My Digital Journey

Writing Progress!

I've been working closely with one of the students in my kindergarten class who has been really struggling in writing. As of February he was still writing random words, using random letters, and sticking to simple sentence frames he's used to like "I see..." that often make little sense.
The first picture is an example of his writing monthly assessment from the month of February where the students are pushed to write more than they might on their own in their journals. The writing below is written by me to have a transcript of what he is trying to write. He also had a lot of trouble even remembering what he was trying to write, and would make it up.
Over the last few months I have been spending time with him during writing, and I noticed that he loves to tell stories and talk (even when not supposed to :)). Often he would also want to tell me about the picture with his writing in great detail. I started sitting with him during writing and having him tell me a story. He would get very into it, giving great detail and acting out parts. As he did this I would help him break down the parts and write one short sentence at a time about what he was telling me. This seemed to start really working, and he was finally showing interest and enjoyment during writing. He was able to and excited to write as much as possible every single time, even starting to go onto the second page and write about things besides just zombies (his favorite topic).
The second and third picture are from his recent April assessment and there is noticeable difference. I was still helping him some with the process, but he was doing much more of it on his own and taking charge of what to write.
Yesterday, as I was working on pulling students during the writing time I wasn't able to work with him on the journal. When I pulled him, he was so excited to tell me all about what he was writing in his journal, how he was already to the second page, and he did it all by himself. As soon as I was done he ran over to me to show me what he had written, and is determined to start filling both the first and second pages of writing.
I'm so excited to see how much his writing is advancing and how excited he is becoming about his writing so far into the year because of the work we have been doing together. (and this isn't only because it has some connections to my action research and reaffirming the idea I'm exploring - the importance of the connection between oral and written language!) I can't wait to see how much more he does during the last 6.5 weeks! :)

What Adults Can Learn From Kids

Watched this very inspiring and thought provoking TED talk, given by a "kid" herself on the value of listening to and trusting children. I think it is vital that every educator (and adult for that matter) hear what she has to say on the need for more reciprocity in the adult-child and especially teacher-student relationship. It would also be a great resource for students who are older who can use the ideas in the video to start a conversation where they have the opportunity to create a community where all can benefit, be trusted, share in the creation of rules and class structure, express their ideas and opinions, and feel valued. Adora Svitak makes some very good points throughout her presentation starting with the connotations behind the word "childish". She makes the connection between using that term as an admonishment for those acting irrational or irresponsible. However, as she points out, there are a great deal of examples of adults acting irrational and irresponsible and many children who have inspired others, created wonderful things, and done great work for their community and even the world. She explains that it is in a way unfair for this "age-discriminatory" word to be used to describe those actions and behaviors which go beyond the age of a person.
Then again, she moves onto the point that not all "childish" behaviors are as awful as they are made out to be. Yes, irrational thinking may not be useful much of the time, but there are many situations where it can actually be beneficial. Children still have the ability to think beyond reality and ignore the reasons why something shouldn't or couldn't make sense. By the time most people are adults they are "burdened" by what they have learned and so are more hesitant to take chances and embrace their imagination without holding back because of perceived limitations.
As teachers, this is important to keep in mind. We should take the time to listen to the ideas that out students have and to develop and nurture the creativity and innovation that comes with it. Taking the time to listen to our student can make all the difference.

Earth Day

Today we celebrated Earth Day at our school. I was really excited because I think it's important to share these ideas with children at an early age, and even more importantly because I got to read them one of my favorite books ever, The Lorax, and wear my Lorax tree hugger shirt.

We started off after lunch by just talking about Earth Day-what it is, what it means, why we celebrate it. I was pleasantly surprised by all the information that the students already knew about Earth day, protecting the earth and our environment, and why it is important. They understood that we were wearing green and blue because it represents the plants and water which are important things to keep clean and safe because we need them. This was really good because we've been learning about plants, what plants need to live and how people use plants so they had a lot of background to connect to. Most importantly we need to "keep our earth pretty and clean!"

We did a little comparison of earth and our houses because we all live on the earth so it's like one gigantic house. The students were sharing what they thought about a house that had trash all over the floor, "yucky stuff" in the water and air (they didn't like the idea of showering or taking baths even more than they normally do), and other problems that are happening to the earth. It was so funny to see how excited and grossed out they got by all of this, and that a lot of the really got the connection between a house we live in and the earth as a really big version of that.

We read the book The Lorax together, and though many of them have seen the new movie, they didn't know the original book. As I was reading we spent a lot of time stopping to talk about what was happening, how the environment was changing in the pictures and the descriptions, why it was changing, what that meant, and more. It had such great visuals of how the same piece of land looked before the Once-ler arrived and the slow transition to dark and gray and dirty after he had made his factory. They were so engrossed in the story even though it took a much longer time to read than normally holds their attention. At times the students were so excited about wanting to make a comment about something in the story or a connection to Earth day and the story they looked as if they would explode. We also spent some time talking about the Once-ler, how he was treating the animals, the Lorax, the trees, and the land around him. We focused so much on what the Once-ler did, how it affected the land, air, and water, and how that affected the animals so they could see the connections. I was surprised by how well they were able to understand what was happening and that they were so disgusted by what was going on, they were yelling at the Once-ler and saying how he was so bad and they don't like him. 

After we talked about why we read the Lorax for Earth day. The students came up with great connections and understood that it's important to keep the earth clean, to plant plants, to not litter, etc. They even started comparing what was happening in the book to our own earth unprompted, saying that it's like when we leave trash on the ground it's bad for the earth and the animals might eat it and die! (They all got very into the birds dying thing and kept coming up with ways to help the earth so that our birds don't die and "real" stories of when they saw birds eat trash on the ground and die or the bird flew into dirty air and died- hey, at least they're concerned about the birds and see a connection between actions of people and the effect on animals!)

We finished by talking about what the Lorax would want us to do or not want to do, like he would not want us to litter, make the earth messy. He would want us to pick up trash, plant new plants, and take care of our earth. I asked them if they wanted to help our earth just like the Lorax and they were SO excited to go outside and pick up the trash from our playground. I was a little worried because I figured they were just excited to go out and play (even though that wasn't the point) but not a single one of them was playing on the playground or running around. They were all almost fighting over the pieces of trash to collect as many as they could. They all wanted to show off how much they picked up and didn't want to come in when the day was over because "there's still trash to clean up!" They were also frustrated when they looked outside of our playground area at the front of the school or other playground and couldn't go there to get the trash. A few of them even asked if we could do this every single day!

We came in and talked about how we want to be like the Lorax and protect our earth, so their job was go home and talk to family and friends about what they do to help our earth so the next day we can come up with some ideas to help the Lorax even more the next day.

Will post pics of their Lorax craft where they are drawing/writing about how to save the earth and share some of the ideas we came up with!

Addressing Tragedy in Schools

The recent tragedy that took place in Boston has brought me back to thinking, not for the first time this year unfortunately, how to deal with devastating events happening in the world with your students. This time I am in a kindergarten classroom, and it doesn't seem that any of my students are aware that anything has happened and we have not talked about it in class at all. They do appear to have some knowledge of bad things that have happened in the world though. When we had a lockdown drill back in February and had to hide in the bathroom to wait for the police to come let us out we had a short conversation about it to prepare them and give the reassurances that it is just a drill to practice keeping them safe. While we were talking we tried to avoid any mention of situations that would lead to a lockdown other than if a bad guy came to our school. However a few of the students did bring up things that might happen like if a person had a gun or wanted to hurt them, though they didn't really seem to understand what it meant or make any connection to it. I think at the age of 5 or 6 the students have a hard time processing these events or things that don't happen directly to them. Especially as they are just starting to venture out into the world and begin school I don't know if it is a good idea to overexpose them to these tragedies and scare them, and parents are more likely to want a say in how aware or not their students are kept of these things.

However, I think back to last semester when I was student teaching in a 5th grade classroom when the school shooting at Sandy Hook happened. I was actually teaching in the classroom as it was happening and did not find out until lunch time. We chose not to talk to the students about it after lunch since, being a minimum day, there was not much time to have a conversation and we thought it best to give students the opportunity to talk with their parents first. The following Monday we had a short staff meeting before school, but we talked more about how to make our school more safe and address concerns in that area than how or if to talk to our students about it. We still did not initiate a discussion about Sandy Hook with our students, it seemed like most teachers, including my master teacher, took the stance of allowing conversation about it from the students if they brought it up, but to initiating the conversation ourselves. It did end up coming up later as we started a previously planned activity where students were making wishing trees for the holidays. The idea was that students were to write a wish for the holidays beyond just what they wanted for presents, but to send good thoughts and positive energy out into the world, and then tie these messages around the school. Many of the students suggested writing wishes for the people of Sandy Hook to help them heal and deal with what had happened. It was so great to see the students being aware and compassionate about what had happened, and it felt more natural and appropriate that they were the ones who brought it up and led the conversation.

I do still wonder what the best approach (if there is one) might be as teachers to dealing with these national tragedies which are unfortunately a part of our lives. It does not seem as if there is one definite answer, and that so much of this depends on the students' ages, awareness, trust in the classroom and with there teacher, the comfort level of all involved, and more. My hope is that in my own teaching career there are not too many instances in which I will have to figure this out.


Here is a link to an article on sharemylesson.com (also a good resource on its own for teachers) about helping children to cope with these events, along with a number of other links on related topics which I found to be interesting and useful- http://www.sharemylesson.com/article.aspx?storyCode=50007527

Seth Godin's Tribes reactions by EDUC 578

Created a storify page as a reflection of the Seth Godin book, Tribes. As a class we each listened to the audiobook and tweeted quotes which stood out to us. This is a compilation of some of the quotes by my peers along with a video of Seth Godin himself talking about this idea of tribes that he presents.

Visitors vs Residents

After learning about the idea of being an Internet visitor as opposed to resident, I think that personally I fall somewhere in between the two, honestly probably more so on the visitor side. I have had a Facebook for years and a MySpace before that, but even with those I am not very interested in creating a projection of my identity online. I rarely post status updates, check ins, or photos (though I'm occasionally tagged by others) and consider Facebook to be more of a way to keep in touch with people from high school, distant family, or other groups of people with whom I wouldn't necessarily call or text with personal or group messaging or seeing people's updates on the newsfeed. I did have a twitter before this course but it was really just because my dad wanted me to help him figure it out so he could use it for work, and I had never tweeted anything or followed anything before. I've also never had a blog, I don't honestly like the idea of posting my thoughts or personal things on the Internet too much and never really felt the need, though I do like to look at other's blogs that I come across if they are interesting. I do love to use the Internet and computer tools like the apps offered on the iPad. I use google and Pinterest constantly every day to get new ideas for all different areas of life. I also do a lot of research on the Internet for educational purposes and just for life or interest. I do think that the Internet is a great tool that should be used by teachers and their students in and out of the classroom to enhance learning among other things. I also think it is a great way to get ideas from other teachers for lesson ideas or activities, etc.
I don't see my relationship with the Internet changing too much in the future because I do not really like the idea of creating, managing, and developing too much of an identity online. I do think there would be some value in creating a classroom blog as a teacher to update parents on what is going in in the classroom in a more accessible way, and that students could log onto to interact with or share with others what their class is like. For me though, the Internet definitely is more of a tool that I think can be very useful in some ways, though I hesitate at the idea of becoming more of a resident.

My Passion in Teaching

One of the things I have always been passionate about, which applies to my role as a future teacher, is reading. Personally, reading has always been one of the most important things in my life, I have always enjoyed it and think that my interest and ability in reading has helped me to succeed in school and life. Unfortunately in my experience with peers, students, and others I have seen not only disinterest in reading but strong dislike and aversion to it. I think that attitude has a lot to do with the way that children are taught to read and their successes or failures in reading early on, especially in school. I have already started to see this difference in the kindergarten class I am student teaching in. the students all came in around the same level, but now in February some have excelled in quickly learning to read and passing through the levels while others are still getting stuck on their letter sounds. Even though many of the students still have a very positive approach to reading, the ones who are struggling are already beginning to act discouraged and seem to disengage at times when they are having trouble. This is a far reaching problem which I see having consequences for not only individuals but the world as this attitude towards reading expands. Because of this I think one of the things I am passionate about in my future teaching career is finding ways to help students succeed in learning to read and also to really enjoy what reading has to offer. In the teaching program I am in we are about to start an action research project and I hope to explore this idea of reading, especially starting in kindergarten where most students are just starting to learn to read. I want to see what strategies help different students to succeed and enjoy the reading process in order to help them become not only life long learners, but life long readers.

Communities of Practice

          The community of practice is the idea that people come together who are practitioners in a similar field who have shared interest to learn from one another. They develop into groups or communities with a shared domain, interest, and practice and engage in discussions, activities, share information and resources and more while each develops their own ability and knowledge in that area. It is the idea that learning occurs when there is social participation and when people are engaged in a community with a common focus or passion they are all devoted to in varying levels. One person alone may be able to be in many communities of practice, both in the main heart of the community along with being more on the margin depending on their experience and knowledge in that area. The idea is that once one gains competence and experience they may become more involved and come farther into the community and away from the periphery. This is a gradual process of learning that occurs as one becomes more involved and knowledgeable which is reflected in the person’s involvement and role in that community.

            This is a practice that I have seen many times in my experiences, but especially recently in the educational world, though I have not before heard the label of community of practice attached to it. It seems to be a natural process much of the time for people with a powerful, shared interest to come together and discuss what they know and support one another to learn and develop their ideas related to what the interest may be.

            In the current MCC one year cohort I feel that we have developed our own community of practice with the shared domain not only of teaching and education but being in the same classes at the same school and going through this process together.  We all frequently share our ideas, knowledge, and experience for the benefit of ourselves and our peers so that we may grow together. This is a field that we are all invested in while sharing common goals, in addition to being in the same program we are all in different student teaching experiences and subject areas, so there is enough difference that we can be a community that shares different ideas with a common thread but that does not become repetitive. I have definitely seen and experienced the benefit of this and think that just the interaction of the group has led to a greater understanding and development of our skills and ideas over the course of the year that would not have been possible without that shared community atmosphere and the opportunity to collaborate with one another.

            In my student teaching experience I have also seen informal communities of practice that form between the teachers of the school. Because I am in the intern position as a student teacher I have been at the periphery of these groups but have been able to be a part of them and learn from the experience of others, even by participating or listening to discussion. Teachers in the same grade and different grades often chat informally at lunch, during breaks, or after school, sharing ideas about students and education and topics to help each other and learn from one another. They discuss ideas they’ve had or heard of and ask each other for advice or assistance, especially when one has had more experience in that particular area of the larger domain of education.

            This does seem to be a positive, engaging, and natural way for people to learn, and so I think it would be a good way to encourage students to enjoy the learning process and explore the things they are passionate about. This would help students to enjoy the learning process if given this opportunity along with the general standards, and emphasize the idea of becoming life-long learners beyond their school experience.

            I did read another article regarding the limitations of communities of practice and do see that there are some difficulties with implementing them. They are more of a natural occurrence and so that kind of atmosphere is the one in which a community will have the most potential to flourish and accomplish its purpose. When direct hierarchies are introduced there is not a shared pool of experience and the same level of comfort and ability to freely communicate and work together in a more collaborative and honest fashion. It is also difficult to set a time on development of a community of practice, and it may take longer than some would find convenient or useful in certain situations. These communities again need to develop more naturally in order to work as well which takes time and involvement. There is also controversy about the ability of these communities of practice to transition to the “virtual world” in order for members to communicate in an alternate manner.

A Whole New Mind Part 1 Response

1.      What is L-Directed and R-Directed thinking? Does my subject require more of one than the other? How could I try and reach a balance?

a.       L-directed thinking is a way of thinking that follows the typical style of the left side of the brain; it is more sequential, literal, functional, textual, and analytic. This is the approach which has been emphasized in schools and organizations lately because of its alignment with typical societal measures of intelligence.

b.      R-directed thinking is the opposite, characteristic of the right brain which is more simultaneous, metaphorical, aesthetic, contextual, and synthetic. It has taken a backseat to left brain styles because of the lack of value placed on those characteristics.

c.       I am getting a multiple subject credential which I think places a reasonable balance on both left and right directed thinking, especially in recent times. There is still a focus on standardized testing and value placed on those subjects which are generally associated with right brained thinking, but there is an emergence of methods which involve both types of thinking. For example there is a move towards using project based learning in schools where students not only learn information, but how to use it and their knowledge and explore. This allows students to use multiple skills which come from characteristics on both sides of the brain which fit their style, while pushing them to go beyond the emphasis on the standardized test.

2.      How do Abundance, Asia, and Automation affect the dominance of L-Directed thinking in business and schools?

a.       Abundance: The prominence of the L-Directed thinking in American society, and many other countries of the world, has led to an increase of wealth and abundance. However as this abundance increases the desire for things which relate more to the characteristics of right brain thinking. When items produced in abundance means that consumers have more choice, so they must be designed to be more than the logical functional devices that are left directed and stand out with attributes associated with R-Directed thinking to attract consumer attention. Many are also being driven away from the material world which surrounds them and pushed towards a more transcendent ideal.

b.      Asia: Many of the jobs associated with L-Directed thinking are things that can easily be outsourced to people in other countries who can perform the same functions for a fraction of the salary cost. Since these jobs can be performed from afar it is logical for large companies to hire those people in other countries since it will cost them less. The thing that will help workers in North America is to learn how to use R-Directed skills that cannot be outsourced as easily and which will make them more valuable to companies searching for employees which will benefit them the most.

c.       Automation: Many jobs that are associated with L-Directed thinking are logical, calculating, and sequential and, with recent developments in technology, are being taken over by computers and other mechanical devices. They can perform many of the same functions that people can without the same cost, expenditure of energy, or fallibility. Because of this many of the L-Directed jobs will decrease and R-Directed abilities and jobs will become more valued and opportunities will increase in those fields and jobs will be kept where R-Directed skills can be incorporated that technology cannot perform.

3.      What are High Concept and High Touch? What is the impact of this on my teaching?

a.       High Concept: the ability to create artistic and emotional beauty, detect patterns and opportunities, craft a satisfying narrative and combine unrelated ideas into a new invention.

b.      High Touch: the ability to empathize, to understand the subtleties of human interaction, find joy in yourself and bring it to others, and search for purpose and meaning.

c.       Both of these are ideas that are so important for children to develop to become people who will be a better influence on the world and those around them. It is not enough to be high tech if you cannot explore those ideas, expand on them, develop them with a variety of influences and end goals with a larger purpose. These are other skills that are necessary for all people to develop over time in order to be more balanced and produce the best ideas and a better society in the long term. They incorporate more personal skills and values which are vital to a world where human interaction is a guarantee.

4      What are the flaws of an education system that only values IQ? Is there also a role for EQ in education?

a.       The problem with an education system that only values IQ is that IQ is not a valid measure of much beyond a specific type of intelligence and the ability to perform well on a standardized test in a certain format. It also has a strong L-Directed focus which limits the scope of what it measures. It does not take into account multiple intelligences, interpersonal skills, interests, or any other abilities that are more applicable to future performance or a person’s worth. According to Pink and the latest research IQ only accounts for 4-10% of career success. There are so many other factors including, but not limited to, EQ which determine a person’s ability and all of those factors should be recognized and nurtured.