Conversations Episode 102 - What Message Does Your Classroom Give?

This week, we discussed the message people get when they come into your classroom.  Does your room portray the message you want it to?  How do you get people to understand your message?  

Chat:

11:20:27 Lisa Parisi : Hello everyone.

11:27:41 Lisa Parisi : Sound should now be on Ustream

11:30:54 Lisa Parisi : Hi John

11:31:09 woodenmask : Morning, Ma'am

11:31:15 Conversations - Sheila :  Sun dog  pics http://www.flickr.com/photos/31386636@N06/5744946960/in/photostream

11:32:08 woodenmask : A "ma'am-guy"?

11:33:12 woodenmask : Not as old a I'm feeling lately.

11:34:02 Lisa Parisi : sound on ustream can you hear

11:35:04 woodenmask : Strangers seem to get it, but parents often have a problem with the interpretation they get through the students.

11:35:34 Sheila : I agree Woodenmask. I just experienced that this week.

11:35:39 PeggyG : Hi everyone

11:36:02 Sheila : Hi Peggy!

11:36:29 PeggyG : sorry I'm late! Can you repeat the topic for today?

11:36:47 Sheila : Welcome to Conversations!

11:37:14 PeggyG : thanks! branding in your classroom--what is it and is it what you want? :-)

11:38:57 PeggyG : they way your organize your classroom is also part of your branding--desks, chairs, tables, etc.

11:39:42 woodenmask : My brand would be much like the Fox News travesty of a motto - "We Report - You Decide". Try to develop critical thinking skills in my middle schoolers to interpret history intelligently.

11:41:22 MariaK : http://teachchildrenfirst.blogspot.com/2011/05/what-is-message-strangers...

11:41:28 PeggyG : interesting woodenmask!! and what would we see in your room that reveals your brand? "we report-you decide"

11:42:28 MariaK : http://www.ted.com/speakers/morgan_spurlock.html

11:42:41 PeggyG : Supersize Me was a powerful video!

11:43:25 PeggyG : yes links are working fine

11:44:04 MariaK : thanks

11:44:19 PeggyG : do you only have one "brand" in your classroom?  seems like there are multiple messages that are important

11:44:49 woodenmask : PeggyG (which makes you sound like a rapper, by the way) - Right now, my 8th graders are in the middle of their New York City unit. There are three bulletin boards - one with a giant map of Manhattan that my guys are putting GoogleMaps StreetView images of addresses they are researching, indicating where their place is.

11:45:18 Lisa Parisi : JOhn, want them to skype with my class...so close to the city we go all the time

11:45:24 woodenmask : cont... Another is a giant Bloom's Taxonomy pyramid with all the activities we've done this year and where they fall on the chart.

11:46:11 woodenmask : Cont... And a third is made up of the printouts of the most recent blog posts they did in our RootsBlog, where they blogged as characters in Roots.

11:46:14 Sheila : I like that idea John (woodenmask) with the pyramid.

11:46:21 Lisa Parisi : Hello Cathy

11:46:32 Sheila : Morning CathyE!

11:46:43 Cathy E : hello all

11:46:44 PeggyG : those are terrific learning activities!

11:48:15 PeggyG : that's a great strategy for visitors Maria! We need to know your questions before you leave :-)

11:48:25 Cathy E : Who is going to ISTE?  Are there any meet-ups planned?

11:48:41 Lisa Parisi : Me

11:49:03 Lisa Parisi : There are meet ups.  Not sure where but I have signed up for them. LOL

11:49:05 Sheila : Me too.

11:49:13 PeggyG : I'm going to ISTE :-) The meetups usually happen in the Blogger's Cafe and at ISTE Unplugged :-)

11:49:52 woodenmask : I've got my Duke Ellington workshop the following week, so I won't be going to ISTE because I'd like to stay married.

11:50:01 Lisa Parisi : LOL

11:50:01 PeggyG : Maria it sounds like your brand is children are decisionmakers

11:50:13 PeggyG : good decision woodenmask :-)

11:50:45 woodenmask : It's certainly in MY best interest, anyway...

11:52:23 Cathy E : @woodenmask  - I understand, I think I have signed up for a few toooo many things this summer. 

11:52:41 Lisa Parisi : I did that last year, Cathy, and hubby said never again. 

11:52:47 Lisa Parisi : So this summer is just ISTE.

11:52:56 PeggyG : you're describing lots of classroom activities the provide examples but I think it's the underlying assumptions you hold about teaching/learning that cause you to plan those activities--and it's your values that drive your underlying assumptions

11:53:08 woodenmask : I've been going every other year, which seems about right.

11:53:41 woodenmask : I'm thinking a lot about the very good teachers I know and their practices. Their classrooms and practices are very, very different from each other.

11:53:57 Lisa Parisi : Why John?

11:54:05 PeggyG : I agree with that John

11:54:45 woodenmask : Theodore Roosevelt defined "genius" as someone who can do something that nobody else can do. If you accept that definition, no "genius" in the classroom will look like anybody else.

11:54:47 [email protected] : ola

11:55:16 Lisa Parisi : OH...you mean the teachers are different from each other?  Or their classrooms are different from their teaching?

11:55:23 Cathy E : I have lots of people come and see the technology use in our school

11:55:27 woodenmask : Lisa - Yes.

11:55:51 PeggyG : I think observers/visitors in your classroom come away with a general impression rather than all of the details you are describing. They might share a specific example or 2 of things they really liked (or didn't like) if they told someone else what your classroom was like.

11:57:24 woodenmask : You know in a really hot jazz set, how the music builds and evolves, getting so complicated and frenetic that if you walked in right in the middle, it wouldn't make any sense? When I'm really rocking a lesson, it's like that. Context is important.

11:57:25 PeggyG : if independence is the brand you want you need to post one poster with that message :-)

11:58:05 woodenmask : (Thinking a lot about jazz, lately...)

11:58:05 PeggyG : and having the kids create the banner or poster is a powerful way to make sure they all understand the goal/priority in your classroom

11:58:35 woodenmask : So a visitor wouldn't necessarily get what we're doing.

11:59:09 Lisa Parisi : Yes, John, exactly.

11:59:16 PeggyG : I think they would definitely "get it" John but I don't know if they would get your "brand" without your guiding them to it

12:00:26 PeggyG : it definitely makes a difference when they observe!! Friday afternoons or the last few days before a vacation can give a very different message than a great lesson!

12:02:38 Sheila : One glimpse is little information but often makes the impression (good or bad).

12:03:00 PeggyG : I agree Sheila

12:03:15 PeggyG : impressions are often formed in the first 15-30 seconds

12:03:48 Lisa Parisi : It's that 15-30 seconds that I think about.

12:04:00 Lisa Parisi : What do you get from 30 seconds...looking in.

12:04:14 Lisa Parisi : My kids, I think, come off as rude

12:04:36 woodenmask : I'd like that.

12:05:06 PeggyG : you can't control the perceptions of visitors--you just need to provide a context to help them understand the big picture

12:05:06 MariaK : let's make a plan John!

12:05:31 woodenmask : I actually have an idea about that, Maria.

12:05:43 MariaK : ooooo - can't wait to hear!

12:07:13 PeggyG : what are the "rules" or "norms" for assemblies in your school? Have you ever discussed that and come to consensus with the teachers?

12:07:23 MariaK : Wes Fryer's post about coming to my room  http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2010/03/31/we-all-can-learn-a-great-dea...

12:07:59 PeggyG : I saw that blog post Maria! It was fantastic!! :-)

12:12:32 PeggyG : I'm not sure that's accurate Lisa. Respect surely is a priority for you.

12:13:11 PeggyG : that's different than saying "respect" is not me...

12:14:25 woodenmask : My guys need to be trained to show the forms of respect. Strangers and adults should not have to prove themselves to my students' satisfaction in order to be treated politely.

12:14:32 PeggyG : be an ostrich? :-)

12:14:55 PeggyG : :-)

12:15:18 woodenmask : I had to make my peace a long time ago with the fact that I can't cover anything close to the huge amount of curriculum I'm supposed to cover.

12:16:37 PeggyG : I agree John. We not only can't cover all of the required curriculum but we can't address all of the required standards. That's why "power standards" started becoming popular so they could be combined and prioritized

12:16:50 woodenmask : nods

12:17:58 PeggyG : do you think you have a single "brand" for your classroom?

12:18:10 Lisa Parisi : Yes...we are active learners

12:21:37 Cathy E : I am so lucky that my admin "gets" it

12:22:39 PeggyG : obedient kids in the hall :-)

12:22:45 woodenmask : I've got a really supportive administration. They let us take risks. That lets us evolve more easily.

12:23:41 PeggyG : exactly Sheila!! there are times when it's important that the kids are quiet and listening and times when it's not

12:23:49 woodenmask : School of Rock

12:25:28 PeggyG : we do a lot of "telling" to parents at Open House and maybe the answer is to provide some scenarios and ask them to describe what they see. Guided observation :-)

12:25:37 woodenmask : One of our Kindergarten teachers tells parents, "If you believe half of what they say about me, I'll believe half of what they say about you."

12:25:43 MariaK : great idea peggy - show not tell!

12:25:54 PeggyG : I love that quote John!

12:26:34 woodenmask : Got to go. Boy Trouble.

12:26:40 Sheila : Can I do that in 10 minutes?

12:26:51 PeggyG : we had parents of Kindergartners already expressing their college priorities for their kids--look at the parents who keep their boys out a year so they will be "bigger" than their peers when they get to HS!

12:27:20 MariaK : Sheila - photos with descriptions and annotations

12:27:35 Cathy E : what was the name of that, Lisa

12:27:47 PeggyG : probably not Sheila--but maybe you can plant the seed and invite them back to extend it

12:27:54 Sheila : On my blog? so they keep referencing it?

12:28:04 Lisa Parisi : mangahigh.comn

12:28:09 Lisa Parisi : mangahigh.com

12:29:08 PeggyG : can you do a parent workshop (with kids and food) that would help them experience your classroom?

12:30:10 Sheila : Love that idea with food!  ;) Hard to get them back to the classroom, unless I do it before the open house! Ahh! Great idea Peggy!

12:31:07 Sheila : But as part of a team, if I do it myself, I'll set up the others; so I need to convince the rest of the team.

12:32:23 PeggyG : you could show several video clips of your classroom in action (focusing on different things) and then break them into small groups that include both parents and teachers to talk about what they see and what the kids are learning.

12:32:37 PeggyG : provide the guiding questions

12:34:12 PeggyG : great idea Sheila!!

12:34:40 Cathy E : I am trying to sigh up - but my school's url is too long

12:34:50 Sheila : THanks for all the ideas Peggy and all!

12:34:55 PeggyG : have a bbq Sheila and even dads will come :-)  bbq and kick ball game before the workshop

12:36:00 PeggyG : next weekend is Memorial Day weekend

12:36:16 Lisa Parisi : Bye everyone

12:36:20 donnaroman : Thanks Lisa.

12:36:22 PeggyG : looks like you get a week off :-)

12:36:32 PeggyG : thanks everyone! see you in two weeks