Posts by LisaNielsen:
- Students are presented with a State Standard or Multiple State Standards to which they will be learning.
- Students are empowered with the responsibility of mastering the Standard(s).
- Students document their learning process via a KWLA Worksheet.
- Students demonstrate their learning and understanding via the product of their project.
- Students share their work via a presentation, and/or online-publishing.
- Students reflect on their process via Reflection Questions provided by the teacher.
- http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2010/05/31/schools-must-be-data-informed-not-data-driven/
- http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2009/08/26/data-driven-versus-data-informed/
- http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2011/05/why-i-will-no-longer-work-to.html
- http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2011/05/6-ideas-to-prepare-students-for-success.html
- http://secondlanguagewriting.com/explorations/Topics/Writing.html
6 ways unschooling can inform practice for innovative educators
August 7th, 2013By Lisa Nielsen.
The youth gets together his materials to build a bridge to the moon, or, perchance, a palace or temple on the earth, and, at length, the middle-aged man concludes to build a woodshed with them. —Henry David Thoreau
There is a whole world of learning that unfolds, starting with the spark of an interest. For unschool educators, it is a matter of following the lead of the learner.
The learner focuses on what he wants to know about. From this node of knowledge, like an octopus sending out its many arms to the environs around, the learner links to ever more nodes—making connections and expanding his knowledge.
It’s the job of an educator to shine a light on the nodes so that the child can choose to look closer at or not.
Putting a spin on some familiar platitudes that are regularly associated with school, I offer six thoughts on how the unschooling method can inform and help us improve educational practices everywhere:
1. Share
Imagine you are holding a newborn baby—fragile and utterly helpless. But then you see the light in the baby’s eyes—the way she searches the room, the way she tries to focus on her immediate surroundings: the patterns on the blanket, the shaking rattle, her mother’s face.
You notice the length of time she stares at her waving fingers and you begin to understand that she is taking it all in, working it out—as much as she is capable of, a little at the time.
The newborn infant has power—however limited it may be. She is already a great communicator. She lets us know her needs (belting it out for all to hear and we’d better hop to it quickly!) and we have the power to meet or ignore those needs.
We begin to understand that education is not being ‘done’ to the learner. Rather it’s a partnership we enter into together with our young learner—herself, a self-educator—who is sharing her educational path with us.
We commit to the child, meeting her half way in her effort to learn. We do not begrudge the baby nor do we mark her ‘wrong’ for not being interested in what we might be offering.
2. Discipline…
yourself. You’re so excited that your learner is excited! As unschool educators I can’t tell you how many times we want to rush in—uninvited. But what can happen is that the interest cools because, in our enthusiasm, we’ve unintentionally taken over the project. Slap your hand and remind yourself, “Not yours.”
Ever noticed on birthdays how everyone gets the kid something around a theme or subject they like? She loves horses? People bring horse books, horse sweaters, posters of horses, mugs with horse images on them. “I love horses but I like other things too!” my daughter once said.
At times, we might be more invested in the thing than they are. Months and even years later, we might still be assuming the passion or interest is current when in reality it has long since morphed into something else. No child should be beholden to an interest.
3. Respect
Be respectful. It is as simple as considering how we interact with an adult. We assume that the adult is competent and will ask for our input/help/suggestions when they need/want to.
But when it comes to children, we go by the assumption that they are incompetent and so we don’t have to treat them with the respect afforded to an adult.
4. Attention
I once did an interview (Radio Free School) with professor of Psychology, Dr. Ellen Langer (Harvard University) who made the comment that we often don’t take the time to be present to the child and give her our full attention. She suggested that this attitude might stem from our not realizing the child has something to offer us as well.
“If when talking to a child, we maintain a limited view of what the child has to offer us not recognizing that the child has something to teach us, it’s exhausting when it could be enlivening,” Langer said. “To really understand you have to take the perspective of the other and people don’t always do that with children.” One of the most critical skills we can have is the ability to really listen to the child’s ideas and build education on the understanding we get.
5. Effort
When my oldest was little, she would often get fired up at around 11pm and want to do math, or discuss a big world issue (at 17, she still does this) and I would just want to go to bed, but I made myself a cup of strong tea and soldiered on.
Why? Because I knew that this was not only a real opportunity for both of us to learn something new, but also to nourish our relationship.
The time we have them in our care is short. All too soon they will are gone—like my daughter who is off to University this fall.
6. Promote excellence
Kids are fiercely seeking to be competent people in the world. And the way they do this is by modeling and trying out and experimenting.
The best model for any sort of education is being supported by people doing interesting things and willing to stop and share with the learner.
Be the best model you can be.
Trust that the child will learn. In the meantime, just simply watching their progress with genuine interest –rather than adding your two cents—and being appreciative of the child’s efforts goes a long way in inspiring the confidence they need to grow up trusting their own selves.
Beatrice Ekwa Ekoko is the author of Natural Born Learners: Unschooling and Autonomy in Education in partnership with Dr. Carlo Ricci (Nipissing University). Beatrice lives in Hamilton, Ontario with her husband and three children.
Could PBL be the Solution to Education Reform?
June 19th, 2013
Posted by Lisa Nielsen.
At the behest of politicians, educators nationwide have been told to view students as statistics, not as individuals, and to view the purpose of the educational enterprise as raising test scores rather than developing capable minds [1].
Guest post by Bradley Lands | Cross posted at The Landscape of Learning
While I was taking a survey today about Response to Intervention (RTI) I began to reflect about how RTI and Data-Driven Instruction have affected my school. In the past few years, I have noticed teachers becoming overwhelmingly stressed about Standardized State Tests. Teachers feel like they don’t have enough time to lesson-plan in order to appropriately meet the needs of their students. Moreover, teachers feel that the precious planning-time in which they do get is being wasted during team meetings and other scheduled events. Teachers are becoming depressed because they are feeling like they are doing their students a disservice by “teaching to the tests” and there isn’t anything that they can do about it. This unfortunately creates an extremely negative atmosphere that is contagious to all valued stake-holders in a school system.
The saddest part about this story, is that the educators in my building, are all exceptional, highly-qualified teachers that have been forced to teach students in a way that will prepare them to be successful on State Standardized Tests, rather than preparing them to become successful, contributing citizens. Public school teachers across the nation are battling this problem everyday. However, I believe that I have a solution to this problem. I am suggesting that the solution to the education reform that teachers are looking for, could quite possibly be … Project-Based Learning. With Project-Based Learning, teachers will be able to successfully teach the state and national standards with low stress, and high productivity.In order to show how PBL might be the solution to Education Reform, I have provided some FAQs that I have created about Project-Based Learning.
A: When teachers integrate Project-Based Teaching, they are providing the opportunity for differentiated learning, rather than differentiated instruction. “Differentiated learning shifts the responsibility for the learning to the learner (where it belongs)” [3]. With that we are truly supporting students in personal mastery in a way that differentiates learning, meets their goals, enables them to own the learning, and prepares them for success in life” [4]. This Flow Channel Graph [5] helps to show how students need to be appropriately challenged. With PBL, students are empowered to work at their own pace and ability level which provides them with the opportunity to challenge themselves. Students will instinctively follow the “Flow Channel” when they take ownership of their learning.
Student Engagement Graph: Challenge vs. Skill [5]
Q: How do I effectively assess my students?
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| Provided by Chris Lehmann at the Science Leadership Academy |
A: Students can create a project using any of the Eight Multiple Intelligences. Below are some suggestions for projects. “Students could meet standards at their own pace, in their own way and learning could be differentiated and aligned to each child’s talents, passions, interests, and abilities” [4]. Project-Based Learning also beautifully integrates The Arts into education.
Q: How can I ensure my students are attaining concept mastery?
Q: How can I be confident that my students will do well on Standardized Tests?
Q: What about my struggling readers?
A: It is ultimately the teacher’s responsibility to provide resources that are appropriate for his or her students’ reading level. Google makes this easy for teachers. Google Advanced Searchallows students to search the internet using a beginner, intermediate, or advanced reading level. In addition, Google Advanced Search also allows students to search within a specific language. Students who are ELL can also research information in English and use Google Translate to translate the text into his or her primary language. Therefore, students should be able to perform research on any topic at their appropriate reading level. For more information on how to perfect your Google Search, vist my blog post, “Why Do I Have To Memorize This When I Can Just Google It?”
A: Students who receive special services typically thrive in PBL projects. Just be sure to provide the necessary accommodations when needed.Q: How much planning will I have to do to meet all the needs of my students?
A: The best part about PBL is that there is very little planning involved. This is because the teacher is letting go of control by allowing the students to take ownership of their learning. Lisa Nielsen once said, “I realized that when teachers gave up control and empowered students to use the tools they want and meet learning goals in the way they choose, then true differentiation could begin and it wasn’t all on the shoulders of the teacher to figure out how to do this [3]. However, teachers will still have to prepare the necessary materials and resources for each lesson.
Q: What does an example of a PBL Project look like?
A: See below: This student-created presentation is an example of my students creating a song about the Scientific Method in order to show concept mastery.
Q: What are some tools and resources that my students can use to create their projects?
A: Technology does not have to be integrated in order for PBL to be successful. Students can easily create skits, posters, children’s books, songs, etc. without the use of technology. In addition, the teacher should acquire a plethora of books, on multiple reading levels, with information on the topic of the standard(s). If technology devices are present, but scarce, groups of 4 or 5 students can be created to maximize the use of technology. Consider Getting Ahead of the Technology Curve with BYOD for more ideas on integrating technology in the classroom.
Q: I understand how PBL applies to all other subjects, but how does it apply to math?
A: See Below: Here is an example of how to use a paper-slide video for digital storytelling in the content area of MATH!
What if I can identify a problem in which PBL is not the answer?
A: Please comment on this post if you can identify a problem in which PBL is not the answer, or if you have a question about PBL. This will help me to continue my research and application. Thank you!For an excellent list of more resources for PBL,vist my blog post: My Top Free Online Tools and Resources for PBL.
References:
The Packet-Driven Classroom
May 22nd, 2013
By Lisa Nielsen.
Jeff Bliss got our attention when he shared his frustration with his teacher, classmates, and the world about his learning environment.
The now viral video captures a room of passionless students, some with their heads down, some with a facepalm, some staring into space, all silently sitting at their empty desks seemingly disconnected not only from each other, but also from their behind-a-desk-fortress teacher.
Jeff Bliss: [I’m tired of] hearing this freakin’ lady go off on kids because they don’t get this crap. If you can just get up and teach them instead of handing them a freakin’ packet, yo. There are kids in here who don’t learn like that, they need to learn face-to-face. You’re just getting mad because I’m pointing out the obvious.
According to classmate Colleen Hunt, “Everyone at our school is proud of him for speaking his mind and not being rude about it.” Jeff reignited a national conversation about the state of the educational system, the seemingly indifferent attitude of teachers and an administration that could allow teaching (or lack thereof) like this to go on in the classroom right under their noses. But many of those who work in or with, attend, and/or have children in schools, understand that in many cases it is not the teacher or administrator, but forces outside the school that has led to the development of the packet-driven classroom.
With this in mind, fast-forward to Jeff’s test-prep classroom, under his teacher, Ms. Phung. There it is, the perfect packet-driven classroom. Rows of desks. Walls devoid of student work or learning materials. Students sit at desks clear of all but a #2 pencil so there is ample room for packets and scratch paper.The teacher distributes packets, reads instructions, but does not teach. If students ask a question, stick to the script. The lines sound something like…”Reread the question. Do your best.“ Gosh, thanks!
Here’s something many of us know, but rarely say out loud: when it comes to packet teaching you don’t really need a teacher. Not only is a teacher not necessary for a “Pedagogy of The Test,” their teaching services are prohibited. Even after the students have drilled, killed and bubblefilled, their own teachers aren’t even allowed to grade their tests as this too can result in cheating… and the reality is, test scoring doesn’t need humans anyhow. Even in the 80s when I was in school we had bubble scoring machines and we are moving toward automated writing, speaking, and scoring systems as well.
When we put this Bippity Boppity Boo all together, what we’ve got is a Jeff Bliss teacher whose job is to create a sterile environment, distribute packets, read instructions, keep kids quiet, and collect their papers at the proper time.
We then realize that Ms. Phung was a model packet-driven classroom teacher. This is part of the reason why there was such outcry by educators when Jeff Bliss expressed frustration towards the teacher. If she is like most teachers, she likely thought she had signed up for a very different job, but the job changed, and eventually, so did she.
The problem, of course, is that this is not what students want, this is not what parents want for their children, and this is not the work that teachers want to do. Jeff Bliss summarized what our students want and need.
Unfortunately, when our eye is so tied to the prize, and that prize measures how well students sit disconnected from the world, unable to speak to each other or even the teacher and fill in bubbles, we will get teachers like Ms. Phung and classrooms that house Jeff Bliss.
http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-packet-driven-classroom.html
More Reading. More Writing. More Engaged Citizens of the World.
March 10th, 2013Posted by Lisa Nielsen.
In last week’s NY Daily News, Robert Pondiscio, a former public school teacher and now the executive director of CitizenshipFirst, lauds the “… abandoning the literacy curriculum used to teach a generation of our children to read”. In the shift to the Common Core, he says we are leaving behind the balanced literacy approach of Lucy Calkins and the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, which he says has done a disservice to students.Having taught at a Project school and at non-Project schools, I beg to differ.
I began my teaching career in a 3rd grade heterogeneously-grouped class that used Lucy Calkins’ methods. I attended training workshops, Saturday reunions at the Project, and read every piece of material I could get my hands on. And I watched those third-graders blossom as readers and writers. It was hard to facilitate the workshop and took a lot out of me as a teacher, but I was a better teacher for it. I was constantly reading and writing alongside my students, pushing them to reach higher and higher. While they may have started by reading books that were “just right”, my mentor and I were always pushing them to follow the reading ladder, as Teri Lesesne shows us. Students did not stay stuck on a lower level, never moving forward, as Pondiscio insinuates in his op-ed. That’s not the point of the method! The students receive individual attention, conferences, and book recommendations. They read constantly, both in and out of class. In the year that I spent with those third graders, they grew into stronger readers and writers, as evidenced by their assessment scores.
What is wrong with balanced literacy? It assumes you build readers by encouraging kids to find books they love and read a lot. But over the years, that approach has consistently and systematically failed. Only 23% of our eighth-graders score “proficient” or higher on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a figure that hasn’t budged in a decade.
I don’t know if you remember me but I thought I should contact you because I owe you a thanks. Before having you as a teacher, I wasn’t a fan of books or reading, but you changed that for me. I was able to find my love for books in your class. When you first handed out that reading packet, where we were challenged to complete 40 books by the end of the school year, I was horrified.
When the end of the year came and I saw that 38 of those boxes were completed, I felt so accomplished, and to know I enjoyed most of those books was an even greater feeling. It was like I discovered something new about myself. I have a learning disability that is associated with reading so to have flipped my view on reading like that gave me a lot of self confidence, since it was such a difficulty before. I am so thankful to you for helping me discover my love for books, which in the long run helped to minimize my disability. You always encouraged us to read what we would enjoy…
It’s so hard to pick a favorite book when there are so many good ones out there! I guess if I had to pick I would say that Too Kill a Mockingbird and Penny from Heavenare tied for first. I heard a lot of good things about To Kill a Mockingbird, but my brother and sister told me they hated it for the reason that in high school their teachers made them dissect every detail of the book to the point where the sight of the book made them sick. I wanted to read the book on my own, before I could have the chance to hate it. I needed to read this classic on my own without bias so in the seventh grade, I did. It turned out to be a very great favorite of mine.
Mobile devices can help us take the necessary steps to keep kids healthy
November 2nd, 2012By Lisa Nielsen.
So, how many steps have you taken today:
If you haven’t caught on, the latest data tells us adults need at least 10,000 steps a day to remain healthy and steps they are a taking. From walking the stairs, to parking further away to taking a few laps around the block while reading the latest research paper.
So, how are our students doing?
Ummm…
Uh…
Well, no one cares about our child obesity. Life/death-Peh! We measure student achievement not by how healthy young people are, but on how well they’ve mastered the finger exercise of drill, kill and bubblefill on standardized tests.
Interestingly, if we allowed children to get up and move as nature intended we’d find that activity, movement and play is not only crucial for boosting brain power, it also is a great way to alleviate ADD/ADHD symptoms.
Parents, teachers, and young people would agree that health and movement is important. Let’s refocus priorities from memorization and regurgitation to ensuring our students reach their optimal daily movement of about 12,000 steps a day for young people. Let’s restore a move to the endangered practice of free time or recess and let our children get out and do, run, play.
Let’s close down schools who keep our students sedentary and don’t respect their personal fitness.
If you are an educator who is concerned about the health of yourself, your colleagues, and your students, start a knowledge movement. Track steps. Chart steps. Take a step in the right direction so that adults and young people can beat this obesity epidemic and move toward the road to a healthy life.