How Student Self-Evaluation Makes All the Difference

"Here you go. I'm done and reading for you to mark it," the smiling grade 8 student says as they hold a completed assignment in front of me with a big smile.

"Ok," I reply. "Let's have a look first."

The student's smile changes to a grin and then slowly fades away. "For what?" they say, "It's done, right?"

Now the fun begins....time to find out the true value and merit of their work. 

My first question will frame the whole conversation. "What mark would you give it?"

Now, before you start thinking about all the students who would freeze up, shrug their shoulders and stand there looking puzzled without being able to articulate an answer - I can tell you that they are not just capable of marking their own work - they are highly accurate and reflective when given the right tools to do so. 

"I don't know......I'm not good at this...." the student tries to evade the question.

"Yes. You are. Who else - but you - knows how much effort you put into completing this assignment?"

"Now let's try it again. Think about what the expectations were for the task. Think about how hard you worked on it. Think about the strengths you've shown in the work. Now, think about the advice I might give you about how to improve what you've done. What next steps would other students in the class identify if we all looked at it together?"

The student now knows that the shoulder shrug and "I don't know" won't cut it today. I've already shown that this conversation demands an answer. Ok. Time to think...

"Ummm...a 3-???" the student offers and watches my reaction to gauge if that was an acceptable response."

You see - the student is not just evaluating their own work. They are being asked to somehow predict how their teacher will mark it. By the time, they have become intermediate students, they have been trained into thinking that teacher is the one who holds the magic red pen that 'brands' each student assignment with a grade, based on the careful calculation of the success criteria, and sometimes, secret-hidden things that only teachers know. 

This has to change. 

As the teacher, I have learned to accept the student-suggested mark and not try to raise or lower it initially. But, rather, to ask questions like, "Are you happy with a 3-?" "Does that mark reflect the effort you put into it and learning shown in your work?" 

My personal favourite has become, "Why not a 4+? What could you change or add to make it a 4+?"

And here's where the real reflection and purpose of assessment takes place...

It's a win-win. If the student knows that it is not their best effort or can identify things to improve their work, they have no choice but to take the assignment back and use my feedback (which is really their own self-reflective feedback) and make improvements. 

"The primary purpose of assessment is to improve student learning"

Before this school year I would have allowed the student to hand the assignment in and resolve myself to marking it as it was. Now, I use these student conferences as an opportunity to improve student work and make the assessment process more transparent and attainable. 

I don't really care about the leveled mark I write on a student piece of work. I care about the learning that is taking place and the ability of the student to develop the skills necessary to reach their full potential and grow as a self-directed learner. 

How many individual marks on assignments would you remember from your grade eight year? In fact, how many actual learning activities and assignments would you remember from grade eight as a whole?

Allow the students to mark their own work. Frame their reflective capacity with purposeful questions. Demand that they are accountable for both their first draft and the improvements that they already know could be made (as they try to hand it in).

Improve student learning at the core. It shouldn't be a magic trick to earn a 4+. It should be an attainable target when students have an awareness of what is required. 

Shatter Your View of the Classroom

Classrooms should be crumbling. But many stand firm in an ageless state.

I want to give credit to one of the catalysts for my own educational shift and reflective view of teaching. Changing Educational Paradigms (by Sir Ken Robinson) is media clip that completely changed how I thought of our current educational system. If you haven't seen this before...spend the next 10 minutes re-thinking YOUR educational experience and reflecting on YOUR school memories. If you teach, how can this reshape your view of the classroom? Your school? Your pedagogy? Your approach to students? Your goals?


One of the things that Sir Ken illuminates is the notion that the industrial age-defined classroom has been, largely, left unchanged. Think about how the world has changed in the past 100 years, 50 years, even 10 years. Now think about how many classrooms you could walk into RIGHT NOW and see the following:

• Student desk in rows
• Chalkboard at the front
• Teacher desk in front corner
• Teacher standing at the front
• Filing cabinets filled with worksheets

Are some of these things still practical? Effective? Purposeful? Necessary?

Sure.

But how many of these things are in place because of familiarity? Conformity? Safety? Tradition?

Now think about how many of these things are in place for student learning.

A classroom is for learning NOT teaching.

Students are tasked with the journey of learning and education. Teachers are tasked with how to facilitate this.

The school day is not block of time to be filled with activities to "keep kids busy." It should be an opportunity to forge positive relationships with students so THEIR learning is facilitated in an appropritately paced and meaningful manner.

If the goal of schools is merely to put in time and have the students feel like they remember something that the teacher has "taught them" by the end of the day - we are doing it all wrong. Because if that's the case, why not set up classroom like movie cinemas and bring in the cozy chairs and snacks?

If all we ask of students is to sit passively and learn through sight and sound alone - how different are we than the movies and television shows that we seem to associate with a negative use of time? No one ever suggests that listening to teachers will rot your brain - but depending on the conditions of learning and structure of the classroom environment - I think there's a possible argument there.

Let's shatter our view of the classroom. Let's allow students to put the pieces together. Facilitate the change. Facilitate the learning.

Who Speaks for Our Students?

All caring adults do. We empathize with their emotions and advise them on their actions.

All parents do. We understand them - profoundly - in innate ways that cannot be measured or described.

All educators do. We plan, teach and assess in a way that supports who they are, what they care about and how best they can demonstrate the learning.

All communities do. We make decisions in meetings to plan for their future and support their present in our facilities and our programs.

All society does. We cultivate a future pathway that is promising and desired by talking of responsible citizenship and promising tomorrows.

But, what about students? 

Do we let them, truly, speak for themselves? If we stopped and took the time to LISTEN TO THEM – we would, finally, be able to imagine their insights and realize their dreams. Students have much to say, and with our listening silence, comes an opportunity to change our pathway and support their ambitions.

Let's allow them to speak for themselves.

This image was created by graphic artists by using the insights and beliefs of Ontario’s students on what they imagined the future of Ontario’s education should look like. Take a look and see for yourself what our students want their educational world to look like.

Image: Ontario Ministry of Education

(Not) Just Another School Year

This year will be different…

Welcome your students with a new kind of message - one that imparts hope, excitement and promise:

“This year is yours to learn.”

1. My year is not planned. I have no intention of putting you through the same activities and assignments that your older siblings have done. Our focus for learning may be the same – but the way that we get there will be according to your learning needs (not my teaching needs).

2. Success or failure is up to you. I have zero interest (or intention) on ‘getting you through this year.’ Take your own learning into your own hands. I will support, guide and facilitate – but it will be you that holds the keys to your own success. I will not make excuses for you – nor will your parents – it is up to you to realize your centrality in this year’s educational plan.

3. Learning is paramount to your personal development. I absolutely recognize that your social networks, personal interests and skills are important to you – they are also important to me. That is why I will do what I can to weave them into my teaching practice. You will see yourself in our curriculum. They are the guiding principles framing our learning together – but they need a face and a perspective – yours, the student.

Let this year get messy. Let yourself fall into the deep, dark abyss that is the unknown. Take on new challenges and learn what it means to love learning – yourself.

I promise you that this will be your year of inspiration, reflection and passion – if you throw away the same old worksheets and craft new learning experiences with an entirely new (and refreshed!) group of students.

Let the journey begin! You are doing the work that matters in helping to bring about new, profound changes to the way we reach students and guide learning.

The Very Best Thing About iPads (and other devices)

I love everything about my iPad. It possesses a powerful processor and eye-popping screen, has more innovative apps than I will ever be able to use, and it fits easily into my carry-on luggage in its gorgeous purple leather case. What’s not to love?

Because I love my iPad, it is easy for me to understand the enthusiasm of teachers who are keen to get their hands on a class set of iPads, ipods, laptops, or netbooks. I get it when people talk about how engaged they think their students will be, and how many new and authentic activities they can create when students have fingertip access to apps and to the Internet. Nevertheless I must confess to having felt downright curmudgeonly in the last few months as I listened to people extolling the virtues of one app or another. I worried about the certainty I was hearing that any given app or device had the power to ensure both engagement and achievement.  It seemed to me that the focus on learning had been lost, that the ‘gee whiz’ factor had taken over. It was all I could do not to sigh aloud, wag my finger, and talk about the good old days when we knew what really mattered in education and pursued our desired goals with grit and determination. (I’m not sure those days ever existed but in the novels I read, curmudgeons always make extensive reference to halcyon days of long ago.)

A teacher in Victoria, British Columbia saved me from a certain future of scowling and finger wagging. Explaining the benefits of her class’s iPad project, Jane said, “The learning just exploded. I learned from the kids and the kids learned from each other.”

Repositioning teachers from the stance of expert to that of co-learner is the very best thing about iPads and other devices. Our students experience sustained intellectual engagement and achievement not because of an app or a device, however wonderful it might be. Rather student engagement and achievement is, at least in part, the result of adults engaging intellectually with essential concepts and skills, acknowledging that we don’t have all of the answers, and inviting students to join us in building new knowledge. Technology isn’t the only way we can become co-learners in the classroom but because it is an area of genuine new learning for many of us, it is a good way.

This guest post is by Karen Hume, author of Tuned Out: Engaging the 21st Century Learner, Start Where They Are: Differentiating for Success with the Young Adolescent, and many other books. Check out Karen’s blogs at www.karenhume.ca 

Transforming Student Learning: Mapping the Curriculum

Classrooms are changing. They are vibrant and filled with the noise of student engagement and learning - driven by personal goals and interests - not just scheduled curriculum plans. One of the first ways that you can join in on this refreshing style of education is to "Map the Curriculum" with your students. Giving them control of their learning by choosing the learning vehicle, product, success criteria, and level of support will boost self-confidence and intensify interest - in what you need to teach them anyway. This approach would especially benefit students in Junior, Intermediate, and Senior divisions.


*You can find a downloadable Microsoft Word copy of this "Curriculum Mapping Template" on my "Teaching Resources and Ideas" website here. It is yours to alter and use as you see fit in your classroom. This copy has an area beside each numbered question for groups to fill in as their plan while in their "think tanks."


*This is a link to a "Multiple Intelligences Product Grid" (source: Dr. T. Roger Taylor, 2002) that should be attached to the back of the Group Planning Sheet for students to consult when considering the "vehicle" choices for their projects.


First, divide your students into groups that will function as "think tanks" to determine the way that the subject is best taught given the needs and interests of the groups discussing.
Guiding Questions for Groups to Discuss and Plan:


*Hand them a copy of the curriculum "Specific Expectations" for the subject chosen (e.g., language, math, science, geography, history, arts, physical education)


1. How can we learn the information needed for each topic?
*textbook, library books, movies, internet, personal interviews, what else?


2. What environments could we use to learn in?
*classroom, library, around the school, other classes (class pairing/tutoring), in the schoolyard, in the community, at home/outside of school hours, field trips, what else?


3. How should we accomplish the learning?
*whole class lesson, small group instruction (guided), individual learning/discovery, peer/paired learning, what else?


4. What products or created-activities will demonstrate the learning to others?
*use of multiple choice intelligence grid, consideration of preferred learning styles (auditory, visual, kinesthetic), consideration of individual student learning needs (from special education plans, parent communications, student conferencing), what else?


5. How will we share our learning of the material?
*written projects, oral presentations (to teacher, to whole class, in small groups), demonstrations (computer presentations, working models, puppet shows, physical activities/games), what else?


6. How will we assess our learning? What checkpoints and processes should we follow before, during and after the learning process?


*Schedule key dates for checkpoints (what often should students "check in" to measure progress and get feedback on how project is coming along?)


*What kinds of self, peer, group, parent, and teacher formative (or "assessment as learning") options to support the learning process should we use?


*What "success criteria" have we created for this project that can be used to clearly measure our success in the learning goals? What will you know when your project has been successful in its completion?


**After each "think tank" session has finished, schedule time for the groups to each share and/or present their discussions and plans for moving forward. This should help spur new ideas for future sessions on other subjects targeted.


**Choose 1 lesson a day in the first few weeks of school (or any other time) to cover a number of different subjects using this approach.


Under these conditions, the learning has shifted from your complete direction to their discovery and an increasing accountability. This is a starting point in "flipping the classroom" from one ruled by you at the blackboard to one facilitated by you and driven by student needs, interests and motivations.


Do you already hand over the planning and "curriculum reins" to the students in your classroom? If so, what strategies do you use to increase both student engagement and accountability in their learning decisions?

Banning "Teachers"

student: (noun) A person formally engaged in learning, especially one enrolled in a school or college.

teacher: (noun) One that teaches; especially : one whose occupation is to instruct.

These definitions bind us. They pull us – and the system we endure – into the deep recesses of the mind. We are social creatures, and yet, we hold these titles as truths immovable. Empty vessels awaiting knowledge: they are not. We are in no way imparting our capacities onto this “passive audience,” known as ‘student’ in any lasting manner. At least, not when we teach as the definition would have us believe.

We need not instruct – on knowledge. Effective instruction should cultivate the learning confines as students drive their inquiry and experience. A student who is “formally engaged in learning,” seems to necessitate a ‘recognized environment’ like a school or college. But, we know that our students are learning all the while, especially when not in our classrooms, as they make sense of the world and its possibilities.

Teaching, indeed, needs to be flipped on its head. The formal classroom, the formal lesson, the formal experience – these things are begging for informal advances. Our education systems stand to gain everything from giving students the lead. If we teachers could only follow the creative musings and inquiries that our students inherently bring with them to our ‘formal spaces,’ we would gladly give up our place at the lectern and sit front row to their discovery.

Teaching is learning. There has never been a more important skill as a successful teacher than being a ‘lifelong learner.’ How can we know what it’s like be a student and learn; if we, ourselves, fail to experience it consistently and actively? If we are but the sum total of our educational experiences – many of us would stand fingers gripped across the lecturn edges as we scream and lecture and impart to whoever is (unfortunately) listening within our school walls. We, teachers, did not explore, create, discover, inquire and construct our knowledge in the way that studies and experts are consistently beckoning us to do. As a result, we do and teach what we know…

But, what if we enter that scary moment when chaos leers and lessons fade? What epiphanies might we encounter? What truths might we realize that were never searched for? What do we stand to lose by allowing our students to lead in their learning, as we assume the role of facilitator – not teacher – and cast off all shackles speaking of such things?

Ban the word, teacher. It imparts on us mistruths and misnomers about that which we aspire to, and yet, more often than not, find ourselves grasping in the darkness of educational constraints. We are all students – only without the need for being “formally” engaged. Learning is everywhere and everything – we dare not close it in.

What Students Need Today

If you were a student in today's classroom - what would you want?

Here are the five things that eSchool News Readers identified as most important from the students in their classes...

5. Interactive Technology

4. Teacher Mentors

3. Innovation

2. Choice

1. Real World Application and Relevancy

It's actually a fairly sound list. It covers the fact that students don't just want technology in the building and being used by their teachers - they want 'interactive technology' that guarantees and warrants their input and participation. Students are constantly bombarded by media coverage and sit as a passive audience member much of the time. School should be the place where they are given the chance to develop their critical thinking skills, technological prowess and their capacity to be innovators and digital 'artists.'

Students continue to recognize the centrality and critical role that a caring teacher plays. Teachers that act as a mentor to students guide them in decision-making and explain both choice and consequence. Those of us who are invested in the lives of these children - not just their grades and curriculum progress - we are the very thing needed by these impressionable and vulnerable young global citizens.

Classrooms hold so much potential for choice and real-world application. Think about it. Here is a room full of students who have very little real world experience, and yet, so much opportunity for creativity and innovation. Far from shackled by the constraints of an adult life - these kids must be given the latitude to find their strengths and needs in a safe place where learning is expected. They should be exposed to the choices and environments that breed brilliance and consolidate caring.

Our role, as teachers, is to prepare students for their lives by giving them the skills to succeed independently as responsible and caring global citizens. How could this happen if all we see is reporting dates and unit tests? Schools are incredible places where life has stood back and waited until a time when students are thrust upon it and all its challenges. We, teachers, are charged with the duty (in concert with parents) to build a child that will succeed. Our most important failure is only in failing to recognize this.

Give them the surveys. Listen to their concerns. Answer them honestly. Be that mentor.

How We Can Unlearn Our Students

A recent news story on CNN entitled "Unschoolers learn what they want, when they want," brings many questions to the forefront of any educational reform to the public school system. These Sudbury schools allow students to follow their curiosity and internal drive for learning in a way that puts life experiences at the pinnacle of the learning paradigm.

At a time when public education is experiencing further budget cuts, there are many things needed to restore public confidence and prevent more families from deciding that it is in their child's best interests to attend alternative or private schools.

Our students should be driving their own learning. The Ontario Curriculum is a foundation of knowledge and baseline content that should serve as a springboard for inquiry and experience in the pursuit of cultivating 'self-directed learners.'

Unschooling is a terrific climate to better meet the interests of our naturalist intelligence students (in Gardner's multiple intelligence theory). It is also a terrific opportunity to differentiate the environment and process for our students in a differentitated instruction teaching model.

So why can't we - in public school's - adopt approaches such as this and experiment with our own approaches to instruction and learning? Well, we can. There are many teachers out there that will quickly step forward as testers of these models and 'guinea pigs' for these educational experiments. With the right combination of support, funding, time, and even modeling, there are incredible prospects to revamp and retool our public education system's model for learning.

If we are to show the public that their options for private and alternative schooling are not 'cutting edge' or 'revolutionary,' but rather, that they mirror our public schools - only with a hefty price tag - not only can we restore confidence in our system, we can also meet the needs of our students in exciting and inspirational ways.

Unschooling holds that there needs to be an undoing of our school's work. Let's re-school the unschools by showing them that we are also ready to move forward and meet the 21st century with vigor and curiosity ourselves as leaders and educators.

Given the right publicity and media attention and we could have more families opting in to their right to a publicly-funded education; instead of footing the bill to find a service that they feel fills a void. We expose and address that void; we will gain the respect and momentum of a public shifting back to our classrooms with confidence and trust.

Students - The Missing Puzzle Piece

Many teachers find themselves drowning in the inescapable waters of change. They struggle to keep afloat by attempting small bits of new innovation or re-packaging old bits of confident instruction. They scream out at change and technology as a harbinger of finality and morality to their teaching careers and lives. They sincerely need help and support.

The education industry is slowly finding itself. Its merits and morals are becoming more built on creativity, critical thought, and expressiveness. Those teachers and leaders that have taken on this new challenge are reaping the rewards of true 'student-centered' learning. Their classrooms are places for talk; places for questioning; places for discovery. Students don't sit in their chairs - they merely start in their chairs.

Training teachers to believe they are experts of knowledge is counter-productive. This inherently establishes a hierarchy between pupil and teacher. Even the most brilliant teachers are missing the one important piece of the educational puzzle until they enter the classroom....the students.

Let's compare this profession with that of doctors...

Any newly trained doctor has made it through the training and medical knowledge testing to have a solid starting point. However, how they use their knowledge and bedside manner is entirely dependent on the situation they face. All the knowledge in the world is useless, if you can't identify how it all fits together to find a solution.

Similarly, teachers start with curricular knowledge and the best intentions. But, until you walk into your classroom and meet your students - you should have no idea how to move forward in THEIR learning. It is helpful to have a path or purposeful planning, but if there is no chance that you will alter or modify it - it truly is meaningless.

We do teach STUDENTS - not curriculum. Our lasting effects on our students are not measured by CASI or monitored by report card marks. We cultivate the atmosphere we work in everyday through our choices and confidence. What that looks like and what you will do with it is up to you. But don't cower from change and progress - recognize its purpose and learn from it. Those around you will support you in your quest and those in need will grow from your journey (even if vicariously until the time is right).

The State of Teaching

First posted audio message

Watching my four-year-old son, Liam, sit at a computer and figure out how it works has opened my eyes to a whole new level of what digital natives really are. I was surprised by how quickly he learned commands to navigate programs just simply by clicking things and then trying to remember where those things went to last time.

He seems very comfortable with the mouse and using the buttons is certainly helped by his hand-eye coordination. Right now he's playing I Spy games on the computer and he finds it very interesting. The use of these games has furthered his computer skills before he even enters kindergarten in the fall.

Our students live (and think) in a world that acts and feels alien to the majority of us. They expect interaction and socialization and are typically underwhelmed by what they find in our classrooms.

While some argue that learning in a traditional model is good for them - it will help them to function in the "real world." What if our antiquated notion of the world is finally catching up with us? Most of what we strive to keep familiar is constantly under fire from improvements and technological developments. You would have a difficult time identifying something that has not been impacted by technology in one way or another in the past 30 years.

The bottom line is that teaching needs to shift in ways that most teachers will cringe at.

Students need control over how they learn. The curriculum will serve as the framework: the teacher as the learning guide. Expert teachers no longer need to be subject specialists - they should be dynamic, empowering movers of student will.

Amazing teachers will be those who cast aside their preconceived notions of what teaching is and bravely move towards what it needs to be. If students could vote and rate their teachers with pay scale and placement implications - this conversation would be far more pressing to those who need it.

Future teachers may as well be trained in a classroom setting with students as their advisors - who better to make the training relevant and efficient than those digital natives fully living in the 21st century world.

Teachers need to navigate, supervise, counsel, question, facilitate, guide and learn themselves - that is what teaching is and should be.

Any questions about how to begin and where to start should be directed at those that matter - the students you "teach."

___
Recorded on iPhone and posted with VR+ Lite.
http://vr.shapeservices.com

(The Response) Open Letter from a Student to a Teacher

There you are. Standing in front of us all for what seems an endless amount of time. How long will this go on for? Do you truly believe that this lesson is THE LESSON? What chance do I have in the real world if I choose to listen to your words? What opportunities will await me if I decide to buy in to what you are saying? What skills are you providing that will allow me to succeed in a 21st century world?

Each time you ask me to complete yet another meaningless task, I wonder: do you know that your teaching can be irrelevant? Does it scare you to think that you may not have much to offer me today? What things have you done to keep your practice current and engaging?

If I choose to speak out, you will reprimand me. If I choose to leave the work where it is untouched, you will penalize me. If I choose to complete what you assign, you will not notice me. I will need to determine how to play the game. My actions will be of my own design.

Perhaps I will decide to comment in discussions. Maybe I will try to improve on my work. In case there is a chance for me; it might make sense to listen to your advice. But if I take this on – if I take you on and your teaching – you had better not let me down. Bring your best because my attention is up for grabs.

And if when this year is over, you ask me what I’ve learned, I will respond with confidence: the things that matter. Some of those things are yours to give and others are my lessons to learn. In the end, you will teach me things. The content of them is up to you, but their impact on my future is solely my decision.

Open Letter from a Teacher to a Student

I can see you. Sitting in that chair staring at the clock – and sensing what awaits you on the other side. Knowing the choices that lie ahead of you and coming to terms with the fact that you are solely responsible for your own actions. It’s your decision. I can speak to you or at you, but inevitably it is your choice to hear what it is I am saying. You can pretend not to listen, but deep down I know that you want to.

You await words that ignite your thoughts. You await activities that incite you to grow. You wait for moments that inspire you to change. The things placed in front of you to complete; the words written on the board to consider; the notes left in the margins of the last piece of work you submitted – these things build to a climax. The product of your effort will be knowledge. The direction of your journey is upon you.

What do you have to lose? Even if everything I have to say is boring, you have developed your critical listening skills. Even if every activity I assign is meaningless, you have considered your interests and adhered to them. Even if every mark you receive is disappointing, you have created goals and evaluated them. And when the time comes for you to understand your centrality in the future, what will you accept? Is it easier to sit there and watch the clock or should this be the moment of your awakening?

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I need to know that you are there. Your criticism can be my most powerful tool. My job is to prepare you. My role is in front of you. You cannot change me, but I will grow. All those things I learned are subject to your approval after all. You are my audience and I want that call-back. While it may not seem like a song and dance up here; it really is the same. My path may start in front of yours, but I hope that one day you will still see it in your rear-view.

I have signed up for this battle. My tools are laid out in front of you to use. Choose your weapon and draw. We can do this for as long as it takes. I will not back down in my resilience for your potential. I have seen with my own eyes what I can do for a student and I will not accept any less. You do not intimidate me. Your personality (however challenging) is what brings me back and drives my plans for tomorrow. You are my student; I am your teacher. You cannot let me down.

Should Mobile Devices be Allowed in Class?

One of the findings from the survey I referred to yesterday (Speak Up 2010 Survey - "The 3 New E's of Education" - U.S.) states that:


53 percent of middle and high school students (United States) reported that the inability to use cell phones, smart phones or MP3 players was the largest obstacle when using technology in school.


There is certainly a disconnect between what many teachers/administrators think and conversely what many students/parents think on the issue of using technology in our schools and classrooms. Some of the issues that pose a risk in allowing these devices (e.g. smart phones, mp3 players, ipads) in the classroom center on liability, privacy, discipline policies and equity.


In the minds of many administrators and teachers, students will become more distracted, disruptive and difficult, if mobile devices are allowed to enter our teaching space. Phones that are cameras will take photos of students who haven't given their consent (or parent consent). Devices that have wireless internet will constantly check Facebook and use Twitter. MP3 devices will play inappropriate and offensive songs that have no place within school walls. There are many concerns that have implications both on teaching and running a school.


But what if we used all of these devices in a way that promotes and drives learning? What if students looked forward to our lessons as a time to collaborate wirelessly? What if our classes employed instant messaging to hold "silent" debates or share ideas? What if we had the students design their ideal learning path by proposing how their preferred wireless devices and online applications could be used to achieve curriculum goals and target key learning expectations? If they can dream it, we just might let them try it.


Teaching is one of the most versatile and flexible professions out there. We need to re-examine it and make the necessary changes. Aligning these changes with current technologies and student engagement strategies will serve to bring our educational model up to speed. In fact, we stand to lose nothing as teachers, if we take the risk and try something new. We will be modelling risk-taking by showing our vulnerability and commitment to our jobs.


For those of you that have already adopted these technological changes into your practice - your colleagues need your support and expertise. They might be weathering the storm at the moment, but don't allow them to fall behind and become overwhelmed when the system is re-written.

Promoting "Play" in the Classroom

ETFO (The Elementary Teacher's Federation of Ontario) has recently released a pamphlet entitled "Playing is Learning" that shows a refreshing approach to structuring (or 'unstructuring') the learning environment. The importance of incorporating opportunities for play in the classroom is not a new idea, but it is an exciting one. If you google "promoting play in the classroom" there are a number of studies and articles that have been written on the merits of giving students time to play. I will explore some of the benefits of providing play time at school.

"Play is the Work of Children"

Before life responsibilities and commitments enter our lives, we spend our time engaged in play. By undertaking unstructured activities, we create meaning about our environment and come to understand aspects of life - all the while having fun when we do it. Our students have many years to spend in a classroom. In fact, they spend the majority of their "childhood innocence" under our watch as teachers. Many of our classrooms have become so structured and regimented towards the accomplishment of curriculum obligations, that we are neglecting to tap into the rich resource of "play." During these times, the students emerge as individuals who have interests, ambitions and unique characteristics, and while solid programming will still reveal these things - play is the perfect stage for presenting them to you (as the teacher).

"Play is Training for the Unexpected"

Valuable learning takes place when children design and improvise an activity. Watching my son (aged 3) play cars or transformers or emergency rescue is intriguing. There are often no limits to the creative situations that those cars or characters find themselves in. "He fell into the ditch!" We'd better get the tow truck to get him out. "The building caught on fire!" We'd better call the fire department to save the day. "Megatron isn't being nice to the other Transformers!" Well, I guess Megatron needs to learn how to play nicer and use his manners. I mean, these are valuable and life-specific events, except he is learning about them through free time - not as a sit down lecture or conversation. Kids can learn about the world when they pretend things happen and then problem solve how to deal with it.

"Play is our Brain's Favourite Way of Learning"

When we give students choice of what they would like to do - they thrive. Free time, reward time, "golden time," whatever you want to call it - it works! Save for a few situations when it can become overwhelming or difficult to carry out, students are engaged and happy when they dictate what they do and know that it is simply for fun. Think about how many academic-type tasks a student in your class will carry out today. How many does that amount to in an entire academic year? Now consider how many of those were designed or chosen by the students. Finding a way to make work look like play is the key to success when motivating students. Just like the best career advice you can give...

"Find something that you love to do and turn it into a career that will pay you to do it"

If students are enjoying what they're doing, the learning will happen in a meaningful way. People don't want to feel that they are doing work - they want to play and yet still accomplish what needs to be done.

Keep playing in the classrooms. Board games, puzzles, computer games, cooperative games, charades, "house," block-building; whatever it is, students are enjoying themselves while learning. Of course, don't tell them that.

Change....it's Coming.

Be an agent of change. Work tirelessly to improve your profession, your practice, your student's learning - yourself. It is difficult to cast aside what we know and work towards trying what we don't. It's the price of reform that also comes with a disclaimer that advertises "personal and professional benefits to all who self-reflect and self-improve."

Teaching is a dynamic profession. It requires people that are invested in equipping our youth with ideas, skills and the necessities of life. All too often, we can get bogged down by the policy and procedures without truly understanding the impact we can exert on our students. Students need direction; but they will only follow those directions that get them to where they want to be. If your practice is outdated; if your methods are outmoded; if your ambition has been outsourced - get out.

The world is changing. We are watching it unfold and become a reality. Our students will grow up in a system and society that has re-defined itself on the merits of technology (for better or worse). Our schools are a microcosm of society. If they are crying out for new ideas and new directions through escalating negative behaviours and poor attendance patterns - listen up. The students have things to offer us teachers that have not been printed on the School Improvement Plan or planned for on the Board Course of Study. They have needs and wants that are emerging as their day progresses, often in response to what they are being subjected to in our classrooms.

Just as we can often conceptualize our ideal version of something based on the negative experiences we have had, our students are envisioning a classroom that is the alternate reality of what they're used to. We deliver that vision, and we will deliver them into an effective 21st century education.

Is There Something We're Missing?

Have we been distracted from the real issue in education?

It seems that in the education sector, there are always new issues that breed new initiatives. When an idea is presented at the right moment, it can garner interest and speed to those who write policy and guide action. Whether the issue is using technology, preventing bullying, engaging boys in learning, differentiating instruction or raising achievement data; something is always on the horizon lingering as the next focus-fix. There is a multitude of issues in education that can be the source of funding, time and professional development - which one is the most important?

The point of the video is to draw a parallel to the current educational climate. Maybe all the aforementioned issues are the way we have distracted ourselves from what our true focus should be...student happiness.

How well does someone learn when they are unhappy compared to when they are happy? Now, focusing on raising student happiness is not an easy task. Perhaps the students in your class need basic needs met (i.e. food, shelter, safety) and providing snacks, consistent personal support and genuine interest in their lives, is the way you will improve student happiness and mental well-being in your room. Maybe your class needs hands-on, tech-based activities and assignments to feel engaged, improve their sense of self-worth, and therefore, feel happy about their accomplishments in school.

Whatever the specific need, your students will connect, produce and internalize more if they are enjoying their time in your classroom and value their place in your lessons. Some of our students come from horrendous family situations and brutal living conditions, your sole purpose in teaching should be to provide a safe and "utopian-like" environment for every minute they spend with you. After all, these are the students who look forward to school as a place of order and also an opportunity for distraction.

All of identified issues in education have value. But, how might the success we experience as teachers to our students change if every lesson we deliver was precluded by deliberate thought about how students might enjoy what they are doing? If they find happiness in something, they will attach to it - that's your motivation.

Let's expose the gorilla and have some fun. The students probably won't see it coming - and they surely won't forget it.

Team Teaching with YouTube

We've often heard the saying, "Everything I need to know, I learned in Kindergarten." It's supposed to be a humorous view of how the education system teaches the fundamentals early on and then fills the remainder of a student's time with information that is not as important. I'd like to offer my own current one: "Everything I need to know, I learned on YouTube." Students today are using this video archive to teach them skills and information that they search and seek out.

We don't need to be the controllers of the content. Teachers today stand to gain nothing of themselves or their students by keeping the knowledge guarded or secured. We need to educate students about how to use the knowledge. They can already find any answer they want by searching it online. They don't need a teacher (for instance) to inform them about historical dates and details. They need a curriculum expert to enlighten them about how those historical events are playing out right now in our world.

Students need direction and critical thinking skills about the kinds of things they seen online and find posted on YouTube. They can access it at almost any age; and yet, have not been taught how to process most of it into a context or framework that can build their own knowledge or understanding. YouTube and Google hold the knowledge. Teachers, now, are standing outside looking in through the windows and wondering what lessons their students are learning in today's online classrooms. They attend their choice of online classes at any given moment. They search and it appears instantly. They read what they want and move on when they feel like it.

When you teach, ask yourself, "how does this information prepare my students for the real world and what matters to them?" If you struggle with this question, how would you use the information if you weren't a teacher and therefore didn't need to know it to teach it? Do you remember when you learned the things you know or do you perhaps even learn some of it only because you need to teach it to your class? Rethink what you do and reap the benefits of either legitimizing your practice or starting to drive the change to improve your practice.

Ignoring Our Curriculum

A recent N.Y. Times article, "Let Kids Rule the School," describes how the Independent Project in a western Massachusetts school has shown the tremendous benefits of student-driven learning within an open-design educational model. Students in this program are required to map out their learning in a way that relinquishes teacher control and demands student facilitation. Teachers are accessed as experts and mentors in the learning process - not "key holders of curriculum knowledge."

This article addresses one possibility for a dramatic shift in our delivery of the current educational model. Giving students much broader definitions of grade expectations will allow them to participate more efficiently in their own learning. With so many point-by-point curriculum restraints, we cannot fully allow students to buy-in to the idea of being designers of their school day. Yet, no teacher can confidently abandon their carefully crafted units and classroom models to implement this kind of alternative programming approach, unless major changes take place to our educational framework.

Parents reading curriculum documents together with their children reflect a major shift in the accountability of a teacher - not to their self and administrator - but to families who access these legal resources in order to monitor how a teacher runs their class. How can we take the next step as 21st century educators, if we are constantly defending how we teach to an ever-informed community?

The only way is to ignore our curriculum.

The Ontario Curriculum should be a guideline. It should be a model of subject ideas - not a collection of required, restrictive topics. Give students the freedom to learn about what they want and have them link it to a curriculum framework that is more open and yielding. As a way of being accountable for their own educational decision-making, they will still need to conform to some sort of structure - but one that is not tied to assessment dates and reporting periods in a way that races through key ideas merely out of time constraints.

Learning is meaningful when socially-interactive and delivered in meaningful blocks of time. What could be more exciting to a student than coming to school with an idea that they want to learn more about and then being given the time and support to carry out that learning? They plan their approach. They monitor their own choice of peers for group work, evaluation and feedback. They choose the format and choice of technologies to best address their learning styles and multiple intelligences.

It is not until we take that first step into the dark that our students will finally light the way for us.


Thanks to Miss M. for another thought-provoking article to inspire the online dialogue.

Getting Your Class Back

There are moments as a teacher when you feel that you have strayed from your plans for the class. Class conflicts, poor marks and brutal work habits are some of the ways that we recognize our struggle with how to move a class forward in their learning.

Specifically, teenagers are a difficult age to crack and maintain a good rapport with. And when you find yourself already off to a rocky start, hope it seems is your solitary comfort. In the past, when I have felt that I am losing a group, I would surprise them with an act of kindness...

Spend an entire class putting curriculum aside and find out what they're interested in. Ask them favorite movies, television shows, bands, video games, tech. devices. When they see that you are willing to put them ahead of the learning (even if just for a class period), you will gain respect as a person - not just someone doing their job.

Take what they tell you and find a way to turn it into an independent project, unit or at least a lesson focus. They will appreciate having input into their learning and want to engage more in the process of it - especially since it will be driven by THEM - not just your curriculum documents.

I hope anyone reading this (especially those who teach teenagers) find this helpful. I have a soft spot for teaching adolescents having taught them for 9 years. It is a daunting task, but so rewarding when you break through and cause meaningful change and guidance for them.

They put up walls that you don't expect, do everything in their power to hide the cracks from you, and yet, if you can find a way in, they will be awed by your interest and resilience. Teenager brains are wired to become unwired and unpredictable. They don't know why, but they crave and seek out conflict in a way that is hard not to take personally.

When all is said and done, teenagers are the most vulnerable and important age group some of us will ever teach. They need strong role models and purposeful guidance in making their life decisions - often far before they plan to or are prepared to. Be cautious, but don't show fear. They admire confidence and appreciate honesty. As such, your strength as an educator should be your best tool for success.

This post was inspired by a reader question from an article I wrote for suite101.com entitled, "Expert Teachers in the Classroom: Part 1 (The Knowledge).