What if all classrooms were like our kindergarten classrooms?... (82)

If you've never had the opportunity to visit a Kindergarten classroom, you should find time to do so.

To be frank, they are really amazing places.

Typically, there are 20-25 students and one teacher. That in itself isn't that big of a deal, but add in the fact that some of these students have never been away from their parents. Some of the students have never been in an environment where there is structure and organization. Some of the students have never had to walk in a line and some have never been in a public restroom without the assistance of their parents and/or guardians.

In spite of the before-mentioned dynamics, Kindergarten classrooms are really magical places where kids are able to collaboratively and independently create and design. Kids move like a well-oiled machine from one center to the next with very little if any teacher direction. These students, most of whom have never been a part of such madness, are able to find structure and are able to be trusted to do the right thing.

Students are able to 'playfully work together and learn about the creative process: how to imagine new ideas, try them out, test the boundaries, experiment with alternatives, get feedback from others, and generate new ideas based on their experiences.'

Kindergarten classrooms are a hotbed for makers and the maker movement. Kindergarten classrooms are spilling over with exploration and discovery. Kindergarten classrooms beam with pride as kids put their best efforts forward to please their teachers and expand their knowledge of the world.

Kindergarten classrooms are indeed a magical place.

So, what can other classrooms at other grade levels learn from Kindergarten classrooms?

What if 'instead of making kindergarten more like the rest of school, we make the rest of school – indeed, the rest of life – more like kindergarten?'

Here are 10 things you will see in any good kindergarten classroom:

1. Children are playing and working with materials or other children. They are not aimlessly wandering or forced to sit quietly for long periods of time.
2. Children have access to various activities throughout the day, such as block building, pretend play, picture books, paints and other art materials, and table toys such as legos, pegboards, and puzzles. Children are not all doing the same things at the same time.
3. Teachers work with individual children, small groups, and the whole group at different times during the day. They do not spend time only with the entire group.
4. The classroom is decorated with children’s original artwork, their own writing with invented spelling, and dictated stories.
5. Children learn numbers and the alphabet in the context of their everyday experiences. Exploring the natural world of plants and animals, cooking, taking attendance, and serving snack are all meaningful activities to children.
6. Children work on projects and have long periods of time (at least one hour) to play and explore. Filling out worksheets should not be their primary activity.
7. Children have an opportunity to play outside every day that weather permits. This play is never sacrificed for more instructional time.
8. Teachers read books to children throughout the day, not just at group story time.
9. Curriculum is adapted for those who are ahead as well as those who need additional help. Because children differ in experiences and background, they do not learn the same things at the same time in the same way.
10. Children and their parents look forward to school. Parents feel safe sending their child to kindergarten. Children are happy; they are not crying or regularly sick.

I don't know about you, but this list sounds pretty good for ALL classrooms at ALL grade levels...

'We live in a world that is changing more rapidly than ever before. Today’s children will face a continual stream of new issues and challenges in the future. Things that they learn today will be obsolete tomorrow. To thrive, they must learn to design innovative solutions to unexpected problems. Their success and satisfaction will be based on their ability to think and act creatively. Knowledge alone is not enough: they must learn how to use their knowledge creatively.'

So, what if all classrooms were like Kindergarten classrooms?

Don't coast to the end of the semester, speed up... (81)

With things like Google Hangout, Facetime and Skype, learning and instruction shouldn't be limited to a learner's "zip code."

Check out this note LEGO sent to parents back in the 1970's... LEGO just might have been onto something.

Contemplate this... is our goal to help students have success IN school or life AFTER school? Those should coincide, right? Do they?

Check out all the versions that existed before the most recent version of Google Glass... this is why we should always try to be in a state of BETA.

Try a little "Moonshot thinking" in your class. Moonshot thinking is choosing to be bothered by the impossible... and thinking differently to make the impossible possible.

How does school compare to everyday life?

Here's a simple question and way to engage students in problem-based learning; "What bugs you?"

But, keep one critical point in mind when doing problem-based learning... if the kids don't care about the problem, then we won't get the desired effect.

This is a letter a student wrote to their teacher after some changes were made in regard to playing the 'game' of school:

With something to think about... (80)

Brave new world... (79)

Nearly 50% of occupations today will no longer exist in 2025. New jobs will require creative intelligence, social and emotional intelligence and ability to leverage artificial intelligence.

Workspaces with rows of desks will become completely redundant, not because they are not fit for purpose, but simply because that purpose no longer exists. Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/1kO6sF

1,000 U.S. hiring managers revealed that eight in 10 view creativity as important to success yet they find that the majority of students are unprepared for the workplace of tomorrow. Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/qSCn1I

Tier 1 skills needed to succeed:

Tier 2 skills needed to succeed:

Tier 3 skills needed to succeed:

Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/VxrLVs

Google determined that “G.P.A.’s are worthless as a criteria for hiring, and test scores are worthless. ... "We found that they don’t predict anything." Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/wfDuvT

So, where does the Union R-XI school district fit in this brave new world?

Where will the students who will graduate from Union R-XI fit in this brave new world?

Preventative check-ups before the autopsy... (78)

Formative assessments are frequent, timely, specific, and informal in nature. They occur during the learning process in order to modify teaching and learning activities to improve student learning. If nothing changes with instruction and student learning as a result of the formative assessment, then it wasn't a formative assessment. Formative assessments typically involve qualitative feedback (rather than final scores) and should most commonly be considered practice, thus any grade and/or feedback shouldn't be considered in a student's final grade. 

Formative assessments are the preventative check-ups at the doctor while the summative is the autopsy...

Check out this great article via Edutopia on efficient ways to check for understanding: http://goo.gl/19Lv6L