#WhyITeach #WhyILearn Reflective Thinking for Teachers, Students and Parents

At NJPAECET2 a photobooth area was set up where participants filled out speech bubbles to thank a teacher and answer the question, "Why do I teach?"  Pictures were taken, tweeted out with the hashtag #WhyITeach or #ThankATeacher, and all the speech bubbles were taped to the windows.

 This is a powerful visual and an easy method for triggering reflection.  Why do we teach?  What teachers am I grateful for?  In the age of assessment, it is easy to lose sight of the purpose of education and the people who matter when we are bogged down with mandates and methods of documenting accountability.  Notice, not anywhere on these speech bubbles does it say, "So, my students can get As on tests" or "Thank you to the teacher who helped me ace that exam."

Why do we teach?  Who are we grateful for?

I teach because I love learning and experiencing the world through a text.  I teach because I want to share my love of learning and cultivate the curiosity of my students. So much of what I do for students can be seen in small gestures -- creating an engaging classroom climate, awakening students' critical thinking skills, guiding the students' towards connected yet independent learning and self-sustainability. All of the small things add up over time to create a solid foundation for students as they journey towards graduation. To use another metaphor, in freshmen year I'm leading them to the path and giving them tools and resources to use, but the students are walking the path when they venture beyond my room. Through professional development opportunities, I'm sharing my strategies, engaging and collaborating with educators --which expands my reach: when I help another teacher, I am helping that teacher's students. Ultimately, I teach so I can help make the world a better place.

I'm grateful for my parents who are educators, my former teachers, and my colleagues near and far who have inspired me and shaped my teaching practices. I cannot be the teacher I am today without their influence.

With the start of the 2015-16 school year under way and having the largest cohort of freshmen Honors classes ever, the above questions also got me thinking about what would my students say if I asked them, "Why do you learn?"

Thanks to @Teacher2Teacher, who sent me a kit to replicate the #WhyITeach activity in my district, I adapted the directions to fit my students and we used the hashtag, #WhyILearn.  Students filled out their speech bubbles, and I hung them up around the classroom so that they could have a daily reminder of their responses as we get deeper in the course content.

Take a look at some of their responses...

Did you see if any of the responses had to do with testing or grades?  Me neither.

So many of the responses focus on the future and wanting to be successful.  But what is their definition of success? What does success really mean to my students?  How do we quantify success? These are important questions to answer.  The answers are also important to keep in mind as when the stress of school gets too overwhelming:  focus on the big picture; think about how this moment will lead to a better future.

Also at the beginning of the school year is Back to School Night, and the activity with my students got me thinking about what the students' parents would say if I asked them the question, "Why do you want your child to learn?"

Flipping Back to School Night, I recorded a screencast of my class expectations and procedures two weeks prior to the big night.  Students were given the assignment to watch the video WITH their parent and answer the corresponding questions using EDpuzzle before attending Back to School.



Since my parents already knew the procedures and expectations of my class, I didn't need to spend time on Back to School Night repeating the information and could do an activity in the 12 minute class period that would let them get a feel for my teaching style and how their student might feel being a member of the class.

After a quick introduction and recap of most important information, I posed questions to my parents, "Why do you want your child to learn? What is the point? What do you think is the purpose of learning?" They were tasked with writing their answers on yellow blocks of paper before running out the door to their next class.

Thinking of the parents' responses as building blocks, I taped them to the wall of my classroom.  Take a look...

#WhyIwantMyChildToLearn

Do you see any responses that include getting good grades or doing well on standardized assessments?  Me neither.

Besides being part of the decorations in the room, I wonder how else I can bring parents into the classroom so that we all keep our sights focused on the purpose of learning and how we can best meet the needs of the students. When it comes to education, everyone matters, parents, students, and teachers.

So as we venture further into the journey of this school year, continue reflecting on WHY we do what we do and how it fits into the greater scheme of our students' lives, remember the purpose of teaching and learning.

This is a panoramic shot of the walls of my classroom. In the comments here, please share why you teach and learn and how you remind parents, students, and other teachers about the purpose of education.

Howard Gardner 15 years Later

With all the focus on standardized testing and the discussion of the flipped classroom in education today, it is interesting to return to Howard Gardner's interview with Edutopia in 1997 and reflect on then and now.  

Talk about RELEVANCY!

Consider these questions:

• How do digital tools tap into students' multiple intelligences?
• How is assessment still mystified today?  Do digital tools take the mystery out of assessment for students?
• How do digital tools help in the transition from a teacher-centered to student-centered? Or do they hurt?

Tagxedo: A Tuxedo for Word Clouds

Tagxedo is another nifty free tool for creating customized word clouds. Compared to Wordle, Tagxedo has more options and the ability to customize the shape of the word including uploading a picture of your own choice. Tagxedo will also use one's blog, tweets, website, and other sources for the content of the cloud.

Think of Tagxedo as a way for dressing up word clouds. While I like Wordle's simplicity for using a word cloud for analysis of a speech, poem, or short story, I prefer the use of Tagxedo for embedding symbolism in student-created projects and to guide students through the process of making artistic choices in an activity that is relevant to their own lives.

How to...

Students wrote "Where am I from" poems as modeled by poet George Ella Lyons and then created a word cloud  symbolic of their identity and the places that shaped their identity. The screencast below shows how to use Tagxedo and upload your own image (by the way, using Screencast-O-Matic, I created the screencast and uploaded it to Youtube in about 7 minutes total during 2nd period today).

Student Examples

Students posted their projects to their small groups in Edmodo for review. Students can then discuss artistic choices, as well as easily see commonalities among their classmates.  This quick project could also be used as an ice-breaker in the beginning of the year as a way for the students and teacher to get to know one another. 

We are using this activity as an introduction to John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men-- a novella centered on the themes of belonging to and yearning for one's own place. OMM is also rich in symbolism ("Tell me about the rabbits, George!"), and this activity provides an introduction to the meaning of chosen symbols. 

Student often question an English teacher's analysis of literature: How do you KNOW John Steinbeck intended the rabbits to represent George and Lennie's dreams? One answer is found in asking the author and conducting literary research: go through John Steinbeck's published letters and journals or contact the folks at the Steinbeck Institute in Salinas, California (I have!). The other answer can be found in activities where students are authors and create. Students should be making the same kind of informed choices when crafting a creative piece. The three students pictured to the left used the star, infinity, and yin-yang shapes. While I, as the reader, can postulate that these shapes represent always reaching for balance in one's learning and life, the only way to know conclusively is to ask the artist. So ask the students, "why?"  You just might learn something new.

The War on Writing Without Red Pens: Winning?

"The conditions of conquest are always easy. We have but to toil awhile, endure awhile, believe always, and never turn back." - Marcus Annaeus Seneca

I've been struggling with the logistics and assessment of student writing for my entire academic career and I'm not using hyperbole (again). I've written about peer editing and I know that works to help improve students' writing, but when it comes to the teacher putting a grade on the paper, I have issues.  I have never been satisfied with any rubric, checklist, or method.  Red penning the essay until it bleeds doesn't improve the writing on the next assignment because it is the teacher telling the student what is wrong, it isn't the student taking responsibility for crafting what is written on the page.  Red penning is a one-sided battle: the teacher has conquered and the student is caught in friendly fire.

I know, students could write draft after draft, revise until hands fall off, but where is the time for that? Unless I am teaching a writing class to 5 students, I will not be able to effectively balance all the curricular demands at the high school level with 150 students under my charge and get them to where they need to be as writers. And on a philosophical point, I have issues with putting grades on students' writing. I can use rubrics, but it feels so forced and formulaic (uh yeah, like those 5 paragraph essays...). I hear the science folks chiming in, "But formulas work!"  Yeah, they do: formulas are good for getting started and modeling. I'm no Heidi Klum, but I've modeled some formulas on my RUNWAY- A. But, I want to get off the runway!  I want writing to take flight! (How many metaphors & allusions did I just mix? OH NO! Don't take off points!)

Speaking of points, teachers and students all know what happens when the grade is plastered to the top of the page: the students stop writing; the paper is thrown in a folder rarely to be looked at again. I could use portfolios and have students present their best work at the end of the marking period.  But you want to know why/how most of those pieces got picked for the portfolio, I bet you can't guess....  oh, that is right....  the ones that got the highest grade from the teacher and needed the least amount of tweaking. Who is being responsible for the writing? And how to grade those portfolios?  I could instead assess them on their presentation of the portfolio as a way to test public speaking, but the writing wouldn't be the focus.

Having students revise, revise, revise is a wonderful ideal, I can't get passed this question: If students didn't KNOW how to write well the first time, how are they going to KNOW how to make it better? We know red penning doesn't work.  Students need to do more than revise, aka fix, the grammar errors. I want them to get into the meat of the ideas of the writing, and cook up a good meal, but that takes TIME and DESIRE to develop and craft, and in this current educational and societal climate, there are too many "more important" things to tackle. Writing for the sake of good writing just isn't happening unless one is a writer.

I sound worse than Grendel on one of his existential nihilism rants in this blog post, and my intention is not to whine and lament the death of intrinsically motivated writing. So let me get to my latest idea (oh here we go again...).

For the first marking period my one section of seniors focused on the concepts of heroism, bravery, and honor. After reading "Beowulf" and Grendel and learning the Hero's Journey pattern, I asked my not very academic senior students to write a personal essay on their own hero's journey.

Essentially, I asked them, "What do you want to be when you grown up and how have your past challenges prepared you for the future challenges you will face to attain your goal? How can you become a "hero" in your own life?" They had two weeks to write it, and I made it clear that they SHOULD be writing a little everyday, but most waited until 3 days before the due date to start it. Most confessed that they had a hard time writing about this topic and didn't know how to start, but I rebutted, "If YOU can't write about YOURSELF, who will?  Shouldn't this be the easiest topic to write about since no one knows you as well as you? Graduation is just 9 months away, shouldn't you have an idea of where you will go after graduation?" They like the idea of graduation, but not the reality and uncertain-ness to follow.

I collected the personal hero journey essays on Friday, and I had a feeling this would happen: the essays are horrible. Poorly written. Bland. Generic. Boring. Lots of telling, no showing. Ugh. Now, I could use that 100 point rubric stuffed somewhere in my files and I could red pen them to death and put equally horrible grades on the paper, but what purpose will that serve? The students will just get more negative reinforcement that they can't write well. I have a feeling that they couldn't write about themselves as heroes because most of them do not see themselves as heroes. And while they won't slay a dragon to save their kingdom, they can be heroric in their own right and slay metaphorical dragons in real life.

But in each essay, I did see something: a small glimmer, a hidden seed that could, with some nurturing, flower. So instead, I thought that instead of writing a letter or percentage grade on the paper, what if I pointed out some suggestions and highlighted the best part of the essay (the glimmer, seed) and wrote one motivational word or phrase (EMERGE, CAN DO, SYNC) on the top as a grade? The motivational word can't be transferred into the grade book, and I don't want it to. The grade on a piece of writing does more than harm than good. If writing is a process, shouldn't the revision and evaluation of the writing also be a process? Putting a magical motivational word on top isn't going to suddenly cause a writing epiphany for the students, but if the word could encourage them towards action, and if the word could trigger a positive response, then it could be one part of the overall process.

I don't want to give these students what they've always gotten. We'll see what the student reactions will be... they may or may not like it. Things are going to change and I want to show them that even though our time is running out, they still have the ability to grow in the time we have left. "Good enough" is not good enough anymore, and really, what will grades really matter after graduation? (And what do grades matter before graduation???)   I want them to learn some intrinsic motivation because no one will be there to push them in the real world. Writing doesn't have to hurt! Writing is not a battle!

Next marking period, we are reading Canterbury Tales by Chaucer and, while this group of seniors will most likely not become professional literary scholars, the concept of story-telling is relevant. What makes a good story? How are good stories told? What is their good story? The seniors will be revising those personal hero journeys into a personal story. Take that seed and nurture it.

“There are two kinds of teachers: the kind that fill you with so much quail shot that you can't move, and the kind that just gives you a little prod behind and you jump to the skies.” ― Robert Frost

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Update: 10/25/12

This video has been floating around on Twitter this week and Seth Godin articulates eloquently much of what I base my own teaching philosophy on:  connecting the dots, not collecting the dots. Enjoy!

Digital Citizenship & Data Collection

With all this use of technology and the notion that prospective employers and college admissions officers are researching applicants, students should learn how to be responsible digital citizens and consider the effects of their digital footprints. Are students stomping through the online world, tip-toeing delicately, or dancing madly through the streets a la Mardi Gras?

This topic came up in last night's #engchat on Twitter about college admissions essays. Students tracking their digital footprint could make for a horrifying or surprising project and very relevant in this world where social media puts one's actions on full display.

In thinking about Wordle for analyzing texts, students could complete similar steps for social network aggregation and create a word cloud of their Twitter tweets and blog posts by using Tagxedo or copy/pasting FaceBook status updates into Wordle.

The Process:

1. Students would go to Tagxedo.com and enter in their Twitter handle. Tagxedo collects the tweets and creates the word cloud. Students can adjust the shape, color, font, and layout of the word cloud to create a desired effect. Students could also use a social network aggregator or copy-paste the statuses and tweets into Wordle and create a word cloud.
2. Students would analyze the word clouds and write a reflection journal entry. Is this an accurate portrayal of the student? 
3. The teacher could share with the class the word clouds (without the owner's name) and have the class infer and make judgments about the owner of the Wordle.
4. The class could discuss ways to "clean up" profiles and how to market one's self appropriately on social media. Brainpop offers a site where users can take online quizzes on various digital topics and teachers can access additional lesson plans on digital citizenship.

This project requires some honesty and openness to not leave out "scandalous" posts. The point is to see the messiness and the nefariousness of social networking to open students' eyes to how other's perceive their actions on the web: Enlightenment should then lead to personal growth and improvement.

Grading

Students can be graded on the completion of the process, the journal writing, and discussion participation using the OSU rubric. The epiphany and final outcome is more important than the grade. I'm actually reluctant to grade an assignment such as this because the formative process is much more valuable for the students' learning than a summative grade.

Sample

This word cloud was created on Tagxedo using my blog posts.  It is obvious what I write most about!

Easy as Fish in a Barrel: Structured Socratic Discussions

Having all students involved in a focused class discussion instead of being prompted and lead by the teacher, requires all students to be invested in the process. When the discussion is structured so that all students are vested in the process, students can use critical thinking to practice crafting and supporting arguments.

In this video posted on Edutopia, KIPP King Collegiate High School teachers learn to facilitate fishbowl discussions to promote the Socratic process in class.Using a critical thinking model, the teacher serves as a facilitator of the discussion and orchestrator of the activity. While this isn't a new technique, there are key components mentioned in the video that are applicable for any classroom.

The Socratic Seminar or fishbowl discussion begins with the layout of the classroom and the assigning of roles to students. The classroom is set up with an inner square of about 12 desks, surrounded by an outer square of 12-14 desks.  Students sitting in the inner square are discussing, debating, and arguing the specific topic as they reference texts, use analytic language, connect to other statements made, and agree or disagree with the other participants. Students sitting in the outer square evaluate the participants in the discussion by being assigned a specific role: reporter, silent contributor, and shadow-er.

The video does not explain in great detail the exact tasks each role plays. Generally, the reporter "reports" on the action of the discussion (provides a report after or during the discussion?); the silent contributor participates in the discussion as if he/she were in the middle, but is not allowed to speak until the conversation has ended; and the shadow-er is directly assigned a student in the inner square to evaluate on specific and multiple points.I would think it is awkward for the silent contributor to contribute at the end of the discussion-- although both the reporter and silent contributor would provide an opportunity for reviewing the discussion overall.  The silent contributor would also have to be a student who has self-control, something many students need practice one. The shadower would be the most assigned role by pairing up students in both the inner and outer squares.

Why I like this...
Students need structure: The classroom set up promotes the discussion and puts students on the spot and the specific roles keep everyone involved. The roles are different from the ones I've seen before and I can see practical application-- my favorite being the shadow-er. I also like that it is another opportunity for peer review/evaluation and that the students are taking responsibility for the discussion instead of listening to the teacher lecturing. I also like that this activity promotes face to face conversation--something modern students need to practice since they like having their faces glued to a computer or cell phone screen.

What I dislike...
The 4:22 video does not provide suggestions for shy students to overcome fear of speaking in class nor does it provide specific examples of what happens after the discussion. The video assumes that all students will be prepared and responsible in the discussion process-- I can't always assume students will be model citizens of the process. Also, specific rubrics are not provided. In theory, I like the possibilities of this activity, but realistically, the teacher and students need to be organized, prepared, and structured.

Previously, I've used a koosh ball or other soft material ball to facilitate whole class discussions.  The room is arranged so that all students are facing one another in a large square or circle (no one in the middle). Students come to class having written down 3 questions on the assigned topic. They take turns throwing the ball to either ask a question or answer a question.  One student is charged with keeping track of who speaks and how many times. The goal is to have everyone in class ask at least one question and add to an answer for one question.  This works well as an introductory activity to class discussions, but the conversation becomes too disjointed having to rely on the throwing of the ball to keep it going. I will say that the baseball players in the class usually get a kick out of this type of discussion.

Applying the KIPP fishbowl technique in my classroom, instead of being in small groups (which is my usual set up for structured discussions), my students could as a whole class argue answers to open-ended questions. Since my classroom layout is similar to the fishbowl layout, it would be easy enough to move some desks around so that students could debate on topics that connect to the literature studied (heroism, leadership, euthanasia, resolving conflict, civil rights, attaining the American Dream, etc). The Socratic discussion could be used as a precursor for writing an argumentative essay. Also, as stated in the video, the skills used in a Socratic discussion are the same skills that are used in daily life when arguing or supporting any point made.  Small group, whole class, or just speaking to one person, the critical thinking skills used in the Socratic discussion are skills that students need for every class and beyond.


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Update 12/7/12:  Applying the Socratic Seminar in Class

Students engaged in their first Socratic Seminar based on questions connected to Chapters 1-2 in Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. I adapted the process shown in the video above.

My Process:

1. Desks were arranged to create an inner circle of about 8 students and outer circle with the remaining members of class. Ground rules and expectations were discussed.
2. Students in the outer circle used their devices or a netbook to sign on to TodaysMeet.com and join the chat room I created for the backchannel discussion. The outer circle asked questions and made comments. 
3. Four students in the outer circle volunteered to be the two Recorders of Answers and the two Reporters of Interesting Points. They kept track of the conversation on a collaborative Google Doc.
4. The discussion questions were posted one at a time on the front board and I moved the conversation along as needed. 
5. After about 10-15 minutes, the students changed roles and new questions were asked of the inner circle.

The questions themselves were open-ended, connected to the novel, and controversial so that students could reference the text, provide numerous opinions, and support their arguments. Students stated that they liked being given the choice to participate in the spotlight of the inner circle or keep a lower profile, but still strong presence, in the chat room.

After some initial trepidation, silliness in the backchannel chat room, and the inner circle learning not to talk over each other, the conversation progressed smoothly. I was able to moderate and facilitate the conversation as needed--which was minimal, except as you'll see towards the end of period 2's conversation. Notice the students aren't shy for calling out the inner circle or noting when students are monopolizing the conversation.

For the first time doing a backchannel discussion, things went well. I'm pleased with the level of engagement and can ignore the silly comments. Some of the students' comments were spot on and most haven't read to the end of the novella. One student stated that George was the kind of friend who would take a bullet for Lennie-- little does he know where George will "take" that bullet! A few knowing students did chuckle at the use of the cliche in period 8.

Today went so well because it was structured but still allowed the students to take control. I just hovered and monitored until needed.  The next step will be to add the role of the shadower so that students can get peer evaluations on their speaking and participation skills.

Edutopia Video Reflection: No Rigor Mortis at SOF

"What if we...?"

With the new school year barely a month old, assessments and goals have been in the foreground of my educational schema:  beginning the year with multiple days of diagnostic assessments and trying to figure out how to authentically assess my students and manage the use of technology, I'm constantly thinking about where are we headed and how will we get there. I've started off the year with Edmodo and using a flipped process from day one (ok, really day 4 after mandatory diagnostic testing).  I have a general game plan in mind that I am constantly tweaking. I will say it is invigorating to explore the technological landscape and figuring out how to do what we've done in past years in a new tech-y and paperless way (just read my "soon" to be written post about The Most Wonderful First 1:1 Week).

Thinking about assessments, I came across this video on Edutopia.

The video, "Strategic Goals: Formative Plus Summative Assessment Equals Rigor," highlights NY's School of the Future use of thought-provoking authentic assessments to promote student performance. The students work on drafting and revising projects and papers to create an 8-10 page (minimum) Exhibition at the end of the school year. Teachers assess students on the formative process throughout the year, culminating in the final summative Exhibition. Some 9th grade students even wrote 15-20 page papers on controversial topics-- that is simply  astounding.

What I like about SOF's Exhibition:

• Goal oriented
• Personalized
• Strategic
• Authentic use of higher level thinking
• Process oriented
• Cross-curricular

I also like that the Exhibition is not a standardized test and that it is a project that pushes the students to achieve lofty academic goals.

While I do not use the Habits of the Mind on such a grand summative project as the teachers and students at SOF, I do constantly promote the use of critical thinking skills everyday in my classroom.

"But what if we....?"