Zach Diamond  0:03  
Welcome to the modern classrooms project podcast. Each week, we bring you discussions with educators on how they use blended, self paced and mastery based learning to better serve their students. We believe teachers learn best from each other. So this is our way of lifting up the voices of leaders and innovators in our community. This is the modern classrooms project podcast.

Toni Rose Deanon  0:25  
Hello, and welcome to episode 171 of the modern classrooms project podcast. My name is Toni Rose Deanon, they them pronouns, the designated hype person here at MCP, and I'm joined by MCP's Program Manager for teacher implementation, and a former implementer in her middle school math classes. Kendall Giacomini. Welcome, Kendall. 

Kendal Giacomini  0:48  
Hi, Toni Rose, how are you?

Toni Rose Deanon  0:54  
How did you reintroduce the model to your classes in January? 

Kendal Giacomini  0:59  
Yeah, I think this is a great question because I was thinking about it. And I realized that it's really not that different than if I were doing a traditional teaching model like I in January, I would still go over expectations, I would still, you know, review. How does this how do we behave in the classroom? Like, how do we ask a question? How do we do the all of these things. And so I really took that, and those procedures in those questions, and I just made it, quote, unquote, a modern classroom, right. So I started with the unit zero again, in January, even though I had done a unit zero in, when we start school September, I spent so long, I feel like I can't remember anything, I did another unit zero in January, just an updated version of it. So I actually had students more actively engaged in the creation process of the unit zero. So they created unit zero lessons. They were in groups, they made their little videos, which they were super excited about, because they had been watching just me for the last, you know, six months, or however long it was. And so they got to make their videos, I think we use Flipgrid, or something of the sort that was pretty simple for them to use. They created some practice, they created some mastery checks. So they created pretty much their entire unit zero. And it wasn't that I didn't want to create it for them. But there is something to say about when students explain something back to you that they truly understand what it is they're talking about. And so I wanted them to be able to verbalize those procedures. I was also very anxious and nervous to start because this is new, it was new for me. But it's also we have to remember new for the students as well. And so this type of learning, chances are unless you're in a school or a district that a large portion of your teachers are doing this model, chances are they've not experienced this before. And so starting mid year for the for our folks who are yes, finishing VMP, which is very exciting. That's soon coming up the end of that. Number one, and I know people say this all the time, but it's just start slow. Like I said, this is new for you, this is new for students. So don't do it, I did I kind of just like, let it all go and hope for the best. I would suggest though, since we are in the middle of the year, and students may have gotten into a routine of a traditional teaching method at this point. Try a mastery check, throw a few mastery checks in there, see how it goes, let students get comfortable. And then might even you might throw a Progress Tracker in right so one one piece at a time. But I also think that in speaking of the unit zero, you can do a unit zero with the standards that you need to teach, especially in the middle of the year here. You might do some lessons, modern classroom style, but as a whole group, just kind of walking students through how this is going to look and still be covering right those 1000s upon 1000s of standards that we need to get through by testing time, which is what April and so definitely starting slow is is a great way to at least dip your toe into the into the waters of modern classroom. A lot of times we want things to be like super clean and polished when we first do them. And that's just not going to happen necessarily with with this model. And so, I think just to keep reminding yourself that I'm going to try this one thing, and if it doesn't work, that's okay. I'll tweak it. I'll try something else. And just continually changing until you find something that does work for yourself that is sustainable. for you, but it's also, you know, well laid out for students. Yeah, keep keep that thought in your head, this is my first time, I'm going to try this. And if it's not perfect, cool, and if it is cool, like, no matter what it's going to take time, it's a journey. And on a journey, there are mountain ranges. And there, there are mole hills. So just figuring out what's gonna work best for you keeping that in mind that it's not going to just come out and be this beautiful, you know, Progress Tracker, or these beautiful mastery checks, you'll make them as best you can, with what knowledge you have, and then you move on from that. Trying to find that balance of making it simple enough that I could continue doing it, but making it in depth enough or detailed enough that it would be clear to students, that was a hard balance to find in the beginning, eventually, you know, we got closer to finding that balance. Again, I don't think anything was ever perfect. I don't think there was an end point where I was like, I did it, I did a modern classroom. So it was just constantly trying to find that balance. Now, on the opposite end of that, when I did find procedures and artifacts that did work, it was beautiful. It was it really was just I don't know how to express this in words clearly enough. And I don't know if I've I probably have said this enough. But in my mind, I haven't said it enough. It's just the model and finding that balance was what kept me in teaching. I for sure would have quit far sooner, had I not because what I was doing prior wasn't sustainable.

Toni Rose Deanon  6:51  
And also Kendal when we're thinking when we're talking about anxiety, because we want to be so good for our students. I think the anxiety also comes in I don't want to not name it, right. But it also comes from the stakeholders expectations, right? That could be our school leaders. It could be our school, it could be our community, it could be our families and caregivers, right. And so it's there's a lot of pressure that's on us as teachers, and we just want to do well. And we're scared sometimes that we won't do well, right? Because of a lot of things that that I just it's just wild out there. It's wild out there. And so, you know, educators and listeners alike, we really just want to say like everything you're feeling is valid, right? It is okay to be afraid it's okay to be hesitant. It's okay to be angry even. And also just understanding that all of that will pass. And then once you see and step back, like step back and see what your classroom looks like, because you've created independent, aware, students, right and collaborative students like it's just, it's just so beautiful. Like I missed that feeling of just like taking a step back in my classroom and just seeing Oh, like so and so just argued, like, outside my classroom, but now they're working together or like, oh, they had a heated moment. But now there were you know, it's just okay.

Lisa Doty  8:16  
Are you an educator who implements blended self paced, mastery based instruction in your classroom, join the modern classrooms community of innovative educators worldwide, and receive certified credentials, public recognition and access to exclusive swag. Hi there. I'm Lisa Doty, and I get to work with educators like you as they begin their teacher leadership journey. By applying for the distinguished modern classroom educator credential Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. So you can apply anytime to get started, navigate to www dot modern classrooms.org, forward slash distinguished educators. That's www dot modern classrooms.org. Forward slash distinguished hyphen, educators, we look forward to reviewing your submission soon.

Kendal Giacomini  9:12  
There is a large portion of people who are doing this by themselves. And whether that be by themselves in just their school or in the district. It happens. And so I think number one is inviting people into your space. I remember as a teacher being very hesitant to believe that something worked unless I saw it working. And maybe I still am that way a little bit but for sure inviting people in to kind of just peruse your space like how are things actually working in here? What what differences are there between what I'm doing in my space in a traditional teaching method versus what you're doing in your space as a modern classroom. I also would say though, even more impactful than then someone just coming into your room is allowing people to talk to your students. I have been on a lot of visits to different classrooms around the country. And let me tell you, students are honest, okay? They are very honest about what is going on in the classroom, and how they enjoy what's going on in the classroom. And so getting that feedback from the students, I think, is the most impactful, because they're the ones who are experiencing this, right? Like, yes, I'm doing this for you. But they are the ones who are learning in a new way that they haven't done before taking independence, like you mentioned, having a much higher degree of accountability for their learning. And so if you can hear from students, what's going well, I think that's the number one way to get people excited.

Toni Rose Deanon  10:57  
So our students know, like, Oh, I really like how this is going. Right. And, and they don't know the words modern classroom, which is fine. And I think like you said earlier to Kendall, when you heard the word modern classrooms like oh, my gosh, it's another thing, right? And so I think when we're talking to colleagues who know nothing about our model, I think it's just really saying, like, hey, like, I'm create, you know, I was able to create a student centered classroom, I was able to really understand where all of my students are, and they get to work on their own pace. That in itself is so much more exciting than saying, like, Hey, I'm employing this modern classroom model. And I think you should come check it out. Because I know like you as an educator, I'd be like, Nah, bro, I don't got time. This not I don't want to prioritize that. No, I'm cool. And then also with the reflections to where students are sharing what they like about how they're learning, not even saying like, what do you like about modern classroom model? No, it's like, how do you like how you're learning now. And having students share that as well. And then being like, hey, like, look at this, like students really enjoy and then sharing your, your data as well, that's also really important. And so sometimes not sometimes a lot of the times I always tell folks like you don't even really have to mention modern classrooms, you could just say, like, I'm doing this cool thing where students are now literally have access to all of the things that can bring the videos home and learn with their care caretakers, or their caregivers and their families. And learning just happens naturally and authentically, and collaboration is happening. And so that's definitely one way to get them excited.

Kendal Giacomini  12:35  
That's really my main role. And of course, yes, I have the honor of going into so many different classrooms across the states and providing that feedback and providing that support for people who are implementing, whether that be sitting down with them and discussing what the barriers are discussing, what what do they need. Because like you mentioned, we have so many resources and supports, are they meeting the needs of the people who would be using them, right, so we want to make sure that what we're providing is going to be useful, and it's going to be impactful, and it's going to be accessible to everybody. And so that's my main role, I do have an implementation support email. It's really implementation dot support at modern classrooms.org. Anyone can ever, like reach out to that whenever and that might be a, you know, we have an email discussion, or we can get on a zoom call, or I can guide you to the person who's going to help you the best connecting with them mentor, whoever it is just to have a listening ear, or have somebody you can, you know, bounce ideas off of. Because as much as we love the collaboration between our students in a modern classroom, we also believe that collaboration amongst teachers is what drives us forward. And so, yeah, like I mentioned, you know, we have incredible mentors, and and I'm happy to connect people with those mentors, even, you know, we have other we have colleagues who do implementation support. And so just finding who is going to be the best support for you what is going to be the best support how we can make the support the soft parts better, so that they're being used and that they are effective.

Toni Rose Deanon  14:20  
Yeah, and I also want to say, too, if there's a resource that you want, we probably already have it. And it's better to start with some kind of template rather than starting with a blank slate, right? Because sometimes when we have a blank slate, it takes us a lot of time and energy and effort to figure out what we want. But here in modern classroom, we definitely have resources. Were just like, hey, I really want to do this. And one of us will say, Oh my gosh, we already have that. Here you go, go ham. Do you know, do what you got to do with this template? And then let us know how it works for you. And I think another reminder to Kendal you know, as educators we always want our students to advocate for themselves. This is a skill that we want our students to have is to advocate for your needs, especially for students with IEPs and 504s, right? Like, you have to know what you need and what you want to be able to learn. And so I push and challenge our educators also to advocate for yourselves. You don't know how many times I like, I can't even count how many times I've gotten emails from educators that are like, hey, I want to do this. But one of your thought partner and be like, hey, yeah, Heck, yeah, Heck, yeah. Or, you know, a teacher would say, I need this, I want this, this is what's missing, that y'all is making my life easier, because I don't have to figure out what you're missing, you are telling me already. So don't see yourself as a burden, you're not burdening us, like, literally tell us what you need. And we would be more than happy to try our best to accommodate to whatever it is that you need. So as educators, we tell our students to advocate for themselves. As former educators, we are telling you, listeners as educators to advocate for yourself as well, let us know what we can do to make your life a little bit easier when implementing this model. And we will try our best to make sure that we help alleviate some of those stressors.

Kendal Giacomini  16:16  
But I would also just just want to see people feel comfortable implementing this. And feel comfortable asking for help, like you mentioned, I want people, educators, whoever is implementing this model or attempting to implement this model, to feel like they can do so effectively. And that's a very lofty goal, because there are so many people who are implementing this. But I do believe that there are resources that we can provide, that we already have access to that we can tweak, like right, like we're always tweaking things. To make it more I'm not sure even the right word just to make it feel more easy, quote unquote easy to implement this if you're on your own or if you have other colleagues in your building who are doing this. So a big goal, a big goal, but I really just, I appreciate the research behind figuring out what people need. And I want to continue talking to people and just doing what we can to meet their needs.

Toni Rose Deanon  17:29  
Listeners remember, you can always email us at podcast at modern classrooms.org. And you could find the show notes for this episode of podcast that modern classrooms.org/ 171 We'll have this episode's transcripts uploaded by Friday, so be sure to check back to access those. Also we are asking our listeners to leave a review if this podcast has been helpful in supporting you to create a more student centered learning environment. It does help other folks find it. Thank you all for listening. Have a great week and we'll be back next Sunday.

Zach Diamond  18:02  
Thank you so much for listening. You can find links to topics and tools we discussed in our show notes for this episode. And remember, you can learn more about our work at WWW dot modern classrooms.org. And you can learn the essentials of our model through our free course at Learn dot modern classrooms.org. You can follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at modern class proj that's p r o j we are so appreciative of all you do for students in schools. Have a great week and we'll be back next Sunday with another episode of the modern classrooms project podcast.