Mr. Sonntag's Blog

Building Learning Capacity: Why a Growth Mindset Matters According to mindsetonline.com , a growth mindset is one in which "people believe their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work--brains and talent are just a starting point. Take a minute (yes, a full minute...I'll wait) and think about skills you've developed in your life.  Whether is was sports or theater as a younger child compared to when you were older, or even as an adult how much you've grown in the past 5 or 10 years.  Having a growth mindset is a key to adapting and changing as the world changes around you. In a fixed mindset, "people believe their basic qualities, like intelligence and talent, are simply fixed traits...they believe talent alone determines success--without effort."  So, what do you think?  Which mindset do you believe you possess?  Most importantly, do you believe your mindset can change through learning about it, working at it, and b

Building Learning Environments: We will provide flexible learning environments that promote purposeful collaboration and a balanced educational approach to create inspired 21st century learners. Schools all over the world look eerily (or interestingly or even sadly) similar.  In October 2015, the Guardian posted an article entitled, "Schools Around the World in Pictures" found here .  Take a moment to open the link and scroll through the photographs.  They say that a picture says a thousand words and I agree, which is why I will let you draw your own conclusions about the similarities that you see. In addition, schools in America look very, very similar to what they generally look like today: 1800's 1916 Today This is not a knock on the classrooms of today, but it does show clearly that schools, and especially learning spaces, haven't changed with the times. We should all be asking the question of whether the environments, furniture, lighting, etc.

Building Human Capital--Institute Day Happenings Building Human Capital is one of the three goals of District 107's Strategic Blueprint.   One of the ways schools and districts grow their employees is through targeted training on Institute Days during the school year. As you know, we had one of these days this past Tuesday   and in this week’s blog, I wanted to share a little bit about what we learned that will impact how we teach the students in our classes.  The bulk of the middle school staff had a full-day of learning with an outside consultant named Jessica Hockett ( http://www.jessicahockett.com/ ) about differentiation. Differentiation is not a new concept in education, but with the infusion of technology and the shifts in what we want students to know and be able to do, it was a great day to refine the knowledge and practices for some staff members while laying a foundation for others. Differentiation has many definitions, but I think the following is a good one: An int

Belief 5: Students have dynamic teachers who utilize various teaching styles and have fun learning together.  Staff serves as an advocate for ALL children. Middle school should be fun for students and staff alike. When people enjoy what they are doing, they are much more willing to put the time and effort into it.  I love that this belief says, "fun learning together."  This continues the shift in education that I have been blogging about over the past few weeks. Teachers are no longer standing in front of the class giving out all of the information that students should know.  Teachers are setting up learning experiences for the kids that are open-ended and ripe for continuation and extension beyond what can be accomplished in class.  This can cause the student (and the teacher) to have to continue to their learning outside of the walls of the school.  And with the Internet and access to it, this is now a newer way people are learning about any topic of their choice. Ther