Category: growth mindset

Summertime: Renewal, Reading, and Reflection

Summertime: Renewal, Reading, and Reflection

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I’m staring at our suitcases. 46 hours of travel provides for a lot of time to read. What needs to be on my Kindle or packed in my bag? Aside from the next book in the Dr. Siri mystery series and Burial Rites by Hannah Kent, I’m trying to sort out my “professional reading” for the summer. I have 3 goals for next year that all revolve around developing more awareness and powerful learning mindsets. So this is what I have so far for supporting my intentions:

  1. Books to boost our Who We Are Unit and our classroom practice of Mindfulness: Happy Teachers Change the World  and The Brain Power Classroom
  2. Books to help create more “connective tissue” with students and staff, that center around kindness and care: The Nurtured Heart Approach: Transforming the Difficult Child and Conversations Worth Having: Using Appreciative Inquiry to Fuel Productive and Meaningful Engagement and The Culture Code.
  3. Books that help support developing a culture of authentic writing and reading: Projecting Possibilities: The How, What, and Why of Designing Units of Study, K-5 and Growing Readers by Kathy Collins and Passionate Readers by Pernille Ripp. (I’m hoping to get a lot of inspiration of how we can reframe the Workshop model so we can make it more PYP-ish with developing units of study around the conceptual understandings using the conceptual understandings from  the Language Scope and Sequence)

And then I hope that A.J. Juliani’s new book on Project Based Learning comes out because his ideas always inspire me. I’ve been thinking a lot about how I can “combine” transdisciplinary themes and extend timelines, using a project-based learning approach. For next year, we have “bundled” a few units next to each other so that the conceptual understandings connect and build upon one another for a sustainable city project, but I’m always wondering how else we might approach the enhancements to the PYP since we have more flexibility. I’d like to do some more thinking around this.

Of course, there are quite a few blogs that I have to go back and re-read some posts (and find some new ones). So many awesome IB blogs these days that inspire and provoke us!

So, I hope everyone has a lovely summer, full of rest, renewal and reflections (and perhaps some reading). I know most of us strive to be at least 1% more awesome every year so I’m sure that reaching out for the great ideas out there can spark new thinking and approaches to learning in our schools for next year.

#Edtech: 5 Ways to Avoid Becoming Fossil Fuel

#Edtech: 5 Ways to Avoid Becoming Fossil Fuel

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Warning: The following blog post contains strong language and opinions that may be offensive to technophobes and Luddites. Proceed accordingly. 

Hey dinosaur, I’m talking to you. Don’t become fossil fuel. Evolve or get out of the classroom.

Now I know what you are saying, me?–a dinosaur? How dare she!!!  Well, showing students, Youtube videos doesn’t make you a “21st Century Educator”.  Assigning Khan Academy for homework doesn’t make you a “21st Century Educator”.  Sending an email to parents doesn’t make you a “21st Century Educator”.  Putting together a PowerPoint presentation doesn’t make you a “21st Century Educator”–even if you used animation. I know you think you are dabbling with some fancy technology there, being more “paperless” and “productive” but really you have put in minimum effort to stay relevant. And ….it shows.

Now maybe you teach in a distant Columbian jungle school, in which you zip line to class every day, but even if you live in Ittoqqortoormiit, Greenland, one of the remotest places on this planet, I’m not letting you off the hook. Because these faraway places, places culled from technology are the most vulnerable to suffering from the digital divide.  Classroom technology narrows the education gap,  which I can speak to first hand having had the opportunity to teach in underserved communities internationally–Heck, I think my friend in Montana would tell me that there are quite a few schools on the Native American reservations that also face a similar plight due to the challenges that poverty creates for education. So if you teach there, don’t tell you “can’t do technology”–nope, you just don’t want to, and you’re not fighting hard enough to get those communities connected. C’mon Chalkdust, get busy- those kids really need access to technology if they are going to raise themselves out of poverty.

I know, I’m being a really cruel and insensitive here, especially if you actually teach in a school whose main form of technology is a chalkboard and chalk, but most of us don’t teach in such environments and yet we fail to update our skills.  Quite a few of us teach in technology-enriched schools, schools with iPads and laptops and interactive whiteboards–goodness knows what else–and yet we fail to appreciate and use technology efficiently and effectively in our classrooms.   What’s the excuse?

The other day I was sharing with a colleague that I was going to through the Google Certification program and they asked me, “Why do you want to do that?” Truthfully, I was taken aback. They might have well said, “Why do you want to improve teaching and learning in your classroom?” Um……I don’t know, maybe because it’s my job and I teach digital natives. Of course, I recognize that they think it’s about “the badge”, but that is really misplaced motivation for upskilling. Do it because it makes you a better educator. Do it because you are a life-long learner. What is a badge anyway but a recognition device for your skills and pedagogical values? When soldiers decorate their uniforms with “badges” it shows their commitment and principles. Medals of honor are given to those who serve above and beyond their call of duty. If you got saved in combat by another platoon soldier and they got a medal of honor to risking life and limb, we’d never say to them, “You’re just a show-off. You’re just doing that for the badge.” Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? So,  I have to say that I have high respect for those who don those learning badges because it means that they are passionate about learning and are diligent in improving their practice. Also, it indicates someone that can be my mentor, someone I can turn to if I have questions or when things get messy I know they can help show me the way through it.  As educators, we are all on the same team, which is why I am here to give you a stern talking to. I care about the difference you make in classrooms.

Now I can’t make you take your personal time and professionally develop yourself, jim kwik quotebut there may very well come a time in your career that you will be asked to move on or move out of the profession simply because you DON’T have the 21st-century skills to continue teaching. You do more harm than good in the classroom. So I hope this tough-love message is a wake-up call.

 

So Here are 5 Things You Can Do to Upskill Your Tech Knowledge

Depending on your school’s context, there is a variety of free to low-cost options for professional development. This is is really NOT an exhaustive list.

  1. Microsoft Innovative Educator Program: There are so many resources here, which is why I put it as my #1 resource. I made a podcast episode about it. From webinars to quick tips, or you can go through a “learning path” to get badges–whatever your desire is, there are things to suit. It’s not just about Microsoft programs either, there is STEM stuff, Skype, Minecraft, and Project Based Learning (PBL). I recently took a course about teaching the UN’s Sustainability Development Goals (#WorldsLargestLesson).
  2. Google for Education Certification: I know you think you know Google apps, but I’m telling you there is so much more you can do with students if you go through this program. I actually feel schools that use Google in their administrative management systems (like school emails and shared docs), need to make Level 1 Certification mandatory because these apps are so robust. It cost a little bit of money, and the exams are 3 hours long, but it’s so worth it. There are a ton of Google Trainers and Google Innovators who have resources and videos, so you can also use them as a study resource.
  3. Common Sense Education: This is the go-to place to learn more about digital citizenship. They will give you a “webucation” on a myriad of topics through blog posts and webinars. They also have lots of tech and media reviews, which I found extremely helpful when I am looking for specific types of apps. The only cost to this is your time–and that’s well spent!
  4. Apple Teacher Program: It’s a free, self-paced program, that gets you knowledgeable about their main apps: Pages, GarageBand, Numbers, iMovie, Keynote through the app lens of either the Mac or iPad. There’s so much you can do if you know how, and if you want to go further, they have an Apple Distinguished Teacher Program. After going through the program, I got super inspired and started a podcast simply so I can have a deeper context of some of GarageBand’s capacity. I hope it inspires you too.
  5. Code.Org: I remember reading HTML for Dummies years ago but now you can learn computer science and computational thinking through code.org for FREE. You just sign in and pick your path. They also have workshops that you can attend, which I am going to do when I go home to the States this summer. Maybe I’ll see you there. (:   (Psst…those are also free.)

These are really just a handful of places to start. But if you use a particular software or digital tools at school, then seek out professional development in them. There’s always an opportunity to deepen your learning and use the tools to be more productive and effective. For example, after doing the SeeSaw Ambassador Program, it unlocked worlds of possibilities for using it to document student learning. Now I can’t wait until the next “PD in Your PJs” comes out since I want to learn new ways to unlock student learning. I’m telling you, the more you know about tech, the more you can do with tech. If you’ve got devices in your school, you have got to avail yourself of these online learning resources. And maybe you can encourage a friend to sit and do it with you–that would be even more fun. Professionally developing yourself shouldn’t come as a mandate from the administration, it should come from within. Your work matters. You are impacting lives. Take it seriously.

I hope this harsh nudge from me gets you motivated. My parting advice is that you find some time this summer to do at least one of these programs and then set some goals for next school year to embed some of this into your classroom. We have such wonderfully designed tools at our disposal. It’s like having the BatMobile at your disposal and never driving it. C’mon take a spin with tech!

 

 

#IMMOOC: Where We Are in Place and Time- Student Agency and Models of Inquiry in a #PYP Unit of Inquiry

#IMMOOC: Where We Are in Place and Time- Student Agency and Models of Inquiry in a #PYP Unit of Inquiry

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I am stuck on the question from the #EmpowerBook: What Decisions Am I Making For Students That They Could Make For Themselves? And I am staring at this image inspired by the book Dive Into Inquiry, wondering what part of the pool are we swimming in at this part of the unit of inquiry:diveintoinquiry

When I am thinking about the type a structured inquiry approach, the learning landscape could look like the 5E Model which is helpful for designing a teacher directed lesson. While controlled inquiry might look more like the Big 6 Research Model or guided inquiry might be experienced through a provocation or series of provocations using a model like Kath Murdoch’s.While free inquiry can happen more readily through a learning landscape like Genius Hour. Of course, the nuances of these types of inquiry has more to do with how much time and space you give to students while they are engaged in the learning. Even if you don’t connect with a model, per se, I think if you are pushing the inquiry along, you probably recognize instinctively that you are in the shallower end, while if you are providing more freedom for exploration, then you heading towards the deep end. And of course, student choice and voice play a big role in this. Not enough choice creates a passive stance, while too much choice can create overwhelm and inertia in learning, depending upon how confident a student is in their ability to discover and learn on their own.

From my experience with an inquiry, I feel that there are different parts of the pool that we are swimming in at different times of an inquiry. It’s never a linear path or clear model in play because, in the PYP, each line of inquiry is a microcosm of inquiry of itself–and sometimes we need to really do handholding and scaffolding because we are developing some new and challenging concepts; other times, the kids can be absolutely independent and divergent in their explorations because they feel confident in their knowledge and skills to do so.

For example, look at our current unit from Where We Are In Place and Time:

Homes reflect cultural influences and local conditions.

  • what makes a home
  • how homes reflect local culture and family values
  • factors which determine where people live

Developing the key concept of perspective through the line of inquiry of “what makes a home”, was tightly related to the key concept of connection in the line of inquiry of “how homes reflect local culture and family values”.  So we used guided inquiry with the hopes of revealing and developing these abstract ideas using a transdisciplinary approach with theatre, art, and language –because these disciplines open us up to a variety of points of views and creative self-expression.

Teacher-Question: What are 3 items that are in your home that are important to your family?: A student’s response: “an iPad to play games, a water bottle because we like to share and drink water, and my teddy bear for when I get scared.”
“Show and Tell”: Students came up with the idea to bring in items from home that reflected family values. They have brought in everything from legos, to necklaces, to family photos. And, both students and teachers, ask questions to reveal what is the significance of these things to the child and their family. 

 

What you see here are the early stages in which we are “tuning in” and “finding out” how our values and culture can be represented in different ways. We also have brought in the idea of “home” as our bodies as we consider what is going on in our brains and hearts, through mindfulness lessons.

We invited parents to come in a share a traditional folktale and read it in their home language. We had about 11 stories shared, from nearly all the continents, Students then had to deconstruct the messages or lessons in the story to determine a value from that culture.

 

Now as we come into the final weeks of inquiry, the sieve begins to tighten, as we move into our summative task: designing a home that reflects their family’s needs, culture, and values (from the line of inquiry: “factors which determine where people live”).  We want the students to create the same product, a model home.  Even though we intend to use design thinking, our inquiry is heading toward the more shallow part of the pool because this means, that we must provide a significant amount of resources and guidance to ensure their success. Although they are free to create their home in any style they choose, they must all be doing the same project, following the same timeline, and adhering to the same criteria.

So does this mean that we are stealing their agency by structuring the inquiry in such a way that drives them toward the home design? Honestly, I’m not really sure yet. My belief is that it isn’t because they are so incredibly inspired and excited to do this project, but at the same time, I hear John Spencer’s voice in my head:

What Decisions Am I Making For Students That They Could Make For Themselves?

Did we steal their agency when we gave them a pre-determined task? I mean they could have painted a picture or written a song as examples of other ways to demonstrate their understanding, right?  But in my teacher’s brain, I think they could add those elements to their home design that doesn’t detract from their self-expression.

So as I reflect on this question, I realize that I have to do my best to not micro-manage their creative process and I allow them to “own the learning”. This might mean that they might fail in some way. And it could be likely that this means collapsing elements of our timetable to allow them to complete the project to their satisfaction.

Inquiry-based learning isn’t always a clean and efficient process-no matter what model you use- but I believe that when we provide students with authentic and meaningful experiences, their agency will naturally ensue.

So it’s safe to say that my reflection on the unit and its ability to spark agency is “To Be Continued” (:

 

Kick in the Pants: Slice of Life Challenge

Kick in the Pants: Slice of Life Challenge

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Everyone needs a kick in the pants sometimes. Recently I went on a Writer’s Workshop professional development training in Yangon, Myanmar. Since I’ve been in the Early Years for such a long time, it was fantastic to get a refresher course on this unique philosophy and approach to teaching writing and reading. I love it because it really has a lovely inquiry-based approach to examining texts and using those craft moves in our writing.  But honestly, I took for granted the cornerstone piece of being an effective writing teacher is to be a writer yourself–to read materials from that perspective of a writer (whether for professional or personal reasons)  and dedicate yourself to a life of writing.

slice-of-life_individual.jpgIt was during this time that I was reminded of the blog, Two Writing Teachers, and I immediately fell back in love with all the helpful and insightful posts in there. I noticed that they have a Slice of Life challenge coming up, which is another wonderful nudge to write consistently, if not daily. Being an authentic Writer’s Workshop teacher is probably less about the method and more about a lifestyle of close reading and practicing the craft of writing; so if I am to take this on seriously, then I need to stay committed to developing habits around writing.

So with that in mind, I am accepting this kick in the pants and publicly announcing that I am going to take this challenge personally.  However, since this is my professional blog, I reckon that I will make my “slices of life” come from my classroom.

writing quote.jpg

The truth is that I have been a writer all my life, from the moment I could form my ABCs until this very moment here with you. Now in my 44th year of life, I am finally acknowledging this fact. It’s quite liberating and invigorating really.

And I hope you will join me in this quest to turn what may seem like a mundane task into an exciting turning point in your career, moreover your life. We can hold each other’s hands as we enter into the writing life together.

writing quote.jpg

 

writing quote.jpg

The 14 Gifts of Design Thinking

The 14 Gifts of Design Thinking

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Last month I finished up the MITX Design Thinking for Leading and Learning course, and I’m still assimilating the profundity of these ideas and the impact they can have in classrooms. It’s actually really hard for me to articulate since I’m in the midst of a paradigm shift as ideas are colliding between developing empathy, creativity, and critical thinking in students. It’s been a “perfect storm” in my mind and I’m still trying to erase my former notions about design as a cycle instead of it as a creative process–which was probably my key take away. When I learned about how schools of poverty and underachievement are transformed by using it, I was impressed, to say mildly.  And I have been chewing on how this is possible when it occurred to me that it wasn’t all the great knowledge that was gained, it was the mindset that was cultivated. In particular, it made me think about the work of Brene Brown and her research on shame and vulnerability.

The REVOLUTION will not be televised. It will be in your classroom! You are working on the hardest edges of love.

Do not ever question the power you have with the people you teach!

Learning is inherently vulnerable and it’s like you got a classroom full of turtles without shells.  The minute they put their shells back on, they are protected–from their peers, from their teachers, from whoever–no learning can come in…so we really have to develop ‘shame resilent’ classrooms.

-Brene Brown, author of Daring Greatly

I agree with Brene Brown about developing “shame resilience” and have found the usual tug of war between with teaching and mistake making diminishes when we introduce students to a mindset in which they appreciate the importance of recognizing our errors and strive for constant improvement. When I think about design thinking, I believe it could beinnovation a powerful way for students to experience their vulnerability and develop perspective taking, all the while creating real cool stuff–whether it is a piece of writing, a t-shirt, a rollercoaster, an app or, in my Early Year’s classroom, a garden. They learn how to fail forward and create another prototype. This design sprint is not a destructive but constructive element because, although they spent a lot of time developing their idea, the focus shifts from the product itself to the user–who will reap the benefits of this redesign. It gets the kids to detach from what they are making to who they are making it for. This nuance has a relatively big impact on the process of improvement.

So, it’s been in the midst of implementing it at a deeper level, that I had a moment of clarity in which I connected Brown’s ideas to that of design-thinking. Design-based learning creates a space in your classroom in which different “gifts” from the students’ learning can emerge:

  1. Love Of Ideas
  2. Belonging (in their collaborative groups)
  3. The Joy of creating something and learning new ideas.
  4. Courage to try new things
  5. Problem-finding by thinking future forward and considering what the possible issues might be with their design.
  6. Innovation by using different strategies and materials to solve a challenge.
  7. Ethical decision making by considering the different perspectives and considering if their solutions will be harmful to the environment or hurtful to others.
  8. Trust in each other and themselves
  9. Empathy for the users.
  10. Accountability to finish the job
  11. Flexibility with our time table and dealing with challenges.
  12. Creativity in designing.
  13. Listening to Feedback from others
  14. Hard conversations with each other

As my class is still in the midst of this design-based unit, I continue to be fascinated by their growth as the process reveals another level of their thinking and feeling about issues and ideas related to our current unit. I’m enjoying observing this process and love how it fits so well with the inquiry-based learning model of the Primary Years Programme (PYP). I definitely look forward to implementing this approach in future.

I’m wondering if others who have more experience with design thinking would agree with the “gifts” and/or add different ones to the list. Please share. I’m genuinely interested in your perspective.
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.

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