I noticed that when I made comments on other blogs from our group, it seemed that more people were commenting on others' posts than in previous weeks. This is a positive thing, for there is more feedback for everyone. Hallie and Barbara responded to my post for this week and were helpful in helping me process the purposes of the sections of the mentoring paper. I had a plan, but then I began questioning my ideas about the sections of the paper. (So like me!) Margo also commented on my post and her response was encouraging. I think I can begin putting together my paper now that I have a clearer idea of how to organize it.
This week I posted what I am noticing about the data in my mentoring project. It was helpful to me to have a week where that is my focus. We've been so busy with the project, that having some time to analyze it and reflect on it has been worthwhile. Also, reading about others' projects and how they went has been helpful in reflecting on mine. When you are working so closely with something it is important to step back and look at it with "new eyes". I do that often with my art students and with my own artwork, so it makes sense to do that with projects as well.
I noticed that when I made comments on other blogs from our group, it seemed that more people were commenting on others' posts than in previous weeks. This is a positive thing, for there is more feedback for everyone. Hallie and Barbara responded to my post for this week and were helpful in helping me process the purposes of the sections of the mentoring paper. I had a plan, but then I began questioning my ideas about the sections of the paper. (So like me!) Margo also commented on my post and her response was encouraging. I think I can begin putting together my paper now that I have a clearer idea of how to organize it.
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Working with my teaching partner on how to build his own classroom website has been going well. I would say that it has been successful because much of the mechanics of using Weebly he is able to do independently. I am finding that although we have finished the weekly mentoring sessions for the purpose of this project, he has asked me to continue helping him this school year. That is fine, and since we have taught together for the last 15 years, I do not mind. He wants to keep building on it, so that is exciting for him.
Reviewing and analyzing the journal entries, as well as my mentorship plan, I notice that we didn't get as far as I had initially planned. My notes reflected how my plans changed based on the need for my mentee to have more time on working with the parts of the website. I noticed too that there were a couple of times we had to review what we did the time before. I had made observations that they occurred when my teaching partner did not do any practice on his own. I made sure to remind him to keep playing with it--that is how we get more efficient at it. I need to remind myself that this is very new for him, and it is a big step for him to take with technology. I did have some questions about our paper and presentation for the mentoring project we are working on. First, in the research paper does the methodology section mean what happened and how it went? Also, the section on discussion, is that a reflection piece? If you know, please share. About the presentation: is the purpose to be an overview or summary of the project for others to know about it? I can't imagine mine being very long. Or is the presentation to serve as a summary, then a reflection of how it went, what was learned, etc.? Or...sorry. I have too many questions. It's kind of hard to reflect on things when no one from this learning community left a comment or read my philosophy to give feedback. I read all of the philosophy posts for the week yesterday and did comment on some of them. I gave positive comments, and suggestions when applicable.
I guess this is a good time as any to vent: I used to comment on everyone who posted by Saturday. Now I don't comment on as many because I got tired of week after week commenting on certain people's posts and those people never ONCE reading and commenting on mine. At a certain point I felt like they were posting early in the week, commenting on each other's, and then when most people posted on Fridays, they were already "done" and chose not to interact with the rest of the class. The other problem is that some of the class does not even post until Sunday, and I can't wait until then to do my comments. I have to be writing my reflection on Sunday. I feel like I miss out on what they have to offer. I would comment on them after Sunday if I had the time, but I don't until the end of the week, and then we are on a new topic. I learn a lot from reading everyone's posts. There are so many great ideas and viewpoints I can relate to. It just irritates me when it seems that some are not doing their part and contributing to the learning community. It makes me feel like I can't do my part. O.K. Venting's done. I feel better getting that off my chest. It's been a rough week. If anyone's out there...I would appreciate some feedback on my philosophy. I had my husband read over it, but... Our greatest glory is not in ever failing, but in rising up every time we fail. -Ralph Waldo Emerson A Motto for 21st Century Learners
Failure gets such a bad rap. As adults, we avoid it as much as possible. We have created an educational climate that considers standardized testing the way of measuring a child’s learning in which failure is a mark against the child, the teachers, and the school. In fact, making mistakes and experiencing failure are important steps to new learning. My motto for creating learners in the 21st century is “Failure’s not a bad thing. Roll with it. Learn from it.” I know it sounds goofy, but when reviewing my learning from this semester I noticed a theme in my collection of quotes. For me, quotes tend to express my thoughts more succinctly than I can with my own words, or I so connect to them that they embody my opinions on a topic. Surprisingly, many of the quotes I have been collecting were related to failure and learning from mistakes. Failure, and in particular the learning from what did not work and how to make it better, are related to developing habits like persistence, problem-solving, self-reflection, and risk-taking. Failure is important for my students’ learning, but it speaks to me as well. I wouldn’t be where I am today as a mother, a wife, an educator, or an artist without learning from my mistakes. How do I adapt to change in my environment? Adapting to change in my environment is a survival skill. The role of the teacher has changed over the years and the demand for teachers to be more flexible to change has increased. In Dave Burgess’ book, Teach Like a Pirate, the author lays out recommendations for success in the classroom that I found to be thought-provoking and inspirational. Burgess shines light on using our own passions and keeping a pool of inspiration to draw from in order to adapt to the changes in the classroom. Reading his book made me reflect on habits I have used over my teaching career that have helped me adapt to the changes in my profession and in the classroom. One habit for me is the resilience of mind. Knowing that there will be some bad days—that they are inevitable—is just as important to know as the fact that most days in the classroom with children are wonderful. Sometimes teachers can become so focused on the failures of the day, or the negative interactions or policies that affect our work. I try not to allow this kind of thinking. I can always start fresh, or learn from my mistakes, or go into tomorrow with the attitude that I can try something different. That resilience and flexibility of thinking, along with my sense of humor, has been priceless in adapting to change. Another quality needed for change is one that Burgess also recommends: tapping into inspiration you find and keeping track of it to pull from when you need it. I do this with jots in my notebook, curating ideas from other teachers on Pinterest, watching TED videos and reading and responding to teacher blogs, as well as reading educational journals and books. I also try to stay current with instructional techniques and research through my membership with NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) and IRA (International Reading Association). Keeping a current collection of inspirational ideas, I can build engaging strategies and projects more easily into my lesson planning, as well as share ideas with my colleagues. Technology has been a tool for me to gather information, read about issues that affect my classroom, and to stay in touch with others. It has widened my learning community immensely. One of the most important habits for adapting to the ever-changing education environment is self-reflection. When I reflect back on my day in the classroom, on lessons, and interactions with my students I can think about what went well and what needs to be changed. Thinking through my successes and failures of the day help me recharge and redirect my teaching. It supports persistence, which is a key to adjusting to the changes demanded of teachers. Self-reflection is a regular part of my day--a habit-- that has been just as powerful as the resilience of mind in adapting to change in my profession. Without it, I truly believe that I would have retired from teaching by now. How do I support my students in adapting to change? “Designing a class that empowers students to become life-long learners, avid readers, and voracious seekers of knowledge, will have an impact that reverberates for a lifetime and beyond.” -Dave Burgess, Teach Like a Pirate (2012) When it comes to supporting my students in adapting to change, I try to build and encourage many of the qualities I find important for myself in adjusting to the needs of the classroom environment: learning from failures and successes, self-reflection, flexibility of thinking, persistence, and learning from and sharing with others in their learning community. These habits are tools children can use to adapt to the ever-changing learning environment. I worry that my students have been exposed to so much pressure from school, parents, and society to get “the right answer”. Sometimes getting the wrong answer can be more telling than choosing the correct one. Exposing my students to this attitude, planning for experiences where questioning guides discovery, discussions where students learn from each other and learn together, and where creativity and imagination are encouraged are all part of this learning environment I strive to provide for my students. “Only when we care about experimentation, play, and questions more than efficiency, outcomes, and answers do we have a space that is truly open to the imagination. And where imaginations play, learning happens.” (Thomas and Brown, 2011) Although, as a classroom teacher, I have no control over many policies on education that are put into effect and mandated, my intent in the classroom is to create a place for my students to learn, use the tools available to them, and to feel comfortable to make mistakes and take risks. As Will Richardson states in “Why School?”, “As a parent, I wonder how such a delivery model (high-stakes testing) prepares my kids for anything other than passing a test—the same test that everyone else has to pass…The important irony is that test scores tell us little, if anything, about our children’s preparedness for future success in a fast-changing world.” (Richardson, 2012) There are decisions we have to make as teachers which speak to the balance we keep with political demands and what kids really need. It is a difficult task, but worthy and important. Technology has assisted me in bird-walking through articles, blogs, and books in educational communities. In this wandering I found not only more to support what I already do in my classroom, but to improve the instruction, experiences, and engagement for my students. One such resource I discovered recently has been the “Habits of Mind” (Costa and Kallick, 2007). Many resources I have read about inquiry learning and innovative teaching have referenced their work. I want to implement their ideas in my classroom with my students, as some of their “habits of mind” support beliefs I have in adaptation of change and learning. If I can use their work to infuse more intentional use of these strategies in their learning, my students will have more tools for success in their path through our schools and into their own lives. I have no control over what my students do elsewhere, but it is my intention and hope that experiences they have in my classroom assist them in learning to adapt to change. References Burgess, Dave. (2012). Teach like a pirate: Increase student engagement, boost your creativity, and transform your life as an educator. San Diego, CA. Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc. Costa, A. and Kallick, B. (2007). Describing 16 habits of mind. Retrieved from ftp://download.intel.com/education/Common/au/Resources/EO/Course_Resources/Thinking/Habits_of_Mind.pdf. Heick, Terry. (2012 ). How 21st century thinking is just different. Retrieved from TeachThought.com at http://www.teachthought.com/learning/how-21st-century-thinking-is-different/. Maiers, Angela. (2008). The abcs of engagement. Retrieved from www.angelamaiers.com at http://www.angelamaiers.com/2008/04/engagement-alph.html. Richardson, Will. (2012). Why school?: How education must change when learning and information are everywhere. TED Conferences. Kindle edition. Thomas, D. and Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. Tugend, Alina. (September 6, 2011). The role of mistakes in the classroom. Retrieved from Edutopia at http://www.edutopia.org/blog/benefits-mistakes-classroom-alina-tugend. I do not think my post this week was inspiring, but rather a journey through a concept that is very foreign to me. My choices of resources I read, quoted or referenced, and posted on this week's blog were chosen my me with the intention of exploring what we can learn from gamers that is applicable in the classroom. I had two comments, from Christine and Margo. Both of them were thoughtful and helped me realize I am not in this alone.
“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” -Pablo Picasso I am still wrapping my head around this idea and I feel rushed. Don't get me wrong; I don't have anything against gaming, I just don't do it. When cool video gaming took off my sons jumped on board. Back then, being a single mom and classroom teacher pretty much took all of my time. Life (and a marriage, another child, a business, additional responsibilities, being a "wrestling mom" for my older boys, twenty years of teaching, and this Masters degree) has continued to steamroll through the years, leaving me with hardly any down time. What time I can glean is usually spent reading or doing art; both give me grounding when all of this hustle and bustle gets carried away. I have never leaped on board the video game wagon- not because I have anything against it- but because I have never taken the time to do it. I understand it is an important piece to this "new culture of learning", but I am still disconnected from it. Yes, I am one of those. So, I am writing this post mostly for me. I am hoping it is a way to better understand what lessons I can take from gamers. After finishing A New Culture of Learning, I am beginning to understand what is involved. "We look to gamers because they don't just embrace change, they demand it. Their world is in a state of constant flux, and it must continually be reinvented and reimagined through acts of collective imagination." (Thomas & Brown, 2011) I read more articles by Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown, and found articles and a TED Talk by Tom Chatfield which helped me think about the nuances of learning in the gaming environment. Chatfield mentions in his article from the Huffington Post, "Can Video Games Alter Society...in a Good Way?": "When I'm talking to people about why video games matter, I like to quote one of Woody Allen's finest pieces of advice: "Eighty percent of life is showing up." More than almost anything else, showing up matters. You can't find your talent for football if you never touch a ball. You can't make friends if you avoid other people. You can't get the job if you don't apply. You'll never write that screenplay if you don't start typing. Games are about everyone showing up. In classrooms full of students who range from brilliant to sullen disaffection, it's games -- and often games alone -- that I've seen engage every single person in the room. For some, the right kind of play can spell the difference between becoming part of something, and the lifelong feeling that they're not meant to take part." (Chatfield, 2013) Instead of coming up with a list of questions and interviewing gamers, I informally talked to them about gaming and watched where the conversation went. One gamer was one of my eight-year-old students who brought in his iPad after school one day (his mom teaches next door). He was showing me Minecraft, which I've heard of but never seen, and walked me through his world. I asked him to show me what it was all about and what he enjoyed about it. It was funny to watch him because in the classroom he tends to not be a risk-taker, but in Minecraft he was. I noticed it immediately. During the conversation he tried out something, but it didn't work. His response to the game (thinking out loud) was, "That didn't work. I'll have to test something else out." The 15 minutes he shared with me playing Minecraft was revealing about this gamer mentality. The games provided a place for him to take risks without the fear of failure and the immediate feedback was powerful. The other gamer I spoke with was my husband. My older sons have started back into wrestling season so they do not do much gaming this time of the year. My husband plays a role-playing game called Clash of Clans, which my three sons got him "hooked" on this summer. Sometimes I would come in to the living room in the evenings this last summer to see my husband, the two teenagers, and the 4-year-old- all on their iPads-- playing this game, talking together and planning raids. I would just shake my head. Anyways, my husband talked about the coordinating, planning, risk-taking, and sharing that goes on within the game itself. I do find it fascinating and if we (as educators) can figure out a way to tap into these qualities in the classroom it would be a powerful tool. This reading is opening up a new world to me. I still need some time to process and think about how to tap into and apply the gaming mentality in my classroom. Resources
Brown, J.S., and Douglas Thomas. (April 2006). "You Play World of Warcraft? You're Hired!" Retrieved from Wired magazine (Issue 14.04) http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.04/learn.html. Bahny, Wally. (April 7, 2011). "Gamers Make Good Employees". Retrieved from Geekend at http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/geekend/gamers-make-good-employees/. Brown, J.S., and Douglas Thomas. (February 14, 2008). "The Gamer Dishttp://blogs.hbr.org/2008/02/the-gamer-disposition/ Chatfield, Tom. (2010) "7 Ways Games Reward the Brain" article & TED Talk. Retrieved at http://tomchatfield.net/2010/07/16/tom_chatfield_7_ways_games_reward_the_brain/. Chatfield, Tom. (September 2013) "Can Video Games Alter Society...in a Good Way?" Retrieved at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-chatfield/engaging-the-brain_b_3875040.html. Nash, Nicole. (September 2009). "Research Indicates Gaming is Good for the Brain". Retrieved at http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/geekend/research-indicates-gaming-is-good-for-the-brain/3228/ The essential question this week was complicated...but in a thought-provoking "good" way. When I read the chapters in A New Culture of Learning, I had to have some time to think about the ideas the authors wrote about; I needed time for them to percolate. I believe that the kinds of questions we set out for students is the key to shifting from the knowledge base to the "where" and "how" of learning. My post was reflective of that and the video and resources I chose were used in support. The challenge, however, is not just in using questioning, but in our current educational climate with the pressures from high-stakes testing and district-mandated programs. Don't get me wrong-- it can be done even in this political atmosphere-- it's just hard.
Reading everyone's posts was interesting. Most mentioned questioning in the classroom, but everyone had their own challenges and the resources and links were helpful. I bookmarked a few to come back to later. Such great information and ideas! Reflecting on how effective my post was on others' learning, Margo commented on the video and how it makes her think about how to bring some of these ideas into her direct instruction with small groups. She has a great point because that is a challenge. What would I do differently next week? I don't think I would do anything differently; I read the readings, think about the ideas and my questions, research and read some more, think of how it applies to my teaching and classroom, and then post and hope that it connects to someone else. "As educators we don’t need to invent or fabricate space or possibilities within the topics we teach – they exist already. The disciplines we are entrusted to introduce to students are actually alive and breathing, dynamic and ever changing. And most importantly, the disciplines are not yet finished. They, like us and the students we teach, are still in the process of becoming." (Stephenson, 2013) When I think of the challenges we face in our classrooms with shifting the content- like Thomas and Brown explain as moving from the "what" to "where" and "how"- I feel like questioning and inquiry-based learning are at the core of supporting that shift. Understanding how to use questioning effectively in the classroom to inspire and guide learning is a challenge in itself, as is promoting an environment of questioning among our students, especially when they have not been exposed to this type of learning. I watch my third graders wriggle with discomfort at the beginning of the year when I ask them questions. They have been taught (usually unintentionally) that there is "one right answer" and many of them are sure that they do not have it. I often feel like the first quarter of third grade is just working to undo a bit of brainwashing. I was reading an awesome post on setting up for inquiry-based learning on Mind/Shift (http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/03/creating-classrooms-we-need-8-ways-into-inquiry-learning/) and the author had posted this video by teacher Diana Laufenberg, "How to Learn? From Mistakes.". She talks about the need for a shift in our educational system like the one Thomas and Brown discuss in A New Culture of Learning. Laufenberg mentions near the end that our "one right answer" form of assessing children's knowledge is not the right thing to do. I whole-heartedly agree with her comments. She hits home the idea that children need to make mistakes to learn in an environment where they connect what they are learning to their lives. Questioning- or at least the conscious, deep-thinking, inquiry-encouraging kind- is difficult. I remember years ago when I would read anything by math education guru, Marilyn Burns, how amazed I was at how she used questioning to get students engaging in mathematics. I found an article from The Science Teacher about using questions to engage learners in discussions in the classroom. "Teachers should pose questions that push students to think more deeply about what they have observed, experienced, or read. Discussions can provide students with opportunities to express their understanding and learn from each other, but only if some form of authentic dialogue takes place. " ( http://floridareview.its-about-time.com/pdf/articles/talking_science.pdf) I worry about teachers who do not take the time to use inquiry and discussions in their classrooms. There are so many challenges in our "educational landscape" (Laufenberg, above) for us as teachers. The pressures of high-stakes testing, district-mandated teaching programs, and fear of allowing students to guide some of their learning makes it very difficult. Another challenge, at least at the elementary level, that I experience is the need for students to learn to read, write, and do mathematics. There are many skills they are required to learn to be proficient at as well. I guess it is a balancing act; students need to learn to read, write, and do mathematics within a classroom approach that encourages critical thinking, inquiry, and that shift of learning towards the "where" and "how". Resources
http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/03/creating-classrooms-we-need-8-ways-into-inquiry-learning/ Schwartz, Y. et al.(Summer, 2009). Talking science: Classroom discussions and their role in inquiry-based learning environments. Published in The Science Teacher. Retrieved from: http://floridareview.its-about-time.com/pdf/articles/talking_science.pdf Stephenson, N. (2013). http://www.thinkinginmind.com/2011/07/the-starting-point-for-inquiry/ Thomas, D. & John Seely Brown. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. |
AuthorMy name is Ginger Christensen. I am in my 21st year of teaching in the Mat-Su Borough where I grew up. I am also a mother of three boys: one 4-year old and his twin brothers who are in their senior year of high school. Between teaching and family, I am finishing my Master's Degree in Math Education with UAS and teach Art Club at my school. Archives
December 2013
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