Registration for Workshop

Registration for this should be open in the next 5 days. I'm just waiting for Paypal to confirm my account.

I am pleased to announce that I will be running my first full day workshop at the end of August.
It will be on Tuesday August 27th in Toronto, maximum 30 participants and will most likely be at the Humber College North Campus.  As soon as my space info is confirmed I will announce cost and location. I'm just waiting for the contact person to return from holidays.

Registration will be handled through eventbrite*

Having built a globally connected classroom where inquiry, project and problem-based learning are the drivers, I have seen first-hand the enormous impact these approaches have on student engagement, success and intellectual growth. I am very excited to have this opportunity to share my experience and expertise with those interested in creating more compelling learning environments that are aligned with the goals and values of 21st Century Learning.

This workshop will help teachers understand the differences between traditional teaching and 21st Century Learning as well as provide tips, techniques and examples of how to shift practice.

Topics will include:

What is Inquiry?

Understanding the differences between traditional classroom teaching and inquiry.

Essential Questions and Theory Building

Creating a safe environment for intellectual risk-taking.

Deepening conversation between learners

Understanding Neutral Stance

Tools that Foster Deeper Thinking

Metacognitive Journaling

Deepening Understanding of feedback, peer and self-assessment and risk-taking

Creating a culture of trust, empathy, collaboration and independence.

Inquiry, Project-Based Learning, Problem-Based Learning: What are the differences?

Real World learning and globally connected classrooms.

Digital Tools for Collaboration

Audience: P,J,I

Note: this workshop requires a minimum of 20 participants to run.

Maximum 30.

Feeling Intellectually Safe - My Students Reflect on Their Year

This week my students had the opportunity to reflect on their learning on two separate days. Yesterday, a team from the Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat came to film them as they reflected on how we learn in our classroom and today Nogah Kornberg came to interview them one-on-one about the impact of the work we have been doing with I-Think.

I can't even begin to describe what I learned over these two days. It was humbling to hear just how much they value what has happened in our classroom and in some ways  it was disturbing to realize just how far off the mark we are in providing safe, nurturing environments for learners in our schools - that so much of what we do with the belief that we are creating safe and nurturing environments actually impedes learning.

What startled the adults who were present, but also the class as they listened to one another. was how articulate this group of students was as they expressed very complex insights about the tools we have learned to use for creative problem solving and how collaborative the learning environment has become.

In the end, what it came down to for my students was that for the first time they feel intellectually safe and therefore able to take risks with their learning. They don't feel that they are in competition with one another. They can risk sharing their ideas and know they will be treated with respect. They can now be given feedback by their peers that is constructive, but not mean.  Everyone in this class has learned to value everyone else's ideas. In our class they don't have to constantly be figuring out what the answer is that the teacher wants and appearing foolish and incorrect in front of peers - all ideas are valued We merely explore and build them.  They don't feel that they are constantly being judged. They have come to love working with others because the learning becomes richer.  In this class there isn't just one piece of best work and one student who is the best - all students matter and can pursue their learning in ways that work for them. They don't feel judged. Because everyone is working on different projects they actually want to hear about what others are learning because it's interesting. Our class feels like a family.

This doesn't even begin to cover the depth of what was said over the two days and the profound impact it has had on me as I realize how much I have failed to create that kind of culture in previous years because I was unaware of how to do so. I can't say that I intentionally set out to have my students experience this kind of cultural shift, because frankly, I already thought I was creating a safe environment - and in some ways I was, just not to the extent that I have learned to do this year.

When I think of the goals of 21st century learning - a term I know makes some people's teeth grind - embedded in that phrase is a goal for transformation. I now feel that I have a handle on the toolkit teachers need for the transformation to occur. There are specific things teachers can do and specific ways that teachers can guide conversations that will lead to this kind of culture and I feel very, very glad that we took risks, changed practice and took our time as we figured it out.

The video of my students will be released this fall.


 

Ready and Willing to Engage

Recently, I've had chance conversations with a variety of people who have had interactions with my grade 7s over the past several weeks.  A common theme is emerging about this class.  The remarks are unsolicited and often finish with, "It's the culture in your classroom.|" Because I'm so immersed in the every day happenings in my class, I never really think about just how different we've become. We've made the shift to collaborative inquiry because research shows this is best practice.  The long term benefit of working in this manner is now beginning to show.

Among the things that have been said to me:

There's something different about the grade 7s. They listen so well to each other.

Students who used to be at the office often in years past are no longer being sent to the office.

They are so willing to engage. They immediately form groups and jump into discussion.

There is no resistance when they are asked to explore a problem or begin solving a problem even if they don't yet really understand where they are going. This really surprised us. They just get into groups, grab paper and markers or chalk and begin.

(from a supply teacher) They just took care of themselves. They were fun.

From a teacher who had to cover my class on short notice and had no schema for the subject we were studying:    I saw you were studying Quebec. All I could think of was Quebec separation. So I quickly formed them into groups, assigned points of view (First Nations, English, French) and asked them to consider if Quebec should separate from Canada. They immediately went to different boards grabbed chalk and began discussing and mapping their points of view. It's just how they've been trained to work. That's just what's normal in your class.

I am so proud of my students and also grateful to the many researchers, curriculum developers, members of my twitter PLN, responders to my blog, colleagues and mentors who've helped me reformulate my understanding of teaching and learning. This is the result!



 

My Plans for the Fall - opening my class to visits; inquiry working group

I've been reflecting this week on all that I have learned over the past few years on inquiry and student centered learning and on just how much my practice has changed.  Many people have followed this transformation, some from my very first post. When I created this blog of transformation, I had sitting in the back of my mind a dream of creating a demonstration classroom, one where educators could come and see how learning and school could be different. Having had the opportunity to visit the Jackman Lab School in Toronto, I know how invaluable  first-hand observation can be.

I've had several requests to visit my classroom this year, but have not opened my doors. Last year we had many visitors and I found that my focus and attention was sometimes taken away from students and directed towards the needs and questions of visitors. I also noticed that classroom dynamics change when visitors arrive. So much of the depth of conversation and willingness to engage in deep learning happens in my classroom because of the level of trust that has been built between my students and myself.  Guests in the room, while enjoyable, limit what we are willing to discuss.

I also have been hesitant to accept visitors because while the work we're doing is very innovative and highly engaging, I didn't feel that I had a full enough grasp on the processes of inquiry, project and problem-based learning to merit visits. I took time this year to focus on deepening my understanding of inquiry. I have now reached a point where I am confident enough in my practice to once again open our door to visitors and will be honouring more of those requests in the fall.

This summer I'll be meeting with Jennifer Chan to consider how we can redesign my classroom for student-centered learning. Hopefully we'll have something in place for the fall.

Dundas Central Middle School teachers are beginning their training with the Rotman School of Management I-Think team on June 12.  We will be exploring integrative and design thinking and are hoping to make this a middle school focus for learning. Our long-term plan is to include teachers from other middle schools in our cluster as well as high school teachers. A number of high school teachers have expressed interest in working with us and we've had an initial meeting with 1 teacher from Parkside that was invaluable for beginning the conversation and sharing expertise. We have much to learn from each other! This will be experimental work full of hits and misses.

Late addition: a second group from Dundas Central plans to visit the Jackman Lab school in the fall.

What I am interested in forming this fall is a working group of teachers who are pursuing inquiry and would like to meet regularly face to face to share expertise and focus more directly on implementing 21st Century Learning practices in our classrooms. I would love to share more widely the work that I am doing and I know that there are pockets of excellence throughout our region. One of the tragedies of  education is that incredible talent sits hidden away because large bureaucracies have broader priorities and are often unable to fully capitalize on the expertise that lies within.  I also know that there are beginners interested, but uncertain how to begin. This could be a way for us to connect and begin forming the kinds of classrooms we wish to work in. If you are interested in being part of this initiative, please DM me on twitter with your email @heidisiwak or leave a comment on this post with your email or email me at heidi.siwak@hwdsb.on.ca with the subject: Inquiry Working Group.