Making Shift Happen - A Time For Reflection

It is July once again; a time for reflection.

This past year has been the best year I have ever experienced in my teaching career. This is due in large part to the learning that I have experienced this year and the teaching networks I have been a part of. I am more aware than ever that while we are often the only adult in our classroom, teaching is not by any means a solo pursuit, it is meant to be something that is done in community.

The entire paradigm of teaching has shifted. No longer is a teacher the impart-er of knowledge and information; a teacher is now a role model for learning. More than ever this year, I developed a learning stance, and became the chief learner in my classroom, and that made the year fun and exciting for me, and learning a contagion for my students.

Creating strong learning networks that I could go to for advice and ideas was really important to me this year. I am so grateful to all of the very excellent Grade Six teachers in our board that lent me their ears!  I am also grateful to my friends in other boards who acted as objective listeners to my sometimes fantastical ideas. And lastly, I'm extremely grateful to all of the incredible educators I have met in my virtual network via Twitter, Google+ and ETMOOC.

Today I started tutoring a 12 year old boy in Math.  I asked first to look at his report card, and saw that he averaged about a 67% in most subjects. In the Learning Skills section, I noticed that it was stated he needed improvement in "Self-regulation" and "Independent work". I pointed this out to him and asked if he has trouble focusing and paying attention.  He said "Not really". I said "is your class rowdy and do the students fool around a lot?" He said "Pretty much". I asked him to describe a typical Math lesson. He described a class where the teacher taught the lesson at the front of the room for the first half hour, then assigned the questions in the text book for the second half of the period. He mostly ignored the lesson and the questions while he socialized with his friends.

I asked what part of Math he found most difficult, he didn't even hesitate before answering "percentages". I asked him to complete a Proportional Reasoning Diagnostic from our Ministry's Closing the Gap on the Math Gains website. It was apparent he didn't understand the relationship between fractions, decimals, percentages, rates and ratios. We started with factors and multiples, quickly moved to numerators and denominators, then equivalent fractions. I was amazed at how quickly he caught on.  Within one hour he was solving rate problems by converting to a unit rate.  So why didn't he learn all of this in school?

It is no longer okay to teach the way we were taught!  For so many of our students, (I would argue especially our boys), it just DOESN'T WORK!

Although I've had an excellent year in the classroom, and am well aware that I still have so much more to learn, I am leaving the classroom for a temporary hiatus to go back to the Curriculum Department. Hence the name change of my blog! I am going to attempt to Make Shift Happen! We classroom teachers need to change the way we are teaching so that we reach the students most at risk in our classrooms. Every child has a right to succeed and it is our duty to make sure that that happens. I'm hoping that I can support teachers in making that shift happen in their classrooms.

I'm scared though, scared because I know how teachers feel about enforced PD and enforced "Professional Learning Communities". My blog post and the comments that ensued on the PLC vs the PLN (Professional Learning Network) were an eye-opener for me. My challenge this year will be to find a way to be a co-learner with my fellow teachers and support them in making shift happen. I am really hopeful that I can inspire and motivate my colleagues the way I have been inspired and motivated by my PLN. I think the key elements are voice and choice, I just don't know yet how to ensure those elements are embedded in my work with teachers.

I will once again welcome your ideas and opinions. Your comments and emails will be more important than ever to me on this portion of my learning journey.

Professional Learning Communities vs Personal Learning Networks

Gosh darn... Still curating.  This PLN vs PLC won't leave my head alone!

I have re-read our Ministry's monograph on Professional Learning Communities.  These are the necessary components to a PLC:

1. Ensuring Learning for All Students - which makes me think of the document "Learning for All", a guide for assessment and instruction for all students, supporting the need to know our students and differentiate as necessary.
2. Focus on Results - which makes me think of John Hattie's "Teacher, know thy impact".
3. Relationships - in the PLC we have to build trusting relationships where it is safe to take risks, and also safe to disagree.
4. Collaborative Inquiry - what do we want to learn about? It is after all a LEARNING community.
5. Leadership - the principal who fosters an environment of inquiry, but also teachers who take the lead on a focus of inquiry.

It all sounds good!  So why do educators complain about them so much?

I think Timothy Scholze, from our etmooc, hits the nail on the head in his post on Google+.  "I really dislike group work because I want to be in control of my learning."  Timothy also says that principals "need to make sure that they are not forcing people together ... Collaboration should be open to choice".

In his post, Hey! Over Here!! Timothy says, "In my view, connected learning and PLNs are the best things since personal computers and blogs.  My PLN looks like a major league baseball all-star team". 

I want to try to figure out why the PLN we create on our own feels so life-giving while the PLC we are asked to be a part of in our building can be filled with so much negativity.  I am not saying they always are... I've been a part of many thriving and exciting PLCs.  But I've also been a part of many dull PLCs in which people are clearly there just because they have to be, and asking them to contribute is like pulling teeth.

Comparing the etmooc to an on-line course is helping me to understand the difference between the PLN and the PLC.  In the etmooc everyone is thriving and excited.  We feel as though our heads are going to explode, and yet we come back for more - by choice!  I've taken many on-line course, and often people don't seem to be thriving in them.  We respond to the requisite three posts on each topic and scan the necessary readings... anxious to be done.

So what's the difference?  I'm thinking the common denominator is CHOICE.

Well, we clearly can't choose who is in our Professional Learning Community - if we are working toward School Improvement and Student Achievement, it has to be the people in our building with whom we work.

But as I continue to think about this, (my brain won't let me stop thinking about it!) I no longer believe the issue is simply not being able to choose the people in our PLC.  It's far more complicated than that.

When I first started teaching, I worked in the Primary Division of a small school.  At least three times per week, at the end of the day, all of the Primary teachers would gather either in the hallway or in one of our classrooms and we would reflect on our practice.  We would talk about students we were concerned about, make suggestions for one another, share new strategies we were trying; we would laugh, argue, gossip, cry and rejoice!  It was a very supportive PLC, but at that time, we hadn't ever even heard of the term before.  We weren't there because our principal told us to be there.  We were there because we wanted to be there.  We CHOSE to be there.

It seems to me the "PLC" has become synonymous with Professional Development and often, it is the principal, consultant, coach, or whomever the "Instructional Leader" is in the building, that decides what everyone needs to learn about.  How and why does this happen?  These instructional leaders are not just being arbitrary. They are looking at student results, looking at the gaps, and then they are using professional resources to determine what is the best strategy to meet the needs to close those gaps.

But the problem is this eliminates what appears to be a very necessary ingredient to learning - THE CHOICE!  I can't remember if it was Jim Knight or Stephen Covey who said, (I'm on a roll so I don't want to go looking for the quote - it was in a book!), that if you have a lousy idea but 100% commitment to that lousy idea you will get a better result than if you have a great idea but only 5% commitment.

I firmly believe that we need to consider ourselves a PLC in our building.  But somehow choice has to become a part of the equation.  It seems logical to me that the choice has to be in the Collaborative Inquiry. But as soon as you say "You have to do a Collaborative Inquiry" - even if you let people choose what they will inquire about, you've taken away the sense of choice by mandating it.

I like to discuss, question, share... I think it is human nature to do so.  But I don't necessarily like being told "You have to discuss, question, share."  Ah, there-in lies the conundrum.  It would seem that as soon as people feel as though they have no choice, or no voice, their attitude changes, they become resentful rather than embracing the learning opportunity.

Why am I even interested in exploring this issue?  Because of my students of course.   The observations I make about how teachers learn together in a PLC vs a PLN can be extrapolated to the classroom.  If I can figure out what motivates adults to learn together, I will be better able to motivate my students to do the same.

Clearly this is still in the curation stage...  I welcome your thoughts.

Why Every Educator Should Be Using Twitter

This year, one of the goals for my Annual Learning Plan is to incorporate technology more effectively in my teaching.  I'm hoping the increased use of technology in creative ways will lead to increased motivation and better differentiation.  Ultimately, the hope is I will see an increase in achievement as an end result.  I knew going in that this would be a rather tall order.

Knowing this would be my goal, I began this blog as a first step.  I also joined Twitter (at the behest of my son Stephen who said everything worth knowing is on Twitter).  In August, I went to the Pearson Literacy Conference where Heidi Hayes Jacobs reiterated my son's opinion.  Twitter is a must.

At first, I really didn't see the point of Twitter.  I don't care to know what Lady Gaga ate for breakfast.  But then I began to follow some professional organizations like the CSC, Pembroke Publishers, ASCD, and some of my favourite authors like Lisa Donohue, Kylene Beers, Dylan William, and Robert Marzano.  I could see the merits in this as I was updated quickly on anything new in the world of Education.  I even started following NASA and thought this would be useful as I could share updates with my students during our Space unit in Science.

Tweeting, however, was a challenge.  I was confused by the use of the hashtag, had trouble following conversations, and didn't understand the true power of Twitter.  So this holiday season, I decided that I would gain a better understanding of Twitter so as to use it more effectively.

I learned that Twitter is the IDEAL Professional Learning Community (PLC).  Actually, I found out on Twitter, many educators refer to Twitter as their "Personal Learning Network" (PLN).  I Googled Twitter and found helpful articles on how to use hashtags, how to search and follow conversations; I even found this most helpful Twitter Cheat Sheet.

The power in Twitter is in the people you follow.  It is great to follow our favourite authors and professional organizations, but it is in following our fellow educators and joining in on their conversations that true learning takes place.  I use the word "educators" rather than "teachers" because it is more inclusive, and I have "met" vice-principals, principals, consultants, coaches, and professors from all over the world using Twitter.

This is how I've seen Twitter used - educators find something that they question, or something that interests them, or something that they value and are passionate about - and they share it via a link to an article, a blog, a Youtube video, or a photo.  And then others comment and question and this incredible "dialogue" ensues.  The important thing is the hashtag.  You use a hashtag to thread a conversation.  I've been following #edchat, #cdned, #flipclass, #ipaded (there are "Apple Certified Educators" out there who let you know when apps are free for a day!!!  Downloaded three great apps for free this week!), and #onted.

Case in point - check out this blog post by Lori Cullen that shows just how powerful Twitter can be for teachers to scaffold one another's learning and understanding!

This link from from Teach Thought tells you which hashtags to follow on Education issues.

You can start a conversation with a new hashtag - post a question you need help with, there is SOMEONE out there with an answer!

Your Twitter Timeline shows all the tweets by people you are following.  It takes forever to go through them;  I haven't figured out the most time-effective way to do that yet; so I've been searching by hashtag and just following specific conversations.  When I find a link to something I like I've been "pinning" it to my "Pinterest" board to save it.  I am finding this is very effective.

If you aren't on Twitter yet, or if you are on Twitter, but not really using it, it's time to join the party.  Get in there.  Tweet.  Join a conversation.  You'll be amazed at how quickly your learning is stepped up a notch.  And if you have a message that you want to share - this is one of the most powerful and effective ways of getting your message out there!

To find me on Twitter:  @RaineCB - hope to see your handle in my timeline!

My next step - using Twitter in the classroom with my students!