"What’s a Fishbowl?"

That was a question that I have answered a lot lately from my students and from other students as they pass by my class and see laptops, students talking, and two different circles formed by desks. At Arapahoe one of the many awesome things I learned was a Fishbowl style discussion, only in a 21st Century way. Many people are familiar with the traditional style Fishbowl discussion with the inner circle talking and everyone in the outer circle facing the inner circle (IE where the Fishbowl name comes from) and writing down notes and comments about what is being said. At Arapahoe it was very familiar to engage in this discussion, but with a slight change - laptops. The students in the outer circle were not only typing their notes on the computer, but they were having a conversation in real time with each other in the outer circle. It was a technique that I learned how to facilitate during student teaching and it was something I knew I wanted to bring into my own classroom at the right time.

That right time happened last month when the 10th graders began studying The Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. I finally had the class in a place where the expectations, respect, and trust level I desired allowed me to introduce the concept of a Fishbowl. At first the students were a bit confused with having an inner circle and an outer circle and what each one was going to be doing, but once I set it up and we had a mock Fishbowl over a different reading in class it made sense. I explained the point values for grading purposes and the different roles - presenting, discussing, and being a member of the outer circle. I also made sure to clarify what my role specifically as a teacher was and that I am not leading or driving the train, but I will put it back on the track if it strays too far away.

At first students were a bit skeptical of how it was going to work. The first one we did over PT Indian was not the greatest. The inner circle really focused on having their own discussion and the outer circle their own too. Not really a bad thing, but that was only half of the idea. I really wanted to see students jumping from one circle to the other, either by physically moving or by seeing the comments of the outer circle on the SMART Board. Students in the outer circle also had a hard time keeping up with the variety of different conversations going on. I was surprised about this. I thought this generation, even more so than me, was supposed to be good at multitasking. So I had to demonstrate to a few students how to pay attention whether you are in the inner or the outer circle.

After a few more conversations with students about what an appropriate comment is and how they are to act in a Fishbowl, as I was creating the culture here, the students have actually been very successful with the discussion method lately. I enjoy that this style allows the students a voice, a structured time where they are given the class to direct and lead in whatever way they desire (this also happens at other times, but it is really awesome to see it during a Fishbowl). I also enjoy the fact that there are basically three (and often times more) conversations going on at once - the inner circle, the dialogue going on between the inner commenting on the outer circle, and the outer circle having their own various conversations. I really appreciate how this method of discussion is much more effective than a Socratic style one when where only one person is talking. Here there are so many different conversations going on at once and they all complement each other that is impressive to see.


From a technology point I set-up a class blog using Blogger and then use a neat piece of real time discussion software called Cover It Live to moderate the outer circle discussion. This software has built-in controls to allow you as the moderator to control what is published in the discussion by approving, sending private messages (For example, reminding students to spell their words correctly), and blocking users from commenting at all. Plus, this software has instantaneous posting, meaning as soon as the students send in their thoughts and I approve them they appear in the blog - something the students enjoy. This piece of software is currently blocked by our district filter, but I am working with them to unblock it so that it is easier to use in the future. Something in the imbed code for the blog triggers a block, even though the homepage is open.

In the end it is a lot of work to set-up the computers for my students, go around the filter, and spend the time setting up the blog and setting up the discussion, but in the end I believe this 21st Century Style of discussion is more relevant, engaging, and productive than some other form. But don’t take my word, check out the students’ last Fishbowl here.

Now my students do not ask “What’s a Fishbowl,” but instead they ask, “When is the next Fishbowl?”

Chemistry and Dance - What a Combination!

When I think back to my high school chemistry days (I know, not that long ago) I remember long lectures, lots of notes, formulas, and a whole variety of experiments in a lab that seemed twenty years behind.

Some of those essential elements still remain, but they have also changed quite a bit too. Our Chemistry teacher, Mr. V., still lectures to his students. However, now those lectures are a bit more interactive, including YouTube videos and funny jokes, not to mention that students are typing their notes on laptops provided for them by the school. These notes are also electronic and can be shared by one another, easily searched, and are a very effective for reference in the future. The formulas and experiments continue in much the same way as before, with slight modifications to using the computers at times instead of pencil and paper in the lab. Lab reports and manipulation of the data have become far easier to accomplish and in a shorter amount of time too. The bottom line though: students are still learning Chemistry.

However, the other day I noticed one unique thing happening. One of our dance teachers was up in the Chemistry room with Mr. V. That is right - Chemistry and Dance working together. At that immediate moment I let it go and rushed off to teach my own class, but later I asked Mr. V about this unique interdisciplinary effort.

He explained to me that the students were learning all about bonds between chemical elements - something I remember learning about using pencil, paper, and maybe a ball and stick model. However, Mr. V said they had done all those exercises, he also thought it would be helpful if they physically acted out the creation of molecules in the dance studio. It sounded like a great idea to me and I asked him how it went. He said that most of the students really got into it and now they really understood the elements necessary in the creation of a chemical. They got it because not only had they done the book work, the ball and stick work, but they physically worked together to create a collective knowledge. What a great idea!

Interactive bonds, Chemistry class, and Mr. V have inspired me. How am I working in a more interdisciplinary way to create more knowledge of the content area in my classroom? Am I engaging all the learning styles? I really believe in my classroom all too often I do a poor job of incorporating the physical aspect into my students’ learning. What Mr. V did with dance was a great reminder to continue working in new and creative ways so that my students can continue to succeed.

Riding in the Saddle

Have you ever seen a novice horseback rider? Every time the horse moves they seem to jump in an out of the saddle. That is how it felt for the first few months of teaching at the FAIR School Downtown. I was bogged down with media, technology, and somewhere in there figuring out how to teach my three classes. I was constantly running from class to meeting to printer issue to computer issue to whatever the next phone call. I was going all over the building the entire day and after a while I realized that I needed to focus in on what is really important - the students. It was not that before I was neglecting them, or focusing on them, or really trying hard to create relevant, worthwhile, and useful lessons - because I was - it was just that all too often it felt like I was doing all these other things all the time and that teaching kind of got shoved to the back burner. I was uncomfortable in my variety of roles because I was too busy trying to do too many things. So days were really good, my students listened, they had a good Fishbowl or a good discussion over the material we were learning. But there were other days when students did not listen, where I felt bad, was tired, and beat up from the stress of the job. It constantly felt like I was jumping in and out of the saddle. I was trying to ride this horse of being an effective teacher/media/technology person, but I somehow I was not good enough to keep it all together.

Since then a few months have passed, an entire semester and half of another quarter, and here I am finally riding in the saddle. My lessons seem to have a good pace and the students are responding in positive ways. In addition, I have figured out how to push each student in just the right way. The classroom management is becoming easier. Students understand the expectations and are following them for the most part. I continue to become more comfortable also in my other roles as the media and technology coordinator. I have gotten used to the questions and issues that keep popping up and the variety of different tasks that I get to complete each day. It is exciting and I really enjoy going to work because there seems to be a constant challenge. Everyday is always an adventure.

I do not know if it has been time that has made me feel more comfortable. Or maybe it has been really getting my students to the place where I can actually teach. Or maybe it is the fact that I am making time for my prep periods and really focusing on segmenting out each day. I now respect the instructional part of my day and the technology/media part of my day equally and they both get fair and separate time. Or maybe it is the fact that I have really focused on not checking my work e-mail accounts after I get home or on the weekend. I also take part of every weekend off to recharge my own personal batteries so that I can really be the best teacher come Monday morning. I have really learned that personal time, combined with exercise throughout the week, has really been key to feeling comfortable where I am.

By no means am I saying that I am some sort of expert at this teaching/technology/media stuff yet, because that is clearly not true. However, as I look back at where I was at the beginning of the year and compare that to right now I notice a significant and positive change. I feel like right now I am finally riding in the saddle.

Civics: 21st Century Style

Sometimes you just have to share what an awesome staff you have...

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending a school administrator workshop about using cell phones in the classroom with our high school civics teacher, Mike Elston. I had known about many different class polling tools and had used cell phones in the classroom before, but this training really allowed me to think about and brain storm some really unique ways to use it. It was a great day of learning, sharing, and collaborating. The awesome part is that application of the knowledge from the conference has occurred and students' learning has increased because of it.

This morning I was getting ready for class and Mike came into my office and asked for a projector and a screen. Not an odd request, but an interesting one considering that he already has a SMART Board in his classroom. So I asked him what he was going to to with it and he said, "Set-up PollEverywhere for his class."

My first response, "I can't wait to see this."

What Mike is doing right down the hall is so cool. He is showing the State of the Union Speech on his SMART Board and all of his students are on their 1-1 school-issued laptops. Each student is open to the PollEverywhere question that Mike set-up for his class asking for general responses and reactions to the speech. The students are watching the speech and commenting in real time to each other using PollEverywhere. They are having an awesome, high level discussion about the material and are truly engaged in the content. Real learning is happening in front of my eyes and it is so cool to watch.

As the techie I always search for another cool or more engaging piece of software for Mike to use and engage his students. Immediately I thought of performing the same open question style conversation using Blogger I asked him why he was using PollEverywhere and not something like Blogger or another real time chat piece. He said, "I love the anonymous part of using this website [PollEverywhere]. In a Civics class students that lean one way or the other on the political scale need to be free to express what they think without being ridiculed, which may happen if we used something like Blogger." I thought that was an awesome comment and a great use of the technology appropriately.

So my hat is off to Mike for taking what he learned yesterday and improving his students' education in a new and engaging way today.

Students - The Best Part of Our Jobs

I love hearing when people complain about their jobs. It is really funny some times. Maybe it is funny because you can laugh when you have a great job that you really love. I have often thought, now that I am a few months into having my own classroom and a “real” job in the “real” world, what the best part of my job is. Is it the fact that I am surrounded by an awesome staff? Well that is great, but not it. Is it the fact that I get to work with a bunch of technology on a regular basis? Well, that too is great, but not the best part. Is it the fact that I get to work in a school that is constantly pushing the idea of education in the 21st Century? That too is an awesome aspect. However, I think hands down the best part of my job is the students.

We would not be there if it were not for the students. At the same time, the students make the job so much of not a job it is amazing. I just blogged about how they are different every day. Yes, they are, but that is the exciting and amazing part of this job. The best part about the students that I can articulate so far in my teaching career is helping them understand something “stupid,” watching them grow from a struggling student to one leading the class, being there through the low points, and watching them be passionate about something because of a connection you personally made with them.

Helping them understand something “stupid” - Hamlet, by many students’ first impression, is just that - “stupid.” However, after spending two hours yesterday morning (my students were on a field trip) with one group of eleventh grade students who previously thought that idea, they understood the material. They were excited about the material. They actually left with smiles and were excited about Monday.

Watching them grow from a struggling student to one leading the class - I have a student in one of my classes that has an IEP and does struggle through a lot of material, especially in my class. However, with Hamlet he has latched on and gone to town. I provided him, with the assistance of our special education coordinator, a variety of resources including the “No Fear Version” of Hamlet and he has gone to town. He understands the material very well. He is passionate about it. So much so that this week I had him sit down with a group of usually high achieving students and explain to them, in his words and using the text, what was happening. It was an amazing flip of a student from the bottom of the class academically and engagement wise. Now he is my go-to student (we all have these - right?) for Hamlet. He understands it and I have even given him the task of writing out some of the notes on the SMART Board. I am excited about his future in my class and I am trying to figure out how to achieve this same result in the next unit.

Being there through the low points - One of my high achieving students came to me after class on Thursday and wanted to talk. She sought me out and I listened to her issue. I tried to comfort her in the best ways that I could. It just amazes me the amazing difference of being there with these students. Some days I think it would be a whole lot easier to be a full time technology guy, but you cannot trade a conversation like that for anything. It is just, as the Master Card commercial states - Priceless. It was amazing to see her yesterday and her how thankful she was of the time that I spent talking to her and the huge difference that made for her that day.

Watching them be passionate about something because of a connection you personally made with them - It is stressed by college teachers everywhere to make connections with your students. Marc Prensky would take that a step further and say find out what their passions are. I, taking from both of these ideas, would say not only find out their passions and make the connections, but participate in their passion with them.

This week was the first annual “Spirit Week” at our school. It ended with a dance last night that I was planning on chaperoning. Why? I don’t really know, but I knew it was going to be a lot of fun. It came to be Thursday afternoon and the organizer of the dance came up to me and asked for a huge favor...she asked me to DJ the dance. Now, bare in mind that I have been around sound equipment for a fair amount of my life, enjoy listing to music and hanging out with high school students, but I have never DJ’d a dance - until last night.

Yesterday in class I mentioned to one of my students, who I knew from previous interactions has a passion for music, that I was going to be the DJ for the dance. She kind of shrugged and said “OK.” The rest of the day went by and I started the dance off and it was kind of lame. An interesting thing happened. Did you know that black and white people generally have their own favorite styles of music? So I was playing all this typical “white kid music,” as one student phrased it, and no one was dancing. Then my student from the ninth grade showed up. She was fired up and wanted to help out with the DJ gig. She respected my role as the DJ, but offered her own opinions. She made that dance what it was - an awesome party. She pulled out some of her music and we had a great time.

Her passion - music.
My passion - connecting with students.

Both of those passions were intermingled last night.

I could have shut her down and told her "No" and not taken any suggestions from students, but I didn’t. In fact, I set-up a Poll Everywhere poll for song suggestions. I screened them on one computer and played them on another computer. We had an awesome night because I allowed it to be about the students and connecting with them - in particular this one student. My relationship with her has increased exponentially. Plus, we had one heck of an awesome dance.

In conclusion, the best part of my job is hands-down the students.

Outside Having an Impact Inside

Some days are good. Some days are exactly the opposite of good. Sometimes we have high expectations and we are rewarded. Some days we have high expectations and our students do not come through. More often than not I have noticed the extreme impact that things outside the classroom have on what actually happens inside the classroom.

Just last week there were a lot of instances of this idea. We had a day where it snowed a lot and when class started there were only five students - in a class of twenty-two. There was a post on Facebook by a fellow student (Yes, Facebook is unlocked in our school and used throughout the day by our students. It has to do with the Administration's decision because the school itself has a Facebook page and is used as a method of communication with our parents/guardians) that distracted the rest of the class for the remainder of the period. There was a field trip that took one entire grade out for their morning classes. The list continues...students breaking up, a close friend leaving town, and a school pep fest.

What I have realized is how often I have a plan with my lesson and how it rarely goes according to that plan. Usually I want to do this, then this, and now this, but more often then not this “perfect lesson plan” that I have created never happens. In fact, I can count the number of times on one hand that things have gone exactly how I planed them. It is not that my students have not understood the material, participated in class, and applied the material to their lives. I remember in college being taught to write a lesson plan with objectives, activities, checking for understanding and all these “required” parts of a lesson. The idea was that if you have this amazingly planned lesson planned that it will work out perfectly. Well that is not what happens, at least not in my class.

I think it was great to understand the basic structure of a lesson in college, because that is how class period is generally structured. However, I have found that teaching is more about adapting and rolling with the ebb and flow of the class than sticking to a rigid plan. If one strategy does not work, then you try a different one. If that doesn’t work then you have a student describe it. You use a picture, a movie, a physical diagram, and you try anything to make the idea or concept make sense to your students. If you are supposed to teach a lesson and it involves small groups, but the period before you noticed that the same group of students was very loud and noisy. Do you put them into small groups in your class period? That is what happened to me yesterday. I chose to have them complete their reading alone and the result: a perfectly silent classroom. I am not saying that I am some amazing teacher, but it is absolutely amazing to see the changes in students from period to period and from day to day. Something might have worked the previous day, but for whatever reason it will not work the next one.

My thought here is that I have found that teaching is all about having clear objectives for the day and a variety of strategies in your back pocket to get there. Then all the other elements, like checking for understanding, get sprinkled in throughout. If one “cool” idea flops on the first try what do you try next? We need to make sure that we are pushing the students in our teacher education programs to think outside of the “perfect lesson plan” to consider multiple other strategies that they could quickly switch to if the first one does not work - for whatever reason. Teachers need to be adaptable and be able to do that without effort or any preparation.

Your students don’t get it. Do you have something in your back pocket to switch to so that comprehension can happen?

“Fifty-Nine Minutes” Wins Another Award

I have always considered what I write in this blog to be a personal reflection of my growth as an educator. When I started writing though, my intent was never to cause any outside reflection from others or even to have other people read this on a daily basis. I have been amazed of the impact of “Fifty-Nine Minutes” has had on my own teaching as a place I can go to reflect on a daily basis. As I am always in the back of my head working on ideas and posts that if I do not have time to write during the week that I can type out the idea on my iPod on the bus on the way home and then on the weekend I can type out the full blog. Apparently, though, other people have found this blog to be something special, as it just won another award.

Mr. Cusher from Reach Network, Inc. informed me a few days ago that “Fifty-Nine Minutes” was placed in the Top 200 Education Blogs list by the Guide to Online Schools. In their preface to the list they write: “All those interested in education—we've got you covered. From humor blogs on college life to one stop shops for school athletics to blogs all about education policy and new technologies, if there's a good education blog out there, you can bet it made our list.”

It is an honor to be recognized by Mr. Cusher and to be part of this list. “Fifty-Nine Minutes” can be found under the “Learning” portion of this list.
Here is what they wrote about “Fifty-Nine Minutes”: “We’ve gone through and created a list of our favorite education blogs and the incredible insight and unique editorial voice you’ve presented on your blog made it one of our favorites.”

Thank you for the recognition. I am truly honored.