Teacher Wall

Summer So Far

2011-06-22T20:49:00.000-05:00

Since Christmas I have been saving up some Best Buy gift cards and finally loaded them up on a purchase. I bought a new laptop this summer and decided on the inexpensive, sleek and small Chromebook. It's not for everyone. But, I am sure I will enjoy using this in the living room while watching tv to browse the net.

Here is my review on my personal site:
http://fordee.blogspot.com/2011/06/my-new-chromebook.html

My plan is to also write up a review especially for this blog so that I can add my two cents as far as how a Chromebook could be used by schools. Google is starting to lease Chromebooks to both schools and businesses. They might make some sense, but I want to be sure to understand them better before putting my opinion on it.

Hope summer is treating all of you well. I am busy with going to physical therapy three days a week to work on improving my strength and balance as I recover from my first major flare of Multiple Sclerosis.

I have also read a number of books this summer:

The Trilogy - "The Hunger Games"
Tuesday's With Morrie
and I am about to read the first book of "A Song of Fire and Ice" - A Game of Thrones.

Hope everyone has had a happy and safe summer so far.

Observer Article About MS Awareness at AHS

2011-04-24T12:48:00.002-05:00

A very nice article in the Observer this week about the MS Awareness campaign at our school. Just amazing to see this all in print. :)

Mr. Duez thanks Ms. O'Brien

I can not tell you and fully express how grateful I am to everyone. So many have given and wished me well, it is overwhelming. The support has really given me the push I have needed to realize that even if I have been given a bad break, there are so many great people in my life.

Link to my post about Operation Bald Eagle - Head Shaving for MS Awareness.

Link to my post sharing my Email to the AHS Faculty with lots of pictures of the events during the MS Awareness campaign.

Link to my AHS Softball Benefit Game Video & Thank You Video to the AHS Patriettes.

Link to my former student Sara's MS 150 Post - she rode for me last weekend. :)

Link to our pics modeling the MS Awareness T-Shirts.

This was a serious affair with REAL barbers. :)

Mr. Scalia should never have scheduled a test on the same day as the head shaving. These two got him good!

My former student Kristin did a wonderful job on Mr. Head's head. :) Mr. Head's family has been impacted by MS.

Ms. Davison is beautiful with or without hair. Thank you neighbor for raising over $1500 for MS Awareness! You ROCK.

MS Awareness Campaign Videos

2011-04-24T12:42:00.000-05:00

Here are a few videos from the MS Awareness Campaign that AHS has done.

AHS-KHS MS Awareness Softball Game Benefit:

Aidan's thank you video to our AHS Patriette Dance team:

Operation Bald Eagle

2011-04-24T12:39:00.000-05:00

Click here for the great video by our wonderful technology ladies at AHS:

Operation Bald Eagle

This was a great event. Thanks to everyone at AHS who donated money in jars to each of these people (and many others who raised money, but did not get their hair cut).

Ms. Davison raised over $1500 herself! Thanks to Mr. Scalia for coming up with the head shaving idea. Thanks to Mr. Anderson for helping to organize and advertise. Special thanks to Mr. Campbell who has been organizing and spearheading all of this MS Awareness project.

Link to all of the pictures from the video:

Picasa Album - Operation Bald Eagle

My Email to Our AHS Faculty - MS

2011-04-09T09:48:00.003-05:00

I wanted to take a moment today and write everyone to express how thankful I am about the Multiple Sclerosis campaign that Mr. Campbell, Mr. Scalia and many others have helped to orchestrate. Friday was an especially amazing day for me. Seeing all of those orange, blue and white t-shirts, ribbons and wrist bands was awesome.

MS Awareness T-Shirt Support day at AHS. Thanks to everyone who took the time to come out after school for the pic. Mr. Duez, Aidan and Mrs. Duez are seated at the bottom.

Also, I wanted to send along some news about just what is going on with me and what MS is exactly. I do not have the opportunity to see many of you as often as I would like. Obviously, I know this email is very long and I apologize for that and I realize many won’t have the time to read it all. But, I wanted to be sure to include some information that people have been asking me about. Because we have such a large school and are so spread out, I know others might have these same questions on their mind, but may not have the opportunity to ask.

When someone hears the scary word “Sclerosis” they figure it must be pretty bad and may not even know what that means. Our awesome Latin teacher Shawn Jennings might know. In Latin it means ‘hardening’ (or scarring). MS is a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system in which gradual destruction (hardening and scarring) of the myelin occurs. There is no cure for the disease and most patients see a continuing decline in their health and abilities after being diagnosed.

The myelin is the sheath or covering of the nerves. In simple terms it is much like an electrical cord. The plastic/rubber portion that covers an electrical cord is like the myelin of the nerves. The inner wiring of an electrical cord is like the nerves itself. When MS attacks it eats away at the myelin and exposes and often destroys the nerve as well. In the same way an old extension cord might fail to continue to function when the plastic/rubber coating is worn away is exactly what happens with MS. The nerves lose their ability to communicate and deliver signals.

Image via WikipediaBecause MS strikes the central nervous system and the brain in different areas for different people, it can be a very hard disease to pin point and diagnose. It can also be very strange for people to understand because the symptoms for one person may not even exist for another person. Many times the destruction of these nerves leads to weakness, numbness or tingling, and sometimes pain.

My MS episodes started in 2010 right before spring break. I suddenly became very, very dizzy in class. It was also accompanied by severe fatigue. Doctors could not quite figure out what was happening until I had a major flare of the disease. That occurred during Thanksgiving weekend last fall. I was unable to get up out of bed one morning. I lost the ability to use my legs and even sit up without assistance. Also my pain level was incredibly high during this flare. This led my primary care doctor to realize my symptoms were much more serious and sent me to a neurologist. That also began the tremendous amounts of testing, MRIs and a very nasty spinal tap.

As I began the new year, doctors prescribed high dose treatments of IV and oral steroids to help my body shorten the length of the attack or flare. Currently I have regained a lot of function, but have weakness in my legs (especially my left leg) and some weakness in my arms and hands. My number one symptom is fatigue, often a common symptom for MS patients. About 85% of us have severe fatigue. My pain levels are very manageable. A great way to explain it to someone who is a teacher is this – I have first week legs. Remember how your feet ached and legs burned during the first week back to school? That is how my legs feel every day.

My sister and aunt also have Multiple Sclerosis. My uncle (through marriage) and his sister have also battled this disease. So MS is something important to my family.

Mr. Duez and a former student.

My doctors have been very aggressive in treating this. I will begin daily injections of a drug soon (pending insurance approval). This will help limit the number of flare ups of the disease over a long term period. This is the best course of action available to us right now. When patients have taken this drug during the first year of onset of MS the results have been good. The biggest drawback (besides sticking myself with a needle every day) is the cost. Because MS is categorized a rare disease, the costs for drug therapies are very high. This is part of the reason that the fund-raising campaign is important to me. But, the biggest reason is that the money donated to the MS Society will go towards helping researchers find a cure. They have made incredible strides in the past 10-15 years. With further funding researchers may one day be able to crack this very difficult code and find a cure for Multiple Sclerosis.

I have adopted an initialism that helps me focus on the positive: DFTBA. It means: "Don’t Forget To Be Awesome." There are days that I feel a lot less than awesome. But, I have to remind myself that MS is not me. It just wants to get in the way of me being “Mr. Duez.” So I say DFTBA and turn on my old self that is buried down there under this MS haze. It has helped me change my mind set in an instant. So, DFTBA!

Thank you again. I am very fortunate to work at Atascocita High School and I count my lucky stars every day. It’s a great day to be an Eagle!

Mr. Duez's Junior AVID class with their "Duez Support Shirts." They are GREAT kids. My son Aidan is next to me at the bottom middle. Mrs. Duez brought him in for the end of the day as a surprise.

A few links that might answer any other questions:
MS Society Website: http://www.nationalmssociety.org/
A tremendous series of videos that depict the personal challenges of those who have MS: http://www.nationalmssociety.org/we-keep-moving/videos/index.aspx
Great for Advisory: A really wonderful video about a 16 year-old who was diagnosed with MS and raised over $75,000 for MS:
http://www.nationalmssociety.org/we-keep-moving/videos/jeannette-pennsylvania-video/index.aspx
For as much technical information as I've ever seen assembled on one site about MS:
http://ms.about.com/

Mr. Duez with two of his AVID seniors who have been with him in AVID for four years.

Sir Ken Robinson Animated

2011-01-03T18:56:00.002-06:00

I have not posted in quite a long time, mostly due to health problems. But, I wanted to share this...
This is pretty awesome. I have heard the speech before, but seeing it animated and brought to life really got me thinking. I recognized something. In education today we seem to think that what works for one teacher should work for all to inspire learning. Yet right at the heart of what he is talking about is divergent thinking and I believe divergent teaching sometimes helps to facilitate that.

WICR Wednesday 9/8/2010

2010-09-09T21:53:00.002-05:00

Our second installment of the WICR Wednesday lesson.
This one was sent by our great AVID and English teacher on our faculty. :)

WICR Wednesday Challenge #2:

Last week we introduced WICR and explained that the "AVID philosophy involves integrating the four WICR elements into every classroom on a routine basis since they encompass four crucial skill areas for college-bound students."

Each week we want to share a strategy that we use in both our AVID elective classrooms and our academic classrooms. These strategies are not "AVID" strategies. They are simply best teaching practices that students say help facilitate their learning.

Philosophical Chairs
Philosophical Chairs is a strategy that both my AVID kids and my English III kids love. It encompasses all four of the WICR elements. Attached is a detailed power point explaining the process.

Basically, a teacher would use this strategy to foster a group discussion in an orderly fashion.

The W or writing takes place before and after the discussion. I have kids write their opinion or answer to the question down before we start and then reflect on how their opinion has changed based on what they heard.

The I or inquiry and the C or collaboration happens during the actual discussion. Students can ask questions, defend their ideas, and discuss in a structured manner.

The R or reading should happen first. They need to have read an article, part of a novel, or passage before they come to class so that they have an opinion to share. I have attached an article that our district director shared with us that I have used in my AVID elective class concerning sagging pants. The kids really seemed to enjoy it. Join the challenge and try a Philosophical Chairs lesson with your students!!

If you have any questions, please see any site team member or any teacher on campus that has attended a Write Path training session. Philosophical chairs is covered in almost all of the disciplines. We do have Path training coming up in September. If you are interested, please let a site team member know.

AVID HISTORY PATH: Philosophical Chairs PPT

Saggin Pants Article

Using Philosophical Chairs

WICR Wednesday 9/1/2010

2010-09-01T20:45:00.001-05:00

Today was our first WICR Wednesday of the year. It is an idea that has been done before by many other AVID schools. But, our district director really pushed us to work on this as a district this year. Here is how it works: We have a scheduled Wednesday for each AVID elective teacher and coordinator in the district. On that week that the person is assigned, they will send their WICR Wednesday lesson to our district director and she emails it out to all the AVID coordinators across our district. Then they sent it out to their faculty.

Good idea and great way to spread the AVID way.

My WICR Wednesday choice was straight stolen from one of the examples that our director sent out. But, I thought it captured what WICR is perfectly and sets the stage for the rest of the WICR Wednesday emails through out the year.

Hello Eagleland,

This week, your AVID site team invites you to take the One-Week WICR Challenge.
WICR is an acronym used by AVID to highlight four key aspects of curriculum in a successful classroom:
   Writing
   Inquiry
   Collaboration
   Reading

The AVID philosophy involves integrating these four elements into every classroom on a routine basis since they encompass four crucial skill areas for college-bound students.
How to Take the One-Week WICR Challenge:
Print out the attached WICR Week Tally Sheet and fill it out each day, noting the ways you incorporate writing, inquiry, collaboration, and reading into your curriculum. At the end of the week, you'll be able to assess how successfully you involved your students in WICR. If you notice any deficits, make an effort next week to find ways to improve the balance of WICR in your routine.
(I've also attached a chart which lists some examples that fit into each part of WICR in case you need a few ideas!)
Keep reading the Wednesday WICR e-mails for suggestions for how to strengthen each of these areas. If you need extra help, seek out a site team member. We'll be happy to assist you.
Have a great week!
Our AVID Elective Teachers are:
More about AVID on the Humble ISD District site: http://www.humbleisd.net/avid
To see what Mr. Duez is doing in his AVID class each week - http://avidahs.blogspot.com

WICR Week Tally Sheet

WICR

New Social Studies Training @ Summer Creek

2010-08-13T22:37:00.000-05:00

I very much enjoyed working with the new social studies teachers today. It is an honor to have been asked to work with all of you and I hope I was able to help in some small way. We are lucky to have you in Humble ISD. But, you guys are also joining the best group in our district. Our social studies teachers are incredible!

If there is anything I can do to be of help, please let me know.

Here are the notes from today's session: http://www.scribd.com/doc/35867068/New-Ss-Avid-Fall-2010

What is World History Pre-AP? The Video

2010-08-09T08:08:00.002-05:00

I did a little "What is World History Pre-AP?" video last year. I am using most of it again this year. Changed the music and the beginning, but I kept a lot of what I had last year. I am not 100% sure I like it because the quality is not as good as the other two videos.

But, I think it accomplishes my objectives:
1) Explain what we will be studying - or at least give a brief overview.
2) Explain how class will function.
3) Give the kids a brief taste of a few of the projects we'll work on this year.

Here's the video. What do you think?

What Is WH PreAP from Mr. Duez on Vimeo.

Time Magazine: The Case Against Summer Vacation

2010-08-08T18:34:00.000-05:00

Really interesting read. Is summer an "outdated legacy of the farm economy?" Or as the article seems to suggest, can it be a time for grass roots creativity to provide enrichment for kids?

Time Magazine: The Case Against Summer Vacation

What do you think?

Rules Video for 1st Day of School 2010

2010-08-07T22:47:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned in my last post, I am working on my introductory videos to my class. This is the rules video. It's short but sweet. I want my students to remember the rules. I want them to be simple, but flexible. I want them to be positive and supportive. I also stole them from my wonderful wife, who is much smarter than I am. :)

The three rules are:
1. Be Prompt.
2. Be Prepared.
3. Be Polite.

They pretty much cover everything needed in my classroom. Get to class on time. Be ready to learn. And be good to everyone in the class.

Again Aidan is my star for the show. I like that he adds a little comic relief to RULES. Going over rules for the classroom on the first day can be dry and for kids it can seem unnecessary. At least Aidan has added some fun to it and maybe they just might connect to them a little better?

Here's the video. What do you think?

Rules WH 1stDay from Mr. Duez on Vimeo.

My rules video for the first day of class.
Be prompt, prepared and polite. :)

Expectations Video for 1st Day

2010-08-07T16:19:00.000-05:00

Each school year I do a video to show on the first day. It's a video introduction to the class, explains expectations and rules. The first video I produced this year is the "Expectations Video." I wanted to post it here and get some reaction before I put it in the can.

I'm also working on the rules video and the video that explains my World History class and how it will function. Those will be done this week. I am excited to have these finished well in advance of the first day this year. Too often I'm editing a video to prepare for the NEXT day and that is just crazy. It takes far too much work.

Of course, having Aidan in my videos is always a lot of the fun. He's crazy. But, it is far more effective to have Aidan explain classroom rules and expectations to the kids than it is for me to stand up there and say it. What happens by 7th period on the first day of school? The kids have heard the same lectures about rules and procedures all day long from each teacher. It ends up sounding like Charlie Brown's teacher. Plus, this helps to save my voice and it delivers the expectations and rules in a very consistent format. And on top of all of that, I can post it on my website for the rest of the year. It is a wonderful way to explain the class to parents.

What do you think?

2010 Expectations WH 1stDay from Mr. Duez on Vimeo.
This is a short video clip that explains classroom expectations in World History for 2010-2011.

Thoughts on the upcoming year...

2010-08-07T11:02:00.001-05:00

This week I went into school a couple of different days and worked on getting my room setup. Since our high school is used EVERY summer for summer school (although we have FIVE different high schools within our district that could host) we have to pack everything up. This is tough. Everything must come down off the walls and we have little storage space. The only place we can store anything is in a small wardrobe. So getting setup for a new school year can be a lot of work.

what a mess! End of the first day.

What I have decided is that getting the physical work of my classroom setup was most important this year, in particular. I haven't been feeling well over the past 6 months. So slowly chipping away at my room and doing so in a low stress way was important to me.

I am glad to say that most of the 'heavy lifting' is all done. Posters are up, desks are moved into position, bookshelves filled with books, my desk has all it's supplies inside. There are still some major things to do, like organizing my filing cabinet and getting my AVID stuff setup. But, I am a lot further down the road than in year's past.

I am really lucky to have two great windows in my room. This year I have moved my desk to the back a little further. My goal is go give the kids more prime real estate in the classroom.

It is important this year because part of the problem I'm having health wise is managing stress and dealing with extreme fatigue. Over the past month I have made a lot of progress, but the school year's first day (8-16 for teachers, 8-23 for kids) is ominous. It was my hope at the beginning of the summer that I would be coming back to school fully healed. Now I realize that it is going to be a long term process. I will probably not be 100% myself for nine to twelve months. It is going to have to be a more different school year than I have ever taught before.

My schedule is really interesting. I have the first two periods for planning/conference. Then I teach the remainder of the day. This worries me greatly because the stress of teaching five straight periods without a break is going to wear me down. But, I have to keep the faith in the diet, vitamins and supplements I am taking. I also have to be sure to get to bed very early and get as much rest as possible.

Because of the influence of reading TLAC I have realized that grouping my desks by twos works for me best. This gives me the opportunity to 'shoulder' every student as they are working. I can walk around the room and get a much better feel for how they are working. In the past I have had desks grouped in threes and sometimes positioned against a wall or side board. This is going to be very liberating. And I believe much more comfortable for my students.

I can do it. But it is going to mean really taking the next step in my development as a teacher. This year I will have to develop more student centered learning situations. Situations where I am not the "sage on the stage." Learning situations where the students are doing the heavy lifting and I am supervising. There is no doubt I am ready to accomplish this next step. What is going to make it work is a very strong beginning to the school year. It will be essential to create a climate in the classroom where students are on board and trust what we are trying to do.

Very excited to make my room much more functional and much more comfortable for learning.

About two weeks ago I was petrified at the prospects of starting this year. I am beginning to see a path forward though and I do believe strongly that I can get this done. Hopefully in the process I can become an even better classroom manager and teacher than before.

One of the cool things I am working on for our school is this sign:

We are going to post them in our faculty mail room (we have over 200 mail slots!) and in our 4 teacher work rooms in each of our learning communities. The idea is that teachers can tap the sign - or just simply be reminded of the spirit we had this summer during our professional development. I very much enjoyed doing the PD on Teach Like a Champion and I hope it had an impact on some of my colleagues. Using some of the techniques in the book, I hope to become better and more efficient in the classroom this year.

A few more pics of my classroom:

Thursday 7-29-10 ACP Class. AVID and Teach Like a Champion

2010-07-29T21:50:00.001-05:00

Tonight we discussed AVID and some of the techniques from the book Teach Like a Champion. Here are my presentation notes. If anyone has any questions, or needs any help, please let me know.

What is AVID? Powerpoint

What is AVID 2009? from Mr. Duez on Vimeo.

This is the 10 minute, Parent Night version.

Socratic Seminar

Engagement Strategies from Teach Like a Champion

ACP Class from Tuesday, July 27th 2010

2010-07-28T08:19:00.001-05:00

Had a wonderful time last night working with the ACP class. Here are the power points and some of the videos we watched in the class.

Remember to read the Tips for the New Teacher for Thursday and we'll discuss that in a Socratic Seminar at the beginning of class. Then we'll talk about Engagement Strategies for students from the book Teach Like A Champion.

Please email me: david.duez@gmail.com about any kind of questions you might have. Feel free to give me a call if you'd like to come in and observe.

Classroom Teaching Tips

Socratic Seminar

Classroom Strategy from Youtube, 1st grade:

Classroom Strategy from Youtube, 6th grade:

Teach Like a Champion by Lemov. Great book. Highly recommend it.

By D. Lemov - John Wiley & Sons (2010) - Paperback - 352 pages - ISBN 0470550473

Teach Like a Champion offers effective teaching techniques to help teachers, especially those in their first few years, become champions in the classroom. These powerful techniques are concrete, specific, and are easy to put into action the very next day. Training activities at the end of each chapter help the reader further their understanding through reflection and application of the ideas to their own practice.Among the techniques: Technique #1: No Opt Out. How to move students from the blank stare or stubborn shrug to giving the right answer every time. Technique #35: Do It Again. When students fail to successfully complete a basic task?fromentering the classroom quietly to passing papers around?doing it again, doing it right, and doing it perfectly, results in the best consequences. Technique #38: No Warnings. If you're angry with your students, it usually means you should be angry with yourself. This technique shows how to effectively address misbehaviors in your classroom. The book includes a DVD of 25 video clips of teachers demonstrating the techniques in the classroom.

Here is a sample from the DVD:

"On Facebook, Telling Teachers How Much They Meant" - NYTimes Article

2010-07-18T20:13:00.000-05:00

I really love this article. "On Facebook, Telling Teachers How Much They Meant" - NYTimes Article "... people who are 20, 30 or 40 years beyond graduation are using Facebook to re-establish relationships with teachers and express gratitude and overdue respect."

"Focus" as the New Literacy

2010-07-17T17:11:00.000-05:00

Peter Pappas posted a thought provoking video and his take on "Forget About Remembering, It's Focus that's the New Literacy." I wanted to embed the video here that Peter shared and also discuss what he wrote and my thoughts.

As a history teacher, I do believe that factual information is important. It's the backbone of what we do. Each unit of learning, I ask my students to know certain people, events, places and vocabulary. Why? Can't they just "look it up?" Sure they can. But, committing certain facts to memory helps to give students the tools and ability to take that learning to the next level. For instance, discussion or debate about dropping the A-bomb on Japan would be incomplete without a history of the events of the war in the Pacific during WWII.

I love the idea that teaching our students to be fluent about sources and information relevancy and believe it is critical. Pairing a 'focused literacy' with a solid background on the facts of our history, that is a powerful combination. Once they leave our classrooms they should be even more prepared to do the work of self education. That is what each student is going to need to be able to do in the future. The kinds of jobs they are preparing for are uncertain to us today. The world is just changing at such a fast pace. (Who would have thought that there would be an internet in 1988, when I graduated from high school? Imagine what life and employment will be like in just 20 years!) So when they get out there and are working in a certain field, to advance they may need to seek out to find where to learn new skills. Having that self reliance and confidence that a student can turn to the internet, book, hit the library, or seek out information from the right sources is what can make the difference.

I agree with Peter that filtering and focusing is essential. With so much information at their fingertips (or in their pocket on their smart phone), the students who are successful will use the correct sources to help them. But, I also agree with an idea from a previous thought in one of my posts this week from Alan November. Today we have so much information that it is awfully easy for people to seek out the most 'comfortable' answer to them, regardless of accuracy. Since there is a partisan viewpoint for everything under the sun, how can students filter it all? There is FoxNews for conservatives and an MSNBC and Huffington Post for more liberal leaning people, just to name a few of the obvious examples.

We must also teach students that there are many sides to most stories. My deep belief and faith is in the power of ideas. And I believe that the best ideas should win. Teaching students the art and skill of literacy filtering is critical. It should be done at all levels of education. That "focus" that Peter writes about in his blog entry is essential.

So how can we cut through the the ideas here and create a concrete and actionable approach for teachers? Teaching solid researching skills isn't impossible. We teach in the AVID College Readiness Curriculum the ASFI process:

Under each of these elements are skills that students can learn to help them in the process of "Focus" when it comes to research and learning.

I have only just scratched the surface with my work on these fundamentals. Each year I have added a little more and nudged my students closer to being better at them. I think all teachers should not be over burdened by the huge task of preparing our learners for their future, but rather keep getting better each year. We can get there. Sharing and building a strong network and community of teaching experts is the way to get there. I have learned much from my professional learning community out here on the internet and I am inspired every day by the people that make it up. People like Peter Pappas who has made me think today. Thanks!

An Excellent Review of Teach Like a Champion

2010-07-17T10:40:00.000-05:00

Here is an excellent review of Teach Like a Champion. I love how she does a super job of putting it into her own context. You can tell it was read, digested, analyze and resulted in a thoughtful analysis.

Review of Teach Like a Champion @ MissTeacha's Confessions from the Couch

Myths and Opportunities of Technology in the Classroom

2010-07-15T10:19:00.004-05:00

I came across this video through Angela Maiers Educational Services Blog and Angela saw it on Sharon's Share.

Myths and Opportunities: Technology in the Classroom by Alan November from Brian Mull on Vimeo.

In this video presented by Mobile Learning Institute, Alan tours his hometown of Marblehead, MA and comments on the historical global vision of his community. Alan challenges us to think about the emerging role of “student as contributor” and to globalize our curriculum by linking students with authentic audiences from around the world. (For more, read Alan’s article, Students as Contributors: The Digital Learning Farm, found at http://novemberlearning.com/resources/archive-of-articles/digital-learning-farm.

What do you think about this video? First, I believe it is artfully produced and directed. I like the style and the metaphor. But, I also love his premise. Isn't it our job as educators to help students learn how to produce and be productive? Isn't a great way to start this creative and collaborative fire to have students working in the digital realm to create content?

I have been doing this each year with our Video Project. It is a big part of our year and probably one of the top three things kids enjoy about my class. They feel very much like they are creating content and teaching the class. On top of that, with the power of being able to use the internet to share their work. The students end up teaching the world, or with anyone that shares in the content.

Amazing how this has evolved from when I was first working in technology in education - setting up computer labs to speed kids through software so that they could pass the state test. (Although I'm sure it didn't help them at all!) I love the idea of students learning how to create content, yet still learning the core objectives and learning skills that are in our curriculum. But, it takes a little creativity and patience to get it done. Especially in today's educational landscape. The excuses for not being able to do something are usually greater than the force of will needed to get them accomplished.

Some have said to me, "How can you waste time on a project where kids are creating videos and presenting them to the class? How will you get through all the information that the State of Texas wishes the kids to know for the test?" Well, they are working in that realm of learning the information and curriculum. It's not like I'm having them do a video project on Alien Sightings! They are learning about social studies and World History topics. To be able to learn that information as they analyze a writing prompt, design a thesis to answer a question, and use the skills to present that information to the class and the world is a powerful thing.

It is simply my belief that if the students can do some independent learning to create content, they learn how to learn. There is no way to teach them everything they need to know today. The power is giving them a chance at learning how to harness all this information that is at our finger tips to learn from it and teach it to others. The odds are that most of my students will be preparing for jobs that I can't even imagine right now. Their futures are unknown. The most powerful thing I can provide to them now is the opportunity to build their confidence in becoming independent learners. It will be on their own that they seek out ways to improve themselves in the future.

How can you challenge your students in this way?

Check out my Video Project Blog from a couple of years ago in my World History class here: http://videoproject09.blogspot.com

Great AVID Story

2010-07-08T12:14:00.003-05:00

Teachers give student a little extra aid for college
07:07 AM CDT on Thursday, July 8, 2010
By JEFFREY WEISS / The Dallas Morning News
Link: Dallas Morning News Story

Dewan Woods' new Boston College hoodie is a welcome reminder of North Texas. The sweatshirt was a gift for the incoming freshman, one of many gifts to help set him up in college.

Woods just graduated from Richardson's Berkner High School, an honored product of a program designed to give a leg up to at-risk students who show a particular spark of promise. Woods delivered on that promise in high school, earning scholarships from his chosen college and from the Dell and Gates foundations.

Those grants will pay for his education and room and board through graduate school. But a kid needs more than his studies, a dorm room and a laptop to settle into college life far from home. Things like bedding, a desk lamp, cold weather gear for the Boston winters, and plane tickets to get him there and back.

I encourage you to read the rest of the story. Really nice. Also I wanted to link to the Berkner Cardboard Confessional video. Very inspiring.

LINK to the Video

Prep for Staff Development - Teach Like a Champion

2010-07-05T11:17:00.002-05:00

Lots to do this month, including rest and relax. :)

My number one goal is to get my presentation ready for our summer staff development for school. I'll be working with two other awesome teachers to present a chapter from Teach Like a Champion. What we have decided to do is use chapter 4:

Chapter Four. Engaging Students in Your Lessons.

Technique 22. Cold Call.

Technique 23. Call and Response.

Technique 24. Pepper.

Technique 25. Wait Time.

Technique 26. Everybody Writes.

Technique 27. Vegas.

Reflection and Practice.

Do any of you use these techniques already? What has worked for you and what have you struggled to implement. I know my #1 thing I learned from TLAC was Cold Call and Pepper. I like it because Pepper is 'game like' and I know my kids will enjoy the competitive nature of it. Also I do a poor job of covering vocabulary. Honestly, with my pre-AP kids I feel like they should be more independent with vocabulary, people and events. They should be learning them outside of our lessons at school by reading their book, taking notes, creating flash cards, etc. BUT, I still need to check on their learning. Doing it in this informal way will be a wonderful tool for me to use. Quick, simple and effective.

I also dabble in Vegas a bit (as you can see from the costume shot of me in the banner above). But, I know Vegas needs to be sharp and quick to be effective. I would love to do more hats and costuming. It is just fun and the kids really perk up. Problem is that it costs $ to do so and it is an investment. But, one I am willing to add to and build on each year.

Our professional development is during the last week of July and first week of August. I always enjoy these sessions because it is great to catch up with everyone after they have been away for the summer. And most people are very open and willing to learn. We aren't burdened by the work of the school year yet.

I would like what we have to show the faculty also be inspirational. Teaching Like a Champion is indeed a great message. I am not a big Notre Dame fan, but I love how their players tap the "Play Like a Champion Today" sign as they exit the locker room to the playing fields. Hopefully we can instill that same kind of spirit in our faculty.

We are also going to be utilizing the Mobi Interwrite Tablet during our training. One of our technology teachers is leading that up and I think it will be great for the faculty to see the Mobi in action and hopefully it can enhance our lesson.

Modified DBQ Examples from 2010 Dallas I SI History I Strand

2010-06-27T10:44:00.001-05:00

The image below is what we used for our example of a Modified DBQ. The others are what we created in class. Great examples of how you can get this done in a classroom and help your students work with sources and write a thesis.

click on each image above to make them larger.

We had a good time on Thursday working with primary/secondary sources and also with "Modified DBQs." There were some great examples of how you could work on this with your students. Thanks!

Text Responses and Graphic Organizer Examples from 2010 AVID SI Dallas I History Strand

2010-06-27T10:25:00.001-05:00

Here are some examples of the work we did in the Dallas I AVID History I strand. These are examples of graphic organizers and text responses.

Lists of Teacher Resources from June 2010 AVID Dallas I Summer Institute

2010-06-27T10:14:00.001-05:00

These are the lists of great teacher resources that we compiled through our AVID History I strand.

You can flip through, pause and reverse with the lower left buttons.

wmode="transparent" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="480">

The story of Jonathan Grant Brown - AVID Inspiration

2010-06-26T12:15:00.001-05:00

The past week at the AVID Summer Institute, the highlight (as always) was the luncheon. There are 18,500 people who will attend AVID Summer Institutes this summer, about 4,000 at the Dallas I session. The four speakers this year were also a part of our 30th Anniversary of AVID and they did a video retrospective through the decades. It was incredible.

One of my AVID photos from my website ended up in the video montage and that made me pretty excited. I was also super lucky to have a front row seat for the speakers. The luncheon has about 2,000 jammed in the ball room. And it is a sea of humanity that the students have to address. Quite intimidating. Well, I walk in (a little late because our session was in a different hotel) and they ushered me into this front row seat at the first table. Suddenly I'm sitting with two of the speakers and their families! Pretty amazing experience.

One of the speakers was Jonathan Grant Brown. His story is amazing. I would not say it's "typical" of the AVID student experience though. Most of our kids have great parents who love them, some pretty good support systems, but they just need AVID to help them advance into AP and Dual Credit classes and prepare for college. But, Jonathan's story shows the power of AVID and what it can do for someone, even in the most dire situation.

This is a superb story. Jonathan Brown and his success through AVID. He is inspirational and shows that if he can do it, anyone can.

Jonathan's Original 2006 AVID Summer Institute Speech:

I originally posted some of this on my AVID class blog here: http://avidahs.blogspot.com/2010/05/inspirational-story-jonathan-brown-avid.html

JFK Primary and Secondary Source Video

2010-06-24T21:19:00.000-05:00

I tried the link on the UCSD website for the source, but I could not find the video. A quick Youtube search gave it to me though. Here it is:

If you would like to download this video, here is a post I did on my World History Blog about how to download Youtube clips:
http://mrduez.blogspot.com/2009/10/using-you-tube-downloader.html

What is AVID?

2010-06-19T22:17:00.000-05:00

I was thinking tonight that it would be great to have this video on this blog to explain just what AVID is. This is something I put together last spring. It steps through the program and explains all the parts. We have a great AVID program but it is still only in it's fourth year and is still growing.

The T-shirt design was not a favorite of mine (in fact, I had no design in choosing it), but our seniors loved it. I think it is modeled after the "LOVE - HATE" from the movie Do the Right Thing.

What is AVID 2009? from Mr. Duez on Vimeo.
This is the 10 minute, Parent Night version.

AVID Summer Institute 2010 in Dallas

2010-06-19T21:00:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow I'll be jumping on a flight bound for Dallas for the AVID Summer Institute 2010. I'm excited about it. But, I hate leaving Norma and Aidan for this long. They are going to have a ball, they have lots planned. And I have Skype to talk to them with at night. So that'll be nice. But, I'll still miss my boy. It is bitter sweet traveling on Father's Day.

This is a big deal for me though. I have been hoping to be an AVID National Staff Developer for the past 3 years. From the first day that I was in San Diego, I just knew that it would be something I would love to do. I must say I am a bit nervous tonight. Although I have done this training session many multiple times within my district, I'm still a little hyped up because it is the real deal now.

I am teaching with a partner who is from Chicago and he's done the training a number of times. So I have his experience to lean on and he's fantastic. So I am looking forward to learning from him. I'll be doing History/Social Science I. It is four mornings of training sessions (Tue-Fri). In the afternoons we'll be with our district site teams and with our school groups. So it'll be a busy, busy week.

One of the other things I am really looking forward to is the 30th anniversary of AVID. They have lots of great things planned for Summer Institute this year to take advantage of the 30th year. They will have student speakers who are alumnus of the program. That should be super inspirational.

I am nervous tonight, but I know once I'm in the session and we get rolling I'll be fine. I love helping other teachers. We should have 30 to 50 people in our session, so having 2 staff developers is really necessary. I realize my role will be more of a #2 man and helper in most cases. I'm fine with that because I will work the room as much as I can and try to be helpful. There is so much to do during these sessions. And keeping everyone happy and learning is really important.

The hotel we are staying in is at the Hyatt Regency right downtown. That should be awesome. I've been there before for other SI meetings but have never stayed there. Looking forward to being downtown all week and soaking that in (after I'm super prepared for my training sessions first).

There is a lot to do in downtown Dallas. The West End is pretty cool. It is a little bit of a walk across downtown, so that'll stink. But, they do have a public transportation train that you can hop on. I'll have a good time. But, my #1 priority is doing the best job I can as an AVID staff developer. I'll let the rest take care of itself. Should be a great week.

AVID in the News - Seattle Times Article w/Video

2010-06-18T15:00:00.004-05:00

Although this article is not exactly like our program, it is similar. We don't normally have students in AVID who have failed classes, or TAKS for that matter. But, many of the concepts are the same.

I also don't think AVID students are "average" in any way. These are kids that are willing to take on more work to be able to succeed and move up into honors, Pre-AP, AP and Dual Credit classes. Average kids would not make it. But, our AVID kids do.

I also take exception to "supercharged study hall" because AVID tutoring is certainly much more than that. It is a very specific method with highly trained tutors. It resembles no study hall I have ever seen.

Good article though and it's wonderful to see some positive things in the news about education. Part of the article here, with links to the full article and the video is embedded:

Average students shine with help from AVID program

AVID — Advancement Via Individual Determination — is part supercharged study hall, part motivational seminar and part time-management training. It motivates kids in the academic middle to aim for college.

By Linda Shaw

Seattle Times education reporter

It's hard to imagine that Bruna Afonso was once apathetic about her studies, unsure if she'd finish high school, much less go on to college.

She now earns good grades, takes tough courses and almost always speaks up in class, as she did recently during a spirited debate over the United States' role in Bosnia.

A few years ago, she disliked school and didn't try to do well.

Now? "I'm busting my butt," she said.

She credits her transformation to a program with a mouthful of a name: Advancement Via Individual Determination, or AVID.

Full article here:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011832378_avid11m.html

Another Thank You Notes to Remember - From AVID Student

2010-06-13T20:39:00.002-05:00

I wanted to write out a few more of the great thank you notes that I received at the end of the school year. I do this to remember them and to have them permanently on this blog so that I can pull them up when I am old and grey and smile. :)

Mr. Duez -

Where do I being... :)

I wanted to say that this year in AVID has probably been my favorite. Last year was cool too, but this year I learned to appreciate it more. Last year in tutoring it helped, but I took it for granted and this year it really helped me in all my classes. I especially liked it when you came to my tutor group and helped me with my questions because no one else knew the answers like you did. I would love to switch World History classes! ha ha! :) Anyway, I wanted to thank you for a great two years in AVID and I really hope we have a great year again next year!

Sincerely,

~J

Such a sweet note and so nice that she took the time to type it up and fold it out like a card. Really neat.

AVID is always a struggle because we have the kids for 4 years. The kids have their ups and downs... and so do I. But, it's about the long haul. It's about getting these kids to college. So you take things one day at a time and one step at a time. And sometimes one tutoring question at a time. :)

I can't wait until next year. It will be so incredible to graduate my first AVID class and to also see my juniors accept the challenge of AP and Dual Credit classes and succeed.

Reflections on the 2009 - 2010 School Year "Best Of"

2010-06-09T12:16:00.007-05:00

This was a great year. I am super happy with the progress of my students. Only two did not get credit for the year. I am proud of that. It definitely is a measure of the fact that I have GREAT students. And I am committed to doing whatever it takes to help kids learn World History. I think it is also a reflection of the kind of system I have created to assist students, so that learning is the only thing that matters. Here's a quick look at the system, in a nutshell:

If a student gets any grade below an 85, they can come to tutoring to make up the work and reassess it. They can not reassess during our class period, only during tutoring. My tutoring times are Tuesday and Thursdays from 2:45 to 3:30. It is up to the students to get in there after school to improve their grades. But, the grade is just the carrot. When I get them into tutoring, I'm checking their notes, orally quizzing them, helping with future assignments and working with them to be sure they understand the material. There are time restraints. A student can not come in to reassess after our next test. For example, they can come in and work on Chapter 2 assignments all the way until we test for Chapter 3. That's the deadline. So I am not grading and re-grading forever. The deadline is important. For last work, they get a 50 if it's late until they come to tutoring and can earn up to an 85 if reassessed and orally quizzed that they indeed know the information (to be sure they did not copy/cheat). If students do not turn work in before the deadline - it's a zero.

Many would look at this and say it is watering down the course or worse, 'giving grades.' But, the kids have to earn it. They earn it by showing me that they have learned the material. In the long run, this is all that matters. And I love having the ability to say to a student (or parent), "Why didn't you come to tutoring to raise any grade that was below an 85." Number one it's a win-win scenario for me and my students. That pressure that it is on them and them alone to make the effort and be sure they understand the material... it just puts the pressure where it should be - on the student. And it puts me in a support role, doing whatever I can to help and assist in the learning.

The year was also wonderful because of the many great and spirited service projects that our school committed to. We raised over $7,000 for Haiti. Through NHS at our school, students raised about $6,000 on a balloon campaign for a young elementary girl dying of cancer so that she could go to Hawaii as her "wish." Many of my World History and AVID students participated as judges for elementary school student's competition in Ecobot Challenge. I believe they caught the "service bug." We committed loads and loads of time as a school into community service and it made our school a much better place to be at in 2009-2010. Really awesome.

So at the end of the school year, it is time for some reflection. My first piece of the reflection will focus on a part of my survey. Each spring I ask my students to fill out a survey that is a reflection of the school year. Here were some of their comments that stood out or were repeated often:

Best Activities or Assignments of the Year:

Trench Warfare (Video)
It was really fun, although I hid behind a backpack like a coward.
We were allowed to throw paper at each other and did not get in trouble for it!
It was better than using real guns!

Video Project
Everyone got to do what they wanted.
I loved getting to use computers.
I had never created a video before, so I learned more doing that than anything.
they were so creative, it was so much fun to watch what people came up with.
because we got to go into detail about a subject that we felt strongly about.

Castle Project  (Rubric) (Video)
Such a creative project. When we are creative on things like this it keeps us more interested in the class.
OMG So much freaking fun!
I loved picking my partner. We worked so well together.
Building a castle was just pure fun.
Loved being able to work with friends on the Castle.

College & Career Project
It taught me what I should be looking for in a college.
I thought it was fun and interesting and got to hear what people wanted to be.
I liked the opportunity to do the resume.
It really helped me prepare for my future, Thank You Mr. Duez.

Ball Toss  (Video)
I really liked the ball toss because it allowed us to be active and involved.

Philosophical Chairs
I really loved PChairs because it made me question my own opinions and views.
I loved debating all the topics.
It was always exciting and got me thinking.

Socratic Seminar  (Edmodo Experiment) (Video)
Using Edmodo.com was one of the coolest things.

Rock Art & College Essay
It introduced everyone to each other and showed who we are to you.
It was the perfect ice breaker to start the year with. I felt like I knew everyone after having gone through it.
I got to use my imagination

Human Rights Project
I liked it the best because everyone had to do their part and we all learned the whole thing together.

World Leader Project
I liked this one the best because we had a complete say in the leader that we wanted to do. I loved learning about him.

My Reflections:
I will definitely swap when I do the World Leader Project and Video Project. This year I came into the school year with a plan to do the Video Project twice because it was such a huge success the previous year. But, the Video Project needs to happen in the 5th Six Week's Period. (See last year's awesome videos from spring 2009 here) It gives the kids more time to know each other better and they can work more cooperatively in teams. They are also a bit older and more ready to work on videos, work with the technology end of it, and most important do the kind of research it deserves. By the 5th six week's period the students know me better and are more comfortable asking for help.

The World Leader Project in the second six week's period will give my year a big shot in the arm. I'll be giving them a research project right out of the gate and that will really help. We will be working with multiple sources much more quickly and it will lay a great ground work for the kind of research we'll be doing all year long.

I loved the projects we did this year. They were very similar to what we have done in the past. But the biggest change was adding rubrics to better direct their writing. This gave me the chance to add writing rigor to these projects that were not there in the past. These students wrote better than any previous year that I have had. I think a lot of that was attributed to the fact that I pushed them to write more and in a more complex way. (Thesis writing all fall and then working with Documents using DBQs in the spring) That has to continue next fall and be stronger to get them even more prepared for AP US History. They don't call it "A-PUSH" for nothing! It is a signal to me to push these kids even harder, but with lots of support.

I'll add another blog post or two this summer regarding what the student responses were about other questions in the survey, like:
"What they will remember 10 years from now,"
"A Song, Book or Movie Title to describe the class,"
and their "Words of Warning" to next year's students.

I'd like to thank my friend MissTeacha, a fellow World History teacher, for lots of help and assistance this year. She has a wonderful way of listening and giving support. Thank you!

Outrageous Lessons

2010-06-05T09:45:00.000-05:00

This is a really fascinating article about engaging students through outrageous lessons:
TLN Teacher Voices: Outrageous Lessons

This is a nice review on the book: Teaching Content Outrageously: How to Captivate All Students and Accelerate Learning

Among the "a-ha" moments for me in this article (and I have not read the book) is the fact that an outrageous lesson can actually improve discipline. I found that very interesting. I doubt that it is true if the students are not learning and do not see a connection to the learning target or objective.

I have found that some of my most dramatic lessons (dressing as a Roman Soldier, trench warfare with paper balls, purchase points system w/Reformation) have been very successful. But, what is missing here is the fact that the lesson must be supported by strong setup or follow through to be sure that the objectives are taught and learned. It is one thing to do something dramatic, it is quite another to be sure that learning has occurred. When the two are tied together it can be quite an experience for students and one that they will always remember.

AHS

2010-06-04T08:30:00.002-05:00

Our beautiful school
sent from my droid

Had to go into school this morning to pick up a check that was in my box. It was amazing how peaceful it was for a Friday morning. The stormy clouds from the day before were leaving and blue skies with big white clouds were coming in over the school. I just had to take a quick picture. It's such a beautiful building. My wife and I are so lucky to teach there.

Unfortunately on Monday the life, craziness and commotion will return. For the fifth year in a row we'll be hosting summer school for the entire secondary portion of our district. We have 5 high schools, yet AHS is ALWAYS the home of summer school. I simply don't think it's fair. Our teachers have to tear down their entire rooms, pack up everything into a small wardrobe and take the rest home. Yet 4 other high schools sit vacant while ours is used and abused. It's really not fair. I hope at some point they realize it needs to rotate. Before long the school is going to age well beyond it's 5 years in wear and tear alone.

Thank You Note

2010-05-31T09:51:00.000-05:00

At the end of the school year, I like to post some of the thank you notes that I have gotten. I think this is a super way for me to remember them. When I am 60 or 70 years old and have lost all of these notes, it will be great to look back on them. This one was very sweet and so nicely said. I appreciate it very much:

Good Morning. Mr. D.,

Our daughter told us that you are sick with vertigo; we are sorry to hear that and we really wish you to get well pretty soon.

We also want to thank you so much for all your dedication, this has been an awesome school year for our daughter and for us; she learned a lot from your lessons and so we did. We will keep visiting your web site and stay tuned to remain learning something new every day. You are a SUPER TEACHER!!!

May you have a great summer vacation with your wife and your cute son.

Sincerely,

x

I am such a lucky guy to have the very best kids ever. We had a great year.

Summer Staff Development Project - Teach Like a Champion

2010-05-29T18:52:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted in a while, sorry about that. I have been awfully busy with AVID certification and I'll post on that later this weekend. But, today I have our summer staff development on my mind. So I thought I would write a bit about it.

We have a two day, AHS only staff development over the summer. Teachers have signed up to facilitate it and I've done this in the past. We have amazing teachers on our faculty and it's really great for them to be able to put a presentation together about something they have learned or what to teach to the rest of the faculty.

In the past I have taught about Grading For Learning. This year I wanted to do something that touched on a few of those concepts, but I have been really taken by the book Teach Like a Champion. I would really like to focus on a few of their concepts about Checking for Understanding and also Creating a Strong Classroom Culture. Has anyone read the Champion book? Any ideas on how I might incorporate things over an hour?

We met last week and had a meeting about it. The leadership at our school would also like to tie new technology to each session. So I am really struggling to figure out how to do this. I believe we are all getting something called a Mobi. Has anyone used one before? Maybe you could help me see how I could tie that device with what I would like teachers to learn from Teach Like a Champion.

Agenda: ACP Class Monday, June 10th, 2010

2010-05-10T21:08:00.000-05:00

Tonight was a rare class where I will only see this group one time (hopefully someone will cancel and I can come in again!). Because of that we rushed through a lot. So I wanted to be sure to get this power point up quickly tonight. Also here are a few of the video clips we saw, a link to the book I mentioned, and also a power point about Socratic Seminar - the class room strategy we used at the end.

Please email me: david.duez@gmail.com about any kind of questions you might have. Feel free to give me a call if you'd like to come in and observe.

Classroom Teaching Tips

Socratic Seminar

Classroom Strategy from Youtube, 1st grade:

Classroom Strategy from Youtube, 6th grade:

Teach Like a Champion by Lemov. Great book. Highly recommend it.

By D. Lemov - John Wiley & Sons (2010) - Paperback - 352 pages - ISBN 0470550473

Here is a sample from the DVD:

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T08:17:00.001-05:00

Intern Class - Monday, April 26, 2010

2010-04-26T21:12:00.000-05:00

Tonight was another wonderful opportunity to share some things with our intern class at AHS. Here was the agenda:

5:30 - Introductions
5:45 - Teach Like a Champion - Simple steps to improve the classroom.
6:30 - Assessment for Learning – explain the paper that will be done for Anders. Use power point to discuss AFL techniques. Especially focus on Targets, Relate “grading” to learning, Limit attributes to individual achievement.
8:00 - Give them time to work on their paper.

Write a one page, 3 paragraph paper (at least) that explains your Assessment Philosophy.

How do you currently assess student learning?
What have been the biggest factors that have determined your assessment beliefs and practices?
How do you feel you will change and adapt in the 2010-2011 school year?

Link to Teach Like a Champion on Amazon.

From the publisher with excerpts.

Here are the power points and video clips:

Teach Like a Champion

ACP Intern AFL

Video clips I used were from Teachers.tv a great site and useful resource for all teachers.

A link to my post about Learning Targets.

Beautiful evening

2010-04-26T20:15:00.001-05:00

sent from my droid moble

The Six Phases of Teaching

2010-04-08T20:07:00.000-05:00

This time of year, we could all use a good smile:

Six Phases of Teaching from Mr. Duez on Vimeo.
This is a video I put together that is adapted from an email that made the rounds in the past few years. It is a comic look at the profession of teaching.

I'll use the 6 Phases as an "ice breaker" next week during our History Path training through AVID. I'll be doing the staff development with a couple of my colleagues. It is always great to give back and share some of the great things I've gotten to see. I am really looking forward to it.

Then on Thursday night next week, I'll be jumping on a plane and heading to San Diego to get training on how to teach the summer institute for AVID in History. I am really looking forward to this. It will be a great break from the routine and will be a wonderful opportunity to meet lots of new people. It is always so invigorating to be around the very best teachers. AVID has given me loads of opportunity. This is just another great one.

April Fool's Fun

2010-04-01T11:11:00.002-05:00

I am a very 'corny' teacher. Lots of stupid puns, bad jokes and silliness. But, the kids love it and come to expect it. So, it's April Fool's Day. What did they expect?

Here is my post to my World History kids:
http://mrduez.blogspot.com/2010/04/update-on-dbqs-good-and-bad-news.html

Can't wait to see what their reaction is to that one.

Sadly, I have to grade them still... since it is a joke. :(

Are we being too punitive of teachers?

2010-03-27T15:13:00.000-05:00

The "Death and Life of the Great American School System" is a book by Diane Ravitch. She claims that she was wrong about No Child Left Behind (NCLB) when she supported it. She also says that President Obama's path ahead is also not right.

She says that charter schools are nice (3% of our schools are charters), but they are a distraction to the real goal. We have 97% of our schools that we should be focused on and worried about.

My question to you is, what do you think the role of the national government should be in the years ahead?

An interview with Ravitch is below:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

DBQ Football

2010-03-27T11:29:00.001-05:00

I am super excited about teaching a lesson on Monday that I'm calling "DBQ Football AHS." It's a take on something I have seen at AP conferences before. Basically you give students documents that correspond to a football game and they piece them together to explain it in essay form. That's basically what a DBQ or Document Based Question is. So this is great practice.

My students are beginning to get a little fatigued by DBQ through the Industrial Revolution and Imperialism. I've been hitting them with that for over a week. So this will be a great break. Their first DBQ test is on Wednesday. So doing DBQ Fooball on Monday will be perfect timing. Have some fun with it on Monday, sharpen it up on Tuesday, Assess on Wednesday. We then have Thursday and Friday off for Easter. I'm calling it a "Pretty Good" Thursday and a "Good" Friday. :)

I decided to do the DBQ Football around the greatest game our young high school has ever played. It was a 43-37 overtime playoff win and their first win in school history. Some of my students were there, no doubt. But, I figure I'll be using this for years. So it will be fun to keep this alive as a part of school history through my class. :)

I'll write more about how it went on Monday. But, my plan is to have them work on this individually for about 10-15 minutes. They will need to read the documents, analyze it for APPARTS (Author, Place and Time, Prior Knowledge, Audience, Reason, The Main Idea, Significance) and then write a thesis. Then we'll get into groups to compare thesis statements. At the end of the period, we'll try to pull together one great thesis as a class.

What do you think:
DBQ Football AHS

The Culture of Childhood

2010-03-27T09:57:00.001-05:00

Are kids today needing "recess coaches?"

This article in the NYTimes.com discusses it: Playtime is Over by David Elkind, March 26, 2010

For children in past eras, participating in the culture of childhood was a socializing process. They learned to settle their own quarrels, to make and break their own rules, and to respect the rights of others. They learned that friends could be mean as well as kind, and that life was not always fair.

Now that most children no longer participate in this free-form experience — play dates arranged by parents are no substitute — their peer socialization has suffered. One tangible result of this lack of socialization is the increase in bullying, teasing and discrimination that we see in all too many of our schools. (Elkind)

Elkind is a professor of childhood development at Tufts University. His column here has me thinking about growing up and what we did as kids. Many days (I grew up in the 70s for grade school and middle 80s for high school - graduated in '88) we would go to the local elementary school and play at the playground or start a pickup game of basketball, wiffle ball, or kickball. We also went sled riding a lot when it did snow. We were outside a bunch. Unlike most kids though, I was very, very athletic. I loved playing ball as a kid. I know that not every kid was like me.

I agree with Elkind that schools are definitely going in the wrong direction with education at the younger level. Any high school teacher can tell you that there is a problem. We see it when kids show up to us each year. I catch my students up, but believe me, they are coming with hugh deficits. That is not an excuse. My job as an educator is to make them better and to improve each student. Most of my students improve a great deal and I am proud of that work. But, I would be ecstatic if there were changes in the focus of elementary education.

A physical education is in many ways just as important as the academics. It's like the balance between character ed and academic excellence. I tell my students all the time, "No one is going to care how smart you are if you are a jerk to everyone." It's true. It is also true that a person is not going to be able to enjoy their intelligence and progress academically if they are living unfulfilled lives because of a lack of physical fitness and health.

In any case, recess coaching is a vastly better solution than eliminating recess in favor of more academics. Not only does recess aid personal development, but studies have found that children who are most physically fit tend to score highest on tests of reading, math and science.

Friedrich Fröbel, the inventor of kindergarten, said that children need to “learn the language of things” before they learn the language of words. Today we might paraphrase that axiom to say that children need to learn the real social world before they learn the virtual one. (Elkind)

As a former college football player and baseball player, I also know the other side of this coin. There are student-athletes in our schools today getting too much physical work and not enough academic work. Today in Texas (the high school football capital of the world), student-athletes take a class called FOOTBALL. During the school day they have a period set aside for athletics. They also then practice after school. Some programs also require kids to come in early before school begins to run, practice during the day for athletic period and then practice after school. That's too much. Anyone can see it.

And I can tell you story after story of very talented high school athletes that go off to their college or university of choice and immediately quit the athletic team because they are just flat burned out. As Julia Child once said, "Everything in moderation, including moderation." Maybe that's the answer.

I look at things through my perspective. That perspective is as an educator and also a father of a five year-old son. I worry about him being pushed too hard. People are always saying to me, "What sport is he doing?" Well, he's freaking five! I started baseball, basketball and football when I was six. And I distinctly remember that my dad forged the form to say I was seven so that I could play. I am in no way going to do that for my son.

Last fall he wanted to play soccer, so he did. Last summer he wanted to try swimming, so he did. The year before he took karate lessons for 3-5 year olds. No big deal to me that he isn't continuing either of them at this point. He is trying some things and making decisions about what he wants to do. Pushing him down the road is not going to keep him on that road. I want him to come to athletics if that is what he is compelled to do. But, if Aidan decides to be in the band, to form a rock band with his friends, to join the chess club... so be it! But, I will be trying to foster an active childhood where his physical fitness is improving.

So this is really two topics in this blog post. One is of the failure of too little. The other of the failure of too much. The answer I suppose is something in between.

Teacher of the Year

2010-03-25T15:14:00.000-05:00

Today was our Teacher of the Year announcement during our PLC time (we have Professional Learning Community time on Thursdays from 7am to 9am every week. Students have late arrival). It is always emotional for me because I was lucky enough to win our first ever voting during the 2006 school year. Winning during the very difficult first year of our school was one of the greatest professional accomplishments that I have ever had. So today when they named Ms. Adkins, I was emotional.

The first reason it is emotion is because of how our principals do the announcement. At some schools I have been at, the principal would just stand up there and say, "The Teacher of the Year is ____." Yeah. Nothing too special. My wife has been at schools where they just announced it over the loud speaker during school. We do it up at AHS. They have all of the faculty in the PAC (our fancy name for Auditorium - Performance and Arts Center) and they play a video. The video has quotes from students about our teachers. There were probably 30 or 40 of them. They show a picture of the teacher, their name and the quote.

The video is quite emotional because of the wonderful things the kids write. At the end they have drum roll, show the finalists one last time and then the winner appears on the screen. Very exciting.

They also give us a Teacher of the Year ring. I wear mine every day.

The first thing that I did was send our winner this year an email with my essays from the year that I won. It is a really quick turn around to get the essays in and be considered for District Teacher of the Year. So I wanted to give her a heads-up. But I did warn her that I didn't want any kind of feedback about them. She is known as the "Grammar Queen" at our school and I know how critical she can be about writing. :) But that is just one of the reasons she is such a great teacher.

So I though I would share my essays with the readers of this blog as well. It has been a long while since I won 4 years ago. I am probably 10 times the teacher that I was then. I have learned so much since 2006. One of the reasons I have learned so much is because I have been given opportunities because of winning Teacher of the Year. I've gone to conferences, trainings, taught professional development and been named an AVID teacher all after winning the award. It has helped my career.

My kids always get upset each year because I tell them not to vote for me. The reason is that there are lots of teachers at our school who will never have the privilege of being recognized and winning. We have over 200 faculty members and we have a very large school. So each year I basically want my name off the ballot. There is no reason for me to win again. But, still I had about 12 kids write a nomination and it was great to read what they wrote. It is wonderful to be acknowledged and wonderful to feel appreciated. I hope all teachers have the chance to feel what I have been able to experience as a teacher.

Here are my essays: TOY Essays From 2006-2007.
Also, here is a link to a power point that I created to showcase our great 14 nominees this year (my wonderful wife was one of them!): TOY Power Point
A link to my personal blog with a story about winning: Teacher of the Year

Ken Robinson: "It's not like making motor cars."

2010-03-20T13:51:00.000-05:00

What do you think of what Sir Ken has to say?

To me, he is on the money. But, how can schools individualize education? I think the only way is through the use of personalized learning that takes place through the use of technology. We are not there yet, but there will be a day when someone's laptop, iPad, eReader, or even cell phones will be all you need to conduct a class and receive a quality course in education. Nothing will replace one on one interaction and traditional classroom settings, but the use of technology will enhance it. It is my hope that having kids be able to take electives through a technology portal will increase their learning and skill level and that will, in turn, show improvements in the traditional classroom. We'll see.

Building a Better Teacher vs. Firing Bad Teachers

2010-03-13T10:27:00.000-06:00

This is a fascinating article: Building a Better Teacher on New York Times.com by Elizabeth Green March 2, 2010.

What I love about the article is that it is not full of blame for teachers. It's not like the Newsweek cover story last week (full disclosure, I am a subscriber to Newsweek and usually love the content): Why We Must Fire Bad Teachers. In that article, it focused all of the attention on how teachers are to blame. For example,

Yet in recent years researchers have discovered something that may seem obvious, but for many reasons was overlooked or denied. What really makes a difference, what matters more than the class size or the textbook, the teaching method or the technology, or even the curriculum, is the quality of the teacher. Much of the ability to teach is innate—an ability to inspire young minds as well as control unruly classrooms that some people instinctively possess (and some people definitely do not). Teaching can be taught, to some degree, but not the way many graduate schools of education do it, with a lot of insipid or marginally relevant theorizing and pedagogy. In any case the research shows that within about five years, you can generally tell who is a good teacher and who is not.

The article from Newsweek centers on the premise, that basically you can either teach or you can't teach. I understand what they are saying, but that leads to --> "Fire the bad teacher." And it is not what we are saying about our students, is it? Do we say, "Kids can either learn or they can't learn!" and "If they aren't learning, get them out of school those darn kids!" No we don't. We subscribe to the theory that all kids are capable of improving their learning. So why should it be any different for the teacher? Can't all teachers improve and do better for their kids? Isn't it much more economically efficient to improve the current stock of teachers and make their jobs more meaningful to them and our students by helping them improve?

That's why I like the article in the NY Times so much. It focuses on a man named Doug Lemov who comes to a realization. The biggest problem? It isn't finding "voodoo" teachers who are just born to do the job. It isn't firing all the "bad" teachers. It is about helping those who truly want to make a difference improve their performance. He noticed some techniques and teaching methods that are simple, but actually do show results:

When Doug Lemov conducted his own search for those magical ingredients, he noticed something about most successful teachers that he hadn’t expected to find: what looked like natural-born genius was often deliberate technique in disguise. “Stand still when you’re giving directions,” a teacher at a Boston school told him. In other words, don’t do two things at once. Lemov tried it, and suddenly, he had to ask students to take out their homework only once.

I'm curious what you think about all this? I'm sure the real answer is somewhere in between. Are there teachers that need to be removed from the job? Most definitely. Are there teachers who would show remarkable improvement if given some support, techniques and help? Absolutely there would be. But, how will you know who they are until you apply the support in the first place? We have to start trying.

Of course, a lot of the burden falls on the teacher. If you are going to sit there and say, "My school won't support me," well, you have already lost. Get out on the internet and find help. Take professional development over the summer. Seek out mentor teachers. Observe classes - good and bad. Find ways to improve and keep tweaking what you do. By putting the effort into it, it is my opinion that you will naturally begin to improve. From good to great.

Check out some of the impressive video clips that Lemov has put together:

Teaching Techniques: Published: March 2, 2010

Head of the Class

In these video clips from actual classrooms around the country, Doug Lemov, founder of the charter-school network Uncommon Schools, analyzes techniques that effective teachers use to get students to pay attention and follow instructions.

Most Memorable Teaching Moment

2010-03-07T08:51:00.000-06:00

We have a new Facebook group of teachers at our school. It just started this week but it has already been very supportive and positive. One of the teachers posted a question, "What has been your most memorable teaching moment?"

Cat blogging. Me and my Suki.

I thought long and hard about this over the past day. I wanted to share my reply here:

David Duez "Most memorable moment" - this really had me doing some searching this weekend. I have been lucky enough to have many, many memorable moments. I have been in a classroom since my freshman year in college ('88) and had my own classroom since student teaching ('92). After leaving teaching in 1997, I returned in 2004 at Humble High. I believe this year was my most memorable because it was so difficult in so many ways.

Aidan was born in October and sharing that birth with my students was incredible. They were so excited. But, that still wasn't the most memorable. A teaching colleague and friend that shared the lone teacher lounge with me during third periods was Mr. Braunstein. We shared a lot in common, both from the north east originally and both teaching World History. He had all of the pre-AP classes.

Near the end of the semester, he was absent a lot. One day he came in and said he was being forced to retire due to health reasons. He asked if I would take over his pre-AP classes. He said that our schedule is the same and a new teacher could just take over my classes and I could slide into his. We checked into it and the principals were all for it. So he was going to retire on the last day of the fall semester and I would take over his classes in January.

Over the holiday break Mr. Braunstein died. It was terribly sad. I will never forget that first day with his old kids and my new ones. For most of them I was giving them the news that he had passed. Facing them alone that day was probably the hardest thing I had to do as a teacher. But, I really grew from it.

At his memorial service I realized just what an impact a teacher has on their student's lives. There were so many kids there and kids that had Mr. B years ago and had since graduated. I looked around and realized that a teacher's impact is large indeed.

The next year I would lose my mother-in-law, my grandmother, and then my own father. My students helped me through that pain and I realized I had support that I never had during my days in corporate technology. We, as teachers, are a big part of our community. That community can be a big support to us through our roughest times.

The next school year I had Zach Jones in class when he passed away due to rabies. The pain was unbelievable. But, we all worked through it together.

My most memorable moments are some of the toughest that seemed terrible at the time, but today I enjoy thinking back on how strong we were. I also realized in these moments that teaching is important but it isn't life and death. I have come to believe that kids make mistakes (as do I) all the time, but we have to cherish the time we have together because we never know when that time is going to end.

Breakfast, Lunch, and a Diet Coke. The Estates General Simulation

2010-03-06T20:16:00.000-06:00

We had a lot of fun on Friday at the beginning of class. I used the first 10 minutes to conduct a simulation of what it must have been like for the Estates General of France in pre-revolutionary times. King Louis XVI and his ministers called the Estates General (the French parliament or congress at the time) to session because the country was ravaged by war debt, food shortage, and also a bitter cold winter. The lawmakers had not met in 175 years. (Which always prompts a question from a student, how old were those guys anyways, 200?)

The problem with the Estates General was that it was setup in a 3 vote system. The 3 estates each had one vote a piece. The 1st estate was the clergy, 2nd was the royalty, and the 3rd estate was everyone else (basically 98% of the people!). Each estate having one vote, it was easy for the 1st two estates to outvote the 3rd every time. So the first two would never pay taxes and the third would.

So I asked first period, how could we simulate this and they said, "Well, we would have to vote on who would pay the tax." I said, "What would the tax even be?" So I proposed in 1st period that whoever lost the vote would have to bring Mr. Duez breakfast on Monday morning! (Of course I was kidding, but it was a fun thing to kid about)

Pretty quickly I determined that two young people sitting next to each other were both wearing crosses. They were the clergy! In the back we had a young man all dressed up in a suit and tie. He was obviously taking Communication Applications (Speech) and all dressed up for that. I said, "You are the king!" The young lady sitting with him was the queen. They represented the royalty. The rest of the classroom was the 3rd estate - everyone else.

I gave them about 2 minutes to discuss it among themselves, how they would vote. 1st period very quickly formed an alliance between the first two estates and I had a great time laughing about how great my breakfast would taste on Monday. The third estate (all of the class except for 4 kids) immediately got upset. I said, "Are you upset enough to execute the king and revolt?" I then had the kids think about how they must have felt in France at the time. Starving and in the middle of a bread shortage. They were enduring the worst winter conditions in 90 years. No wonder they wanted to cut some heads off!

It was a neat simulation because I could see the kids face react as we went along. Sure they can witness a video describing the three estates and how the Estates General works. But, when they were actually in the middle of it, it quickly became apparent how unfair it all was.

A meeting of the Estates General in France.

Later in the day 5th period played the simulation, but it was for Mr. Duez's lunch on Monday. It played out exactly as in first period. The Third Estate was paying. But, in 6th period things were different, as they usually are. Of course, things did not play out how you thought they would. They had the clergy paying the tax. I was just shaking my head. So we had to discuss it a little longer to explain exactly how things worked during the pre-revolutionary days of France. Hopefully they understood what the heck was going on. But late in the period, one of the members of the clergy asked me, "Mr. Duez what do you want your Diet Coke in? A bottle or can?"

Maybe Monday evening I'll be writing about my wonderful breakfast, lunch and diet coke? :) Hopefully during the test the students will remember the mess that was the Estates General.

The result of the first meeting in 175 years of the Estates General? King Louis XVI had the doors locked the next day. The members of the third estate went to the neighboring handball court and took what is called the Tennis Court Oath - vowing to meet until they establish a new government. They called themselves the "National Assembly."

A Vision of 21st Century Teachers

2010-03-06T10:49:00.000-06:00

Came across this at Angela Maiers blog:

I really connect with this video because of my technology and educational past. I've been lucky enough to learn and be comfortable with technology. Anyone can do it though. It just takes making the first step, being creative and not being afraid to fail. Start small, then tweak things as you go or the next time you attempt it.

My best advice - don't use a lack of technology as an excuse. It is amazing what funding there is out there and how just a little money can go a long way.

I would also encourage teachers to ask their students what they would like to do. When I first started doing digital presentations in my World History classes I had no idea how to create a video myself. Through learning from my students I went a long, long way. It wasn't long until I was taking what they taught me and teaching it to other students.

It is vital that we bring some of this technology into all of our classes. It is just how they are going to communicate when our students leave us and move into the real world.

Reflections from a former student

2010-03-02T20:16:00.000-06:00

This really made my day today. I was actually doing a facebook search for a new teacher group that a colleague at our school created. Instead of searching through FB groups, it actually searched the web for our school name. It brought this entry up:

Why I Love My School Essay Contest
I recognized the student's name that corresponded with the entry and was not surprised. She was a tremendous student. I read through the essay and was so excited to read this part:

Sometimes I have a hectic schedule because of choir and dance, and my teachers were always available when I needed them. Sophomore year, my world history teacher was my favorite. I had history, usually a class that I dread, seventh (last) period, but I looked forward to it because my teacher made it interesting. He was very creative and let us be creative, too. When there was a project assigned there was always more than one way to accomplish it. My favorite project of the year was when we studied medieval castles; we were asked to build one, and kids arrived at school with castles built out of crayons, soda cans, marshmallows, and even sand.
This teacher also told me about a program that our school has called AVID—Advancement Via Individual Determination. Part of the program is tutoring, and my history teacher got me a job tutoring freshmen at my school during an early release period. When students like their teachers, I believe it inspires them to put more effort into their classes, therefore giving them a better education and school experience. They wants their teachers to be proud of them, so they try their best and ask for help when necessary, leading to achievement that may not have come if they had only tried some of the time because they didn’t care what the teachers thought. I love my school because my teachers have been the best that I could have asked for.
I was stunned because she was writing about me. It really made my day. I can't wait to see her and thank her at school. So kind of her. :) I am such a lucky guy.

Great News - Summer Institute

2010-03-02T20:11:00.000-06:00

I officially have accepted a position to be a staff developer this summer for AVID. During the Dallas 1 and 2 Summer Institutes, I will teach History/Social Studies Strand 1. This is a super exciting opportunity. What a chance to make a difference and help other teachers improve.

Over the past two years I have been teaching this class to my district through our local path training for AVID. I am prepared. It will be great to be able to learn from other great teachers and, in turn, teach them a few of my tricks.

In April I'll be heading out to San Diego for a Fri-Sun training to get prepared. I can't wait.

2010-02-28T16:22:00.001-06:00

This message has been sent using the picture and Video service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, Quicktime@ 6.5 or higher is required.

2010-02-28T10:50:00.001-06:00

flying kites @ Galveston Beach

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required.

iSupport Hati

2010-02-27T11:09:00.001-06:00

Thought I would post this picture and a few comments.

This was the front page of our school newspaper. A group of students and administrators posed for the picture above. I'm in the front row on the bottom of the picture, 2nd from the right. My wife is just next to me on the left with red sleeves. This picture was taken to celebrate iSupport Haiti T-Shirt day. Our school raised $8,000 and the proceeds went to our district initative to raise at least $1 for every student in the district. That's over $30,000. Amazingly we reached our goal. And we raised a full 20% of the district's goal. It's great to see what a concerned group of people can do when their efforts are into it.

Below is a clearer picture of the T-shirts with me and Mrs. Duez:

What Makes a Great Teacher?

2010-02-27T09:19:00.000-06:00

Came across this article today: What Makes a Great Teacher in Atlantic Monthly by Amanda Ripley

It's from the Jan/Feb Atlantic Monthly. The author looks at a number of different teachers and methods that have worked. It also discusses Race to the Top, which I was not familiar with before. Have you heard of that?

At the beginning of the article, Ripley highlights a section of kids that an elementary teacher has taught. Ripley looks at scores compared with other students at the school. She calls it a 'tale of two boys.'

This tale of two boys, and of the millions of kids just like them, embodies the most stunning finding to come out of education research in the past decade: more than any other variable in education—more than schools or curriculum—teachers matter.

She goes on to point out that it does not matter what "school" a student attends. But rather what "teacher's class" that student would have.

Parents have always worried about where to send their children to school; but the school, statistically speaking, does not matter as much as which adult stands in front of their children. Teacher quality tends to vary more within schools—even supposedly good schools—than among schools.

I think most of us would agree with that assessment. At our school some students come back after graduation and rave about the preparation they had received. While others claim they were not as prepared. Most times they mention individual teachers that got them prepared. They know that if they have that AP English IV teacher (although they can hate the work load their senior year) freshmen English is a breeze by comparison.

The article also discusses the data mining that Teach for America has done over the past 20 years. One of the real stunners that they mention is that extracurricular accomplishments in college tend to be a predictor of teacher greatness. Fascinating.

Things that you might think would help a new teacher achieve success in a poor school—like prior experience working in a low-income neighborhood—don’t seem to matter. Other things that may sound trifling—like a teacher’s extracurricular accomplishments in college—tend to predict greatness.

I really hope that a focus on teacher effectiveness and improvement is the next big thing in educational reform. It is obvious to me that standardized testing is not the do all and answer for helping students to learn. They are an important assessment and measuring stick. Focusing on improving instruction, it seems to me, is the best place to impact all aspects of student learning and results. It would also be what is needed and what is best for our teachers. Support, good ideas, and techniques that empower teachers will empower students. Not just this school year, but for years and years to come.

AVID Tutoring

2010-02-21T11:32:00.000-06:00

I spent yesterday teaching a training session to our district wide AVID tutors. It was a great day. We had a chance to really delve deeper into what makes a great tutorial session. Our tutors are students in college (or in dual credit classes) who come in during the school week to work with our AVID students. The process they use is the Socratic method of tutoring.

It is a very inspiring day to spend the time with these young people. They are the best of the best. And their hard work with our AVID students is making a huge difference in their lives and in the lives of so many members of our community.

More info:
What is AVID?
Our AVID District Website
My AVID blog

A Career in Teaching: Accelerated Certification Class "Assessment for Learning"

2010-02-21T11:19:00.000-06:00

On Thursday night I taught from 6 to 8:30 about Assessment for Learning (AFL) with the Career in Teaching program. We had a great class and there were some very solid discussions revolving around assessment.

The biggest point of emphasis is that there is a lot more to assessment than traditional tests, quizzes, homework and essays. You must effectively target clear learning objectives each lesson and then check for learning and understanding. We discussed methods like exit tickets, peer and self-assessment strategies, setting assessment to the targeted and intended learning, and how AFL can help with student motivation.

Here's the power point I used:

Acp Night 2_afl

It is difficult to discuss assessment with teachers in waiting. But, it is worth the effort. It is my firm belief that assessment FOR learning is a critical tool for any teacher's tool box. We did discuss reassessment a bit and there was some resistance there, but rightly so. It is the most difficult of the methods discussed. So much of it is common sense practice, but with a methodology that puts things in perspective.

One of the videos we watched was about Andy Smith of Woodchurch High School in the Wirral, UK. His infectious passion for physics inspires all he teaches. This video clip explains his assessment for learning techniques.

We also viewed Douglass Reeves' Toxic Grading Practices. And we discussed "The Zero."

Zeroes to 60s

And we did not have time to discuss this, but I passed out the case studies on grading that help to showcase some of the issues around assessment for learning.

We had a great class. If anyone has any questions, please let me know. I'd be glad to help.

Gallery Walk Reflections

2010-02-15T19:13:00.000-06:00

Our second annual teacher gallery walk went pretty well today. My AVID "Goal Setting" trifold board gave me the opportunity to remind our faculty about the program and discuss it at length with a few people. I even found an AVID student today... well, she wasn't an AVID student yet, but I do believe she will be one next year.

The young lady was there to help the tech team display their polycom application and she gave me a demo on it (not like I needed to hear it, I used to set those up at a company I worked for, but I love talking to kids - especially when there are too many adults around!). I asked her if she was a senior because the other young lady was, she said, "Oh no, I'm a sophomore." So I figured she must be in Pre-AP classes. She was not. But, then she said, "I will be in AP next year in History and English." My mouth dropped open. It's really difficult to make that jump.

So we talked AVID and how that could help her. Turns out that she does not have parents who attended college either. Perfect fit so far. She is going to talk to her counselor and fill out an application. That would be wonderful to get a new student like that. You never know where an AVID student might be. I have met and recruited several just from walking around school and being talkative.

The Gallery Walk was pretty good though. Saw some really great uses of Assessment for Learning. Also saw many projects and cool uses of technology. Our World Humanities group displayed something called Jing that is a screen capture program. It's free, but limited. The teachers used it for tutorials on some application process things that they had the kids do. I could see some uses for it, but not entirely sure I have time to jump into it now. Maybe this summer.

I also saw a great idea from our World Geography Honors teacher who published a book of pictures and work from her students last year on Japan. I would love to pull together a project and capture it in a book some time. Maybe my castle project or something similar?

There were plenty of "Unit Plans" and targets - much like I did last year.

Overall a good use of the day. I had a chance to talk AVID with our Superintendent. It was so cool that he stopped by to see all the good work we have going on and to be supportive. We are very lucky to have him.

In the afternoon I had a chance to get my boards cleaned and ready for tomorrow morning, put my Human Rights Posters up on the wall (I'll take some pictures and post later this week), finished my outline handout for our next project on Leaders, and wrapped up my notes for tomorrows class. A productive day. Best part of all? Aidan and Norma came in and we went for lunch at Carinos. :)

Looking forward to seeing the kids tomorrow for Chapter 14 - Absolutism and AVID tutoring. Watched Elizabeth last night and enjoyed it. Although I'm not sure what I could actually use in class. Pretty much rated R. Good story though.

"Got an A on It!" - Hope Christian School Beyonce Take

2010-02-14T18:19:00.002-06:00

Thought this was pretty cute. Being a middle aged white boy that is more of a Metallica/Pearl Jam/Dave Matthews fan, I didn't know the song well. But it is well done:

The Gallery Walk 2010: Setting Goals with AVID

2010-02-14T17:22:00.000-06:00

This year our school is doing another Gallery Walk. Last year it was on a Thursday. This year we are going to have the Gallery Walk on President's Day. My wife is staying home with Aidan because preschool is closed. But, for teachers we have a professional development day. So our principal decided to use the day for our Gallery Walk. I personally think this is a great use of the day.

Last year I learned a lot by walking through the library and looking at everyone's presentations. It was amazing to see what teachers had decided to focus on for their trifold board and learning strategy. It is like a teacher science fair. Pretty nerdy, I know. But, for our school and it's headlong dive into Assessment for Learning, I think it is important. We need the time to see what others are doing.

For my presentation last year, I know that 1/2 of it was pulled from other departments and their ideas that they shared throughout the past few years. So you never know where you might get an idea that really propels your class forward.

This year I have decided to showcase something that I use in my AVID class. AVID is a class that prepares students for college. It takes students that might not be in honors classes and prepares them in multitude of ways to make it in those classes and then motivate them to get to college. One thing I do each Monday is a "Goal of the Week." We also write an essay each spring that is called the "Life Goal." So I focused my poster board on Goal Setting. One of the Assessment for Learning strategies that I have learned is to help students create goals. So I thought this tied both AVID and goal setting principle of AFL (Assessment for Learning) together.

Here are a few pics:

The left panel is about "Life Goals" and it has some AVID descriptions of the essay, rubrics and an outline. The right panel is about "Weekly Goals" and it lists the description of them and has student examples at the bottom. The middle panel is all about AVID. The biggest reason I chose to do this as my presentation is so that teachers from across the school (we have 200+) can learn more about our program. It is essential that our faculty and staff understand what an AVID student is so that they can help recommend students.

I'll post something tomorrow about how it all went. Looking forward to seeing the great ideas from my colleagues.

The Gallery Walk 2009: Learning Targets

2010-02-14T17:06:00.000-06:00

Last year our principal had a "Gallery Walk." It was done on a Thursday morning when we have our 90 minute school planning time in the morning (late arrival for students). I did a trifold board presentation on the Assessment for Learning principle: Setting Targets with Unit Plans.

Here is the posting I did on that day on my own personal blog:
Today we did a school "Gallery Walk." Teachers used presentation poster boards and highlighted new ideas that they have been trying for Assessment for Learning and other new initiatives. At first, I was worried I'd be one of a handful of teachers to participate. But, we had over 30 people. It was really great to see all of the cool ideas people had and what they were doing in their classes.

This is my poster board:

You can see the poster board more clearly by clicking on it.

My topic was "Target Sheets." The basics behind them is that it is a "unit plan" or "game plan" for what we will learn in each chapter. I pass them out on the first day of the chapter and on the sheets they have objectives (targets), vocabulary words, "big ideas," quotes to understand and possible essay questions on them. I also include the 10 questions from the chapter that are due for homework.

Students have liked them because they have a clear plan on the first day about what they are learning. It gives them a chance to see the "whole" before we put the parts together. I have seen some students achieve a higher level of with them this year. At first, I was sure it would be too much work for me to do. But, I was wrong. It really didn't take that much more time.

Now I have them for next year as well and I'll be able to tweak and change them and hopefully make them better. The presentation went over pretty well and I also had my laptop there while I played our fall video for World History. It highlighted all the cool projects we did (like the castle project, rock art project, and religion
project).

During the morning we had tons of people walk through the library and check things out, including our superintendents. As I walked around I was really proud of my school and all the effort the faculty has undertaken to improve instruction and learning at our school. I am really lucky to work there.

Purchase Points ~ Fun with the Reformation

2010-02-05T17:03:00.001-06:00

We had a great time today with a little joke I play every year in class. After their quiz in World History on the Renaissance and Reformation (Chapter 12) we pass out the "Purchase Points Policy" here it is:

Purchase Points

We discuss the policy a bit after the students have had a chance to read it. A few students give me a look like, "This must be a joke." Others are very excited and are already reaching for their wallets. A few are very offended that they would not be able to afford to "purchase points." I explain, "Well, you might have just failed that test... you could just see your secretary and buy a coupon for academic points and "Boom!" you have an A." A few smiles come to the student's faces because they realize they have a reprieve. And maybe studying for the test Monday isn't really that necessary now.

I spend 10 minutes or so of trying to persuade the students that this might actually happen. I say things like, "Hey, don't blame me. They always make us pass out district announcements on initiatives in social studies." And students know that we are going to the counselor meetings on scheduling like 4 times this month. So it strikes home. We discuss the advantages and drawbacks to such a gimmick. I usually say, "Hey, everyone can go to college now and Mr. Duez might actually earn more money in salary! What's so bad about that?"

Then finally I have a student (usually someone who is looking the most confused) to read the quote on the board, "When the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs." A quote from Johann Tetzell about indulgences in the time of the protestant reformation. Finally it starts to sink in that this is in comparison to the reformation and light bulbs come on.

Of course the students are going to have to write on the test and explain the quote. So this is the perfect way to get it across to them. It becomes very relevant. They suddenly understand how Martin Luther must have felt all those many years ago. Getting to pay your way to a good grade is compared to paying your way to salvation and heaven.

The very first time that I did this was at Humble High in 2005. It just so happens that the very first period that I was doing the gag, my evaluating principal Mr. Monk came strolling into the room. He was just in time to learn about this new district policy! To his credit he remained quiet, calm and played along with it. But, in the end I asked him, "What did you think of this while we were doing it?" He said sternly, "I was thinking to myself that I would be spending the afternoon on the phone trying to explain this one to parents and YOU would be helping!"

Today I took it to Mr. Roser, just to be sure that no one has any misinterpretation. I can just hear it now over the loud speaker, "Mr. Duez, please report to the office!" :)

First Brick in the Wall

2010-02-04T22:42:00.000-06:00

I have been contemplating the idea of starting a teaching blog. So, this is it. Thanks for stopping by.

Mission - it's my hope that I can start a conversation and I hope that others will contribute, help, and hopefully learn.

Theme - the theme I'm starting with is based on the Pink Floyd song, "Another Brick in the Wall." I always liked the concept of rebellion against the stale, tired, and sarcasm-filled teacher that does evil and seems to enjoy it. So hopefully here at this blog we can create a positive atmosphere where teachers can prevent themselves by being just another brick in the wall. It is simply my nightmare scenerio to one day be the teacher in this video near the beginning, "What have we here laddie? The laddie reckons himself a poet!" Sad.

So, teachers... don't be just another brick in this wall. Let's enjoy this tremendous career in teaching, help each other learn and get better, and hopefully inspire our kids to be the very best.

They do need education. A great one. Not just another 'brick in the wall.'

More to come over the weekend. If you have any ideas for what this could become, please leave a comment and let me know.

btw = "How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?"

Roadtrip Nation Teacher of the Month

2010-01-20T17:32:00.000-06:00

[originally posted on January 20th, 2010 on my AVID blog]

I was very honored to be awarded the very first ever Roadtrip Nation Teacher of the Month award. Read all about it here:

Roadtrip Nation Blog

Using Edmodo for a Socratic Seminar

2009-10-07T16:40:00.006-05:00

We conducted a Socratic Seminar on Friday with a special tool: Edmodo.com.

A Socratic Seminar is a text-based discussion. So I reminded my students of these things before we began:

TO DO: Read the text, underline, circle, highlight things you think are important or that you do not understand. Write at least one question on the handout for class on Friday.

I will be choosing captains (facilitators) to lead the groups based on your questions and annotation of the text.

Link to the text: Pericles - Funeral Oration

Looking forward to seeing how it goes on Friday.

Some things to consider:

Listen actively.
Build on what others say.
Expose/suspend your assumptions.
Do not step on other’s talk. Silences and pauses are OK.
Emphasize clarification, amplification, and implications of ideas.
Converse directly with each other, not through the facilitator.
Let the conversation flow without raising hands, as much as possible.
Make references to the text and encourage others to do the same.
Watch your air time for how often you speak and how much you say when you speak.

Question 1—Agreement: Which parts of the text do we agree with in terms of our work?

Question 2—Aspiration: Which parts of the text do we aspire to or want to work toward?

Question 3—Alignment: What is the current reality, and what is the gap between where we are and our aspirations?”

Question 4—Adjustments: What needs to be done for us to succeed?

Debrief (5 Minutes). When everyone has spoken, the facilitator closes the discussion about the text and poses the following questions for open discussion:

· What did we learn?

· What new insights did we gain as result of this protocol?

· What worked well?

· Did we follow the protocol? If not, why?

· How could the process be improved?

Here is my debrief after it was all finished:

Edmodo Experiment

My Classroom - It'll be fun tomorrow

2009-08-23T19:14:00.003-05:00

[originally posted on my personal blog on 8/23/09]

This is going to be a great year.

This is my classroom for the new year. Tomorrow these seats will be filled (38 in my 6th period will do that!). I am so excited about seeing the new students that I will meet for the first time. And I am even more excited about seeing my former students and how much they have grown.

A look as you walk through the door. I am lucky to be back in the corner. Most people leave me alone. If you come through my door, well... you meant to do it. :)

I moved my desk to the back this year. I had it along that window there last year. It was hard to see the computer monitor and this gets more kids in the front of the class. I think that's a psych ploy by me to make them think they are better students. :)

Closer look at my desk. :)

A look at the front of the room. I am going to do more work with me teaching from the board this year. I know, old school. But, the kids get tired of power points and projections. We are going to add a little more light this year. :)

You can see my "Target Board" on the left side. It's where I post our learning targets, agenda, and notes to my 3 preps. Above the board are college pennants, hopefully reminding them of why we are learning what we are learning. This year I added a cut out of the Geiko "Money you would be saving if you switched to Geiko." I'll call it, "Money you could be saving if you prepare for a college education."

Our beautiful school. We are so lucky to call it home. Go Eagles!

Wishing a good first day to all the teachers and students out there.

Welcome Back - 1st Day of Instruction

2009-08-22T19:19:00.000-05:00

[originally posted on my personal blog at the beginning of 09/10 school year]

The sun rises on a brand new year. This is the video that I will show on Monday to my World History Pre-AP classes. It started as a "Rules Video" a few years ago. This gives me an opportunity to show the kids some of my expectations for the year w/o talking like Charlie Brown's teacher for 50 minutes.

We had a lot of fun with Aidan and the green screen towards the end of the video. There are some neat outtakes at the end.

2009_10_1stDayVideo_WH from Mr. Duez on Vimeo.

2009_10_1stDayVideo_WH from Mr. Duez on Vimeo.
Our first day video for World History Pre-AP. What will class be like? What will we study? What are our rules?

The video isn't perfect, but I think it sets a tone for a hopefully GREAT school year. Welcome back.

Cornell Notes & Philosophical Chairs

2009-08-04T19:22:00.001-05:00

Today and tomorrow I am a presenter in my district for AVID Path Training in Social Studies. Basically it's two days of time with middle and high school teachers to present 'best teaching practices' to them. The great thing about the training is that we actually 'do' and model the work.

Today we focused on topics like Using Poetry, Cornell Notes, Jigsawing, Quick Writes, and Philosophical Chairs. Two things jump out to me and seemed to be significant. First, teachers really appreciate well-prepared and on task professional development. A teacher stopped me and my partner about an hour in and announced how excited he was that this training was going so well. He has been through three professional development experiences this summer and was stunned that we were on the ball. It was great to see how appreciative he and others were.

The other thing that stood out was how two techniques went over well with the teachers. The first was Cornell Notes. It may have been the best and most clearly designed Cornell Notes lesson that I have taught. (I might finally be getting the hang of this thing) Here is the power point that I used to introduce C Notes:
AVID HISTORY PATH: Cornell Notes

At the end of the power point, I distributed a sample of US History Cnotes with a grading rubric on the flip side. Then I had each of the participants grade it for themselves. Then we did "4 Corners" and had the teachers go to an A, B, and C corner (There were no Ds). After discussing it in their corner group, one person presented the faults they had with the notes.

This was a wonderful way of emphasizing with the teachers what good note taking is and how they could do this with their students to impart just how to take notes and what the teacher is looking for. I think it went over very well.

Also we did a wonderful Philosophical Chairs debate. The teachers got into it. The first thing I did was show my power point on PChairs to introduce the rules:
AVID HISTORY PATH: Philosophical Chairs PPT

Then we modeled Philosophical Chairs with this question:
Should the "Cash for Clunkers" program be continued by Congress?
The debate was split in 1/2 and was very lively, but well mannered. I think the teachers got a great feel for just how they can use it.

I am looking forward to presenting Engaging the Text, Document-Based Questions, Free Response Questions and Socratic Seminar tomorrow. This has been a wonderful group to work with. I can't believe that school starts in less than 2 weeks!

School Pride

2009-07-10T19:24:00.000-05:00

Today it was really great to meet up with Egypt again from MissTeacha. She has been in town this week for an AP World History institute at Rice. Norma has been there all week as well for Economics AP. We had a chance to have dinner with her earlier in the week, but today she came up to Kingwood to see the house, our school and have some chinese food with us.

Aidan just loved being with her. She is so kind, nice and warm. He just really loved having her at the house.

We had a chance to drive down to the high school and it was open because of summer school, but all the kids had left. So we walked through it to show her the school. My classroom was open, so she had a chance to check it out.

I know the school is special. It's beautiful. But, you take it for granted when you work there and you see it every day. But, the look on Egypt's face and the "Wow," that kept coming out of her mouth reminded me... I need to remember how lucky I am to teach at this school. Both Norma and I have to count our blessings. We've taught in many different schools and AHS is by far the best.

So tonight I'm feeling fortunate. Fortunate to have had a chance to meet and spend some time with Egypt. Very fortunate to have this wonderful life that I have. I must have someone looking out for me!

Pictures from our very first year at the school:

AHS Open Nest

A brief video that shows some of our AHS pride/culture:

1_Introduction: AHS 2007-2008 Video Intro from Mr. Duez on Vimeo.
This is the introduction I used for the year end videos in my World History Classes.

2007-2008! It was great.

Our Alma Mater video that I created:

AHS Alma Mater 2007 from Mr. Duez on Vimeo.

Reflections on the 2008 - 2009 School Year

2009-06-20T17:26:00.002-05:00

[item originally posted on my personal blog on 6/20/09]

I asked my World History classes to reflect on their school year. Here is what they answered to the first question:

Mr. Duez's World History Pre-AP Class - End of the Year Reflection
What were the best activities or assignments of the year? Why? (Things you enjoyed doing)
[examples: projects - rock art, religion pstrs, castles, human rights posters, video project, career project; or cnn student news, philosophical chairs, socratic seminar, trench warfare.]

Video Project = 40
Castle Project = 33
Philosophical Chairs = 15
Rock Art Project = 13
CNN Student News = 12
Trench Warfare = 12
SOCRATIC SEMINAR = 11
CAREER PROJECT = 10
Human Rights Poster = 8
RELIGION PROJECT = 2

It's very interesting looking at these numbers. Obviously our Video Project ( see the Video Project Blog here ) had a huge impact. It is great to see that the kids enjoyed it.

The Castle Project was a pretty close second. This can be a massive project. But, the students put a lot of creativity into it. Many students commented negatively about this project as well (I'll run those numbers later). And I may continue to tweak it to make it better and a situation where students might be able to learn more.

I only used Philosophical Chairs during the fall semester and Socratic Seminar during the spring. I am going to change that up next year and mix them up more. And I am going to use both more. I think the numbers would have been higher if we would have done them more often. It is just hard to turn things over to the class sometimes as a teacher. The benefit is that they learn from each other in their own language and it is a powerful way to get ideas across. I just have to plan and work harder to get these activities into the class better.

Trench Warfare was fun (as it always is). We take two sheets of notebook paper, make balls out of them, divide the class into two teams - East and West (Germans and French) and have them fight it out in trenches. The trenches are created by using the rows in the classroom. It is fun and it does give the students a bit of a feeling of what it must have been like to hide, attack and maneuver through the trenches.

Here is the form I used for the survey (adapted from one that MissTeacha inspired me to use):
Year End Reflection-WH

The New Humanities

2009-06-07T19:26:00.001-05:00

I just love this video. Found it on Karl Fisch's Fischbowl.

After you get past the introductory portion about the professors, there is real vision here. They imagine an English department of content creators using Web 2.0 technology and not just the typical, read and write papers curriculum. Fantastic imagination.

For my own personal classes, I consider this a great challenge: Get students ready for a world that is improving faster than schools can keep pace with and the pace will keep getting faster. So what can I do? Chip away at the process by starting students down the road of content creation.

In my 5th six week's period my students this year created videos and we showcased them on this site: VideoProject09.Blogspot.com

It is my hope that the students learn how to create content in a stronger way. And it is my hope that they can move people in a new direction. As they said in the Rutgers video - Content Creation, Creativity through the portal of connected and networked computers.

I am very lucky to have a technology background, but I do believe that any teacher can start down this road and improve it. When I first started my "Video Project" it was merely a power point project. But, as technology has changed we changed with it. And I learned as much from my students as I have passed on to them. That is so much fun for a teacher!

Teachers out there, this is the time - it's summer. Think outside the box and try to find ways to give your students a chance in this new world.

Appreciation Part II

2009-06-02T19:29:00.000-05:00

Continuing with another letter of appreciation from a student. This one was handed to me in our main hallway (called "Main Street") as I was running to class the other day. The student stopped me and just had this big look in their eyes. He just said, "Mr. D. I wrote this for you, I mean every word of it and Thank You for everything this year." I was stunned. But, not as much as when I sat and read it.

Dear Mr. D,
Easily the greatest man I have ever met in my life. I envy the happiness that you have, the love you have for your wife, your son, your job, and every aspect of life. From what I can tell you must have had a difficult childhood, but you took the best out of it and became somebody important.

You never gave up on me no matter what, and to have you there saying I could do it was so helpful. The last few years for me have been rough, especially this year. For the career project when my group stood up and I said I wanted to be a lawyer and you commented that I could do it most definitely, well that almost brought me to tears.

You tell me that I have so much potential, well Mr. D. I will try to push through the bad and be all that I hoped to be and more. You are someone I look up to and hope that I will be like one day. Your son is so very lucky to have a father like you to grow up learning from. The world is a much better place with David D around. I know I would have been lost this year without you.

Whatever I do in this life I just hope that I can reach your level of happiness. I hope that one day I will be like you, Mr. D. I do not think there are words to express how I feel. All I can say is thank you for everything. I will not let you down, never change, and I will see you down the road.

I will never forget you or all that you have done for me Mr. D.

Sincerely,
Your student

ps: One of my favorite all time quotes... it's really funny... "If it's free it's for me. If it's free, I'll take 3!" - DD

Kind of leaves (even me) speechless.

I put this on my blog for 2 reasons:

1) I hope some teacher somewhere reads this and realizes that you never know what kind of impact you can have on a student. Every day I come to work and try to be consistent and show passion for my job and build relationships as best I can with my kids. Sometimes we forget that what students are going through when they are not at school can be pretty tough. Being there for them is important. Never forget the impact you can have.

2) I hope Aidan reads this some day and understands why my job is important to me. I hope some day he realizes that a job is not just measured by a pay check. Sometimes the pay that isn't in the paycheck is priceless.

Appreciation Part I

2009-06-01T19:34:00.001-05:00

I have had several notes of appreciation from students in the past week. They really have meant a lot to me. I am going to type a few out here, but they are not for me... really they are for Aidan. I want him to be able to see why I do what I do.

When I left technology and turned down a lot of money to come back and teach, I hoped I would have an impact. That's really part of the pay. Knowing that what you do for a profession has the chance to improve the lives of others means a lot to me.

So here goes, the first letter was from an AVID student that gave me a Starbucks gift card for my birthday a few weeks ago. I know she probably can't afford to give me a gift card so it really meant a lot that she'd spend any amount of money towards something for me. She is a special young lady. All As in her classes. And she has 3 honors classes! So very proud of her.

This is for the most amazing teacher ever who never gives up on his students, is always there for anyone who needs help, and is an amazing role model. I thought this card would be perfect for you because I know you also long to see the world changed. Thank you for caring for us and may God bless you with an amazing birthday!

On the Starbucks card it said that money from purchases goes to support the Global Fund. She has the biggest heart and is always concerned about others. She wants to be a youth or childrens minister/pastor when she grows up. I think she'll be incredible at anything she chooses to do.

This was a letter that I got on that crazy Friday when we had a lock down on campus. This student has gone through a lot this year and it was the last full day of class. Everyone else was taking a test, but she was working on the quiz she missed a few days before. After she finished the quiz, she wrote this note and gave it to me. Then she asked if she could read it to the entire class. Of course we were all pretty emotional and stunned.

Mr. D, I've never really showed or have said how much I appreciate having you in my life. So I sit here and write to you. You've helped me in to understand that things in life come and go and sometimes there are road blocks along our path that we must break through. This year hasn't been the easiest, but the most worth while of my life. To be honest, I love my fifth period class and the adventures and journeys in here have been wonderful. It's come from not just the bottom, but through my whole heart to say you are THE GREATEST TEACHER on the face of the earth and probably the kindest most compassionate man I will ever come to know. I never knew that one person could change the outlook on the way I see life until I met you and I'm glad I did. I came into this year with very little self confidence and I am coming out strong and with pride and with so much confidence that I never knew I could have. So, I want to thank You Mr. D for teaching me not just what I can find in a book, but the things I will use for the rest of my life and with that I hold dear to my heart and go on to do something good with my life.

Stunning. It really gets to me, but I am just so happy that she is feeling better about herself.

So, Aidan... when you are old enough to finally read this on your own, "Pursue a job that isn't just a job... but something you are passionate about. Find the job that when you look at the clock on the wall, you hope it slows down because you have so much more to do today. Not the job where the clock on the wall is creeping along and you are hoping it could speed up until quitting time. It makes all the difference in the world."

[more tomorrow.]

Graduation Day 2009

2009-05-03T19:36:00.000-05:00

A picture from my cell phone cam. I had GREAT seats. Two rows back.
A beautiful day in Houston, Texas for our AHS graduation at Reliant Stadium. It was our second graduation ever... and it went off perfectly. Norma took some pictures from the stands. I was sitting on the floor with my advisory kids as they graduated. It was a neat feeling to be down there with them and able to share it with them. But, it was a LOT easier than last year when I had to read the White Community names as the kids crossed the stage. Talk about pressure.

Graduation is such a happy and sad mix. You are so proud and happy for what these kids have accomplished. But, you are so sad to see them moving on, yet it is exactly what must happen. The old make way for the new. We'll have a new group of freshmen on campus next year to take their place and the beat goes on. But, this was a very special group. They spent grades 10-12 at our new school and had come to us from the freshman campus. So they never spent any time at the old high school. They were 100% our kids. Next year will be the graduating of the first group to spend all 4 years with us. That will also be very special.

Here are a few pictures from the day:

Two of my seniors, they were so excited. Such great kids.

Video Project 09

2009-04-13T19:38:00.001-05:00

I am really proud of the great work that my students did on their Video Projects. I have created a blog to showcase them:

Video Project 09

Let me know what you think.

On the blog I have posted video and text describing projects ranging from such topics as Vietnam to Genocide in Darfur. There are three primary areas that students could concentrate on for their project:

1) The Modern World - Issues or events past World War II and the Holocaust.
2) Africa - Issues and events concerning the citizens and development of the continent.
3) The Environment - Issues and events from Global Warming/Climate Change to Pollution.

Students have worked very hard on these videos. Not all of them are 100% perfect. There are some typos, awkward moments and a few factual inaccuracies. But, there is no questioning the merit of their efforts and their mission. Each student chose to work on a project that was important to them. It is evident in their passion for educating others and improving our world.

My Life as a Mosquito

2009-03-27T19:40:00.000-05:00

Today was a pretty cool day. My students have been working on their 5th Six Week's Video Project for about 5 weeks. They were itching to present them and to show the class. All were GREAT. It is amazing that they get better and better every year. But, technology and the human mind keeps advancing.

Don't let people convince you that kids get worse and more stupid every year. It is simply not true. I find that each year I teach the students are more engaged, philanthropic and have more of a sense of service to their community. I know people are going to read this and think I am diluted. It is simply my world and my observation and it is true of the students that I am very lucky to have.

Today at the end of one a video about Malaria (it kills a person in Africa every 30 seconds), the kids had a bit of fun:

The two students who were presenting had a message to the kids, donate to Nothingbutnets.net to help send nets to African families. $10 can get a net for a family. It saves lives.

Then they had a slide with a caption: "Because we all know mosquitoes are not as friendly as we think." (yep that's me. the class busted out laughing)

It made my day. I am a lucky teacher.

What Do Teachers Make?

2009-03-16T19:43:00.000-05:00

I put this together for a training that we are doing in April. It's a bit of "Fresh Air" or an Ice breaker between parts of our training. It is called "What Do Teachers Make?" I adapted it from an email that made the rounds a few years ago. What do you think?

What Do Teachers Make What Do Teachers Make David Duez This is an icebreaker power point that I use for training teachers. Effective because of it's truth and simplicity. It was taken from an email that made the rounds a few years ago. I adapted it to power point form.

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Presentations Academic Work teaching inspiration

Note: I had no idea when I created this that it was an original poem created by Taylor Mali. He has a great story about it here: What Teachers Make - "Inspired Email Spam" versions
Original Poem here: What Teachers Make by Taylor Mali

Thanks to MsTeacher for pointing this out! Check out her awesome blog here

Six Phases of Teaching

2009-03-08T19:41:00.000-05:00

I put this together tonight. I'm going to show it as an "ice breaker" or "fresh air" during my 2 day AVID training next month. It was originally an email that was sent to me a bunch of times by teachers a few years ago. I converted it to a power point, but it really works better in a video.

What do you think?

Six Phases of Teaching from fordee on Vimeo.

Roman Soldier

2008-10-31T10:41:00.001-05:00

Friday is Halloween. And we were studying the Roman empire and more specifically the "Roman Soldier." I took advantage of the day...

We had a good time Friday as we learned about the life of a Roman Soldier in class.

The kid's reactions were pretty funny! Some went crazy. Others looked at me like I was just appearing to them as the very same guy with a tie and shirt on like every day. Weird.

I love teaching. Such a great job.

Philosophical Chairs - "Athens or Sparta?"

2008-10-22T19:47:00.005-05:00

Today was a really great day. We had a block or 90 minute class period day. (We do on Wed/Thu) So I showed about 10 minutes of NBC Nightly News last night to catch students up on the election. There was also a great story about the war in Afghanistan. Gripping viewing. Then I introduced our Religion Project and Chapter 5 - The Roman Empire.

For the last 1/2 hour we did "Philosophical Chairs." It is just another reason I love AVID. I learned Philosophical Chairs through my training as an AVID elective teacher. The process works like this, you raise a question for debate that has two choices. The students write their response on a piece of paper and then they take a side of the classroom and debate ensues.

There are 5 simple rules:
1 - Stay in the hot seat (or undecided seats) for only 1 minute
2 - Repeat or Rephrase what the last person said
3 - Wait 3 seconds until that person is finished to be sure they are done with their comment.
4 - You must wait until the 4th person to speak again. (generally speaking, someone on your side must speak before you can speak again. the comments move like ping-pong back and forth)
5 - Move your 5 toes and get your feet walking. You show support for comments made not by talking, but by moving from your side of the room to theirs. It does not mean you have completely changed your mind, you just are giving them support for their argument.

The question today was, "Where would you rather live - Athens or Sparta?" This is such a compelling question. The kids really get into it. We have already investigated the roles of men and women in both societies and we took our test on the chapter yesterday. So today they were really ready to debate.

Our building principal came in during 5th period today. She stood wide-eyed as the students went back and forth about the question. The bell rang and I sprinted to the door to collect their notes and reflections. She told me later that students walked by her while I was waiting in the hall and said, "I just LOVE this class!" One of the students gave me her sheet and said, "This is such a great class... my favorite ever." It was from a young lady who was so much trouble for me at the beginning of the year. I almost started to cry. It really got to me and made me feel good.

I am really lucky to be a teacher. It is such a rewarding and incredible job.
Using Philosophical Chairs

TV Interview - AVID

2008-09-11T19:51:00.000-05:00

Here is my interview on our cable educational access channel about AVID.

AVID Interview from fordee on Vimeo.

Grading for Learning - Presentation to Faculty

2008-07-31T19:56:00.001-05:00

My presentation to the faculty went pretty well. I was a little worried because some of the grading scenarios and a few of the new ideas can be seen as a little radical. All my hope was going in to it was that people would walk away having thought a little deeper about how they assess their students. Could they then make a few changes this year?

These grading changes have produced a profound effect for me. It has resulted in a different mentality and outlook for myself and my students. Not that my grading system has been turned upside down or is completely different. It is and it isn't. But, my breakthrough has been in the approach that I have had with students. No longer do I look at my kids and think, "Why isn't this kid reading his book?" or "Why didn't this student bring his book to class?" or "Why isn't this kid taking notes!?!"

Now I turn my attention to the only thing that really matters anyway - "What is this kid learning?" or more appropriately: "Has this student learned what we targeted today?"

This nuance goes a long, long way towards the approach I have with kids. I no longer raise my voice. It's not really needed. My sights are on our goals and our learning target. It's a singular focus. The kids weren't bringing their books to class... so last year I said, "Leave your book at home. You will be reading it at home during the night." Our book is huge. Bringing it to class is a pain - for real.... In their backpacks! It's World History - so it has a lot in it! This decision of keeping the book at home though and never bringing it to class comes with a responsibility -- homework. Now their book should be at home and ready to be read and worked on in the evening.

But, I also changed my homework policy as well over the past couple of years. I no longer ask for a little work every night, instead I have a long term assignment. It is usually a ten days to two week assignment. Same number of questions, just spread out over time. This gives everyone a chance to get them done. No excuses. Plus, I go over about 1/2 of them in class as 'practice.' This means the kids get guided help on just how to answer the questions and how to attack them. Again, no excuse, low pressure, but high reward --> did the student learn it?

My grading is essentially the district guideline and standard, but with an elevator or motivator. The district standard is the assignment is for full credit (100%) on the day that it is due. The second day it is graded for 1/2 credit (50%) and the their day it is a zero.

What I have added to it works like this - students can come in for tutoring and raise any grade to an 85, as long as they have shown strong evidence that they have learned the material. With a quiz grade the students can come in and retake a quiz. (I usually have 2 or 3 versions of tests or quizzes. Same questions, different answer choices to cut down on cheating. So when they come in for the requiz or retest I give them one of the alternates)

For any reassessment opportunity they must meet certain prereqs:
* Must be done in tutoring and on their free time - not during class.
* Must have completed all homework assignments to have the opportunity.
* Must have evidence of notetaking from the book or from class to retake a test or quiz.
* For homework, you must submit it to me during tutoring and I will ask a series of oral questions to check the learning. At the end of the session I ask, "What grade (up to an 85) do you think you earned? We negotiate a grade that matched their learning. Often it is NOT as high as an 85. That is rare.
* You get one chance per graded assignment. And you can not retake a test, quiz or homework after we have taken the next test. (then it is getting too late and we are beginning to learn and be responsible for new material)

So what have these grading changes (essentially grading FOR learning) done for me and my students? We don't look at each other like we are in some kind of "gotcha" game. Where Mr. D is going to jump up at the end of the unit and say, "Why didn't you learn this or that? Why didn't you read more?" The students know what is expected and what is to be learned. If they didn't learn it, there is an opportunity for relearning to occur. So students view me as someone who is working with them to help them learn and I am no longer the enemy in any way. (although I really wasn't before, there wasn't as much trust)

This has REALLY helped with my projects. I give a project each six week's period. There is always a product, presentation, and paper. With each part, students have begun to bring those into me for advice on whether or not they are on track. So I read over their presentation or paper and give them feedback. This has resulted in much better quality work. And it has resulted in students who feel more confident about what they are doing and learning.

Some teachers tell me that it is too much work to do all of that grading, but essentially it is less! I don't have to read their papers as thoroughly on the final day when I do put a grade on it. If I've already read it a few times, it is easier to grade and far more interesting for me to read. And I don't have as many papers where I am ready to tear apart the paper and think, "WHY DID THEY DO THIS?" Or... "Where is the THESIS statement!?!?!!!" We've already checked over that.

This is a lot more to what I have changed, but they are more subtle adjustments in how I work with my students. A quick example is using peers in class to do some feedback and grading. When a quick assignment in class (like an "exit ticket" - designed to get some reflection at the end of the period. they must have it to leave the class) results in my knowledge of how closer the students are to learning what was intended, I can make adjustments for the next class. They really don't understand the Three Estates of France? I retouch it the next class and be sure it sinks in. They totally get Hitler's Two Big Mistakes? Then I move on.

Any ideas?
I would be certain that most teachers would not understand what I am doing or think, "What is the deal, I could NEVER get away with that?" But, I am lucky to be at a school that is quite progressive and is pushing this initiative. Or else I probably wouldn't feel as confident in trying new things out.

Again if you are interested in the full presentation, you can view it here:

Grading For Learning Final

view presentation

Reflections on the 2007 - 2008 School Year

2008-06-02T19:58:00.000-05:00

This year I created a video for each one of my World History classes. I had 5 gigs of pictures and video from the year. So I divided the pictures up by periods and then created a 15-20 minute video for each class.

We watched them at the end of the year and enjoyed the look back. I have my World History Period videos password protected (if you are really interested in seeing them, email me and I will send you the password - I do not want it open to the public to view).

This was my "Introduction" video. It is pretty short but shows some 'school pride' kind of things. It was a great year.

1_Introduction: AHS 2007-2008 Video Intro from fordee on Vimeo.

Teacher Wall

Summer So Far

Observer Article About MS Awareness at AHS

MS Awareness Campaign Videos

Operation Bald Eagle

My Email to Our AHS Faculty - MS

Related articles

Sir Ken Robinson Animated

WICR Wednesday 9/8/2010

WICR Wednesday 9/1/2010

New Social Studies Training @ Summer Creek

What is World History Pre-AP? The Video

Time Magazine: The Case Against Summer Vacation

Rules Video for 1st Day of School 2010

Expectations Video for 1st Day

Thoughts on the upcoming year...

Thursday 7-29-10 ACP Class. AVID and Teach Like a Champion

ACP Class from Tuesday, July 27th 2010

"On Facebook, Telling Teachers How Much They Meant" - NYTimes Article

"Focus" as the New Literacy

An Excellent Review of Teach Like a Champion

Myths and Opportunities of Technology in the Classroom

Great AVID Story

Prep for Staff Development - Teach Like a Champion

Modified DBQ Examples from 2010 Dallas I SI History I Strand

Text Responses and Graphic Organizer Examples from 2010 AVID SI Dallas I History Strand

Lists of Teacher Resources from June 2010 AVID Dallas I Summer Institute

The story of Jonathan Grant Brown - AVID Inspiration

JFK Primary and Secondary Source Video

What is AVID?

AVID Summer Institute 2010 in Dallas

AVID in the News - Seattle Times Article w/Video

Although this article is not exactly like our program, it is similar. We don't normally have students in AVID who have failed classes, or TAKS for that matter. But, many of the concepts are the same.

Another Thank You Notes to Remember - From AVID Student

Reflections on the 2009 - 2010 School Year "Best Of"

Outrageous Lessons

AHS

Thank You Note

Summer Staff Development Project - Teach Like a Champion

Agenda: ACP Class Monday, June 10th, 2010

Happy Mother's Day

Intern Class - Monday, April 26, 2010

Beautiful evening

The Six Phases of Teaching

April Fool's Fun

Are we being too punitive of teachers?

DBQ Football

The Culture of Childhood

Teacher of the Year

Ken Robinson: "It's not like making motor cars."

Building a Better Teacher vs. Firing Bad Teachers

Most Memorable Teaching Moment

Breakfast, Lunch, and a Diet Coke. The Estates General Simulation

A Vision of 21st Century Teachers

Reflections from a former student

Great News - Summer Institute

iSupport Hati

What Makes a Great Teacher?

AVID Tutoring

A Career in Teaching: Accelerated Certification Class "Assessment for Learning"

Gallery Walk Reflections

"Got an A on It!" - Hope Christian School Beyonce Take

The Gallery Walk 2010: Setting Goals with AVID

The Gallery Walk 2009: Learning Targets

Purchase Points ~ Fun with the Reformation

First Brick in the Wall

Roadtrip Nation Teacher of the Month

Using Edmodo for a Socratic Seminar

My Classroom - It'll be fun tomorrow

Welcome Back - 1st Day of Instruction

Cornell Notes & Philosophical Chairs

School Pride

Reflections on the 2008 - 2009 School Year

The New Humanities

Appreciation Part II

Appreciation Part I

Graduation Day 2009

Video Project 09

My Life as a Mosquito

What Do Teachers Make?