My thoughts on education, improvement, and life itself.  Enjoy!

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Get Parents On Your Common Core Team

8/24/2012

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There's a new game coming to your local school.  It's one that will take a lot of practice to learn and play by the new rules.  But it will bring the joy of learning back to schools and at the same time, prepare our students to be lifelong winners in their ability to be literate, think, apply what they know, and solve problems. 

The team will consist of teachers, administrators, support personnel, students, and yes, PARENTS.  How can parents help us, except to support and cheer us on from the sidelines?  I think it's time to get parents off the sideline and into the game!  Why?  How?  Read on....

Teachers and students will be faced with the new challenges of  implementing the Common Core State Standards as they go back to school this fall.  Gone are the checklist type standards that have been in place for the past decade.  In place are standards that require deeper thinking levels, an emphasis on literacy (the ability to communicate and demonstrate what you know), application, and problem solving skills.  Instruction will change.  Thinking will be required.  And as a result, assessments will change too.  It's not just about finding out what you know, but rather discovering if you know what to do with what you know.

Much is being done by schools to get teachers up to speed on the many changes that must take place to implement these rigorous standards, but another group that must be included in this conversation are parents.  We have had a generation of teachers, students, and even parents who have been raised on the previous curriculum that was fairly straight forward to teach and assess, but did not require us to think.  This new curricular emphasis is not on the skills (which still need to and will be taught) but rather on what students can and should be able to do with those skills.   This is where parents really need to using the same playbook as the schools are using to get the best results.

How can parents help?  First, they need to know what Common Core Standards look like and what they expect students to know and be able to do.  Check out the Common Core information on this website for an overview or go to the Kansas Department of Education's website devoted to Kansas Common Core.

Secondly, parents need to ramp up their own thinking levels (just as teachers are doing) to help their children become better thinkers.  That means
  • Having regular and deeper conversations with your children
  • Explaining how/why you did something (model your thought process) 
  • Asking questions that require more than a yes or no answer
  • Asking (and allowing your kids to ask you) Why? or How do you know? and expecting a meaningful answer.  
  • Encouraging your kids to try again when things are difficult, to persevere, and to look for alternative solutions when the first one didn't work. 
  • Limiting some of the gaming and mindless media they watch and listen to, and do some reading, or discovery of the world that we live in, or just talking to their family members about beliefs, goals, and ideas.

Lastly, parents must raise the bar for their students.  Expectations are high in this new curriculum to not just get by, but to excel.  Students will be expected to be independent thinkers and be able to explain why they used a particular strategy or justify the answer they have chosen.   They will be asked to revise their work and make it better.  They will be asked to share what they know, when to use what they know, and how to use what they know.  

The Game Changer.  If students are to compete in the real world after graduation, they must be prepared to carry the intellectual load in post-secondary education and be productive in the work force. The colleges and the employers have made it clear that today's students are not prepared for the demands both groups make on them.  To that end, we must work together to prepare our kids for the world that awaits them.  They must have skills to be life long learners, to adapt to the rapid changes that technology requires of us, and to be productive, contributing members of the work place and society in general. 

All students can learn and utilize whatever abilities they have to be the best they can be.  They just need the support and guidance of their teachers, their classmates, and above all, their parents.  So schools.... don't forget this very important group as you implement the Common Core this school year.  You need them on your team playing with you, not just watching the game from afar!  Go Team!
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Dream a New Dream...

8/21/2012

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"You are never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream." (CS Lewis).  

This quote hangs in my office, a gift from a very dear friend after I graduated (rather late in my educational life) with my Master's Degree.   For me obtaining that degree was a lifelong goal, and the first step in dreaming a new dream.  I was ready for new challenges and to do something different.  That dream, to become a building principal, didn't turn out exactly as I had planned, but it did lead to the fulfillment of another dream that I had kind of put on the back burner - to help other teachers and schools in the role of educational consultant.  

So I set off on that new adventure, not sure what I was doing - feeling really out of my comfort zone - but knowing that this was exactly the change I needed.  This journey was a whirlwind of highs and lows, and many miles of windshield time.  I met  many new people to whom I will always be connected, learned so  much, and felt like I was making a difference.  But the winds of change came blowing in again, and when I decided it was time to close one door and open another, it was that quote that I read over and over each time I walked into my office, that I was not too old to dream a new dream, that gave me the courage to take the next step.  

Today, my new venture became real.  A connection made from the previous journey came calling and now I'm back in that familiar role, doing what I love, and feeling like I can help make a difference in teachers and schools which ultimately impacts kids.  So to all of you who believed it could happen, it did.  Thank you for your encouragement and for walking beside me in my latest dream.  Where this will take me?  Who knows, but I'll take pictures and send post cards!  Stay tuned!
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Revising How We Teach: Getting Away From the Checklist

8/14/2012

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My favorite genre of reading is mysteries. I love the way they bring together many subplots to create an ending that I am eager to discover.  How do the authors do that?  I start by looking at the organization of their writing. Chapters move along telling a story and then one is thrown in to include background info or another twist, thereby weaving another thread into the tapestry of the general story line. At no time do I read the words, "and then this happened, followed by this..." and yet we find ourselves reading to the last page, eager for the resolution to the essential question (for all mysteries) of "who done it?" [sic] 

This is the goal of implementation of the Common Core - to integrate the standards in a unit based on relevant content, not to teach them sequentially or independently of one another. 

To achieve that end I shamelessly encourage some type of planning based on the concept of Understanding by Design by Wiggins and McTighe.  What is the learning goal? What are the essential questions that drive all planning aspects of the unit? What standards - both Common Core and content will be included?  Remember - the ELA standards are to help students achieve literacy. Even including the Standards of Mathematical Practice can bring lifelong applications to most non-math subjects.  How will we know they have achieved those desired outcomes - essentially figuring out "who done it?"

How can we weave a tapestry of content and literacy that will enrich the learning and make it transferable to the real world?  That is our challenge.  But that also requires us to shift our thinking from the non-thinking world of a checklist to more challenging applications that will not only enhance learning, but enrich our teaching as well.


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Welcome to My New Journey!

8/10/2012

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I am so excited to see that my brainchild, Teaching and Learning Consulting Network, LLC  is live on the web!  When I decided to retire, I believed (and still do) that I still had much to offer schools and teachers to help them with improving teaching and learning.  I simply needed to be a little closer to home for a number of reasons, and spend a little less time in the car.  The idea of forming my own consulting company kept spinning in my head.  I talked it over with my network of friends and colleagues and they thought I could make this work.  So now, after spending the summer thinking over all the aspects of being a small business owner, I'm ready to hit the ground running on yet another road trip in my life!

Notice in the previous paragraph, I said I talked to my network of friends and colleagues.  I believe those conversations are the key to improving teaching and learning:  being able to collaborate and help each other get better.  I send drafts of ideas to my network, listen to their feedback and implement what I can so that I can improve my product.  Isn't that what we want to do in schools as well?  Yet how often do schools isolate the teachers or administrators  into their classrooms or offices without finding ways to help them connect with their colleagues to share ideas and provide support?  Yes, sometimes we even isolate ourselves, believing that we are just fine, or if we ask for help, it is a sign of weakness.  I hope that you will find a way to regularly reflect on your practice, share ideas, and learn from others...even if it's in the hallway between classes or over your 20 minute lunch.  

My other belief is that if we stop seeking improvement then we just stop.  Our nature is to need to feel productive in this life. One way to do that is to be a lifelong learner.  Seek to revise and make yourself and whatever you do better.  With the Olympics just concluding we have seen many medals won and stories of hard work and sacrifice in order to just be there.  And even when the world's fastest man won yet another sprint, he said he intended to enjoy it for a short time and then set a new goal!  As educators, a new school year is upon us!  What is your new goal for this year?

In the days and weeks to come, I hope to talk about some of the issues facing educators today and offer some ideas and support to help make their jobs a little bit easier.  Welcome to my blog!   I hope to see you checking back often to see what I learn and share with you!
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    Author

    Vicki Bechard, 
    Owner and Lead Consultant

    I express myself best when I write, even though most who know me think I talk quite a bit!  

    I'm an educator first and foremost whether my students are kids, teachers, or my own children and grandchildren.  

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