Zach Diamond  0:02  
Announcer, 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  
Hi MCP, fam. Welcome back to this week's podcast. We are now number 60, where we have two very, very special guests who are like near and dear to my heart, and I already told them that this is probably going to be my favorite episode ever, but we have two of my former students. They were in sixth grade when we started our modern classroom journey, and they are now in eighth grade. So Tyler and leela, go ahead and introduce yourself. Tell us a little bit more about who you are. We can start off with Leela.

Speaker 1  0:57  
Hi, I'm Leela. I'm in eighth grade. I was one of Misty former students, and also she was one of my favorite teachers. So,

Speaker 2  1:11  
hi, my name is Tyler. I'm an eighth grader. Also, I was also a student of Miss de Ann's.

Toni Rose Deanon  1:17  
And, yeah, oh, wow, Tyler, you're not gonna say I was one of your favorite teachers

Unknown Speaker  1:25  
you were, but I just get it at it.

Toni Rose Deanon  1:31  
That's okay. That's okay anyway. And now, I mean, now that I think about it, we were together in sixth grade when when everything shut down. And I felt like the transition from our in class learning and to our virtual learning was seamless because of modern classroom. Would you agree with that? Like it was really easy for you to continue learning, even though we had transitioned from in person to virtual?

Speaker 1  2:01  
Yeah, definitely. I feel like my classes that used modern classroom were had an easier transition to virtual learning than some of my other ones, because we it kind of helped you go, like self paced, you know, do what you needed to do when you needed to do it, and it was, it made things kind of easier at first.

Speaker 2  2:23  
Yeah, that's true. But I also heard that people already were like preparing for it. So when they thought it was going to happen and that it did happen, it was easier to move to that part then having to start everything over again and trying to figure out how to do different things at the time that we needed it to happen.

Toni Rose Deanon  2:47  
Yeah, and I agree with you. I think our school did a really good job of getting us prepared, even though we didn't really know what we were preparing for. And so when you got into sixth grade and you walked into my classroom and you saw that there was no live lecture happening, right? Like, I'm not standing in front of the classroom anymore. What were your thoughts on the instructional videos that you had to watch for class

Speaker 1  3:12  
at the beginning of the year? I wasn't like sure how it was gonna play out, because there had been a specific way that I'd been doing things for most of my life, since I went to the same elementary school, you know, for all my years of elementary school. And so I wasn't really sure how it was gonna end up working. And I was a little confused at first, but once I got the hang of it, it was, it was, it was very interesting to learn about, and it really kind of helped it. It helped me, like, this type of learning was helpful to me, and it gave me a new perspective on learning, and I was able to use that in my other classes.

Speaker 2  3:56  
I well, I thought it was going to be, like, very different, because usually, you know, there's a teacher standing in front telling every all of the kids what to do, getting them into what they need to be doing. But it made me feel like I had more freedom, and that I had a chance to like learn on my own in the beginning, instead of being rushed to learn in a specific way that I needed to learn so it was easier for me than to what I was already doing. I would say none of them were the same. The teachers all had a different perspective and a different like responsibility for us, and wanted us to all complete different things in different ways. And I do appreciate them for that, because it gave us different opportunities to learn in all the different ways that they had planned for us. And I think that with them doing that, it helps us for the future, because if we get a job or something like that. Yeah, I know not all of the workplaces are going to be the same, so they'll all be different.

Toni Rose Deanon  5:06  
Leela, how many classes did you have that were modern classroom?

Speaker 1  5:10  
I remember having quite a few. Some of the ones I specifically remember are your class and my music and Spanish class. Those two kind of were the ones that mostly stuck out, but I'm pretty sure I had a few more. They both. I really like what, like, Tyler was saying. I agree that they were different, and that kind of helped, like, give us a variety of different, like, ways to learn. And that was also very helpful. And I I really appreciated it, and I liked trying out all these different styles of learning, because it helped me grow. It helped me realized what I love, how I liked to be taught, and that has helped me throughout my middle school years.

Toni Rose Deanon  5:59  
There are some teachers who are like, Oh no, the pacing tracker may not be a good idea. What were your thoughts on the pacing tracker? Tyler and then leela,

Speaker 2  6:08  
I think the pacing tracker is helpful. Like in Mr. Diamond's class, we still use the pacing tracker. Everything is helpful so we know where we are in the lesson and how far along we have until we finished, and if we're behind, or if we're on pace, or if, like, in front of everybody, I guess. But I think it's helpful in some ways, but I also think it's stressful, because if you're looking at a patient tracker and you see that like far behind, it can give you so much stress, like you need to catch up with everybody else, but to be honest, you need to be on your own pace, but just make sure that all your work is due before the due date, and not just okay, because everybody else is up there and you're not.

Speaker 1  6:49  
I really agree with Tyler. I think there are the like pros and cons for the pacing tracker. I think some of the pros are kind of knowing where you are and knowing what you need to get done, to be on task, to be on top of things, and to finish your assignments by when they're due. But like Tyler said, it can also kind of be stressful. It can make you feel very behind. And I know for me personally, when I feel behind, it kind of makes me work slower because I feel like I have more to get done, and that just stresses me out. So I think it also kind of depends on the student, but it definitely it can work in some situations, but sometimes it's not as effective for the students.

Toni Rose Deanon  7:35  
So would you say it's just that pressure of trying to be on the same pace as everyone that is causing that

Speaker 1  7:42  
stress? Yeah, yeah, that's what I think. Because I think that it can be helpful when, like, you know where you're supposed to be, what you need to get done, but it also can, like, put added stress on the student. I mean, there probably were a few times where I needed to ask for an extension just so that I could, like, you know, stay on track, or I could just ask, you like, have you kind of point me in the right direction, tell me kind of what kind of stuff I needed to get done. And when that happens, normally, I could just do that, and it would I would get right back like what I was supposed to do. But also I kind of learned throughout the year how to like, focus myself and be able to go back to the work and just do what I had to do then, and not think about what I had to do after that, which helped me kind of be able to progress easier.

Toni Rose Deanon  8:48  
And I think what I hear you saying, Leela and Tyler, is that you became such like, self directed learners, right? You kind of had to catch yourself and be like, okay, like, I'm not paying attention. Let me refocus. And so that accountability is now up to you. It's no longer me saying, like Tyler, pay attention, or Lee love, like, watch this thing, but it was something that everything was laid out in front of you, and you kind of had a much better gage of, like, when you're getting distracted, when you're not paying attention, and you kind of just reel it back in. But I think, like, what Tyler said is that with this model, it still allowed for students to keep learning, so they were coming in as individuals, and they're still able to learn. There's not a lot of interruptions, but we would laugh together as well, right? Tyler like when someone did something, I don't want to name any names, but I missed that class just because we were lit that last hour of the day.

Speaker 2  9:43  
Yeah, the class was we did our work, but it wasn't so serious to where, like, a student could say, like they don't want to go to class, or they don't feel like being in a class, it was like a safe space to actually be yourself.

Speaker 1  9:56  
Yeah, so I just wanted to add that something that i. Really liked about your class was that it was kind of like a comfortable environment, which really helped people be able to, you know, feel like comfortable, and be able to not be nervous, to ask you questions, and like knowing your teacher like that, like knowing them to be like someone who's very understanding and kind really kind of helps you be able to want their help and want to talk to them when you need help.

Toni Rose Deanon  10:32  
Tyler, what did you think about that do now that you had to do every time you came into my room?

Speaker 2  10:37  
Well, sometimes it was days where I was like, I don't want to talk about my feelings. Like, no. But then there were some times where I felt that I could talk to you about stuff, and I did, but I feel like it depends on the person, because some people don't feel comfortable with anybody talking about their feelings, and some people do. But I think it was helpful, because if you have something on the chest, you was able to get it off before class, you would be in a better mood and that you will have the you would be on task to do what was needed in the classroom and to focus on yourself and the work that we had.

Toni Rose Deanon  11:15  
And I have to, I mean, I have to agree, right? Tyler, like I felt like I was able to catch what was happening, especially when I would read your responses, because sometimes you had some really rough days, which was okay, because life happens, but it was really nice for me to be able to catch it and then, like, sit down and have a conversation with you and be like, hey, what's happening? And I love that part of it all. So there's no need for me to be in front of the class lecture first, and then come and check in with you. I was able to check in with you, like, two three minutes into the class, after you had filled out your do now, yeah, and I would have to say to like, Lila would be the one who told me all the tea in sixth grade. So in that form, the check in form leave because I have a section that says, anything else you want to tell me, Leela would tell me all the tea in sixth grade. Leela, do you

Speaker 3  12:07  
remember that? Yes, when you first mentioned the do knows that just that was the first thing that came to my head. I remember I was so energetic and social in sixth grade. Um, when that was an option. I would write you, like, full on paragraphs, just telling you everything that was going on. And I loved being able to do that with one of my teachers,

Toni Rose Deanon  12:30  
yeah, and I, and I always laughed out loud, right? And then sometimes when I didn't get a chance to read it, I know Lila would always be like, Miss D, did you read what I wrote you today?

Speaker 3  12:41  
I needed to make sure we had something to talk about, you know.

Toni Rose Deanon  12:45  
And I think that's the beauty of this, like check in do now that I had was that students used it as a way to communicate with me what's happening outside of my classroom, and then also just being able to tell me all the tea, because I love, love, love, teasing my little sixth graders, and I have to give it. I mean, I have to give it up to Leela for giving me all of the tea that was happening, especially with some of the students who are in the other periods. Wait, are you saying, Tyler, that you were not a student while I was around, but you were a student with the sub?

Speaker 2  13:21  
No, I was saying, when you were around, we had more freedom like we were students, but we were also able to act like we were family with the sub. We don't know them as well. We see them around school, maybe, but we don't talk to them daily and give them our feelings and stuff. We just talk to them or see them or say hi or bye when they come in the classroom. We have to like act, I guess, more like a sixth grader and not more as we know them, like from the heart.

Toni Rose Deanon  13:56  
Okay, okay, Tyler, I'll let you have that. Thank you for clarifying.

Speaker 1  14:04  
It really kind of teaches you to be able to learn on your own, and I know that from my experience, I've been able to take like the tools that I have learned from modern classroom to my other classes. So now I'm able to do better on my independent assignments, because I know that I can just, you know, go back. I learned how to manage my time better, and I've just overall gotten better at many of these tools that are very useful for other classrooms. And I like what Tyler was saying about not needing to rely on teachers as much, um, but still being able to, like, feel comfortable enough to ask them questions when you need help, that's something that I really feel like I've brought that I've, like, been using since having your class in six.

Toni Rose Deanon  14:56  
Thank you, Tyler, thank you, Leela. I miss you both, and I can't wait to see. You too again, I miss you too.

Unknown Speaker  15:02  
Same. Miss you lots. You're the best.

Zach Diamond  15:09  
Thank you so much for listening. You can find links to topics and tools we discussed in our show notes for this episode. And remember, you can learn more about our work@www.modernclassrooms.org and you can learn the essentials of our model through our free course@learn.modernclassrooms.org you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at modern class proj, that's P, R, O, J, we are so appreciative of all you do for students in schools. Have a great week, and we'll be back next Sunday with another episode of the modern classrooms project podcast. You.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai