Edutech conference models toys, not teaching

I left the Kamehameha education-technology conference last week both disheartened and unaffected. There were sessions on all the latest technology toys (twitter, blogs, del.icio.us, skype, etc.) that might have wowed a newbie, but most teachers there had at least tinkered with them. In fact, I think many teachers there could have given the talks they paid to see. The reality is that once you tap into the edutech world, conceptualize student-directed learning, and become fluent in moodle and blog navigation, it takes little upkeep to stay abreast of the multiplying resources. Presenters and conference organizers hear me: we know about the toys.

What we need are models of classroom environments that use technologies to empower students and promote self-directed learning.

On of the presenters showed the image below as an example of slapping technology onto the current model of education. Note how the teacher is at the front of the room, still presumed to have all the control and correct answers stashed away behind her desk. Notice the glazed stares, the distracted looks at the laptop screens, and the fact that the students are seated (dormant) while the teacher stands (active).

This photo summarizes my experience at this conference.

If the conference hoped to promote teacher-collaboration, why didn't we tackle a problem, make a lesson plan, or create a resource with our fellow conference attendees? Instead we sat awkwardly at lunch tables, attempted "what have you learned so far?" conversations.

If web 2.0 technology makes everyone a publisher, presenter, and photographer, why weren't participants asked to document something from their own classrooms and present them to our colleagues?

If these tools' strength is that they empower the learner, why (as a "student" at this conference) wasn't I asked to move around, say something, present, create, draw, list, summarize, record, write, brainstorm, collaborate, or even draw a doodle? Why didn't the presenters model the usage of new technologies in a classroom setting rather than simply click through their del.icio.us folders hunting for eyecatchers?

I'm sorry to play the naysayer on an event that conference organizers would love to declare a success; I'm sure for many the fusillade of tag-able websites was a thrill. Presenter David Warlick blogged that the conference was full of teachers who were "excited, enthused, attentive, and asking a lot of spot-on questions...and I think that the reason why, is that we’re giving them toys. " Well, those that already had the toys wanted more. I would like to experience a classroom setting where these technologies are implemented so I have a model to strive for. (Alan November does some of this beautifully in his talks by the way). No one wants to send the students back to the same old metal desks with new toys to distract them, but that was (sadly) the take-away message of this conference for me.

Great classroom tips

Finishing up my first year of teaching high school felt like a massive train coming to a halt. I start teaching summer school next Tuesday (one week away!) and I didn't feel ready to start the train rolling again…until now.

I just burned through Annette L Breaux's "101 'Answers' for new teachers and their mentors: effective teaching tips for daily classroom use." OMG this book breaks down so many difficult scenarios (student is late, doesn't turn in homework, says sassy things about your carefully crafted lesson plan, mocks other students, crumples your worksheets etc.) and provides realistic solutions. Some of my favorite tips were:

1. Smile (it's contagious)
2. Take pictures of students working and post them on the walls
3. Dignify wrong answers "Thank you so much for making that mistake because we can all learn from it."
4. Say thank you often "thank you for understanding we don't chew gum in class" (to the student who is chewing gum.)
5.Write thank you notes for gives from students
6. Notice new haircuts
7. Relate your lessons to student interests with metaphors (if Jun loves cars, then the verb becomes the "driver" of the sentence.)
8. Time student transitions between activities (they love to race to beat their time)
9. Encourage improvement, not perfection
10. Make a teacher report card when you are writing student report cards: you will get amazing feedback.
11. Give constant positive feedback ("I really appreciate the cooperation I'm observing in this group," "Thanks for raising your hand").
12. Treat you students the way you hope they will behave ("You look like someone I can trust, could you take this note to the principal?).

The list goes on. The tip I plan to implement first is "set teacher goals" for each semester. The idea is that this will help track the sense of development as a teacher rather than always feeling like you couldn't cover everything and moving on. My goals for summer school are:
1. Create a new classroom management plan and implement it consistently.
2. Make every student my favorite student
3. Connect my students with technologies and information that will put them in charge of their own learning.

No Child Left Inside

A fellow teacher at my school sent this short video link to the school list serve.
The basic idea is that teachers should base their lessons around the outdoors because we have so much to learn from the natural world. I usually teach a class with funny items (a wool slipper, an ipod song, a gummy bear) and ask students to practice writing with sensory details. It would be simple enough to take them outside the classroom and duplicate the activity with a flower petal, a lady bug, or a crunching leaf sound. As mentioned in the video, science class steps easily outside, but I worry a little about making the stretch from the English curriculum.

Acting for inspiration

Teaching Shakespeare at the end of the school year is a tough job. Several classes floundered. Some succeeded. In general, the classes that worked well centered around lifting Shakespeare off the page and slipping him into their mouths. Today I watched a group perform act 1.2 of A Midsummer Night's Dream set in a fantastical pub called "the wood." Students brought a cooler as a prop that produced blue soda in glass bottles to serve as a beer substitute. They strolled around the classroom, gesticulating casually with blue bottles, taking sips when appropriate, and reading easily off scripts. I was moved. Their intonation demonstrated an understanding of what they were saying--a striking student accomplishment considering the difficulty of Shakespeare's language
I had dreams last week about letting down students because they won't all close the play knowing how to wax poetic about themes of the moon and eyes. Hopefully positive associations with Shakespeare will linger with them and buoy them next year as they approach Merchant of Venice, another of Shakespeare's plays.

Writing with lists

I have been experimenting with more directed assignments. Generally I ask students to write a 1 page paper a week about anything they want because a) it forces them to become creative about their topics and b) they invest themselves in what they write. Two weeks ago I saw a marked bump up in the quality of writing amongst my students and it appears to be related to writing with lists.

Here was the assignment:

Lists are powerful. Lists are a good-writers trick to get people to believe you know what you're talking about. Lists are basically a ton of examples. Examples are cool.

You have now entered into the last quarter of your freshman year. I expect you to show me you can do creative, thoughtful things with words. I expect improvement from last semester. Don't bore me.

For this assignment, you can write about whatever you want, but you must include at least one list somewhere in your piece. It should be marked with an asterisks*. Read the examples in the "examples of good lists" resource in moodle to get some idea of what good lists are capable of. Go nuts. Show me what you can do.

-1 point for having a lame list
-2 points for writing about something you don't care about
-1 point for making me eat fig newtons in order stay awake to read your paper
-1 point for punctuation mistakes
-2 points for turning it it late with no chance of re-write.
-1 point for an untyped paper.

Your paper should be at least one page single spaced. Print it and bring it to class.


Examples of good lists:

1. The room was, without the kitchenette, about twelve by fifteen feet, and, crowded as it was (in addition to the bed, table, and breakfront, it contained a dresser, desk, coffee table, end-table, and easy chair, a TV set, two stand-up lamps, two small bookcases, a green leather hassock, a newspaper rack, an old costumer for their coats), Sam liked it. [Jay Neugeboren, Sam's Legacy (NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1973), p. 19.]

2. Here she was, seven years his wife, he thought he knew her inside and out, every quirk of her handwriting, inflection of voice; her passion for strawberries, her ridiculous way of singing; the brown moles on her shoulder, the extreme smallness of her feet and toes, her dislike of silk underwear. Her special voice at the telephone, too--that rather chilly abruptness, which has always surprised him, as if she might be a much harder woman than he thought her to be. And the queer sinuous cat-like rhythm with which she always combed her hair before the mirror at night, before going to bed--with her head tossing to one side, and one knee advanced to touch the chest of drawers. He knew all these things, which nobody else knew, and nevertheless, now, they amounted to nothing. The woman herself stood before him as opaque as a wall. [Conrad Aiken, "Impulse"]

"Do Schools Kill Creativity?"

In this short video Sir Ken Robinson argues that yes, schools do. He suggests that being successful means developing your natural talents. It takes some experimentation to figure out what those talents are, and schools should provide resources, mentors, and space for that kind of experimentation.
The video is funny, well-done, an ultimately made me want to buy ballet slippers for the repressed dancer in, well, all of us. Part of my brain insists students must learn specific skills for the job market that lies ahead, while the other half admits I have no idea what kind of job market awaits in 2016. It seems the only three things I know will help them in any profession are:
1) critical thinking skills
2) creative thinking skills
3) exposure to authors, books, and ideas that demonstrate the heritage of great thinkers that our students inherent simply by being human.
Sir Ken Robinson's lecture speaks directly to #2 listed here.

Should they all get A's?

I recently turned in grades for the quarter and was shocked to discover one of my sections of English had earned almost exclusively A's. Great Scott! I thought to myself: How can this be? Am I that easy peezy teacher that hands out good grades like breath mints?

What caused this drastic disturbance to the rigor of academia?
The largest single factor in student grades so far was a project in response to The Catcher in the Rye. Because I use moodle (an online class-organization tool) to organize class, I asked students to turn in many mini-assignments along the way. Browsing through their rough drafts on the computer I noticed they lacked meaningful introductions, so we spent a day on that. I noticed they struggled to wrap things up—we covered conclusions too. I asked a series of questions that applied to all of their projects to help narrow the focus and improve the textual references.
Surprise! Many of the final products were great. Some were even (gasp*) a little brilliant.

Technology appears to improve the communication between teacher and student. It allows me to peer in on their thinking process. I see where they need help; they do everything I ask of them on their self-directed projects. I almost felt, grading those projects, as if I had no choice but to give them A's because they completed every task I set out before them.

Or was I simply wowed by how quickly they mastered comic life and voicethread?

Clearly, as we ask students to take on more creative projects, we will need to find more creative ways to grade them. But on the other hand, as we set students up for success by providing the time, opportunity, and feedback to pursue their ideas fully, shouldn't we hand over the gold star when they emerge victorious? In an ideal classroom, wouldn't every student earn an A?