The other day my good friend, Joy Kirr, wrote a blog post called "We have to stop pretending..." in response to a blog post-challenge by Scott McLeod.  You can read the original post by Scott McLeod here.  She got me thinking when she posed the following questions:

At first I didn't think that I would have anything to say, I think I am a fairly realistic person and so my initial reaction, was "I don't pretend...I keep it real..." but then I thought some more and I started scribbling down my ideas on notepaper and before I knew it I had generated a long list...but here are the 5 that I think need the most attention right now:

1. We have to stop pretending that differentiation is easy.  We throw the term around like it is no big deal, but I think that it is hard work and we need to really put effort into ensuring our teaching is differentiated and then reflect on its effectiveness, make improvements and try again. It is an on-going cycle really.

2. We have to stop pretending that reflection is only for beginning teachers in a Teacher Education Program. I think that we all need to continue to reflect deeply on our teaching (in writing or some other method).  

3.  We have to stop pretending that learning only happens within the 4 walls of our classroom.  I have always encouraged my teacher candidates to think outside of the box (the classroom being a literal box) but I am not sure that I really do a great job at modelling this myself. I want to get better at finding meaningful ways to bring the learning outdoors.

4.  We have to stop pretending that students that misbehave are doing so on purpose. I don't think that any child wants to misbehave.  Every student has a different story when they walk into our classroom. We need to find ways to bring them in closer and help them learn about how they learn best. 

5.  We have to stop pretending that the content is so important.  Sure we need to know stuff...but instead of using learning methods and thinking strategies to get to the content, how about using content to learn the learning methods and thinking strategies?  Good news--I feel like we are starting to move in that direction as begin to talk more about the core competencies and things like Genius Hour.

Thank you Joy for encouraging me to think about this! 

Do you have something to add to this list?  I look forward to reading the comments! Or you can post your thoughts on twitter using the hashtag: #makeschooldifferent

1.  Sir Ken Robinson.

I love this Ted Talk and have probably watched it 20 times! The thing I don't like about it though is that he tells us about what we need in schools, that "creativity is as important as literacy and should be treated with the same status", but he doesn't give any examples as to how teachers can do that.  I have an idea though-- start with Genius Hour and go from there! 

If you love the talk then you should also check out his book, The Element-a great read!

2.  Daniel H Pink.

Daniel Pink's book Drive is a fantastic read! I definitely recommend reading it.  I think that the information he presents on what really motivates people is super helpful for thinking about motivation in our classrooms too. I also really like his RSA animate--a great video to watch before reading the book! I love what he says about autonomy as a motivator--this is why Genius Hour works--because our students have the autonomy to pick their own inquiry questions! 

3. Alfie Kohn.

I am so happy that I was able to find an Alfie Kohn clip of when he was on Oprah!! I think Alfie's research is really helpful and...I love Oprah--so a double win for me (and you)! Anyway, watch this clip to hear a bit about Kohn's book Punished by Rewards.  I totally agree with his point about finding authentic ways to encourage kids to learn, read, etc instead of relying on rewards.  In my opinion, Genius Hour, is indeed one of those student-centred, authentic ways! 

4. Angela Maiers.

Her "You Matter" Tedx Talk is fantastic! I love what she says about the power of noticing and sharing that with your students. A must-watch for teachers. This is where we got the brilliant quote "You are a genius and the world needs your contribution"--a quote that is posted in classrooms all over inspiring kids to find their passions and share with the world. And her book The Passion Based Learning is also very inspiring! We discussed her book during our #GeniusHour chat in May, 2013. You can check out the archive here. 

I could go on and on about other Education videos that I love...but this is probably a good start! I hope you find these as inspirational as I did! 

Also, I would love to know--what would you add? Perhaps post the link in the comments so that the rest of us can check it out!

Some really great points were brought up that I just had to go back and reread the archive.  Here are some of my major take-aways:

• When a student is struggling to come up with an inquiry question, get right beside them.  Have a conversation.  Here are some tips:

              -We brainstorm what we love, what we wish we could do, what we wish we could know, what we wish                  we could change (@tulisue)
              -Ask "What breaks your heart?" (@STEMGeniusHour)
              -I asked 3rd grade to come up with a problem at school that we could solve (@terrieichholz)
              -I ask them if they could sit down at the computer and Google anything, what would it be and we work                 from there (@mcnairan3)
              -I always start with what do they do when they are at home. Kids don't think you care about what they                  learn at home (@hughtheteacher)
               -One-on-one conferences to help find their passions. Eventually something comes out in the                                   conversation (@mrsdkrebs)

• During Genius Hour inquiry time it is okay for students to struggle.  That is what we want!  We want them to learn that it is okay to make mistakes and that the goal is to push through, try again and persevere! Many of us have taught our students that FAIL can also be looked at as an acronym for First Attempt In Learning.  Hugh McDonald also wants us to think about the term failure and think about whether or not it realyl is a failure if we have learned something from the process.  I was so happy he brought this up because sometimes I think students learn more about how they learn from their #GeniusHour projects than they do about the actual topic, and that is just as important, right?  Some tips for when your students are struggling:

 
            -Before they start their project I model my learning and struggles with a new thing I learned                                    (@hughtheteacher)
            -I start the year by telling students that we will fail. We are allowed to fail. That is how we learn                              (@koehnkfisher)
             -LISTEN...Ask questions about their ideas to push a bit further. Encourage goal setting (@JoyKirr)
             -[Struggling is an] important part of learning. But need to watch so it doesn't become frustration                             (@mjreese)
             -I think it is also important to give them examples of how I fail from day to day and then give examples                 of finding a solution (@techducation)
              -I have really been working on #growthmindset w/my Students (@terrieichholz)
             -When I see Ss struggling I pull out TED "I Seek Failure"- offers amazing insight & Ss really get it                        http://youtu.be/H8P7Ni1NwB0  (@kgbellino)

• And lastly, there are so many experts in our communities!  Let's get them in and connect our kids up with mentors in their area of wonder/passion.  Some tips:

             -I'm looking out for family now - what's going on at home? (@JoyKirr)
             -I use Twitter to contact lots of outside experts. (@mcnairan3)
             -blog, newsletter, ask students, know community members, Twitter, PTO (@jcd118)

A few weeks ago I spent the day at the #TEDxWestVanEd conference in West Vancouver, BC.  It was my 2nd time attending their TEDx, and just like last year, I was left with my head filled with excitement and wonders...

As a 2nd year Faculty Associate, I am looking at things a little bit differently though--yes, it is still all about the kids--they are always at the centre of every decision we make of course, but I am also thinking about  everything in regards to how it fits into Teacher Education and our student- teachers, as they are my primary students now.

Every speaker left me with something to think about, but I want to focus in on the very first speaker of the day--Kath Murdoch.

Kath was so great!  She left us all excited to go back to the classroom and wishing that a big bug would fly through the window so we could ask our students 'what are you wondering about?' (she talked about teaching in an inquiry based way so that when a bug flies into your room and all your students run to stare at it, we could think about saying 'what are you wondering about' instead of 'get back to your seats please'--I just love this!!)  

I have been asking my grades 4-7 students about their wonderings for years now (during Genius Hour and also through some inquiry based units), but I am also left wondering about how often we ask our student-teachers and experienced teachers -- what are you wondering about?  Because we need to wonder too!  

So many of us are all about student inquiry--and I LOVE that--but Kath's talk also got me thinking about my wonders and how I need to write those down too and spend a bit more time inquiring into those as well.

Last year I completed a self study as part of my graduate work at SFU and it was an amazing experience. Honestly, I was frustrated at first because I had some preconceived notions about what *real* research was, but as I came around I found that looking inwardly at our own wonders, actions and beliefs is so important--and is research too!  

Now that I am done my Masters it would be easy to push self-study/action-research/inquiry onto the back burner but I really want to continue to make this a priority!  We know how valuable wondering is for the learning process of our students, and I need to also make time for the learner in me...and I am going to continue to think about how I can support my student-teachers with their wonders too.

Thank you, Kath, for inspiring us!

Many folks have asked me to break Genius Hour down into steps (especially in regards to how to introduce Genius Hour) so here is a little chart that I made that hopefully helps.  Take your time with steps 1,2, and 3 and then let the students lead the way when it is time to Inquire, Self-reflect and Share.  

Hope this helps!

For the past two semesters I have been on leave from my school district and working as a Faculty Associate for the Teacher Education program, PDP, at Simon Fraser University.  It has been an exciting experience so far and I have learned so much!  

Recently my Student Teachers completed their finals in the form of a self reflection based on the goals of the program.  This is one of their final assignments for their first semester of PDP.  At the end of their final they are asked to attach an Action Plan--this is where they reflect on the things that they know they still need to improve upon, they come up with a plan, and describe what they are going to do over the next 2 semesters to help them improve in that area.  It was such a great process and they came up with so many unique and fantastic plans to improve their teaching!  I was so impressed with the process that I started to do one for myself...which got me thinking: do we all need to be on an action plan?

Wouldn't this be a great practice for all of us to adopt?  What if we all ended every term with an action plan for how we were going to improve in a certain area next term?  An action plan, where just like in PDP, we all wrote out specific areas for improvement and then strategies we were going to try so that we could grow in those areas?  

Even master teachers have aspects of their teaching to work on.  We all do.  Brookfield (1995) talks about the 4 lenses for critical reflection in Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher and the first lens is self-reflection.  And although I think the other three are also important (the student lens, peer lens and looking at the literature) I wonder if we are doing all we could with that first lens-our own.  I believe that I have always been a reflective teacher, but it is only in the last 3 years (since I began my journey in graduate school) that I began to formally and regularly write down my reflections.  There is something to this writing down of the reflections.  I have noticed a difference in the quality of my reflections, and I have also realized that I tend to learn more about myself while I am writing.  Through the process of journaling, I am writing and then reading my own reflections and just as Hobson (2001) describes, it is because of this process that I am able to really notice certain aspects of my practice.  

In other words, I think I was reflective before I came back to journaling, but I have certainly found that writing has helped me organize my reflections, find patterns and then set goals.  My very own Action Plan.  Just like my Student Teachers.  

I have returned to the reflective practices that I left behind once I completed my Bachelor of Education, and I am so happy that I have because I know it is making me more aware of what I need to change in my current practice--I have a better awareness of what is working and what needs to be shifted.  

I know that it is more time consuming to journal as a means of reflection, but I think it is worth it.  It can help us come up with an Action Plan for ourselves.  Something to help us continue to grow as professionals. 

What do you think?  How do you reflect and set goals for your professional (or personal) development?

Bibliography

Brookfield, Stephen. Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher. San-Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 1995.

Hobson, D. "Action and reflection: Narrative and journaling in teacher research" in Burnaford, G., Fischer, J., & Hobson, D. (Eds.).  Teachers Doing Research: The Power of Action Through Inquiry.  US: Routhledge, 2001.  

On February 2-5th, I was lucky enough to attend the edtech teacher iPad Summit in San Diego. 
Conferences are always so great--I love learning with new people and meeting some of my tweeps face-to-face!  I had a wonderful time and learned a lot.  My biggest take-away though, and one that I can see myself using with my students in order for them to authentically explain their learning, was on the concept of Appsmashing!  Check out the video below--it is my appsmash on appsmashing!

Thank you to the all the presenters, especially Shawn McCusker, Greg Kulowiec and Samantha Morra who helped me wrap my head around appsmashing! 

#RSCON4 took place a little while back, in early October.  A whole weekend full of webinars led by some amazing educators around the world--I was excited!  And even more exciting--the webinars are recorded and you can still watch them here!  In fact, while this post is going to be about some of the highlights from the webinars I attended (or watched afterwards), I am still watching the recordings of some of the presentations that I missed so this blog entry is by no means a summary of all of my learning, since I know that I will learn more as I continue to watch the rest!

This is a screenshot of one of the slides from David Truss' presentation on Inquiry Based Learning.  David is an administrator at the iHub Inquiry School (which I was lucky enough to visit last year-my blog about that here) and I absolutely love what his students are doing!  Learning is made meaningful because students get to develop inquiry projects around  things that matter to them (like Genius Hour on a whole other level).  

Anyway, what struck my about this slide was not only how cool their projects are, but the verbs that describe what his students are doing:

• designing
• improving
• developing
• inventing
• creating

He really sums it up well on this slide, when he asks the question: "What do students 'do' at school?"
Thanks for inspiring me, Dave!  Learn more about what Dave Truss does on his blog.

Another fantastic webinar I attended was Joan's presentation on facilitating "wow" in the classroom.  Of particular note was her slide about classroom jobs.  I love these new 21st century positions:

• classroom environment engineer 
• class photographer (which can give the pictures to the class tweeter if you have a class twitter account)
• blogger
• music manager

I love these ideas!  And as Joan notes, it definitely fosters a sense of community.  Students love sharing their learning and being the class tweeter, blogger, etc.  

I also really enjoyed her advice about novelty in the classroom.  Reminds me of Imagination Education.  How can we engage our students through imagination?

Check out the rest of Joan's presentation here and her blog here.

Another fantastic presentation was given by my friend, Denise Krebs.  She spoke about how her teaching has evolved over the years (and the role of her PLN in that).  Denise facilitated an excellent discussion around giving students choice.

Ideas that were discussed:

• inquiry projects
• concept based learning
• allowing students to create projects based on learning outcomes
• Genius Hour
• choice in presentation style

Another favourite slide was the one you see above.  Trust Children.  Such simple, but powerful words.  Thank you Denise for inspiring us all!  You can check out her blog here.  

Honestly, I could go on and on...but instead, I encourage you to check out the list of recordings here and watch some of the great webinars yourself!

Thank you to the folks at The Future of Education for putting on such a great conference!

Have you watched any of the webinars?  I would love it if you shared your favourite learning moments below!