Camp Wanakita

I will be away with our grade 6's at Camp Wanakita until Wednesday. Thank you Mr Verschoor for organizing this trip. It is an annual favourite!

It's Not Me, It's You

I've accomplished a great deal since my decision to completely transform my teaching practice and bring it into the 21st century.  Recently, I've been receiving recognition for my efforts which I have to admit has been lovely.  Who doesn't like to hear, "Wow, great job!"?  I have put in hundreds of hours outside of my work day to learn not just technology, but how educational processes are being reshaped.  Recognition of this effort is satisfying.

People should know that when I began this process I could not in anyway be described as a "techie".   Household luddite, would perhaps have been a more apt descriptor.  In fact, no one is more astonished (and perhaps more grateful)  than  #reallygeekyspouse and my children at my decision to enter their world and the resultant transformation.

What I would like people to understand is that this is not a solo effort.  None of what I'm accomplishing would be possible without a network of supportive and knowledgeable people willing to assist at the drop of a hat, provide technical assistance, engage in lengthy philosophical discussions about the nature of learning, cheer me on, make suggestions, point me in new directions, provide feedback, ask questions, share resources and ideas, fix things that don't work and do the hundreds of other little things that add up to my ability to keep moving forward.  This network spans the globe.

I'd like to recognize some of this team.

First of all there is Jeremy Brooks, #reallygeekyspouse, who teaches networking technology at Humber College, has a passion and excitement for learning and is continuously sharing expertise that I then bring to my classroom. Jeremy was running a flipped classroom before flipped classroom became a word.  He's developed barcoding systems that allow assessment in realtime.  He devises game-based learning systems for his courses and he is constantly sourcing new technologies that enrich my program.  His courses are fully integrated with mobile devices and he is recognized as an innovator at Humber College. When I expressed frustration at the lack of access to computers in my school, Jeremy scrounged up computers no longer in use and built a closed network in my classroom that was 100% reliable. Computers never ever crashed nor got viruses. It was Jeremy who lent us his iPhone on a regular basis throughout the app project and who has done hundreds of other things for my students.

Ian Chia with his breadth of knowledge has been essential to my transformation. As soon as I move to a new step of learning, Ian shares a wealth of resources to speed up the process.  What's remarkable about this is that I have never met Ian in person.  We do our collaborative work via the internet.  Ian, of course, was instrumental to the app project.  Along with Ian are Esa and Cynthia and several others who have remained in the background, but were key to the development of the app. Our app release, if you haven't heard, has been somewhat delayed as Ian has had to deal with the death of his father-in-law followed a few weeks later by serious illness for his mother-in-law which required moving her from another city to his own, followed by the flooding of his house.  We at Dundas Central wish Ian and his family all the best.

Ian is part of a network of people from a vast array of fields, connected primarily through twitter who have an interest in education.  I cannot thank this network enough.  The constant sharing of expertise, informative links, ideas, resources, current research, feedback and camaraderie is transforming education globally.  I am able to do what I do because of twitter. I still know many educators who have no true understanding of the power of twitter.  I still hear ,"I don't want to read about what Ashton Krucher had for lunch,"  which reveals more than anything a digital divide.  It's a divide between the leading edge that has moved past the standardized-test, teacher-directed learning model because technology allows us to do so and those still caught up in the top-down model of directed education where only 1 standard counts. Twitter enables the educational equivalent of the Arab-Spring. It is liberating. Twitter allows educators to regain the professionalism that has been stripped through the dark ages of standardized testing.  I look forward to more and more educators joining us there.

Most of all though, I would like to mention my amazing colleagues at Dundas Central who quietly go about doing incredible work that doesn't always get recognized, but who've provided so much assistance. I am privileged to work at Dundas Central because of the exceptional people who inhabit the building - everyone from the students, to the caretaking staff to the administration shows a remarkable commitment to our school.  Visitors remark upon it when they enter the building. They notice the level of engagement, the friendliness of the students and the welcoming atmosphere that our school generates. It's a nice place to be. My colleagues have been patient, supportive and encouraging even during my moments of chaos as I develop processes for this new model of learning.  There are a few in particular that need mentioning because their efforts have been instrumental to my progress.

First of all, the students of Dundas Central.  I think you are amazing. You have taught me so much and it is so wonderful to have a job where I look forward to going to work every day because I get to work with and learn from you.

Next, I must say thank-you to Matt Scheben. Matt has the technical expertise that I lack because he is a trained engineer with a background in computers.  I can't tell you how amazing it is to have someone like that on staff as my go-to person. Matt will always make time to answer my questions or show how a particular technology works. It was Matt who showed a few of my students how to use Adobe Photoshop for the app project and taught me how to use Windows Movie Maker for our recent MindShareLearning video submission.   Alongside Matt is Scott Varady who fixes things. Scott frequently is called upon to fix things such as the uncooperative projector in my room, and again is always willing to help, problem solve or lend pieces of equipment.

Cheryl takes care of my classroom and I owe her a huge thank you.  She never, ever complains and my classroom is often a messy place.  There are many works in progress and I am not someone who gravitates towards organized work spaces.  So thanks Cheryl!

Pat Venus our learning resource teacher has developed the assistive technology program at the middle school level of our school. She has created a workable model that allows greater independence for students. She continues to experiment with technologies and approaches that will lead to greater student engagement. Her work makes our work easier. Thanks Pat.

Valerie Bennett, Jamie Bennett (not related) and Kelly Dunford have shown a level of encouragement and support for which I am truly grateful. Val listens endlessly, reads my posts and broadcasts what I am up to so it doesn't sit in the wings. Kelly and Jamie provide regular feedback and encouragement as I engage in learning experiments. They are supportive and kind and again, I am grateful.

Audrey Hensen is our Literacy Improvement Teacher and about to be our new vice-principal. I have worked very closely with Audrey and she has been a constant source of ideas and provider of feedback during the implementation of Flexible Groups and The Thinking Matrix.

Shelly Marrett is an exceptional educational assistant and I am lucky to have her in my room this year.  Shelly makes things beautiful.  It is she who creates the lovely displays in my classroom including hanging The Thinking Matrix using a plumbline and making our Constructed Teens have a powerful presence.

I must also thank my principal Barry Morlog who became a principal under a different model of education, but is entirely supportive of what I do even though he does not have a technical background.  Our current vice-principal Jennifer George has been encouraging, supportive and has listened and allowed me the leeway I need to experiment to see what works. Thank you.

The thing is, every member of our staff is exceptional and contributes to our school in unique ways.  I am working on a post to share just what each of them does that makes our school so unique and to recognize that the key to a successful school, is not just its ability to conduct guided-reading sessions or the Daily Five but to build a community where everyone's a learner. That is what we are building at Dundas Central.  There are so many others deserving of mentions, but that would make this post ridiculously long.

What I'm hoping people take away from this post is that we are all cogs is this wheel of transformation and without all those cogs, the wheels would not be turning. It's not just me, it's you.

Media Literacy: Constructing Bias

Last week my grade 7's were given the task of deliberately constructing media with bias.

We looked at how bias creeps into news reporting.  

They were given the following information and had to construct two news articles, one in a way that evokes sympathy and one that provokes anger.  Images must be included. They were not to include any additional factual information, but must use language to lead the reader toward a conclusion. Most students found this last part of the task difficult and opted to include additional information in order to create bias.


1.  a 22 year old man arrested at the scene of a car accident.

2. other driver is in hospital

3. occurred late Thursday evening

4. foggy country road

5. driver arrested may have fallen asleep at the wheel

6. alcohol may be a factor

7. driver had just completed a double shift at work

8. driver has been in two previous accidents, but was not at fault

9. the other car was speeding

Below is a sample of one student's work.

Please note: THE FACTS ARE INVENTED. THIS PERSON DOES NOT EXIST.

Headlines

Picture with Captions

The Story

Media Literacy: The Constructed Teen

As part of our media literacy unit, students have been thinking about how teens' identities are constructed because of the influence of messages.  These are their constructed teens. They show brand influence as well as how the thoughts, feelings and words teens express may not necessarily be their own, but are thought, felt and said because of the influence of messages.

What Does Learning Sound Like?

It is exam time in the Siwak-Brooks household.  Grade 11 math: relations, functions and trigonometry have received intense focus over the past two weeks.   It has been fascinating to watch the study process because my daughter requires social interaction in order to learn.  She has always been a quiet student at school, and it is when she comes home that the learning begins.  She needs to discuss, think out loud, test and interact in order to master concepts.  For the past week, she and my husband (#reallygeekyspouse) have been reviewing and exploring together - for hours each day. I hear laughter, questioning, silliness and playing as they work their way through concepts. The laptop is open on the table and frequent visits are made to You Tube instructional videos.  They use the Khan Academy but have found http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKV5ZqYIAMQ to be a little more useful because the instructor makes fewer assumptions.  They also like the very low-tech construction of the videos. Throughout the entire process are sounds, the sounds of learning.

Learning has a rich and vibrant sound - the sound of frustration, confusion, puzzlement, curiosity, joy, satisfaction, explanation, confidence, query, understanding, hesitation, review, pleasure, sharing, laughter, friendship, jokes, puns,  ... it's as varied and complex as a symphony and a pleasure to listen to.

 

Further Thoughts on the Future of Universities

Last fall, a professor from Stanford offered a free online course in Artificial Intelligence. The result? A complete reshaping of his understanding of what it means to be an educator.

http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2012/01/23/udacity-and-the-future-of-online-universities/

Thurn has now left Stanford and opened his own online university.  The first two courses are here.

http://www.udacity.com/

It is examples such as this and the United Nations free online university that make the vision of the Uncollege seem not so unreasonable at all.

The Uncollege: True Learning or Oprah Winfrey's Book Club?

I've been following the progress of the Uncollege over the past year with great interest.  It is causing me to consider the place and function of higher education and specifically universities in our culture. I remain torn.  While in theory I like the idea of the Uncollege, who doesn't enjoy a little rebellion - I would even describe myself as a rebellious teacher; I don't follow procedure well - I see pitfalls in this approach to learning.

For those not yet familiar, here's a synopsis of the Uncollege Manifesto.

What is UnCollege?

“You wasted $150,000 on an education you coulda got for a buck fifty in late charges at the public library.” – Will Hunting

UnCollege is a social movement designed to help you hack your education.  This manifesto will show you how to gain the passion, hustle, and contrarianism requisite for success — all without setting foot inside a classroom.

I suppose what bothers me is the potential for arrogance.  The dismissal of highly educated people with
specialized knowledge who have spent decades developing expertise in their fields cannot serve us well in the long run.  The idea that credentials no longer have value and that any fool can fumble his way through the library and gain the same level of competency and knowledge smacks of hubris.  Also, the lack of peer review of one's growing knowledge base could lead to unnecessary errors in thinking or worse confirmation bias.

I suppose what bothers me is the assumption that students in university are not self-directed learners.  The reality is that, particularly in the sciences, students must spend long hours studying, engaging in discussion and teaching themselves in order to progress.  I watch my own daughter, a highly disciplined self-directed learner who spends hours with her science and math textbooks practising and mastering concepts.  These are not concepts that she would have necessarily chosen to explore unless directed to by the requirements of her course. Nonetheless they are knowledge prerequisites for her entry into vet school. Solid understanding of biology, biochemistry, mathematics and physics will ultimately lead to her being more knowledgeable in her field.

This week I had a look at the suggested reading list for the Uncollege: http://www.uncollege.org/reading-list    The list represents an introduction to current and popular ideas of the moment.  It is the equivalent of the Grand Tour. It provides introductory information but does not represent in depth learning. One visits Athens, sees the Parthenon and has a better understanding of Ancient Greece, but one is in no way a master of Greek History.  That takes time, effort, persistence and surrounding oneself with those knowledgeable in the field of Greek History.  Reading Brain Rules is not going to make you a Neuroscientist. That's going to come from years of dedicated study using expensive equipment and that equipment is going to be found in a university.  No scientist is going to allow an unproven, self-taught learner passionate about brains to fool around with her million dollar equipment or someone's brain for that matter.

Are the books worth reading?  Absolutely. I have read many of them and found their information and insights invaluable, but I don't see them as equivalent to entering into university education.

The idea that so many people who pursued university education find themselves unemployed, therefore university education is not worthwhile is also a false argument.  The current unemployment situation is a result of economic collapse due to poor government oversight and an out-of-control financial system.  Had regulation and oversight been in place, these graduates would find themselves in a functioning economy with employment to be had.  Education is always of value, whether it leads to employment or not.

Finally, allowing an untried 18 year old who has not attended university determine the value of a university education and attempt to influence others on that value just seems, well, foolish.

That being said, I do see merit in what the Uncollege is trying to accomplish and that is why I am torn.
Where I do agree with the Uncollege is that there are many paths to learning, that not all people are cut out for university and that there needs to be a way of recognizing learning that takes place outside of university.  Universities should not hold a monopoly on learning. Limiting access to knowledge to an exclusive group  who can afford the fees and are lucky enough to live within the national boundaries of the institutions just seems wrong in this day and age. I also agree that university is ridiculously overpriced and that many students are pursuing programs but don't really know why they are in them except that they've been told they should go to university. Guidance at the high school level is poor. Overcrowded classrooms with inaccessible professors in the degree mills that universities have become are not serving us well.  Finally teaching methods do need to be revamped. Recent technological developments present an unprecedented opportunity to reshape what it means to be and educator and learner in the 21st century.

Change is desperately needed and I appreciate the Uncollege's challenge to the status quo.  New technologies mean upheaval and higher education is in the process of being restructured.  We need to be careful that in this restructuring we don't abandon the parts that enrich learning and advance us as a civilization.

Bring on the Heretics! The New Role of Universities

My husband who teaches at the college level and I have been discussing for some time the implications of open source learning and how it is changing the nature and role of universities.  How, if everyone is engaged in passion-based, self-directed learning, will we know that knowledge and skills gained are valid?  What will be the place of credentials and degrees in this new society where barriers to knowledge are removed?  What role will analytics play in assessing skill and knowledge development?  Where will the human factor still be relevant and even necessary?

We've been playing with possibilities, and a picture is beginning to emerge.  One outcome that we see is that universities rather than being the degree mills that they have now become, will return to their original intent.  They will provide peer review.  Ideas and knowledge, if they are obtained with the goal of working in a particular field,  have to stand the test of assessment and feedback from those most knowledgeable in that field.  This means that anyone will be able to begin the process of learning; at some point though,  peer review will come into play.  This will most likely be a combination of technology based analytic assessment and human assessment of abstract thinking and the candidates competency with hands-on technical work.  No one, after all, wants the self-trained heart surgeon working on grandma.  Part of the future role of universities will be to provide fee for service credential assessment.

Universities will continue their role of conducting research.  They will have access, though, to a much larger talent pool.  As they conduct peer review of candidates, they should be able to spot the truly talented and gifted thinkers, even those located in remote towns and villages.  Those proven thinkers can then be invited to join research teams even though they will not necessarily have gone through a traditional schooling system.  The heretical thinkers should be able to rise much more quickly as well.  These unconventional thinkers will have the opportunity to gain footholds in institutions of higher learning, bringing with them innovations, because their learning progression won't have been filtered and shaped by traditional instruction, curriculum and assessment methods.

Universities are not going to disappear; how they conduct business, though, will change and this change will be for the better. Bring on the heretics!

Peer Feedback and Self-Assessment: Bias in Media

If you've been following recent posts, we have been working on Media Literacy.  The task students have how undertaken is to deliberately construct news articles with bias.

As part of critical thinking, students must be able to assess their own work and provide constructive feedback to others. Today they will take their articles and explain decisions they made in order to create bias. This process will be modeled.  One student's work will go under the document camera and the student will be interviewed.  The rest of the class will observe this process so that they can provide effective prompting and feedback when working with a peer.

Constructing Bias in News Articles:  Self-Assessment with Peer Support

Describe how you used the following techniques.


1. Bias through omission and selection.
    Which information did you choose to leave out, which did you choose to include? Why?


2.  Bias by headline. 
     Explain your headlines and what effect you were hoping they would have on the reader. Are they 
     effective?


3. Bias by photo, caption and camera angle.  
    Explain your image choices.


4. Bias through names and title. (ex: club member vs. gang member)
    Explain how you referred to the drivers in your articles.


5.  Bias through word choice and tone.
     Explain your word choices and how you chose to explain the event.  Do your word choices lead
      the reader to draw conclusions?

6 .What other bias techniques did you use?

7. How has this process affected your understanding of news reporting?

Warning Labels For Media

This came via twitter - as all good things do ;)

They are consumer warning labels for media. http://www.tomscott.com/warnings/

Mourning the Thoughts that Will Never Be Thought: Media Literacy con'td.

Yesterday,  I made a visit to thinkhaus on Dundurn St. in Hamilton. It is a shared tinkering space for tech-minded people interested in DIY and hacking.  I have been following links on hacking culture for some time and was pleased to find that it is alive and well in my city.

Tuesday nights are open to anyone and when I tweeted that I planned to go, Zoe Branigan-Pipe, a member of my PLN that I'd never met face 2 face tweeted back that she was familiar with the space and would be happy to accompany me.  So Zoe, my husband and I went.  And what a delightful discovery it was.

It occupies the top floor of an old house near the Staircase Theatre.  It is a comfortable space packed with equipment including several 3D printers, a laser cutter, computers, circuit boards, routers and  ... lots of stuff.  Members with an interest in technology come to build, play, test and invent.  Richard and Trevan gave us a tour and patiently answered questions.  They also demonstrated various inventions and I finally got to see arduino.

It was Richard who summed up hacking culture best, "We obtain a piece of purpose-built equipment and then we think, this is what it was built to do, but can we get it to do this?"  and the equipment gets hacked, changed and altered.  Richard described several stages that the laser cutter has gone through from when it first arrived to what it can do now.

It was also Richard who explained process. We get an idea. We build, test,discuss, seek input, alter, try again. change, improve and learn. When something doesn't work, we don't say, "What did we do wrong, but rather, what did we not consider that caused this outcome?"

Thinkhaus is really a miniature version of MIT's MediaLab -  smaller and not funded, of course, but the principles are the same. Working in a collective tinkering space allows a wider skill-set to become involved in projects.  Every member is given a key to the space and has 24 hour access, so that if at 2 in the morning someone finally discovers a solution to a technical problem, they can set to work.

I have to say I felt a bit as if I had walked onto the set of the Big Bang Theory. Caution, "Geniuses at Work".  The popcan crusher was cool.  It consisted of a compressor and a piston from Princess Auto.  Wooden blocks  attached to the piston held in an empty computer case.  With 200lbs of force it crushed the can. Everyone cheered. It was fun and this space made me want to learn and think differently.

It was Zoe who engaged one of the members in conversation about females in this kind of space. There are currently 20 members, all of them male. It's not that females are not welcome... they are very welcome, and I was encouraged to return. Members would be happy to teach and share what they know.

Why aren't there more females tinkering in this space?

It made me think just how important the question my grade 7's are currently considering about the constructed teen is.  "How would I be different, if the messages I had been exposed to were different?"
That overwhelming bombardment they experience of what it means to be female, centered on visual appearance and having stuff ... what if the messages instead were about experimenting, inventing, designing, creating, testing and learning through experience?

How different would our learners be if instead of having kindergarten children be required to sit on the carpet, and listen, they were asked, "What's your idea? How can we build it? Let's learn to write by writing about it.   Let's read books to learn more about your idea. Let's test your idea out.  What are you going to invent? What does your friend know that could help you build your idea?"  What if instead of grooming cooperative listeners and instruction followers, we groomed inventors?

Given the enormous problems that we as a civilization face at this moment in time, this is truly a very serious question.  What genius is being left untouched, what ideas are never ever thought because the messages have encouraged our children to think something else?

Media Literacy: Detecting Bias

We extended our exploration of media literacy by examining bias.  Fortunately, students have recently covered bias in math class and have a very good understanding of how bias leads viewers and readers towards certain conclusions.

We began by looking at bias in visual constructions. I selected two political figures, one from American politics the other Canadian who have a strong media presence, Sarah Palin and Stephen Harper.  Each provoked strong reaction, but we were not viewing the images to discuss politics.  Our purpose was to determine bias in their construction.

Students could clearly see that some photos were constructed to create a positive impression, one of authority - particularly those with the flags in the backgrounds.  As well, Palin had caring mother and attractive supermodel attached to her message.  Other images were constructed to create a negative or silly impression, or to make the figures look foolish. 

We then examined a blog post, again from American politics which is so full these days of examples of bias.  Again, we were not viewing the post for agreement or disagreement with the message; we merely examined it for bias.  Students were quick to recognize:

1. It presented only one point of view.

2. References and proof were not provided.

3. The "brain surgeon" was not identified and was there to provide credibility through reference to an "expert".

4. Language was chosen to create fear. "Shock" "death panels"

I was pleased that most students were quite strong in their ability to recognize bias and describe how the validity of the information could be checked.

We then looked at how bias creeps into news reporting.  

They've now been given the following information and are to construct two news articles, one in a way that evokes sympathy and one that provokes anger.  Images must be included. They are not to include any additional factual information, but must use language to lead the reader toward a conclusion.

1.  a 22 year old man arrested at the scene of a car accident.

2. other driver is in hospital

3. occurred late Thursday evening

4. foggy country road

5. driver arrested may have fallen asleep at the wheel

6. alcohol may be a factor

7. driver had just completed a double shift at work

8. driver has been in two previous accidents, but was not at fault

9. the other car was speeding

The purpose of the activity is to develop awareness.  In deliberately constructing biased messages, students will hopefully be more apt to think critically about the language and images they encounter.

I Get to Play with Lasers? I'm in!!!

Bear with me ... there's a point to this.

On Terry O'Reilly's "The Age of Persuasion" this past weekend, he mentioned that women will spend 8 on years of their lives shopping.

                                                                 ............................


Two moments stand out for me when thinking about my husband's approach to parenting.  Some of you may be familiar with him from my Tales of an Unusual Childhood blog.  The majority of his childhood was spent blissfully unsupervised as his family roamed the world.  Blowing up toy boxes and building cannons that could knock a hole in a brick wall were regular occurrences.   He's a tinkerer; he likes to play and he has endless patience (more so than me) with children.  Anytime he undertakes a project, he involves the girls and makes the project seem like play.

The first time I truly realized the kind of children he was raising occurred when my eldest who was then in grade 7 raced in the door after school one day, and announced, "I need to use the skill-saw."     She proceeded to build herself a large hinged box for a science project.

The second involved soldering. My husband was installing something in the car which provided him the opportunity to introduce soldering to the girls.  The three of them disappeared into the basement from where much laughter and giggling could be heard.   He emerged 20 minutes later to put on his coat and head out the door on what was an extremely snowy day.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to buy wire."
"Wire?  I thought you had wire?"
"We need more colours. We're making bracelets."  His car project was placed on hold and he allowed the girls to proceed with their interest. He really didn't care. Car or bracelets. He was playing. That's what mattered.

This contrasts distinctly with my own experience of tools as a child.  My father was also a tinkerer, but had grown up in an era when things were done right the first time, where a poor decision might lead to crop failure, death of an animal or death of a family member. He had an enormous workshop where every tool had a place and heaven help you if you borrowed one and put it back in the wrong spot. When he undertook a project our instinct was to scatter so as not to be drawn into the project as our sole responsibility would be to fetch and hold tools.  Tools and I were not friends.

But we should be.  The question becomes, where can an adult who wishes to learn how to tinker, explore ideas and learn from people who view technology as play, go?

I ask this not as just a female who has no desire to waste 8 years of her life shopping, but as an educator who has observed the conversation threads of social media over the past year.  Innovation is occurring.  A new world is emerging and this world requires tech savvy,  creative thinkers willing to play.

This is seen in the explosion of DIY culture and cultural events.  Look no further than Dan Donahoo   to see how this culture is unfolding.  While the headlines focus on doom and gloom, there is a globally connected group of innovative thinkers developing a way of interacting where ideas, creativity, purpose and sharing are the currency.   And if you are of a practical bent, it's where the jobs are.

If we are to truly reinvent our schools into places where developing innovative ideas is privileged rather than following instructions, then DIY culture and DIY attitude must be brought into our practice.

To explore this further, tonight I am heading out with Zoe Branigan-Pipe to http://www.thinkhaus.org/about-us/.  I get to play with lasers? I'm in!


               

Short and Sweet

Today we reflected on the thinking process as a class.  I wanted to know what they had actually learned about thinking and whether the techniques we practised were useful.  When I asked students how many are now going to approach tasks differently, hands flew up - not all but at least 1/3 of the class. 

These students observed that they had never really thought about how they thought while learning.
They were pleased to have a process for moving past the obvious. 
Having a chart up in the room reminding them to move past the obvious, consider alternatives and identify assumptions, was recognized as very useful.

And in grade 6, students have begun using Scratch. Excitement! "We can design our own games? Cool!!"  Suddenly the motivation to turn in their Canada's Trading Partner Projects on time is there. 

The Art of Thinking

Today my grade 7's practised thinking.  As we went through the process, it struck me that although I ask students to make inferences, connections and consider alternate points of view, I haven't really spent much time teaching them techniques for effective thinking.

Teaching students to become better thinkers when approaching tasks will, I believe, enable them to develop better ideas.

We began by reviewing the chart from last week.

  

Students then worked in partners to decode ads such as the ones below.














I asked them to engage in a series of thinking steps.

1.  What is the obvious message? Justify/Explain

2.  What assumptions did you make when concluding this was the message?

3.  What would a less obvious message be? Justify/Explain.

4.  What would the opposite interpretation to yours be? Justify it.

Students worked with partners to interpret, identify assumptions and deliberately form alternate interpretations.  The goal was to get them to play with their thinking.

It was interesting watching them work through this task.  They really are trained to immediately seek a correct answer.  Playing with ideas and interpretations is not a habit for most of them at least within the context of school.  It took time for some to become comfortable but once they did, interesting ideas began to emerge.  Just getting them to think and discuss their own assumptions is a huge leap forward.

Once finished, they continued working on their constructed teens, and I interviewed them one at a time to find out what they had learned about thinking.  I asked them to explain divergent thinking, to talk about the process of thinking and to think of how this process might be used in other subjects or outside of school.  For some students, they really hadn't thought about how they think before; others actively use the process, but until now, weren't fully aware of their thinking steps.  Some were able to give very clear examples of situations where this process would be useful, particularly in math and science. Regrettably, I didn't record these interviews.

All of this is taking us towards learning how to ask ourselves questions and determining which are the better questions.  Teaching children to ask good questions is very much an expectation of our curriculum, but upon reflection, I think much of what I have done has been at a superficial level of thinking.  Moving students fully into Inquiry requires them to be able to ask many questions and to determine which questions are worth seeking answers to.  I need my students to look at tasks and be able to formulate rich questions independently.  That, I think is what will truly move them into effective self-directed learning.      

The Comment that Changed My World

Heidi Siwak (@HeidiSiwak) 11-02-24 5:32 PM We are going live. Internet tv comes to my classroom. #edchat#edtech Mrs Siwak i cant seem to access the video part of the website so i can see how we did after we have produced the broadcasts so if you could get back to me on that one as soon as possible at (school) or reply back thank you. on We are Going Live!

That was it. That was the moment that my life as a teacher changed forever.  A student used social media to track me down outside of school hours in order to seek assistance.  I remember staring at that comment on my blog and wondering what on earth I should do.  After careful reflection I decided that ultimately we are all learners and that if this was anyone else but one of my students, I would immediately reply if I knew I could help.  So I did and in making that decision, my practice changed forever.

Since that time I've become completely comfortable using social media to engage in learning related conversations with my students.  My students are becoming active and intelligent users of social media and are much more aware of creating positive digital footprints.  Because we are working in this space together, I am able to point out risky practice.

I was reflecting with one of the more active users of social media on just how many conversations we've had over the past year and the broad range of discussion topics: JFK, the death of Jack Layton, learning and then sharing what you've learned,  building a network, the deaths of Steve Jobs, Kim Jong Il and Havel,  funeral etiquette,  911, conspiracy theories and more recently Paris 1919 and how decisions made at that conference were a factor in 911.

Students are now sharing with me curriculum related links , digital media creations and they're asking questions at the moment they have them.  If I see their questions, I answer right away as long as it's convenient.  Teaching and learning have changed forever and I am grateful that my students pushed for this.  Because of social media education is becoming less institutional and more human.

Endangered Species: Thinkers. Last seen 2005

My husband who teaches at the college level can identify the time period that the thinkers disappeared - 2005.  Until then a large percentage of his students were willing to engage and play with ideas.  They were willing to challenge, debate and consider alternatives.  Those thinkers disappeared after 2005.  A new kind of student appeared.  He calls them recipe followers.  They no longer desire to challenge ideas; they merely want to be told what to do so they can complete the course.

What he is seeing is the end product of the standardized test movement.  In order to improve test scores our programs became focused on how to answer questions developed by others. As long as a student could restate, give an answer, make an inference or a connection (or even 2 for level 4) they were doing OK.  What was never considered was the quality and validity of the thinking that went into the development of the inference.

You'll see it in the structure of your children's writing if you look carefully.

Why did Edward hide the chicken?

Edward hid the chicken for several reasons. First he was afraid that the farmer might kill the chicken. I know this because on page 8 it says, "I don't want the farmer to kill the chicken."  Also, the chicken was his friend. This reminds me of a story I read about a pig.   (At this point the writing stops because the student has run out of room and he knows that nothing gets marked past the 5th line)


Take the key phrases and substitute according to text.

....... for several reasons.   First ......   Also ...  I know this because ....  This reminds me of ...

Follow the formula. No real thinking required.

Students were actively discouraged from writing more or further developing their ideas because ... what was the point?

And we have spent months and years and millions of dollars drilling this into our students.  And as educators we wept.


There is good news.  In Ontario we are moving past this insanity.  We've shifted our practice and are once again teaching critical thinking.

Divergent Thinking Can be Taught

The following is a series of lessons I used to teach learners how to engage in divergent thinking.

This week we've spent a great deal of time considering messages and media as part of the Key Concepts of Media Literacy . We've viewed many images and videos and by mid-week it was time to focus on writing skills.  

We began by looking at The Branded Baby 

  

Students were asked to work independently to answer the following Open Response questions.

1.  Who would have been involved in the construction of this message?

2. What might have been discussed as they were creating this message?

3.  What is "The Branded Baby" trying to say?

4.  What assumptions have been made in creating this ad?

5. How well does this image represent reality?

6. Is this a positive or negative message?

7. Who might not understand this message?

Notice which question is absent: Describe the ad. I discussed with the students why I would not expect them to waste time answering such a question.  They recognized that it involves a low-level thinking skill  (summary or retell) and was not relevant to the kind of thinking they were being asked to do.

In the Ontario school system, students are expected to not only answer questions, but provide explanations, reasons, justifications and evidence to support their thinking.  It was this that I was looking for when assessing.  

Before beginning the task, we reviewed what they would need to think about when writing their responses.  We co-constructed the following chart.

If you notice, the left-hand side demonstrates understanding of genre.  It is about structure, mechanics and application of skills.  I deliberately left the right-hand column blank and will explain why later.  Responses ranged from sophisticated to simplistic.

Here is a sample answer for question one:

I think the ad people and the companies of all the brands would have been involved in constructing the ad because you would need permission to put those ads on the babies.

Not a bad answer. It includes a restatement, a reasonable answer and a justification.  What it does not demonstrate though is high level and divergent thinking, nor a detailed explanation that is carefully crafted. The question for educators becomes: How do we teach students to think divergently and reflect this in their writing?  Can divergent thinking be taught?

Yes, it can.

Which brings us to our next activity.  I placed the following sign under the document camera and inquired about the purpose of the ad. Needless to say, it provoked strong reactions.

We began with the obvious answer:  the community wants to close the library and will burn all the books.    The question of course is why?  Students tossed out a few reasonable ideas and justified them.  I pointed out that once a reasonable answer had been determined most thinkers would now stop. 

Good thinkers take time to think more deeply.  They consider alternative and less obvious reasons.  Students had to think harder and began to suggest some very interesting scenarios that might lead to this sign being posted.

After several minutes of this,  I pointed out that they had made an enormous assumption about the sign.  What was it?  They spent a great deal of time trying to identify the assumption.  In the end two students figured it out,   the sign was actually meant to convey the opposite to what they had been thinking - citizens were trying to prevent the closure of the library.  This is indeed the case.  Tax cuts might lead to the closing of the library and citizens have begun a campaign to prevent it.


I then placed the following chart front at the front and reviewed the steps to thinking with my students.

1. Start with the obvious.
2.  Average thinkers stop when they've obtained the obvious answer.
3. Take time to consider alternative, less obvious and opposite ideas to what you had been thinking.
4. Think about the assumptions you are making that might prevent you from seeing other possibilities.
5. Explain.


Students were then sent back to their desks and asked to use this process to improve one of their answers on The Branded Baby assignment.  Most students finished the task, but one student was frustrated and unable to come up with an alternative to his original idea.  I suggested he abandon the task.  This is important for students to understand.  Thinking can't be rushed.  Ideas need time to develop and it is ok to put work aside.

My grade seven students now have a better understand of the thinking process.  What is now needed is multiple opportunities to practise.  Divergent thinking can be taught.

Class 72's Thoughts on Media

We are using the Key Concepts of Media Literacy to think critically about messages.  I had said in a previous post that I would share pictures of some of  my students thoughts and insights.

THe Constructed Teen: Deconstructing Media

Today we continued with our exploration of The Constructed Teen: how much of their identity and the way they view the world is because of the messages they've seen, read and heard?  Would they view the world differently if they had been exposed to different messages?

We began by looking at insightful comments from yesterday's writing that I had copied onto sheets and posted on the board. (Pictures will follow eventually)

We then moved into deconstructing media messages.

This was the first one. I chose it deliberately for its simplicity, but even so it contains cultural values and makes assumptions.  Again, we're working from the first key concept from the Association for Media Literacy

   All media are constructions.
Media present carefully crafted constructions that reflect many decisions and result from many determining factors. Much of our view of reality is based on media messages that have been pre-constructed and have attitudes, interpretations and conclusions already built in. The media, to a great extent, present us with versions of reality. When analysing a media text consider the following questions:  How is this message constructed? How well does it represent reality? 


I asked the students the following.


1.  Who would have been involved in creating this message?


2. Why would this message have been created?


3. What's being valued in this message?


4. What does this message mean?   How do you know this?


5. What assumptions are being made in this message?


Such a simple text prompted strong, insightful discussion.


We then moved onto more challenging media constructions in our exploration of "the constructed teen".

We asked similar questions and of course had an intense, passionate and lengthy discussion.  One observation in particular stood out. It was Loran's observation, "In our magazines on Arctic Oil  we spent a lot of time thinking about fonts.  When I look at them I'm noticing the differences between the two covers. Even the fonts have a message." 

What if the Messages Disappeared?

My grade 7's have begun a media literacy inquiry. I began today by asking what is media.  It is a term we hear frequently but do learners actually know what it means?  At the start they had a very narrow understanding of the word. They came up with newspapers, the press and social media such as facebook.  One of them thought of Windows Media Player, and decided it must include something visual.  We continued to explore what the word might mean and eventually came to the conclusion that anything with a message is media.

This led into a discussion prompted by the first key concept for media literacy from The Association for Media Literacy.

1.    All media are constructions.
Media present carefully crafted constructions that reflect many decisions and result from many determining factors. Much of our view of reality is based on media messages that have been pre-constructed and have attitudes, interpretations and conclusions already built in. The media, to a great extent, present us with versions of reality. When analysing a media text consider the following questions:  How is this message constructed? How well does it represent reality? 

To develop concrete understanding of what a constructed message might be, we watched  Food Ad Tricks which shows how hamburgers are constructed for television ads. 

I then put the following on chart paper and asked in what ways this might be true.  "Most of our view of reality is based on media messages that have been constructed by others.  We see the world the way we do because of the messages we've been exposed to."  As they began thinking about this some interesting ideas and questions arose.  Two in particular stood out.

1.  One student remembered that 90% of media production in the world is controlled by 7 corporations. "If the way we view the world is constructed by media then those 7 would have a disturbing amount of influence."

2. Another student wondered this, "What would I be like if the messages were different?" to which another student added, "... or if they disappeared completely?"  This question was held in awe by the class as they tried to imagine what that would be like.  

One student noted this, "If the messages just disappeared girls would be more self-confident. We wouldn't have to worry so much."

The students are now thinking about "The Constructed Teen".  What messages influence teens and how are teens"constructed" by those messages? 

Optimism in a Time of Fear and Loathing

For a while now I've been attempting to grasp the meaning of this global, collaborative experiment that digital tools have suddenly allowed.  And while much of the world goes to hell in a handbasket and the embers of a dying civilization burn, glimpses of a new world order are emerging that give me reason for optimism.  I see a bright future ahead. And while some may find this new world order disconcerting, particularly those who are used to being the dominant culture in the world, I see nothing but hope.  The future will be different and that is a good thing.

I am speaking, of course, from the point of view of one of the privileged. I live in Canada which is equivalent to having won the lottery.  We are a nation rich in natural resources.  We believe in social safety nets and the value of public institutions.  We have a well-supported public education system.  We have health care.  We have economic mobility.   And while we've had some bumps and bruises during the global downturn,  we've been by and large untouched by the global financial crisis because our banks were required to keep their houses in order.  Our economy is relatively strong.   And while we may criticize our government's decisions at times,  it functions. We have our own issues and problems. Poverty is present even in a country such as this; our environmental record is far from stellar, places such as Attawapiskat remind us of our unresolved colonial past and we have a prime minister more interested in building prisons than developing rehabilitation programs as even our neighbours to the south have recommended. However, we know that should we become truly unhappy with our government, we can eventually vote it out of office without the interference of "corporation as citizen".  This gives me comfort.  This is not, however, the reason for my current optimism.


Canada has something even more wonderful at play and it is something that we freely offer to the world.  It's our youth. We have the most diverse, multi-cultural population in the world, much of it under the age of 35 and it is this that gives me hope.

It is my husband who first pointed out the significance of this reality several years ago. He teaches information technology at Humber College  and has been commenting for some time on what he calls the New Canada.  Humber College lies in the Greater Toronto Area where over 140 languages and dialects are spoken.  This diversity is reflected in the students he teaches.  He watches these students in awe and wonder. They are people who've had to adjust and adapt culturally like no others in history. And how does he find them?

"gracious, mannered, intelligent, savvy, sophisticated, sensitive, tolerant, flexible, adaptable, open, accepting, willing ... willing to engage with anyone, because everyone of them is different."  They work very well collaboratively because they've had to collaborate in order to progress. These are globally connected people and they bring with them the desire for economic ties between their countries of origin and their new home.  This is good for Canada and for the world because this means trade and economic growth.  What they are not interested in is conflict.  They are bridge builders.  The potential that lies within these new Canadians gives him nothing but hope for our future as a nation.

What I have noticed is their commitment to social enterprise.  They are industriously going about building the kind of world they wish to live in.  They have no interest in hierarchy nor tradition.  They are about new ideas and creativity.  They are carefully constructing and designing their lives, using digital tools to rapidly connect with others in order to do so.  They are completely open to possibilities.  Income is not a motivator; living purposefully is. If they don't like jobs, they leave them, particularly if those jobs are not interesting or do not match their values.   They "get" what this new world order is about because they are the ones building it. They are not bound by national identity and don't have time for jingoism.  They are interested in learning and evidence-based policy and decision-making.  They are practical.  Does it work? It is good for people?  They are our new global citizen. I like them.













http://www.toronto.ca/toronto_facts/diversity.htm

Change Your Space Change Your Thinking

Last night I had the great pleasure of attending the inaugural 6 Degrees of Invitation event organized by Idea Fairies.  The purpose of the event was to create a space where ideas can happen.  A diverse group was brought together  to engage in conversation.  The topic of last evening's conversation was education and learning.  Attendees were invited by chain invitation. Invite 1 interesting person, who invites 1 interesting person who invites 1 interesting person  who ... You get the idea. The interesting person could be from any field.  We ended up with about 24 people who were indeed, interesting.  It truly was an opportunity to meet with people whose paths do not normally intersect with mine.

There were 4 separate chains and each chain was responsible for contributing to one course for dinner: appetizers, salads, main course, dessert.  For each course we were asked to sit at  a new table, introduce ourselves and discuss one of two suggested topics. Topics ranged from discuss a favourite teacher, to describe your own ignorance, to what is the most innovative practice currently occurring in education.  There was no obligation though, to remain on topic. By the end of the evening I had met and engaged in rich, meaningful conversation with every attendee.   The food was good. It was fun.


So who was there? Who did I get to meet with? A neuroscientist/yoga teacher planning to open her own university, a policy developer/financial analyst from the Ministry of Education who was eager to hear about what is happening at the frontlines in education, a Montessori private school educator, a career strategist, a biochemist,  a mechanical engineer, an artist who brings project-based creative learning to the instruction of math and science, a Design Thinking instructor, an economist/teacher who works on short-term contracts in schools to develop financial literacy using project-based learning and meaningful life values and many more.  Throughout the evening we delved deeply into our own experiences of education, traditional "school" and others ways of learning.

The evening was not just about conversation and ideas, though, it was also about creating the physical space and structure where ideas can happen, where creativity is freed, where openness is valued.   The event took place at The Center for Social Innovation. The Centre is located in a converted warehouse and has been designed for flow.  I had read previously about shared workspaces, but this was my first experience and I have to say, I liked what I saw.   Our event took place in the first floor common area. It was a large open flexible space with comfortable seating areas, work tables, a shared kitchen and large windows. Other groups were there as were individual entrepreneurs.  The atmosphere was one of relaxed industriousness. There was a sense of freedom and of purpose in the room.  This atmosphere and space certainly contributed to the success of the evening.  I was left wanting more and am looking forward to the next Idea Fairy event.

At the end of the evening I had two key take aways.

1. Teachers need to get out more. Part of our inability to move forward in education at a pace that is in keeping with the innovations occurring outside of schools, is due to our limited interactions.  We are interacting, discussing, planning and learning from those who think like we do.  We are not exposing ourselves to diversity.  Innovative, social, world-changing enterprise is occurring all around us and we remain for the most part, oblivious. The tragedy in this is that by limiting ourselves we are ultimately limiting our students.

2. Schools are urgently in need of redesign. The way we've chosen to create and use space is evidence of a hidden curriculum. It is a curriculum that privileges hierarchy, isolation, silos and limited innovative thinking.  I strongly believe that if we change our space,  we will change our thinking.

Take a peek into some innovative learning spaces. This came via Royan Lee. http://pinterest.com/melaniek/learning-spaces/