10 ways to consider your learning space…

It began during a PYP workshop in Melbourne last week, where we used Ron Ritchhart’s 8 cultural forces as a lens to explore how we might create a culture of creativity.

As participants considered various images of learning spaces, their own and others’, including some beautiful, inviting Reggio environments we generated a list of questions, such as these:

1. Does the learning space reflect what you say you value about learning?
2. Is the space visually appealing? Does it invite learning?
3. What kind of culture does the learning space suggest?
4. What is the role of colour? Is there too much ‘visual noise’?
5. What role do the learners play in deciding how the space is organised?
6. Has the purpose of everything you post on the walls been carefully considered?
7. How is students’ thinking made visible?
8. How is natural light maximised? (I really did hear a story of a teacher who put up curtains so that children would not look outside and be distracted!)
9. What clutter can you get rid of? (Now.)
10. MOST importantly: How is the space organised to foster things like: independence, collaboration, agency, creativity, movement and thinking?

The original version!

 

10 questions in pursuit of learner agency…

1. What is your ‘image of the child’?
How do you view the learners in your class? Do you believe children are inherently intelligent, curious and creative? Do you recognise their rights and their capabilities? Do you trust them to learn?

2. What do you believe about learning?
Knowing what and how to teach is not enough. Have you, individually and as a school, thought deeply about how you believe learning takes place? Have you carefully examined the extent to which your practice aligns with your beliefs?

3. Who do you believe should hold the power?
Is your token nod to agency allowing the learners a choice when you decide it’s the time? How much of what your students say and do has to be channeled through the teacher? Do you make most of the decisions? Or do you believe the learners can really lead the learning? Is initiative valued over compliance?

4. Do you see every learner as an individual?
Are you tempted to refer to the class as ‘they‘ or do you always consider each individual’s personal story? Are you aware of what influences each student’s  learning? Are your beliefs evident in your language, your expectations, the routines in your room and in the relationships you build?

5. Do your learners believe in themselves?
Do you group your learners on perceived ability or do they have opportunities to learn with and from others with varying strengths, challenges and interests? Is a growth mindset fostered? Are learners motivated by learning itself, rather than extrinsic rewards that encourage winners and losers in the game of school?

6. Who do you believe should do the heavy lifting?
Do you explain everything in detail, sometimes several times in different ways? Or do the learners have a go at experimenting and tackling problems first and you step in at point of need? Are you able to release control so that the heavy lifting is done by the learners?

7. Who owns the curriculum?
Do you have secret teacher business? Do you always decide what to cover and how to teach it? Or do you believe that students can be empowered to explore curriculum requirements via their own inquiries, in their own ways?

8. How important is measurement of achievement?
Do you teach to the test? Do you believe everything has to be formally assessed and what can’t be measured is less valuable? Or is the process of learning perceived as more significant than the outcome? Is process valued over product?

9. What is the language of your classroom?
Do you talk about work and tasks or does everyone speak the language of learning? Is how we learn as much a part of the conversation as what we learn? Are students aware of who they are as learners? Are learning dispositions noticed and named? Do you and your students believe that reflection and metacognition are integral parts of learning?

10. Is there a safe space for risk-taking and failure?
Does the learning culture encourage students to take risks and make mistakes? Do learners seek and grapple with challenging problems and unanswerable questions? Do you (and they) believe that failure is an opportunity to learn and grow?

If you’ve thought about your ‘why’, the ‘how’ is much easier to achieve.  Are you asking the right question?

* Influenced by the Modern Learners podcast The Answer to How is Yes. Now reading the book by Peter Block.

(With apologies. This has been posted before under a different heading. Found the post in drafts and accidentally posted it again, deleted the previous one, now it’s back with the right title. For my new friends at NES. )

10 ways to make learning meaningful…

Whether your students are completing assignments, inquiring into areas of their interest, covering curriculum or exploring their passions, to what extent does it feel (to you, as much as to them) as if they are simply complying and ‘doing school’?

How can we extend learning ‘beyond the project’ and ensure it’s a powerful learning experience, rather than a task for school? (Hint: the answer does not lie in assessment criteria, rubrics or grades.)

1. Do you LISTEN more than you talk?

2. Are the learners really inquiring, in the broadest sense of the word?

Look at the description of inquiry from Making the PYP Happen. Are they doing most of these things? Or just researching?

• exploring, wondering and questioning
• experimenting and playing with possibilities
• making connections between previous learning and current learning
• making predictions and acting purposefully to see what happens
• collecting data and reporting findings
• clarifying existing ideas and reappraising perceptions of events
• deepening understanding through the application of a concept
• making and testing theories
• researching and seeking information
• taking and defending a position
• solving problems in a variety of ways.

3. Will this inquiry be worthwhile? Will the learners experience challenges and figure out how to overcome them?

Support them in feeling comfortable in the ‘learning pit’?

4. Is the inquiry concept driven? Are the learners doing more than just finding facts and information?

• Are they exploring and developing an understanding of big conceptual ideas.  
• Are they looking through the lens of one or more key concepts?
• Can they identify big ideas and apply them in other contexts?
• Can they articulate conceptual understandings developed along the way?

5.  Do the learners have ownership? Will this inquiry help them grow, not just in knowledge of content, but as learners?

Some questions to support their ongoing reflection:

6. Are the learners thinking critically and creatively about the content they explore?

A variety of less common thinking routines that can extend their thinking:

Think Puzzle Explore
Circle of viewpoints
Generate Sort Connect Elaborate
Tug for Truth
Parts Purposes and Complexities
People Parts Interactions
Think Feel Care
Imagine if…

7. Are the learners able to think about how their inquiries impact on other people? Will they be motivated to take action?

8. Will they explore ways of extending the learning beyond the classroom?

• Look for opportunities for collaboration across the year level.
• Extend it to other year levels. (Can older learners create for an audience in lower grades? Can learners seek feedback or support from another class or year level?)
• Encourage interactions with primary sources within and outside outside of school.
• Use your network and theirs to help extend the learning to the broader community and the world.
• Use Google docs, Twitter and blog posts to reach out globally. (click links for examples)
• Connect with experts face to face or via Skype. (eg Skype in the Classroom)

9. Will there be opportunities to identify problems and issues and develop solutions?

For some learners, the design thinking process might be useful:

10. Will learners have opportunities to express their  learning meaningfully and creatively?

How will learners present, represent and/or share their learning? Will they choose to express their learning through a creative medium such as art or film? Will they paint or sculpt? Will they write poetry? Set it to music? Do an expressive dance? Create a stop motion animation? Build a model? Develop an app? Design a website? Write a book? Organise a debate? Start a blog? Make a speech? Create a campaign? Lead a workshop? 

Will they do, say, think, feel, want… or be something different as a result of this learning? 

10 questions for teacher reflection…

We’re not even half way through the school year here, but a request from someone important to me on the other side of the world provokes my thinking…

‘ Have you ever written a blog post on strategies, tools or frameworks that a teacher can use to reflect on their past year of teaching?’

My immediate response: ‘ Reflection has to happen all the way along. It’s too late at the end of the year.’

But here are some questions to ask yourself, as you look back, look within and look forward…

1. What were the most powerful learning experiences in your class this year? Can you describe what made them successful?

2. How do you learn best? What hinders your learning? How can this knowledge help you with future teaching and learning?

3. What do you believe about how learning occurs? What are the conditions for powerful learning? Does your practice align with your beliefs?

4. Who controls the learning in your classes? Do you seek compliance or do you foster student ownership? How will you encourage learner agency?

5. What are you proud of in your teaching or learning and what do you wish you could do better? How might you go about it? Who might support you?

6. What do you wish you could change in your teaching, your learning, your classroom, your school? What small steps could you take towards making it happen?

7. What are your strengths? How might you develop them further? How might you use them to support others in their teaching and learning?

8. What can you learn from your students? What works for them? Have you asked them? What might you change as a result?

9. What excites you? What excites your students? How might you make that part of your teaching and learning?

10. What do you dream of doing? How might you work towards that dream? Who might you share it with? What kind of support do you need?

10 ways for leaders to encourage agency…

My school’s focus this year, more than ever, is on student ownership and many teachers have set themselves the goal of increasingly letting go.  It’s been six years since I wrote 10 ways to encourage students to take responsibility for their learning and it’s still the post with the most hits on this blog, on a daily basis.  

Looking back at this surprisingly popular post about student ownership, I realise that most of the tips identified are the behaviours that effective modern leaders exhibit, leaders who wish to encourage autonomy and to shift from a hierarchical model of leadership to a distributed one.

And once again I note that what works with kids, works as much with adults!

What kind of leader are you? Ask yourself these questions… (not just if you’re a manager.)

1. Who makes the decisions?

How often do you ask your teachers, parents and students what they think? How do you ensure shared ownership of decision making? Do you work collaboratively to define problems and develop solutions?

2. Are you open to other perspectives?

Do you come with preconceived ideas, ask others’ opinions, then do what you wanted to do anyway? Or are you open to the ideas and perspectives of others, especially if supported by knowledge, experience and evidence?

3. Do you listen more than you talk?

Do you really listen to the people above, below and beside you? Do you listen to the changing world around you…? 

4. Do you model behaviors and attitudes that promote learning?

Do you talk about your own learning? Are you an inquirer? Are you an active participant in the learning community? Do you model and encourage enthusiasm, open-mindedness, curiosity and reflection?

5. Do you take an inquiry stance?

You don’t need to be the expert. Do you explore, experiment, reflect, learn from failures, try again… collaboratively? 

6.  How do you get your people involved?

How do you ‘invite participants in’ and get them excited to explore an issue further? Do you plan every detail or do you leave space for your people to make their mark?

7.  Do you value initiative above compliance?

Do your teachers know the reason for everything you ask them do? Do you implement one-size-fits-all rules that ensure compliance? Or do you encourage your people to use common sense and rely on professional judgment? Do you celebrate initiative?

8.  Do you focus on growth rather than accountability?

What kind of performance reviews do your teachers have? Are they evaluated against a list of preset criteria? Or do they have opportunities to set their own goals and have support and encouragement to grow?

9. Do you encourage reflection and seek feedback?

Do you get your teachers and leaders to reflect on experiences and initiatives and think about how they might be improved? Can you take notice of what they say and plan ahead based on their feedback?

10.  Do you display an innovator’s mindset?

Do you constantly look at things through fresh lenses? Do you ask yourself, and those around you, what you could change and how you could improve things? Are you willing to seek solutions that lie beyond the known, in the realm of emergent practice?

And remember… You can lead from anywhere.

10 tweets that don’t add value…

I’ve extolled the virtues of Twitter as a tool for connecting, learning and collaborating on many an occasion.

A mere ten minutes on Twitter often yields interesting links, book recommendations, thoughtful conversations, opportunities to collaborate, ideas that push one’s thinking…

Live Twitter chats, usually fast and furious, often add another dimension to the learning, as like minded (or better still, differently minded) educators bounce ideas back and forth.

I’ve watched the part Twitter has played in the learning of a young teacher I mentored last year and wondered how educators who don’t connect via social media can hope to keep up.

Sometimes a bit of light Twitter conversation and banter can be fun too!

But then there are tweets that add little, if any, value…

1. Self promotion – How great you are, how fabulous your presentation was, the awards you won. (Unless tweeted by someone other than you)

2. Requests to vote for you so that you can win the above mentioned awards. (Doesn’t canvassing for votes render awards meaningless?)

3. Your minute by minute life updates – where you went, what you ate, how far you ran…

4. Your kids’ minute by minute life updates – where they went, what they ate, how far they ran (even if accompanied by cute pictures).

5. Your popularity on Twitter – how many new followers you have this week, how many RTs, the extent of your reach (whatever that means).

6. Endless tweets with beautiful pictures and quotes about education, leadership or life. (Rather share your own experience and reflections on these topics)

7. Endless retweets of above mentioned posters with beautiful pictures and quotes….

8. Infographics that are more graphic and less info, often not proof read, not thought through and not particularly useful. (Looking good isn’t enough)

9. Lists of 100 best anythings (tools, blogs, ideas, lessons). Who has time to read all that? Did you read all 100 links before you tweeted?

10. This one’s yours. Anything to add?

10 alternatives to goal setting…

My friend Jason Graham is a passionate educator with a massive amount of energy and enthusiasm for learning. You can find him on any given day planning great learning for his kids, supporting other educators, developing and delivering workshops or engaging in learning conversations via Twitter, blogs or face to face. He’s an inquirer, always posing problems, exploring possibilities and dreaming up new ideas. He’s a change agent who doesn’t accept the status quo, constantly questioning and seeking ways to do things better. He loves his students and strives to be the best teacher he can.

Yet (like me) he finds it frustrating when he’s asked to write down specific goals. This exchange on Twitter got me thinking:

I often wonder about the value of teachers asking their students to write down their goals (and admin expecting their teachers to.) I’m sure most respond the way Jay does. (See his post here)

Rather than asking students or teachers to set specific goals, consider some of these options…

1. How do you learn best? What hinders your learning? How can this knowledge help you with future learning?
2. What are you proud of in your teaching or learning and what do you wish you could do better? How might you go about it? Who might support you?
3. What do you really care about? How might you make a difference? What steps could you take to start the process?
4. What are you fascinated by? How might you find out more about it? Who else is interested? Can you collaborate?
5. What do you dream of doing? How might you work towards that dream? Who might you share it with? What kind of support do you need?
6. What do you wish you could change? What small steps could you take towards making it happen?
7. What excites you? How might you make that part of your learning? Who might you collaborate with who shares your passion?
8. Who do you admire? What can you learn from them?
9. What are your strengths? How might you develop them further? How might you be able to support others in their teaching or learning?
10. Instead of asking someone to ‘set goals’, what would you ask them to think about that might take them beyond where they currently are?

Wouldn’t these sorts of questions promote real, valuable reflection?

And I rather like this idea from Kath Murdoch-
Choose a single word that represents something you’d like to focus on. Put it in a place where you can see it every day as a reminder to keep that focus in mind.

Or would you rather write down your ‘smart’ goals?

10 understandings about digital citizenship…

What is digital citizenship and why do we need to understand it?

Earlier this year, we developed a unit of inquiry into digital citizenship for our Year 5 students and I’m currently preparing to facilitate a three day workshop for teachers exploring the same topic. As a result, I’ve been thinking a great deal about what, for me, is simply a part of my everyday life.

On any given day (aside from work and play!) I might write a blog post, read and comment on others, join a twitter chat, search for information, find videos to spark learners’ curiosity, Skype with my grandson, interact with children at one of the School in the Cloud settings in India, respond to applications for the ‘granny cloud’, chat with a friend in another part of the world…

Photo by Ingrid Muller

Using the key concepts of the PYP as a lens,  I’ve come up with 10 understandings about digital citizenship for teachers and learners (or teachers as learners) to explore…

Do you think I have missed anything?

1. Digital citizenship is ‘the ability to participate in society online.’ It includes consuming and creating digital content as well as interaction.  form
2. Digital literacy includes awareness of safe and effective practices and the ability to navigate, evaluate and create information using a range of digital technologies. function
3. Digital technologies enable us to communicate and collaborate with people all over the world, expanding learning opportunities and increasing global awareness.  connection
4. Active digital citizenship provides opportunities for intercultural understanding and exposure to diverse points of view.  perspective
5. Anyone can publish powerful writing, pictures and video for a global audience. Digital citizenship includes making valuable contributions to the online environment.  creativity (which isn’t one of the PYP key concepts, but maybe it should be)
6. Reusing content is so easy that people rarely stop to think about its original source. We need to understand our rights as content creators and respect the rights of others. responsibility
7. In a digital world, it can be difficult to understand where privacy ends and what the risks are. Everything you do online impacts your indelible digital footprint.  causation
8. Content on the internet is not necessarily accurate, true, reliable or valuable. We need to think critically about digital content that we consume, create and interact with.  reflection
9. The speed of change in the world is accelerating with the rapid advances in technology. We need to prepare our students for a world we cannot predict.  change
10. Understanding effective practices and developing the required skills, knowledge and confidence, empower us to make wise choices as digital citizens and maximise the opportunities this provides.  all

And later… a tweet from @flipoz hits the nail on the head…

@whatedsaid v interesting. I wonder about the connections & interactions between these elements as the key to tchg & undrstndng dig citizshp

— Philip Williams (@flipoz) April 27, 2014

 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.

10 tips for creating a class agreement…

Do a quick google image search for ‘classroom rules’ and ‘classroom agreements’ (or ‘essential agreements’ as they’re called in the PYP) and see if anything surprises you…

What I noticed is that, despite the heading, many classroom agreements are still lists of rules.

Do teachers value compliance above learning?

These are amongst the most common elements I found, none of which seem to relate to learning...

• Work quietly.
• Raise your hand to speak.
• Listen carefully.
• Follow instructions.
• Do your best work.
• Don’t speak until called on.
• Be punctual.

Have our students’ training and experience set them up to believe that these are are the appropriate expectations for a learning environment?

Some are even more extreme and less related to learning…

• Sit correctly on chairs. (big kids?)
• We sit still on the carpet. (little kids)
• Keep your hands to yourself.
• Don’t throw things.
• Talk to your classmates only when the activity requires you to.
• Stay in your seat unless you have permission to leave.

Does this set the tone for engaging learning?

Here are some of the more appealing inclusions I found, which are more likely to support an environment conducive to learning… and isn’t that the purpose of school?

• Be prepared to make mistakes and learn from them.
• Try new things even if they scare us.
• Think before you act.
• Respect yourself and others.
• Make wise choices to support your learning.
• Include people if they look excluded.
• Be open-minded – Listen to, consider and value other perspectives.
• Take ownership of our learning.
• Dream big.

10 ways to create a meaningful class agreement…

1. Don’t start till you’ve spent some time establishing your own beliefs about learning.
2. Have the kids consider what helps them learn and what hinders their learning. (Details here)
3. Begin with what the learners value or the school values. (Example here)
4. Have kids unpack your school’s learning principles as a starting point. (I haven’t tried that yet, but here are ours.)
5. Base it on a common set of qualities, such as the IB Learner Profile. (Staff example here)
6. Use a ‘place mat’ activity so students have time to think individually, before seeking consensus. (Details here)
7. Have kids think about what learning ‘looks like‘, sounds like‘ and ‘feels like’.
8. Take your time. Build the agreement gradually, to ensure understanding and ownership.
9. Include photos and descriptions for younger learners, to elaborate on the words.
10. Live it, don’t laminate it. Revisit the agreement often and adjust as required.

What’s in your class agreement?