Why our girls need to code

Hi all,

Alessia D'Urso via Flickr - Used with permission

Recently I had the opportunity to attend the Foundations of Educational Technology Conference (FETC) in Orlando Florida. The conference includes technology integrators, teachers and teacher leaders from all over North America and is one of the premiere technology integration conferences in North America.

While at this conference I had the great pleasure of attending a keynote by Reshma Suanji, former Deputy Public Advocate for New York City, Candidate for the United States Congress and founder of the advocacy group “Girls who Code”. (http://girlswhocode.com) During this powerful presentation, Reshma shared some startling statistics regarding economic shifts that could have immediate impact on our students.

• In 2008 there were 8 million manufacturing jobs lost in the USA
• Higher wage work grew in that same span of time
• Today, Computer software engineers are the fastest growing industry for employment with Computer Science close behind.
• The gender gap in computer sciences is growing.
• In 1984, 37% of students graduating computer science programs were women - today that ratio is closer to 18%
• Although women make up almost half of the US workforce, only 25% of the jobs in technical or computing fields are held by females.
• It has been predicted that by 2020, 1.4 million computer specialists will be needed in the USA with only enough graduates to fill 29% of them.
• Technical jobs are no longer specific to technical industries. Most industries need staff skilled in computer sciences.

These statistics have significant implications for us as public educators.  If software engineering and computer sciences are indeed the fastest growing industries, shouldn’t we at the very least expose all students - and in particular girls - to these areas? How do these knowledge, skills and attitudes fit within the larger scope of Numeracy? How do we achieve such a goal when few teachers are trained or have a background in the computer sciences?  

The good news is that it doesn’t take a computer scientist to engage our students and employ these skills in the classroom.  Here are just a few examples of ways that you can expose students to these ideas in an accessible and engaging way:

• Reshma pointed at the importance of having female role models for our girls. She began Girls Who Code for precisely this purpose.  You can visit her site (http://girlswhocode.com/clubs) for a toolkit on how you can build your own Girls Who Code club.  There are other local organizations such as the University of Calgary’s Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) http://people.ucalgary.ca/~womense/ that provide mentorship opportunities as well.
• Employ programmatic as part of the larger concept of Numeracy. For example in Social Studies and Science students can use formulas and pattern rules to analyze trend data with Microsoft Excel
• Some of the self directed coding tools provide opportunities, tutorials and ideas to have students build video games to demonstrate their understanding of concepts.
• Minecraft Hour of Code Site: https://code.org/mc
• This is a great place to start for beginners. Uses simple, draggable code blocks to make a Minecraft character move and interact with his or her environment. Appropriate for division II/III kids. Includes complete tutorials so no prior skill is required. Check out the huge number of resources on their site: https://code.org including similar environments based on StarWars, Frozen, Angry Birds and more!
• Scratch (http://scratch.mit.edu)
• Create interactive games by moving simple blocks around the screen.  Easy to learn and employs a large variety of coding concepts. Appropriate for Division II/III students.
• Robotics kits from the IMC
• Use anything from remote control apps to block based coding tools like Scratch or Code.org. Appropriate for Div I to III.
• Raspberry Pi available at the IMC
• Build your own computer and use it to power circuits of your design.  Uses Scratch as it’s programming environment. Great for Div III or IV students.

These coding environments build skills in patterning, visualization, reasoning cartesian systems and more, moreover they are really engaging for students. And, the skills that students employ in these environments translate directly to the text based programming languages they would use in university and industry.  

“We need to prepare kids for their future, not our past.” -Daniel Pink

Are you Doing It? Daily 5, CAFE, Daily 3 Math

Submitted by Denise Litke, Instructional Coach

The 2 Sisters Live in Calgary

Friday, Oct. 2 and Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015

It seems like many teachers in FSD are talking Daily 5 and CAFÉ.  So what’s the big deal?  If you are like me, and other teachers who have read the books (yes, both editions), gone to conferences and implemented them into their classrooms, you may be asking . . . why aren’t you?  I have to admit, the main reason I bought into the Daily 5/CAFÉ is the credibility of  “the Sisters” - Gail Boushey and Joan Moser.  They are in classrooms (and still are today), trying things out, reflecting on their practice – both the successes and the failures – and really listening to what the research is telling them about student learning.

I have struggled with what information is important to share with you on a blog, so after many stops and starts I have decided to give you the key points as I see them.

Daily 5

The Daily 5 holds no Language Arts content.  Our content comes from the Alberta Program of Studies. The Daily 5 is a management structure, which teaches children to work independently on 5 meaningful tasks (Read to Self, Work on Writing, Read to Someone, Listen to Reading and Word Work), so that the teacher can work with individuals and small groups in response to their needs. What’s important?  Students need to read and write every day, so a Daily 3 or even a Daily 2 might be more conducive to what works in your class. Chunk your instruction – brain research says if you are teaching ten year olds?  Then, have ten minutes of instruction. Allow for choice.  This perpetuates engagement.

Daily 3 Math

Like the Daily 5, the Daily 3 Math holds no content.  It is a structure used to teach students to be independent during math time, so the teacher can work with individuals and small groups.  Daily 3 Math Activities – Math By Myself, Math Writing, Math with someone – are the “practice and reinforcement related to the current unit of study.”

CAFÉ

“The CAFÉ system is [their] method for integrating assessment into daily reading and classroom instruction.  CAFÉ is an acronym for Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency and Expanding Vocabulary.”  It is through the CAFÉ that reading strategies are introduced in each of the previously mentioned areas and students apply and set goals around the ones they use in order to become better readers.

Got you interested?  Want to learn more about the Daily 5, the CAFÉ, the Daily 3 Math? Then I would encourage you to read the books, go to a conference or talk to colleagues and others who are currently using it in their classrooms!

 Boushey, Gail and Moser, Joan.  The Daily 5 2^nd Edition Fostering Literacy Independence in the Elementary Grades. Pembroke Publishers, Ontario, 2014. P. 3, 16, 18.

Let's Talk About.......Math

Written by Shelly Read, Instructional Coach

Reflections from AAC Conference

While reading the newspaper last weekend I came across many references to math computation skills and the dropping test scores of Alberta students. The main concern identified was the lack of basic computation skills that students possess. While the articles made me shake my head more than once, let's be honest - teachers, parents and students have voiced similar concerns. A recent session I attended at the AAC Conference in Edmonton suggested a technique that teachers can use to help students strengthen their math skills and move towards automaticity and fluency.

Math Talks are frequent 10-15 minute lessons that help students build accurate mental math and computation strategies. Students are placed in small groups with a teacher to share problem solving methods, give one another feedback, and reflect on their own strategies. During Math Talks students do the thinking and the teacher listens, asks questions, and redirects as needed. While algorithms are useful strategies, pairing them with opportunities for small groups of students to talk about their successes and challenges improves overall understanding, so that the learning lasts. In schools where this ‘math community’ has been piloted teachers and students report higher levels of intellectual engagement.

In FSD I envision Math Talks being used to differentiate daily math lessons and as a powerful tool during RTI sessions. They allow students to apply the 7 mathematical processes, such as reasoning and communication, in a meaningful way. When designing lessons, these collaboration times can help students answer essential questions such as, “What is the most efficient strategy to use when solving a number operation question?”, “How can I best demonstrate my understanding of numbers?”,  and “What are the qualities of an effective strategy?”

For further information about Math Talks check out the AAC website; very soon a math strategies section will be added under the Professional Learning tab. You could also read Crystal Morey’s article, Making Sense of Math Through Number Talks. Two books on the subject are Making Number Talks Matter by Ruth Parker and Cathy Humphreys and Number Talks by Sherry Parrish.

I am excited to give this thinking routine a try! I look forward to seeing eyes light up and I never tire of hearing our students say, “This actually makes sense!”

"There Is No Such Thing As Laziness"

Written by Shanda Dupras, Instructional Coach

Reflections from Alberta Assessment Consortium Conference

As teachers, we’ve been guilty of saying it, uttering it, hearing it...or thinking it.  “That kid isn’t motivated, engaged and doesn’t do any work. They are lazy.”

After having the pleasure of listening to Rick Wormeli, an international speaker and veteran educator, speak at the ACC conference in Edmonton, it was his statement, “There is No Such Thing as Laziness,” that resonated deep within my teaching soul.

I’ve always believed that every student can be reached…it was my job to find it. Have I been frustrated with “THAT student” for being disengaged in class, handing in a less than adequate assignments or worse yet, nothing at all? Absolutely. The feeling overwhelms me as I burn the midnight oil marking. Finally, tiredness takes over, and the word, “lazy,’ slips from my lips, as my head falls towards my desk.

Rick Wormeli, teaches that, “There is no such thing as laziness.” As educators, we have ongoing discussions focused on how to engage and motivate students within our classrooms. Rick Wormeli states that there are three premises that educators must understand when “wanting” to motivate students.  In turn, the truth surfaces about what our job as educators must be.

The Three Premises

1)    We can control and coerce someone to do something, but we can’t motivate anyone to do anything they don’t already want to do. (Rick Wormeli)

2)    Motivation is only doing the best of our ability of what we are already capable of doing.

(Rick Lavoie)

3)    Motivation is not something we do to teachers or students, it is something we create with them. (Rick Wormeli) 

The Truth

Our focus is to create an environment that cultivates curiosity and personal investment, making sure students and teachers feel safe to engage in the activity or topic without fear of embarrassment or rejection. (Wormeli)

AND, we accept the fact that ‘there is no such thing as laziness.

To create lessons that awaken the wonder within our students must be always on the table. As teachers, we cannot be the only ones asking, the deeper ‘Why’ questions. (If we could bottle up all the ‘why’ questions that children ask at three years old---we would be golden. What makes them stop asking questions as they grow?) Students want the ability to choose the vehicle of how they are going to complete a task; the ownership.  They want to be challenged at just right the level and know that they can be successful. They want to wonder…

“When teachers create curiosity in their classrooms, kids start to wonder.

  When they wonder, they want to learn.”    (Wormeli)

Alberta Assessment Consortium Conference

Written By Denise Litke, Instructional Coach

September 24 and 25, 2015 - Edmonton

This past weekend I attended the AAC Conference in Edmonton. There the IC team was treated to two world renowned researchers and speakers - Ruth Sutton and Rick Wormeli.  

Ruth kicked off the conference Thursday with a presentation on School Leadership in Changing Times. The recurring theme I heard from Ruth was in order to get to where we want to be, we need to start with the foundations.  We can’t do everything and we can’t do it all at once, so we need to get down to the fundamentals of strong practice and do them well.  The fundamentals she spoke of were design and planning, curricular outcomes, assessment, feedback, engagement, and teachers as learners.  

Friday Rick Wormeli presented.  To me, Rick is a cross between Steve Martin, Jim Carey and Bill Nye the Science Guy.  He is a fast talking, fast moving ball of information, and if you have ever seen him, you’ll know exactly what I mean. Based on the premise that “Grades are communication - they are an accurate report of what happened.”, Wormeli  goes on to talk about how we need to be ethical in our reporting practices.  This includes stopping the practice of  averaging marks, defining mastery, having pre-assessments that relate to the final understandings,  giving feedback, allowing for redos, differentiating in our classrooms and being a responsive teacher.

Overall, I found the conference to be informative, engaging and I would highly recommend it all teachers in FSD.  Check out their website at www.aac.ab.ca