Transfer of Skills

My goal as a technology coach is that when I share a tech tool with teachers, and model that tool with their students, and create lessons with the tool that teachers can then (hopefully) take the tech tool and begin using it on their own. Transfer of skills.

As a technology teacher, when I push in for tech with the kids, my hope is that the technology skills we explore transfer into their daily learning. This is most prominent when we're coding - problem solving, perseverance, breaking problems into smaller chunks to solve, debugging (looking for errors) are all coding skills we practice. The hope is that students take those experiences and feelings (the feeling of being successful in breaking a problem into smaller chunks) into their reading, writing, and 'rithmetic. Transfer of skills.

There is also a reverse of that. When kids are learning strategies for reading unknown words, or tricks for writing with juicy words, or tools to help with subtraction, the hope is that those things learned transfer to when we're exploring different tech tools.

Recently, I was filled with warm fuzzies as I watched this transfer of skills happen twice in one week! And at opposite ends of the building, too!

8th graders have a big unit every December called Campaign for a Cause where they research different local causes and try to persuade their classmates to vote for their cause. This unit involves watching and creating PSAs. The 8th grade team was blown away by the transfer of skills this year in the PSA making. The kids took ideas directly from the PSAs they watched and embedded them into the created PSAs. Taking that one step further, the winning Cause created a second video that also followed what they had learned, further solidifying the learning.

Boddle is a favorite activity to play in our lower grades. Last week in 1st grade, without prompting, students got out their number racks and dry erase boards so they could use the strategies they have learned during math to help them succeed in their favorite math game. The kids are learning to transfer skills young, taking what they learn in one area and using it in another, as a way to achieve success!

Transfer of skills.

And the Winner is....

Quick follow up on this year's 8th grade Campaign for a Cause --

After the Primaries, there were six candidates left entering the Convention.

After the Convention, the top three were on the ballot for the final election, and this year's winner was...

Detroit Justice Center!

Everyone ran clean, fair, and informative campaigns, and learned a lot about some great organizations in the process.  The next step is to raise money for Detroit Justice Center, with the students will do in the coming months.

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Campaign for a Cause

Social Action is all the rage right now, and for a reason.  It's been a necessary and powerful movement for years. (If you can call it a movement? Maybe it's a lifestyle?)  As part of their 8th grade English class, our students take action for some very special local organizations.

While the goals of the unit were the same, the execution was a little different this year, thanks to the pandemic. 12 groups supporting 12 different organizations. From the 12 groups at the rally, the primaries narrow it down to six.  The convention today brought it down to three finalists.

My favorite part this year?  Totally selfish.  Because the Rally, Convention, and Election were via Zoom and I got to attend all of them.  (The Primaries were held in live individual classes.)

My second favorite part this year?  For the first time, the Election is open to 5th - 8th graders.  I particularly like this because being a Jewish Day School, all of the kids have to do a mitzvah project for their Bar or Bat Mitzvah.  By opening this to the younger grades, they will see some very worthy local organizations that they may very well choose to support when it's their turn to plan their mitzvah projects.

Not pictured: the 6 classrooms that Zoomed in, and the
dozen plus students learning from home who joined remotely!

Another favorite part this year?  I learned about faux green screens thanks to Flipgrid Frames!

The best part of this year?  That the kids learned about and highlighted very deserving local organizations!  This has been a very energizing week of campaigning!  I am excited to see who wins at tomorrow's election!