Laws of Conservation of Pain and Joy

Chris Wejr has a thought-provoking post entitled “Share Who You Are, Let People In”. I remember as a new teacher trying hard to look and sound older than I was, that I hardly ever shared my personal life with my students. I was afraid they would think of me as their friend, rather than their teacher, which I was warned about in my education classes. However, when I taught overseas, it became evident that I needed to reveal myself – my experiences, perspectives and biases – to my students to be able to build common understandings. My students' experiences were significantly different from my own and I knew I couldn't assume commonalities. I now realize how naïve my early teaching self was, thinking that even my American students' experiences were similar to my own.

Students are perceptive and know when you are having an off day. In my experience, when mutual trust and respect is built between the teacher and students, the students will be sympathetic on those few days that you are not on top of your game. I remember when I received word that my grandmother had passed away, I didn't have the words to express it to my students without breaking down, but they sensed my emotions and helped me see that it is okay to be vulnerable in the classroom. It allowed them to be more vulnerable too. I remember that day as one of reverence and deep conversation, in a classroom that was typically filled with activity and noise. I appreciated the intuitiveness of those students.

At the same time, students need to see your real self – the one that also has to do “homework” and chores, just like them. As I've been working on my dissertation, I've shared my struggles with writing and thinking with my students, to help them see that their own homework struggles are not unusual. They were looking forward to the day they could call me “Doctor Who”(they thought that was a better title than my real one). I've also realized that students like stories – stories of my fear of the bat in my apartment, my love of buffaloes, and my scuba diving. When I first started teaching and a student bumped into me at the grocery store, they were shocked, not realizing that I lived a normal life like them. Now, I bump into students at the Roller Derby, Manna Cafe or the grocery store and we can strike up a conversation about their out of school activities without a blink.

But it isn't all one-sided. By sharing my stories with them, they also tell me about their successes and achievements outside of school. This mutual sharing continues to build trust and respect. And, when they are having a bad or off day, they are more willing to share why and I give them the space and time needed to deal with it.

Just as we should remember the Golden Rule of “Do unto others as you would have done unto you, we should also remember Callahan's Law "Shared pain is lessened; shared joy, increased — thus do we refute entropy." (Spider Robinson, Callahan and Company)

Less than an Elevator

Starting the first week of graduate school, most students are asked, "What is your research?"  Heading off to a conference to present a paper, students are advised to create an elevator speech about the paper, a 30-60 second summary of the paper that could be delivered in the elevator when you happen to bump into the one person you really want to read  your paper (like the person who you based your methodology on).  But, now Inside Higher Education proposes an even more practical, yet difficult feat - a Snapshot Dissertation - a 30-60 second video that summarizes a student's dissertation in language their parents or grandparents could understand.  I think this is a great idea!  As the article says, higher ed needs to help the general public understand why it is important to study Shakespeare, Moliere, blue footed boobies or a classroom.  For the full article, see the link below:

Snapshot Dissertation - http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/02/22/duke-proposes-mandatory-short-video-pitch-accompany-dissertations

Why study history?

Right now my middle school students are studying the Enlightenment. This was a powerful time in Western culture, as the Enlightenment thinkers emphasized reason over dogmatic faith and superstition, and scientists were refining exact methods of observation and experimentation. However, for many students, studying the Enlightenment entails the memorization of a bunch of people – Newton, Hobbes, Smith, Descartes, Voltaire, Franklin and Jefferson – and a bunch of dates. But, the spirit of the Enlightenment was exploration, discovery and independence. I'm hoping our current project will help the students recognize the powerful influence of the various ideas from the Enlightenment on our modern sensibilities.

The students will be creating a 3-dimensional model of a monument for an Enlightenment figure or event. Within the model, the students need to focus on the ideas and impact of the person, not just the events of his/her life or list the work done. Students have completed research on their individuals, completed a planning guide for the monument which asked them to think about the message behind their monument and how the design would support that message. Today they began drafting some paragraphs to describe the person's life and work and the impact the person's work has on modern life. Here is the outline I provided:

1. Importance - explain why you feel this person and ideas should be remembered

• Write a strong topic sentence
  • Topic (person & work) + a claim (opinion about why he/she and work is important) = strong topic sentence
• Include some basic facts about the person's life and work
  • Use the information you researched

2. Purpose - explain the message this monument is communicating and how the design will support that message

• What is the lesson or moral of the person's life that will be illustrated in the monument?
• Write a strong topic sentence
  • State the lesson/moral + how he/she exhibits this lesson/moral.
• Include some examples from the person's life and work that support this lesson/moral

3. Content - explain the information/ideas you intend your audience to think about when they visit your monument and how the design will present these ideas

• Write a strong topic sentence
  • This monument will show …....
• Describe the monument
  • What will it look like? How big? What materials? The setting?
  • What information/content/pictures will be on the monument?
    • Be specific – list the quotes, pictures, etc
  • How will people use and view the monument? Walk through it? Walk around it? Sit and contemplate it?

4. Feelings - explain the feelings you want to evoke in people when they visit your monument and how the design will evoke those feelings

• Write a strong topic sentence
  • When people leave this monument they should feel _________ because ________
• How will the design, material and use of the monument help evoke (create) these feelings?

As I conferred with students throughout the class, one of the major ideas they struggled with was making the initial claim. Why is this person's work still important? The other idea they struggled with was the purpose of the monument. I have been encouraging them to think beyond just showing the person's work or discovery, but to look at what lesson or moral can we learn from the person's life.

Some major lessons that students are learning from the Enlightenment thinkers include:

• Catherine the Great – Education is key.
• Joseph II of Habsburg – Equality for all.
• Mary Wollstonecraft - Writing can change the world.
• Thomas Jefferson – Change can happen without violence and through the written word.
• Ben Franklin – Never give up.
• Mozart – Even prodigies needed to practice to get better.
• Isaac Newton – Censorship stifles ideas.

This, I believe, is the purpose of studying history. Not just to know what happened and when, but to learn a lesson from it and be able to apply it to our own lives. I hope my students begin to see this through our classes together.

The Wish to Learn

Today was a normal day in my classroom.  Students read, discussed, self-evaluated, wrote, drew, peer reviewed, conferred, learned and laughed.  As a teacher, I have to step back sometimes and just remind myself how privileged I am to have the opportunity to be invited into this process as the students share their thoughts and work with me.

Like most workshop style classrooms, students were working on multiple things.  Students met in student-led discussion groups to talk about books like Bud, Not Buddy or Johnny Tremain and other coming-of-age stories.  At first, when introduced to student-led discussion groups, most groups focused on comprehension of the story and making sure they talked about all the things they wrote down in their reading response log.  But now, after about seven sessions, the conversations are becoming deeper - why did a particular character react in that manner?  Why is something so important to the character?  How would you deal with this situation?  In addition, students are demonstrating that they are understanding that the purpose of the group is to help them make meaning of the book, not just understand the plot.  Students are becoming more confident in bringing confusions to the group to seek clarification.  At the end of the discussion, I ask students to self-evaluate themselves and specifically, how the discussion helped change their thinking or understanding of a part of the story.  At first, this questions stymied many students, but they now are able to pinpoint a moment of clarification or re-consideration.

In a writing workshop, students worked on several different pieces of writing - each in different stages of the writing process.  Student just finished editorials and have are working on revisions for that.  I was surpirsed at how little coaching students needed in selecting topics for the editorial.  Although the media myth of teenage-hood is apathy, it it just not true.  Every student is passionate about something - I just have to ask enough questions to get to it. 

Today, they learned about political cartoons.  We looked at several examples and noticed how the juxtaposition of a humorous picture with a serious message makes the message stand out more.  Or, the image of something expected next to the unexpected title or text grabs the attention of the reader.  The students were eager to try their own hand at creating their cartoons and the results made me both laugh and cry.  Middle schoolers DO understand irony and can wield it well!

One of the aspects of workshop that I find most valuable is the independence it fosters in students.  Too often students are directed by teachers from 8 am until 3 pm in what, how, why and when they will complete tasks.  With multiple pieces in the works, including projects, reading and writing, students have more choice in the work they do and the topics they read and write.  Again, this was difficult at first for many students to adjust to - with a lot of "What do I do next?" and "Is this okay?"  But, over time, students have become more comfortable with knowing what choices they have and how to arrange their time to fit both their own needs and the due dates given.  I have a quick "status of the class" type conversation at the beginning of workshop time (ie "What are you working on?") and then move about to confer with students about the various pieces they are working on.  In sports-speech - It is so exciting to coach students in the midst of the game, rather than at the end of the game when reviewing tapes of the play.  In other words, it is exciting to see how students adjust their work in the middle of working, rather than waiting until the end and asking them to re-do things.  It is in these daily, one-to-one conversations that the students are constantly improving their work - even though it doesn't feel like revision.

A constant tension for me though is giving both choice and structure to fit the needs of middle schoolers and the needs of standards. The Right Honourable John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury, an English Renaissance type man, wrote in his book The Pleasures of Life, "The important thing is not so much that every child should be taught, as that every child should be given the wish to learn. What does it matter if the pupil know a little more or a little less? A boy who leaves school knowing much, but hating his lessons, will soon have forgotten almost all he ever learned; while another who had acquired a thirst for knowledge, even if he had learned little, would soon teach himself more than the first ever knew. Children are by nature eager for information. They are always putting questions. This ought to be encouraged."  My constant goal in the classroom is to help students become independent learners and life-long learners.  Both prospects are hinged on the idea that learning is self-directed, enjoyable, and on-going - elements that tend to be lacking in a lot of schooling endeavors.

#cebc #ce12 Book Club: The Connected Educator

I just stumbled on the Connected Educators Book Club. The first live webinar was last night, but the archives are posted. Plus, there is a Ning for discussing the books. Being a Ning, I had to create a user name/password, so the discussions are semi-private. After the amazing learning via #cyberPD, I figured I would jump into this one. For more information go to the Club's website:

http://connectededucators.org/cem/book-club/

The first book in the book club is Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach’s The Connected Educator (co-authored with Lani Ritter Hall), “which compellingly lays out a step-by-step path to using online connected communities to become a connected learner engaged in do-it- yourself professional development” according to the website. I checked our university library and will be picking up the book this afternoon, but the first chapter is available at Solution Tree. Bill Boyd has a nice overview at his site, The Literacy Adviser.

Nussbaum-Beach's introduction says that the purpose of the book is to address teachers as learners first and educators second. In other words, the book is to help readers/users learn how to create and maintain personal learning networks (PLN) and communities (PLC), which will then help educators envision how to use them in the classroom. I've been involved in Twitter and the ECNing for a while, but I know I could be more organized and more strategic with my PLN.

One statement that resonated with me immediately was the recognition of the traditional solo learner.  Nussbaum-Beach says, “Yet in most schools, still, the assumptions are that learning is an individual process, that learning has a beginning and an end, that learning happens in schools separately from the rest of life’s activities, and that learning is the result of teaching. Technology is beginning to shift those assumptions and change the way, we, as educators, learn” (p. 10). As I've mentioned before, I struggle with creating “group” projects that require interdependence between students because, being American, I've grown up in a culture of Me-cracy and individual competition. As my mom has often told me, I was a stubborn child and would stamp my feet and say, “I'll do it myself” while she watched in frustration as simple tasks took much longer than necessary. Guess I ignored Vygotsky's theory of learning via the zone of proximal development (ZDP) and the more knowledgeable other (MKO)! I know I need to break my own habits of working alone and create spaces and opportunities for my students (and their parents) to learn how a community of learners is more powerful than learning alone.

I had the great fortune of having a computer-savvy husband/teacher, who took me to the NECC conference for many years, which is now the International Society of Technology in Education conference. Through that experience, I started this blog (see first post) and have been posting intermittently and connecting to others through this blog. Nussbaum-Beach highlights the importance of participating in the cyberworld, which makes sense to me because just being a lurker doesn't provide long-term learning and change. She says, “Becoming a connected, do-it-yourself learner begins with your willingness to be a findable, clickable, searchable-on-Google person who shares openly and transparently. From there we can form a connection, a conversation, a relationship and begin to collaborate” (p. 11).

I find the “Do-it-yourself learner” term to be quite intriguing. I've been listening to Daniel Pink's Drive:The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us and am currently on the chapter on Mastery and Flow. The do-it-yourself learning reminds me of the importance of autonomy and choice. Pink states, “While complying can be an effective strategy for physical survival, it’s a lousy one for personal fulfillment. Living a satisfying life requires more than simply meeting the demands of those in control. Yet in our offices and our classrooms we have way too much compliance and way too little engagement. The former might get you through the day, but only the latter will get you through the night” (p. 112). So much of schooling – professional development for teachers and daily classes for students are about compliance. However, when learners get to CHOOSE what and how they want to learn, they become ENGAGED and enter a state of FLOW. Mihály Csíkszentmihályi (in Finding Flow) identified nine elements of flow:

1. There are clear goals every step of the way.
2. There is immediate feedback to one’s actions.
3. There is a balance between challenges and skills.
4. Action and awareness are merged.
5. Distractions are excluded from consciousness.
6. There is no worry of failure.
7. Self-consciousness disappears.
8. The sense of time becomes distorted.
9. The activity becomes “autotelic” (an end in itself, done for it’s own sake).

Dr. Steven Wright has a nice overview of Csíkszentmihályi's Finding Flow and other works.

When I am working with others – talking with student teachers, collaborating with teachers, facilitating a classroom lesson, giving a workshop – I find my flow. Again, that is the power of learning together, rather than learning alone! Nussbaum-Beach says, “The simple truth is that there is a limit to how much we can learn if we keep to ourselves (Fullan & Hargreaves, 1991). By deepening our connectedness to the level of true collaboration, we can best meet the needs of today's students” (p. 12).

I've read many technology for teacher books that insist that they are “interactive” but I have to say, this one is impressive so far. The authors have provided many active links at the publisher's website, plus have “Get Connected” activities at the end of each chapter.

#CyberPD WrapUp - Growing Our Thinking Together

Like Johnston, Gail Tompkins advocates for the creation of a community of learners in the classroom. In Literacy for the 21st Century: A Balanced Approach Tompkins (2009, p. 17) describes the characteristics of a community of learners environment:

Responsibility - Teachers set guidelines and expect students to be responsible. They also model responsible behavior. Students assume responsibility for their learning and behavior in the classroom.

Opportunities -Teachers provide opportunities for students to read and write in genuine and meaningful activities. Students actively participate in activities, for example, reading independently and sharing their writing with classmates.

Engagement - Teachers nurture students’ engagement through authentic activities and opportunities to work with classmates. Students become more engaged in literacy activities and spend more time reading and writing.

Demonstration - Teachers model what good readers and writers do using think-alouds to explain their thinking. Students carefully observe teachers’ demonstrations and then practice by modeling their thinking for classmates.

Risk Taking - Teachers encourage students to take risks while exploring a new idea and de-emphasize the need to always get things “right.” Students understand that learning is a process of taking risks and exploring ideas.

Instruction -Teachers provide explicit instruction through mini-lessons and provide opportunities for guided practice. Students participate in mini-lessons and apply what they’re learning in literacy activities.

Response - Teachers provide opportunities for students to respond to books they’re reading and to classmates’ writing. Students respond to books in reading logs and grand conversations and listen attentively to classmates share their writing.

Choice - Teachers offer choices because they understand that students are more motivated when they can make choices. Students make choices about some books they read, projects they create, and compositions they write.

Time - Teachers organize the schedule with large chunks of time for reading and writing. Students understand the classroom schedule and complete assignments when they’re due.

Assessment -Teachers monitor students’ learning and set guidelines about how students will be graded. Students understand how they will be assessed and often participate in self-assessment.

For the past year, I've had the honor of visiting two third-grade classrooms with two teachers who worked hard to create a community of learners with their students and I want to share a story of the students' view of this type of classroom.

To help students practice listening to each other and speak to and build off of each other's ideas, the teachers provided sentence starters to help the students develop the language of connecting ideas. The rules of engagement for this particular discussion was that everyone had to speak once before anyone could speak a second time and that the comment had to connect to another student's comment (agree, disagree, add to etc). After this especially intense discussion that included both third grade classes, the teachers asked the students to think about the process and reasons for having discussions. As scribes, the teachers captured the thinking of the students on a chart. The students said:

Growing Our Thinking Together

• Our thinking grows like a balloon with each comment from a friend
• It gives us confidence
• We capture other people's thinking
• We build on what others say, like knots in a rope (they had studied Quipus (talking knots) of Peru)
• We cooperate, listen and ask for clarification
• We restate our ideas
• Everyone contributes
• We yield to each other
  • Let less talkative people go first
  • Person with relevant information goes first (valuable)
  • Let the person who is responding to another go first

This metaphor, of growing our thinking together like a balloon, carried over for the rest of the year. If a student derailed a conversation, it was called “popping the balloon.” It was so powerful to hear the students recognize the power their own language had on others.

Like many others have said, I will need to re-read Opening Minds to really let the ideas simmer. It is my goal this school year to create a community of learners in my classroom where I learn along with my students and honor the contributions they provide.

If you would like to join the conversation about Peter Johnston's book Opening Minds:Using Language to Change Lives, check out #CyberPD on Twitter, or this week's host, Carol, at Carol's Corner.

Guided Reading, Or Not

From Mondo Publishing

Mark Barnes has a very provocative blog entry “Top Five Reasons To Eliminate Guided Reading.” In it, he states that “we'd read one novel for six weeks, analyzing every chapter, completing vocabulary worksheets and fill-in-the-blank plot charts. Then, after one truly amazing summer of research, I decided to stop the guided reading madness forever” because: 

 

1. Guided reading teaches students to hate books
2. Guided reading is about teacher control
3. Guided reading stifles readers
4. Guided reading work is boring
5. Guided reading does not teach reading

To read the full post, go here: http://edge.ascd.org/_Top-five-reasons-to-eliminate-guided-reading/blog/6246557/127586.html

I've had the fortune to work in schools that haven't had a lot of class sets of books, so I've had the opportunity to form literature circles, partner reads and a lot of individual choice reading. Yet, the stubborn idea of class lists of books continues to pervade the teaching of English. I recognize that many people (parents, teachers, administration and the general public) have a sense of tradition/classics, a passing on of cultural knowledge via books, but what teachers assign students to read is not necessarily read. How important is it that EVERY 10^th grader read To Kill a Mockingbird? My nephew informed me that he hated the book so he never actually read it for class. I wonder, will he ever give it a chance later in life, or is he turned off of it forever?

With my work with student teachers and new teachers, one question I'm frequently asked is, “What activities do you have for XXX title?” This is lesson planning based on materials, rather than planning lessons on what students need to learn and know how to do. As Stephan Covey once said, “Begin with the end in mind.” And I believe this is essential when working with students. Isn't the development of skills, thinking, knowledge, and dispositions more important than the materials read? Won't these things be developed more deeply when students get to choose what to read and how to demonstrate their understanding rather than depend on a teacher to tell them when, where, and how to read and demonstrate knowledge?

In the Twitter #cyberPD chat (Archive here), we talked about how to re-envision the classroom to support dynamic views of students, learning and knowledge, but with that, how to help parents re-envision education – the purpose, structure and methods used. As I am now a “veteran” teacher, I feel like I should be able to be pro-active about explaining how and why I do things in the classroom, but I still struggle with articulating this clearly and succinctly for parents.