Pernille Ripp

I started out on this student-centered journey knowing that I had to offer my students more time for true collaboration, not just teacher-chosen ones, as well as give them control in the classroom. I started out dreaming not quite sure what it would look like, what the products would be and whether the learning would even be enhanced or would suffer.

Now 19 months into the journey, I have made some humbling realizations:

Not all units lend themselves well to choice but it is doable. It can be a challenge to cover the material you feel you need to cover in a textbook for example, but you can. I have spent many nights thinking up how I could possibly engage my students in this without just lecturing and it takes time. That time is well spent though when you see the students light up at what they will be doing.
It also gets easier. After a while your brain switches from “How will I present this” to “How will the students work with this?” It is a subtle difference and you create a toolbox of ways. Also, if you include students in the planning process you have many more ideas, so that’s leads me to:
Include the students! When I have been stumped over how to make a unit more engaging I have brought it to those it will effect the most; the kids. It does not have to be a long conversation but just a brainstorm. It is amazing to see what they come up with.
Trust the students. There have been combinations of students that I have shuddered at inwardly and in the end they created beautiful projects. There have also been combinations where we needed to have some serious reflection on whether or not it worked. The big thing is including the students that it involves, don’t just make the decision that a partnership doesn’t work. We are too quick to decide what collaboration looks like, let the students in.
Be honest with the students. I have very high expectations for projects and I have called students out on poor work quality. There is a way to do this though without creating a “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” scenario. Ask them to evaluate their own work, it doesn’t even have to be done, and have them take time to reflect. Point out what you see as a possibly gap and help them out. Not all students can just create at the drop of a hat.
Scaffolding at various levels. Some students just need an idea and they fly, others need hand holding and even a cheer or two before they get off the ground, and some are just too boxed in to even know where to start. Get to know your students and their work style, scaffolding at its best simply. Invest the time in relationship building and you will see direct results in their output.
It will not always work. I have had some epic ideas that turned out absolutely ludicrous. Or ideas that got to be so complicated that the students lost interest. There have been times where it hasn’t been a fun , engaging work environment or where a project has taken too long and the interest level is near zero. That happens. And yet I don’t give up, I keep going because I see how invested the students are. I see how excited they get to use their hands and their minds, to explore on their own with guidance from me, to learn from each other.

So to choose and to have a voice are the dreams I have for my students. I see how invested they get in their own education, and that is something lecturing can never do for them in my room. Education no longer is something done to them, it is something they take a part in, they own and manipulate. We always talk about how we are shaping the future but the future doesn’t just include absorbing information froma main source, it means taking that information and using it to bridge new things. To manipulate learning, to shape and form new ideas. And that is what student-centered learning does for me.

being a teacher, challenge, ideas

A Couple of Ideas Before Break

March 6, 2012July 24, 2013 Pernille Ripp

Image from here

March in the US means spring break is fast approaching and so are the students yearning for vacation. So what is a teacher to do when the learning cannot stop and neither can the teaching. Well I created some projects that yes, cover the standards, and also keep my students on their toes.

The Grand Canyon Challenge. I have wanted to incorporate Google SKetch Up for along time in my classroom and now finally have a chance. In this extension for a landforms science activity students have become structural engineers that have to get a large crate from one side of the Grand Canyon to the other every day of the year. There are limitations of course, such as a no fly zone, and the students have to ultimately sketch their concept in Sketch Up. I revealed this today and the kids were stumped and excited. Final product: 3-D sketch to be judged by my husband and presented to the class.
The Slavery Research Project Prezi. Prezi is another tool I have wanted to show my 5th graders and this delving into slavery comes as integrated social studies and reading activity. We have been reading “Jump Ship to Freedom” and the students asked, yes asked, whether they could do research on issues surrounding slavery. So for the last 2 weeks the students have been very hard at work researching (nice way to discuss Sweetsearch and other internet searching tips) as well as creating their Prezi and their presentations. Final product: students present their research and are videotaped so they can critique themselves.
The Superheroes Writing Project. Stumbled upon this brilliant idea from TES and then adapted it for my own use. We have been discussing authors’ tools and this exploration of superheroes through comic-books gives us a chance to really work on creating a character, creating a setting and a plot development. I have never had students complain to me before about not having enough writing time, now they do. Final product: Superhero and villain dossier, detailed setting description as well as mini plot development with illustrations if they choose.
Readers Theatre. We have 1st grade buddies that we do a lot of fun projects with and this month we are working on readers theatre with them. In the end students will film their productions and perform for each other, the filming is for their parents to see. Natural way to practice fluency and expression at all reading abilities.
Mini projects in general. I am trying to come up with more movement in my classroom right now as well as mini challenges. Students are currently bringing in spaghetti, marshmallows and toilet-paper tubes for some mini challenges we will be doing as well.

We are finishing up several units before spring break affording us the ability to come back and get immersed in new stuff. I do like to wrap it up a bit before break because after it the year just seems to disappear.

A couple of notes:

I am sharing my superhero lesson plan but it is a work in progress and I am adding to it as I teach it.
Prezi cannot be used without email addresses so I have students use my account for it, however, if they have emails you can give them individual accounts for free.
Google Sketch Up does give out free educator licenses for their Pro version, which is awesome, so take advantage of that!
Many of my ideas come from the people I am connected with; my inspirational husband and my PLN so thank you.

being a teacher, choices, word choice

Our Limited Words

March 3, 2012July 24, 2013 Pernille Ripp

Image from here

One of my dear friends posted this as her Facebook status last night, I immediately asked her if I could post it on my blog as well. Thank you Amy.

“For whatever reason, I keep losing things!! I will walk around the classroom, put down a coffee cup or teacher’s manual absentmindedly and then have to search for it. One of my students recently made an interesting comment as I was walking in circles looking for my misplaced items. She told me that if our steps were numbered, and if we were only given a limited number of them in our lifetime, then we wouldn’t want to waste them. I guess my walking in circles made her think I was wasting my precious steps! She didn’t have a solution for me, but she did make me stop and think.

Although she spoke of steps, I thought of words…What if we were only given a limited number of words in our lifetime? Do we choose them carefully? Do we use our words to encourage those around us…inspire our family, friends, and students…brighten someone’s day? Or do we use words that could hurt others without intending to do so?

I know I will waste words now and again, but I plan on trying my best to use them wisely from here on out…just in case my student is correct and they are limited.”

being me, blogging

Don’t Tell Me You Read My Blog

March 2, 2012July 24, 2013 Pernille Ripp

Today I was flustered. Absolutely gobsmacked, probably would have turned bright red and almost tripped over a chair flustered. My retiring principal was giving a building tour to a principal candidate and stopped by my room. The candidate then told me that he reads my blog and had also seen my students’ webinar. For some reason this stooped me in my teaching tracks. The blogger Pernille would have had all sorts of scrupulous questions to ask about the candidate’s viewpoint of technology integration, global connections and student-centered learning. The real Pernille didn’t know what to say other than, “Welcome, this is our room and these are my kids” and then pretty much went on her way. Yikes.

The thing is, when I blog, I don’t really think anyone reads it, and yes I know how stupid that sounds, but perhaps if someone reads it they are really far away and I will never meet them. It is much easier to imagine no audience or one very far away such as in Antarctica or somewhere else remote. Somewhere where our paths will never cross. Of course, this is stupid of me to think as I can see where people visit my blog from, but still, to meet a “reader” face to face left me believing that I am very much an introvert. and definitely not as cool as the person who blogs here.

And yet, something I do take pride in is that I know that whatever that candidate has read on my blog, it is how I feel, it is how our classroom is, it is how I am as a teacher. The qualities of utmost important to me on my blog are transparency, honesty, and realness. There are things that are magical in my classroom but there are also many that are works in progress or that blow up in my face spectacularly. There are days where we are in a groove and others where I feel like I am lecturing to a door. Days where I feel I made a difference and days where I feel I had a negative impact on a child. But I blog no matter what, I blog whether it makes me look good or not. I put it out there for others to nod their heads and think they are not alone. There is a filter but only when it serves a purpose otherwise I do really put it all out there.

So if you ever happen to walk by my room, come on in, introduce yourself and feel me out. Let me know you are in the neighborhood and really curious. Let me know that my students sounded loud and engaged and you thought you would check it out. But whatever you do, leave the blog out of it for now, don’t tell me yet so I can let my guard down, let us settle into a conversation, feel each other out and learn a little bit. leave the blog out so I can share some of my secrets not thinking you already know them.

classroom expectations, classroom management

I Have Managed

March 1, 2012July 24, 2013 Pernille Ripp

Image from here

This year, I have managed

To go without rewards and still have students work hard
To go without punishment and still be respected by my students
To shift the focus from “what’s my grade?” to “what are we trying to learn?”
To have 23 responsible students that are learning to self-advocate
To not teach to the test, in fact, we really don’t do tests but show our knowledge in a different way
To teach study skills without boring students to tears
To share responsibility for the room
To have hands-on learning and still cover all of the standards
To see growth in all of my students and even better to have them recognize it themselves
To have students groan at the end of the day because they don’t want to stop their work
To have students discuss without raising their hand
To not manage my students but have a classroom where we each know our part and responsibility
To expand my family by 23 students and change

What have you managed? How can I help?

being a teacher, thank

Have You Told Them Thanks Yet?

February 29, 2012July 24, 2013 Pernille Ripp

Image from here

Today with 15 minutes left before the end of the day, as my students were packing their things, writing in their assignment notebook, I cleared my throat and told them I would like to make an announcement. With 23 sets of eyes on me, all waiting for something cool to come out of my mouth, I stammered, “I would like to tell you something…” Silence. I kept going, “Every day, I tell my husband when he asks about my day about you. Every day I tell my husband how I have the nicest kids, the kids that make me so proud. I share the funny stories, the things you accomplish and the community we share. Every day I tell him that. But I don’t tell you and I should. So thank you for being that class that I can tell people about. Thank you for being that class where I can step out of the room for a moment and know that you continue to work without me there. For helping each other, for staying engaged and focused and for thinking school is not boring.” And then I stopped because I got emotional as pregnant women tend to do. And the kids smiled and I told them it was time to go and so they did.

Have you taken the time to tell your students how they make you feel?