Kim Caise's Blog, page 13
June 8, 2015
SAT Discrepancy During Test Administration
This past Saturday, June 6th, there was a discrepancy in the directions for one section of the SAT test according to a Washington Post article. The test proctor’s booklet said section 8 or 9, depending on the version the student received, was limited to 20 minutes, which was the correct time allocation, while the student booklets said 25 minutes for the section. Once the discrepancy was noticed, test proctors were frantically calling the College Board asking how best to proceed.
It is unfortunate the time allocation discrepancy was not noticed prior to starting the test. Most students were only allowed 20 minutes for the section regardless of what their booklet said causing many students to panic as they had paced themselves thinking they had more time than they actually did. Five minutes can be a big deal when taking timed tests and on a test that is as important as the SAT, anything that alters the timing or answering the questions can really affect student scores.
May 31, 2015
Tomorrow is International Children’s Day. May 27, 2015
May 26, 2015
What is the Most Memorable or Important Thing a Teacher ever Taught You – Please Comment!
As the school year comes to a close, students, parents, teachers and admins often reflect upon the school year. Fond memories of special events or milestones usually top the list but often a kind of special word from a teacher stands out and will stay with a student for a great length of time. I carry cards and letters from students that I have received over the years whenever I go speak as a reminder that if I can make a difference for one person then the time spent preparing and delivering the message are times well spent.
My memorable event was just after student teaching. My university professor assigned to my cohort impressed upon me that whenever I turn work in to a professor or principal as teacher, to make it the best quality I can be as it is a direct reflection of yourself. I was only 20 but that statement has stayed with me for over 25 years and truly impacted the way I teach, write, produce, create and interact with others. When I forget, something quickly reminds me and I am brought back in time to that original conversation.
As summer approaches, reflect upon the school year or school years past and share a memorable, touching or important thing that a teacher ever shared or impressed upon you. What is the one memorable thing that sticks in your memory and you fondly recall it whenever times get tough during the school year? I would love to gather stories for another blog post and share our special moments in time.
May 19, 2015
What I Want New Teachers to Know
With the close of the school year and end of student teaching for pre-service teachers, there are several things I would like to share with those who are just starting out with a teaching job in the fall. This could be pre-service teachers who student taught in the fall or spring, returning back to the classroom after a number of years has passed, or going through an alternative certification program. Much of what I would like to share you won’t experience until you are in your own classroom whether you are teaching face to face or online. This blog post is a long read but an important one.
1. Know the difficult times will come and pass. There will be days you want to pull your hair our, scream or quit teaching altogether. Especially your first year and this point isn’t driven home until you are on your own in your classroom by yourself. You may have colleagues that are supportive but they will experience this as well at some point too. It is just part of teaching and inclusive of most any job. The tough times will come but they won’t stay. The more positive you are, the less often tough times will come and the duration will be shorter. Stay strong and focused. The difficult times will most likely come from unwanted student behavior or overly/uninvolved parents but it could also stem from colleagues and administrators. The first year is the toughest yet most exciting in my opinion.
2. Create a support network of colleagues on campus and off campus. You will want to vent and you don’t want your frustrations spread all over your school. Being frustrated and venting is normal; just be careful who you talk to when you do so. Don’t let it be a drain on your family or colleagues. Find other outlets for your frustrations and remember #1, the frustrating times will pass. Especially if you have a support network that can encourage you and lift you up instead of letting you stay down and frustrated. Be sure to involve parents if your frustration is a discipline issue. They can be your saving grace.
3. Involve parents as often as possible, especially if you are experiencing discipline issues. When I first started teaching, a parent interrupted me to discipline her son on the first day of my first teaching job. A few weeks later, she beat her son in class with her belt terrifying my second grade students and myself. She was well over six feet tall and over 200 lbs while I was just 21, under 100 lbs and dwarfed by her physically. Thereafter, whenever she would come on campus, and sometimes she would sneak on campus, she would cause such panic for my student and myself that it was difficult to teach. I would have to stop for a bit to calm my students, ask her to return to the office, and calm myself down so I could breathe without hyperventilating. My students and I never forgot her but it was important that she was involved in the education of her son however difficult she was. This is where your colleagues can come in to play and support you, give you advice and help manage the situation so that you are not on an island or treading water just to exist.
Whether you teach online or face to face, parental involvement at any level is important to the success of the student. My situation was rare and parents can’t come on campus as easily now; especially if you are teaching online. Don’t stress but try to remain calm and keep your students calm when parental issues that are negative arise in or out of the classroom. Model how to properly interact with the student as many parents are frustrated, embarrassed and not sure how to handle situations involving their own child. Your patience and empathy can be just what is needed to form a team of support and help for the student.
4. Make connections and find a teaching coach for yourself. If will be more beneficial if you find a coach on campus to help you navigate the things you will experience as a first year teacher. If you can’t find a coach on campus, find one online or one of your friends that teaches the same content, grade level and in the same school district as you do. Your more experienced teacher friends may be great coaches but it won’t be as helpful as if the person is located on your campus. Many districts assign a mentor to new teachers as they know there will be trying times as a first year teacher. You won’t know exactly what to teach and when sometimes, as not all districts or campuses have a detailed scope and sequence of what you are to teach. If you teach online, try to find a mentor that also teaches online for the same educational institution. A great mentor’s guidance, support and nurturing can make a huge difference in your first year of teaching.
5. Focus on one day at a time. Plan for a week or two ahead but focus on each day as they come. Don’t take on more than you can handle. Because you are new, you may not realize the time commitments and constraints projects may take so be cautious of this your first year. Be sure to write lesson plans, even if they are not majorly detailed, to help you keep track of pacing and what worked or didn’t work for your second year of teaching. Reviewing and comparing lesson plans is a great way of reflecting of time periods and learning activities that may cause frustration or you to struggle delivering the content to your students the following school year.
6. Include technology for yourself and with your students. Use technology for productivity, especially gradebook and lesson plan software. There is an app called Zip Grade that allows you to create an answer document and answer key and take a picture of the student’s answer document and have it graded for you. This is great if you use multiple choice assessments a great deal. Fill in the blank, essay or demonstration answers will obviously needed to be grade individually but apps like Zip Grade or using scantrons can save time on informal assessments.
Teach students how to interact online and create a positive digital footprint. Instead of writing a research paper, have students create a video that portrays the content found in the research. I used to have first graders using PowerPoint and inserting clip art where appropriate on their own. Technology can take your learning activities to the next level and reach the creation level of Bloom’s Taxonomy. When students are creating, they are learning and that is your goal throughout each school year. The creation process takes into account a great deal more skills that fit the higher level of Bloom’s Taxonomy than paper/pencil activities. Learn to use web tools and attend webinars like from
May 17, 2015
Remind Group Texting App Now Has a Chat Feature
When I presented on mobile devices, specifically cell phones, in the classroom, I was often asked about two group texting apps, Cel.ly and Remind. Along with a name change, Remind, formerly Remind HQ and Remind 101, now has an added feature. You can chat one on one with one of the members in the group(s) in the app.
Group texting apps let you send messages to a group of a people. Several services do not allow those the receivers to respond back to the messenger but Remind just started that feature. I learned of this feature addition late last week and was reminded (no pun intended) again of it during a webinar today.
This is great if you need a response back from someone, or all members of your group. Most teachers have a Remind group for their homeroom or each class period if they teach more than one class. They may also have one for parents, grade level/team colleagues or an entire faculty. Group texting apps are so helpful when sending out reminders of all kinds regardless of the audience and size of the group.
Students or potential members text a number and phrase to join the group keeping all phone numbers hidden from all parties. This protects your phone number and prevents parents or students from calling you for petty things or all hours of the night. 
To use the new feature, click the chat icon and then select who you would like to send the message to and it will go to only that person. They can respond first and you respond back and again, all phone numbers are kept private unless you share then with one another so you can know who you are communicating with by name. Go to
May 16, 2015
Need an Online Certificate Maker?
With the close of the school, I recall needing to prepare certificates for all kinds of student achievements and accomplishments students made during the school year. Recently, one of my grad students needed a certificate for completing the course I facilitate. The system that awards hours can generate a certificate but I checked into online certificate makers in the event I needed to make one for him.
I first looked at 123certficates.com. There you can change the border, font, add in the name of the student, etc. and then print for free when finished. I decided to find more resources and post them below in the event that other educators may also need an online certificate maker.
In the past, we used to try to give every student one in grade level awards ceremonies when I taught elementary school as well as one to every faculty member when I was part of the admin team as a Campus Instructional Technologist (CIT). If you find yourself in need of an online certificate maker, check out the following resources. Make sure there is no charge before printing.
Certificate Resources:
