Still learning to teach has moved

I am capitalizing, (although seeing as I used all lower case letters, perhaps taking advantage of would be more apropos) on the popularity of Growth Mindset to change the name of my blog. Formerly known as stilllearningtoteach, grothmindset is a restart. Welcome! and HAPPY READING!  Check out grothmindset...

Differentiation Hack

Curious about how to meet all the learner’s needs?  Let the learners decide…

I was observing a math lesson in a second grade class. The teacher had the students gathered on the carpet. After calling students up to solve a few problems on the smartboard while the remainder of the group solved them on personal white boards, the teacher said, 

“If you feel like you are ready to start, go to your seat and start. If you feel like you’d like to chat some more about it, come closer.”

Mind.    Blown.

In that moment all I could think was WOW!

We know that choice is motivating. The teacher gave the learners a choice here. That just scratches the surface though. The teacher did MUCH more with those words -

·      Promoted self-determination –

The teacher leaves it to the student to decide. There are many things to decide, such as Am I ready? Do I understand? Am I sure of myself? Do I want to work alone or together?

·      Conveyed trust –

The teacher implies, “I trust you to know.”

·      Let the students know she is there to help –

If a student isn’t ready the teacher will continue to provide support. The implications here are “It is okay if you aren’t ready yet. I will help you get ready.” And  “It is okay if you don’t feel ready yet. I will help you feel ready.”

·      Let the students know that it is okay to change your mind-

A number of them went off to work at their desks and then returned to the

group. It was clear that the norm in this class is that you can “have a go” and

if you end up needing more help than you thought, you not only know where

to go to find it, but are encouraged to do so.

Seems so simple on the surface – such simple statements. What a powerful way to differentiate instruction!

Still learning ... To Teach

Students vs. teachers

Observations of things students do in the hallway:

• ·      Dance – ballet, hip hop, even saw a child working on his worm
• 
  
• ·      Sing – Disney hits, top 40 pop, rap
• 
  
• ·      Sing and dance concurrently
• 
  
• ·      Jump/leap/hop from floor tile to floor tile
• 
  
• ·      Run their hand along the wall or the railing
• 
  

Observations of things teachers DON’T do in the hallway:

• ·      Any of the above

Just reminds us (again!) that we can learn a lot from our students…

I did a Good Job

Alfie Kohn wrote a powerful piece about praise entitled 5 Reasons To Stop Saying “Good Job.” PLEASE read it here: http://www.alfiekohn.org/article/five-reasons-stop-saying-good-job/

As I sat through College Night at my daughter’s high school and listened to a pair of high school counselors address a group of GROWN UP parents I realized Kohn’s advice applies even more when teachers (or any adults) are addressing adults.

Maybe I should write something called 4 More Reasons Not To Say Good Job - Especially To Adults

1.     It sounds…RIDICULOUS

This is magnified by the use of a sing-songy voice, the same one we use addressing infants, toddlers, and puppies.

2.     It is patronizing 

I cannot speak to how the other adults in the room were feeling but I felt as though I was being treated like a two-year-old or maybe a puppy. The incessant “Good job” truly resembled a “good doggy” pat on the head. I began wondering if there would be treats…

3.     It is distracting

I tried keeping track of how many times it was uttered but after a while I wondered what it was we were being praised for. What had we done so well? Showed up? Sat in our seats? Listened? Asked questions? WHAT? At least if we are going to give praise we should make sure the recipient knows what it is for. This is the definition of “specific praise.”

4.     It is overused

Anything that we say over and over eventually starts to sound like the teacher in the old Peanuts television specials – WAH, WAH, WAH,WAH, WAAAAH. When overused the affirmation loses its authenticity  - this is the very definition of empty praise.

Let’s eradicate the empty praise of “Good job.”

Celebrating Another Failure Friday

In a first grade classroom this week I overheard the following exchange between two boys:

           J: It doesn’t matter if you make mistakes. Sometimes people HAVE to make

mistakes.

T: What the heck? I didn’t know that!

We continue to celebrate our failures in an elementary methods class on Friday. Some important shared understandings have resulted:

• ·      We ALL make mistakes – according to one wise 6-year-old, we HAVE to make them
• ·      Teaching is hard
• ·      It takes time to learn to teach – a lifetime, in fact
• ·      Mistakes are part of teaching
• ·      We are not where we want to be…YET

The beauty and the challenge of teaching are that the target, the “where we want to be” keeps moving.  So the game really is rigged because while we are not there yet (application of a growth mindset) we won’t ever really get there. I tell my students to send me an email when they think they have mastered teaching…so I can send them a reply admonishing them to find a new career.

Our Friday discussions really don’t focus on the failure. The students ultimately end up focusing on finding a fix. Typically a student shares a situation and describes what they tried to do. Then a discussion of what else they could do or try ensues. The students are all seated around one large table and they truly engage in a discussion. Nobody raises her/his hand as there is no need for permission to speak. I try not lead these discussions. I do find myself asking if anyone else wants to share, more of a role of transition maker or extender. This community of preservice teacher learners is engaging in authentic, organic, inquiry-based learning.

We cannot overlook the support they are providing for each other. Sometimes there is a sense of relief after making a story public. One of the students said, “I am so glad we are doing this because it let’s me know we are all pretty much in the same place. It isn’t just me.” Nope – it isn’t just you.

For others there seems to be a “can you believe this happened” aspect. One of these prefaced her share with “I have been waiting all week to share this.” Then she launched into a description of a first grade bathroom mishap. These reinforce the notion of just when you think you’ve seen it all, this happens. Teaching is certainly rife with those moments! You cannot really be prepared for everything that is going to happen. 

While there seems to be much value for the participants in the specific conversations, there is also value in the general idea of having the conversations. Couldn’t all teachers benefit from talking to others about what isn’t working, problem solving together? Imagine a safe space to celebrate your failures with a focus on figuring out what to do next. That could bring a whole new meaning to a “Team Meeting!”

Maybe we should rename it “Figuring It Out Together Friday”

Still learning…to teach, Dr. G.

Celebrate Failure Friday

In our first Friday literacy class that met prior to the start of the elementary school year we made t charts and engaged in rich discussions about things the preservice teachers were excited about and things they were concerned about their internship. One of the things that many of them were worried about was “lessons that bomb.”

When pressed, those same students admitted that there were posters all around their schools sharing the sentiment “mistakes are where the learning happens” or some variation on that theme.  So don’t lessons that bomb fit in the “mistakes are where learning happens” category? Shouldn’t we be excited about opportunities to learn? Let’s move that into the other column…

Things We Are Excited About                      Things We Are Nervous About

      

They were skeptical, to say the least…

One of the students asked the group who had seen the video about the Spanx lady.

Quiet pause.

Hmmmm…not sure I want to see a Spanx failure.

Someone asked if that was the one where Sara Blakely talks about how her father asked the children in her family what they failed at every day.

You can watch the (minute and a half) video here…

http://www.businessinsdier.com/sara-blakely-spanx-ceo-offers-advice-redefine-failure-retail-2016-7

Carlos Barrabes, an entrepreneur, is credited with the following:

“If you don’t fail its because you did not risk enough, and if you didn’t risk enough its because you didn’t put your whole self out there.”

Sara and Carlos are focusing on taking risks. And teaching is certainly all about taking risks.

So let’s reframe failure. Failure is not lack of success; it is lack of attempt. When you do everything you thought to do, everything you could do in the moment it is a successful attempt regardless of the outcome.

From this perspective we might have to change the name of our Friday session…too bad we don’t meet on Tuesdays – Celebrate I Tried Tuesday has a nice ring to it.

Still learning… to teach,   Dr.G