Zach Diamond 0:00 Music. 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. Speaker 1 0:25 Hello and welcome to the modern classrooms project podcast. My name is Toni Rose Deanon, they them pronouns, a designated hype person here at modern classrooms and I am joined by a phenomenal fifth grade team that one of my colleagues had the opportunity to check out. So fifth grade team, welcome Madeline, Abby and Amy. Madeline Cole 0:48 Thanks Toni. Abby Munn 0:50 Thank you for having us. Amy Wisehart 0:51 Thanks. Toni Rose Deanon 0:52 Yes, it's so exciting to be in this space with you. And I truly, truly love having teams on the podcast because it's different perspectives and so much more joy I feel like in the podcast, because people are just sharing what they're passionate about, what they're finding joy in, right? And so thank you so much for saying yes to the podcast. Really appreciate it. And before we get started and diving into what does fifth grade collaboration look like in your team, what is bringing you joy currently? And I guess we'll start with Abby. Abby Munn 1:22 I would say my students have been giving me a lot of joy lately. We are in kind of the thick of testing season. It's a lot of stress on kids and us, but I just feel like at the heart of it, it's them, and they've been given us lots of joy. And just, I think at this point in the year, you just see how much they've grown from the beginning of the year, and they really have made such growth. And I feel like this time of year can be really stressful, but it's also a time for celebration. Oh, I forget that, that it's testing season. Oh my gosh. It's like, one of those, like, for me, anyway, I hated it because I couldn't do anything right. Like, it was like, sitting there and watching the kids take like that is, oh my gosh, the most boring thing in the world. And then also, like, so much anxiety, because, you know, our kids are stressed out and wanting to perform well. So thank you for reminding me of the testing season part and that the students are bringing you joy. That's always I feel like that's how it is in education, right? Like it's the students who bring us a lot of joy. So what about you? Amy, Amy Wisehart 2:22 I love the last quarter of fifth grade there, the kids have really gelled and get along well. They know each other. We know them. They understand our frustrations and our joy, and we just kind of get to let them go and watch them kind of self teach each other and themselves, and it's just truly the best time to be a fifth grade teacher is when you're at the end watching all the hard work that you've put into them, watching all of their hard work when they work together on group projects, and it's fun to just sit back and see the kids take off. Toni Rose Deanon 2:59 There's no instant gratification and teaching, right? You always have to wait till the last unit to to see all the hard work that you've been working on the whole school year. So, oh, that's so exciting. It really is. There's no same feeling when it's the last one. It's like, towards the end of the school year, right? It's really just like, Okay, it's downhill from for now, from now in the most positive and beautiful way, right? So, Madeline, what about you? Madeline Cole 3:25 It is amazing. I'm going to piggyback off my teammate. It's amazing at this time of the year where the kids really get us, and so we can crack more jokes, we can kind of make fun, and they really get it. They feel like an adult because we're, you know, have that camaraderie at this point of the year, and it's, it's super fun. And I also want to say that my team brings me joy. I mean, it is so fun every day to work with these ladies that we just play around, we vent, we grieve together, we laugh together a lot, usually at the fifth graders, and it's super fun. Speaker 1 4:02 Oh, you're making me miss my own sixth grade team Madeline like there is nothing can compare against having a team that you absolutely adore and love, right? Like one, like you said, grieving together, laughing together, getting frustrated together, all of those things. So thank you all for sharing that. I mean, already I can tell that this is going to be a whole vibe of a conversation, because there's just so much passion behind what you all are doing. So let's go ahead and get started. Tell us more about who you are and how you started your MCP journey. Abby Munn 4:33 So we, as a school district, we every year at the beginning of second quarter, we have a professional learning day. And prior to the learning day, they give us, like, a was it like a booklet, or it was something online where we, like, looked through different courses that you could take, and you had to sign up for four courses. And it might have been mad that was like, Let's do modern classroom project. And it was the first class we signed up for, and we showed up that day, and Michael, like, just. Kind of captured all of us with this idea of this self pacing program where kids are accountable for their learning, and we all that day, signed up for the program. I think we signed up like during the next course that we were taking, like we went to our next class, and we're like, we're signing up for a modern classroom. So it was such a cool experience to go through the course altogether. So that's kind of how we got started. Toni Rose Deanon 5:25 Was everyone on the same page, as far as, like, oh yeah, no. This is really cool. This is something that I really want to try. It was an attention of, like, No, I don't want to do that, because, you know, it can be really tricky sometimes. Madeline Cole 5:36 Well, we're all different, but we all just kind of went, Yeah, let's do this. Toni Rose Deanon 5:40 That's really cool. That is really, really dope. Okay, so then, how do you all plan together? Then, like, you jumped right into it. You did the course together, which I think is really beautiful. I guess the follow up question, before we even talk about planning together, was, like, when you're doing this together as a team, what are some tensions and what are some celebrations that you all experience together, Madeline Cole 6:03 I would say some Yes, we did share some tensions, and we shared some questions about how to complete some of the coursework. I know that when I was struggling to do something, Abby would have a good idea, or Amy would have a good idea, a good idea. But between the three of us, because we teach different subject areas. You know, it wasn't one of those deals where you're like, Well, I'm just going to do what you're doing. We couldn't, because we have three different subject areas. So we really just kind of shared some of the mechanical pieces together and helped each other through that part and sometimes giving each other feedback. And that really helped, really helped. Toni Rose Deanon 6:37 I'm curious, what? What all do you teach? What? Yeah, what subject do you teach? Amy Wisehart 6:42 I teach math, and Abby teaches reading, and Madeline teaches everything else. So writing, science, social studies and art. So we share the same kids. We have the same 61 now kids, and they spend 90 minutes with each of us throughout the day. Speaker 1 7:00 So, oh, they so they change. It's kind of like middle school. They're not in the one class all day, right? Amy Wisehart 7:07 We have a little corner in our elementary school, and it's they just rotate between our three rooms and kind of to get them ready for middle school, because they will be switching with six different teachers. So it's just a little safe, small jump into different teachers and different groups of students throughout their day. Okay? Speaker 1 7:29 And then, so you all okay. So then, oh, man, so many. I have like 20 other follow up questions. So Madeline, you teach all the other things, are you implanting in all of those subjects? Are you just implementing in one of the subjects that you teach, Madeline Cole 7:43 I would say I've tried it in all of them, little bits and pieces, but what I do, it makes it a little easier, is I teach writing through those areas. So if we're studying about color in art, then we're writing a piece about the different ways to use color, you know, in art, and so all of our writing goes through those areas, and that makes it practical. Toni Rose Deanon 8:06 Oh, I love that idea. So then it's just kind of like this, this main skill that they're used, they're utilizing and using and practicing and all of that, right? And then with the different contexts that that's really cool. So how are your fifth graders? Your 65th graders responding to this type of learning because they're not seeing it just from one teacher, right? They're seeing it from all of y'all. How have they responded? What are some of their wins? And also like the things that they hate about it, and how did you introduce it as well? Amy Wisehart 8:43 Madeline started the year with a lot of project based hyper doc type activities, and so the kids, before we had our modern classrooms introduction in October, the kids were already kind of working on projects and working through hyper docs to self pace a little bit. And so when we did the modern classrooms, little snapshot and Abby and I jumped in, it really was pretty easy because of the experiences they had with Madeline. And I really we had some frustrations before we started the modern classrooms project and the self paced, and we had kids that were just popping in and out of all of our classes. They were going to the counselor, they were going to the library, they were going they were late to school. And so we really had a need, and modern classrooms kind of fit that, because we were able to deliver instruction through the videos, and students could then self pace, and if they missed our lesson, they really didn't miss our lesson, because it was accessible to them. So I think the kids love that, and I think the kids that like love it the most are the ones that want to go. Really fast, like they understand things with one practice activity, and they master it, and they're ready to move on. And then it also the kids who need a little bit more of our attention and small groups, they now have more time with us. So frustration, I don't know guys, what frustrations Have you seen? I haven't seen much in math. Abby Munn 10:22 I don't see much on my end either. I really they've responded incredibly well to this process. And we kind of started to roll it out as we were going through the program, like we started kind of like, I would post a video and a lesson and kind of try some things out. And we were able to, I was able to do that all of second quarter, and then in January was when I did my big roll out of, you know, this is what we're doing, and this is what a unit looks like, and this is a mastery check, and all of those kind of components of what is modern classroom. But I haven't seen a lot of frustration from the kids on my end either, which has been great. Madeline Cole 10:58 I think also because we rolled it out together. It seemed like a fifth grade thing, not just that teachers doing this, and I like that, or that teacher is doing this, and I don't like that. It was like, Oh, this is how fifth grade is. And what I've seen as a benefit as I've seen some an improvement in independent thinking, because they're doing so much self pacing, they're already thinking ahead. Well, I wonder how many before i How many projects I have to do before I get the mastery check? Like they're already thinking through their own path, which is amazing. And then, on the flip side, the kids that I'm I'm getting a chance to work with more one on one and small group, I feel like they're becoming braver to ask for help. It's almost like it's open the gates, like, Oh, she's available all the time. I can come to her now, because I'm not doing so much whole group teaching, and I haven't seen very much drawback to that at all. We still have our community. We still are touching base on the things that they're doing independently, and it's really working? Well, Toni Rose Deanon 12:01 I really love to hear that all of that, right? I think the increase in confidence is really important, because a lot of the times, students lose that spark when it comes to learning and being curious. And so you saying that there's this increase in confidence, and also the self directed learning piece as well. Like, no, I can do this. I can find out the answers on my own. I don't have to depend on you, it really alleviates, or at least decreases that learned helplessness that our students often learn in schools, right? So thank you all for sharing that. Now I'm so curious, because you all have different content, but you still plan together. How does that look? Amy Wisehart 12:39 We meet and talk well. First, we talk all the time. But I also want to say we value the weekends, so we Madeline will send us a text or something on the weekends, and Abby and I will freak out, but we from six in the morning, Abby will start with messages through Google Chat, and we just run all day long, from six in the morning until 4pm back and forth. If a kid's struggling in one of our areas, we reach out and talk to each other and touch base. So it's, it's constant communication, constant dialog. I It's, it's all about the kids. And even though I just teach math. I'm still talking to Abby about the books they're reading, and I'm looking at the reading questions when I'm collecting them to give them to Abby, and I'm just like, oh my gosh, so and so missed the mark on this, but not Buddy question, or I was working with so and so on figurative language. So even though my subject area is math, I know that Abby and Madeline are constantly talking math with the kids, and they know that I'm constantly talking reading and all the other subjects with them. So even though we have our content area that's kind of our special area, every kid has all of us for every subject, and they know that they can come and ask us a question, even if I'm the math teacher, they can ask me a reading question, even if Abby's the reading teacher, they can ask her a math question, and she loves answering the math questions. Abby Munn 14:08 It's not wise to ask me math questions, but they do still sometimes. Now, at this point in the year, they kind of learned not to come and talk to me about math but initially they would. Speaker 1 14:19 That's hilarious. My students also learned real quick not to ask me anything that deals with numbers. I am a words person, so numbers are not my friends, and I'm trying to be friendly with numbers. And so something that I heard you say, Amy, is that there's this vertical alignment that's happening, right? I love the constant communication between all of y'all, because now it's not an isolated experience, right? Like kids know, oh, if I don't do this, right, then my teachers are going to know about it. It's not just a math is only for, you know, Miss wise. It's actually like, Oh, Miss one's gonna. Also ask those questions, maybe just to check in with each other and and that was something that I learned as well with my sixth grade team when we implemented this model, was that there's just common ground and, like, just the common expectations as well, right? It was all, it's really interesting because it's sixth grade English, so it was all the same content, and we were creating, we were helping create the curriculum together, right? But y'all are like vertical alignment, different content, and still like same, similar strategies and constantly, always checking with the checking in with the kids, which I absolutely love to hear. Okay, so now building a new learning system is stressful. I know Abby, you were talking about how you did it a little bit before January, I believe, right before the spring semester, and and you were doing it while you were going through the mentorship program, which I think is so dope. Love that. And so what strategies does your team use to support each other's well being and keep your sanity through the whole process? I know that being in community was really helpful. Having each other as a thought partner is really helpful. Was there anything else that y'all did to keep each other sane? Abby Munn 16:07 I think we really have learned to lean on one another and like, if one of us is having a tough day, the other two are there. Or if one of us is having a hard time with a kid, the other two are there to work with that kid or talk to that kid. So I think it's just from a common like we just are all supporting each other, and we just know that we're a team, and there are going to be days where one team member is not in the best place, but that the other two will kind of take care of that team member. And I just, I feel so grateful that that's the kind of relationship and team that we have. Madeline Cole 16:37 Yeah, I agree with you, Abby, it's it. This is a tough job. And, you know, teaching, as long as I have it's getting tougher. It doesn't get easier. It's getting tougher. I do think modern classroom has, has helped with, with streamlining my teaching a little bit better. I feel like it's getting a little bit more easier. But as far as the culture, the culture is tougher, and we do need to support each other, and I really am appreciative of what we've got. Toni Rose Deanon 17:08 God, it's so real. It's so real to call out the fact that, being an educator, it is getting tougher, right? It's different groups of generations, right? There's Gen a now, which is wild. I don't even know what language they're speaking nowadays, and so it just it does get tougher. So thank you for naming that Madeline. And I'm hearing too from Abby that there's balance, right? Because sometimes adults life is lifeing as well, right? I may not have the capacity to navigate and deal and manage this thing right now, but I know that I can always count on my colleagues to help fill in that gap, and I think that that's just so lovely, because now you have again, your support system, and you all can kind of lean in and lean on each other, which I absolutely love. And that's something that I always tell teachers too, of like, Hey, if you're going to implement this model, find a teacher, bestie, and you actually don't have to teach the same thing. You can still do it together, because now it's a thought partner, it's you know your demographics, you know your school. And then you get to have this, this thought partner as well, to just brainstorm ideas, to share, you know, any challenges, or ask any questions that you may have. So I really, I really love that. I think again, just being in community, right? Just being in community, having this shared experience is super, super helpful. And so I'm sure that all that three of all three of you, all of you, have your own curriculum, right? Because it's different context content that you all are teaching. So then how do you all stay on the quote, unquote, same page and keep the learning consistent for all of the learners with especially with the self pacing system, Amy Wisehart 18:46 we have it mapped out. We meet in the summer, and we sit together, we map out our own subject areas with our curriculum. And we also look for places where our parallel lines come together and intersect math. But um, we we look for how, you know, in art, we're doing geometry right now. And so we come together and we do art, and we do geometry and um, we really by, by planning in the in the summer, we have this calendar that makes sure we're through all of our skills and standards by testing season, which is right now. So we are, we've covered it all, and there's a couple things like all three of us are aware of. We have some kids that haven't mastered some standards, and we have, you know, their names written down on on a notebook paper, and we're constantly, you know, going over figurative language with with a couple we're still having some kids read out loud. So we just are constantly touching base. We have a weekly collaboration meeting, but we don't even we collaborate daily. I mean, it's a constant in communication and just keeping the kids, you know needs part of every conversation, and we celebrate. Successes, and we talk about what we can do to make sure all the kids are achieving those successes. Speaker 1 20:04 It seems like you all have a pretty good grasp of backwards planning, right? And so you said you plan a lot in the summer. Is that a choice? Do you get paid planning in the summer? Because, you know, some teachers would be like, No, I'm not touching anything during the summer. How does that work for y'all? Y'all are just kind of on the same page as like, okay, the summer is where it's our time to reflect. It's the time where there are no kids. So we can really take this time to backwards plan. And how do you balance resting and planning in the summer? Abby Munn 20:35 Well, I'm by the end of the year, I am just fried, like the day we get done. I am fried. So I need, I think last year I just slept for like, the 10 days that we were done afterwards. But the planning in the summer, we do get paid for it, but it's really, really, it's like, we want to do it. We want to sit down. We want to look at the data from last year's kids. We want to look at our kids that are coming in. We want to have kind of, you know, some, some things mapped out for the next year of, you know, what, what do we want to continue? What do we want to change? So I really value that summertime, and I think it really is, is helpful for the the next year. Madeline Cole 21:15 We do get paid by our school. It's a site based decision. And we, you know, submit our plans and submit what we talked about. But what's really nice about it is we really we take that at our leisure, like we do it on our time. We do it when we want to. We do it the way we want to. And that just kind of helps your focus, helps you just to not feel pressured or feel, you know, like it's something you have to do. It's more that we want to do this. We want to see what, what's happened. We want to reflect and grow as teachers as well aspeople. You know, Amy Wisehart 21:50 it's not a lot of time, oh well, it's not a long time. It's eight hours. I mean, so we're not planning all summer. We are summering. We're having, you know, family time vacations, but we do before we leave, close out the year. Make a plan. We can we meet? When are you in town? Let's do four hours a stay, four hours in a couple weeks after that. Abby is the best at making notes. She like end of the year. Abby makes notes of what beginning of the year Abby needs to do, and she keeps us on track. So we meet in the summer, and we're like, okay, Abby, what's our checklist? What do we need to get done? And we are very efficient. None of us are time wasters. We don't really share all of our personal information when we get together and we meet. Let's real quick. Hey, how was your trip? Okay, now let's look at the data. Yeah, so we're very efficient with that. Toni Rose Deanon 22:45 Oh, every team needs an Abby, honestly, because me, I will be all over the place if I don't have an Abby. And that was Emily Culp for me, Emily would always say, like, TR, slow down. We got these things to cover. Or she'd be like, stop talking. We got, we got things to cover, right? So it was always a nice reminder of, I love having a colleague that is like, on point. This is what we're going to be doing. We have to be mindful of time, because time is sacred, right? So, yeah, that that's great. That's great. And so Madeline, you talked about how you submit lesson plans. Did do you all ever get feedback on your lesson plans prior, like, how does that work? Do they know this? Admin, know what modern classroom lesson planning looks like, and is there anyone else who's implementing the model in your school? I'm curious. Madeline Cole 23:35 To my knowledge, there isn't anyone else implementing at our school, right? We have had quite a few visitors of our own staff coming through and getting to know what this model looks like, and that's kind of cool and validating. And they do tend to leave little happy gram notes to us, but we don't have to really submit those plans. Um, we kind of share everything in a shared drive so everybody can look at everything pretty much at any time. And so that kind of openness kind of takes away some of that pressure and feeling like, you know, someone's scrutinizing you. It doesn't feel like that. So that's kind of how it works. Amy Wisehart 24:15 It's based on data, too. If our data showed we had more need, then admin would definitely be in our business and looking at our lesson plans. But if our data at the end of the year and throughout the year, we have benchmarks and different mastery checks that we have to do, and we do meet with our leadership team and go over those, and as long as things look like they're headed in the right direction. You know, they don't. They don't get in our business too much. Speaker 1 24:46 I love the whole leaving you alone piece. I think that's my favorite. If they know that you're doing the thing that you're supposed to do, and then data is showing an increase, right like i. School leaders, admin tend to just be like, You know what? You're doing. Your thing. I'm gonna leave you all alone. But there hasn't been pushback, right? Since y'all are the only team that is implementing this model, there hasn't been a pushback from admin for you all to adjust anything, to make changes, anything like that. Abby Munn 25:16 No, our admins been really supportive. She's really she's come in and observed me doing our workshop, our modern classroom time. She's been incredibly supportive of the whole process, Speaker 1 25:30 and that doesn't impact the teacher evaluation as well, right? Because I hear sometimes with educators, it's like, oh, our admin, they can't really see the alignment between MCP and then the teacher evaluation process. So, but it seems like everything is good. Amy Wisehart 25:46 Yeah, we submitted like the video. So I just said before my evaluation, like, you're not going to see the direct instruction piece. The kids access that individually. And so I sent her a couple videos that she might see, and I think from an admin perspective, they see us constantly working and talking with kids. So when they come in, we call it workshop, but we are constantly meeting with a small group, sitting next to a student, working through problems with them. So there's no question like we are. We are 100% working with kids every time they come into our room. Speaker 1 26:24 The transparency piece is so important, right? I'm just like, You know what? Here's a community like, I'm going to communicate with you. This is the direct instruction. It's in this video, and you can access it, replay, pause, process. But this is what you're going to see. And I that's my favorite thing as well, right? So you all mentioned mastery checks before. So mastery based learning means you're all constantly checking in and adjusting, right? And again, you said, like you have 60 students, how are you managing that workload without feeling like you're working 24/7? Abby Munn 26:55 It's been really hard for me. I especially with the mastery checks and having to make multiple mastery checks. And that components been something I'm still trying to navigate and find balance in I and what I'm doing, I teach reading, but I work with an advanced group of readers, and then I work with a grade level mixed group of readers, so I'm making two sets of everything. So that's been the hardest part for me, is managing that balance, and I'm getting there. It's a lot of backwards design, a lot of planning ahead. And I found that if I do something for a lesson every single day, I'm more on track, like whether that be doing a video or making a mastery check or making a must do activity. But as long as I'm doing something each day, I'm finding that that's helping me be more successful. But it's hard. It's a hard balance, but I have to remind myself every time, like everything you're creating, you're going to get to use again, and everything you're doing is going to be used again. So it's a good thing. Madeline Cole 27:56 I just, I had the same issue Abby, we're just trying to keep up with everything. And what I kind of put to the kids was, you know, hey, we really want to pass those mastery checks. So if you're one of those people who's not passing it, you need to be on me and get get your second chance at it, or your third chance if you need it. And the kids are holding me accountable. They're coming to me and saying, I need to take that mastery check again. This goal. Can I do it right now? And it's it's really helping me stay on top and not impede their progress. So Amy Wisehart 28:26 well, I just think in math, I have some must master standards, and then the growth mindset, like not every fifth grader is going to master every skill this year. And so I've had to let some of those master checks go, like, I if they don't pass master check, we have a revision group, and we meet and we go over it, and it's just like, you're not ready yet, and that's okay. It's okay to not be there yet. We're gonna practice and practice and practice and practice. You're gonna practice next year, and next year you might hear it. You're like, oh my gosh, I get this now, and that's okay. And so I did have to back off, you know, the expectation that every, you know, all 61 kids are going to master every skill that is covered in math. And just focus on these are must master. Like rounding. You have to be able to round, you have to be able to multiply. And so I just have a checklist I think Abby does too, like we have kind of 10, maybe it's eight, you must master skills. And those are the ones that you know, even in April, we're still going back, and we're, we're re teaching with a couple kids these skills that we know they have to, have to be successful from the get go in sixth grade. Toni Rose Deanon 29:35 I love, okay, growth mindset for teachers, you know, because a lot of the times are always thinking about growth mindset. For kids, they have to have growth mindset. And it's like, no, we, we too. Also need growth mindset and reminders as well, and grace, lots of grace and patience. That 100% expectation right, 100% of all students getting the thing. Um. Is sometimes, or most of the time, not sustainable, slash, attainable, right? And so it's like, okay, it's okay that they're not all mastering it, but at least showing growth, right? Like a lot of the times, what I hear is that, you know, a student would go from like a 25 to like a 53 right? And it's like, it's not mastery, but, Yo, look at that growth like, we want to celebrate that growth. That growth is beautiful. That's like, that's, that's, that is what we want, right? So thank you for naming that piece, and now I'm thinking about technology, right? So a lot of the times when people think blended learning, self pacing, mastery based learning, the kids are always on their laptops and their devices. What would you say is the balance, or the percentage of using technology in your classes? Are they on the entire are they on their devices the entire time, or are they only watching the videos? How does that look in each of your classes Amy Wisehart 31:01 in math, they have to do the problems. So there's times, you know, they have to turn in their scratch paper. They're working on modeling. But I do think there is, if you came into my room, you would see a lot of tech. We're one to one with Chromebooks at our school, so the kids, even if they're not using it, their Chromebook is probably open, and they might be listening to music while they work. So you would see a lot of tech, but you would also see, like, they have to show the work. I tell them, I don't care about the answer. I care how you got that answer or how you didn't get the answer. Like, that's how me, as a teacher, I'm gonna see what you're doing and how I can help you. And so in math, I think out of the three of us, is probably the most tech heavy, but the expectation too is you have to turn in your scratch paper, and I have a turn in box, and everything has to be labeled so I can see the work and see how you're getting your answers. But there's a lot of tech happening here. Toni Rose Deanon 32:02 And Amy that's so fascinating, because I feel like math would be the first one that says, like, No, we're just watching the video. And then everything is, like, handwritten. So this is really fascinating to hear. And I think there's also the the effective way of utilizing technology, right? Like kids just aren't on playing games, but they are listening to music, and sometimes music is helpful for learners. So there's, there's that piece Amy Wisehart 32:27 out of the three of us, I'm also the most spoiled, and that our district adopted math curriculum sav realize has a whole online component. And so we have the workbook pages that in the video, they go through the workbook pages with me, but it's it's a practice buddy that they do for every skill and standard, and it's online, and they get three tries to get their answer right. The mastery checks are there for me. They're called quick checks, and savvy realize I just go through and adjust them and take out questions that I don't think are appropriate, and I it's just all kind of there for me. And so the kids have the the problems, and every kid has a different problem, so they can't cheat, they can't copy like the numbers are different, but they're similar, and it just really lends itself to the modern classrooms project. Toni Rose Deanon 33:20 Oh, I love the whole being spoiled piece here, Abby and Madeline. How are you feeling about that? Abby Munn 33:27 It's really frustrating sometimes, especially when I'm like, I'm making another mastery check about this chapter in this book, and Amy just goes and finds what she wants. But, and in terms of, yeah, it's, it's hard, but, I mean, it's great that she has it. It's great that she has it. Amy Wisehart 33:44 I gave you all my reading questions. Abby, Abby Munn 33:47 that is true. I do have those. So I am spoiled with those. Madeline Cole 33:50 I think the tech, the tech looks really different in my room. And for some respect, I mean, they're watching videos on, you know, how to complete a science experiment, and then they're going off in the corner and they're working as a group and do an experiment and documenting on paper, that kind of thing, or they're having an editing trio group, and they're sitting together and they're editing through each other's piece, and they have to videotape it for me, since I can't sit with them, because I'm too busy conferencing with someone else about their writing. And so it does look different in my room with on a different subject area. We watched videos today on Picasso, and so then they were doing art to go along with that. So it looks different. I do. I'm very conscious of that too, and I try to really balance, you know, hey, let's close our Chromebooks for a while. Hey, let's, you know, let's have discussions. And just try to balance, especially with what I'm teaching so, Abby Munn 34:44 and in my room, I am, it's probably about 5050, I mean, I use it, but a lot of times we're reading books, or we're reading from a magazine or, you know, I I'm a book person. I've never been a Kindle person, so the tangible piece is really big for. Me and I, you know, that's kind of how I, you know, express my passion through to the kids. But there are some things, some activities that they'll do on their Chromebook, but a lot of it is, there is some paper pencil as well. So I don't do it a ton, but they definitely, there are some opportunities for them to use technology? Speaker 1 35:21 Yeah, I was definitely guilty of utilizing technology all the time, because in my head, I was like, I'm not printing anything out. I'm not killing any trees. Therefore everything is going to be online. And now, mind you, this is prior COVID, right? So I like, people were still okay with that, but now there's a push for really blended and balanced, balanced technology usage in the classroom as well. Zach Diamond 35:49 Hey there, listeners. This is Zach. I've got my voice back, and I have some announcements and reminders for you. Calling all school and district leaders. We're hosting a virtual summer summit on June 24 for leaders supporting modern classrooms, educators, 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 invite other leaders to register tired of tangled chords and tech time chaos. This upbeat Ed webinar is packed with real world tips to help you bring technology into your early elementary school classroom without the stress, whether you're a teacher or a school leader, you'll walk away with easy to use strategies for setting routines, managing devices and making technology purposeful for young learners, from headphone hacks to smooth sign ins. We'll tackle the common tech blockers that come with working with our littlest students. Come ready to get practical, get organized and get inspired. This Ed webinar will be of interest to K to two teachers, librarians, school leaders and education technology leaders want to build your own modern classroom. Sign up for our virtual summer mentorship program from either may 19 to June, 22 or June. 23, to July, 27 work with one of our expert educators to build materials for your own classroom. We have scholarships all over the country so you can enroll for free if you teach in LA, Oakland, Chicago, Minnesota, Alabama and more. To see if there's an opportunity for you check out modern classrooms.org/apply-now. That's modern classrooms.org/apply-now. That link and all the other links for the other things I've announced will be in the show notes for this episode. So take a look there if you are interested. But now let's get back into it and keep talking about fifth grade collaboration. Speaker 1 38:04 Now I'm curious, how has your families responded to this instructional model? Abby Munn 38:11 It was actually kind of cool, because our kids do in the spring, they have conferences that they lead. So in March, they do a student led conference, so they got to explain to their parents what a mastery check was. We had them create slides like a little presentation for their conference, and they got to show their parents, hey, this is a mastery check. And this shows, you know, that I got it and ready to move on to the next lesson, and here's what we are doing. And they got to kind of show all different things related to the modern classroom through their conferences. So and parents, I think, responded really, really well to to that. So that was really cool for for the parents to experience, and then for us to get to see our kids talk about what they're doing. Amy Wisehart 38:52 I Our parents are great. Our kids are great. One thing I would this just hit me, actually, is I always hear Abby or Madeline will get an email from a parent saying, So and so struggling with math, and they were afraid to speak up in class. I We haven't heard that this year, right? Guys like since modern classrooms, I don't think we've had that message. So I feel like the kids now have that opportunity. I'm available, I'm there. They don't have to have the whole class here that they're struggling. I'm at their table. I'm checking in with them every day, like, how are you doing? And if they have a question, they're asking it. So, you know, we used to have a lot of, a lot of messages from parents. Could you go over this with our kid? They're struggling with this? I don't know how to help them. What can I do? And we haven't had that. And so I think, you know, the parents are probably appreciative that they're not struggling at home with the math things that we are available to the kids more to answer their questions and get them on the right track. Madeline Cole 39:53 And again, the confidence that was shown during those conferences, you could see it, and the parents could see it, and there were. So proud of their kids that they could tell them what they were learning and where they were headed and how they were going to get there, and it was really neat to watch, and they just ran the show Speaker 1 40:12 hands down. That's one of my favorite things about this model, is the fact that our students can actually say what they're doing in class. Because I know that prior to implementing the model, the nine years that I didn't implement the model that I was in the classroom, my students were so quick to say, idk, you know, like, I don't know what we learned. We learned something like, bro, what? Yes. And I think also I always say this too, if I were to have a little human come to me and say, Can you help me with math, I would need that instructional video to watch with them, just so that I could also build up my confidence and saying, like, oh, I can help you, because this is how your teacher taught it, right? There's not a question of like, oh, well, I don't really know how my teacher taught it. I wasn't paying attention. It's like, well, here's a video. Now we're gonna sit together and learn together. And I think again, that just creates such a more meaningful and fruitful conversation between families and their students, because it's all transparent, it's all there. Let's learn together, and let's do this practice together as well, just so that you can actually learn the stuff that you're struggling with. So I really thank you for naming that the parents and the families are no longer saying, like, how can we help? I don't know how to help. It's like, well, actually here, here's the thing. You can access all the things, and this is, you know, figuring out with your kids together is great, and it kind of brings in the parents and the families as well in the classroom, right? Like, okay, this is what you're learning. I no longer have to question what you're learning. I know what it is by watching these videos. Okay, so I'm hearing a lot of just love for each other, right? Just the ability to work together, to be on the same page, to communicate, to keep each other accountable as well. Is there anything else that you already like you haven't mentioned, as far as the benefits of working together as a team? Madeline Cole 42:13 I did work years and years and years as an independent orbiter, and I know for a fact that when you find a good team, it is worth the paycheck. It is worth its weight in gold. No matter what students come through your door. It is just worth it when you have people live in your life together, because it is living life eight hours a day together for five days a week. I'm we're just I'm really excited about next year, because I feel like already the plans are that when, when we have our new set of parents at curriculum night, I can't wait to share with them what this model actually is, because we didn't really do that. We kind of implemented the program in pieces, but next year, it will be here. Here is the way the workshop looks. Here's what it looks like in a fifth grade class. And so we're, I'm very excited about the future for that. So Toni Rose Deanon 43:06 you're already thinking ahead. Madeline, so like, and that's the thing I think, too, with this model, is like, you can't help but to think ahead of like, oh, this is going to be different. This is how I'm going to do it differently next year or the next unit or the next week, right? It's like, oh, this is really cool. I cannot wait for this to happen, and I love that so much. That is so cool. And I also, you know what you were saying, when you find a good team, it is so much more fun to wake up and look forward to the day, right? Because you like, Oh, I'm going to be supported today, I feel psychologically safe in my, you know, in my, in my, in my, in my school, in the grade that I'm teaching the content that I'm teaching, because you have these people to lean in and lean on. So really, I'm so happy for you all to find each other and and have, like, I don't know, an alignment of work values. I think that that's really, really important. Is there anything else that you all want to share about your practice, about MCP, things that you may want to share with people who are just starting out or even hesitant to implement the model? Amy Wisehart 44:21 I do think going through the online class was huge. Like, we jumped in, all three of us. We went to that October class with Michael and like, oh my gosh, we're doing this, and we jumped in. We're like, we talked during COVID, we can make videos. And like, we get stuck, and we'd be like, Oh my gosh, nobody's watching my video. Like, what's happening? And then in the next modern classroom, like, module, I'd be like, Oh well, here's some some tricks that you can use here. You can post them here, and you can watch viewership. You put quizzes on your video shouldn't be longer than such and such. Like, oh yeah, that sounds good. And it just constantly like, whatever struggles we'd have, and we'd go. Talk to each other and like, oh my gosh, I can't get this master check to work. Like, Next, Next lesson would be about Master check. So it was just funny how all these problems we had when we worked through the class, and we went through the class, we did all those activities, it helped us solve those problems. So part of it is our impatience, like we just, you know, we hear something and we're gonna try it because it sounds like a great idea. And then we're struggling and pulling our hair out and complaining to each other. And then we watch, you know, we would on the weekends, usually do the videos in the class, and then we come back on Monday like, oh my gosh, it totally said, here's what we should do. Like, don't let kids get 774, lessons ahead, like, you need smaller units? Like, oh yeah, that makes sense. So that was just the thing. Like, there are so many resources through modern classrooms project, and all of our struggles that we had, they also had, and our mentor was able to give us ideas. And it was just huge. It was amazing how supported we felt through that process. Speaker 1 46:06 It's that live implementation, right of, oh, I'm learning this. I'm gonna go quickly and implement this right away. And I think that's like, one of the things that I say all the time too, is like, grab those actionable strategies you can implement right away, like, within the next hour, and then see how that works. But I love that you all were very much open and receptive to being like, Okay, I tried it. Oopsie, something didn't work out. And then it's like, the next class. You're like, oh, duh, right? Like, cool, that makes sense. And it was never like a, oh, I should have known this already, right? It was more so, okay, I'm learning. We're learning together. We're going to make mistakes, and this is going to be a fun little journey that we're going to be on. So it seems very positive, it seems very fulfilling. And I love that. I love to hear it. Madeline Cole 46:53 Yeah, Amy's right about the wealth of resources that are available to us once you start that journey. And there were so many times where I just had little questions. Here and there and getting you know a person, like a mentor, to help you know, answer those quick questions or say, No, you're not on the wrong track. You're okay. Go ahead and do that. And I remember trying my first video was with grammar, and I thought she's gonna think I'm crazy, but I was really just teaching a lesson and letting them create a tree map about adjectives, and getting them to do that on their own so that I could go on and do other things in writing. And I thought, I'm getting away with murder because I don't have to teach that live. I can just go ahead and do this instead. And it worked out so so well. I mean, we really appreciate all the work that's been put in to the shared drive and to all the resources that you offer everybody who goes through it. Toni Rose Deanon 47:44 So that's why I always tell educators, too. I'm like, Hey, don't do anything. We probably already have it. So like, just ask Amy Wisehart 47:55 all the subscriptions to like, the subscriptions to to the recording platforms and Wavio, like there's so many resources available. And, you know, whatever, whatever we needed, it seemed like, oh, it's already made super let's go for it, Speaker 1 48:12 because we're aware of how difficult it is to implement something like this. So we try to alleviate as much stress as we can. One of the things that I complain about internally is like, oh my gosh, modern classroom has way too many resources. And it's like, chill bruh, like we need these resources, and we need to, we need to also find a way to share out all the resources that we already have. And so again, listeners, just as a reminder, don't make anything like reach out to us to see if it's already been created, because 98% of the time it probably already has been created. And so, okay, another follow up question, you all talked about a mentor. Did y'all ever jump into each other's mentor calls? Abby Munn 48:54 I didn't. No. Did it? Not with any of you? No, Amy Wisehart 48:58 we would talk about, like, if we had a mentor call, we'd talk about like, Oh, my mentor said to try this. And so we would share, but we really do honor each other's time. And the mentor calls kind of happened outside of the school day and at home or driving home. And so it was more like, here's what I talked to my mentor, and here's what I learned and what they shared with me. So we didn't, we weren't collaborating on the call, but we would definitely share info. Speaker 1 49:26 I love that. I'm only asking because I, when I was a mentor, I had a team who would be like, Hey, can we just pop in and have, you know, pick your brain as well? I'm like, yes, come through. So and the the mentor was a really good friend of mine, so it was really great to have the to have those conversations with the mentor as well. Like, oh, like, so and so said this. What did they share with you? So it was really cool seeing that that collaboration work happened. Because, you know, I'd be like, oh my, my teaching partner said this, but then to actually have them in the same spot was really, really dope. So. Yeah, that was why I was asking. So thank you for for sharing that. Okay, so what do you hope to see in the future, and what goals do you have? Abby Munn 50:07 I think for me, my goals are just to be to continue to evolve and continue to grow within this program and continue to, you know, help help it. Help my teaching and help the kids. And, I mean, it, it's been great that, you know, it's, we've only been doing this, you know, since January, but it feels really good to see success with it already. But, you know, I want to see, you know, continued success, and I'm excited to see what it'll look like over an entire school year, just from start to finish. You know, we're, we've seen a lot of growth since January, but when we look, you know, our kids come to us in July. So from July until May, what that'll look like? Madeline Cole 50:48 Yeah, I agree with Abby. I can't wait to kind of go full blown. I can't wait to for the summer time, to kind of explore even more that's there, that's available to me, and to implement it, you know, full blow next fall and and get parents on board early and let them see what's going on. And, I mean, who knows what other things will happen, but I'm excited about that learning too. Amy Wisehart 51:12 I think we talked about, like, in math, I talked with Abby and Madeline that my frustration is self pacing, like the kids just got really relaxed, and they're like, oh, I have plenty of time for this. And we got to march, and I was like, Okay, you guys, it's actually a sprint on marathon. We have to go so fast, so just buckle up and we're going. And so, you know, when we started next July with math, you know, working on that self pacing bit and putting in deadlines and a little sense of urgency, because this year, I think in math, they kind of were like, oh, super. I love self pacing, like I'm gonna, like a bathroom. I'm gonna get a drink of water and yeah, so just getting that, that sense of urgency back, and making sure the kids are progressing kind of at a clipped pace instead of, instead of the tortoise, but we don't really have slow and stay we got to get this done Toni Rose Deanon 52:08 that's so real for that, honestly, because, you know, again, the students, they don't know any better, right? So they just assume, like, Oh, bad, I have whatever. I got it. I got it. And then it's like, oh, wait a minute. I don't got it actually, oops. Oh, the joys of teaching kids. Man, what a time, what a time. I am also really excited to hear it, because it is so impressive and amazing that you all started really implementing the second half of the school year right to shift mid year and see how this could impact the teaching and learning journeys for both of y'all right, for the teachers and the students as well. So I am really excited to see how that goes in the fall, starting out, potentially maybe with a unit zero, right, and introducing to families and parents and all of the stakeholders involved. So All right. Well, great. How can our listeners connect with you? If it's possible to connect with you? Madeline Cole 53:06 Oh, yeah, we'd be glad to share our email, Toni Rose Deanon 53:08 and we'll put that in the show notes as well listeners, so you don't have to like Google or anything like that. Just copy and paste. All right, before we wrap up anything else, Amy Wisehart 53:21 we're just really thankful that modern classrooms project hit our radar. We were kind of feeling frustrated about a few things and had some questions and some problems to solve, and all of a sudden it just fell into our lap, and the district provided the opportunity for us to get training. Our school district has a lot of technology. The kids are one to one. There was just a lot of pieces that we didn't have to fight, that they were already easily accessible. And I am just really happy that it kind of, it kind of gave us a new fire and something to learn with the kids this year too, and great group of kids to troubleshoot for us. They're quick to be like, Oh, your video, you're missing this and, oh, you got that math problem wrong, and it's it's just been a fun year, learning something new and going through the course with Abby and Madeline and our kids. Speaker 1 54:17 It's such a humanizing experience, right? So, humanizing. So, all right, well, thank you all for your time. Thank you for sharing your experience and your expertise. I'm so happy that I got to spend this time getting to know how you three work together and how you create the space for your students. So I am so grateful for your energy and your time. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Madeline Cole 54:39 Thank you, Toni, thank you, Abby Munn 54:41 of course, thank you. Amy Wisehart 54:43 Thank you. Toni Rose Deanon 54:44 Listeners, remember, you can always email us at podcast at modern classrooms.org and you can find the show notes for this episode at podcast.modernclassrooms.org We'll have this episode's 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. If this podcast has been helpful in supporting you to create a human centered learning environment through a blended, self paced and 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. Zach Diamond 55:21 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.modernclassrooms.org and you can learn the essentials of our model through our free course at learn.modernclassrooms.org you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, at modernclassproj. 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