Milobo’s Musings

I’ve moved. I’ve started a new job. I’m (almost) settled into my new routines. And yet.

It’s been a while since I’ve shared on this space.  The longer I wait for “the time” or “a good idea” to reveal itself, the harder it becomes to just get back into the rhythm of reflecting and writing and sharing.

That cycle of reflecting on an idea, writing about it, and sharing our thoughts to invite discussion lies at the heart of learning and growth. Good teachers know this.  It’s important to remember that this process has to be nurtured and practiced often in order to become something students do instinctively.   It’s also something that’s important to model through our own public voice.  Students pay attention to how we interact with information. They pay attention to how we interact with one another. They can learn much by seeing how we learn.

For me, blogging has been a way to honor the cycle of learning publicly and to become part of a global community of learners. I’ve missed that lately.

I’ve spent way too much time trying to figure out how to begin my own learning cycle again. And so, I’ve decided that the best way to get started again is to just get started again.

Here goes.

Creative Commons photo from Chris Lopez via Flickr

As I write this, I’m surrounded by boxes. Some are full, but even more are empty as I begin preparing for a move to a new state and a new job.  Come mid-July, I’ll be joining the St. Vrain Valley School District in Longmont, Colorado as an Instructional Technologist.  It’s a move we’ve wanted to make for many years, so when the stars aligned and gave us the opportunity to finally make that dream a reality, we jumped at the chance.

You might have heard of the St. Vrain Valley School District as a result of the stories and sharing Bud Hunt does through his blog and through their annual CyberCamp.  Because of Bud and his team’s vision for opening their efforts up to the larger online community, I’ve actually had a chance to meet and interact with teachers in St. Vrain Valley through a video chat, their CyberCamp Blog, and through CyberCamp TV.  It’s made me feel a part of my new community even before I’ve set foot in the state.

However, the excitement I feel for the upcoming move is tempered by the fact that I’m leaving behind a wonderful community of educators who’ve helped me grow and become the teacher I am today.  This week, I was able to take part in the fifth annual Digital Learning Summer Institute, a week-long professional development opportunity for private schools in the area.  When co-worker Colleen Glaude and I began the institute 5 years ago, we envisioned giving teachers access to new tools and techniques that would improve classroom instruction.  Little did we know just how wildly successful and popular it would be.

During the DLSI wrapup session yesterday, teachers shared the the projects they’ll be implementing next year and gave a summary of how the institute has helped them become a better teacher.  The lessons that came out of that sharing session are ones I think can benefit us all.

Lesson #1: It’s not just about the infusion, it’s about the diffusion.  In the two years I’ve been a part of the PCHS faculty, I’ve worked to bring teachers the tools and skills they needed to transform their traditional classroom instruction.  For the first year, what I saw was mostly an infusion of skills. I’d work individually with a teacher to incorporate a new technique or tool such as a classroom wiki and they’d soak it up to the benefit of their own classroom.  But that’s as far as it would go. Now, I’m starting to see more diffusion of best practices throughout the faculty. In fact, each and every one of the teachers who presented yesterday gave credit to at least one other faculty member who had helped them achieve their goals. Instead of professional growth being a personal, private thing, they’re starting to open up and share with one another.  They’re starting to turn to one another for advice and ideas.  They’re working across departments to build cross-curricular units. They’re building a community of practice that will sustain their efforts for many years to come and realizing that there’s value in sharing not just with one another but with teachers around the globe. It’s what will make the biggest difference as the 1:1 program moves forward.

Lesson #2: Failure is OK if you use it as an opportunity to reflect and revamp. During the sharing session, one teacher told a story about a project she’d done in her class last year that had fallen flat.  However instead of using that failure as a justification for falling back on traditional teaching, she used it as an opportunity to reflect on why the lesson didn’t work and what she could do differently that would meet her goals in a way that was more engaging for students.  Turning that reflection back on your own instructional practices rather than always blaming a lesson’s failure on the students isn’t easy to do.  But it’s an important part of continually growing as a teacher and I’m proud to see it’s becoming a part of everyday planning.

Lesson #3: Force feeding information to kids and expecting them to regurgitate it on a test isn’t learning. That statement came from an AP History teacher who understands that it’s imperative to cover the content required by the Advanced Placement test. However, he’s working to move away from the lecture-homework-test cycle and into a cycle where students use primary sources along with the skills of the historian and archeologist to build an understanding of the past. In addition, the science department is building a curriculum that moves away from the textbook as a primary source to using authentic projects, online resources, and teacher created materials to support learning.  They’ve embraced the fact that there’s more to teaching and learning than turning to the next page in the book.

And so, as I continue packing for my new adventures in Colorado, I want to say how proud I am of the work being done here.  I hope the spark I’ve seen ignited is one that will burn brightly for many years to come.

To all of them, I offer this advice:

Keep questioning.

Keep learning.

Keep creating.

Keep connecting.

And keep in touch.

If you’ve been following this blog or Tom’s Bionic Teaching blog, you might have run across our Iron Teacher Challenge.  Our first challenge is as follows:

The Audience: 2 classes of 10th grade General Level Literature students.

The Secret Ingredient: The novel “A Separate Peace”

The Challenge (as defined by the teacher): Students are beginning a book discussion of the novel “A Separate Peace.” These particular students struggle to demonstrate understanding of content through writing, but have recently become more motivated to read and respond to literature as their teacher has incorporated audio books and modern literature into the curriculum.

The teacher shares that the class performs better when asked to discuss personal experiences and would like to incorporate the book themes of envy/conformity into the book discussions. These students in particular are not easily motivated to participate in class activities. Their teacher is looking for an original and fun way to have the students discuss and share while demonstrating understanding in a way that goes beyond writing an essay or taking a multiple choice test.

Here’s my submission to the challenge.

Discussion starter: How does the narrator’s perspective change the perception of events?
Because the book is told entirely though the voice of Gene, it might be interesting to develop the idea of empathy and how personal perspective can color the perceptions of events.  There are dozens of real world examples of this that would make for good discussion starters including a story from episode 209 of This American Life. Act 1 of the episode, called “Didn’t Ask to Be Born” tells the story of two runaway girls from their own individual perspectives as well as from that of their mother.  When you listen to the story, it becomes apparent that the events they describe take on a different flavor depending on who is describing them.  The story is a pretty harsh one, but I think that for that reason, it will be a good one to get the students talking about events and personal choice.

Activity: How do the events of the novel look through the eyes of another character?
To frame the discussions around the characters’ perspectives in the novel, I’d suggest that the teacher start a blog (or a diary) told from the perspective of Finny.  The initial entry could be written on the evening of Finny’s first jump from the tree:

“What a great summer session this is turning out to be!  I’d thought that Gene wouldn’t do it, but he proved me wrong. Seems he’s got more guts than I gave him credit for.  As for the rest of them, how can they call themselves getting ready for war when they’re not even ready to jump off a tree limb into the water??”

Students would then work individually or in teams to respond to Finny’s posts in the voice of one of the other characters.

I can see the teacher taking this one of three ways.

1. If there are specific discussion points that are important, then the teacher might want to write from the perspective of Finny for each post while students always write the replies as other characters.  It would give the teacher some control over the discussion and where it goes.
2. Another suggestion would be to divide up the events of the book and to assign student groups one event to be told in the voice of Finny.  Each group would post their event in the order they occurred in the book and post a reply in the voice of another character to all the other events as they are posted.
3. You could also mix and match the post perspectives by making the blog a “Devon School” blog and assigning a character to each student group.  Each group would then write one blog post from the perspective of their character while responding to the other blog posts in the voice of their character.

The Iron Why: What’s the justification for this challenge solution?

iThis is the part I’m looking forward to reading from other suggestions to this Iron Teacher Challenge.  Here’s why I think this meets the challenge we were assigned and how I formed the idea.

The first thing I began toying with was the idea that the book was told from only one perspective.  It seemed to me that the concept of perspective should be a part of the book discussion.  Gene’s perspective on the events are colored by his insecurity, jealousy, regret and guilt. How should we see the events if they’re told from only one side?

As I started thinking about the concept of perspective, it seemed that a blog would be a good tool to help students view the events through the eyes of the other characters.  Since a blog is something the students have probably had experience with in their own personal lives, they should have an understanding of a blog as a place to record thoughts and reactions and where others are able to respond and reply to help refine or refute what is written. It also gives students a chance to play the role of Finny’s advocate or adversary with equal impact. Because the students will be writing in first person, I think it will help them to analyze the events of the book in a writing style that should come more naturally to them.

As for evaluation, I’d think it would be pretty simple to create a rubric to assess student writing and to set some minimum guidelines that can help students know what their expectations are.  I’ll add those here if there’s a request to do so, but I hope the general idea I’ve outlined would be a good starter for the teacher to then customize to fit the individual needs of the class.

I’m looking forward to keeping Iron Teacher going and to seeing what others contribute to the challenge.  I’m also hoping that we’ll inspire others to think about original ways to get content across to students.

Another poem, this one inspired by Bud Hunt’s National Poetry Month Challenge #17.

Change

I’ve heard the flutter of butterfly wings
or the ripple
of a water drop
are enough to change the world.

I’ve heard the words
hope
believe
try
do
flutter and ripple too.

Change comes unbidden,
cloaked in the common.

Created in the chasm between
what is
and
what will be.

Tom got an interesting comment on his blog about our Iron Teach challenge that I think needs more than a comment to discuss:

Todd Says:
To me, this is too broad: too much time, not specific enough of a demand. To write plans for two weeks worth of lessons on the novel given only a narrative of the make up of the class, I feel like there’s too many ways to go and I have no idea what the teacher is looking for. I dig the idea and did the first time I heard about it (there’s a comment from me on some blog somewhere saying, “Great idea!”). I’d love to be in on this, but this is too much freedom, not enough limitations, not enough specificity. A shorter time frame would help as would a more detailed explanation of what is desired. But maybe I’m the only one who feels that way.

Seriously, I can barely plan two weeks for my own class (and typically change the plan by day two).

Socratic seminars, debates, student-created tests, content review games, character posters, so many ways I could go.

Todd’s right, there are a dozen ways to go with the challenge as it was issued.  However, instead of revamping the challenge, I’d like to think about rethinking our own outcome.

Most teachers know how to write a lesson plan. My job when I work with them is to find strategies to engage students in content at a higher level.  I work in a High School that’s struggling to break out of the “lecture-homework-repeat and test” mode. Every day, I get issued a challenge similar to the one above from a teacher and what they’re looking for isn’t a fully developed lesson. Instead, they’re looking for the “hook” – the strategy, idea or tool that will get their students to care, communicate and create something of value around the curriculum.

Here’s an example of one I was given by a teacher last year. The teacher was reading Great Expectations with her students, who hated the book and had no chance of passing the test she gave at the end of the unit because most of them hadn’t even finished reading it.  She came to me looking for an alternate way to have students hold discussions.

We came up with the thought of having them portray characters from the book and write letters to one another.  The students would leave the letters out for the next class to pick up and then write back to one another. Many were handwritten, but a couple that were typed I’ve copied and pasted into a Google Doc along with the general guidelines we created. So, not only were the students motivated to delve into the book, they were interested and excited about communicating in character, and even took their discussions outside of class.

Another example came from a music teacher who wanted students to create presentations on the instruments during the semester, but also wanted them to know the facts about other instruments.  Each day, one student would present their instrument, so by the end of the grading period, they had learned about every instrument. She complained that every year, the students did well in remembering what they had written, but never listened or took notes when others presented and as a result failed the test at the end of the quarter.

We came up with an idea to build an instrument Wiki where every student created a page about the instrument they were assigned, but then had to compare their instrument to three others outside their family and contrast to three instruments inside their family. The students would then cross link between pages to show the connections. In addition, they had to either accept or nullify any links that others made to their page depending if they agreed or disagreed with the connection made. They were graded on three aspects:
1. Their own writing about their instrument
2. The quality of the links they gave to other instruments
3. The quality of the links they allowed to their page

Again, a nice way to build connections and conversations and even have them self-censor the quality of work of  their fellow students while reinforcing the content they’re learning.

So, instead of asking for a lesson or unit plan, maybe we should ask instead for ideas for the “hook.” That’s what my teachers struggle to create for themselves. It’s also the skill where Tom Woodward excels and one that I struggle to put into words. Once they have the hook, I find teachers can usually create the lesson and devise a timeline.

They just need something to cast out at the end of their line that might reel in a few more reluctant learners. That’s what I hope the Iron Teach challenge can help provide.

Thoughts?

Photo courtesy Debi Long, Flickr Creative Commons Pool

Here’s my second post in honor of National Poetry Month.  Bud Hunt’s got a good thing going on his blog with picture prompts to encourage lots of poetry writing from fellow bloggers. If you haven’t taken a look, stop in and read some of the posts and replies there. (You might even think about leaving your own reply to a prompt that speaks to you.)

Me? I’m a math teacher at heart.  However, I’ve never used that as an excuse to keep me from trying to put my thoughts down in writing.  When I worked full-time as a math and science teacher, my students knew that writing and talking about their understanding was as important to me as showing the correct steps in an equation. I think the best way to know what you know is to write about it.

So, back during my classroom teaching years, I’d often write stories and poems to explain math and science thoughts in a way my students could understand them and have them do the same. I’ve lost most of my writings over the years, but this one somehow has made it through moves and spring cleaning jaunts unscathed. It’s one I wrote to have students think about the concept of infinity and set size.  If you’re curious about the math behind defining infinite sets, here’s a great explanation.

Enjoy.

A Tribute to Cantor (or The Homeless Martians)

Cantor believed (or so it is said)
There are infinite martians on the planet of red.

The martians on this day were having a ball
At their yearly convention in Aleph-Naught Hall.

There were infinite rooms in which they could rest.
Numbered 1, 2, and so on for each martian guest.

But while they were meeting, events took a turning,
A careless cigar left half the rooms burning!

Though the odd numbered rooms had seen better days,
The rooms numbered even were all left unscathed.

The concierge panicked, for he still was new,
But the manager knew just what he should do.

“Let all of those martians look at their room key,
And double the number they happen to see.”

“Then let them all move in the room with this number,
And the martians will each have a new place to slumber.”

The rooms, there were many, and though it seems strange,
Though half of them burned, the amount is unchanged.

The concierge scoffed, so counting he went
And hide nor hair have they seen of him since.

Picture from Kevin Trotman, Flickr Creative Commons

In honor of National Poetry month, I have two haiku poems to share.  I wrote these for a poetry contest at CHS and thought they’d be a perfect complement to the month’s celebration.

If you’re not familiar with National Poetry month, stop in at the Poets.org website and read their description.

And while you’re at it, think about sharing a piece of poetry on your blog this month; either your own writing, that of your students, or even the work of a favorite poet. Our Creative Writing Class is publishing their best poems this month on our school podcast channel and their teacher is creating an exhibit on ALI to share the lessons and activities with other teachers.

Enjoy!

Faint and gray my words,

Are lost in a sea of white.

Add more toner, please.

————————-

Bits of data are

flowing as water through straw.

Info nourishment.

Imagine that your school has been asked to host a visit from a group of international delegates who are interested in learning how you use technology to communicate, mentor, and collaborate with other schools both in town and around the world.

Now imagine that the delegates are from Saudi Arabia and are visiting the United States for the first time.

And you are one of two females in the IT department.

And you teach in the predominately conservative South.

In a Catholic School.

With a Crusader as a mascot.

Sound unlikely? Today that’s exactly what came to pass when a group of 9 delegates and 3 interpreters spent the afternoon touring our school and learning more about our technology program. The delegates all serve as leaders in the Boy Scouts of Saudi Arabia. Many of them also work as university professors or serve on the Ministry of Education in their country. We had little idea what to expect, but decided that we’d focus on talking about 3 aspects of our program:

• Mentoring elementary students in other schools through programs such as our iPodPals project.
• Collaborating with others via iChat such as the program begun by Dean Shareski where his pre-service students at the University of Regina are working with high school students around the world.
• Communicating with our student body and parents through a student podcast series created and maintained by our Design classes.

Three of our students volunteered to present to the group about the iPod Pals, while Colleen Glaude (our Technology Coordinator), Travis Brown (our Design and Media teacher) and I gave an overview of the other programs. We were fortunate, too, to have Dean join us via a video chat from his office in Canada for a portion of the visit.

Here’s the great thing.  Our students (and we) came into this experience not knowing what to expect.  We had been briefed on many customs that could be offensive (showing the sole of your shoe, giving a thumbs up, pointing with your left hand, among others). How accepting would they be of our students our school, and our country?

In the end, however, our students left with a greater understanding of how difficult it is to stereotype someone when they’re standing right in front of you, asking questions, smiling at your student’s work, and gasping as Dean Shareski shares images of the snow outside his window during your video chat with him. It’s a lesson I hope will remain with our students for life -that deep down, regardless of where we live, what religion we profess, or what the media reports, we really aren’t all that different.

As the delegation left, they gave each of us a lapel pin from their group (shown in the picture above), while we gifted them with bookmarks from our school that list our core values:

• Selfless Love
• Commitment to Excellence
• Personal Integrity
• Commitment to Service

The nicest thing? Seeing them nod in agreement as their interpreter translated the 4 values written on the bookmark. It seems that those values aren’t just important to us, but to others around the world as well.

Imagine that.

All we are is dust in the wind.

It’s a tough fact to face, but the words we write on our blog, the mighty effort we put into teaching and collaborating and learning every day will fade.  We’d all like to think that our words will live on forever and for that special few, they may. But for the rest of us, what will remain are the personal moments. The times when we moved beyond our official roles as teachers and shared a little of our personal selves. The secret portal into what makes us passionate educators who stretch beyond.

With that spirit, I join Sharon Elin and a host of other educators who are participating in the “7 Things Meme.”  It’s a chance for us to learn a little more about one another.  A chance to know more than we can learn in 140 character bites or topic oriented blog posts.

Here goes.

One. At the age of 16, I left home.  Many call it running away, but to me that conjures up visions of sneaking off into the night to sulk.  When I left, I knew there’d be no turning back.

Two. I owe much of my success in life to Gladys and Gene. At the age of 17, I was offered a place to stay by  the family of a friend.  They had seven children of their own and thinking of it now, I have no idea if I could have done the same and opened my door to a stranger.  But they did.  They helped me get my first job, helped me re-enroll in school and housed me for the next several years of my life as I graduated high school and started college.

Three. My husband has been my best friend since I was 16. That friend I moved in with, you see, is now my husband. I shared a room with his sisters and learned what it was like to live within a family of people who cared deeply for one another.

Four. My teaching philosophy is shaped largely by what I learned when I re-enrolled in school.  After missing almost an entire quarter of classes, there was no possible way I could pass without some intervention.  I learned there are three types of teachers:

• Those who say it’s not their problem if you missed the assignment and give you a failing grade.  I didn’t learn anything from these teachers.
• Those who say it’s not your fault and excuse you from every assignment so you can pass.  While I was grateful, I didn’t learn much here either.
• Those who admit life’s tough, but then look for a way to make it better.  These were the teachers who taught me the most.  They expected me to be accountable for learning, but gave the the chance to learn and catch up as best I could.

Five. I believe in seeing the best in every situation.  I don’t believe in dwelling on the mistakes or the problems or the things I can’t control. Life’s too short and too full of opportunities to spend it worrying or wishing for something I don’t have.

Six. I believe in seeing the best in every person.  I am constantly amazed at what my students are capable of doing if they’re just given time, attention and a little bit of care.

Seven. I love grits for supper – plain with a little butter and pepper. (You didn’t think all 7 would be deep and meaningful did you?)

That’s it.

I tag:

Tom Woodward

Bud Hunt, who must begin his post with the sentence “It was a dark and stormy night.”

Katie Morrow

I wrote this 25 years ago in response to my own high school education.  Wonder what my high school self would think of my current job helping high school teachers learn new techniques to engage their students in the learning process?

Teacher?

You stood there before us
with your white-washed bun,
your wine-wizened eyes,
and forced ideas upon us.

We complied,
(though not of our own free will)
and when the day came
returned your ideas
unused,
unchanged,
unnoticed.

Has it ever occurred to you
that I am who I am
not because of you,
but in spite of you?