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Global Goals . . . GATE PD

11/9/2019

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I had the honor recently to provide PD for our district Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) teachers, coaches, and administrators. The purpose of the day long PD was to introduce educators to the Global Goals (official site here), share my year long inquiry timeline, engage teachers in innovative and student-led practices, and guide teachers in creating their own year long Global Goals inquiry. I have a passion for developing agency in both teachers and students. This was absolutely my hidden agenda. ❤

Attendees
Our district, El Centro Elementary School District, has 9 elementary schools. We have three schools with GATE cluster classrooms, in grades 3 to 6, where students from other schools feed into. At our PD, we had 3 principals, 3 coaches, 12 teachers, and 2 district office administrators in attendance. 

As a GATE team, we have a program called “Passionate Kids Project”, known as PKP. The purpose of PKP is for students to delve into topics of interest. In the past, we’ve done Passion Projects, Social Awareness Projects, and are now delving into the Global Goals. For our year long inquiry projects, students tap into their interests, research, create, and celebrate. 

PD Structure
I structured the day by balancing hands-on activities with collaborative work time. I packaged the PD in a hyperdoc for easy access to materials along with my own year long inquiry. Last year, our PD focused on the inquiry process inspired by Trevor MacKenzie and Rebecca Bathurst-Hunt using their book “Inquiry Mindset”. 

PD link here
Marilyn’s inquiry here 

Global Goals Experiences
We had four main Global Goals experiences during the day.


  1. Introduction Videos
  2. Question Formulation Technique
  3. SolveInTime
  4. Design Challenge

As a GATE teacher myself, I pulled out my favorite learning experiences for the PD. Here’s a quick recap of each activity.

Introduction Videos
We watched three videos to familiarize educators with the Global Goals. Each video built upon the next to provide an overview of the 17 goals. 


  • World’s Largest Lesson - Just a Kid video here
  • “We the People” for the Global Goals video here 
  • World’s Largest Lesson - Emma Watson video here 

Question Formulation Technique
Because questioning is a major component of inquiry, educators experienced a QFT session using the Global Goals as their Q-Focus. This is a technique that many participants knew about but had not implemented. They were completely engaged during the entire process. Needless to say, I was extremely proud of their engagement and questions. (Slide deck here)
SolveInTime
One of my favorite, and easy to implement, problem based learning strategies is SolveInTime, formerly known as SmashboardEdu, created by Google Innovator Dee Lanier. SolveInTime is a “problem-based learning & the design-thinking process smashed into a gamified experience!”

We used this slide deck to guide our session as well as playing cards for each group. Each group self-selected a goal of their choice. Again, participants were completely engaged in the process. By the end, when teams generated solutions, several teachers were ready to implement community campaigns. I was so proud of them!!! Their favorite new creation tool was Canva. 
Design Challenge
​
Our final learning experience of the day was a design challenge. In groups of two or three, participants were provided a pizza box with resources, a close read, sketchnote, and comic found here,  relating to one of the Global Goals. The challenge was to design a flying disk that taught others about their goal. Teams had 15 minutes to synthesize the readings and design their disk. It was so fun watching the educators . . . have fun!!! As I facilitated, one participant and I had a conversation about George Couros’ book “Innovate Inside the Box”. That is literally what we did. We definitely have prescribed standards to teach, but as educators, we have a liberty to make learning relevant and even enjoyable for our students.
Collaboration
During the course of the day, four specific times for collaboration were built in. Because I wanted the conversations to be focused, I provided possible discussion topics. Each of the three school sites sat together as a team. At the beginning of the day, there were many unknowns. By the end of the day, teachers and sites left with a rough timeline and ideas to implement their year long inquiries. I asked teachers to specifically consider a unit launch, writing, authentic pieces, and a celebration of learning. 

Reflections
At the end of the day, I provided a reflection form for the participants. Here are a few of their comments:


  • "I really appreciate the day given to plan and collaborate with other sites along with my school site. Thank you for the opportunity to expose our students to relevant issues outside the valley."
  • "I am really thankful to have you as our presenter. You are easy to understand, easy to approach with any questions, and give great examples from your classroom, because you have actually implemented the goals. Thank you."
  • "I love this training!  I feel the templates and hyper links provide a clear guide to take us through the process. You are my inspiration!" 
  • "I attended an awesome PD  session with my dearest friend Marilyn McAlister about Sustainable Development Goals. You have showed me a totally different way of teaching which I am planning to start asap. Thank you so much for all your ideas and support."

Two participants wrote more thorough reflections. 

  • "I had the pleasure of attending a Global Goals professional development organized by none other than our very own ECESD 6th grade GATE teacher, Marilyn McAlsiter. More often than not, I’ve attended professional development that felt like too much fluff and not enough tangible ideas. This was not the case on Monday. It was evident that Marilyn put in a lot of effort to organize and curate materials that I could use in my classroom immediately and throughout the year. Marilyn’s passion and enthusiasm really fired up the teachers at my school. Not only did Marilyn light a fire under us with her presentation style and materials, she provided examples of how she used the materials in her class. Because of Marilyn’s work, I will be able to allow plenty of student voice and choice. My students are sure to be excited and inspired while exploring problems facing today’s world. I can’t wait to see my students grow as global citizens!" 
-Mrs. Calatayud, 5th grade teacher 

  • "Global goals are bigger than any one of us.  When I was approached by Mrs. McAlister to consider the topic, well that was easy.  The topic is all encompassing and it is worthy of attention. But as she explained the scope and sequence of the project, I was just overwhelmed by the absolute size and scope of it.  There are so many people, so many schools, teachers, students and to be frank…the immediacy and importance of the topic was thrust into my face so I could not ignore it. I deeply believe in the purpose and need of each of these goals.  It is the next human evolutionary step. We need to evolve or perish. But to see it implemented with fervor, intensity and love is a blessing for me. I have had the opportunity to glimpse our future in the hands of our children, and it made me sigh in relief and hope.  People are better than we thought. We will become a better version of ourselves because of educators like Mrs. McAlister. Marilyn, does not shrink from the bigger picture, but quietly and enthusiastically leads us forward."
-Mrs. Quiroz, principal Sunflower Elementary School 

Follow-Up
After the PD, it was such a joy to chat with teachers about their next steps. One teacher is interested in Station Rotation and several teachers would like support implementing technology in their classrooms. One principal would like me to visit and provide feedback and offer coaching experiences. Best of all, was the opportunity to guide two teaches in creating a Global Goals launch with their classes. By the end of the collaboration time, they were beaming with enthusiasm and confidence. Another teacher had me come in and facilitate a SmashboardEdu session. The students were phenomenal!

I’m excited to see where our GATE teachers and schools take their students on their journey through the Global Goals. It was an honor to empower educators where in turn, they’ll be about support, guide, and nurture powerful and relevant learning experiences to their students. To be honest, as a GATE teacher, I don’t want anyone to walk in my classroom and be able to single out the GATE students. Effective and meaningful teaching strategies are good for all learners. 

Dear readers, enjoy the journey you’re on. 


#JustBeYou . . . Marilyn
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Global Goals . . . QFT and GoalKeepers

11/2/2019

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My sixth graders and I are moving along with our Global Goals year long inquiry. We generated questions using the Question Formulation Technique, committed to be Goal Keepers, started a mini-inquiry slide deck, and added to our digi journals.

Question Formulation Technique
Using the process from the Right Question Institute (here), we generated questions about the global goals. This is our third QFT for the year and the students are very efficient with the process. Click here for our Global Goals slide deck. 

The components of QFT are:
  • A Question Focus (Q-Focus)
  • The Rules for Producing Questions
  • Producing Questions
  • Categorizing Questions
  • Prioritizing Questions
  • Next Steps
  • Reflection  
The student’s questions showed their growing curiosity with the Global Goals. As I facilitated the experience, students were actively asking both open and close ended questions. 

Some of their questions are:
  • How did the Global Goals begin?
  • Were they put in a certain order?
  • Did the creator expect it to become big?
  • What inspired the 17 goals?
  • How would accomplishing the goals affect our world?
  • Can I help make a difference?
Even now, reflecting on the questions, I can see the power and influence of the global goals on our youth. They’re asking relevant questions and are eager to take action. I love the last question, “Can I help make a difference?”
Goal Keepers
When we started our Global Goals inquiry in September, we watched an introductory video hosted by Emma Watson (here). She shared how we can “invent, innovate, and campaign”. At that time, we decided that we have the ability to campaign. As their teacher, I’m working on creating confidence and independence in my student leaders. The Goal Keeper mindset is perfect for that.

To introduce Goal Keepers, we watched three videos (here, here, and here). The videos spoke to my students. There were moments of silence after each video, tears throughout, and powerful discussions of the content and how it relates to our lives. Many students connected with personal experiences. I shared that many people become advocates of a cause because of a personal connection. 

After watching the videos, we created our own Goal Keepers posters. (Link here) Students enjoyed choosing words and colors that express themselves. We also wrote about what makes us Goal Keepers. (Template here) We used the analogy of being the goalkeeper in soccer: One that protects the goal, works with a team, and constantly has an eye out to see what needs to be done next.
Mini-Inquiry Slide Decks
​As part of the QFT, we introduced Next Steps. Our next step was to research each of the 17 goals. Students were randomly placed with a partner, then they used a digital spinner to be assigned the goal they would be conducting a mini-inquiry on. In our inquiry journey, we are still in the guided inquiry stage. (Click here for the inquiry pool developed by @Trev_Mackenzie.)

Students were given a choice of the template they would like to use. Each pair is asked to conduct a close reading on their goal (resources here), share the goal’s problem and solutions from the close read, and answer one self-selected question from the QFT. Student’s personalize the slide decks with colors and images that relate to their goal. This is a work in progress and will be a future blog post.


Sample slide decks here, here, and here.
DigiJournal
An ongoing component of our Global Goals inquiry is adding to our digi journals. Reflection is a major part of the inquiry process. This is where we synthesize and make meaning of our learning experiences. Take a look at some of the QFT reflections.

SM: “The Global Goals QFT helped me and my group go more in depth about the Global Goals and also the questions we’re going to use for research. One of my partners, KV, helped me think of multiple perspectives while asking questions especially about Gender Equality. During QFT, we also had a really open minded discussion about the questions we want to research more about. Thankfully, the discussion helped me learn about other Global Goals and other ways to question things. Because of this QFT, this really expanded my mind more about 17 Global Goals and why each are important. Another question that we discussed was, “How would completing all of the goals affect the Earth?”. This question inspired me to research about every goal and not just focus on one goal/question. Also, the groups helped me because they sorted randomly and helped all of us learn about new perspectives we haven’t heard of before. Most of us in the classroom started off close minded for all of the people we didn’t talk too, but now, no matter who the person is, we always stay interested and open minded about every question. This benefited ALL of us by learning new perspectives and let alone just learning new people.”

TG: “What I learned is that there are so many unanswered questions about the global goals and working together in a QFT could make a bigger difference than working independent. One of the questions that my partners and I had in mind is what if there were no global goals? That’s a good question because if there was no global goals everyone on earth would probably be homeless or be starving for food. I wanted to write and possibly get the right answer, but it was about writing the question and not answering it. After QFT we shared our important questions to the class and I had other ideas from other classmates or peers as they shared their questions aloud. Some of the questions I had were similar to the questions that my other classmates had in their poster. The connections I made was the zero hunger and no poverty. Sometimes when I walk around El Centro I see people that are homeless or people that look hungry. Other times I see people asking for food and money sometimes people ignore them, but other times people give them money and food to help them. I see that there are people asking for money or have a sign that says I need money. It really makes me feel bad for them because they have no home or food and they don’t have anything to survive with no food or water and sometimes people ignore them and they judge them. This proves that I learned many things with the QFT research.”

Our Global Goals inquiry is continuing to evolve. With each new experience, students are learning more about the world around them and themselves. Their quest for knowledge is clear. Their expressions of empathy are evident. I’ve told my student’s parents time and time again what fine young men and women they are creating. Being a sixth grader can be hard. But as we find our bigger purpose, we’ll be able to navigate the many changes around us and surely find our places in our community and world.

#JustBeYou . . . Marilyn 
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    Welcome to my blog.  I'm an 80's girl embracing being a 21st century tech-girl with the help of my amazing sixth graders.  Join us as we journey through sixth grade.

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