#DITCHbook was created by Ditch That Textbook author Matt Miller. The chat focuses on innovative teaching ideas and disrupting standard textbook education.
Hey fellow Ditchbookers, John 3rd grade T from STL. Got a toddler under the weather a bit here so not sure how much I'll be able to hang in with #ditchbook tonight
A1 Definitely by doing #pbl my Ss are using so many resources which are not textbooks, having conversations w/other Ss, designing their learning path #ditchbook
Hello to all my #DitchBook peeps! Matt here, #ditchbook author/blogger/speaker.
Catching a SUPER early flight to #txgoo18 in Texas tomorrow but excited to hang with folks I edulove so dearly!
(Who am I kidding ... I REAL love ya too!)
A1) In my 8th grade US History course I shifted a focus towards UDL by building the foundation of learning around 3 essential questions per unit and allowing students to choose one of those EQs for their closing unit assessment. #ditchbook
A1. I teach HS science. I will use research articles, various websites. I like to have the Ss do their own research about content, without using an assigned text. #ditchbook
A1: I don't always have access to grade level textbooks, but we do have Chromebooks...so students utilize those to access content whether it's through eBooks, Google, Youtube...I also bring in a lot of reading material from home to help supplement - mags, newspapers. #ditchbook
A1. HS History teacher from CT. I just taught the Troubles in Ireland. I gave them choice on articles to read--from two very different perspective. They chose which article to read, then we had a debate. #Ditchbook
SO TOUGH to choose, but it's gotta be between Google Slides and Google Drawings simply because of the creation aspect. I am beginning to lean more towards Slides, though. You?! #ditchbook
This prompts me to ask a follow up: what level of source reliability do you ask from students? For example, as an adult in everyday research I use Wikipedia, but thatās not considered ok in most scholarly circles. #ditchbook
A1: In Math, ss can explore with manipulatives/visuals/real objects and create their own concepts/strategies. In reading, using authentic sources to practice the skills they need. #DitchBook
A1: Learning content sans textbook:
š” Ask ?s and look for answers
š” Solve real world problems
š” Make something and document the process
š” Crowdsource answers
š” Ask real experts via video calls
And more and more ... #DitchBook
For organizing the content they're discovering - teach Ss how to use @GoogleKeep It's an unbelievable tool for curating content and so easy to access when it's time to create. #DitchBook
In reply to
@emosier3, @KatieNovakUDL, @GoogleKeep
Manipulatives and realia are big for my students who are ELLs. They can put new or unfamiliar words into context through the use of these items. #ditchbook
Ss can learn from curated YouTube playlists, #hyperdocs, #GoogleEarth and more! Depends on the content they are looking for, but a better question is what can you NOT learn from the Internet?! That's how I learn everything! #DitchBook
A1: Are graphic novels too booky for #ditchbook? The Pemmican Wars is a great graphic novel that covers Canadian Social Studies curriculum regarding our Metis history.
A1: Not that Iām all about the book, but teacher i coach want them for math and I keep wondering why they canāt do a better job offering and structuring choice. #Ditchbook
A1: Research and work to find answers and learn content. Make it meaningful and let them solve the problems. I love asking my students to do the work: research, plan, and teach a lesson on a topic. If they can teach it, they know it! #ditchbook
A2: I think @Flipgrid is a neat way to assess or reflect on material. I also enjoy Google Forms, simply because of the flexibility and ease of data collection. #DitchBook
A2: Formative assessments using video like @RecapThat or @Flipgrid is amazing. Get real understanding of where Ss are when they record reflections or explanation of a process. #DitchBook
Q1: Asking an expert from the community or business world. Also serves as a great reminder to Ss of how learning translates into their futures #ditchbook
A2, Instead of the 5 paragraph essay, have them write letters to the Editor, position papers, speeches from the perspective of citizens, design a memorial and write the plaque and explain why. #ditchbook
A2: I think that you can assess their skills through projects where they create real-life products while using those skills. Creating menus, brochures, games, etc. while using specific skills from the core content areas. #DitchBook
My #UDL - Universal Design for Learning page https://t.co/uDr0wU0w4E We should let students know that learning goes on at all times and places. Have students design their own creative ways to show they understand the work (skits, artwork, songs...) #ditchbook
My 3rd graders (most of them) are ga-ga for @gimkit They want to play every day (I've had to recycle the same vocab with different $ amounts or challenges) since I intro'd it last week #ditchbook
In reply to
@mr_middle_2, @Rdene915, @herrplatt, @Newsela, @quizlet, @gimkit, @CommonLit, @nearpod, @gimkit
A1: learn content without a textbook? Reach out and touch someone. By that I mean why not ask an expert? For example - a student want to learn about IX design: teach out to a company like WeVideo. Just an example. But weād be thrilled to talk to students #DitchBook
If they're on computers or Chromebooks it integrates with Docs & Slides - starting to see it with gmail now too. Ss can pull sources directly into their docs/slides from their Keep notes. #DitchBook
In reply to
@KatieNovakUDL, @emosier3, @GoogleKeep
A2: My kiddos are @Flipgrid super users! It's such a great way to gauge whether or not they have an understanding of a concept being taught. The kids love it and don't even realize the deeper purpose behind it! #teacherwin#DitchBook
A2: Allowing students to create something that shows they have met the objectives. This doesnāt need to be a test. Any other creative medium can do the trick if they are producing something of their own #ditchbook
A2: puppets! Have students create a puppet show covering a research topic. Alternatively, you could have centers, one of which requires young students to come to you one-on-one and "teach" a puppet (you are operating) key content #ditchbook
A2 I have integrated @Seesaw this year. Ss record themselves reading texts, sight words and skip counting. I use the activities tab to create Formative assessments - label the 3d shapes or take pictures of the shapes in our classroom. Explain your thinking/strategy #ditchbook
A2, Instead of the 5 paragraph essay, have them write letters to the Editor, position papers, speeches from the perspective of citizens, design a memorial and write the plaque and explain why. #ditchbook
A2: @Flipgrid and @Seesaw are great ways to get instant information on Ss learning. Ss creating using #googleedu Apps gives choice to show what they know! #DitchBook
A1: Raz Kids, Youtube, Pebble Go, real life people, Google Earth. For ELL students, any version of the real is extremely helpful to give schema. #ditchbook
Absolutely!! They need concrete experiences that will help them visualize new words and contextualize them. And those same strategies work wonders with students that are learning academic language, which is usually "foreign" to them. #DitchBook
A2 tie the work to authentic and relevant problems to solve. Iāve been working on more gamifying. Provide choices for them to show what they know. Get past the āone and doneā summative tests model and treat learning as a progression with more formative and response #DitchBook
Come to think of it my favorite MS SS T made a huge impact on me by having us analyze political cartoons, which I didnāt understand easily. #ditchbook
A2: Assessments are typically a mirror of the activities we do in class: Adobe Spark, Infographics, Slide Decks, -lots of choices on expression and at least three choices on which critical lens Ss want to apply #Ditchbook
A2) My students are currently working on a cross curricular final assessment w/ Social Science & Lang. Arts. Shifting the word "project" to a "reflection" of their learning, has led us to believe the kids are more receptive. Students are writing, creating art, or film. #ditchbook
Q3: To optimize UDL, we need students to personalize learning. If you could give one piece of advice to curriculum publishers about how to promote this - what would you say? #DitchBook
A2: this is an old idea that for some reason ( Iām thinking trust) continues to be waylaid... but aunthenticity has been hard to come by. Perhaps because we think we need every nuance spelled out in advance. Like a culture in a Petri dish. #ditchbook
@PearDeck and Google Slides are a match made in heaven - makes all of my lessons/presentations interactive, engaging, and the kids love the variety of answer choices. #ditchbook
In reply to
@BHenigSME, @Flipgrid, @Seesaw, @PearDeck, @PearDeck
A2: @Flipgrid is amazing for explaining their thinking/learning. Podcasts, Google Slide Decks, Adobe Spark, creating memes or a comicā¦there are too many to list. #DitchBook
A3: give kids choice! Have #GeniusHour time centered around topics they would like to learn (yet related to the curriculum) or give them more than just worksheets and bookwork. Engage them. #DitchBook
A2: I had my students build functional windmills. They had to stay within their budget, build a functional windmill, and collaborate with their group. Once they built their windmill, students had to present to our admin and use a fan to see if their design worked. #ditchbook
A2. I always provide choice in assessments: CYOA - Choose Your Own Assessment. Students CREATE a product to show their learning. Huge boost in engagement! #ditchbook
A3: Read @jmattmiller's book for ideas and structure! Then, integrate several student-centered projects and activities within the unit to ensure engagement among all Ss. #DitchBook
The EQs have really enriched the learning. Students think about the EQ the want to develop through writing throughout the unit. What they don't fully realize is that by carefully choosing 1...they are processing all 3!#ditchbook
You can do this by hosting a class website with a collection of audio clips- you can also create a podcast on iTunes and upload the audio. Thereās a spectrum of possibilities depending on your goals. #ditchbook
A3: Give Ss topics that tie together. Encourage them to choose a topic and then work together as a class to figure out how they tie together. Ss choose which topic they're most interested in. #DitchBook
A3: Give us customizable frameworks that we can tailor to our students ... Based on their needs and abilities.
One-size-fits-all textbooks are so 1963. #DitchBook
A3: How about really differentiating - not just saying you do? I teach students with special needs who need to also be able to access the curriculum like their peers. Choice, more PBL opportunities, more collaboration pieces? Students need to talk, work together, grow. #ditchbook
A3: Always give multiple examples in texts. Break up text with loads of visuals. More EQs, not boring content questions. OPen ended questions, where they can't find it in one place. Have things circle back to them as learners and people. #ditchbook
Just generally. Iām actually not in the classroom anymore but this seems like such a great idea that I assume itās been done somewhere haha! #ditchbook
A3 definitely need choices for all Ss, with tech and no tech, don't load the curriculum with paper/worksheet/activities, add in questions that push to higher level of thinking, DOK #ditchbook
A3: Often we focus on what options the students have in how they demonstrate their learning, but what about having more options on how the content is delivered to them. Go beyond textbooks to include video libraries, and podcasts for example #ditchbook
A3: Rather than 1 product to 1 situation, create PBL than provides options for students to explore and create their own personalized products. #NoMoreAssemblyLines#ditchbook
Agreed. I gave my 1st semester class a list to choose from. My 2nd semester class chose their topics with almost no limits. Guess which ones were better. #DitchBook
A3 - the publishers should look at folks who make apps that bring curriculum and creativity together: @noredink@Flocabulary@wevideo etc
Pedagogy trumps curriculum. And good pedagogy is personal!
#DitchBook
A3: Start off by being culturally diverse in examples, names, etc. How can we expect Ss to buy in if they don't feel like the curriculum is related to their lives at all?! #ditchbook
A3: Make a student-driven "passion project" a requirement for one of the curricular outcomes. ex: Students will select an aspect of history from 1800-1900 and demonstrate their learning on this subject. Students must use at least 5 sources of their choice #ditchbook
A3 Stop scripting - provide the content and a few strategies. Give options-provide more PD resources/research on the content. Let teachers plan based on their Ss. #ditchbook
All of you have to dive deeper into UDL. It's the framework built on 30 years of research in neuroscience on how kids need choices and authentic engagement to learn and you're all speaking the language!!! #ditchbook
Q4: Looking at data, itās clear that what we have been doing for decades isnāt working. What could disrupt this system and allow all students to succeed? #DitchBook
As @gcouros has written in his book, "At the current time, is it more important for a student to know how to write a blog post or an essay?" Can lead to tough discussion, but definitely thought-provoking! #ditchbook#innovatorsmindset
A3 Stop scripting - provide the content and a few strategies. Give options-provide more PD resources/research on the content. Let teachers plan based on their Ss. #ditchbook
A3: Provide the information in more than one way (paragraphs, visuals, sketchnotes, etc.) and give kids options for how they will show their learning of the information. #ditchbook
Reading this made me think of asking for content that can lead to teacher facilitating the student learning, make it all more hands on for the students. #ditchbook
Do you allow kids to do the same topic? How do you guide selection? (Tryna realistically troubleshoot a class sitting through 15 presentations about Fortnite) #ditchbook
A3-#Ditchbooks and create interactive modules similar to hyperdocs that allow Ts & Ss to pick and choose from content to meet learning needs and at the same time encourage exploration of personal interests in an academic/playful environment #ditchbook
Q3: To optimize UDL, we need students to personalize learning. If you could give one piece of advice to curriculum publishers about how to promote this - what would you say? #DitchBook
I was just telling someone today about how I've shifted my lessons to always focus on at least one, if not all, of the 4 cs in each lesson. Has been liberating! You rock! Thanks for the tip! #ditchbook
A4: We need more teachers with forward thinking mindsets. More focus needs to be on student-centered classrooms and engaging all of our students instead of recycling the old lesson plans from the past 20 something years or so! #DitchBook
A3: Late but here! Great answers flying by! My main advice to curriculum publishers is to write with the idea of fostering creativity. All Ss should not be pigeon-holed into one size fits all curriculum/activities. #DitchBook
My nephew is doing one in his grade 4 class- every student picked their own idea and they have an hour every Friday to work on it (and any time they finish classwork early) his is on computer coding. He is so proud of what he is learning. #ditchbook
great hashtag Kristi! agree, #pbl is great, and learning about some schools that are all PBL is something that I am trying to learn more about, #ditchbook
A4: Get rid of standardised high-stakes testing. Make all assessment authentic and give them the skills to be adaptable to the careers of the future. #ditchbook
A4: There has got to be a systems change! Districts, admins, decision makers need to realize not all kids learn the same, and therefore cannot be tested using a "standardized" assessment. I have said this for years - esp. w/ my SPED kiddos! #DitchBook
Great reference Evan, lots of quotes in there that push thinking and hopefully bring about some positive and transformative changes, away from the "way it's always been done" #ditchbook
A3: Let SS "figure things outā as a group. I like to get them started and see what they can do. Student choice is always a plus. Encouraging SS to explore personal interests within the curriculum. #DitchBook
A4: More application not regurgitation. More independent thinking and creating. Ss are capable of designing, creating, producing, & marketing things right now! They can do it. We limit them every time we don't think they are capable. #DitchBook
Hi everyone here, wondering what peoples deeper thoughts are on #gamifying...I found it effective in the short term but kids got tired of it and I worried I was cheapening the lesson by providing extrinsic motivation not directly tied to content. Thoughts? #ditchbook
Q4: Looking at data, itās clear that what we have been doing for decades isnāt working. What could disrupt this system and allow all students to succeed? #DitchBook
...because if we do things the way we've always done!!.......We get the results we've always gotten....and then wonder why the "students are engaged or learning!" Such an unfortunate all-too-common mindset. #DitchBook
I have yet to write a five paragraph essay in my adult life.
Sure... I've applied some of the principles of the 5 P essay, but surely we can teach writing in a more authentic format.
#ditchbook
A4: We have to teach Ss where they are. They are growing up in a completely differ society and face a future that we canāt imagine. LETS ASK THE STUDENTS..... #ditchbook
A4: Get rid of standardised high-stakes testing. Make all assessment authentic and give them the skills to be adaptable to the careers of the future. #ditchbook
A3: Develop learning progressions that are grade level agnostic and instead focus on mastery progressions. Embed extension pathways with multimodal forms of expression #ditchbook
