1:1 Success Indicators

Sharing desired outcomes for our 1:1 program.  Building an idea of success around these goals/statements.  Hoping to get some feedback...

The success of our 1:1 program is measured against the skills needed to excel in a rapidly evolving global society.  The notion of what it means to be college and career ready has been reshaped by a world where access and connectivity are becoming ubiquitous.  By placing connected devices in the hands of students learners possess the autonomy to:

CREATE

COLLABORATE

EXPLORE

and

SHARE WITH THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY.

Indicators of success for the 1:1 program are linked to a student’s ability to create, collaborate, explore and share. Definitions for these core digital age skills are provided below.

CREATE

Students and Teachers will “make” content in ways not witnessed in the past and offer product/solution in ways not conceived before.

COLLABORATE

Students will connect with others and develop PLNs.  As a result, problem-solving will become a collaborative endeavor in which students have to effectively work in teams/groups to realize a solution.

EXPLORE

Students will tackle complex problems and  use the DISCOVER research process to gather evidence needed to make informed decisions.

SHARE WITH THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY

Students and Teachers will communicate ideas to both local and global audiences.

I Can Statements

CREATE

Students and Teachers will “make” content in ways not witnessed in the past and offer product/solution in ways not conceived before.

• I can be a trusted source of information
• I can produce relevant content not only for myself but to be consumed by a public audience
• I can create and publish authentic products
• I can participate in the feedback loop by providing critical feedback and be accepting of constructive suggestions

COLLABORATE

Students and Teachers will connect with others and develop personal learning networks (PLNs).  As a result, problem-solving will become a collaborative endeavor in which students have to effectively work in teams/groups to realize a solution.

• I can connect with others who reside both in the building and district and with individuals who exists outside the school district
• I can expand my personal learning network
• I can activate my personal learning network to assist in the problem-solving process
• I can listen and honor others’ viewpoints
• I can fairly contribute and allow others to contribute equitably
• I can build consensus from multiple viewpoints.

EXPLORE

Students and Teachers will tackle complex problems and  use the DISCOVER research process to gather evidence needed to make informed decisions.

• I can define a thesis or identify research problem.
• I can develop empathy through observation
• I can gather data/information, and verify the sources of this information.
• I can organize and analyze this information in order to draw conclusions.
• I can effectively express my conclusions, supported by data/information.
• I can reflect on the process and identify successes and weaknesses, and use these to inform future research

SHARE WITH THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY

Students and Teachers will communicate ideas to both local and global audiences.

• I can articulate thoughts effectively and clearly through multiple modes of communication
• I can adjust style and vocabulary to meet the needs of my audience
• I can publish products for varied audiences
• I can accept feedback and make adjustments

Defining Success- Connection Between Learning and Running

From Bud the Teacher:

So I wonder about cultures of learning that could look more like cultures of running. Learners are all on the same trail, or at least similar ones, but we make it down the trail at different speeds, with different plans for how to get there. And our schools and learning cultures should be helping us to get better, to improve, without too often requiring that our success be defined by how the elites in our culture perform. And I wonder how we can build tools and resources that can help us to set, track, and achieve our goals more than the goals of the elites in our midst. As a runner, I’m comparing my today self against my yesterday self, and aiming for my future self to be in a better place than the today self I’ve got right now. So long as I move along a trajectory of improvement, one set both by me and by the folks organizing the races – plotting the starting and finish lines, making sure the cars stay out of the course, and ensuring there are plenty of resources and water stations along the way – then I’m moving towards success.

Worth Watching

Came across these two videos today.  Definitely worth a few minutes of your time.

DJ Fresh & Mindtunes: A track created only by the mind (Documentary) 

 If Students Designed Their Own Schools...

Connected Learning

Mimi Ito response to what's emerged from her work:

What I think is interesting is that my passion point has ended up having a broader relevancy as digital culture and the Internet have become more central to people’s lives. I’d say my work is about understanding how young people are really innovating and using new technologies to further their interests. There have always been people who are really passionate about their learning and interest-driven, but with the advent of new technology, this kind of learning becomes something that is not only more accessible but also, really, required. In earlier generations, if kids were into something, they could go to the library; they could find peers and mentors who shared their interest—there have been geeks in every generation. But what has made this form of learning much more important is the fact that digital networks are becoming ubiquitous and information and social connection are much more abundant.

Expressing Some Frustration

In the past I have written about The Classics Academy.  The theme-based academy for 12th grade students is in its third year of existence.  Next year we are extending the academy down to 11th grade.  Part of the rationale for extending the program is to create a feeder system. It has always been a struggle to build our numbers for senior year due to scheduling conflicts or graduation requirements which still need to be fulfilled.  The academy has run but we have always operated under a cloud of whether, due to numbers,  the program will continue.

In particular we have lost interested students due to conflicts with advanced placement courses or because taking a fourth year of science and or math looks "good" on a college transcript.  Most recently, we lost two students who initially enrolled in the academy but this week decided to go in another direction their senior year.  As was the case for the most recent cases and in the past, I speak with students who are weighing whether to enter the academy or decide to leave after enrolling.  Never once was I truly convinced that students were making a decision purely for the love of learning.  Decisions it appeared were more along the lines of following a prepared script that had been handed down from one generation of learners to the next.

I wonder about the long-term costs when a system is created where a love of learning and personal passion for the content takes a back seat when it comes to constructing a schedule.  I started by referencing the Classics Academy but similar decisions impact other programs.  I'm not sure who decided what the perfect college resume looks like and to an extent I do not think an answer to this question matters.  It comes down to those who are involved in helping students make decisions about where they want to spend their time.  We have to coach / collaborate with students to put them in classes where a love of learning is fostered and personal interests flamed.  Think about what is lost or what is ever gained if these two core principles are muted?

I offer this story in closing.  The other day two recent graduates returned to say hello to a few teachers.  Both students happened to be alumni of The Classics Academy.  One student shared an experience from college.  This student happens to be a Classics major but is also minoring in education.  As part of a teaching fellowship this student taught a lesson on the Trojan War to 6th graders.  The Classics alum shared that 6th graders were spellbound learning about the "wrath of Achilles, Odysseus, the horrors of war and the difference a journey makes."  The Classics alum also said that it was one of the best experiences of her life and has caused her to consider pursuing a career in teaching. 

This story is a bit revealing and offers a juxtaposition against filling out a prescribed template.  The Classics alum was able to share her passion with 6th graders and invite them in on her personal quest to see the relevance in studying the Classics.   For this particular student genuine and sustaining inspiration was realized by simply having the chance to make a free and unrestrained choice.  I imagine that her love of the Classics was only furthered by this teaching experience.  The great fear is whether the story briefly explained above is a rare an unique experience. 

Are values such a choice, lifelong learning, curiosity, experimentation and play pushed aside in favor of an arbitrary set of rules, procedures and expectations?

Makerspace Playbook

Highlights from the Makerspace Playbook

Makers are enthusiasts who play with technology to learn about it. A new technology presents an invitation to play, and makers regard this kind of play as highly satisfying.

We must try to bring this kind of magic into schools, hard as it may be. Formal education has become such a serious business, defined as success at abstract thinking and high-stakes testing, that thereʼs no time and no context for play. If play is what you do outside school, then that is where the real learning will take place and thatʼs where innovation and creativity will be found.

The rigid academic system is short-changing all students, even though an elite few seem to do well by academic standards. However, there is increasing skepticism that even those who succeed academically are not the kind of creative, innovative thinkers and doers that we need.

Our biggest challenge—and the biggest opportunity for the Maker Movement—is to transform education. Our hope is that the agents of change will be the students themselves. Increasingly, technology has given them more control over their lives, and even the simplest cell phone can change a personʼs sense of agency.
 

This is our challenge. It isnʼt enough to train current students for the world of today — we have to train them for tomorrow, a tomorrow that will require them to master technologies that donʼt yet exist. Think about it: a child in middle school today will be entering the prime of their careers in 2040. We have no idea what the world will be like then
 

Nobody who uses the space is required to be an expert. The most important thing is to have a passion for and a curiosity about making in many different forms.

While there is no simple recipe for how to mentor, mentors will be most effective if they think like Makers: staying curious, interested, respectful. Mentors should always focus on the studentsʼ interests, not their own, but they can share what they love to do so that the students can see that mentors are passionate about Making too.  

Dweckʼs growth mindset maps very well to the maker mindset, which is a can-do mindset that can be summarized as “what can you do with what you know.” It is an invitation to take ideas and turn them into various kinds of reality. It is the process of iterating over a project to improve it. It is a chance to participate in communities of makers of all ages by sharing your work and expertise. Making is a social experience, built around relationships

Fostering the maker mindset is a fundamentally human project – to support the growth and development of another person, not just physically but mentally and emotionally. It should focus on the whole person because any truly creative enterprise requires all of us, not just some part. It should also be rooted in the kind of sharing of knowledge and skills that humans do best face to face.

Education happens everywhere. Learning happens in our community, not just on campus. Our current education system struggles to tap the resources available in the community, yet our culture is richer with information and opportunities than ever before.

Importance of Play

Dr. Stuart Brown, in his book, Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination and Invigorates the Soul, tells the story about how the Jet Propulsion Laboratory realized that, although they were hiring the best and brightest college graduates, it was hiring the wrong kind of people. Something had changed in the kind of people that came to work at JPL.

“The JPL managers went back to look at their own retiring engineers and ... found that in their youth, their older, problem-solving employees had taken apart clocks to see how they worked, or made soapbox derby racers, or built hi-fi stereos, or fixed appliances. The young engineering school graduates who had also done these things, who had played with their hands, were adept at the kinds of problem solving that management sought.

Those who hadnʻt, generally were not. From that point on, JPL made questions about applicantsʻ youthful projects and play a standard part of job interviews. Through research the JPL managers discovered that there is a kind of magic in play.”

We must try to bring this kind of magic into schools, hard as it may be. Formal education has become such a serious business, defined as success at abstract thinking and high-stakes testing, that thereʼs no time and no context for play. If play is what you do outside school, then that is where the real learning will take place and thatʼs where innovation and creativity will be found.

The rigid academic system is short-changing all students, even though an elite few seem to do well by academic standards. However, there is increasing skepticism that even those who succeed academically are not the kind of creative, innovative thinkers and doers that we need. -Makerspace Playbook

Important to remember what can be learned from play.