Ohio Green Schools Rally Reflections

Reynoldsburg's eStem High School
An inspired idea was to use the school as a learning lab itself, with the mechanics of the building exposed and labeled in certain areas. 

The moveable glass walls that opened as doors from the classrooms into the main hallways appeared very functional and allowed for the classroom space to be flexible and expand.

The multiple ways that the theater area (where we met and had lunch) could be reconfigured to create different types of spaces was a great idea on how to make a lot out of a given area.  It could have seats for a performance or the seats could be pushed into the wall to create the open space where we had lunch.

We saw some features that we had seen in other buildings, such as furniture on wheels, the slanted ceilings in the classrooms that enhanced the natural light in the classrooms, the high windows for daylighting, the natural roof, the longer roof overhangs, the enclosed courtyard and sitting areas in the hallways.  Reynoldsburg made use of the hallways as additional work areas, with tables and chairs and modular furniture in the spaces.  That was a good way to create additional flexible work areas.

I noticed an office space marked for "itinerant staff"  which was a wonderful idea for those teachers that have to travel between or among buildings.

Reynoldsburg Primary School

The classroom cubbies/coat racks were also on wheels, which teachers used as dividers to reconfigure their classrooms.

The large common space outside of the classrooms looked like it was used as an extension of the classroom, which again created an opportunity to flex the work area and do projects that perhaps couldn't be done within the confines of the smaller classroom.

The conference room that we met and talked in was a good idea.

The engineering part of STEM was incorporated in the classroom through the use of vocabulary words and the engineering process poster that was in every classroom.  We also saw the Core Values posted in the classrooms and recited by the students.  By incorporating a motion with each Core Value stated, the Core Values became easier to remember.  They said their Core Values were:  curiosity, complex thinking, compassion, collaboration and communication.  I like having a framework such as this since it creates a consistent  and memorable message for all students.

High Tech High, located in San Diego, is one of the national "go to" site for educators, architects and school planners nationwide.  Many of the principals we have discussed can be found here.  And they now have a middle school ...

http://www.hightechhigh.org/about/facilities.php

What Does Teaching Creativity Look Like?

http://www.good.is/post/what-does-it-mean-to-teach-creativity/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+good%2Flbvp+%28GOOD+Main+RSS+Feed%29

Do you see yourself as a creative person? Our current standardized approach to teaching and learning tends to slot students students into silos—art-school types on one side and analytical thinkers on the fast track to law school on the other—so our society has a pretty limited understanding of what being creative actually means and what it looks like across disciplines. Creativity expert Michael Michalko, author of Creative Thinkering: Putting Your Imagination to Work has developed a list of 12 things most people aren't taught in school—but should be—about creativity.
Michalko writes on his blog at Psychology Today that the most important thing students should be taught is that everyone "is born a creative, spontaneous thinker." If students are told they're creative, they become creative, and start working to acquire the skills needed to express that creative identity. Conversely, students who accept that they're not creative develop mental blocks that keep them "from trying or attempting anything new."
Michalko says students must also learn that "all creative geniuses work passionately hard and produce incredible numbers of ideas, most of which are bad." For example, Thomas Edison came up with 3,000 ideas for lighting systems that didn't work, and of Shakespeare's 154 sonnets, some "were no better than his contemporaries could have written, and some were simply bad."
Perhaps the most important entry on Michalko's list is his last point, that "creativity is paradoxical." Schools are places where students are supposed to acquire knowledge—but to create, a person must "forget the knowledge." If you're not able to leave what you think you know behind, you can't approach problems with a fresh perspective. Students must also be taught to "desire success but embrace failure," and to "listen to experts but know how to disregard them."
Of course, savvy teachers and schools are already discarding the one-size-fits-all, siloed model of teaching and learning. And, they already know that it's not enough for schools to simply add on a "creativity hour"; it must be infused into all aspects of our education system. Let's hope more schools get on board with this paradigm shift so that an entire generation of students doesn't grow up living their lives according to outdated 20th-century myths about creativity.

Liz Dwyer
Good Education

Here's an article about the Loveland School District which is buying Barnes and Noble's Nook e-readers for every 7th grader so the students can use them to access books and the internet.  The list price for the Nook tablets is around $250, so this is an economical way to get the internet in more hands.


http://news.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20120126/NEWS/301260107/Loveland-schools-launch-pilot-Nook-program-seventh-graders

Observations and thoughts from Friday

Taft 
 -Very modern, green considerations such as a living roof, modern heating/cooling system utilizing convection. Could living roofs in our building be used as part of PBL for students?

  -Class size = 24 students ?  Science class capacity - 24 students due to structure of fixed lab tables.  
  -Multiple computer labs in place.

Hughes

 - Building modernized but restructure limited by existing structure.  Seems to reduce ability for students to collaborate.

 - Lack of proper structure might be mitigated by students placement on teams where teachers have authority to manage time and discipline.  One teacher (Alan Frecker) had taken students to the Freedom Center on the day of our visit as part of a continued PBL.  Other students on the team were in class in the school building.
 
- Flex space on 2nd floor (while not utilized during our visit) could be used as an innovation center for STEM learning.
            
Clark
- Living roof and exterior retaining wall outside of cafeteria built with broken concrete from original building - $ saving during construction?  Not a bad look.

-Walls between classes were mobile offering flexible spacing.  They were magnetic and/or could be used as a white board.  Seemed to be resist sound

The schools were specialized where parents had to petition for their children to go to that CPS school.  Does this impact the effort of the students since their parents have a vested interest?  Can/Should Wyoming offer multiple opportunities to increase parent/student choice in teaching approach?

Gym

-3 out of the 5 characteristics that employers are looking for are related directly to scientific inquiry.
-P&G offers flex space with idea that use of flex space requires flex time.

Tech Center

-Technology growing and use could invite students to be engaged into work.  One possible application related to manipulation of aerial view of grocery store that leads to 3D ground level view.  This concept could be adapted so that students could alter drainage patterns with dams and then observe the changes on the ground level.  How would this computer program be created?

Todd

FW: Corning Glass - New Video

 

 

Hi–

Take a look at this Corning “day of glass” inspirational video. 

[Papa, Lisa]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=X-GXO_urMow

 

 

 

Chestatee Academy

Here is the link for the middle school doing school wide project based learning.  It is called SOAR.  I am sure there are other schools doing similar work.

 http://www.chestateeacademy.com/#!__soar

Friday Visit

Overall, I think our visit on Friday was highly successful. It was nice to see how other schools work. A few ideas I took away:

-quiet environment: Taft and Hughes were a little disturbing because we didn't see many students. However, I think we may want to look at studying different cultures. The tighter learning environments with less students in the hallway may be helpful to look at. It could help with our 8th grade immensely.

-flexible space: I liked the flexible space at Clark with the garage doors and the small group area in the back for easy and quick remediaiton and individual conferencing

-green roofs: Very hot and current - Could lend to teaching science as well

-progressive thinking: It would be nice to inservice the staff showing some of the videos we saw at the Gym. It would support the need for collaboration and clearly show that soft skills are important and potential employers are looking for students who have these skills

-our next step: It may be helpful to have a Gym session perhaps with Paul Zaffiro to help us rework our schedule and work through the ideas for our new Middle School

Thanks for the great trip and have a great day!

Taft 9-12 HS

Flexibe Teacher workstation

Hughes 7-12

The best space at Hughes was the “Media Center”.  This room offered flexible tables and chair on casters, and offered white boards, mobile white boards, and computers against a wall.  Soft seating was also provided.

Clark k-8 Motessori.  Major paradigm shift.  Classrooms are organized in a (2) to 50 model (two teachers to 50 students).  Classrooms are carpeted to be more friendly to student’s working on the floor, and creative furniture arrangements foster a more casual learning environment.  

Flexible walls divide the larger space into 2 smaller spaces, with magnetic and white board capabilities on the moveable wall.  

Teachers desk’s (the same desks as at Taft) are shown in a more open casual arrangement, with students invited to work at the teachers station.  Short throw projectors overcome the  brightness of the rooms due to their daylighting features.

We could do something like this at the new MS cafeteria.  No need for a full depth stage (since we have Fay) but could do the proscenium opening and curtain with shallow depth for speakers and presentation at the new cafeteria.  More flexibility of space, more options.

Gym utilized natural lighting from daylight openings in the ceiling.

This photo sums up my opinion of the shortcomings of Taft, Hughes, and Clark.  All schools lacked differentiated space sizes.  Here is an example of a small group of students who might have been better served by a small group room. 

PG “The Gym”

Consider our group very fortunate to spend some time in this space!  Thank you P&G.  Flexible studios were provided where large teams could work with sufficient technology access and acoustical privacy.  

Studios offered views to the outside, and tables and chairs on casters to foster flexibility.  

The “Guide on the Side” replaces the “Sage on the Stage” with furniture and access to technology that supports his mission.  

Any yes … fun.

Cowboy Bell

Can someone tell me what the Cowboy Bell is.  Thx.

Thoughts from Friday

Critical thoughts from AM:

• I agree with the comment I read from someone else that flexibility is essential.  Desks and chairs that can be moved around are critical to getting kids organized in groups and working efficiently.  Even some space in the classroom that could function as "huddle space" - perhaps a small table or two that 2 or 3 kids could gather around for a short time - would be useful.  If we are going to use different methods for different activities and lessons, we need to have space that can accommodate that daily change in structure.
• I also like the mobility of teacher work space.  The fact that the teacher tables could be moved around easily and that multiple people could get around the table make it far more useful as a space where teachers can work with groups of kids, either in a teaching or an assessment role.  It allows the teacher's space to become part of the teaching and the activity, not a huge beast that sits in the corner.
• Storage space seemed to be a critical component of the design of the CPS schools.  There were ample shelves, cabinets, and drawers in each room.
• I think there was a difference between Hughes and Taft/Clark - Hughes was the only school where anyone specifically mentioned that students were proud to go there.  There was something special in the building itself.  I'm not advocating that we build a castle like Hughes, but I think there is a difference in having something special like Hughes versus having an institutional feeling like Taft and Clark both had.

Critical thoughts from PM:

• Again, the flexibility of space is critical.  There are different and defined areas for different tasks and activities, and the tools needed for each was there.  I started thinking about it while we were there, and thought that an ideal classroom/learning environment would have space for directed learning, for collaboration, for quiet/individual tasks, and for team work.  Also, simple things like having small, mobile white boards in the room that can be used both for brainstorming, working, or presenting ideas without putting forth the time to create something formal.
• I completely agree with Matt's thoughts about the Cowboy Bell - I think that would be an interesting concept to explore not only for the development of the philosophy and concept of the MS (where it is already incorporated), but as an element for the HS to carry on the learning and the style being fostered in the MS.  I don't know much about how the Primary division does day-to-day business, but this might be something to explore there as well.
• I think the summarized concept of 21st century skills - collaboration, communication, continued education - are things that we should think about as we develop a philosophy about what we want our schools to be.  I especially like the idea of continued education being included in that - both when talking about a student's desire to be a life-long learner and when talking about a student's ability to learn and adapt to new information quickly and efficiently.
• I liked the idea of Design Thinking as a model for how we approach our design suggestions.  In order for us to be Human Centered in our design, we definitely need to think about what needs we need to address in our school design for all stakeholders (parents, teachers, students, administrators, community members, colleges, workplaces). 

Hayner- 21st Century Classroom

Morning:
Classrooms: I've thought a lot about how I would design a classroom if I had a chance. While I know there are more ideas out there, this is what I've taken away from Friday.
-I liked the science labs we saw at Taft. I liked that the lab portion was circular and students could gather around it rather than just standing at a table against the wall.
- I really liked how there was a wall/ an office space inside of the classroom we saw at Clark's Montessori. In the past, when we need to pull out students to work on particular skills, they have had to go upstairs or somewhere that I cannot check on them. They of course are with another teacher, but I would like to still communicate during that class bell to see their progress. Also, when students need to take a test, a space like that would be ideal. Often, students have to go out into the hall and are constantly distracted with other students walking by.
-I also really like what Jamie said about having flexible furniture. In Clark's Montessori, the kids looked comfortable and were clearly enjoying themselves. When I do group work in my classroom, often times kids are stuck at their desks or they can find a spot on the floor.
-Lastly, while this is a small idea and something we could do now... I really like the amount of plants I saw. It made Clark's feel comfortable and relaxed.


Afternoon:
-Collaboration rooms that were glass. It allowed privacy but if we had something similiar, you could easily view students if they were working alone.
-Wow, I loved the collaboration space we saw in the Health/Beauty area. Of course the huge screen was a plus, but even having that space with comfy chairs to collaborate or discuss ideas was nice.

School Visits and P&G Visit

REFLECTIONS ON SCHOOL VISITS

Some specific items observed that could be worth pursuing
Chilled Beam HVAC - - quieter and may be cost effective

Angled ceilings in classrooms to enhance natural lighting

Many, many windows

Furniture on wheels

Modular and moveable teacher work stations/desks

Built in benches in hallways to allow students a place to interact

Unusually angled walls - seemed to create a non-institutional feeling

Central courtyard - provided a secure place for gathering and a potential site for botanical investigation

Separate storage room in between and connecting science labs

Baffled lighting in the ceiling in computer labs - gives softer light and may work better for special  
      needs students

Clark had a magnetic interactive board on a classroom white board.  I think it was moveable. This
    might be a nice alternative to the permanently installed SmartBoards.

Moveable dividers that could easily separate classrooms into smaller spaces

Classroom furniture beyond just desks - benches, individual chairs, stools- and space to use them

Countertops in classrooms with storage underneath - used to display/store student projects and I
   noticed students working at them with their computers while sitting on stools

Fitness center adjacent to the gym

Parking lot with paver bricks that allows the rainwater to drain through

Retaining wall made up of recycled materials from the old school building

Sun shades on the outside of the windows at Taft could provide a break on AC costs

Outdoor patio/area for students to gather or eat lunch - also can become a collaboration space

Television/computer monitors in hallways and lunch room supplied announcements and would be
       a great opporunity for students to create messages for an authentic audience

Round tables in the cafeteria also allow for collaboration


Other observations about the schools
No bulletin boards outside of classroom doors meant the teachers were taping up flyers on the walls
    next to the doors. 

No prep tables in the science lab storage rooms meant teachers created their own prep tables out of
    boxes

The architect at Taft said that solar energy was not really cost effective in this area because the
   payback on the panels didn't occur until after the usual life span of the panels

I didn't see small meeting rooms or many conference rooms that would allow students to meet with
   mentors or to work individually with support staff or to work on projects in a quiet area

I also didn't notice any sites that would support videography, such as plain background spaces to interview someone while making a video, or a place with additional lighting, or a place to create a podcast. Trying to create a video in the classroom may have lots of lighting and noise issues.

The living roof spaces didn't appear to offer much opportunity for use as outdoor learning labs. That
   seemed to be a lost opportunity.

Restoring the historical elements at Hughes gave it a sense of being unique and special.  I can see
   where this would cause those who have attended the school previously to continue to feel
   connected and proud of the school.  This is not just another nondescript school that could be
   located anywhere, it is part of what makes Hughes High School what it is and a standout.

REFLECTIONS ON P&G VISIT
Having a separate space available for collaboration is essential

Flexible spaces and different size spaces are key components that allow for flexible groupings

Think about your problem as an analogy.  Who else has solved your problem and how?

I also liked the "Innovator's DNA" article which said that innovators are strong at:
  Associating, Questioning, Observing, Experimenting and Networking.  How do we physically
  create spaces that allow for that in the schools?

Strong soft skills are what set apart exemplary job applicants.  How can we enhance students'
  ability to lead, to work together and to learn to deal with delayed gratification?

I think Paul gave a stellar piece of advice when he said that we need to know our own culture in order
  to determine what will work for us.  While we can and should use ideas from other fields outside of
  education, we need to adapt them to work in our unique culture.  As teachers, our consumers are
  sitting in front of us in our classrooms every day and they have a need to have a personal
  connection with us.   Just as P&G created that entire house inside of  an office park so that their consumers would feel comfortable using their products in a somewhat natural environment, so do we need to create an environment in which our students feel comfortable, an environment that feels
natural.  However, schools are also employers and we also must keep in mind that the staff has to feel comfortable in their working environment, too, in order to do their job well.  Since teaching is a job that requires extensive and individual relationship building daily, we need to make sure that we create an environment that doesn't come across as impersonal or sterile for the students or the staff.

Jamie Tubbs's Thoughts

From the morning:
The word "flexible" came up again and again.  At each school, building in flexible space was a goal, but in order to fully realize 21st Century learning goals, there also had to be flexible furniture and a flexible schedule. 

What does this mean? Obviously, the current model that we have in our school (and in the vast majority of schools in general) is far too rigid.  Side-by-side classrooms (rather than the other models we discussed) with little space for collaboration, desks in rows, and a 43 minute bell system now seems so 20th Century.   I really like the idea of classrooms as "innovation spaces," which leads to my thoughts of the afternoon.

From the afternoon:
The idea of building innovation spaces rather than classrooms was my big take-away of the day.  Just the use of that term completely changes the way one thinks about how to design a classroom and the expectations of the type of learning that is supposed to take place within it.  These spaces be built with flexible space, flexible furniture, with a focus on enhancing collaboration.  They would also be digital--various forms of technology would need to be available for student use at anytime. 

schedule

On the way back to Wyoming there was a good discussion of the cowboy bell and what that might look like at other levels, 7-8 and the high school. I believe we need to be careful in how this is presented so the inmates don't revolt. Talk of block scheduling for all of the wonderful project learning opportunities will not get people on board. Our talked mentioned, as a possibility at the high school, a regular 3 day week with 2 days blocked were on of the block chunks on one of these days would be used as the cowboy period is. I would love to know more about the Georgia school's idea of setting up options for the students to choose from for this cowboy period. For example, science olympiad, JETS and yearbook could actually meet during the school day! I believe this model of saying you still have the same amount of time with your kids each week, now over 4 days, to do your classes and here is this "extra" time to try something different be it a "new" class or project or model UN, debate team, etc. would be innovative yet still respect the great work that has always, and is still, going on. Mike would mind giving a quick mention of the Georgia school that you were talking about?

Overbey's Thoughts

Brick and Mortar

• The more glass the better
• small group learning rooms
• cafeteria
• media center
• Small stage in the cafeteria
• Fitness room in the gym
• Do not remember seeing any full lockers
• Garage doors in ELA areas
• Green roofs
• Classrooms with flexible walls
• 5th/6th Grade
• Math
• Science
• Flexible space but not open classroom
• "Comfortable" office area
• Clark
• Hughes was beautiful but it seems most of the money was spent on infrastructure not on redesigning academic spaces
• Did we see any space that caused a transformation of teaching and learning?

Random Thoughts

• Need a to have a "Gym" session on WMS schedule
• How can we take the "Cowboy Bell" concept to 7th and 8th grade
• Need to find a school that is fully implementing STEM
• We must "respect the plast but plan for the future."
• Allowing students time to develop soft skills is a must
• Important to teach/develop the art of face to face communication to students who prefer digital communication
• Use tech to deliver just in time professional development
• The Innovators DNA
• http://www.fastcompany.com/article/innovators-dna-clayton-christensen-jeff-dyer-hal-gregersen
• Common Characteristics
• Associative
• Questioning (assumptions)
• Observing
• Experimenting
• Networking
• How can we can create a learning environment that allows students to fail and learn from the mistakes?
• How much longer can the Carnegie Unit hang on?
• How do we create a culture that expects innovative solutions to problems?
• We need to begin to video tape and discuss lessons to continually improve classroom experiences
• Need to develop a teacher dashboard that aligns IPDP, district goals, professional development, evaluations, teacher reflections
• What is the role of the traditional or electronic textbook in the future?

Digitally focused collaborative workspaces

From reading the recently posted article about Digital Learning, students want a digitally rich learning environment, unencumbered by traditional rules.  Furniture manufacturers are providing better and better solutions for collaborative digitally focused workspaces.  Here are some examples from Steelcase.

Solutions incorporating some of these ideas might be useful in the extended learning spaces, particularly for 7th and 8th grade, and perhaps even for the professional development area.

Digital Learning: What Kids Really Want

Digital Learning:What Kids Really Want

Answers to Your "Flipped School" Questions

http://schoolsofthought.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/30/answers-to-your-flipped-school-questions/

Virtual Town Hall Meeting at New Tech West

ODE to offer resources to celebrate digital learning throughout February

February 1 is Digital Learning Day in Ohio. ODE will use Digital Learning Day, sponsored by the Alliance for Excellent Education, to kick off a month-long initiative to promote the integrated use of technology as a teaching tool.

Schools across Ohio are currently embracing various forms of digital learning. We are partnering with KnowledgeWorks, eTech and INFOhio to share success stories, digital tools and other resources available to teachers on our homepage each school day through February.

Another event that will be taking place on February 1 is a Virtual Town Hall meeting from 1-2:30 p.m. that will feature Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s New Tech West, a member of the New Tech Network of innovative schools. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will be a participant. For more information about National Digital Learning Day, including detailed instructions for the Virtual Town Hall meeting, click here.