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. Toni Rose Deanon 0:28 Hello and welcome to episode 201 of the modern classrooms project podcast. My name is Toni Rose Diana, and they them pronouns, a designated hype person here at MCP, and I am joined by a fifth grade teacher and an MCP lover, Megan. Welcome Megan. Megan Meachum 0:45 Hello. Toni Rose Deanon 0:47 It's so exciting to be in this space with you, and thank you so much for saying yes to the podcast. So before we get started, what is bringing you joy currently? Megan Meachum 0:56 Oh, let's see. I think my boys, one's going into fourth grade, and one is in middle school. I'm learning how to be a middle school mom. It's a lot of hormones involved, but I do really enjoy hanging out with my boys. Toni Rose Deanon 1:12 Oh, I love that so much. Aren't middle schoolers just the best? Megan Meachum 1:16 It's, uh, it's an adventure. Toni Rose Deanon 1:18 Yeah, you only have, like, three years of middle school. So that's fine. Megan Meachum 1:24 We're going to seventh grade. So I've got one year down. These are two more. Toni Rose Deanon 1:29 Oh, okay, okay, seventh grade is rough, and it's my favorite grade to teach. So, oh, good luck. Have fun. All right. Well, Megan, tell us the listeners about more about who you are and how you started your MCP journey. Megan Meachum 1:46 Okay, well, I have always wanted to be a teacher. My first classroom was my little brother and my sister and the stuffed animals, and they got way more homework than my current students do. But um, yeah, I've been working in the schools for about 15 years. This will be my I think ninth year as like a full time teacher. I I've been in fifth grade the longest and and I do love working with fifth graders. They they get the little sassy by the end of the year, but we have some fun conversations modern classroom. I, I discovered it 2023 I, I noticed that students in the in how things were going in the classroom, we're not really the same as they used to be. Like 15 years ago, it was getting, like, a little harder to reach them, and they're growing up in this like Youtube world and social media and traditional learning. Just I didn't feel like it was really working in my classroom, and I was getting desperate, so I discovered this modern classroom project, and everything I am seeing and hearing, I'm like, Yes, Yes, that's me. That's me. And I just fell in love, and so now I'm a mentor. I just finished my first summer mentoring and helping other teachers, and I've just been loving it. Toni Rose Deanon 3:14 Oh my gosh. Congratulations on becoming a mentor. And you and I spent some time in Salt Lake City, Utah, actually, and so I got to hear a little bit of your story. So we'll get we'll get more into that as well, from like, what I can remember, and you can also be, like, wrong person. It's not me, but I just know that I'm so excited again, to share this space with you now, virtually, now on a podcast. And also want to give a shout out to your husband, who is probably going to listen to this, because you were just saying that he's so excited you're going to be on a podcast. Well, yeah, no. I mean, I'm sure that a lot of our listeners can resonate with you. As far as you know, what, like, the traditional way of teaching and learning hasn't been the best way for me and for my students, so I gotta figure out something better, right? And so kudos to you for staying in education, for continuing to innovate, continuing to just revamp as much as you can to better serve all of your students. And so listeners, this is a huge deal, because Megan actually has been recently recognized as 2024 you sets innovative teacher congratulations. Also tell us more about that. Megan Meachum 4:26 Well, it was a total surprise to me. I had no idea that I had been nominated. I just got like, a congratulations email, and I was like, what so very, surprised, very like, humbled and honored. I there's just so many amazing teachers out there, and, you know, teachers don't get a whole lot of recognition, maybe not very many thank yous. And it was kind of nice for someone to, like, reassure me, like I was doing something, right? So, like, I mean, it was just out of desperation, really. I I just was. And guilty, like I really wanted to meet my students needs, and I knew I wasn't really doing that, and so I just started trying lots of new things, taking really big risks, and but the students were getting more engaged, and they were learning more, and I was enjoying teaching more. So yeah, it was. It's been a really exciting time. Toni Rose Deanon 5:22 Did you ever find out who nominated you? Megan Meachum 5:25 I have a suspicion, yeah, Toni Rose Deanon 5:28 well, I mean, no, that's really exciting. Like, what a nice surprise, right? Like, I mean, that's, that's really, really, really amazing. And I really love this thing that you said. Of like, I just started, like, other things, I started taking bigger risks, and then I just started enjoying teaching more, which then equates to our students enjoying learning more, right? Because there's definitely a correlation there and a connection. So I'm really glad to hear that you are now back to like enjoying being a teacher, because I think sometimes, you know, it's hard. It's hard. Megan Meachum 6:01 Yeah, I had some rough years. I was really rethinking my life. Like, is this really what I want to do? Like, can I keep doing this? And so, yeah, I knew I was going to need to take some risks and do the things I knew needed to be done, but that were going to be a challenge and that maybe I wouldn't always be supported. A lot of people were thinking I was kind of crazy, but it I saw the benefits in my classroom and in my own teaching. So yeah, I'm gonna keep going with it. Toni Rose Deanon 6:35 Yes, no, I love to hear that. And I guess, like, just kind of a follow up question too, because I know that you and I talked a lot about your experience as a rural teacher, right when you were in, when you were teaching in other parts, are you still in a rural city? Like, what's your Yeah, tell us. Tell us more about that. Because I'm always so fascinated about that. Megan Meachum 6:54 Yeah, small town, Southern Utah, I think we have, I think 100/5 graders is like the most we've ever had. It's, yeah, very small. Everyone knows everyone and but, I mean, I do, I do love being in a small town. You do have, I think, stronger relationships sometimes, because we do get to know each other really well, and we've got to do home visits too during the summer, so they can meet me and I can meet them, and first day of school is not so scary. Toni Rose Deanon 7:29 I love that, you know, just like a smaller community. And I don't know if I've said this already, but I didn't realize that I actually was a product of rural schools until I moved to Montgomery, Alabama with my sister. And I was like, why does this all feel familiar? And she was like, because you went to a rural school? And I was like, Oh, my did I? I did. So it's just like, one of those things. You're like, Huh? I had no idea that it was, I guess I knew, but I forgot. I don't know, but that was such a wild awakening for me. And so now I've just been more curious about rural education and rural educators and just the experience of that, because I know as a student, it was a very fascinating experience, to say the least. So I guess my question is, so you have 100/5 graders, is the most that you've had, and are you the only teacher who's implementing the model in your school? Megan Meachum 8:31 Yes, yes, I am. I would love to share more with them, and I have gotten to talk a little bit to my school, my the faculty just kind of let them know about some opportunities to learn more about modern classroom. And a few others have started to get interested, and some of them are checking out the programs. So I'm excited. I hope more of them do. And I always have like, kind of like open doors, like, come visit my classroom anytime and ask me questions, and I just, I love helping other teachers to find modern classroom too. Toni Rose Deanon 9:06 Yeah. I mean, no pressure to Megan at all. I just find it to be again, one of those things where I'm like, Okay, you're an island on your own, right? So how do you then create, I guess my question is, like you're the only person who's implementing this. How are you keeping your sanity? Megan Meachum 9:24 Oh, well, I think modern classroom is helping me to keep my sanity. I was losing it before, so but we still collaborate, and we still we have some rotations planned for next year. We're still working together, and I still have my team of fifth grade teachers, and I just, I help out other teachers where I can. I'm not totally alone. Toni Rose Deanon 9:50 Okay, okay, so it seems like you're pretty supported, which is always a good thing, right? And so when you shifted into this way of teaching, how did. You, how have you involved caregivers and the community and this, like, new learning model, and then, like, what strategies have you used to communicate the benefits of self paced and mastery based learning? Because I know time and time again, we get questions like this, of just like, how do you communicate this? Because I'm having a hard time, and then now thinking like, you're in a rural community and it's a smaller community, so how did you communicate that? How did you nurture the questions that folks came up with, or rather like if there were any hesitation, how did you navigate those conversations? Megan Meachum 10:36 Well, I'm pretty excited for this next year, because I do want to be able to share with the caregivers at home more of like what we're doing in class and how it kind of looks a little different and sounds a little different, but the benefits have been super clear, I think, and obvious when students are going home and They're excited to tell their families about what the new things that they tried in class. And so sometimes parents would be like, I heard you were doing something different. And so first it was like kind of curiosity, and now I think that I can really show them the benefits and that the differences may be scary at first, they really are going to be a good thing. So I'm excited to, like, maybe even make some instructional videos for the parents to watch and let them explore the online materials. So I've got some plans for this next year to really get home more involved. But even the students like they one of the challenges I faced was that they just weren't used to something different. They were used to a teacher at a whiteboard lecturing, and they're just copying down notes. And when I change that, they're just kind of like, whoa, whoa, whoa. Like, I don't think I like this. And I'm like, Just give it a chance, and I by the end of the year, most of my class, I would say about 90% because I did a little survey, about 90% of my class did not want to go back to traditional teaching and lectures. They they really did enjoy learning in a modern, modern classroom model. Toni Rose Deanon 12:19 Oh, that's so fun to hear and thinking like, these are what 10 year olds right? 10 and 1110. And 11, and they were able to articulate like, no, actually, really like this way of teaching and learning, because it's just so much more accessible for me, is what I'm gathering that they're saying, right? And I also really love this thing too, where you know you were saying, like, our students are sharing this with their folks, right? Like, and it makes me think about how our model has expanded because of word of mouth, right? Like, our educators absolutely love this model, so therefore they're telling all of their other educator friends and besties, right? Of like, Hey, I'm doing this thing. Or, like, at least pick, like, gaining a lot of curiosity from other colleagues that are like, Hey, what are you doing? Right? Like, students are talking about it, and then teachers are talking about that's like, a great way to just really talk about what the model is about, right? And, and I love this whole thing of like, hey, if students are like, really excited and they're able to articulate what they're learning like, why not? Right? I Megan, I'm so excited to see this instructional video that you create for caregivers. So when you create it, please share it with me, because I would love to just peek and just see how, how it goes. Okay? Well, thank you for sharing that. And so let's, let's shift to your fifth grade students, right? So you net, you know you've talked about how it's really beneficial share with us some ways that self pacing has been impactful in your fifth grade classes. Are you implementing this in all of your subjects? Do you teach all subjects? Yeah. Tell us anything, everything? Megan Meachum 14:01 Yeah, I would say that self pacing was the element that my students appreciated the most. They were so happy to move at their own speed, whether it was spending more time with a lesson and not feeling like they were always being pushed and rushed, or it was the students who felt like I already know this, like I want to move faster, and I let them, and they loved that. So self pacing was huge in my class, that the students really loved that, and I saw a huge change in the engagement. I remember standing in front of them trying to teach this whole class lesson earlier in the year, and they're just like, not with me. I saw some eyeballs being drawn in their math books and playing in their desks. And. Just the engagement was very low. My students were getting behind in their work because it just really weren't doing it, and it didn't matter how, like, exciting and entertaining I tried to be, I just I wasn't really reaching them. And then this shift happened, and they're watching me on the computer, and they're listening and they're taking notes, and they're working on their own, and they're all getting caught up on their work. And I even had a special education teacher come to me and say, What are you doing? The students that we share are so excited, and they're telling me, Oh, I've already learned this, and let me help my they want to help the other students that they were working with. And it was just, I was like, kind of shocked, because I'm like, this is the same thing that I was doing in front of you at the whiteboard, and all I had to do is throw on a computer screen and all of a sudden you love you, like listening, I don't know, but it somehow worked. And so I'm like, hey, I'll go with it. So we started out with some math, and then some reading, little bit of science. I do teach, like, all of it. And this year I'm hoping to just do all of it, like all day, every day, modern classroom, yeah, Toni Rose Deanon 16:21 and that Okay, so, yeah, that was, that was the second question that I asked, right? Like, I'm just chuckling now, because I'm like, Oh, my ADHD, right? I did not take my meds today, so I'm glad you were able to remember that it was you started money and reading and math, right? And then you're hoping to do that, I'm guessing in social studies and science as well, right? Yes, and it seems like you're excited, not overwhelmed? Megan Meachum 16:48 Oh yes, no. I have been building lessons all summer, and last year it does take some time to build, but, I mean, once it's built, it's ready to go. I'm excited for maybe, like, next year, when I probably don't have to do any work in the summer and I can actually have a vacation. But yeah, I'm really hoping to expand it to the full day, every day, if I never have to stand in front of a whiteboard and lecture again like I would be okay with that. I'm going to be working with my students, one on one, small groups finally meeting their needs, like I knew needed to be done, that I wanted to do, but I just didn't have the time. Now I will. Toni Rose Deanon 17:31 Oh, I love that so much. And it makes me chuckle too, because I remember being in the classroom and I would always stress out about like, what am I teaching today? What did I cover yesterday? I forgot what I said yesterday, and now with like, videos and like seriously, with self pacing, you really have to backwards plan right. Like you, there's no way around it. Like for you to be able to create an impactful and effective, inefficient self pacing learning environment, you have to do your backwards planning, right? So you need to know, like, what standards you're covering, what videos you're gonna make, what their practice is gonna look like, what mastery checks look like. And so if anything, there's a lot more planning with self pacing. It's not just like releasing our students and just being like, good luck. Megan Meachum 18:18 It is not a free for all it's very planned, very structured, to make everything as smooth and efficient as possible, and to really make sure that they are mastering each skill and not just moving on to the next thing. Which I like that too, because there were so many times where I knew they didn't get it. But we had to keep going. We had to get through this many lessons and this many days, and I always felt bad, like I know they didn't get it, but I have to keep going, and not with mastery based learning. It's so nice to know that they really do have it, and I'm not just rushing them on and then they feel confident. I started to see their confidence growing. And they're like, hey, I can do this. This was so easy. And I'm like, Toni Rose Deanon 19:06 yes, okay, so, so another follow up question for you was that, when you implemented this model, how long did it take for your students to, like, embrace it and accept it and like, love it? Megan Meachum 19:19 Hmm, some of them right away. They liked watching videos. They liked working on their own. They liked going faster. Some of them were a little more reluctant. It took some getting used to, but I would say, pretty quick they got into it. There was one point I remember I had to, kind of like, step back and work out some kinks. Like, oh, you kind of skipped some things there. I better work that out. So, yeah, there were some kinks to work out, but it just kept getting better and better. Toni Rose Deanon 19:55 I love that. I mean, it's kind of very similar to my journey too, like we definitely tweaked it. It probably every week, because, you know, our students are so real. They're like, hey, this, this wasn't it, or this was really hard to understand, or this wasn't accessible, like, I cannot access it. So there's, like, shared settings, or something that's not, that's not the quote, unquote, correct way. And so I love that this, this environment also really encouraged our students to be advocates, right, to just, like, be able to, like, say, Hey, I don't get it, or I do get it, or, like, I need help. So here are the people that I can go and ask, because it doesn't just have to be my teacher right now. So I love, I love all of that. And so, Megan, how, how did you feel about self like, shifting from a traditional way of teaching and learning to more of a modern classroom, like blended self paced mastery. Base like, Was this something that was, I know I can hear the excitement, right? You love, you loved, like, revamping and trying out new things, but I think you know for for this to work, you really had to relinquish control. So how did you feel about that? And then, of course, you're working with 1011, year olds. How did you trust that your students would do what they're supposed to do, or at least do what they think is best for their learning. Megan Meachum 21:23 Well, I would say that modern classroom really envelops everything that I believed in, that wasn't always happening in the classroom. So there was a long time, years where I knew I wanted to do things different, but it was scary. It was hard to like change things and be different from the other schools, or the other teachers, the rest of your team, the way that they the families were used in, the kids were used to it was a risk, but I finally got brave enough, I guess I don't know, I just, I just had to, I had to make a change. And it it was worth it to me, and I think, to the students. But yeah, it did. It took some years to be brave enough to really do it, do what I wanted to do, and modern classroom sort of helped me have that like courage and confidence to make the big changes. And the students are very smart, and sometimes they did find some loopholes, some ways to kind of get around things. I kind of learned some tricks based on the little tricks and loopholes that they found. For example, how do I know if my students are watching these instructional videos, maybe they're fast forwarding, or they're just skipping it all together and going straight for the practice. So those are some of the kinks that I learned about that I had to work out there. There's lots of great tools out there that the modern classroom programs do teach you about so you can get rid of fast forwarding, or you can throw in embedded questions. I can have them logging in. So I used a lot of the resources that modern classroom provides to learn how to set up these lessons the best way possible. Toni Rose Deanon 23:18 I love that. I love that. Yeah, yeah, I'm just sitting in processing, like, I love this thing that you said, like, modern classroom just built up my confidence, right? Like, I was able to be brave enough, because these are all the things I've been wanting to do, I just didn't know how. And so I think it's just so wonderful to hear you, and I don't think I've heard that, you know, like, I've always heard educators say, Oh, now I get to create an equitable classroom right where my our, all of our students are engaged and just having so much fun. And like, learning is fun again. There's autonomy, there's, you know, all of these things, but I haven't heard. I haven't heard lately, or I haven't just heard, or maybe I'm not in the right spaces, I don't know, but So Megan, thank you for just sharing that of like, Hey, y'all actually helped me build my confidence in creating this space for my students, something that I've always wanted to do. So oh my gosh, look at you. Megan Meachum 24:16 No, really, it was like a miracle for me. I was really struggling. I wasn't sure if I want to be a teacher anymore, and everything was, there's just a lot of struggles, and I found the modern classroom project. And I'm like, This is me? Like, this is it? This is the how I've been looking for and it the training. Like you. By the time the summer was done, I was ready to go. I was ready to implement it. You know, you go to a lot of conferences and trainings and you're like, these are great things. I love what you're saying. But how, like, how do I do this in my classroom? And I find. Got the house, and so yes, the excitement is coming back, the confidence is building back up. And I'm like, okay, yes, I am doing something, right? And I am helping these students, and then building their confidence too. And that's what I've always wanted. I always wanted my students to be confident and enjoy learning again. Get rid of that boring stuff, right? Toni Rose Deanon 25:22 That's what I say all the time, too. So thank you for saying it for me. So we've been talking a lot about just wins and, like, celebrating the model and how it's impacted you and your students. So let's get down to the, you know, the the nitty gritty, like the dirty part of it, which is, like, the biggest challenges, right? Like retention that has happened when you, when you, you know, started transitioning your classroom from a traditional to a blended, self paced and mastery based approach. So, yeah, share those biggest challenges. And then also, like, how did you overcome those hurdles? Megan Meachum 25:58 Yeah, I did. I was able to work out some of the kinks that I discovered along the way, like making sure that they're actually watching the videos and, like the grading, I had to kind of work out, like the best way to work in the grading without I didn't want to spend all my time grading. I want to spend it with the kids, so I was able to kind of make adjustments and work out some of those kinks there. There are some struggles I see with some teachers who want to use the model and maybe aren't getting the full support. But I do feel like as modern classroom is is getting more known and it's getting out there, and teachers are talking about it, and students are talking about it. I have seen that support start to grow a little bit in my community. Even more teachers are going to workshops, more teachers are signing up for the trainings, and we're talking about it and how we can take our curriculum and utilize it in a modern classroom model. That was a big challenge, especially with some schools where it's like, oh, this is the way we do it. This is how we use our curriculum. And we're kind of like breaking that, but we're like, we're still using it, so we take what we have and use it in a modern classroom model. That's been that's a huge challenge. I think me and some other teachers I've talked with have faced, Toni Rose Deanon 27:23 I love that. I love that the sharing part, not the challenges, and also just, you know, again, like this, finding your community, right? Like finding folks to have conversations with, to help you process and reflect on some of the things that you're you find challenging. I know that at my rural school experience, we lacked a lot of resources, right? And so how do you overcome if you are lacking resources? How do you overcome that? Because I know I think you and I had a conversation about Wi Fi, right? And like internet access, so yeah, how do you because I know I've worked with rural educators too, who are like, I don't have signal. Like, I can't even meet with you on Zoom because I don't have signal right now. And I'm just like, whoa. Like, this really is rural. So like, how do you overcome those kind of challenges? Megan Meachum 28:16 Luckily, like, we are pretty blessed in that we do have internet and I do have a Chromebook for every student. And technology is getting a little bit better, especially looking forward to the air conditioning that we're getting in our classrooms this year in our 60 year old school. Toni Rose Deanon 28:34 Moving on up, Megan Meachum 28:38 we are definitely getting some new and better technology, which is really great, but yeah, there are some days where it's like, Oh, what if the internet went out? Like, then what do we do? And I think that I would just try the best we could to, like, continue working with each other and keeping the self pacing going. It would probably look a little different, because they couldn't watch the videos, but maybe we could, they could just come to me for a small group lesson, and hopefully it would just be for like, a day. Toni Rose Deanon 29:08 I know we because we get those questions too, of like, Oh, what if there's no internet, then what do we do? And it's like, oh, this is where you can have like, whole group conversations, not necessarily a lecture, right? But like, conversations, discussions, doing, like, collaborative work. I know some educators are super prepared project day, yes, yes, exactly. And some of our educators are also super prepared with like, they print out a copy at least half amount of their students, like, half those copies, right? So they have copies so that folks can actually access those just in case. So there are definitely a lot of different ways, but thank you. Yes, I'm also really grateful that y'all have internet and all the things that you need to you know, basically Thrive out here. So, okay, yes. But I was, like, interesting, interesting, but also like, you know what? The more I talk to educators all over, the more I'm learning so much. All right, so Megan, what strategies? Because I know that you've talked about how your engagement. So can you give us some strategies that you've used to continue to increase engagement and also motivation? Megan Meachum 30:26 Yeah, I find that the students do really love working on the computers. So the blended learning is really great. They engage with that, and it kind of motivates them. Does they like doing it on a computer, there's opportunities for them to, like, move ahead. Some students really like that, like, if they Oh, like, I'm ahead of everyone. But sometimes that's just self motivation. I give opportunities for them to be helpers to each other. We call them a tour guide in my class, so they can be a tour guide and help others. And sometimes they just even get up, like, play some learning games and and so they'll want to, like, make sure that they're finishing their lesson so they can play those really fun learning games. This the aspire to do activities. And this should do activities, all that extra fun stuff that they're still learning from. Toni Rose Deanon 31:20 Okay, yeah, question, tour guides. Where did that? How did you come up with that? Megan Meachum 31:26 I kind of have like, a exploring, adventure type theme in my room, so I try to make it like, kind of all go together. So I'm like, What can I call like, these student, like, peer helpers and like, oh, a tour guide. So it just goes with my theme. They have like, a little badge. They can wear a badge. Toni Rose Deanon 31:45 Oh, that's so cute. I mean, it's just, it's so clever, it's so clever, it's so creative. And then also, just like the fact that, you know, you mentioned, like, intrinsic motivation, right? Like, that is what we actually want our students to have. And so, you know, I used to bribe my students with, like, candies. I'm like, if you do this, I'll give you this. And then quickly realize, like that was, it backfired on me. And so it's not, you know, and so like that was probably, like, my first two, three years of teaching where I was like, Oh, like this, this science teacher is doing it so I can do it too. And then realizing that, like, wait a minute, it's got because then my students were like, well, do I get candy for it? No, we're just here to learn. Megan Meachum 32:31 Well, if it wasn't candy that they liked, then they weren't going to work for it. Toni Rose Deanon 32:35 Yes, exactly, exactly. And so this whole sense of, like, self motivation, intrinsic motivation. That's really what we want, as opposed to, like, giving, you know, a physical thing for our students to get them to learn, right? Like, there's got to be this desire. We got to set this desire for them to learn themselves. Megan Meachum 32:56 Yeah, and the collaboration has really helped motivate them too. Like, to let them work together and help each other, but I like to provide some collaboration activities as well, both on the computer and off the computer. But there are some really great ones online, some interactive like slideshow type lessons, like Nearpod, things like that, where they can do collaboration boards and they're chatting about the books that they're reading, they're making they're recording themselves and doing little videos. They really love that they they're like a YouTube star for the day, and then they get to comment on each other's videos. So I like to try to find those really fun collaborative opportunities. And that does motivate them too, Toni Rose Deanon 33:37 yes, and that's the thing, right? Like we want our students to be talking, we want all of our students to be talking. I mean, especially for our students who are emergent bilingual, multilinguals, right? For students who are learning English like we want them to speak. Y'all speaking and noise is actually good. And you know, I always tell my students, too, if you can talk about it, then you can be about it, right? Like, if you can teach your peers how to do this, then great. And another thing too, that I loved with the collaborative aspect of it was that I would see students pairing up with other students whom I would have never thought would pair up. And so it was like, one of those things of like, Oh no, I'm gonna go sit with this, this peer instead of my friend, because I have this work to do. And I'm like, wait, what? You're a sixth grader making good decisions. That's really dope, actually. Megan Meachum 34:32 Yeah. And like, the the kids who are more like shy, the ones who they never raise their hand, never want to be called on, all of a sudden, they're like, growing and blooming like, because they're on the computer and they can write about it or speak about it or record themselves, there was so many more ways for them to interact and engage with others that wasn't so, like, stressful, Toni Rose Deanon 34:56 yeah, yeah. And, like you said, building that confidence, right? So that students. Are able to and want to share out what they're learning. So I love that whole I feel like it's sprinkles on top, right? Like you have this really dope instructional model, plus you get to have all of these, like 21st century skills that we want to teach our students, that we're always talking about, right? Okay, so I'm sure that some of our listeners are, you know, kind of asking themselves or asking you rather, like, how do you assess both academic achievement and growth and student autonomy and responsibility? Now, this is a lot of just like buzzwords, so I want to name that. I guess I'm just curious. Like, how do you assess that? Because I know that you've seen, you know, personal growth in students, right? Like, as far as like, building confidence. But how do you assess, like, the academic achievement and growth as well? Megan Meachum 35:51 Like, I still am doing some of the regular assessments that we need to do, the ones that are useful for my team or for my school, for the state, so we still have those assessments. I'm I'm still making sure my students are prepared for those, and I feel like with mastery based learning, they really are more prepared for those big tests that we have to do. As far as like assessing, like engagement and growth, I feel like it's more like I can observe it. I'm seeing that they're engaged. I'm seeing that they're caught up on their work. I think even like the parents started to notice, like, hey, they they're not behind anymore. Like they're they're catching up. And even like, having the resources online is very helpful for caregivers at home, because they knew exactly what we were learning, and they could help them at home. And so, yeah, I still am doing the assessment, but I I really like the focus on mastery based assessments, rather than just like cramming it all in to one big test. Toni Rose Deanon 37:03 Yeah, yeah. No. I love i Yes. I love the chunking as well, and I love the intentionality behind what we grade right to make sure that, like our students, actually master the skills and the standards and the concepts that we're teaching. And, you know, time and time again, when I ask educators about data and about like assessment, right, our educators have just said, You know what? It's the stories. I have anecdotes for you. I have the feeling that my student, that I get to experience with my students when they get something, and then also like caregivers, just speaking highly of the model. Those are all data. Those are all great way to assess learning that's happening in the classroom and outside of the classroom. Because think about it, if caregivers are now part of the conversation, they're hearing about it from their kids. So that is really dope stuff. So I really appreciate you sharing that story as well. Zach Diamond 38:02 Hey, there listeners. This is Zach, now that we're back in the regular season, I'm going to keep dropping in with announcements for you. We have some learning experiences this upcoming week that I want you to know about. Are you looking for virtual connection? Join our implementer meetup on Wednesday, August 14, at 7pm eastern to connect with other modern classrooms educators, the future of design is here, and it's powered by AI. We partnered with edWeb for this interactive webinar to equip educators with the knowledge and tools to bring AI design innovation into your classroom on Wednesday, August 14, at 5pm Eastern, you can go from one right to the other. Of course, there's more info in the show notes. And before we get back into the episode, I do want to remind you all that this episode is now going to be posted on YouTube as well all future episodes, so if you'd rather listen there, the link for that is also in the show notes. Now we can get back into it with Megan and TR Toni Rose Deanon 39:02 so let's so I want to shift to differentiation, because, again, this is a buzzword. We love a good buzzword. And this was something that I was always docked before implementing modern classroom. So my feedback on my evaluation was always you need to differentiate. And of course, me not knowing how to be tactful, as my mother would say, I would just always say, like, how? Like, I don't understand how you want me to do this when I have 30 plus kids in my classroom. So like, how about you do it? So probably a better way of doing that. So y'all listeners, don't do what I do. So let's talk about differentiation. How do you differentiate to meet the diverse needs of your students in this like self paced, mastery based model? And then also, what support systems have you put in place for students who struggle or Excel? Because we have students who will struggle, and we have students. Who will excel, and those students aren't always the same students in each unit. Megan Meachum 40:05 Let's see. I find that with the blended learning and the self paced learning so students are engaged. They're doing their lessons, it frees me up to pull those kids who need like a reteach, or they need some more practice, or they need to see it modeled in a different way. I'm able to differentiate and, like, give them those different kinds of lessons and work with them, one on one and in small groups, and while the rest of the class is still learning and engaged, I have so much more time for that. Now, before you You're right, like, it is, it was so hard. It was like, you have, like, just the one lesson, and you don't have time to, like, teach it in a bunch of different ways. But I do have more time to work with those students and to give them the lessons in a way that they need. And if they are still struggling, you know, I do still have some supports in the school where they can go to lessons with other teachers and other resources. So we still, I do still take advantage of that, work together with them, and for the ones who are excelling like I said, I let them. I'm not going to say whoa, whoa, whoa, you like you. You have to be right with me. How I students can't stand that, so I let them. They're like, well, what if I work ahead? And I say, go for it. And they like, you can see the shock on their faces. They're like, you're gonna let me work ahead. I'm like, Yeah, as far as you want keep going, I'm not going to stop you. And they they just think that's awesome. And sometimes they take it as, like this personal mission that they're going to see how far they can get ahead of everyone else and and so well, last year I was, you know, still building, and so I would tell them, Oh, no, you you caught up to me like you beat me. So that was kind of fun for them, too. So then they got to do, like the should do activities, and some aspire to do activities and projects, things that maybe are a little more in depth or maybe a little more challenging, maybe some stuff from the next grade that they can try to see if they can figure it out. So that helped those that were wanting to excel. And I'm still able to meet with the students who need a little extra time, who are struggling. There's just so many great tools out there to make sure I'm meeting the needs and styles of all my learners, whether it's audio like so they can they can hear the text on the lesson screen, or if it's captioned, so they can read it. I even love the caption tools that translate it into different languages. So there's just so many great tools out there to meet the needs of all the students. Toni Rose Deanon 42:49 You know, it's something that's that's popping up for me now Megan, which just like I should have known, but now differentiation is honestly just like the time that we spend with students, right? Like, here's a lesson. And the way that we differentiate this is, like, the small group, right, the conversations that we're having with students, and how we're, like, adding that extra support. And so it's like, it's just this time, this time spent, that is differentiation. And before this model, because it was very much traditional, right? There's a lot of like, No, there's not a lot. We didn't have time. We didn't have time to differentiate because we were in front of a whiteboard for 20, 3040, minutes. And then just like, hope that everyone got it. Good luck. Have fun. And so now it's really like this, time spent with students, time spent with small groups, one on ones, all of that. Another thing that, like, struck me was this reality of shock from some of our students who are excelling. Of like, Wait, you're gonna let me keep going, like, I'm allowed to do that. And like, my, my initial response is like, dang, that's so sad, you know? Like, it's so sad that they just been like, no, actually, you've hit that. Like, you gotta wait, right? So then they can't continue learning because they're waiting on other folks as well. And it's like, well, now we're stunting their learning experience, and so for student, and that's reality, right? That's reality because of whatever schooling or whatever experience that they've had, and then also, because, again, capacity, right? Like you said, if you know you were building this, and then if they caught up with you, you're like, Oh no, or you beat me. And I think that is such a great way and very playful of you, right? You're not getting upset with them. You're not, like, getting stressed at all. You're not stressed that like, Oh my gosh. What am I going to do now, you know, but it's like, oh no, you beat me. Like, ah. And so really, working alongside our students, of like, how can they continue to learn even though they're in different parts of their learning journey? So I oh my gosh. I love this. Yes, I love it so much. So thank you for like, this new Lightning bulb in my head. Of, like, differentiation is just time with our students, and then this, like playfulness that you have as well. Of, just like, I don't know, I just really love that. Like when you said, Oh no, you beat me. Like that is just like replaying in my head. And I love it, love it, love it. Megan Meachum 45:20 I mean, I was pretty impressed, like that they worked so fast through the lessons. And I'm like, wow. Like, that's amazing. You don't always get to see how far students can go. Toni Rose Deanon 45:30 That that's another perspective, right? Like, thank you, because I know, I know, for me in my earlier years, I would have been like, Bro. Like, slow down. Stop it. But no, with this, it's like you have a positive reaction, a positive response to your students, and in a way, like celebrating them. Like, no, this is really dope that you're able to do this and this amount of time, that's impressive. I love it instead of the other way around. Megan Meachum 46:02 I mean, I kind of, they kind of got a reward after that, because they had to wait for me to go home and make some more videos. So I'd be like, You know what? I guess you just get to chill. Or they could go and help others. Like, Hey, do you want to go and, like, work with other students, teach them lessons? Yeah, they got to do some fun stuff while they were waiting for me to give them some more lessons. Toni Rose Deanon 46:24 Yeah. I mean, you know, and that's that's getting them prepared for the real world as well, right? Because when it happens, like, in the adult world, if you finish something ahead of pace, you can just chill, like, at this point, like, yeah, just chill like you're not, you know what I'm saying? Because, like, Monte and I were talking about this too. Just the natural consequences, if you finish with your lesson, you got time, cool, like, work on other things, if you want, read a book, if you want, like, you've mastered the skills. So, like, okay, cool. This is great. It's natural consequences that you have time to just chill if you want, yeah. Megan Meachum 47:00 And that's why, like, the aspire to do activities are really helpful, not just to challenge them, but like, also to give them something to do when they are getting ahead and keep them motivated. And it's always fun stuff, Toni Rose Deanon 47:14 yeah, yeah, yeah. And this whole like, giving them something to do, it's something for them to create, that they're that they're invested in, right? Like, because, yeah, because, you know, I talk about, like, busy work. Busy work, it's not busy work. It's really like y'all aspire to do is, like, I don't know, how do you even describe Megan Meachum 47:31 like projects, like more in depth, like projects and like more complex things, like, you should give them something to build, or an experiment, or it's I want it to be something that the other students single, whoa, what is that I want to do that like I want to get to that point. So that's why I try to make it like the bigger, like, more fun and involved things, that kind of flashy stuff. Toni Rose Deanon 47:58 Yes, yes. Because as educators, we also get to be creative, right? Like, oh, if I had all the time in the world, what would I want my students to do? And that's what we typically put in our aspire to do. And I like to see it that way, too. And so like, for listeners who are like, well, what if a student takes forever to do their must do's and then they get, don't get to go to the aspire to do some like well, sometimes that happens. And there are other times too. If you know already the student a and Student B is going to struggle with the concept for their must do's go ahead and go sit with them and go through that lesson with them, just so that they can go and get their aspire to do done. Because I've done that multiple times as well, Megan Meachum 48:41 so you have more time with students. So sometimes I'll just take those ones that are a little slow or a little distracted getting behind, and I just like, Okay, let's get let's see how far we can get together. And we just kind of like, sometimes, instead of watching the video, maybe they'll just work with me, and I'll shorten it up for them a little bit and and they get pretty excited. Like, oh, look how far I got. So they can, they don't feel so behind. And Toni Rose Deanon 49:06 that's differentiation again, right? Like, oh, what a beautiful and then we just circle back to differentiation, baby. Like, that's what it is. So, yeah, it's really with this model, there's just more time and capacity to be able to differentiate. So I love that, love that, love that, okay, what do you hope to see in the future and what goals do you have? Megan Meachum 49:29 Yes, I mean, as you've been hearing, I'm really excited for this next year. I've been building my lessons all summer and kind of revamping a few things, just making it better and better for the students. And I feel like I've got some fun lessons and some bigger things that I wasn't able to like implement last year, some more like experiments so they can do self paced and lots of fun collaborative activities, throwing some a. AI in there. So I'm just, I'm really excited. I want to just do full modern classroom, every subject, every day, all day, like I've got some big plans. I'm, I'm really hoping I can pull it off. But I'm, I'm excited to to learn and grow with my students this year. Toni Rose Deanon 50:17 I am so excited to hear that and Megan, I hope, I hope that you're also like, balancing it out with hanging out with your boys, with your husband, your family. Because, you know, like, I don't want you just plan, plan, plan, and not have a good time on the side. Megan Meachum 50:33 Well, we might have taken a little trip to buy a new car together as a family somewhere. So we've had a little bit of fun. Toni Rose Deanon 50:40 Okay, good, good, good. Because, you know, I want to make sure that you're also taking care of your mental, emotional and physical needs. So yeah, Megan Meachum 50:48 well, that new car is for me mostly. So yes, Toni Rose Deanon 50:50 there you go. Even better, even better. Oh, my goodness. I also meant to ask you, I know we're kind of going everywhere. I meant to ask you, how has mentoring helped you as an educator, and as you plan for the year, Megan Meachum 51:05 oh, just like what you were saying, like talking to other teachers like around the country, like you learn, like the schools are so different and teachers are so different classrooms. And I'm talking to teachers of all different grades, like, from even preschool, older, like secondary, some that are, like, special education, just, just a huge variety of teachers. And I'm like, Well, I don't know much about this, but I'm like, learning from them, or even just other fifth grade teachers. I'm like, wait you, you only teach one subject. I teach like, all of them, or like, how would how interesting would that be? I don't know. I'm just learning so much about how education is has this huge variety all over the country and like, even though we're spread out and there's so many differences, there's still a lot of similarities. Like we really care about our students, and teachers are taking time from their summer to learn about modern classroom, and they want to make changes that will benefit their students and and I'm saying, hey, it will benefit teachers too. Like, it doesn't only make learning for students better, but it makes teaching more enjoyable, too. Like, I'm really loving it, and I love learning from the other teachers and helping them out, too. Toni Rose Deanon 52:28 And that's and that is exactly what teaching like, what we as teachers need, right? Like, to continue learning from each other, to like, have positive energy going in and just like continue to expand our brain really just learning from each other like that is my favorite thing about being here in modern classrooms that I get to hang out with educators like you in person and and then in in, you know, in the podcast space as well, and then just continuing to have my brain expanded. So beautiful. So okay, Megan, how can listeners connect with you? Megan Meachum 53:04 What do you have? A modern classroom? Email Address, just Megan. Dot Meacham at modern classrooms.org, email me questions sometimes, like you might find me playing around in some Facebook chats and collaborating with some other teachers, and I'm trying to, like, learn more about, you know, social media and podcasts and things like that. I'm a little, I'm a little old school with with some of it, but I'm getting better, and I'm, I'm learning. So those are the two main ways right now, Toni Rose Deanon 53:37 beautiful, and we'll put all of that in the show notes. Y'all So Megan, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much for sharing your experience and expertise with us. I really appreciate your time. Listeners, you can always email us at podcast at modern classrooms.org and you can find the show notes for this episode of podcast at modern classrooms.org/ 201, we'll have this episodes video uploaded on modern classrooms, YouTube channel and transcript uploaded by Friday. So be sure to check back to access those. Also, we are asking our listeners to leave a review of this podcast has been helpful and supporting you to create a human centered learning environment through a blended, self paced, mastery based model. It does help other folks find it. Thank you all for listening. Have a great week, and we'll be back next Sunday. Megan, thank you so much. Zach Diamond 54:27 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. Transcribed by https://otter.ai