A Snapshot of Lindbergh Learning

The pictures and captions below are just a snapshot of the great learning occurring in yesterday's walkthroughs.  Not every group took pictures, but the pictures we have speak to one of the primary purposes of walkthroughs:  identify practices throughout our schools and learn from the diversity of instruction.

MinecraftEdu

Making grammar real...

Anchor Charts

Book Club

Student:Student Feedback

Notebooking

Finding purpose in reading...

Connecting Learning Targets and Student Work

Reading Journals

Keeping the learning going...

"Uh What?" A student identifies his confusion on the marker board, resulting in responsive teaching.

Engaging rhythm and beats

 To see a "live" book club conversation, click here.

Student-Centered Learning Walks

Last week, 2nd year elementary teachers participated in learning walks as a part of their three year induction process in Lindbergh.  Year two is focused on "Mastering Your Craft", which allows teachers to study best practices and spend time mastering those practices in their classrooms. Conversations were rich as we discussed teacher vs. student-centered instruction, student engagement, depth of knowledge, and much more.

Kindergartners learn multiple methods for counting (ten frame and place value) to build understanding that allows choice in future problem-solving.

Varied seating options allow student choice for comfort in learning.

Some prefer to sit, others prefer to stand.

Clear guidelines help to manage flexible seating arrangements.

Students pose "wonderings" on the Wonder Wall.  

Flexible seating allows students to think about how they learn best and make seating decisions based on that.

Students set goals and track their progress in their S.T.A.R. binders.

Soft seating too...

Students take ownership for learning with goal setting for the day.

Students write a smart goal with a clear deadline to keep them on track.

Conferencing during writing supports individual student skill attainment and is further enhanced by teacher documentation for future conferences.

Providing options for budding writers...

Teacher feedback expands into emojis.

 After walkthroughs, learning continues as teachers discuss what they learned and could implement in their classrooms.

How did technology enhance learning?

What best practices did you observe?

What engagement strategies were seen?

What are your take-aways?

Leadership Development Program: Supporting Leaders in Lindbergh

On September 20, 2016, our current cohort of educational leaders in Lindbergh met for their first Leadership Development Program meeting.  Leaders were challenged to think of outstanding leaders that have had an impact on their lives, while also identifying qualities of great leaders.  Participants were also challenged in various activities to utilize key communication skills and teamwork skills.  

What is the Leadership Development Program?

It is a program for Lindbergh educators who are interested in building their leadership skills.  Our program provides professional development on leadership, current educational topics, instructional best practices, and much more.  

Goals of the Program:

• Instructional Leadership
• Communication
• Human Resources/Personnel
• Teacher Development & Evaluation
• Leadership Development

A New Model of Leadership and Learning

Flyer Times in middle school are continually evolving, finding their niche in building student relationships, reinforcing learning, and integrating character education.  This year, Flyer Time moved from two days to daily, allowing for student reading choice and reinforcing the importance of reading comprehension.  

At Truman, the elective alternating day class known as Flight Crew moved to a daily Flyer Time where student leaders design the learning for all Flyer Times to use for character education.  

Students should be comfortable when they read.

Silent sustained reading in isolation doesn't demonstrate significant reading gains, but when you add conferencing with students to ensure accountability, conversations to reinforce comprehension, and personal connections, you enhance learning and relationships.

Reading conferences in the hall allow teachers to keep an eye on class engagement and talk one on one without distracting the classroom of readers.

Students read books of their choice and engage with the books in the way that works best for them.  This student is so excited to share her learning with a friend.

Building a reading culture includes modeling reading and highlighting the amount.  It's not included here, but this Flyer Time has completed 11 books already.

Flight Crew works together to develop presentations for character education instruction.

Students will then lead learning within the traditional Flyer Time classes.

Students Own 21st Century Learning

"Think back to last week...how many lectures do you remember your teachers giving you?" Tommy asks the class as they unanimously shrug, adminitting that most are forgotten.  Tommy uses their response to clarify that those traditional learning structures aren't sustainable over time.  But, a PBL (problem/project-based learning) structure gives purpose so that students have a reason to learn.

"In some things in life, there are not right and wrong answers..." Tyler adds to his partner's words.  Tyler identifies that PBL gives students the chance to work through learning beyond right and wrong.

In the English 3 PBL class, students begin the year exploring a topic related to PBL: learning styles, traditional learning structures, 21st century needs and expectations, etc.  Through their research, students propose possible solutions to enhance learning in a traditional high school setting.

Students identify 21st century learning as they begin their PBL class presentation. 

Students work together as directed by their peers who lead their learning.

Students use active learning activities to emphasize the needs of today's diverse learners.

Students incorporate videos, blogs, and other varied sources into their presentations.

Students explain the purpose and benefits of PBL.

Students model solutions to increase use of movement within a traditional high school structure.

"Launch"ing STEM in Elementary

Project Lead the Way (PLTW) initiatives began many years ago at LHS, expanded to middle school technology education last year, and are being piloted at "Sperrengton," Sappington 5th graders attending Sperreng to accommodate elementary growth, this year.  PLTW is just one of many ways to increase science, technology, engineering, and math in schools, and Launch is their elementary program.

As students investigate, they add their questions to the "Wonder" chart. 

Handshake anyone?  First, we have to unwittingly spread the germs.

Short stories capture student's attention and connect STEM to real life scenarios.

Students access Google Classroom to participate in the lesson.

Students are self-directed and paced as they complete the experiment.

Now, students investigate whether they are "germ" ridden.

Students shine black light on their hands to see the "germs" that have been passed to them.

Students brainstorm how germs pass from person to person.

In this particular lesson, one student was infected with glow germ, and through a game, unwittingly passed the germ to other students.  Through their investigations, students observed the path of the germ from "ground zero" throughout the class.