PHILOSOPHIES

DISCLAIMERS:

I believe that you have a right to know both WHY and HOW I do things the way I do. 

I am NOT saying that what I am doing is right, nor am I saying that what other teachers do is wrong. 

Every teacher is unique and has their own background, approach, and beliefs about teaching. 

Teaching is very difficult and we all have to find what works for us individually.

RICK WORMELI

BLENDED LEARNING

I consider all of my classes to be "blended". According to Wikipedia:

"Blended learning is an approach to education that combines online educational materials and opportunities for interaction online with traditional place-based classroom methods. It requires the physical presence of both teacher and student, with some elements of student control over time, place, path, or pace."

I do my best to post everything you need to be successful in this class on this website. 

Don't forget that there are a ton of other great resources online if you need something. 

One of my favorite sayings is "Google is your friend".

Some BENEFITS of blended learning:

• Greatly increases time for one-on-one interaction between students/teacher

• Students take responsibility for their learning

• The teacher becomes the “guide on the side”

• It is easy to edit and improve content that is stored online.

• Decreases the issues caused by student absences 

• Content is permanently stored for review and remediation

• Every class gets exactly the same information

• The classroom environment is much less stressful

• Many more!

PHILOSOPHY #1 

PHILOSOPHY #2

Lectures, quizzes/tests, assignments, deadlines, etc. are things that "force" students to be in the same place at the same time.

My favorite part about teaching is helping students one-on-one. 

By reducing time spent lecturing, giving quizzes/tests, etc. I increase the time needed to meet with and help students.

You are also encouraged to work together! 

Pair programming is a successful software development technique where two programmers work together at one computer. 

One, the driver, types in code while the other, the navigator, gives ideas and feedback. The two coders switch roles frequently.

PHILOSOPHY #3

I'm not an ice sculptor, and you're not blocks of ice.

I didn't always grade this way. 

I've used weighted grade systems, total points systems, etc. and I felt like I was slowly chipping away at the grades of my students when I gave back graded tests/quizzes.

Chip a little off each time and you might get an A. Keep chipping, B... More chipping, C.... 

It just didn't feel right to me. 

PHILOSOPHY #4

Averaging grades together makes your grade LESS meaningful.

Think about it, imagine if I give you four quiz scores (83%, 65%, 77%, and 91%), three test scores (90%, 75%, 77%), a bunch of homework completion scores, a score for a project or two, a few lab scores, and some points for bringing in a box of tissues...

Your final grade: 83.2%

It might be "accurate", but all I can really say about your performance: "you did pretty good".

Again, averaging everything together makes grades LESS meaningful.

PHILOSOPHY #5

PHILOSOPHY #6

Have you ever failed something and felt like you would never recover?

All zeros can be replaced with ones, so a few zeros isn't a big deal. 

If you have a lot of zeros we just need to hang out more.

In this class, I want you to have hope. Rebellions are built on hope.

PHILOSOPHY #7

Low grades and failure are ok! 

It's actually a very important part of learning that should be destigmatized.  

F.A.I.L. = First Attempt In Learning

Individual low scores don't necessarily reflect knowledge/understanding.

Maybe you had a bad day, maybe you didn't read the questions carefully, maybe you made a lot of "simple mistakes", maybe you "forgot" to study, maybe you were distracted by problems at home or with your relationships, maybe the questions were poorly worded, maybe I needed to teach the content better, maybe the lessons were boring, maybe you had technology issues, etc.

In this class we will learn programming, which is a skill and skills build on prerequisite skills. 

If you don't learn the prerequisite skills, it is like trying to build a house on top of a poor foundation.

So, I can't just move on and tell you to "try harder next time", you MUST learn what you don't know.

The following video aligns with my beliefs about learning, failure, and the way school should be:

PHILOSOPHY #8

I used to  be happy when my grades made a nice "bell curve".

After thinking about it for a while I realized I don't want most of my students to learn 75% of the material. 

I want everyone to learn ALL of it!

So instead of the "bell curve" I came up with the "mastery curve":

PHILOSOPHY #9

Learning is hard, but I don't think it needs to be stressful. 

All scores can be replaced for FULL CREDIT.

If you are stressed out about my class, you don't understand how the class works.

Many people think “In the real world, they won’t get extra chances…” 

Ugh.

What about the BAR exam for lawyers? The LSAT? The MCAT?  CPA (accountants) exams? Auto Mechanics License Exams? Drivers/Pilots license tests? Praxis exams for teachers? the SAT? The ACT? Pharmacy Licensure/Law exams?

ALL can be retaken over and over for FULL CREDIT.

PHILOSOPHY #10

One thing that I think is important is telling you WHY I chose to be a teacher. 

I think a lot of teachers choose to become teachers because they love a certain subject. 

I am a little different... I chose to be a teacher because I HATED high school. 

That may sound a little weird but think about it like this... I chose to be a teacher so that I could do things DIFFERENTLY. 

That being said, keep in mind that being a teacher is VERY hard. 

It is hard physically, mentally, emotionally, etc. 

When did I start losing my hair? Right when I started teaching. 

Being a student is hard too (I haven't forgotten...).

Let's agree that we are not perfect, we make mistakes, and things aren't always fair.

All we can do is try to do the best that we can every day. 

If you have a great idea, please share! This is YOUR class, not mine.