My Wicked Problem
My wicked problem is one of my greatest passions. I want to research the need for creating BEST lessons (PBIS) for virtual learning. As students are learning online this year, I feel there is a greater need to teach them how to act appropriately, how to be safe and how to engage in online learning positively. NVUSD currently has a PBIS program in place to teach SEL lessons with BEST practices. These lessons are created for "in person" classrooms. We now need a program that extends to the online world. My first step, other than finding interesting resources, has been to reach out to Kristin Nelson who currently leads the BEST program in our district. We have a meeting on Tuesday, and I am really looking forward to it. My next step will most likely come out of our meeting but I also want to reach out to Jim Steyer, CEO of CommonSenseMedia @ CommonSense.org. I would like to see if he would share his data with me in regards to how and why he created this necessary resource 15 years ago. Following my reaching out to Mr. Steyer, I want to research the Healthy Children results from our past students. This is also necessary data that will help support my action research plan. In addition to gathering my broad research data, I will take my research to a local level and create a google form for teachers to share their personal interest/concerns for an extension to our BEST lessons. None of this will eventually happen if I don't have teacher "buy-in". Following these beginning steps, I will survey and interview my classroom students. Eventually I would like to create a prototype or "pilot lesson" and hear what the students and teachers have to say about it. The Flat World and Education by Linda Darling-Hammond Where do I begin? In all honesty, I had a challenging time reading the first three chapters of this book. It is bluntly honest, and as a California educator, it was depressing. With that being said, it is 100% accurate. As with many other political interests, I wish our country (politicians) would look to those successful countries to see how a county, such as Finland, has successfully recreated their education system. It is apparent that this author, Linda Darling-Hammond is quite knowledgeable about why and how our country needs to change. I am sure she is not alone so why hasn't it? I can relate to much of the populations the author speaks to but I cannot relate to the awful decisions the said school districts (mentioned in this book) have done to pass students along, or not, in order to close achievement gaps within their testing results. How can students be retained in the 9th grade for multiple years, thusly graduating at almost 20 years old? How can students be skipped over the 10th grade to avoid testing? How can students be dropped due to "disciplinary action" after enrolling so the district receives the ADA but doesn't have them on the roster to take the state mandated test later in the year? How can students of color receive less of an education than other students? This is despicable behavior. On the flip side, I most definitely agree with Darling-Hammon when she states, "...high-achieving nations teach about half as many topics each year as American schools do, treating them more deeply, with greater opportunity to work on a range of solution strategies and to engage students in applying what they are learning" (pg. 13). This year really made this real for me. In fact, due to the challenges of online learning and the time constraints with our students, we have decided as a school, that we need to do less breadth and more depth. I am so pleased with our principals decision to support our professional decision-making, that I hope this logic piggybacks to next year, as well. One of my greatest take-aways from John Hattie's book was to let the teachers teach. We are trained professionals and are capable of doing our jobs. We will always look for approval before moving forward. In support of Hattie's insight, Darling-Hammond reports that NCLB legislature is "insisting that all students are entitled to qualified teachers, the law has stimulated some productive recruitment efforts in states where low-income and minority students have experienced a revolving door of inexperienced, untrained teachers" (pg. 67). Therefor, all teachers should be "qualified" to align their curriculum to teach students while creating an environments for students to also transfer their learning to the real life experiences.
3 Comments
Amy Bardwell
1/24/2021 09:22:50 pm
I apprectiate your views and thoughts. I see you thinking about the concept of virtual reality. My wonder is for the students that need social interaction. What about the teens that need social interaction. all my best, Amy-typinh with her left hand :)
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Amy Bardwell
1/25/2021 05:14:03 am
My previous comment, was for the wrong blog. Sorry. I agree with the concept that we teach too many topics. I have found this year my students are very good readers an it might be because of my content. I am excited for you and your sction research. It is a great evolution of our BEST policies.
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Janine Burt
1/27/2021 11:43:04 am
Hi Kimberlee, I understand feeling depressed by so many discouraging statistics from Hammond's book. It's especially an issue here in California and I've seen first hand some places that look very like what she describes. On the other hand, we may not have made much progress in the area of funding for adequate facilities, things have gotten better in terms of instruction and programs that focus more on learning and less on just test scores. There is certainly work to be done and it's crazy how underfunded CA is compared to the rest of the country.
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