The Expert Blind Spot Effect: Being Explicit

  

The best teachers are unparalleled experts in the field, right? Well, the research actually reveals this to be a myth in many cases.

Hattie and Yates, in Visible Learning and the Science of How We Learn, summarize much of the research about the relationship between expertise and teaching effectiveness. They state:

Experts may not know exactly what they are doing since their skill is automated and unconscious... Even when attempting to make it easy, experts still tend to leave out information a novice would find valuable. 

This understanding has relevance to us as both educators and colleagues. The best educators are empathetic, and they are able to re-imagine what it's like to be a true beginner. The best educators don't fall prey to the "expert blind spot effect," a term that describes the things masters forget due to the automaticity of a skill.

So, whether you're working with colleagues on an instructional strategy or you're working with students on something you've taught for years, remember how tough it is to be a novice. As you start to craft instruction for a topic that will be new for learners, consider the following questions:

• What might a novice be feeling the first time they encounter this problem/task?
• What "self-talk" do I engage in when starting a task/problem like this?
• How do I get myself "unstuck" when unexpected changes pop up?

Be explicit. Learning shouldn't be a guessing game.

Photo Credit:

by  Mini D 

Great Resource on Connected Learning from the National Writing Project

The National Writing Project is an amazing, participatory, grass roots organization that supports countless efforts to scale excellent pedagogy. Paul Oh and Elyse Eidman-Aadahl, two leaders of the group, think about teaching and learning in a truly connected way.

"Digital Is," an effort organized by the National Writing Project, seeks to build a community of learners around digital pedagogy, learning, and practice.

The site has just released a free, new text called Teaching in the Connected Learning Classroom. It's a collaborative series of instructional units and ideas that draws from some of the most innovative experts in the field, including Meeno Rami and Bud Hunt.

Check it out!

What's the Relationship Between Empowerment and Learning?

School Leaders Edcamping in Marin

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about the relationship between empowerment and learning. Given what I know about the readership of this blog, I think we'd all agree that feelings of empowerment accelerate learning.

But how do we generate empowerment?

There are lots of answers to this question, of course. But as I read the research and consider my personal experience, a common theme emerges.

PERMISSION

Depending on our ages and experiences, permission can come from many different places. It can come from our parents, our teachers, our bosses, or our friends. This permission gives us the space we need to explore our passions and hone our talents.

And while it's temping to wait for others to give us permission---- we can always give OURSELVES permission to take risks, grow, and learn anew. 

Here are a few ways that I'm giving myself permission over the next week:

• I'm going to give myself permission to read a piece of literature for pure enjoyment.
• I'm going to give myself permission to create a strategy that values both relationships and data equally.
• I'm going to give myself permission to PLAY. 

Here are a few ways that I'm giving permission to my learners over the next week:

• I'm going to give them permission to create the criteria by which they'll be judged.
• I'm going to give them permission to experiment with strategies that make me skeptical.
• I'm going to give them permission to try to break ideas that I hold dear.

Self Driven Learning = Permission + Empowerment

A Recap: Last Week's Edcamp Organizer Hangout On Air

Last week, I had the delight of connecting with dozens of educators from across the nation about Edcamp.

We came together to answer a difficult question: 

How do you run a really effective Edcamp experience?

Luckily, some awesome Edcamp organizer veterans were on hand to help out, including Debby Jacoby, Shannon Montague, Alice Barr, Karl Lindgren-Streicher, and Peter Strawn. They offered some fantastic insight, especially when it comes to providing support for newbies at an event.

To check out the entire conversation, CLICK HERE to access Karl's Storify.

The entire recording of our discussion is available HERE.

As always, you can visit www.edcamp.org to get help from the Edcamp Foundation Partner Program!

What Motivates You? (Probably not grades.)

Writing and Talking with Joan in DC

Yesterday morning, I got up extra early to do some writing. While I really enjoy writing, it's not actually one of my strengths. I tend to be wordy, verbose, and a bit too narrative at times. In spite of this, I've committed to writing two times per week on this blog. I've honored that commitment for a number of years.

Why?

Why do I write?

Importantly, no one is actually assigning a grade to this work. (thank goodness) Further, there is no other extrinsic reward associated with this task. I'm not getting paid or formally acknowledged in any way for my work on this blog. (again, thank goodness)

However, the fact that I have a catalogue of my thinking with feedback and comments from valuable colleagues makes this practice worthwhile for me. Even when it's hard to find time to write, I think about how much I've learned from the process of self-evaluation coupled with feedback from others. 

As I sit and think today, I wonder: 

Do schools foster this type of commitment to learning in students?

Often, students see school as a series of "hoops" or "tasks" that they must complete in succession. They don't see value in the tasks (because they're often not authentic) and they often don't receive relevant or timely feedback on their work. I mean, who really cares if you get an "80" or an "85." What does that even mean anyway?

So, I'm left to wonder what would happen if we changed the types of feedback and motivators in our schools. What if we let students choose their work, their audiences, and their experts? How might we create environments where students feel committed to their own learning because it matters for them?

This post has more questions than answers, but I think it's important to recognize that grades really don't motivate us. We motivate ourselves by choosing work that matters. Let's allow kids to choose work that matters. We might just make magic together.

A Bias Towards Action

Photo from a Design Workshop with Carla Silver & Greg Bamford

One of the tenets of design thinking is a "bias towards action."

This notion is rooted in a fundamental belief about success: The sooner you find out your first idea doesn't work, the sooner you can try something else that might work!

Often, the larger a group becomes, the harder it can be to retain a bias towards action. There's more at stake and there is often a greater tendency to want "everything to be just right." When what used to be a collaborative discussion becomes a cacophony of voices, you can find your team spinning, and spinning, and spinning, and spinning. (You get the idea.) Sometimes this is necessary, but it's often unproductive and frustrating to many group members.

Personally, I've been reflecting on ways to maintain a "bias towards action" while still allowing input. My fearless leader at BrightBytes, Rob Mancabelli, introduced me to a protocol that relies on brief, convergent thinking so that productive action is valued tandem to input and collaboration.

Here's what it looks like (It's based on the traditional stand-up protocol.):

1. Everyone stands in a circle. (Standing is important because it communicates brevity.)
2. Everyone takes 1 minute to share the high-impact actions they took that day.
3. Everyone takes 1 minute to share the high-impact actions they plan to take the next day.
4. Any overlaps or crossovers in work are discussed briefly by the people involved ONLY. If the conversation goes beyond 3 minutes, the people involved schedule a time to chat further.
5. Everyone goes on their merry way. (That's it; I swear!)

This has really helped me and my team focus on what's important, share successes, and reduce the amount of time spent in meetings. We all feel happier knowing that we're in sync but we're also focusing on the actions we need to take to help kids.

I hope this helps!

Digital Tools for Speaking and Listening: An Interview in School Leadership Briefing

Speaking and listening are two of the most critical skills for success in the modern world. Being able to successfully communicate in either face-to-face or digital mediums is a prerequisite for interesting work.

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to speak with School Leadership Briefing about the ways in which the speaking and listening standards can be explored in classrooms through authentic learning activities.

You can listen to the entire interview here. (Which in itself is a good example of why our kids will need speaking and listening skills!)

Photo Credit:
by  Eric Bennett