and some small ones too  My Big Ideas and some small ones too 

Before I start… Inspired by: Will Richardson iste-presentation 2012 http://vimeo.com/45152953 I just want to say how in awe I am to be here. When I was invited I had just won the Presidential Award for Science teaching and thought I was awesome! Then I got here and was humbled – but that is what started me on the journey I find myself on currently. So thanks for inspiring me.

What if you could teach the way you’ve always wanted to: what would it look like? 1 Teach the way you’ve always wanted to but… Didn’t know how. Were stifled by the overwhelming content Were shackled by the administration. Throw off the chains! You want to flip your classroom – do it. You want to do project based learning – awesome. You want to grade with SBG – go for it. Be inspired; it is contagious!

Really make it about the students 2 It’s not about us – really. It is all about the kids. Are we still disseminating information and calling it teaching? Are we letting the kids spectate in our classrooms and calling it learning? Put the responsibility on them. Make them the experts, the stars of the classroom. All learning should focus on the kids.

Move beyond Jeopardy 3 When teaching and learning can be summed up in a jeopardy review game the kids aren’t learning anything big. High school isn’t a place for students to learn facts; it is where students learn how to learn. The skills that they need for college and the workplace do not come down to facts; they come down to skills. Does jeopardy equip the students with the skills they need to be successful?

Throw out the Textbooks 4 Textbooks reinforce the notion that learning is fact based and the the experts are the keepers of knowledge. They are written by experts for experts – not really for students. If read out of context they confuse and confound our students. I say get rid of them. Make your own or better yet have the students create their own – digital portfolio!

Stop “covering” content 5 We often feel so shackled by the content expectations. The standards are not a checklist! I have seen so many teachers revert to “coverage” teaching just to get through the standards. Do not fall prey to this. Throw out the standards! Don’t teach more, teach better!

Give up on traditional homework 6 The days of the single student sitting at the kitchen table after dinner pouring over math problems is gone! Kids need to collaborate to create new and different content. And I want to be there for that collaboration! That is why the flipped classroom is so awesome and why inquiry and the constructivist approach is so successful.

Grade in a way that gives meaning to learning 7 Letter grades…points…percentages? Do any of these really give feedback to students that is meaningful? What if the conversations you had about grades were actually about what the students know and are able to do? SBG

Shift from quality testing to quality instruction 8 Standardized testing isn’t helping. The common assessments they instituted in my district have moved us all toward mediocrity. We need better teaching not better tests. When the test is the focus that is where we teach. Make the kids the focus; make the learning the focus!

Open your classroom to the Universe 9 If your tests really assess what the kids can do with knowledge – why not give it to them? We want the kids to use the skills of analysis and synthesis so why not put your practice to the test? With the instant access to information the important skills are being able to find and apply it. These are the skills that are important for career and college readiness.

Technology is a tool not a replacement 10 Don’t give a bad teacher an iPad and expect miracles. You can still apply bad pedagogy with good technology. However if you use good tech to create a robust classroom culture, the possibilities are endless! Twitter, instagram, vine – all apps that I know teachers use to connect their students to the content. In addition, good tech can be used to create your own personal network. How many of you have a twitter network? A linkedin network? I connect with teachers all over the country and get the best ideas from people I don’t actually know!

I just need a quick break so I brought my kids. So talk amongst yourselves; I’ll give you a topic: our schools are exactly the same and vastly different than they were 50 years ago…discuss.

School (and classroom) culture is just as, if not more, important than content 11 Speaking of culture – the longer I teach the more aware I am of just how important creating a good classroom culture really is. Not only does it enable meaningful learning but it connects kids to the class and the teacher. When you look back at your own experiences does anyone really say, “wow I loved that class because I learned so much about sine and cosine?” I doubt it; but many of us remember and value the teachers that we connected to and had great relationships with.

Good teaching doesn’t scale 12 If you take a great teacher (elementary middle or high school) and double the kids in their class they go from awesome so drowning. Good teaching is created through building good relationships and that is nearly impossible with too many kids in the room. Very few yearn for the days of the 200 person college lecture – which is barely teaching as it is. And MOOCs? What the heck are MOOCs? They can’t be good. Inquiry, PBL, flip; how can you work with kids if they outnumber you 40 to one?

Our schools kick ass! 13 Our educational system is responsible for the most robust and powerful nation and economy in the history of history! It got that way due to the inherent creativity of our teaching. Why change? For better test scores? I learned last year that the idea that the US is failing is a fallacy. We really do kick ass. We need more imagination and innovation not less.

We need better professional development 14 We need to create a culture of teachers as learners. Like this one right here. I think back to how much I learned at this conference last year and I’m fired up. At Grosse Pointe we’ve moved to a new model that we call Teachers Teaching Teachers where we have tapped the experts in the building to lead our building and district level PD. It has been amazing. You can do better! What are you doing in your buildings?

Inspire the teachers around you 15 A bad teacher is a teacher who has yet to be exposed to good teaching. They are screaming for help! In addition, as leaders it is our responsibility to inspire the next generation of teachers. I know I’m teaching to the choir here but if we don’t do it, who will? We’re still losing half of our new teachers within their first 5 years. How can we let that happen? What are you doing to inspire those around you.

Do something radical Do something revolutionary 16 Only you can change the culture around you; but you can do it. Don’t let the fear of fear and scarcity Work from the prospect of abundance and possibility. Challenge your perspective, challenge the conventions. Do something! Change the world.