LE-Jack's Blog - LEADING E.D.G.E.

Day 3 at #SCEWL14 - The California Constructivist Conference

7/30/2014

Leading an icebreaker. Photo by T.Bedley

Day 3 at SCEWL14 and the REACH Academy teams continue to work hard on their task. They are a great group of teachers and it will be fascinating to see how much they are able to move across the continuum from teacher-centered to student-centered classrooms. As I mentioned last night, yesterday I saw somewhat of a paradigm shift and I think some of the teachers want to use more student-centered practices but I’m not certain the culture is in place to support it. Only time will tell.

There were some excellent workshops today and as usual Tim Bedley was the headliner. Tim had two sessions. One was titled EdTech Tips and another titled Critical Thinking Activities. They both were standing room only. Another workshop was presented by Sandy Sanford titled Smarter Balanced - A Practical Approach. We got to know Sandy a bit and he has a fascinating background. He is currently helping schools in data management as it relates to summative assessments and teacher practice. Julie Miranda also presented a workshop on Japanese Lesson Study called Writing About Math (WAM.) I didn’t get to see it but it sounded fascinating.

Tonight we had the conference banquet at the beautiful McMahan House, a great on campus conference facility. After a fine dinner we had some great entertainment. (Well that might be a little exaggeration. We had entertainment and some of it was quite good.) Anyone who has attended the ILCE Constructivist Conference knows that the entertainment at the banquet is fine home spun local talent that ranges from hokey to incredibly professional. Dionna Fitch and Jeff Morabito played the western version of Carol Amberg and Frank Pickus. The highlight was the quiz game (a mix of Jeopardy, Family Feud, and others) which brought out the best (or maybe worst) in all of us. It wouldn’t be fair not to mention that our table won!

Tomorrow we wrap our work, do a session of critical friends, and share our efforts with each other. Stay tuned for a final wrap up.

Day 2 at the SCEWL "Constructivist" Conference #SCEWL14

7/29/2014

Jeff Morabito of Sycamore Academy working with teachers from REACH Academy.

Day 2 in beautiful San Marcos. It was a toasty 94 degrees today but we are working comfortably with the help of air conditioning. It is funny though because I slept kind of cold last night due to the automatic air conditioning. Not as cold as Saranac Lake though!

Some more differences between the conferences…. Amazingly, unlike the ILCE Constructivist Institute where we get a number of teams from St. Lawrence University, there is no one from the San Marcos Education Department here. They are missing a great opportunity.

If you were at the last couple of New York Institutes you have experienced the leaps and bounds made in the area of technology. Well here at San Marcos they have taken it another leap. Other than us old timers (Bruce & I) there is very little easel paper being used by facilitators. The teams using little or no paper seem to be kept logged onto the college network better than our teams are. Web access has been okay for most but for some reason random computers will lose access. It has been very frustrating at times. I think perhaps a finer balance needs to be found between paper and paperless activities. My feeling is that if you are creating a document that you are are going to regularly reference then it is nice to have it on paper so the entire group can reference it easily. It you are creating mind maps and other graphics, again, it makes sense to make them on paper. (You can always upload photos of it to the digital portfolio.) If you are collaborating on a written document then you can’t beat Google Docs. It is amazing to have a team all working on the same document simultaneously. Our team’s supervisor stopped by today and I would have been at a loss if we hadn’t had “artifacts” on the wall to share our intellectual journey.

As I mentioned yesterday the size of conference is a big difference. The small size of the conference makes it incredibly intimate. I thought today that it wouldn’t be too hard to do a large group activity with the entire conference. An icebreaker would be fun for fifty people. I’ll have to recommend that for next year if it doesn’t grow too much.

Another big difference between the conferences is the number of days and how the workshops are conducted. The conference here is only four days instead of New York's five which obviously provides some time challenges. The workshop sessions are a little shorter (45 minutes vs 60) and rather than one session per day as New York does they run two back to back workshop sessions for two days. All total there is one less workshop session than in New York which is pretty amazing considering that there is one less day for the conference.

It was fascinating to watch our team from REACH Academy experience the paradigm shift today as they appeared to “get it” regarding the difference between a traditional teacher-centered environment and a student-centered environment. It will be interesting to see if the school can successfully make the transition. Mary Bedley and Jeff Morabito, teachers at Sycamore Academy, have been indispensable in helping the teachers see how a student-centered classroom can indeed be created at the elementary level. Kudos to both of them.

I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.

First Day Thoughts at the SCEWL Conference #SCEWL14

7/28/2014

Bruce Bonney with a group of teachers from REACH Academy of Riverside, CA

I thought I’d share my experiences at the SCEWL 2014 Conference here in San Marcos, CA where I am serving as a facilitator this week. What’s SCEWL? SCEWL stands for Student-Centered Education Working Laboratory and is pronounced skool. Get it? School and SCEWL….

SCEWL is an education conference that actually models good teaching practice. Participants are the center of the conference just as students should be the center of the classroom! It is modeled after the highly successful Constructivist Conference run by the Institute for Learning Centered Education conducted annually at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York. ILCE has been conducting the conference since the late 1990s while this is SCEWL’s first conference.

As an easterner the first thing to make note of is the environment. St. Lawrence University is in a beautiful part of the northeast and the SCEWL Conference is located on the campus of California State University at San Marcos in southern California between Los Angeles and San Diego. It is beautiful desert country contrasting considerably to New York. Daytime temperatures have been in the high 80s and low 90s since we’ve arrived. The chance of rain so far has been 0%. My wife tells me it has been rainy with nighttime temperatures in the 40s since I left Saranac Lake.

The conference itself is much smaller and intimate with nine teams totalling around 50 people compared to its companion conference which sometimes has over 40 teams with nearly 300 attendees. So much for the major differences, let’s talk about how they are similar for a moment. Teams of educators attend the conference with a task in mind. The conference provides facilitators and using constructivist principles called “conference elements” helps the team accomplish their task. The SCEWL Conference is just like the ILCE Conference in that if you walk in you will see teams of teachers working with their facilitator to clarify their task, create a rubric to assess their work, create a work plan and the myriad other tasks needing attention.

I thought we had a great first day. I’m working with a group of teachers from REACH Academy a charter school from Riverside, California. Their task is something like, “How will REACH Faculty collaboratively develop a weekly schedule that incorporates small and whole group instruction, that utilizes unit development with sample projects, and addresses the ‘Big Questions’ of our curriculum.” They want to address ELA content, provide examples of project-based learning, and address elements of school culture. What do you think? Can they do it in four days? It is quite a task.

Tomorrow they will further clarify their task, create a rubric to assess the quality of their products, and then get to work. I’ll try to offer observations about this conference with some comparison’s with the ILCE Conference each day this week.

The Backcountry Classroom Available in Digital Format

7/3/2014

The Backcountry Classroom is now available in digital format for use on the digital reader of your choice. Check it out HERE.

Have You Flipped Yet?

5/16/2014

Have you tried "flipping" your classroom yet? It is a bit intimidating but once you get the hang of it the results can be amazing. I remember when I was trying to implement constructivist-based teaching strategies in my college classes and asking my mentor, Peter Eppig of Antioch New England University, "How do you get the students to read their homework?" His response helped so much. He said, "What meaningful task do they have to read the homework for?" When I started creating more meaningful classroom tasks for my students they realized they couldn't do them without having read the material, watched the video, or listened to the lecture.

What is Flipped Learning?
Flipped Learning is a pedagogical approach in which direct instruction moves from the group learning space to the individual learning space, and the resulting group space is transformed into a dynamic, interactive learning environment where the educator guides students as they apply concepts and engage creatively in the subject matter.

That is the idea with the flipped classroom. You don't waste class time with reading, watching videos, listening to lectures. You use class time to manipulate the content, solve a real-world-like problem, produce a product, complete a task. You are in a position to coach and be the "Guide on the side" rather than the "Sage on the stage."

The Flipped Learning Network, talks about four pillars of the flipped classroom:
1. Flexible Environment - Flexibility in how the learning environment is arranged and flexibility in their expectations of student timelines for learning.

Establish spaces and time frames that permit students to interact and reflect on their learning as needed.
Continually observe and monitor students to make adjustments as appropriate.
Provide students with different ways to learn content and demonstrate mastery.

2. Learning Culture - The classroom culture changes from a teacher-centered culture to a student-centered culture. Learners no longer only sit and listen to the teacher lecture but are actively involved in constructing their understanding by using the knowledge they have gained to accomplish a task, create a product, or solve a real-world-like problem.

Give students opportunities to engage in meaningful activities without the teacher being central.
Scaffold these activities and make them accessible to all students through differentiation and feedback.

3. Intentional Content - Teachers are continually thinking about what strategies they want to use to, not only increase student learning of content, but also to help students develop conceptual understanding, develop process skills, and internal standards of quality. All of this occurs in a developmentally appropriate environment and manner.

Prioritize concepts used in direct instruction for learners to access on their own.
Create and/or curate relevant content for students.
Differentiate to make content accessible and relevant to all students.

4. Professional Educator - The teacher's role is changing from one of disseminator of information to one of observer and diagnostician. Teachers are continually observing students, providing formative feedback, and assessing their work. Educators are reflective in their practice, work collaboratively to improve their instruction, accept constructive criticism, and tolerate or embrace the controlled chaos in their classroom. To the outside observer it may look as if the teacher is taking a less prominent role in the student-centered environment but be certain that teachers remain the essential ingredient much like the conductor of an orchestra or coach of an athletic team.

Make yourself available to all students for individual, small group, and class feedback in real time as needed.
Conduct ongoing formative assessments during class time through observation and by recording data to inform future instruction.
Collaborate and reflect with other educators and take responsibility for transforming your practice.

By the Numbers:
*In 2012, 48% of teachers flipped at least one lesson, in 2014 it is up to 78%
*96% of teachers who have flipped a lesson would recommend that method to others
*46% of teachers researched have been teaching for more than 16 years, but are moving towards flipped classrooms
*9 out of 10 teachers noticed a positive change in student engagement since flipping their classroom (up 80% from 2012)
*71% of teachers indicated that grades of their students have improved since implementing a flipped classroom strategy
*Of the teachers who do not flip their classroom lessons, 89% said that they would be interested in learning more about the pedagogy

Contact us if you would like our assistance in transforming your classroom practice.

http://flippedlearning.org/domain/46
http://www.learndash.com/interesting-flipped-classroom-statistics/

Why Active Learning?

5/12/2014

According to an article at wired.com, a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences addressed the question, "Would university instruction be more effective if students spent some of their class time on active forms of learning like activities, discussions, or group work, instead of spending all of their class time listening?" by conducting the largest and most comprehensive review of the effect of active learning on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education. Their answer is a resounding yes. According to Scott Freeman, one of the authors of the new study, “The impact of these data should be like the Surgeon General’s report on 'Smoking and Health” in 1964–they should put to rest any debate about whether active learning is more effective than lecturing.”

Definition: Active learning engages students in the process of learning through activities and/or discussion in class, as opposed to passively listening to an expert. It emphasizes higher-order thinking and often involves group work.

Here’s what they found.

1. Students in a traditional lecture course are 1.5 times more likely to fail, compared to students in courses with active learning

2. Students in active learning classes outperform those in traditional lectures on identical exams

The authors point out that, were this a medical study, an effect size this large and statistically significant would warrant stopping the study and administering the treatment to everyone in the study.

Check out the article here: http://www.wired.com/2014/05/empzeal-active-learning/?mbid=social_twitter

Why We Teach

3/24/2014

We teach, as one friend put it, to plant seeds. We attempt to fertilize them well with a variety of knowledge, skills, and yes, even values. We sometimes get to watch them sprout a bit but we rarely get to see if they flourish or not. I enjoy nothing more than to hear from former students from my years when I was directing North Country Community College’s Wilderness Recreation Leadership Program which I started in 1979 and directed for sixteen years. The former students who contact me provide a very consistent message of their experience at NCCC. They tell me that no matter where they work or what their job is, the skills they learned in the Wilderness Recreation Leadership Program apply. They talk about decision making, leadership, and judgment. They have even related stories of, “What would Jack do in this situation?” to help them through a tough experience.

Last week I received a package from a student who attended NCCC in 1981 my second year of teaching full-time. I was still pretty green but I like to think my enthusiasm and ability to be a decent role model made up for any deficiencies in teaching ability. Below are the letter and an edited picture of his gift. I've also edited the letter slightly. This student is not one to seek the limelight so I have left out his name and a few other minor details.

What this student left out of his letter was how young he was when he came to the WRL Program (17), how much potential he demonstrated during his years at NCCC, (lots) and the tough family situation he came from. I had no doubt that this seedling with time would flourish. As I told him upon receipt of this gift, “I will look at it often and think of the sacrifices you and your colleagues have made in defense of our country. Some, like your colleague, have made the ultimate sacrifice. I will also swell a little with pride knowing that perhaps I had a very small part in your success.”

Damn, receiving a letter like this is why we teach.

15 March 2014

Jack:

I hope this long-overdue letter finds you, and finds you well.

I’m afraid I must start this out by offering my apologies for my delay in contacting you. lt's been close to 30 years since we've last spoken, which I sincerely regret.

As I’m sure you recall, I was one of your students in the Wilderness Recreation Leadership program at North Country from '81-'83, participating in the '81 Summer and '82 Winter Practicums. Even today, terms like "gorp," "bushwack," "food drop” and the infamous "Paul Petzoldt Bum-Out Tent" still bring a quick smile to my face.

As you may also recall, despite my passion for both learning and for the outdoors, and my good fortune at being both a native “Adirondacker” and having been accepted into your program, after two years, and the exhilarating - and humbling - experiences in both Practicums, I came to the realization that I simply lacked the mental and physical attributes required to become an effective Outdoor Leader. So, I left the program, and following a couple of "wasted" years of chasing my tail while accomplishing absolutely nothing, I decided that it was time to finally address those very same issues, lest they continue to shape my future as they had my past. Enter the United States Marine Corps.

Enlisting in 1986, my intention was to spend only one four-year enlistment learning leadership and discipline, while developing the physical and mental toughness for which the Marine Corps was renowned, all of which would undoubtedly serve me well when I returned to NCCC to complete my journey as an Outdoor Leader. I wanted to learn from the very best our armed forces had to offer, and boy...did I ever learn! Ding-ding...the School of Hard Knocks was now in session.

The Marine Corps’ Leadership mantra is the foundation of everything we do in the Corps, and also provides us each with our core identity as Marines. It is also the proverbial "deep end of the pool" for guys like me, who were blessed neither with innate leadership qualities or physical attributes prior to our arrival. I cannot even begin to recall how many times I felt completely overmatched and out of my depth, more so than I ever did while in Wilderness Rec. But, I managed to persevere, and it wasn’t long before I realized being a Marine was no longer a stepping stone to bigger and better things. The Corps wasn’t simply what I did...it was who I was. So, four years quickly turned into eight, and so forth and so on, and before I knew it, some 22 years later, I found myself a Master Sergeant standing at my retirement ceremony at the Pentagon in June, 2008.

In the interim, I had somehow managed to travel a fair portion of the globe at the Corp’s behest, seeing, doing and experiencing more than I had ever could have imagined in the process. I travelled to four distant continents, sailed across the vast expanses of thee oceans, and dipped my hands in the waters of four different seas. I trekked on high ridges and stood atop snowy mountains, though none with the acclaim or majesty of a Mount McKinley! I rappelled down sheer cliffs of unforgiving rock, and humped through deep lush valleys of rivers and streams. I plodded over the sands of massive deserts, and waded through the shoulder height grasses of vast plains. I walked the black volcanic sands of Pacific islands, and slashed my way through the dense canopies of impenetrable tropical rain forests. And throughout it all, regardless of the mission or circumstances at hand, I always tried to find a moment or two to take in the many wonders of the world around me, a habit which to this day I attribute to your influence. And on more than a few occasions, when finding myself staring out over some jaw-dropping natural wonder, I can actually remember saying to myself..."Now this is something that Jack would appreciate!"

Over the years, I continued to hone my own skills, based on the tenets of Marine Corps’ Leadership through its many Leadership Traits and Principles. But it certainly didn't take long for me to realize that my first exposure to the very same concepts and principles of leadership did not occur while I was a Marine, but rather years before, during events like the ascent of Algonquin, or the portage near Little Long Pond, or the canoe trip to Fish Creek, or the bushwhack down St. Regis, or any one of a hundred other occasions, through both the words - and more importantly, through the actions and leadership example - of Mr. Jack Drury.

Thank you, Jack. For going "above and beyond" in caring about who we would someday become...for relating to each of us your passion for nature and the outdoors...for instilling in each of us a sense of responsibility to protect it for future generations...for planting the seeds of leadership in me which would one day be reaped by the Marine Corps...for everything! The enclosed photo was taken at an "undisclosed location". At the time, we were engaged in combat operations. Shortly thereafter, I was awarded the Bronze Star. Although not the original medal, which I later placed in the casket of a good friend and fellow Marine who was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2008, I nonetheless hope you will accept it as a small token of my appreciation.

Like anyone who was fortunate enough to have been around the Drury clan for even a short time at some point over the years, I was deeply saddened indeed to learn of your son Eli’s passing. Though I have lost my share of Marines over the years, as a father myself, I cannot even begin to imagine the depth of your despair. I remember Eli as a happy a little guy invariably perched on his mother’s hip, making all of us laugh during practicum prep or food drops or get-togethers at your home or whenever he was around. He was like a baby brother to all of us, and I will always keep happy memories of him. My heartfelt condolences remain with you and yours.

Though I know it is simply impossible to assuage such a deeply felt loss, I hope that you continue to find some small measure of solace in the collective lives and accomplishments of the thousands of other "kids" you have scattered about this great country - and the world - your “extended family" of former students and outdoor "disciples." Regardless of our ages, occupations, or individual endeavors, we all share the common great good fortune of having had your influence and mentorship in shaping our lives. You’ve made a difference in the world, Jack...and I for one am a better man for having known you. Keep leading from the front, and please give my very best wishes to your family.

Semper Fidelis (Always Faithful),

Kickstarter Project Going Strong!

3/9/2014

Jack along with colleague Mark Wagstaff are working on digitizing Bruce and Jack's first book and have initiated a Kickstarter Project to get it going. We have had great success but the more we can raise the more we can do. Read about our stretch goal Here

Assessment for Teaching - Mike Fleetham

2/10/2014

Mike is a colleague we worked with extensively in England, Scotland, and Wales. He kindly shared this article we thought you would enjoy.

Assessment for Teaching

By Mike Fleetham of Mike Fleetham's Thinking Classroom

At the Barber's

I was sitting in the barber's last week when I overheard a conversation from the chair next to me. It wasn't the usual local chitchat or holiday-based gossip. The client, obviously in sales and marketing shared an absolute gem. He said that there are only two questions you ever need to ask the people you sell to. Allegedly these are questions which provide the most valuable feedback for improving a service and engaging customers. I'll tell you what they are later, but if we want to improve our service (teaching) and engage our customers (pupils) what can we try?

Here's the thing about standout teachers: they build powerful learning relationships with pupils. They do this by knowing how relationships work and by believing such relationships are essential to learning success. They are clear about rules and boundaries yet enforce them with warmth and generosity of spirit.

Now, the really standout standout teachers make great use of these learning relationships. They use them to seek feedback on their own performance from pupils in their lessons. It's a brave thing to do yet one that can significantly accelerate not only teaching skills but pupil learning.

Ask the Audience

Here are a selection of questions which you can ask in order to gain useful feedback about the lessons you've planned and delivered:

Which part of the lesson was best and why?
How could I have made the learning different in this lesson?
Are there any activities that we don't do yet in class that would help you to learn?
Tell me about today's lesson.
What went well and how could it be improved?
If you were the teacher how would you raise everyone's achievement level quickly?

Use a question up to the very edge of your comfort level. Some questions are general and others more focused on yourself as the teacher. Be prepared for honest feedback and set rules in advance about what types of comments are acceptable. Ideally the quality of feedback you expect from your pupils should match the quality of feedback that you give to them.

Take a Risk

You may begin to see patterns emerge from different pupils or different classes and groups. Whatever you find out, make a decision about if and how you want to grow and change because of this information. It is a professional calculated risk to involve your pupils in your own development. However not only does it give you valuable information that can help strengthen your relationship with them but it also models how they may wish to seek feedback for themselves in the future.

Now back to the hairdresser and the two most powerful questions you might want to ask the pupils:

1. On a scale from 1 to 10 how likely would you be to recommend me as your teacher to another pupil?
2. What one thing could I do to increase the score you gave in Question 1?

Go on be brave, set the rule frame then trust that your pupils are experts in what you can do to improve their learning. And if you are not ready yet to try this, spend equally valuable time answering this third question:

3. What is stopping you asking 1. and 2. ?

Deeper Thinking for the Common Core

1/27/2014

An interesting article here on teaching the higher levels of Bloom's "revised" taxonomy.

The article states, "For many years, we’ve done well teaching and testing the top half of the taxonomy. After all, multiple-choice, true-false, and fill-in-the-blank items do an excellent job of measuring what students remember, understand, and can apply. On the other hand they don’t easily measure what students can analyze, evaluate, or synthesize. What is tested is taught, so our inability to test these skills has meant that they were not getting taught.
However, the new assessments for the Common Core will test the full range of skills required. These tests combine new strategies, interactive environments, simulated research situations, and good-old essay responses in order to assess how well students can analyze, evaluate, and synthesize. Of course, now that these skills will be tested, they must be taught."

Leading E.D.G.E. specializes in helping teachers teach and assessing these types of skills and have been doing it since 1999.

Jack Drury's Leading E.D.G.E. Blog

Sharing Observations on Education, Wilderness, and
New York State's Adirondack Park

Jack with his wife Phyliss and Yellow Lab Cedar on the shore of Lower Saranac Lake.

About the Author

This blog was created and is maintained by Jack Drury with contributions from Bruce Bonney. Jack and Bruce have been working together since 1984 providing professional development in four areas:
* Education
* Meeting Design & Facilitation
* Teambuilding & Problem Solving
* Wilderness Adventure

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