Co-Teaching: 6 Models and their Uses

Do you remember your student teaching experience?

It really makes me mentally cringe to go there.  It was a great, life-changing experience in many ways, but it was also SO. HARD.  Overwhelming.  Draining.  Terrifying.  The 16 week experience of slowly processing the harsh realization that all the book knowledge you have doesn't equate to being a great teacher.  There are intangibles to consider.  Even when I had a supervising teacher who became a friend, with the best of intentions and the sweetest personality and...it didn't mean student teaching went smoothly.  I felt like a failure most days.  And looking back, I'm glad I don't have to do it again.

But, since taking a step back from the classroom, and looking for ways to still stay connected in the world of education, I have taken on a role of working with area student teachers.  And I am both comforted and challenged by the fact that these individuals will have a much different experience than I did (only 5 years ago, thank you very much).  I was asked to be the college supervisor for Grace College student teachers who are seeking a license in Spanish Education.  I did it last spring for this rising star, and now have the opportunity to do it again this fall for two young ladies.  And as we hit the ground running this school year, Grace provided an intentional time of training student teachers, classroom teachers and college supervisors on how exactly this experience will be different than what many the generation before them experienced.

Traditional Mindset on the left, Co-Teaching Mindset on the right. See the differences?!

You see, Grace is no longer doing the "traditional" method of student teaching.  You know, the one where the supervising teacher shows you what to do for about a week, then heads to the teacher's lounge as you "figure it out" and "sink or swim" on your own? Yeah.  That worked until we met the R.I.S.E. evaluation and the increased teacher accountability.  Then, classroom teachers weren't so fond of the idea of being absent all semester. So, Grace College adapted a new way of training student teachers involving the practice of co-teaching.  Since this topic is generally new, and altogether misunderstood often, I sat through a training on 6 different effective methods of co-teaching.  Welcome to the modern student teaching experience.  *does a happy dance*

   

Model 1: One Teach, One Observe
Sounds obvious, but there's something often overlooked:  The "Observer" is not passive.  They are not glancing around and then grading the occasional paper.  Before the lesson, the two teachers meet and discuss what needs to be observed and recorded.  Perhaps a student or group of students' behavior.  Maybe the amount of wait time given before calling an answer.  In my case, use of target language.  As one teacher instructs, the second teacher is actively gathering data on that topic and then both teachers meet later to discuss how that data will change their future teaching.

Model 2: One Teach, One Assist
This time, one is instructing and one is drifting about the room keeping students on task, answering questions as they arise, and doing whatever the first teacher needs them to do in the moment.  In my experience, this is the one most commonly used in our area schools.  Oftentimes, a para-professional or a special education teacher takes the "assist" role for classes with multiple students on their case load. 

Model 3: Alternative Teaching
After the initial lesson has been presented, many times certain students need the topic re-taught or paraphrased one more time.  This model of co-teaching is perfect for that.  First the lesson is taught by one teacher.  Then, the second teacher selects a small group of students and reinforces the lesson in a different way with discussion questions, review and formative assessments.  The first teacher remains with the larger portion of the class that might be able to do work more independently.  For example, this approach might work well if you have students that specifically struggle with reading comprehension.  After an introduction, one teacher takes those lower students out in the hallway and walks them through the questions step by step.  The rest of the class, however, is working in pairs at their own pace with the supervision of the first teacher.

Model 4: Station Teaching
In this model, you divide students into 3 similarly-sized groups.  Your classroom will have 2 stations led by teachers and 1 independently run station.  The best scenario here is that all stations involve different aspects of the same standard or topic.  That way, they are reinforcing each other without depending on the knowledge of the other stations (since each group will do them in different order).

Model 5: Parallel Teaching
If two teachers are teaching simultaneously, and covering the same material, they are essentially parallel teaching.  These teachers may be using slightly different lesson plans, but they are teaching the same lesson overall.  This is best used when interaction with students needs to be at a maximum and therefore the student to teacher ratio should be lowest.  I imagine this could be quite distracting depending on how the physical space in the classroom is divided, but I still think it has its place.  For example, there have been schools who have experienced a lot of success in dividing students into gender-separated classrooms.  With parallel teaching, one teacher could focus on instructing the boys in a way that is appropriate for them, and the other teacher could pull aside the girls.  Or, depending on the standard, the class could be divided into high/low groups and although the teachers go over the same content, they could tailor their questioning to the level of their group.

Model 6: Teaming
This is by far the most challenging way to co-teach.  It must involve two adults who know each other well and work very well together.  In this approach, the teachers essentially divide the instruction and add to, clarify and rephrase each other's thoughts.  So, one teacher may begin the lesson and then the next teacher might jump in with an example she thinks makes the point more comprehensible.  Obviously this approach would need careful planning and communication of expectations, but I could see this model being one of my favorites if I had the right teammate.

  

Not only are these six expectations that Grace has for its student teachers as they learn from their supervisors, but these methods would also be practical in any classrooms with teaching assistants, paraprofessionals, or two teachers of any kind.  I'm sad to say that I can't imagine many school corporations paying for two teachers to a classroom, and I haven't seen this in action in any foreign language classrooms to date.  However, in my former school there was a growing trend of getting the special needs teachers into the language arts and math classrooms to co-teach with the content area teachers.  Plus, our corporation also had math and language arts coaches at the district level and I could see them coming alongside some classroom teachers in these instances.  Even the history teachers down the hall from me were including some of these practices on their own by occasionally combining their classrooms and teaming up or dividing their joint students into levels and then each taking one half for a more focused lesson.  This could work for teachers who exchange their prep period to help their coworker and then switch the following day....the possibilities are endless if you are willing to get a little creative.

I am excited to see these models in practice as I observe my two student teachers this fall.  And I sincerely hope more veteran and experienced teachers start implementing more of these practices as well...they are ALL designed to benefit students more than one teacher alone.

3 Skills Every Student Needs (Inspired by Aaron Hogan)

As I prepped to participate in one of my favorite Twitter chats (#tlap), I found a blog post that truly resonated with me on many levels.  Aaron Hogan wrote a post titled, "4 Skills Every Student Needs" that highlighted the importance of the vital dispositions our students accumulate in our classrooms that may never be in our textbooks. I found this to be an especially timely post in light of the tragedies, violence and conflict in our country and across our world. I would HIGHLY encourage all teachers to read his post thoroughly before heading back to school, as the summer can be a perfect time to intentionally map out the "soft skills" we want to prioritize in our classrooms.

Here are my honest reflections after reading Aaron's post:

• My greatest weakness, personally, of the skills he listed is that all too often I tend to disagree with people, not ideas.  Ugh! I hate even writing those words. It is an important distinction that my passionate heart and language-loving-mind tend to ignore.  I want to model this. I want to teach this. I want to find this in more people.
• The concept of seeing multiple perspectives should be an easy fit into a world language classroom!  I love how he mentioned it's involvement in literature, but I couldn't help but think a classroom that elevates learning another's language has to be the embodiment of this value.  This is one way I tried to bring up this skill in class. My inspiration came from articles like this one & quotes like this one...

Find pin here.

• If we do not plan these conversation, they simply do not happen.  After all, they are tricky to write about when I have hours to do so...how much more challenging would they be to suddenly initiate out of no where?  When there is a tragedy in your community, discuss it.  Process out loud with your students in an age-appropriate manner.  Set aside your curriculum and show them that these types of things matter even more than their upcoming vocab quiz.  Be real.  But, in addition to planning conversations around these points in response to an event, we must be prioritizing these lessons this summer for the entire year.  I think we would all agree our job is much, much wider and deeper than our content area.  So, shouldn't the time and effort we put into these lessons reflect the level of importance we claim they have?

Inspired by his articulate reflection of often intangible concepts, I wanted to add 3 skills that I believe every student needs in addition to what Aaron wrote.  So...

3 (more) skills every student needs:

1. Defend your beliefs without becoming defensive.  To do this, students must first and foremost know what they believe.  This might involve researching the issue above and beyond repeating what their parents or more vocal friends have said. In addition, students need the ability to listen to and understand people who oppose their thoughts.  Finally, this skill takes a lot of thinking on your feet!  Being "put on the spot" is stressful sometimes, and a lot of people react by raising their voice, attacking the other person or shutting down. Perhaps in our classrooms we can stage debates and play "devil's advocate" just enough to coach students through these scenarios.  I am a firm believer that after the scheduled conversation or activity is completed, though, we talk to kids about what we just talked about.  Verbally walk them through why you just directed the conversation in that way.  Or, re-frame a point that was brought up so that it really sinks in to the class.  Help them learn to be well-informed and confident enough that they can have conversations about their firmly-held viewpoints without getting their feelings hurt.
2. Ask pertinent, thoughtful, and thought-provoking questions.  To really listen well, understand other perspectives and learn at a deep level, students will need to know how to know what they don't know!  Instead of coming up with the questions to scaffold one of our students to success, why not let another student volunteer that information?  I love trying to peak student's intelligent curiosity as it relates to cultural concepts.  Or, as we often try to fabricate real-life conversations in our language classrooms, let your students gain that practice of thinking and writing deeper questions.  Open-ended questions, by the way.  Opinion-inducing questions.  This is difficult for many people in our native-tongues...even more so as we learn to ask these questions in a different language.
3. Honestly reflect and alter personal weaknesses.  We talk a lot about "self-motivation" or "self-paced" curriculum.  And our culture greatly values independence and self-reliance.  But, in many of our middle school, especially, there are students who have never been taught how to take an honest (read: HARD) look at themselves and evaluate what they should change.  They allow our feedback to replace their own self-evaluation.  We can change this!  This skill can relate to Spanish class (vowel pronunciation, word order), school in general (organization, friend choices) or it can be much larger than that (fitness habits, relationship with parents).  How can we lead students to begin a life-long journey of admitting shortcomings, forming a plan to fix them and persevering until they are no longer problems?

After reading Aaron's post and my thoughts, what would you add?  How are you going to bring up these important topics in your classroom? Let's truly "facilitate thinking, support struggle and engage minds"!

Pin here.

Brave is Vulnerable

As mid July fades to late July, school stuff tends to be on the minds of many a teacher.  While some spend hours prepping their classroom and some pack their summer full of activities they never get to do during the year, sooner or later everyone will be thinking How should I start my year?  What do I need to do to get ready?  What do I want my students to learn from me from day one? And although I really want to write a detailed activity post later, I want to dedicate this post to a larger, more all-encompassing idea:  being brave.

You see, I read this post from Spanish Mama earlier this week and it really struck a chord.  She talks about many different ways that she wants to be brave:  in the classroom, with her children and with Spanish.  She even shared one of my all time favorite quotes:

Because those with accents speak at least one other language better. Think about it.

She caused me to reflect on the ways that I, as a teacher, should dare to be braver.  Ways I should lead by example.  Should set the tone in my classroom not in level of perfection, but in desire to learn.  So, I wanted to encourage YOU to do the same.  Spend time before the school year starts deciding how you are going to be brave in front of your students on a daily basis this year.  In my school we use the terms "growth mindset" and "life-long learner" a lot.  But how valuable are those words if we are not living them out?  Have you shown your students that you are learning something?  That would mean getting up in front of your class and potentially *gasp* making a mistake.  Looking foolish.  As teachers, we should be demonstrating to our students that sometimes being brave is being vulnerable. In language learning, in other classes, in relationships...in life!

Here are some ways to be vulnerable with your students:

• Tell a failure of a study abroad story.   Be specific.  Tell them a time you messed up pronunciation or couldn't remember a word.  Find a picture to go with it.  Don't skim over it:  tell them what you were feeling and how the situation was (or wasn't) resolved.  
• Start fresh with another language. Many Spanish teachers may be at a point where Spanish is second nature to them.  I know I had personally lost part of that frustration or "it's on tip of my tongue" problem...until I tried French. Or Turkish! *face palm*  Then I remembered my frustration very vividly.  Use Duolingo or another tool to try a language you are completely unfamiliar with and then relate it to the issues they are having in your class the first few weeks.  Share with them a few sentences you are learning to say and the phrases that you can never remember.  Tell them how long you're practicing and what your goals are. (You can read how I incorporated Duolingo into a lesson here!)
• Demonstrate a hobby that has nothing to do with your class. Bring in your clarinet or put your hand-lettered canvas under the document camera.  Tell your students how long you have been practicing and show them some before and after evidence of your progress.
• Challenge yourself to really USE your Spanish once a week and report to the class.  I have known many Spanish teachers who are so skilled in the classroom and their level of content, but don't have the time or intent to use their language outside of their school.  Call a friend, go to a local restaurant or volunteer to translate somewhere.  Whatever makes you a little uncomfortable to commit to because you might mess up or it doesn't suit your personality...do it. Then tell your students details of how it goes each time. That's being vulnerable. That's being brave.  

This Pinterest board might come in handy as you push yourself and your students towards braver steps this year.  Maybe you could print one out each week and put it at the front of the class to initiate a class discussion about your individual bravery goals.   

And perhaps the ultimate leap of vulnerability  for a Spanish teacher is the commitment to daily teaching Spanish in Spanish.  Sara-Elizabeth Cottrell posted a really though-provoking article about her position on how much target language should be used in classroom and when/how.  It is definitely worth a read (or two!) as we approach the school year.  It will shake up some of your preconceptions (it did mine!)  I am still working on my position statement and I truly think we all should be.  May we see our role as teacher as a platform from which we can (and MUST) model life-long learning by being bravely vulnerable.

Original pin here.

P.s. The title graphic at the top is one of my favorite examples of being vulnerable.  The girl with her back to us and the girl we can't quite see are two of the students that traveled with me to Spain earlier this summer.  This is a picture of them in El Mercado de San Miguel, Madrid striking up conversation with a woman who was shopping there to ask her questions about why she comes to the market and what her life story is.  Pretty BIG conversation to strike up out of nowhere.  No teacher waiting to help.  No manual on how to go about it.  Just two girls on their first day of language immersion learning being brave by being vulnerable.  And they got an AWESOME story out of it.

World Language Week: Celebrities & Languages

For the third day of World Language Week 2016, I wanted to point you in the direction of some great Youtube videos to play in class this week.  What makes them great?  They include some famous actors, actresses, singers and professional athletes speaking a variety of foreign languages.  In my experience, many students were familiar with the people...and very surprised at what was coming out of their mouths!

• Sandra Bullock speaks beautiful German at an awards show.
• Gwenth Paltrow speaks Spanish.
• Bradley Cooper does an interview in French.
• Natalie Portman speaks Hebrew.
• Kobe Bryant does an interview in Italian.

And, just for an example of something we want to avoid...Selena Gomez speaking English in a Spanish interview about how important the Hispanic culture is to her...*face palm*

Last year, I enjoyed playing clips of these videos in class and having the students then say who the person was and what language they thought they heard (I would cover up anything that gave that information away).  Then, we discussed why these people would spend the time and energy learning a foreign language and how it helped them in their career. 

Try them for a few minutes in your classroom and see if students who typically aren't as engaged, lean in a bit when someone they know is on the screen.  For another way to get your students invested in your class, ask them to find a different video of a celebrity speaking a foreign language and bring it in to the class with an explanation of why that language helped that celebrity.

**Fair warning, I only showed a minute or two of each video, so I cannot vouch that 100% of the video is school appropriate.  Please view all videos before showing them to your students.  Always **

Leading Through Languages: Workshop Reflections

This past Saturday, Warsaw Community Schools hosted its first ever "Leading Through Languages" workshop at Warsaw Community High School. It took place from 9:00am-12:30pm and was FREE for Warsaw teachers (PLUS it earned you 3.5 professional growth points!)  This workshop excited me from the moment I heard about it because it was born of the collaboration and brainstorming of two dear colleagues:  Mr. Christopher Hindsley and Dr. Shu-Chun Tseng.  They dreamed up this conference declaring,

"Our mission is to inspire teachers by sharing global stories, equip teachers with skills and techniques to implement in the classroom, and enrich teachers by building a global community of educators."

Our wonderful sponsors & the door prizes.

Mr. Hindsley & Dr. Tseng introducing the day.

It was obvious that the day was going to be well spent when I received an email that I could go at 8:30am if I wanted coffee and pastries.  Most teachers might shy away from earlier Saturday mornings, but for a stay at home mom with a Hubby on baby duty:  Get me there as early as you want and get me some caffeine! Sounded glorious.

I immediately got the chance to connect with friends and colleagues that I haven't seen much of this school year.  It was so good to catch up with them and get a chance to "relax" with them throughout the day.  I was very impressed with the turnout that the workshop had:  administrators, music teachers, history teachers, language arts teachers, college students, stay at home moms, media center specialists and world language teachers were ALL present for this day of intentional learning.

**Conference Pre-face:  This Mom was on the verge of tears, literally the entire time.  Hearing life-changing stories and experiences from extremely invested educators and parents left me wiping my eyes for THREE.HOURS.**

We registered, received a folder from Manchester University stuffed with a notebook, a feedback form, a school map and the breakout session offerings and descriptions.  A few minutes after nine, the keynote speaker Kondo Simfukwe was introduced.

I was familiar with Kondo from hearing him speak at Grace College chapels when I was a student, and listening to him preach when I was church hopping around that time, too. However I did not know his entire story, and the way that he told it made him a riveting keynote speaker.  He was born in London, grew up in Zambia, attended high school in Australia and then moved to Winona Lake, Indiana for college.  The man has known culture shock, language diversity and plenty of stereotyping and misunderstandings.  He challenged us to go "Beyond the Cultural Veil", explaining that "it is amazing what happens when understanding takes us behind the veil of what someone did to perhaps why they did it."  Kondo went on to give three specific things that he wishes his teachers would have understood about him as a minority student.  These thoughts really challenged me as an educator to think of how my own cultural experiences have tinted how I view student's behaviors:

1. "I had a very low self-concept.  But I wasn't disinterested."  He explained that he felt fortunate simply to have the opportunity of an education, and would regularly claim he understood when questioned, rather than make the entire class stop for just him.
2. "I am completely people focused.  But, that doesn't make me lazy."  Project deadlines were difficult for him to meet because he valued conversations and relationships over all else.  
3. "I am community-oriented.  So, I'm not motivated by grades or GPA." Teachers tried to hold grades or class rank over him, when in reality no one tapped into his true motivation:  how he was impacting the entire class.  

Kondo challenged me to see behaviors (especially those of middle school students) as less of fully informed, intentional decisions and more as a product of their cultural experiences.  He reminded me that my students might not even be able to perfectly articulate their cultural understandings:  "By the way, that's not how culture works.  I don't go around saying 'this is my culture and I experience it sequentially in this way'...it's just who I am." Kondo made me want to be more curious and observant of my students' lives and hear more of their personal stories that undoubtedly impact their daily life in my classroom.

From there, we went to four different breakout sessions. Some were an hour long, but most were half an hour.  

I chose to attend Christopher's first session:  Connecting Cultures; A French & American Exchange Program.  He talked about the program he has helped to grow between a French high school and Warsaw which involves a three year rotation of a student exchange for two years followed by a group exchange the third year.  My favorite part of this program is that it is a true exchange:  each year the French student(s) come to Warsaw in the fall (six weeks as an individual or 10 days as a group) and each spring our students go to France for the same amount of time. Christopher really inspired me dream about what a Spanish exchange program in Warsaw could look like.  I started envisioning a two country program one day where we could send students to Ecuador one year and Costa Rica the next and then our group trip could alternate between the two.  I think this would so highlight the cultural differences, accents and country specific vocabulary that we can't properly cover in our classrooms.

Mr. Hindsley is difficult to capture not-moving in a picture ;)

A formerly un-motivated student's words about the exchange program and its impact on her.

A parent's words about how the program impacted her child.

Christopher reminded me that "our job is to infuse their day with culture, even if they can't get their passport or fly across the ocean."

Next, I attended Harrison Elementary teacher Deb McClintock & Harrison Elementary Principal Lee Snider's session:  Sister School Partnerships. I had worked in Warsaw during the process they were presenting, but I was completely unaware of all that they had accomplished!  Deb described how she had been intrigued by Asian cultures as a young child, and saw an opportunity to get paired with a Sister School in China thanks to a program called Global Indiana. She even got to visit the school, which happened to be in a prestigious resort community in China.  Lee then informed us of the logistics of scheduling the Principal of their Sister School's visit and planning a group visit for Chinese students to Warsaw as well. It was fascinating to hear how a group of elementary aged Chinese students came to our small town in Indiana, stayed with host families in the area, attended classes at Harrison and tried to live the life of our students. I got emotional (not the first time during the workshop) hearing how not only our students were impacted, but also their parents and siblings as well by getting to know people from across the world.  The difference between this program and the exchange program was that none of our Warsaw students have thus far visited China, but that is still a dream in process.  I am so excited to hear how this program continues to grow!

Lee's quote really struck me when he said, "Regardless of what our students later hear in the media, they can be grounded by knowing they have a friend in China who is a good person."

And Deb's dream deeply resonated with me when she said, "I want our students to have early exposure to other cultures so that their 'little antennas' are up and we can help make the world a smaller place."

Deb (in red) and Lee (center) were a great team.

Lastly, I went to an hour long parent panel of international or adopted students discussing the difficulties they have had in our schools. It was comprised of two local teachers who have adopted children, a parent who has an adopted child in our schools and an international parent who moved to Warsaw for work, started his family in our town, and has gone through the culture shock and stereotyping alongside his daughters.  It was (again) an extremely emotional experience for many of us as we saw their pain and concern about the difficult transition that their students have made in their young lives and how their peers and teachers have impacted that. There were 3 main questions that each panelist answered, and then the time was opened up for all of the teachers and administrators to ask additional questions.  The parents' vulnerability and transparency was inspiring as they bared their family's business to all of the strangers in the room for the betterment of our entire community.  I was so humbled and inspired.  I came away with a few key revelations that could impact how I interact with international students and families in the future:

1. "If you see something extreme or inappropriate, contact parents right away."  Many parents highlighted how the family may be trying to intentionally work on a behavior issue at home, and although it may not appear to be worthy of parent phone call home, always over communicate.  These parents have years of teaching and communicating to make up for and they need all the 'head's up' they can get.
2. "Just because he's speaking English well, don't assume he can read at that level."  As a language teacher I feel like I should not have been so surprised by this one, because we all know that different aspects of language develop differently.  However, it struck me as such a delicate matter when the student could potentially be so well incorporated socially, and yet be quite behind academically.  It also really convicted me as a language teacher that the students who do the best assimilating to our country are the one's whose verbal skills develop quickest.  Why is it that in so many of our classrooms the verbal skills are the ones that we sacrifice so that our students can 'master' accents and reflexive pronouns?
3. "In groups, put him with the higher functioning kids so he can model both their behavior and their language."  Sometimes this is counter-intuitive.  And different groupings serve different purposes.  However, there are definite times when international students or ESL students could benefit from being placed in a group perhaps they are not "ready" for.

The panelists sharing with us about their family's varied experiences in our schools.

We rounded out the day by returning for door prizes and a final word from the committee.  One of the questions (that, in my opinion should be on EVERY conference evaluation form!) was "what session would you like to see offered in the future?"  It was fun to brainstorm about different colleagues I know who could offer wisdom in this setting, and even dream about what I might have to say one day.  It intrigued and frustrated me that the conference claimed to highlight languages, but in an effort to include teachers from many content areas it ended up focusing almost entirely on cultures (valid, and extremely important, mind you).  My biggest hope for the future of Leading Through Languages is that we find a specific way to incorporate language development, language reference, and language pedagogy specific sessions.

All in all it was an INCREDIBLE first workshop. I came home eager to talk my husband's ear off about all that I had learned and organize my four pages of handwritten notes, quotes and ideas. This one will definitely be on my calendar for future years and I can't wait to see how it grows.  On Twitter, many educators tweeted pictures, quotes and reflections under our previously established corporation wide hashtag:  #WCSmission.

How Can I Stay Involved?

Maybe you're like me.

Your life is changing directions very quickly.  

You're a young wife and teacher.  You are learning new things in the classroom and you love pouring your energy into getting better and trying new things.

You're looking for your first house and you search online for something that could be part of your future.

And BAM.  One day you find out your pregnant.  And your life priorities and energy and five year plan sorta kinda goes down the toilet...as you knew them, anyway.  Perhaps you go back to work after having your baby.  Or perhaps, like me, that wasn't a sustainable way to live for your family.  So, for now, you are no longer the young wife and teacher who loves to learn new strategies for formative assessments and search for inventive new apps.  Maybe you are now the young wife and mother who goes to baby music classes and says "please don't play with the trashcan/outlets/cough syrup/permanent markers" a lot lately.

Maybe, like me, you still feel like that young teacher.  You still have a heart for teaching and learning and traveling and languages and students.  You're not ready to be DONE but you are choosing something different (and better, for you) for now.  You've been wondering things like How can I keep using and improving my target language? How can I keep a foot in the door in my local school corporation?  How can I keep connected with students I've invested in?  How can I stay involved?

I've been there.  Actually, I'm still wandering around there a little bit.  But, here are five ways I have found to stay connected to Spanish teaching, even while staying at home with my baby.

1. Social Media:  While teaching I created a "teacher account" on Twitter and Instagram.  Even now, I re-tweet articles I have found about traveling, jokes in Spanish or resources for students.  Sometimes I post pictures of my daughter or things I'm doing with Spanish captions to engage students in reading a bit...and often times they will comment me or message me, which keeps those lines of communication open, safely and professionally.  Plus, I participate in Twitter chats where I'm still interacting with teachers and administrators in this area and learning what is going on in their classrooms.

2. Group Tutoring Classes:  I had heard people say before that companies might hire a tutor for their employees to learn Spanish, but I actually had better success within the church.  A local church and organization sends missionaries to the Dominican Republic and they were looking for a teacher to help them learn what they need before going on short term and long term trips.  One night a week, 1-2 hours at a time, and ADULT LEARNERS who are very motivated.  Hello, dream job.

3. International Travel:  I had planned and enrolled students in both my Peru and Spain trips before deciding to stay at home.  So, I kept my word.  Education First (EF) has been amazing at helping me prepare for meetings, communicate with parents and make a near flawless transition.  One meeting a month, a few emails in between, and a bit of organization.  EF does not require you to be a teacher to lead these trips, so if there isn't a program in your area...consider heading it up. I get to promote my tours in the schools, meet new students and travel. to. other. countries.  So.

4. Individual Student Tutoring:  I sent an email to all of my teacher/friends in the Spanish department at two middle schools and the high school, letting them know they could pass my information on to students and parents who needed additional tutoring.  I meet one night a week for an hour at Starbucks and help the student re-learn what they missed.  It's ideal for me (additional income & practice), the teacher (ain't nobody got time for that), and the student (additional reinforcement).

5. College Supervising Teacher:  The Christian college in my area has a strong education program and sends many prospective teachers into the public schools to complete their student teaching.  I get to observe them 5 times throughout the semester, evaluate them, mentor them and then eventually recommend them to pass student teaching if I feel they have earned that. It's entirely on my own schedule and allows me to not only know what is going on in the area public schools, but also keep up to date with what is expected of prospective teachers.

I didn't include the reading, ESL volunteering, conference attending and other ways I have enjoyed practicing Spanish and learning how to improve my teaching.  Obviously, you find options that work best for your family and passions.  I have loved my decision to step back from full time and even part time teaching "officially" and spend this time learning and growing "unofficially" as I soak up every minute possible with my precious daughter.

If you're like me, maybe you can find ways like this that you didn't know existed and enjoy some of your favorite aspects of classroom teaching...without the actual classroom, for now. 

What ways have you stayed involved in your temporary, or long-term, absence from classroom teaching?

E3Technology Conference: My Reflections (Day 2)

After a wonderful first day of learning about incorporating technology in education, I was looking incredibly forward to Day 2!

We began by listening to our keynote speaker, Shannon Miller.  As a teacher librarian, Shannon has had so many interactions with so many different students...and in one way or another she has equipped each of them to go after even their craziest dreams.  She had branded their school library "The Voice" because she kept reiterating how important it was for students to share their stories with their own personal voice.  I loved that the students in her building truly embraced that motto!  She showed us countless pictures, videos and news articles of students taking ownership of their education and making something unbelievable happen. One of my favorite stories she told was of a a student who showed great promise as a writer.  Shannon reached out to friends on social media and asked how to get this young lady in touch with a publisher.  Now, this girl spends lunch time skyping with her editor and publisher in New York City to discuss her four novels-in-progress. Thanks to Shannon I desired to dream bigger.

I then headed to what I knew would be a wonderful session by a Andy Streit.  He has earned the reputation in our district for his work with reinventing his curriculum in his 20th year of teaching to incorporate the corporation's move to 1:1 and becoming nearly entirely paperless in that time.  Obviously, he would be an ideal person to lead a session on Essential Apps for the 1:1 Classroom!  And, we were not disappointed.  Check out everything he taught us about here.  My favorite apps he demonstrated were Nearpod & Reflector (more to come on their uses later!).  Andy used the perfect blend of TONS of information but at a pace that allowed questions, real examples from the classroom and even some experimentation time.  Thanks to Andy I desired to dive in with less trepidation.

At lunch I had the pleasure of becoming more acquainted with two of the new teachers hired at my beloved Lakeview.  It was so encouraging to see experienced teachers already mentoring them, and also to see brand new teachers with the desire to learn, try new things and ask questions.  Lakeview is undergoing a ton of huge changes this year (new principal, 1:1 for the first time, over 10 new teachers hired, etc) but I am so confident that our students are in great hands!

After lunch, I learned how to make Excel my BFF with Amy Mencarelli.  Amy is the perfect person to teach me something intimidating like Excel.  She is upbeat, she is relaxed and informal, and she is incredibly knowledgeable.  That, mixed with a group of teachers who asked great questions, lent itself to a lot of applicable tips and shortcuts that I had never known before when using Excel. She showed me things like how to format multiple sheets at the same time (hello MUCH faster Cross Country Season Records!) and also how to concatenate (WHAT?! Excel is a genius robot!).  My mind also really benefited from big picture things ("Think of Excel as a much smarter calculator").  Thanks to Amy, I desired to be more efficient in the little things. 

The last session of Day 2 was my last presentation.  I had the honor of teaching 12 educators about the "Vast World of Twitter Chats."  You can read about the first Twitter Chat I helped to create, or some helpful resources I have found on Twitter as a teacher, as well as what my presentation description was at E3tech. We worked under the assumption that these educators were already on Twitter and knew the basics, but didn't feel like they were truly tapping into the resources others spoke of.  So, I taught them the basic "how-tos" of Twitter chatting as well as some of the best education chats out there to date.  But the last half of my presentation tried to focus on how student directed education Twitter chats are still few and far between.  I challenged them to think of how student learning in their content could be amplified with regular Twitter chats like #spanstuchat or #scistuchat.  I really hope that some of the teachers in that room experiment with reaching students via Twitter chats...I think they have huge potential! The Haiku Deck I used is here, as well as the Smore flyer I sent around with additional notes and links if you would like to look over exactly what we discussed.  Below, I included the mock Twitter chat we participated in during our session. You'll definitely want to follow these new "Tweachers"!

#e3tchat Tweets 

And once again, no prizes won for this Maestra :( BUT I left with a huge smile on my face due to all the transforming conversations that were had and the electric encouragement that is spread when so many inspiring educators are in the same place.

(This professional development opportunity brought to you by the Indiana Department of Education's Summer of eLearning.) *Applause*

E3Technology Conference: My Reflections (Day 1)

What a wonderful two days of learning we have had!  Every year this conference gets me energized and inspired to make differences in the lives of students by thinking outside the box.  And this year, although I am for the first time not preparing to welcome students into my Spanish class in the next two weeks, was no different!  We heard incredible stories, made unbelievable connections and drank in TONS of new possibilities.

Let's all take a moment to thank Indiana eLearning for this opportunity.  *Applause*

Day One:

As our first keynote speaker, Todd Nesloney blew our minds with each story he told of how "students stop having limitations when we as teachers stop creating them."  He challenged us to hold students to extremely high expectations.  But something I heard repeated throughout his stories was the idea that we as teachers must hold ourselves to that same high level of expectation.  Not in that our classrooms have to be perfect and all our papers have to be graded on time, but in that our students deserve our best effort everyday to blow THEIR minds.  The part of his keynote that stuck out to me the most was how he opened:  with a picture of children in mid-lurch at the start of an Easter egg hunt, with excitement flashing through their blurry movements. He posed this poignant question that really got to me:  "How is it that children have such natural awe and wonder at things and yet often those same children, by the time they sit in our desks, have somehow lost that?"  Thanks to Todd I desired to be more engaging.

Then, I had the privilege of presenting what I have done in my classroom with EDpuzzle in a small breakout session.  You can read my first experiences here, or read what my session description was here.  I was so thankful for the 18 educators who came to learn about this video editing tool and how they might be able to use it to enhance student learning.  If you want to learn more about what we discussed, my Emaze Presentation is here as well as my Smore flyer with additional links and notes.  Here are the thoughts and comments we exchanged on Twitter about my presentation:

#e3edpuzzle Tweets

Next, we had a delicious Panera lunch as we enjoyed further conversations with educators and companies we made connections with earlier that morning.

Two more sessions we available in the afternoon.  I chose to see some of my former colleagues present (Dr. Chris Boyd & Mrs. Val Weinstein) about engaging apps to use in the secondary classroom.  These two ladies have a reputation in our school for experimenting with new things, learning quickly and utilizing innovative technology for student learning in ways the rest of us only dream of.  I knew I couldn't miss their session!  Thanks to them, I learned about ThingLink, Pocket, and many others.  Check out their presentation here! My mind reeled with the many ways these apps could have positively affected student learning in my classes the past three years.  Thanks to Chris and Val I desired to venture outside my comfort zone to find new answers to recurring problems.

My last session of the day was spent learning from Justin Weaver about the best ways to go about blogging and using social media to advertise your school or classroom.  He even taught us some best practices of photography (which I am clueless about!).  Many times these conversations are a little over my head, and although I didn't get everything that was being discussed, I definitely benefited from tips that were mentioned (for example, how to interpret stats from your blog, some design suggestions, options for featuring student work, etc).  Thanks to Justin I desired to be more intentional with my blog.

Great prizes were raffled away to finish up Day One, including a Chromebook, an iPad mini and a 3D likeness of yourself thanks to the 3D printer everyone was excited about.  I'm decidedly NOT a lucky person when it comes to these types of things, but it was awesome to see area teachers get incredible things they could use in their classes or for themselves.

I left PUMPED to see what Day Two had to offer!  I also left so encouraged and thankful for the school corporation we live in where the educators that impact students in our area are so motivated to be their best. Have I mentioned that this place is my dream job?! :)

My Confession...and Resolution

I guess I have to come clean:  for much of my adult life, I have been a thief.

Probably much of my student life, too, if I'm being honest.

In the name of full disclosure, my stealing was as a result of laziness, not intention.  But, still.  Even just this summer I was regularly in the practice of using images made by someone else and never never NEVER giving credit.  My mind reels to the dozens upon dozens of PowerPoint presentations I have made teaching, the brochures and marketing that I did for our trip to Peru, the countless handouts and worksheets that I have tried to "spice up", and the hours upon hours that I have spent Tweeting or reTweeting something I liked.

So.
Many.
Images.
Used.
"Borrowed."
Stolen.
And no concern whatsoever for citing their origin.

Perhaps that lack of concern is rooted in the fact that I assume everyone feels as I feel.  I have a laid back personality in this respect.  I couldn't care less if someone knew my name or not.  I despise being the center of attention.  I can't think of a scenario where I would demand credit for anything.  Most of the time, I do my best to push credit (even deserved credit in some instances) to others.  I've always found humility to be an attractive quality.

And then Twitter rocked my world in SO. MANY. WAYS.

Recently I over-read (oversaw? eavesdropped? stalked?) a conversation I found to be rude and ridiculous.  Five or six people were ganging up on one individual who had tweeted an image without citing who created it.  They attacked like a flock of vultures who saw an opportunity to pick their prey apart.  Did they have a valid concern?  Probably.  But it's hard for me to hear anything you are saying when you are obnoxiously rude and petty about it.  My empathy is for the other person and you become the bad guy instantaneously.  And then one apparent-vulture-lady Tweeted something to the same effect as the vultures, but with all the emotion removed and just the facts stated objectively. Not vulture-like after all.

@justintarte @stumpteacher @surreallyno Need 2 note it's not yours. Don't share w/o making effort 2 track it down 1st. #digitalcitizenship

— Mirna Jope (@MadameMoodle) July 20, 2015

Their words specifically caught my attention because Justin was Tweeting exactly what I had done/felt before.  I never claimed to create this.  What is the big deal?  Isn't it assumed that everyone "Google Images" what they need and comes up with something they didn't create?  Mirna was Tweeting something so black and white, something I would tell students, and something I myself was not doing. Ouch.  As I searched for more #digitalcitizenship Tweets, I came across this one:

Such a great point! If we don't model, how can we expect Ss to follow #digitalcitizenship #leadbyexample #FPSteach https://t.co/eUpIzGkCe4

— knives chau (@iwearthecrowns) July 7, 2015

OUCH. (Have I said that in this post yet?!)
How can I create projects where I require students to cite their sources if I'm not bothering to cite mine?  How can I expect the librarian to co-teach with me for 2 days to correctly explain the difference between plagiarism and paraphrasing when the remaining 178 days I undermine what she just taught?  How can I continue doing what I've been absentmindedly doing for the past 5 years if I want to improve in so many other areas?

I think the big "AHA!" moment came when one of my blog posts about "Tweachers" really took off.  I mean, "took off" for me.  I posted resources for teachers found on Twitter and all of the sudden some of my educational role models were posting my link on Twitter!  Before I knew it, people I didn't even know were linking my blog post in articles they publish weekly.  For those of you who have largely successful blogs, just pretend you remember what it felt like when you were first getting noticed :)  It. felt. good.  I liked seeing my name next to work that I had put effort into.  I liked getting credit.  I liked people knowing my name because of my work.

Wait, WHAT?!

And all of the sudden, it clicked.  All of the individuals out there who have created visuals, photographed incredible scenes, and come up with ideas better than mine deserve credit for their accomplishments. And that doesn't make them self-centered or rude or demanding.  They don't even have to care about it, to be honest.  It is my responsibility as a professional and as a respectful human being to make whatever effort necessary to give others rightful credit.  In word or in deed.   And I'll be honest, I have very little clue of where to start.

Here are the links I am currently searching to find out more about how to be a more responsible digital citizen and how to teach students about digital citizenship as well.  With more and more schools moving to 1:1, I am realizing how pertinent the need for teachers educated on this topic and actively modeling this topic truly is.  So, feel free to browse along with me if you find yourself in the same boat as I am:

1. Curating vs. Stealing
2. Why Digital Citizenship Should be on the Minds of Educators
3. 6 Resources for Educators
4. Teacher's Guide to Digital Citizenship

My "next step" for the moment is to read through these articles (and more!) for future change, but also change in small ways immediately.  Recently, I have begun just tweeting someone and asking/checking if I have their permission to link something to my blog, Smore eflyer or even in a presentation in advance.  They always say yes, but some do specify "please give credit."  Which I no longer think is self-seeking, but rather a legitimate concern.

I should include that Justin (the man I mentioned who was attacked by vultures?) corrected his mistake for all to see.  I was pretty impressed that someone with his platform for influence would admit an error and post the correction publicly, even when that correction came because of vultures.  And the kind not-vulture lady?  She kept being kind :)

@justintarte @betamiller Thanks for fixing it, Justin.

— Mirna Jope (@MadameMoodle) July 20, 2015

Tweachers

Twitter. has. changed. my. teaching.

About a year ago, I began to hate Facebook for the unnecessary intimate details I read daily about everyone I knew. Around that same time, I began to enjoy Instagram for the simplicity of a picture with a caption.  But now Twitter is becoming my new obsession for its combination of the strengths of other social media: simplicity (just 140 characters) and access to everyone and everything. 

(Found on Twitter, ironically.)

My school corporation (and especially my building principal) really encouraged all teachers to create a Twitter profile at the beginning of the year, "because it is leading the new wave of professional development in education."  I was skeptical. I pictured all the celebrity twitter accounts that middle school students flock towards and I couldn't imagine what I would gain from participating. I had recently attended Lorinda Kline's presentation "Twitter 101" at the local (AND AMAZING) E3Tech conference where I learned the basics of what Twitter has to offer and I created my account.  However, my principal really peaked my curiosity with his avid endorsement of using social media as a tool.  I dove in.

What I found AMAZED me.  I still categorize myself at the "AHA!" stage of the scale given above because I am still just dipping my toes in the incredible amount of resources and knowledge available for teachers on Twitter. Here is a list of the top 5 ways to use Twitter if you are a teacher (although there are countless more) :

1. Twitter Chats: Join in all types of real-time online conversations taking place on twitter between educators.  A chat will be scheduled ahead of time by a moderator who will then tweet out questions at specific intervals.  You can "lurk" (read along without participating) or tweet answers back and reply to others.  Chats are some of the best ways to get new ideas, share your observations and also connect with dozens of educators, administrators and educational gurus around the world.  Read this to understand how to participate and look over this list to find some chats you might be interested in!
2. Articles: Many educators will send out links to what they have recently read. Instantly, you have easy access to multiple books and articles that come highly recommended. Here is one that I have read recently thanks to Twitter.
3. Inspiration & Encouragement: When you are feeling discouraged or frustrated, Twitter is full of funny pictures, quotes, and memes regarding our jobs and problems.  There are also an unlimited number of quotes about education that serve as a great reminder in the midst of all the chaos. This one really stuck out to me.
4. Blog Updates: If you enjoy reading blogs (she says on her blogpost...) then Twitter is great way to get notifications when your favorite bloggers write a new post.  Many bloggers will tweet a link to a new post (like my favorite blogger, Maris, does).  And many "Tweeps" (people on twitter) will have a link to their blog in their profile (like you see here on Allison's page), so you might even find brand new blogs to check out.
5. Conference Snippets: Have you ever wished you could attend a professional development conference but you were stuck at home instead?  Thanks to Twitter, many times you can follow what is going on by reading tweets with a hashtag that represent that conference.  People who did attend might quote speakers, post pictures, or relay their reflections for the benefit of everyone who had to miss out.  Search hashtags like #campmusicuentos, #iste2015, #allwrite and #e3tech and read what's been going on.

Summer is a perfect time to get away from the paperwork, grading, phone calls, and late nights associated with teaching. Even while traveling, spending time with family, attending or ditching a conference here and there, and spending some time near the water everyone can still find some time to create a profile on Twitter and begin to use these suggestions to move from "denial" to "curiosity."  Start now! You never know what you may find and how it may positively affect your teaching this coming fall. Tweet away future "tweachers"!

What Kind of a Teacher are You?

I loved this challenge to reflect posted by Laura Sexton on her blog.  I wanted to define my teaching styles and influences in a concrete way, and I thought this was a great way to do so.

1. I am a good teacher because:  I am a good learner.  I am curious.  I hate to be stagnant.  I revise, reflect and revise again.
2. If I weren't a teacher I would be: A full time student. Probably getting my master's at a university abroad and never wanting to come back. 
3. My teaching style is: Relationship-oriented.  My classroom management, my report, everything is centered on how well I get to know my students and how much they trust me.
4. My classroom is: MESSY.  Blue walls, travel maps and pictures, papel picado, magnet manipulatives, student work, library books and magazine...learning is messy.  And I'm unorganized.
5. My lesson plans are: In an adorable polka dot planner.  I write/plan in that over the weekends and then I transfer them to a large calendar at the front of my room and a day-by-day agenda on the marker board. Each night, I also update my Teacher Webpage.
6. One of my teaching goals is: To grow our program to reach our elementary schools.  I want to show and convince our community how vital language learning is even BEFORE kindergarten, but especially in the primary years.  I hope I get to see the program trickle down to all grade levels. 
7. The toughest part of teaching is:  imposing things on students that I do not personally agree with. When I know something negatively affects them or their learning of Spanish, it is hard for me to put any amount of effort into it.  I know there will always be things that we must do simply because we must do them, but for me rationale behind the duty is everything.  If it is not there, I can rarely fake it.
8. The thing I love most about teaching is: character development.  Helping students to become better people, not just better language learners. 
9. A common misconception about teaching is: that one should teach the way that one was taught. Times are changing. Students are changing. We must change, or become irrelevant. 
10. The most important thing I've learned since I started teaching is: I know much less Spanish than I thought I did. I have not "arrived." I am not "accomplished." I continually have a long way to go, I just happen to be helping others come with me.

I would LOVE to hear your answers.  Share them with us!