A Typical Day in my Dream School

I've been working on a team project for the Venture Lab Designing a New Learning Environment class I'm taking and I wrote this description of a typical day in a 2-3 combination class in the Constructivist, Experiential, and Purposeful School we've been designing.  I wish my own kids went to this school!

Example day for a 2-3 classroom:  Ms. Smith arrives an hour before her students on Tuesday morning.  She spends about a half hour setting up a simulation for the focus period and then meets with one of her students and his parent for another half hour.  They look at the student’s portfolio and Ms. Smith suggests some short novels for at home reading that match the student’s reading level and interests.  

The students arrive and the students discuss what to do when more than two students want to use the two glue guns the class has (resolving a problem from the day before) and then Ms. S reads aloud a chapter from a fictional novel about ancient Rome.  

Students all go to their literature journals and write a summary of the read aloud and a prediction.  About two-thirds of the students go get a Chromebook to work on either Compass Learning, Reading Eggs, or Read Naturally, while the rest rotate into working with Ms. S in small groups on Words Their Way activities targeted to meet needs.  During recess, Ms. S checks the online dashboard to see how students progressed and makes plans for the next day based on that information.

When students return, Ms. S introduces a problem scenario that involves figuring out how to best use pieces of wood for a building project using perimeter and area.  Some student grab graph paper, others get an iPad, some form groups and others work alone.  Ms. S moves around the class and offers encouragement and asks questions.  As students find solutions, they post them to the display board at the front of the room and move to the Chromebooks to log into their Dreambox account.  On the way to lunch, they go slowly past the solutions and read them.  Ms. S spends ten minutes looking at the Dreambox dashboard and joins her class for lunch.

After lunch, three “homeschool blend” students join the group for the rest of the day and Ms. S reviews the previous day’s instruction on ancient Rome and the whole class participates in a mock forum using the simulation Ms. S set up that morning.  The simulation includes both a reading and writing component.  Students head out to recess and Ms. S takes a look at her notes regarding students’ focus projects and does some prep for the next day.

When students return, they move into their focus projects.  Two parent volunteers arrive to help.  Five students go get a Chromebook to work on writing projects.  Another group goes to the project area to continue working on a model of ancient Rome (and hopefully share the glue guns better). A group of girls goes to one corner to practice a song and dance routine they’ve been developing with one of the parent volunteers who has dance experience.  A few students go to the library corner and browse books and “surf the web” on iPads looking for their next project.  One student gets out an acrylic painting he’s been working on and another is sketching ideas for a new skate park.  One student decides to make an Educreations presentation to explain her solution to the math problem earlier in the day.  Ms. S works out a plan with one student for her new project and then moves about the room supporting students with the other parent volunteer.  There are some unfocused moments, but students are mostly engaged.  In the last fifteen minutes of the day, some of the students share out what they are working on and one student from the library corner proposes a project and asks for someone “good at art” to join him. Ms. S makes notes during this time.  Students are dismissed after a five minute flurry of clean up.

This week on DNLE-- Bloom's Taxonomy

This week in the Venture Lab course I'm participating in, we were asked to do an assignment on Bloom's taxonomy.  It was one of those assignments where you are supposed to select a technology tool for each level of Bloom's.  I hate these assignments, and have described why in a past post.

At first I thought I might do the whole assignment with a pencil at each level, but another student beat me to it.  So instead I created the graphic below using a tech tool that I know is very flexible.




Bloom's taxonomy is a pretty amazing way to think about our thinking and I use it constantly in my consultant work.  I still feel it is a poor way to categorize technology.

Reflections on Fall CUE Conference

Here in California we have a state organization called CUE or the Computer Using Educators.  They have several conferences a year and I just came back from the Fall CUE in Napa Valley.

I usually have a focus when I go to a conference, some learning goals for myself that I use to determine what sessions I attend.  This time I was looking for sessions about innovative schools and about motivating learners.

Here are some quotes/ideas from various speakers related to those topics that I thought were interesting:

Chris Scott said that students need three things: Autonomy, Purpose, Mastery


Roni Habib said when you foster creativity in the classroom, deeper learning takes place.
What role will technology pay in our student's future?
What is important to our students?
How do they approach their learning?
What do we prepare kids for that really matter?

James Brown said if we want deeper learning, we need sustained engagement, emotional connection, critical evaluation, and a high reward mechanism.

Rushton Hurley had questions that were important to ask:

What role will technology pay in our student's future?

What is important to our students?

How do they approach their learning?

What do we prepare kids for that really matter?

He also had this great quote about student engagement, "If they're not guessing, they're bored."

Vicki Davis: "Students should leave high school with a learning legacy." and "Our classrooms are microclimates."

Jon Bergmann: "Teaching is about the relationship between the teacher and the student."  and "Every kid deserves the right education for that kid."  He also asked, "What is the best use of your face to face class time?"

Fred Mindlin thought we needed to think about the difference between data driven and data informed and that we need to train students to be the creators not to be consumers.

Links to the speaker notes when available and other links can be found in this shared Evernote folder.

This was my first conference by CUE and I also have some thoughts about how it was run.  There were only 15 minutes between each session and only an hour for lunch.  That meant the organizers could squeeze in five sessions a day and a keynote, but there wasn't much time for reflection or connection between sessions. I would have preferred four sessions and time to chat with my colleagues or the presenters in a longer break in between sessions.  Second, in some of the other tech conferences I've attended, there was an emphasis on connecting with others not just as a fan, but for the exchange of ideas.  In this conference, I felt there was an "in" group and those "stars" weren't very welcoming or encouraging to bring others into that group.  That social piece is something I think CUE needs to work on.

Overall, I had a good time.  I feel there are so many teachers who just need to be convinced that technology can benefit them in general, so there isn't as much at conferences like this for those of us who are already convinced and now need to go deeper in leveraging that technology use for deep learning.

My Dream School

This week I'm starting a new online course, called Designing a New Learning Environment from Stanford.  One of the things we have to do is to form teams around a similar idea for a team project.  This is a description of some of the inspiration and ideas that I have for what I think a new K-12 school system should look like.

Some of my inspirations include my experiences as a teacher and in working with the homeschooling community, the writings of Alfie Kohn and Will Richardson, the book Disrupting Class by Clayton Christensen, and the work in Alaska's Chugach School District.

I believe that humans are curious, self directed learners, that we are better together than apart, and that mentors are essential to the learning experience.  I also believe that the current high stakes testing climate and the Common Core standards are not in the best interest of students in the United States.

In one of his blog posts, Will Richardson sums up the problem by saying, "...if we don’t start writing and advocating for a very different vision of learning in real classrooms, one that is focused not just on doing the things we've been doing better but in ways that are truly reinvented, one that prepares kids to be innovators and designers and entrepreneurs and, most importantly, learners, we will quickly find ourselves competing at scale with cheaper, easier alternatives that won’t serve our kids as well."

My current thoughts are that the best way to model a different vision of what learning could look like in American classrooms (and those around the world, for that matter) is to create a non-profit that runs a demonstration school, develops a competency based k-12 curriculum, creates open educational resources so that the model and curriculum can be implemented in any school or district, and act as a research hub to compile research to support the model.  A non-profit could run a zero-tuition school that would be private but act as a charter school and in that way be exempt from following Common Core standards.

I also have a few ideas of what the curriculum might look like.  Kindergarten to 2nd grade would look somewhat like it does now.  There would be an emphasis on technology to learn skills and the teacher model technology tools to create and discover, turning over the reigns as appropriate.  Small, cooperative groups would create and discover with teacher guidance.  

In third through sixth grade, students would have an overview of history ancient to modern times, they would learn about the major concepts in sciences, and continue to develop skills in math and language.  The technology emphasis would be on creation, finding information, and evaluating sources, though technology would still be used for skill development.  In addition, students would learn basic programming in something like Scratch and participate in NVC style training.  

In grades seven to ten, big ideas guide learning so students can study areas of particular interest.  The emphasis in technology is on contributing to the online community, with more sophisticated creation and critical thinking skills improved.  Specific skills are studied in language and math where needed.  Students would also learn more sophisticated programming, human psychology, goal setting, time management, and independent study skills.  They would begin the process of developing their Personal Learning Networks.

In grades eleven and twelve, the emphasis would be on following individual passions, apprenticeship, business, and marketing.  The end of schooling is preparation for what students plan to do next with academics chosen to best meet those needs.

All this is subject to change and revision, of course, but it gives some idea of where I'm starting in this class.

Another MOOC

Sometime in the last two weeks, a friend pointed out the Stanford MOOC called Designing a New Learning Environment and thought I might like it.  I signed up and got the introductory letter today.  In addition to the usual lectures and discussions students will "ultimately design and pitch a new learning environment as your final team project. Examples include learning management systems that do more or are better than existing tools, mobile learning models or e learning pedagogies, a technology that supports learning and assessment, new school system models, or a blended learning program."

This seems like it's more in line with my idea for Edstartup 101, so I may decrease my involvement in that MOOC so that I can devote more time to the Stanford one.    Just realizing that is possible is informative to me of the MOOC phenomenon in general.  I would never consider dropping one class for another if I had paid for it.   Free, open classes are kind of like an all you can eat buffet-- take what you want and leave the rest.  It also has some interesting ramifications for the teacher-- how do you make it worthwhile to people to stay- or do you even care?

My Edstartup Idea

This week in Edstartup 101, we've been asked to explain our idea in no more than two screens full of text. My idea is a non-profit, but non-profits have to start up, too, right?

Summary

I would like to create a non-profit which promotes a new vision of the K-12 education system by collecting and disseminating research in best learning practices, running a demonstration school to model our vision, and producing open resources that allow other districts and states to scale the curriculum and practices of the demonstration school.  Key components of the vision would include: multiage and developmentally grouped classes; competency based core curriculum; technology used both to learn and to create; and an emphasis on collaboration and lifelong learning skills.

What problem does your idea solve?

In one of his blog posts, Will Richardson sums up the problem by saying, "...if we don’t start writing and advocating for a very different vision of learning in real classrooms, one that is focused not just on doing the things we've been doing better but in ways that are truly reinvented, one that prepares kids to be innovators and designers and entrepreneurs and, most importantly, learners, we will quickly find ourselves competing at scale with cheaper, easier alternatives that won’t serve our kids as well."

How does your idea fix the problem?

In order to reinvent education in K-12, we have to make more changes than will happen in a public school under current conditions.  Thomas Carol says, "If we didn’t have the schools we have today, would we create the schools we have today?"  Only by separating the school from current state and federal legislation can we actually answer that question with a model.  The non-profit will run a grant funded, zero tuition demonstration school with exceptionally transparent practices to serve as a blueprint for bold changes.

Why do you want to fix the problem?

I've been in education for most of my life, as a student, a teacher, a consultant, and a parent.  I believe we as humans are curious, self directed learners, that we are better together than apart, and that caring mentors are essential to the learning experience.  I am disheartened by the relentless emphasis on high stakes testing and scripted teaching.  I want to model a bold change that scales without being standardized.

The Edstartup Space

There have been so many great posts during the second week of Edstartup 101, that I'm not sure I have anything original to add.  Below is my visual for how I roughly sorted the startups we were asked to look at for the class:



easel.ly

The most exciting startups for me are mostly ones that didn't make it on the list.  The startups that are creating open ended tools like Easel.ly (above) or that are looking at education from a very different perspective are the ones that I like learning about.  I'm concerned about startups like Knewton that seem to be trying to remove human beings from being a part of the learning experience with the student.  And I'm disappointed by startups like ClassDojo that are based almost entirely on poor pedagogy (anyone there read Punished by Rewards by Alfie Kohn?).

I don't have a clear idea for a startup.  I've thought about a few iPad apps that I think would make the classroom a better place.  Those aren't big ideas like Knewton or Dreambox, more like Goalbook in scope.  What I'd really like to do is start a zero tuition private school that leveraged all these new ideas and created something very different than a public K-12 school of today.  However, what I see in the startup examples is that the most successful may also be what is most familiar.  Even when the ideas are new they still work within the comfortable boundaries of what we expect from education.

The problem with different/disruptive ideas in education is that the experiment always takes many years to evaluate.  And then we have to decide how to evaluate it-- happier people, more productive people, more money, more success (and by what measure?).  When it comes to disruptive innovations in education, no one except those who have been utterly failed by the current system wants to be experimented on.  I think the disruptive innovations are going to happen on the edges of education among homeschoolers and among students with very different learning needs.