It's About Priorities... Not Time

In my last blog post I quickly referenced Prometheus, the Titan that gave man fire (Knowledge). The myth explains that Prometheus stole the fire from the gods because he felt bad for man; who had to survive the harsh winters without food, shelter, or warmth.  This gift allowed man to innovate and evolve, but it wasn't without consequence.  In order to punish Prometheus, Zeus chained him to a mountain where everyday a giant bird would eat his liver, only to have it grow back again until the end of time. This is kind of gruesome. During the time he was chained to the mountain, Prometheus (whose name means FORESIGHT) was continuously planning his escape.  He was incapable of the reflexion needed to grasp the severity of his deed.

I find myself thinking of the Myth of Prometheus a lot lately when visiting our District's schools.  When I exchange with teachers at different grade levels I find they are all well intended.  I have yet to meet a teachers whose goal is to be hated by his students, or to make them miserable.  Whenever new initiatives are presented to these teachers, it is never a question of will that stops them from trying out new pedagogical models or integrating technology in their teaching. It is rather a question of time.  There is never enough time. I find that we as teachers have modeled ourselves after Prometheus for too long.  As teachers we value foresight, proper planning, and predictable outcomes. We need to realize that effective pedogogy isn't about time, it's about priorities.

With the exponential growth of information and emerging technologies, I feel that the modern day teacher could learn a lot from Epimethius; Prometheus' twin brother. Where Prometheus is organized Epimethius is spontaneous.  Where Prometheus plans Epimethius reflects. Where Prometheus translates into FORESIGHT, Epimethius translates into AFTERTHOUGHT. As teachers we are continuously planning for the next unit, the next quiz, or the next report card. We seldom take the time to truly reflect on what we and our students have done, and how this might effect learning outcomes.  Leo Strauss describes Epimethius as:

"the being in whom thought follows production, represents nature in the sense of materialism, according to which thought comes later than thoughtless bodies and their thoughtless motions."

 If we transfer this to the teachers' context, we start to see how important it is to prototype our class.  Teaching should not remain stagnant for very long. We should develop a positive relationship with failure in order to continuously improve.  In other words, as Molly Shroeder (@followmolly) puts it :

 "We need to embrace Beta Mode".  

I remember an Ancient History teacher tell me once that there is no reason for him to adapt his teaching since "History hasn't changed... it's still the same as it was last year."  I feel that this is simply a result of this teacher not prioritising the learning experience for his students, but rather feeling the pressure of covering a curriculum that is probably too loaded and focuses on content rather than competencies.

Please don't think that I am putting the blame on teachers.  Again, I have yet to meet a teacher who is not well intended.  I think that Districts and administrators should recognise the importance of reflection, and allow teachers the time to reflect on their craft and how they might want to improve it.  I don't feel that most PLCs (Professional Learning Communities) achieve this, since students' results are at the centre of most of these discussions.  Teachers need to start asking themselves what these results actually mean, and whether or not students are developing the skills and competencies they will need to face the world of tomorrow.  Competencies such as critical thinking for authentic problem solving, collaboration, creativity, and empathy are not competencies that are measured by standardised tests used to measure student learning and overall pedagogical improvement.  I believe Bill Ferriter (@plugusin) said it best (although a bit crude) when he tweeted:

We need to trust the people who are in the classrooms everyday and empower them so that they can offer the most authentic learning experiences to our students.  We need to minimize administrative process and procedure in order to allow our teachers time for professional reflection and growth.  This is the only way that we can attack the mindset of these teachers in order to get buy in and achieve a shift in pedagogical culture.

I hope that people don't think that I am saying that teachers should fly by the seat of their pants and forget all aspects of planning.  After all, Epimethius was responsible for opening Pandora's box... not his greatest victory.  However, one might say that a teacher's job is also to open Pandora's box.  Everyday, teachers seek to inspire and instill curiosity in their students.  What better way to do this than to be a little curious ourselves; to give in to a bit of spontaneity, and allow our inner Epimethius to capitalize on a learning opportunity when we see it... even if it doesn't fit into our careful planning and curriculum. 

I realize that some mistakes or failures, such as the opening of Pandora's box might have graver consequences than others.  Nevertheless, it is these 'mistakes' that lead to new possibilities.  Had Epimethius never met Pandora, they never would have had their daughter Pyrrha who eventually survives the great Deluge and be charged with repopulating the earth with modern man.  In other words, our greatest accomplishments sometimes are the result of our greatest failures.

I feel as though teachers should set aside their curriculum for a bit and turn their attention inwards.  Ask themselves if they have a good relationship with failure; if they feel their students do.  I feel as though the common answer from teachers would be that they love the idea but simply don't have the time. But this isn't a question of time; it's about priorities.

My priority is making sure my teaching has a transformative effect on my students - you can't do that by sticking to curriculum. 

EDUCON 2.6 - Or the Modern Prometheus of Educational Conferences

After a two year hiatus, I have decided to start blogging again (WIN!).  I have found in the past that I sometimes struggled to find my voice, but my most recent visit to EDUCON 2.6 in Philadelphia, and some slight arm twisting by Bill Ferriter (@plugusin), has renewed my will to share my humble opinions with the World Wide Web.

So what is EDUCON 2.6? Well I think Jaime Casap (@jcasap) said it best when he tweeted:  

And he is absolutely right.  EDUCON is about the collective intelligence of passionate educators from across the globe who come together because a group of students, some parents, and a dedicated Principal named Chris Lehmann (@chrislehmann) invited them to.  Take a moment to hear Chris talk about his vision of education in this short video, and you will instantly understand why SLA (Science Learning Academy) is such a special school with him at the helm.

What makes EDUCON such a special conference though isn't the all star cast of attendees (I was a little star struck when I saw Will Richardson (@Willrich45) walk in as a participant and not the main Keynote Speaker).  It is the SLA students that make this conference/school so intriguing.

First at the top of the list is Amy, a sophomore at SLA who gave me an initial tour of the school.  Amy was polite, self-aware, and friendly.  She was very positive when speaking of her teachers and her peers, and was very excited about showing us around.  You could tell that Amy was proud to be a student at SLA, and she loved being at school and learning about different subjects even though they weren't always easy.  

SLA is about developing a culture and fostering dispositions.  I was trying to understand what some of the sanctions where when students would skip class or arrive late to their next period (since SLA has no bells, I figured this happened a lot), and most students didn't understand what I meant.  One student even told me: 

"Skip class?! Why would I do that? That's just disrespectful... and besides... I like my classes."

Can someone please pinch me.  This demeanour seemed to be contagious, since all students I was able to speak with seemed to genuinely love their classes and their school experience at SLA.  Just look at this High Quality Compliment wall that was up on the second floor.  Students were invited to leave compliments for other classmates and/or build on compliments that were already up.  Imagine starting your day with a new compliment.  Imagine how much more you want to be part of an institution that positively reinforces the person you are becoming. 

When I was a classroom teacher, I felt as though I was pretty wise for giving a general theme to each of my courses.  For example, the theme to my grade 11 English course was the nature of man.  Whether or not the Math class down the hall spoke about the nature of man to students was of little concern to me.  At SLA, they have assigned big ideas for each grade level.  These big ideas guide each of the projects that the students must complete throughout the semester.  Because of this, teachers at SLA don't need to seek out interdisciplinary relations; the students can make these connections for themselves.

After the tour of the school, conference attendees were invited to a panel discussion at the Franklin Institute on Openness and Transparency in the digital age.  The Panel featured people of interest such as Kin Lane (@kinlane) and Jamie Casap (@jcasap).  The discussion started with an acute focus on MOOCs, but was able to move on to more conceptual themes such as what it means to be transparent and open in the digital age.  The panel was quite fruitful and the Twitter backchannel was trending in less than 5 minutes.  Needless to say, the panel set the tone for a very promising conference.

The opening Keynote for day one was Richard Culata (@rec54) who is Acting Director of the Office of Educational Technology for the US Department of Education. His message can be summed up by a statement he made near the end of his allocution: 

"Nothing makes me angrier than seeing teachers create problem sets rather than using problems that are already out there."

The different sessions I attended throughout the weekend were all about Design Thinking and prototyping.  All of the sessions were dynamic and invited a lot of participation.  Nevertheless, it was the culture of SLA that stole the show at EDUCON.  Nothing blew me away more than to speak with the teachers, students, and parents who made this school a living organism of learning.  

At the start of the weekend I had an aside with Christian Long (@christianlong), one of the speakers and vice-president of The Third Teacher +.  Christian was explaining to me the importance trying to have a bigger impact on my District.  Without criticism, he communicated that I might be selling myself short on my initiatives, since I didn't believe I could tackle the real issues at hand.  I kept coming back to small scale initiatives, when he believed what I REALLY wanted to do had a deeper meaning and a broader scope. 

Coming back to work on Monday morning I caught a Twitter post that Christian shared with his followers:

This post got me thinking about our conversation on the Friday before EDUCON.  Throughout the day I reflected back on my experience in preparation to writing this Blog post.  I thought about how the conference lacked a bit of structure and was at times unapologetically messy - although no one seemed to mind and everything followed the schedule well enough.  I thought about how the school looked a bit tattered and plain - But the students were happy and learning was obviously prevalent. I thought for a split second about how my District might be able to organize something like EDUCON, and how the students from my District could be just as enthused by their learning experience as the students from SLA seemed to be. 

That's when I got it.  That's when the fire in me was lit (had to sneak Promethean in there).

EDUCON isn't a conference - It's a mindset.  EDUCON is an eternal prototype of people coming together to improve rather than preach - to celebrate rather than point fingers - to learn rather than educate.

EDUCON isn't over because the weekend came to an end.  For this first time attendee, EDUCON is just beginning.

   

Thoughts on Pragmatism

“For Plato, the life of Socrates did not make sense unless there was something like the idea of the Good at the end of the dialectic road.  For Dewey, the life of Socrates made sense as a symbol of a life of openness and curiosity.  It was an experimental life - the sort of life that is encouraged, and in turn encourages, the American democratic experiment.”  - Richard Rorty

It could be argued that many of the pragmatists associate with Aristotle’s philosophy.  As Nieman explains, rather than finding Truth in metaphysics, pragmatists, like Aristotle, look to the world around them to discover many truths based on perspectives.  Like Socrates, they seek the attainment of irony; continually questioning their conventions.

“(...)each is able to recognize the radical contingency of his own beliefs without engaging in the quest for certainty”  - Alven Nieman

It is becoming increasingly evident, that in order to become meaningful again, education must move away from a Platonic quest for the absolute and rather shift to a seemingly more pragmatic Aristotelian approach.  There are many perspectives, one needs only look to the world (wide web?) around them.

Computers in the Classroom: Caveat Emptor

So we are now in the 21st century; someone should inform the schoolboards.  What is challenging about moving forward with education is the continual paradigm which places the teacher at the centre of the learning experience.  Students continually externalise learning processes, not because it is natural, but because the educational system asks them to. Teachers remain the all knowing leaders of the classroom who, through a masterful art, transfer their knowledge to the students.  The main problematic with this traditional view of the classroom is that it is content oriented.  Firstly, knowledge can only be built, not transferred.  Secondly, this model has not changed since the one classroom school.
Now let's bring in the technologies. In the last 10 years many technological advancements have taken place in the pedagogical world.  Teachers now have interactive whiteboards instead of chalkboards, and students have e-readers instead of books.  Surely this is a monumental leap forward in terms of progress.  Think again; the technological tools that are predominately used in the classrooms simply reinforce a traditional teaching model.  Such a model is so far disconnected from the students reality that it is bound to fail. Of course student engagement may go up for a brief period, but this is not a sustainable effect, since students will eventually get board with the new gizmos, and since there is no change in pedagogy student interest will fizzle away. 
If placing technology in the classroom can be done (without any clear effect on learning) why not try placing the classroom in technology.  What I mean by this is: instead of adapting current technologies to an age old model; why not try to reinvent the model in light of new technologies.  If teachers do not attempt to restructure learning in a significant way either by project based learning, partnering,  or creative approaches to problem solving, another window of opportunity will have been missed to reconsider the classroom and further exploit how and why we learn. Computers in the classroom can be interesting venture, but buyer beware; it is important to know what it is you are buying.

Computational Thinking: A Digital Age Skill for Everyone

Why Teach?

     When I was 9, I remember seeing an interview on Much Music (back in the day when music videos still existed).  The VJ was interviewing Slash from Guns and Roses, and when asked if he considered himself a rockstar Slash simply answered "Hell yeah".  In a single instant, the musician was able to not only demonstrate a rebellious attitude, but also define coolness as I knew it. Effective teachers are able to emulate these same emotions in their students.  Do we not all remember one teacher in our lives that was able to reach out to us in one way or another? Last week I attended a conference on techno-pedagogy and I kept asking myself, can technology really fix the paradigm of education?  Unfortunately, before technology can become meaningful in the classroom, teachers must first reinvent themselves and their teaching methods in order to shift the emphasis from curriculum content to students' passions.

      The problem in education is that we are looking for the BEST practices, when, as Mark Prensky puts it, we should be continually looking for better practices.  Socratic irony needs to find its way into the lives of teachers in order for them to continually re-evaluate their teaching practices and goals.  For this to happen, teachers must deny their claim to be the beholders of all knowledge and accept their imperfections.  What better way to create an ideal learning environment than to continually question one's self. Once this is accomplished, the shift from content to process can happen, and then and only then can technology be introduced in a pedagogical manner.  Students should know and be taught different processes such as the creative process, the writing process, the research process.  Through these processes student and teachers can effectively question, evaluate, and create different contents in a variety of mediums.  For learning to take place, teachers must become real models and believe in their students and their passions.

     In one instant long ago, a musician was able to define a whole attitude for me in a few simple words.  For others it may have been an athlete, an actor, or even a relative.  Technology can get students closer to these individuals and moments, but if an educational shift from teacher to student doesn't take place I fear technology will be misapplied, and an opportunity to effectively revaluate our practices will have been lost.  Essentially it starts in the classroom, where every teacher can become a rock star, an athlete, or an actor for their students; all they have to do is question themselves and their practice.  In the end, is that why I became a teacher? Hell yeah –