Teaching in the last year has been like riding out a hurricane in a treehouse. As seasoned educators, we tried to come prepared. We knew our student’s emotional needs would be our top priority, we strived to make school feel “normal”, but from the beginning, it was clear that the 2020 - 2021 year would... Continue Reading →
End of Year Reflections
This year has been incredible. In both good and bad ways. Unlike any other year we faced extreme challenges in education. My students were split between distance and in person learning. They were masked for the entire year, which seemed normal at a certain point, until you realized you did not know half of your... Continue Reading →
Student Reflections Are The Real Assessment of Learning
The American History Museum was a success. Given true agency in their education the students created their own hands on interactive museum in both a in person and virtual form. All students could learn American history through the work of their peers. After two days of touring the museum, playing, interacting and learning the group... Continue Reading →
Student Created Rubrics
Students worked for over 5 weeks to become experts in their historical fields. They self-selected groups from all different course sections, chose their own topics and then.. dove in. One of the biggest differences with this project was the freedom students had to create. Usually there are rubrics that outline skills and content to be... Continue Reading →
Design Thinking in Humanities
The 8th grade students are tasked with creating an American History museum that will cover the 1800 - 1945. The idea is overwhelming at first. Full student autonomy, research, engagement, scaffolding, the initial project outline is missing the HOW. Students are used to being told how to work, what to design and when to design... Continue Reading →
Kanban in the Classroom
When I first introduced EduScrum into the classroom students created FLAPs out of the materials available. In class students worked with painters tape and post its, hybrid groups preferred using a template I had created on Jamboard. Each group found their way to break down their epics and stories into color coded tasks and moving... Continue Reading →
Skills for the Fourth Industrial Revolution
"The Fourth Industrial Revolution is ‘characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres’ " ForeignAffairs.com Eazy Digi EdTech Solutions holds a monthly conference to discuss how education needs to change to adapt to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This past month I was asked to join... Continue Reading →
Bringing an Agile Mindset to the Classroom
How Agile Coaching Brings Better Results When I began my journey with L-EAF.org, I was staring down the end of the school year. Usually this would be reason to celebrate and yet here I was with 150 years of content and 5 weeks to cover it. The class is American government, but the scope and... Continue Reading →
12 Agile Principles in Education
Bringing Agile to education means developing and driving your course with intention. Lessons are not copied from internet sources, or thought up the morning of. There is a level of flow that must be achieved within the learning objectives that builds knowledge and skill acquisition throughout a unit and the year. Being intentional and mindful... Continue Reading →
Bringing Agility into the Classroom with L-EAF.org
In January I was plugging along. My students were using EduScrum quite seamlessly. Our Constitution unit had just launched and I was staring straight towards the bright light at the end of the year. Everything was flowing. I had reduced friction in my teaching. All of my students were interactive and collaborating. Everything was good. ... Continue Reading →