March Madness

Sports fan or not, it seems like everybody follows NCAA March Madness.

Some Elite Stats to ponder:
$12 Billion: Worldwide wagers on the NCAA Tournament
$1.9 Billion: Hourly wages lost to unproductive or distracted workers during the tournament
19%: Increase in Pizza orders among losing fans vs winning fans

But all this thinking about talking about March Madness got me thinking about how can I apply March Madness to Teaching.  So here are my Final Four Teaching Lessons Learned through March Madness.

1) Brackets - like teaching - are never perfect

Don't get obsess about trying to be perfect.  Accept failure as a valuable learning opportunity.  Take time to reflect on what happened and how you can improve next time.  Each year, each class, each student provides the opportunity to try again.  Practice, Practice, Practice...we are always learning and improving.  Because guess what?  Nobody picks the perfect bracket because it's essentially impossible: the odds are one in 9.2 quintillion!

2) Quality Matters

Yes, there are long shots that pull off upsets, but the truth is no 16th seed has ever defeated a No.1 seed, and no 15th seed has ever won two consecutive games.  In general, good teams, like good teachers are the best bets.

When it comes to teaching, don't just worry about getting students to pass a Post Test, focus on teaching them that understanding the concepts and Standards are how they can become successful.  

3) Don't underestimate the Underdog

Every year there is that team that is the "Cinderella of the Ball"  and the underdog that nobody picked.  The lesson here is that we can't underestimate ourselves.  Belief in yourself will help you to overcome many obstacles (#SEPJHDaresGreatly).  Find what you like to do, what you are good at and it will increase your chances of success.  No matter how big the challenge, or how far you are behind, the "Underdog" never gives up, and never loses faith.  The only way you lose in teaching and life is if you quit on yourself.

4) Social Competition

One of the greatest parts about March Madness is the Bracket Challenge.  Many conversations are had on topics ranging from: Comparing brackets, Celebrating victories, Consulting each other in defeats.  What would happen if we had these kinds of conversations about our teaching and lessons.  Teaching can not and is not an isolation occupation.  One thing I have learned this year is how much teachers need to communicate and discuss with each other.  Even the littlest thing for one teacher could be a life saver for another, and if we close our doors and keep to ourselves because we are FINE, then we are missing out on one of the greatest parts of teaching, aka the Bracket Challenge.  The joy of the Tournament!

Math Problems vs Life Problems

One week away from Spring Break, and I don't know who is more excited...the students or the staff!  Both are climbing up the walls, ready for some nicer weather and a break away from work.

But as I think about the upcoming break, (and I do feel that staff probably need it more then students maybe it's the "winter blues" but there is definitely a negative vibe in the air as we are heading into Spring Break) I can't help but wonder, if we approached our Life Problems more like Math Problems we would have a better attitude towards school and would we not want to take a Spring Break.  Like Math, if we can teach kids not to always focus so much on the problem and freak out about how complicated it LOOKS, but rather focus their attention on how to reach the solution.  When teachers do this students discover that they are capable and maybe even enjoy math.  It's that fear, which leads to a negative attitude towards math.  But if a math teacher can connect and show a student that math problems aren't the end of the world, and if broken down into simpler steps can be accomplish, that negative attitude can be converted.
So let's start teaching all teachers how to do Algebra....or using Instructional Coaches to show teachers that students aren't getting worst, education isn't falling apart.  Things may look scary and complicated, but working with an instructional coach, can show you how to break that complicated problem into simpler steps in order to gain the most out of your students and also grow and learn as a teacher and individual.  Let's start converting those NEGATIVES into POSITIVES! Turning those scary, complicated Math Problems into Great Accomplishments!

What Were You Thinking

What were you thinking

Is this a Question or a Statement?

For some reason I here those words and think back to my childhood.  It makes me think of times when I was in trouble and getting scolded by my mother for something that I had done that was probably (definitely) not the brightest thing to do.

But what if we as educators took that phrase and used it on a regular basis in our classrooms?  Not for students that are misbehaving, but what if we asked this question in a positive educational context?  What would happen to the learning in our classrooms?

How often do we ask our students the following:



"What were you thinking when...                  You worked through that problem?"

                                                                         You solved that equation?"

                                                                         You composed this essay?"

                                                                         You created this project?"

                                                                         You played that guitar piece?"

                                                                         You wrote this blog post?"

Is it the fact that the phrase "what were you thinking" has such a negative picture in our minds that we don't want to use it in our classrooms?  I know that I didn't ask these questions nearly enough in my own classroom.  Why didn't I let my students learn out loud?  Is it that fact that we don't know where the conversation could go and we are afraid to get off track?  I know that I was always worried about making sure that I got through all the content that need to get covered, and although I wanted to pursue other topics, timing and pacing (I felt) didn't allow.  But imagine what could have been DISCOVERED if I had!  Instead of worrying about covering the content, what would have happened if I let the content reveal itself through the questioning of the students.

During our Instructional Rounds last week one of the areas of focus that was discovered was improving questioning.  Questioning Strategies that would and could lead to further and deeper discussions.

Imagine some of the conversations, discussions and LEARNING that would happen in our classrooms if we simply asked, "What were you thinking?"

All about that Data

As we have been implementing this first year of the instructional coaching process, one of the Big Topics has been the focus on Data driven instruction.   Helping staff use data to better instruct their students.  Meeting with Data Teams to look at the Data Team Process and help fill out the Pre-Assessment Form and develop good instructional strategies to make the instruction more meaningful and engaging for students.
I have always been one to look at data from every possible angle.  Don't get me started with how misleading data director can be.  I mean, I love it and love all the info I can get from it.  But statistically speaking, we are making numerous errors in how we place our color bands.  But that's a different topic, back to topic.  I was thinking it would be a good idea to use my Blog to share the templates that my building has used for our Data Teams.  I am not the creator of these templates, however, I did adjust them with some formulas and some automatically filling cells.

Data Team Templates

As an Instructional Coaching Team, we wanted some ways to track our data and how we are working, assisting, and mentoring other teachers.  So I also created some Coaching Templates for tracking our own data and thought it would be good to share those as well.  We used the "Woodruff Scale" for a reference.  This is a way of scoring the interaction between a teacher and coach.  Info about the Woodruff Scale can be found here:  Instructional Coaching Group.  Another part of the data that we wanted to track was how much coaching "light" vs coaching "heavy" we were doing each quarter.

Coaching Data Templates

If you have any questions on any of the Templates feel free to contact me.

Who Are We?

Who are we?  Isn't that the ultimate question.  Recently as part of my masters program I have started looking at how ones culture affects their education.  How it is important as educators to make an effort to get to know your students and their backgrounds in order that you can make lessons more relevant, more interesting, more connected to your students. It's called Culturally Relevant Pedagogy.
The focus of the class is to look at ways in which we as teachers can make connections with our minority students.  But this has gotten me to think about me own unique culture.  What it is that makes me, me!

Who is Scott Wittler?
I am a white male from the Midwest.  But what is it about me that makes me stand out?  That makes me unique and different from everyone else!
1) Hard working:  Born and raised on a farm, I learned how to work hard and continue to work hard in anything I take on.  Given a task to do, I will do it promptly and without question.

2) Respectful:  I was taught to show respect to my parents, elders, and people in authority.  When my parents told me to do something, it was done without question, complaining, or whining.

3) Think before you Speak:  This characteristic does bother people, as it might appear as if I don't care, or am not listening.  However, the fact is that I listen very closely, and thus always am thinking through my thoughts before speaking.  I don't always speak the first thing that pops in my mind.  I will ponder many thoughts and options before speaking.

4) Dress for Success:  I make an effort to try and dress as best as possible, whether it be some flashy shoes or some stylish socks.

5) Loyal:  I will stick by my friends side no matter what my come.  I will be there for them, they can trust in me and trust on me.

These last 2 characteristics I think are a reason for my love of superheroes.  I imagine myself in disguise (dressed for success) ready to rescue anyone in need (loyal).

So what is it that makes you, you?

Just Do It

No this isn't an advertisement for Nike, although I am a big fan.  Nike's ever popular slogan can mean
success or failure.  It can mean the difference in a win or a loss.

Just Do It.

It's the urge I want to share - the constant drive to get better and do more, the Success Mindset.  That whatever you do, do it the best you can and in many cases just do it...

Every Damn Day.

Applying Nike's mentally to my coaching.  I know I will face challenges in my position.  Not everyone is eager to improve their teaching practices, they think I am just giving them more work to do.  But I know that if I do my job, and work with teachers (willing & unwilling) the results will be seen in students.  And in the end, that's the goal of the program, to better the education that all students are receiving.  It won't be easy, and it will be an every day battle, but...JUST DO IT!

Coaching

Came across this quote, and thought it describes pretty accurately how I would sum up my experience so far.
I am thankful I have a team of coaches to work with and bounce ideas off of.  Just the other day we were solving ALL the problems in education!  The reason we were able to do this was the new perspective we have in our new roles as instructional coaches.  I have learned so much from my first few months on the job.  It has been a great experience and learning opportunity.  I still have things to work on and improve for the remaining semester, but I am up to the challenge.