Category: Teaching and Learning

The Only Thing You Need To Do To Develop Student Agency

The Only Thing You Need To Do To Develop Student Agency

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Every school is trying to define and articulate how they are developing “Agency” in their curriculum, but I’m going to tell you the only thing you need to know. I’ve come to realize that it’s not that complicated. First of all, if the term confuses you, change it to “Independence”, because that is what it really means. Don’t overthink this jargon. Now, simplifying this term should help you to realize that you don’t need to create huge innovative initiatives at your school. In fact, I believe it doesn’t begin with our heads, it starts in our hearts. So what is the ONLY thing you need to develop student agency (i.e. independence)?–It’s TRUST. So ask yourself right now, Do I trust my students?

That’s a really important question so sit with it for a minute because our level of trust gets communicated with our words and actions (or inaction) toward our students every day in our classrooms. Have a think about this quote from Peter Johnson, author of Choice Words.

When you figure something out for yourself, there is a certain thrill in the figuring. After a few successful experiences, you might start to think that figuring things out is something that you actually can do. Maybe you are even a figuring out kind of person, encouraging an agentic dimension to identity. When you are told what to do, particularly without asking, it feels different. Being told explicitly what to do and how to do it–over and over again–provides the foundation for a different set of feelings about what you can do and can’t do, and who you are. The interpretation might be that you are the kind of person who cannot figure things out for yourself.

A few weeks ago we had a parent meeting, and there was a lovely debate about what was “better” about teaching through inquiry vs. traditional methods. Parents questioned why education was moving in this direction that felt “slow” to them. “What has changed since we grew up?” was the essence of that sentiment. Perhaps you could say that technology has taught us teachers that we are not the beacons of knowledge anymore–but I replied “brain research”. In my opinion that is really the heart of why we are shifting because inquiry-based approaches have been around since the time of Socrates–maybe even longer. This approach isn’t new either, it’s really an ancient technology that is making a comeback, if you will, in education. However, now we have evidence that our brains get wired differently when we have passive vs. active learning experiences. Since these ideas are still under research, not many schools develop metacognition through the use of using neurological terms like synaptogenesis and neural plasticity, but I do think that the term Growth Mindset has become more commonplace which reflects this phenomenon. Having a Growth Mindset is the key to cultivating the confidence that encourages this “agentic dimension to identity”, as Peter Johnson calls it.

So what does trust look like? We’ve filtered it down to 3 things: giving students more choice, voice, and ownership in their learning. And because we are educators, we feel the need to unpack this, create criteria and continuum that demonstrate the growth of these things in our classrooms.  If you are not sure what I am talking about, here’s an example:continuum-voice-web

It’s a great reflection tool for us when we examine the culture of learning in our classrooms and schools, but this is not in and of itself the means by which agency is developed–we are not trying to force kids into action (not that these teachers are suggesting this with this infographic but I know there are some school leaders who may take it that way) just so we can say that we are ticking the box when it comes to “Voice” with student agency. Truthfully, our kids come with lots of “voice” when they first arrive at school–we can just “shush it” out of them. I know, I am an Early Years educator, and there are lots of gentle and not so gentle ways of doing this; it’s a burden to consider how much our classroom culture shapes their identity and confidence level in these formative years.  But their voice is the expression of their thoughts, and when we suppress that, we limit their motivation to think and contribute to problem-solving situations. Furthermore, if we never offer them choices, then there is no practice in making good decisions, which means “ownership” is void. How can you “own” something you never have the privilege of thinking carefully about and solve problems around? I’m sure you can relate to this through your own experience.Future (5).png

In my mind, this quote from Ron Ritchart really summarizes the work we do to not only create “cultures of thinking” but foster agency. When we promote students making connections and the mindset of “I can do this”, it is no longer a question of IF they will take action, it’s just a matter of WHEN. And we have to TRUST that too–that time is on their side.

Recently we had a student-led Performing Arts assembly that was outstanding. It was extraordinary because every element of that assembly was created by students. Our performing arts teacher, Graham Baines (aka PYP Chef), provided the props and structure, but otherwise, it was purely the students. They’ve been working on a personal “dream goal” for months, spending break time, lunchtime and after-school time to practice and perfect the performance that they designed independently or in collaborative groups. Here is one of the fun student performances–an audience favorite:

It was such a stark contrast from previous assemblies which felt awkward, tense (at moments) and contrived, from the teacher written MC scripts to the songs performed to the order of the acts. This one was energizing, fun and inspiring. There is no doubt that other students will be eager to put in the effort and time to improve their “dream goal” and perform for a large crowd just like this. Also, imagine how those students feel with having such wonderful success, which they get to completely own. However, Graham had to completely trust the students and relinquish control of “the show”, even if it meant that his reputation might be diminished as a teacher in our parent and teacher community.  I have high regard and appreciation for that level of vulnerability and visible courage, as he broke the mold when it came to providing this opportunity to students.

So, with that in mind, how can we not only let go of trying to control everything and trusting students but how can we get more of their thinking expressed in general? Because when we give them space, I truly believe that they will exceed our expectations and their own.

Into the “Pit” or upon the “Clouds”: Kensho and Satori Moments in the Development of Number Concept

Into the “Pit” or upon the “Clouds”: Kensho and Satori Moments in the Development of Number Concept

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It’s Sunday morning and as I soap up greasy dishes, I hear Susan Engel say on the Heinemann Podcast: 

One of the things that I think that our schools have unwittingly done is ignored all the processes that kids use at home and try to replace those with a set of formal procedures that aren’t always as effective…. But it’s a shame because while we are busy trying to sort of force these somewhat formal kinds of learning beacause we think they are more “efficent” or “high powered”, we waste a lot of the natural learning skills that students have. And often a lot of the natural teaching skills that grown-ups have.

Huh, I think I know what she is talking about. Whether we are teaching a genre or the scientific process, teachers are constantly “telling” kids what to pay attention to and to think about. When I start examining my current practice and reflecting on Who I am as a teacher, I have come to see my role as a provocateur and coach. I am always considering who is REALLY doing the learning in our classrooms?–is it me, or is it the students?

egg
I think of this quote often, reminding myself that if I  tell students, then I’m “breaking their egg” and killed the opportunity for their learning.

So I am constantly asking myself that question because I know that “the person who does the work, does the learning“. But when I say “work”, I mean thinking, and there are so many of these micro-moments in our classroom in which I have a chance to tell kids what to do or to ask them what they think they should do to approach a situation or problem.  Sometimes these moments of learning are Kensho, growth through pain, and other times it is Satori, growth through inspiration. I first encountered this term when I read this blog and Kensho immediately reminded me of our teacher-term, the learning pit. You need determination and resilience to get out of that pit and your reward is Kensho. However, we rarely talk about it’s opposite, Satori. Up until this morning, I didn’t think we had a name for Satori in education. It Kensho is the “learning pit” than Satori must be up in the “clouds”, having a clear view and understanding. But Susan Engel articulated best in the podcast:

There are certain kinds of development that children undergo that are internal and very complex and they don’t happen bit by bit. They happen in what seem to be moments of great transformation of the whole system. ……

At that point, I stopped and turned toward my device. I recognized exactly what she was talking about it. I observed it the other day. My ears perked up some more as I moved closer to listen:

When children are little, their idea of number is very tied up with the appearance of things. So, this is a famous example from Jean-Pierre, a line of 10 pebbles to them is a different quantity than a circle of 10 pebbles, because lines and circles look so different.

The idea that it’s 10, whether it’s a circle or it’s straight, is not accessible to them. At a certain point, virtually every typically developing child, no matter where they’re growing up, acquires this sense that the absolute number of something stays the same no matter what it looks like. Whether it’s a heap or a straight line or a circle, that may sound like a tiny discovery, but it’s the beginning of a whole new way of experiencing the abstract characteristics of the number world.

You can’t teach that through a series of lessons. That’s an internal, qualitative transformation that children go through. Once they’ve gone through that, there are all kinds of specific things that you can teach them about the nature of counting and number and quantity.

Yes! I totally know what she is explaining. I was a witness to it. And perhaps, when you reflect on these Zen philosophical terms as development milestones, you may make a connection to your own classroom learning.

Here’s a snapshot from a recent example in our Grade 1.

Some context

There’s a math coach that I love, Christina Tondevold. She always says that “number sense isn’t taught, it’s caught”.  I’m always thinking to myself, how can I get them to “catch” it. This past week, we did just that using the Visible Thinking Routine, Claim, Support, Question making the claim:

The order of the numbers don’t matter–12 or 21, it’s the same number.

The students took a stand, literally, in the corners next to the words and image for Agree or Disagree, with  I Don’t Know, in the middle. This was great formative data! Then we provided the students with a variety of “math tools” to Support or prove their thinking is correct. They had to “build” the numbers and show us that they were actually different. It was neat how the students who stood in the I Don’t Know and Disagree areas were developing an understanding of what a written number truly “looks like”. We didn’t jump in and save them at any point, but some of them were experiencing Kensho. It was painful because they didn’t know how to organize their tiles or counters or shapes or beads in such a way that they could “see” the difference between the 2 numbers. Meanwhile, the students who chose the unifix cubes were experiencing Satori- and it became very obvious to them that these were different numbers. 

In our next lesson, we introduced the ten frames as a tool to help them organize their thinking and develop a sense of pattern when it comes to number concept. We did the same two numbers: 12 and 21, and they could work this time with a partner. Oh man, was there a lot of great discussions that came out as they talked about how the numbers looked visually different. The concept of Base 10 started to emerge. As observers, documenting their thinking, it was exciting to see the connections they were making. But the best part was yet to come.

We then brought in the Question part of the thinking routine. We asked them “if the order of 1 and 2 matters to 12 and 21, then what other numbers matter?” They told us:

“13 and 31, 14 and 41, 24 and 42, 46 and 64, 19 and 91, 103 and 310.”

A Hot Mess of Learning

Once unleashed, the kids grouped up and flocked to resources. There was a buzz. Giving students choices allowed the opportunity to choose whether they wanted to stay with smaller numbers or shoot for the BIG numbers even if they had no idea how they might construct a number past 100. They could use any math tool they wanted: cubes, blocks, 10 frames, Base 10 blocks, number lines, counters, peg boards–anything they wanted. Those choices, of itself, really provided some great data.

Here is an example of one of the groups who went with lower numbers:

But the ones who went for the BIG numbers, were the most interesting to watch because they were Kensho. Most of them grabbed unifix cubes, thinking that the same strategy they used before with 12 and 21 would work with 103 and 310. big numbersOh man, they persisted, they tried, but it took a lot of questioning and patience on our part to help guide them out of the pain that their learning was experiencing. Only one group naturally gravitated toward the Base-10 blocks, and when they realized how the units worked, it was a moment of Satori. They moved on from 103 and 310 quickly; they tried other numbers and invented new combinations. And interestingly enough, those groups, at no point, looked over to the ones engaged in the struggle to suggest that they might try another math tool. It was as if they knew that when one is in Kensho, best to leave them alone to make meaning on their own.

And there we were, in the midst of this math inquiry, and we felt like exhausted sherpas but satisfied that we were able to let them choose their own path of learning and made it to their “summit”.

As I consider how the role of the teacher is evolving in education, I think it is recognizing these moments of pain and insight in learning, and guiding them towards the next understanding in their learning progression. I absolutely agree with Susan Engel that when we see children fumbling around, we should be asking if they are within reach, developmentally, to even acquire the knowledge of skill that we are working on. For me, inquiry-based learning is the BEST way in which we can observe, engage assess our learners to truly discover their perceptions and capabilities. It is through capturing the student conversations and ideas that emerge as they give birth to a new understanding that is the most exciting to watch and inspires me in our planning of provocations that lead to their next steps.

How about you?

 

 

What Really IS “Best Practice”

What Really IS “Best Practice”

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It’s Tuesday at 4:45pm and my brain cells begin to take a break. I’m struggling with my energy level, peeved at myself for not drinking a tea earlier so I had a mental boost for this meeting. Because I care. It’s about the counseling program at our school, and I want to be fully present. I think it’s important.

Now it’s 2:30am, and I am awake, a bit annoyed that I have the term “best practice” ruminating in my mind. Why is this the first thought this morning? And how can I make it stop troubling my thoughts?

You see the other day I had a colleague make a remark that for some reason has really gotten under my skin–“oh, it’s really just best practice, right?”. Here’s the thing, I’m really tired of hearing the term “best practice”. It implies some secret sauce, some cookbook, that if all teachers follow, will result in amazing student achievement. I think that’s an overused term to get teachers to comply with certain boundaries of your curriculum. Think about it, if you teach in a highly structured system (Think a national scheme like France’s, in which all French schools have to be on the same page, literally, on the same day), then they have an idea of “best practice”. However, in our PYP school, we are more unstructured, textbookless, with flexible timelines, and no literacy model or math program (ex: Everyday Math) that we all follow. Needless to say, our idea of “best practice” has less to do with teacher compliance and more to do with teacher creativity. Those are very different perspectives on education. And who is right? Which is better?  Who is the “best”?

Rumi-Quotes-10I’m not here to pick a fight but I want to call our attention to how we throw that term around. In fact, I’d like to toss that term on the ground and squash it. I want to bury it. It’s undefinable in our broad views of education. Because of that, I think it’s a “nothing” word like a cliche or overused term that has lost its precision and value.

John Hattie’s idea of “Know Thy Impact” is more meaningful because it really helps schools to define their context and go deeper into the Why with the How they implement their curriculum, no matter how rigid or adaptable the structure is. I feel that we should use a more active term to define the type of work we do with students:  Impactful Practice.

Yet, I think there is a space in which all of us can connect, an area of our schools that we can all agree upon. It’s the one thing we can all consent to- student relationships matter.  john hattie relationship.png

This is where our dichotomous learning approaches merge. No matter what curriculum we use, the pedagogy of the heart is the central feature of all the work we do in schools. It’s the reason why I made a strong commitment to fight off my tiredness and engage in a meeting about our counseling program because we are talking about the hearts of our students. Connecting with them?–Yeah, I want to do that- Every day, for at least 190 days this year!

It’s now 6am and I have transformed this agitation into a clarity of purpose. Perhaps you, dear reader, may feel the same way.  I hope that wherever we are in the world, despite how we teach, that we can all agree upon really digging in and cultivating an intention of “impactful” practice, connecting to and understanding the emotional landscape and perspectives of our students.  Doing this– that’s the only practice that matters. Don’t you agree?

Lean in, It’s not too late.

Lean in, It’s not too late.

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I don’t want to look at my phone. The chatter of mating frogs is not muted by the buzzing air con. I know it’s too early but my mind is awake even if my body is motionless. I have students on my mind.

may-2018-blog-series-image1You see I made the mistake of reading Two Writing Teachers’ Blog and, as our team worked on our final unit plan and learning overview, it was painfully obvious that time wasn’t on our side. What happened to April? How did May get here? How can we consolidate the great learning, yet still make an impact on the students who need more support?  Oh,  how many more weeks to make a difference?

It’s easy to “slide” out, but I want to lean it, pull up my sleeves and dig into these final moments with the students.  I want to end this year empty–both for me and the kids, knowing that we did our best and gave our all. I’m inspired and renewed that there are educators who are just as insanely committed to making this school year end on a positive note. Perhaps you are too.

 
#ChangeInEducation: Doesn’t This Bother You?

#ChangeInEducation: Doesn’t This Bother You?

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Some people think that stress is productive, that it is “fertilizer for creativity” but I liked to call bull$*&# on that. When you are concerned about your basic needs being met, how you can the bills, it takes ninja skills to keep your mind focused.

In 2007, my husband and I packed up our things from beautiful Arizona and decided to move to another state, a more progressive state, to try my luck in the educational system there. It was a gamble, but I felt confident that Washington state invested in their education system and would allow me to be the teacher that I wanted to be without having to worry about layoffs and pay cuts. This Facebook post summarizes the trajectory of what I left behind years ago.

 

A former colleague relates her frustration with working in the Arizona public school system.

 

If I knew about the crumbling economy perhaps we wouldn’t have moved, but who could have predicted the housing market bubble bursting, coupled with intense competition for teaching jobs (because apparently those who cannot do, teach–ARGH!). This made for one of the worst decisions ever and by the spring of 2008, we were back in Arizona, living in the good graces of my loving family. I cringe to think what would have happened without their support.

So, although my career as an international teacher was more of a push due to economic circumstances rather than a pull for adventure, there is never a moment of regret and there is certainly no longing to go back into the American public school system. But how can we not address the elephant in the room? teachingAmerica is not the only country–this is a global issue! Teacher pay and job security is a huge factor in our performance. You give a pay cut to professional baseball players or basketball players and see how well they play?

So how can we talk about innovation in education without addressing this most fundamental issue? Do politicians really think that robots are going to replace us? You cannot automate the heart and emotion that goes into the care of students! —I don’t care how crafty an AI algorithm can be! Watson and Siri are not going to create the citizens of tomorrow.

I acknowledge that this post is more of a rant, but so often educators are made into martyrs which is incredibly unfair given the weight of our position. We are shapers of the future and not cogs in the wheel of the industrial complex. This sort of thinking and culture needs to be disrupted.

Don’t you agree?

 

#IMMOOC: Are We Preparing Students to Fly Closer to the Sun?

#IMMOOC: Are We Preparing Students to Fly Closer to the Sun?

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Do you ever think we will go back in time? Let me explain.

I was listening to a Seth Godin’s podcast (I See You) about the danger of creating “average” humans, and he takes out some big punches at educational systems. Retelling the myth of Icarus, we come to understand why our culture derides people who dare to fly closer to the sun, and how our schools have become factory-like.

As a highly dedicated educator, naturally, I take this to heart. It makes me question so much of what we do and what we believe about education, especially since our current paradigm is rooted in the industrial model, churning out “average” students who grow up to do ‘average” jobs. There’s a lot of people out there who think the job market will go back to the 1600s: 0% unemployment rate. But that’s because jobs have been parceled out to robots and artificial intelligence, like Watson. Your knowledge and skill, harvested through Big Data, will become obsolete just like these jobs of the past.When I hear futurists speak, their versions of the next 30 years seems so outrageous; detailing how we will need to learn how to co-evolve with artificial intelligence.  But then again, when I look in the rearview mirror of the last 30 years, actually I think it’s not science fiction, it’s going to be science fact, especially when we look at technology’s exponential growth with Moore’s Law and the work  of Alvin Toffler,  who looks more like a prophet rather than a writer, with his book Future Shock that predicted the challenges which we are facing today.

When I consider the value of an International Baccalaureate (IB) education, I want to feel confident that we are ahead of the curve when it comes to preparing for the upcoming challenges.  Because we put a high value on concepts over content, students develop perspective, thinking skills, and problem-solving, rather than the memorization of facts and following procedures. We strive for students to develop “agency”, demonstrating that they can work more independently as learners. Furthermore, when we think about the “enhanced PYP”, schools must be looking critically into how we do this better in our Programmes of Inquiry and the culture of student learning.

enhanced pyp

We all have AGENCY, the capacity to act intentionally. Recognising and supporting agency in the enhanced PYP will create a culture of mutual respect, acknowledging the rights and responsibilities of students, schools and the wider learning community, enabling students to take ownership of their learning and teachers of their teaching. –from Preparing for the Enhanced PYP

It is my hope that this agency goes beyond the 4 walls of the classroom. Those students see a problem in the community and have the courage and audacity to say this is MY PROBLEM TO SOLVE- Not wait until they are given permission and pushed by adults, but strive to take immediate action.

What we can do, what we can encourage and value in our school is to take these teaspoons of change: small but significant ideas, attitudes, and actions that have a positive impact on people and the planet. I think a large part of this is to lead by example. As the models that students emulate, especially in the PYP, we must be reflecting on how our choices can make a difference. Are we moving toward a sustainable future–do we contribute to the “pollution or the solution”, as D’arcy Lunn might query?  Are we Luddites or innovators with our use of technology? Are we consumers or creators–what sort of art are we making? The future belongs to all of us, and as educators, we have a say in where it is going.

If we want our students to be leaders of the change, not victims of circumstances, as new technology invades our everyday lives and a new economy emerges, then giving them the courage and resilience to “fly closer to the sun” starts with challenging ourselves as educators to do the same. Not to sound cliche with the quoting Gandhi, but we need to “be the change that we want to see in the world”.  As educators, we are on the front lines of this change and are deeply connected to the trajectory of the future. The moment we recognize this, we can become co-creators in the future we want to live in. Business and governments don’t have to dictate what and how we need to teach. We create the future every day with developing the hearts and minds of our students.

Let that settle in a bit.

I think it’s time to stop being “average” and put on some wings.

Whatcha’ think?

#IMMOOC: Why the Status Quo Makes Us Slow and Stupid

#IMMOOC: Why the Status Quo Makes Us Slow and Stupid

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My student stood agog: “Wow, you type so fast! How do you do that?” I looked down at my keyboard and then back at my student. Do I even bother to explain the QWERTY keyboard set up and how I learned to type to my 1st grader? I mean, will the keyboard even exist in the future? Will touch-typing even be a relevant skill?

It’s odd to think that the QWERTY keyboard is an excellent example of why we need to look at common things with uncommon sight. Why innovation is so vital in our educational systems. Have you ever heard of the Fable of the Keys? Do you know why we have that layout of letters of the home keys? Perhaps you think it was created to improve our speed and efficiency when typing? NO–quite the opposite. It was to slow us down so that those old fashion typewriter keys didn’t get jammed up. Its crazy to think that in an era of such technological impact, that such a simple feature of our computers cannot be revamped to improve our productivity. It’s a bit foolish really that we haven’t adopted another style of the keyboard when you think of it. And it makes me wonder what else we are doing in our world that is relies on 200-year-old technology.

Again, I wonder if the layout of the keyboard of our laptops and devices should be reconfigured to produce faster typing speeds? That’s the most sensible approach, right? ABSOLUTELY NOT! I think about this provocative quote about innovation:Anytime teachers think differently about (3)

And it makes sense, right? Why would we spend all that time and effort when we could be reimagining how we might capture thoughts and ideas? Most of us submit that talk to text will be the way of the future. But I wonder how often in education we just repackage these same sorts of “old” ideas which have gotten standardized into our systems. When you look at the quote by Seymour Papert, a man who brought technology to education, can you think of anything that you are using or doing in your classroom that just recapitulates antiquated practices?

The phrase “technology and education” usually means inventing new gadgets to teach the same old stuff in a thinly disguised version of the same old way. Moreover, if the gadgets are computers, the same old teaching becomes incredibly more expensive and biased towards its dullest parts, namely the kind of rote learning in which measurable results can be obtained by treating the children like pigeons in a Skinner box.   –Seymour Papert, father of Constructionism

During Season 4, Episode 3 of IMMOOC, John Spencer described his journey with technology and how his thinking has evolved around its use. As I listened to him speaking about using Scotch tape to mend microfiche, my head just kept unconsciously nodding. Oh, how I could relate! And I wholeheartedly agree with his lesson from this experience.

What is transferable, what is powerful and what stayed forever has been getting to think critically, getting to be creative, getting to problem solve-all of that. To me, when people get focused on the technology, they are going to end up inevitably doing is getting obsessed with the novelty.

I think this is an important lesson for all of us educators to consider. How can we focus on transferable skills vs. technology skills? Is knowing how to touch-type going to be a game changer for my 1st grader’s future OR is understanding how we organize and create systems to improve our capacity to do more and communicate more of our best selves and solve problems the answer?

Obviously, my question is rhetorical. And maybe you are wondering what “QUERTYs” you have in your school culture and classrooms–what old fashion practices and tools are you perpetuating, with or without the use of technology? Let’s start to make genuine progress by challenging and “breaking” them. Because by accepting the “status quo” in education, like un-imagining “the keyboard”, just makes us look slow and stupid.

#IMMOOC, Season 4: Does it Matter?- Giving Students Choice (My Personal Inquiry into Empowering Students Begins)

#IMMOOC, Season 4: Does it Matter?- Giving Students Choice (My Personal Inquiry into Empowering Students Begins)

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400 minutes a day is roughly what most students spend in school. After 180 school days, my 1st graders will have spent 72,000 minutes in our learning community (given that they are not absent) and move onto 2nd grade.What will they have learned? Who will they be at the end of that time? Will our team really have developed inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect? (From the IB Mission Statement)

That is an incredibly hard question to answer. I know that we work hard to forge new territory and challenge our learners to become self-reliant, reflective and kind. Sometimes it is easy- a simple provocation might provide the nudge, but most of the time, cultivating the awareness and motivation to do what is hard takes a lot of different approaches. In IB-Speak, we call it being principled however others may call it grit–it’s doing what’s right or the best thing to do even if it is hard, boring or uncomfortable, especially when NO ONE is watching you.

To develop “leaders of tomorrow”, we need to develop them as leaders of today.

-George Curous-  #EmpowerBook

I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately-am I empowering students to make good choices or am I handicapping them by making the choices for them?  As a first grade teacher, this is sure easy to do–to “boss” those little ones around and “help” them make those choices for them.  Painful as it is to admit, that certainly happens.

As I begin this season of IMMOOC,  I really want to shine a light into those dark places of my practice. I want to examine whether or not I am consistently and compassionately developing our learners to be challenged and independent in their learning.

So I am excited to be reading the book Empower to take a more critical look at how I approach student learning and develop greater student agency in the classroom. Perhaps you might be keen to join? If so, you can sign up and join a whole load of us educators who really want to make an impact and create these leaders of today.

 

#SOL: Looking Through a Window of An Open House

#SOL: Looking Through a Window of An Open House

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As I locked the door and closed all the curtains, I wondered what emotions were stirring in the children – were they excited, were they nervous, or were they blase to share their learning?

heiyun
Where is MY planning sheet?

Today was their opportunity to present their knowledge and efforts in our unit, how did that make them feel?

 

At three o’clock, another door swings open and a head of a beaming student pops in, “Can I come in, Ms. Judy? Can I show my mom?”. I look up at the clock. “It’s 3pm.  Time to get started! Come on in!-What are you going to present to your mom first? Can you find your planning sheet?”

 

pierre
Showing how to use Book Creator app. 

 

Before you know it,  students start piling in with their loved ones: moms, dads, brothers, aunts, and grandmas–they all show up to see what their child has been up to in 1st Grade.The noise of the activity is fun to observe. We start grabbing iPads to document the interactions.  We want the parents to remember this moment, this moment of wonder and curiosity; hopefully a proud moment, a moment when they realize that their baby is growing up, a moment when pride wells up inside.

As we look on, some of the interactions are gorgeous. “C’mon”, squeaks one girl. “I want to show you how to play this game. It’s called BANG!”

sophia
Playing a Word Game.

Enthusiasm has flooded the room. It is four o’clock and a desire to show off their favorite things in class has yet to cease after an hour.

 

We asked students to choose five things to present to their families–touching a bit on math, language, technology, and unit. One girl has checked off the entire list. We tried to avoid this from happening since we know that the adult’s time is busy. One mother struggles to get her daughter to stop playing a game.

thomas and charlotte
Playing the “Sound Detective” Game.

“This is the last round, okay?”, she beseeches.

 

Over in the corner, a sort of game of tug-of-war seems to be in process, in which there is a tension between their interaction, as a loved one is challenging and pulling out the learning from their child, questioning and critical. The child pulls back with counter arguments and claims, then relents. These interactions are difficult to watch from the eyes of a child, but the teacher in me also feels a bit grateful for the pressure that is being applied, hoping that it will make the student more focused in their work. (Today I will find out who has really won this game–has this really changed any habits or behaviors?)

kathyIt’s 4:30. Students start to come back to me to report that they have finished.  As they hand me their planning sheets, I direct a question towards them, “How do you feel about presenting your learning?” Most smile and reply, “Good!”.  I give a high five. I want them to have some small acknowledgeable that what they did today mattered. That the learning they have done up until now and the effort they put into presenting it was important. As I look up to say my goodbyes and thank yous to loved ones, in my head I am wondering and hoping that this experience opened a window into the lives of the learners; that the parents and family members gained some valuable insight and perspective into their unique and wonder-filled child. In my heart, I am hoping that the learners left feeling a sense of pride and recognition; that this has further developed their confidence and self-esteem.

It’s nearly six o’clock before I leave school, exhausted yet content.

#Inquiry: Transforming Learning Objectives and Intentions.

#Inquiry: Transforming Learning Objectives and Intentions.

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I had an Aha-Moment this week and I am bursting to share it! You see I grew up and was trained in the American school system so most of my pedagogical schema is steeped in a Standards-Based Approach to teaching and learning. Lessons must have learning objectives, which usually are framed around the State’s curriculum or nowadays there is the Common Core. When I write or state the objective on the board, there is a magnetic pull that drives the learning towards meeting that goal. I get tunnel vision and achieving this standard becomes a primary focus, if not for the day, then for the week. But can we still attain the skills and knowledge in the curriculum without letting the learning intention be the end-all/be-all in our lessons?

Let me just set the stage for my lightbulb moment:

One of my colleagues had said earlier this year that she feels like when you do inquiry it seems like you have to always make the students guess what they are learning about. It’s as if learning intention is a mystery. And so herein lies the challenge with inquiry-based learning when it meets the standards-based curriculum training. Is there a happy medium? And I think I found the answer and the answer is YES!

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Compliments of the wonderful teachers at VIS, Mr. David, and Mr. John!

Did you catch that? In the example above, they just open up the lesson  with a question and it naturally covered standards that would be typically on the board or stated as you tell your students what they would be learning about in that 4th-grade lesson:

  • Use the four operations with whole numbers to solve problems. (Common Core)
  • 4.1.2.1.f checking reasonableness of answers. ( Singapore Mathematics Syllabi)
  • Know multiplication and division facts for the 2× to 10× tables (Cambridge)

If you’re a PYP teacher then we are always packing our unit planners with “teacher questions”.  I already was well aware that questions are vital for inquiry teaching and learning. But it never occurred to me that I could or should turn the learning intention/objective into a question. It totally changes the dynamic of the lesson, in which a clear path of learning is set yet there is still enough space for curiosity and divergent thinking.

So I’m going to start transforming my WALT (W.hat we A.re L.earning T.oday) into questions so that students have a goal and purpose for learning. And then I’d like to end with a student reflection: Did we answer the question? Why or why not?

I think when we shift from Telling To Asking, we start moving away from didactic approaches and move into curiosity and student agency. I’m going to test out this tweak and I invite others to do the same so that more student interest and inquiry can be sparked.

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