Smashing a Paradigm

The first “ah ha!” moment of the many I expect this year occurred last Wednesday in the car as I got to the crest of the hill and started my descent towards home in Half Moon Bay. The thought started – as they are apt to do – by my review and processing of the day’s classroom interaction. Watching, listening, I became aware of an undercurrent of competition between and among the students. They waved hands, craving the opportunity to answer a question with a correct response or complete explanation. They fell into a typical pattern; displaying their intellect by showing or telling what they already know.

Reflecting on this rush to answer, often times without verifying truth, I realized that this pattern dominates. And that the reason for this tendency is (ack!) my fault! Or, perhaps more accurately, the fault of the standards movement currently in play in classrooms across the nation. This demand for quick response, for spitting back facts without digging deeper, has been the pedagogy of teachers, the Holy Grail of administrators, and the objective of standards-based tests for several decades. Follow the prescribed lesson line, we are told. Have students answer with the mandated, publishing house specified answer. Answer correctly, or don’t bother. Many students will not even attempt to offer an answer if they are not completely certain that their answer is indisputable. Classroom interaction is right or wrong, yes or no. And there is the reverse. Other students, convinced that they are correct, insist on relating something they ‘heard’ as truth with little or no proof. Where is the deep thought? The intellectual rigor?

Can you imagine the stress experienced by these students? Probably. Many of us have experienced the unforgiving arena of America’s classrooms in our school experiences. The linear, assembly line, square-peg-in-square-hole structure so indicative of 20^th Century learning. Rewards are given to the quick and vocal. Ridicule to the thoughtful and tentative.

The paradigm created by the standards movement is the antithesis of what the Integrated Exploratory class should and will be. It will be my job to smash this archaic pedagogy and bring back deep, critical thinking, and continuous questioning. My questioning techniques have just begun to reflect this change in teaching style and should improve as the year progresses. The students however - steeped for several years in the ‘show how smart you are by getting the right answer’ brew – are not yet comfortable with big questions that may be unanswerable. Some of this is due to their age and their developmental readiness for such brain excursions. Trusting that a divergent response will be accepted, welcomed even, is a huge leap of faith for all of them.

I have begun this classroom refrain: “It is not what you know, but what you want to know that is important.” Asking BIG questions that may not have simple answers, having the stamina and drive to dig deeply to find out, and presenting what has been wholly or partially understood, is how we will be evaluated by ourselves, our peers, and our teachers. It is what makes us active learners.

Let’s smash this obsolete paradigm that allows students to think, “I am the smartest because I know more facts and can say them faster.” You can help. Reinforce for your student that it is what they don’t know, how they use their intellect to find out, and how clearly they can explain new understandings that is the keystone of this class. Our first true discussion about BIG Questions begins tomorrow.

Morning Meeting a Huge Success

Our morning meetings have been a sensation! I've learned why dogs have wet noses, why cats have pointy ears, that a man from Jamaica can run 26 miles an hour, and that at least one of us thinks women should have more rights than men... but is not quite sure why. :-) The eight students who have presented have been prepared and articulate. Current events reporters may need to be reminded to cover the event as a journalist would; sharing who, what, where, when, and why the event is important. Day-In-History reporters, similarly, should share the 5 Ws of a single event of a single historic day.

Our blog settings have been refined now, and we are able to read all comments. These student- written comments have become a rich source of text for quick, point-of-need English language review. Students respond to a blog post every day as a standing homework assignment. Time is ALWAYS available during school (at recess or lunchtime) for students to accomplish this task. So, not having Internet access or a computer at home should not be an impediment to success. If you do have online services at home, make it routine to have your student check the homework page every afternoon/evening.

The Integrated Exploratory teachers are looking forward to meeting and chatting with our parents at tomorrow evening's Meet And Greet event from 5:30 until 8:00.

First Day of School

A few expected kinks and challenges, but we are well on our way. It is great to have so many returning students! And so nice to have some new faces! If today is any indication of how the year will progress, it should be a sensation. Your students are lively and engaging; exactly what Integrated Exploratory is all about. Ask your student to talk to you about his/her day. How do they like the new structure? Did your student find out anything about him/herself today? What was the highlight? Be sure to visit the homework section of our website for relevant activities. I've taken a photo and have posted it to our website home page.

Integrated Exploratory and the Debate Over One-to-One Laptop Use

In the spring of 2008, as part of my Master's Degree program in Instructional Technology, I engaged in a literature review on the topic of one-to-one laptop computer deployment. As we in Portola Valley begin to dig more deeply into the efficacy of such an undertaking, I offer that point-counterpoint paper titled: The Efficacy of One-to-One Laptop Initiatives in the Public School Environment. The full text, in PDF format, has been uploaded and can be read on the NEWS page of our classroom blog.

Follow this link: http://www.cms.pvsd.net/~mbarton/news.html

The concluding paragraph reads:

Through this literature review, two things have become clear. First, the true, long-lasting benefits of technology integration so far are found in improved conditions for learning, not in the acquisition of discreet academic skills. And second, as Ross, Lowther, Wilson-Relyea, Wan, and Morrison, (2003) succinctly state, “although results are promising, …further research that investigates student access to and educational use of laptops is needed” (p. 14).

Navigating the Seven Cs

There has been much discussion about the 21^st Century learner. Today’s middle school student will, in a few short years, enter a world of work that is dramatically different from that of even a decade ago. The U.S. Department of Labor suggests that the average worker will have more than 10 jobs before he or she reaches the age of 40. Further, it reports that jobs most in demand for 2010 did not even exist in 2004. Business and industry are calling for a workforce steeped in a series of competencies that will keep them nimble and competitive. As educators we cannot afford not to focus our teaching on these essential competencies.

Last year Corte Madera administrators, teachers, and parents participated in a 21^st Century Committee. From that series of meetings we derived a series of seven over-arching competencies that give foundation to the Portola Valley School District’s mission to educate a “global student.” They are:

• Collaboration and Teamwork: This means valuing and respecting all team members as people, their role in group work, and their contribution to group effort.
• Critical Thinking: This means actively taking part in problem solving tasks, application of learned skills, discernment between opposing or conflicting ideas, and self-evaluation.
• Creativity and Curiosity: This means taking academic risks, exercising flexibility, and demonstrating resilience following failure.
• Communication: This means the ability to articulate orally, and in written, non-verbal, and technological ways, and to demonstrate capacity for aural (listening) understanding.
• Citizenship: This means understanding civic and global responsibility, engaging in service learning, and demonstrating empathy and respect for cultural and individual differences.
• Cultivation: This means developing and appreciation of the arts, maintaining physical and emotional health and wellness, and expanding a love of learning.
• Competency: This means developing academic skill sets including all basic skills fundamental to future learning.

Our Integrated Exploratory class will be taking initial steps in this direction during the 2009-2010 school year. At the beginning of the school year, students will be given the opportunity to define and discuss each of these competencies as each relates to his/her individual learning style, his/her interests, and his/her personality type. Then, on a regular basis, students will be asked to reflect on their individual work ethic and productivity in terms of these 7 competencies.

Authentic Assessment in the Integrated Exploratory Class

Researchers in education, and classroom teachers as well, are continuously seeking answers to the sticky question of assessment of student learning. Nowhere will this question be of greater importance than in the Integrated Exploratory class where cycles of inquiry, project-based learning, and cooperative collaboration will be featured. Providing students with options for authentic product design and individual choice permits opportunities to restructure some of our assessment procedures.

In their recent book Powerful Learning: What We Know About Teaching for Understanding (2008), Barron and Darling-Hammond of Stanford University list three key characteristics of assessment systems designed to support cooperative and inquiry-based learning. They are:

1.) intellectually ambitious performance assessments that help students learn and apply desired concepts and skills in authentic and disciplined ways,

2.) evaluation tools, such as assignment guidelines and rubrics, that define what constitutes good work and effective collaboration, and

3.) formative assessments that guide teacher feedback to students and help to inform teacher instructional decisions throughout a project.

This school year we will use a combination of formative assessments, meant to question student thinking (iterative cycles) and guide production of project work, and rubrics that provide rigorous academic standards for both production and collaboration. Generated by personal reflection on work and continuous action toward improvement, students will assume a greater responsibility for their own learning.

We plan to provide many opportunities this school year for students to exhibit their learning through public presentation. Perhaps you would like to join one of our review panels. Calls for reviewers will be posted throughout the year.