Pernille Ripp

aha moment, Be the change, being a teacher, change, inspiration

You Don’t Have to Throw Everything Out to Be Innovative

November 4, 2014 Pernille Ripp

I almost felt guilty walking to the cabinet. I almost felt as if I would get busted, as if someone would burst through the door wagging their finger and raising an eyebrow. Touting me as a phony because am I not “one of those” educators that are supposed to be innovative? One of those that is constantly trying something new and crazy? One of those that tells everyone to just take a chance and make a change? Well I am (sometimes), but I am also human. And on this day I went to the cabinet to fetch an old lesson, something I knew would work, something that I could use again. Something that I would probably tweak to fit my new students, but not majorly overhaul, and honestly I felt relieved.

We often confuse great teaching with constant innovation. We think that to reach all of our students in the best way possible, we must constantly change. we must never rest. We must never reuse. Yet, we forget that we are dealing with children that crave routine. Children that yes can be creative and curious but at the same time also need some predictability. Children that can get exhausted when we are constantly trying new things and asking them to discard the old to embrace the new.

And let’s not forget about ourselves. The job we have is demanding, and we must constantly search for new solutions, yet we forget to give ourselves a break. There is nothing wrong with using something that has worked before, as long as we make it better each time we use it. There is nothing wrong with trying something we have tried before. There is nothing wrong with pulling out old lessons. Innovation should not be confused with discarding every thing we have tried. There is beauty in the old, in the tried. There is beauty when a teacher has experience. Allow yourself that moment.

So do embrace the old when it works. Fly the flag of your past lessons that have soared. Don’t get stuck, but allow yourself to rest in familiarity as well. Great things come from ideas we have tried on before. Don’t think you have to constantly change to be a change-maker.

I am a passionate teacher in Oregon, Wisconsin, USA, who has taught 4th, 5th, and 7th grade. Proud techy geek, and mass consumer of incredible books. Creator of the Global Read Aloud Project, Co-founder of EdCamp MadWI, and believer in all children. I have no awards or accolades except for the lightbulbs that go off in my students’ heads every day. First book “Passionate Learners – Giving Our Classrooms Back to Our Students” can be purchased now from Powerful Learning Press. Second book“Empowered Schools, Empowered Students – Creating Connected and Invested Learners” is out now from Corwin Press. Follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.

aha moment, student choice, student voice

These 5 Minutes Will Make a Difference

November 3, 2014 Pernille Ripp

I find myself looking at the clock more and more. Call it the constraint of 45 minute class periods. Call it the middle school urgency that seems to haunt my every move. That clock on the wall; yeah, it seems to be always leering. Yet lately it has been taking on a new role for me; no longer the reminder of how little time I have left to help these students grow, but now a reminder of how much time we still have. How much time we still have to talk. How much time we still have to share. How much time we still have to teach each other.

Why this change in perspective? I have just started giving my students 5 minutes. 5 minutes to discuss. 5 minutes to figure out. 5 minutes to prepare. It is indeed quite impressive how much can be accomplished in just 5 minutes.

5 minutes before the quiz, they review with each other. 5 minutes before the assessment, they speak to one another and compare notes. 5 minutes before the share with class, they share with a friend. Giving them those 5 minute means that my students are more confident, are less rushed, are more ready. Giving them those 5 minutes mean that I am forced to slow down and let them think, let them digest the learning, frame in their own words and then support each other.

I have no research to back me up. I have no test scores to show the difference, but what I see in front of me has sold me. Students who are ready. Students who are willing. Students with more confidence in their abilities. we are moving toward becoming a community of teachers, not just learners, 5 minutes a day.

being me, reflection, students

A Simple Lesson

November 1, 2014October 31, 2014 Pernille Ripp

Their words echo across the pages; see me, notice me. Post upon post the kids’ voices rise off the pages; like us, love us. Altogether they tell me again and again; what we love about school is not just our friends but the teachers that actually like to teach. The teachers that have a little fun. The teachers that seem to care that we showed up that day.

So why do we forget this when we plan? Why do we forget to take time to notice kids? For small conversation? I look at my lesson plans and nowhere does it say; walk around and speak to students, smile at them, laugh with them, find out more about them. Instead the standards are aligned with all of my goals. This is what we must cover, this is what we must do.

Those who wrote the Common Core, those who write the standards, seem to have forgotten one small thing; without relationships none of it matters. Without relationships all our fancy lesson plans will be are words floating through air, no anchor to bind them to the minds of our students.

So this week, I am planning for time. I am planning for them. Notice me, like me, laugh with me, show me. Those are the goals of my lessons.

Be the change, Passion, student choice, student voice

6 Changes Toward Personalized Learning

October 31, 2014 Pernille Ripp

Say personalized learning to most people and it conjures up classrooms where every child is doing their own thing and the teacher is furiously trying to maintain order and overview in an otherwise rule-free classroom. Yet, this is not exactly what it is. Instead, personalized learning to me means student voice and choice, where student input is used to create a personalized learning path that allows students room to explore their passions while exposing them to new things. Sounds great but where do you even begin on this path? Or even better, what are you already doing that would count as a step toward personalized learning?

Change the way they sit. I ask my students to sit wherever they want as long as they can work. Only once in awhile do I have to interfere as to their seating choice and I have much happier students. Why? Because they got to have a say in their classroom environment, they were given control.

Change the way they work. I ask my students to discover how they work best; do they like to hand-write things, type, dictate? Are they kids that love to write papers rather than make a movie? How do they want to read? How do they want to think? If students are to discover how they work best we have to give them choice and room for exploration. This doesn’t mean that every single thing has to be open for anything, but simply providing choice in some things is a step in the right direction.

Change the knowledge they have. One push-back against personalized learning has been that students don’t necessarily know what they need to know, and I agree. That is why personalized learning also has to include exposing students to various topics, such as the materials we have to cover due to standards. However, there are many ways to expose students to these topics, so don’t do the same thing over and over; change it up and allow for student ideas in the way material is covered.

Change the expectations for all. We tend to teach the way we learn best but that is not always the way our students learn best. So rather than plan by yourself, plan with your students. Their ideas are often much better than ours anyway. This also allows us to move out of our comfort zone rather than use the same type of format, or go with just your own thinking. So ask the students HOW they would like to learn something and then heed their advice. You don’t have to go with every single idea but try a few of them at least.

Change the timeline. I used to think all students had to gain mastery of something at the same time because I had taught it to them all at the same time, until I had my twins. Kids, even born at roughly the same time from the same mother, do not learn things at the same time so why do we expect our students to? My students will now show me mastery of the standards when they feel they are ready within the quarter. Sure, it will require a more lucid timeline but it really doesn’t add more work to me, all I need is a more flexible mindset.

Change the conversation. I used to be the queen of all answers and solutions. If a student had a problem, I fixed it. If a student needed help, I helped them. I used to think that was one of my main components of being a teacher; the helper/fixer/teacher role. Now I know that students need support so they can help themselves and figure things out themselves and my language reflects that. Rather than giving an answer, I ask a question back. Rather than affirming an answer, I ask them to explain it. I ask for their input, I ask them to reflect, I ask them to provide solutions and to teach others what they know. This classroom is no longer about what I need them to do or know, but what they need to do or know, and that carries power. So change the way you speak, include the students in the conversation, and stick with it.

Starting a journey toward personalized learning can be a terrifying endeavor, but have faith; every step you take toward giving your classroom back to your students matter. Every idea you have that gives the students more power matters. We have to create environments where students are passionate learners, that want to take control of their learning journeys. I wrote my first book on how I did my journey, hoping to inspire others, and still my journey continues. I am not done changing the way I teach because every year I have new students to grow with. It is not just the students that need to be exposed to personalized learning, it is us the adults as well.

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I Hope They Notice

October 28, 2014 Pernille Ripp

She picked the pinkest one, of course, it even had a little bit of sparkle. This was important, and as Thea sat in the backseat, clutching her new backpack, she said, “I cannot wait for tomorrow. I cannot wait to show my teacher.” Not her friends, not her aunts, not her daddy; her teacher. Because that’s who she hopes notices this new acquisition. That who she cannot wait to show it to.

I wonder how many things my students hope I notice every day. Those tiny little things that tend to get sucked into a blur of oblivion, rushed away in a fast-paced day. I wonder how many of my 7th graders hope that I notice something small, something that means the world to them, and are disappointed when I don’t. I wonder if there is ever something they can’t wait to show me. Something they hope I see.

How often are the small things the things that need to get our attention. Not their past school history, not their family life, not their grades, not their homework record. Not the times they were late, or the times they were sent away. Not the times they handed things in on tie, had perfect attendance, or even got it all right. Not those times, we notice those. The little times, the ones that make a difference to them but to us may seem inconsequential.

I will never be able to notice every little thing, but it won’t be for a lack of trying. At least I can say that much, I tried, my team tries, even if we don’t always succeed. I hope they notice that we see them. I hope they notice that we pay attention. Because even though they may be much bigger than Thea, I hope it matters to them still that we care. I hope it matters that we try.

being me, ideas, student voice

Unleash the Power of Post-Its

October 26, 2014November 2, 2014 Pernille Ripp

The students would always show up with them; stacks and stack of yellow post-its. My pile in the cabinet would grow year after year with graduated student names, not quite collecting dust, but definitely not being utilized. We used them for reading sure, after all, how else would we mark all of our thoughts, but other than that, I had not understood the power of the post-its quite yet. That changed a few years, when after an aha moment prompted by a student, I finally realized just how much power a small post-it can really hold.

So what can you use them for beside the obvious?

Give your reluctant speakers a voice. Every year I have a few students that have so much in their heads but seemingly few ways to express it. Whether it be due to shyness, self-doubt, or any other barrier, these students would rather the teacher think they don’t know an answer than share it with the class. Behold the mighty post-it! I speak to my students beforehand, hand them some, and ask them to write down their thoughts, their comments and questions as the discussion progresses. At the end, they hand them in to me so that I can see their thinking. Often I use them as a way to affirm their thoughts as well, hoping to build their self-confidence.

Level the playing field. Some of my students are really quick thinkers that usually get it right the first time, others are more meticulous, sifting through various opportunities, possibilities, and methods before finding an answer. Rather than make our sharing times a race for who is the fastest thinker, I have students write down their thoughts. If a child is done, I ask them to add more while we wait for others to think through their answers. I can walk around and see their thinking without them feeling the pressure to come up with something brilliant on the spot.

Creates visual thinking maps. This goes hand-in-hand with having them write thoughts down as a class; if students continue to add their thoughts, they can lay them out in front of themselves as their thinking hopefully deepens. They can also all add more thoughts to something they had previously written and see their thinking grow. It is quite powerful for a child to see how much they have to offer to the world in terms of their ideas.

As a quick assessment. I always have small groups created for possible re-teaching but nothing beats my post-it groups. Once we have done our mini-lesson, I ask students to apply it right then on a post-it and hand it to me. I can quick flip through them and immediately see who needs to be re-taught or just needs a check-in.

A story starter. Sometimes I have students brainstorm possible topics for a new writing assignments and then lay them out on a table. Everyone can then shop for ideas for stories and borrow others by simply taking them. For students who have no idea what to write about, this can be an easy way to get started.

As surprise book recommendations. If a student loves a book, I ask them to place a post-it in it with their thoughts or recommendation right in the book. That way when the next student open it up, they get to see another child’s thought, whether it is from someone they know or someone they don’t. The power of a student recommendation cannot be replicated.

An affirmation. I have been doing the “I have noticed…” post-its for two years and I cannot tell you how fun it is to hand to students. All it is is a post-it starting out “I have noticed…” and then whatever great thing I have seen. Sure, they take time to write but the students take them to heart. Every year, I have a few students leave them on my table as well on their own accord, I keep them all.