Category: collaboration

How to Escape the Trauma of a Door Closing (#IMMOOC)

How to Escape the Trauma of a Door Closing (#IMMOOC)

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The door has closed. It was the last Twitter Chat for the Innovator’s Mindset MOOC (#IMMOOC). A part of me feels empty while at the same time incredibly full. I learned a lot through our engagement online and was surprised at how much fun it was to do a “virtual book study”, all the while improving upon my consistency with my blog, using Twitter to connect with like-minded professionals and expanding my horizon when it comes to thinking about innovation in schools.  It wasn’t like any other professional development that I have ever done, which in and of itself was innovative–how genius!

Final thoughts on #IMMOC. So much shared and supported in the process.
As someone who teaches internationally, I live in an expat bubble in which most of our schools are incredibly competitive in our area. Contact with other educators outside my school is very limited and rarely inspiring–not that educators at other schools aren’t doing great things, but the collaboration relies on face to face interactions and maybe some email tag.  Outside of attending workshops, I go onto forums, read and comment on blogs and go onto FaceBook groups, but the level of responsiveness and interaction is limited. If you challenge or question someone’s idea, for example, they can ignore you rather than respond, which kind of defeats the point of posting things online–if you didn’t want to share and engage with others, than why did you bothering posting in the first place? (Just sayn’)

Innovation (and enjoyment) flourishes when teachers collaborate to learn and practice new strategies. Isolation is often the enemy of innovation. George Couros, Innovator’s Mindset

Up until now, it’s been a lonely process-especially when you go into leadership (more judgment/less support) -and sometimes it often feels like I’m peddling uphill. I’ve really felt limited by my circumstances so it’s easy to make an excuse and shrug off growth.  It was fantastic to be with other educators who were willing to struggle and could maintain the level of commitment that was demanded in our engagement. When George asked us to “innovate inside the box”, it was a relief to feel okay with where we were at, not just in our professional journeys but also where our school was in the bigger scheme of things. Collectively we had a common purpose: we questioned, we tried, we reflected and we were vulnerable. We were learners. As something that happened virtually, it sure felt real and authentic. But, sigh, it’s over now. I will miss these shared challenges with fellow educators, but does it have to end? How will I manage the trauma I feel when a special experience like this comes to an end?

Well, truth be told, it doesn’t have to be over!  It is my choice to let the journey begin rather than end. I can consolidate the changes in my mindset and yet continue to build upon this new perspective. I can stay connected with these fellow IMMOOCers in our FB group and on Twitter. I have become followers of them on Twitter and I’ve subscribed to many of their blogs so I can continue to engage with their ideas and continue to encourage their great work. The support doesn’t have to end just because the MOOC did. And I hope that they too stay connected to me and continue to challenge my effort and ideas. I’d love that! Because, as George Couros reminds us, “Change is an opportunity to do something amazing“.

The desire to be innovative and awesome at what we do is likely right under our noises.
And if there is one change that I’ve made throughout these past 5 weeks, it is recognizing that I am not really destitute and languishing.  I don’t need permission to be innovative. I can start where I am, and honor that people may be at other stages in their willingness to innovate.  Moreover, instead of seeing my “box” as a closed door to opportunity, I need to find those windows in which I can crawl through–to reach and inspire my students and support the teachers who I know want to be the best version of themselves. There’s a lot of great stuff that may seem hidden from plain view but it’s there, and for the next 2 months, I can do the best I can and finish the year strong.

So with that in mind, I decided to stay committed to the process and signed up for a 6-month course with AJ Juliani in his Innovative Teaching Academy (#ita17). I’m so excited to go deeper and really put this mindset to work–sharpen the stone, sort of speaking. I know that there are other IMMOOCers who are along the journey with me, which makes it even more exciting.

I don’t know where you are at as an educator right now, but I swear to you that you are not alone and if you are diligent and patient, your tribe will emerge. You can jump on this crazy train if you like. I invite you to connect with me @judyimamudeen or shoot me an email. There is no need to wait for tomorrow to be awesome today.

One last parting quote from George Couros Innovator’s Mindset:

We forget that if students leave school less curious than when they started, we have failed them.

Let’s stay curious, find the YES in the no, and be problem solvers. Together we can be the change that we wish to see in education.

 
 Attention Deficient

 Attention Deficient

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It’s no secret. I have an earnest desire to see my students become happy and capable people who make a difference in this world, so I feel it is my duty to find their “Awesome” and cultivate it. In Week 4 of our Innovator’s Mindset MOOC  (#IMMOOC), George Couros encourages us to stop operating on a “deficit model that focuses on a learner’s weaknesses and start operating on a strengths-based model that build on the learning’s strengths.” Amen to that, but how exactly can you do that? hmm…

The other day my daughter invited me into her “world” in Minecraft. Let me tell you, I did NOT want to play Minecraft with her. Really, I didn’t. As a busy adult, I have plenty of stuff to do. But she was really proud of what she created and she wanted me to see it virtually. So I downloaded the app on my iPhone, created a character and added her as a friend. Suddenly I was in her “Love World”. She had made me my own house and she taught me how to fly, tame a horse, feed the pigs and drink invisibility potion. It was a strange sort of tender moment between us. Learner-Centred

But this was a lesson for me, and  I thought about my students–what are they trying to show me that is important to them?  What are they eager to talk about with me? What is it that I am too busy doing as an adult and teacher to notice about my students? I know we make a big deal about students having attention deficient disorders, but I think that could also be true about us teachers. Are we really focused on the learner?

I know that if I pay more attention to my students’ tangents I can probably locate some treasure in there if I just go digging around. Most of the time, it’s probably right there in front of me, in broad daylight. If students are interested in something, there’s a strong possibility that there is a strength waiting to be unearthed and shared with our learning community. And I think finding the time to show students that their ideas matter and are valued will probably be the best time spent this year anyhow.

 
Opening Doors to Open Minds

Opening Doors to Open Minds

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During this week’s Innovator’s Mindset MOOC (#IMMOOC) YouTube live session, George Couros talked about the impact a Chick-Fil-A Stuck in a Rut Commercial made on him. Here’s the scene: an employee is dug deep into the floor and a colleague observes that “you are really stuck in that rut”, to which he replies, “Really?, I thought I was in a grove.”, to which the colleague says, “Classic, Rut-Thinking”.  I too was impressed by the message of the commercial and how we easy it can be to think that “good” is good enough when it comes to teaching and learning.

As someone who works in an International Baccalaureate  PYP school, there’s a lot of planning that goes into creating a unit of inquiry, and it’s easy to think that what I did last year should be okay this year. However, it’s not the WHAT, it’s the WHO that matters. And the unit shouldn’t be about me, it should be about the kids going deep with their conceptual understandings. And when you put planning into that perspective, then it’s easy to see that units of inquiry area tale of 2 classrooms going to shift and be updated to the current group of students that you have. I’ve heard it said it before, “if it ain’t broke, IMPROVE it”, and I think that is the essence of innovation as we evolve in our understanding of excellence, inviting kids to the party, with more voice, choice, and reflection.

In our PD, we looked at some of the ideas in Switch by Chip and Dan Heath, and discussed the “elephant in the room”–the emotional system of our brain that likes to keep things the way they are. And I think as educators have been conditioned in a lot of ways to be in isolation, keeping our classrooms doors closed to others, which has created systemic reluctance to be vulnerable and let people in to observe our teaching and learning.  I’ve been working on shifting that and having more peer observation. I think this has been a positive experience overall, but still, there’s a passivity because everyone wants to be friendly.  However, with time, more difficult conversations will emerge–and what I mean by that is not conflict on staff, but more like colleagues asking the right questions in order to push the limit line of one’s potential. It’s not the “great advice” of another teacher that will change the teaching of another, instead, I think it will be the great questions that provoke one’s thinking and inspire them into action. And I feel that these questions will be the antidote to that “classic rut thinking” that we all face in our schools. Nevertheless, it is the opening of doors that is helping others to open their minds to the possibility of what they might be able to do with their students.

 

 

 

 
Literacy Amplified: Using Technology Tools Effectively

Literacy Amplified: Using Technology Tools Effectively

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Technology has the ability to enhance learning with positive results. That said, we need to be careful not to assume all technology is good technology or that just having access to technology automatically equates to higher learning outcomes. Strong leaders in education carefully select technology tools and implement strategies so that the tool will not distract or take away from the learning goals, which can easily happen.  -Elizabeth Moje-

I can completely relate to that piece of wisdom, as we have explored 1:1 iPads in our primary classes. Sometimes classrooms can be overzealous in the use of technology, and the point of its use gets lost in using this “shiny tool”. We’ve had to reflect, is it the app/tool that drives our instruction or is it the curriculum? And I think to refine our choices through this filter (the curriculum) is helping us to make better decisions when selecting technology tools.

Studies by Harold Wenglinsky and other researchers from the US Department of Education have indicated that there are criteria that we must consider in our decisions with effective technology use in the classroom. Educators have to ask themselves the following:

  1. Does it elicit higher-order thinking around the contenttechnology-in-class or just an over consumption of content?
  2. Are their social interactions between students, which help build student knowledge. Collaboration is a key skill in developing digital literacies, so keep that in mind when selecting tools.
  3. Does it provide quality over quantity when it comes to practicing skills so that critical thinking is being developed?
  4. What is the “value-added” element of the tool?  Is instruction more personalized and/or differentiated; and can the students develop a more sophisticated understanding of the content?

 

When it comes to developing literacy skills, we have to remember that whatever the tool we choose, it should augment what we already know is critical in developing good readers. So what do we know about good readers?

  • They are active, with clear goals in mind and a purpose for reading.
  • They are constantly evaluating the text, asking questions and making predictions.
  • They can peruse the text carefully, noticing the importance of text features and structure.
  • As they read, they are engaged in making meaning of the text, constructing and revising their understanding.
  • They are making decisions as they read, reflecting on what to read carefully, what to read quickly, what not to read, what to reread, and so on.

When it comes to good writing, we want to make sure the tool reinforces what we know is vital to cultivate in our learners:

  • Writing that is focused, with an obvious topic or idea.
  • Ideas that are detailed and flow clearly.
  • The student engages in a process of revision, elaboration, and editing so that the writing improves.
  • The student sees themselves as an author and is aware that their writing is meant to be shared and appreciated.

Keeping in mind, what we know about good literacy instruction, then we can use technology to amplify the learning in our classrooms. I love what Eric Johnson says about using technology in his instruction, as he explains how teachers can discern what makes for enhanced literacy teaching and learning with technology.

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These four-year-olds work together to create a simple story. Each selected a character and then recorded their characters’ expressions to create a dialogue between them.

Considering this, when we want to amplify the results of our literacy programs, we need to make sure that students aren’t sitting alone, swiping mindlessly through an app or game, but instead, we have a clearly defined purpose for using the tool, and then demonstrate how to use these tools through a Think Aloud or Read-aloud. We may have to model how to work collaboratively in order to apply certain literacy strategies and/or complete a project.  This could include even how students should be sharing their knowledge, and reflecting how well they are doing in meeting the standards of the task.

In our classrooms, we want our students engaged and their learning enhanced as they work with technology. Even at home, I’m a huge advocate for showing students and their families how iPads are tools and not toys so that there is more thought put into the use of this technology. We want our students to be empowered and innovative so that there is a shift from consumption to creation when it comes to content.

So before you start app smashing or sit your student down to a website, ask yourself what impact will this technology REALLY make in the overall learning? And if you can’t identify that, then move away from the “shiny tool” syndrome and take more time to either find a more appropriate tool or use a time-tested traditional method to meet the learning goals.

 
I am the Force, and the Force is Within Me.

I am the Force, and the Force is Within Me.

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If you have seen Rogue 1, the latest Star Wars movie, then you know what my title is all about. As I interpret it, it means tapping into the field of our inner potential to overcome challenges and obstacles. I think, as educators, we grapple with this all the time, especially when we contemplate whether or not we are making a positive impact in our classrooms and in our school community.

Recently I reread Ron Ritchart’s Creating Cultures of Thinking: The 8 Forces We Must Master to Truly Transform Our Schools. In case you don’t know the 8 forces that shape a school’s culture of teaching and learning, let me give you a cheat:

  1. Expectations (of learning)
  2. Language (teacher and student talk)
  3. Time
  4. Modeling
  5. Opportunities (powerful learning moments)
  6. Routines (Visible Thinking routines)
  7. Interactions
  8. Environment

As I was rereading the parts I had highlighted and bookmarked, it got me thinking about the 2nd term. We have quite a few staff members leaving, myself included, and there is the danger of coasting instead of pushing the boundaries. I recognize that as a leader I have the choice to either uphold the status quo or to compel myself and others out of our comfort zone and demand more of ourselves and our kids. After watching an episode of Impact Theory with Dr. Moran Cerf, it got me thinking even more deeply about the need to move outside comfort levels:

It all comes down to the narrative that you tell yourself… Because the narrative you tell yourself, about yourself, is the most important thing you have; and if you tell yourself a story about struggle and inadequacy, not being good enough then that is going to reinforce your literal identity. The day I stopped thinking of myself as smart, and I started thinking of myself as a learner-that changed everything…it became this identity that is anti-fragile because if you told me I was stupid, it didn’t matter, it just compelled me to learn more.

–Tom Bilyeu–

I loved that! And as I listened to the interview, it really inspired me to alter our staff meeting. I felt that we all relate to this idea of “the learner” and that the love of teaching and learning could drive our practice to the next level.

During omindset-outline-graphicur staff PD session, we spoke candidly and asked questions about the concept of “YET”; how we can embrace those parts of us that professionally are “fixed” and encourage the growth mindset in our practice and most importantly in our students. What was funny is that inadvertently every aspect of the Ron Richart’s cultural forces came up in our discussions and reflections today. When we got into our collaborative groups to share and rework our professional goals, there was a greater sense of synergy, purpose, and creativity.

I really look forward to hearing what ideas emerge as we go through this process of achieving our professional goals,  as well as the collaboration and peer support that we can offer each other as we engage in more risk-taking in our classroom practice.

Just as “I am the Force, and the Force is within me”, I know that it is also true for the great teachers that I work with, and moreover, our students. Now I  just can’t wait to see what amazing things come out our second term.
GooglED

GooglED

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For the last few years, I’ve hit a wall–a firewall–the GREAT FireWall, to be specific. And I have only survived it through steel determination (and a VPN).  But now I plan to escape the Google censorship issues of China and move to Spain, so it’s time to get my Google On.

With that in mind, Google put on an amazing online conference on Dec 3rd-4th, from Australia to America. The keynote speeches were enlightening and I found the UK presentations really fascinating.

Although I plan to go back and revisit some of the break out sessions that I missed, here are some of  the tools and takeaways from the sessions I participated in:

  • Demo Slams- 5 mins of staff meetings dedicated to up-skilling Google Apps.
  • Chrome extension: Stayfocused keeps kids on task when on the web.
  • Using Vocaroo: Audio recording that you can save and download.
  • Magisto: simple video design using 10 pictures.
  • Canva: Microsoft publisher online but a whole heck of a lot easier to use.
  • Connected Classrooms on Google+: Google+ communities that offer an easy way to connect with other like-minded teachers. You can also search on Twitter using the #MysterySkype
  • Using Skype for the Classroom: Mystery Calls, doing cultural comparisons and doing expert interviews with people in different places around the world.
  • Design Thinking: how to define a problem and creating a testable prototype.
  • Epic Fail/Epic Win Wall: a great way to develop grit, learn and grow.

After watching Google On Air, I recognize that there is so much more to know and I am really motivated to get Level 1 Certification. Perhaps you might be inspired to go deeper in your understanding of using technology in the learning process.

Wanna take learn more? The conference was recorded and you can go back and listen to it. Also, check out Teachercast  and  Google For Education Training.

Collaborative Learning Teams

Collaborative Learning Teams

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I love the beginning of the year–there’s so much possibility, a lot of blank space on this white sheet of paper which I have titled 2016-2017 School Year.  I’ve decided that something that I really want to work on improving at our school is the quality of in-house professional development. I’ve decided to start a mind-map of what would be the essential qualities of PD

pd journal note

One of the challenges I’ve faced in the past with in-house professional development  is that we’ve lacked vision and purpose for it, so when we decided to do PLC’s (Professional Learning Communities), it lacked the interest and enthusiasm for self-directed and collective learning; many of our staff believe that the only way to learn is to attend a workshop or have a presenter “teach” us, as if learning is something that happens to us and not as a result of our own engagement. Coupled with the fact that there was a lack of understanding in admin of how to structure a PLC and manage it, it was not surprising that staff rebuffed at the idea of it. Bad PD is almost worse than no PD, because if negative expectations become the norm then the openness to collaborative learning is highly diminished.
The fact that I was beginning to see these attitudes emerging meant that I needed to roll up my sleeves and get to learning more about professional development so I could influence our leadership team in ways in which we could improve it.
Although I love blogs, I turned to several books to get more in-depth understanding of how to improve professional development : Models of Professional Development, Leading Professional Learning: Tools to Connect and Empower Teachers , Better Conversations, and Learning By Doing.  (A lot of summer reading, I know.)
Something that I loved from the work on PLCs from Richard Dufour and Robert Eaker was this idea of cultivating a culture in  “educators [creating] an environment that fosters mutual cooperation, emotional support, and personal growth as they work together to achieve what they cannot accomplish alone”. The goal of PLCs  is to take an interest in learning and turn it into a commitment to improvement in that area. So, the professional learning community that Dufour and Eaker envision has six characteristics:
• Shared mission, vision, and values
• Collective inquiry
• Collaborative teams
• Action orientation and experimentation
• Continuous improvement
• Results orientation
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I also appreciate Sharon Hord’s elaboration on PLCs to include an emphasis on reflective dialogue as a vehicle for collective learning. When I was reading about this, it seemed to mirror some of the power of peer-coaching data that is shown to improve implementation. I thought about Jim Knight’s coaching conversations and how asking better questions can develop those dialogues. It seemed to me that I could connect some dots and come up with a dynamic approach to in-house professional development, which includes a lot of the elements of a PLC, peer-coaching and expanding our notion of best practice.
Since we’ve been reviewing our data on writing, I thought it would be easier for us to rally around a common goal: improving student writing.  Also, I wanted to provide better resources since my staff’s professional research skills were weak; thus I am introducing a book study. Furthermore, I want to differentiate upper and lower primary school’s objectives and put them into collaborative learning teams (my re-branding of the PLC). The lower grades (Early Years to Grade 1) are developing attitudes to writing and an awareness of the writing life. I found some amazing books from Matt Glover and Katie Wood that help teachers modify the elements of the writer’s workshop for younger ones and shape their perception of themselves as authors through a deep dive into illustrative study. In the grades in which writing skills are being consolidated (Grades 2-5), they can look at the 6 Traits +1 of Writing as a model to develop habits of student self-reflection of their work and look to mentor texts as a means to develop their craft.
In order to combine some of the elements of effective professional development for our small school, I want to include these elements in the learning teams:
  1. Create a mission statement for their learning teams.
  2. Create a personal goal that is linked to their appraisal.
  3. Regular discussion of their reading.
  4. Share student work samples, rubrics and other assessments.
  5. Non-critical dialogue from a learning partner (peer-coach)
  6. Demonstrations of their teaching by learning partner (monthly observation)
  7. Planning and reflection of those plans.
  8. Mid-year checkpoint, in which the learning team shares what has been working and not working for them.
  9. End of year presentation, which includes looking at MAP data and reflection on our goals.
  10. Celebration for the work and effort that they made.

I know that this is my first time that I will be given autonomy for PD and I’m excited by the trust and freedom of my new principal. We have an early release day on Wednesdays which is allocated time for this effort. Of course since I am trying to combine several aspects of effective professional development, I am a bit anxious with this experimentation but I know that overall I have staff who will be open and willing to try something different. I will definitely update later about our progress.

 
Leading Curriculum: A Brief Reflection 

Leading Curriculum: A Brief Reflection 

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It’s hard to imagine that this year is drawing to a close. As I’ve entered into a new era of my leadership skills, I feel the need to reflect on what I’ve accomplished and what is still for me to do is vital.

My favorite part of this year was definitely working with teachers, coaching and mentoring them. I love planning and delivering professional development that engages and enriches the practice of teachers. I appreciated their dedication to our students and to developing a strong curriculum in which students felt valued and challenged. I feel a heavy obligation to take good PD and make it great with rethinking how we can do PLCs and in what ways we can also allow for differentiated learning among our staff. This is definitely my summer homework as I think ahead for next year.

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The Grade 5 Exhibition Professional Learning Opportunity at TIS! I really enjoyed the conversations that I was able to facilitate within our network of schools.

 

Next year I go back down to the Early Years as a teacher, which I look forward to since I get to play and teach units of inquiry that I am familiar with. I think finding a balance between supporting my students and supporting teachers has been one of the biggest challenges in my role as a curriculum coordinator.  Although my time table says 60% teacher and 40% coordinator, the truth is I have spent way more time in both of those roles. Being a Grade 4 teacher (and doing maternity leave for the EY class) has been a fun challenge–doing inquiry based learning at that level and cultivating students into agents of action has enhanced my practice greatly. But since I just don’t open a book and turn to page 43 to teach “today’s lesson”, coming up with creative and interesting ways to develop conceptual understandings and promote wise use of technology in our classroom wasn’t always easy.  I am grateful for the opportunity to gain this perspective and work with this level of students.  I know I can make better decisions and coach more effectively since I can now speak to both spectrums of our program, from the youngest learners to the oldest. As a result, I really understand the need for more differentiated staff meetings so that those groups of teachers can discuss and collaborate more deeply and effectively. Creating those kinds of opportunities are on my “to-do” list for next year.

What went well for you as a curriculum leader? What are your priorities for next year? I’d love to hear  others’s ideas! Please share!

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Climbing the Great Firewall of China! I’ve appreciated all the ideas and willingness to try different ways to develop 21st century learning in our classroom presentations. Next year we hope to utilize OneNote and SeeSaw to create digital “portfolios”.
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Teachers sharing how we can effectively implement models of co-teaching in our classroom for our ESL push-in program.
A journey of a 1,000 miles

A journey of a 1,000 miles

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I feel like teaching is a journey, never really “arriving” anywhere except for where I am on my path towards excellence. I’m in the midst of my own inquiry, to “Know Thyself”, not only as an educator, but as a person. I’ve enjoyed co-teaching and playing with others in a classroom space and am grateful to have learned how to bridge the cultural gap when it comes to international teaching. …

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