Life Long Learning

Over the past three years I continue to hear the phrase "lifelong learner". I understand lifelong learning to be the ability and desire to learn after conclusion of formal education. It is a passion to know more and go beyond what is required in a classroom.

An article from Educational Leadership (Dec03/Jan04), titled A Forecast for Schools by Marvin Cetron and Kimberley Cetron stated that, "Tomorrow's citizens will need and expect to engage in lifelong learning. A career used to last for life. Once a carpenter, always a carpenter. Today, new technology could redefine or replace almost anyone's job-even the industry in which they work. Today's students will pursue an average of five entirely different occupations during their working lives. Both management and employees must get used to the idea of lifelong learning, which is becoming a significant part of working life at all levels."

I believe that the majority of teachers are life long learners. We value the process of learning and are excited by it. Of course, we must take classes to keep our teaching license but the majority of educators take classes to increase their content knowledge and enhance the lessons they teach.

I have kept this phrase in my mind during the school year. I want to encourage my students to be lifelong learners. I want them to understand that when they graduate from a university or trade school they are not finished learning. So my question is, what learning formats are more likely to encourage life long learning? How can these ideas be incorporated into a classroom? How do you encourage students to be lifelong learners?

Suspensions...who do they punish?

After hearing my deskmate talk about another student who will be absent due to suspension, I began thinking about the concept of suspension as a punishment in high school.
In my experience, the vast majority of students who have been suspended in my classes have been "D" or "F" students who miss class quite often as it is. I find myself wondering why we (and by we I mean ALL schools) choose to further remove these students from school as a form of punishment. I emphasize the fact that I am not sure what the answer to this question is, but for most of these students it seems that a more appropriate punishment in their eyes would be to make them spend more time in school! After my rambling, I suppose my question is threefold: 1. What are the origins of this punishment? Why has it proved succesful in the past? 2. Have you had the same experience in terms of the demongraphic of students who are typically suspended? and 3. What alternative punishments could we provide these students where we could still "punish" them without further hindering their academic experiences?

Knee of the Curve

One of the issues I think we need to look at as educators is the accelerating pace of change. I’m reading a book right now that makes a compelling case for the amazing changes that are going to happen in the lifetimes of our students (and, more specifically, within the next 30 or so years).

The books spends some time talking about exponential growth. For those of you who may have forgotten some of your algebra, a simple example of exponential growth is doubling. Start with 1 of something, then double it and you have 2. Double it again and you have 4. And so on. The famous exponential growth example in technology is “Moore’s Law”, where an industry executive predicted that the “speed” of computer chips would double every 18-24 months. The thing with exponential growth is that at the beginning, the growth doesn’t look all that spectacular. While it’s true that going from 1 to 2 is doubling, the absolute increase is only 1. And from 2 to 4 is doubling, the absolute increase is only 2. In fact, at the beginning exponential growth is barely distinguishable from linear growth. The author makes the case that humans are conditioned to view things as growing linearly, because we naturally take a fairly short-term view of things. But the thing about an exponential curve (when you graph it), is that suddenly the curve seems to shoot up – almost vertically. The author argues that we are currently in the “knee of the curve” and that even though we give lip service to the idea that things are changing rapidly, we don’t really have a good intuitive sense of how quickly and how much things are about to change. So, for example, if you have 1 million of something and now double it, you have 2 million – or an absolute change of 1 million.

If we are in the “knee of the curve,” then we are about to see explosive changes in just about everything because of the capabilities of technology. My daughter is in Kindergarten. By the time she graduates from high school, the typical household computer will probably be at least 100 – and maybe as much as 1,000 - times faster than current household computers (and most likely one-tenth of the cost). The Internet – in terms of mass use of it and also broadband access – is still in its infancy. It’s already had a massive impact on all areas of our lives – and we’re still just figuring out how best to use it. Imagine what it’s going to look like in 12 years. At the current pace, the fastest computers will be able to simulate the human brain in 2013. He predicts that between 2025 and 2030 we will be able to upload ourselves into computers. This sounds like science fiction (and there's much more in the book - especially the nano technology stuff), but he has shown a remarkable ability to predict change in the past.

Even if you don’t buy all the predictions, I think there’s no question that the pace of change is itself increasing (that would be the second derivative for all you math folks), and that should have a powerful impact on what and how we are teaching our students. Do you believe that school as we have typically defined it is going to prepare our students adequately to be successful in the 21st century? As David Warlick says:

Never before in the history of the world has a generation been better prepared for the industrial age.

Or, from Tim Wilson:

• Old teaching methods don’t work with today’s kids. I raised a few eyebrows when I suggested that the act of a teacher consciously deciding not to use advanced technology with his or her students might be considered educational malpractice.
• The value of factual knowledge is plummeting. I showed how quickly basic facts can be accessed with Google and looked ahead to a day within ten years when all students will carry an Internet-connected computing device with them 24×7.
• We are in a relevance race. If we fail to utilize new technologies, we risk alienating our students. It won’t be many years before students can homeschool themselves and earn a high school diploma without setting foot inside a traditional school. If schools as we know them are to survive and prosper, we’re going to have to adjust to a world where we’re not the only game in town.

I tried to come up with some choice quotes to leave with the group. Here are two that seemed to go over well:

If your work can be automated, it will be.

And the question of the day:

What are you doing right now to prepare your students to collaborate seamlessly across cultures in jobs that probably don’t yet exist?

So, what are you doing right now to prepare your students?

The Big Break In

I heard something interesting the other day shared by someone in a fairly high position in the district. Basically, this person stated that until a teacher (or anyone in a new job) has experienced something that really shakes them to the core, they haven't been "broken in". Lets look at a hypothetical situation. Suppose a student makes personal attacks on other kids as well as adults while using a popular teen website. The person in the position of authority takes what he/she believes are the correct steps to address the situation. In no time at all, the situation has drawn the attention of the media and a civil rights group.

Has anything happened to you this year that has really made you question your teaching or decisions you have made? Possibly difficult conversations with parents? Students that fail to take responsibility for their own behaviors? How have you dealt with those situations? What did you learn from them? Were you able to get resolution? This can be from a past teaching experience or job.

Please list the problem itself in very general terms (as this is a public forum). However, share in more detail how it affected you as a teacher

If you want to share something confidential, please use the journal format and email to Ray and I.

Student's thoughts on grades

After last week's meeting, I decided to ask my students their thoughts on grading and motivation for learning. After all, we are doing all of this for them, so why not get their opinions.
The comments are starting to roll in. Check it out here.

Non-graded assessments

While reading the article for last week and listening to Tony's presentation, I was once again struck by the conundrum of how to adapt my grading to better facilitate student learning. Indeed, the paradox of learning and grading has always been a point of concern in my own classes. Because of this, I was grateful for the insights offered both by Tony and by the article. What I want to address, though, is the educational value that I have found in the use of non-graded assessments.

I suspect that many of you, like me, use non-graded assessments in your classrooms to try to assess learning in creative ways while sidestepping some of the problems that come with grades. I like non-graded assessments, because when I read them, I don't have to worry about critiquing individual students. I can spend more time assessing my own teaching through student feedback. One technique that I use in my classroom is the "one-minute paper." This assessment technique is more frequently used by colleges and universities and is succinctly articulated by Tom Angelo and Patricia Cross and is explained more indepth by Steven Draper of the Universtiy of Glasgow. Basically, I ask students to take out a 3x5 index card and to spend one minute writing as much as they can reflecting on a prompt question that I give. I might ask students what they thought was the point of class that day to see if I am doing a good job articulating my learning objectives. I might ask what lingering questions students have or what they thought were the most important two (or three or four) things they learned that period. I love the instant feedback that they give me. I usually can read about 3-4 minute papers per minute.

Has anyone else used this technique or a similar technique? Did you find the two links that I provided helpful? What other forms of non-graded assessment do you use? What are some of the strengths and/or drawbacks of this form of assessment? I am excited to get your insight.

Reflections on Tony's presentation

As always, I love the the conversation Tony's presentation generates. My only regret is that we began with the "O Alternatives" article we chose to start our meeting with. Although it prompted great discussion to begin with , it may have clouded Tony's message:" What are grades intended to communicate and what should they measure?". We also appeared to to get stuck on how could we make his grading system work within Infinite Campus.
Let's go back to his premise that grades should be a reflection of what, and how well, students are learning. All he is suggesting is that for the sake of communication we make a distinction between the knowledge and skills we want all students to know and learn, and those non-academic things we choose to look at as well. We should simply put those two concepts under different headings and give them a weighted value based on our best judgment. When you have a conversaton with a parent or student, you are able to change the focus to "this part is about what you have or have not learned, and this is about how well you have or have not met your non-academic responsibility. It is about changing the conversation away from "what do I have to do to get an 'A'?" to "how well have I learned something." This also leads us to explore what essential learnings all students should leave AHS with and how do we assess it? It is the journey we are about to embark on at AHS,if we haven't already begun it in some departments. These are excitng and difficult challenges for all of you/us.
I'd like to leave you with this thought:
"When we no longer know what to do, we come to our real work and when we know which way to go we have begun our real Journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings."
Wendell Berry
Thanks for all the hard thinking you've begun to do.

Ray

Do they have a vested interest?

We've been hearing quite a bit about essential learnings and essential questions in the education world for the past several years. What are the critical elements of a lesson that students should take away? What is it that we want them to really know and understand? This is an excellent focus for our planning, teaching, and reflective time. In addition to determining the key learning points for students, teachers need to grapple with essential questions related to their teaching methods and delivery.

One essential question with which I am faced every day and upon which my teaching, for the most part, is centered is: Do my students have a vested interest in what I'm dishing out? Whether I like it or not, the culture in which we live and teach is constantly changing, for better or worse, and I have a responsibility to conduct lessons that meet the changing needs of my students. That's one reason, for example, that I love blogs as a tool for learning. Most of the kids are already using blogs, so why not meet them where they are? Blogging has become another widely used method for communicating news (check out any major news agency's website) and is used by a growing number of employers in different industries. It makes practical sense, then, that teachers incorporate this technology as one of the tools in their toolboxes. My experience with three years of blogging in the classroom has shown me that more reticent students can share amazing learning using technology.

At the risk of sounding trite, I offer the observation that teachers have been inspiring kids and changing lives for years. We're good at it because we care. But today we're finding that the old ways of teaching, maybe even last semester's lesson plan, is ineffective. We are competing with an increasing number of varying interests ... and the competition is fierce! Sometimes, maybe more often than we're willing to admit, students would rather be doing something else than sitting in class. That's why reflective teaching -- essential questioning -- is so important. How do we get the learning to stick?

I've got to show kids they have a vested interest in what they're supposed to be learning. They need to be able to practically relate their learning to something beyond school. Why is it important to know this? How will it benefit me in the long run, past my school experience? For example, telling a senior in College Prep Reading something like "Today we're talking about active reading" is far different than helping the student understand why we're talking about active reading. If you don't learn strategies for active reading, then when you get to college next year you'll find that you're spending far too much time trying to read nearly impossible stuff you won't understand. On the other hand, active reading strategies will not only help you understand that impossible stuff, it will save you time. What I have discovered is that students take that practical piece of justification and make connections that are highly personal. In other words, active reading helps me understand, saves me time, and that means I have more time to do the stuff I actually want to do. That's the kind of connection that leads to comprehension, interpretation, and retention.

Organization

I love beginning new classes. I feel so much more prepared and organized.
I bought a larger daytimer that is very useful. I keep all of my lesson plans and appoints in one place. After class is done I leave notations in the margin to remind me to tweak the lesson this way or that. Writing it down right away is really helping me create better lessons.
What are some of your strategies of organization?

A Nation of Wimps??

It seems like there is always some sort of discussion about how the decisions we are making today are either benefiting or harming the generations of the future. As teachers we must realize that our daily actions ARE influencing future generations. It seems like there are endless examples of conflicts and points of discussion:

Do we teach facts/numbers/terms or responsibility/respect/skills or can we teach both...
Do teachers or parents teach morals and ethics...
If the old way of doing things was good enough for us as students why are we always changing things...
Should we treat all students the same (honors/basic skills/AP/cosmetolegy school)...

I think it is important as a teacher and as a role model to our students that we always have an open mind when it comes to issues like these. It is imperative that we always investigate all sides of an issue. On that note, I found the following article about how parents go to extremes to protect and give shortcuts to their children. The article discusses how this influences later social, academic and general life skills. It's a fairly short read and there is a link at the bottom to a printer-friendly version if you enjoy killing trees.
Any thoughts???

Thoughts on Blogging?

Today, Karl introduced Blogging to you. Maybe some of you know how to blog and others don't. How do you feel about using blogging as a means of journaling? Compare it to last semester and journaling every week. Are you comfortable? Any questions?