Notes and updates for Monday, November 18, 2019, which is the start of the second quarter. Read carefully, take notes, and ask questions.
Skill Building: Organization
We are going to take a few days to work on organization as an essential skill. The reading and writing components are here:
It’s worth noting the SWOT analysis assignment that is given context within that post. You may also benefit from reading this post, which is also another example of how feedback works best:
Don’t drag your feet about this organizational work until a formal assignment is posted to Google Classroom. Show that you can take steps forward before then. Let the posts guide you.
Soft Reboot: Q2
You need to make better use of the physical space, starting with the following directions.
The whiteboard table needs to have a more limited number of students using it at any given time, and those students need to be working on an assignment that requires a whiteboard.
The office chairs need to stay by the touchscreen TV for small-group instruction, which can be expanded to include the conference table lined up with the TV.
The rest of the furniture needs to be spread out — no more bunching up in groups of five or six just to be near each other. If it’s not a conscious decision to improve collaboration, rethink it.
If you don’t need your phone for reading or writing, it should be stored somewhere else. If you do need it for an assignment, you also need permission. Any other use is distracting you.
You can still choose to work with any peers you’d like to work with. If you’re not productive in those groups, that will be reflected in feedback and assessment.
Start of Class
The information from this handout/post is required:
This is posted to Google Classroom, right above the required daily calibration. It’s on the front page of this website as direct links:
- Direct link to handout: https://tinyurl.com/makerspace-start
- Direct link to post: http://sisypheanhigh.com/malachite/?p=3561
It’s on the walls by the cell phone cubbies, too, and you will be using those more frequently.
You need to learn self-reliance and self-control. It starts with goal-setting. Do the daily calibration form every day until it’s a habit.
You also need to get to work immediately after any announcements or directions are given. You need time to transition into the right headspace, but you must be moving in that direction.
Feedback Chain
You should have a printed copy of this post on feedback:
It is required reading. The post is obviously a better place to read this information, because you can enlarge images, click on links, etc; it’s been printed so that you can shut down your screens and read without distractions, if you need to.
Snap&Read Universal and Co:Writer Universal
This is part of the organizational mini-unit, but it needs to be isolated here. It will help with the amount of instructional reading you must do.
Review the plug-ins Snap&Read Universal and Co:Writer Universal. You can use them to eliminate distractions, define words, look up references, and so on. If you don’t already have these from last year, we can take a period to install and review them as a class.
The Things They Carried
Continue reading the book. Don’t stop reading it. Don’t ask what page number you have to reach — the answer is that you should keep reading until you finish.
There will be a post on what you’ll do with this novel, but not until we’ve completed a soft reboot of the course through an organizational mini-unit.
The next few weeks of Q2 will be spent studying The Things They carried or incorporating it into other lessons. Keep reading.
River Writing: On Empathy
Continue writing the essay. Here again is the prompt:
Don’t wait for another deadline to be posted to Google Classroom. One will be there, but not until we finish these organizational lessons.
Just keep writing. Set up conferences, ask questions, and collaborate with each other. Show that you can be self-directed.
Pareto Projects: Q2
We had a chance to talk last week about sharing progress through structured discussions, small presentations, and other showcases. Starting in December, we’ll use the occasional Friday to do this.
Note two things:
- This low-stakes work will be good practice for the end-of-year senior talks.
- You will only have to share out your progress according to your comfort level.
Interstitial Instructional Posts
Lastly, another reminder to read actively and interstitially — that is, when you have a few minutes to dedicate to it — every post like this one.
If you aren’t clicking on links and actively taking in information from these posts, start clicking on links and actively taking in information. Every post will teach you more than what’s indicated in its title or subheading. Most posts will review important skills, traits, and knowledge, if you read actively and deeply.
Mostly, though, you can’t be lost if you read and click and think a little bit. These posts are the textbooks, packets, and lectures of the course. They also provide flexibility for every assignment. But you have to read them.
If you have questions, including questions about these updates, ask them in the comment section, where other students can benefit from the answers.