Integrative Thinking West Cluster HWDSB Initiative

On January 15, the HWDSB West Cluster's first day of Integrative Thinking for Educators training took place  (background)  led by The Rotman School of Management's I-Think team.  It was a satisfying feeling to know that the work that began with my Dundas Central's grade 7 students has grown into this.

After a brief introduction where I shared the impact that Integrative Thinking had had on my students, Ellie Avishai conducted an ice breaker activity. In the spirit of Ernest Hemingway, we were asked to work with partners to create six word stories about teaching and learning.

`

This was followed by a discussion of "21st Century Skills" and just how vague the 6cs (Character Education, Citizenship, Communication, Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving, Collaboration, Creativity and Imagination) are.

Next we were asked to think about what we would be teaching in the next few months and to keep those curriculum goals in mind as we explored Integrative Thinking.

Finally we set our goal for the day.

The rest of the day was spent learning about Integrative Thinking by using the tools of Integrative Thinking to find solutions to a complex problem. It was broken down into steps.

1. Introduce a step in the Integrative Thinking process.

2. Learn by doing.

3. Debrief  about what happened and why we did it.

4. Think about how that step might apply in our programs.

Underpinning the entire day were reminders to make our thinking explicit, to identify assumptions and biases,  and to not jump to solutions before a problem and different points of view had been fully explored. It was challenging and invigorating! 

I found this approach useful. By continually returning to the curriculum, the I-Think team helped teachers and administrators understand that although these tools come from a business school and we were solving a 'business' problem, the strategies are applicable to exploring and solving problems in any discipline.

Identifying what we value and why we value elements of conflicting models. 

The day ended with a quick introduction to the ithink hwdsb site which at the moment is only open to participants. There teachers can share, ask questions and upload pictures and videos of how they develop Integrative Thinking in their programs.  This will hopefully include successes and flops so that we can learn what works, what doesn't and help each other refine how Integrative Thinking fits in our classrooms. This is meant to be a collaborative process .

Teachers now have one month to think about  and experiment with Integrative Thinking before the next day of training. There will be informal face to face meetings in between training days for teachers to share, ask questions and get help. Our first  will take place on Feb 4.

One final note, on Wednesday at The Inquiry Working Group meeting, a few teachers who had been at the Rotman training day had begun experimenting with Integrative Thinking.  One shared how using Causal Models had immediately changed the dynamic in the classroom and the level of engagement and thinking of her students. That brought me a sense of joy and confirmation that what happened in my classroom last year wasn't just an isolated event. The HWDSB West Cluster Integrative Thinking Initiative is going to improve how students think and solve problems. 

The Inquiry Working Group

The Inquiry Working Group started last fall with the goal of providing a space where teachers experimenting with inquiry could meet face to face to share practice and ask questions outside of a formal PD structure.  It grew out of my Edcamp experiences and my desire to engage in a different kind of professional development.  We began with around 20 members and now have a core group of about 10 who meet monthly.

I remember the days when we used to work in isolation in our classrooms. I remember when we were encouraged to begin collaborating and release days were set aside so that teachers could meet in teams. I remember when we first resisted and then struggled to find a structure for those days and I remember when I began to truly value this new model of collaboration because as my practice improved so did student engagement. This was before I discovered the wonders of social media as a tool for professional development.

The Inquiry Working Group marks an evolution in that process. With freedom to develop the group according to needs and with no formal expectations nor "accountability" demands, barriers to growth are from my point of view removed. We get together, we share what happened in our classrooms since we last met, we ask questions and make suggestions.  We engage in thoughtful conversations about learning.

The commitment of core members has been wonderful but even more wonderful has been the opportunity to hear and see how my colleagues are developing inquiry within their contexts. I have to say I am in awe of my colleagues! Many excellent ideas, teacher-created resources and approaches have been shared.

At our last meeting we took time to open a collaborative Livebinder. Each group member will have a personal tab where resources he or she has developed can be uploaded for others to use.

My question now is how can this model of professional development be formally recognized? Teachers are engaged in PD outside a formal accreditation system, yet the work we are engaged in is invaluable and has a direct impact on practice and student learning. Badges present a possible solution  and I will be exploring them in the next few weeks to gain a better understanding of how they can be used to recognize informal learning.

We have room for new members so if you are interested in joining us, drop me an email: heidi.siwak@hwdsb.on.ca or send a DM on twitter @heidisiwak 

HWDSB Integrative Thinking West Cluster Initiative

HWDSB Integrative Thinking West Cluster Intiative

Follow: @ithinkhwdsb  #ithinkhwdsb on twitter

On Wednesday January 15, 20 teachers from the HWDSB gathered for the first of 3 days of training in Integrative Thinking. This is reposted from the ithinkhwdsb blog.

History

This initiative grew out of the work that  Heidi Siwak and her Dundas Central grade 7 students began in February 2013.   Those students had spent the school year deeply involved in Inquiry – investigating everything from what will happen once robots begin making moral decisions on behalf of humans to what it means to be a learner.  Heidi attended a workshop at The Rotman School of Management’s I-Think K-12 initiative. There she learned specific strategies and tools  students could use to develop deeper, more creative and complex thinking.   The students began a unique thinking and problem-solving journey.   Followed closely by Rotman, Nogah Kornberg began providing shoulder to shoulder support. Ellie Avishai, Josie Fung and Nogah Kornberg visited Dundas Central to work directly with the grade 7 students to deepen their integrative thinking skills.

Audrey Hensen- vice-principal and Barry Morlog-principal  arranged for all middle school teachers at Dundas Central to participate in a one day introduction to integrative thinking. Teachers were positive about the experience, recognizing the potential these  skills and strategies  offered students as they worked to  become better thinkers and move through inquiry.

Some significant developments  emerged from this work. The first was that students began to listen carefully to the thoughts of others so that better ideas could be uncovered and built upon.  The second was that students realized they weren’t just participating in ‘school’; the strategies they were learning were causing them to become better and more confident people. 

Recognizing the potential this had for our intermediate school learners,  Audrey Hensen, Heidi Siwak, Barry Morlog and Kelly Rizzo submitted a proposal to cluster Superintendent Mag Gardner to broaden opportunities for students in the West Cluster  to learn the tools of  integrative thinking. In the proposal it was suggested  that high school teachers be included so that the work begun in middle school could continue.  

The Project

There are several unique elements to the HWDSB Integrative Thinking Initiative.

The first is that this is not a top down initiative. This is growing from the work dedicated teachers are already performing daily in their classrooms.  Part of the goal of this project is to allow teachers to use their skills and expertise to collaboratively develop integrative thinking in ways that makes sense to their  individual contexts.  Teachers will co-learn with program department personnel and administrators. It is a model for PD that we find exciting!

The second is the breaking down of silos. We are bringing together elementary and  high school panels so that, hopefully, diversity of ideas and contexts will lead to a broader understanding of how to develop integrative thinking in our adolescent learners.

The third  is that the curriculum has not been preset. Teachers will spend 3 days working with Ellie, Nogah, Christopher and Josie from The Rotman School of Management, but the program will be developed in collaboration with and in response to the needs of the participants.

That being said, there is a guiding plan:

1. The Rotman School of Management I-Think team will be facilitating our learning.

2. Teachers will experience integrative thinking so that they understand its benefits.

3. Teachers will learn the tools of integrative thinking.

4. Teachers will develop curriculum that incorporates the tools of integrative thinking.

5. Teachers will experiment with integrative thinking in their classrooms.

6. Teachers will share what they observe and learn.

7. In between sessions with Rotman teachers will meet in person or virtually to share what happens once we introduce students to integrative thinking, to ask questions and to receive support.

 E-Best

The research department of the HWDSB is supporting this initiative. They will be conducting surveys that measure and assess the impact on teachers and students of integrative thinking. 

I"m Really Proud of this Project!

Project-Based Learning at its Finest

Last fall our school had the pleasure of hosting the gym-sized War of 1812 floor map from Canadian Geographic. My grade 7 students were fascinated by that map which launched us into a fabulous project-based learning experience.

We are nearing the end of the project and today I was interviewing one of my students about his "take-aways" from the experience. One of the questions I posed was, "What are you most proud about?" He paused to think and then said, "I"m proud of my project. I think it's good but what I'm really proud of is what the class has accomplished."

Those are the moments that teachers live for!

What exactly did the class accomplish?

We've created something to add to the kit that travels with the map. One thing that students felt could make the map experience better was to be able to access digital media while standing on the map, so they decided to create it. They spent time constructing knowledge of the war and then as a class decided what should be included in this project.

Some of the topics they included are:

James and Dolley Madison
Sir Isaac Brock
Tecumseh
Laura Secord and Catherine Lundy
Forts
Naval Battles
The Hamilton and the Scourge
and a few other topics that they thought would be interesting to other students their age.

Students then made effective use of the Advanced Search skills that had just been learned to construct this project.  It has been said many times in the twittersphere, but I will reiterate - there is nothing like having to prepare something for a real audience to motivate students. Meticulous is a word that comes to mind in describing how the class approached this project.

Each student or student group is submitting something that looks like this.

We intend to laminate these as a set of cards for the map. Visitors to the map will have to solve the longitude and latitude problem to find the place on the map that the project is linked to. They can then use a device to open the QR Code and see who or what the project is about and what happened at that spot. Students were free to choose their tools. The above project is on linoit, but there are Prezis, Google Presentations, and others.

For those without a QR Code reader. Here is the link to this project. Make sure that you find the project within that project! 

How Do You Teach This?!!!

My husband who teaches at a community college ran into a former student this week.

When my husband first encountered this student 8 years ago,  he was a new Canadian having come from Nigeria with nothing. This week, when my husband met him again, the student was thrilled to announce that he is now a PdD candidate in electrical engineering and has registered his first patent. This student will be building his own company and hiring Canadians before long.

This student began his journey in Canada the way many of my husbands students do. They enroll in a community college and wait for permanent residency. As soon as this is granted, they are eligible for domestic tuition fees and they transfer into university. These students are driven and fully understand the opportunity that Canada and its education system present. These are students with nothing. They work more than one job to fund their educations, they don't frequent restaurants, movies nor invest in stylish wardrobes. These students are here to claim a future and understand the sacrifice and dedication required to accomplish this.

How do you teach that?

What is currently in our culture and education system that creates this kind of a citizen?

 "What will you invent? When do you plan to register your first patent? What kind of business are you going to open? What are you willing to sacrifice to get there?" Where is that in our education system?

"I can't work with women because of my religious beliefs." A Tale of Tenure and Democracy

A story exploded in Canada today, one that has shocked many Canadians who find it hard to believe that in this day and age in a democracy where women have full rights of citizenship and freedom, a man can request to not have to work with women because of religious beliefs and that request can be granted by, of all places, a university.

As a woman and as a mother of daughters - or the "unclean", in this case - it made me feel physically ill.  I have to say that I am well and truly outraged.

There is a bigger story at play here, however, that needs consideration. This is really a story about the value of secure employment and how democracies are sustained.

Universities should be places where people are free to engage in the full exploration of ideas. This often requires entering uncomfortable territory. Dark and unpopular concepts need to be researched, examined and debated so that when conclusions are finally formed, they rest on solid foundations. To do this, professors must feel free to take risks and that is why we guarantee academic freedom through tenure, or what some like to refer to as "entitled professors with their jobs for life".

Full-time permanent professorships are not what they used to be, however.  Many have been eliminated or replaced by contract instructors. I recently spoke with a college professor who shared that at his institution the ratio of professors to contract workers is now about 1:5.  How does this relate to a man being excused from an assignment because he had to work with women?  J. Paul Grayson, the professor who blew the whistle, has the luxury of tenure. His job is secure so when an unacceptable idea emerged, he was able to publicly challenge the validity of  that idea without fear of being fired. I cannot imagine an instructor concerned that his or her contract might not be renewed taking a similar stance. I suspect that had a contract instructor been teaching the course, the public would never have found out about this appalling situation and it would have quietly become acceptable for men to refuse working with women for religious reasons at Canadian universities.

Democracies are not guaranteed. They require work and investment. They can be chipped away at until they disappear when citizens become unwilling to make investments in the institutions and infrastructure that sustain them. By allowing our institutions to become eroded through precarious employment we put our democracy and all that comes with it at risk.