“What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must we want for all children in the community. Any other ideal for our schools is narrow and unlovely; acted upon, it destroys our democracy” - John Dewey
Your Village This quote from a century ago is filled with the notion of equality, something we still struggle with today across the globe, in our cities, and even our own classrooms. In a way Dewey’s quote reminds me of the simpler notion “it takes a village to raise a child” as teachers we are a huge part of a child’s village- and as teachers we need to come together to provide for all students we encounter in our flawed education system. This is not something we can do alone, but something that has to be done by all of us, in collaboration with our student’s parents and communities. Many parents and even teachers want the best for their own children and students- but since schools , parents, and teachers do not have access to the same resources- it makes equality quite a challenge. In a recent personal example- after the Napa Fire Complex which caused us to miss 10 school days- upon returning to school, the district asked us not to bring in personal air purifiers to our classrooms. This is another example of an equity issue. I already had an air purifier, and I wanted to bring it so that myself and my students could breathe easier. Some teachers went out and bought filters for their classroom. Some teachers, I imagine, didn’t have either the money, the desire, the time, or access to the purchase of a filter. This could have resulted in parents or students thinking some teachers cared more than others, or allowing some students to be healthier than others. Fortunately when we did actually arrive back to school the air was cleaner and it was not an issue- but it goes to show how the smallest act can put some students at an advantage or disadvantage. 21st Century Context I listened to Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach’s presentation “Learning and Leading in the Digital Age” recently, and the speaker touched on a lot of key ideas in relation to the way today’s students live, how rapidly new information is being developed, and what teachers need to do in order to support their students in this environment. Today’s education world is changing rapidly, along with everything else around us because of the technology we have access to. Our students are constantly connected to the world around them through various channels. We are the last generation of teachers who will decide whether or not we will use technology in our classrooms. We have the ability to connect with teachers from around the world, tap into ideas from other cultures, share documents, ideas, thoughts, and lesson plans with someone we will never meet. We have a voice that stretches far beyond the walls of our classroom that teachers before us could have never imagined. If we take advantage of the tools we have access to, we can aid in solving the problem of the “flat world” we live in. The Flat World and Education In Darling-Hammond’s closing sections of her book, she visits many topics that are worth diving into as educators as we attempt to close the education gap and meet our student’s needs in this ever-changing 21st century context. I agree with her views on curriculum, and assessment: we need to be teaching to the actual students in our classroom’s needs- rather than what a company decided to put in a book based on what the state decided our children need to know. Her 5 main points are as follows:
When the work becomes, meaningful, and we have a way to stay accountable without holding the kids to a cookie cutter standard, and we’re able to provide for each student, and teacher, and classroom and school in a way that reflects equity- then we will have an excellent education system that can keep up with the current pace of change. If we take Darling-Hammond’s ideas about educational reform and start teaching in a way that tries to reflect them, given our individual circumstances; and talking about her ideas with other teachers via Twitter and Edmodo and countless other 21st century PLC tools we have access to- it is then that we can make a change, together.
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My driving question is: What is the relationship between growth mindset and goal setting? While this specific question doesn't have any published information out there, many well-known scholars and researchers study various components related to these topics.
Jo Boaler is a major researcher, speaker and writer in the area of mindset in relation to mathematics. Her research is most closely related to mine, as I will be studying the effects of growth mindset and goal setting in relation to student math scores. She is known for helping kids achieve high levels of thinking in math, especially those who didn't believe that they could. She has run camps for students, has a website with activities and courses for students and teachers to use to improve the way they think about and approach math. Here is Jo Boaler's website full of resources: youcubed.org. Carol Dweck has been a leader in the research regarding growth mindset. Like Jo Boaler, she is associated with Stanford University. Her studies focused on achievement and success, and she has challenged some of the traditional methods parents and teachers use to praise kids. She has found that when students are praised for their effort rather than how smart they are- they are more willing to take on challenging tasks. She has found that especially low- achieving students are greatly impacted when teachers implement mindset strategies. They have been shown to raise their grades dramatically when they experience this type of intervention. Here is Carol Dweck giving a TED talk on the power of mindset. John Hattie studied the effect size of various influencers on achievement. I am going to focus on his study of "Self-Reported Grades" because it closely relates to goal setting. This was the number one influencer on learning when he first did this study in 2008. Since then, he has added "Teacher Estimates of Achievement" to his study-which ended up in first place, and relates to mindset, and "Collective Teacher Efficacy" in 2nd place, leaving "Self- Reported grades as the third most effective influencer in 2015. Here is an interactive graph showing Hattie's findings. I appreciate what Mishra said in the SITE conference video: “This is expecting too much if we think that people can keep up with this rapid change [in tech tools]. So ... instead of focusing on keeping up with every piece of technology or software we argue for something different. We argue for developing a thoughtfully playful attitude towards understanding the landscape being created by these new technologies. What can be called a “new media ecology.”
Teachers and Tech I feel that many teachers who do not use much technology in the classroom feel that they don't know enough about the technology tools available to them, or don't feel confident enough in using the tools themselves to even think about trying them with students. The playful attitude that Mishra mentioned here is important, because we have to remember that as technology is always developing and changing, we are never going to be the masters of it- especially when we are teaching young students in our classrooms. Our students have grown up with far more advanced technologies than we had as students, and it is important for us to work together with them in technology. They can help us learn just as much as we can help them, and when trying out a new tool- we can discover great things together. Students Teaching Teachers This year in my classroom we are mainly using Seesaw learning, because I feel it offers a variety of tools, and an appropriate audience for the age level I teach. Last year I used this tool with 1st and 2nd graders and they mainly took videos of themselves reading or showing off their work with the iPad. This year Seesaw did some updates to include many more tools, and we are using chromebooks in my 2nd/3rd grade classroom. I had students writing blog posts on there a couple weeks ago, and one of my students discovered the voice recording tool that Seesaw has that I didn't know aout it. She showed me, and I told the class what she had learned, giving credit where it was due! I find it is way more fun this way, to learn alongside the students and discover together than always being the one who is supposed to know everything A Shift in Teaching Building on that idea, I think that teaching in general is shifting away from teachers being the people with all of the answers and students with the questions. I think it is important that teachers have questions, misconceptions and misunderstandings and make mistakes with their students. It allows kids to see that we are just human like them, that we are lifelong learners, and that it is perfectly okay to not know the answer. It also allows us to show our students the tools we actually use when we are confused or get something wrong. I often google words I don't know the meaning of, or things I have forgotten about in front of my class- because I think it's good for them to see what tools I use to help me out, and I'm able to model that for them in an appropriate way. I even tried asking Siri on my phone the other day, but unfortunately she doesn't always understand me correctly. (Which is also an important thing for kids to know!) Here is what I already do in my classroom that incorporates technology: Seesaw Learning- students can take pictures of their work, take video of themselves, draw a digital picture, type a blog, and record voice over any of these. There are a few other options that I haven't explored yet, but hope to this year. Parents connect to their student's learning journals, and so become part of the audience for the student's learning along with their classmates and myself. Google Classroom- Just this week I tried out Google Classroom with my students. I'm not sure how much I will use it with this age group, only because there are other platforms they are already using that are so similar, or are part of our curriculum. I had students fill out a goal setting page on Google Classroom and turn in it to me, but one obstacle with that is students will need to be independently capable of and responsible for using this technology and tracking their data because we are not 1:1 with technology in our district, and we can't always have the Chromebooks at the time they are needed. Plus the set up and take down time at this grade level can exceed the time it takes for us to do the activity. Overall, I'm happy I tried it out (while being observed by my principal, who I'm happy to say supports teachers trying out new things and hadn't seen google classroom in action before) and will look for more uses for it throughout the year. Closing Thoughts I think it's really important to remember TPAC, and the fact that using technology does not automatically make something a 21st century learning experience. There are many ways to use 21st century learning skills that do not involve technology, and there are many ways to use technology that are not related to 21st century learning skills. Ideally, I think the two can be combined to create fun and innovative projects for the students. I feel that I have a good attitude toward 21st century learning and toward using and trying out technology in the classroom. I definitely have room for improvement, and I am going to work on how I can make sure the technology I am using in the classroom is extending learning instead of just giving students a different way to do the same thing they'd do otherwise. I also feel that the AVID strategies I was trained in using over the summer are an important way of teaching 21st century skills that often don't incorporate technology. They are, however, very focused on all of the 4 C's! I would like to incorporate more AVID into my teaching this year. I think taking a mixture and trying out new things is the key- then you can really find the strategies that work for you and your students. Just remember not to get too comfortable- because things will probably change before next year! |
AuthorKayla Bryant is an elementary school teacher in Napa, CA. This year she teaches a 2/3 combo class. She keeps a journal with funny quotes from her students, and enjoys learning and laughing alongside them. Some of her main educational interests are related to goal setting, growth mindset, and creativity. Archives
July 2018
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