Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Javier Martinez is reading Pedagogy of the City by Paulo Freire
Part One: Education For Liberation in a Contemporary Urban Area
Ch. 1: The Deficits of Brazilian Education
Ch. 2:To Change the Face of Schools
Ch. 3: A Pedagogical Project
Ch. 4: Educational Workers' Questions
Ch. 5: Challenges of Urban Education
Ch. 6: Youth and Adult Literacy
Ch. 7: History as Possibility
Part Two: Reflections on this Experience with Three Educators
Ch. 8: School Autonomy and Curriculum Reorientation
Ch. 9: Education at the End of the Century
Ch. 10:Lessons from a Fascinating Challenge
Epilogue:
Manifesto to Those Who. by Leaving, Stay
Postscript:
Sao Paulo's Education Revisited
Quinton Freeman is reading Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect by Matthew Lieberman
What are three things you know to be important to teaching and learning? Why are they important? How do you ensure that your students experience them?
The type of learning that often takes place in schools (formal, in a classroom) requires three things I know to be important to teaching and learning:
1. Having a space where learners can be vulnerable
Not knowing can be uncomfortable. But, it is in the "yet" space (thanks Katie) found between I did not know/I now know, I could not/Now I can that learning takes place. Entering this space regularly and comfortably in a place as public as a classroom presents a challenge. Because I believe this is important, I work hard to establish the type of relationship that says "he cares and he will work hard to challenge us". A banner I kept in my room encapsulated this for me. Printed on it was a quote by Louisa May Alcott: "I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship." The message I hoped to send (and remind myself of) was that every effort would be made to provide my students with what they needed to make it through the struggle but I would not rob them of stormy experiences.
2. Creating opportunities for learners to give and receive timely feedback
3. Mindful eavesdropping
The next two requirements go hand in hand, so I will address them together. Grant Wiggins says that "it is through the act of learning that we learn". As a classroom teacher, I came to this realization in a roundabout way. I entered the profession with the challenge of teaching 7th graders for hour and twenty minute long classes every day. Having something for them to do was part of my survival. As I matured as a teacher, I began to recognize that the quality of the tasks was more important than the quantity. Not just because students need to engage in the types of acts required to learn (learning being consequential to thinking) but they present the opportunity for students to receive (and give) good feedback.
Beyond that, high quality tasks (whether teacher or student created) provide the chance to make the invisible (student thinking) visible (through the work produced). This is where the eavesdropping comes it. The mindful variety begins with recognizing that what students say and do not say, what students do and do not do gives clues as to where they are in the "yet space". Because I believe this is important, I challenge myself to say as little and listen/watch as much as I can as students produce work.
Make a prediction regarding what you hope to learn from reading and interacting with your book of choice.
I hope to learn more about the nature of learning's social component and how to apply the author's findings and "now what's" to my home life and work life.
Part 1: Beginnings
Chapter 1: Who Are We?
Quote: That night {1984 Presidential debate}, nearly 70 million Americans watched the debate and came away convinced that the Gipper still had his mojo. Any fears people had that President Reagan had slipped were assuaged. But how we as a nation reached this conclusion on that night is surprising. Reagan himself didn't change our minds about him. It took a few hundred people in the audience to change our minds. It was their laughter coming over the airwaves that moved the needle on how we viewed Reagan. (p. 6)
Questions I still have:
- Does this explain why some sitcoms opt to film in front of a live studio audience?
- Why do I personally dislike laugh tracks? Is there a part of me that feels manipulated. . .or at least senses an attempt at manipulation? How do I reconcile this preference with my knowledge that live audiences are often directed to laugh at certain points in the production?
- Does this social element explain why some childhood favorites no longer hold the same appeal? Did I enjoy them then because I watched them with my sister and brother?
Chapter 2: The Brain's Passion
- The central argument of the chapter is that the brain's default, or passion, is to think about other's - that is, consider their "thoughts, feelings, and goals".
1. The part of the brain that is most active during studies of social cognition (a way to describe thinking about other people, oneself, and the relation of oneself to other people) is nearly identical to the parts of the brain most active when we stop doing a specific cognitive task.
Thinking about others is the default.
2. This finding has been verified in babies as young as two-weeks old. Another research group found the same activity in two-day old babies.
Thinking about others is the default.
3. We know that the default network quiets down when we perform a specific task. In studies where participants are given breaks between those tasks (like math problem), a return to default brain activity is seen during breaks. This is true whether the breaks are a few minutes long or only a few seconds long.
Thinking about others is the default.
- An article that connects to some ideas presented in the chapter: How does the brain's passion explain recent social media preference trends?
Katie Fitch is reading Top Brain, Bottom Brain: Surprising Insights Into How You Think by Stephen Kosslyn and G. Wayne Miller
Here are a collection of my posts as I learn through reading and reflecting about Top Brain, Bottom Brain: Surprising Insights into How You Think by Kosslyn and Miller.
Introduction
Pre-Reading Reflection
Ch 1: A New Way of Looking At What Your Brain Says About You
Ch 2: Roots of the Theory
Ch 3: The Duplex Brain
Ch 4: Reasoning Systems
Ch 5: Sweeping Claims
Ch 6: Interacting Systems
Ch 7: Four Cognitive Modes
Ch 8: Origins of the Modes: Nature Versus Nurture
Ch 9: Mover Mode
Ch 10: Perceiver Mode
Ch 11: Stimulator Mode
Ch 12: Adaptor Mode
Ch 13: Test Yourself
Ch 14: Working with Others
Final Reflection
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
After Reading. . .
1. Choose one of the following prompts. Construct an extended and complete response (as defined by you) to the prompt. Each prompt will ask you to "connect your response to your text". The spirit of this instruction is that you should construct your response in such a way that it is clear that the author is someone who read your book of choice.
A. After reading this book, how has your definition of success (with regards to student learning) changed? What goals for your students do you now have that did not occur to you before? How do you plan on reaching those goals? Connect your responses to your text.
B. How do you know when you are successful in the classroom? How do you know when your students are successful? What concrete behaviors are needed on both you and your student's parts to achieve success? What are the things you do that get in the way of your success? What are the things students do that get in the way of their success? Connect your responses to your text.
C. Create a checklist for lesson planning or instruction based on your text. Highlight two or three components of your checklist and connect them to your text.
D. Recount an experience you had in your classroom that you now see differently or that you would respond to differently as a result of reading your book of choice. Include in your account how your thinking has changed. What difference will this change in thinking make going forward? Connect your responses to your text.
E. Not every book meets our expectations. If your book did not, then what was missing? What questions do you have that the author did not address. Connect your responses to your text.
F. Use a site like SoundCloud to record yourself reading and reflecting on a few key passages from your text. Include in your reflection why you have chosen that particular passage and describe the impact it had on you and/or your understanding of thinking and learning.
G. Find an artifact (pictures, clips, quotes, etc.) that represent four different ideas presented in your book of choice (you will have four artifacts total). Describe how your artifact connects to the idea presented in the text. Include why you think this idea is important in your description.
2. Everyone should complete two of the following stems. Center your responses around your beliefs and values regarding teaching and/or thinking and/or learning.
A. "When I consider how I was taught (as a student), the text challenges me to __________________. This differs from my original conception of teaching in that __________."
B. "When I consider how I learn, the text challenges me to __________________. This differs from my original conception of teaching in that _________."
C. "When I consider my views on teaching and learning, the text supports my position that ____________. Based on reading this text I will ______. This is important because ________."
D. "I disagreed with the author's position on ______ because ______. Something the author might consider is that ______."
Action Steps:
1. Respond to one prompt from the first group.
2. Complete two stems from the second group.
3. Post
A. After reading this book, how has your definition of success (with regards to student learning) changed? What goals for your students do you now have that did not occur to you before? How do you plan on reaching those goals? Connect your responses to your text.
B. How do you know when you are successful in the classroom? How do you know when your students are successful? What concrete behaviors are needed on both you and your student's parts to achieve success? What are the things you do that get in the way of your success? What are the things students do that get in the way of their success? Connect your responses to your text.
C. Create a checklist for lesson planning or instruction based on your text. Highlight two or three components of your checklist and connect them to your text.
D. Recount an experience you had in your classroom that you now see differently or that you would respond to differently as a result of reading your book of choice. Include in your account how your thinking has changed. What difference will this change in thinking make going forward? Connect your responses to your text.
E. Not every book meets our expectations. If your book did not, then what was missing? What questions do you have that the author did not address. Connect your responses to your text.
F. Use a site like SoundCloud to record yourself reading and reflecting on a few key passages from your text. Include in your reflection why you have chosen that particular passage and describe the impact it had on you and/or your understanding of thinking and learning.
G. Find an artifact (pictures, clips, quotes, etc.) that represent four different ideas presented in your book of choice (you will have four artifacts total). Describe how your artifact connects to the idea presented in the text. Include why you think this idea is important in your description.
2. Everyone should complete two of the following stems. Center your responses around your beliefs and values regarding teaching and/or thinking and/or learning.
A. "When I consider how I was taught (as a student), the text challenges me to __________________. This differs from my original conception of teaching in that __________."
B. "When I consider how I learn, the text challenges me to __________________. This differs from my original conception of teaching in that _________."
C. "When I consider my views on teaching and learning, the text supports my position that ____________. Based on reading this text I will ______. This is important because ________."
D. "I disagreed with the author's position on ______ because ______. Something the author might consider is that ______."
Action Steps:
1. Respond to one prompt from the first group.
2. Complete two stems from the second group.
3. Post
Monday, January 13, 2014
During Reading Activities
After reading each chapter of your book, choose two things to do from the list provided below. Record your work in your blog post.
Use the title and number of the chapter you are responding to as labels for each pair.
Example:
Chapter 1: The Most Natural Act in the World
"Things to Do" choice #1
"Things to Do" choice #2
You should not use any one "Things to Do" more than three (3) times.
Example: You should only use "Things to Do" #1: Complete the stem "My favorite part of this chapter was _____!" for a maximum of three chapters.
When you have completed responding to all of your chapters, move on to the "After Reading" post.
* From Developing Academic Thinking Skills in Grades 6-12 by Jeff Zwiers
Action Steps:
1. Complete two different "Things to Do" per chapter.
2. Check to make sure that you have not used any individual "Things to Do" more than three times.
3. Post your work as you go. The intent is for you to respond to the text.
Use the title and number of the chapter you are responding to as labels for each pair.
Example:
Chapter 1: The Most Natural Act in the World
"Things to Do" choice #1
"Things to Do" choice #2
You should not use any one "Things to Do" more than three (3) times.
Example: You should only use "Things to Do" #1: Complete the stem "My favorite part of this chapter was _____!" for a maximum of three chapters.
When you have completed responding to all of your chapters, move on to the "After Reading" post.
Things to Do
- Complete the stem: "My favorite part of this chapter was ______________!
- Complete the stem: "If we as a campus applied what I read about _____ then ______."*
- Complete the stem: "I would like to ask the author ____. This is important to me because ___."
- Complete the stem: "Because I now know or was reminded of _____ I will commit to ______. This is important because ________."
- Complete the stem: "Reading about ____ makes me uncertain of my thinking about ______."*
- Complete the stem: "Reading about _____ makes me more confident of my thinking about ___."
- Complete the stem: "I had to re-read when ___________. Doing so helped me to learn _____."
- Complete the stem: "I am still unclear about ___________."
- Complete the stem: "What I learned about ____ helps me to understand _____."
- Complete the stem: "The author is essentially saying. . ."*
- Complete the stem: "The author uses the concrete idea of ____ to describe/explain the abstract concept of _____."*
- Complete the stem: "_______ teaches us that __________"*
- Complete the stem: "If the author(s) of the text had his or her/their way, then _________."
- Complete the stem: "Something that concerns me in this chapter is ____because ______.
- Write a text to self connection you made while reading this chapter.
- Write a text to text (from you book of choice or another text) connection you made while reading this chapter.
- Pull and post a passage from this chapter that you have questions about. What are your questions?
- Find an article or blog post that connects (which is not a synonym for supports) to what you are reading. Post the article or blog post.
- Consider an argument made in this chapter, identify it and provide a counterargument that could be made?
- Identify a non-education idea presented in the chapter that could be applied to education. What difference do you think this idea would make?
- Identify something you thought in earlier chapters that you have now changed your position on. What led you to change your position?
- Find a quote from GoodReads that connects to this chapter. Why did you choose this particular quote? How does it connect with the ideas in the chapter?
- Pull and post a passage from your chapter, include your annotations or briefly state why you chose this particular passage.
- How has your understanding of thinking and learning increased after reading this chapter?
- The idea presented in the chapter most applicable to me now is _____________. The idea presented in the chapter least applicable to me now is _____________.
- Pull three terms or concepts from the text that you were previously unfamiliar with (whether in terms of usage or definition). Define them and provide the context they were used in.
- Identify your favorite illustration, anecdote, or story from the chapter. Why did you chose this particular one? What role did it play in supporting the author's premise?
- Reader's choice. . .respond to your chapter in any way you choose.
* From Developing Academic Thinking Skills in Grades 6-12 by Jeff Zwiers
Action Steps:
1. Complete two different "Things to Do" per chapter.
2. Check to make sure that you have not used any individual "Things to Do" more than three times.
3. Post your work as you go. The intent is for you to respond to the text.
Before you begin reading. . .
Once you have e-mailed your selected reading to Quinton Freeman, he will send you an invitation to be an author of this blog. Once accepted, create a blog post that includes the title of your selection, your name, and a picture of the book's cover. This is where you will record all pre-. during, and post- reading activities. The activities will be designed in such a way that pre-reading activities should happen before reading and during reading activities should happen. . .
All "During Reading" activities are per chapter. So, please be sure to skim them before beginning to read.
(Note: Please be sure that you are logged into your school Google account as you post.)
Before Reading Activities
1. Please read the post "What Should We Be Doing?" This post will help to explain why doing things together like this book study is so important.
2. What are three things you know to be important to teaching and learning? Why are they important? How do you ensure that your students experience them?
A possible stem:
Every learning experience must include ______ at some point because _______. Because I believe this to be true I ____________.
3. Make a prediction regarding what you hope to learn from reading and interacting with your book of choice.
Some possible stems to choose from:
I hope to learn more about __________________.
Based on what I have heard and/or read about this book, I expect to learn ________________.
Action Steps:
1. E-mail your book choice to Quinton Freeman
2. Create your a post with a title that includes your book of choice's title, the book's author, and your name.
3. Read the post "What Should We Be Doing?"
4. List your three must haves. . .be sure to include why they are important and how you make sure that
learners experience them.
5. Predict what you hope to learn as you read and interact with your book.
_____________________
If you would like, please feel free to live tweet your reading to the hashtag #raidersshare.
Now you can begin reading your book of choice and complete the "During Reading" activities as you read.
All "During Reading" activities are per chapter. So, please be sure to skim them before beginning to read.
(Note: Please be sure that you are logged into your school Google account as you post.)
Before Reading Activities
1. Please read the post "What Should We Be Doing?" This post will help to explain why doing things together like this book study is so important.
2. What are three things you know to be important to teaching and learning? Why are they important? How do you ensure that your students experience them?
A possible stem:
Every learning experience must include ______ at some point because _______. Because I believe this to be true I ____________.
3. Make a prediction regarding what you hope to learn from reading and interacting with your book of choice.
Some possible stems to choose from:
I hope to learn more about __________________.
Based on what I have heard and/or read about this book, I expect to learn ________________.
Action Steps:
1. E-mail your book choice to Quinton Freeman
2. Create your a post with a title that includes your book of choice's title, the book's author, and your name.
3. Read the post "What Should We Be Doing?"
4. List your three must haves. . .be sure to include why they are important and how you make sure that
learners experience them.
5. Predict what you hope to learn as you read and interact with your book.
_____________________
If you would like, please feel free to live tweet your reading to the hashtag #raidersshare.
Now you can begin reading your book of choice and complete the "During Reading" activities as you read.
Selecting Your Book
The options for what you choose to read are varied and numerous. The only stipulation is that the text you choose must be connected to thinking and/or learning in some way.
What that means in terms of your choice will vary. Part of the process we will all go through is trying to connect what we learn about thinking and learning from our reading and from each other to what we already know about thinking and learning. Having disparate types and topics of texts will only enrich this experience.
What that means in terms of your choice will vary. Part of the process we will all go through is trying to connect what we learn about thinking and learning from our reading and from each other to what we already know about thinking and learning. Having disparate types and topics of texts will only enrich this experience.
For those of you that would like some suggestions, an Amazon Wish List with possible choices has been put together. This list can be accessed here: http://amzn.com/w/RJJ3ZQG28C2U
I will highlight two texts from the list that you are familiar with:
Frank Smith's text Reading Without Nonsense is the source of the chapter "Constructing a Theory of the World" from the January 6th reading assignment. For those of you interested in getting the full context of Smith's positions regarding reading and reading instruction, this might be the selection for you.
James Zull's text The Art of Changing the Brain was the source for the chapter on the importance played by connection-making (both literally and figuratively) in learning. In Zull's words, learning is physical, so he gives us a neuroscientist's perspective on the mechanics of learning and how those mechanics connect to teaching.
Action Steps:
1. Choose the text you would like to read or re-read.
2. E-mail Quinton Freeman your book of choice.
3. Move on to the post "Before You Begin Reading"
Getting Started
The goal of this book study is add to what we already know about thinking and learning.
Three ideas will serve as a foundation:
1. Learning is a consequence of thinking. Thinking and learning cannot be separated from one another and order matters. . .so we need to know all we can about how people do both.
2. There is no blueprint for teaching but there are maps. While teaching is very personal and contextual, any practice we engage in should be informed by the large knowledge base regarding how people learn.
3. There is a difference between learning about teaching and learning to become a teacher. Becoming a teacher is a continuous process of adding to and reflecting on what we know to be important for effective teaching and learning (explicit knowledge) and how we go about doing those things we know to be important (implicit knowledge).
With that in mind, you will select a book of your choosing to read independently. Activities for you to engage in before reading, while reading, and after reading will be provided in posts on this blog. None of the activities will ever require meeting face-to-face. The idea is for you to read and respond in a space of your choosing at a pace that works for you.
The dates for this course are based solely on Flex Day. . .another course will be offered after February 17th should you choose to participate again or if this time frame is too short for you.
All of the work you produce during these activities will be posted by you to this blog.
Receiving credit for this course is contingent upon completing all activities as listed in the pre-reading, during reading, and post-reading posts found within this blog.
Questions regarding any assignments for this course can be directed to Quinton Freeman.
So, let's get started! Please proceed to the post "Selecting Your Book".
Action Items:
1. Decide which course or courses you will sign up for (Pre-Flex Day or post-Flex Day).
2. Make sure you understand how the work associated with your reading is structured. . .ask questions if you need to.
Three ideas will serve as a foundation:
1. Learning is a consequence of thinking. Thinking and learning cannot be separated from one another and order matters. . .so we need to know all we can about how people do both.
2. There is no blueprint for teaching but there are maps. While teaching is very personal and contextual, any practice we engage in should be informed by the large knowledge base regarding how people learn.
3. There is a difference between learning about teaching and learning to become a teacher. Becoming a teacher is a continuous process of adding to and reflecting on what we know to be important for effective teaching and learning (explicit knowledge) and how we go about doing those things we know to be important (implicit knowledge).
With that in mind, you will select a book of your choosing to read independently. Activities for you to engage in before reading, while reading, and after reading will be provided in posts on this blog. None of the activities will ever require meeting face-to-face. The idea is for you to read and respond in a space of your choosing at a pace that works for you.
The dates for this course are based solely on Flex Day. . .another course will be offered after February 17th should you choose to participate again or if this time frame is too short for you.
All of the work you produce during these activities will be posted by you to this blog.
Receiving credit for this course is contingent upon completing all activities as listed in the pre-reading, during reading, and post-reading posts found within this blog.
Questions regarding any assignments for this course can be directed to Quinton Freeman.
So, let's get started! Please proceed to the post "Selecting Your Book".
Action Items:
1. Decide which course or courses you will sign up for (Pre-Flex Day or post-Flex Day).
2. Make sure you understand how the work associated with your reading is structured. . .ask questions if you need to.
What Should We Be Doing?
As to the methods, there may be a million and then some, but principles are few.
The {person} who grasps principles can successfully select {their} own methods.
The {person} who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have trouble.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
As a community, we really have to repeatedly ask the question: "What should we be doing?"
David Perkins writes that, "The smart school finds it's foundation in a
rich and evolving set of principles about human thinking and learning."
This is, I would argue, what staff development is all about. . .and staff development isn't a day, it is a way of being.
Yet, I think Perkins challenges us to find/make the time to form and reform our "theory of the world" (to connect the Frank Smith text) with regards to how people learn.
I think he feels this way because how teachers teach, I would argue, is a by-product of the principles they hold regarding how people learn.
Two questions to reflect on:
1.) How congruent is what I do in the classroom with what I believe?
2.) Are the beliefs I hold regarding teaching and learning based on more than anecdotal experience and my autobiography as a learner?
If you are interested in thinking more about this, please read the short blog post: Research on Teaching Offers No Blueprints, Only Maps
One of the primary goals of January 6th was to ensure that a particular principle was a part of the community knowledge of NHS: The new we know is connected to the old we knew.
David Ausubel puts it this way: The single most important factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows. Ascertain this and teach him accordingly.
The challenge for us is to determine how to move this principle, if we believe it to be true, from words on a page (or screen) into the lived experiences of our students.
If you don't believe this principle is true, then "What should we be doing?"
 |
| http://www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/tag/john-seeley-brown/ |
John Seely Brown uses the term explicit knowledge to encapsulate what we know we should be doing (the "know what").
How we go about doing what we should be doing is labeled tacit knowledge.
The work of a "smart school" is to continuously add to and reflect upon the collective and individual tacit knowledge of the community. . .which should be built upon and informed by solid explicit knowledge.
Recognize that tacit knowledge is constructed situationally and often refined socially.
This is the knowledge we form and reform with each other through our conversations and stories as we teach and learn together. In the words of Richard Elmore, "we learn the work by doing the work."
This is part of the "why" behind the social organizations that make up the larger organization we call Northbrook High School (whether formalized relationships based on teaching assignment or informal relationships based on whatever, Raider Circles, the Teachers New to Campus Cohort, coaching, book studies and any other staff development opportunities where we connect with someone else).
We often need to pause in order to reflect on this knowledge however.
Absent of reflection, our thinking can become very narrow and both self-evidential (what I am doing is good because I am doing it and I say it is good) and self-referential (Besides, there are people doing the same things I am or even less than I am).
Explicit knowledge can be gained many ways: reading, writing, watching, listening, reflecting, questioning, discussing.
Let's consider reading:
Regardless of the accuracy of the "seven years to expertise" factoid, gains in expertise (which is in part connected to the depth and breadth of a person's explicit knowledge) are made when a commitment is made to increasing this type of knowledge.
Please don't read this as a suggestion for how you should spend one hour of your already full day.
Again, the question to us all is: "What should we be doing?"
A question only we can answer for ourselves.
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