Category Archives: Education

My thoughts on the future of education and public schools

Writing Instruction and the Power of Audience

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I am a big fan of Tim Stahmer’s blog “Assorted Stuff“.  Tim’s writing never ceases to engage and entertain, and his insights often mirror and sharpen my own.

I also read Jay Mathews’ column for the Washington Post, called “Class Struggle“, although I disagree with Mathews at least as often as I agree with him.  Jay writes from a non-educator perspective that frequently ignores the issues and logistics of actually educating our young people.

Last week, Mathews wrote a piece of the prospect of computers scoring writing tests and the challenges that go along with this.  Tim’s response is a nice bit about the habit of some “reformers” in referencing the educational experiences of their own lives, despite being reluctant to present today’s students with the same opportunities.  Mathews discussed the improvement that occurred in his own writing when he received real feedback from others while writing for a newspaper.  Here’s my favorite part by Stahmer:

“Most students learning to write today have any number of places on the web to post their work (not just a privileged space on the site of a major newspaper), in a persistent format that is aggregated in search engines, and an international audience.

Shouldn’t we make available to all students the same learning opportunities that assisted Mathews?”

Doesn’t Tim make a fantastic point?  Isn’t the strength of publication all about the feedback that we receive from others, and doesn’t that improve with the size of our audience?

photo credit: marfis75 via photopin cc

Paperless or Papersmart?

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As a lover of all things digital, I get excited at the idea of having a paperless classroom.  I see it as a sea change from a more wasteful mode of instruction to one that is more efficient and more oriented toward the skills and experiences that modern students need.

But, I also feel pushback from those who see the use of paper in their lessons as vital and unavoidable.  Many of these colleague are thoughtful and responsible practitioners who want what is best for their students.  I sometimes feel guilty pushing them to give up their paper when it might mean being less effective.  This conflict has led me to develop a better system in my own classroom.

I have access to some technological tools in my room, but the most important tool that any students uses in Mr. C’s Science class is her notebook.  In my previous life as a marine scientist, I experienced firsthand the need for a running record of everything I read, saw, designed, and discovered.  Using that understanding, I have developed a system that includes the students actively capturing all necessary information from texts, instructors, and one another on the bound pages of a composition notebook.  Compared to my peers, I use less than 30% of the number of pieces of paper per year, but I don’t think that I will ever be completely paperless.  I like to think that my classes have become papersmart instead.  Here’s how I do it:

  1. My students maintain composition-style notebooks throughout the year.  We spend a lot of time and effort organizing them.  I also constantly reinforce the importance of a journal-type of science notebook for recording students’ ideas, data, and results.  I show students that this is how professional scientists keep their data (in old-school paper notebooks) and I help them understand its value.  For a glimpse of my AVID-inspired notebook system, check out this presentation.
  2. When I need my students to read something and then archive it in their notebooks, I try to make the paper copy (that I distribute to them) small enough that I can fit two copies per page.  Then, students attach it directly to their notebooks.
  3. When I need students to fill in a data table or graphic organizer, or answer questions, I have them draw/write the table/organizer/prompt/questions in their own notebooks.  I model it for them in my Master Notebook under my document camera projected on the screen, which is especially helpful for those who struggle with organization.
  4. I use my Livescribe smartpen to write in my Master Notebook, so that at the end of each day, my website always has a digital version of what students should have in their own notebooks.
  5. When it comes time for students to review what they have learned, all necessary content information, activities, and vocabulary words can be found in their nice, neat, portable, durable, battery-free notebooks.  I simply use an outline of the content to help them locate it in their notebook and teach them study techniques.

These five steps alone have reduced my paper usage from just a few years ago.  Some may argue that the paper is still being used by students in their notebooks, and I would agree to a point.  Students tend to be more efficient in the use of their notebook paper, though, owing largely to the limited amount in a given notebook.  Also, I find that students process more of what is in their notebook if they are actively involved in transcribing it.

Could my system be better?  Absolutely!  In a perfect world, I would have a tablet for each student to use in combination with this system for the purpose of acquiring and reading information.  I think that this would free me from my current role as the frequent source of content knowledge, and allow me to work with individual students more actively.  But, regardless of the amount and sophistication of technology available to me, I think I would still maintain my notebook system because of the benefits it provides for student learning.

How do you reduce your paper use?

A Motivating Read [Book Review]

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I often get asked about my reading habits by other teachers. Some want to know how I find the time to read–my answer includes bathrooms, lines at Walmart, and Instapaper–and others are curious about what I read. Recently, I spoke with a colleague about one of the most useful education books I’ve read in the last year: “Helping Students Motivate Themselves: Practical Answers to Classroom Challenges” by Larry Ferlazzo.

Those of you who peruse the interwebs may already be familiar with Larry and his award-winning resource-sharing blog. You may even remember that I mentioned Helping Students Motivate Themselves in a post about good education reads last summer. Now that I’ve had a chance to use some of his lesson ideas, I want to share a more in-depth review.

One of my favorite aspects of this book is that Ferlazzo focuses on several critical questions that teachers have been asking themselves since the dawn of time, like “How can you regain control of an out-of-control class?” and “What can you do to keep your students–and yourself–focused at the end of the year?”. For each question, he provides some relevant research data and some personal anecdotes, and then follows up with a lesson (or series of them) to address the issue. For some questions this means one lesson, but for others (and this is where he sets himself apart) Ferlazzo suggests a year-long series of repeated lessons to really make a concept stick with the students.

One example is his chapter entitled “How Can You Help Students See the Importance of Personal Responsibility?”. Here he provides several lessons that use current events and well-known people to make the point that successful individuals own up to their failures and don’t blame others. Students explore the way that they have felt in situations where they cast blame on someone else, or had that done to them. It’s a remarkably effective method of addressing an issue that would more often result in eye-rolling than real learning. Even more amazing is that he makes it work with high school students!

Later in that same chapter, Ferlazzo recommends an activity for building students’ self-esteem. They discuss the meaning of the word “value” and then identify their own personal values by choosing from a broad list. They write about why they find these things important–examples of these values include membership in a social group, religious values, and living in the moment–and how they have felt when they made choices that supported them. He suggests repeating this short writing activity at several points during the school year to both reinforce its importance and to allow students to track changes in their own motivation.

I find this sort of practical long-range lesson idea to be quite rare in the cookbook world of education books for teachers. He presents very easy lessons with very little preparation needed (the publisher’s website allows owners of the book to download his handouts) that have stimulated compelling discussions in my classroom. I highly recommend the book because you can do much of what he suggests without any major changes to your teaching style or lesson pacing.

Perhaps most importantly for me, Ferlazzo’s lessons from Helping Students Motivate Themselves develop metacognition and student awareness of the skills that they need to be successful in life. It’s hard to imagine a more important 21st Century Skill than that.

Anybody else read it and want to share your opinion? That’s what the comments are here for!

Breaking in a New Principal

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Regular readers might recall my triumphant treatise on “leading from below” in the face of turnover in school administration.  At the time, my school was dealing with the transition to only our second principal in its history.

Fast-forward five years and we are about to welcome our fourth.  I can say with confidence that I still believe in the idea of shared leadership by educators and support staff to ensure consistency and foster a positive school climate.  Moreover, as our large district moves toward a choice-based model for assigning students to schools, the reputation that our school has developed will help us to attract those families who value the advantages that a strong and cooperative faculty can provide.

However, it has become even more clear to me that the principal of a school wields tremendous influence over many aspects of the community.  Whether we like it or not, she can affect the attitudes of educators, parents, and even other administrators.  She can choose whether to throw her support behind parents, teachers, and/or administrators, and change her mind a million times.

A principal can set the course for a school, both in terms of its goals and its outcomes.  He can choose which teacher leaders get to have a voice, or he can choose to listen to everyone and decide when action is needed.  He can emphasize test scores or he can value personalized instruction.  He can visit every class every day or he can drop in unexpectedly to see how the faculty does its job.

In choosing their own style and adapting to the philosophy of a particular school, a principal represents change in both the school and in the person himself.  Knowing that every school leader has a unique opportunity to absorb expertise when they first set foot in a new place, I would like to offer my wishes for our new principal.

Be flexible.  Stay true to your values, but recognize that when dealing with both staff and students the best solution will likely lie in the middle.  Realize that you will not hear the whole story from just one person.  Take it all in, and render your decision with confidence.

Take risks.  Everyone realizes that you are the one person who will be held responsible if something very bad ever happens.  You will probably receive much of the credit for our success as well.  No great achievement in education was ever reached without a leader stepping forward and making a risky decision.  Read this piece by Karl Fisch, and realize that a “bold school” will outperform an “old school” every time.

Never stop learning.  This is more than just that “lifelong learner” BS that everyone loves to talk about these days.  It’s also more than just demonstrating that you mastered the job of “teacher” before moving into school administration.  It’s about staying relevant, engaging with staff, and seeking out what the thinkers of our time are writing and the researchers are finding.  And, yes, it might mean installing an RSS reader (or, worse, finding out what RSS means) and following some important voices in the world of education.  I’d be happy to suggest a few.

Be authentic.  You have lived longer than most of those under your stead.  You have seen things and done things that would amaze the average middle schooler.  Don’t feel the need to become like those around you, relinquishing your own persona in the process.  Stay true to your self and let the doubters come to you.  Trust me.

 

I don’t pretend to know the inner workings of the universe, or understand how women work, or even how to fix a toaster.  And, I definitely don’t know everything about education, or middle school, or even eighth grade science.  But, while we only get one chance to make a first impression, becoming a successful principal is a never-ending process.

Did I miss anything?

This is Why We Owe It To Our Students to Change Education

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Speaking of continual improvement, from Gina Trapani’s blog, Smarterware, I read this amazing company creed crafted by Automattic (the business behind the open-source WordPress blogging platform and WordPress.com).  It’s nearly impossible to read this and not think,

“How many of my students are ready to work in a place like this?“

I will never stop learning. I won’t just work on things that are assigned to me. I know there’s no such thing as a status quo. I will build our business sustainably through passionate and loyal customers. I will never pass up an opportunity to help out a colleague, and I’ll remember the days before I knew everything. I am more motivated by impact than money, and I know that Open Source is one of the most powerful ideas of our generation. I will communicate as much as possible, because it’s the oxygen of a distributed company. I am in a marathon, not a sprint, and no matter how far away the goal is, the only way to get there is by putting one foot in front of another every day. Given time, there is no problem that’s insurmountable.

-Automattic Company Creed (via Smarterware.org)

Maybe the more important question is “What would it take for all of my students to be ready to work in a place like this?”

What do you think?