Good Bye

The Amaryllis is moving. It can now be found  at:   http://www.heidisiwak.com/

Merging Inquiry and EQAO

 EQAO (the standardized testing that takes place at the end of the year for grades 3 and 6 students in language and math) is a reality for Ontario teachers; it's not going anywhere.  So what does a teacher whose students have spent the greater part of the year immersed in inquiry do?  Leverage the habits of inquiry to deepen student thinking using the tools of EQAO. Below is an example of how to do this.

My students have been exploring the United Nations as part of our Social Studies inquiry: What Does it Mean to Be a Global Citizen?  They've been posing questions, researching, constructing knowledge, identifying misconceptions and forming better mental models throughout the process. Hovering over us during the inquiry, however, has been EQAO. One expectation of EQAO is that students recognize various question words and know how to structure appropriate responses. For the activity below, I provided students with an explanation sheet for each term. They then had to formulate questions or commands that demonstrated their understanding of the word as well as their inquiry content.

I was astonished by the results. From this activity and the content students chose to include in their questions or commands, I could tell the depth of their understanding. It was such a useful activity for gathering information about my students' learning without having to complete a test. The student below referred to her own notes and drew from the insights she had developed during the inquiry.

Nicely done Clara and thank you for being willing to share your work so others can learn.

This task is very much connected to the work we do in integrative thinking. Integrative thinking looks for value in conflicting models and uses what is valuable in each model to create something new. It takes us out of conflict and into solution.

Students Embrace the Language of Integrative Thinking

One of the many things I love about the tools of Integrative Thinking is the language we now have to describe and analyze our thinking. Students learn to recognize that they select from the vast amount of information available in the data pool, and that what they consider salient shapes inferences, assumptions and conclusions. Students learn that the mental models they form in their heads of the world are only constructs based on the information they have paid attention to. They learn that their models are always incomplete and that new information will change their mental models. They learn that they are only ever working with their current understanding of the world and that it is important to seek new information to develop better mental models. These are powerful concepts for grade 6 and 7 students to embrace and causes them to become incredibly flexible thinkers.

Below is an example of a student building a better mental model of the world based on new information he received from Phil Frei who visited our classroom to share what life and education are like in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya. The student uses the language of Integrative Thinking to describe how his thinking has changed. 

TedXKitchenerED

I am thrilled to be speaking at TedXKitchenerED on the evening of May 20th.

The theme for the event is Fostering Connectivity. I'll be speaking on the need for new forms of leadership in education, ones that leverage informal leaders.


One of the challenges of change in education is that many boards are structured on old models of leadership. While many organizations are moving ahead flattening hierarchies and developing new communication and decision-making patterns, education has been slower to respond.  Classroom teachers, however, have a new tool in hand - connectivity - and are using it to create new working relationships and models of learning outside of the traditional hierarchies.  This means that administrators are having to respond and work in new ways. The HWDSB West Cluster Integrative Thinking Initiative is an example of how change from the bottom up can work and how the "top" is engaging in and supporting the effort.

Find out more about TedXKitchenerED
7:30-9:30
Huron Heights Secondary School
​ 1825 Strasburg Road
Kitchener, ON, N2R1S3
Canada

Tickets can be ordered here.

Grade 6s Reflect on The Knowledge Building Circle

So much incredible learning happened in our classroom this week, but certainly the highlight was a visit from Phil Frei, founder of Bridge International Academies who shared his first hand experience of life in the slums of Kenya. Phil had a profound effect on my students, causing their mental models of the world and their place in it to change.  For that, we are grateful.

Students have been exploring the role of the United Nations in the world as part of our Social Studies inquiry, What Does it Mean to Be a Global Citizen? It was a Knowledge Building Circle day in the inquiry cycle and Phil arrived in time to join the circle, listen as students shared what they had been learning, and contributed by explaining how land mines in Sudan are removed. After the circle, he went on to conduct his presentation on Kenya.

Today I took time to interview students about how they feel about the Knowledge Building Circle. The process is new to us and I wanted to know if they find it useful for learning.  I know students enjoy the circle - on KBC days, they rush into class and begin moving desks out of the way before I even get there.

The questions I asked were along the following lines: How do you feel about our process for learning - having the UN as our topic, researching your interest within that, bringing what you learned back to the class to share and building on each others ideas in the KBC?  I also asked them to consider how it would be different if I taught a lesson on the UN in front of the class and they were at their desks.

Patrick
I really like the KBC and getting to share. It's interesting to hear what people have found out. I'm more comfortable sharing in the circle. If a teacher taught us a lesson instead most of us would forget because we haven't done anything ourselves. We do more thinking when we do our own learning. At a desk we do it because we "have to".

Gerrit
It's good. We get to know other people's ideas and if they are different from ours we can make notes and learn.  When the teacher is teaching, no one is talking to each other - only the teacher.  I don't like when some people pass and have nothing to say or add.

Jill
I like it because we get to research our own ideas and you get everyone else's knowledge. You get a lot more pieces of knowledge.

Abby
I like it because you get to show what you learned and when someone builds on your idea you get to learn even more. I like that you really have to listen to your classmates so you know if your idea has been talked about.

James
It's easier. It's open. It's not stressful. When a teacher teaches it's easy to get lost. I think most kids get lost quite a bit if it's only the teacher teaching.

Megan
The circle is really comfortable. You can make notes and it's easier for learning.

Katie
With the KBC it's easier to remember because it's interesting to you. I like the sharing and we get to build on each other's ideas.  I remember more this way than when a teacher is teaching.

Madeleine
I like it. You learn and you get to check out what others have learned.  It's easier to remember. Often when a teacher teachers you're not really paying attention. With KBC you're more interested in learning and hearing many ideas that others have learned.

Fiona
I like it more than when a teacher is teaching. You get to find out about what you're interested in. There's variety because you find out what others are learning. I don't like it when you lose your idea in the KBC because someone has already shared what your were going to say.

Clara
The KBC is good.  You get to say your idea and hear a variety of people and idea's. If a teacher was teaching a lesson on the UN you would only hear one person's idea. With KBC there's more variety.  I don't like when someone says what I was going to say, so I think everyone should come with at least 3 ideas.

Hannah
KBC is good because there's a lot of variety and different information.  It's better because you don't have to worry about raising your hand. Everyone gets to speak.

Finnlay
I like KBC better than when a teacher teaches. A teacher can be boring and then you tune out. In KBC everyone is involved, you can say more and find out more.  It's not as boring.

Forrester
I like it.  You don't have to learn about just one topic that a teacher has decided.  You get to learn about what others are interested in. They may have researched something that you would never have thought of learning about and then you get to learn it too.

Emily
KBC is a lot easier because you are not finding out all the information by yourself. You learn about 1 thing, but then you get to learn about 20 other ideas that others looked up. It's less time and you learn more.  You remember more and you can write notes on what others are sharing.  It's better than a teacher teaching, it's more student guided and we can add on to each other's ideas. We don't have to do just what the teacher said.

Tanner
I like this way better. I'm more comfortable in the circle than having to put your hand up in a class and worrying that what you have to say might be wrong. I am also learning more. If you research something and then someone shares something that you didn't even know was on a site, you can go and learn more about that. I love this way of learning.

You can learn more about deep learning and knowledge building here. 

Monitoring The Ladder of Inference

This is a follow-up to The Knowledge Building Circle post.

Today, we returned to the provocation for our inquiry: Canada has removed Humpback Whales from the threatened list, which we had discussed last week.  Our purpose today was to reflect on how new information in the data pool influences and shapes our ladders, causing conclusions to change or stay the same.

I asked students to recall their initial reaction to the story.  In response to the information that the status of the whales had changed,  had they jumped up the ladder and come to a negative or positive conclusion?

We took some time to consider the origin of our initial conclusions (typos spotted in hindsight).

Next we read an article  adapted from this article in the Toronto Star. I used Premier Tools to quickly summarize the article to 80% of the original content, and then made a few adjustments.

Students then had to consider new information in the data pool and if their ladders had shifted or remained the same.

Finally I interviewed each student and had them orally explain the shifts in their thinking.

Here, my last year's grade 7s explain the Ladder of Inference.

Building Deep Conceptual Understanding

Cristina Milos provides an outstanding example of developing deep conceptual understanding in her grade 2 students.

and starting inquiry with a provocation

and how she plans for inquiry

And a full inquiry process. 


I highly recommend following her on twitter @surreallyno

Knowledge Building Circle

This is a quick overview of how a Knowledge Building Circle is used to build collective knowledge.

Grade 6 Geography Inquiry Begins:

Day 1: Provocation: Canada is removing the humpback whale from the threatened species list. One student is aware of the story and quickly brings the rest of the class up to date. There are 2 very different reactions. For some this is good news; the species must be safe now. For others this is terrible news; we're not protecting whales. We remind ourselves to climb down our ladders; this is something to be explored. I lead students into a discussion of Canada's role and responsibilities in a global community.

I then ask them to think about what a global community is and what they actually know about the world.

Schema/Prior Knowledge

Students discuss places, name a few environmental issues and one or two organizations including the UN. It is surprising how little they were able to put forward about the world. There are many things they have "kinda" heard of and many misconceptions.

As we talk, students map their current model of the world including places, events, issues, people and news stories. This is a map that they will continue to build as they learn about the world.

 The roll up map is a popular tool in our classroom. It comes down frequently for various reasons. Here students are confirming place names before they add them to their global knowledge maps.

In our discussion the United Nations is mentioned. A few students have a vague understanding that it is something that includes all nations and helps out in the world.  I ask the students where it is. No one knows but 2 theories emerge:

1. It must be in the middle of the ocean because that is a place that doesn't belong to one particular country.
2. It might be in Antarctica because that is also a place that doesn't belong to one country.

 Students decide to find out. They head to the lab and begin constructing knowledge on the United Nations.

 Both hypotheses are disconfirmed.

Day 2

We hold a knowledge building circle where each student shares what they discovered about the UN to help build the collective knowledge of the class. As information is shared students discuss and use words such as assumption, I'm on the Ladder, and the language of disagreement as they clarify their understanding. New knowledge is added to the chart above. As discussion unfolds, students become more careful about word choice. Conflicting information emerges; students grapple with the information until clarity is reached. For example, various dates are mentioned in relation to the start of the UN. Eventually the group distinguishes between the League of Nations and WWI, Franklin D Roosevelt and WWII, and the physical construction in Manhattan that sits on neutral territory.

We discuss the value of the Knowledge Building Circle. Students recognize a number of things:

1. This is an application of the most effective communication pattern for learning.
2.  It is interesting to find out what others have learned.

The idea that we are building a community of knowledge is beginning to take hold.

Day 3: During the discussion students find out that our Prime Minister is not supportive of the UN. There are several gasps so I draw their attention to the Ladder of Inference and ask, "Who has just jumped up the ladder and concluded this is a bad thing?" Several hands shot up (including mine) One student speaks up and says that we really don't have enough information to decide if it's good or bad. We climb down our ladders and decide we need to learn more.

Day 3

I direct the students to United Nations Development Program as a starting point. As they construct knowledge there are expectations. As they read/view about places and projects, they must use Google Maps to find where those places are and add them to their paper maps to show how their understanding of the world is increasing.  They must also bring something they've learned to tomorrow's Knowledge Building Circle.

As students work they converse with those nearby about their learning, help each other interpret charts and graphs,  call me over to share what they've found out and pose questions which are recorded on the Question Board.

 A remarkable moment of thinking happened during this process. James noticed that the 8 development goals are in a particular order and wondered if the goals are ranked by priority. He then worked out a more efficient order because he felt that if certain problems were solved first, other problems would automatically be addressed.  He independently created a causal model.

Several students added interesting information to their blogs.

From Natural Curiosity

Reference:
Knowledge Building

Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (in press). Knowledge Building. In Encyclopedia of Education,
Second Edition. New York: Macmillan Reference, USA.

Information Session on Integrative Thinking

There are many people outside the HWDSB Integrative Thinking Initiative who've expressed interest and curiosity about the project and about how they might use Integrative Thinking in their own classrooms. To that end, I will be hosting a 1 hour information/Q and A in my classroom at Dundas Central on Tuesday May 13 from 4 - 5.  The invitation is open to teachers, consultants and administrators in the HWDSB who would like to know more. You can register here.

A Shameless Brag

Yeah, I know ... but still ... it made my day!