Directions

Summer can be a great time for professional development. It is an opportunity to learn more about a topic, read a particular work or the works of a particular author, beef up an existing unit of instruction, advance one’s technical skills, work on that advanced degree or certification, pick up a new hobby, and finish many of the other items on our ever-growing To Do Lists. Let’s make Summer 2009 a time when we actually get to accomplish a few of those things and enjoy the thrill of marking them off our lists.

The Rules

NOTE: You do NOT have to wait to be tagged to participate in this meme.

1. Pick 1-3 professional development goals and commit to achieving them this summer.
2. For the purposes of this activity the end of summer will be Labor Day (09/07/09).
3. Post the above directions along with your 1-3 goals on your blog.
4. Title your post Professional Development Meme 2009 and link back/trackback to http://clifmims.com/blog/archives/2447.
5. Use the following tag/ keyword/ category on your post: pdmeme09.
6. Tag 5-8 others to participate in the meme.
7. Achieve your goals and “develop professionally.”
8. Commit to sharing your results on your blog during early or mid-September.

Alright. Here goes:

Finish my Master’s. I’ve completed all of my coursework for a Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction, yet due to the big move from Michigan to Connecticut last summer I had to scrap my original proposal and push back the completion of the degree. This is going to be a pretty busy summer without this Master’s busi/yness thrown in, but if I finish anything this summer, this needs to be it. Oh, by the way, I’m planning on creating a project-based unit for 9th grade Integrated Science and interweaving that with creating professional development for technology integration for other teachers. I’m sure there’ll be more posts on this as it develops.

Post more often. You may have noticed: I fell off the blogging wagon awhile ago. I’ve found myself missing the depth that results from forcing myself to put my thoughts into writing. No promises on posts per week or anything- hopefully I’ll just be quicker to posts thoughts/reflections that I’m having.

Read. more. books. Two summers ago I set aside a specific amount of time for reading everyday (both for pleasure & professionally). Last summer I didn’t read nearly as much without that regimen, so I’m hoping this year to rip through several books. Professionally I have some Papert¹ and Dewey². For leisure I have no set plan except to read what sounds good to me at the time. You can keep track of my reading through the LibraryThing widget in my sidebar (or visit my LibraryThing catalog).

Stay connected. It’s much harder for me to follow Twitter during the summer. I’m not required to be near a computer during the day, so often I’m not. I’m already missing the conversations and links that are a regular part of my Twitter communication. I’m hoping to keep up on my feeds a little better, and will try to interact  more through that end of things as I spend less dedicated time in front of the screen.

I’ll refrain from tagging others specifically, but if you’re reading this, consider yourself tagged. Here’s to a fun, restful, productive summer.______________________________

1. somehwere Gary Stager is smiling
2. despite having read an awful lot about Dewey’s ideas and several excerpts, I’ve never sat down with his actual work. I know, I know…

Unfortunately, the existing school culture isn’t one that fosters excellence among the staff or students. There are many critiques to be made of the current system, but far and away the biggest criticism I have is that the school lacks a culture of criticism.

In general (there are definite exceptions), criticism in any way shape or form is not welcomed. Even minor, soft-spoken constructive criticism is often responded to as if the criticism were a personal attack. As a result, criticism has become extremely rare in any form. This, in my opinion, may be the single most detrimental characteristic of the school.

Criticism is important and should flow freely at any institution that wants to improve its effectiveness. Let me suggest a few ways that a culture of criticism should evidence itself:

There should be regular (I’d say weekly at minimum) observations of classroom instruction both by teachers and administrators. These observations should be viewed by both parties as opportunities to improve existing practices and learn new methodologies.

The decision-making processes should be open and transparent. For example, if a committee is formed to interview and select a new administrator, it should be clear to all stakeholders how the members of the committee were chosen and what qualities they’re looking for among the candidates.

Procedures and policies should be open for suggestions as to how they might be improved to be more effective or more efficient. While constantly changing procedure and policy can be detrimental, they should be regularly questioned: Why do we do things this way? Is our current method helping students/staff/the school accomplish the stated goal efficiently?

If the school culture is not open to crtiticism, how can we ever hope to improve? The worst thing we can do is continue old practices simply because “that’s the way it is.” Constructive criticism from a variety of viewpoints drives reform and is a hallmark of robust and rigorous institutions. As educators, we expect our students to take constructive criticism from us. We also need to learn to take that criticism ourselves.

On a personal note, I’ve tried to offer gentle constructive criticism many times this school year. The responses have ranged from a simple blow off to downright unprofessional behavior. Through it all, I keep telling myself that eventually some people will realize that I’m trying to improve their lives, not get them fired. What is the best method to create a culture of criticism? I’m looking for any help (or criticism) you might have.

I recently re-did a couple presentations that go over some basics of chemical reactions. I decided to try crafting the information into some sort of story format. I won’t say this presentation is a great story, but I think it’s a definite improvement on simply throwing the information up on the screen and saying, “This is how it is.”

I’d like to continue the meme (of sorts) started by Darren² and continued by Damian of opening up these presentations to public comment and critique. What would you do to improve upon them? What stinks? What works?

Chemical Reaction Basics

Chemical Reaction Basics
View more OpenOffice presentations from benwildeboer.
• PowerPoint (.ppt)
• .pdf

Types of Chemical Reactions

Types Of Chemical Reactions
View more OpenOffice presentations from benwildeboer.
• PowerPoint (.ppt)
• .pdf

______________________________

1. I thought I had several articles speaking to the brain’s special liking for stories cached away, but when it came to write this, I couldn’t find them anywhere. If you know of any please leave a link in the comments.
2. and thanks to Dan for bringing it to my attention. I notice this meme has a pretty strong correlation with names that start with the letter “D.”

I’m looking forward to the flexibility and other benefits of self-hosting while remaining somewhat apprehensive about the technical aspects. However, I’m confident that all of you out there can help me resolve any issues that may arise.

_______________________________

1. Hat tip to Alec Couros whose blog theme I liked so much I spent hours searching for one close to it before I broke down and used the same one. Remember: imitation is the highest form of flattery.

Some posts hit you exactly when and where you need to be hit. Dina over at The Line wrote a post that did just that recently. In a new school where I’m not exactly enthralled with the existing culture, I’ve found myself frustrated often. I haven’t been posting as much in part because I felt like most of what I wanted to write about would be negative and complain-y. I’m not one to be content with school culture that needs some work so I’ve tried pushing some things here and there with very limited success. That’s frustrating. Add that to teaching brand new classes and I’m frustrated knowing that this isn’t my best year as a teacher, even if its simply because it’s all new

In the midst of frustration the providencial interWebz sent Dina’s post my direction. Frustrated working to change a school while working in that school she pulls in advice from several of my favorite names in education (featuring Deborah Meier and Chris Lehmann) who advise reforming with a posse (for support) and giving yourself a break when things don’t work out they way you’d like. Check out this gem of a quote from Chris:

Trying to be Rafe Esquith or Debbie Meier is a good goal, but only if we don’t beat ourselves up when we fall short… teaching is a marathon, not a sprint. We desperately need wise, kind, thoughtful people who make this a career and a life.

And we need to forgive ourselves when we aren’t perfect or awesome or “A-game” every day. When the people who care leave because we cannot measure up to our ideal version of ourselves, in the end, that’s bad for our schools and our kids.

I have been in the habit of beating myself up for falling short this year, and Dina’s post helped me remember that it’s okay. I can fail without being a failure (and that I need to start forming a reform posse ).

Communities of learners

Michael Wesch teaches his college classes as if they were research groups. He does this to great effect and has received quite a bit of notoriety for his unique teaching style and the products of his students’ research (some examples). In the post Our class on how we run our class, Wesch details how the class is organized and what the students are responsible for generating.

Wesch has effectively created and implemented a teaching style that I’ve been slowly working towards in my last several years as an educator. It’s basically the definition of student-centered, authentic, active learning (I know that’s a lot a buzz words in one sentence, but if they’re ever applicable, it’s here).

This post gave me a lot to unpack and think about in relation to my own teaching. I haven’t had the time to sit down and decompress all the information he’s slammed into this one post quite yet, but it’ll definitely be something I spend time on this summer (if not sooner).

Michael Wesch was a guest on a recent Seedlings Podcast (#60) where he gives a little more insight into his philosophy of teaching. An interesting tidbit: he uses Eric Fromm’s The Art of Loving to stay focused on what how he should think about his students. The whole show is worth a listen.

In the past couple weeks I’ve come across three posts that have resonated with me deeply. I’d like to share them with you. This post is the first of the three. The other two will follow shortly.

Living and Learning with Social Media by danah boyd

This is a transcript of Dr. boyd’s talk at Penn State’s Symposium for Teaching and Learning with Technology. danah boyd studies teens and how they interact with social media. This talk is probably the best pieces I’ve seen (evar) on social media and its implications for the students in our classrooms. Let me hit you with some highlights:

On differences in populations using MySpace & Facebook:

More problematically, I’ve heard many of you talk about using Facebook directly in the classroom. And I’ve heard you talk about recruiting through Facebook. What kinds of assumptions are you making? Are you aware of these issues?

A refrain I’m starting to hear as the norm from those I follow online that I couldn’t agree with more:

Just because youth are using social media doesn’t mean that it can fit well into the classroom. It needs to be thought through pedagogically and y’all need to understand how it’s being used in everyday life before bringing it into the classroom.

Describing why using social network sites in the classroom is probably not a great idea:

On social network sites, you have to publicly list your Friends and you have to have the functioning network to leverage it. What happens if you’re an outcast at school? Does bringing it into the classroom make it worse? [...] Bringing social network sites into the classroom can be very very tricky because you have to contend with social factors that you, as a teacher, may not be aware of.

And lastly, describing why teens have a lot to learn about social media even though they may use it regularly:

For all of the attention paid to “digital natives” it’s important to realize that most teens are engaging with social media without any deep understanding of the underlying dynamics or structure. Just because they understand how to use the technology doesn’t mean that they understand the information ecology that surrounds it. Most teens don’t have the scaffolding for thinking about their information practices.

So much of what boyd says flies right in the face of how many educators view social media. In my experience social media- especially social network sites- are seen as a disease. They think it puts teens into dangerous situations and prevents them from doing “productive” activities. danah points out that much of what teens do online is normal teenage socialization using a new tool. She’s careful to point out that there are differences between socialization on Facebook and socialization in real life.

Dr. boyd also notes that we shouldn’t assume that teens have a deep understanding of how social media even though they may use it all the time. For me, this point emphasizes how important it is to teach students about social media in our schools instead of simply banishing it. Internet filtration is well-intentioned but often their main effect is to lock out some of the most relevant teaching and learning opportunities for our students (as I’ve mentioned before). As educators we need to have an open dialogue with our students about these technologies- something danah boyd points out and I coudn’t agree with more.

If you haven’t read any of danah boyd’s other research and writing, I highly recommend it. Her website contains many of her articles

• Eat. Stop at the store. Pick up some donuts, mini-muffins, and assorted fruit. Advisory isn’t a fun place for students. Make it more inviting. Bribery through food is a good start.
• Apologize. Mainly apologize for using the “curriculum” you’re supposed to be using. Be honest. Tell them you were trying to the the right thing, but some times the “right thing” isn’t what’s right.
• Talk. This is big. At this point students will most complain about how stupid advisory is and how it could be used for so many more useful things. Complaining is good
• Share. Show a couple video clips you particularly like. Show a couple video clips students like.
• Enjoy. The first advisory meeting you’ve had all year that wasn’t forced or awkward.

Advisory (a.k.a. mentor/mentee, homeroom, seminar, etc.) is designed to be a time where students meet with a teacher to form a relationship outside of the traditional teacher/student interactions. Teachers meet with the same group of students for all four years of high school with the expectation that deeper and more lasting relationships will be formed between students and teacher. I believe that a well executed advisory can be a positive influence on school culture and student success. However, our system is broken.

In a nutshell, here are the major problems:

• We meet with our advisories every two weeks for 30 minutes. This isn’t enough to form lasting relationships.
• Activities and “curriculum” used for advisory are developed on an “as-we-go” basis.  There just isn’t time to develop this stuff on the fly.
• A small, under-attended, over-stressed committee of five or six individuals designs the “curriculum” that is used for advisory. Six simply isn’t enough people to tackle this monumental task.
• All levels use the same “curriculum” materials. All grade levels- and especially freshman and senior levels- should have their own goals and activities.

Today, I quit. I stopped using the materials provided. I stopped using any formal materials. I couldn’t put my students or myself through that uncomfortable hell of pushing through an activity that neither of us thinks is appropriate or helpful.

If you had been visited my classroom during this time you wouldn’t have been blown away by anything that happened. If you had been in my classroom for every other advisory to see the awkward and forced interactions that used to be the norm you’d understand my enthusiasm more clearly.

As educators we want so much for advisory to be valuable that we forget the most valuable part is just getting to know our students. You don’t need a formal curriculum for that. You just need time and desire (a few donuts don’t hurt either).

You’d think since I have this fairly well-established blog (i.e. it’s been in existence for >1 year) this would be the place to share. However, I like that this blog focuses pretty specifically on education related topics, yet so much of the good stuff I find isn’t directly related to education.

Delicious (or Diigo)! Why not just bookmark it on one of these great social bookmarking sites I already use? Well…I would…but I use those tools to stash away items that I might like to revisit sometime in the future. It’s cool stuff, but I don’t really have any need to find it again.

Twitter! Of course Twitter is a great place to share this fun stuff. Yet Twitter is pretty lacking in the visual display department (i.e. pictures, videos, etc.), and it just doesn’t seem to do many of these things justice.

And so I’ve created my own tumblog: WillyB’s Schtuff

On it will be links to many of the fun, interesting, clever, and intriguing items that the ‘tubes drop into my lap. Check it out.

As an aside, I’ve tried to integrate the tumblog’s RSS feed into the sidebar or on another page on this blog, but have been unsuccessful so far. If you know how to easily do this I’d be grateful for the help.

Instead, the more I learn, the more I tweak, the more I realize how imperfect my curriculum really is. To be sure, it has improved dramatically from my first year teaching, and I’d even say it’s gotten better every time I teach. Yet I’m still discontent. I’m still frustrated that the level of student engagement and rigor I’d like to have doesn’t match the engagement and rigor that actually exists.

The last two weeks my frustration level has been pretty high. We’re not doing enough work in groups. We’re not doing enough meaningful projects. We’re doing too much question answering. I’m talking in front of the class too often and not spending enough time talking with students. I critically tear apart my teaching technique and the way I present the content.

I’m confident that the curriculum I’m using and the way I’m presenting it is at least “good.” My frustration comes from knowing that it’s not the best. It’s the difference between completing a marathon and winning a marathon. Completing a marathon can be pretty a pretty major accomplishment for a recreational runner like myself. However, if you’re an elite runner with the talent and training to be able to win a marathon simply finishing isn’t a major achievement.

While I don’t mind my status as a recreational runner I’m not happy being a “recreational teacher.” I have access to the knowledge and skills required to be an “elite teacher.” As such I expect myself to constantly strive for “elite” status.  I analyze my teaching and curriculum like that elite runner watching a video of herself in slow motion; trying to find inefficiencies in her stride that can be eliminated.

My frustration (I’ve only recently come to realize) is simply a manifestation of my desire to improve.

________________________________________________________________________

Image Credits

• Jelena Prokopcuka by ReneS
• me myself and I on the road by adropp

Task number one: Come up with a mission statement for the technology committee.

I’m pretty new to the school and don’t have the greatest understanding of what the goals of the committee have been in the past. As I see it, the committee’s job is to: (1) provide support and timely teacher professional development on how technology tools can be used to improve teaching and learning, and (2) act as a go-between for teachers and those making purchasing decisions on where technology money could be spent where it would have the greatest effect per dollar.

I’d really prefer if it sounded like a real person talking instead of sounding bureaucratic and overly wordy. However, since mission statements are pretty much solely for those people who enjoy bureacracy and wordiness, I may be willing to settle somewhere in the middle.

Here’s my first go at it:

Working to support teaching and learning through the effective use of technology in the classroom.

Or maybe:

Providing teachers with the tools and training to use technology in support of effective teaching and learning.

Guess I’ll try one typical wordy one too (though I won’t like it):

The technology committee strives to provide technological tools to teachers, students, and the community in order to support our students and staff in their teaching and learning. Students will graduate as effective digital citizens able to contribute to society utilizing 21st century technology tools and skills.

Seeing as this post is a bit of thinking in public, what do you think of the above options? What mission statements do your schools use for technology committees (or whatever you call them where you are)?