21st Century MV Mindsets / Badging / Differentiated Instruction / Learning Measures / Learning Outcomes / PBL: Passion Based Learning Posted on:

Introducing Faculty Badges: Winter Edition 2017

Today was the grand unveiling of the new suite of badges designed for faculty by Amy Wilkes and Katie Cain. Like a kid at Christmas, I still get excited when new badges are designed and introduced. These badges are only available through the end of April, so don’t let them pass by you. Remember, a badge has six elements to its design. Although the artwork is often the most visible and appealing aspect of a badge, it is only 1/6 of the design. Like a quarterback who gets all the credit when a team wins, the artwork can overshadow the […]

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21st Century MV Mindsets Posted on:

MV Mindsets: Start with 34 Questions

Seeking to gain greater clarification on each of the 6 MV Mindsets and the sub-sets that define them, in order to more effectively infuse, assess, and communicate student learning and progress, here are a series of questions… Critical Thinker/Solution Seeker – What makes a question ‘meaningful’? – In a culture that does teaches no tolerance for “judging” others, how can we teach students to ‘evaluate’ ideas, etc.? – How does one learn and demonstrate ‘discernment’? – How do educators approach ‘cross-disciplinary’ knowledge? – How do students approach it? – What are the best practices of goal setting with students? SMART […]

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21st Century MV Mindsets Posted on:

Star Wars Characters Who Embody the MV Mindsets

Star Wars Characters Who Embody the MV Mindsets Solution Seeker – R2 D2 saves the day countless times with his resourcefulness and high intelligence. The small, lovable droid definitely fits this mindset as he evaluates, discerns, and tests solutions that are more often than not successful. The video below makes the case better than description.   Ethical Decision Maker- Luke Skywalker has such great empathy that he can sense when his friends are suffering on Cloud City (before it happens). His compassion for his friends leads him to put aside his own training as a Jedi and race to their […]

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Badging / Drones / ethical decision maker Posted on:

Drones in Action

Drones in Action In August, we purchased a drone. Our team designed a digital “Drone” badge that faculty members could earn in pre-planning. We unleashed the drone in chapel for all students to be introduced to our newest interactive tech device. In September, we crashed the drone. While Upper School students were learning how to make minor repairs to the drone, we purchased an additional drone. In October, Mr. Roth took small groups of students outside to learn how to pilot the drone and discuss related science and ethical issues. In November, I worked with a small, volunteer group of […]

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21st Century MV Mindsets / eportfolio / Reflective Practice / XLR8 Summer Grants Posted on:

4 Characteristics of a Quality ePortfolio

4 Characteristics of a Quality ePortfolio 1) Easy to Use – We launched our first version of a student eportfolio using Google sites two years ago. It was the result of a collaborative summer grant with a team representing Preschool, Lower, Middle, and Upper School. The product was visually appealing and featured two major sections: Collection and Showcase. The Collection was for everything. Finished, unfinished, polished, and imperfect. The Showcase was reserved for only the finest works. All of the learning demonstrations and reflections were curated by the 6 MV Mindsets (Collaborator, Communicator, Solution Seeker, Ethical Decision Maker, Creative Thinker, […]

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Ethical Decision Making / Technology Posted on:

Drones in Schools

How might drones be used in schools? As the use of drones becomes increasingly more prevalent, educators must ask how they will expose students to yet another cutting edge technology. The applications are fun to think about. Here are a few ideas I brainstormed this morning. How would you envision drones being used in classrooms and schools? What are the possibilities of drones in schools? Video Production – Individual and Group Projects – School news shows Science Experiments – Physics – Meteorology – Space Aviation Math  – Coordinates and Geometric Shapes (see video) Technology – Exposure to cutting edge Ethical Decision […]

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