Problem of the Month: Make Student Thinking Visible #edleadership #maths

The end of November marked our first school-wide Problem of the Month (POM). We had four classes participate by displaying their work, as well as working on the problem for one month and five classes walked through to look at and discuss student thinking. 

The POM decided by our Leadership Team was The Shape of Things. I displayed the original problem on a poster so students could refer back to it.

It was my fist time participating as a principal with a school-wide POM. I had participated many times as a classroom teacher at my previous school, so to say I was excited for this new experience was an understatement! 

6th Graders made logos to show their thinking on rotational symmetry:

6th Graders also drew pictures to show rotational symmetry:

If you look closely, you can see the folds in the paper that are representative of the symmetry.

This is how TK represented their thinking with patterns:

TK also used Adobe Voice to record their thinking about shapes on iPad minis. The iPads were displayed on a table and students in other grades were able to watch the TK videos during the gallery walk. Here is a video of a student watching the TK video:

Students constructed an understanding of this task by actually making the kites. 

The strength of this part of the gallery walk was that students could see how the shape of the kite changed depending on the size of the sticks. 

Here is some 1st Grade work on display:

Here is the writing from one of the work samples: 

"My shape is a rhombus. I thought the sides were even." 

"My shape is a diamond. It has four vertices. The length is shorter."

"It has four sides, we think it is a diamond."

What a great way to explore student thinking! Some questions that came up during the gallery walk were: How did the partners decide to classify the shape as a diamond? Is there a way to prove their thinking about the sides being even? What is meant when the student uses the word "even?" 

The gallery walk was a great way for SMP 3: Construct Viable Arguments & Critique the Reasoning of Others to take place across grade levels. Here are some pictures from what students wrote on their post-its.

We still have work to do in the areas of students constructing viable arguments and critiquing the reasoning of others. Responses could use definitions and an overall increase in using logic and reasoning to defend their thinking and/or the thinking of others. 

The student thinking and student conversations during the gallery walk also appear to have correspondence with SMP 7: Look for and make use of structure and SMP 8: Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning. 

In conclusion, the Problem of the Month was a worthwhile activity that focused on student thinking and student conversations about math. I predict that conversations we have about student thinking from the Problem of the Month will inform classroom instruction.

#CASTEM15 Experience

I had a great time at the Anaheim Convention Center for the California STEM Symposium. The highlights of the conference for me were facilitating a round table discussion with Gina Silveira, Betha MacClain and Kim Kern. 

The title of our discussion was "Creative Play, Maker Education, and STEM: What is the Connection?" Notice the Jenga game in the picture? We wrote talking points on each piece. As people came to our table, they would pull a Jenga piece and our conversation would go from there. It was a fun way to talk about topics like arts integration, school culture, risk-taking and collaboration. Our conversations were bidirectional in that I learned something from each person who stopped by our table. This was the first time I had participated in a round table discussion at a conference and it is an experience that I will participate in again at future conferences.

On day two of the conference, I presented with Gina, Betha and Matt O'Donnell. The title of our session was "Creating & Sustaining 21st Century Learning Classrooms: Pedagogy, Assessment and Design."

It was a great opportunity to share about the work our district has done with professional development. Here is the link to our presentation: http://tinyurl.com/pwkwkgo 

The session was interactive in that we allowed time for participants to discuss their thoughts about what 21st Century Learning looks like, sounds like and feels like. Participants shared their responses on Answer Garden. 

I was fortunate to be tasked with speaking about one of my favorite #edutopics, authentic assessment. What is the point of assessment? What is the assessment trying to accomplish?

Inspiration is a theme for me this year. The opening keynote was given by Leland Melvin. His story about going from the NFL to NASA was inspiring and motivating. The mindset he shared was powerful. 

The conference was a great opportunity for me to collaborate with my colleagues from Sonoma County Office of Education and Piner-Olivet Union School District. I appreciated the opportunity to connect with educators from across California.

Today Was A Good Day! #FutureReady #edleadership

This is a reflective post. The point is that I ultimately reflect on my voice/input as it pertains to education.

The story begins yesterday with the Raiders victory over the Chargers. Part of me relates to Amari Cooper because I'm a "new" principal and part of me relates to Charles Woodson because we are the same age (IRL) and veterans in some aspects. Whenever the Raiders win, I know it's going to be a good week! Little did I know what the foreshadowing of this victory would mean for today....

Today started off like any other Monday. I checked in with Mr. Malone, our PE teacher, to see how PE was going, as well as to debrief the Raiders victory. He is the only other Raiders fan on my staff of approximately 35. He always has some insights to offer about the Raiders and football in general, which I appreciate.

Next, I went to both 4th grade classes to read them my fall mystery story titled, Soup. I think it is valuable for students to see me as an author and talk about the writing process with them. I like to think they are inspired by me taking the time to talk with them about being a writer, as well as sharing my work with them. I appreciated their enthusiasm, questions and applause at the end of the story!

That afternoon, I went to the District Office for a follow up Re-Imagining Learning Collaborative meeting with district admins and twenty-one highly motivated teachers. I was excited to have the chance to share my perspective on the relationship between learning environment, pedagogy and authentic assessment with everyone in the room. Currently, my focus is on the social-emotional aspect of learning and how that directly impacts the learning environment.

As the meeting was coming to an end, I checked my Twitter feed. I noticed a #FutureReady chat moderated by U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, was coming up. I thought the chat sounded interesting because I work in a #FutureReady district and an opportunity to participate in a chat with Mr. Duncan seemed to be too good of an opportunity to pass up. 

Long story short, Mr. Duncan retweeted/quote tweeted me twice during the conversation. Here are the screenshots: 

So...first, Mr. Duncan said, "Great point." I almost fell out of my seat at the District Office. I can't really explain the impact of that. I am still at a loss for words. I'll need a little more reflection time.

Next:

Well, to be thanked by the United States Secretary of Education is affirming (to say the least). My dad really put it into perspective for me. I called him to tell him about the Twitter chat. He responded, "(expletive!) That's the equivalent of a Supreme Court Justice acknowledging my work!" (He's a lawyer.) Thanks, Dad! 

My brothers, on the other hand, had differing views:

Mark Reynolds  interviewed Buster Posey when he was a blogger for Bleacher Report. He has an understanding of the magnitude of today. John Reynolds, well...he has an interesting sense of humor. Everyone says he is the funniest person in our family, and I'll leave it at that. 

They say timing is everything, right? Just when I'm feeling a little overwhelmed (Ignite speech & #CASTEM15 session/round table coming up) and questioning myself, today provided some reassurance via unrelated events that what I'm doing is making a difference for students and my community.

I used to question my contributions to district committees. I used to say, "I'm not sure if I'm the best person to have on this committee, I don't really have an opinion one way or the other...." Eventually I realized my ideas, voice and opinion matters. I've had great mentors along the way. I credit Catina Haugen for her guidance in supporting me develop my voice in education. She has been my mentor and supportive in ways she may never know, but I will be sure to tell her! I also credit Jennie Snyder for being a #FutureReady Supt, as well as innovative and collaborative.

Revisit This! #USWNT #WomensWorldCup

Here's my post from four years ago, the last time the USWNT was in the World Cup. You may want to re-read it. "I know the U.S. will win the World Cup again." -Mary Reynolds

Looking back, it fascinates me how I related that post to math.

I will officially state that my favorite soccer player of all-time is Abby Wambach. She represents hard work and dedication, perseverance and true greatness. She is the epitome of grace. She joins the rest of my favorites, who include my favorite baseball player of all-time- Barry Bonds, my favorite football player of all-time- Jerry Rice, and my favorite basketball player of all-time- Draymond Green.

Today, the USWNT scored four goals in twenty-seven minutes (3 of them by Carli Lloyd). Unbelievable. The way the USWNT played the entire tournament was unbelievable. This team played with heart. They transcend men's and women's soccer at the highest level of play.

The team demonstrated composure, perseverance, and heart. They are inspiring. Everyone can learn a lot from how they played together & with each other. This team demonstrated what we, as educators, ask of our students (and of each other) on a daily basis- composure, sportsmanship, perseverance, dedication, teamwork, effort, communication, creativity, collaboration. This team is the definition of inspirational.

The best in the world! The impossible is possible! Anything can happen!

#MakeSchoolsDifferent - Five Things

Thank you @GSilveira007, for the #eduawesome blog prompt!

In no particular order, here are my five action items to make schools different.

1. Time can be used differently and more effectively to make schools different. For effective time use, take the time to do one thing well....and do it! Consistently. Once you master that, move on to the next "one thing." For different time use, take a look at how time relates to schedules. Be flexible with schedules. Don't let a daily schedule or a bell schedule impair or hinder learning opportunities for students.

2. Equity. Giving people what they need when they need it.
3. Ask questions and don't always give an answer. If you are giving all the answers, the odds are that you are doing all of the thinking. Therefore you have (intentionally or unintentionally) have taken ownership of the issue. Pause. Ask a question, pause.

4. Cultural proficiency: "Culturally proficient leaders display personal values and behaviors that enable them and others to engage in effective interactions among students, educators, and the communities they serve." Are you a culturally proficient leader? How?

5. Encourage more, criticize less. Live in the now. Use your strengths and the strengths of others to your advantage. Encourage others to share a way they use technology that has made their job easier, more streamlined or more engaging for students. Take time to allow for staff, students, and others to share how they learned from a mistake, a challenge they met, or a positive experience in school.

Be the change you want to see to #MakeSchoolsDifferent. Talk the talk and walk the walk to #MakeSchoolsDifferent.