2 What End

Deepening Thinking for Common Core Standards

2013-07-02T12:50:00.000-07:00

With Common Core testing right around the corner, more and more educators are taking a look at whether or not their students will be prepared for the new performance-based assessment tasks. Administrators and teachers alike are worried that their students won’t meet the expectations of the Common Core Standards. Some teachers are deeply concerned that they will need new curriculum, new texts, and completely revamped units; while others are hoping to infuse project-based learning into their existing curriculum. The premise is that if learners experience performance-based tasks (projects as culminating unit activities, short answer questions in math), they will perform more successfully on the assessments when the time comes as if the transfer will occur automatically.

Sadly, experiencing a specific project does not lead to effective transfer. In order for effective transfer to occur, teachers must identify specific thinking skills students will need. Then students need to consider using those skills in other situations. The underlying process for solving novel problems and creating quality projects needs to be explicitly discussed. Short of this, students will not be able to transfer learning from one situation to another and will therefore perform poorly on high level performance tasks.

What this means for educators is that they will need to do more than examine the tasks that the students will be completing. (What cool project can students complete? and What supplies will they need?) Their job becomes determining what actual thinking skills will be needed as well as the order in which those skills will be used to complete their real world activities, and then deliberately practicing those thinking skills in their classrooms. They need to make the connection for their learners between the classroom practice and the real world transfer. Where in the world will you use this thinking skill?

Teachers need to identify the processes used to complete tasks (moving text into own words, abstracting a general theme, drawing logical conclusions, distinguishing between relevant and irrelevant information, determining point of view, etc.) and practice those processes so that when their learners are faced with a novel situation (not unlike those they will encounter on the Common Core assessments) their students will have a vast arsenal to fall back on.

It is important to remember that no matter how fun, exciting, creative, cognitively demanding, or challenging tasks may be, they are just that, tasks. While the experience may be memorable for the learners, it is very likely that in their lives as people, those learners will never be asked to complete that very same task in that very same way again. That being said, it is important to note that what learners will be expected to do is to replicate the thinking that allowed them to complete the task.

Meeting the challenges of Common Core is a daunting prospect. Educators must have resources that allow them to

· break down common classroom curriculum to the basic thinking skills,

· identify ways to help learners transfer the thinking done in classrooms into the real world,

· create school-wide processes for real world tasks, and

· enable students to become more college and career ready while preparing for the upcoming performance-based assessments.

That’s why we have spent the past two years developing a step by step, teacher-friendly guide that allows educators at all levels to intentionally teach the transfer skills required by the Common Core assessments.

Deepening Thinking for Common Core Standards is a guide to prepare teachers to

· articulate in common language the types of thinking skills students need to achieve,

· map the cognitive demand taught in each instructional unit,

· intentionally question students so that thinking skills are transferred to novel situations, and

· increase the likelihood that students will perform successfully on novel performance tasks.

This valuable resource includes

· step by step directions to deliberately deepen thinking in every classroom,

· thinking verbs aligned to Common Core Standards,

· thinking ladders to evaluate and improve current learning goals,

· question stems to deepen questioning,

· examples of thematic units for incorporating Common Core thinking skills,

· connections to Common Core Literacy Anchor Standards and Mathematical Practice Standards that can be supported across subject areas, and

· a sample Common Core Performance Assessment deconstructed into classroom activities that practice the required thinking skills.

As the standards and expectations for learners change, the real work for educators changes as well. They must now make sure their learners are able to transfer the specific thinking skills that they deliberately practice in today’s classrooms to the common core performance-based assessments and more importantly, to a world that will need them to solve novel problems and create quality products.

Teaching 21st Century Skills: The Deep End of the Pool

2011-10-22T08:00:00.002-07:00

Project based learning and problem based learning are not the answer to teaching 21^st century skills. The key to teaching 21st century skills lies in effective instructional models that lead directly to the transferable thinking and takeaway learning required by an ethical citizenry and a world class workforce. Unfortunately, when some educators move away from traditional back to basics methods and drill and kill worksheets, the result is a learn-by-doing methodology that bears little resemblance to effective teaching, and is far more consistent with a sink-or-swim mentality.

Too often the instructional method selected is what I refer to as "The Deep End of the Pool." This is where the swim instructor takes the student to the edge of the pool and pushes him/her into the deep end. The instructor then yells "swim" as the student flails about in the water desperately trying to survive without any of the skills or tools needed to succeed. I was shocked to find that this methodology is sometimes referred to as "process teaching" when it is applied to writing assignments or projects. Give the students a problem or assignment, let them struggle with it, and then they will extract the needed skills for future projects, problems, or assignments. This can actually occur for some students who have resources at home to support them and a psychological disposition that allows them to embrace challenges, but this learning is occurring despite the instructional model not because of it. The actual result of the “deep end of the pool” instructional model is that some kids drown and some kids swim. This is acceptable if some kids are expendable, and it is ridiculous if the goal is for all kids to swim at their maximum ability.

This model does not lead to quality, nor is it effective in teaching students essential transferable skills. For example comparing / contrasting and supporting arguments with evidence are essential skills in any content area. Additionally, these skills are critical for effective citizenship and world class work because effective arguments and influencing others depend on our ability to see similarities and differences and support opinions with evidence from multiple sources. In many classrooms students are never asked to get in the pool, because students are never asked to support answers with evidence from text, prior experience, or research. In the far fewer classes that ask students to support his/her answer students are never taught how to do this, how to evaluate the effectiveness of the argument, or given opportunities for multiple attempts with feedback so that the quality of the argument can be improved, even if the argument is being conducted for a more “authentic” project or problem.

To be clear, I am a huge fan of experiential learning and I recognize that true learning is always in mindful doing. I believe students should be allowed to struggle, face adversity, overcome challenges, and learn by doing. However, the illusion that throwing kids into the deep end of the pool is "process teaching" is a farce. Process teaching is about seeing the whole, fitting discrete knowledge and skill into a larger purpose, and then breaking down knowledge and skill into digestible parts that can be practiced and improved, culminating in the recombination knowledge and skills into practice across novel situations in ways that would have been impossible in the absence of instruction. Successful process teaching leads to students understanding the significance of the knowledge and skill (why does this matter), the utility (how do I use this), and the ability to transfer the knowledge and skill to other situations (where else can I apply what I know). If our instructional model is no better than trial and error, then the teacher is no better an instructor than chance, and therefore, the cost of the teacher is a wasted expense in the education of our children.

By the same token a swim teacher who keeps the student out of the pool working endlessly on drills on dry land and never giving the student a chance to apply his/her learning in a real situation has no business teaching. Effective teaching requires a just balance between acquisition of knowledge and application of knowledge. Project and problem based learning are critical components of a quality balanced education that requires students to move and extend the patterns and principles they have learned into a living laboratory to consolidate learning and ultimately transfer it to new situations and challenges. This can only occur when the connections between the skills and life challenges are specifically addressed and modeled for learners. Additionally, practicing critical skills that will lead to quality and success not only in the project but in life must be explicitly taught, deliberately practiced, and evaluated with continuous formative feedback. Extremists on either side leave students lacking the substantive knowledge and skill that will allow for deep thinking and effective problem solving because they have neglected including those skills in their instruction, or they create a disconnect between learning and doing and a false belief that school and life are separate because they fail to connect the classroom content to the real world.

The deep end of the pool model is the teacher who assigns students to create a documentary on some topic related to their content, and students are expected to work alone or in groups without the benefit of any skill building or learning to complete the task. The opposite is the teacher who is providing endless worksheets focused on the content of the day without any relationship to the practical challenges of the modern world. In both cases students suffer. In both cases we fail to deliver an education worth having. It is only when we mindfully and deliberately teach students skills that will serve them in life, connect those skills to critical content in subject areas, and align learning with the hopes and goals of our students that we truly teach. These students will not only survive in the deep end of the pool, but they will thrive with the ability to swim wherever they want to go. Asking ourselves how does what we are doing today transfer to the lifelong learning required for an ethical citizenry and a world class workforce is the first step on the journey toward effectively teaching 21^st century skills.

Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else -- Book Review

2011-10-17T13:39:00.000-07:00

There is a disconnect between what we do in schools and what is needed for an ethical citizenry and a world-class workforce. At 2 What End, Inc. we find ourselves frequently talking and writing about this disconnect which made heading to Geoff Colvin’s book an obvious choice. What is it that separates the world class performers, why might that be such a big deal today, and what then is the role that we as educators play?

The work world our children will inherit will be significantly different than the one I was a member of until my recent retirement as well as that of many of my colleagues who are still in their 30’s and 40’s. Colvin makes a strong case that the scarce resource facing today’s economy is that of human ability which may be why there is an ever-growing move for companies to make sure their employees are as highly developed as possible. Additionally, the generation of workers that we are charged with educating will face a far greater global labor market especially as the costs of computing and telecommunications continue to fall. Our kids will no longer simply be competing with other kids in a particular geographic region or even country; they will be competing with kids around the world, and as Colvin states, “The result is that fast-growing number of workers everywhere have to be just as good—and just as good a value—as the very best workers in their field anywhere on earth.” Companies everywhere are searching for those workers who truly can be described as world class and paying them handsomely when they do find them. According to Colvin, “In a global, information-based, interconnected economy, businesses and individuals are increasingly going up against the world’s best. The costs of being less than truly world class are growing as are the rewards of being genuinely great.”

What however more greatly endeared Colvin to me was not only his connection between being an exceptional performer and eventual prosperity, but his realization that while of course prosperity is a worthwhile goal, being good at whatever we want to be can be deeply fulfilling and personally satisfying which was great cause for understanding his method.

Colvin’s distinction between world class performers and the rest of us, based on the scholarly work of Anders Ericsson and others, is a life-long period of “deliberate practice” to improve performance in specific areas.

Colvin suggests that deliberate practice contains the following components:

It is designed specifically to improve performance, often with a teacher’s help
It can be repeated a lot
Feedback on results is continuously available
It is highly demanding mentally
It isn't much fun

Each of the components is thoroughly defined and personal examples as well as examples from the world of sport, music, and business are used to further exemplify his points. While not specifically a book for educators, it is clear that good teachers can make a world of difference in the selection of the sharply defined element of performance that needs to be improved. “Decades or centuries of study have produced a body of knowledge about how performance is developed and improved, and full-time teachers generally possess that knowledge.”

Even more importantly, the concept of feedback is repeatedly stressed. Certainly, we are able to see differences in our personal performance, but we can never be as unbiased as another individual might and can be. In identifying reasons that the world’s best golfers continue to go to teachers, Colvin hits upon one of the most important roles of any teacher. “One of the reasons goes beyond the teacher’s knowledge. It’s his or her ability to see you in ways that you cannot see yourself.” Teacher feedback from this perspective greatly increases our responsibility as we try to facilitate growth to world class proportions among our students. In considering the entire process, mentors can be seen in a new way—“not just as wise people to whom we turn for guidance but as experienced masters in our field who can advise us on the skills and abilities we need to acquire next, and can give us feedback on how we’re doing.” This is a silent challenge to teachers as to their roles in this important process.

Colvin is right to point out that nobody becomes great entirely on his or her own. He makes mention of the importance of family environment, family support, time, resources and of course the role that luck can play in one’s endeavor to greatness. He identifies effort as another important variable. “Measuring the intensity of practice may be difficult but it’s clearly significant.”

Colvin comes full circle as he includes a final chapter entitled, “Where Does the Passion Come From?” In it he addresses many of the questions you may have been secretly asking yourself. Why do great performers subject themselves to the rigors of deliberate practice and the time commitment required to achieve their mastery level? What motivates them? Is it intrinsic or extrinsic or perhaps a combination of the two? Why are great performers willing to make the personal sacrifices that may be required?

An underlying message is evident throughout this work. Even more than the powerful deliberate practice model and stories of people who have become great performers or the potential new role for teachers of this world-class workforce, is the idea that this path is readily available to each of us should we make that choice. We can get better at whatever we love to do; the decision is ours.

Simple Steps to Start Optimizing Student Thinking Time

2011-10-06T09:13:00.006-07:00

We have been planning for a 7 session seminar, Brain Based Learning Design for 21st Century Thinking, which we will be hosting for local teachers and administrators in the Tucson area throughout the school year. Our staff development blocks will be 2 hours held in the late afternoon, not optimal thinking time for professionals who have been working hard with students and staff all day, but a time that worked for our participants. During our work over the last weeks, I have found myself flashing back to some of the same thinking I went through when I was planning for my 8th grade language arts classes. Back then as I was preparing for the next lesson, I would usually keep my last period class in mind. It was the end of the day; they had been through many other classes as well as the unaccountable social stress of being a middle schooler, and they would arrive ready to be done for the day. I knew my preparation had to be ready for this challenge on a daily basis.

Of greatest importance for me in any lesson was student thinking time. I felt it was my responsibility to do whatever I could to make sure that there was plenty of student thinking time and to make sure it was rarely interrupted. This became my daily work that of course followed the thinking and designing I had already done for the overall unit.

In my room, the learning was never about me; after all, I had passed eighth grade English many years ago. So the learner was my focal point. I would picture not what I would be doing but what my last period eighth graders would be doing. Everything was designed from that perspective. I would imagine the lesson in my mind and listen. Whose voice was I hearing the most? If the answer was mine, I would reconsider the plan. For me, if the kids were doing the learning, it’s their voice that had to be heard. Even in the best classrooms with the best lecturers, simply giving information to the learner doesn’t guarantee they own it. Might they be entertained and even retain some of the information? Yes. Does that equate to lifelong transfer learning? I don’t really think so. So opportunities for student voice were built in on a daily basis.

My next step was to watch the flow of the lesson looking for interruptions. If there was a time that I needed the kids to retrieve some resource for their notebooks or folders, how could the time taken for that be minimal? If there were documents the kids were going to need to receive throughout the lesson, how could I make that happen as seamlessly as possible? If supplies were needed, how would I make those most readily available? I would think through the layout of my classroom and put a plan in place for smooth transitions that would optimize student thinking time.

Documents in my room were color coded and titled. This allowed me to name the title of the document we would need and its color and reduced the time it took most students to find it. If I knew we were going to need a series of different documents during the day, I would have them color coded and collated ahead of time. When the kids walked in, the packets would be in the center of their tables face down. It certainly took some training at the beginning so the kids didn’t just start looking right away, but really, if they did look and it started their thinking early, what was the harm?

Because I had visualized the lesson ahead of time, if there was a time throughout the lesson that the kids might need a specific document, I was ready and could easily move around the room while they might be in table discussions or working in singles or pairs and slip it face down near their work area. When I explained to the kids that I didn’t want to interrupt their thinking by stopping to pass out the next paper, they understood my plan and for the most part did not let me distract their work. An added bonus to handing out papers this way was that I was able to be in close proximity to each group or individual at least once throughout the lesson.

Making room for student thinking time in our lessons seems an obvious goal; however, without planning for it explicitly, too much is left to chance. Once I had the structure in place, right down to the color-coded handouts, I no longer found myself "delivering" the lesson but truly facilitating it. That took the spotlight off me and put it on the kids where it always needed to be. The teacher voice was also diminished which encouraged the student voice to emerge. And for me, that was where the real fun began.

Brain to Mind: Using Neuroscience to Guide Change in Education- Book Review

2011-09-12T09:22:00.003-07:00

According to Zull, the heart of education is the journey from brain to mind. This journey includes understanding the process of learning itself, demonstrating optimism and confidence when confronted by challenges, proceeding to take action, asking questions when given a task, and ultimately developing mature, independent and thoughtful minds. This is a far different objective than "getting it right" which is often the primary purpose in our current educational model. There are several key principles I will take away from this book and feed forward into my educational practice:

The brain has the capacity to organize and change itself through experience

The brain transforms information into action

The brain is a memory machine

Joy is an integral part of learning

Concrete images must be connected to symbolic representations for deep understanding (experience poor)

Experiential learning is unpredictable, takes time, and is highly individual

Education is lifelong learning built on experience

Mistake "rich" environments produce a better education

Memory is a tool for learning, not a goal

The Journey from Brain to Mind is a continuous process not a destination

In past blog entries I have been particularly critical of rote memorization as the goal of education and challenged it as a useful skill in the new economy (see The Great Memorizer is Obsolete). Zull's book draws particular attention to the true purpose of memory in the human brain as a foundation for the development of mind. Our memories define who we are. Our memories also provide the raw material to make creative jumps, critically think, problem solve, and add value to the world. None of this occurs without memory as we are destined to remain stuck, unable to change as a result of experience because there is no memory of past experience. However, memory is a tool for learning, not the goal. If every educator were to take this principle and embrace it, we would experience a radical shift in nearly every classroom in the country.

If memory is not the goal than the basic structure of the vast majority of lessons is called into question. The goal of a class can no longer be the transmission of information and the commitment of information to memory. There must be some underlying purpose. The underlying purpose is evident in principle #2 "the brain transforms information into action". Imagine a school experience where Goethe's famous quote is true "Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do." This path resonates with me in a profound way, and I recognize it as the true goal of learning.

It is in the space of transforming knowledge into action that we find the true joy of learning. The act of discovering something new, solving a problem, setting a goal, seeing movement toward a goal, and realizing a goal are deeply connected to the brain's reward systems. This is why we learn to gain a clearer view of who and where we are, to consider possibilities of new and better ways, and to take action to achieve this new possibility. Unfortunately, so much of our current school learning is completely divorced from the learner. Content is seen as a separate entity and the value of the content is never connected to the individual learner. This causes a basic rift between learning for school and learning for life often resulting in apathy, discontent, and disengagement from school. The learners who are successful often are dependent upon right answers and feeding a self-image fueled by "getting it right". This is a far cry from the mistake rich learning that leads to development of mindful, resilient adults who are able to tackle the problems of tomorrow.

I look forward to transforming the information I have gained as a result of reading this book and converting it into mindful action that will serve the learners I come into contact with.

International Exams, Life Outcomes, The Disconnect, and Why we should care…

2011-08-28T13:47:00.001-07:00

This week I was re-reading Catching up or Leading the Way by Yong Zhao who was born and raised in China and is now a professor at the College of Education, Michigan State University where he serves as the founding director of the U.S.-China Center for Research on Educational Excellence. I find myself frequently returning to this book because at its foundation is a basic question: Do our current educational reform efforts, if achieved, lead to our desired results for our children and our country? The answer that emerges from the book is a resounding no.

Current reform efforts in the United States embrace two propositions: first, excellence equals good test scores in math and reading, and second, standards along with test based accountability are the tools to achieve such excellence. Given these propositions one would assume that good test scores should therefore be directly correlated with economic prosperity as a result of a world class workforce and high quality of life as a result of an ethical citizenry. Zhao argues that, "Education is supposed to prepare future citizens-that is, to equip them with the necessary skills, knowledge, attitudes and perspective to live a prosperous and happy life as well as to perform responsibilities required of them as citizens of a society" (p13). I have never heard any proponents of educational reform argue for a less prosperous society nor a lower quality of life, so I assume that in general proponents of educational reform all desire a world class workforce and an ethical citizenry to be a consequence of our system.

An interesting finding is that "the higher a nations test score 40 years ago, the worse its economic performance" (p. 17). Another interesting finding is that many of the countries who score very high in international exams current reform efforts are emulating American education: more local autonomy, more flexibility, more choice, less testing, less content, and less standardization. The notable exception is the Finnish school system who actually scores at the top of international measures and the country has no national testing and reviews an 8-10% sample of pupils' work to check on performance. The Finnish system also is incredibly selective when it comes to teachers and then gives them the flexibility and autonomy to do their work. There are many other differences as well cultural and otherwise; however, the lack of evidence that test based accountability leads to increased life outcomes should be of concern for every educator and every citizen in this country.

If our reform efforts are focused on the wrong things, if the roads we are building to success cut through the wrong jungle, then we need leaders who will stand tall and call for a change of direction. Zhao offers a profound insight, "We thus face a choice of what we want: a diversity of talents of individuals who are passionate, curious, self-confident, and risk taking; or a nation of excellent test takers, outstanding performers on math and reading tests" (p.59). For me the choice is clear I want the next generation to recognize and develop their strengths, to cultivate a diversity of talents which leads to the creativity and innovation required in the new economy, to become effective and ethical decision makers in the face of increasing complexity, and to work effectively on real problems as valuable team members. This vision looks very different than our current multiple choice trajectory; however, it is necessary to span the gap between present reality and future necessity. I hope you will join us on the journey.

The Academic Fairy Tale

2011-08-27T09:20:00.001-07:00

This week I was reading the Met Life Survey of the American Teacher. The introductory paragraph states "By almost any measure, a good education is the best preparation for the opportunities and obstacles that may lie ahead. Unfortunately too many students in the United States and many other nations are not gaining the knowledge and skills needed for future success." As I read and consider my experience as a student, teacher, and administrator, I am convinced that right now we are embracing an academic fairy tale. The fairy tale paints the wonderful picture that if you stay in school, behave, get good grades, and do what teachers tell you to do the payoff is college and then a good career. Our system of compliance depends on an unwavering belief in this fairy tale. What if the foundation of this fairy tale is flawed? What if a college degree is no longer a ticket into a good career? What if the students of today will need to continue to learn and upgrade their skills continuously to compete for jobs coveted by people from all over the world? What if there is a disconnect between what we do in school and what is needed for an ethical citizenry and a world class work force? What if these questions are our current reality?

In reading the survey Fortune 1000 executives were asked about the skills and knowledge needed for college and career readiness: 99% said problem solving and critical thinking skills were essential or very important, 97% said the same about the ability to write clearly and persuasively, and 94% acknowledged the ability to work in teams. This is no surprise; the Partnership for 21^st Skills has pushed the 4C's (Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication, & Collaboration) for over a decade. The surprising thing is that despite the fact that nearly every executive, teacher, parent, and student realizes that the 4C's are vital to future success, we continue to educate children the same way we did when 80% did not really need the 4C's at all in their careers and the 20% who did learned how often times despite the education system.

The root of this fairy tale is actually at the foundation of our education system, it is the belief that exposure to ideas or knowledge leads to lifelong takeaway skills. If this is true then all we need is exposure to ideas, commit the ideas to memory, and our lives will be productive and happy. Anyone who works with real people in real jobs knows that this is the ultimate fairy tale. Exposure to ideas does not lead to real change nor does memorizing the idea. If we truly want our students to become creative problem solvers, effective communicators, and collaborative workers then we must provide salient knowledge scaffolded in small chunks, we must deliberately practice the vital behaviors that go along with each skill, we must give targeted feedback that leads to continuous improvement, we must provide the opportunity to attempt these skills in novel future situations, and we must give space to our learners to do all of these things themselves. Anything less will not lead to the skills needed for success, anything less will perpetuate an academic fairy tale where knowledge is given and learners live happily ever after.

Deliberate Feedback on 4 C Skills

2011-08-27T09:14:00.001-07:00

There are many people including us at 2 What End, Inc who have embraced the idea of the 4 C’s (creativity, collaboration, communication and critical thinking) being the foundation of success for our kids in the future. These are the skills CEO’s are looking for, yet these are not necessarily the skills we are deliberately practicing in our schools today. I’m not saying that kids are not experiencing these in their classrooms because sure we have our kids doing group work, presenting in front of the class, participating in PBL’s (project based learning) to solve problems, creating projects, but I am wondering how often the feedback we give moves away from the final product and centers on the actual 4 C skills. I’m reading Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else by Geoff Colvin (book review to come in the next issue), and he makes a great case for deliberate practice. According to Colvin, deliberate practice “requires that one identify certain sharply defined elements of performance that need to be improved, and then work intently on them.”

In his discussion, one of the necessary components of deliberative practice that he cites is that “feedback on results is continuously available.” This is certainly where we as teachers and leaders come in. In order for our students, no matter their age, to become more adept at the corporate life skills, if you will, they need to practice them in our classrooms and actually be given feedback on specific elements in those skill areas. When our students are working in groups, in addition to the content feedback, imagine if we were to have group members give feedback about the kind of listeners they perceived their fellow group members to be. Or what if after a presentation to the class on a content topic, teachers and students were able to give feedback on not only the content of the presentation but also on the delivery: eye contact, diction, effective use of props, etc. whichever communication skill the teacher and students decided ahead of time they wanted as their focus? What if as students are completing posters or digital products teachers are picking out pertinent elements of design features and including them in their feedback as well? Unless we begin to identify specific, crucial 4 C skill components and set out to deliberately practice them within our classroom settings, whether or not our students have them in their 21st century skill repertoire as they attempt to become part of the world-class work force we hope they will, continues to be left up to chance. Is that a risk we are willing to take with today’s students?

Rubrics as a Tool for Teacher Planning

2011-08-25T08:31:00.002-07:00

Rubrics do more than just help assess student work; they create the possibility for teachers to more clearly indicate their expectations and then more consistently facilitate learning so that students move mindfully toward the learning goals at the desired level of quality. Rubric creation can clarify instructional goals and serve as teaching and learning targets. As teachers begin to plan their assessments for a particular unit and identify the key learning areas (learning goals) they want to critique, they should consider writing a rubric for each area which breaks down the overall learning goal into specific manageable skills. What does it look/sound like when students are successfully managing each step? What are all the skills the students will need to rely on in order to complete the task with a high level of quality? Creating a specific rubric for each area rather than one large rubric allows teachers to more carefully select the components of the skill area that the students might need to practice in order to reach the higher quality levels teachers have in mind.

Generally creating rubrics in the planning stage allows teachers to uncover discreet skill components that may have been overlooked when considering just the overall end product or focusing solely on completion of a particular standard. Having created learning goal specific rubrics makes teachers more aware of each needed skill. Then, because in-depth pre-thinking has been done, the possibility that those teachers will take advantage of teachable moments to mindfully infuse the particular skill practice needed at just the right moment increases. This adds relevance to the learning for students and raises the likelihood that students will realize the importance of its inclusion which can often lead to greater transfer learning. Additionally creating the multiple rubrics will help teachers avoid being disappointed by end results that didn’t live up to their expectations because they had assumed incorrectly that their students already had some preliminary skill sets in place. Rather, having the picture of the final product and the broken down quality indicators in mind throughout their planning and eventual instruction will allow teachers to more effectively facilitate deeper student learning because they have already considered all the skills their students would need and mindfully provided opportunities for them to deliberately practice those skills ultimately leading to their success.

Choice 101

2011-08-16T13:30:00.001-07:00

At 2 What End, Inc we believe that effective, ethical decision making is a primary goal of our work with students. This involves instructional opportunities that provide the tools, processes, and patterns of thinking that will encourage students to make better decisions for the good of the world. While this sounds like a straight forward and noble task there is a caveat. In fact it is a deep and fundamental limiting factor not only for students but for society in general. It is the belief that we are helpless or unworthy of choosing better for ourselves and the world. This limiting factor is seen as people engage in unhealthy behaviors, relationships, work environments, and friendships. Often if you ask people why they continue to live this way, do that job, or continue in the relationship they will answer " I don't know" if you probe deeper then typically the response falls into two categories I deserve to live this way or I can't change.

Choice 101 is a fundamental choice- it is a life orientation that we embrace the belief that we are in control of our thoughts and actions. It is the acknowledgement of a gap between stimulus and response where free will resides. This opportunity to be something different is the foundation of effective, ethical decision making. Without embracing the principle that we are the choice makers in our lives we cannot begin to tackle our personal challenges much less the global challenges that so desperately need to be addressed.

Stephen Covey refers to the principle of being responsible for our own lives as"Being Proactive" and derives the concept in great part from the work of Victor Frankl who refers to it as the "last of human freedoms- the ability to choose one's attitude in a given set of circumstances." William James captured the results of this principle beautifully when he said, "human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives." The decision that we are a creative force in our lives leads to success, action, and positive change. Instilling, inspiring, reflecting, and practicing the patterns of thinking that my choices and actions are the foundation of my success, I am free to choose my thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors, and I am responsible for the results of those choices, are the foundation of life success.

When we disconnect from this basic principle we fall into the trap of blame, powerlessness, hopelessness, and apathy. This disconnect has major ramifications as to whether or not our current students become the effective, ethical decisions makers of tomorrow because perception is reality. Therefore, when students do not see themselves as a creative force in their lives they become destined to play out the scripts assigned, maintain the status quo, and lose the potency and power that is only afforded to those people connected to their passion and purpose in life. At the root of our future decision making is the belief that we are decision makers. In my work with children and adults over the years, I would argue there is nothing more powerful than the realization that I can choose differently and get different results. I hope that as we engage in our work with children and adults we encourage them to embrace their creative potential to choose differently regardless of circumstance.

Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative- Book Review

2011-08-16T13:23:00.003-07:00

"Education is not a linear process of preparation for the future: it is about cultivating the talents and sensibilities through which we can live our best lives in the present and create the best futures for us all." Ken Robinson's book Out of Our Minds directly identifies the disconnect between what is typically done in schools and what is needed for an ethical citizenry and world class workforce. With exponentially increasing complexity, the automatization of routine work, and the global competition occurring for jobs, creativity may be the single most important competency for survival and success in the new economy. With this reality, a challenge emerges for all of us who want to educate children successfully and effectively.

The present school model was built for efficiency, and created in the spirit of the industrial age assembly line with the assumption that "the most important thing that children have in common is their date of manufacture." Robinson identifies the irony of business people who want students who are literate, numerate, able to analyze data, can generate new ideas and help implement them, communicate clearly, and work well with other people, in a system that was designed simply to sort the educated from the uneducated and provide basic skills to a population where most would perform the same routine work for the duration of their lives. In this way, and perhaps for this purpose, traditional education typically crushes creativity in children and replaces creative energy with a compliant malaise. I would argue that this is exactly what is needed if 80% of the population were to engage in the same routine task for 35 years. However, in the 21^st century this is not the case, and therefore, the pinnacles of traditional education- minimal basic skills, attendance, and compliance will likely lead to the most underprepared workforce in history. See the animated video below narrated by Ken Robinson for a deeper understanding of the disconnect between modern economic realities and traditional education.

Robinson argues that "cultivating our natural powers of imagination, creativity and innovation is not an option but an urgent necessity." With regard to the extraordinary challenges that will be faced by humanity in the 21^st century he goes on to say "our best resource is to cultivate our singular abilities of imagination, creativity and innovation." The goal of our school system should be a process that has creativity and innovation at its center. This requires a system that cultivates imagination, encourages and promotes creativity, and requires innovation. Imagination is composing possibilities in the mind. Creativity is putting imagination to work by acting on the imaginative thoughts in some medium or discipline. Innovation is applying creativity by putting new and improved ideas into practice. As I consider imagination, creativity, and innovation and picture all of my school experiences it hurts my heart to consider what little opportunity there was to explore possibilities, consider alternatives, and act in new and improved ways. The average of my total school experience Kindergarten – Dissertation can be expressed as the mind numbing presentation of information for the purpose of memorization (see The Great Memorizer is Obsolete for why this is a huge problem in today's economy).

So what can we do? First, adopt a growth mindset (see Dweck article for more information) - the belief that through effort and practice things will improve with regard to creativity. One of the most damaging effects on creativity is the belief that it is a heritable trait and cannot be learned. Additionally, the idea that creativity is limited to the arts rather than a vibrant part of all disciplines causes many to fail to see the possibilities in areas they are passionate about. Second, promote a culture that supports imagination, creativity, and innovation. This requires emotional safety, a balance between challenge and support, and a commitment and expectation of creativity by all members who work in the school, most notably creativity in teaching. This certainly runs counter to the pacing guides, and scripted lessons that are often provided in the name of school improvement. Third, value a diversity of intelligences and personalize education as much as possible. Many examples are given in the book of schools that are creatively meeting the needs of their learners through customized and personalized learning. This is remarkably consistent with the marketplace expectations that businesses are dealing with as they customize and personalize the goods and services they provide to individuals to maintain a competitive advantage. Fourth, assess in a way that supports creativity. Letter grades and percentages by their very nature imply singular answers that are scored as correct or incorrect. This feeds a binary culture in education that creates a game between teachers asking questions and students finding the right answers. This is a far cry from the requisite skills in life in which no one cares if you can answer a question whose answer is already known. The best employees are not even answering questions at all, they are formulating the questions whose answers shape the future success of the organization through their collaborative and innovative solutions.

Overall this book provides rich insight into the need for creativity and the challenges that our traditional educational system faces. It is not a practical guide on how to implement creativity in our schools and perhaps that is exactly the point- bringing creativity to our current educational system does not require a step-by-step implementation guide but rather the imaginative, creative, and innovative energies of our school personnel to make creativity a top priority and embed it in our intentions and our lessons. If you plan on navigating the journey between current reality and future necessity for student learning then this book is a must read.

Authentic Feedback for Student Learning

2011-08-12T19:44:00.003-07:00

A tricky part of moving ourselves away from isolated learning for multiple choice tests that are disconnected to any lifelong learning to learning that changes the thinking patterns, behaviors, and habits of mind of our students on a more profound, possibly life altering level is that “grades” as we know them invariably need to change as well. If we look at the tasks the students complete in a classroom that has as its foundation learning goals that reach years beyond the next grade or level, moving outside the walls of school, my guess is we find ourselves no longer content living in the world of points and percentages. I would even challenge that as teachers of these classes, we would have a hard time identifying “Percent of what?”

I would begin by identifying my learning goals for each day’s lesson, as well as the overall semester’s lessons, which for me usually connected to somehow furthering the possibility that my students would become the most ethical, effective decision makers they could be in their lives as the leaders and influencers in the times in which they would be living. I would then try to create opportunities for students to be able to practice the skills that would enable them to most successfully achieve those learning goals. Needless to say, giving students feedback under those conditions certainly involved much more than assigning a percentage or simple letter grade.

It might surprise some of you to know that rubrics of sorts have been around as long as I was a teacher, (Yes, that spans back into the 70’s — the late 70’s!), and I am certain even before. While my early rubrics looked nothing like the ones I was using at the end of my career, they still served to give my students specific feedback on the core values that we were all working towards as members of our learning community. And that to me is their greatest value.

When learning goals are connected to lifelong learning (and today that must include the 4 C’s, communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking),and rubrics are specifically connected to learning goals, then to me, when rubrics are used, students receive more authentic feedback that can make a greater difference in their lives. No longer are the rubric descriptors focused on completion and compliance like a checklist or written in broad generalities. To be a valuable learning tool for students, rubrics must pinpoint the varying levels of actual skill development that connect back to the over-arching learning goal.

In my class, students used rubrics in a variety of ways. They would use the teacher rubrics that I would ultimately use as the final product was completed and ready for rating, when they were acting as peer evaluators of classmates’ work. In addition, I would create self-assessment rubrics (written in student voice) for the kids to use to be able to assess their effort and commitment levels to the work we were doing. These self-assessment rubrics usually served as the evidence pieces used in deeper reflection at a unit’s end.

For me, I always knew that when I gave rubric ratings at the end of a unit that my students would be able to take that information, review it with their products, whatever they might have been, and then, because they understood the connection to the learning goal and its importance in their lives as leader/influencers, and because they had actually used the rubric themselves as peer evaluators, they were able to go back again and make their products even better. In my classroom, using rubrics encouraged continuous improvement as well as gave more authentic feedback, and that combination served to foster true lifelong learning goals.

Good to Great: Reconnecting to Excellence in Education

2011-08-09T06:04:00.009-07:00

Last week I had the opportunity to work with a remarkable group of educators who are preparing to change the lives of students by mindfully and explicitly teaching to the outcome: healthy decision makers who positively influence the healthy decision making of others. In an education culture that currently embraces a bar of all students will perform reasonably well on a multiple choice exam that is completely disconnected from any long-term life outcome, I find the courage of these educators remarkable. I also consider myself extraordinarily blessed to work with such an amazing group.

It is refreshing to legitimately be able to talk about moving from good to great in a public education setting where so often the focus is moving from failing to underperforming on metrics that do not make sense in a 21^st century economy. Given our current system, if the goal is met and 100% of students meet the proficiency requirements (which are statistical madness) on state exams we will not be any closer to preparing students for an ethical citizenry and world class workforce. Last week reconnected me with the passion of why asking the question "To What End?" about every lesson and every course is so powerful. The answer to the question changes educators, changes students, and changes the lives of the people asking. The PE teachers we worked with last week are ready to take on the world, and we will continue to watch their growth and development as a program with great anticipation.

As Joan and I worked with these teachers we referenced Jim Collins' book Good to Great as a framework for our training. Our role was to move the department forward in their thinking, to stretch them, and give them initial tools to support them in moving from an already very good program to a great program. Using the lessons learned in Good to Great we started with a focus on who before what, and we allowed the teachers to share their stories, connect on a personal level, and experience and give voice to their appreciation of one another. We gave the teachers space to problem solve together and share a common experience that lead to insight into who they are as problem solvers, who they are as people, and who they are together. We used the verbiage from Collins' book "Disciplined People, Disciplined Thought, and Disciplined Action", to frame our two days together so that task oriented participants could clearly see the connection and the movement during and between sessions. We conducted a Future's protocol (check out www.nsrfharmony.org for lots of protocols and tools to use with groups) to publicly share values, intentions, hopes, and a vision for the program the participants are undertaking. It was remarkable to watch the similar intentions of the group emerge and the recognition that the department is "in this together" and "thinking with the same brain."

With clear intentions and a belief in each other the group was ready for disciplined action. By creating a value driven program the teachers were able to see how the individual standards serve the larger program. The core of the program is enabling students to be healthy decision makers who positively influence the healthy decision making of others. Teachers had the opportunity to practice, develop, and model formative feedback connected to student friendly rubrics in critical areas that will serve students not for the next test, but rather for the rest of their lives. Areas of feedback included teamwork, leadership, collaboration, skill development, sportsmanship, and effort. Formative feedback in valuable areas, mindfully applied, prepares students for the challenges of life.

If we are to truly pursue excellence in education, and we are to have an education system that matters, than the question "To What End?" must always be answered with a focus on positive life outcomes for our children. In so far as our view is limited by the next grade, next test, or next problem we will be unable to properly prepare our children for the challenges of the 21^st century. I know that there are many educators out there ready to answer this call. The past week gave me an opportunity to see the remarkable work that can be done when the right people are on the bus and commit themselves to disciplined thought and disciplined action. I salute all of the educators who are beginning the year with a passion and purpose to achieve positive life outcomes for students and refuse to be just another cog in the assembly line of getting the correct answers on tests.

Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?- Book Review

2011-07-31T16:06:00.004-07:00

I’ll admit it. I had a difficult time putting this book down. Yes, I had heard the message before. Give away the gifts with which you’ve been blessed. Make a difference. Live with joy. Do what you can to positively change your part of the world. But when Seth Godin started in with “…being the artist you already are” I was hooked and yet wished I could turn away. This was going to be trouble. This was going to be the kind of book I would curse and love at the same time.

Right from the beginning we are challenged with the notion of being indispensable, and should we doubt that we can be, he sets us straight. Others have come to this place before, and they have nothing on the rest of us.

“In every case, the linchpins among us are not the ones born with magical talent. No, they are people who have decided that a new kind of work is important, and trained themselves to do it”

Godin challenges the current educational system which continues to turn out “cogs” rather than linchpins. He points out that we have reached the end of “attendance-based compensation.” Noting that there are fewer and fewer jobs where you can get paid for merely showing up and how that changes everything. Godin’s challenge to schools is to quit teaching the wrong things to students. Schools do great at teaching what they teach; however, what they’re teaching is being good at school, not becoming the kind of employees and people our society needs. There are only two things that should be taught in schools: how to solve interesting problems (“It’s far more useful to be able to answer the kind of questions for which Google won’t help. Questions like ‘What should I do next?’”) and how to lead (“…and schools can teach leadership as easily as they figured out how to teach compliance”).

He describes a world where standing out, exerting emotional labor, and being different, will set us apart, get us talked about and send us on the road to being indispensable. Yet he cautions, “If you want a job where you get to do more than follow instructions, don’t be surprised if you get asked to do things they never taught you in school.”

Just about the time we are thinking that this is all well and good for someone else, he gets right in our faces us with, “Of course you [too] can do something that matters. I guess I‘m wondering if you want to” which of course sends us scurrying back to the pages to find out just how to live what he calls the “new American Dream.”

What probably resonated most strongly with me was his discussion of art and the impact it has on others and the way in which it can make us indispensable. “Art is a personal act of courage, something one human does that creates change in another.” And his constant reminder that while we live in a world where reciprocity is the norm, it is in giving away our art, our gifts, without expectation of anything in return, that changes us as human beings.

Lest you think however that Godin could leave it alone at that, he includes the chapter titled “The Resistance” (probably the most important chapter for all of us who have yet to attain the distinction of being indispensable) where he forces us to examine our own behaviors and face those very things that are keeping us from be as indispensable as we could/should be. Writing or rewriting rather than sending out a document (thrashing he calls, it), tweeting or continually answering email rather than closing the deal are the results of Godin’s self-described “lizard brain,” the one that would rather we resist and stay in our undistinguished ruts rather than grow into being indispensable.

There is no escaping looking into the mirror as you read this work. Seth Godin is in your face and unrelenting in sharing his powerful message that will undoubtedly move you to beginning the journey of becoming indispensable.

Reflecting as Connecting Part 2 -- 4 Strategies to Get You Started

2011-07-31T13:24:00.000-07:00

Making personal connections allows for transfer of patterns of thinking and habits of mind. As teachers if we consider the content of our lessons, and the answer to the question”2 What End?” does not extend past the next unit test or class project, then there probably is little need to reflect upon the experiences of the classroom because the learning really doesn’t need to go anywhere; however, if the answer to the question is to ultimately help kids become effective, ethical decision makers then making time and taking time to reflect upon the thinking and experiences taking place during our lessons in our classrooms is a necessity. Connecting our lessons to past experiences and seeing their similarities and differences allows our students the opportunity to make meaning out of the work that is being done. A definition of reflecting that I love comes from one of my favorite books Learning and Leading with Habits of Mind. “To be reflective means to mentally wander through where we have been and to try to make some sense out of it.”

When encouraged to consider the possibility, many teachers are able make the connection between reflecting and transfer of learning. If you think about something you have learned or noticed and then make a personal connection, there is a greater likelihood that the learning will stick. If it has meaning for you, you will remember it. However, actually putting reflecting into practice in their classrooms becomes more of a challenge. In reflecting upon my past practice as well as numerous “reflecting” conversations of which I have been a participant, 4 strategies surface as ways to help increase the chances of success as you begin to incorporate reflecting into your classroom routine.

Set the scene. A quiet room cleared of distractions is an atmosphere that encourages reflective thinking. Journals kept in the room allows for an easy transition when the time is right. Skeletal questions prepared ahead of time (although they may change as you observe student response) can help encourage deeper thinking and consideration.

Identify the process. Set a specific protocol that you will review with the kids each time they reflect. There are no right or wrong answers. Pause before beginning to write to fully consider the prompt. No one talks or distracts other writers. Pens/pencils can go down but journals should be kept open when finished as further consideration often leads to additional writing.

Encourage writing. Modeling the process is a tried and true method that works. Ask prompt questions orally if possible. Ask the question slowly in a conversational tone the first time and then again. Stop your talking so the students have time to think and then write. Model pausing to think before you write and then actually write with the kids.

Complete the process. Depending on your total number of students, read some or all of what the students have written. There is no need to check for grammar, just sit and enjoy. It takes just a second to jot a note in the margin of the passage you have chosen to read. This helps you connect with the students and will pay off greatly the next time the students reflect.

If we really think about the ease and speed at which students can access information and how that has changed our role as teachers, we have really been freed of being the only expert in the room and can now take more opportunities to facilitate the kind of deeper thinking that reflection encourages. Making personal connections to our classroom learning will help ensure transfer of that knowledge beyond the classroom walls which really does answer the question “2 What End?”

Anticipatory Musings

2011-07-26T17:07:00.001-07:00

It’s that time again. I know it because the advertising flyers in my Sunday newspaper are packed full of fabulous bargains on brightly colored school supplies, new backpacks, the latest footwear and fall fashions, and faces of kids who are smiling brightly at the prospect of returning to school. I always thought it was funny that there weren’t any smiling teachers in the pictures, as if the advertisers thought it would be impossible to sell that to the public. After all, we go into teaching because we have the summers off, right? What they don’t know is that while many of us are physically out of our classrooms (forced unemployment a good friend of mine calls it), the classroom isn’t really far from our minds.

Chances are good that if you are an educator like I was, more than once during the summer grand ideas about what you were going to try to do to improve the learning experience come fall floated through your mind. What new novels might the kids like to read? How can I make my story problem unit more meaningful? How can I stretch the art supplies for classes of even more students? What new technology might enhance my lessons? What current events that occurred over the summer can I connect to my history lessons? Our curriculum is on our minds, our supplies and budgets are on our minds, our standards are on our minds, our potential class size/class load is on our minds. I know it always was for me. But I wonder how often the actual students themselves are on our minds.

I don’t mean the students as they appear in our classrooms, but the students as they appear in the world. How many times have we considered how what we do in the classroom prepares our kids for the people they will be in the world? I know in our heart of hearts, most of us went into this profession because we wanted to make a difference in the lives of kids (not just have the summers off). I know that we wanted to help prepare kids for the world they would inherit from us. Many of us felt that preparing kids for the next grade or level, or perhaps for success on the next standardized test would do that, but in today’s world, a world where the jobs our kids will have, have yet to even be created, a shift of thinking needs to occur.

In my mind, it is no longer enough to confine our thinking inside the walls of school. We need to break down those walls and let our vision look to what our 3rd graders, or 8th graders, or high school juniors will look like as members of an ethical citizenry and world class workforce. That is the picture we need to have in our minds as we begin to ready ourselves for the fall classes and the job of preparing our kids for their important roles in the future. In deciding what needs to be done to improve the learning experience this year, ask yourself if what you are proposing goes far enough. Does it include any learning that the kids can actually take away outside of school?

We need to begin designing lessons that infuse communicating, collaborating, critically thinking, and creating, the very skills today’s CEOs and tomorrow’s future bosses find lacking in their new hires, into our content areas. We need to give kids the opportunities to practice the skills that will help them become effective, ethical decision makers. We need to provide opportunities for our kids to engage in learning on a more global level. We need to begin using assessments that allow our kids to practice transferring their learning to novel situations, to test their thinking, reflect on their results, predict future decision making and develop lifelong patterns of thinking, so they have the confidence to do just that when they become our future leaders, parents, workers in the 21st century. These are the skills they will need in the world they will be inheriting from us, and it is our job to get them ready. So in the next weeks, as you are doing the anticipatory musings that all teachers do, make sure your vision includes the kids in your class in their future roles and plan accordingly.

The Great Memorizer is Obsolete

2011-07-19T07:21:00.002-07:00

As an educator I once believed that the sharing of knowledge and the transmission of information was an empowering act, a gift that would transform the world, moving individuals from ignorance to intelligence and opening doors to a bright future. The role of teacher was to provide critical life-altering information in engaging and inspiring ways. Students armed with information would carry forth into the world prepared and capable to face the challenges ahead. The feedback I received reinforced this view as students, parents, teachers, administrators, and national and state award committees acknowledged this noble act as excellent, model-quality teaching. As a disseminator of information I could change the world for the better.

What I did not realize at the time was that this noble act was a relic of the past, a whisper of a time that no longer exists. I did not see that I was standing in the rubble of an education system designed to serve an industrial age economy working on an agrarian calendar long before the information age came to pass. I was participating in a sorting system to divide the world into thinkers and workers, a world where predictability would be the norm, and routine jobs could provide a healthy income and happy middle class life.

The difference between the educated and the uneducated was truly differentiated between those who had the information and those who did not. The world of information was locked in complex files in huge buildings with limited access. The thinking of the world resided in physical places like universities and research libraries where only the elite could enter. Learning was dependent on the learned to share the secrets stored in their minds that would otherwise be inaccessible.

When we consider the deep fabric of our system, as it is currently designed, there is no question that at its pinnacle is the creation of "Great Memorizer". Young people dream of a photographic memory to record forever the vast amount of information that they are relentlessly exposed to in school. This would save countless hours of studying as they spend vast amounts of their childhood committing unrelated information to memory for recall on a series of quizzes, tests, and finals. The "Great Memorizer" is quickly recognized as intelligent, able to regurgitate answers at high speed, reinforced for reading ahead and being right, they will quickly grow to love and dominate the classroom hierarchy.

Combining an effective memory with the ability to sit quietly, respond only when engaged by the teacher, and placing great value on the elusive "A" this child will be valedictorian. A model student in our current system- complies with teacher requests, completes all work as assigned, remembers what was taught, and repeats information on cue in written or spoken language. This is our system by design and for good reason. In a world full of predictable and known problems, where people work for someone who tells him/her what to do, and where factual information is a competitive advantage these people will flourish. They will climb the management ladder and ultimately tell others what to do as they remember what they did. It is the perfect system for an industrial economy. It is the perfect employee for 1950.

In 2011 the world is vastly different. I would argue that for the first time in human history the competitive value of factual knowledge is zero. The data of the world is at our fingertips. Whatever we want to know to whatever degree we want to know it is moments away. The great memorizer is obsolete; it is no longer the knower of information, but rather the user of information that is critical in the new economy. The Great Decider is tomorrow's leader not the Great Knower. The decision makers of tomorrow face unpredictable problems, unclearly defined, with uncertain variables, under conditions of dynamic complexity. The decider needs access to information, but it is not the knowledge that makes them powerful, it is the transferable thinking that can be applied across situations to help make effective and ethical decisions that separates the educated from the uneducated of tomorrow. The knowledge base is in continuous flux, growing and changing daily, the patterns of thinking that allow people to decide effectively and ethically are applicable across time, space, and change.

How can we waste one more day not getting our children ready for the future? I can no longer pretend that the industrial age future exists for our children. I can no longer ignore the fact that the world has fundamentally changed. Routine work is automatized or off-shored, predictable known problems are no longer the work of the middle class, and the compliant "A" student is no longer prepared for the demands that lie ahead. I cannot march mindlessly into the sea of education bathing our customers in knowledge in ways that are fundamentally detrimental to their future success. I cannot pretend that compliance and completion at school will prepare students for prosperous living, learning, and leading in the 21^st century. I cannot and I will not stand idly by acquiescing to the current system because that is the way it has always been.

If the goal of education is preparing people for effective and ethical decision making, then deep change is ahead for curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Curriculum must focus on transferable thinking and take-away learning regardless of what information is presented. Instruction must engage learners in such a way to reflect on, create new, actively test, and concretely experience effective patterns of thinking and their impact on self and others. Assessment must demand transfer to new unpredictable tasks, making meaning of ambiguous results, and anticipating future refinement and application of lifelong skills. This is my work, this is the work of 2 What End, and this is the work of all educators who are committed to preparing students for their future.

Are Blogging and Reflecting Connected? Part 1

2011-07-04T13:17:00.001-07:00

Okay, so evidently I am years behind when it comes to blogging… Actually it wasn’t until just recently that I had ever really read someone’s blog. A technology “native” took me there in the hopes I would see the value and recognize the connection to some of the work that I have been doing in my classroom for years. Actually I should say had been doing in my classroom. This spring marked the end of what some have called a legendary 34 year teaching career, and one whose anecdotes I am sure I will feature in upcoming blog posts. While I have to admit, some of the blogs that I read simply seemed to be recounting the events of classroom activities or sharing tools of the trade which were interesting, those that caught my attention and made me pause (always a sign indicating I was going to want more) were blogs in which the writers actually reflected upon their practice and things they had been thinking about, some even offering hope and encouragement for our ever-changing world of education in the 21st century. It’s funny really because I have always thought of myself as a reflective person as well as a reflective practitioner, and I have worked tirelessly in my lesson design making space for my students to reflect. So if blogging is a venue for reflection, then after all this time, I’m in.

For years I had my students keep journals. I say that now after all these years with an air of certainty as if there were no other choice, and it was easy to implement. In my most recent planning, I liked to think of it as making room for student thinking. Our journals were a place that if students desired, they could keep their thinking entirely to themselves or share as they wanted. Sometimes we would free write or draw or share stories of our lives, while other times the kids would respond to prompts based on the experience we had just shared. While we will delve into reflection protocols and prompts at a later date, the piece I wanted to share was that while I had been a lifelong “journaler” and most days found time in my daily routine for at least a couple of quiet moments, scheduling it into my classroom experience was a little trickier than I thought it would be.

Writing takes time which should be no surprise because thinking takes time. In our standards-driven world taking time to think can pose a logistics problem for those educators intent on covering everything assigned to a particular discipline. If you are going to fit reflecting into your classroom experience, you have to go into it knowing that it will be at a cost; something will likely not get “covered” while you are allowing your students time to think and connect to the material and experiences you are providing them and then express the results of that thinking in writing. I would weigh the importance of each; one more nugget of content compared to the possibility of making a personal connection to our learning and taking that away for a lifetime, and framed that way, there really wasn’t much of a choice. If in fact the work I was doing with kids was ultimately designed to help them not just become better ninth graders but to become ethical citizens and members of a world class workforce then reflecting on our learning and experiences to allow for the possibility of profound personal connections was well worth the time spent.

When Headed in the Wrong Direction Choose a New Path

2011-06-27T14:54:00.001-07:00

There is a disconnect between what we do in schools and what we need in society for an ethical citizenry and world class workforce. I find that this reality is a source of deep conflict within me. For fourteen years I have worked in the public schools as an award winning teacher and principal. Despite being good at my job, knowledgeable in my field, and finding genuine joy in the growth and learning of young people there remains a deep dissatisfaction with our current reality.

As I look at test score data and consider the next steps to move my school forward, in my heart I know that if I were to apply all of my knowledge, skill, and desire to help raise the scores on these multiple choice exams and if as a result every child were to “Exceed” the marks on these measures that at the end of the day our society, our country, would not be any closer to meeting the demands of ethical citizenship and world class workers. Tony Wagner has addressed this disconnect beautifully in his book The Global Achievement Gap, and I would argue that this book should be required reading of every person who wants to add their voice to the discussion of educational quality in this country. The system we work in and the strategies for educational improvement remain mired in the factory assembly line model that our current educational system was created to serve. A sorting system where 80% of the population needed to simply follow the rules, do as they are told, and perform the manual lifting while 20% do the heavy mental lifting, all in a context of education where retention of knowledge reigns supreme. This reality is only visible in the rearview mirror. The reality of today reveals flat organizations that demand the thinking, innovation, creativity, critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, and communication of all employees. This is a world where the retention of knowledge is of zero competitive value. It is the application, evaluation, and synthesis of information where value is added and differences are made.

Education is ill prepared for the reality that the world’s knowledge base flows freely and instantaneously in the world outside school. The identity of teachers is fundamentally challenged when their former role as the expert in the room is quickly overcome by the knowledge of the web. This is a world where I can watch the top authors, speakers, and thinkers instantaneously from anywhere. This is a world where the expert of today is minutes away from being usurped by the next big thing. This is the world that I am responsible for serving, and these are the children whose education must not be compromised.

I see my responsibility to serve our young people, and I believe that I am free to choose my own path. As of June 30, 2011 I am resigning from my position as principal of a middle school to dedicate all that I have to the preparation of all young people for the challenges of ethical citizenry and a world class workforce. I believe without reservation that the educators who embrace the reality that we must prepare students with the transferable learning, habits of mind, and patterns of thinking that they will take with them beyond school and into the world are the educators of tomorrow. It is my great gift in life to have the opportunity to contribute to this end. I hope that over the years to come many of you will join me on this remarkable journey. I know that I am blessed to have one person who shares this vision and passion for preparing young people for the realities of tomorrow and has lived this mission for 35 years in the classroom. Now her wisdom is no longer bound by the walls of her classroom and together we embark upon this journey to design, develop, and deliver high quality professional learning for 21^st century thinking.

“2 What End?” is the question that we will ask of every educator, every school, and every policy maker. We dare to dream of a system that knows where it is headed and has a vision for its students that exceeds the notion that retention of known information is the bar. We are pathmakers navigating the treacherous divide between current reality and future necessity. I hope to see you on the journey.