AEA K-12 Online: Blended Learning Seminar Series

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AEA K-12 Online: Blended Learning Seminar Series: This spring and summer will be the prime time to create what blended learning looks like in Iowa. We're calling on experienced educators like you to collaborate with a team of content experts and instructional designers to do this work. The work will begin with our spring and summer Blended Learning Seminar series. While earning relicensure or graduate credit, seminar participants will co-create blended units that will be available through AEA K-12 Online and build their capacity to teach online or in blended formats.

Teach Better.  Teach Connected.

Being Brave Can Suck

Do You Ever Get Tired of Being Brave?  

You stick your neck out.

You volunteer.

You try to make a difference with people through innovation, relationships, and best-practices


But someone has a vision that does not match yours.


Gif courtesy of http://wilfulwilf.tumblr.com/post/39394125011 from Brave

And along comes someone to ZING you.   It's not nice.  It's not pretty. It's might not be true. Because someone has a different viewpoint than you, arguments ensue. Unkind words are spoken.  Feelings get hurt. It SUCKS.   I had a day like that today.

Gif courtesy of http://notsomemuggle.tumblr.com/post/37937107782/the-hobbit from Harry Potter


And there was no real win-win in the whole thing.  We both clung to our positions.  We both felt rightly justified.


Gif courtesy of http://narudevrem.tumblr.com/post/46210639726/but  from the Fight Club.



So why do I do keep fighting for what I think is right?   I ask myself that a lot, and I ask even more when I am wrong. It's a lot easier to lie low and not bother to be brave.  My life would be a lot less stressful that way.

Gif courtesy of:  http://thehippy-queenofcanada.tumblr.com/post/45840771670/country-roads-take-me-home-for-as-long-as 
from New Brunswick.

But I don't give up.  Why??


I do it for others.  The people in my own life, the ones I teach, my colleague, the people I wish I could reach.  The cookie chuggers.  The hoarders. The dreamers.  Someone needs to be brave for them if possible.

Yup, it's that time of year.   So whether you are fighting for transformation of education in the Iowa Legislature, for a better school for your own kids, or your own students,

HANG IN THERE.

BE BRAVE.

STAND UP AND TRY TO MAKE THINGS BETTER.

Gif courtesy of:  http://bellecs.tumblr.com/post/46241648569 from You've Got Mail.

#youmatter

Shut De Door

photo credit: jurek d. via photopin cc

It appears that some schools in Iowa have adopted a shut-the-door policy, locking their students inside.  And that breaks my heart.  I would love to say that the scenarios below are just a bad nightmare, but each and everyone of them is done at a school in our fair state.   What's worse, it all appears to be perfectly acceptable within the bonds of school policy.

Really.


You won't find administrators from these schools on social media.  The tech world is the wild frontier of scary.  The networks are locked down.   They are protecting the kids from the predators, the wolves, and the worst thing of all:  new knowledge.  The school district is their one-room haven, and their teachers and students are safe from new ideas.

photo credit: Caselet via photopin cc

Using phones in class brings this image to mind  for building administrators.  It's a mindset.  If we divide kids into those who have smart phones and those who do not, what harm can that do?

The administrators are even blocking students who want to individualize their education by taking online classes.  Aren't our teachers good enough?  What a load of nerve you parents have by looking for more rigorous classes or developing outside interests with your students.  Here, we have a nice class for your child in an area that we know s/he doesn't wish to pursue. Won't that be nice?  We are the gatekeepers, and knowledge is dangerous.




Kids wanting to take college classes through dual-credit?  These schools may allow it, but only if your child can afford to drive to and from the center using their own vehicles.  If you're poor, that's a shame.  We just can't afford to transport you where you want to go.  Strike 3.

photo credit: laffy4k via photopin cc

Meanwhile, out in the world of Iowa Education Reform, we argue about Allowable Growth. Reforming the system.  Testing.  These things seem arbitrary to kids.

In actuality, I find that there are students being attacked by the wolves of ignorance and tradition from within, while transformation can be totally ignored, simply by Shutting De Door.

The Princess Bride and Online Learning

The change process fascinates me because of its humanity.  To an outside observer, people often question why change in education takes so long. Those of us who regularly blog or participate in Twitter chats often see the education possibilities that are available, or just over the horizon, and wonder that as well.

***

But what if the change is hard?  Or scary?  Try looking at the idea through the lens of William Goldman's adventure book, The Princess Bride.

For some teachers, board members, and community stakeholders, doing multiple things in a classroom at once, learning from coursework online, trusting students to take charge of their learning, and even moving out of rows of desks is simply:

It's as unfamiliar as the setting of a fairy tale.

It's as frightening as a R.O.U.S. in the Fire Swamp.

When I think of paradigm in my own teaching career, I remember several moments of fear.  But one stands out when I think of the transition to badges and online learning.

* * *

I had moved to a new district, teaching physics and other subjects.  My style was much different from the predecessor, especially my insistence on teaching and learning using an extended 5E learning cycle.  My students were building bridges, creating catapults, and studying modern physics using concepts gleaned from Quarknet project.  I felt good about what I was doing.

That next fall, the TAG teacher informed me that she had a student who would be taking AP Physics online through Belin-Blank. Nothing personal, she informed me, but this student just felt it would be a deeper and more valuable experience.

Immediately, I sensed a trap.

My first reaction:  fear.  

What did that mean for my classroom?  Were kids going to leave my room in droves, opting for online formats?  What should I do if the kid came and asked me for help?  After all, this wasn't even my student. What, wasn't I good enough to teach that kid?  I felt like overreacting.  Or, in Princess Bride dialogue,

  “My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die!” 

My second reaction:  challenge.

It was (and is) my responsibility to reach as many kids as possible. Perhaps that AP student needed a faster pace. Or was a mathematical genius. Perhaps there was a reason that this student wasn't taking my class and I could learn from it.  I talked to the TAG teacher; I started asking my own students what worked and didn't work in my classroom through conversations and evaluation.  And I got better.  In fact, I think that experience motivated me in ways that no traditional evaluation could have ever done. It was a defining moment in my teaching.   “Now what happens?" asked the man in black. 

"We face each other as God intended," Fezzik said. "No tricks, no weapons, skill against skill alone."
"You mean you'll put down your rock and I'll put down my sword and we'll try to kill each other like civilized people, is that it?” 

My third reaction:  acceptance of differentiation.

This took time.  The fact is, kids learn in different ways. Some need one-on-one guidance and tutoring.  Others have social needs and want my classroom experience as much for the people as for the learning.  Some students need an instructional coach but can learn online by reading, using an open-source textbook or a website like physicsclassroom.com.  

Here is the reality. Unless kids WANT to learn from us, and value the content we offer, they can tune us out.  And then no amount of cajoling and threatening will help them learn.  It takes relationship, not a permissive environment of do-and-don't , regardless if the learning is taking place online, face-to-face, or in a community setting.

 “I am your Prince and you will marry me," Humperdinck said.

Buttercup whispered, "I am your servant and I refuse."
"I am you Prince and you cannot refuse."
"I am your loyal servant and I just did."

I didn't enter education to be the know-it-all on the block.  I no longer worry about the kids who don't take my classes--instead, I help those who ask for help and look for knowledge sources, regardless of the classes they are taking. That is real teaching. That is real advocacy for life-long learning.  And it's probably as close as we will ever come to the statement of love that Wesley, the farm hand, offers freely:

Because life is not a fairy tale.  As William Goldman says:

“I’ll tell you the truth and its up to you to live with it.” 

Borrowed from http://www.teachingforexcellence.com/our-model/leading-initiatives/people-change/

NGSS Science Standards are Here

logo belongs to http://www.nextgenscience.org/next-generation-science-standards

Are you ready for the needs of science learners?

The Next Generation Science Standards have just been released.


And I'm excited, not scared, about the possibilities.

I know there will be challenges ahead.  But as we unpack these ideas, there will be opportunities to strengthen education as a whole.

• STEM is integrated as part of the process.  This shifts the paradigm away from canned products, often at a high cost, and provides ideas that can lead to relevance in the classroom.
• Practices of science, which we have called inquiry, are embedded in the process.  This shifts science towards student-centered models of pedagogy.
• Cross-cutting standards, including cause-and-effect, patterns, scaling, go beyond the silo mentality of traditionally taught classes, and link with other standards.  Rather than being limited to one discipline, we can cast our nets wide...if we have the courage and foresight to imagine it.

Fear often accompanies a new initiative, a change process, a new idea.  

1. I'm guessing that fears include a fear of a 'big-brother curriculum' are a common concern.  But that's just not true.   The standards are based in performance expectations, or competencies.  Local districts still decide curricular materials and provide professional development.
2. Having to REDO my lessons and curricula.  This is the "I've always taught butterflies" worry, and it IS a lot of work.  But it's necessary.  We all know the frustration a child experiences when s/he changes schools frequently, and different material is covered in different grade bands.   The NGSS standards identify concepts to be taught in a grade level or band to minimize these knowledge gaps.
3. Costs of new equipment in a tight economy.  There may be some reshuffling of equipment and/or teachers for a particular subject.  In a collaborative environment, however, these concerns are somewhat minimized.   And the focus on models:  physical models, virtual models, pictures of models--all of these can lead to deeper thinking by students without great cost.
4. The alignment of the Common Core with science and English and math.  For teachers who are content specialists, this is perhaps the biggest fear of all.  Will they suddenly be teaching English Literature?  And again, while I can understand this misconception, the old wisdom about reading applies here.  ALL teachers SHOULD teach reading for their content area, ALL teachers SHOULD teach use the best teaching tool for a given concept, including technology, and ALL teachers should be giving their students problem-solving and critical thinking skills.  Far from limiting us, the Common Core can open new opportunities and wider teaching opportunities for literacy and learners, if we just open the door of possibility.

Students adapt to new ideas easily because it's not different, it's just the way to do things.  As we go into this venture of unpacking, let's take a deep breath and start looking for chances to do the same.

I Am Thomas

2nd Sunday of Easter, RCL,Year C

Homily, Church of the Saviour, Clermont, IA

Acts 5:27-32

Psalm 150

Revelation 1:4-8

John 20:19-31

Today is one of my favorite Gospel readings.    I am Thomas. I want to see, to know, to have that surety that comes from an absolute. I am Peter.  Blustery, full of speaking without thinking.   I am Martha, hustling and bustling and not stopping.  And Jesus loved them all, imperfections, weaknesses.  But most of all, I am Thomas, wanting  to know in the same way that 2 + 2 = 4.

But God doesn't work that way. KNOWLEDGE is replaced with TRUST in God's World.  It's the fundamental difference between the world of science and the realm of religious thought. Throughout the readings today, I hear the Spirit playing on a theme. And that theme is Signs of God's Presence. So the question becomes for each priest or pastor:  "What Signs does the congregation need today?"  The Spirit will help us find them.

For all of us see signs, portents, or whatever we call them. Like the ancient viziers, we try to interpret the world and make sense of it. They can be signs of fear (like watching North Korea and wondering what the leader is thinking, or if he needs a Snickers bar to calm him down). They can be signs of hope (like blooming crocuses). They can be signs of faith (like miracles, or small moments when we sense God is near).  And because events are a wondrous mix of science and religious thought, we interpret a mix of logic and feeling.

We sometimes don't like the signs we see, and we ask ourselves if our judgment is sound. Often, that is so we can work out what to do next. The apostles did not like the signs they read as the temple police cornered them, but they made a decision to continue their ministry. Signs are all around.

What signs should we follow and what should we ignore? As human beings, we want positive, helpful signs, and sometimes that isn't life. We can't just ignore what we dislike. Signs take pondering. They take time to process. In that way, I think we are all like Thomas, if we are wise. Sometimes jumping at the first sign is not the best policy.

Depending on your personality, we are predisposed to see the world through a positive or a negative lens. Maybe the doubting part comes in the fact that we are so busy acting, doing, living-- that we don't take time to think of the fact that all days have some beauty.

Thomas said what many of us think...who is this Jesus to rise from the dead, and why are these reasonable people believing it? Maybe the entire Gospels would be lest believable to me if there hadn't been some of this doubt infused inward. Because we who believe Jesus is the Messiah are not expecting a fairy tale. Even for nonbelievers, a wrapped up, non-contradictory, happily-ever-after would have been less believable than this human, conflicted collection of eyewitness accounts.

Here's the thing. Our beliefs tell us God is everywhere. That not only does God love us, but that we are actually likable. That's a free gift. I think we are more afraid of a the strings attached to a free lunch, and so we are perhaps...cautious and afraid. It's easier to feed on our wounded selves. There is a lot of beauty, but maybe our past experiences with following bad signs make us calloused and too scared to see the Resurrection that is in store for us.

I find on good days, I have an easier time to be content and feel happy, but then there are those days that make all of that a lot harder. Sometimes the gift of a friend is the only sign you see and I need to receive their wisdom. Ponder that the next time you feel down or ill. Prayer and reflection, talking to friends (like you) in my Community makes those days pass as well. There is give and take with you, with God, with friends. When there is only taking, that's not a real relationship at all. God is strong enough to understand you when you are sad, angry, and hurt and to let you express that.  God also can be that Tiny Whisper in our Soul, that moment of joy when all is dreary and dark.  Church, then, is called to provide those moments of insight and help to all who reach out in sorry or despair.

Some people also notice signs, and then run away and go into denial. Thomas did that, but was called back by Jesus.  He was given encouragement, not driven away from the Apostles. We can see signs, act on signs, or ignore signs. What signs have you seen this week that will help us grow here at Church of the Saviour?

How can we make the Love of Christ more accessible to those at Clermont, Elgin, West Union, and all the other places we travel this week? Perhaps, in giving us free will, we were also given permission to look for the Sign of Christ.  Because God gives us choice, S/He trusts us to become Signs of Hope ourselves. Amen.

Differentiation of Reflective Optics

Pic #1

Pic #3

Pic #2

For a final optics project, my two independent study students had to make an infinite mirror illusion.  Notice the mirror maze in Pic #1 and Pic #2, and the kaleidoscope in Pic #3.

The kaleidoscope effect is also nicely demonstrated here, using a maze of mirrors in Pic #4, and a changing background of shapes in Pic #5-#8

Pic #4

Pic #5

Pic #6

Pic #8

Pic #7

Too Nice

Recently, I have heard from several staff members:

photo credit: Chapendra via photopin cc

You are too nice when it comes to second-chances with students.


And perhaps, from their perspective, I am.  My deadline is the end of the term for my classes.  Until then, I will work with kids at their own pace.  And sometimes, a student gets behind a chapter or two.  There's lots of reasoning for this...illness, family issues, transfer to a new school, or apathy.  But it translates in the same way--a loss of hope.

So I respond.  It means I teach differently.  It DOES NOT mean that I don't teach.

All kids need relationships.  Some kids need logical consequences.  Having a backlog of work CAN be a logical consequence.  And I happen to believe that holding them accountable, meeting at McDonald's or Skyping online is just as logical as letting them off the hook by entering zeroes in the grade book.

Most of the students who have this behavior suffer from self-esteem issues. Until the learner realizes that learning comes from the inside, they will simply use my content presentation as a garbage-in-garbage-out memorization exercise.  First and foremost, I try to work on relationship with the kids, and a reassuring belief that they CAN do things. And that has made a difference for more than 95% of the students I have taught.

My students have to demonstrate competency in their knowledge through projects and reflection, which has been a building process for more than 15 years of my career.  I won't budge on that.  They have to do the work.  I remember that Einstein was considered an imbecile in grade school because he didn't do the work.  I notice that Bill Gates never finished college.

When a student gets behind, I meet with him or her. I talk to guidance. I call parents. I send the kid a message via social media.  But the underlying message, regardless of whether they choose to make up the material is:  #youmatter.    It's not simple.  It's not easy.  It requires a different time frame, and sometimes it means those kids stay after school to make up material they could have chosen to do during the industrially-scheduled time. It also allows me to be able to tell the student that this is not a chance that will always happen in her life, and that it should not be a repeated occurrence; sometimes, they have failed for so long that they don't realize this is a choice.

Regardless of the content knowledge, my hope is that students will walk out of the classroom with two main ideas:

• problem-solving and critical thinking are necessary and possible
• how you treat others matters

Let's have this conversation. If I can instill some self-belief, hope,  and intrinsic learning skills, I'll let someone else be the go-to person on rules and regulations and preparing students for punching a clock.  In the long run, I know we want productive employees.  But really, until those kids believe in themselves, is that even possible?

Relevant, Rigorous, and Easily Identifiable

This past week my students made Barbie cars and bumpers, ran them down a ramp, and looked at the g-forces on the occupant.  It allowed us to look at force diagrams, frictional forces, crumple zones, and net force.

Additionally, it is one of the few STEM experiences many of my students will have into the world of engineering design.  It allowed them to think, and analyze, and compare.  It's not a canned program.  It's not perfect, but it uses data analysis (just as safercar.gov does) to come to conclusions.

When they finished, the students had to report their findings.  Most chose Google Docs or Google Presentations because of the design ease.  This data will follow them through the unit as we look at Force applied, Force net, and mu.

My role as a teacher?  Challenge designer.  Interpreter.  Identifier of misconceptions (there are many) in the presentations during a post-presentation conference. While this is not a summative experience, it is a critical formative experience, focusing not on a formula, but instead on the idea of relevant problem-solving and design.

THIS is what I want for students in the 21st century.  Collaborative.  Multiple solutions.  Focused on the big ideas.  What do you want for your kids?

IA Curriculum Online

It's 2013.  And each teacher, in each building, is charged with developing curriculum that meets a pre-defined core of standards in Iowa.  Actually, that is true across the country.

Part of me is ok with that.  I absolutely think that each teacher needs to make curriculum his/her own, and to stamp it with his/her passion and hobbies.  One chemist looks at chemistry from an environmental lens, and the next relates the concepts in the context of auto mechanics.

And that's great.  IF.

IF WHAT?

WELL, IF THE TEACHER HAS

• deep content knowledge
• great pedagogical skills in inquiry, learning cycles
• a deep understanding of the content standards
• an ability to utilize student-centered strategies for learning
• experience in Universal Design for Learning
• a wealth of formative and summative assessment experiences
• reflective, metacognitive processes for students and for himself or herself

But how likely is that?  It certainly is not uniform across school boundaries.  What if we could give teachers reflective practices and the opportunity to develop curricula in collaborative groups, along with an edu-coach with deep knowledge?  

What if we could then leverage this content and turn it into project-based learning?

Isn't that one way to vision Beyond Textbooks?

It's coming.

Check out Ollie/Mollie.

Watch for Agora details.