Summer "Learning"

My son (let’s call him T) does not like school. He is a pretty good student overall, he does his homework without prompting from me, he behaves in class for the most part, he excels in some areas (math) and struggles in others (reading) but, with the exception of recess, he has never been interested in school. He, like all of us, is a learner at his core, he just doesn't like the way “learning” goes down at school.

During T’s first couple of summers in elementary school, I did what I thought parents were supposed to do to make sure their kids didn't have “learning loss” over the summer - I purchased summer bridge books. I had him work on the bridge book for about 30 minutes every day in addition to reading 30 minutes every day. He hated those daily 60 minutes. He thought the bridge books were boring and he is dyslexic so reading is really tough. Last summer, the summer before 5th grade, I decided to forgo the bridge books and, without telling him, let T take control of his learning. (Amazingly, he never even questioned the lack of bridge books.) T ended up working on two projects last summer; developing a working pair of human wings and building and sailing a homemade boat.

T tackled the wings first; I tried not to interfere. He started with some research on YouTube (it’s fairly amazing what you can find when you Google human wings). He drew out some plans, made his list of supplies and asked for me to take him to the local hardware store. At the hardware store, he sought the advice of an employee about what materials were the most lightweight but durable and therefore excellent wing material. The employee also gave him some unsolicited advice; “Be careful where you take off from, I don’t want to see you on the nightly news.”. He purchased his supplies using his allowance money, went home and started building. T created about 6 different versions of his wings, testing and tweaking as he went. Ultimately, he only made it a couple of inches off of the ground but he didn't care, he was thrilled by his success. My only contribution throughout his project was to tell him that he couldn't jump off of anything higher than 12 inches as he attempted to take flight. As it turned out, I didn't even need to enforce this rule because he decided a running start down a steep hill would be a better method to achieve lift off. Based on my observations from the side, T dabbled in economics, design thinking, physics, geometry, communications and effective research just to name a few but if you ask him, he’ll just say it was really fun to make human wings and try to fly.

Human Wings "In-Development"

About 3 weeks into the human wing endeavor, T decided to change gears and focus on making a working sailboat. Once again, I stood back and watched my 10 year old direct his own learning. Over the course of the next 4 weeks, he designed, built and successfully launched his boat in not 1, but 2 different Colorado lakes. From the side, I watched him dabble in budgeting, discount shopping, characteristic properties, weather and construction just to name a few, but again, if you ask him, he’ll just say it was awesome to be able to sail his own boat for an afternoon.

Sailboat Trial #1

This summer, T has decided to create an online store and sell some mini crossbows and arrows that he has designed and successfully tested. He continues to tweak his designs and he is currently 1 week into the website design process. I have no doubt that soon I will be able to list off a slew of things this project allowed him to dabble in and again, I’m sure if you ask him, he’ll say it is super fun to be the owner of a store and sell stuff that he made for money.

As I've watched my son over the last 2 summers, I've realized that something important is often missing in our schools and classrooms (including my own 7th grade science classroom); the opportunity for kids to discover, develop and follow their own passions and interests. Why is it always the teacher and/or the curriculum that dictates what will be learned and how it will be learned? It seems like we have this entirely backwards. Although he would never call what he is doing learning, T loves “learning” over the summer because he is in charge, he is deciding where he wants to go and he is figuring out how to get there. What would happen if we consciously began to create opportunities in our schools for this type of learning to take place? Where would our students go if we focused on becoming their learning coaches rather than their teachers? What would our students walk away with by the end of every year if they were in charge of their own learning path? I want my own children and my students to love to learn all of the time, not just during the summer break from school. Maybe passion based learning is a great place to start.

Moving Forward With Purpose

My classroom is ready to go and the kids have arrived!

As I begin my 14th year of teaching, I am excited, energized, full of ideas and ready and willing to step outside of my comfort zone and try some new things that will help me grow as a learner and allow me to help my students recognize and tap into their passions, interests and potential as they also grow as learners.  

Participating in the “Cowboy Ethics” workshop last week, reminded me that it is important for me to get my goals out of my head and onto “paper”.  So here goes: Teaching Goals Take a stab at gamifying my science classes (thank you  @techedupteacher for inspiring a non-gamer to give this a go) Incorporate the concept of the “genius hour” into my science classes (many thanks to @JoyKirr for sharing her awesome resources) Continue to use technology as a powerful tool to personalize my student’s learning Personal Learning Goals Apply, apply, apply to the Google Teacher Academy (and hopefully get accepted) Write at least 2 posts/month to my blog “Reinventing Class” Become an active Twitter participant rather than a silent observer

Photo Credit
venspired via photopin cc

The Cowboy Code of Ethics

Today was my first day back at school.  To kickstart our school year, my principal brought in Kent Noble from the Center for Cowboy Ethics and Leadership.  Kent facilitated a half-day workshop called “Standing Tall:  What’s Your Code”.   

This workshop is based on James P. Owen’s, 2005 book, “Cowboy Ethics:  What Wall Street Can Learn from the Code of the West”.  

                Source:  amazon.com

Kent began his workshop by introducing us to the Cowboy “Code of the West”.  

After reviewing the “Code of the West”, Kent turned our focus to the “11th Principle”.  In essence, over the following three hours, he led each of us through the creation of our own Code of Ethics. While our immediate goal was to create our own personal Code of Ethics, in order to help every staff member stand behind their code, Kent encouraged us to publicize our personal Code.  So, here goes…

My Code of Ethics Find balance by focusing on the big picture. Happiness is a decision. Only I control my attitude Stand up and speak up for what you believe in. Always look for the gold nuggets. Make an impact. Success doesn't happen without failure. Never doubt that one person can make a difference.

Changing Perspectives

The Corkscrew Roller Coaster at  Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio was one of my favorite roller coaster rides growing up.  Its hills, high speeds and inversions inspired excitement and exhilaration not to mention a sense of panic as well as butterflies in the stomach in the initial hill climb after realizing you are in it for the duration of the 120 second ride. My story as an educator this past year took a series of twists and turns that remind me vividly of the Corkscrew of my childhood.  

In late spring of 2013, the staff at the middle school where I have spent the majority of my education career, made a collaborative decision to initiate a 1:1 Bring Your Own Device Learning Initiative for the 2013 - 2014 school year.  Although many staff members were unsure of what to expect as we embarked into very new territory, we had a fairly strong support system in place within our school walls to help both staff and students with this transition including myself, our teacher librarian, our principal and 1-2 additional classroom teachers.  Due to a series of unforeseen circumstances however, we found ourselves without a teacher librarian just days before the school year began.  My principal was unable to find another teacher librarian with the unique skillset of experience and knowledge to support our staff and students in the inaugural year of our 1:1 BYOD Learning Initiative.  As a last resort, she came to me several days before the start of the school year and asked if I would be willing to step into the role of teacher librarian for the school year.  

Now, let me be clear, I am a science teacher.  My passion has always been science and I became an educator with the hope of passing on my love of science, including asking questions and pursuing answers, to kids.  My passion for technology integration in education began several years ago but teacher librarian was never something that was on my “future” radar.  I had never received any training or professional development in this field of education. My initial reaction was to politely decline due to my lack of knowledge and experience but after “sleeping” on it, I began to reconsider.  Maybe, I thought, this position would provide an opportunity for me to model and expose the powerful potential of technology integration in the classroom to other staff members in my building.  I struggled with the decision but eventually decided to take a year long hiatus from the science classroom (although I did keep one science class because I couldn’t bring myself to give it up entirely, even for just one year).  I gave my principal one stipulation, I asked to be called the Instructional Technology Coach therefore trying to make it clear that my role was to provide support and guidance for teachers and students as they explored how to effectively harness the power of technology as a learning tool.  

This may have been the most difficult year of my teaching career.  I missed being in the science classroom full time and I quickly learned that working primarily with adults is very different than working with kids.  Although I decided to return full time to the science classroom this August, I walked away from my experience last year with several major “ah-ha’s”:

1. Educator’s work really hard!  Of course, I already knew this being a teacher myself, but given my new perspective this year, I saw evidence of this hard, hard work over and over again.
2. It’s a really interesting time to be involved in education.  I frequently hear teachers say the pendulum is just swinging back to the other side.  I disagree, we are working with a completely different pendulum now.     
3. In many classrooms and schools we are “stuck”.  Our students are changing and what it means to be educated is changing but our schools and our education system aren't responding to these changes like they need to.   
4. Technology too often becomes a $500.00 pencil.  It is simply not acceptable to give our students the same old tasks with a more expensive tool.
5. There is a lot of talk about working on changing practice so that our students obtain “21st century skills”.  This seems a bit tardy to me given that we are already 14 years into the 21st century.  
   

So, as I embark on a new school year in the next few weeks, the anticipatory climbs, the scary hills and the mind-boggling inversions of my “corkscrew” year have inspired me to change things up dramatically, to reinvent my science class and to redefine what it means to be an educator and a learner.  

Photo Credits:
Vlastula via photopin cc
evoo73 via photopin cc

Blended

Three weeks ago, I jumped into the blended learning model and I am loving it. My approach to creating a blended learning environment has focused on three important changes in my classroom:

• student choice 
• student ownership of learning 
• my role as the teacher 

Student Choice
I have used Schoology all year as a learning management system for our classroom, posting resources, pushing out assignments, giving assessments (pre, post and formative) and creating discussion boards for my students to publish their own thinking and respond to their classmate’s thinking. The first thing I changed to create a more blended learning environment was how I organized the resources on Schoology and how students were given assignments. I created a separate sub folder for each concept we explored in our Genetics Unit, 5 concepts in all. The first item in each sub folder is a mini-lesson (less than 5 minutes) introducing students to key concepts and ideas. I expect my students to watch the mini-lesson, either at home or in class, and then choose their path for the rest of the sub folder. For most concepts, I have created three paths: pilot, flight attendant and passenger. All paths are self-directed and each path has varying levels of independence. Students who feel like they need more help and direction choose the passenger path, students who think they need less help and more choice in the direction of their learning choose the flight attendant or pilot path. I wasn't sure how this system would play out at first - would all kids choose the passenger path because they thought it might be easier? It turns out that my students have, for the most part, made appropriate choices. Many, including my non-traditional learners, are challenging themselves by picking the more independent roles of pilot and flight attendant. At the same time, students who feel like they need a little bit more teacher direction tend to choose the passenger role.

In addition to allowing students to choose their path through each concept sub folder, I have also given them lots of student choice when it comes to showing their understandings. I have been trying to encourage them to use their iPADs to their full potential as a powerful tool to demonstrate their understandings. My students have chosen a variety of tools to showcase their learning and understanding from many apps including Skitch, Popplet and Educreations.

Student Ownership of Learning 
For several years I have been skeptical of “flipped classrooms” because I didn't like the idea of “lecturing” my students. My skepticism towards mini video lessons has undergone a fairly dramatic change over the last 3 months. As I stated earlier, I have created short mini-lesson to introduce the main concept of each sub folder. My expectation was that students would view the lesson as they began to explore each concept. I also hoped that students would go back and re-watch the mini-lesson as they explored each concept in order to clarify ideas and clear up misunderstandings. I was thrilled to watch my students actually use the mini-lessons as a resource throughout their time with each concept. I have also built in formative assessments throughout each sub folder so that both myself and each student can gauge their understandings. I have seen many students start the formative assessments and not only realize that they are not quite ready to move on yet but also make the decision (on their own!) to go back and revisit previous activities, including the mini-lessons, in the sub folder before moving on.

The Role of the Teacher
One of the biggest benefits I have seen as we evolve into a blended learning environment is the time I now have in class to work with students who are struggling. I am a strong believer in formative assessments. Using data from these ongoing assessments, I know who is struggling and who isn't. My struggle has always been finding time during class to help the students who are struggling while not hindering the students who aren't. This is a hard task to manage with thirty-two students. Our blended environment has alleviated many of these time constraints. Because the students are pacing themselves through the unit, they are at a variety of different places at any given time. I have found that it is fairly easy to work directly with a small group of students who are struggling without slowing down the rest of the students.

Overall, our jump into blended learning has gone very well. There are of course some problems. Some of my students are struggling with the self directed component of our new learning arrangement. They are used to being told what to do and would much rather have me direct their learning. I also have a number of students who are missing work. In most cases, the work is missing not because it is not completed but rather because it just hasn't been submitted. Because their learning is more self-directed, due dates are now very flexible and vary from student to student. This is a big adjustment for many of my students and they are still learning how to manage their own work flow. I am also trying to find the best systems to manage my own work flow as well as finding the time to build each concept’s sub folder. At the end of the day though, the benefits far outweigh the challenges as I watch my students begin to become self-directed learners who are taking on the challenge of owning their learning.

The "Flipped Classroom"

I first learned of the “flipped classroom” several years ago.  I didn't buy into the idea at first.  I’m not a lecturer, never have been, never intend to be.  So I didn't really explore the idea of creating video lessons that my students could watch prior to class.  If I never lectured to begin with, how would this work with my students.  

In the last few months, three things have happened that have made me reconsider my previous, very limited, understanding of the “flipped classroom”.  First, my district adopted the Schoology learning management system.  My students and I have been using Schoology, with much success, since last August.  Second, this past January, I received a grant for a classroom set of iPADs.  Finally, this winter I took a fantastic online course on screen-casting.

I still don’t like the term “flipped classroom”.  To me, it implies that lecture is a huge part of the classroom format and I don’t believe that lectures are an effective learning tool for most of my seventh grade students.  I do, however, see that there could be value in creating short, mini-lessons that introduce and review key vocabulary terms and concepts.  I like the idea of students being able to access these mini-lessons on their own initiative when they think it would be helpful to clarify ideas or clear up confusion.  Our iPADs and Schoology have given me the opportunity to rethink how to establish a classroom environment that pushes all students to learn and create in their own individual, unique ways.  So, I've decided to go for it and completely change what our class format looks like.  I still don’t like the term “flipped classroom”.    I much prefer “blended learning”.  In my mind, blended learning implies student ownership of their learning.  I see my role in a blended classroom more as a facilitator and a coach, than a “sage on the stage”.  I’m curious and excited to see how our classroom as well as the roles of “teacher” and “student” evolve over the next few months.  

Why iPADs?

     This question has been posed to me several times over the last few weeks, both by my principal and by several acquaintances outside of the education field. It’s a great question. I think that all of us agree that the
iPAD is an incredible piece of technology. It’s not enough, however, to just give a bunch of kids this incredible tool and say “go learn”. The iPAD is a tool and the tool in and of itself is not nearly enough.

     We are at a pivotal moment in education. The average classroom looks very similar to classrooms of 100 years ago. But step outside of a typical school and we see something very different. To succeed in today’s global economy, you need to be able to quickly access and evaluate information and then use that information to solve problems in creative, innovative and novel ways. It’s no longer enough for our students to just “know” things any more. School needs to be a place where every day our students have the opportunity to take what they know and apply it as they think critically and analytically, solve novel and relevant problems and are encouraged to think “outside of the box” as they create and innovate. After all, the goal of education is to help students become lifelong learners as we prepare them for the “real world”. The iPAD is not the “end all, be all”. Transformative teaching and learning environments are.

     My classroom and teaching philosophy have undergone a transformation in the last several years. I expect that my journey is far from over. So what does this transformative learning environment look like? I’m still trying to figure that out but here are some of the things I've learned so far:

• Clear Learning Goals: Clear learning goals are important. The students need to know and understand what the target is and why it is an important benchmark to reach. 
• Flexibility: Students need the opportunity to showcase their understandings in many ways. In the classroom this means that many different things might be happening at once. However, the learning target still remains similar from student to student. 
• Assessment: Assessment is ongoing and much of it is informal. Students also need frequent opportunities to address and solve real, relevant problems. 
• Classroom Environment: It sometimes looks messy on first glance but when you look closely, deep, 40-year learning is happening every day in a transformative learning environment. 
• Creative Freedom: Students need to be given the opportunity to find and develop the best ways for them to showcase their thoughts and ideas. This might look radically different from one student to the next. Some students are able to figure this out quickly but many need lots of guidance. It’s not that they can’t do it, they’re just used to being told what to do and how to do it.
• Details: Sometimes details are important but sometimes they’re not. I think that in education we have a tendency to get bogged down with the little things and lose sight of the big picture. Letting go of the little things is sometimes the first step towards creating a transformative learning environment. 

     As I look back at this post, I am aware that I have hardly mentioned iPADs. That’s because iPADs are a tool that can only be used to their full potential when the learning environment changes. So, are iPAD’s necessary for this transformation to take place in the classroom? Of course not. The same transformation can take place using technologies like laptops, Chromebooks and personal SMART devices. It can also take place without technology but I would argue that not allowing students the opportunity to use technology as a tool is a disservice to them not only because it is such an integral part of their lives but also because it is necessary skill in the new global economy.

     This leads us back to my original question, why iPADs? There are several things that set the iPAD apart from other technology tools:

• their simplicity 
• their durability (especially in the hands of middle schoolers) 
• their ease of use as a learning tool both inside and outside of the classroom 
• the ease of personalization 
• the diverse number of apps 

     I currently have a class set of iPADs. This means that our devices are shared amongst 4 to 5 students throughout the day. What I have quickly learned after only 2 months with the devices is that in order to use the iPADs to their full potential they should be a personal device that the students use throughout their school day and outside of the school environment as well.

     My goal is to transform the education experience of our students. I will continue to advocate that the iPAD is the ideal personal learning tool to help reach this goal. Now it’s just a matter of figuring out not only how to help and inspire teachers as they transform their learning environments but also how to get this tool into the hands of all of our kids....