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Inside the Rabbit Hole: Sea Turtles Head North

Every so often I come across a news story I can’t stop reading about, and this fall it was sea turtles. In September, two olive ridley sea turtles crawled onto beaches in Orange County, California, and laid their eggs, one near Seal Beach and one near the Huntington Beach Pier. According to NOAA Fisheries, they’re the first sea turtle nests of any species ever recorded on the U.S. West Coast. The closest place olive ridleys normally nest is near the southern tip of Baja California, Mexico.

Why did they come so far north? Scientists point to unusually warm ocean water from ongoing marine heatwaves and the El Niño expected next year, though NOAA says the exact reasons are still uncertain. With a hurricane approaching, the eggs were moved to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach for safekeeping. Incubation takes 45 to 60 days, so any hatching news could come any day now. No one knows yet whether the eggs will hatch.

Of course, I couldn’t read this without thinking about my classroom. Here’s how I’d use it with students:

Human-environment interaction. When my students study a place, one lens we use is how people and the environment shape each other. This story is a perfect example. I’d ask students:

1. What changes in the ocean might explain why the turtles nested here?
2. Who now has to make decisions because of these nests, and what choices did they face?
3. If more turtles nest in California in coming years, how might beach communities need to adapt?

Comparing sources. I’d also have students read the NOAA article next to a news headline about the same event, then ask: What does each source emphasize? Which details does the news story leave out? Which would you trust for the facts, and why? Questioning sources is a skill students need for every story they read, not just this one.

I’ll be watching for hatching news. If baby olive ridleys make their way back to a California beach, you’ll hear about it here. 

Names Matter: The Day I Almost Murdered the Attendance List

When I started this blog in 2021, I was a teaching student. Since then, I’ve earned my teaching license, spent five school years substitute teaching, and nearly finished my M.Ed., so the blog has a new name to match: Echoes in the Classroom, because what happens in a classroom keeps echoing long after the bell rings.

Years ago, while I was driving a school bus, I wrote a checklist for educators that still guides me (you can find it on my portfolio). Teaching content comes last on that list. Making students feel safe and making them laugh come first. I learned how true that is on a day I subbed for a high school art class.

I was calling in attendance to the office, and a few last names on the roster had me worried. I didn’t want to mispronounce anyone’s name in front of the class, so I gave the attendance secretary the last initials and asked for help. She walked me through each one. I thanked her and said, with a laugh, “I didn’t want to murder them all.”

Then I hung up and looked out at a sea of completely silent faces with huge eyes.

The students had heard only my side of the conversation, and I had some quick explaining to do. “The names!” I said. “I didn’t want to murder the names!”

The room erupted. They laughed, I laughed, and for the rest of the period, I wasn’t a stranger at the front of the room anymore. When I told the attendance secretary the story at the end of the day, she laughed too.

That moment taught me two things. First, names matter. Taking a minute to say a student’s name correctly tells them they belong before you’ve taught them a thing. Second, a little laughter, even at your own expense, can turn a room of strangers into a class. Students learn best from people they feel comfortable with, and nothing builds comfort faster than a shared laugh.

In the posts ahead, I’ll write about literacy, fair grading, educational psychology, and the many paths students can take after high school. And every so often, I’ll take you along on a trip down a research rabbit hole.

Thanks for reading, and welcome to the new chapter.

Inside the Rabbit Hole

     From time to time when I'm scouring the internet (I'm supposed to be researching for my studies), I will inevitably fall into a rabbit hole and find things that have absolutely no relation to my initial intentions.

    Check out this fascinating article that I stumbled upon today:

Uh, Earth’s Inner Core Just Stopped Spinning (msn.com)

Convergent and Divergent Questions

 

First, what is the difference between a convergent question and a divergent question?

A convergent question has a specific answer.  Although the answer could be ‘yes’ or ‘no’, any question that requires an answer that could be considered right or wrong is a convergent question.  A convergent question is often logic driven.  On the other hand, a divergent question is open-ended.  A divergent question may also be considered right or wrong, but the answer is often open to interpretation by the inquirer.  A divergent question is often creativity driven.

What are some of the ways that convergent and divergent questions are best? 

Since a convergent question often lends itself to logic, there are many reasons why this type of question is best applied to math or science.  An example of a convergent question may be, “what is 2+2?” or “in what time zone is the state of Iowa”? It is important to note that many multiple-choice questions with one answer are convergent in nature.

Since a divergent question often lends itself to creativity, there are many reasons why this type of question is best used for provoking the imagination.  An example of a divergent question may be, “Why do you think one side of a ‘V’ of flying birds is longer than the other side”?  While this question can be asked convergently because there is a scientific explanation, asking this question in a divergent manner inspires someone to contemplate.

So, why is it important to ask both convergent and divergent questions when lesson planning?

The number one reason I believe asking both types of questions when lesson planning is because offering both types of questions facilitates a way for students to discover their own learning styles.  In fact, using both styles of questions in a lesson plan will allow an instructor to differentiate lessons to the different learning styles and thinking.

This is just a short synopsis on the use of convergent and divergent questions for the purposes of this blog.  If you would like to know more, check out the links below.

(PDF) Teaching and Learning of Divergent & Convergent Thinking Skills using DCT (researchgate.net)

Convergent vs Divergent Questions - YouTube

Convergent Thinking Versus Divergent Thinking - YouTube

 

 

 

 

 

 

Teaching Students' Problems Could Be Considered "Small Potatoes" When Compared With Struggles Facing Today's Special Education Families

 

Here is an article that I recently read, and I found myself pondering a couple of things.

Students with special needs: The challenges of online learning - CNN

Are we doing enough as future teachers to educate ourselves so that we can contribute when we are in-service teachers?  Can we ever?

This article snapshots the lives of many different people and families and their perspectives on the challenges the pandemic has required them to address.  The mother of two special needs children (ages 12 & 16) is featured first; background information and a description of daily battles that her and her children encounter during the current school year are discussed. Some perspectives this article discusses are the introduction of the concept of the “virtual learning paradox”, we meet a lawyer advocating for families of special needs children discussing her legality doubts about the aspect of virtual learning and educational rights, and Betsy Devos’ stance on virtual learning is touched upon.

 

 

The Genius Hour

 

The Genius Hour

What happens when a student has the freedom to choose their own path to education?  The student is excited about his or her learning and he or she participates with a deeper level of critical thinking than he or she would if the material is not self-selected. 

Enter the concept of Genius Hour.  “Genius hour is a movement that allows students to explore their own passions and encourages creativity in the classroom.  It provides students a choice in what they learn during a set period of time during school.”(“What Is Genius Hour?,” n.d.).  A Genius Hour is an hour of class that a teacher splits up typically over a week where students are permitted to work on their “passion projects”.  This is like what might happen in some corporate jobs.  Genius Hour effectively puts students in charge of their own academic destinies.  Look at this YouTube link to see some of the products of Genius Hours.

2014 Genius Hour Projects in 3.5 Minutes - Bing video

What is Genius Hour? (n.d.). Genius Hour. Retrieved March 4, 2021, from http://geniushour.com/what-is-genius-hour/

 

UBD --- It's More Exciting Than The Acronym Implies!

 

What is UBD?  How Do I Apply UBD to a Lesson in My Classroom?

                “Think big, start small, go for an early win”(Grant Wiggins - Understanding by Design (1 of 2) - Bing Video, n.d.).  UBD or Understanding By Design, is a way of recreating a lesson so that it is useful, relevant and immersive.  It’s a framework that teaches and assesses for understanding and transfer.  To do this the first question we need to ask is: What in this lesson content is worth understanding?  To answer this question, we need to evaluate the larger concepts and processes across the content and then, wait for it… start backwards! Start backwards?  Yes!  Figure out what ideas the students should be able to demonstrate as a goal outcome from the lesson first and then build your lesson from there! 

                3 key items to keep Top of Mind while building your UBD lesson

1.       Choose topics that you, as a teacher, are interested in.

2.       Remember that you get what you put into your lesson (Grant Wiggins - Understanding by Design (2 of 2) - Bing Video, n.d.).  So, if you plan your lesson with critical thinking and creativity, your students will think critically and be creative.

3.       Your goal statement should not be the content with a pronoun in front of it. Your students need to know what they are doing AND why they are doing it.  Your goal should ultimately be a performance or understanding goal.

Here is a link to better understand UBD:  Authentic Education - What is UbD™?

Grant Wiggins—Understanding by Design (1 of 2)—Bing video. (n.d.). Retrieved February 28, 2021, from https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=ubd&&view=detail&mid=5F059F49EF48CE86DC2E5F059F49EF48CE86DC2E&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dubd%26FORM%3DVDRESM

Grant Wiggins—Understanding by Design (2 of 2)—Bing video. (n.d.). Retrieved February 28, 2021, from https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=ubd&ru=%2fvideos%2fsearch%3fq%3dubd%26FORM%3dVDRESM&view=detail&mid=DE8CAB805A3849AE8BE4DE8CAB805A3849AE8BE4&rvsmid=5F059F49EF48CE86DC2E5F059F49EF48CE86DC2E&FORM=VDMCNR

 

 

How to Engage Students with Whole Brain Teaching

 

How to Engage Students with Whole Brain Teaching

            Searching for a way to engage and keep your students engaged in your lessons?  How about Whole Brain Teaching?  Whole Brain Teaching was first introduced as a method to keep students engaged in the classroom in 1999 by Chris Biffle, to excite students about their learning and make learning "brainbased, fun and free"(Lindstrom, 2010).  To watch a teacher in a classroom, seem to “play a game” with students, while they are learning, is absolutely jaw-dropping to see.  The method is fast-paced and highly effective.  "The core of our method is to get kids to teach each other," said Chris Biffle, founder of the Whole Brain movement. "When they're teaching each other they're seeing, saying, hearing, doing and feeling whatever the lesson has to be, and that's the whole brain."(Lindstrom, 2010)  In the link below, 1^st grade students are learning with whole brain teaching for the first time. 

Lindstrom, N. (2010). WHOLE BRAIN TEACHING COMMANDS STUDENTS’ ATTENTION: Funny gestures, chants spice up daily lessons. In Daily Press (Victorville, CA). Daily Press (Victorville, CA). https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=n5h&AN=2W63400156084&site=ehost-live

Whole Brain Teaching: Starting WBT With 1st Graders - YouTube