Deeper Thinking and Revised DOK Flowchart

About a year or two ago, I noticed my DOK Flowchart floating around Pinterest. I didn't think much of it because the thought process behind the flowchart was documented on my post titled, Striving for Higher-Order Thinking and Depth of Knowledge.

This flowchart was created to help teachers in my former district categorize their own questions by DOK level, to look for patterns and trends, in order to set goals regarding their quest for deeper thinking. It was a flowchart that worked with many question patterns we commonly saw, but was not intended to be definitive.

For example, when it came to a question in math, we knew there was a right and wrong answer -- for example, 3X4=12. However, we considered how there were multiple approaches to get to that correct answer. While, that was a discussion we had face-to-face, my original flowchart did not reflect those conversations. Therefore, I revised the flowchart to help clarify:

Below are some examples of various questions/tasks with DO…

Empathy is not optional

I wonder how we might treat others if one of our deep beliefs holds that empathy isn't optional.
Be humble and intent on monitoring our judgments We might not know the narrative of others -- strangers, family, friends, colleagues, staff, and students -- and we could miss an opportunity to be kind, serve, and dignify another human being.

Empathy is not an occasional event like window-shopping, with multiple options to consider. Empathy is the marrow of relationships, that comes from humility, encouragement, and taking notice of humanity.
Daily challengeLook for inspiration of empathy in action. Take advantage of opportunities to make a difference.Ask, "Who might I need to be in order to treat others the way I wish to be treated?"  What might the world be like if we didn't approach empathy as an optional practice? 
How might a commitment to empathy influence schools and classrooms?

Amplify Voice through Social Media #CUE18

Giving students a platform to exercise their voice, and listening to learn and understand, makes an impact on learning, academic discourse, class/school/district culture and climate.

Some of the highlights and resources gained from learning with @JoeMarquez70 's at #CUE18, includes:

Digital Citizenship -- address this dailyInvite a Guest Moderator to the backchannel  Back Channel Tools Today's MeetZiteBoardAwwAppClass Hashtag Collaborating, Learning Artifacts, Annotating Tools Google Classroomin conjunction with qbbuzzerGoogle SitesFlipgridPerusallEdjiYouTube with VialoguesNearPod Connect with the world beyond the four walls: Note: I am sharing some resources and successes from Joe Marquez, and please understand that I have not vetted the privacy policies for AB 1584 complianceyetWhat are some other success stories of amplifying student voice?How else might we promote academic discourse? 

Fake News and Visual Literacy #CUE18

Fake news is not accidental reporting with a few mistakes, it is intentional and designed to look real. According to Dr. Lesley Farmer, of California State University at Long Beach, the motivation behind creating fake news is often to profit, gain influence, assert power, and sometimes to entertain.

As critical consumers and responsible contributors, we should be skilled in discerning validity and disseminating reliable information. Images, like all text, communicates a message. Hence, we are to "read" the visual and glean meaning grounded in evidence. However, we might not retain the objectivity to critically evaluate the message when strong emotions skew our perception. When a communication reinforces or challenges our core beliefs, it might blind us from objectively stepping back to ask questions such as, "What's the narrative? Who is communicating it, and why?"

California's ELA/ELD Framework explicitly draws attention to the broader topic of information …

Be Your True Self -- Inspired by VCOE Students

I believe each and every single one of us needs self-acceptance and confidence in being ourselves. I assume the starting point for self-acceptance is an honest awareness of individual strengths and areas for growth. Self-acceptance sometimes feels like welcoming a guest into my home. When I play the role of hostess, I evaluate what needs to be done -- cleaning, planning, grocery shopping, etc. My list of chores somehow never ends, and I tend to get a bit stressed out because I fear my house won't be presentable and welcoming. The truth is, my guest really doesn't care what the house looks like, or what food I have to offer. My guest just wants to spend time with the true me.

Likewise, when self-acceptance knocks on my door, I realize it takes some bravery to fully welcome her, knowing I could have accomplished more during the day; I could have done a better job of listening to others and expressing my thoughts and feelings; etc. As I fear the imperfections, she focuses on con…

Global Collaboration

In order to prepare students to apply rigorous learning to new and real-world situations, educators must provide opportunities that foster critical and creative thinking, communication and collaboration.

Importance of Global Collaborations

Common Core State Standards demand students to collaborate with diverse partners, thereby expanding students' global awareness.

Some of the benefits of collaboration might include:
Developing interpersonal skills of working together as a team.Fostering critical thinking skills while working towards a collaborative goal.Increasing comprehension while partaking in conversations and exploring ideas from different perspectives."Collaborative learning promotes communication among students; it is particularly beneficial for English Learners (ELs) because peer interaction contributes to the development of language," (CA ELA ELD Framework, Chapter 2).
New 2016 ISTE Standards for Students

I recently attended the ISTE Conference in Denver, where th…

Urgency with Coding Now for the Future

I've heard Anne Jenks share numerous times the importance of teaching coding in school, especially with so many STEM professions available. If computer science careers are the number one source of jobs in the US, then we should have more computer science graduates, and therefore more coding/programming opportunities in K-12 classrooms.

Urgency with coding in classrooms now for jobs in the future — Tracy Watanabe (@tracywatanabe) March 17, 2016
The time is now to start teaching digital fluency and coding as part of literacy. Being literate in today's world, includes computer literacy.

Luckily, there are organizations, such as, dedicated to giving students opportunities to learn computer science.

How do you get started?

Below are a few places for getting started:

DeviceElementarySecondaryiPadDaisy the Dinosaur
Tickle (older app)
Scratch Jr.

Google Classroom 101

Google Classroom integrates Google Apps for Education (GAFE) tools such as Google Docs, Gmail, and Google Calendar to name a few. It then allows the teacher to distribute and collect assignments paperlessly.

Google Classroom with iPads too

Google Classroom is not just for Chromebooks, it's a useful management tool for other platforms such as iPads as well. For instance, one great way to collect student creations and manage the workflow on iPads is through Google Classroom.

What is Google Classroom and how does it work?

Why should I consider Google Classroom?

Here are a few reasons why Google Classroom should be considered:
It helps organize discussions, assignments, projects, or assessments online.Classroom helps students organize their projects, assignments, tasks, etc. and keep track of upcoming assignments, or assignments already turned in and teacher feedback or grades.Classroom could foster communication.Classroom saves time, especially when working with Google Apps, and it is fre…