Category: Instruction

Energy Collaboration: Working Together Separately

Learning 365:  An Interesting Collaborative Structure That Worked!

Today I had the privilege of attending the Hickey Leadership Planning Summit with my new administrative team (follow the amazing Dan Hickey on Twitter @hickeygroup).  I’ve recently been hired as an Assistant Principal at Hart Middle School along side the incredible Wendy Darga (@wdarga), and our awesome Principal Rachel Guinn (@RachelGuinn3).  The summit provided some space and time for us to get the ball rolling.  Dan Hickey is famous for helping educational leaders “get to work,” and that’s just what we did!  It was a day of planning structured around three brief “blasts” from colleagues who were asked to share some of how they think and what they do to work through the daily challenges that we all face.  This was a great way to start the year as a team!  It was energizing to be working in a room with so many passionate administrators from around the state.

For the most part, Rachel, Wendy, and I sat together thinking through a list of critical questions.  We were not engaged with the other groups, but the room was brimming with enthusiasm.  A palpable drive to get things done permeated the space from wall to wall.  What an interesting and effective way to collaborate.  I started thinking of it as “energy collaboration.”  While we weren’t interacting with the other groups, we were feeding off of each other’s energy.  I thought about how this might work in the classroom.  There were dozens of small groups, each one intensely focused on our unique and individual goals, working in different ways through independently designed and implemented activities, within one structure, intended to perpetuate productivity.  I wondered about this model for project-based learning.  How about professional development?  As leaders and learners, supported, but left to our own devices, we met and exceeded our expectations for efficiency.  Our interests and specific needs guided our individual progress, while the common need for space and team-time connected every person in that room, and in my opinion…gave us enhanced motivation to stay on task and get things done.

Each work session lasted for about an hour, which seemed like a good amount of time.  Not enough time to dilly-dally or get burnt out, but certainly enough to cover several critical discussion points.  The “blasts” were five-minute presentations that separated the work sessions.  Each one outlined an authentic passion, practice, or challenge, and was conceived of by the presenter.  They were great, they cut the work time into manageable segments, and they fired us up to get back to work.  The first was from Principal Jessica Carrier (@jcarrierms) about 1:1 tech in the classroom and how it’s essential for staff to be growing alongside students.  As administrators, we need to be modeling, providing support, and deigning opportunities for teachers to develop skills and understandings of tools that we expect them to integrate into their classrooms; a great message!  Next we heard from Jim Lalik (@jimlalik) who reminded us that people can be stifled by a fear of criticism, and that as leaders we need to focus on positive interactions to build trusting, productive relationships.  Jim is a student of Positive Psychology.  He shared some though provoking data related to the philosophy.  Finally, our superstar Rachel Guinn spoke to the group about Administrative Learning Teams and how we “are all in this together!”  She made the great point that when an outside facilitator comes in to lead a group of administrators on a learning path it releases the administrators from their typical design/facilitation responsibilities, allowing them each to focus on individual and collaborative learning; a powerful way to connect and develop as a team.  We heard three great messages, from three experienced administrators, separating three intense work sessions.  I’ll look forward to using/adapting this structure with my new team for implementation where it fits the needs of our learning community!

It might be cool to try:

Asking various staff members to inject 5 minute “blasts” into long meetings to separate segments and energize/inspire others.

Designing professional learning opportunities in which different groups are working on unique content driven by individual needs and supported in creating distinct learning pathways to suit those needs.

Promoting a tech club for staff, like a book club but with iPads and apps instead of literature.

Keeping tabs of the positive interactions I have during the day and setting goals from the data I collect.

Being a part of an Administrative Learning Team!  Deciding on a focus, enlisting a facilitator, making the commitment, and putting it into action.

 

 

 

Great Ideas Are All Around – Keep Your Eyes Open!

The Point: 

Collaboration is one essential key to growth and achievement.  Great ideas are all around us.  When we engage in thinking about (and working on) those great ideas with others, we enhance connected growth opportunities for ourselves, and everyone else involved.

The Story:

The wonderful Arin Kress has initiated a great collaborative learning project through her blog http://hatechalk.blogspot.com, and complimented the effort by engaging the Twitter-sphere with #videoblogchallenge (follow Arin of Twitter @KressClass & do yourself a favor…read her amazing blog)!  I’m extremely excited to be participating in this first challenge.  The challenge is simple:  Go to Arin’s blog, watch the video, create a blog post based on the video, and attach a link to your blog in the comment section of the #videoblogchallenge post that you’re working on.   I love this idea for several reasons.  To begin with, it’s a wonderfully creative idea for engaging multiple learners!  I happen to be a huge fan of wonderfully creative ideas, and I’m an equally huge fan of video use/production in the classroom.  Specifically, I really appreciate how effectively using and/or creating videos can engage learners in the writing process.  Through the #videoblogchallenge Arin is grabbing my attention, making participation fun, and giving me something to think about as I work to conceive of, create, revise, edit, and polish a blog post.  I’ve thought critically about blog purpose and design for some time now, spent hundreds of hours in development, and written several dozen blog posts, and I’m still a novice.  Blogs are phenomenal learning tools, however, it takes a lot of focus and motivation to create and maintain one.  Imagine how the #videoblogchallenge could work to enhance that process for you and your students.  Might you show a video to introduce the concept of blogging to a group of fifth graders this fall?  How about having rotating groups of third graders create videos each week for an ongoing digital conversation about geometry?  Where does Arin’s awesome idea take you?

Next, I believe that it’s attitudes and initiatives like Arin’s that perpetuate the most effective professional development opportunities available.  We all know that education can be a very isolating business.  There is so much to think about and do on a daily basis.  It’s easy to get stuck in a classroom or an office.  By offering the #videoblogchallenge up to her Twitter PLN Arin is rallying a community of like-minded educators around critical reflection and active learning.  What a great model to take back to each of our school communities!  When done well (and with intention), both blogging and Tweeting can bring people together and move common goals forward.  Here I am, on my own time, processing an idea that came to me through my Twitter PLN, wondering how it can positively affect growth and achievement in the community that I serve, engaging in a really fun learning activity, writing a blog post, making connections, and having an ongoing dialogue with Arin and others.  This is great PD (not to mention extremely cost effective)!  How might this model transform some of the PD in your community?  In my experience most educators would agree that interest, collaboration, fun, self-pacing, individualization, and convenience are some worthwhile components of quality learning.  Also, digital environments can be great platforms for otherwise hesitant communicators to feel comfortable expressing themselves.  This project has so many rich and effective pedagogical components.  I hope that it inspires you in the way that it’s inspired me!

 

So, here’s the video followed by my #videoblogchallenge post (you don’t need to watch the last 30 seconds):

It’s amazing how quickly life changes.  In one moment I’m comfortable moving along my path with every bit of confidence that things are looking up, when all of the sudden…the escalator just stops.  It’s that shift into an unexpected challenge that can throw me off.  If I took a moment to relax and think, I might realize that I could simply walk up the rest of the way to get where I’m going.  However, it’s hard to relax when things don’t go according to plan.  I have to be somewhere, do something, meet someone, finish some project, etc.  Who has time to relax and think?  So often the answers are staring me directly in the face.  An escalator is literally a moving staircase, which means that when it’s not moving…it’s literally a staircase.  If I had approached a staircase I would have simply walked up the stairs, but I didn’t, I approached an escalator – and I expected it to escalate me!  This video reminds me that life is unpredictable.  Thankfully, I’ve been alive long enough to understand that adaptability is essential.  I know that plans are frameworks we use to achieve desired outcomes.  As necessary as it is to make those plans, it’s necessary to be ready to change them.  My wife and I are constantly talking about our belief that we’re surrounded by opportunities, and that being prepared to take the ones that fit us is the best way to achieve our goals.  As a husband, a father of three, and an educational leader, adaptability is an extremely important component of that preparedness.  I love the excitement that the two stranded escalator riders expressed when the repairman came to their rescue, and the disappointment they expressed when his escalator broke down.  I wonder how this scene would have played out if the three of them put their heads together to make a new plan by which each could continue on his/her individual path, and then took collaborative action to implement that plan with a continued willingness and ability to adapt as it unfolded.  My guess is that it would have been more effective.  Great video Arin!  Thanks for the challenge:)!

Some Things to Consider:

1.  Finding ways to collaborate can enhance initiatives that would otherwise be developed/implemented in isolation.

2.  Keep a “Great Ideas” journal.  We are surrounded by great ideas.  When educators keep their eyes open and gather ideas for use/adaptation they enhance their abilitie to engage all learners.

3.  Read http://hatechalk.blogspot.com & follow Arin Kress on Twitter @KressClass…you will learn and grow!

4.  Explore video production/use for classroom instruction and professional development.  Check out some more thoughts and ideas at https://bergseyeview.edublogs.org/category/instruction/instructional-tools/video-production/

5.  Expand/engage with your Twitter PLN & Blog (read and write)!

 

Your input is always welcome and appreciated…happy learning!

 

Seth

Taking Risks, Working Together, & Failing in order to Succeed

 

Reasonable Risks, Crossing Bridges, & Collaborations are Keys to Learning & Growth

I keep hearing about how important it is to promote the taking of “reasonable risks” in our classrooms and school communities.  The theme of “failure” as a learning opportunity is hot in the education dialogue right now…as it should be.  After all, where would any of us be without it?  Failure has arguably brought us every great innovation, idea, and achievement that we have.  It can be an incredible motivator, a wonderful teacher, and a tremendous character building resource.  No risk, no reward.  I’ve mentioned before that I’m a believer in axioms.  They generally make sense because they tend to be time tested.  I could declare that eating mashed potatoes with every meal makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.  However, it most likely would not make axiom status, in large part because it’s not true.  It doesn’t work.  As tasty as mashed potatoes are, it probably is not in anyone’s best interest to eat them with every meal (especially if you’re a butter fiend like me).  On the other hand, when people get to bed early, they set themselves up for reasonable amounts of sleep (and tend to stay out of late night trouble), and when they wake up early, they have time to get things done.  So many people have found this practice to be a good model for health, wealth, and wisdom that early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise became an axiom. I digress in an effort to illustrate that no risk, no reward holds true as well (statistically).  So, earn a penny by saving one, stick with birds whose feathers are similar to yours, keep your chin up, get out of the kitchen (if you can’t stand the heat), imitate people you wish to flatter, strive for less (it’s actually more), treat people how you want them to treat you, behold beauty in your own way, don’t try to change a leopard’s spots, if you’re looking to save nine stitches…stitch one (in time), face the music, and for goodness sake…take risks!

My two-year-old has an aptitude for risk taking.  Ironically, I frequently find myself calling after him with words like, “no,” and “stop,” and “don’t,” in a loud, sharp voice, and with a reddening face.  I don’t want the kid to get hurt.  But there in lies the art of modeling reasonable risk-taking and supporting our learners in taking reasonable risks.  It’s the reasonable part that they need to understand.  How can we help our children and our students develop the essential critical thinking skills that allow them to determine whether or not any given risk is in fact reasonable?  I would suggest that we will have done our jobs if those we raise and teach are not only able to be reflective and grounded enough to cross each bridge as they come to it, but that they will be able to evaluate how to cross, if an alternative route is called for, or if crossing is in fact not the reasonable option at all.  Then, I would like to think that they will have the courage and resourcefulness to follow through with whatever conclusion they come to.  Finally, if/when they fail…I hope that we’ve been effective enough teachers that they are able to celebrate that failure as a step on the path to success.  Truman Capote said, “Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.”  I like that.

After multiple previous failed attempts…

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my 2-year-old risks life and limb to successfully cross the shaky bridge at the park!

I’m currently engaged in an exciting project with two incredible educators who I recently met on Twitter.  Together with Ashlee Logan (@logan_ashlee) and Aaron Koleda (@aaroNKoleda) I’m co-founding and co-moderating a Twitter chat focused on ways that educators can use videos and video production for best practice instruction in their classrooms and school communities.  The idea was born out of an informal conversation about Ted Talks, a combined love of collaborative learning, and a collective desire to grow by taking reasonable risks!  Given that we each live and work hundreds of miles apart, the three of us would have little chance to know each other if not for our individual efforts to reach out (a reasonable risk).  I’m relatively new to Twitter, but I’m quickly finding that the magic isn’t in having access to the limitless flow of ideas and resources.  Rather, it’s in the opportunity to meet like-minded individuals, connect, and engage in relationships that extend past one hundred and forty characters.  Ashlee, Aaron, and I met recently for the first time in a Google “Hang Out.”  It was awesome! Having bounced our ideas and enthusiasm back and forth on Twitter for a few weeks it was wonderful to be face-to-face (to-face), even through a video chat.  The next step is continuing to develop our #vidEDchat concept.

We’ve set up a blog and a Twitter account, we’re collectively brainstorming format, guiding topics, logo design, and connected resources, and we’re actively communicating the upcoming maiden voyage of #vidEDchat to our respective PLNs (August 14th from 9-10am).  Our intention is to recruit as many collaborators as possible to join in on our journey to explore how videos and video production can enhance learning.  We hope to enlist experts like Brad Waid (@Techbradwaid) & Drew Minock (@TechMinock) from www.twoguysandsomeipads.com to join when we discuss augmented reality, Todd Neslony (@TechNinjaTodd) at www.toddneslony.com to help us explore how videos and video production play into flipped instruction and project based learning, and chat pros like Michele Corbat (@MicheleCorbat ) & Victoria Olson (@MsVictoriaOlson – http://techteacheronamission.weebly.com/) to provide feedback as we work to develop the concept.  One of the most important aspects of this effort to each of us is that it’s a shared effort.  I’ve not met anyone on Twitter who isn’t there to connect.  The collaborative energy is outstanding.  My incredible #vidEDchat partners and I are more than ready to cross the bridge from shooting off and reading Tweets to building authentic relationships by which we can perpetuate ongoing and meaningful collaborative learning.  We’re excited at the prospect of joining forces with as many others as are so moved to join us!  Two of the axioms at play here are no risk, no reward & the more the merrier.  The reasonable risk is that we’re putting ourselves out there, exposed in the Twitter-sphere, ready to push through the roadblocks in developing an idea we believe in.  The hope is that others find our collective work as meaningful as we have, and that by growing this chat we’ll be exposed to learning that will take everyone involved to places we couldn’t have otherwise imagined!  As educators we will continue to practice and model this type of action and learning, not only for our children and our students…but for ourselves!

Being Present Enhances Life, Learning, and Growth!

Shower Them With Presence

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THE POINT:

Being exactly where I am during any given moment enhances that moment for me, and those around me.

THE STORY:

Like everyone I know, I have a lot on my mind, a lot of the time.  I’m truly blessed to have an amazing wife and three incredible children.  Along with that blessing comes plenty of stuff to think about.  I’m realizing with increasing clarity that thinking about all of that stuff all the time doesn’t make it less challenging to navigate the wonderful and occasionally unyielding waters of parenthood, professionalism, and overall humanness (I believe that’s a word).  It’s tough out here!  However, that toughness is manageable, and its effective management can go a long way in perpetuating quality and balance.  My father-in-law, who beat what doctors told him was a fatal cancer over twenty years ago, recently told me that life is not always easy, but that it is always wonderful.  He might be on to something.  Sunday, after a long morning of two-year-old birthday celebrating, softball playing, bubble blowing, overeating, tickle fighting, diaper changing, imagining, and not napping, we pulled into our driveway hoping to get a moment or two of relatively quiet rest out of ourselves and our munchkins.  Our hopes were not realized in large part because the lack of napping produces an explosive energy enzyme in my easily excitable sons (two and almost four years old).  We missed our window.

Aside from the venerated moments of peaceful quiet that never came, I was hoping to get a bit of work done.  No such luck.  However, I do realize that I had another kind of luck…an even better kind.  The trick that I’m going to work hard to pull of as frequently as I can is to understand and appreciate that kind of wonderful luck every time it comes my way.  I was lucky enough to be able to spend an extended afternoon finding sticks and rocks, picking weeds (and even some flowers, which are difficult to distinguish from weeds for a two-year-old), playing pretend sea monsters in the pool, catching up with friends and their children, having burgers with my mom, my sister, and their friends, working through screaming, overtired baths (in collaboration with my exceedingly patient wife), reading books, tucking in the little whirling dervishes who are giving me exactly what I deserve (sorry mom), watching a few moments of mindless television with my aforementioned wife, and quickly melting into a deep sleep without even realizing that it was happening.  I didn’t get my “work” done, but I am arguably better off having lived a bit without worry about it.

As a parent, I realized how important it was to my boys that we were engaged with one another.  It didn’t matter exactly what we were doing, it only mattered that we were doing it with enthusiasm, and that I was aware and responsive.  It’s possible that I spend too much time trying to plan meaningful activities, when I could be spending that time engaged in meaningful activities.  If my boys are pretending that a beach ball is a giant rock, and they’re kicking it around the yard as if they have super powers, maybe I should be doing it with them rather then sitting on the porch figuring out if the Bouncy-House Warehouse is open until five.  In fact, it might be all right to play pretend all afternoon long.  Modeling imagination and sharing the experiences that my kids find meaningful seems like a good thing to do.  Being fully engaged also gives me the ability to extrapolate meaningful pathways to development and growth.  When I pay attention the people I’m with I learn about them.

As an educator, I’ve repeatedly realized that there may be no more impactful practice than true, deep, and reflective engagement.  Students of all ages thrive on being recognized and understood.  Value is added to learning when it’s owned by the learner, overtly recognized as relevant, and shared in authentic ways.  Thinking about increasing my engagement gives me cause to reflect on times when I’ve found myself distracted in the classroom.  There is so much to think about, plan for, and do over the course of a school year, let along the course of a school day.  What if every time a student approached me I made myself fully available to interact, authentically engage, and respond?  What if I purposefully deigned my classroom to make it easier to do?  One person might not be able to give his/her full attention to twenty-five people all the time, but can I do better than I’ve done?  Are there systems, structures, routines, or tools that can help?  How about instructional leadership?  Isn’t it true that my colleagues and I mutually benefit from consistent and active support and encouragement?  There is only so much time in a day.  The critical reflection I’m working to unravel as I write this post revolves around the balance between living that time and planning for it.  Live IS wonderful, and for my money the most wonderful parts are shared.

THINGS YOU MIGHT CONSIDER:

– We live in a busy world.  There is always lots of stuff to think about.  Managing the process by which you do that thinking can help free you up to fully engage in the really important stuff.

– Life is not always easy but it is wonderful.

– A missed nap can be an opportunity for some meaningful togetherness.

– Recognizing the value of authentic, and truly interactive engagement is a good start to fulfilling that value for yourself and those around you.

– It doesn’t always matter what you are doing with your children, only that you are doing it together.

– Sharing experiences that other’s find meaningful is crucial to building relationships.

– Teachers have extremely busy days.  It’s easy to become distracted and overwhelmed.  However, there are ways to address that busyness and stay present simultaneously.

– Learning is enhanced when it’s shared and recognized as meaningful.

– When educators take time to support and encourage one another the entire school community benefits.

– Thinking critically about how you interact with others can help make those interactions increasingly meaningful.

THINGS YOU MIGHT TRY:

– Add an engagement section to your journal, or keep an engagement journal.  Once a week, once a month, or every so often write critical reflections about how actively you’ve been engaging with the people in your life and consider the impact it’s had.  Make note of times when you’ve been able to fully engage in the face of potential distractions and consider how you managed it.  Write stories, bulleted lists, draw pictures, and scratch ideas.  Actively brainstorm ways that you can increase your engagement.

– If you’re an educator, brainstorm ways to design an environment that promotes and perpetuates authentic engagement.  You might consider digital media, flipped lessons or units, a workshop model with one-on-one conferences build in, responsive journaling, electronic portfolios, classroom Twitter accounts, video production, etc.  Talk about it with colleagues and collaborate on implementation.

Summer Learning Happened So Fast!

 

Keeping Kids Engaged All Year Round

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THE POINT:

Kids will engage in learning over the summer if they are given exciting opportunities to do so.  Finding creative ways to connect students with their peers and their parents through playful exploration motivates them to keep the learning wheels turning.  With passion, play, and purpose it is possible to avoid the summer lag!

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THE STORY:

I’m really dating myself by using a Grease reference for the title of this post, but it just seems to fit so well!  For you younger readers who aren’t making the connection…rent the movie Grease (it’s with the guy from Pulp Fiction).  To the point though, I have to admit that when I got the, “Hey all, our first Harlan Citizen Science meet-up is tomorrow,” text from the incredible Elisabeth Stayer, I thought, wow…already?!  I love that we just left the buildings and already this amazing group of educators from Birmingham Public Schools’ Harlan Elementary are coming together with students and parents to begin sharing the learning they’ve each been doing as Harlan Citizen Scientists over the past two weeks.  Mrs. Stayer and her colleagues organized this wonderful project around the book Citizen Scientists: Be a Part of Scientific Discovery from Your Own Backyard by Loree Griffin Burns, with Photographs by Ellen Harasimowicz.  Check it out at http://tinyurl.com/pg7cbvq.

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From the title you can imagine that the book outlines ways in which children can use their curiosity and imagination to learn through exploration and critical thinking.  I was honored to be a part of the filming of the Harlan Citizen Science video that was used to introduce the concept to students at the end of the school year.  There was an assembly at which Mrs. Stayer and her team passionately outlined the plan and introduced Harlan students to the supplemental materials, including an awesome reflective learning blog.  Later, they distributed Citizen Scientist journals (that they created) to students who wanted to participate.  They gave parents the option of buying or borrowing the book.  There were 20 copies ordered and put in a plastic box in front of the building with a sign out sheet.  Harlan Citizen Scientists are trustworthy people.  How cool is a makeshift summer library based on the honor system?  Leave it to a media specialist and a group of highly passionate elementary school teachers!

Check out the blog for the video and more information about the project at http://blogs.birmingham.k12.mi.us/harlancitizenscience.

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Meanwhile, Tuesday’s meet-up was a big hit!  The incredible Brianna McKinney and her awesome, curious toddler greeted me as I pulled into the Harlan parking lot.  We barely had a chance to say “hello” before the cars started to roll in!  Together with the first group of Citizen Scientists we walked to the outdoor classroom where we began to discuss explorations, observations, and ideas for next steps in unfolding the mysteries of backyard bugs and bird nests.  Did you know that the Black Capped Chickadee is the most common bird found at feeders during Michigan winters?  Neither did I.  Now I do!  I think I’ll put a winter feeder out so that I can get to know this round little breed a bit better.  Did you realize that some ladybugs look like taxicabs?  Some people even call them taxicab ladybugs.  The really funny part is that they’re scientific name is Propylea Quatuordecimpunctata.  We got a few good laughs trying to pronounce that!  We decided to stick with taxicab ladybugs.

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In no time, Mrs. Simonte, Mrs. Stayer (along with her wonderful toddler and some Fig Newtons), and a whole bunch of other Harlan Citizen Scientists had arrived to confer and collaborate.  We looked over each other’s notebooks, we shared drawings and notes, we extended our research using iPads and iPhones, and we explored the field and the playground…hunting for butterflies, beetles, flowers, and dandelions.  We had so much fun!  We learned, we laughed, we thought, we talked, and we planned.  The student and their parents were excited.  I was amazed by the critical thinking that was taking place on that playground, and during summer break!  Some of the students were making lists and drawing pictures, some were talking about connections they had made and information they had learned, some were flipping through the model text, and others were serving as an authentic audience for their peers.  This is a group of real scientists!  The program, along with this first successful meet-up, inspired me to go home and continue the Citizen Scientist explorations I’ve been doing with my sons.  The learning is fun, the engagement is amazing, and the positive modeling is phenomenal.  I love that one of the kids is wearing a “The Future is Mine” t-shirt while being supported in an effort to actively develop himself as an engaged learner.  Well done Harlan Citizen Scientists…keep up the great work!

THE TAKE:

1.  Kids will engage in learning over the summer if they’re given exciting learning opportunities.

2.  With passion, play, and purpose it is possible to avoid the summer lag!

3.  Parents are excited to get involved in their children’s summer learner.  Giving them structures makes it easy for them to do so.

4.  Collaborating with colleagues to develop learning initiatives is a great way to move those initiatives forward.  Two, three, or more heads are better than one.

5.  Using model texts is an effective way to introduce and perpetuate learning.

6.  Giving students ownership can enhance their learning experience and outcomes.

7.  Exciting science opportunities exist right in our backyards!

8.  Teachers actively and authentically engaging in learning with their students can be an extremely effective motivator.

9.  Fun learning is engaged learning.  Students enjoy being explorers.

10.  Getting together a few times during the summer to perpetuate continued engagement is not a difficult thing to do; the benefit out ways the burden.

Blog Gone Effective: Using Digital Environments to Foster Collaborative Learning

Blog Gone Effective!

Using Digital Environments To Foster Collaborative Learning

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In my experience, blogs are great tools for perpetuating cultures of collaboration.  Digital environments seem to be extremely comfortable spaces for sharing.  We see it daily as our otherwise reserved friends and family update their social media pages.  In education, I’ve found that people are less inhibited and more willing to offer a peek into their thoughts, ideas, and practices when they’re given the opportunity to do so by way of a thoughtful and positive blog post as opposed to a live presentation or a classroom visit.  I do know educators who thrive in classroom visit and live presentation scenarios.  However, a truly collaborative culture is all-inclusive.  I’ve experienced learning communities in which those who are comfortable with live sharing become the only ones to share.  Conversely, in communities facing that challenge, those who are not comfortable sharing tend to sit in the back, isolate themselves in their classrooms, and avoid opportunities for collaboration.

It’s important to understand that these are not hard and fast rules, only possibilities to consider.  In considering all relevant possibilities education leaders can work to break barriers that might otherwise encumber the collaborative learning cultures they strive for.  It does take a village to raise a child, and two heads really are better than one.  We so frequently insist on these collaboration axioms because they’re true.  After much critical thought, related data collection and analysis, and ongoing reflective practice, I would assert that blogging is one viable option for bringing communities together in purposeful collaboration, and perpetuating cultures by which otherwise unlikely contributors feel comfortable enthusiastically showcasing their work to the benefit of all stakeholders.  As educators, our collective goal is to enhance student achievement and attitudes toward learning so that the students we serve are prepared to meet and exceed their potential as contributing members of an increasingly complex global community.  When we share, we expand our ability to meet that goal.

Conveniently, there are multiple free and cost effective hosting services like Weebly and Edublogs that are extremely easy to use, both for strategic classroom instruction and professional learning.  To begin with, consider purpose.  Who is your audience?  What are your targeted short and long-term goals?  While perpetuating collaborative learning is the overarching theme that I’m suggesting, what will your path to that end look like?  Will teachers be blog managers or strictly contributors?  Will you involve students as contributors?  What other roles might they play? How about parents and other critical partners?  My learning blog (Berg’s Eye View) is designed to showcase the incredible ideas and practices of my colleagues so that they are increasingly aware of each other’s expertise.  The lens through which I attempt to reveal those ideas and practices (along with my own personal and professional experiences) is my authentic perspective.  The intention is to connect individuals who would be interested in expanding on that perspective, and integrating those ideas and practices into their paradigm through collaborative reflection, planning, and implementation.  Learning and connecting with learning partners is my primary purpose.  The authentic expression and modeling of that purpose is key to the effectiveness of my blogging efforts.  What is your purpose?  How will you reveal that purpose to your audience?  How will you develop it into share objectives and actions with those who would be your partners in learning and growth?

As you contemplate these questions in the development of your blog, carefully consider the structure and the procedures that you intend to put in place for its effectiveness and sustainability.  One of the most important things that I’ve learned so far on my blogging adventure is that blogs need proper feeding and care.  It takes a focused effort, a significant time commitment, and a passion for digital collaboration to manage a blog with any degree of success.  A blog is a tool, and like any other tool its effectiveness is dependent on its user.  Blogs can be used to communicate content, expectations, resources, calendar events, etc., individuals or communities of contributors can manage them, they can provide real time access to developmental artifacts for reflective processing and adaptation, they can be literary or graphic, they can be whimsical or academic, most importantly however, they can be highly effective in perpetuating learning and growth.  After spending this past year using a reflective learning blog to support and encourage collaboration in the communities I serve, I can confidently assert that the time and effort I invested have been returned exponentially in the progress I’ve been a part of.  I will continue to work at developing my site and my skills, and I strongly encourage other educators to get on the blogging bandwagon.  If you’re already an education blogger, if you are considering it, or if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me for collaboration…I’m always looking for new learning partners!

Service Learning: Kindergarten Kenya Connection

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The incredible Kindergarten team at Harlan Elementary School executed an amazing service learning project last week.  Tara Mills, Nancy Singer, and Scott Kefgen submerged their students in cultural connections and facilitated a process by which the kids could think critically about the similarities and differences between themselves and people living around the world.  The kindergarteners were exposed to some of the challenges faced by the target population in Kenya.  Then, through cross-curricular and multimodal instruction they were given encouragement and support to help them understand that they can make a difference in the lives of others.  These five and six year olds at Harlan had an opportunity to impact the world in a positive way.  What powerful message and opportunity for these young learners! Great job Mrs. Mills, Mrs. Singer, and Mr. Kefgen!  Thank you for sharing this wonderful example of service learning!

Check out the details at Mr. Kefgen’s class blog: http://mrkefgen.blogspot.com/2013/05/project-soap.html

Exploration Instruction: “Take It Apart Tuesday”

Exploration Instruction:  “Take It Apart Tuesday”

A Great Strategy for Activating Your Students’ Curiosity & Innovative Creativity

The Point:

When students are allowed to explore things that interest them in ways that excite them they tend to engage in critical thinking and creative learning.  Scaffolding exploration with effective instruction about the scientific process, introducing an umbrella focus topic, and allowing groups of students to guide their own learning through research, inquiry, and reflective processing can be incredibly effective in sparking their imaginations and supporting their growth.

The Story:

I first heard about “Take It Apart Tuesday” at a Community Education Meeting at Pierce Elementary School.  One of the parents was reminiscing about this great activity that her kids used to do at “Kids Club” (the after school activities group).  She was going on about how they “loved” exploring televisions, toasters, cell phones, and other gismos and gadgets by simply taking them apart.  She made it sound like she was describing the latest new gaming craze.  The cool thing is that she was talking about learning!  It was one of those instructional ideas that grabbed me immediately.  I promised myself that I would put it into practice soon.  Turns out I didn’t have to wait.  The incredible John Kernan made it happen with his fourth graders and invited me to participate.  One of John’s great strengths is his ability to adopt new strategies, implement them into his instruction, and adapt them to meet his students’ needs along the way.  In this case he gathered donations ranging from VCRs to iPads, brought in a bunch of tools, set up the initiative with scaffolding instruction about scientific exploration, reflective note taking, and next step planning, and thrust the practice into his “Simple Machines” unit of study.  Perfect!

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I have been amazed at the great process and the incredible (and ongoing) outcomes.  To begin with, these fourth graders couldn’t be more enthusiastic about their science exploration.  Of course, the wonderful modeling and enthusiasm from Mr. Kernan and the groups’ phenomenal paraprofessional Carol Maynard doesn’t hurt.  Being in this class reminds me of just how important it is for educators to actively and overtly live their learning philosophies.  Students really pick up on the energy of their teachers!  Also, I’ve been hearing some really promising exclamations like, “So that’s how they do that!” and “Oh, I didn’t realize that’s how it fit together!”  It’s this kind of stuff that leads me to believe that these explorers are engaged in some complex critical thinking.  What an authentic opportunity for them to dig around into the world of simple machines.  I’ve heard kids talking about the fact that it takes many simple machines to make up a more complex machine.  I saw a group of kids re-assemble the printing mechanism of an old printer, put an ink cartridge in it, and roll a piece of paper through.  It was if they discovered fire!  The room was a buzz with congratulatory anecdotes about their work, like: “Can you believe that they actually figured out a way to print!” and “How Cool!”

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One of my favorite moments was when a group discovered a QR code on one of the chips that they removed from a relatively old Dell laptop.  They immediately accessed their scanning devices.   iPads, iPods, and cell phones were flying out of pockets, ready to retrieve information for these excited learners.  Turns out, the QR codes were too small.  Mr. Kernan encouraged a few students to go down to the office and enlarge the codes in the copy machine.  I love that he was adaptable in supporting their efforts!  In the end, the codes led to product identification numbers.  It was a bit disappointing for the students because they wanted a link to some company website that would enlighten them as to what the chip was for.  However, in true explorer fashion, they gathered themselves and perpetuated a conversation about the implications of their discovery.  Consequently, they’ve challenged themselves to research the history and evolution of QR codes, thinking that maybe this computer was built before companies began using the codes in the ways they do today.  I am so impressed with the line of exploratory thinking and the students’ comfort with following a path of inquiry based on curiosities about the discoveries that they are making.  Great instruction!  Great Learning! Great Teaching!  Great work!

The Take: 

1.  Inquiry instruction is often frontloaded with intense work both on the part of the teacher and the students.  However, when teams of learners understand and are able to employ scientific exploration and research strategies the growth benefit is tremendous.  Time taken to scaffold Project Based Learning (PBL) is time well spent!

2.  Inquiry instruction can help to support the development of students’ imaginations, their creativity, and their ability to conceptualize innovation as real and relevant.

3.  Reflective processing and critical thinking are essential to learning and growth.  When teachers offer time, support, and encouragement to that effect, the transition from information to knowledge and understanding is enhanced.

4.  When I keep my ears open for great instructional ideas they come.  Listen, adapt, and partner with as many people as you can.  Collaboration is among the best ways to grow as an educator, and it seems to offer the maximum learning benefit to the diverse group of students that we serve.

5.  I can’t remember a new instructional strategy that worked exactly the way I intended it to.  Some blow me away with incredible outcomes that I didn’t anticipate and some disappoint me by delivering poor results.  However, I’ve never regretted trying something new, and with every new attempt I enhance my knowledge, my understanding, and my practice.

6.  Reach out to the community…people are willing to donate stuff!

7.  Taking things apart can help you learn about how they work.

8.  Making connections is a key component of PBL and Inquiry.  In order to successfully support student interest, systems and structures have to be in pace to ensure that those interests are explored in ways that connect to critical content and developmental skills.

9.  Be the learner that you expect your students to be.

10.  Let students veer off in organic directions.  Manage the process so that enduring understandings and essential outcomes remain in focus, but allow for flexibility.  True exploration has the potential to surprise the explorer.  True discoveries are often unimaginable until they are uncovered!

Project Based Learning: Some Great Things Happening At Harlan!

Project Based Learning (PBL) is an effective instructional strategy for capturing students’ imaginations and helping them become truly involved in their own learning. I’m particularly excited about the level of student engagement and ownership that can be generated when students are involved in relevant and meaningful projects.  Documenting students in action reminds me just how effective well-implemented PBL can be.  There are many wonderful examples of how teachers at Harlan Elementary are using this strategy in their classrooms.  A few are showcased below.

Ten lessons I’ve learned about PBL from the incredible experts at Harlan:

1)   Student choice helps generate interest, excitement, and engagement.

2)   Scaffolding projects with effective instruction in scientific exploration and research is key to student success.

3)   Modeling, support, and guidance during the research process helps students stay on track and allows for a smooth release of responsibility within any given year and across grade levels.

4)   Partnerships enhance instruction.  Ask your media specialist how he/she can help kids learn about key word searching and using databases.

5)   Stretching across the curriculum can make for rich projects and the development of connected skills.

6)   Finding ways to help students figure out how their projects can be relevant and impactful in and outside of makes learning real.

7)   Enlist other teachers, administrators, and parents to provide an authentic audience for your students.

8)   Capping off a project with a fun, social, showcase event can help motivate your group to focus on quality.

9)   Celebrate the progress and outcomes.  Highlighting parts of the process as important landmarks can help students understand the their value.

10)  Authentic enthusiasm is contagious.  When teachers are excited and involved, student learning is enhanced!

 

A Few Examples:

Karen Abels introduced a Michigan project by allowing her 3rd graders to choose their course of study.  Incorporating student choice helped generate interest and excitement. Mrs. Abels gave her students some suggestions as to what might be important to study about their great state, she supported them in researching the topics, and she guided them in a collaborative effort to narrow those topics down.  After some initial learning (both of content and research skills) the group chose to move forward with “invasive species” as their focus.  It’s important to point out that Mrs. Abels enlisted the help of Mrs. Stayer, the incredible Harlan Media Specialist, to co-teach throughout the project.  Critical partnerships can be extremely effective!

Candi Gorski put together an incredible cross curricular project for her 1st graders that got them thinking about ways in which they can be impactful in their community.  Mrs. Gorski read an amazing true story about a boy in Africa who designed and built a windmill to help his village generate much needed energy, eventually leading to cleaner water and other key resources that improved lives and inspired others with hope.  After sharing the story she facilitated critical processing, helping her students make connections to their own lives.  The students were charged with designing contraptions that could help keep people stay safe during in extreme weather conditions.  These 1st graders were given a license to be creative in exploring the finer points of their science study while considering social studies concepts and using important reading and writing skills.  Mrs. Gorski did an incredible joy implementing this cross-curricular model of learning.  They were invited to be innovative and suspend disbelief, effectively giving them the sense that they are able to make a difference through research, understanding, creativity, and action.

Karen Hasler engaged her 5th graders in a design project that had them working with faculty members as architectural clients.  The students used their math skills along with drafting technology to design homes for their clients.  Mrs. Hasler organized a design expo to culminate the project, effectively extending an authentic audience for her group.  Parent and teachers gathered in the media center to see the designs and speak with young architects.  I was amazed with the enthusiasm that the students presented their work with.  Not only were they proud of the outcomes, they were also excited to go into detail about the process.  Students, dressed to the nines, stood by their finished designs posing for pictures and pictures and answering questions.

Each of the above projects is similar in that the students involved were actively engaged and excited about the work they were doing.  From 1st graders to 5th graders, they were collaborating with one another, being creative, thinking critically about their work, and being concerned about the outcomes that they were working toward.  There are many other incredible PBL efforts happening at Harlan and around the district.  Whether you’re working to plan for the final month of this year or preparing for the fall, get in touch with a colleague who you know has an interest in PBL, put your heads together, and make some plans.  Let me know if I can help!

Engagement: A Great Start for Critical Thinking!

The Point: When students are authentically engaged, learning is enhanced.  There are lots of ways to promote and sustain engagement through the purposeful use of instructional strategies including hands on explorations, interest based inquiry, effective modeling, motion and exercise opportunities, connected technology integration, and the incorporation of learning games in a workshop model.

The Story: Another great week for learning and growth with my partners in BPS!  I experienced all kinds of great instruction and collaboration across the grades (and had some fun designing blogs with the wonderful Senior Leibson in the Spanish department).  Something that really resonated with me this week is the incredible way my colleagues have been able to keep their students engaged in the learning process.  I saw students from Kindergarten to Fifth Grade taking ownership over their learning and stretching their critical thinking capabilities to awesome depths.  Here are five examples:

1.  These two girls have a box full of stuff.  They’re building a machine that will help them explore motion.  I walked past them in the hallway a few times as I was in and out of a neighboring classroom working with groups of students on video production.  Each time I walked by the girls they were totally wrapped up in the task at hand.  One of them was in my class last year and she didn’t even take the time to look up and say, “Hi, Mr. Berg!”  When students are so engaged in critical problem solving that they can’t look up to notice their 4th grade teacher walking through the 5th grade hallway, something’s going right!

Sometimes I find myself so distracted by people walking by that I can’t focus on my work.  These two didn’t even realize I was there…good stuff.  I recently heard of a great idea called “Take It Apart Tuesday.”  Just like it sounds, the teacher solicits “junk” from home during the year.  Every Tuesday the students spend some time just taking things apart.  They get old radios, small pieces of furniture, toys, etc.   They explore and discover.  The teacher who told me about it also told me that her students count the minutes until it’s upon them each week.  Seeing the girls working reminded me that I want to try implementing a “Take It Apart” workshop one of these days.  I’m going to check in on next week to see what they discovered.

2.  These 1st and 2nd graders are doing a “See, Think, Wonder” routine.  The incredible Ms. Prindle often implements this and other “Visible Thinking” routines when she’s introducing content for her inquiry units.  If you look closely you can see the picture on the back wall.  It’s a picture of Mars.  Everyone, including me, thought that it was the moon.  It was great to see the students get excited about what they thought they were seeing, to think about what they knew, to enthusiastically write down information about the moon, and to actively wonder about their curiosities.  This age group is particularly exciting when it comes to wondering because they don’t tend to limit themselves when it comes to possibilities.

The best part about being in the room during this great lesson was watching Ms. Prindle model the type of enthusiasm she expects from her students.  She was excited about letting a visual prompt guide her thinking, she was excited about the moon, she was excited about the potential for learning more, she was excited about having a team of learning partners who would be exploring interesting ideas that she would eventually learn about too, she was excited about outer space, and she used her words and her actions to make all of that excitement clear.  It was authentic, it was contagious…it was engaging!

3.  All students get the wiggles, some more than others, and some are better able to focus through them.  The brilliant Mrs. Radeky found this old exercise bike and thought that it might help quell some of the more intense wiggles in favor of engagement in learning. I’m happy to report that it seems to be working!  The students in her 3rd grade classroom have come to understand the purpose of, and the expectations about using the bike.  Those who need it us it, when they need it.  Mrs. Radeky has done an incredible job of making clear that her goal is focus for all.  The bike is not a toy, it’s not a weight loss device, and it’s not a Tour de France training apparatus…it is a tool for enhanced engagement.  Well done!

4.  The 3rd and 4th graders pictured above are super motivated about research and writing.  The process that Mrs. Rayle and Mr. Keilmen use is heavily reinforced by modeling and practice with finding and understanding how to process digital information that connects to content and personal interests.  These students look forward to digging for information about their topics and translating it into something meaningful, knowing that in the end they will have opportunities to communicate it in creative ways.  I really appreciate the intentional use of technology for this purpose.  The students are excited about using iPads, laptops, and desktops to explore information.  They are fully engaged in collaborating on the transfer of that information, through their writer’s notebooks, and onto their group’s wiki page.  The room is steeped in creative energy!

5.  Fun games are engaging.  Fun math games are engaging and they provide students with opportunities to practice critical thinking about math!  Mrs. Lindsay and her students have this concept down pat.  I was in the room with these 1st graders when a group of them invited me to join in a round of “Top It,” a great game from the “Everyday Math” Program.  I noticed two very important things.  First, these students were extremely excited about playing a game during their math workshop.  They all knew how to set it up and they were thrilled to have an opportunity to teach the new guy (me).  Also, the room was functioning like a machine.  It was great to see that Mrs. Lindsay’s 1st graders have the workshop structure so engrained in their daily routine that she was able to spend the entire time rotating through small groups, conferring with students, gathering formative data, and delivering individualized instruction.  Everyone knew where to go and what to do.  The group I was working with was wonderfully engaged in having fun and building critical understandings!