Flip2Facilitate

So did that title catch your attention? I bet it did. It's rather like beginning an essay with the word "sex" or anything connected to the word "sex." So, using this heading is for a reason. I want to talk about "Core Curriculum." You've heard about it. Your administrators have been tossing it your way, and you've been examining it in your professional learning communities. You either have a grasp of the changes heading your way, or you don't. I am one of those in the first category. Hence the title. Core Curriculum will change the way we teach. If it doesn't, we're not doing it correctly. That's why it's like war. Tell a large group of committed stakeholders that all of their lives must change and there will be chaos, pure and simple. Some are excited, others are fearful. Some are angry, others simply plan to do nothing at all. So for those of you who know nothing of the changes to come, here are my thought...

Social media, social networking and "socialnomics" are mainstays in today's business world. Those businesses who want to stay ahead of the curve are using social media tools to tap into the Internet network to launch campaigns, entice customers, and recruit employable talent. What are schools doing? Blocking these sites with filters. If we don't teach our students who will? We need to teach our students the following: 1) How to use social media as a tool. 2) How to protect one's self while using social media. 3) How to leverage information and data in social media, and 4) How to use social media to make positive connections with the world of work. That means we as teachers have to be social media experts. Most teachers fear this task. Fear no more. We must wade into the social stream and navigate its depths. It is our job to protect, educate, and enlighten our students. Since common core curriculum emphasizes "college and career readine...

"By better integrating academic, career and technical education, and work-based learning, the nation’s secondary schools can increase student engagement, boost student achievement, and provide students with more options after they graduate from high school, according to a new policy brief from the Alliance for Excellent Education." ---from Alliance for Education We all want to prepare our students for the future, a future we cannot see. We want our education to be work relevant and we aspire to make our assessments authentic. We are ever more aware of the push for this environment. In my state, Kansas, I am looking at multiple movements in this area: Kansas Common Core Standards and CTE (Career and Technical Education Pathways) . I, like many, find myself in this mix. Here's what I know. First, we need to look for methods (and tools) to help us shift accountability of learning from a teacher-based model to a student-learning based model. Please understand, I a...

Did you lose a student this year? I did. It always hurts my heart to say, "I lost a student."  I  had earnest talks about "motivation" in my classroom with him.  His parents and I had an earnest talk at conferences about "potential" and "motivation."  They looked at me with concern, nodding seriously. I lost him.  More than that, I believe it's my fault. So I'm the exciting, overly dramatic, nerd teacher.  Most kids love my class, but I have a few....some challenging few....whom I don't reach.  I believe I know why.  It's me.  As radical as I am.  As challenging as my program is.  As unique as my flipped curriculum is....I need to find ways to reach those gamer kids who would rather be playing Minecraft than learning how to use social networking.  But don't they NEED to learn some things besides Minecraft or Skyrim?  Of course.  BUT IT'S HOW I REACH THEM THAT MATTERS.   It's true.  The student I lost...