Zach Diamond 0:03 Steve, 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. Hello and welcome to episode number 220 of the modern classrooms project podcast. My name is Zach diamond, and I'm a high school media production teacher in Washington, DC, and, of course, a modern classrooms implementer. And today I'm joined by Marlene Tapia Garcia, who has been on the podcast before. And additionally, this time, I'm joined by three of her first grade students who I am super excited to have on the podcast, Olivia Aria and Ethan. Welcome everyone to the podcast, Marlene Tapia-Garcia 1:06 I was highly interested in using the modern classroom model to help students who are learning languages to also learn content at the same time, and to make sure that I'm helping every student, master the objectives, master our learning, develop the skills and develop that academic language in a in a way that is challenging and fun at the same time. Zach Diamond 1:32 Yeah, that's fantastic. And I mentioned this briefly, but I should say you have been on the podcast before to tell us all about this class. That episode was in Spanish, but I'll link it in the show notes, and there is an English write up of the episode as well, if listeners would like to hear more, because that's a really cool program, and I think we might just get to hear a little bit of Spanish later. From from you. All right, yeah, yeah. All right. All right. You Arya 2:03 I think what's special about Miss Tapia class is that she, she helps us a lot. And I like that we used to, we get to like, try to to like, um, we get to like, um, we get to help people, and people help us. And then so and then, and then we can do it by ourselves. Then we can just learn more. Marlene Tapia-Garcia 2:29 We start the modern classroom model through a whole group activity. So in this case, we implement the spring math with all where all the students can work together. They work on different strategies, for example, addition, subtraction, families. They talk together, they discuss the strategies, and they meet a whole class goal, and then they move on to the next goal, the next strategy, the next the next challenge, and they adopt a role of teacher and in that, in that process altogether, and the class gets excited because they need a goal as a whole class. Then after doing that, the students move to the blended learning, mastery based self paced portion where, where they get a tracker every week, they learn about two to three lessons per week they self pace, and it's it's a way for them to have choice And to be challenged as they learn at different rates. So they have should do, a must do, a should do and aspire to do activities. So they always have to watch my videos, since they will help them learn the objective. Then they can play math games in the boxes so they can discuss strategies, use manipulatives and consolidate their learning, and also they have a paper so they can review strategies, or they can also review previously learned strategies, and then they can have some should do activities like I excel, where they can use technology. We also have their book. These are things that they don't have to do, but if they have the time and they master the objective, then they can continue doing that. Arya 4:38 I like that. We can go on our own pace, because we have a time, but, um, but we get our own pace at that time. So it's not like we have to fast forward a video, because we get enough time to try to finish. I like that too, because then you can just go at your own pace and learn, and then going at your own pace helps you. Because then it will, then you can learn more. Yeah, um, I like this piece because that, um, like, sometimes, like, when we have a time, I sort of like to finish it in like one minute. Then for like time, I want to, like, draw things in the back. Sometimes I want, Zach Diamond 5:23 and you get to because you finished faster. Can you? Can you? Okay? MCP in contar unos de lo de las palabras del vocabulario mathematico que conocen Arya 5:38 numerico en un Seattle numerical Summa, Irish, Zach Diamond 5:46 wow. I am impressed. Great job. What a great job. I'm just so impressed. I mean, the language learning alone is incredible, but the fact that they're learning math in Spanish is I that's just unbelievably incredible. I'm so proud of you all that's that's awesome, calling all school and district leaders. There are still two days left to register for our leaders summit on Tuesday, January 24 leaders will learn practical skills from fellow leaders, attend workshops of their choice and connect with the modern classrooms project leadership, collaborative community. Modern classrooms co founder Rob Barnett is our featured keynote speaker, and will share insights from his book, meet every learner's needs alongside voices of students, educators and leaders. We invite educators to share the summit with their leaders, and we invite leaders to register, and I will have that link in the show notes for you as a reminder Tony Rose and I would love to have your student on this podcast. If you think they have a cool story to tell, or you have something cool to say, we would love to hear from them. We love to elevate student voices, as I hope is evident in this incredible episode with Marlene and her three students. If you do have such a student, you can reach out to us at podcast@modernclassrooms.org, by email, so students of any age are welcome on the podcast, from elementary preschool all the way up to adult learners. We would love to hear more about the student experience of learning in a modern classroom. But with that, let's get back into it with this short cast with Marlene and her students. Does math feel less scary that way? How do you feel about math? Arya 7:33 It feels less scary when you're already into it, because when you're into it, then you already know what you're doing, and then like, you're into it, so you already know, like what you can do and like what you need to do. So when you're more like, after you get started with it, it's more easy, because then you're into it enough, and then you don't have to worry about anything else. A little bit like Olivia, but a little bit different, because I think it's actually more fun and easy when you start it, because then, like, because then you get to do some fun stuff before you have to do the math stuff. I think maybe, like, um, it's, it's not scary a lot, because that, like, for instance, I took lots of people in this classroom, like, just do it. They're like, they're not nervous to do what. I like seeing people do things. Zach Diamond 8:34 Maybe they should come and convince my high schoolers to do their work. Arya 8:39 Okay, you it violent. Zach Diamond 8:44 What happens when you make a mistake in Miss Tapia class? How does she help you to understand the mistake and correct it Arya 8:50 when, when you make a mistake, or just some or something an accident? Um, you can either try to turn it right, um, or you're allowed to try again, because we have a lot of them and but mostly, the first thing that we always do is try to try to turn it into the right thing. Like if I put three plus four and I put nine inside of seven, I can try to turn the nine into a seven, or I could try again on another paper, and it's okay to make a mistake. Everyone always thinks. And when we make a mistake of Francis, you can do it or you can do it again. Yeah, and sometimes and sometimes, Miss Tapia sends, sends, since the person that made a mistake with another partner that that already did the the paper. When I make a mistake, I try to like x them. I try to like x what, whatever it is. And then I like put it over somewhere, side or somewhere. Zach Diamond 9:57 Do you ever go back and watch the. Video again, or use some other resource. Or do you always ask somebody else was with you? Arya 10:05 I like seeing lots of people like after the video Like, or maybe inside, when you're looking at the video, you like, go to table six. There's numbers for tables we have and um, then Miss Tapp brings two partners at a time, and um, then she then she likes, um, makes it just a feel. I forgot that to say the Unknown Speaker 10:33 next Zach Diamond 10:33 that's a feel, yeah, a challenge. Arya 10:36 Um, yeah, um, so then, um, like, I think so if they, like, don't know what it is, or something like that. Miss toppy is like, go watch the video again and listen. Or if there's a mistake or something wrong on your paper, she either tells you if there's a mistake, or she has a table that she teaches other kids what the video said or asks them, and she has little features that she sits on the table makes little stories. You had have to do a repeat. And it's just like doing a few stories over and over again. It's about doing different stories. If you mess up when you can try again with different Marlene Tapia-Garcia 11:26 ones. It is, it is a process for us as a community to to build that independence and to work on this appeals our mastery checks and to know that we're going to do that mastery check on our own and without help, and by looking at our videos and by taking our notes and preparing and we learned that that we it's okay if we do a mistake, then we can use our resources, which is re watching the video, going through a Small group with me and learn it in a different way, or go with another student, which is a math teacher, somebody who has previously learned a master the objective to then talk a little bit about how to correct it. And again, don't make that mistake. Again. It's okay to make mistakes, but let's just learn it. Let's just use the feedback. And as students have a have a routine for that. They go with, with the students. They put a necklace and, and then we learn our phrases. You can do it. And let's, let's listen to what we have to do and, and let's, let's learn from that feedback that that we have. Arya 12:38 If you already did this paper, whatever it was, and his friend is struggling on doing it. There's your necklace that says math and Monte Carlo teacher, that means math teacher and um, when you put it on, you help the student try to get their um, to try to get their work just like theirs, to make it right. And Miss Tapio, well, he'll give you a board that has some math problems that that, that this, that, that the other person has to solve, but then you can help him or her a little bit, and then they have to do it by themselves. Yeah, Zach Diamond 13:19 that's awesome. Arya 13:24 I think it's really cool to try to learn by yourself instead of like copying the teacher, because when you learn by yourself, you can learn more. And I think when you learn more and you you finish your goals in the future, you could probably get more goals done, because you already learned that instead of skipping it. I think that, um, when, when I go to a new grade, then I think that I can learn more, but then I also will still know what I learned from the last grade that I've been in. Marlene Tapia-Garcia 14:06 I will definitely continue using the modern classroom model. I I know that it that it helps the students, and I know that it helps them learn how to learn and learn skills that go beyond just just the curriculum, and it is also about them, learning how to persevere, learn how to be independent, learn how to develop their metacognition skills and how to reflect on their learning and even to know how they learn best into saying, Do I like to learn through the video? Do I like to learn through my notes? Do I like to learn from another student? Do I like to learn from the teacher? There's so many options, and they get to know that. But at at the young age of six or seven, and the positive disposition into saying, I just we just do it, and we just correct our mistakes and and, and believe that learning is is a process and, and it is not about just being right or wrong, it is all about how you learn. So I really hope to continue developing that, continue refining my strategies, and continue doing the model and adding new things as I as I continue implementing it. Zach Diamond 15:42 You John, 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@www.modernclassrooms.org and you can learn the essentials of our model through our free course@learn.modernclassrooms.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. You Transcribed by https://otter.ai