Tinkerings

A few days ago, I stumbled upon a Twitter entry from The Art Guy that had a link to ask him anything.  I say “stumbled” because I don’t check my Twitter feed quite as often as I should, and it just happened to be in the stream of posts at the time I was there.  But that’s probably too much information, so let’s just move on…

The link took me to an interesting site that allows users to ask The Art Guy anything.  I was intrigued enough about the possibilities for my classroom, that I created my own account.  You should be able to see a widget for this site now on the right side of this blog (I had a little trouble with my widget editor, so I’m hoping it is still there.  If not, just click here).

The questions are private until he chooses to answer them, so even if inappropriate questions get asked by anonymous jerks, they don’t show up anywhere unless the user decides to take the bait and answer them anyway.

Eventually, I plan to include this on my class homepage and give an assignment to all our 8th graders to “ask me anything” about high school, graduation requirements, etc.  Then, my answers can appear on our class page for both students and parents to read.

So….

Go ahead.  Ask me anything.  Who knows?  I might just grant you an answer.

In our last post we talked about the first three of Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and how they relate to Project Based Learning (PBL).  Today, we’ll briefly go through the last 4 together.

Habit #4 – Think Win-Win

Project Based Learning cannot be a rigid demand of results from the teacher.  By its very nature, the student owns the work and the results.  If the teacher has laid out a set of guidelines for providing a finished product for assessment, he or she should realize that they are just that: guidelines.  Allow the student to offer tweaks to your expectations that relate more directly to his own interests, learning style, or abilities.  Compromise.  Make exceptions.  Believe me, you will enjoy the finished product so much more.

Habit #5 – Seek First To Understand, Then To Be Understood

Hand in hand with Habit #4 comes this nugget of wisdom.  As the student is working her way through the steps of the project, make it a priority to understand what her concerns are, where her limitations lie, and where her knowledge needs broadening.  By understanding where your students are, you will more powerfully propel them to success.  There is no need to pound your rubric into their heads if they genuinely need help or guidance.

Habit #6 – Synergize

This is a powerful habit.  It is the power of 1 plus 1 equals 3.  We have greatly abilities working together than we could ever have working alone.  Project Based Learning should be a community effort.  Students need to work in pairs or small groups.  They will need your guidance and direction certainly in order to stay on task, but the lessons they will learn about life far outweigh the possibilities of being off task.

Habit #7 – Sharpening the Saw

It is imperative that an assessment be done of the total project when you are finished.  Get feed back from the students.  Write your own notes as you move along through the project.  Think about what is working and what isn’t.  What would you change?  How would you change it?  This summative assessment piece is crucial to future success.

Project Based Learning can be a wonderful experience for students, teachers, parents, and other stakeholders.  It can be the greatest of experiences when handled with the right guiding principles.  The 7 Habits of Highly Effective PBL will help.

I have been a fan of Steven Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People for many years now.  Like most fans I know, it is easier to be a fan than it is a fully devoted follower of these habits.  Yet the principles espoused in this perennial bestseller fit with so many aspects of life.  They fit most especially well in the classroom.

As teachers look at creating authentic assessments in their classrooms using Project Based Learning (PBL), these 7 Habits are indispensable for maintaining student engagement and keeping one’s sanity.

Habit 1: Be Proactive

In this age of standardized assessments, many teachers and administrators are afraid of Project Based Learning because they worry that it “won’t be on the test.”  As a teacher, you will have to be proactive in beginning the process.  Tie your project to the standards.  Demonstrate to your administrators how kids will, in turn, demonstrate proficiency through the project.

Habit #2: Begin With The End In Mind

This is crucial.  Don’t think about PBL in terms of “the kids will do this, this, and this.  Now let’s think about how they can demonstrate that.”  Instead, think about the finished product.  Is this a video? A letter? A tutorial?  What do you want kids to do at the end? Then, build backwards.  Fill in the blanks.

Habit #3: Put First Things FIrst

PBL is cool.  It is fun.  Kids love it.  But never forget that it does have to be tied to your state standards.  Establish those up front.  Make sure you know what you are going to assess, how you will assess it, and why you are assessing it.

These are the first 3 Habits.  We’ll cover the last 4 in our next blog post.

Join the conversation!  Leave me a comment.

This morning, as many mornings go, I was looking at YouTube videos recommended to me by the unseen forces of video sharing.  One of them was a 5 minute clip of Seth Godin speaking on the power of Tribes.  If you have read many of my blogs, or seen status updates on my Facebook account, you will know I am a fan of Seth Godin.  Seth is a marketing expert, motivational speaker, and author.

Today, the video was looking at the history of advertising.  My focus was drawn in when he got to television advertising.  Companies who sell products spend a lot of money each year to do one thing: interrupt you.  For years the major method of advertising a product or brand was through a continual interruption of other things you would rather be doing.  In this case, the network creates something you want to see, even see passionately, and marketers create something with which to interrupt you.

And for years it worked.

Now, however, the social power of the Internet, and the humongous failure of the Jay Leno Show, has diminished the power of interruption.  Tribes have taken over.  Marketers find a small cadre of passionate followers and help them spread the word to their friends and friends of friends.  We are no longer interested in being interrupted. We now seek out the advice of our friends.  These friends are our Tribe.  We find them on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, Diigo, and more.

Take Facebook as an example.  Marketers are piling ads up down the right column of our pages one after another.  They’re even using the power of Google Ad Words to place just the write captions in those ads.  In the time I’ve had a Facebook account, I think I’ve clicked on two of them just to see what the scam is really all about.  I don’t want them to interrupt me.

BUT…

Let a friend post a link to a website or video.  Let a friend post new pictures.  Let a friend write a new Note.  I will gladly stop what I am doing to take a look.

In fact, one of the main reasons I use Twitter is for the Twibe (in education we call this Personal Learning Networks).  I go to find the links provided by my friends.  I go there to add my own.

Marketing has changed forever.  And if TV networks and newspapers and magazines don’t figure that out, they will go the way of all dinosaurs.

But what about teaching?

Many are still stuck in the interrupting paradigm of teaching.  Stop using your cell phone and pay attention.  Stop passing notes and look up here.  Stop talking and listen to me.  I’m guilty.  We interrupt kids from doing what they want to do and try to get them to do what we want them to do.  It is easy.  It is the “sage on the stage” syndrome, and many days I have it.  And it is ineffective.

BUT…

What if teachers found the right mix of students to form a tribe?  I’m not talking about the kids making straight A’s.  They are going to learn the material if the teacher never came to class in the first place.  They are self-starters.  Self-motivators.  Think lower.  Think about the disinterested kids.  The ones who struggle.  Not to learn, but to pay attention long enough to learn.  What if we captured just 3 or 4 of those in each class?  What if we developed a passion in them about learning and living and leading?

What if we form a Tribe?

What do you think?

Recently I applied for a new level of recognition within the Discovery Educator Network (DEN) community: The DEN Guru.  The application process was very competitive, and after I sent in my materials I waited to see which five educators from around the country would be announced.

I can hear your question already.  Tim, exactly what is a DEN Guru?  I’m glad you asked.  From the National DEN Blog, there is this:

“DEN Gurus are STAR Discovery Educators who possess expertise of one or more pedagogical topics (e.g., Differentiated Instruction, Project Based Learning, etc.), have demonstrated their expertise through a variety of professional experiences, and advocate for the meaningful integration of Discovery Education digital content across their area(s) of expertise.

DEN Gurus will be promoted throughout the community as thought leaders in the educational field and have the opportunity to share their expertise in a variety of ways.”

So you can imagine my surprise when I opened my email on my Blackberry in our school’s administration offices and saw my name on the list of five.  I can’t really print here the words that escaped my mouth, so let me just say that I was not just surprised, I was totally floored.  Here is the list of five and the categories for which we were recognized:

• Traci Blazosky
  Creative Construction with Multimedia
  Clarion Area School District, PA

• Tim Childers
  Project Based Learning
  Bradley County Schools, TN

• Patricia Duncan
  Science
  Wallenpaupack School District, PA

• Lee Kolbert
  Personal Learning Networks
  Palm Beach County, FL

• Nancy Sharoff
  Visual Literacy
  Ellenville Central Schools, NY

I know these people.  They are fantastic educators.  They are top level DEN members.  And I am very thankful to be listed alongside them.

I am not comfortable with this kind of recognition at times.  It is a heavy mantle.  The position is important not only because teachers may want to look to me for direction regarding Project Based Learning, but because this is the inaugural year for the position.  I trust I will be able to live up to the expectations.

It is always nice to be recognized by a group of your peers.  So to the DEN leaders who poured through dozens and dozens and dozens of applications, I say thank you.  Or, to quote one of my favorite actresses, “You like me! You really like me!”

OK, the tag line is a little hokey.  For those too young to remember, it is a throw back to the greatest years of the Tonight Show when Ed McMahon would announce the entrance of Johnny Carson.  And why am I harking back to the bygone days of really great television?  Well…..

Tomorrow (Friday), I will be teaching live on Livestream.com each class period for about 15 minutes.  We are trying an experiment that I hope works as well in reality as it has in my head.

One of our teachers has to be gone tomorrow and we are in the middle of crunch time with our 8th graders getting ready for the TCAP Writing Assessment coming up February 2nd.  We can’t lose a single day.  As a result, while I am teaching my class I will also be teaching her class each period.  We will do a 15 minute mini lesson on a writing skill, and then the students will edit their already-written essays using that one skill.

Tomorrow we will discuss the concept of sentence trains.  Sentences are like freight trains.  They can carry a lot of weight.  They can be much longer than a few words and more complex than simple.  We will talk about ways to add “freight” to their sentences and then have them go in and edit much of their essay by adding adjectives, adverbs, better verbs, specific nouns, and more.

If you want to join me during the day, you can pick up the broadcast online at this link.

I will be online (approximately) at 9:50, 10:45, 1:05, 2:00, and 2:55 (all times EST).  Each lesson will be about 15 minutes, and each time I will be going over the same lesson, so if you drop in, you just have to drop in once.

This is an experiment, and tomorrow I’ll post a little something about how it went. If you join me tomorrow, be sure and check back to this blog to add a comment about what you liked and what you didn’t, what can be improved, and what needs to stay.

The other day I got this in an email from Education Week.  A digital, online magazine sent me a digital subscription request but offered me two small printed maps as a “thank you.”  You would think they would be savvy enough to do something digital to use in the classroom.  Wall maps are so last semester.  I mean, come on.  Get real.

Hello again! I am writing this post because I am looking for some help from my family and friends. For some years now I have contemplated putting together a cookbook of favorite recipes from people I know. I am contacting you asking for your consideration in offering a favorite recipe. Here are a few things I’m doing with this:

1. In the form provided you will be asked to tell me why this recipe is important to you. Please be as thorough as you can. I will try to get as much of that information in the book as possible (if your recipe is chosen).

2. I will be cooking all of the recipes provided, so the instructions you give need to be really, really clear and thorough.

3. Part of this project is a photography challenge for me as well. I will take pictures of the food preparation and serving to be included in the book.

4. There is also a place in the form asking if you would like to participate in a food party where several dishes are prepared and tried. Again, lots of pictures to be taken with the hopes of having a few good ones for the book. Maybe even a YouTube video of the event.

When I am done, I will use www.blurb.com (or a comparable website) to create the book and print hard cover copies. They will be available to those who participate at cost. I am not trying to make a profit here. I’m just having some fun.  I’ll be giving some away as Christmas presents this year (oops, there was a spoiler!)

I am looking for recipes from family, friends, DEN members, Facebook and Twitter followers, readers of this blog and more. I would ask that you NOT provide more than 3, but feel free to give me 1, 2 or 3, or even none. I won’t be offended. LOL

Here is the link for the form:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dDJYbGZaaXgxUWhOTUN4ZVp4OFFNUlE6MA

Simply go there and fill it out. Items with a red asterisk are required fields.

Please don’t feel rushed. This project will take several months. I may post this note again later, even if you have participated already.

I will be posting progress on this blog. I am also sending this invitation out to my Twitter and Facebook friends and through some emails, so some of you will see this request several times.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at any time.

Thanks in advance!

Tim

(NOTE: No, the food picture above is not mine.  Here is some info about it:

It is nearly the end of 2009.  It didn’t sneak up on us.  It came barreling at full speed since about June.  I’ve had a hard time keeping up this year.  Everything has moved at double or triple speed.  It can’t really be 10 years since we were all afraid the world would come crashing to a halt with Y2K.

It is at this time nearly all of us try to do two things.  We reflect on the past year and make resolutions for the new.  Here are some of mine (though not at all an exhaustive list for either):

Reflections

This has been the year of “the struggle.”  Some years go by smoothly.  You could almost sleep your way through it and everything would still operate at top efficiency.  Other years, it is a constant pounding of the pavement to get anything done.  It is the ‘quicksand’ Falco talked about in “The Replacements.”  One thing goes bad.  Then two.  You try harder, but a third goes bad.  Pretty soon your struggling through quicksand as nearly nothing works no matter how hard you try.  This has sort of been one of those years both in the classroom and outside of it.

It has also been a year of change.  I know, I know.  President Obama won an historic election on the promise of change.  But just to be clear, most of the time change sucks.  Oh, I suppose one thing here or another thing there doesn’t matter too much, but when everything changes all around you, life can get to be pretty dizzying.  It is hard to keep your balance because your equilibrium is thrown off.

Last, it has been a year of D(d)iscovery.  I put that word in both forms for the simple reason that it has two meanings for me.  First, I have done more with the Discovery Educator Network this year than I’ve done in all the previous years combined.  It has been a fantastic time of meeting new people, traveling to new places, and pretty much just having a blast.  It has also been a year of personal discovery for me.  I’ve had a lot of time to think about who I am and who I want to be.  Which leads to change.  Which leads to struggles.  Which leads to…well, you get the idea.

Resolutions

I hesitate to even post these ideas.  Resolutions, like most rules I suppose, are primarily made to be broken.  I hope I can keep these.

I want 2010 to be the year of getting fit…finally…with finality.  I’m overweight and under-exercised.  The charts tell me I am supposed to weight 163 pounds, but I think that is pretty much meant for bones and skin and some “innards.”  It certainly can’t include any muscle.  No, I’m shooting for 185 by the end of 2010.  However, if I can achieve a 36″ waist, I won’t care about weight.  Eating right, exercising, and regaining a sense of spirituality are the three keys to this resolution.

I want 2010 to be the year of advancement.  I want to advance my knowledge of classroom skills as well as my computer / media skills.  I also want to advance my career to a new level.  I don’t want to wait around for this to happen “to me.”  I want to actively advance myself in these areas, whatever and wherever that means.

I want 2010 to be the year of friendships.  I am, by personality, a loner.  It isn’t that I don’t like people (OK, maybe some days that would be true).  I am just very comfortable sitting at a table at Starbucks working or playing on my Macbook Pro and ignoring the world around me except for its own entertainment purposes.  I need to develop the friendships I have and create new ones as well.  I need to “get out there” and have some fun with others for a change.  I’d love to go bowling, shoot some pool, play some ping pong, take in a ballgame, or host a dinner party.  Yep, 2010 needs to be a year of friendships.  And if those friendships can help me advance and get fit, so much the better I say!

OK, that’s me.  What about you?  Leave a comment to tell the world your reflections and resolutions as we face the crossroads of 2009 and 2010.

During our faculty Christmas party, the teachers and spouses sitting at each table were set up as teams to play a Christmas Trivia version of The Amazing Race.  Shortly after starting the quiz, it became apparent that some of the questions might not be known by anyone.  Almost as one body, people at each table whipped out their cell phones to begin Googling for answers.

There was no thought process here.  No questions about whether it was ok.  No one standing over them telling them that cell phones were cheating.  They just did what came naturally to them.  Naturally even to those who would be classified as digital immigrants.

What would happen to student engagement if we just let them do what came natural when they had to find answers to tough questions?

Something to consider…