Rubric Creator

I’ve learned that getting kids involved and invested in what they’ll be graded or judged on is a crazy powerful thing. Five years ago, I committed to implementing a 20% Time project into my Advanced Accounting course. It was a good deal of work to get it up and running, but has been worth every second that I put into it. The passion that students show for a problem that THEY have identified and a solution that THEY have chosen to come up with for that problem is amazing. In this process, THEY also choose the specifics on which they will be graded. I spend ample time talking about project management, goal setting, and the importance of the process instead of just the end result. This process includes an important decision about how they’ll be judged and evaluated...or in their world, graded.


The world of handing over decisions and ownership to students can be overwhelming and daunting...for many reasons. From a logistics side, rubric creation can be tough enough for teachers...let alone students. This is why I love Rubistar, a simple rubric creation tool that not only can teachers use very easily, but they can also put the creation in the hands of students. With this smooth tool, teachers can feel very comfortable turning the “judging” process over to the kids to let them have a voice in how they are graded.

5 Things Teachers Can Learn From The CMA's!

1. When the bell rings...GO! (Hook em or lose em.)
My buddy texted me 10 minutes into the CMA’s, upset and asking what he missed. The opening bit and performance is ALWAYS solid, year in year out!! Carrie and Brad kill it when they come out and start the show. It’s called “THE HOOK”, we all know it. We’ve all been hooked. If we don’t hook ‘em we lose ‘em! If we GO from the start with GOOD STUFF, they’ll be ready for the start. If not, the first 5 minutes of class becomes irrelevant and they know it. Would your students be upset about missing the first 5% of your class?

2. Include your audience

The best laughs in the show (audience moving / making noise = absorption) come from the interaction between the PEOPLE on stage and the people in the audience. When our students are moving and responding, they are absorbing. The show is not for those on stage, it’s for the audience. Do you put your students in the show as much as possible?

3. Showcase the new, but respect history.

I love when they (and they do it at least twice every show) put a “newbie” with a “legend” for performances. They know that everyone loves “new”, but they also understand that today wouldn’t be here without those who built it. I so often see either one way or the other in classrooms. The non-adopters saying “why change it if it worked?” and the early adopters saying “this is going to change education.” Certain things just flat out work and will always work, but there are ways to make other things better through experimenting. QUALITY is about BALANCE. Does your classroom have a balance of trying the new and respecting the old tried and true?

4. Things will bomb, but if you don't give 'em hell, everything will bomb.

This year’s CMA’s were incredible. However, bell to bell, it had some lulls and boring parts. They didn’t try to make them boring, they just didn’t nail it like the planners thought they would. So what!! If we plan / teach in fear of something not working, we’ll never know if it WILL WORK. We owe it to our kids to bring them our best, even if we have doubts. Sometimes our best isn’t incredible, we need to accept that and keep bringin’ it!! Do you scratch an exciting plan just because it “may not work”?

5. Appreciate & promote your colleagues...they rock too!

Closing with a bang at #5, my favorite part of the CMA’s is the camaraderie between the artists. Say what you will about Taylor Swift, but seeing her (and many others now) belt out and dance to songs being performed while in her seat is cool. They all legitimately cheer for each other and are happy for each other when they win. They team up on stage, even though they are competing on iTunes. As teachers, we often protect ourselves and compete. Teaching is not an individual sport! We need to get off our “Teacher Island” and connect to, share with, and cheer for each other. Teaching is a challenge, it’s easier when we’re all in this together. Does your career involve ACTIVE sharing and cheering for your colleagues?

R.E.A.L. Flipping

Having completed my first year of "flipping" my classroom, I needed more structure. Sometime, I over-structure. But, I don't think this is the case. This past year, I've given talks / presentations on my experiences as a "First Year Flipper", co-led a two day workshop on flipping, and informally helped other teachers brain-storm flipping. I've developed a lot of flipping related structure (both up front and along the way) because of my decision to flip.

What I needed was to align my classroom flipping with my obsession for Blooms Taxonomy and the recently popular and most fantastic SAMR Model for technology integration. So, I created my own guideline of "R.E.A.L. Flipping" that is helping me reflect / improve on the "why" behind flipped lessons I delivered last year, as well as new ones I'm brainstorming on for the upcoming school year.

The REAL Model allows me to assess my own decision making of "to flip or not to flip" by organizing my lessons into HOTS (Higher Order Thinking Skills) and LOTS (Lower Order Thinking Skills). The more I am able to Amplify & Levitate my lessons, the more I'm able to implement HOTS for my students.

My understanding of each level of REAL Model Flipping starts with what I (and all teachers) already know, the non-flipped lesson. In my eyes, the Traditional Lesson looks something like (in general, but certainly may vary depending on your daily schedule / structure) the slide below:

So, "How" do I flip this lesson? Do I "Re-Order" it? "Extend" it? "Amplify it"? Or "Levitate" it?

Re-Ordering has benefits, even though at the bottom. I don't see Re-Ordering as a content game changer, but I do see it as a game changer for student accessibility to the content. See (how I see) the difference between the traditional lesson and the "Re-Order Flip" below:

Extending a lesson by flipping it, creates a lesson that can bring more content and comprehension to students. It takes the re-order a bit further in that it delivers the content even more concisely than the Re-Order. Less time spent on frivolous tangents (so often spent in class when the teacher isn't challenged by a 10 - 15 minute time limit) breeds more time spent on relevant content goals. Although some HOTS can start sneaking into play here, the bulk of this level typically delivers more of LOTS. See (how I see) the difference between the traditional lesson and the "Extend Flip" below:

Serious flirting with HOTS is seen when we are able to Amplify the lesson through flipping. At this level of a flipped class, content delivery is concise like the Extend, but takes students to a more interactive place with their responses from home. This sets the stage for the next day in class, which will look more like a factory with the learners as producers and the teacher as a problem solver. When we flip to Amplify, we also see a more continuous bleed from one lesson to another, or even a multi-day series of one flipped lesson. See (how I see) the difference between the traditional lesson and the "Amplify Flip" below:

Finally, on a whole new plane than we are usually able to reach as teachers due to time and logistical restrictions, we are able to Levitate our lessons through flipping them. In a Levitated flip, student production and interaction begins before class even starts. Sprinting is happening the moment class starts and content creation is student led with the teacher as a guide and consultant. Class will also be seen as a natural place for students to take an active role in determining the content and identifying its source for consumption that upcoming evening. When the lesson is Levitating, learning is cranked up to a whole new plane and may (probably should) look a bit chaotic at times. An "on the spot" decision by the class may be made here that another teacher produced flip lesson is necessary. Real world learning here is truly being experienced in the levitation. See (how I see) the difference between the traditional lesson and the "Levitate Flip" below:

Note that I don't think it's realistic to always achieve levitation. Nor do I even believe that it should be if it could. However, these four levels are helping me assess where I am at in providing my students with a valuable flipped lesson. Feel free to use this for yourself. However, if you do, I'd love your thoughts on how it's working for you and how it could be made better.

4 Reasons Knowledge is Value... Right?

The other day, Bill Ferriter (@plugusin), a great thinker and instigator stoked my fire (once again) when he posted a thought about teachers being "ashamed" to profit off our expertise. He bothered me because he was right. It seems to be a common Feeling in education that our expertise shouldn't be treated as value in the same way that the rest of the world works... why not?

Out of my core group of childhood (and still 6 extremely close) friends, I am the only educator. 5/6 of them currently get paid to think and provide advice & consultation based on the expertise they've gained from being a "do-er" for over a decade early in their careers. They get paid good money to share their expertise. Not one of them, at their transition stages or any other point, though "Oh, I'm not sure I should be rewarded for just telling people what I've learned along the way." As teachers, then, why should we?

1. Modeling - The key component of our daily work revolves around selling to kids the idea that "knowledge is value". We are charged (and accept) with demonstrating how to learn and why it's important to learn. Why then are we not charged with modeling how to use that knowledge in a valuable manner? What better way to show students that we are not full of crap than to monetize our brains when the opportunity presents itself?

2. Too Late - By definition, as teachers, we are ALREADY gaining from our expertise in our subject matter. We've spent hours and years (and will continue to) learning the subject matter that we expose our students to each day. We get paid by our schools to do this. So... we're already benefiting and profiting from expertise. Now, as a result, we are becoming experts in other fields (like classroom management, technology integration, assessment,  etc...) along the way. How is profiting off of this any different?

3. Professional Responsibility - The market is the market. If there is a demand (being baited with money) for something, someone will find a way to fill that demand. The best available will be the best available. If we as teachers don't enter the market, then the "best available" will be filled by non-educators. The "best available" will seem great because it's the best that's out there... for sale. However, if we want to be viewed and respected as experts, then we need to be the "best available" and nobody is going to take time to look for something better that's not for sale.

4. Give Back to Your School - Likely, we've gained expertise in education as a result of many resources and support that our employer has provided for us (I know I have). If we allow ourselves (our brains and experiences) to become a commodity, our school will in turn become a commodity. The more we are publicly recognized (monetarily or otherwise), the more our school is recognized and the more our students gain from attending our school and our classes. 

Reverse Engineering: An Essential Literacy

I just had a discussion with my College Accounting class the other day about preparing them for a workforce that doesn’t currently exist. With it being an honors class, they are pretty smart kids and quickly understood my point. They know that the days of “Go to school, get good grades, get a good job” (Rich Dad / Poor Dad) are long gone. They understand that they will not go through life working for the same company or even in the same industry.

What today’s kids aren’t seeming to understand is how a good, well structured (not spoon fed) education will actually prepare them for an unknown. The tragedy is that they are learning something without knowing that they are learning it. Being aware of what you learn makes you much more likely to use it in the future. The lack of awareness of a skill will naturally result in atrophy of that skill. If we are helping kids learn how to learn, preparing kids for unknowns, teaching them how to grow in an environment that doesn’t yet exist, they should be able to identify “it” for future use.

“It” = “Reverse Engineering”

Adaptability is simply the skill to get somewhere you’ve never been before. Sometimes we are forced to adapt and sometimes we choose to adapt. Either way, we adapt. The more successful adapt more often and more easily. Those who don’t fall behind. As James York said, “The most successful people are those who are good at plan B.”

Knowing your end goal is such a key component to knowing that you are on the right track. I ask so many kids (and adults), “What’s your end goal?” This most often results in blank stares. I rephrase “What do you want the outcome to be as a result of this?” This most often results in “Ummms” and “Uhhhs”.

As humans we seem to be great at reverse engineering simple things, subconsciously.
End goal = getting to work... must drive car... car is low on gas... must get gas... head to gas station.

So much more rarely do we see people using this in a longer term, bigger, layered approach.
Final End Goal = Earning 6 figures... get job x (end goal = get job x... excell at job y (end goal = get job y... get job z (end goal = get job z... excell in College ABC (end goal = get into College ABC))))

We need to teach kids that they know how to use this approach. We need to teach them the power of using this approach for bigger “end goals.” We need to show them that they are learning these skills in our classes, how they used them, and how they can use them in the future. The more comfortable kids are with this, the more comfortable they will be taking on the future. The more laid out the path, the easier it is to adapt when a step goes awry. If I know my “sub end goals”, I know what I need to get back to when (not if) something doesn’t go according to plan.

We are giving students these skills. Let’s not keep it a secret from them. Projects with checkpoints is a great place to start. The project being complete is the Final End Goal and the checkpoints are the layered end goals. Don’t have them just do it to get the project done. Have them do it to learn how to do it!!

Projects: 3 Ways to Write 'Em Better

Project Writing... Sharing Selfishly!!

I often struggle with writing what I feel is a quality project for my students. However, I also stumble across myself writing one I feel is worth implementing in class. My requirements for what I deem to be a "great project" are pretty simple: 1.  Facilitate learning  2. Fun for the kids to work on  3. Easy to grade objectively (writing a rubric should come naturally with it)

As an accounting teacher, I am not necessarily the most naturally creative person. I want to be, desperately, but I'm realistic and know that it's a challenge for me. So, I have become uber-aware of the times I've "nailed it" (and more often aware of the times I haven't) and have identified three commonalities that have been in place during the development process of these projects. I think they may be the keys to my project writing success. Here they are!! 

1. Promise To Share

Before you start writing the project, commit to giving the finished product to someone else. If you know that other professionals are going to be using your work, you are more motivated to produce a high quality product. Find a person (or group of people) who you know would use it or use some version of it and decide that you WILL share it with them when you are finished. If you are not great at keeping your word to yourself, let them know that you will be sharing the project with them. This will hold you more accountable to sharing it.

2. Write it for Your Own Child

What kind of learning do you want your son / daughter to experience? For me, this is a biggie!! As my son and daughter are getting older, I become more and more aware of learning experiences I'm providing to someone else's sons and daughters. When I focus on whether I'd want my child to be spending their time in school on this, I find a way to cover all three qualities that I think makes a project "great".  If you don't yet have kids (you young whipper snappers out there), think about your niece, nephew, godchild, or whatever kid you absolutely adore.

3. Visualize Yourself Grading Them

Alright, if the first two aren't enough, then think about how awful it is to grade awful projects!! Holy smokes, it made me cringe to just type that last sentence. We've all graded awful projects and those of us who are reflective probably has admitted that it may not have been the best written / developed project we've ever created. Set yourself up for a fun grading (oxymoron?) experience. I have not done any research (and nobody should because it would be a waste of time and money), but I guarantee you that there is a direct correlation between the amount of fun and learning that a student has during a project and the enjoyment the teacher gets from grading it.

I hope this helps your project writing and your students' project experiences! Feel free to post comments and share any projects of yours that you are proud of!

Why Do We Buy?

When my son wants something, my first response is "why?" He's gotten to the point that he knows it's coming and now, most of the time, he doesn't even make me ask why. What's nice is that he's not yet socially influenced enough to use "everyone else has one" as his reason. His requests are usually supported with a (if not multiple) solid example of how he'd use it.

It seems, based on my PLN, that a lot of schools are buying technology BEFORE asking that question. I often see articles about "what to do with your school's (fill in the device)". I hear from people who’ve had technology purchased for them and then don't use it because it's too confusing. I see teachers trying to use something simply because they're told they are supposed to be using it. The accounting & finance teacher (and all around frugal human being) in me cringes at this. I can't help but think about the purchasing decision-making process that I teach, that I pound into the heads of my students, that my poor, poor, poor children and wife are subjected to every day, and wonder why this is so often ignored by our profession. I don’t think that schools need to treat the purchasing process exactly the same as households. R&D, tinkering, testing, and exploring with new devices bring strong value to educational entities. However, it seems that the moderation of this activity has been swallowed up by premature excitement for "it" because "it" is technology and MUST be good for our kids. In today's (rightfully so) closely watched spending and usage of public resources, it's so crucial that we maintain a respectable decision-making process when purchasing anything. The last thing we can afford is to buy another iThing or gThing with no dedicated purpose, vision, or plan for which it will be used. We must figure out where we want to be BEFORE we start moving there. We have to envision the end and reverse engineer our buying decisions to ensure they actually will enhance our journey to that destination. Responsible consumers naturally do this. We are really pretty great at it. We buy food because we're hungry (unless I’m face to face with a Snickers bar at the grocery check out) and we need to be un-hungry. We work backwards (subconsciously) and get to the tool that will make us "un-hungry"... food. Reverse engineering is a great process that, for decades, educators have been applying so well to curriculum design, emotional intelligence development, and student success planning. If we commit to leveraging this strength with digital purchasing decisions, we’ll set our teachers & instructional coaches up for a more meaningful and clear implementation experience. So, let's make sure we maintain our credibility with our tax payers' money and give our teachers and students a more clear path for success. Let's make sure we are able to answer the questions my son knows he has to answer BEFORE buying. Why are we buying this? How are we going to use it? We can create a building full of “why do we have these?” or one that’s asking “why didn’t we get these sooner?” In which building would you rather teach? More importantly, in which building would you rather your own child learn?

Your Motivator: Love Winning or Hate Losing?

I think that everything we do is driven by one of two things. We do something either because we want to get it done, or we don’t want to not get it done. I know that sounds like semantics, but I believe there’s a big difference. I cut my lawn because I don’t want to fail in keeping my lawn cut. I don’t want to be the guy in the neighborhood who’s lawn looks like poo. However, the guy across the street from me loves his lawn and cuts it because he wants to have the nicest looking lawn in town.

As an accounting teacher, I frequently have CPA’s & other business professionals come in and talk to my kids. Years ago, I had one in that was discussing the interview process. He said that a question their firm asks everyone is, “Do you love to win or hate to lose?” He had the kids answer that question to themselves and went on to explain that they like to hire people who hate to lose. He said that they found that if a person hates to lose, they’ll do anything to avoid not getting the job done.

This has stuck with me for almost a decade now. I still think about it and am fascinated by it. A buddy of mine often says, “It’s not fun unless there’s a loser.” He hates to lose! We laugh all the time when he says it, but I think that it’s funny because there’s truth to it. I am sure that I’m a “hates to lose” (HtL) person. I find myself most driven when someone tells me I can’t do something rather than when someone gives me encouragement. On the other hand, my wife definitely “loves to win” (LtW) and she’s way smarter than I am (I swear I’m not saying that just in case she reads this).

I often think about this with my students and what gets them going more. I know for sure that they are more into something when it’s a game. However, what I don’t know, is which kids are trying to win and which kids are trying not to lose. Can we, as teachers, differentiate our lessons / games / competitions to target the “LtW” kids in one way and the “HtL” kids in another? Should we? What are our classrooms more full of? What do you think? If you have time, ask your kids and comment back with results for us?

Technology & Socks in Education

This is my first professional blog, so bear with me! I've been thinking about doing this for a while, but decided to "just do it" when a fellow blogger pointed out that it forces you to polish your thinking. That locked in my decision, so here we go.

Yesterday, I was in a discussion about technology as a motivator in education. I, without thinking (which is not rare) said "I think technology is like socks for today's kids. It's something they just put on when they wake up and it doesn't really impress them." This got a decent reaction from the people involved and caused me to think more about it.

Extrapolating on that thought, I believe that technology doesn't motivate my students because for them, it's an expectation. I think that things we expect do not impress us. As a result of this, I believe that the lack of technology in education is a de-motivator! When we have expectations that aren't met, we become disappointed, frustrated, and disengaged.

As a classroom teacher, technology is a tool for me to use while motivating my kids to learn. It's as much of a tool as my voice, my energy, the whiteboard in my room and glue sticks. But ultimately, it's up to me to use these tools to provide "good teaching" and many opportunities for kids to become motivated.