Finding the Filament

Good morning!  I hope you've had a good week and are already for a much-deserved three day weekend.  I know we're only three weeks in, but they have been intense weeks.  Please make sure you take some time to relax, refresh, and recharge this weekend.  You deserve it!  I continue to have the opportunity to be in a lot of classrooms.  You're all doing great work!  Thanks for loving your kids and building those relationships with them.  Keep it up!

            Growing up, I loved Science!  My favorite classes in Middle School and High School were often my science classes.  I remember learning about Thomas Edison as he worked to invent the light bulb.  Many of you probably know this, but he had a hard time finding the right material for the filament of the bulb.  Edison was looking to find a material that would illuminate the bulb for at least 40 hours.  Basically, he had to use a guess and check process for finding the right material.  While doing this, Edison tried over 1,600 different materials including coconut fiber, fishing line, and even beard hair!   Finally, Edison tried carbonized cotton thread and he found a material that would satisfy his condition for success! 

            Once when asked about trying all those different materials and "failing."  Edison responded, "I have not failed 1,000 times.  I have successfully discovered 1,000 ways not to make a light bulb." 

            We can learn a lot from Edison from his perseverance, to his standards for excellence (40 hour standard), and his "growth mindset," but this idea of the filament got me to thinking.  Whenever there is success, there are many variables that come into play with that success.  In this example, the success was a light bulb that would burn for 40 hours.  The key variable in this situation was the right material for a filament. 

            So, what does this have to do with us at school?  Just like the filament was the critical variable for a successful light bulb, the classroom teacher is the critical variable for student success in the classroom! 

            Think about this for a minute, if the best teacher in a school gives a test and many of the students perform poorly, who does that teacher blame?  Usually, the teacher blames herself.  Now, if one of the worst teachers in a school gives an assessment and many of the students perform poorly, who does that teacher blame?  You guessed it!  She blames the students, their parents, her principal; the list could go on and on.

            Now, I know we don't have any of those teachers here, but that scenario illustrates an important point.  The best teachers understand that they are the variable that makes students successful or not successful.  Just like the carbonized fiber was the perfect filament for Edison's light bulb, you are the perfect variable to affect change in your class!

            We know from that effective teachers view themselves as responsible for the success of their classrooms.  Effective teachers, and collaborative teams for that matter, understand that data is just a reality check.  It's not good, it's not bad; it doesn't mean you're a good teacher (or team) or a bad teacher (or team), it just is!  More importantly, effective teachers (and teams) understand that they are in the perfect position to change their reality if they don't like what the data says! 

            So how about you?  How do you view the successes and challenges in your room.  Do you find yourself wanting to look elsewhere when assessments don't go well?  How about behavior in the classroom?  Remember, you have the most influence over that as well.

            Please know that I understand how hard this is.  So much is being asked of teachers today and the job is often somewhat thankless.  My point isn't to make you feel guilty if you've fallen into the habit of looking elsewhere for blame when things don't go well.  My point is to encourage you to recognize that you are the filament in your students' light bulb!  All the power needed to help them be successful can be found in you and your collaborative team.  You can do it! 

            So, as you and your team continue to look at goals for the year, remember that you are in the best position to positively effect your students for good!  Always know that effective teachers understand that they are the number one variable in a classroom. 

Dave 

Why Before How

Friday, August 23, 2013

Team,

            Good morning! I trust things continue to go well for you as we finish up our first full week of school with students.  I love this time of year because it seems I am able to get into classrooms more frequently as we get into full swing. 

            As I’ve been in classrooms this week I have to tell you I’ve been totally blown away by you!  You are doing an outstanding job with your students.  Do you know what one thing is that has impressed me?  It’s the rigor of your instruction even just a week and a half into school.  In the past we used to take some time and get the year going.  While we still take time to set up our Readers Workshop and other procedures, nowadays we jump right in with the rigorous instruction we know our students need. 

            I was reminded this week about the concept of “why before how.”  As you know, I have a four year old at home named Katie.  Katie is at that age where she is often asking Meredith and me, “why?” whenever she’s asked to do something.  Now, as a parent it’s pretty easy to get frustrated with this question, “why?” especially when we’re running late to get somewhere. 

            When it comes to a child being obedient to a parent, the question of why may or may not be a direct challenge to given authority.  However, in the classroom, the question of “why” is a vital aspect of effective instruction.  As educators we need to answer the why before we teach the how. 

            Now, we’ve all either had, or we were, the student who asks the teacher, “Why do we have to learn this?”  Many of us grew up in homes and at schools where the answer to that question might be, “Because I said so.”  Well, without getting into the societal changes over the last 20 years that impact that question, please know that your students today are still wondering, “Why do we have to learn this?” 

            To be honest, it’s a valid question.  As adults, we rarely get into something without knowing a purpose; in fact, we would say it’s unwise to do so.  If someone tells us to do something, we would need to know why before making a decision about whether or not to comply.

            In order to prepare our kids for the future, we need to teach this same critical thinking so they can make wise choices.  In fact, research shows that in order for our instruction to be truly effective, we NEED to explain the why before we teach the how. 

            First of all, explaining the “why” of a lesson gives it relevance.  We know that good teaching rests on Relationships, Relevance, and Rigor.  Why is relevance important?  It is important because we all want to learn things that matter to us.  If a student doesn’t see why what you’re teaching matters to them, they probably won’t want to learn it.  So we need to answer the question of “why” because it makes the learning relevant. 

            Second, making sure our students know why we’re learning something helps with motivation and classroom management.  If I don’t see why I need to learn something I’ll be much more likely to become distracted with something else.  If you’re struggling with classroom management, make sure you’re making learning relevant in your class. 

            Finally, answering the “why” question before the “how” allows a student to focus on the “how” once you teach it.  We know that our top students can quickly infer why we’re teaching something even if we don’t communicate it.  But a majority of students will either take much more time to infer why, or they won’t be able to at all.  Chances are if you communicate an objective, but don’t take the time to explain why, many of your students will be trying to figure out why while you’re explaining how!  Sometimes we get frustrated when kids don’t “get it,” but often it’s because they’re trying to figure out why you’re teaching it instead of learning how to do it…

            So we know top notch teachers take the time to have the conversation about why what students are learning is important.  This can happen many ways.  Sometimes we just say it, and other times we find ways for kids to discover it.  Teaching the “why” before the “how” is the science of teaching. How you teach the “why” is the art!  I look forward to seeing how you make learning relevant in your classrooms this year!

Dave

Creating a Collaborative Environment

On Tuesday, I spent my day listening to Dr. Anthony Muhammad discuss creating a culture of collaboration.  This was an absolutely amazing day, and while I believe that we have a very collaborative culture here at Jefferson, we can always grow and get better.  Rather than try to think of some sort of analogy for what I learned, I’m just going to list some of my takeaways.  It’s my hope that you can take some time reading these and reflecting on your own practice and what you can do to promote a more collaborative culture here at Jefferson.  Personally, the reflection for me this week has been convicting and it is helping me grow as well:

1.      We MUST have the collective belief that all students can learn, and all children WILL learn because of our collective beliefs and behaviors. 

2.      Collaborative teams always ask, “Where are we flawed?”  It’s a growth mindset.  We’re not foolish enough to believe we don’t have flaws that can be corrected.

3.      Highly successful collaborative teams NEVER, ever speak negatively about students, parents, or colleagues!

a.      This one really got to me personally.  Again, we’ve really been focusing on having a positive attitude here at Jefferson, but I still catch myself falling back into speaking negatively at times.  We’ve got to choose to be positive and keep each other accountable if our kids are going to be all they can be.

4.      All teachers are teacher-leaders.

5.      Criticizing underperformance is not leadership.   How does that apply in the classroom?  What about with evaluations?

6.      Teachers and principals are in a relationship.  In a relationship, if perfection is what you seek, it won’t work.  In relationships there will be frustration.  Too often teachers and principals have unrealistic expectations for each other.  That doesn’t work in any relationship. 

7.      The key to a positive collaborative relationship is that there are clear expectations and commitments.  Teachers need to have a means to communicate their expectations for their principal, and their commitments and vice versa.

8.      When you’re frustrated with a situation, turn your window into a mirror.  Instead of looking out at everyone else, look at yourself.  In what ways are you responsible for this situation?  And what can you do to correct it?  Start with yourself.

9.      Your responsibilities should come before your rights.

10.  When you vent habitually it creates a mindset of pessimism.

11.  We complain to others to vent and to validate.  We’re looking for someone to validate our issues.  The real problem is, venting is not productive. It may make you feel better that someone will listen to you or validate your point, but it doesn’t do anything to remedy the situation.  In the end, it promotes a toxic environment.

12.  People in a toxic environment choose to complain.  They do this by describing what they’re upset about and deflecting responsibility. 

13.  In a healthy environment, people look at problems and they reflect on their own role in the situation, and they are prescriptive about what to do differently.

I know there’s a lot to go over in those takeaways, but as we start the year, I’d like you to reflect on the situations that were most frustrating to you last year.  How did you handle it?  Were you descriptive and deflective, or were you reflective and prescriptive?  We can do all the work in the world to set up the physical aspects of PLCs like norms, a meeting time, data tracking, etc., but it all means NOTHING if we don’t all work to create a culture of collaboration.  I know as I reflect, I’ve chosen to be toxic at times instead of choosing the positive route.  Being positive doesn’t mean things will be perfect.  It just means when we encounter problems we choose to believe the best about each other and work together for a solution. 

We all desire a successful year this year.  Our success will directly relate to the mindset we choose.  We’re not going to get it right every time; we’ll still catch ourselves slipping back into negativity or venting, but if each day we choose to be more positive than the day before we will LOVE working here and our students will be the beneficiaries, and let’s be clear, it’s a choice to be positive.  Let’s have a great, positive, collaborative year! 

Dave

The Curiosity "Itch"

When I was a kid, I was a huge baseball fan.  I still am actually, but when I was a kid, I was obsessed!  I played whenever I could, and I did everything I could to learn about the game.  If I was an expert in anything, it was baseball.  I even remember checking out Ken Burns’ documentary “Baseball” from the library.  It was nine videotapes long! (For our new teachers, go Google “videotape” if you’re not sure what that is.)  I watched that documentary three times one summer.  I was obsessed. 

            

One year, and I don’t remember how old, I remember being curious about how a pitcher could make a curveball, “curve.”  As a kid, I did everything I could to find out about it.  At that time there wasn’t an internet, so I had to resort to more “traditional” means of research.  I wasn’t quite sure what to look up in the encyclopedia and unless I had a baseball expert around, there wasn’t anyone I could ask.  It was a tough spot.  I had a question that was driving me nuts, and no good way to answer it! 

            

Things have changed a lot since then.  This past week at the e3 Tech Conference we learned a lot about abundance of information our students have today and how our teaching must change in order to best meet the needs of our students.  You know what hasn’t changed in that time?  Kids have a burning desire to satisfy their curiosity about driving questions!  I was curious about why that baseball could move so much, and it was like an itch that I HAD to scratch!  I worked harder on finding the answer to that question than I did on my Math homework, I’ll guarantee you that! 

            

Toward the end of last year, and then in some conversations over the summer, I’ve learned that there is a lot of uncertainly out there about this idea of a lesson objective.  It’s not that we don’t understand what an objective is, but there is some uncertainty about what it should look like when communicating it to students, etc.  We know at a basic level that an objective is what we want students to know or be able to do by the end of a lesson.  It should be something specific, so that we can do some sort of formative assessment, even if it’s as simple as thumbs up/down, to know if we accomplished what we set out to do.

            But what if our objectives were actually driving questions?  What if we were able to frame them up in a way that generated a driving curiosity in our students?  What would that do for their engagement and motivation?  How would that change our presentation of content knowledge?  We know students are highly motivated when they are working to “scratch” that curiosity “itch.”  Just like when I was a kid trying to learn about the Bernoulli principle; the real cause of the curveball, when kids are chasing after the answer to a driving question, they are motivated.  I was DRIVEN to find the answer to my question.

           

One of my favorite books on education is The Art and Science of Teaching by Marzano.  I truly believe teaching is an art.  Not everyone can do it well.  You all are here because you’ve demonstrated that you have the art for teaching.  There’s no doubt about that.  It will be a challenge to take our objectives and turn them in to driving questions.  It’s not a challenge I am mandating you do, but it is something I think is work experimenting with and thinking about.  For some objectives, it will be difficult to find a way to turn it into a question.  Here are a few pointers for doing this:

1.      Start by answering this question, “What do I want students to know or be able to do by the end of this lesson?”  This happens during the planning stage of teaching.  You have to know where you’re going before the kids can know.

2.      Next answer this question, “What do I want students to know or be able to do by the end of this lesson?” Some question, right?  Nope!  Notice the focus is on one single lesson or piece of time.  You’ve got to break the targeted knowledge into a manageable “chunk.”  You’ll never be able to formatively assess the objective if it’s not a manageable chunk.

3.      Remember that students are motivated by a challenge.  So think about how you can make the guiding question a challenge.  Kids may not be interested in finding the perimeter of a triangle, but if you bet them they can’t figure it out, you’ll probably motivate them!

4.      Remember that good, inquiry based learning still includes instruction.  It’s not that you just turn your kids loose to find the answer by hook or crook.  Remember, your job is to give them the knowledge they need to be able to problem solve.  We can’t just “stand and deliver” information any more, but we do need to provide the supports kids need to satisfy their curiosity. 

Remember, you don’t have to do this on your own.  You’ve got a collaborative team in your PLC that is all the support you need to make this work.  What about your lesson plans?  Well, please know that I would love to see objectives written in the form of a driving, or guiding question but I don’t require that.  At most basic level, for veteran teachers, plans must have a quality objective, relevant follow up activities, and some sort of assessment.  

What exactly is the “art” of teaching?  It’s helping kids discover the knowledge you want them to discover without them knowing you did it!  Thankfully, all the knowledge to be able to do this is right here already!  You are an incredible group of teachers!  Have a great weekend! 

Dave