As we come to a close...

What a journey we have been on! I have a new understanding of what compelling experiences are made of. Before this course I would have told you that compelling experiences only happen in movies or in a sappy love song. That’s just not the case. They happen everyday and they should be happening in our classrooms. I have come to know that compelling experiences can occur in a photograph of a tree, the process of making pasta and the catchy chorus in a John Mayer song.

In the photography module I learned that simplicity says it best. It is important to take away all the unneeded elements from the topic so that more attention is paid to it. I applied this concept to my classroom by implementing learning targets for my students. Everyday I post “learning targets” on the board that describe what they are to learn that day. This allows my students to know what it is that they should be learning and it sets a goal for them. As adults we want to know what it is we are doing and WHY, and this is true for my first and second graders too. I’m afraid that if we don’t do this our students may see their learning as unrelated facts and formulas that never intersect. Diagonal lines also contribute to the compelling nature of a photograph. As seen in my work of art project, lines in photography create a sense of movement and in teaching, illuminating those “invisible lines” whether it be cross-curricular or when building on a concept, students are compelled by the natural flow of their learning. Creating those lines in the classroom create compelling experiences.

The architecture and design module allowed me to think of inspiration through my “nature and design of compelling experiences” goggles. I was amazed at how quickly I was able to see the implication this module had on my practice. Surprisingly it has nothing to do with the arrangement of desks in my classroom; instead it is about expectations and the importance of “un-cluttering” our teaching. I focused my architecture and design project on the comparison of McDonalds and Panera Bread. What I found was that each of these restaurants had an expectation for its customers. McDonalds – quick, easy, traditional taste. Panera Bread – sit and stay awhile, relax, try something new. As teachers we need to exude our expectations to our students on a day-by-day basis. In my experience, when someone expects something from me, I try and meet that expectation. As teachers, if we don’t articulate our expectations academically, socially, etc., our students may not know to rise up to it.

Ever walk into a house and become overwhelmed with a myriad themes; porcelain cat statues, velvet curtains, Roman inspired columns, bear skinned rug and a camouflage sofa? Me neither… BUT I think that our students sometimes see our lessons as unrelated material that serves no purpose together. In our readings we learned that unnecessary clutter does not make a space compelling. I’ll relate this again to those “learning targets”. Communicate to your students exactly what is important in their “space” (learning) and take out the guessing game of “what’s the theme for today?”.

The music module was a lot of fun and for me it was the most obvious bridge to connect to my teaching practice. It’s all about the hook. We are teaching a generation of kids whose daily routine include entertaining themselves with multiple mediums of technology. So is it a surprise that many students are not compelled to learn in a simple and un-technological classroom? We must hook our students in by creating a compelling experience. I discovered that not all hooks appeal to all people. In our group analysis of a song my group members were hooked in for reasons that I hadn’t even noticed. As a teacher it is crucial that we appeal to all types of learners: auditory, kinesthetic visual, etc.

In every module of this course we had the wonderful experience of learning something new. This is the same experience our students go through on a daily basis. What made this experience unique were the connections we were able to make to our professional practice and the compelling nature in which we expressed our own understanding. Thanks for a great semester everyone.

Differentiating Instruction

After reading a fellow classmates blog it made me think of a new connection. Not all fashion works for everyone. Not all instruction works for everyone either! As a teacher you have to differentiate your instruction for your students. Not all kids come into your classroom with the same wealth of knowledge. You have to teach each child based on their own abilities. I see a lot of teachers push their low students to frustration because they are giving them independent work that is entirely too difficult for them. These students don’t know what success feels like. And these are the students who enter middle and high school with little to no motivation.

What Not to Teach

I have really enjoyed this module on fashion and the idea of good vs. bad teaching...or should I say dull instruction vs. compelling instruction. Just like What Not to Wear, we as teachers need to put ourselves in a 360 degree mirrored room. It is so important to continually assess our own instruction. I work with much, much older teachers and they are VERY set in their ways. They are giving out the same worksheets that they gave to their students in 1970. Really.

So as a new teacher, who bopped into their school with new ideas and a different style of teaching... I didn't make a lot of friends. It's really crazy. I have been pressured countless times to teach the way everyone else teaches (worksheets, workbooks, rote memorization, etc.). My first teaching job was at a Paideia School. Anyone familiar? Here's the framework for instruction:

Paideia teachers use three instructional techniques:

1. didactic instruction for increasing students’ factual recall (20%)
   
2. intellectual coaching for developing students’ literacy skills (40%)
3. seminar dialogue to strengthen students’ conceptual understanding (40%)

You can find out more at www.paideia.org

It focuses on teaching the whole child and prepares them to be productive citizens of the community by allowing them to learn through conversation and therefore teaching the child to think creatively and critically. This is NOT the philosophy of the school I teach at now. If only ALL teachers were humble enough to view their practice from ALL angles and be willing to change !

Steady rollin'

I am really seeing a connection with my teaching practice and this module on music, as I am sure you are. How do I keep the music going in my classroom? One of the songs I analyzed reminded me of a rolling train. Steady rhythm and never off track. Am I doing everything to ensure the same while teaching specific units across the curriculum? As teachers, especially new teachers, it is very easy to get caught up in just trying to get to everything. Even though I want my lessons to run steadily, I don't want to rush through them just to get to the next topic. If the train is rolling too fast it will be hard to notice if any of my passengers or cargo fell off!

There's nothing worse than song being played too fast!

What am I supposed to be learning??

So I had this revelation this morning on my way to school. Don't you think it is important for kids to know what it is they are supposed to be learning? Sometimes I feel like I am taking my students on this wild adventure and they haven't got the slightest clue where we are headed. I can relate this to our readings on architecture and design. In one of the articles we read it talked about the important of light sources. I have a very long dark hallway with no natural light in my house. So I placed a small table and a lamp at the end of that hallway. So now, every night as I make my way down the hallway I see where it is I am headed. I LOVE this new source of light in my house. It makes such a huge difference. So... don't you think our kids need to see the light so that they know where they are headed? I am starting to place learning targets on my board daily. This will let the kids know what it is they are expected to learn that day and why they need to know it. We'll see if it makes a difference?!

slow down

While viewing the examples of the work of art projects, I took an interest in the project on news reporting. The professional news reporter was very articulate. She did not run her words together. She spoke clearly and most of all.... to the point. I need to do more of that. I find myself rambling at times while talking to my students. NOT a good idea when you teach 6-8 year olds. You only have their attention for so long, so WHY waste the time on unnecessary words? While talking to them I need to get to the point. I also read that kids at this age only hear words at the rate of 80 words per minute. The common speaking rate for adults is 100+ words per minute. I need to SLOW down because my kids are just not hearing/comprehending what I am saying. Ha! Who would've thought!

flyer design

I am beginning to use some of the things learned during the photography unit in my creation of parent newsletters, homework and classroom design. For example, today I sent out a paper asking parents to volunteer as reading coaches in our classroom. Instead of just creating a simple, drab word document using times new roman font and printed on white paper, I attempted to make it more compelling. I used lines to draw the readers attention to the text. I used colorful paper. I wanted the parents to take notice of this paper while going through the backpacks of their 1st and 2nd graders. I wanted this to pick and up and be compelled to read it. We'll see if the outcome is what I hoped for. :)