MRVED Update - October 24

Teach Like a Pirate Recap

Dave Burgess presented Teach Like a Pirate to the MRVED on October 17, 2018 in Dawson-Boyd.  Burgess went through the PIRATE acronym and provided educators with practice ideas they can bring back to their classroom.  The afternoon was spent discussing the message from the morning and hearing more creative ideas from Burgess.  You can follow along with a little challenge the elementary schools have going.  Follow #mrvedtlap on Twitter to see what they are doing.  If you have not filled out the evaluation for the day, there is still time to do that.  Select the link below to access the evaluation

October 17, 2018 Evaluation Link

Upcoming Meetings

November 9, 2018  Joint mtg Principals’ Council & TAC

November 16, 2018  Principals’ Council

November 28, 2018  Superintendents’ Council

December 7, 2018 Title III Teachers

December 12, 2018  MRVED Board (6 p.m.)

December 13, 2018 TAC

December 14, 2018 Principals’ Council

December 19, 2018 Superintendents’ Council

MELT Call for Networking Facilitators

The MRVED is looking for facilitators of networking groups  As a facilitator you are not expected to be the expert in the room, but rather move the discussion along.  The goal of a networking group is to share resources and ideas with people who have the same interests.  They are meant to include a "give & take".  Bring something to share and take something away that someone else shared.  The only networking groups that will be offered are those that have a willing facilitator.  If a networking group does not have a facilitator, it will not be held!  If you would like to sign up, please click the link below and add your name to the list next to the group you would like to facilitate.  The networking sign up will close at 3:30 PM on November 15.  If you have any questions or cannot access the form, please contact Brandon (braymo@mrved.net)

MELT NETWORKING FACILITATOR SIGN UP LINK

Halloween Resources

It's always fun to incorporate holidays into your classroom.  With Halloween coming up, here are a few places to find some great Halloween resources to use in your classroom.

PBS Learning Media

TeacherVision

We Are Teachers

Pinterest Ideas

Ditch That Textbook

Matt Miller is on the rise as one of the most influential people in education.  He has written a book, which is on the same token as Teach Like a Pirate (and published by Dave Burgess), Ditch That Textbook.  Along with his book, Matt also writes a blog and speaks.  His blog is full of AWESOME ideas.  Ideas that you can easily pair with "hooks".  Check it out today!

Ditch that Textbook Blog

Teach Like a Pirate - Part II Creating Engaging Lessons

In Part II of teach like a pirate, Burgess introduces us to the concept of the "hooks".  He sets the stage as to why the hooks are one of the most important aspects to a lesson.

He talks about "The Third Circle" that nobody is talking about.  Much of our professional development is focused on gaining content knowledge and learning new classroom techniques, which is true!  Nobody is talking about how we present material.  Presentation, he argues, is just as important as the other two.  There is a small part in this chapter that talks about "everything is a choice".  After reading this section, it made me reflect.  Everything I do within that hour is a choice.  Are the lights on or off?  Is the door open or shut?  Are kids standing, sitting, or moving around?  Do they have paper and pencil?

It made me think about the old adage, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.  Everything we do within the hour of our lesson has a reaction, whether intended or not.  We simply need to train ourselves to ask the reflective questions when planning a lesson.  I was taught the Madeline Hunter lesson planning format and this simply ramps up the lesson planning.  It really doesn't matter what lesson planning you do, asking yourself reflective questions as you plan will only strengthen what you do.

The other "aha" out of this chapter was the section on transitions.  As a former high school teacher, transitions is not something I have really ever thought that much about.  Burgess is correct, and I have observed it many times, and I have also been guilty of getting to peak engagement in my classroom and then have something kill that engagement.  Getting out a pencil and paper, announcement from the office, turn to page ___ in your book, projector warming up, etc...  Transitions have a HUGE impact on student engagement.

MRVED Update - October 3, 2018

MRVED Business

The MRVED Common Day will be October 17 in Dawson at the high school.  Dave Burgess will be the keynote speaker. Registration closes October 3 at 4pm. The last day to cancel lunch for the day will be October 5, after that you will be held responsible for the price. The day will begin at 8:40 with Dave Burgess speaking until lunch. The afternoon will consist of staff broken into two groups. Group 1 will be with Burgess while Group 2 is in specified rooms discussing content areas. Then Group 2 will be with Burgess while Group 1 is in specified rooms discussing content areas. Everyone will get an agenda when they arrive letting them know where they will be during the day.

On Monday, October 22, everyone will receive an email with a link to an evaluation for the day. Please take the time to fill this out as we use it the information for planning future MRVED Common Days.

Upcoming Meetings

October 17, 2018 Dave Burgess-MRVED Common Day
October 24, 2018 Superintendents’ Council
October 26, 2018 Principals’ Council

November 9, 2018 Joint Principal and TAC
November 16, 2018 Principal's Council
November 28, 2018 Superintendent's Council

2019 MELT Call for Proposals

The MRVED Educators Learning Together (MELT) conference will be held at Lac qui Parle Valley High School on January 21, 2019.  To help make this conference the best ever, we need your help.  The MRVED is looking for enthusiastic people willing to present on something great happening in your classroom.  This can be anything from Google Drive to differentiation techniques in your classroom.  Show us how you Teach Like a Pirate!  Technology or no technology proposals are welcome.  Presenters will be paid a small stipend for your work.  You may submit as many presentation proposals as you wish.

**We are actively seeking any Pre-K people that would like to present, as well as anyone that Teaches Like a Pirate!**

**By filling out this form you are not committing to presenting, just providing the MRVED with your name and topic.**


Link to Proposal Form

Tech Tip of the Week - Flippity

Flippity is a great tool to use in the classroom.  If you can get over having to use a Google Sheet, this tool can transform how you do things in your classroom.  You can easily turn spreadsheets into flashcards, quiz shows, crosswords, etc...  There are so many different things you can do within Flippity.  You really need to experience it to see the power it has.

If We Don't Allow A Redo, What Are We Teaching?

Rick Wormeli tweeted this article out the other day on redos.  It is well worth the read.  It is an account from an English teacher on why he allows redos.  There are some really good points in here.  Take the time to read this article today, especially if you are on the fence about allowing kids to redo assignments.

If We Don't All A Redo, What Are We Teaching? by Gary Armida

Teach Like a Pirate - Ask & Analyze, Transformation, Enthusiasm

For those of you on Twitter, there is a great Teach Like a Pirate conversation that happens all day long!  Follow #TLAP.

Ask and Analyze
Burgess talks about the ability to think creatively in this chapter.  In a hilarious anecdotal example, he talks about how "creative people" simply walk around and are smacked with creative ideas out of the blue.  Being creative is not something that you are born with, it's something you can become better at.  Carol Dweck - growth mindset vs fixed mindset!  Being creative is all about what questions you ask yourself as well as the ability to change.  The bottom of page 34 and top of page 35 offer an awesome way to ask yourself questions that can guide you to be creative.  Once you find that creative change, you must then have the ability to change your lesson.

Transformation
"Safe lessons are a recipe for mediocrity at best" (Burgess, 48).  I love this quote!  It is so true...we need to be able to take risks in our lessons.  Burgess talks about the 1000's of lessons that have been disasters.  It goes back to the Ask and Analyze chapter though.  When we fail we need to ask ourselves questions about the failure, analyze what we did, and then make adjustments.  We shouldn't continue to teach the bad lesson again and we shouldn't settle for mediocrity as well.  Our kids don't deserve mediocrity - they deserve our best!

Creating engaging lessons is also in the chapter on transformation.  I wanted to share a few quotes that hit home with me.

"If you can't explain why someone should pay attention to what you're saying, maybe we shouldn't be saying it." (Burgess, 62)

"History isn't boring, their history class was" (Burgess, 62)  I think of the phrase that I heard in my classroom, "this is boring".  What the student really meant, and I wish he/she would have said it, was "YOU are boring".  Burgess is right, your content area is not boring, it's the delivery that is boring.

Enthusiasm

Bottom line - you need to be enthusiastic about what you are teaching.  If you are not enthusiastic, then you need to fake being excited.  This is a big part to this book, so I'm not going to beat it to death here.  You really are an entertainer in your classroom.  You need to have enthusiasm for what you do, or the kids won't want to be there.

I'm going to leave these two thought provoking questions from the transformation chapter for you to think about:

If your students didn't have to be there, would you be teaching in an empty room?

Do you have any lessons you could sell tickets for?

MRVED Update - September 19, 2018

MRVED Business

MRVED Common Day

The next MRVED Common Day is fast approaching. It will be October 17 at the Dawson-Boyd Public School. Dave Burgess will be the keynote speaker. Registration has been sent to the Principals for them to forward on. The registration will run from September 19 -October 3 with October 5th being the last day to cancel your lunch if you so choose. The day will start at 8:40 with Dave Burgess addressing all staff in the Auditorium until it is time for lunch. Staff will receive an agenda for the day when they arrive letting them where to go in the afternoon.

Registration Link

Upcoming Meetings

September 21, 2018 Title III Paras
September 26, 2018 Superintendents’ Council
September 28, 2018 Title III Teachers

October 17, 2018 Dave Burgess-MRVED Common Day
October 24, 2018 Superintendents’ Council
October 26, 2018 Principals’ Council


MRVED Principals and Teacher Advisory Council Meeting Update
The MRVED Principals and Teacher Advisory Council (TAC) were recently at the MRVED for their first meetings of the year.  It was nice to see new and returning faces in both groups.  There was much catching up to do from a busy summer at the MRVED.  Much of the time in both groups was spent putting the finishing touches on the October 17 day with Dave Burgess as well as providing Brandon with possible sessions for MELT 2019.  Both groups are an enormous asset to the MRVED and provide the MRVED with valuable feedback as well as help in planning our common days.

2019 MELT Call for Proposals

The MRVED Educators Learning Together (MELT) conference will be held at Lac qui Parle Valley High School on January 21, 2019.  To help make this conference the best ever, we need your help.  The MRVED is looking for enthusiastic people willing to present on something great happening in your classroom.  This can be anything from Google Drive to differentiation techniques in your classroom.  Show us how you Teach Like a Pirate!  Technology or no technology proposals are welcome.  Presenters will be paid a small stipend for your work.  You may submit as many presentation proposals as you wish.

**We are actively seeking any Pre-K people that would like to present, as well as anyone that Teaches Like a Pirate!**

**By filling out this form you are not committing to presenting, just providing the MRVED with your name and topic.**


Link to Proposal Form

Tech Tip - MRVED Twitter

Be sure to follow the MRVED on Twitter.  Anytime you do something with the MRVED or anytime you want the MRVED to see what you are Tweeting feel free to use the hashtag #WeAreMRVED.  We will also be using the hashtag #TLAPMRVED to go with our professional development this fall with Dave Burgess.  TLAP stands for Teach Like A Pirate.

Teach Like a Pirate - Passion, Immersion, Rapport

Let's set sail and start our adventure!

Passion
Burgess starts the chapter in an interesting way.  He states that, "we are not passionate about everything we teach".  As an example, I am passionate about social studies, but I'm not so passionate about World War I and World War II.  It's shocking because in every class I taught, it didn't matter if it was Sociology or US History, the same question emerged at some point..."when are we getting to Hitler and World War II?"  Don't get me wrong, WWI and WWII are super important topics in the scope of world and US history, but I just don't have the passion for it as some of my colleagues.  I do, however, love the Civil War.  I am also very passionate about Sociology (but not the chapter on the fathers of sociology).

It is OK to admit you are not passionate about everything you teach.  It's nearly impossible to be passionate about EVERYTHING.  The trick is to finding a way to bring passion into the area of your content you are not as passionate about.  To do this, Burgess asks us to think about 3 questions:

1. Within your subject matter, what are you passionate about teaching?
2. Within your profession, but not specific to your subject matter, what are you passionate about?
3. Completely outside of your profession, what are you passionate about?

For example, if I am not passionate about WWII, but I am personally passionate about baseball, can I somehow meld the two to create a passionate lesson/unit about WWII?

Immersion
This is one of my favorite sections in the book.  Immersion is SO important to not only teaching, but in every relationship and interaction we have.  Have you ever been in a conversation with someone and you KNOW that person is not present in the conversation?  How did that make you feel?  Imagine being in a classroom where the teacher is not present.  Where the teacher is thinking about what is going on next hour, creating practice plans for an after school activity, or thinking about the staff meeting from that morning.  The kids can tell when you are not fully present in your teaching, and they feel exactly how you feel in a conversation with someone that is not present.  It's a HORRIBLE feeling!

Rapport

The majority of this section talks about the way Burgess plans the first three days with his students.  It's all about building rapport with students.  Making sure they feel emotionally and physiologically safe.  Showing students that your classroom environment is a safe place to take risks and ask questions.  If you don't have rapport with the students from the beginning, you will be fighting an uphill battle from the beginning.  You'll have to buy the book if you want to read in depth about his first 3 days (this part is totally worth the cost of the book by the way!).  Building rapport helps minimize misbehavior in the classroom and allows students to "buy-in" to what you are selling.  Think about a door to door salesman...what is one of the first things the salesman will do?  Build trust and rapport.  The kids will never "invite" you into their minds, much like you would never invite a salesman into your home, if they don't have the trust and rapport.

MRVED Update - Sept 5, 2018

MRVED Business

Welcome back!  The MRVED staff hopes you have had a restful and rejuvenating summer.  The MRVED staff has been busy all summer getting ready for the upcoming school year.  Here are some dates to put on your calendar:

• October 17,2018 - MRVED Common Day - Dave Burgess @ Dawson-Boyd
• January 21, 2019 - MELT @ Lac qui Parle Valley High School
• April 18, 2019 - MRVED Common Day - 

We look forward to seeing all the familiar faces throughout the year as well as meeting new friends.  If there is anything the MRVED can do to assist you in meeting any of your goals, please let one of us know.

Minnesota River Valley CTE Collaborative

Over the past couple years there has been a group of administrators, counselors, higher education, and business people that have been meeting bi-monthly to administer a variety of CTE courses for our students.  This program has mainly been housed out of Minnesota West in Granite Falls.  Over the past year, this collaborative has seen tremendous growth.  As the program grew, administration of the program by a committee became very difficult.  It was decided in the Spring of 2018 to start the process of looking for a director for the collaborative.  The MRVED was chosen as the entity to "host" the program and hire the director.  Bruce Bergeson, longtime Montevideo high school principal, had been a member o the committee since the beginning decided the director position would be perfect for him as he enters retirement.  Bruce was hired as the Director of the Minnesota River Valley CTE Collaborative and began work in early July.

Bruce has been busy creating and communicating the Minnesota River Valley CTE Collaboratives brand and mission.  The collaborative currently consists of RCW, Lakeview, YME, Montevideo, and MACCRAY.  If you would like more information on the program, or would like Bruce to visit with your counselor about the courses, please let him know.  His contact information is:

bbergeson@mrved.net

320-269-9297

Tech Tip - FlipGrid is FREE

Early in the Summer, Microsoft purchased the education tech start-up Flipgrid.  With this purchase, Flipgrid is now FREE!  Flipgrid is an awesome educational tool to incorporate in your classroom.  Students can create selfie videos for a variety of projects.  There are 1000's of examples on their website.  This announcement is huge for a couple reasons.  First, it shows the Microsoft is finally starting to make a play into the educational app market.  This will drive competition and spur so much more development in the Ed Tech world.  Second, Flipgrid is a Minnesota company, and it's always great to see Minnesota companies thrive in the Silicon Valley world of technology.

Teach Like a Pirate - Introduction

Dave Burgess will be our keynote speaker this Fall for the MRVED common day.  Burgess is a phenomenal speaker who will catch your attention from beginning.  If you don't know who Dave Burgess is or have never heard of Teach Like a Pirate, we'll spend the next couple months examining the book.

I highly recommend buying the book and following along.  Last year, we spent most of the Winter/Spring on Innovator's Mindset by George Couros and then had the opportunity to see Couros speak as our Spring keynote.  There were a handful of people within the MRVED that followed along as we highlighted each chapter.  Many of the people that did this, said it made seeing Couros so much better.  They were able to understand and comprehend so much more of the keynote.

Teach Like a Pirate is broken into three parts:
Part 1- Teach Like a Pirate (Passion, Immersion, Rapport, Ask and Analyze, Transformation, Enthusiasm)
Part 2 - Crafting Engaging Lessons
Part 3 - Building a Better Pirate

The ship will set sail in the next update.  We'll examine the first 3 parts to teaching like a pirate; passion, immersion, and rapport.

Show us how you "Teach Like a Pirate" on Twitter by using the #TLAPMRVED or #WeAreMRVED