#sparKtalK5 Vlog: The Big Reveal

Ah, delayed reflection reaps the greatest reward, at least for me through this week's vlog post. I struggled with what to do with my learners’ apparent lack of ability in the area of making connections earlier this week. Of course, I was quick to interpret this as a problem of theirs that I would need to support them with. However, after taping my reflection, walking home from school, I considered this whole connecting thing further. What did I do wrong? Why, after watching a video they all seemed completely intrigued by, was it so difficult to draw out some connections? What role did I play in this struggle?

Watch this week’s vlog post, beginning with my embarrassingly early and quick resolve as I explain my “what”, followed by a later reflective post sharing my own more significant learning. The big reveal. Here it is!

Thanks for watching! As usual, I’d love to hear back from you! Questions, comments,  criticisms, cheers, or chit chat—all feedback is welcome and appreciated!

#sparKtalK5 Vlog - Make Me a Maker

So, hands-on-collaborate-create-make-and-maybe-even-bake, seems like one big undertaking to me. I've done some reading, some viewing, and some consulting to try to figure out this whole maker movement thing. Inspired last year by Sylvia Martinez's visit to our #tiegrad cohort (thank you to Alec Couros for setting that up), I made sure this year's class supplies included a MakeyMakey and a Raspberry Pi. I know very little about either, but it seems like a good starting point. We are barebones in terms of our SPARK Maker Space otherwise. Please view this week's #sparKtalK5 vlog to hear my what-so-what-now-what explanation!

Comments, criticisms, questions, contributions, and any other forms of collaborative efforts are GREATLY appreciated! Please add your two cents worth below.

#sparKtalK5 Tackling Overwhelm

An sparKtalK5 vlog post to share; I wish it was an update on Learning Plans, but alas, it is not. Just tackling my looming overwhelm this week. Really appreciate the support I've been getting both via this blog and via text/email from friends who are teachers. Please keep it coming as it really does help!

And, just to be clear, the tears were indeed my own and I did, in fact, recover before students arrived. Boo-hoo-ing at work is really not something that happens for me, so this was a big deal. Onward!

Rediscovering Grace Under Pressure, with thanks to Dave Cormier

         What? No curriculum?  When Dave Cormier explained to our #tiegrad cohort that he teaches his university course(s) without a true curriculum my initial reaction was, “You can do that?!” In the days that followed the Cormier Session, I kept revisiting this detail. How does it work? How could it work? How would students react? What would their parents say? How would my peers respond? ¡Ay! Caramba!

         This particular blog post has been overwhelming for me to tackle, as there have been so many aspects and significant moments of the Cormier Session that resonated with me.  I've actually had to force myself to keep coming back to this post, as the overwhelm gradually began to evolve into avoidance. There were big ideas shared in this session, and by big, I’m talking transformative big, mover-shaker big, B-I-G Big.  Finally, after an encouraging post by Melody Watson and brief exchanges with Trevor MacKenzie, I decided my strategy would be to hang on to just one of Dave’s many inspiring comments, process it, reflect on it, and elaborate on my very many mullings and musings.

         Since our session, my thoughts have turned to the many times over the years that, as a parent, I would exclaim to my husband, “Don’t these teachers ever TALK to each other?!!”, as I watched one of our four kids crumple under the stress of multiple project and papers all with (fairly inflexible) due dates.  To make matters all the more frustrating, these projects and papers usually had widespread potential for overlap.  From the teacher perspective, I wonder why we are so reluctant, as a collective group, to encourage students to reuse, resubmit, or “double-dip” their efforts for different courses.  As an example, in his grade 11 year my own son had to write several  Social Studies papers, create a major project for his Integrated Studies course, and write multiple English essays.  This would seem a fantastic opportunity for the 3 teachers at the helm to work together, offer up one (or several) shared project(s) for the learners that could support meeting learning outcomes in all three courses. Why don’t we model working smarter, not harder and support, heck, require kids to do the same?

         As kids move through the different levels of school—elementary, middle/junior, and secondary—the lines between subject areas become more fast and firm;  the opportunities to develop their creative talents and their problem solving and communication skills become more prescribed (possibly even less valued if we consider shifts away from “play” and “making”).  There can be a lot of hoop jumping for kids in the middle and secondary years and they know this. What is the value of curriculum if we can’t deliver it without redundancy?  Recently, for example, I have been witness to a Gifted learner (not that that should even matter), basically avoiding or, perhaps refusing, to submit his Math homework packages, yet completing each unit test with sound results (90-95%-ish). Typically he would complete the homework packages just enough to “get it” and then cease working on them.  His teacher demanded that he go back and complete all of the packages, work that counts for “completion” marks only. Why?  The response:  “I can’t give him special treatment.”  This mentality has to change. Each learner is an individual, with distinct needs and strengths, unique circumstances, and a very personal learning profile. 

         We shouldn't be treating all students in any given class the same. Dave Cormier said, “What you can assess is how hard they are working and how far they have come.” A highly capable student, such as the gifted learner in the example above, would be considered to have made minimal effort and, quite possibly, demonstrated minimal growth, even though he has mastered the concepts and skills. Another student in the same class, for whom Math is very challenging, may have demonstrated significant learning and effort. Wouldn't it be awesome to offer all learners the opportunity to access learning at their instructional level so working hard was an authentic process and subsequent growth was inevitable?  

         I often tell my own children the rules in our family are potentially different for each of them. For example, a curfew of 11 pm may be needed for the one who never texts to tell us where he is or frequently misses the last bus home, while another may not need a curfew at all as a result of his “by the book” approach to most aspects of his life. The idea of integrating coursework and even subject areas in middle and high school is, of course, daunting to many educators who have never done it this way. Cormier encourages us to create opportunities for students to be creative, learners who can deal with an uncertain world and a capricious life. Why would we ask them to show us (in a homework package, for example) what they've already demonstrated (in a unit test)?  

       In her blog post on the Cormier Session, Melody Watson says, “Life is messy and full of uncertainty. Learning needs to be messy too…I think we need to get more comfortable with letting kids struggle.”  I would take this a step further to say that, as educators, we need to be personally modelling this willingness to get our hands dirty, make mistakes, and struggle to our learners.  GeorgeCouros, in his recent blog post, 3 Important Shifts in Education, says: “Listening to students is not enough; we must bring them into the change process”. Along these lines, Dave Cormier, shared his curriculum-free syllabus with us; in looking at this document, I am reminded of the importance and value in inviting encouraging, or requiring students to participate in their learning plan, to support their excitement, curiosity, interest and desire to learn. In thinking about a curriculum free approach, I have to tell myself, “You don’t need to throw out the entire curriculum today, but find a spot where you can break down the walls a little bit,” which helps the subtle anxiety to dissipate.

         In my years as a rower, one of my coaches relied on idiomatic language and cliches to carry many of his inspirational pre-race chats with our crew.  He regularly referred to the dangers of “reckless abandon”—so much energy spent and so little to show for it—and emphasized the importance of being able to go all out with control; he used the term, “grace under pressure”.  In my #tieyoga videos, one yogi refers to this same idea as “joyful discomfort”.  I often think of these phrases in the context of education and shifting teaching practices. We need to be able to support learners to be able to experience the messiness of learning, the pressure or discomfort of it, with support garnered from elements of structure and guidance, ultimately yielding the "grace" or joy we want for all learners, ourselves included.  Similar to my rowing experiences, part of mastering “grace under pressure” requires occasionally embracing “reckless abandon”. To be able to push ourselves and our boundaries as learners (teacher-learner or student-learner), we need to know where the edge is and occasionally fall off of it. If we want learners to find their “flow”, the sweet spot or spark, they need to know where their near misses take them. Confidence in our abilities is gained through these experiences and in knowing there are some parameters that will help us make our way back on course.

         My Cormier Session take-away is something that I actually already knew, but didn't fully recognize as relevant to education.  Dave reminded me to be brave and bold, the importance of letting go. I learned as an elite athlete that If I'm not able to let go, I won't ever reach my maximum potential; further, as we grow, our maximum potential continues to change and expand. Our #tiegrad session with Dave made me realize that "grace under pressure" holds true, regardless of the context. Even if it’s what feels like the smallest change to my practice, I need to keep pushing.  A prescribed curriculum leaves little room for getting messy, be it gracefully or recklessly. Ticking the boxes and jumping through hoops seems to be producing learners (and, perhaps, teachers) who are uncomfortable taking risks and who just want to be told what to do, if they haven’t already checked out altogether. The Cormier Session helped me to extend an aspect of my own value system to my approach to learning and teaching; I want to walk the talk, toe the line, and approach each day as an educator seeking joyful discomfort and exuding grace under pressure. I hope, through sharing my process and allowing peers and learners to observe me in the occasional state of reckless abandon, I can inspire others to do the same.

Confessions of an EdCamp Newbie

#edcampvic

       I’m a newbie to EdCamps and it was with slight trepidation that I responded to my VP’s invite to attend the recent EdCamp in Victoria. I’m not feeling like I have time to pursue more pro-d on top of my personal pro-d that is my masters, but I've been curious about EdCamps as a pro-d activity and this one was happening in my backyard.  Besides all that, it’d be another thing to blog about!  A colleague from my school jumped on board and suddenly giving up my Saturday didn't seem quite so terrible.

       Saturday arrived, sunny and gorgeous, and Emily Kirzinger (@maczinger) and I met for an early breakfast to strategize, guzzle coffee and enjoy some good eats. Neither Emily nor I really knew what to expect from EdCamp, although we both had some vague idea how an EdCamp runs thanks to following past EdCAmp hashtags on Twitter.  We arrived to the venue, which happened to be our own school site, with time to review the topics that were growing on the board at the front.  

       I was surprised to learn that, while topics had been suggested in the weeks leading up to EdCamp, people were still encouraged to add to the list as they arrived on the day of the event. I didn't see anything on the board that related to “Anxiety in Ed”, a topic close to my passionate heart, but I bumped into Valerie Irvine (@_valeriei) who quickly scribbled “Anxiety and UDL” on a sheet of paper and shot up to the front to pin it on to the board before I knew what was happening. I’m glad she was there!  Once all the ideas were sorted and scheduled, I made my 3 choices for the day: Assessment and Parent Communication, Anxiety & Universal Design for Learning, and Developing School Culture.

       In my first session, Assessment and Parent Communication, I participated as an active listener, and was inspired by the fact that so many people want to do better.  The questions used to guide the discussion were:

• What are people doing for assessment and parent communication?
• What do they want to be doing?
• Difference between elementary and middle school assessment/communication?

       What really struck me during the discussion, and in discussions we've had in our #tiegrad class since, is that as much as many educators and experts value a move away from standardized testing, grades and percentages, towards more formative assessment,many parents and post-secondary institutions maintain the value of "results". It can feel difficult to defend a shift in assessment and pedagogy, a shift that demonstrates valuing student engagement and the development of high level skills over teacher-centered learning and rote memorization, for example, when you are part of a minority. I can see that, personally, I would need to feel confident in my ability to defend it.  For me that confidence comes from starting small and gradually expanding shifts in practice to other areas of the curriculum and working with others who can lead and work alongside me, reinforces my belief that I can do it. I just get overwhelmed by the idea of jumping straight into the deep end. It’s clear that there is incredible support that comes from being part of a community of peers, sharing their vulnerability, learning and expertise as they explore and experiment with shifts in teaching practices. Deal maker: I can be modelling good learning to our students by pushing myself outside of my comfort zone, be it through assessment, parent communication, teaching and/or learning practices.

       I went from active listener in session 1 to actively sharing and questioning in session 2, Anxiety & Universal Design for Learning, with Valerie Irvine. It was really a good feeling to be able to share some of what I have learned as a parent of kids who have struggled with varying degrees of anxiety and as a teacher working with students presenting with anxiety; 80% of my caseload as a Case Manager are students who are burdened with anxiety, among other aspects of mental health.  
       Unfortunately we had no "notetaker" for our session, but the questions I recall include:

• What does anxiety look like in your classrooms before the kids hit 'crisis mode',? (Crisis mode would be spiked absenteeism or refusal to attend, immobilizing anxiety. This is where most of the students I work with seem to be when they arrive on the doorstep of our school.)
• What are you doing to decrease feelings of anxiety among your students?
• How is information being shared (between community & school team members and between schools)?

       I could write a blog every week on #anxietyined, so to keep it concise, the  highlight points for me in this session were:

• Remember, anxiety is a symptom, and it's on a continuum; it's a healthy aspect of our nervous system that sometimes can run amok. For some people, the running amok is a default setting with "fight or flight" kicking in at regular intervals.
• Anxiety is frequently misunderstood (by teachers, by parents, by friends & family) and/or not recognized for what it is. It manifests in many different ways and can look very different from one person to the next. Behaviours can be internalized (think of a system shutdown) or externalized (acting out). To the observer, it can be very difficult, sometimes impossible, to see any sort of logic in the actions of the anxious individual from one situation to the next.
• Anxiety frequently impedes comprehension, memory, processing speed, and other skills needed for learning.
• Learners struggling with anxiety need options that allow access to learning without the triggers (e.g. flexibility in the "when" and "where" a student learns: offsite, via Skype, in the hallway or a separate room), that increase their own sense of control (providing voice & choice). As educators, we need to recognize, identify, and understand the triggers of each student presenting with anxiety and adapt for/accommodate students to the best of our ability.
• In extreme cases, students won't be able to engage in academic tasks until their anxiety is improved. We have to be willing to meet them where they are.

I know we have a lot of work to do on this subject, as educators and parents, and most certainly, as a society, with no sign of #anxietyined decreasing. 

       My third and final session at #edcampvic focused on Developing School Culture. I really enjoyed this topic and the discussion that ensued. Again there was no assigned notetaker, but q's I remember were:

• How can we develop connections/relationships between our school and its community?
• What are schools doing to establish stronger connections and relationships within the school community?
• How can parents, who have been actively involved K-8, be more involved when their kids reach high school? Some parents feel like they are shut out.

Having a school liaison officer for a husband, I think it's important for schools to consider how they can use their community leaders and members to support their learning community. Don't be afraid to ask your School Liaison Officer (SLO) for what you want; the relationship between youth and our law enforcement officers needs to have a positive context. It's so valuable for kids to see Police Officers as approachable and as real people. SLO Sgt Nicholas Ross of Saanich Police (@SaanichPDsloSgt) has done things like join the middle school mountain biking club and grade 6 band, connect seniors and elementary students through cycling, coached teams and attended talent shows.  Schools should consider bringing their local mayor or council member into their classroom as a guest reader, turning to the retired community to find a crossing guard or guest gardener, and the local bike shop to run a bike rodeo. To be part of the greater community, we need to reach out to connect to the people within it. The connections our youth can make in their own community can influence how they behave and the choices they make within that same community and beyond; it can also hugely impact the public perception of our youth, who are often misunderstood because of their hairstyle, their skateboard, or their teen-speak.  During our discussion, this tune from my childhood drifted into my head, and as simple as the message is, it still holds true. Who are the people in our neighbourhood, after all?

       We could easily change the word "neighbourhood" to "--- School" or "community", to emphasize the importance of knowing our own school population. By seeing them all as "our kids" rather than "my kids" (limited to my own class) helps to establish a strong sense of community within the school. During our session, one suggestion was that staff go through each student list and ensure that each individual student is personally connected to an adult in the building. The point was also made that we need to be mindful of our own relationships "in the building". As teachers, the tone of our interactions with other staff members and the strength of our own school-based professional learning community (if we are lucky enough to have one) will influence the relationships of our students. Are we leaving doors open, stepping outside of our comfort zones, encouraging and reassuring with each other, building authentic connections and working as a team? Think of the kind of community we want for our students and then emulate it:  walk the talk.

And suddenly, it was over. My first EdCamp experience came to a close.  While I was devastated to not win the door prize (an iPad mini), my day at #edcampvic was amazing. The sun was shining, the people were smiling, the sharing was invaluable, and I left feeling more than satisfied with the Saturday I had "sacrificed"; I had gained so much in the way of inspiration, ideas and connections from this day of teacher-driven professional development, that my perception of a sacrifice had seamlessly evolved into a day of investment. 

For reference, have a look at the #edcampvic Google doc which lists all the sessions, some of which have great notes attached to them!

#makered: A Try Different, Not Harder Approach

       A week ago we were honoured to have Sylvia Martinez join our #tiegrad session as a guest speaker. Sylvia has been integral to the Maker Movement in education and co-authored the book, Invent to Learn, with GaryStager.  Within the first ten minutes of our session, I had the book slotted into my “must reads” list!

       As I listened, I could see how the maker movement (#makered) represents everything that is the BC Ed Plan including the way it supports the development of skills such as collaboration, problem solving, creativity, communication, and critical thinking.  Whether it’s having a weekly scheduled Genius Hour, a physical classroom/school based space dedicated to “making” or creating, or a bin of interesting materials readily available and regularly filled for our learners to explore-invent-create according to their imagination and creative thinking, making is a key component of learning.  It’s about encouraging learners to think of themselves as contributors, inventors, creators, and artists. 

       Jay Silver talks about the fact that “sometimes what we know gets in the way of what could be” in his Ted Talk, Hack a Banana, Make a Keyboard. This statement hung out in my thoughts for some

time, and has really impacted me. I connect with Mr. Silver’s idea in the context of my own readings for my lit review that looks at obstacles that prevent educators from seizing opportunities that would enable a shift in their own pedagogical practice. Silver goes on to question how we, as adults and young people in this world, can become “agents of change” who see “the world as malleable”? I feel that it’s time to realize that our education system needs to go “live” and recognize the need for our approach to teaching and learning to become more dynamic, to better reflect the ever changing world we live in and the needs of our young people, before the institution of "school" and the service we provide as educators become systemically archaic.

       While I listened with interest to the discussion that took place between Sylvia and our #tiegrad cohort that Thursday night, I kept wondering how “making” could be a more significant component in what I do as a special ed teacher. I know I can always support my colleagues in (and out of) their classrooms, make myself available in more collaborative ways or to lead something on another teacher’s behalf and that is, essentially, my goal from day to day, but there is much of my job that feels prescribed and dependent upon working with peers who may, or may not, buy in, and our perceptions of student needs do not always line up--often they do, but sometimes they don't. Along with relying on other people’s schedules and agendas, and the endless amounts of paperwork and meetings that I am required to complete or attend, I find myself swimming against the current to try to reach the goal of meaningful support. I find myself wanting to know what other Special Education teachers and Case Managers, at the various levels of education are doing, if anything, to provide #makered support and/or creative opportunities, as well as to demonstrate their value. Is there a place for me in the #makered movement?

       Being a Special Education Teacher is definitely a multi-faceted role, and realistically it requires me to wear many hats, some of them more happily than others.  I so greatly appreciated the inspiration behind Sylvia’s rhetorical question,”Why is school so hell bent with weeding kids out who aren’t so good with Math or paper/pencil (tasks)?” #tiegrad cohort member, Jake Main, echoed this when me wrote, "Why should kids need to conform to school? Why can't school conform to kids?" in our chat window during the session.  These thoughts epitomize the students I work with and the ones who can readily benefit from all of us to continue trying different, as opposed to trying harder. What would happen if I bought a $50 Makey Makey Kit and pulled that in to my support role? Perhaps if I start with a specific type of learner and/or a peer who would dive in…I'll let you know. In the meantime, I would love to hear how other Special Ed teams are creatively utilizing their SpEd Teachers in the context of creativity and inquiry.