The Pinch Theory of Teaching

Over the last several weeks I have been doing a lot of reading about educational theory. If you have been following my blog, you’ll note that I have discussed the benefits of behaviourist, constructionist and social learning theories. Before I embarked on rediscovering what theorists like Skinner, Bruner and Piaget had to say, I considered my own personal educational theory to be somewhat eclectic: I took a pinch of behaviourism and a pinch of constructionism and so on. This is my Pinch Theory!

Weeks later, and with even more research under my belt, I still maintain this is a good way to practice the art of teaching. However I have also gained a better vision of how to ensure the majority of instruction takes a student-centred approach. So much of what we do can slip into a teacher-centred approach when we’re tired or feeling the pressure of the curriculum.

I think teachers need to engage in regular conversations with their peers about instructional and learning theories and to not lose sight of research. Sure we have all read about these theories when we earned our B.Ed. degrees, but how many of us (be honest here) actually consider the impact of these theories on our practice? When we teach in a bubble, we do not teach well. Our lessons should be based on research as much as they are based on curriculum.

The one constant that remains in my perspective on teaching, is the integration of technology into students’ education. Regardless of students’ ages, there is always room for technology. Of course this is a requirement of Alberta Education, but it is also something that is personally important. I’m a nerd at heart and wish very much to provide my students with some of the same technical skills that I have enjoyed. I know so many young adults (30ish is young to me!) who do not know how to use a computer, never mind know how to use one to create valuable products.

It is almost criminal to think we are sending students into their post-school world with little to no effective technology skills. Sure kids know how to use a lot of pieces of technology, but are they given the opportunity to apply those tools in productive, meaningful settings in school? How can we expect them to compete globally if they have not been given the tools to succeed in their new world?

If you read my blog bio, you would have read that I am not currently teaching in a k-12 classroom. When next I do, the first place I’ll make changes is within my own practice. Here are two of the things I would love the opportunity to change in a class of my own:

1.                  Change the focus of technology from teacher-centred to student-centred focus.

How many of you have Smartboards (for example) in your classroom? I had one the last time I taught. How many of you use your Smartboard primarily as an instructional tool? I admit I did. I tried to give students a chance to use the Smartboard every day, but honestly, it seemed like more work than I had time for.

But why do we limit ourselves and our students this way? I think a Smartboard (for example) is a great way to share information with students (Orey considers this an instructional approach), but they can be so much more. The next time I have an opportunity to use a Smartboard, I really want to be the one in the class who uses it the least. I think students should have the greatest opportunity to use all technological tools to create their own learning. Dr. Michael Orey considers this a learner’s approach to using technology, but really shouldn’t that just be common sense? How else will our students graduate with meaningful, productive, useful tech skills? I’m not just talking about Smartboards here either. I’m talking about any form of web-application or software they might use.

There are literally hundreds of possibilities when it comes to software and web-based applications  Personally, I think Smartboards are the least effective ways to allocate tech dollars. If a school wants to invest in an interactive white board, I think something like Promethean’s Multi-Input Interactive Whiteboard makes more sense. Check out the demo below or click this link to the YouTube Video.

If a school is going to invest in an interactive whiteboard, I think it’s just good budgeting and responsible support for students to purchase something that allows for some sort of physical, collaborative effort. This takes the use of the interactive whiteboard one step closer to being a student-centred tool because it simultaneously accepts multi-user input. It’s very cool.

2.                  Another change I would invoke in my teaching practice is to advocate for the free and varied use of technology in the classroom. In my previous blog post, “Technology Rich Collaborative Classrooms: Big Bad Wolf or Harbinger of Opportunity?”, I spoke about the misconceived evils of allowing students access to technology. Too many administrators are still reluctant to open the firewalls to allow the use of many web 2.0 tools. I realize quality control measures must be in place to maintain the integrity of a network. But really, do network integrity and FREE web 2.0 tools for creativity HAVE to be mutually exclusive?

I have been doing a lot of surfing (aka avoiding client work and practicing procrastination in its purest form) and found a number of incredibly cool web 2.0 tools. I thought I’d share them with you here.

Web Site Builders:

Something I have always wanted to do is have my students create a web site to organize materials they have created for a project. A web site allows students to incorporate video, audio, hyperlinks and documents all in one aesthetically pleasing and fun place. It’s like one-stop shopping for their peers to view what they have created. Not only will this help students gain a better understanding of the connections among the varied pieces of their projects, but it creates an unending venue for students to create and share their creations. Once they begin their web sites, they can continue to build and change them as long as they are students and beyond.

Webs.com This is a free, easy to use web site building tool, but there are ads. As long as you choose the option to create a site for educational purposes, you can rest easy knowing your students will not be exposed to suggestive advertisements. Although I design web sites, I like to use this one for student content because I don’t have to spend time designing pages.

Kafafa.com This is another web site building tool without ads. Keep in mind this site includes life updates as you edit. This means if you start building and have to come back to it later, your unfinished web site will be live.

Creativity:

Kids need multiple avenues to express their creativity. I recently listened attended an event where Sir Ken Robinson was the keynote speaker. I had the pleasure of meeting him and chatting with him afterwards at the Central Alberta Teachers’ Convention in Red Deer, AB on February 10^th. “Creativity should be a fundamental of education, not a supplement” he said to me.

How true! Education is forever cutting the arts programs, but those programs do not have to be the only media for creativity! When students are provided an opportunity to employ their natural sense of creativity in any subject area, they flourish and expand their own horizons. This supports and enhances their learning because they use their new-found knowledge through their creative process.

MyOats Remember Hasbro’s Spirograph? Well MyOats is nothing like that!

Actually, kind of is because it mirrors your input in multiple locations around a central focal point. It is super cool and would fit in really well with symmetry and mathematics. It’s a super cool tool to create some really beautiful designs too!

Aviary This is a browser-based graphics editor. It doesn’t allow you to save the image to your hard drive, but it will allow you to publish it or save it online so you can continue working on it later.

These are only a few of the tools that I have come across lately. There are countless more and I look forward to seeing any that others have found.

Mickey Mouse Teaching

“You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality” Walt Disney

Walt sure knew what he was talking about, didn’t he? It doesn’t matter how great a thing is, if it isn’t important to people, the dream will never materialize. I think teaching is the same way. No matter how important a concept is to a teacher, if the kids don’t give a rip about it I guarantee there will be no magic.

This seems like pretty basic “Teaching 101”, but achieving this isn’t as easy as it sounds. Creating lessons that are indeed magical, is in itself a feat worthy of Disney-style fireworks. If we want our students to really be engaged in what they are learning, they need to be involved in the designing and creating process. Researchers, theorists and educational experts refer to this as “Constructionism”, but I’m going to call it Mickey Mouse teaching because:

a)      Walt Disney was one of the most creative minds of our time, and
b)      Mickey Mouse Teaching sounds way more fun than "Constructionism”

So let me tell share one example of what I think good quality Mickey Mouse teaching looks like. There are about a bazillion (my all-time favourite teacher questions this term) different ways to incorporate Mickey Mouse teaching into a classroom. This is just one way and I would love to hear about others, so please be sure to leave me a comment!

Generating and Testing Hypotheses:

In a nutshell, we’re talking about posing a question, postulating the answer, and investigating the actual outcome, right? So let’s bring in Mickey and see if we can’t generate some magic!

Nasa’s Design a Planet has to be one of the coolest, most magical interactive tools I have come across in the last year. This interactive web site allows the user to create a new planet based on what is already known about existing planets. The tool challenges users to create a planet that can sustain human life. By manipulating numerous variables, the user is guided through a process of creating this new world.

This interactive, animated tool requires users to consider the impact each variable has on the resulting planet. Will there be volcanoes? Tectonic plate movement? Water - what form? What will the planet's orbit and mass be? What kind of sun will the planet have?  My first planet was not able to sustain life, and the tool explained why.

TELL me that isn’t cool!

This is such a great Mickey Mouse (formerly known as Constructionist) way of teaching that gets kids to ask the right questions, take a stab at an answer, and then test their theories by looking at the results of their own creation. This fits in perfectly with these Alberta curricular objectives:

• Grade 9 (Space Exploration) examines technologies available to us for space exploration
• Grade 6 Science examines control of variables, and Topic C Sky Science focuses on planets, and Earth’s relationship with its surrounding celestial bodies.

This process of posing questions, predicting answers, and examining outcomes doesn’t have to be limited to scientific or mathematical settings. We can use this model for any inquiry based learning we want to present.

Check out this video from Apple’s Challenge Based Learning web site to see how this model can be applied to investigating the social significance of voting.

  

This same process works for any subject area for virtually any grade level. But remember, Mickey Mouse-ifying your classroom is NOT going to be an overnight process. Creating effective and meaningful projects with your students takes a great deal of planning, a lot of sweat, and tons of organization – but it pays off a bazillionfold in the end (sorry Mr. Krull ;)!

There are scads and scads of fantastic project based learning web sites. Here are a few that might pique your interest!

1. http://pbl-online.org/ is a good resource for getting you started with project-based learning in your classroom.
2. Not sure WHERE to start? Consider the best practices discussed at http://www.saskschools.ca/~bestpractice/project/index.html from Regina Public Schools.
3. If you need a few ideas to get your Mousey goodness flowing, check out some Project Based Learning examples from the US Department of Education at http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/SER/Technology/ch8.html

So roll up your sleeves and BE the Mouse!

Behaviourism: Alive and Clicking in the Classroom?

Teachers have a lot to do in a day. There are attendance records to maintain; assignments to collect and grade; behaviours to keep in check; character and esteem to build; and of course; there is the curriculum to teach. Now with all of these things, let’s throw in how teachers need to ensure their lessons, activities and assessments must churn out 21^st century skilled students. This means students need to be taught in the context of a technological world so they have relevant and useful skills upon graduation.

Sound like a tall order?

I say it sounds like a job that strikes fear in the hearts of the meek, but ignites a blaze of excitement in the rest of us; the teachers.

Now I admit that I am a bit of an odd duck. I was a self-taught techie who trained to be a teacher, then turned back to techie and now again to teacher; a rare situation, I think. I have bounced back and forth between technology positions (systems analyst, software support, desktop support, etc.) and educational positions (K-12 teacher, special needs teacher, ESL teacher, post-secondary instructor) for nearly twenty years. Although each of my numerous positions has been unique, there has always been a common thread: I have taught users something new through the use of technology. 

As far as I’m concerned, technology and teaching are the perfect marriage and this relationship is even more crucial today than ever before.

But what about teachers who do not hail from a background rich in technology? What are they to do? Keeping up on curriculum, educational theory, and students’ lives is a full time job in itself. Learning to incorporate technology to produce engaging lessons that truly support learning can seem an insurmountable task.

In an effort to ease this burden, I offer two instructional strategies/ways in which one might use technology to reinforce and support learning. I have been reading “Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works” (Pitler, Hubbel, Kuhn and Malenoski, 2007) and was particularly interested in what they had to share regarding reinforcing effort and homework practice in the K-12 classroom.

Reinforcing Effort

According to Pitler et al., in order to ensure students buy into the notion that effort pays off, two things must occur. The first is that students must be overtly taught that this is true and second, students must assume the responsibility of monitoring their own efforts (Pitler, et al., 2007). Their text offers a behaviouristic approach to using technology to accomplish this task. Their recommendation is for students to use a spreadsheet to monitor their progress. The trick here is to quantify effort and compare that data with ensuing grades. This particular task serves students in a number of ways as seen in the chart below.

See enlarged image here

Homework and Practice

Homework provides an opportunity for practice, but it should be a planned and purposeful part of school work. Pitler et al. address this in their book, “Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works” (Pitler, Hubbel, Kuhn and Malenoski, 2007). They recommend that once students have been given adequate time to understand a concept, homework can be assigned to target that same skill/concept. They also recommend students chart their own progress. This can be done in the same manner as noted above.

Have a look at this chart to see the similarities in how a behaviouristic approach can be applied to homework and practice.

See enlarged image here

I used MyWebSpiration for the chart. Check it out – it’s pretty cool!

Behaviourism certainly has a place in managing classroom discipline, but I think it is still relevant in teaching students certain skills and supporting the practice of those skills.

What do you think?

Birth of a Blogger

My kids are awesome. Now I know that every mom out there is thinking, “Well sure you think your kid is awesome, I think mine is too.” But I’m here to tell you that none of you have kids nearly as awesome as mine.

When I picked my kids up today from the bus I told them about the great conversation I had with a friend today about all the cool things kids are into these days. My friend and I were talking about 21st Century skills, but I figured at 6 and 8 my kids would be nanosecond bored by that one. Cool sums it up quite nicely for them.

My son agreed that kids can do cool stuff and told me (again) how cool it would be if he had a DS. He’s been begging for one for as long as I can remember, but I’m not particularly keen on a DS because I don’t see the educational value. I told him he should do some research to find some information that would prove to me a DS has some merit. If he could find some solid data on the value of a DS, I’d seriously consider buying him one.

As soon as we walked in the door he Googled “Why should I buy a DS”. (I know it’s not a verb, but it works, right?). He found some pretty awesome info, I have to admit. Did you know you can link your DS to a Wii? We don’t have a Wii either, but if these two machines can actually talk to one another, then I’m already on the yes side for both. I’m a nerd for sure and anytime two machines will talk to one another I’m already lovin’ them both.

Because it’s cool, that’s why!

I told him he should write down all the reasons he should have a DS. Then it hit me like a hot cup of coffee hits my brain in the morning - ShiZAM! 21st century kids don't jot down their thoughts in a journal - THEY BLOG!

I suggested he start blogging about why I won’t let him buy a DS. I told him he might get other people commenting on his blog posts. He asked what I was talking about, and the more excited I got about him blogging, the more creeped out he got. I'm sure his creeped-out-ed-ness had nothing at all to do with the jig I did as I jabbered on about how much he was going to love it.

He wasn't sold at first. When I added he might learn a few more reasons through visitor’s comments about the positives of a DS, he started to consider the benefits of blogging.

So we signed him up for a kidblog account http://kidblog.org/home.php. I searched a bit for free, kid friendly blogs and this one seemed like a good place to start. This is a blog site for teachers and their students, but we set one up for the family. My son started to blog about his DS situation, but then erased it.

With my jig coming to an abrupt and rather ungraceful end, and no small amount fear that he had decided blogging was too much work, I casually asked my little man why he had deleted his post. To my absolute exaltation he replies, “I want to blog about SLIME!”

Wahoo!!! A Blogger is born!

He feverishly set to work setting up his first post and I whirled around the kitchen with his 6 year old sister. I told him I would post his URL on Facebook so my people would find out about it and start commenting on his post.

His first post consisted of only 17 words, but he’s already hooked.

He racked up a whopping 6 comments within mere minutes of my Facebook shoutout about his blog. It is now three hours later and he’s already written one reply and checked his blog three times to see how many people have commented.

When I told him a few minutes ago he had a seventh post he was over the moon!

I have only been blogging for a few months myself, but seeing his enthusiasm got me fired right back up again!

So you see, my kid really IS the most awesome of them all! How old were YOU when YOU started blogging? I was 40. My son was only 3 months past his 8th birthday!!

Check him out at http://kidblog.org/deveaufamily

Snails and Spice

Snails and Spice

Do you remember the little nursery rhyme about what little boys and little girls are made of?

What are little boys made of?

Snips and snails, and puppy dogs tails

That's what little boys are made of!"

What are little girls made of?

"Sugar and spice and all things nice

That's what little girls are made of!"

It sounds nice and readers everywhere can get a general idea of what little boys or girls are made of, right? It’s nice to read, gives you a warm fuzzy feeling inside on a cold day, but it doesn’t really mean anything.

This old rhyme was the first thing that came to mind when I started checking into the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) web site. Essentially this web site discusses what are commonly referred to as 21st Century Skills and how today’s schools should be addressing them. Before I get too much into snails and spice, I want to talk about just exactly what 21st Century Skills are:

1. Life and Career Skills
2. Learning and Innovation Skills (Critical Thinking/Communication/Collaboration/Creativity)
3. Information, Media, and Technology Skills
4. Core Subjects with 21st Century Themes:

• Global Awareness
• Financial/Economic/Business/Entrepreneurial Literacy
• Civic Literacy
• Health Literacy
• Environmental Literacy

Looking at this list, I have to ask if these skills have not been present in some way, shape or form in schools for decades. Apart from information, media and technology skills, my parents were certainly learning these skills in school to some degree. Certainly global awareness was prevalent and I contend, possibly even more so forty-fifty years ago than today.

This may be a topic for another discussion, but since this is my blog I’m going to jump on this one like a room full of Alberta teachers jump on a snow-day in November.

Schools have incorporated life skills, lessons about government, and health (Premiere Tommy Douglas instituted national healthcare - BIG news throughout the 50's and 60s in Canada) and have encouraged communication, thinking and creativity in students through the ages. Although the subject matter is different because the world is indeed different, these skills were still taught.

The P21 web site mentions global awareness. I understand it is speaking of global awareness from the perspective of a technological age, but think about this: Today we are constantly bombarded by information coming at us in all directions. We can access news stories on the radio, the TV, our computers, our cell phones, our iPods or any other imaginable source.

How much of this information can we say we are actually AWARE of? I ask, is it not more likely that we tune out and let much, if not most, of this constant barrage of data wash over us like the driven snow sweeps across a stark prairie highway?

I am willing to bet that my parents at ten in the 50s were far more globally aware than many cell-phone-toting ten year-olds today. This is not to say today's ten year-olds are completely oblivious to the world around them. Not at all, they have the world at their fingertips - literally. But I wonder how desensitized are they to information? Fifty years ago world-worthy news was known by virtually everyone. The world knew about the the first and second World Wars, the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam War, space exploration milestones, the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, and on and on. Clearly information didn’t travel as quickly as it does today, but global citizens were aware. Actually the Queen’s coronation footage was shown on televisions in Canada (in 3D no less) within hours after it was shot, so even back in ’53 technology was relatively instant.

Financial and economic lessons were sure to have been part of education during these years as well. Nothing screams “learn to manage a budget” better than years of food rations and work shortages.

Now I could go on and on about how I see the presence of these school topics before the turn of this century, but I want you to stick around to the end of the discussion, so let’s get back to snails and spice.

When I looked at the P21 web site my first reaction was, “Wow. Where do I start?” Once I reviewed the so-called new skills, I checked out the various implementation guidelines. I started with Curriculum and Instruction: A 21st Century Skills Implementation Guide.

“Great!” I thought. “Now I’m going to get some guidance and learn how to implement these new skills. I’m going to read something I can take into my classroom tomorrow and start implementing instruction for these new skills.” I was so excited I poured myself a fresh cup of hot coffee and settled in for enlightenment 21st century style.

Instead, what I found was typical education gobbledygook. Oh goody, they have Guiding Recommendations and Promising Direction! For those of you who may not have already followed the link let me spell out a few of their recommendations and promises for you.

1.  “Develop curricula for understanding”. The recommendation here is to make sure curriculum outcomes produce an understanding and application of the 21st century skills.
2. “Unpack the standards to articulate essential concepts and skills”. This particular point discusses how it is necessary to outline an understanding of the 21st century skills and clarify the “big ideas” of these skills. Their words, not mine.

Uhuh...

The promise indicates that “Both staff and students understand the commitment necessary to implement a rigorous and relevant curriculum.”

Give me a break! Snails and Spice, I say!

Today's teacher doesn’t have time for this gobbledygook! We want to know precisely what steps we need to take to implement objectives written by some crafty wordsmith who doesn’t understand the term “plain language”. We don’t have time to clasp our hands together in glee and declare “There are promises afoot!”

It makes far better sense to me to offer up a document that says something like this:

Step 1: Find out which local corporations offer employee training. I’m not talking “Welcome to the Company” stuff. I am talking about real this-is-how-you-do-this-job-for-this-company kind of training.

Step 2: Approach said company for possible relationship with schools. This relationship would involve this company’s trainers making regular visits to the school to talk about the skills required and offer some training in this regard. Teachers benefit from this training at the same time making it more likely they can continue with this line of planning between corporate visits (or learning some good tips for a future interview with this company when education goes completely in the pooper).

It is very possible that this kind of a relationship doesn’t always translate into face-to-face training sessions either. Virtual training allowing corporate trainers to meet with leadership and other employees is not unheard of. Check out this Nebolsky, & Yee et al.(2003) article “Corporate Training in Virtual Worlds” for more on that.

Step 3: Don’t feel guilt over not buying into more plans, more committees and more promises. Just focus on doing what is right and find real ways to build that bridge between today’s students and tomorrow’s employers.

I look forward to hearing what you have to say!

The more we share, the more we know

Deanna Deveau

Resources:

CBC. 2010. CBC national news. [Television broadcast]. Retrieved November 24, 2010 from http://archives.cbc.ca/on_this_day/06/02/

Nebolsky, C. Yee, N. Petrushin, V. & Gershman, A. (2003). Corporate training in virtual worlds. Journal of Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics. 2(6) 31-36. Retrieved November 24, 2010 from http://www.iiisci.org/journal/CV$/sci/pdfs/P674230.pdf

Wikipedia. Tommy Douglas. Retrieved November 24, 2010 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Douglas