Category Archive

Pam Hessom is a kindergarten teacher at Farjardo Elementary School.

I recently started a Master’s program, and for my first class, I had to design and present a one-hour training. The training focused on place value, and I decided to use the World Café process that I had experienced here at the district as part of the work with Ball. I saw the power of this process in staff meetings, and thought it was a really fun way to get someone into something, and to get them thinking and connecting thoughts.

However, instead of a World Café, I created this whole ambiance around the idea of a French café. I brought in croissants and French music, and I wore black and white as if I was a waitress.

I followed the same set-up as I had learned with the Ball World Cafés. I had everyone get into three table groups and choose a host for the table. Then each table had its own question that the participants were supposed to discuss and reflect upon. The first question was: What are some strategies you use to teach place value? The second question was: What problems have you encountered? For example, are the kids reversing the numbers or thinking that one and one is two instead of eleven? And the third question was: How do you assess place value?

I played French music as people rotated through each group. There were M&Ms at the tables that were a reward if someone came up with a good idea. Everyone was able to record ideas, which I really liked because it wasn’t just one person controlling the responses. Then, when everyone had visited all three tables, we did a reflective discussion with the hosts. It was perfect because it led right into the mindset of, “How do I teach this?” or “Oh yeah, the kids always have trouble with that,” and “Well, I use this, but I’d like something better.”

Then I offered new techniques using thinking maps and hands-on manipulatives. Every table played games like “Race to 100.” This showed everyone how exciting and fun it was to learn place value with a game as opposed to a worksheet. Even the high school teachers were having a ball and getting a lot out of it – they were just using bigger numbers. At the end, we brainstormed alternative ways to assess the students, and came up with watching students while they’re playing the game or watching how they’re recording their answers – other ways than just a paper and pencil test.

It went really well, and I got an A in the class.

Overall, learning the café process is something I’ve really benefited from the work with Ball. I liked that the cafés here in Rowland have gotten everyone together as a district for discussion. It’s really good to get teachers out of their rooms and out of their little boxes, because you do get less open to change, especially when you do the same grade for too long. It’s also so beneficial to hear from all the grade levels – I got to hear about the good things that were happening at other schools. The cafés really helped me get a bigger picture of my job, and made me feel prouder of our district.

Word cloud created at wordle.net.