tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65969597690376050782024-02-18T20:40:07.308-07:00EduNutThoughts on teaching and learning released into the wildSyd TheEduNuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971795378777560669noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596959769037605078.post-28371724944664361702019-03-01T02:39:00.000-07:002019-04-19T23:56:29.453-06:00Infographic: Anatomy of the PBL Process<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">I created this PBL infographic using <a href="http://piktochart.com/">Piktochart</a> to help students and their parents visualize the anatomy of a project at my school. Some have requested if they could use it, so here it is- have at it.</span> <span style="font-size: large;">Modify as needed.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI6Lu9hGE6zdgUdg9bW_mMXZxbfZ4mJCxOEECedBLIzLnzwfHl2exmOPCVtgeVzD9GStX7N_VvBCFm7t-ZGJANJZpI-Vhlvy4kPNtbPYl76X4A4BkXicvdcA28ihRc0vOL0exhQsw9ZCY/s1600/PBL_Process.png.scaled595.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI6Lu9hGE6zdgUdg9bW_mMXZxbfZ4mJCxOEECedBLIzLnzwfHl2exmOPCVtgeVzD9GStX7N_VvBCFm7t-ZGJANJZpI-Vhlvy4kPNtbPYl76X4A4BkXicvdcA28ihRc0vOL0exhQsw9ZCY/s1600/PBL_Process.png.scaled595.png" /></a></div>
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<br />Syd TheEduNuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971795378777560669noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596959769037605078.post-34526832501025019762018-09-06T17:26:00.000-06:002019-04-19T23:54:17.755-06:00Google Apps for Ed: Resources to Inspire!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikOrOOD0qnsO9BmC1FhUCpw9EUu3ccaZG3lRw8YniFTyF9jzZ9qXekLmbQcUVd_RtGXBSJUdkVSPwV4RgBJCpK7qQB9VCqS7N3AjmXl6lSzBsCtXTL7-iwj6TiPiAbdK53a-1_XsqZal8/s1600/1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="353" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikOrOOD0qnsO9BmC1FhUCpw9EUu3ccaZG3lRw8YniFTyF9jzZ9qXekLmbQcUVd_RtGXBSJUdkVSPwV4RgBJCpK7qQB9VCqS7N3AjmXl6lSzBsCtXTL7-iwj6TiPiAbdK53a-1_XsqZal8/s640/1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My district </span><i style="font-size: x-large;">finally</i><span style="font-size: large;"> got on board the </span><i style="font-size: x-large;">Google for Ed</i><span style="font-size: large;"> train. Since my school has been using the apps for the past six years (as a PBL magnet), they invited me to show ed tech leaders from across the city how the apps can be used in practical and transformative ways. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The goal was to inspire, but I didn't want to overwhelm first-timers, so I made sure there were plenty of templates they could copy and use right away, and I also built a resource site to further support their exploration of each of the tools (you'll see a link to it in the last slide). </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you have any questions, or you hit a wall after clicking on an enticing link to a resource, feel free to comment and I'll make sure you've got access. Hope this helps! I enjoyed developing it!</span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="450" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1PW1bC0uyH0ORDD9bMAtKfHhBq5WDq9KZu6DaJqf8_W4/embed?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="748"></iframe><br /></div>
Syd TheEduNuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971795378777560669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596959769037605078.post-82187718606217807432018-08-20T16:36:00.000-06:002019-04-19T23:54:58.843-06:00NOTES Thinking Through Project-based Learning: Guiding Deeper Inquiry <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEXRbGFyX9PstfIlFPed9TfV6-hLan01ZIKF-ke_hBp9cWbSohDJob5CrnZybAYvpDGeThKRGICBI-Pbp63DmSCR6BB6UxMd7MiJk6zrDgZ0KcSr5H6XJMRY15UZjWTueTBudnpqNtXBY/s1600/Note_Book.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEXRbGFyX9PstfIlFPed9TfV6-hLan01ZIKF-ke_hBp9cWbSohDJob5CrnZybAYvpDGeThKRGICBI-Pbp63DmSCR6BB6UxMd7MiJk6zrDgZ0KcSr5H6XJMRY15UZjWTueTBudnpqNtXBY/s200/Note_Book.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">I've been teaching Humanities at a wall-to-wall PBL magnet for the past six years, so you'd think I'd be well-versed in designing PBL experiences for my students. While I've had lots of practice (mostly hits, but plenty of misses, too), I figured it was time to get back to the basics and see if I could glean new insights into some of the practices that have felt a little stale for the past couple of years.<br /><br />Here are my notes on the book authored by Jane Krauss and Suzie Boos of the Buck Institute (PBL flagship). I'm posting them here for my colleagues, but I also thought they could be useful to anyone who's thinking about purchasing the book, as well. It can be purchased <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Through-Project-Based-Learning-Guiding/dp/1452202567">HERE</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #ff7a74;"><b>Chapter 1: The Whys and H</b></span><b style="color: #ff7a74;">ows of PBL</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">PBL definition:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #010101;">Students gain important knowledge, skills, and dispositions </span><span style="color: #010101;">by investigating open-ended questions to “make meaning” that they transmit </span><span style="color: #010101;">in purposeful ways.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The goal</b> is to help students<span style="color: #010101;"> </span><span style="color: #010101;">develop into </span><span style="color: #010101;">knowledgeable, autonomous, and life-long learners.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">High-quality PBL involves:</span></b></div>
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<li style="display: inline; list-style: none;"></li>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;">setting conditions in which students are compelled to inquire</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">real-world concerns</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">open-ended questions leading toward essential understandings </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">personalization: student choice around content, process, and/or product</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">potentially life-changing relevance: students care about the content enough to give quality thinking toward complex challenges</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">students learn together and from one another</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">learning is meaningful to people beyond school</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">students are personally affected by what they learn and so they're more likely to remember it</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">technology is used to investigate and construct new meaning and reach beyond the classroom to a community of learners (not simply to create flashy products)</span></li>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>PBL students</b>:</span></div>
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<li style="display: inline; list-style: none;"><ul><span style="font-size: large;">
<li>aren't afraid to ask questions until they arrive at answers that make sense to them</li>
<li>don't give up when they run into challenges</li>
<li>know how to use feedback to revise & improve their work</li>
</span></ul>
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<span style="color: #ff7a74;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Chapter 2: The Inquiring Human Animal</span></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Inquiry</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The personal path of questioning, investigating, and reasoning that takes one from not knowing to knowing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Looking for patterns, analyzing systems, scrutinizing processes, exploring relationships, and solving problems.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Research</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #010101;"><i>Mind, Brain, and Education Science</i> (2010), Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa </span><span style="color: #010101;">synthesizes more than 4,500 studies to offer five key </span><span style="color: #010101;">concepts:</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYCEBEHu6AgszJN-e-0_iWaB43YjoBkoys7W9Rqavm0YPdU0kNt0VXLjGL8fvbjVC9FRujpBHk9Cv_7g5lLtcW02_fJiqWCNW0hWkt-oNbdjvPpfpVwVsizMA47aVNsfpuRlb-Mdl7It8/s1600/3.fw.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYCEBEHu6AgszJN-e-0_iWaB43YjoBkoys7W9Rqavm0YPdU0kNt0VXLjGL8fvbjVC9FRujpBHk9Cv_7g5lLtcW02_fJiqWCNW0hWkt-oNbdjvPpfpVwVsizMA47aVNsfpuRlb-Mdl7It8/s400/3.fw.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Cultivate Wonder</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In PBL, curiosity</span></div>
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<li style="display: inline; list-style: none;"><ul><span style="font-size: large;">
<li>is the engine for learning. If they don't care from the beginning, the project will fall flat.</li>
<li>drives students to ask questions, research, investigate, and reach out to experts.</li>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Use Novelty Deliberately</span></b></div>
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<li style="display: inline; list-style: none;"><ul><span style="font-size: large;">
<li>Novelty causes students' brains to become alert and receptive. </li>
<li>That's why lectures are less effective. 4-8 minutes of pure content before brain goes elsewhere (Perry, </li>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Executive Function</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #010101;">Self-directed learning develops executive function (cognitive processes that help regulate actions).</span> <span style="color: #010101;">Patterns </span><span style="color: #010101;">of behavior become more established, and neural pathways in the </span><span style="color: #010101;">brain actually become “hard wired” more so during the middle/high school years than any other time.</span> <img src="file:///C:/Users/e115471/AppData/Local/Temp/enhtmlclip/Image(21).png" style="height: auto;" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS2undgcBa-AzB4mZ-wb1SuBzkw8YE5wv-y8EGDyjwGuc9G-ZM4ahXclWKTz7ERA1LGFyVc1fUP1ccsd6o0pJYCe5ztdDjCf0uFbA40yYcT3s8kdhtZWdpdqLuIOHRaXHJ_qIxtQcdb1M/s1600/4.fw.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS2undgcBa-AzB4mZ-wb1SuBzkw8YE5wv-y8EGDyjwGuc9G-ZM4ahXclWKTz7ERA1LGFyVc1fUP1ccsd6o0pJYCe5ztdDjCf0uFbA40yYcT3s8kdhtZWdpdqLuIOHRaXHJ_qIxtQcdb1M/s400/4.fw.png" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-eCCr6y5S1J5Pu03EyGREmjA8M2j8cVSDFotpTRY1oHI1SR1CTeh8yApGawBIVROo6QuPXfsKl1WCJxWFklpAkKfJ7Y1OO7WVz3qQBG39P1zkEUiS-ZJz21H6PRe_5N9UNkNx2Euy6sc/s1600/5.fw.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-eCCr6y5S1J5Pu03EyGREmjA8M2j8cVSDFotpTRY1oHI1SR1CTeh8yApGawBIVROo6QuPXfsKl1WCJxWFklpAkKfJ7Y1OO7WVz3qQBG39P1zkEUiS-ZJz21H6PRe_5N9UNkNx2Euy6sc/s400/5.fw.png" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Relevance</span></b></div>
<ul>
<li style="display: inline; list-style: none;"><ul><span style="font-size: large;">
<li><span style="color: #010101;">New learning sticks best when it makes </span><span style="color: #010101;">sense and has meaning.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #010101;">To make sense, a concept has to connect to one’s current </span><span style="color: #010101;">understanding.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #010101;">To have meaning, a concept or investigation needs to matter </span><span style="color: #010101;">on a personal and emotional level.</span></li>
<li>Assess and connect to students' prior experiences</li>
<li>Meaning = personal relevance of an idea</li>
<li>We assign meaning to things we value, find interesting, or respond to emotionally</li>
</span></ul>
</li>
</ul>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Stress vs. Struggle</span></b></div>
<ul>
<li style="display: inline; list-style: none;"><ul><span style="font-size: large;">
<li>Rigor - putting students at the edge of what they know so they have to reach to grasp new ideas</li>
<li>Well-crafted projects are challenging without triggering stress that inhibits learning (Willis, 2007)</li>
<li>Pleasurable learning releases dopamine, stimulates memory centers, increases attention (Willis, 2007)</li>
</span></ul>
</li>
</ul>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Liberating Constraints</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Seek the right balance b/w stress and struggle by designing for "optimal ambiguity" (Davis, Sumara, & Luce-Kapler, 2007)</span></div>
<ul>
<li style="display: inline; list-style: none;"><ul><span style="font-size: large;">
<li>Provide enough organization to orient students toward the work, while at the same time...</li>
<li>Permit enough openness to accommodate a variety of abilities, interests, and creative approaches</li>
</span></ul>
</li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Analogy: Soccer game...within the rules, there's still room for brilliance. Without rules, a free for all.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Brain-based PBL Strategies</span></b></div>
<ul>
<li style="display: inline; list-style: none;"><ul><span style="font-size: large;">
<li>Pre-writing / thinking activities before discussion: gather thoughts, jot down notes, sketch</li>
<li><span style="color: #010101;">Getting people to think individually </span><span style="color: #010101;">about a topic before combining their ideas is more productive than starting </span><span style="color: #010101;">out thinking as a group (Kohn & Smith, 2010)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #010101;">allow time for noodling </span><span style="color: #010101;">around and exploring ideas from many different perspectives</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #010101;">Sleep on it. Allow time for students to think about and discuss the project at home before starting</span></li>
</span></ul>
</li>
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<span style="color: #ff7a74;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Chapter 3: Making the World Safe for Thinking</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Ideas</b>:</span></div>
<ul>
<li style="display: inline; list-style: none;"><ul><span style="font-size: large;">
<li>Flags outside the doors for current projects and "Coming Soon" posters for projects</li>
<li><span style="color: #010101;">Video booth. Turn an empty refrigerator box into a three-sided video </span><span style="color: #010101;">booth to capture student reflections. </span></li>
</span></ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Thinking</span></b></div>
<div align="left" style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #010101;">“Simply placing </span><span style="color: #010101;">our students in problem-solving situations is not enough for these </span><span style="color: #010101;">[thinking skills] to develop. Skillful critical thinking has to be explicitly </span><span style="color: #010101;">taught” (</span><i style="color: #010101;">Developing a Thinking Curriculum </i><span style="color: #010101;">Coote, n.d., p. 6).</span></span></div>
<div align="left" style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="color: #010101;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="left" style="margin-left: 40px;">
<b><span style="color: #010101;"><span style="font-size: large;">Fertile Questions</span></span></b></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Six characteristics:</span></div>
<ul>
<li style="display: inline; list-style: none;"><ul><span style="font-size: large;">
<li><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">An open question.</em><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> A question that in principle has no one definitive answer; rather, it has several different and competing possible answers.</span></li>
<li style="display: inline; list-style: none;"><ul>
<li><span style="color: #010101;">Has the importance of the individual changed over time?</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #010101;">Are we more a part of nature or apart from nature?</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">An undermining question.</em><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> A question that undermines the learners' basic assumptions, casts doubt on the self-evident or common sensical, uncovers basic conflicts lacking a simple solution, and requires the critical consideration of origins.</span></li>
<li style="display: inline; list-style: none;"><ul>
<li><span style="color: #010101;">Just because we can, should we?</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #010101;">Does something we throw away ever really go “away”?</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">A rich question.</em><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> A question that necessitates grappling with rich content that is indispensable to understanding humanity and the world around us. Students cannot answer this question without careful and lengthy research; such research tends to break the question into subquestions.</span></li>
<li style="display: inline; list-style: none;"><ul>
<li><span style="color: #010101;">How does the debate over genetic engineering affect our </span><span style="color: #010101;">future?</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #010101;">In what ways are stories a reflection of the time in which they were</span><span style="color: #010101;">written?</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">A connected question.</em><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> A question relevant to the learners, the society in which they live, and the discipline and field they are studying.</span></li>
<li style="display: inline; list-style: none;"><ul>
<li><span style="color: #010101;">How would your view of water change if our taps failed?</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #010101;">How can I turn a hobby (or talent) into a business?</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">A charged question.</em><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> A question with an ethical dimension. Such questions are charged with emotional, social, and political implications that potentially motivate inquiry and learning.</span></li>
<li style="display: inline; list-style: none;"><ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">A practical question.</em><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> A question that can be researched in the context of the learners, facilitators, and school facilities and from which research questions may be derived.</span></li>
<li style="display: inline; list-style: none;"><ul>
<li><span style="color: #010101;">What does our in-depth study of the pond by our school </span><span style="color: #010101;">teach us about oceans?</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #010101;">How does the availability of local food shape our diet and culture?</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
</span></ul>
</li>
</ul>
<hr />
<div>
<span style="color: #ff7a74;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Chapter 4: The Thinking-Out-Loud-and-in-View Classroom</span></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Foster a Culture of Curiosity</span></b></div>
<ul>
<li style="display: inline; list-style: none;"><ul><span style="font-size: large;">
<li>Make space for word play (38)</li>
<li>Invite students to ponder "grand challenges" in human rights, global health, engineering, etc. "How could the world's fresh water supply be shared equitably?" Invite students to post their own challenges.</li>
<li>Discuss daily news: How did the event come about? What might happen next? Is there more to this story? Is it part of a pattern? Question media sources</li>
<li>Read opinion pieces, opinion pieces, invite debate. </li>
<li>"Buzz Talks" - Pairs, one topic for 3 minutes. Prior to whole-class discussion.</li>
</span></ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Help Students Build a Thinking Toolkit</span></b></div>
<ul>
<li style="display: inline; list-style: none;"><ul><span style="font-size: large;">
<li>Developing a Research-worthy Question</li>
<li style="display: inline; list-style: none;"><ul>
<li>Have students brainstorm a list of research questions before choosing</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Knows <---> Need to Knows (A spectrum, a circle)</li>
<li>Understanding a Key Idea</li>
<li>Understanding How Something Happened or Came to Be</li>
<li>When Stuck...</li>
<li>Instead of Waiting for Help</li>
<li>When Overwhelmed</li>
<li>Getting Thoughts Flowing</li>
<li>Solving a Problem Creatively</li>
</span></ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-left: 120px;">
<span style="color: #010101; font-size: large;">S = Substitute</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 120px;">
<span style="color: #010101; font-size: large;">C = Combine</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 120px;">
<span style="color: #010101; font-size: large;">A = Adapt</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 120px;">
<span style="color: #010101; font-size: large;">M = Modify</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 120px;">
<span style="color: #010101; font-size: large;">P = Put to other uses</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 120px;">
<span style="color: #010101; font-size: large;">E = Eliminate or minimize</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 120px;">
<span style="color: #010101; font-size: large;">R = Rearrange or Reverse</span></div>
<ul>
<li style="display: inline; list-style: none;"><ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Giving Feedback</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-left: 120px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">C = Clarifying questions</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 120px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">L = Like</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 120px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">A= Advice</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 120px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">M= Meet in the middle (discuss)</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Teacher as "Meddler in the Middle"</span></b></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnIj86OSfXfcFwyHMtgUWV23yHThc-IO4rG17DV1a0ouf803Mc62S6wzJDVMZvnQfF3TAd1keuFVdVOBrJbvLhfhSY97kYYjM9wJgr5uuTWPsYRiJjZIvEdO4XDYrVeHYexIPn1-mubAA/s1600/6.fw.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnIj86OSfXfcFwyHMtgUWV23yHThc-IO4rG17DV1a0ouf803Mc62S6wzJDVMZvnQfF3TAd1keuFVdVOBrJbvLhfhSY97kYYjM9wJgr5uuTWPsYRiJjZIvEdO4XDYrVeHYexIPn1-mubAA/s400/6.fw.png" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><img src="file:///C:/Users/e115471/AppData/Local/Temp/enhtmlclip/Image(24).png" style="height: auto;" /></span></div>
<hr />
<div>
<span style="color: #ff7a74;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Chapter 5: Designing Rich Learning Experiences</span></b></span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Step 1: Identify Project-Worthy Concepts</span></b></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">What important and enduring concepts are fundamental to the subjects I teach? </span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">ID 4 or 5 big concepts.</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Step 2: Explore Their Significance and Relevance</span></b></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Why do these topics or concepts matter?</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">What should students remember about this topic in 5 years? For a lifetime?</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">In what ways are they important and enduring?</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">What is their relevance in different people's lives? In different parts of the world?</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Step 3: Find Real-Life Contexts</span></b></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Who engages in these topics? </span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Who are the people for whom these topics are central to their work? 5-7 professions</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">What are the interdisciplinary connections?</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Step 4: Engage Critical Thinking</span></b></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">What might you ask of students? How might you push past rote learning into investigation, analysis, and synthesis?</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">How can you engage critical thinking in a project by asking students to:</span></div>
<ul>
<li style="display: inline; list-style: none;"><ul><span style="font-size: large;">
<li><span style="color: #010101;">Compare and contrast</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #010101;"> Predict</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #010101;">Make a well-founded judgment or informed decision</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #010101;">Understand causal relationships (cause and effect)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #010101;">Determine how parts relate to the whole (systems)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #010101;">Identify patterns or trends</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #010101;">Examine perspectives and alternate points of view</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #010101;">Extrapolate to create something new</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #010101;">Evaluate reliability of sources</span></li>
</span></ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Step 5: Write a Project Sketch</span></b></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">An overview and what students will learn</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Step 6: Plan the Setup</span></b></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">A title, entry event, and driving question</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<b><span style="color: #ff7a74;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div>
<hr />
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: #ff7a74;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Chapter 7: Language Arts</span></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Individual writing tasks for lit skills in addition to team products (86)</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Writer's Workshop model is an ideal fit for the writing that happens during projects in any subject.</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<b><span style="color: #ff7a74;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div>
<hr />
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: #ff7a74;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Chapter 8: Social Studies</span></b></span></div>
<div style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="left" style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="color: #010101;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>National Council for the SS:</i> (90)</span></span></div>
<div align="left" style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #010101;">Social studies is the </span><span style="color: #010101;">integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote </span><span style="color: #010101;">civic competence.</span></span></div>
<div align="left" style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="color: #010101;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="left" style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #010101;">NCSS recommends aligning curriculum and instruction with what kids care </span><span style="color: #010101;">about—“unifying motifs” that represent developments in children’s social </span><span style="color: #010101;">and emotional intelligence. The motifs include:</span></span></div>
<div align="left" style="margin-left: 80px;">
<span style="color: #010101; font-size: large;">• Concern with self: development of self-esteem and a sense of identity</span></div>
<div align="left" style="margin-left: 80px;">
<span style="color: #010101; font-size: large;">• Concern for right and wrong: development of ethics</span></div>
<div align="left" style="margin-left: 80px;">
<span style="color: #010101; font-size: large;">• Concern for others: development of group- and other-centeredness</span></div>
<div align="left" style="margin-left: 80px;">
<span style="color: #010101; font-size: large;">• Concern for the world: development of a global perspective</span></div>
<div align="left" style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="color: #010101;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="left">
<b><span style="color: #ff7a74;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div>
<hr />
</div>
<div align="left">
<span style="color: #ff4635;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Chapter 11: The Project Spiral</span></b></span></div>
<div align="left">
<span style="color: #010101;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<br />
<div align="left" style="margin-left: 40px;">
<span style="color: #010101;"><span style="font-size: large;">When projects "go big" and generate local buzz, or they have a greater impact than expected.</span></span></div>
Syd TheEduNuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971795378777560669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596959769037605078.post-83941689057859383462017-11-22T15:42:00.000-07:002018-04-02T17:09:58.628-06:00The Nuts and Bolts of Preparing Students for NaNoWriMo <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpS3div8iBw6PY5sYOuBnc5XKDBluCJBWQcvDd011mV3ame0JTS_MwReLteYKxs51woDWfoX4In5vnhf4e4l-yANcLQ1h1e8CQK1cUOhRIY35iqSCKSxgnx1tZUQdYyQTmakWO_zvsNAo/s1600/Untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpS3div8iBw6PY5sYOuBnc5XKDBluCJBWQcvDd011mV3ame0JTS_MwReLteYKxs51woDWfoX4In5vnhf4e4l-yANcLQ1h1e8CQK1cUOhRIY35iqSCKSxgnx1tZUQdYyQTmakWO_zvsNAo/s1600/Untitled.png" /></a><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;">This is part of a <a href="http://theedunut.blogspot.com/search/label/NaNoWriMo" target="_blank">SERIES</a> of posts about engaging my students in National Novel Writing Month, a.k.a. <i>NaNoWriMo</i>, a challenge to complete the manuscript for a novel in the course of a month.</span><br />
<span style="color: orange; font-size: xx-small;"> </span> <br />
<span style="font-size: large;">NaNoWriMo's winding down and I've been continuously impressed by my sophomore students' level of energy and excitement around completing their first-ever novels. My last post in this series will include their voices and their individual experiences-- the positive ones as well as a few that may serve as cautionary tales (if you're considering trying this yourself). In the meantime, these next few posts will focus primarily on the instructional planning and the supports that were in place before, during, and after November's write-fest. This one details the prep leading up to the first day of NaNoWriMo. Enjoy!</span><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #e06666;">LATE SEPTEMBER PREP</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br />
</b></span> <br />
<b style="font-size: x-large;">Phase 1: The Hero's Journey</b><br />
<br />
<ul><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVcA8RqOpW3XQLB1pJ2FNInyFle5hwfm5dBCAMbNETVLb8ZNS8vD3ZVDpJt4ur_7cj8HI-2vDAqiSaqi0_mkkgPu09J4reGjSNbnSlIFpASYZsOMBtMBtQVZJhDUwraVotcLDqStixbEE/s1600/logo-heros-journey.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVcA8RqOpW3XQLB1pJ2FNInyFle5hwfm5dBCAMbNETVLb8ZNS8vD3ZVDpJt4ur_7cj8HI-2vDAqiSaqi0_mkkgPu09J4reGjSNbnSlIFpASYZsOMBtMBtQVZJhDUwraVotcLDqStixbEE/s1600/logo-heros-journey.png" /></a>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Students were introduced to <a href="https://www.brainpickings.org/2015/04/28/what-makes-a-hero-joseph-campbell-monomyth/" target="_blank">Joseph Campbell's hero's journey</a> as well as some Jungian archetypes common to ancient and modern narratives. </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Each step and archetype of the hero's journey was explored through multiple forms of storytelling such as mythology, literature, poetry, song lyrics, and films.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Students were challenged to reflect on their own lives relative to the hero's journey and the archetypes that impact them as hero's of their own story.</span></li>
</ul>
<b style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #e06666;">OCTOBER PREP</span></b><br />
<b style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</b> <b style="font-size: x-large;">Phase 2: Genre Study</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Using a Google Form, students generated a list of their favorite genres of fiction. They then voted </span><span style="font-size: large;">on the one genre from the list that they'd use for a genre study and how the hero's journey unfolds in the narrative. This year's choice: fantasy fiction.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFX3WU5KHjtsb7qbokfJJuu5FyTTgphVkkRjnXp37VmfzNWft1IX43MwCnhsTf_dc9eJzXM7sjkwKvqWpsOXdx10jWzhep6KGLosZTujHO2Tw_e4zYd7ueSeUNI1OL-orO0amSpzmX7Qk/s1600/5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFX3WU5KHjtsb7qbokfJJuu5FyTTgphVkkRjnXp37VmfzNWft1IX43MwCnhsTf_dc9eJzXM7sjkwKvqWpsOXdx10jWzhep6KGLosZTujHO2Tw_e4zYd7ueSeUNI1OL-orO0amSpzmX7Qk/s320/5.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Individuals proposed novels to use for the study by creating "billboards" and adding them to a class slideshow so that students could vote for the top six choices. </span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="290" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vRShIG2QIy3rZTJAIHc1sgd3Vx054pCweDIUZd7g0ZD1QSiESLP92j2NJYmHwheBV8VdakPP3wOpcLX/embed?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="460"></iframe></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Book clubs (literature circles) were formed for each of the 6 novels. Each book club determined their own reading schedule, developed a contract conveying group norms, members' roles, and expectations, and met at least once a week to discuss the novel. Students were given class time to read (individually or in groups, depending on the group's agreed-upon norms) and annotate with the purpose of identifying stages of the hero's journey and whatever archetypes they could find.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHS2F5aEGMMrLsvwzuBuDeM8scC9QMMQkcHa-9aEBPojmlv6Z23gFtPRQgCM3Z_YhIG0w0-iGeBu4RMeGiB9z953v3kafjbHiiETUknXm92ZOI3iCvo9LMgCPNHS5-Qb7m4iLf7zXEbgM/s1600/IMG_20161005_094229159_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHS2F5aEGMMrLsvwzuBuDeM8scC9QMMQkcHa-9aEBPojmlv6Z23gFtPRQgCM3Z_YhIG0w0-iGeBu4RMeGiB9z953v3kafjbHiiETUknXm92ZOI3iCvo9LMgCPNHS5-Qb7m4iLf7zXEbgM/s400/IMG_20161005_094229159_HDR.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Book clubs were tasked with completing a slideshow by the end of the three weeks that detailed the fantasy novel's hero journey and archetypes. This essentially created the conditions that made group discussion more purposeful in that members had to agree to which hero stages they would include in their group's presentation.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Phase 3: Hello <i>NaNoWriMo</i>!</b></span><br />
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">As groups engaged in their genre study, they were given a number of writing prompts for creating their own hero journeys. These "zero drafts" were shared on their blogs and during "open mic" sessions at the end of class, which-- in turn, fostered a supportive culture for sharing and providing constructive feedback on ideas. </span></li>
</ul>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieZ2RZLuOGw74j001m6i69ecj3k970wUxLCESDI85-AybuaTfZcxy6HtEwHcPC9JNLlqQ1bm0YSH12lCmkbmAtKjUYH6HuhMJihISR74SCpF2_flWLm8kUXGjZdSIGML4XCDgCQEnAWIw/s1600/7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieZ2RZLuOGw74j001m6i69ecj3k970wUxLCESDI85-AybuaTfZcxy6HtEwHcPC9JNLlqQ1bm0YSH12lCmkbmAtKjUYH6HuhMJihISR74SCpF2_flWLm8kUXGjZdSIGML4XCDgCQEnAWIw/s640/7.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">WriteAbout.com is where our blogs live</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">NaNoWriMo was introduced by sharing fun videos about the annual event created by experienced NaNoWriMo participants. </span></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/78mvUeBw7MM/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/78mvUeBw7MM?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">A parent letter was sent home introducing NaNoWriMo with a request for prize donations (for word wards, goal achieving, etc)</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Students engaged in <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1F408K9xOHzGyZW3y2iqs7Mk7bw37cp9Vs0s8AJCvCok/edit" target="_blank">lessons and activities</a> provided by the NaNoWriMo site along with a <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8BdGvczaryXWWpYOUI4Q2F3dU0/view" target="_blank">free student booklet</a>. I used most of it but modified the lessons so that they were on Google docs rather than an edit-able pdf file.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkogXxrtwPE4nhVxfugdMux7nvUcG4jqIM9m6r1qQAYsLtZcVG3xif6k63DjX0oxTuqXVDKy_fe2_ye5VfGPPLVuJED1FfR8sTydv8hgXrOUhq25EGsRiHKzTiHBkuwL6b1r36uRtPBDs/s1600/8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkogXxrtwPE4nhVxfugdMux7nvUcG4jqIM9m6r1qQAYsLtZcVG3xif6k63DjX0oxTuqXVDKy_fe2_ye5VfGPPLVuJED1FfR8sTydv8hgXrOUhq25EGsRiHKzTiHBkuwL6b1r36uRtPBDs/s320/8.JPG" width="246" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">As the Book Clubs went into their final stretch (mid-October), students chose one of their stories (from their collection of zero drafts) to further develop by creating character profiles and by experimenting with <a href="http://www.nownovel.com/blog/7-ways-write-plot-outline/" target="_blank">different ways of organizing plot outlines</a>.</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #e06666;">LAST WEEK OF OCTOBER</span></b> </span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Students were introduced to the <a href="http://nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">NaNoWriMo</a> site as well as the <a href="https://ywp.nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">Young Writer's Program</a> site (geared specifically toward teens).</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ZdCuuenUpztFh2DNvtg3mb4IogDZnCR_wC134qhO3o4ta6GCE4mBfu2gHy6W9enznaYPGRDCebLX54xD4_uka7aRRV1-xINjo3YbFDZxrZyLrKiegFIJ6EqgQmxDLRIGnUJ8KZL6tx0/s1600/Capture.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ZdCuuenUpztFh2DNvtg3mb4IogDZnCR_wC134qhO3o4ta6GCE4mBfu2gHy6W9enznaYPGRDCebLX54xD4_uka7aRRV1-xINjo3YbFDZxrZyLrKiegFIJ6EqgQmxDLRIGnUJ8KZL6tx0/s1600/Capture.JPG" /></a></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Students had a couple of practice writing sprints to guage how many words they could type within the span of an hour, and-- using those numbers, determined which writing goal they would choose: 15K, 30K, or 50K, which was then broken down into daily word count goals (500, 1000, or 1667).</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Calendars were distributed to help time manage and keep track of word counts and goals.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAtTTs5de9f1UBcdTsAZvH_ztgUu1RAPIhCzirnf-vSYy_uRwQgrnar9QmlSu5bKX5g5fhybO-AYNeFmHNLiXJ1mIuSTXunqCMnucaJ9vfjInFXBbWxsKzmBojQj2knTEFrNx18HsPGkQ/s1600/9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAtTTs5de9f1UBcdTsAZvH_ztgUu1RAPIhCzirnf-vSYy_uRwQgrnar9QmlSu5bKX5g5fhybO-AYNeFmHNLiXJ1mIuSTXunqCMnucaJ9vfjInFXBbWxsKzmBojQj2knTEFrNx18HsPGkQ/s320/9.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Contracts were signed (the contracts NaNoWriMo provides in the student booklets are both funny and reassuring to first-timers).</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">In the final days of October, having already developed the concept and characters for their novels, students created book covers that included graphics and an enticing blurb for the back cover. These were posted on a discussion board to generate excitement and to provide positive feedback as a writing community.</span></li>
</ul>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrCzGdNJFPsYutjhpVxu00AdSNmtJ7HVPAAiBPPmjXh4P_tzgYXOaD0zeehElyA8Mkn7SZYAXiBkQ2gHJ5oNm_Zq2ig_t2IQO_l5tZkdh9LrdBG0sJTt64s_xrKceMvFIvU4NM9TNhYTc/s1600/3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrCzGdNJFPsYutjhpVxu00AdSNmtJ7HVPAAiBPPmjXh4P_tzgYXOaD0zeehElyA8Mkn7SZYAXiBkQ2gHJ5oNm_Zq2ig_t2IQO_l5tZkdh9LrdBG0sJTt64s_xrKceMvFIvU4NM9TNhYTc/s320/3.JPG" width="216" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Example Book Cover</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">On the last day of October, students were encouraged to bring a writing totem to school for the start of NaNoWriMo (totem = good luck charm). Some of the totems were profoundly personal. Nicole chose to write the story of her grandfather's army days and so her totem was his actual dog tag (more stories like that to come...)</span></li>
</ul>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTOcwfBLgP4hMXdQzncr6QQzxHktT8lPn22U9ui_0BI6yL5rk37IIpu7Qh8hBs-X_8qRXP4aHBtKwU8gajDEdH0N6Xkia4FlaPu6Zl2i1lGCPVg8C5-JPfyRFqp1y9WeO8d016DUZsLWM/s1600/NaNoWriMo+.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTOcwfBLgP4hMXdQzncr6QQzxHktT8lPn22U9ui_0BI6yL5rk37IIpu7Qh8hBs-X_8qRXP4aHBtKwU8gajDEdH0N6Xkia4FlaPu6Zl2i1lGCPVg8C5-JPfyRFqp1y9WeO8d016DUZsLWM/s640/NaNoWriMo+.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Students' totems from both classes</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">I hope this has served to help rather than overwhelm. </span><span style="font-size: large;">As soon as I have some time freed up, I'll add links to most of what's listed above. </span><span style="font-size: large;">In the meantime, if there's any particular detail you'd like me to elaborate on in a separate post or a resource you'd like to have access to, please let me know in the comments.</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Next:</b> Instructional Supports Provided to Students during NaNoWriMo</span></div>
Syd TheEduNuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971795378777560669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596959769037605078.post-5050808085216435662017-10-31T15:29:00.000-06:002018-04-02T17:10:52.796-06:00Diving Into NaNoWriMo as a First-Timer (Whilst Holding a Hundred Young Writers' Hands)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpS3div8iBw6PY5sYOuBnc5XKDBluCJBWQcvDd011mV3ame0JTS_MwReLteYKxs51woDWfoX4In5vnhf4e4l-yANcLQ1h1e8CQK1cUOhRIY35iqSCKSxgnx1tZUQdYyQTmakWO_zvsNAo/s1600/Untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpS3div8iBw6PY5sYOuBnc5XKDBluCJBWQcvDd011mV3ame0JTS_MwReLteYKxs51woDWfoX4In5vnhf4e4l-yANcLQ1h1e8CQK1cUOhRIY35iqSCKSxgnx1tZUQdYyQTmakWO_zvsNAo/s1600/Untitled.png" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: orange;">This is part of a <a href="http://theedunut.blogspot.com/search/label/NaNoWriMo" target="_blank">SERIES</a> of posts about engaging my students in National Novel Writing Month, a.k.a. </span><i style="color: orange;">NaNoWriMo</i><span style="color: orange;">, a challenge to complete the manuscript for a novel in the course of a month.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Happy NaNoWriMo Eve! </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Tomorrow marks the first day of the 18th annual <i><a href="http://nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">National Novel Writing Month</a></i>, a "<a href="http://nanowrimo.org/about" target="_blank">fun, seat-of-your-pants approach</a>" to writing the complete first draft of a novel in 30 days. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I've only seventeen regrets in my life and they are that I've missed </span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://nanowrimo.org/history" target="_blank">NaNoWriMo</a> for the past seventeen years. I'm done procrastinating and, b'gosh, I'm going to write that novel that's been knockin' on my belly's door, the one that costs me hundreds of dollars each year in therapy co-pays for ignoring it! Time to clear up this creative constipation. This is happening.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAGpWYl5w_C_h-ZT5gIs7GAJbFvrwd1kbHrY4TlYsV8dMxvgnbOBhzkZin_1IzlyQjBvn11u9SAUFa4e_zM_1Nv3yvDAfRiOmocUWvxXm8ubDuRwd3Rn85LV6myPrrYXt8Ff26FEPuVXc/s1600/NaNoWriMo+Mojo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAGpWYl5w_C_h-ZT5gIs7GAJbFvrwd1kbHrY4TlYsV8dMxvgnbOBhzkZin_1IzlyQjBvn11u9SAUFa4e_zM_1Nv3yvDAfRiOmocUWvxXm8ubDuRwd3Rn85LV6myPrrYXt8Ff26FEPuVXc/s320/NaNoWriMo+Mojo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">I'll be a newbie-- not just as a novel writer, but as a teacher who's holding the hands of her entire sophomore Humanities class as we all take the proverbial leap en masse.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Oh, geesh...I'm realizing the full weight of this endeavor as I write. Goddess help me. Rubber duckie <a href="http://www.wikiwrimo.org/wiki/Writing_totem" target="_blank">totem</a>, where art thou? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmRw4OHXaZdhlftmn3flDejBBO2AQ2TwIK2gpAXj2cxVLI4MhMOY2RoMIBYBhNf0pihCcB1BJ-LjUauad5BRvuBQMdpn6rI_Z85LPDhK3PewhjsEZxnLDsUQrTntrrGnBG0FondcM47Hk/s1600/Untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmRw4OHXaZdhlftmn3flDejBBO2AQ2TwIK2gpAXj2cxVLI4MhMOY2RoMIBYBhNf0pihCcB1BJ-LjUauad5BRvuBQMdpn6rI_Z85LPDhK3PewhjsEZxnLDsUQrTntrrGnBG0FondcM47Hk/s200/Untitled.png" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">Ah, there you are. I'll be okay now. So I'm a little petrified. That's normal, right? It's probably good that, whilst modeling the writing process, I'm able to<i> also</i> model the fear and trepidation that comes with setting a daily word count of 1667 and committing to a total of fifty thousand words [<i>rubs duckie]</i>.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I'm thinking if I</span><span style="font-size: large;"> crank out a few short blogs each week to share my experience, it might be useful to other first-time educators who are going in as blind as I am. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">It won't be a perfect novel. It won't be even the least bit pretty. Hell, it might not even get <i>done</i>, but if I'm asking a hundred teens to try it and I'm cheering them on and lighting all kinds of fires beneath their feet, the least I could do is jump in there with them so we can all suffer, bleed, laugh, and celebrate together. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">It's the write thing to do. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Part II</b><b>: </b></span><b style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://theedunut.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-nuts-and-bolts-of-preparing.html" target="_blank">The Nuts and Bolts of Preparing My Students for NaNoWriMo</a> </b>Syd TheEduNuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971795378777560669noreply@blogger.com0Albuquerque, NM, USA35.0853336 -106.6055534000000234.6695296 -107.25100040000002 35.5011376 -105.96010640000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596959769037605078.post-35319015938649709252016-09-17T10:17:00.001-06:002016-09-17T10:17:46.966-06:00Poem: First Staff Meeting of the Year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqJkhFAoT8es_O9Fa7nTmO0bpREIfNbc8rqG_DqR31A-MbYKmxLfC3-75rugiv7GS77DVshyphenhyphenTlN2RgmjTWiq3O7nX5gD8uVM8Nt9LnM97d26GMzRX68AAvTMP5W6ldz_FzYn7JtcOp12s/s1600/target.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqJkhFAoT8es_O9Fa7nTmO0bpREIfNbc8rqG_DqR31A-MbYKmxLfC3-75rugiv7GS77DVshyphenhyphenTlN2RgmjTWiq3O7nX5gD8uVM8Nt9LnM97d26GMzRX68AAvTMP5W6ldz_FzYn7JtcOp12s/s200/target.jpg" width="196" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">August, 2006</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">8:15</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Weak coffee</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">secure a seat</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">wait for staff to get their picture taken</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">What's my background color preference,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">asked the picture man</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I was wearing green</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">so I said green</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">There's a pull down screen</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">projected onto it, taunting</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">are the words, "Academic Improvement Plan"</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Next to it, an unknown woman in a dress suit</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">avoiding faces, shufflling paper</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">as people take their places</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">She looks unhappy</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">bracing, perhaps</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">she's got those bureauocratic wrinkles</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">the kind that take years of discontent to form</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">We begin</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">notes are taken</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">retention and promotion</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">short term assessing</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">standards aligning</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">skewed data defining </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">improvement</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The heads in front of me sink</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I feel a wrinkle forming</span></div>
Syd TheEduNuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971795378777560669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596959769037605078.post-70366081248807879662016-02-15T12:08:00.001-07:002016-02-15T12:23:42.655-07:00Differentiate with Digital Tools: Five Free Web Apps<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-FqhZMMyrZPjilxgQBOEf7OSUVYvaKmV_wO8RAv-k4nL5ZTiqsvfE-P_1O6xoVzKPlLDEKKxk4ZhA7Fsu1y4uDYFpYyoJkkKwdTRceRtPaBkwfM54WDS9VcUBk86mm9rlGuQ4Klm3S0k/s1600/Capture.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-FqhZMMyrZPjilxgQBOEf7OSUVYvaKmV_wO8RAv-k4nL5ZTiqsvfE-P_1O6xoVzKPlLDEKKxk4ZhA7Fsu1y4uDYFpYyoJkkKwdTRceRtPaBkwfM54WDS9VcUBk86mm9rlGuQ4Klm3S0k/s200/Capture.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">This is a presentation I gave for my district-sponsored Digital Learning Conference. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-size: large;">I love sharing at this local conference each year because it's teachers teaching teachers! </span><span style="font-size: large;">If it helps others, all the better. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: large;">The link to the slideshow is <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1yGXXIi8U2VWWGjc5S6DYCzz9nHET4JG2FnQn62J9Chk/edit#slide=id.g35ed75ccf_028" target="_blank">HERE</a> should you want to comment or ask questions. </span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="510" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1yGXXIi8U2VWWGjc5S6DYCzz9nHET4JG2FnQn62J9Chk/embed?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="800"></iframe></div>
Syd TheEduNuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971795378777560669noreply@blogger.com0Albuquerque, NM, USA35.0853336 -106.6055534000000234.6695296 -107.25100040000002 35.5011376 -105.96010640000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596959769037605078.post-80308173379645656172016-02-13T13:24:00.005-07:002016-09-04T20:19:12.684-06:00Resource Review: Student News Daily, An Ironic Study in Media Bias<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">As an educator, I love free quality resources my students can easily access, but I've learned--sometimes the hard way, to be <i>much </i>more discerning of what it is I'm curating for them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Recently, I came across a site that came highly recommended as a news aggregator geared specifically toward high school students. Upon first look, it seemed promising as one of many choices I could offer students for exploring current events. It even had resources for spotting bias in media, which made me think the site's creators had a purpose similar to my own; challenging students to think critically while consuming the news. That's what compelled me to want to know more and to look deeper, and that's why the results were <i>so </i>disappointing. </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><a href="https://www.studentnewsdaily.com/types-of-media-bias/">Student News Daily</a> purports to deliver to its young readers "fair and unbiased" news. It has all kinds of resources teachers love to work into their daily activities, including weekly features on political cartoons, quizzes, and vocabulary.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Sounds full o' awesome, right? </span><span style="font-size: large;">I thought so, too, so as with any news source, I checked the "About" page and couldn't find any humans or organizations attached to it. Here's what I </span><i style="font-size: x-large;">did</i><span style="font-size: large;"> find on the </span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150912013425/http://www.studentnewsdaily.com/types-of-media-bias/" style="font-size: x-large;" target="_blank">Media Bias</a><span style="font-size: large;"> page:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #e69138; font-size: large;">Media Bias</span></h1>
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<span style="color: #e69138; font-size: large;">Since citizens cannot cast informed votes or make knowledgeable decisions on matters of public policy if the information on which they depend is distorted, it is vital to American democracy that television news and other media be fair and unbiased.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #e69138; font-size: large;">In a recent <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/149624/Majority-Continue-Distrust-Media-Perceive-Bias.aspx" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Gallup Poll</b></a>, the majority of Americans believe that the mass media slant reports in favor of the liberal position on current issues.</span></div>
<span style="color: #e69138; font-size: large;">[The bias] is not the result of a vast left-wing conspiracy – [there is] an unconscious “groupthink” mentality that taints news coverage and allows only one side of a debate to receive a fair hearing. When that happens, the truth suffers.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">As a Language Arts educator, I teach my students about text structure. That grey line hugging the text along its indented margin is called a <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_quotation" target="_blank">block quote</a> </i>and its purpose is to indicate to the reader that the text is a longer-than-usual direct quote. In this case, however, the grey line's used incorrectly. It's misleading in that, visually, it suggests the content is being attributed to someone other than the publishers of the site. But there's no attribution. </span><span style="font-size: large;">There was the Gallup link, glaring at me as a link...could it be Gallup? I clicked, and no, it wasn't from Gallup.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />First, here's what startled me about the pseudo-quote: It says, in so many words, that a majority of Americans believe mass media to have a liberal slant. True enough, says the Gallup data (in the depths of the link)-- the <i>perception</i> exists. But it appears <i>Student News Daily </i>would like you to read that as "Yo, left-wing bias is for <i>realz</i>" rather than just the mere <i>perception</i> of it. Embedded in the statement is the assumption that left-leaning bias in the media is a</span><span style="font-size: large;"> foregone conclusion. In fact, as far as </span><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Student News Daily</i> is concerned, they know</span><span style="font-size: large;"> the reason for it and they're happy to explain: </span><span style="font-size: large;">Not to worry, they tell their young readers. </span><span style="font-size: large;">It's not evil lefty conspirators that are at play here, but rather it's </span><i style="font-size: x-large;">group think </i><span style="font-size: large;">on the part of sheep-y liberals</span><span style="font-size: large;">.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> You are safe from leftist mind control as long as you--the student, use </span><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Student News Daily </i>as your news source because we are fair, unbiased, and free of left-leaning zombie herds</span><span style="font-size: large;">. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">One has to see the humor in what follows; "Types of Media Bias," including <i>media spin</i>, which the above fuzzy logic is a marvelous example of! I could've saved myself a whole lot of speculatin' brain cells by reading the very bottom of the page:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The true irony here is that <i>much</i> of the content on the site can be pointed to as examples for the various "Types of Media Bias" described on that particular page, with special attention to <i>Bias of Selection of Sources</i>. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Taking a closer look at </span><i style="font-size: x-large;">Student News Daily</i><span style="font-size: large;"> content: </span><br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Political cartoons are presented as challenges for student analysis, yet upon said analysis, the majority are biased against progressive figureheads, policies, and ideas, and good luck finding any item that is critical of conservative ideals. <a href="http://www.studentnewsdaily.com/editorial-cartoon-for-students/pope-and-capitalism/" target="_blank">This one's</a> a good example of the general tone and subject matter, collectively. </span></li>
</ul>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;">The <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160210043829/http://www.studentnewsdaily.com/conservative-vs-liberal-beliefs/" target="_blank">Conservative vs. Liberal</a> resource is presented as an innocuous handy-dandy reference guide for students to be able to understand the differences in what each side values, but if you're a progressive and you pay close attention, you'll notice it's rife with cleverly-disguised conservative-leaning nuances: </span></li>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Liberal-sided descriptions are both overly-generalized and absolute (it's the government's role to make us all happy, equal, and without need) while conservative-sided descriptions are ethos-heavy (if conservatives care about freedom to pursue one's goals, does that mean liberals do <i>not</i>?)</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">The "<a href="http://www.studentnewsdaily.com/archive/example-of-media-bias/" target="_blank">Wednesday Example of Media Bias</a>" is less veiled if you scroll down the archived list of titles. They're obviously conservative talking points that the publishers of the site feel the left-leaning media is ignoring (you'll be hard-pressed to find anything editors see as unjustly biased toward conservatives, because..well, c'mon, read the Gallup poll. That doesn't exist).</span></li>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Check out their "<a href="http://www.studentnewsdaily.com/links/" target="_blank">Recommended Sites</a>" list. There are a little more than a dozen links and yet it includes <a href="http://www.museumoncommunism.org/" target="_blank">Global Museum on Communism</a> funded by the ...whut?....<i>Victims of Communism Foundation</i>? Seriously?</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Here's a question from the latest weekly <a href="http://www.studentnewsdaily.com/news-quiz/news-quiz-for-week-ending-21215/" target="_blank">news quiz</a>:</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmz8lqPuSsopufnwUOU4T6C3hvKWe6mZ1QFJQTx0HpSRq6zUE-Wfixvnfde9exRqiv8ahUzESP7b5Kdy_FUmIX5AGFAWrpIA7vZ9iRt3HF6yjhZcwbZKs_icanINdllU-ARCCMjl4_308/s1600/Capture.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmz8lqPuSsopufnwUOU4T6C3hvKWe6mZ1QFJQTx0HpSRq6zUE-Wfixvnfde9exRqiv8ahUzESP7b5Kdy_FUmIX5AGFAWrpIA7vZ9iRt3HF6yjhZcwbZKs_icanINdllU-ARCCMjl4_308/s1600/Capture.JPG" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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</span><span style="font-size: large;">The answer to the above question, according to </span><i style="font-size: x-large;">Student News Daily</i><span style="font-size: large;">, is true because it's what the commentary said, not <i>Student News Daily</i>. S</span><span style="font-size: large;">ee what they did there? So clever, they are...<i>who</i>ever they are (there's no way to tell on the site).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">I'm not out to vilify conservative thinking, but rather the disingenuous manner in which ideologues cloak their ideas, as if they have no faith in the common sense of people. This is aimed squarely at our students, though, so as an educator, I feel obligated to share this with my edu-brethren. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">This site is biased. At the very least, it's disingenuous to not acknowledge, from the get-go, the conservative-leaning tendency of the curators to collect or create content that is critical of only one perspective and to squarely ignore anything remotely critical of their own political views.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The real shame is that there </span><i style="font-size: x-large;">are </i><span style="font-size: large;">a few good resources on the site, which serves it well in attracting students </span><i style="font-size: x-large;">and </i><span style="font-size: large;">teachers. We </span><i style="font-size: x-large;">want </i><span style="font-size: large;">students to be able to identify bias, so why not link this FREE and easily-accessible site to a blended lesson or a curated list of resources for thinking critically as consumers of media?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">That's what makes this site unpalatable to me as an educator-- the sheer sneakiness on the part of the site creators in response to their own perceptions of media bias. The claim that it's "fair" takes on a different shade of character if you consider the possible motivations behind the creation of the site. They don't mean <i>fair</i> as in multiple perspectives, ethical, and objective news reports. They mean <i>fair</i> in the context of a war with a perceived ideological opposite, playing by what is assumed to be the enemy's tactics for lassoing the hearts and minds of impressionable consumers of media. But the young readership of this site has potentially little to no clue as to that larger context. That's what makes it insidious, that it's not geared toward adults but rather our youth.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">As I turn my sights toward further developing my Humanities program, framing it through the lens of journalistic ethics, I'll be bookmarking sites just like <i>Student News Daily</i> to show students exactly what I mean by deceptive and misleading practices and how to spot the red flags (no transparency, no open discussion on the site- what little there is is highly-filtered, no names or faces attached, etc.). </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Teachers: Don't do your students an injustice by using this site as an unfiltered reference. Use it to teach about bias cloaked in anti-bias advocacy, because that's <i>exactly</i> what it is.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">To the faceless and nameless folks behind <i>Student News Daily</i> (should this ever come your way): Practice what you preach. You may not be journalists, but you're a curator of news, regardless, and you disingenuously present yourself to young people as being "fair and unbiased," which is false. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Here's a little reminder of a source your site points students toward in a way that suggests you actually <i>value</i> it (by including it as a tab in your site's drop-down menu...again, using text features to mislead): The last part of The Society of Professional Journalists' "Code of Ethics"...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi80sYsU6JecBqkQHQbWvPth0fxq3sYCfCypxGSUqV5r_iZkOwlIPhoGiM46KsyNKUlaK6HEPaZGrYZ7cA4GUj-sVf__w0Rgnd0yby84UE9Yw1UUkF_JxF018O2S3P2KyzT80LkdBEJd2U/s1600/5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="417" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi80sYsU6JecBqkQHQbWvPth0fxq3sYCfCypxGSUqV5r_iZkOwlIPhoGiM46KsyNKUlaK6HEPaZGrYZ7cA4GUj-sVf__w0Rgnd0yby84UE9Yw1UUkF_JxF018O2S3P2KyzT80LkdBEJd2U/s640/5.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sources for teaching about bias:</span></div>
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<ul>
<li style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.pdesas.org/module/content/resources/19402/view.ashx"><span style="font-size: large;">SAS: What is Bias and How Do You Recognize It</span></a></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.middleweb.com/12863/teaching-history-students-recognize-bias/">MiddleWeb: Teaching History Students to Recognize Bias</a> </span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2003/03/20/slanted-sentences/?_r=1">NT Times: Slanted Sentences</a> </span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://historytech.wordpress.com/2013/09/27/tip-of-the-week-teaching-bias-historical-thinking-home-alone/"><span style="font-size: large;">History Tech: Teaching Bias, Historical Thinking, and Home Alone</span></a></li>
</ul>
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</div>
Syd TheEduNuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971795378777560669noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596959769037605078.post-35454697926696920612015-12-27T22:01:00.000-07:002016-09-17T10:28:53.055-06:00Poem: Ode to a Graduate Task Left Undone<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjanw5C4FzeLuYDv6Xw__4jc2plXz_8Qb9oZOdsFP9f9fVjFdtKUuBgJf7xnW5o2rb4LC5chFCaTXJBuPBe_dc8s1AZ1WhHL7naU7KDk849Qj2d15n2qFI671U0RXYmRA0hihDxiQMufvE/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjanw5C4FzeLuYDv6Xw__4jc2plXz_8Qb9oZOdsFP9f9fVjFdtKUuBgJf7xnW5o2rb4LC5chFCaTXJBuPBe_dc8s1AZ1WhHL7naU7KDk849Qj2d15n2qFI671U0RXYmRA0hihDxiQMufvE/s200/3.jpg" title="" width="200" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Share the literacy story of one of your students,</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">asked the handout found in a dusted-off binder </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">marked "Grad School Assignments"</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My cohort had mapped out their own literacy journeys;</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">a charge that left its reflective mark, even ten years on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Harold's Purple Crayon</i>,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">lyrics to a holiday song I insisted was my own,</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">my name etched into the wood of grandma's basement wall,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Marvel universe's flawed, self-sacrificing heroines,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">anything by Stephen King,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">and then the start of my own bookmaking.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigr5ESWNp2JeH472Ex_sNiw4as3C6KdAweibL_q-w8vV8Gk7OTNtLITxO46sYMM6rscf03CwYPvafmhgsw9od4RrItk7YkK4XvJpDTyS5op2qY8ZLqZGPDYrvPmaD3NmViNYajLBzRG_g/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigr5ESWNp2JeH472Ex_sNiw4as3C6KdAweibL_q-w8vV8Gk7OTNtLITxO46sYMM6rscf03CwYPvafmhgsw9od4RrItk7YkK4XvJpDTyS5op2qY8ZLqZGPDYrvPmaD3NmViNYajLBzRG_g/s200/2.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-size: large;">How did you learn to read,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I would ask my students, one by one, </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">anticipating rich maps, much like my own.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">I dunno. I just did, I guess.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Do you remember the very first book you read</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">over and over again?</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Um, no. Wait...no.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Did anyone read to you as a child?</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Um, no. Wait...no.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">What do you write when it's not for school?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">(silence)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzJ1-1eCcGr5Onpl8qTj5-KVzBFhJ-5YzcuKHd4RZbL99XUPs6Y-giChjGyqb5UFlmn-i08y9Kd45z_dQsO43XMWsdIbDIcPSkjD90CQeNuX_8ksUUbU4J41rFJBTBRtu-k-5zKRi-ato/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzJ1-1eCcGr5Onpl8qTj5-KVzBFhJ-5YzcuKHd4RZbL99XUPs6Y-giChjGyqb5UFlmn-i08y9Kd45z_dQsO43XMWsdIbDIcPSkjD90CQeNuX_8ksUUbU4J41rFJBTBRtu-k-5zKRi-ato/s200/4.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Was I just strange to them,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">this teacher asking questions about books and reading?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Was I unclear about the purpose so they wouldn't feel</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">their answers would be judged?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Were the questions wrong?</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">I went back to my notes on the book, <i>Growing Up Literate</i>, </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">looking for ethnographic methodology</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">and found notes on what surprised me</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">about the rich literate lives of poor families from that study:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The letters to themselves and to one another,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">love notes,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">reminders, lists of things to do,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">the everyday quiet ways they made meaning of the world-</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">ways that mattered when navigating the day to day</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">unnoticed, usually, like</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJUj1NSoL7ZzCAF6igcLfSTWV37k48vNoRxHhwBLjqYHlzrX8AgueZXVOCqwySnvBv61cRab2ojKVqWtx618aQMFI6DHDLivWKVvKFGbK1zeKfbkOdAp6UhlGvRLeYRDnQGir0DNYwaXE/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJUj1NSoL7ZzCAF6igcLfSTWV37k48vNoRxHhwBLjqYHlzrX8AgueZXVOCqwySnvBv61cRab2ojKVqWtx618aQMFI6DHDLivWKVvKFGbK1zeKfbkOdAp6UhlGvRLeYRDnQGir0DNYwaXE/s200/5.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Crayola homes surrounded by bright green living things</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">stick figures connecting in close proximity suggesting</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">a beautiful smallness of the world</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">everything ordinary a thing of intimacy</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">and comfort</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">-a children's code</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">we all once knew.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I couldn't put words to why (I still can't)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">but I knew the task had to go undone</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">that's what happened, and now a decade later,</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">here's its poem.</span></div>
Syd TheEduNuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971795378777560669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596959769037605078.post-39494393759560516442015-04-05T18:15:00.001-06:002015-05-16T08:31:02.053-06:00Letter Grades Inhibit Deep Learning. They Must Die.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJLEl_X7j9Lehz0gYLodINgfnGmHzDej-On9Alekn8PWREDosPb_bNNQac6bOjz2m0ag6eOsA_YuhnK8V85cvvySiCLD6SammTo-o_XbV3f_CHI8Odg0Ke1NWE5DLZN2rhzCy8YEmg0rw/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJLEl_X7j9Lehz0gYLodINgfnGmHzDej-On9Alekn8PWREDosPb_bNNQac6bOjz2m0ag6eOsA_YuhnK8V85cvvySiCLD6SammTo-o_XbV3f_CHI8Odg0Ke1NWE5DLZN2rhzCy8YEmg0rw/s1600/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In the world of school, grades are supposed to represent where a student is at in relation to mastery. </span><span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A = spot on, </span><span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">F = </span><span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">far from it</span><span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">. </span><span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Well, that's the </span><span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>idea</i>, anyway, but I have a hunch that's kind of rare.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My guess is that it's more likely grades are used as leverage, lorded over students as a form of academic "justice"; rewards go to the high-achievers while punishment is doled out to the offending slackers who didn't get the work done.</span><span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">When it comes to what we know about the nature of learning, though, letter grades fall short in fostering, within our students, a willingness to think about, discuss, and reflect on their learning. </span><span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For the most part, there's no solid sense of the <i>why </i>behind them<i> </i>or what was learned as a result, so</span><span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> it's no wonder that high-achievers are hyper-focused on them and struggling students avoid them (and the loser-tag they exact).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">L</span><span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">earning is a process that needs choice, voice, reflection, timely feedback, and opportunities to revise in order to <i>grow</i>, but points awarded for simply completing tasks (we'll call them <i>giddyap grades</i></span><span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">) </span><span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">convey the opposite. They're more about <i>getting things done</i> </span><span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">so they likely represent a student's level of agency rather than </span><span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">where they're at with the content. </span><span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The problem is that no one would really know for sure, including the student, who sees an A, and thinks "success!" and sees the F and thinks, "Oh dang, no cell phone for a month." </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Dan Pink makes the case that the carrot and stick approach motivates people when the work is menial, rote, or mechanical. In other words, if the task doesn't require any specialized knowledge or ability, rewards and punishments increase motivation and productivity. But when the tasks require even the most rudimentary cognitive challenge, increased incentives have the<i> opposite</i> effect. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/u6XAPnuFjJc/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/u6XAPnuFjJc?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Pink's target audience is the tech industry, so he pushes to dispel the myth that innovation is driven by monetary incentives. Money <i>is </i>a motivator in that if you don't pay people enough, it's likely they won't be motivated. However, the best use of money as a motivator</span><span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">, the studies suggest,</span><span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">is to take the issue of it completely off the table. Pay people enough so that the monetary reward is not perceived as <i>conditional</i>. When this happens, three factors emerge that seem to drive people toward increased productivity, innovation, and satisfaction around the work they do. Those factors are <i>autonomy</i>, <i>mastery</i>, and <i>purpose</i>. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTyio_SPlP0WANgAPgWQXUV6DHZfg4sR-Xi4PP4b3FbdilAeMIS7Dd4TOD1sdCCQ2lv1X6eU5j58qoSlOBfIpsYzchb96q2PTsVYrxcGrke_e3Ub1zSfhBzPbmx37MMYQpzaDQvgLDA6Y/s1600/2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTyio_SPlP0WANgAPgWQXUV6DHZfg4sR-Xi4PP4b3FbdilAeMIS7Dd4TOD1sdCCQ2lv1X6eU5j58qoSlOBfIpsYzchb96q2PTsVYrxcGrke_e3Ub1zSfhBzPbmx37MMYQpzaDQvgLDA6Y/s1600/2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Autonomy = the desire to direct our own lives</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif;"> </span>
<span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Mastery = the urge to get better at something that matters</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif;"> </span>
<span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Purpose = the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Now, take money out of the equation and replace it with grades. </span><span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Notice how Pink's definition for mastery jives with growth mindset, where all endeavors are</span><span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> viewed as practice, and where failure is merely an opportunity to </span><i style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">learn </i><span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">rather than grounds for punishment. </span><span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">If I can make mastery the focus of the work we do, but do so within contexts that are meaningful to my students (purpose), where they set their own goals, work at their own pace, and assess their own gains (autonomy), then yes, I can make that almighty letter grade work to my advantage by challenging students to give them<i>selves</i> the grades they deserve. They'd use their body of work, feedback, and their reflections to make that case. That would be the only time grades would come into play and it would be on <i>their </i>terms.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My gut and my experiences tell me this is possible and it's the right direction for me to move toward. It's already being pioneered by teachers who are generously sharing their journeys and inspiring others to do so (see Starr Sackstein <a href="http://starrsackstein.com/">here</a> and Mark Barnes <a href="http://www.brilliant-insane.com/work-mark-barnes">here</a>). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I don't call this blog <i>EduNut</i> </span><span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">for nothin'. I'm obsessed with teaching, and so a lot of my personal time is spent striving to build on what I know.</span><span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> It's a weekend morning and I'm wrestling with pedagogy on the pages of my blog, obviously driven by a sense of purpose and a desire for mastery of my craft. Pink's</span><span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> ideas resonate with me because I can easily see how they play out in my own learning. I want to replicate that for students.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'll be transitioning to as close as I can come to a "no grades" assessment plan for next year. I still have to ultimately place letters into that grade book at the end of each term, but at least I can do so in a way that honors my students' work and progress more authentically than not. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Beginning in late-May, I'll be blogging and vlogging to make it all transparent as best I can (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPENckh0kOog3gxRYUITyPg/about" target="_blank">Sackstein</a>-style). I'm excited and nervous at the same time. In the past, those two feelings together have always preceded the crossing of a meaningful threshold in my life or career. </span><span style="font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;">'Tis a good sign.</span>Syd TheEduNuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971795378777560669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596959769037605078.post-25552230867993706172015-04-03T21:34:00.002-06:002015-04-04T08:45:01.505-06:00I Pseudo-Stalked My Students and Found Some Things<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz-NycDWBclU_WrQIGLo3Oxydzo7R1Fbc7hpC9ela5zttoZGf-RcuJCVQfv8_iomlHUMN7pZz-6UOWyk6KdQlEYM6YeShZ366Je1KhC0oxF9lctSGzf7qxSgNJ0ST3nv4bpdRgcZ4x3Ks/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz-NycDWBclU_WrQIGLo3Oxydzo7R1Fbc7hpC9ela5zttoZGf-RcuJCVQfv8_iomlHUMN7pZz-6UOWyk6KdQlEYM6YeShZ366Je1KhC0oxF9lctSGzf7qxSgNJ0ST3nv4bpdRgcZ4x3Ks/s1600/4.jpg" height="184" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Each year, I've tried to impress upon my advisees that they must stay mindful of the digital footprint they've made. Instead of the usual talking to, this year I decided to make it "for reals" and stalk their social media profiles to collect potentially-incriminating items they never thought were public, where prospective employers might find them, should they do a <a href="http://lifehacker.com/what-kind-of-stuff-do-employers-search-for-when-i-apply-609209318">simple search</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The idea was to spend no more than five minutes searching for each of my twelve advisees, so that when it was time to show them (privately) what I'd found, I could say, "And<i> this </i>(points to compromising picture) was only after five minutes of searching!" </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Don't worry, it never got to that point. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">I set out to search and I braced myself for shock and/or alarm (we're talking members of the teen species here). It was very easy to find them, especially the ones with unusual names, but finding potentially embarrassing stuff was a whole other matter. </span><span style="font-size: large;">There wasn't anything to <i>find</i> except the usual and mostly-innocuous shared stuff of adolescent lives. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But as I was searching those first few minutes, reading through bad jokes, glancing quickly through pics of friends making faces, getting distracted by cute sleepy kitten videos, clicking through all those awkward selfies, something started happening. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiocp1tI99qUWcqx0aMNIE2Ri1ZzEOpvnzGT1AeAbpXrE4sOZz1sNMYgsunC0F02PWty2dIeQtAKjxMO_icezwzd9Y62jesO_DP48mHu1To0NLLox9Yh6_BLr1oyJhTfy80Hb6XKE3t9s/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiocp1tI99qUWcqx0aMNIE2Ri1ZzEOpvnzGT1AeAbpXrE4sOZz1sNMYgsunC0F02PWty2dIeQtAKjxMO_icezwzd9Y62jesO_DP48mHu1To0NLLox9Yh6_BLr1oyJhTfy80Hb6XKE3t9s/s1600/3.jpg" height="320" style="cursor: move;" width="169" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">I started <i>seeing</i> my students-- seeing them in ways they wanted others to see them, I could see hints of insecurities, their frustrations, their fears, and their aspirations. It was both humbling and deeply moving at the same time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Jason, a student new to our school, is quite the artist with a gift for portraiture. He seems able to hone in on whatever it is about his subjects that reveal their humanity. I wanted to see more of his art than what was on his Tumblr. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then there's Mona, whose anti-authority persona at school is tough as nails, and yet her Facebook stream was chock full of Buddhist quotes and messages of inspiration. "How you make others feel says a lot about yourself," says one of 'em. Indeed, Ms. Mona, <i>indeed</i>.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhDJQWxKXUkn5PT5ANgHxpZzpAtXsIyspcFvAjym5PdZA57dw_cuX4FZQyHqgRt7X9EYRK5oIY5efHC6svQZi4CYs0f4In5AZkR1SHt7QzOgQZUJiUVi_zRW0faXTF3uR3ppLpnQI-LC8/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhDJQWxKXUkn5PT5ANgHxpZzpAtXsIyspcFvAjym5PdZA57dw_cuX4FZQyHqgRt7X9EYRK5oIY5efHC6svQZi4CYs0f4In5AZkR1SHt7QzOgQZUJiUVi_zRW0faXTF3uR3ppLpnQI-LC8/s1600/1.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">I got lost in Lena's joyous collection of photos, including that of her recent quinceañera (a rite of passage for Latina girls). She looks incredibly happy in each picture, surrounded by loving friends and family. There is so much pride in her heritage, and in all the pictures of celebrations, she's surrounded by children looking up at her, adoringly. She's shared with me how incredibly anxious she is about her struggles with reading and writing and getting into college. Now I can see a little more of that story; how she may be taking her family with her on that dream, and how she may fear letting them down should she fail. Suddenly, the role I play in her life takes on more weight and possibility. I can help her. I <i>will</i>. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Na_Z0Ku7ViLoqQzvAiuX9Y0Yt7LF807lVvSgtQP6UAE1eVQrllRoTeMmplPlIzNrjJTDco9mDvcCpQHcuCbjd610By85NTozVtRGWIitgd0kmF1EiQwn7a0vzVQo3PLs4LW1Rc3-jzs/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></a><span style="font-size: large;">One hundred students a year; that's one hundred beautifully-flawed, sad, joyous, lonely, witty, hopeful, and complex human beings under the same roof with me every day and yet, I don't know much about them aside from a few surface facts and their reading and writing needs. That's okay, they're teens and so they have secret lives that even their parents don't know about. I'm good with that, and honestly, I don't <i>want </i>to know everything.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But a lot of what they shared was public for a reason, and if there's any take-away from that ill-fated search for potentially-embarrassing photos, it's that (just like me, doing what I'm doing at this moment) they're all reaching out in the hope they'll be <i>seen</i> on their own terms. As a Humanities teacher, I can do <i>more</i> to make room for that in my classroom and at my school. I can and so I <i>will</i>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I end with this last little find: It's what one student tweeted about the project we were doing (Pan-African music analysis):</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Na_Z0Ku7ViLoqQzvAiuX9Y0Yt7LF807lVvSgtQP6UAE1eVQrllRoTeMmplPlIzNrjJTDco9mDvcCpQHcuCbjd610By85NTozVtRGWIitgd0kmF1EiQwn7a0vzVQo3PLs4LW1Rc3-jzs/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Na_Z0Ku7ViLoqQzvAiuX9Y0Yt7LF807lVvSgtQP6UAE1eVQrllRoTeMmplPlIzNrjJTDco9mDvcCpQHcuCbjd610By85NTozVtRGWIitgd0kmF1EiQwn7a0vzVQo3PLs4LW1Rc3-jzs/s1600/2.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The truth is out there, and it ain't always pretty...and-- invariably, someone will retweet it.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizH-g8PCx-6YOACQLbssIKSVclUozyu3nIszkcIqPjR_xjw9o3rj_VZC-qSchWJBVRY2grdaoYBs4YtTUoQ3nXg-ayTuN5mZ0j5ytNHN5CB3odIiFMS2Fbw3X6W0iQA9nnPhcvoBstOI0/s1600/heart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizH-g8PCx-6YOACQLbssIKSVclUozyu3nIszkcIqPjR_xjw9o3rj_VZC-qSchWJBVRY2grdaoYBs4YtTUoQ3nXg-ayTuN5mZ0j5ytNHN5CB3odIiFMS2Fbw3X6W0iQA9nnPhcvoBstOI0/s1600/heart.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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Initially, I was compelled to shoot off a litany of professional badass-erisms starting with staying up to date on what's happening in the world of education and making our instruction transparent, as I'm gearing up to do with these daily blogs. That's wholly due to the culmination of a 30-year anti-public ed movement and the groundswell of discontent parents are finally becoming a part of. I'm fired up! </span><br />
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But then I remembered a lesson whilst parenting: Take care of yourself first so you're in better shape to take care of others. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />I'd guess that's true for teachers, too. If we take care of our health and well-being, it pays off in all other aspects of our lives. I struggle with sustaining that. When I don't eat breakfast, exercise, or sleep, it impacts my energy and brain power, not to mention my justifiable outrage and my willingness to get out there on the street and fight!</span><br />
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So, eat your Wheaties, boys and girls! A kale smoothie is probably better. Just do it so we have the energy to save public education and then get back to our usual business of saving the WORLD!</span><br />
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Disclaimer: I do not endorse consumption of said Wheaties. </span>Syd TheEduNuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971795378777560669noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596959769037605078.post-52711885347946468492015-04-02T09:14:00.000-06:002016-07-14T15:59:34.817-06:00Note to Self: Keep Asking Why It Is You Teach<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh72jrSzyqnsZWlCXqtCXnRRXSggH_iuf5TEMur1OFSMNH6P24xy9B0_lPdioLt9mv5dUyG048Gbn9KLx1nvFIs5toQ6CY19Kg7i5j7Qe5DakNAVk1cIX8UfExr8gfVQO2jFqRH3_EU5vo/s1600/path.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh72jrSzyqnsZWlCXqtCXnRRXSggH_iuf5TEMur1OFSMNH6P24xy9B0_lPdioLt9mv5dUyG048Gbn9KLx1nvFIs5toQ6CY19Kg7i5j7Qe5DakNAVk1cIX8UfExr8gfVQO2jFqRH3_EU5vo/s1600/path.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I remember the moment I chose teaching as a career. I was two years into college and had to declare a major. Among the choices, teaching offered the greatest potential for positively impacting others. That was the clincher.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'd love to be able to think pure altruism was what has sustained my desire to teach these last fifteen years, but that would mean I would've expected nothing in return for my time and energy, and that was just not the case. I'm hardly as selfless as that. Sure, I've depended on the paycheck, but ultimately, I've <i>expected</i> at least the <i>sense</i> that my time as a teacher <i>meant</i> something to others. I didn't need to see it, I just needed to <i>feel</i> it. I didn't even need to know that others saw it. I just wanted to be sure for myself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Fortunately, I have been, and here's why:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">1. The odds were pretty damn good! I've taught close to 100 students each year, which meant close to 1500 students passed through my classroom. Given there are 180 days in the school year, that would mean I had 180 days with each student where there was a <i>very </i>good chance of having impacted them in a positive way (since that was what motivated me). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">2. I've had some great teachers whom I quietly admired and even revered. They impacted me in ways they could have never known (well, okay-- some<i> do</i> know now thanks to the modern-day magic of Facebook, where everyone you've <i>ever </i>known somehow finds you). If even<i> one</i> of my ~1500 students took a piece of me along on their life's journey, in spirit, it'd be pretty cool. I've been fortunate enough to be told this was the case by former students.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">3. Lastly, there have been those moments where I sensed it; a personal connection that was made, a mutual understanding, a shared experience, time, patience, and honesty acknowledged. Even if they didn't get it, I did. Maybe some day, they would, too, the way I could only do in retrospect when thinking about my own teachers and how they quietly left their imprint on my teacher-being. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Interestingly enough (to me, anyway), I care less about all of that. What sustains me as a teacher has shifted quite a bit. Where before it was </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">about using my "superpowers" to inspire and to help students become self-aware (that being the "positive impact"), now I'm more inclined</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> to want my</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"> experiences</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> and my </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">knowledge </i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">to be of value. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">If there's an impact to be made, it's on their learning, and I feel much more equipped to do that given the depth of knowledge I've acquired.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> It's a quieter impact, but one that's more likely to endure and have a direct & positive impact on their self-concept. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Also, there's no denying that all this time, <i>I've</i> been impacted by my students on so many levels; as a parent, a learner, a teacher, and as a fellow human being. </span>For that reason, I have a sense that in a few years, even legacy will cease to be a factor in what fuels me. If it's anything like parenthood, what will mean the most will be the sum total of those quieter moments where we all ran outside under the first snowfall to catch snowflakes on our tongues (high schoolers, these are), or all the times we found ourselves in mutual awe of things serendipitously stumbled upon, or that made us appreciate the mysteries of our own human nature. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I feel the start of that shift, and I embrace it.</span>Syd TheEduNuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971795378777560669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596959769037605078.post-84303954943939982702015-04-01T09:22:00.000-06:002016-07-14T16:08:08.435-06:00Wabi-Sabi Teacher = Beautifully-Flawed<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-T0v_5j6_Lkf6fxIQ06XwJYtevaAQLE-qf7EpQOm3Tdh3MsPMVyHTQBC399M3tI-nDJhPcOQ6nOQL53Oi7KuIPSAjWQIqFfWUQhu2vnsxvb1-vGDB-KOM60CgtYO2IVJwAVPgrxgjG7w/s1600/Untitled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-T0v_5j6_Lkf6fxIQ06XwJYtevaAQLE-qf7EpQOm3Tdh3MsPMVyHTQBC399M3tI-nDJhPcOQ6nOQL53Oi7KuIPSAjWQIqFfWUQhu2vnsxvb1-vGDB-KOM60CgtYO2IVJwAVPgrxgjG7w/s1600/Untitled.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A couple of decades ago, while learning how to spin a clay pot, an art instructor told me about wabi-sabi, a Japanese art form that conveyed the beauty of impermanence and time's impact on objects. Picture a sculpted piece of driftwood along the beach, or a smoothed-over river stone; both are wabi-sabi-ware, organically worn and shaped by nature's geologically-slow hand. The instructor applied it to the imperfections in my clay pot noting that it gave it a <i>wabi-sabi feel</i>. I didn't think too much about it, except that I felt relieved she saw the asymmetry of my piece a thing of beauty rather than a newbie flaw. It was a natural part of my process as an artist, she said, and that's what made it special.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">When I first started teaching fifteen years ago, I could've used someone like that art teacher to tell me I didn't have to be perfect right out the gate. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We enter into our first classroom with a head full of theory and meticulously-constructed "units of study", and it doesn't take much more than a spit wad hurled across the room to realize we're going to have to adapt to survive. When it happened to me, the sense of fear and urgency was strong enough to put me into overdrive. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As a result, I would spend a good amount of time and energy those first years trying to reach edu-nirvana, that state where all those rock star teachers in the movies were at. You know who I mean, the ones who stood and delivered atop desks and, at the risk of life, job, and limb, challenged students to positively disrupt their lives using education as the way to do it. I wanted to be </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>that</i> teacher, as many young teachers did. It wasn't hard to shed that myth after a year or two of experience, but the motivation for impacting others and the passion for teaching remained. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Now that I'm at the mid-point of my career as a teacher, I find myself thinking about that clay pot. Teaching <i>is </i>a craft, like ceramic art. There <i>is</i> no higher place to be than where we are when we're knee-to-knee with students as their mentors and guides. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We can </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">embody wabi-sabi, not only in our aesthetic (gray hairs and the wrinkles of a smile), but in our ways of "being", too. I see it in artists and teachers who value process over product. I sense it in those who accept their own finite natures with grace and brevity, making sure they're "present" for their students; honoring their learning journeys with patience and compassion. It's in anyone who seems to be in sync and at peace with nature's rhythms.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu-TfIBpwplFTBf1Srl9hJ0xcE2gOhNQvf8MSmuVGheKSZSGNmyVIbXs767DdjUhgonMR8CLhO0lqk8aPHqr8bPYs4Eg4u8582DEeJhOZDQTgxAG4YmQSN9F3ll10guxCxz72hFfdjoFY/s1600/beach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu-TfIBpwplFTBf1Srl9hJ0xcE2gOhNQvf8MSmuVGheKSZSGNmyVIbXs767DdjUhgonMR8CLhO0lqk8aPHqr8bPYs4Eg4u8582DEeJhOZDQTgxAG4YmQSN9F3ll10guxCxz72hFfdjoFY/s1600/beach.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is what I wish to remember as I embark on the second half of my journey as a teacher: that I am that stone, newly-aware of being less jagged in all the right places, and I embrace all that which makes me beautifully flawed.</span>Syd TheEduNuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971795378777560669noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596959769037605078.post-39574247240234926522014-10-13T17:07:00.000-06:002016-02-15T14:15:47.059-07:00Idea: Easing into the Launch of a Class Blog<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I stumbled upon a process for launching a class blog that was non-threatening to struggling writers and yet, still engaged the more confident scribes in the room.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">For our first post, I had students collect ten images (self-created or not) representing different aspects of their lives or personalities.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">They then created a slideshow with the images and embedded it into the main page of their blog. The only requirements: (1) images must be "appropriate" enough to show a roomful of grand-folks, and (2) no text. No text piques readers' curiosity and prompts them to comment with their questions, thereby inspiring the blogger to draft another post in response.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The next day, I had students create a list of "Top Ten" (any topic of their choosing). I used my own blog as an exemplar, sharing my list of "Top Ten Moments of Bliss" (in no particular order):</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-size: large;">Snowboarding with Tommy, my nephew</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Receiving my Bachelor's degree- my whole family was there.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Falling in love and realizing it for the first time</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Rock climbing, making it to the top, breathing, and then turning around to take in the view</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Biking down the Sandia Crest trail</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Backpacking around Cuba, up to the mountain valleys (lush)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Bungee jumping off of a New Zealand mining bridge (where bungee jumping first originated)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Walking along the Nova Scotian coastline</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Waking up on mornings after a big trek along the New Zealand coast (Akaroa)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Floating on a river through a cave- looking up and seeing glow worms (they looked like stars!)</span></li>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I asked the class which item on my list was most intriguing to them and conveyed how I could use their feedback to determine the topic for my next post.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Happy blogging!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">P.S. I use Google Sites as a platform for our class blog.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">If you'd like a template that you can simply copy, leave a comment and I'll kick it your way.</span></div>
Syd TheEduNuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971795378777560669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596959769037605078.post-23801467004688738592014-08-11T20:00:00.000-06:002015-03-31T17:04:35.251-06:00Welcome to Being Human- A Syllabus Intro to Humanities<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Syllabus Intro to </b></span><b style="font-size: x-large;">Humanities, Gr 10</b><span style="font-size: large;">: </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Once upon a time, roughly 5 billion years ago, a gravitational collapse gave birth to the solar system you're presently spinning around in. At first, things were a mess. Most of the cosmic matter gathered and fused at the core while the rest of it scattered outwardly into a flat, orbiting disc of debris. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br />As that debris field spun, it slowly (over the course of a billion years) started massing into clumps, thereby forming a number of stars and satellites, one of which we're all sitting on as it orbits its own star (the sun).</span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />A billion years later, after things cooled down a bit on this home-planet, conditions were ripe for simple life forms to emerge, and eventually they evolved into increasingly-diverse complex organisms. It took mammalian life billions more years to emerge, but the planet was still hostile to larger forms of life, so there were a few mass extinctions. Each time, though, life continued to evolve. <br /><br />Tens of millions of years after the last of those mass extinctions (that of the dinosaurs), ape-like animals began to emerge and at some point, they adapted by standing upright on two legs, thus heralding an evolutionary chain of events that would lead to the emergence of the species you, yourself, are a part of. That species' brain slowly grew and evolved to become self-aware of its own existence, and with the use of language (this one, the one you're using as you read this), created words to carry and record ideas from one generation to the next, words such as "human," which conveyed a category of life separate from all the rest.<br /><br />Which brings us to this moment, whereby we find ourselves here in this class focusing on that very thing we call human. Welcome to World Studies, fellow human beings. Here, we'll explore what it means to be human and, if things go as planned, you may see more clearly your part in the ongoing story.<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 1; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1; white-space: pre-wrap;"> ■</span></div>
Syd TheEduNuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971795378777560669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596959769037605078.post-30860503583058941732014-02-25T11:52:00.000-07:002015-01-03T16:28:16.185-07:00Idea: 30-Day Challenge Blog<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/q_ccU9pBoDU/0.jpg" height="266" style="clear: left; float: left;" width="320"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/q_ccU9pBoDU&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/v/q_ccU9pBoDU&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/type/30-days/">Matt Cutts</a>, in his short TED Talk, shares how he was inspired to change one little thing in his life and commit to it for at least 30 days. It changed him in ways he didn't anticipate. Since my advisory students were setting academic goals, I decided to share Cutts' Talk with them since it validated my own advice about how changing habits takes time and a commitment to being consistent over a period of time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love moonlighting as an advisor. Sure, I'm an <span style="color: red;">e</span>ngl<span style="color: red;">u</span>sh t<span style="color: red;">ee</span>cher at heart, but </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I chose that path as a career because it held the most potential for positively impacting the lives of others, and being an advisor significantly ups that mojo. Also, much of what we address is stuff I need reminding about to keep my own house in order, which brings me back to the <i>30-Day Challenge</i>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">What I hadn't anticipated was how inspired my students would be after veiwing Cutts' Talk. They proposed we each take on a goal for the next month just as Cutts had done. I loved the idea, especially since it furthered my own advisory agenda! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That evening, I built a group blog using a Google Site as the platform. First we used it to brainstorm ideas for goals, then once they were decided, we chronicled our attempts to either rid ourselves of our habits or develop them. We spent roughly ten minutes at the start of each class crafting our posts and providing supportive feedback to one another. Those students who had a hard time deciding on a goal found it easier to piggy-back off of an idea that was already started, like turning in work on time, or drinking a certain amount of water each day. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shortly after, another advisory class joined us and our blogroll grew to 37, including the other teacher, who had a newborn infant and felt the family pet was being neglected, so her daily goal was to spend at least 5 minutes playing with her dog. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even though the challenge was optional, most of the students joined the blog by the second week, having been inspired by the other class joining us or by the attention given to bloggers whose pursuits from the very first day became a topic of discussion among peers. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Looking back, I can see there was a wonderful burst of organic energy around this endeavor. Teachers know this kind of momentum is pure gold when it comes directly from the students themselves, inspired by their own ideas and interests. Still, there are times when that energy requires the invisible hand of the facilitator to ensure the flow, intensity, and direction of the energy so that it's sure to be sustained. And that's where I kind of dropped the ball.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As the month rolled on, it became difficult for some to keep up with their daily posts, especially during the weekend when it wasn't a part of their usual day to post to a blog. A few students had set some high-maintenance goals and started falling behind. Admittedly, I was a slacker myself when it came to maintaining consistency since I let the blog time slide if there was a school-wide event or grade-wide activity we had to complete. The other advisor's dog got the ball thrown a few times but by the end of the month, it was clear that tug-time on the rope would remain a rare treat. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There was definitely a loss of momentum by the time we reached the finish line. Many had already dropped out of the race and watched as the remaining goal-setters hobbled in. Regardless, throughout the challenge, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">some really cool things emerged that helped me to see it as something worth replicating and improving upon. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Something I hadn't anticipated was how much (and how quickly) I could learn about my students through their chronicles. The goals they set served as a formative assessment, conveying their interests, values, and a sense of their personalities. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A few wanted to publish a photograph each day, and their pictures were like a window into their worlds. Oftenti</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">mes, I was taken aback by the beauty they had captured, which conveyed a special connectedness to the natural world. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Others set athletic goals, like jogging a mile each day or doing something at daily dance practice that would push them further toward a longer-term goal. Dominic went from a 7:18 mile to ending the month at 6:27. Ashley wanted to be sure and say something nice to someone each day. She told her mom how much she meant to her and she blogged that her mom wanted to know what she did wrong. Ivan set out to compliment five people a day, telling</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;"> them how much he admired them for their humor or athleticism. Curious about the reaction he kept getting, which was a mix of suspicion and gratitude, he began wondering if people, across the board, were under-appreciated.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Christina decided she'd "try not to be mean" to other people, and in the process, she realized it wasn't as hard as she thought. In my comment to her post, I wrote, "Could it be that being more mindful of our own actions toward others helps us become better human beings? Does it help us see ourselves in a light that's closer to who we actually are? Or is it a way toward <i>becoming</i> more compassionate, toward others and toward ourselves?"</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rayne decided to go meatless and curse-less. It didn't last the month, but after a couple of weeks, he noted there was a change in his mood and wasn't sure if it was the lack of meat or expletives that was doing it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mikaela tried to break her habit of saying, "I'm sorry," something her friends told her she did all the time. She wrote about how they began helping her with the challenge since, even though she tried, she couldn't catch herself saying it. It compelled her to reflect on where it was coming from, which lead to some interesting insights around her own self-concept.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So, I'm going to try this again at the start of the Spring semester with the same advisory group, and I'll build on what worked and change what didn't.</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Making it optional and not attaching a grade to it</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Inviting other advisories- perhaps this time, inviting the entire sophomore class!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Supportive commenting</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Inconsistency. We'll make it a for-sure start-of-advisory ritual, no matter what's on our plate. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Weekend lag. We'll decide, as a group, to give ourselves a break over the weekends, unless otherwise compelled to keep it up. I'll try to be a model for the "keep it up" crowd.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>What I'll add:</b></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Reflecting on the experience of the first round so that we can address goals that might've been unrealistic or impractical, what worked, what didn't (their perspective)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Adding resources on the blog for generating ideas and how to set realistic goals, with students' contributions</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">End of writing time share-out to the class, for those who'd like to, or for those who'd like to give kudos to someone deserving whose blog they read</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Amp up the public spin on it with students' permission, sharing kudos on our school's Facebook page.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Discussion around the quality of comments and the effects they have on bloggers' motivation </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Allowing for students to set their blogs to "private" if they want (Google Sites makes this possible)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">End-of-week celebration, in some form</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A reflective written piece, or a video blog for their ePortfolios: "take-aways" around goal-setting </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">End-of-month wrap-up party, and possibly the launch of a third round...?</span></li>
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Syd TheEduNuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971795378777560669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596959769037605078.post-41692822035530094232014-02-07T18:53:00.000-07:002014-06-21T10:10:45.628-06:00For Digital Learning Day: Students Weigh In<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://vimeo.com/58939306">Digital Learning Day 2013</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/edunut">EduNut</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</div>
Syd TheEduNuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971795378777560669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596959769037605078.post-9537937280031784792014-02-02T19:33:00.000-07:002016-02-15T14:20:18.131-07:00Confessions of an Ed App Junkie<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-_cLEvr5c9PlBZsURkfaATv1mC_zR9nxsGJk4p7az-kecCV8ZWDza7d5kItTVkgnr7jhAVP0VIPZvXVjuxDNwRCk5pF8YXcujM8RJY2y5557MKiruZ6Re1pKuPo2KHhWz6Iu2JbeLCDg/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-_cLEvr5c9PlBZsURkfaATv1mC_zR9nxsGJk4p7az-kecCV8ZWDza7d5kItTVkgnr7jhAVP0VIPZvXVjuxDNwRCk5pF8YXcujM8RJY2y5557MKiruZ6Re1pKuPo2KHhWz6Iu2JbeLCDg/s320/4.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I've been an app slut. For reasons not yet hashed out during therapy, I've registered for every new online edu-tool I've come across, even if the web app was a clone of one I'd already been happily married to. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I suspect I've been motivated by a fear of missing the beta-boat should the holy grail of edu-apps makes itself known. For the last few years, I've kept up with ed tech and the various movements therein, but it's been from a distance for fear of getting sucked into committed relationships (See? Online life <i>is</i> like real life!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Needless to say, all these new accounts and half-baked attempts at curating the all-time best resources have </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">made my virtual workspace cluttered and coffee-stained. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sure, I'm the go-to gal at work for finding the right match between task and e-tool, but when you're relatively new at a project-based learning gig like I am, there's little time to consistently build a meaningful network online. The day-to-day need-to-knows of my students take precedence over time to blog, vlog, tweet, pin, poke, post, comment, or respond, much less navigating newly-born interfaces and keeping up with the latest online teacher toys. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">And yet, I've still found myself <i>trying</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">What's different, however, is that I've reached a tipping point in my personal life where I've slowly begun to shed unnecessary things. It started with a box of clothes I'd been hoping I could fit back into once I returned to my glorious rock-climbing-enabled body size. It felt good getting rid of that antagonistic big turd of a box glaring at me every time I turned the closet light on. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Weeding out the bookcases was easier, for the most part. Much of their content could now be found online.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Next, I'm digitizing photos and VHS tapes. It's a slow, ongoing process but at least now I'm in that place where I'm getting rid of more than I take in. It's felt good, which is why I've started to consider how to simplify my online life so that it's less about quantity (memberships, feeds, web tools, bookmarks, email alerts) and more about </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">quality</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The question over the next year will be how can I spend the time I have online in those virtual spaces where educators are building knowledge together through sharing and collaboration? That's where I want and <i>need</i> to be. I know where these places are because I've mostly been that person passing by and gawkin' through the window at the goings on thinking, aw man, someday when I have the time, I'm going to knock at the front door and get in on this.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have so many ideas and so much energy when it comes to teaching. Connecting with others who are equally as passionate amplifies the potential for inspiration, collaboration, and growth. I'm not ready to knock on the door just yet, but I'll be there shortly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of the first items on my action plan is to consolidate some of the platforms I use. Google's kind of a no-brainer as a dashboard since its apps seamlessly integrate (which is why I'll be shutting down two other blogs and have started fresh on Blogger). Also, the clean interface is sparklin' clean, which gives me a standard to shoot for when clearing out the rest of my actual closet. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'll be meandering all things pedagogical (keeping it short) mostly about project-based learning, ELA instruction, and general issues around public ed and I'll be doing it as regularly as possible with the hope of landing on a consistent, habit-of-mind-induced schedule. As is with the whittling down of my worldly possessions, it'll be a process getting from the window to the door. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">But until then, if you should happen to be at <i>this</i> window, feel free to holler in and I'll be sure to greet you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Thanks for your time reading this. </span></div>
Syd TheEduNuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971795378777560669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596959769037605078.post-56749513937138657292014-01-13T08:00:00.000-07:002014-06-21T10:13:17.750-06:00Resource Wiki: Big Ideas & Guiding Questions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://thebigideas.wikispaces.com/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgAl6GfNrvQUXZkwDoVKXJwsyppRnIRTWOgVw4uYVUFArXqR8JZ2JOv0XUBZXVEnboVC7Jhk5M1c_2h1XwBR21VtXoDz7yIyxMpc3G8pEWN0j_ZCGEJEJrwKJBonyc8ROmg9Wep6-A4Hw/s320/Capture.JPG" height="245" title="" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I created a wiki as a store for collecting big ideas and guiding questions. I completely forgot about it until I recently began brainstorming ideas for new Humanities projects and needed to consider some essential ideas I'd want my students to explore. It was exactly what I needed and I was glad to have already done some preliminary work on building the collection. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: center;">Since it's a wiki, feel free to join and contribute. There are plenty of big ideas, so far, but not all have been expanded on. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The site address is </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://thebigideas.wikispaces.com/">http://thebigideas.wikispaces.com/</a></span></div>
Syd TheEduNuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971795378777560669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596959769037605078.post-61601708452634131342014-01-01T08:00:00.000-07:002015-01-03T16:23:38.250-07:00Idea: Prewriting Strategy- "List of Memories"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">At the start of the year, I have students fold a piece of paper into six squares and choose from a list of categories to put into each of the boxes. The categories are: happiest moments, saddest moments, most embarrassing, scariest, proudest, angriest, most regretful, etc.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />They then list memories that fall under those categories- at least four to a box, and then afterwards, a star is placed next to the one memory in each box they would most like to write about.</span><br />
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<span _mce_style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In groups, writers share the lists and their peers help them decide on a second memory from each box that they would like them to write about (keeping the audience in mind). Those are starred, too.</span></span><br />
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<span _mce_style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><b>Tech note:</b> The last time I did this, students posted to our class blog. Peers responded online, oftentimes requesting the writer choose a topic from the list they were especially curious about. The only thing I felt made it worth doing online was the larger audience (thus more feedback) for each of the writers.</span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> </span></span><br />
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Syd TheEduNuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971795378777560669noreply@blogger.com0