San Diego: Beautiful Lines

It is 5:30 in the morning, San Diego is slowly waking up and I am finally taking a few minutes to reflect on my ISTE experience. There is so much too think about.

The flight across the Rocky Mountains was beautiful. The sky was clear and for the first time I was able to see geographic formations that I teach about in my grade 7 pysical geography class - formations that I know exist because they are in our textbook and I've shown the documentaries. Seeing them firsthand suddenly made what I teach more meaningful.

We arrived on Saturday, registered at the conference centre and then wandered. Our hotel is in the gaslight district; the conference centre on the waterfront. Sand Diego is a city of beautiful lines that draw the eye. It's waterfront is not ovepowered by tall buildings, sightlines are everywhere. I have more to say about this city, but now is not the moment.

Sunday was spent familiarizing ourselves with the conference center - it's enormous - so that once it filled with 13 000 people we'd be able to find our way. The kick-off event was a different kind of keynote - a panel discussion between Sir Ken Robinson, Shawn Covell, Marc Prensky and Dr. Mayim Bialik of the Big Bang Theory.
http://www.isteconference.org/2012/program/keynotes.php  I loved that the keynote wasn't just one voice. In this age of collaboration, hearing different perspectives on education is important.  I took many things away from the panel, but it was Mayim's description of her transformative moment as a student that caused me to pause. She comes from a family of teachers and was a literature and arts kid with no interest in science until the age of 15 when ONE teacher made a difference. This teacher turned her on to science and its possibilities. Mayim went on to earn a PhD in neuroscience, teaches chemistry in the home schooling community and of course, through her acting career, puts a female face on science. The keynote is available, I'll try to find the link.

The scale of ISTE is overwhelming. Hundreds of sessions, workshops, exhibits and events fill the enormous conference centre. Deciding what to attend is not easy. Yesterday, I went to a session on how to use Computational Thinking in all subjects. CT is something I've heard of, yet never really thought about in context of what I teach and wanted to learn more about. That must be why the Computational Thinking guy who works for Google sat next to me - how lucky is that! I learned that I am already using CT in my teaching but I do need to refine how I use it. I need to begin using the vocabulary of CT as I work with students.  Words are important!

There is a great deal  about ISTE availabe on their site. Google also has an excellent site on CT:
http://www.google.com/edu/computational-thinking/#ISTE12

This link on creative tools for thinking is invaluable.
http://creatingminds.org/tools/tools.htm

I have a number of  other links to share, but it's time to head off for Day 2!

ISTE 2012

Part of the prize for the Mind Share Learning video challenge, includes a trip to the ISTE 2012 Conference in San Diego, California. This video provides an overview of all that goes on at ISTE - Wow!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rbjKU1hh30&feature=youtu.be

I'm already feeling overwhelmed but looking forward to meeting face to face the many people I follow on twitter.  That will be lovely. And oh the things I will learn!  EXCITED!!! (Oh, sorry, was I shouting?)

Critical Thinking, Textbooks and Primary Sources

This week my grade 6 students have continued to develop their critical thinking skills within the boundaries of our Social Studies curriculum.  Our final unit this year is on exploration.  In the past the learning goal would have been event and fact based and the main source of information would have been the textbook, because that is all we had to refer to. That, of course is no longer necessary. Access to primary sources of information is available to every elementary student.  Students can now read (in translation) the account of the first siting of land by Christopher Columbus' crew or view Magellan's circumnavigation of the globe.  Getting students to work with primary sources and asking them to adjust their thinking as they learn is central to developing good critical thinking skills but that doesn't mean that we need to discard our textbooks. 

Today, for example,  they were asked to consider the Treaty of Tordesillas.  We began with a whole class lesson during which we discussed possible outcomes of the race by various nations to claim lands.  It was not difficult for them to predict that conflicts would arise.

We then had a brief discussion on how those conflicts might have been resolved which led to learning about the man with ultimate power at that time: Pope Alexander VI and  his decision to divide the world in two. Below is the page from our textbook: Canada Revisited which briefly explains the event.

The students had strong reactions to this occurrence. We discussed fairness and then I introduced them to the idea that they were looking at the situation through 21st century eyes. They were considering this decision using their modern understanding of the world.  I showed them a primary source map that was drawn shortly after the signing of the treaty and asked "How did using a primary source affect your understanding of the Treaty?"

The map shows what became South America on the bottom left, the Caribbean at the top left and Europe at the right.

Some students had difficulty understanding the phrasing of the question so I met with them in small groups to discuss what we had learned, their reactions to the maps and the decision to divide the world in two.  I helped them by rephrasing the question:

"What did you think at first about the decision to divide the world in two?"

"What did you realize once you saw the primary source map"

Here are some sample responses:

1. Using a primary source sure affected my understanding of the treaty because seeing the map, it showed how little they knew of the world. They didn't know what was really out there.

2. The map from back then made me notice that all the value is in the land and that he should have explored more and found out what was really there before dividing it up.

3. Once I realized what the Pope's vision of the world was, I realized that the Pope's intention was to give Portugal more land, but once Spain started to explore, they got more land but never discovered Canada which gave England and the French an opportunity for land.

4. Once I realized the Pope's intentions were, it made me think that the Pope had better intentions for Portugal than I thought. In the textbook it looked like Portugal got nothing. On the primary source map the land was very close to even. When I looked on the real world map I understood that in the end Spain in a way had won.

5. Using a primary source affected my understanding because just looking at the world map of today, it makes it look fair landwise.  When you look at the primary source you can tell that the Pope just drew the line randomly not knowing what was out there.  At that point in time it may have seemed fair because that was all that was discovered.

6. It made me realized how little they knew about the world and that they decided to divide up the land before they really knew what was there. They made the decision too early.

7. Using primary sources affected my understanding because it confirmed what I was thinking - they didn't really know what was there.

8.  Using a primary source affected my understanding of the treaty by showing me that the Pope thought that both countries had an equal amount of land but they didn't.

Once again, the emphasis is on thinking about content, rather than memorizing facts. Clearly, there may be errors in the conclusions that they've drawn, but what I hope they gain is the ability to constantly adjust their thoughts and opinions as they construct their knowledge.

My job as an educator is to ensure that students are using primary sources and that they learn how to search for those sources. A good place to begin finding primary sources of information is the World Digital Library. Major institutions from around the world are uploading their historical treasures!

Writing for Pleasure and Good-bye

The year is drawing to a close and I realize that I will be saying good-bye to a very special group of students, my grade 7's. These students and I have a history.  I taught several of them in kindergarten, I had all of them in grade 6 for French and many of them in grade 6 for Language and Social Studies. And of course, I have had the privilege of teaching them this year. We go back a long way and have developed a level of ease with each other that is relaxed and comfortable.

This year we have spent so much time becoming good thinkers, asking challenging questions, delving into difficult topics and becoming learner-explorers. It has been a pleasure observing them grow as critical thinkers. They are interesting, as people, and I am very curious to see what directions they will take in life.

Our final endeavor for this year involves writing, but I really did not wish to approach this task as a "schooled" activity.  Instead I wanted them to enjoy the experience of being writers, as I do every time I generate an idea that develops into a blog post.  We discussed graphic organizers and debated just how useful students find them for writing. Most decided that they were not necessary at this stage of their writing careers and were more likely to kill their interest in writing. We talked about what makes a good story, about hooks, about interesting plots and compelling phrasing ... and then ... I let them loose to write with one caveat: challenge yourself as writers - try something new.

It has been an absolute delight observing these students in action. They are writing for the pleasure of writing. They are focused on craft.  When I'm needed they seek me out to discuss plot difficulties, phrasing or the merits of various ideas. I touch base with students, check in, read over their work, make suggestions. I ask what they are trying to accomplish and how it's working and what they feel they are doing really well.

They are scattered. Some in the computer lab, some sit cross-legged on my counters, iPads in hand. Some are at desks with pencil or pen and paper. Some carefully gather their ideas first and then plot out their tales, others begin by developing clever hooks to draw readers in. All of them readily share what they are attempting that is new and what they are most proud of about their work.

Final copies are coming in and I have to say I am impressed by what they have accomplished. They have grown as writers. What more can a teacher ask? 

What to Do With a Voice

It has been said to me more than once recently that apparently my voice now carries weight in the educational community and that I should be prudent about how I use my words.

I find that fascinating on so many levels.

The idea of my voice having weight is somewhat amusing (particularly to my children).  I'm an elementary classroom teacher who blogs and shares my practices and continues to be the slow learner in the class when it comes to technology. There are dozens of incredible educators doing much more than I, not just with technology but in other disciplines. There are many teachers who incorporate technology who do not use the trial and error approach I have to because they actually have IT training.   The recognition I've garnered is fully due to naivete on my part as to the scope of projects I begin and the good fortune of having a skilled team to support my efforts. My practice is not very different from anyone else's. We have good days and bad days in my classroom and days where I can't find where I put a resource and lessons that don't go as well as expected and moments of downright dullness. (why blog about those?)  I'm usually the last one to hand in anything administrative and I occasionally screw up when I deal with a student. There are areas where I cut corners in teaching because there is simply not enough time to teach every subject effectively when you are a generalist teacher. I teach grade 6 Language, Geography, History, French, and Computers. I also teach grade 7 Language, Geography, History, Drama and Computers. It is not possible to teach every one of those well all the time. I see about 50 students every day, which means that on an individual basis, each student gets a few minutes of my time if they're lucky.

But I do care deeply about my students and I continuously attempt to improve my practice. I do document this changing practice on my blog and I do use social media strategically.  I like to seize opportunities and I'm not afraid to take very public risks. I know that there are areas in education and our social and political structures where we need to do better and I'm  willing to speak about them.  And so, this has garnered some attention and I now find myself with a "voice" and with some people saying, "You're so visible, you need to be careful."

I have to admit that on more than one occasion I have hesitated and not tweeted something that 10 months ago I would have had no problem tweeting.  And that I've hesitated and not tweeted irritates the heck out of me because if this move into social media serves anything, it's to create a space where all voices can be heard and no one should feel they must censor their words for political expediency as long as those words are spoken honestly with the goal of making things better.  And this includes occasionally saying the wrong thing, or speaking without full understanding or making a pointed remark or challenging an idea.  While learning and celebrating and sharing our successes via social media are important, we have this unprecedented opportunity to bring all voices to the table, to have honest conversations about strengths and weaknesses in our education systems and how we think they can or to need to be improved. Imagine how quickly things would change if we could set aside questions about our practices or ideas as challenges to be taken personally and instead were able to hear, "This isn't working, how can we do better?"

Open and public discussion of practices shouldn't be considered an impossibility. Many governments are moving towards open government where policy development and decision-making are done visibly and all voices have the opportunity to contribute and shape policy. Iceland stands out as a prime example.

The idea of a voice carrying weight is something to be mulled over. Who gives it weight? Not the user of the voice. It's a decision others make to give a voice credence.  Given that student voice has become the next step in the evolution of the Ontario education system, it is perhaps time for more teachers who experience the impact of educational policies, funding and practices not just as front line workers but as parents with children in the system to speak openly about our schools - both the strengths and the weaknesses - without fear of repercussions.

The idea that one should be afraid of using one's voice? That is just regugnant. What disturbs me in this is that the expression of this sentiment indicates a deep-seated fear. Of what? Public lynching, I suppose. It is scary when first venturing into a space of public conversation. When I began, I was very cautious.

Public challenge is survivable. I've been called out on my views of the ridiculous levels of wealth in some Ontario communities when there are students in others who can't afford the $13.00 to attend a year end trip or worse, buy food and also on a few poorly worded comments about some of the outdated practices in our high schools that I feel are leaving students woefully unprepared for the world they are going to enter. Some of this has been done through polite DM's. Some has been done through open, public comments on twitter as in , "Comment was offensive... personal vast generalizations not supportive". That's ok.  As my mom says, "If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen."

The problem is, all of us need to be in that kitchen.  The challenges our country and our world are facing are too enormous for anyone to being staying out. If the youth of this world are willing to put their lives on the line in places like Libya and Egypt and Syria through social media in order to force the conversation, surely, we as very privileged Canadians are up to the challenge of saying what we think publicly.

Documentaries and Critical Thinking

I've written previously of my shift in practice to using content to develop critical thinking skills rather than teaching content. Below is an example of how this is done. My grade 7 students have been learning about the American Revolution. Today, they watched a documentary and as they watched were asked to think about the following.

1. Who might have created this documentary and what is its purpose?

2. How is this documentary useful?

3. What are the limitations of this documentary as a learning tool?

4. Whose voices or points of view are missing from this documentary?

We then watched the film, "The Fight for Independence Video Quiz", which is available to our board through Learn 360  It is aimed at the junior level, grades 3-5, narrated by a child and gives a brief overview of the revolution from start to finish in 20 minutes. Included at 3 points in the film are short fact-based quizzes on the segment just watched.

After watching, students had 10 minutes to write responses to the questions and and then moved into small groups for discussion.  This is known as accountable talk It's purpose is to have every learner in the classroom engaged in discussion rather than teacher led discussions where only 1 student speaks at a time and perhaps only 5-6 students actually contribute.

Once the small group discussion occurred, we gathered as a whole class to share insights.

As I wandered and listened to the discussions much thoughtful commentary and insightful observations were made.

Here are some snippets:

I think this was made by Americans, maybe by historians who want students to have pride in their country.

I think this was made by school boards for students to teach them about the revolution.

I think this was made by students. It's very simple and has only facts.

I think this was definitely made by Americans because it only shows one point of view. You don't get any information about the British or people like King George or even the important people like George Washington.

This is very biased. It only shows one point of view. It gives facts but it doesn't give enough information. It's very basic - it doesn't really give details or tell why things happened."

The picture of the Boston Massacre - it doesn't even tell that the picture of the events was exaggerated.

It doesn't tell that the wars had been expensive and that Britain was in debt and that the wars had been fought for the colonists' benefit. It just presents the British as bad and the Americans as good.

It doesn't tell that not everyone agreed. It doesn't tell of the people who supported the British.

I like that the story was told in order and that it covered the main events.

I feel like they are trying to get us to think a certain way about the revolution.

In terms of the film's usefulness as a learning tool, there was a wide range of opinion.

It told the story in order and it did give basic facts which was good.

I liked the quizzes. They solidified the information for me.

I didn't like the quizzes. They were too slow.

The film went too quickly and was hard to understand. I didn't have time to think about the information.

The captions under all the pictures was useful.

It wasn't all that helpful because it only gave facts, it didn't really tell why the people were making the decisions they were making.

It used the word "Indian"(in reference to the Boston Tea Party) instead of "First Nations" which is not appropriate.

I always thought the Boston Tea Party was a real tea party. Now I know.

This would be a good starting point, but you would have to learn more.


With regard to missing voices.

You didn't really get to hear the British point of view.
The French and the Indian's points of view were missing.
You didn't get to hear about the people who supported the British.

I also pointed out that women's voices were absent and there was no reference to the 25 000 black slaves who fought in the revolution.

Content was not directly taught, yet was thoroughly discussed.

In listening to the students' discussion of the documentary as a learning tool I saw clearly how differentiated and blended learning  should be structured for this topic.

The students who liked the quizzes after short bits of instruction would probably do well with an online game-based learning activity.
The students who found the movie went too fast and wished they had more time to think about the content have also expressed a preference for reading texts rather than viewing documentaries.
The students who enjoyed the aural/visual aspect could continue to work with this format.
That is not to say that all students wouldn't benefit from all approaches,rather,  it would be nice for them to be able to select the learning method that they feel leads to their own best learning.

A Simple Question Reveals a Changed Classroom

It was a simple question casually asked by one of my grade 7 students that made me realize, that yes, things have changed in my classroom from the days when I taught content rather than thinking.

This is my first year back in grade 7 after several years away. In History, The American Revolution is part of the grade 7 curriculum.  It's a fun unit to teach because this is the first unit that is actually relevant to students' lives. Through the world of film and media they have heard of George Washington, the Declaration of Independence, the Boston Tea Party ...  This unit weaves their random bits of schema into a story. It places their experiences within a context.

This, of course, is nothing new.

What is new is how some of my students are thinking about the content.

While reading about the imposition of British laws and taxes without consulting the colonists, one of my students remarked, "I find this unit really interesting. I'm not sure what to think about this given who we are." She was referring, of course, to our British heritage. Although Canada is an independent country with an elected government, the Queen remains our figurative head of state. We live in an Ontario town steeped in British history. Kate and William made their first Commonwealth visit as a married couple to Canada just last year. The Diamond Jubilee has played center stage this week, celebrating the service of Queen Elizabeth II.  There is a great deal of pride in this heritage.

Given the positive view this student has of the monarchy, reading about the American rejection of British rule was somewhat unsettling to her.

Her next question stopped me in my tracks and made me recognize the impact of the work we have done on thinking critically beyond the four walls of our classroom.

"Do you know what would be really interesting? To see how this unit is taught in the United States. It would be great to talk with American students about this."

Such a small set of sentences reveals so much.

This student recognizes that there are alternate points of view and that these points of view are worth considering. She understands that it is possible to speak directly with those who hold alternate points of view. She knows that the content we are learning is not contained within the four walls of our classroom.
She realizes that how we think about the content is important.  She recognizes that how something is taught in one country may be completely different from how it is taught in another and that that is worth finding out.

This moment was all the more revealing because they weren't being asked to think about this. It was her own question that came to her own mind in light of what she was learning. She was using her critical thinking skills without being asked to do so. It was happening as a natural part of the learning environment as she engaged with the text.


This is so very, very different from what would have happened in my classroom in the past where the focus was on the events that caused the revolution, learning the content and writing the test.  I can't recall any students asking such powerful questions.

She is not the only student working in this way. As we discuss the events, view and read,  insightful, thoughtful comments are continuously expressed as students think about what they are learning. And I would say this is a consistent practice of my students now.

It was a satisfying moment!