Hate School – Love Education

In the school division that I work in, for the past decade our teachers have collaborated, discussed and shared student assessment experiences. From these discussions came about our K-9 report card in 2012. This report card is designed to provide a broader snapshot of how students are learning. It also identifies ways to support student growth and development.
This approach focuses on the broader knowledge and skills that student should learning in each subject. Student performance is then report in one of four categories: exemplary, proficient, approaching proficiency and beginning. This report card emphasizes where student ARE in their learning. Multiple assessment tools, not just %-based tests are being utilized to assess student progress in skills and knowledge outcomes. (See our sample K, grade 4 and grade 7 report cards.)

The way I explain this approach to my non-teacher friends is:
• You go to your doctor for an annual check-up. He/she takes your blood pressure, weighs you, and asks about your overall health, takes blood and urine samples all during your visit. When the results come in from each of those “tests”, your doctor then adds up all these tests and gives you an overall health percentage rating of 81%. Does this then mean that each of these tests were equal in nature and measured the exact same thing? Are you healthier than your friend who received a 75% rating from their doctor the week before? Certainly NOT.
• In the classroom, teachers offer students a variety of assessment opportunities which are not equal in nature and do not ‘measure’ the same thing, therefore adding all of these together to produce a final percentage really doesn’t provide a legitimate picture. As well, adding in our Critical Thinking initiative and Inclusion focus allows students of any academic, behavior, cognitive, and physical level to engage in the learning environment. We want our learning spaces to be filled with exploration, creativity and imagination which make learning exciting and aspiring.

Watch the following video to see what a post-secondary student has to say about an education system that concerns itself with only the “what” of learning. 21st century learning can no longer be ‘sit and get’.

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Intentional Leader: Catalysts for Change

Monthly Theme: Change

Week 2

Change.

It. Is. Not. Easy.

 

Education and Change.

It. Must. Be. Different. To. Engage. Inspire. (our current students)

 

For those educators who are interested in taking time out of their work to really question their ideas, values and belief systems should take some time to view this incredible playlist of Re-imagining school TED Talks.

 

These videos are powerful as they allow us to question:

-         How is this change affecting my daily work?

-         What kind of professional learning support do I require to move forward in my teaching practice?

-         How can I share my learning and network with other teachers in my school, in my division, in the province and around the world?

-         Are there things that I am doing now that I should be stopping?

 

The Playlist consists of:

1)      Ken Robinson: Schools Kill Creativity

2)     Salman Khan: Let’s use Video to Reinvent Education

3)     Sugata Mitra: Build a School in the Cloud

4)     Daphne Koller: What We’re Learning form online Education

5)     Geoff Mulgan: A Short Intro to the Studio School

6)     Sugata Mitra: How Kids Teach Themselves

7)     Peter Norvig: The 100,000 Student Classroom

8)    Dave Egger: Once Upon a School

9)     Liz Coleman: Reinvent Liberal Arts Education

10)  Arthur Benjamin: Teach Stats Before Calculus

11)   Kiran Bir Sethi: Kids Take Charge

12)  Patrick Awuah: Educating Leaders

 

Watch these individually or with colleagues, you are certain to have some great conversations surrounding each one!

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The Future of Learning Needs to Be NOW!

“This is the first generation of people that work, play’ think and learn differently than their parents, …They are the first generation to not be afraid of technology. It’s like the air to them.” ~Don Tapscott

Gerald Logan @glogan, sent this out today to the ETCATA (Educational Technology Council of the Alberta Teacher’s Association) committee and I could not wait to watch when I got to my office. This 20 minute video is entitled The Future of Learning and is part of Ericsson’s Networked Society series. In it we have an opportunity to listen to big thinkers like Seth, Sugata and Stephen as well as creators like Jose and Lois and finally, educators like Margaret and Daphne. They each bring out their perspectives on the history of education, its current state and what education can and should be, given our advances in technology and learning.

History

The origins of education, according to Sugata, really come from the military that needed soldiers who thought and worked in a similar fashion. As well, as the Industrial Revolution rose up, factories required people to behave and think cohesively. Students are then processed in batches which makes it useful for companies to have a constant workforce. This no longer works in the 21^st century as it forces students to adapt to the current educational system rather than the other way around (killing creativity, imagination, exploration, etc.)

Currently and the Recent Past

The teacher was the keeper of all knowledge, yet when the technological revolution came about, information became more readily available in the hands of students who had online access. This is a shift in the knowledge base. Students, anywhere in the world, with an internet connection, can access information, connect with others, expand their learning, and see the world in a different manner.

We can also look at an educational system that is flawed when it relies on standardized testing to corral learners into a specific pathway of learning. These tests don’t help prepare students to go out and be successful citizens; one needs to help students cope with the uncertainty when the go out into society. Seth comments that schools should be dropping these tests since there is nowhere else in the workplace that they are even utilized so they are non-relevant to the learning process.

Knowing something is an obsolete idea. Educations job now is to point students to the right kind of question not just to give out the correct answers. Learners who find the answers do much better than those that receive the answers directly. ~Sugata

Education Can and Should Be…

Seth and Stephen both say that there needs to be an educational revolution. Education needs to less about conveying content and a lot more of teaching and engaging in dialogue to develop thinking skills, problem solving skills and a passion for learning. Our students need to WANT to come to school. An engaged and interesting learning environment needs to make students restless and solve authentic problems. The face to face and virtual learning with teachers who’ll believe in their students and challenge them forward is an important framework to give some serious consideration.

In our own school division, we are seeing a revolution of sorts with:

• Report Cards – our new K-9 report cards and Quick Facts show that report cards are one means of reporting achievement. Other ways include: comments, work collection, phone calls, emails, meetings, agenda notes, student learning log or blog, Meet the Teacher night, Student-led conferences, IPPs (Individual Program Plans), and portfolios. The purpose of a report card is to provide an accurate interpretation of a student’s achievement on graded curriculum and to assist parents with an understanding of areas of strength, areas for growth and strategies for improvement.
• ePortfolios – Forest Green School started this all by having students outwardly sharing their reflections of their learning, High Park School intro, PSD70 Digital Portfolio Project via @gcouros
• High School Flexibility Enhancement Pilot at Spruce Grove Composite High School – Alberta Ed overview
• Embedding Assessment AS Learning into Critical Thinking in an Inclusive Environment – or the short version: Knowing Yourself as a Critical Thinker – a three year project intended to improve student engagement and learning through improving teacher practice.
• New PSD #70 Vision: Parkland is a place where exploration, creativity and imagination make learning exciting and where all learners aspire to reach their dreams.

It was also great to learn about Knewton and Coursera which are two learning platforms available for students. Knewton is a data mining and adaptive learning platform which allows anyone to upload content and produce a course that is uniquely personalized to each student. Coursera is a social entrepreneurship company utilized by universities and colleges. In September 2012, it had 1.5 million students from 196 countries registered in 195 courses from 33 universities ranging from 130,000 – 10,000 students per course! These two examples show that the educational system must change to offer learning in a variety of ways and must continue to grow and enhance learner potential.

In my opinion, this video should be shown in every board room, staff meeting and committee session. Dialogue and action to transform our current educational system must continue to occur so we can evolve and create a more meaningful learning opportunity for ourselves and our students.

 

 

Put Me In Coach!

As John Fogerty sings, “I’m ready to play” in my head while Day 2 of the Leading Our Way Forward Conference continues, I remind myself that Day 1 was about change, so here goes Day 2 all about purpose and support.

Joellen Killion, along with John Clarke, spoke about establishing a school site and school division wide instructional/learning coach program. As our school division is beginning the journey to engage in an instructional/learning coach program, (Yes, we’re ready to play!) this day of the conference is an important one. Many questions still are being asked and this day will allow us to answer a few and surely come up with more!

What kind of benefits are found in hosting a coaching program? Some shared group thoughts were:
- the idea of ‘We”; coming together for a common goal
- shared knowledge
- reciprocal learning
- security to take risks
- being able to push people beyond their comfort zones in a safe environment
- trust, positive collaboration
- accessibility of support
- time is planned to observe, review, refine
- build self-confidence
- just in time learning

What are /could be some of the challenges? Our group asked questions moreso than answer the question with:
- How do coaches invite themselves into a school/classroom?
- How do you build those trusting relationships?

More reflections:
1) We liked the discussion about a coach having ‘expertise’ rather than being an exert. Having expertise has a more positive connotation.

2) Joellen encouraged us to start with the willing/the early adopters, not the ‘rocks’. These ‘rocks’ will not engage themselves until pushed. Once they catch on they will roll on board.

3) See teachers as facilitators of information for all students. A collaborative mindset will successfully and effectively move instructional coaching ahead. Joellen spoke of a school which entirely adopted the instructional coaching model for ALL staff. This allowed all teachers to move forward in their pedagogy – great discussions, collective responsibility and success for both students and teachers. In this way, goals can be easily established school-wide (not just for individuals), interaction with instructional coaching is positive from the start and accessibility to administrators and staff is seamless.
Coaching Roles and Responsibilities
There are a number of roles that instructional coaches play. Joellen gave us time to review them and then place a % beside the roles we have in our own professional work. I liked this activity as it gave me time to review the roles, see which ones I truly fit and how much of my time/effort is placed in those particular roles. It would be a good activity for any instructional coach to complete in the Fall and Spring to tie in to their professional growth plan and the work they are doing in school(s). Below you will see an outline of the roles presented as well as my pie chart outlining where I see myself right now. I also will be comparing this chart to a Fall 2011 that I will be completing – I look forward to blogging about its similarities and differences then!

Resource provider – sharing resources (websites, articles, instructional materials, readings, lesson/unit plans, assessment tools, etc.) for teachers and students.
Data coach – leading conversations that engage analysis of student data and use this info to strengthen instruction.
Instructional specialist - implementing effective teaching strategies (such as DI, critical thinking) appropriate for the school/classroom and share findings with colleagues.

Curriculum specialist - understanding content standards, how various components of the curriculum link together and how to use curriculum in planning instruction and assessment.

Classroom supporter - working in a classroom to help teachers implement new ideas by demonstrating a lesson or co-teaching or observing and giving feedback.

Learning facilitator - facilitating professional development opportunities with colleagues.

Mentor – serving as a mentor for novice teachers.

School leader - serving on committee(s), acting as a grade level or department chair,

supporting school initiatives or representing the school/division on community task forces/committees.

Catalyst for change - always looking for a better way through continual improvement; posing questions to generate analysis of student learning.

Graph was created from http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/default.aspx.

Where is PSD going?
In my opinion, we need to start with answering three questions:
1) What is the purpose of a coaching program in PSD?

2) What are the goals of this program?

3) What are our plans for monitoring, reviewing and refining the program?

I look forward to the many conversations, reflections, frameworks and relationship building pieces that will come about within our school division over the next year. The research from Alberta Education, ERLC, our speakers from the Leading Our Way Forward conference and the sage advice from our colleagues will guide us to new support in how our school division guides the learning of its personnel and its students. It’s an exciting and challenging time in Education!

Put me in coach, I’m ready to play! (Are you too?)

 

Got Some Change?

Change. Although this could represent a post-disco group in the 1980’s, an R&B group in the 1970’s and the word itself has been used in many songs from Black Sabbath to Taylor Swift, it evokes powerful emotions when linked to the realm of education.

Change. It can be purposeful and effective when designed meaningfully to meet our students needs.

Change. Day 1 of the Leading Our Way Forward Conference in Edmonton hosted by ERLC and CASS is highlighting how school divisions and leadership teams can increase capacity via a learning/instructional coaching model. Keynote speakers Bernajean Porter and John Clarke stimulated participants’ thinking through various activities, discussion topics, sharing of research and resources.

Change and technology. Throughout Bernajean’s keynote session, participants interactively engaged in using a number of tech tools. We microblogged using TodaysMeet with specific questions and activities in mind to reflect in this online forum. We completed an online survey using Polleverywhere and we have the opportunity to review her session notes any time at http://erlc.wikispaces.com/BernajeanPorter. By demonstrating the use and purpose of some of these tools, I am hoping leaders will use them often and effectively. In our own school division, I know of several administrators and teachers who are tasking these web 2.0 tools to gather feedback, gain data and inform the learning/assessment process. Popular tools being used are:

1) TitanPad or PrimaryPad are an online collaborative, closed environment where up to 16 participants at one time can share information, no need to register or require an email address. Uses have been to set up staff meeting agendas, work on group poetry projects, complete a critical thinking challenge, or plan a school event.
2) Blogs – the ability to journal, reflect and comment on one’s learning experiences is a great way to showcase growth in understanding for teachers, administrators and students. Kidblogs, edublogs, blogger and wordpress are a few of the online programs being used in PSD.
3) Polleverywhere has been used for a couple of years. Our high schools were so impressed with its ease of use, ability to embed in powerpoints and instantaneous feedback that they each bought a premium license that tracks the feedback.
4) Twitter is the five year old application where 140 characters and abbreviations don’t stop the deep conversations, sharing of information, varying distant yet important relationships and 24/7 connectedness to the learning environment. Daily, our #psd70 staff are understanding the power of a Professional Learning Network. This conference is entertaining its own hashtag of #lowf which allows participants to share gems from both Bernajean, the fireside chat group and John Clarke, but it also allows the outside world to lurk and participate as well.

Change and collaboration. In collaborative cultures we all work together so that the effort and moving forward is a group thing. It is pertinent that we understand how to work together as adults and our students need these skills as well to be successful learners and citizens. To further build on Bernajean’s discussion about the difference between a cooperative or a collaborative team, Garfield Gini-Newman from TC2 has an archived webinar from November 2010: Focus on Critical Inquiry – Collaborative Inquiry. For those schools/divisions involved with the Critical Thinking Consortium it’s one video highly recommended by fellow Curriculum Facilitator, Diane Lander. As well, the activity of answering either “What do we see, hear, feel in collaborative classrooms?” or “What do we not see, hear, feel in collaborative classrooms” was eventful; check out one of our tables’ posters:

Change and strengths. Bernajean spoke about being positive and intentional when in a collaborative mode. Forget the icebreakers, build relationships, work to have the sharing environment safe and authentic. A couple of book suggestions during this topic were: Take this Job and Love It and Verbal Judo.

Change and analysis. By using a force-field analysis, groups can look at what their “it” is that is being focused on and see where it is supporting and limiting to the work being done in the school division.

Change and reflection. Implementing a reflective, collaborative culture for professional development has been shown to be effective in making gains in student achievement. Bernajean summarized November 2010’s Leading and Learning magazine edition which concentrated on Creating a Culture of Collaboration. The fireside chat with a group of superintendents also shared specific ways that they dealt with changing their school division’s culture for the betterment of all stakeholders.

Change of presenter. After lunch, we were treated to John Clarke’s playful and in-tune original, yet poignant songs. He had use conversing and moving about the conference floor in the Give One Get One activity. This was definitely raising the comfort level through intentional meeting and discussion, showcasing that we all have value in our thoughts and reflections. In order for school divisions to effectively respond the accountability and quality learning foci, two goals need to be addressed:

1) Professional development for all teaching staff.
2) Development of the school division’s capacity to learn and be adaptive.

Change and cognitive coaching. A way of thinking in using a set of strategies to work individually and in groups to problem solve and shape thoughts. In PSD we have a few colleagues who previously have worked with John and attended his Cognitive Coaching seminars. They all speak highly of the process that is based on four propositions:

1) Thought and perception produce all behavior.
2) Teaching is constant decision-making.
3) To learn something new requires engagement and alteration in thought.
4) Humans continue to grow cognitively.

We look forward to further cognitive coaching training in our division with John’s assistance and guidance!

Change and adaptation. To be adaptive means to change form and clarify identity. New challenges in education require new and increasingly flexible forms for school divisions. And the ways in which we define the meaning of our schools and schooling shape the identity of our school division in which we work and the identity of the individual people within our schools. With the First Word, Last Word activity, John had tables read through Karen Seashore Louis’ work on the five attributes of collaborative cultures that improve learning for all students. The five attributes are:

1) Shared norms and values.
2) Collective focus on student learning.
3) Collaboration.
4) Deprivatized practice.
5) Reflective dialogue.

The activity had table participants take time to comment on specific expressions picked out by members. A good activity to activate authentic listening and safe sharing.

Change and community. In reviewing our needs as a school division, some guiding questions can point us in the right direction:

1) Who are we? (what values do we have in this learning culture)
2) Why are we doing this? (should we be doing what we are doing)
3) Why are we doing this – this way? (are there better ways of doing this and what are they)

Change and norms of collaboration. We are either working from a dialogue or a discussion standpoint. It is important to note that sometimes dialogue outweighs discussion or vice versa. In looking at the outcomes of these two processes, dialogue is for understanding and discussion is for making a decision. The seven norms of collaboration are:

1. pausing
2. paraphrasing
3. putting inquiry at the centre
4. probing for specificity
5. placing ideas on the table “here’s a thought we may want to consider”, “here’s a hunch, something going through my brain”
6. paying attention to self and others
7. presuming positive intentions

Change and its origin. The word change comes form the Middle English cha ( u ) ngen  < Anglo-French, Old French changer  < Late Latin cambiāre, Latin cambīre  to exchange via http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/change. The word is 835 years old, has 38 different dictionary meanings and is an important part of the learning process, educational reform and instructional evolution we are facing in 2011. How collaboratively our schools, school divisions and leadership take on this change process will result in continuing the movement towards a flexible learning culture that is ready, poised and authentic in its mission, vision and attitudes.

Go ahead, be the change that you want to see in your school, in your school division, in your community, in society. Why not?

 

Technology in Education Videos

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I just received the latest Tech News newsletter from Alberta Education. There are always great tidbits, resources, and the latest tech news found in this newsletter. Feel free to subscribe yourself at http://www.industrymailout.com/Industry/Subscribe.aspx?m=16941. The following videos were showcased in this latest newsletter and they are not to be missed!

Since May 2010, I have had the opportunity during various conferences, workshops and meetings to view each of the videos below. First off, they are quite polished and one is able to hear the thoughts from students, teachers, parents and research gurus. Secondly, they are short enough to share with a group of teachers who are looking to further engage their students.

21st Century Learning: Technology in Education Videos

Alberta Education has produced a series of videos to illustrate 21^st Century learning in Alberta. The five videos show how Alberta schools are currently using a variety of technologies for teaching and learning.  They include:

• Technology in Education: The Possibilities This video showcases a school environment that has fully integrated technology into day-to-day learning and teaching.
• Connection with the International Space Station This video shows the innovative learning and teaching that lead up to the question-answer session between students in Palliser Regional Schools and astronauts aboard the International Space Station.
• Flexibility in Learning Through Technology This video provides a glimpse into the lives of students who have chosen to attend virtual schools.
• Success for All Students with Technology This video showcases two schools that use technology to help students with complex learning needs and language barriers.
• Making Global Connections This video shows how videoconferencing is used to make student learning relevant and engaging.

Image: http://www.nwlincs.org/CompTech/images/LevelB4.jpg

 

Emerge Conference

For three days this August, I am having the pleasure to network with educators, politicians, administrators, an astronaut, visionary technology enthusiasts to name a few. The setting is beautiful Banff. It has welcomed us with sunny weather, a great facility (Banff Centre) and many good conversations.

Feel free to follow or even review some of the comments found on twitter with the hastag #emerge2010

Sunday

* Dr. David Merrill’s keynote on Physical Blocks for Digital Play spoke about the history of technology in music, games, education, etc. Educational software over the past three decades has changed quite a bit, however this 32 year old prof still believes that the “one-point” experience (that of using a mouse to control one little cursor) is really not the most effective way of interacting with today’s digital content. If you recognize David’s name, it may be because of his infamous TED talk from a couple of years ago surrounding Siftables.

Monday

* Dr. Bob Thirsk’s keynote this morning centered around his experiences with the Canadian Space Agency and the International Space Station. He also tied these events with the knowledge, skills and attitudes required in a classroom setting and the critical role that teachers play in engaging students. Wonderful space pics of the earth!

* For the rest of the day, workshops were available to attend. As well, I presented PSD’s Journey for the first year of the Supporting Leaders in Integrating Technology Project. My topic was Digital Bootcamp for Educational Leaders. I had two glogster posters: one with an intro of where PSD sits in regards to technology integration and the other showing some of administrators/tech leaders discussing one of the NINE effective strategies. We also worked in our group and individual thoughts on a collaborative TitanPad site. As well, the magazine report on issuu was a hit – good info shared through this medium! (Now I need to review this report for its final draft and ‘polish’ over the next few days and hand it in to Ralph at Alberta Ed!!)

* iLead: Shaping Learning Communities that Fit the Needs of 21st Century Learners – Jeff Johnson. Working with leadership in ECSD. A few wonderful videos with admin, teachers and students discussing 21st century learning. As well, he used of COSN’s Learning to Change, Changing to Learn video to garner discussion with leaders. Resources such as www.metiri.com, p21.org and BernaJean Porter and ISTE learning site http://istelearning.org/ info to plan for change with a specific focus for each admin.

* Student-Centered Graphic Organizers: Using Technology to Organize Thinking and Represent Understanding - Danny Maas. Students are able to develop their visual literacy skills and content knowledge using various graphic organizers. Graphic org – books: The Art & Sci of Teaching, Classroom Instruction that Works. 4 types of graphic org: compare/contrast, concept mapping, cause&effect, classifying. Great graphic organizer tools – prezi, bubbl.us, powerpoint, edu glogster and popplet.

Tuesday

* Dr. Marlene Scardamalia’s keynote on Environments and Assessments for an Inclusive Knowledge Society shared some of the research she has been involved in for the past 18 months. www.ikit.org – building of site and resources as per knowledge building and assessment. Interesting that new knowledge creation is not identified in any framework for 21st Century Skills.

* Enhancing the Capacity of Ed Leaders w/ Dale Howard  - the researcher reviewing the Supporting Leaders Theme 1 project.

*seeing what jurisdictions are doing, does this change their capacity and knowledge on technology?

Vision – promoting successful school leaders in AB

Mission – admins will recognize the potential of new and emerging tech and enable their meaningful integration in supporting teaching and learning

CASS Study 2010 on application of 21^st C learning technologies

http://o.b5z.net/i/u/10063916/h/Pre-Conference/cass_lit-review_final.pdf

Results of initial participant survey:

Response rate – 84%

PD – 69% directly involved, 30% not

Satisfaction w/selection of PD activities – 53%, neither sat nor dissat – 43%

Satisfaction w/ sequencing of PD activities – 50%, neither sat nor dissat – 48%

Not challenging enough – 8%,

Time allotted – satisfied – 35%

Actively promoting digi citizenship – 23%

20 characteristics of tech leadership        –     50-60% vision and strategic planning, digital-aged culture,

-          60-70% modeling, evidence-based practice, policy

-          75% tech integration at local level, facilitating staff dev, promoting/modeling responsible social interaction

What does it mean to be a digital-aged leader?

Three fields of knowledge from Friesen and Lock 2010 – practitioner, new, public. Do you feel with this intense PD have you made some leaps in your knowledge?

* Richard Tapp discussed his involvement in the 1:1 ESL student program in Calgary. Shared that the ESL group was half of a class, all students in class received a laptop and resources were at their fingertips such as  iLife, iWorks, GarageBand, Audacity, Inspiration, Discovery Education, visual thesaurus, dictionary, and MS Office suite. Students liked having access to the laptops 24/7 and confidence was boosted in showing their learning in a variety of forms. His presentation found here.

* Terry Godwalt’s infectious passion for Canadian Global Education had me attend his session. Working with TIGEd, Terry showed a variety of ways that teachers can provide authentic global learning experiences through webinars, webconferences, and videoconferences. AS well, it’s free and fits with our school division priorities since it has connects high schools virtually with grad students, Four Nations classrooms, Change for Children, VC for Hope = supported by Ctr for Global Ed

* Bob Regan’s keynote right after lunch kept us engaged and laughing. His topic was on Technology in the Classroom: Going form Disengaged to Digital. He had great visuals, a good story and pertinent research to share.

Quote: “Going to school is like being on an airplane – turn off devices, sit down, stare ahead.” As well – research from Manpower ’09: While more people may be looking for jobs, they don’t have the skills needed. Some scary info: each dropout costs the nation $260,000US. There are three stages of tech: lab, classroom and then access anywhere….and now informal learning (could be a 4th stage?). In reference to PD, Bob says that it needs to be fast, fun and frequent. He showcased the Palm Breeze Cafe as an exemplar.

Will add more info from Tues – wi-fi is giving me some trouble

Image – http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSDLOe854Gm6RLrwy1eYXXySOT5BYCDUJzyAu4IXhuo1WM-nt4&t=1&usg=__lxggngAkRb9N_EScb02sqsevVu4=

 

How Should Critical Thinking Be Integrated with Technology?

This question was the topic of discussion on yesterday’s first #edchat discussion on Twitter. (Or follow through the Educator’s PLN Ning.) Although I was quite engaged in other matters, I was able to peruse the discussions archived on the wiki which was helpful. It provided an opportunity to see the variety of ways we THINK about critical thinking.  I agree with @cybraryman1’s comment that “good teaching requires an understanding of how technology relates to the pedagogy and content (see my #5.) As well, @Parentella makes the statement that “it requires critical thinking skills and problem solving to be able to function in the world we live in” whereby I give out a rebel yell ‘ YES!!’ and come down to reality. The way schools are structured in learning silos must be disintegrated. Reform is not the way, a learning revolution MUST take place in order for a majority of our schools to change the way they are educating students. (Check out my blog on The 21^st Century Learning Environment and even Sir Ken Robinson’s Bring on the Learning Revolution TED talk.)

Here’s my own path towards critical thinking:

1)      I have had various teachers and mentors who have facilitated my own immersion into critical thinking.

2)      The  definition of critical thinking from Dictionary.com’s 21st Century Lexicon cites that it is the mental process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing and evaluating information to reach an answer or conclusion.

3)      With the above definition in mind, I have even had an opportunity to work on the newer Bloom’s Taxonomy by giving it a digital addendum. (See my SLItech blog.)

4)      I recently have been exposed to TC² which is part of our AISI (Alberta Initiative for School Improvement) three year project. Critical thinking, according to TC², is concerned with developing sound judgment. Teachers need to guide students to think critically through various forms of learning. Developing criteria to judge a particular project, instructing strategies to organize thinking and acquiring a vocabulary about thinking are some of the necessary activities to build critical knowledge and skills.

5)      Finally, let’s talk tech. Being a BIG supporter of the TPACK model, I believe that critically thinking will involve some form of technology. If this isn’t clear, check out Judi Harris’ wiki with learning activity types which offers a way for teachers to deliberately plan their lessons with technology if they so wish. Now, add some critical challenges, investigation of images, ask some powerful questions and you have started on your way! (Sounds easy, but take little steps like concentrating on one form of critical thinking first) As well, our own K-12 Alberta Social Studiescurriculum  is smattered with critical thinking possibilities to assist teachers.

Critical thinking is a lifelong learning process and I am certainly glad to be part of the experiences in our school division. I can thank Leah, Diane (our curriculum facilitators) and Wally (TC²) for that!

Image http://darcott.com/blog/img/Diana_06-04-12_AHrHT3.jpg

 

Effective Teaching Practice?

I have been a Teacher List http://www.theteacherlist.ca/ member for at least ten years. Pete is a local teacher and married to a retired teacher-friend of mine. For the most part, I appreciate his thoughts and TeacherList member recommendations. Passing on websites and interesting links to other teachers has been a delight. Yet, there are times where some of the material presented has struck a chord or a reflective ponder:

“does this resource truly fit the vision,

needs and wants of our school/division initiatives?”.

There have been many a discussion of certain articles, blogs, software, etcetera. I believe, as an educator, we should critically question what we are reading. Look for resources that fit our needs, however we should also be aware of those resources that DO NOT fit our needs.

What am I really talking about? What is the ranting? This week, TheTeacherList promoted Doug Lemov’s book, Teach Like a Champion. I thought to myself – “catchy title” and decided it was worth a look. The URL:  http://www.uncommonschools.org/usi/aboutUs/taxonomy.php provided some basic information, but the nine page NY Times article gave me some really interesting points of thought. Ultimately, my stomach was in a knot about sharing this, yet I thought I would get some good comments from my Learning Services colleagues. I sent the TeacherList write up with these comments (I tried to stay neutral in my thoughts):

***Click on the URL and go to the NY Times article. Although it is 9 pages long, it is well worth the read!! I would welcome your thoughts on this. Should/Could this be a good resource that we share with teachers and admin?***

Diane was first with her comments -

My interpretation of the article and other thoughts:

What I have gleaned from this article is that the taxonomy offers ideas for improving “stand and deliver” techniques. Many of the suggestions offered in the taxonomy are strategies for improving classroom management (how to make the students listen better to the teacher, behave better, follow directions, look at the board…) as well as emphasis on the teacher as the content expert.

While the suggestions are definitely great strategies for a teacher centered approach, I wouldn’t recommend sharing this article with PSD staff. We want to endorse the shift to a more child centred approach, where the classroom is a community of learners, students understand the learning targets, and are engaged as a result of their ownership of the learning. There’s no question that classroom management is a huge component in a child centered approach. However, different techniques are required than those offered in this article.

…And here’s my soapbox (or more eloquently known as my “talking points”)…

The critical thinking approach we are working with is one approach that puts learning into the students’ hands. The teacher’s very important role is to pose the kinds of questions or problems that give students a purpose for learning the content, leading to deeper thinking about the big ideas by having students use predetermined criteria to support the judgements they make. Teachers scaffold the learning by offering them thinking strategies and differentiating instruction along the way. Students uncover the knowledge and understanding outcomes by being engaged in tasks that have them learn and practice the skills outcomes identified in the program of studies.

I added my thoughts and returned the discussion back to the group

First of all, I agree with Diane’s interpretation, thoughts and talking points. I was taken aback from the comments made in the NY Times article that this “taxonomy”/book is targeted to new teachers……they are a group which are more than willing to try anything to be effective and successful teachers; well, ALL teachers want to be effective and successful. My point is that, such as Diane has iterated, this book IS a teacher-centered resource n(according to the article). There is no thought to 21^st century skills which are student-centered in nature. Do I want to pick up this book to read? Not really, since there are so many better books out there. Yet, I believe it is important for us to be aware of other ideas/information targeting “effective teaching practices”.

Now, I believe it is time to let others have their chance to discuss…..and add my comments to Pete’s comment area. After all, he should know that he has spurred on some great discussion.

Image – https://icat.okcareertech.org/v3/files/lguilfoyle/m/bgArS1P5fI.jpg