Don't Hammer Screws...Use the Right Tools, Part 1.

Working through adopting a 1:1 laptop campus at our school for 2012-2013, we are coming to terms with the fact that we must begin to shift our thinking about how we teach.  There have been a number of reports lately that point to technology integration boosting test scores. These reports open a whole new can of worms when we begin to think about why we are adopting technology.  Is it because it is in the best interest of our kids? Is it solely to boost test scores? Given the current climate toward standardized tests and NCLB waivers, do we need more of an emphasis on these tests? Less?  I digress...

As I approach thinking about my teaching and shifting my instruction, I am aware that I am engaging in metacognition.  This dimension of thinking is critical to the revised Bloom's Taxonomy. A healthy amount of our discussions in planning professional development has centered on ensuring that educational practitioners are reflective and metacognitive about their teaching. Additionally, we are working to ensure that students are engaging in metacognition as they read for the content areas. In Anderson and Krathwohl's "A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives" metacognition is broken in to three kinds of knowledge: strategic knowledge; knowledge about cognitive tasks, including contextual and conditional knowledge; and self knowledge.

When it comes to a 1:1 computing initiative, strategic knowledge is a basic component.  As defined by Anderson and Krathwohl, "Strategic knowledge is knowledge of the general strategies for learning, thinking, and problem solving" (56). This level of metacognition applies to not only the students but the teachers who are encountering this shift in instruction.  If you are shifting the style of your instruction to include the integration of technology, knowing the strategies for learning including but not limited to mnemonic devices, summarizing, and paraphrasing are helpful in increasing levels of comprehension. Finding the right online tools or software to foster these activities is on the shoulder of teachers when integrating technology.

Perhaps more germane to metacognition and using the right tools in a 1:1 classroom would be the skills for problem solving and thinking that were identified by Anderson and Krathwohl.  When introducing these new 1:1 technologies to students and staff, there is a need to teach our colleagues and students how to think through solving problems. We also need to consider how to use the technology to allow our students to think about problems and develop solutions.  This is a blessing that comes with integrating technology.  We get to break from the comfortable and expand to a new style of teaching.  We can move to the intersection of metacognition and creation, the highest level of thinking our students can operate within.  Likely, some of my colleagues will adopt problem-based learning and use the technology to enhance student competencies within their content area.  Others may find it useful to have the technology as an aide to learning.

Strategic knowledge is simply recognizing the tools you have at your disposal to master learning. If you are using the right tools and letting your students discover the right tools, there will be increased success for all.  Once again, the technology isn't the solution to a problem, but it is a tool by which problems can be solved.      

Works Cited

Anderson, Lorin W., David R. Krathwohl, and Benjamin Samuel Bloom. A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. New York: Longman, 2001. Print.

1:1, Gradual Release of Control, and Calming Fears.

I am blessed to work in a district in Iowa that is joining the practices of many others in adopting 1:1 computing as a learning resource.  With this shift in operating norms comes excitement, wonderment, and a dose of apprehension.  After all, the unknowns are always a bit daunting.  How do we know it will work?  How am I going to incorporate these computers in my classroom? Why do we need to do this? Will this help kids learn?

In adapting the instructional model, it cannot be ignored that for many, this is a second order change. As Marzano (2005) identified, "Second order change is anything but incremental.  It involves dramatic departure from the expected, both in defining a given problem and finding solution...Deep change alters the system in fundamental ways..." (66).  With the adoption of the 1:1 instructional model, it may seem apparent that the way one teaches must change.  However, that is a dramatic departure from the expected if what we teach is the same set of lessons from year to year.

The computer is not a solution for poor instruction. Whether your school is adopting iPad, MacBooks, netbooks, Chrome Books, or some other portable computing device, it is merely a tool that helps students access the world more easily and engage with the material in a new way.  Putting computer-handed students in a room with a poor teacher will likely not result in a better learning experience for the students.  Effective technology integration is something that comes with practice, even for the best teachers.  This takes extra effort on the part of teachers to find what is out there that can be used in the classroom.

One expectation that we have made clear in our district is that the computers should not be used to do the same old things.  Perhaps you give out worksheet after worksheet in your class. Not necessarily higher order thinking stuff. What we don't want is for teachers to simply digitize their worksheets.  We want the students to gain a powerful experience and use the technology to accomplish those higher order thinking skills: analyzing, applying, evaluating, and creating.  What is more powerful than having students create a filmed adaptation of Hamlet using animation? What better evaluation of student learning than using GarageBand to create a podcast about photosynthesis? Is there a departure from the expected? Yes. Will it feel different? Absolutely. Yet the questions we have to keep at the forefront of our minds in moving to a technology enriched classroom are, "What benefit does this have for the student?" "How is the student thinking differently?" "Are they learning in a better, more useful way than before?"

What is critical to making a 1:1 initiative successful? According to Stanhope (2010)

              adequate management and technical infrastructure (including connectivity, a wireless network, hardware and software resources, and school procedures/policies), professional development (PD), technology support personnel, and the use of the laptop by teachers and students leading to changes in instructional practices and student learning outcomes.

Infrastructure cannot be ignored.  We are discovering the wrinkles in our infrastructure in terms of connectivity and continually ironing them out. It is a learning process that requires patience from all involved.  Of equal importance is professional development. Effective PD that addresses the concerns of educators will do a great deal to preserve a positive culture and alleviate some of the fears that may be associated with a change in procedures.  We are spending a healthy amount of time in block meetings with our technology consultant from the AEA to guide us in the tools and uses for the MacBooks our teaching staff have been issued. Having these moments with technology personnel is extremely helpful in seeing potential uses for the technology in the classroom. This is just the beginning of the journey though, and the road is likely long and winding.

At the cost of discomfort for some teachers, we have new learning tools and are unlocking potential for our students. So how do we overcome the fears that accompany releasing more and more of the instruction to the students? More on that later.

Works Cited

Marzano, Robert J., Timothy Waters, Brian A. McNulty. School Leadership That Works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD, 2005.

Daniel Stanhope, et al. "How Laptops Digitize And Transform Learning." Online Submission (2010):ERIC. Web. 16 Feb. 2012.

Listening to Student Ideas for Improving Schools

In addition to teaching courses in English/Language Arts, I also teach a college credit course offered by our local community college.  "Exploring Teaching" currently has 16 bright, enthusiastic juniors and seniors who are getting their first glimpse at the teaching profession while in high school.

One thing I know about kids is that if you ask them their opinion on something controversial, they usually have a strong reaction and rarely hold back sharing their thoughts.  So after an English department meeting one morning, I was interested in what my students felt they had missed out on in their high school courses.  What do they feel inadequately prepared for on the march to college? I lobbed them an easy hook..."School is boring, right?"

"YEAH" they replied in unison.  "Why?"

"Teachers just talk to us all day."
"There is no reason to get excited about the class when the teacher isn't excited about it."
"We don't do stuff that applies to our lives."
"We take a test, everyone fails, and then we just move on without realizing why we failed."

I needed to change the direction of the conversation before we spiraled in to a complaint session. So I asked them, "What does good teaching look like? You are all preparing to be teachers, so what would you do to engage your students?"

Their responses were delightful.  For forty more minutes, these students shared their thoughts on lectures, worksheets, collaboration, useless homework, technology, and test questions that don't make them apply their learning but simply regurgitate what they have heard. I was impressed! My talented principal and I reviewed the scribbling I was able to put on the chalkboard while trying to capture my student's ideas and enthusiasm.  What we were reminded in this time was that our kids care deeply about their learning. So much so that they will suggest even harder course offerings in order to feel academically prepared and challenged. It is days like this in the middle of the winter, when the kids teach me...that I feel so honored and excited by the very nature of a profession in which moments like this exist.

Top 5 Challenges for Educators in 2012

I have now finished my Master of Arts in Education Administration.  It feels good to say that.

What I have learned in the past two years about leading a community of learners is exciting in theory but without hands on, daily practice and continued learning, anything I gained will eventually become useless.  That is the nature of our world, and education is not without its own evolution. It is ever changing. It should be. The reality for schools is found in increased pressure for rises in achievement data, shortsighted budgeting, and the challenge of meeting each learner daily.  However bleak it might sound for educators, there is so much to be excited about every day. Since it is nearing the end of 2011 and everyone seems to be posting the "Top Ten..." of whatever, it may well be a good use of my time to list my "Top Five Challenges for Educators in 2012."   

5. Don't Do It Alone.
PLN's, PLC's, PD...all acronyms, all start with P. These are all rooted in Professionalism.  Being a teacher, an administrator, a para educator...no matter what part of school life one is in, he/she is a professional. It isn't a job for a paycheck or a standby, "just in case I don't find anything else." It is a profession and it can feel so very isolated in your room with 30 kids. Principal's can't lead the school alone. Teacher's can't feel satisfied in being alone.  Talk to a colleague. Bounce ideas off your teacher friends in the lounge rather than wishing it was Friday (I know, we all do it). Use PLN's to connect with other professional educators to share resources and reflect. Many good teachers are lost in the first five years because they feel alone and are just trying to survive. Many veteran teachers feel comfortable and stick with what works. Branch out, break the barriers, and learn with someone.

4. Try Something Tech Based.
This doesn't mean making your worksheet in to a Google doc. Helpful, but not quite the idea.  Use a technology tool to help kids engage and grow.  I have listed websites and tools in previous posts.  My student's favorites are Prezi, PhotoPeach, and Glogster. The best part about those tools are that the students are creating the product. I have limited control and leave them to their own resourcefulness to create something awesome and I am proud that so often their original creation is so much richer than a lecture I could have given. They get to go deeper and love it! I have colleagues who use Edmodo to connect and share information with their students.  Kids use twitter...what can that do for your classroom and learning beyond the walls?  What can any technology tool do for learning beyond the walls?  Email and chalkboards are fine but meeting kids where they are is essential.

3. Keep Learning.
Practice makes perfect.  Even if that isn't true, practice does make better.  The more time and effort we invest in taking a class, attending a conference, searching the web for a strategy...whatever learning is for you...the more we do those things, the better we are becoming as professionals.  If we adopt the idea that "Everything I need to know I learned with my BA in teaching," then you are not only hurting yourself but your students as well. Subscribe to a professional association, which have phenomenal resources and keep you on top of new data about your field. Classes cost money but find one that is really worth it and will enhance your teaching. The payoff is greater than the tuition cost. Believe me...I'll pay off my debt until my kids are 40. My motto that I have stolen from a wise colleague is, "When you stop learning, get out of my profession." She is right and I keep that at the front of my mind.


2. Make the Learning Accessible.
Let students collaborate. Let students know what they are going to know and be able to do by the end of the lesson/unit. Give students the chance to experiment, fail, and try again.  Show students why they should care about what you have to teach.  Don't tell them they are learning something "because it's good for you." Give students the chance to practice the skill in a real world scenario or a mock scenario that tests their understanding of the skill you have focused on.  "But I have to get through the whole textbook!?!" you say. So what?  Do your students need "Page 30, problems 1-15" to succeed? If so, how can you use the problems to enhance understanding and application of specific skills?  Make students aware of the connection between the material and their futures.


1. Make Every Kid Worth It.
We know the challenges that accompany teaching and are so preoccupied by them that we sometimes forget the greatest part of the profession: the kids.  We get to spend time with the future. Even the kids that drive us nuts...whose parents we wait for at conferences so we can glean some understanding for why they are the way they are...even those kids deserve our best. See what your students can do. Help them find their strengths and positively encourage them to beef up their weaknesses. Remind yourself why you chose this profession and why you are good at it!

Happy New Year and bring on 2012!

Finding the Good: Each Child, Every Day

Ok...let me forewarn you that religion will be mentioned briefly. The connectedness of my experience at mass this morning and the life and work of educators is too immense to ignore.

In my first two years of teaching, I had the privilege to work in a Catholic middle school, teaching seventh grade.  Anyone who has spent time with one, let alone 150 seventh grade students, can appreciate the challenges that accompany the daily task of reigning in the hormonal sea of middle schoolers and getting down to actually teaching.  I'm making this sound worse than it actually was, but not by much.  Those first years as a teacher were particularly enriching for me.  I had a supportive team of colleagues who quickly became my friends. I had the joy of working with kids who were willing to explore, play, and have fun- all while learning. Even today as I see former students, there is the joy of reminiscing about a project or something they recall me saying or doing that I have since filed away in the back forty of my mind.  I approached my career with joy then, as I do now, with a key point in mind: find God in every child.  This is where today's mass connects to teaching.  Father was emphasizing the importance of finding God in the people we meet each day, as hard as that may be.

I recall having to write my philosophy of education in my first course in education at Mount Mercy College.  As a part of my philosophy that "Kids are always worth it," I also wrote about the importance of finding the "sacred worth" of each child.  This was not a religious piece and I did not intend to employ a religious tone, but the words carry with them a certain element of faith.  More important than any element of religion (whether or not it is your cup of tea) is the critical realization that good teaching, while rooted in strong classroom management and your knowledge of curriculum, instruction, and assessment, good teaching is the ability to reach each child. I have tried.  I will continue to try. The relationship of teacher-student is too great to sacrifice to chance... "I hope these kids are better than last year's," "I wish they would just do their assignments," "I can't believe these quiz scores...don't they listen?!" We get out of our relationships what we put in to them.  Perhaps not in quantity but in quality.  This is where finding the sacred worth, the good, in each child is critical.

So, whether or not my priest knew how closely I was listening today, the message was clear. These next few weeks between Thanksgiving and winter break can be hectic, to say the least.  The sun is usually breaking through when we get to school in the morning and is gone by the time we leave the building at night.  The kids are ready for a break, teachers are ready for the end of the semester, and the excitement of the holiday's reaches a peak with the first lasting snowfall (unless that happened to you already or by some chance you live in a place where you escape it all together...lucky).

My goal for myself and my hope for my colleagues is that we all take time to find the good in ourselves, each other, and our students. Be thankful and catch them being good.   

More New to Me Tech Tools

I have come down with a cold.  This allows me the excuse to sit and browse the web for more tools to use in my classroom.  While my wife doesn't entirely agree with my logic...neither of us wants me moving around the house and spreading germs.

With a classroom set of laptops, I am always searching for new ways to integrate technology in to my English classes.  It is my philosophy that kids are always worth my time, effort, and dedication.  This is why I spend such a great deal of time researching online tools for use in the classroom.  This last week, we used PhotoPeach to construct a digital family photo story as we continued our study of the American family in literature. Some students took pictures of their families, while others brought in photos to scan and upload to Picasa for editing.  We looked at our American families and compared our traditions, values, and beliefs to what was said in some nonfiction readings about the family.  This was especially meaningful as we have a high number of migrant students from Texas who join us for a short time at the beginning and end of the school year to work for an agricultural research company. We now transition to a unit on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which I feel is appropriate as Huck redefines what family is and how a family operates, first with Widow Douglas, then Pap, Jim, Duke and King, the Grangerfords, and finally Silas and Sally Phelps.

Today, I have been enjoying pearltrees.  What a great web resource for teachers to find, organize, and share resources.  I have not yet signed up but spent time searching "Educational technology" and have been entirely jazzed by the resources I have found.  One of the sites I discovered was emergingedtech.com.  Talk about a great resource to find tips on teaching with technology.  The 100 ways to use teach with Twitter was especially cool.  If only Twitter wasn't blocked in so many schools...
Pearltrees is just fantastic.  I am able to search and find hundreds of helpful websites, tips, blogs, vlogs, and other resources.  Think of how great this would be to provide for students while doing research.  Add an even deeper 21st Century Skill spin to it and have your students create one of these websites, blogs, vlogs, prezis, etc. and share them via a pearl on the website!  Holy cow!

Of course there are great social media sites that have been around for a while too: edmodo, diigo, prezi, ning.  I think it comes down to what you are comfortable with as an educator and finding the time to play around with the tools.  Many offer special pricing or free accounts for educators (who doesn't love free?!?).
There are always blogs and resources to search to find new ideas.  Good teaching = ability to adapt and do what we know is right for kids. That's all I'm trying to do...and get over this cold.  



   

The Need for Balanced Reading in ALL Content Areas

There has been some contention on the idea that teachers of all content areas must teach reading.  As an English/Language Arts teacher, I know that the expectation is for our department to do the heavy lifting when it comes to literacy instruction.  However, as our students emerge from our schools to a drastically different world than we were exposed to as students, it is incumbent for educators to rally together and find new ways to increase attainment and the retention of new knowledge.

It has long been a belief of mine that textbooks aren't sufficient for building skill and understanding.  If I could spend textbook money to give every kid a laptop and access to wireless high-speed internet, I would.  Textbooks are helpful, of course, but we know they should not be the sole instructional tool. Furthermore, textbooks reinforce the concept of coverage.  One might take the book and divide it by the units, divide the units by the number of days to spend on the unit, and assign those pages for homework each night.  You mean last night's reading cut off in the middle of a paragraph? Oh well, at least we covered it!  Wrong!

What a student needs is the exposure to a balance of reading.  In my English 10 course, which focuses on American literature, my sophomores read a balance of fiction and nonfiction.  In terms of nonfiction we read journal articles, online articles, newspaper archives, legal documents, editorials, and reviews...for each unit.  I have structured the course by conceptual units. Immigration: we study The Crucible and the migration of many cultures to America through a research project on immigration and the American dream, students uncover facts about the world in which we live and why people still choose America as the place to be. The American Family: Death of A Salesman, family dynamics, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and some classic American family sit-coms. Civil Rights: students select to read one of the following: Mississippi Trial 1955, The Color Purple, and Their Eyes Were Watching God. We operate in literature circles but in the midst of reading separate novels, we will read a balance of non-fiction and watch the film "Mississippi Burning."  Finally, we spend a unit on Making it Big: Students read The Great Gatsby and a study of the 1920's along with the recent stories about big business and the bailouts of gigantic corporations and the housing crisis.  My intention is to balance their literary diets through choice, fiction, nonfiction, levels of readability, and the old classics with a touch of some more recent works. So far, it has worked wonderfully.

I know what those who teach anything outside of English are likely saying, "Yeah but English is all about reading!"  "I don't have time to read a novel in Algebra!" "Where do I find the time to pick up a short story in my Auto Mechanics course?"  Believe me, I understand. Yet in my English class, I weave in history, economics, art, and math although I don't have a degree in any of those areas.

Literacy is more than just decoding.  Literacy is the ability to understand.  Literacy is the ability to apply what you understand.  You have technical writing, instruction manuals, and a plethora of articles that could be tied to career and technical education.  Music and art are about the aesthetic experience and the experience can be enhanced through sharing a review of the piece or a profile of the artist to understand why and how the creation is unique to that individual. Reading a science book is vastly different from reading a recipe.  Reading a novel is nothing like reading a color wheel or a piece of music.  Every content area has a need for literacy instruction.  Good teachers model good reading and as we know, good readers excel in school.

I recommend the book Subjects Matter: Every Teacher's Guide to Content Area Reading by Harvey Daniels and Steven Zemelman. ISBN: 0-325-00595-8.  This book has classroom reading strategies for all content areas and an excellent list of novels for the content areas.  This book has not only enhanced my teaching but has allowed me to assist my colleagues in understanding some of the most effective reading strategies.  Also on the list of good resources: I Don't Get It: Helping Students Understand What They Read by Judy Tilton Brunner. ISBN: 978-1-61048-003-1.  A great resource for reading comprehension and vocabulary strategies that identify the levels of Bloom's Taxonomy for the activity.

Do you want to teach or do you want to cover the material?  Do you want kids to fill out their homework, or do you want them to learn something.  I choose teaching and learning every time.