5.6 to 1: The Golden Ratio of Positivity

  by  KM&G-Morris 

Being positive matters.

This is much more than a euphemism; it's science.

Harvard Business Review reports that the most successful teams share almost 6 positive comments for each negative one when they collaborate.

And while that statistic might not seem unusual, consider your current classroom conversations. You may even want to videotape or audio record your classroom to see where your ratio stands.

Here's a short transcript from a recent lesson I taught in a 4th grade classroom in Toledo:

Me: Today, we are going to be thinking about what is fair. Take 1 minute to talk about your tables about what it looks like and feels like when something is fair. 

Students: Talk collaboratively.  

Me: Josh, share your thinking. What does it mean to be fair? 

Josh: Being fair means that everyone agrees on the outcome, whether or not it was their first choice. 

Me: Hmm, I like how you are thinking there. (THAT'S ONE) Anyone else?
Amber: Being fair means that everyone has the same. Like in division. That's what we think. 

Jane: I like what Amber said. (THAT'S TWO) Our group said the same thing. (THAT'S THREE) 

Me: Ok. So, to be fair, everyone has the same amount of something. I see.  I like how you made a connection to math there. (THAT'S FOUR) 

Jake: Well, our group doesn't think everyone should have the same for something to be fair. Sometimes different people need different things. Like my Grandma needs a cane and I don't. (THAT'S A NEGATIVE) 

Me: Jake, thanks for pushing our thinking there. (THAT'S FIVE) Sometimes we come up with even better ideas when we consider lots of perspectives. (THAT'S SIX) Take one minute and talk in your groups about what Jake just said. 

Students: Talk collaboratively.

While I'm certain that I don't always hit the ratio, I try very hard to ensure that my verbal interactions and my students' verbal interactions are mostly positive and generative. (Yes, this takes considerable modeling at the beginning of the year!)

However, being positive all the time isn't enough to guarantee success. Consider Jake's role above. While he inserted a negative comment, it was a necessary comment to broaden our conversation and steer the lesson towards my ultimate goal of distinguishing equity from equality.

So, the power of the ratio is that it gives us a way to conceptualize that lots of agreement moves us forward, but some disagreement keeps us out of a group-think laden echo chamber. It also gives us a structured framework to monitor and guide the interactions and exchanges that happen in our classroom.

So, give it a try. Track the ratio of positive to negative interactions in your classroom.

Do you hit the golden ratio of   5.6:1 ?

Boredom Fosters Creativity: Why We All Need White Space

  by  yewwei.tan 

I've been busy lately. Very busy. So busy, in fact, that I actually ran out of pre-scheduled posts for my blog. As I make it a priority to write about all my musings, I usually have at least 5-6 posts in draft mode on my blog.

However, I woke up today to find that my queue was completely empty.

Bone dry.

Null and void.

Well, you get the idea.

Sometimes, an endless mountain of tasks and projects can make us feel energized and productive. But, other times, it can zap our creativity.

We all need a little white space.

Last week, BBC News reported that we should encourage boredom and solitude. Dr. Belton, a senior researcher at the University of East Anglia's School of Education and Lifelong Learning said,

Children need to have stand-and-stare time, time imagining and pursuing their own thinking processes or assimilating their experiences through play or just observing the world around them. 

It is this sort of thing that stimulates the imagination, she said, while the screen "tends to short circuit that process and the development of creative capacity".

This research doesn't surprise me at all. We all need time to sit, reflect, and muse about our experience, our work, and our play.

It is from these quiet moments that the best ideas are born.

Say NO to a few things, and create a little bit of space for yourself and your students. Be warned; innovation may happen.

If We Care About Engagement Online...What Follows?

Garnering attention is really hard in today's day and age. People are increasingly distracted by the varied media spaces that permeate our lives.

Consider this: 

Most people who multitask do so although it degrades their performance. The allure of competing medias simply make it harder and harder to focus. Howard Rheingold, in his recent book Net Smart says:

The way we communicate today is altering the way people pay attention— which means we need to explore and understand how to train attention now, so that we, not our devices, control the shape of this alteration in the future.

So, if want people's attention, we need to intentionally design for true engagement. In virtual settings, this can be very tricky because you must gaze at a screen that is laden with distractions. 

To win the competition for our attention during a #etmooc webinar, Howard invited everyone present to participate via one of the roles below.

Once I committed to a role, I was immediately engaged. I chose to join the Lexicon Team, and I spent the entire hour attuned to important or unfamiliar vocabulary in Howard's talk. You can check out the collaborative notes created by the team here. Since I was productively busy, I was also productively engaged. Honestly, I had trouble remembering to tweet!

So.... if we care about engagement in online spaces, what follows?

• People in online spaces need clearly defined, yet flexible ways to opt in. Are there multiple roles defined for participants based on their interests or comfort level? Is participation explicitly encouraged and honored throughout the entire session?
• People in online spaces can't just listen. Just listening results in unproductive multitasking. Can you engage multiple senses? Can you invite participation via short tasks (such as a 6 word summary) or question generation?
• People in online spaces need feedback from the community AFTER learning has occurred. Can people process in a safe space at their own pace? Who will support them as they process?

Thanks, Howard, for helping me to uncover these vital design elements for online engagement!

Subversive Learning: We Learn Best When It's Our Idea

Note: This is cross posted at Smart Blog on Education.

  by  Rhonda Montreal 

Overcoming my dad telling me that I could never amount to anything is what has made me the megalomaniac that you see today. ~Bono

Sometimes bucking the system feels good, renegade, or even revolutionary. When we throw away the status quo and typical extrinsic motivators, it’s amazing what we can do.

Consider Jimmy Wales, Michael Jordan, and Dr. Seuss. While their accomplishments have been incredibly different, they all fought hard in the face of harsh critics.

Beyond anecdotal evidence, research also shows us that flat cooperation for a common goal often motivates us more than aimlessly following directives from a hierarchical superior.

How People Learn states, “This devolution of authority and move toward cooperative participation results directly from, and contributes to, an intense cognitive motivation.”

In short, we’re more motivated when it’s OUR idea. The more we can exert control over our choices, the more likely we will persist when the going gets tough.

So, what does this mean for K-12 classrooms?

Quite simply, let students decide.

When we challenge students to design their own learning, we unlock an immense resource: students’ desire to exceed our wildest expectations and prove us wrong.  

Let students choose:

·      Topics

·      Formats

·      Audiences

So, what does this mean for teacher professional development?

Quite simply, let the teachers decide.

Think about your personal experience. If you’re reading this post, it’s likely that you blog, tweet, and read RSS feeds. No one is telling you to do these things. You do them because you believe they are helpful, and also because they offer you an opportunity to disprove all those who think that PD must be delivered. Clearly, a lot of learning happens in spite of authority’s well-intentioned plans.

Teachers should choose:

·      Collaborative members

·      Purpose

·      Time(s)

So, what does this mean for higher education?

Quite simply, let the students chart their own path.

Students should create their own degrees from interests and self-selected courses. Formats should be diverse, including online, face-to-face, and hybrid options. Assessments should be authentic, and students should be challenged to solve problems that can make a difference in the community or the world.

Learners should choose:

·      Goals

·      Tasks

·      Pace

Are you starting to see a pattern here?

When learning is the learner’s idea, everyone wins.

Powering Up: Adding Interaction to PD

Last week, I had the opportunity to present alongside Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe during a 3-day preconference at #ASCD13. Of course, there were lots of big ideas, essential questions, and transfer tasks. However, my primary role was to facilitate digital interaction during the multi-day session.

Here were some of the strategies I tried:

I built a website for our time together HERE. It served as the hub for all of our learning experiences together. I embedded Padlets, linked to shared dropbox folders, and shared survey data that we collected from participants. Over the three days, the site had over 4,000 visits. It was a vibrant, bustling place!

I encouraged use of #ubdchat on Twitter. Our backchannel was the most voluminous feed out of all the preconference sessions! Important topics, such as the room's best designed learning experience, were archived using Storify.

I interviewed teachers over the break to capture their current struggles with curriculum. Building community requires us to honor every voice in the session. See some of the curriculum journeys I captured below:


Any thoughts on other strategies I could try? Other ways to engage learners?

I'm open to all suggestions!

Misconceptions, Mistakes, and Missed Opportunities

How do we know what we know? 

How certain are we?

My last session at #ASCD13 explored misconceptions, mistakes, and missed opportunities. Using funds from an NSF-supported grant, these teachers and leaders from Prince George's County in Maryland immersed participants in their work around inquiry.

To begin, we analyzed several high-energy role plays to determine if various scenarios were:

• A Misconception: a conceptual error about a complex concept
• A Missed Opportunity: a teacher move that prevents learning and exploration
• A Mistake: a factual error

Importantly, we all generated our own definitions of these terms through the experiences provided. Then we explored and refined our thoughts via concept attainment.

concept attainment

Essentially, we practiced what they preached: inquiry and shared learning.

I think this is a very helpful frame for examining teaching and learning! What a great way to end this conference!

Conspiracy Theories of Change: Edcamp Rogue

Here at #ASCD13, there is one question on everyone's mind:

How do we generate change?

Of course, I too, am deeply invested in this question and all its implications. So, when I arrived at #ASCD13 yesterday, I was eager to jump into conversations with other educators to actively problem solve and generate ideas.

However, by the time lunchtime arrived, I had done lots of passive listening and very little active processing. While I certainly think that it's important to hear from expert researchers in the field, I also know that the adult learner needs time to personalize ideas and provide context for learned content.

Ironically, yesterday's keynote speaker told us that we must STOP LECTURING about 70 minutes into his passive lecture.

#keynotefail

Instead of whining, I decided to actually do something. Joined by Steven Anderson, Nick Provenzano, and Hadley Ferguson, we spontaneously created Edcamp Rogue.

Getting ready for #edcamprogue at 4pm outside registration! Join us! twitter.com/kristenswanson…
— Kristen Swanson (@kristenswanson) March 16, 2013

With a little quick thinking, some tweets, an impromptu sponsorship from Edutopia, and some kicking tunes from Miley Cyrus (Thanks Steve!), we had quickly amassed about 50 educators prepared to learn and talk and share about using social media for teaching and learning.

After about 40 minutes of chatting, connecting and exchanging ideas, we all went our separate ways. However, the connections we made will last far beyond the session. Personally, I was very excited to connect Anne Thorp in person!

Kristen and Anne

Let's not forget: At these conferences, the smartest person in the room is THE ROOM. That means that we need to amass our collective capacities by interacting, making and doing. Imagine what we could create with 10,000 creative educators in a room. A lot more than some passive lecture notes, that's for sure.

#EdcampRogue Group Shot

So, get out there and connect everyone!

My New Favorite Word: YET

This morning, in Carol Dweck's session on fixed and growth mindsets, I acquired a new favorite word.

YET.

When we use the word YET, it clearly communicates that there is more learning and growth that will occur based on your current performance.

Here are some ways you can use my new favorite word:

• DO: Don't give students grades as feedback. Instead, tell them YOU GOT IT or NOT YET.
• SAY: "The struggle that you're experiencing just means that you are not there yet." 
• THINK: Every lesson that's not perfect just means your practice just isn't there YET.

Prioritizing this mindset (the growth mindset) helps students and adults to persevere when things get difficult. The things we do, say, and think can influence our mindsets and the mindsets of others.

Embrace the NOT YET. 

Helping Kids Manage Digital Feedback

Note: This was cross posted at Smart Blog on Education.

  by  Rusty Sheriff 

“Increasing the amount of feedback in order to have a positive effect on student achievement requires a change in the conception of what it means to be a teacher.” ~John Hattie in Visible Learning

In today’s digital environments, feedback is everywhere and everyone is a teacher. Our students are constantly bombarded with blog comments, retweets, +1s, and emails about their life, ideas, and work. (The Pew Report found that 86% of teens over the age of 14 actually sleep with their cell phones!) The feedback students receive may come from multiple sources, including people they know well and people they’ve never met. It is often a blessing to have instant access to an unlimited number of perspectives. However, it can become difficult to balance the time spent honing one’s craft with the time spent considering digital feedback. Managing digital feedback appropriately is a key element of productive digital citizenship, and we must teach it explicitly.

Benefiting from diverse forms of digital feedback takes skill, finesse, and even self-control. In his book, Net Smart, Howard Rheingold reminds us that humans are hard-wired to become addicted to digital feedback. In the text, he cites a recent research study stating “Paul J. Zak of Claremont Graduate University, a pioneer in the emerging neuroeconomics field, discovered that a spike in oxytocin occurred after using Twitter for ten minutes.” Oxytocin is the chemical that makes us feel connected to others. In short, it makes us feel good.

If learners are only tuning into our digital feedback outlets to “feel good” then they are probably missing many educational opportunities enabled by these tools. Educators need to be intentional about helping learners understand the advantages and limits that exist.

Importantly, digital feedback can greatly augment the learning process when used thoughtfully. Personally, I know that I am a better writer and thinking due to the digital feedback I’ve received on Twitter and my blog. However, using this information well has taken time, effort, and experimentation. Learners must be taught to use feedback wisely as it relates to their personal goals and challenges. Teachers must serve as guides for their students, helping them to navigate all of the information available to them about their performance. As Hattie reminds us in the quote that inspired this post, we must change what it means to be a teacher for feedback to be used effectively.

Here are three instructional strategies that can ensure that students maximize the benefits of digital feedback about academic work:

1.  Have students write a learning goal before they publish anything in digital spaces. Ask the student, “What were you trying to learn/improve upon with this work?” Refer to this goal alongside students as they examine feedback. (A recent goal I set with a student was: “My goal is to tell a story that makes people feel angry about unfairness of the policy.”) If the feedback isn’t related to the learning goal, ignore it. (You can always return to it later if it becomes relevant!)

2.  Have students set aside specific times to consider digital feedback. Although mobile devices make access to feedback instantaneous, shifting attention every time a phone pings or an email chimes can be counterproductive. Having students close their email, IM, or Twitter until they’re ready to consider conversation and feedback. Try the free Tomatoist App from the Chrome Store which is based on the Pomodoro Technique. It commits the learner to 25 minutes of work followed by 5 minutes to consider social media feedback and email. This can balance production and conversation.

3.  Have students regularly reflect on how their thinking or performance has changed in light of feedback. It’s really important for students to “think about their thinking” which is also known as metacogition. How has digital feedback changed their performance? What will they do differently next time? What feedback are they prepared to discard? Which audiences are most helpful and engaged? If students can self monitor their use of digital feedback, they are more likely to continue these positive habits in other settings with novel tasks.

People who are effectively able to use digital channels as a source of feedback will thrive as digital citizens. Helping students to amplify and refine learning through the intentional use of digital feedback is a critical aspect of networked teaching.

Promoting Visual Literacy with Haiku Deck

Note: This was cross posted at Free Tech for Teachers.

“We live and work in a visually sophisticated world, so we must be sophisticated in using all the forms of communication, not just the written word.” ~George Lucas in Edutopia

As access to the creation and consumption of digital media increases, educators must embrace an expanded view of literacy. Teaching the skills of reading and writing is no longer enough. Students need to be able to use images as a currency for exchanging feelings, stories, and opinions with the world at large.

Further, as scientists learn more about how our brains work, it appears that many learners are hardwired to understand visually depicted ideas. Recent research from National Academies Press reminds us that using words and pictures (as compared to words alone) boosts generative processing which leads to lasting learning.

So... maybe a picture is not worth a thousand words. Perhaps a picture is worth a thousand ideas?

Recently, I’ve been trying out Haiku Deck as a teacher and a learner. Essentially, I’m telling stories through images.

If you haven’t used Haiku Deck before, it’s a free iPad app that makes beautiful slide presentations. You can only fit a word several words or a phrase on each slide, forcing you to communicate primarily through images. The constraints of the app actually promote visually literate presentations.

With Haiku Deck, you can upload your own photos or search their large gallery of images with Creative Commons licenses for non-commercial reuse. Their gallery is a powerful tool, and my students this semester have really enjoyed the high quality selection!

Once you’ve finished creating your masterpiece, it’s easy to spread your message digitally. You can share your slides on your social media networks, embed your slides on your blog, or download your slides for offline use.

Here’s a short slide deck that I created using Haiku Deck:
Created with Haiku Deck, the free presentation app for iPad
If you are an iPad user, be sure to check out Haiku Deck. It’s a great way to share your story through beautiful, impactful pictures!

Join the Epic Edcamp Lip Dub

On May 22, 2013, Edcamp will turn THREE!

As you know, Edcamps have become an epic series of teacher learning events across the globe. We’ve seen amazing growth in the past two and a half years, and we want to do a collaborative project to celebrate Edcamp’s Third Birthday on May 22, 2013. The Edcamp Foundation wants to create an awesome birthday celebration that highlights Edcamp's coolest feature: IT'S EDCAMPERS!

So, basically, we’re inviting you to an EPIC EDCAMP BIRTHDAY PARTY in the digital space!

As some of the Edcamp Foundation Members have been inspired by the recent #ETMOOC Lib Dub, we’ve decided to do a collaborative lib dub using the Edcamp Rap created by Flocabulary. Our goal will be to feature Edcampers from across the globe singing this awesome tune!

Get all of the details and sign up here! 

We need YOU to make this birthday EPIC!

Are You Addicted to Teaching Reading Strategies?

Reading strategies. They're a fundamental component of almost every elementary classroom. We predict, summarize, make connections, find the main idea, and retell almost ad nauseum. A simple Pinterest search for "reading strategies" reveals hundreds (maybe even thousands) of cute anchor charts, bookmarks, and posters.    

When I first began teaching, I taught reading strategies in order as stated by my curriculum map. One day, I was dutifully teaching students how to predict, complete with a really cute crystal ball. After students started practicing at their seats, I overheard one student ask another student:

"Do you think I have to predict today? I've already read this book before."

 #READINGSTRATEGYFAIL 

In that moment, I realized that I was placing more emphasis on the strategies themselves than the actual comprehension of the text. Students saw the strategies AS THE POINT instead of a tool. Clearly, I was addicted to teaching reading strategies, not teaching reading. Essentially, I cared about the strategies more than the reading. (Although this error was well-intentioned, it was absolutely ineffective.)

Are you addicted to teaching reading strategies? 

Here are a few signs:

Sign 1: In most cases, every student is working on the same reading strategy in the room.

You direct the use of reading strategies of reading strategies in your classroom at all times. You tell students which strategies to use when. You prompt, model, and prompt again until students get the answer you expect.

Sign 2: Students in your class tend to use one reading strategy at a time. 

If we're working on summarization, we summarize. And that's it. Strategies are often used in isolation based on the topic or story of the week. Students don't often use or discuss other strategies beyond your focus.

Sign 3: Students can't explain why a certain strategy should be used in a certain situation.

Students use strategies so that they can meet the expectations in the classroom and get a good grade. They aren't sure WHY they actually use these strategies, and they can't explain WHY when you ask them. 

Sign 4: Students associate graphic organizers/writing prompts with reading "completion."

Students see reading as "complete" when the finish the graphic organizer or writing prompt associated with the strategy. This finite view of both the strategy and the task of reading limits the student and the learning.

Although I still continue to teach reading strategies as a part of my instruction today, it is a much smaller part of the literacy block. Interacting with the text, thinking aloud, and making active reading decisions based on the text now drives how I craft my instruction. Over time I've seen my kids become much more independent and confident readers via this philosophy.

So, let go a little bit. 

Give students strategic options, not automated routines. 

PS- Check out Grant Wiggins' recent blog on strategies vs. tactics for more on this topic!

Photo Credit: http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m32pwvagoe1rtjxb7o1_250.jpg

Open Webinar on Design Thinking on March 7th

Join me for a FREE, open webinar on design thinking with the amazing David Jakes, worldly Don Buckley, and fabulous Grant Wiggins on March 7th at 7pm EST. Click here if you can't see the embedded poster below.

Revision Can Be Innovation

Making change. The task seems to be on everyone's mind, in one form or another. However, in our haste to innovate, we often forget about the importance refining, revisiting, and refocusing what's already in place. That's probably because truly perfecting something is hard work.

Starting a new initiative often feels like this: 

  by  timparkinson 

Alas, refining something that's already in place feels a bit like this:

  by  Roberto Verzo 

Innovation doesn't always have to be "new" or "more." Sometimes innovation is actually the act of fixing something that's already in place. True change can express itself in many different ways. It's not always an add-on.

While a culture of excellence embraces change, it does NOT embrace something new every week. That mostly confuses people and encourages them to "opt out" since nothing ever lasts.

For those of us who like to be on the cutting edge, being caught within change via revision can be daunting and a bit lackluster. (George Couros recently spoke to this exact problem here.)

However, if we don't engage in a process of continuous renewal, we'll end up contracting one of education's most common diseases: INITIATIVE FATIGUE. I recently visited a school infected with over 41 concurrent initiatives. The staff can't even remember all of them!

So, try the following strategies to refocus and recenter your change efforts by doing some hard work and fixing a few clunky problems within your organization.

Refine 
Consider a system or process that is functional, but not perfect. Maybe it's your lesson planning technique, classroom management routine, or strategic plan committee format. Think of 1-2 small changes you can make to your existing practice to improve it. For example, maybe you start lesson planning in Evernote and use tags to make your plans easily findable next year. Or perhaps you tweak your classroom management routine by using a visual timer during choice reading time. Perhaps you change the location of your strategic plan committee meeting to someplace comfortable and innovative in an effort to generate a little bit of excitement. These aren't major changes, but they can make a big difference in how you feel about the process and its overall success.

Revisit
When something is working, we tend to ignore it. We just let it run its course, regardless of how the landscape may be changing around it. When I was a tech director, we had an email-based tech ticket system that worked. Sort of. But since it was keeping us afloat, it never seemed like a priority. We had to intentionally set aside time as a team to revisit this issue. Once we did, it became clear that some changes and tweaks were needed. By revisiting this issue, we were able to make changes that served everyone better. You don't know if something is broken unless you actually X-ray it closely!

Refocus
As processes, initiatives, and strategies become entrenched in our organizations, we sometimes forget why we started doing them in the first place! It's important to take time to refocus our efforts on our goals. Once we remember how the activity is linked to our goals, we are much more likely to see the value in it! When I first started teaching, we had to submit lengthy lesson plans for guided reading. After some time, I found myself merely going through the motions. Then, one day, I overheard a student tell another student that guided reading had been boring lately. In that moment, I remembered why the plans were important, and I took some time to make my plans even more engaging for my kids!

Change happens in many ways on many days, 

even if there's nothing "new."