{"id":139,"date":"2018-04-18T23:26:10","date_gmt":"2018-04-18T23:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/?p=139"},"modified":"2018-04-26T22:47:07","modified_gmt":"2018-04-26T22:47:07","slug":"cooking-up-some-fun-with-the-gods-of-cohort-21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/2018\/04\/18\/cooking-up-some-fun-with-the-gods-of-cohort-21\/","title":{"rendered":"Cooking Up Some Fun With the Gods of Cohort 21"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I can still remember the thoughts that exploded through my mind when my principal asked me if I was interested in attending Cohort21 this year. My immediate response was <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">YEEEEEEESSSSSS<\/span>! I had eavesdropped in on Cohort21, and was able to attend a couple of F2F sessions during the past several years, but had never participated \u2018officially\u2019. Our school was sending a team that would collaborate and work together on a similar topic. It was a first for Cohort21, and our topic was math.<\/p>\n<p>By the time the first F2F came along I, like everyone else in education, had loads of stuff on my plate. How the heck was I going to add an action plan on top? Oh yeah, AND blog about it and TWEET my way to balance and happiness? I knew I had to do it\u2026. Everyone knows the Cohort21 crew are like the \u2018gods\u2019 of education. Participating was a privilege and I had better take advantage of this amazing opportunity. But YIKES\u2026..<\/p>\n<p>So, before you give up on me and stop reading \u2013 spoiler alert \u2013 I did do it and here is how I did!<\/p>\n<p>If you would like the Coles Notes version, here is the slide deck.<\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/presentation\/d\/e\/2PACX-1vSjILY6BAilt0D537mSDsj_fEfumNWiZz5Hs3HwrF0t0GU_09rzX-4EfFXRHXdskoD-Cx2LVF0zV6O4\/embed?start=false&amp;loop=false&amp;delayms=3000\" width=\"960\" height=\"569\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\nSo getting back to my exploding mind at the beginning of my post, besides the <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">YEEEEESSSS<\/span> and trying to justify to my amazing husband that I had just agreed to take on \u2018more\u2019, this is what else was going on inside my head.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I had signed up for a yoga teacher training course &#8211; when was that anyway?<\/li>\n<li>I was really interested in growth mindset, gratitude, and meditation, and was working on incorporating it into my daily practice in the classroom. &#8211; Uhmmmmm<\/li>\n<li>I was trying out flexible seating with my students and how it would impact learning. &#8211; &#8220;Guys that is a tool, not a toy&#8221; &#8211; oh man&#8230; it is a big bouncy ball for crying out loud, who am I kidding????<\/li>\n<li>I was responsible, as our curriculum coordinator, for supporting teachers with some math PD to help build mental math and number flexibility in their students &#8211; Yep, I&#8217;m on it!<\/li>\n<li>I wanted to help a few of the parents of my students who were struggling with some math ideas \u2013 they really didn\u2019t understand this \u2018new\u2019 math and all of the strategies their children were talking about &#8211; &#8220;Sure, I&#8217;ll make you some vides to help you out!&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>I had just attended a three-day PBL conference and wanted to implement that approach into the classroom &#8211; Oh boy&#8230;how is this going to fit in?<\/li>\n<li>I had committed to taking Special Ed part 2 later in the year &#8211; Don&#8217;t even ASK if I&#8217;m crazy!<\/li>\n<li>My youngest daughter was opening up a summer ice cream business and my eldest daughter was in the midst of applying to university and many, many, many scholarships &#8211; hmmm that other HUGE life outside of work.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/too-much-on-my-plate.jpeg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-144 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/too-much-on-my-plate.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"278\" height=\"181\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>So how did I get through it? Well, I\u2019m no wonder woman and I didn\u2019t start drinking or taking drugs either! Although, I seriously considered it. No, I just had to be \u2018really\u2019 creative about my time and how I was going to fit everything in.<\/p>\n<h1><strong>Step 1: Soups On &#8211; The Action Plan Iteration \u2013 (I love that word, iteration \u2013 isn\u2019t it funny how educators latch on to buzzwords)<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>Since I already felt maxed out on what I was going to be able to deliver this year, I figured if I could combine some of these things together into my action plan, I might have a better chance of success.<\/p>\n<p>The first shot at my action plan resembled one of my homemade soups \u2013 you know the kind where you clean out the fridge and throw all the leftovers into a pot. It started off with a little bit of character, some mindfulness, grit, resilience, and lots of perseverance. I added some parents and teachers to the broth and blended. Finally, I dished it out with a touch of math, some flexible seating and a large dollop of PD.<\/p>\n<p>Yummy right? NO!!! It was terrible! The worst soup I had ever made!<\/p>\n<p>But, with the support of the Cohort21 gang, who are clearly Gods in the kitchen too, I iterated, and mixed, and stirred and refined the recipe creating\u2026 dah da da dah\u2026 a delicacy.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>How might we support <span style=\"color: #00ff00;\">teachers <\/span>and <span style=\"color: #00ffff;\">parents<\/span> to develop <span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\">grit<\/span> and <span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\">perseverance<\/span> in <span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\">math<\/span> with their <span style=\"color: #00ff00;\">students<\/span> and <span style=\"color: #00ffff;\">children<\/span> ?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Much more manageable, and I was ready to sink my teeth in!<\/p>\n<h1><strong>Step 2: Digging In \u2013 The Action part of the Action Plan.<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>Well the plan certainly tasted better. I had combined a few of my goals but the swallowing part was hard. Great plan, but how was I going to do it?<\/p>\n<p>This is what I cooked up\u2026.<\/p>\n<p><em>Grit? Perseverance? Resilience? Mindset?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>I did some research around character, grit, resilience, perseverance etc. Our Junior School had done quite a bit of work around this in 2016-17. In response to a request from a fellow Cohort21 member, I wrote a blog about our journey <a href=\"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/2018\/01\/27\/walking-the-talk-with-grit-and-resilience-the-steps-our-junior-school-took-to-create-a-growth-mindset-character-education-program\/\">here<\/a>. This <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buildinglearningpower.com\/2015\/11\/sorting-out-resilience-perseverance-and-grit\/\">article<\/a> helped me narrow down what I actually wanted to include in my action plan. Grit and perseverance won out.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Perseverance<\/strong>\u00a0tends to be associated with a steadfastness on mastering skills or completing a task; having a commitment to learning.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Grit<\/strong>\u00a0is a more recent import, much researched by Angela Duckworth, and is defined as the tendency to sustain interest and effort towards long term goals.<\/p>\n<p><em>PBL?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>I really didn\u2019t know how the PBL part would fit into my action plan. I hadn\u2019t planned that far ahead, but I did open myself up to possibilities. A small shift in mindset and releasing a little bit of my \u2018type A\u2019 tendencies allowed for an amazing PBL project to develop. It wasn\u2019t tied directly to my action plan or even math for that matter, but it had math components woven throughout. <a href=\"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/wow.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-145 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/wow.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"275\" height=\"183\" \/><\/a>What it did do however; was help me to appreciate what was needed for my students to develop grit and perseverance. For me it boiled down to a positive attitude and a sense of satisfaction. These two attributes allowed my students to work for a tireless 3 months on a Mouse Library. I wrote all about that journey <a href=\"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/2018\/01\/26\/pbl-and-the-mouse-library-changed-my-life\/\">here<\/a>. We received some really exciting news recently, that our project would be published in A. J. Juliani\u2019s book The PBL Playbook. He wrote The Genius Hour, if you are familiar, and we were thrilled to be included in his next book.<\/p>\n<p><em>Number Talk PD<\/em><\/p>\n<p>After meeting with all of the Junior School teachers, in my role as curriculum coordinator, it was determined that we needed some work on mental math and number flexibility. <a href=\"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/number-talks-me.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-146 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/number-talks-me-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/number-talks-me-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/number-talks-me-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/number-talks-me-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/number-talks-me-960x720.jpg 960w, https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/number-talks-me.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 960px) 75vw, 100vw\" \/><\/a>I had attended OAME the previous year and already had plans to incorporate Sherry Parrish\u2019s Number Talk resource into our PD. We did a book study and I facilitated several PD sessions throughout the year. I started using number talks in the classroom daily and was amazed at the progress my students made. There is a little more information about this part of my journey in my blog <a href=\"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/2018\/04\/14\/believe-it-or-not-im-a-math-person-and-a-reading-person-too\/\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><em>Spotlight Video Series<\/em><\/p>\n<p>I also wanted to help parents support their children with math at home. I had many parents share that they didn\u2019t really understand the \u2018new\u2019 math, and many more showing their kids the traditional algorithm to add and subtract without any real understanding of place value, or number flexibility. I wanted to create some short math videos for my parents and started playing around. Our grade 4 students showed me how to put an ipad on a chair and video what I was writing on a whiteboard. It required me to crawl in underneath the chair! I actually tried it, then moved to a tripod! I didn\u2019t have quite the budget or the technological know how, to produce those really cool whiteboard marker videos, on the internet, but I gave it my best shot. When I shared it with my principal she thought we should call in some professionals. <a href=\"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/oh-really.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-152 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/oh-really-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/oh-really-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/oh-really-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/oh-really.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 960px) 75vw, 100vw\" \/><\/a>I started working with our communications department at the school and Spotlight was born. Spotlight is a video series created for parents and teachers. We had also just hosted an amazing speaker for a parent night and unfortunately very few parents were able to attended. Spotlight would also be a platform for us to reach parents about other amazing things going on at our school without the need of their actual presence. I filmed 5 segments on Early Number Progression and the feedback has been amazing from both staff and parents. We also filmed a feature from our school counsellor, Dr. Gina Ranger. Our intention is that Spotlight becomes populated with lots of resource videos to support both our teachers and parents.<\/p>\n<p>Here is our first segment focusing on Subitizing.<\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/221775702\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Here is the 3rd Segment<\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/265452580\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>If you are interested in the other segments you can clink here for <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/262131712\/5d0ee983ee\">Segment 2<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/265668181\">Segment 4<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/265668194\">Segment 5<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Service Learning &#8211; Math Tutors<\/em><\/p>\n<p>With all of this stuff I was working on with math, it got out that I was the \u2018math person\u2019 to see in the Junior School. A rather funny descriptor for me as I had never considered myself a math person. <a href=\"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/IMG_3347.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-148 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/IMG_3347-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/IMG_3347-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/IMG_3347-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/IMG_3347-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/IMG_3347-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/IMG_3347-960x960.jpg 960w, https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/IMG_3347.jpg 1770w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 960px) 75vw, 100vw\" \/><\/a>You can read my introductory blog post <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/QumV6LG0Jy\">here<\/a> where I fill you in on a bit of my background before becoming a teacher and another blog post <a href=\"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/2018\/04\/14\/believe-it-or-not-im-a-math-person-and-a-reading-person-too\/\">here<\/a> where I chat about the labels of \u2018math person\u2019 or not. A group of Middle School students had come up with a service learning project and asked for my help. They had researched math scores in Hamilton and wanted to visit schools and tutor kids in math. They had big goals of working with students of all ages, creating a website and starting their own business. I worked with the group helping them with math strategies and ideas that they could use in the classroom. We narrowed it down to Kindergarten to start, and I basically tried to teach them everything I had learned about math and classroom management, during the past 12 years, in a one-hour session. They are heading out to try their strategies tomorrow and I\u2019m eager to see how they make out.<\/p>\n<h1><strong>Step 3: Digestion \u2013 Reflection and What\u2019s Next?<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>I haven\u2019t quite thought that far ahead. One thing I have learned this year is some of the most amazing learning opportunities happened when I didn\u2019t plan too far ahead. We are going to continue our work with Math in the Junior School into next year and I\u2019m sure more amazing ideas will emerge.<\/p>\n<p>I totally forgot about creating the \u2018unstuck zone\u2019 from my placemat. I did create a \u2018motivational corner\u2019 which you can see here, but I could improve on this area for sure.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/IMG_3354.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-150 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/IMG_3354-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"408\" height=\"408\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/IMG_3354-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/IMG_3354-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/IMG_3354-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/IMG_3354-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/IMG_3354-960x960.jpg 960w, https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/IMG_3354.jpg 1770w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 960px) 75vw, 100vw\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I will continue to use Twitter sharing with and learning from some amazing people.<\/p>\n<p>Lastly, I hope to find the time to continue to blog. I had the opportunity to take a year off and I blogged regularly about our travels, a few years ago. You can read our story <a href=\"http:\/\/mitchellworldtour.blogspot.ca\/2013\/05\/\">here<\/a> if you are interested. I really enjoyed sharing our journey with others and hadn\u2019t done much writing since then, until I was encouraged to do so through Cohort 21. I enjoy writing, although I never think I&#8217;m very good at it or have that much of importance to share with others.\u00a0 (But that too is a mindset that I have tried to change this year.)<\/p>\n<p><a class='bp-suggestions-mention' href='https:\/\/cohort21.com\/members\/mmoore\/' rel='nofollow'>@mmoore<\/a> and I are planning to get together to do some Fun Friday Math with our kiddies and I&#8217;m looking forward to continuing to explore math together.<\/p>\n<p>The final thing I have taken away from this Cohort 21 experience is to\u00a0 SHARE!!! Don\u2019t worry if it is not rocket science \u2013 someone else might think it is!<\/p>\n<p>Thank you so much for reading, and to the Cohort 21 Family &#8211; thank you for this opportunity!!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/thank-you.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-153 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/thank-you-300x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/thank-you-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/thank-you-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/files\/2018\/04\/thank-you.png 398w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 960px) 75vw, 100vw\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I can still remember the thoughts that exploded through my mind when my principal asked me if I was interested in attending Cohort21 this year. My immediate response was YEEEEEEESSSSSS! I had eavesdropped in on Cohort21, and was able to attend a couple of F2F sessions during the past several years, but had never participated &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/2018\/04\/18\/cooking-up-some-fun-with-the-gods-of-cohort-21\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Cooking Up Some Fun With the Gods of Cohort 21&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":216,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-face-2-face-sessions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/216"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":157,"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139\/revisions\/157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/lisamitchell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}