Slide Shows

Whether it is time for my students to learn or I am preparing professional development for teachers, one of the decisions that must be made along the way is whether or not to use a slide show.

Most of the time, a few, well-designed slides can aid the learning.  I create minimalist slides these days, but it hasn't always been that way.  I remember one of my first slide shows for professional development.  It had so many words!  The amount of wording overwhelmed me so I added random pictures of flowers and lizards, just to break it up a bit!

That was a long time ago.  These days, slides are chosen and used for a very specific purposes.

The Picture

Just a picture.  No words.  A visual that may help some learners solidify/remember the concept.  A picture can also force the learners to focus on the conversation or activity at hand.

The Directions

A simple list of the directions for an activity can be helpful.  It is better to give each learner a copy.  A screen version allows you to talk through the directions rather easily.

The Question

The question to discuss, ponder, or reflect upon can be helpful for folks who need some thinking time prior to finding the answer or solution.

Your Guide

Simple slides can help you stay on track, but please don't include every point you need to remember in your slides for the learners.

Principals, if you use a slide show for your professional development, please keep it simple!  Use the slides to enhance your material.  The slide show should not be the highlight of the learning.  Be sure to provide each learner with a copy of any words you need them to know or remember.  Do not show it once and expect the learners to take good notes!

Make your words big enough for the old guy in the back of the room to easily see.

Avoid These Slide Show Mistakes

• Do not read a slide show full of bullets to the learners.
• If you want to share data, keep it simple.  Do not add a giant spreadsheet that nobody can read.  It frustrates your data hounds!

That's not fair!

This morning I was driving in and I passed three vehicles, the first was what my kids would call a monster truck, the second was a black car, and a dump truck in front.  As I flew by, driving about 15  miles an hour above the speed limit, that black car in the middle was a cop!  I thought, "Rats!  This is the day I get a ticket."

I took my foot off the gas and slowed to the appropriate speed as casually as possible.  Trying to look as if I was doing nothing wrong.  My innocent look would most certainly convince the officer that I had done no wrong!

I kept my head forward and slid right by all three of the them while my eyes searched for a reaction from the cop.  The top of his car didn't immediately light up, so I stopped holding my breath and checked my speed.  Just prior to looking down, I noticed the dump truck in front of the cop didn't even have a license plate!  Well...

...that little fact was all I needed!  Why would he need to pull me over for speeding when the dump truck didn't even have a license plate!  That wouldn't be fair for him to ignore the truck and pull me over!  Why would he pick on me and ignore the other criminal driver???  If he had already pulled the other guy over, like he should have, I wouldn't have even worried about passing him so fast!!!!

Do you know any kids who make mistakes, then try to minimize their own errors by pointing out the errors of everyone else around them, exclaiming, "That's not fair!!!"

I think I do.

You can't be open minded until...

I learned a new word early in my college career.  Prereq.  It is short for, "prerequisite," a required prior condition.  Algebra is a prerequisite course for Algebra II.  Algebra II is a prereq for calculus.   You must crawl before you walk.  First do this, then do that.

So with each new adventure I have encountered over the last year, I have known that it would be important to listen first and learn the most.  I needed to watch those around me and ask questions.  Lots of questions.  Folks who know me will tell you that asking questions is definitely not a problem for me!

Approaching each new adventure with an open mind is a prereq for success.  I am passionate about excellent education for kids and I want to be successful, so I head into each day with an open mind so that I may be able to learn from those around me and benefit from their expertise.  But their is a prereq to an open mind.  First, I must be open-hearted.

Like Goldilocks!

I was talking with a kid today about the difficulty of her math problem.  She said she wanted them to be easy like they were in first grade.  I asked her if math was easy in first grade and she quickly responded with, "It would be easy now!"

So I asked again, "Was your first grade math easy when you were in first grade?"

No answer.

So I asked her why she wanted easy math like that right now in middle school.  She said that school would be fun if everything was super easy.  Her friend interrupted, "No it wouldn't!  It would be SO boring!"

The conversation continued between these two:

Kid #1:  "Yeah, but I would make straight A's!"

Kid #2:  "So! You would end up getting in trouble all the time and you would end up too stupid for high school!"

Kid #1:  "Well, when the assignment is pointless, I don't like struggling for no good reason!"

Kid #2:  "Answering 2+2 all day, every day would be pointless too!"

I enjoyed listening to this back-and-forth, then interrupted, "What kind of activities do you want your teacher to provide for you?"

Kid #2 replied immediately, "Not too hard.  Not too easy.  Just right.  Like Goldilocks!"

Slow it down!

Every now and then, I find myself getting caught up in the speed of the world.  With a thousand things to do and a thousand unexpected things that pop up, it is easy to suddenly see my personal speedometer pegged at 150 miles per hour!  I try not to find myself in this situation to often, but when I do, I like to sharpen the saw with a slow down.  I start by getting back to my personal mission statement and my weekly plan.  I make sure I am getting my big rocks in and I give myself the right to say, "No thank you," to requests that are neither urgent nor important.

I also like to take 10 minutes to simply sit back, do a little deep breathing, and relax.  I don't ever feel bad about 10 minutes!  If you are one of those people who lives and dies by a "TO DO" list, please add this to your list: DO NOTHING FOR 10 MINUTES!  You will get your satisfaction from your ten minute break and you will get your satisfaction from drawing a thick black line through it afterwards!

Are you only happy on weekends?

Some people get to Friday and find themselves suddenly looking for a way to do something that makes them happy.  They go all week long, trudging through the week, with no happiness other than the upcoming weekend.  For some people, the happy times includes time with friends or family.  Others just want to kick off their shoes, sit back, and relax.  Then the weekend ends, and it is back to a Monday through Friday grind.

Don't let it be a grind!  As you head through this weekend, start planning ahead for next week.  Find your joy every single day of every single week!

Puddle Jumper!

I love the rain.  I also love getting outside right after the rain!

One of my favorite things is watching a kid size up a jump across a rain puddle.  Toes on the edge, a little bend of the knees and a swing of the arms...and jump!  Then the smile!  The great thing about this risk-taking leap is that the smile comes whether those feet clear the water or they make a splash!

The goal, the plan, and the results take almost no time at all...and end with a smile!  The goal was chosen, the effort was made, and the smile came regardless of success!

What about a more long-term goal?  Wouldn't it be great to approach it with the same puddle-jumper attitude!!!

Patient or Proactive?

I have a goal!  It is a big one and I have several active processes in place to help me achieve this goal.  I continue to do what is within my circle of control in order to find success.  There are also some dynamics of this goal that involve other people.  So sometimes, the ball is not on my side of the court and the situation asks me to wait on things to progress naturally.

This is when the principle of patience comes into play.  I am extremely excited about achieving my goal!  Honestly, I can't wait!  I feel like a kid at 6am on Christmas morning!  But I must be patient!

Sometimes it takes time to get what you want.  When you really want something to happen, it always seems to take too much time.  So the question becomes, a matter of two principles.  Should I be patient or should I be proactive?  Should I wait or should I work?

Sometimes, patience is proactive!

No answers today!

I remember walking into my 5th grade classroom during January of my first year of teaching and getting bombarded with the usual questions from my kiddos.  They were typical school questions for a first year teacher.  I remember noticing that the kids actually knew the answers to most of them.  I guess they were asking me just to be sure they were right.  I also remember that my answers were typically one-worded responses, some spoken with an occasional pointed finger, "Yes....No....There!"

After one too many, I jokingly stated, "I'm not answering any more questions today!"

A few kids giggled and a few looked at me with a perplexed grin.  They all knew I was probably up to no good!  There was silence for about four seconds, then the questions continued, "Can I work on my project?"

I responded, "I don't know, can you?"

The next student, "What should I do next for my writing?"

My answer, "I don't know!  What should you do next for your writing?"

Both kids already knew the answers.  A few more interactions like this and the class took notice.  For me, with each question and answer, things got more fun!  I wondered if I could go all day in this manner!

"Come on, Mr. Shanks, you KNOW what I need to do next!  Just tell me"

I said, "Hmmmm....I don't know....I wonder who could tell you?"

I continued answering questions this way and made the HUGE realization that I had trained my class to ask me a million questions a day!  By answering them, I trained them to keep asking!  I didn't want to answer a million questions per day!  I really wanted a classroom where the kids knew how to find their answers without needing direct guidance from me.  During the last several months of the year, I changed the dynamics of the classroom immensely by changing my responses to their questions.  Throwing most of the questions back to them made our classroom a different place.

This process also unveiled the difference between the regular questions and the fun questions!  Mixed in with the requests to go to the bathroom and how to solve #4, were questions like, "Can dogs really count?"

These were the questions that were more fun!  At first, I turned those questions right back to the students as well.  However, I learned that without some level of guidance, 5th graders didn't always know where to begin the search for answers to these questions.  In today's world, most kids simply Google the question!  Not so, in 1994!

I believe fun questions like these deserve to be honored and respected.  These are the types of questions I want students to ask.  Questions like these lead kids to explore and learn.  More importantly, when questions like these are respected, kids learn that it is a good thing to ask questions that don't necessarily have easy answers!

When kids regularly ask the impossible, then strive to find an answer, we all win!

Submitted for your approval

My current job requires most assignments to be submitted to management for approval.  Sometimes I am the submitter and sometimes I am the approver.  Sometimes, I am one of the funnels it most go through prior to final approval.  Confusing?  Yes.

There are a few purposes for the approval.  When something is going to be published, it is always a good idea to get a 2nd, 3rd, and even 4th set of eyes to check it out so that it can be ready for publication.  Another purpose is for the approver to simply determine if the words are to his or her liking.  In other words, does this say what it needs to say in the way that I would say it?  This often leaves the writer trying to guess what is in the manager's head!!

This got me thinking...

When kids turn in assignments, how often are they trying to guess what is in the teacher's head?  I have seen some incredible examples of learning tasks that included simple, yet perfect rubrics so kids could judge their work prior to submission.  Wouldn't it be excellent if a student knew how well their efforts met the expectations for pretty much every assignment?

When teachers design a learning experience, they first determine, "What exactly do my students need to learn?"

Then they ask, "How will I know if they learned it?"  To go deeper with this one, start asking, "How will my students know if they learned it?"  If your students know, they will not be submitting their work for your approval, they will be submitting their work stamped with their own approval!

Passion and Goals!

Can you have a goal without a plan?

There was a time that I believed a goal without a plan was just a dream.  Now, I think that some of the best goals swell our hearts with anticipation before we have a clue how to get there!  Big, audacious goals can take time.  Early on, that time may simply be spent figuring out exactly what your "End in Mind" actually looks like.

I have heard the goal, "I want to write a book," from several folks.  The next question is always, "What will your book be about?"

The was a time when I gave very little credence to the answer, "I don't know."  Not anymore!  Perhaps finding the answer to that question is the burning question!  The burning question that causes the writer-to-be to seek out his/her greatest passion and bring it to life through words.

If you have a goal, and you are not sure how to bring it to life, keep asking yourself questions until your answers lead you to your plan!  Passion and goals lead to plans for success!

Sharpen the Saw

The second semester is rolling.  Middle-of-the-year benchmarks are done.  Data is ready for analysis.  The end of January is when the gas peddle hits the floor and time seems to fly.  It is also when the typical teacher experiences a bit of stress as testing time approaches and some of the kiddos aren't progressing as planned.

If you have done this for a few years, and felt this way for a few years, you know that the stress will wane and you will make it through this time.  Say this to yourself, "I will make it through this time of year because I have done it before."

Then ask yourself, "How will I make it better for my students and for myself?"

One of your answers to this question must be, "I will sharpen my saw!"

Dr. Covey explains Habit #7 so well:

Sharpen the Saw means preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have--you. It means having a balanced program for self-renewal in the four areas of your life: physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual. Here are some examples of activities: Physical: Beneficial eating, exercising, and resting Social/Emotional: Making social and meaningful connections with others Mental: Learning, reading, writing, and teaching Spiritual: Spending time in nature, expanding spiritual self through meditation, music, art, prayer, or service As you renew yourself in each of the four areas, you create growth and change in your life. Sharpen the Saw keeps you fresh so you can continue to practice the other six habits. You increase your capacity to produce and handle the challenges around you. Without this renewal, the body becomes weak, the mind mechanical, the emotions raw, the spirit insensitive, and the person selfish. Not a pretty picture, is it? Feeling good doesn't just happen. Living a life in balance means taking the necessary time to renew yourself. It's all up to you. You can renew yourself through relaxation. Or you can totally burn yourself out by overdoing everything. You can pamper yourself mentally and spiritually. Or you can go through life oblivious to your well-being. You can experience vibrant energy. Or you can procrastinate and miss out on the benefits of good health and exercise. You can revitalize yourself and face a new day in peace and harmony. Or you can wake up in the morning full of apathy because your get-up-and-go has got-up-and-gone. Just remember that every day provides a new opportunity for renewal--a new opportunity to recharge yourself instead of hitting the wall. All it takes is the desire, knowledge, and skill.

Passion is Energy!

I just took a quick walk through The University of Texas campus. The 2nd semester has recently begun and there were tables and students everywhere!  They were holding posters, giving away candy, playing music, and handing out pamphlets.  They were trying to recruit, advertise, raise funds, or promote for their cause.

It was an impressive sight!  I started thinking about all the reasons they were participating.  They weren't getting paid for it.  They seemed to be enjoying themselves.  They might simply be involved to make friends.  But most of the groups were service-oriented.  To me, this means they got involved because they were passionate about the cause.

I know that our local high schools have some advocacy efforts led by their students.  This made me wonder, how can we create an environment for our youngest students to become involved with a service effort?  I'm not simply talking about the projects that are led by the school.  Don't get me wrong!  School-led efforts are excellent and worthy vehicles for teaching kids how the service to others is a win-win endeavor.

I'm just curious if we can build systems in elementary schools where student-led, passion-driven efforts will flourish?

Sway Bar Success!

Yesterday, my family finished a few days of camping at our favorite state park.  The weather was gorgeous!  High temperatures were around 70 degrees and the nights were perfect for sitting around the campfire.  Each day, we hiked the trails and took in some incredible Central Texas views!  We also hit the water in our kayaks.  Only one fish was caught on this trip, and I'm sure he swam back to tell his catfish buddies about his out-of-water adventure!

When it comes time to pack up and head out, usually my two boys are willing to help out in whatever way necessary.  While they would prefer to act like kids at the lakeside park, they also like the idea of getting home to play with their friends.  After an hour or so, I enlisted their help to finish the process of camp clean up.  They took care of a few of the obvious things, such as gathering the kayak gear and picking up any little piece of trash.  All in all, they do a good job!

Once our gear was packed, it was time to hook up the camper.  My oldest son did a great job of lining up the ball and hitch and getting the truck in place.  The next step was the weight distribution bars and the sway bar.  I typically take care of these, but this time, I wanted to see if my son could figure it out.  He has watched me several times, but not in the last two months.  I asked him to take care of it and he responded, "How do they go on?"

My typical reaction would probably be to tell him exactly what to do.  That would have been more efficient and easier.  He would have complied and the task would have gotten done.  A lot of times, we think that if we tell kids each step, they will remember the process next time.  But really, the teacher in me knew better.  Instead of telling him what to do, I said, "I bet you can figure it out!"  Then I walked away.  I knew it might be counterproductive to stand and watch.  I just might have blurted out some statement and taken away his autonomy.

Sure enough, he figured it out and got it done!  Sway bar success!  This made me happy!  He was proud of himself too!  Giving him the autonomy to get it done helped him learn the process way better than telling him each step of the way.  It also made him feel better about his accomplishment than he would have if I had told him each step and he had merely complied.

The best compliment for an educator

Yesterday, I ran into a parent from my old campus.  We were both attending a forum for improving early childhood education.  We talked about her two, fantastic children.  One is in middle school now and the other is still in elementary.  The younger one loves his teacher and is quite proud of his leadership on campus.  Of course, every one is a leader at that campus, thanks to some incredibly dedicated and talented teachers and The Leader in Me!  She told me that her daughter was an excellent middle school student, making all A's and excelling in band, but she missed her old school.

Then she told me what I consider to be one of the best compliments I have ever received, "It is clear that your school was all about relationships, yet the expectations for excellent academics was equally amazing!"

This was music to my ears!  I have always believed that people come first.  Make sure you take care of their hearts and their minds will follow.  Yet I also know that learning is the reason every school exists.  Academics are paramount.  By no means was I perfect in my efforts.  Most assuredly, I made many mistakes along the way.   It is still one of my burning questions, "How do we ensure that the little people we get for seven hours each day leave as caring human beings with as much smarts as we can get in their brains?"

School is not only meant for filling brains and creating a growth mindset, it is also meant to create little humans who genuinely care for the people and the world around them.  I loved hearing that we did both!  I still say all the credit goes to the fantastic teachers and staff that made it happen, but it was nice to be included in the best compliment an educator can hear!

Suspend Judgment and Enable Curiosity

Elementary school teachers are the ultimate action researchers.  They constantly monitor the subjects in their laboratories for optimum learning, then tweak or change variables when needed.  They also find times when they need to seek the opinion of a fellow researcher, so they ask another teacher for ideas that might address a specific barrier to a child's learning.

Some of the most important conversations that teachers have are to answer the question, "What do we do for the kids who struggle to learn this?"

After many years of involvement with these discussions, I have seen a wide range of responses to the ideas that get thrown on the table in efforts to help struggling students.  Most of the time, teachers are willing to listen to as many strategies as possible, then choose one or two.  Naturally, the strategies that are typically chosen are the ones that feel most comfortable to each teacher.  Each teacher chooses the ones that seems most doable.  If three teachers hear fifteen different ideas, they may choose three completely different strategies, based on their own personal preference.

This has me wondering...when we hear ideas during a brainstorming session, do we make our judgments immediately?  As the ideas hit the table, do our experiences cause us to keep or discard ideas too quickly?  When brainstorming, what if we were better able to suspend judgment and enable curiosity?

Be a No Man!

The best plans for success often follow the toughest arguments.  We don't always recognize it, but a really good disagreement typically shows how far apart folks are thinking when the improvment process begins  Once the work is done, the result that follows the argument must be good if everyone supports it because it has overcome the differences that caused the argument in the first place.  Unless you are a "Yes" Man.

Don't apologize to people for having a difference of opinion.  Use your differences to build something greater than any one of you could have done on your own!


When your team is looking to make things better, first be sure you share a common goal.  If you have that, be sure team members are not copies of the same thoughts.  Most of all, be sure you are not simply saying yes to the rest of the team, just to keep the peace.  It is OK to be a "No" Man!

Butterflies

A little bit of fear is not always a bad thing.  That little feeling you get as you face a challenge.  It may be your new job, a new student in your classroom, or even walking in the building with a new haircut.  The deep breath you take as you approach your challenge is a sign that some level of fear is with you.  Butterflies in your stomach!

Many coaches believe that the feeling of butterflies in your stomach prior to a competition is healthy and contributes towards a strong performance.  The same can be said for singers, dancers, and actors.  Teachers get the feeling on the first day of school every year, just before the kids walk in the door!  This fear is not the opposite of courage!  Courage is what you use to overcome your fears!  A little bit of fear always loses to bravery!

Embrace those butterflies!  Step up to the starting line and run!  When the curtain opens, smile and shine!  When you feel those butterflies in your stomach, you know you are doing something that takes courage.  Smile as you reach beyond your comfort zone and let your bravery show!

Brave and Happy!

Think, then do!

Dan Millman is one of my favorite authors.  I devoured his books in my 20's and 30's, yet many of his ideas still resonate strongly 15-20 years later.  Over the last few weeks, I have been doing a lot of thinking about a potential upcoming assignment.  Then, as I was thinking, I thought to myself, "I am doing way to much thinking and not enough doing!"  Dan Millman says it this way:




As a guy who wants to be proactive, I decided to make a call this morning, just to ask about the assignment timeline that I am quite eager to learn about.  The timeline is not in my circle of influence, but it is in my circle of concern.  First I thought, then I proactively chose to ease my concern by making a phone call and asking!  Not so tough!

Dan Millman would be proud!

Is this good enough to try?

So you have been working on something new,  You are excited about the potential benefits of your efforts and you are passionate about finding success.  At some point, you might ask yourself, "Is this good enough to try?"

The answer to this question is almost always yes!  If your new endeavor is good enough to call good, it is good enough to try.  Give it a shot, learn from your efforts, then make improvements.

If you are waiting for the perfect plan before making it happen, you could be waiting a long time.