Kelly Dill's Blog Post 1

Chapter 1
After reading chapter 1, I reflected on my classroom and practices. Educators are constantly pressed for better test scores. It seems as if yearly, requirements change; forcing teachers to step back and create lessons to meet new needs. I would love to fully embrace developing a child’s intrinsic motivation through play, passion, and purpose. My hesitation is this philosophy requires opportunities to “explore, experiment, and discover” (p.30) in non-structured settings. I am searching for the balance between teaching my students to read and write proficiently, and surrendering instructional time for play.
I believe my classroom provides students with a culture that is curious and safe, where trial and error are norms. We have determined roles within collaborative groups and we can work with hands on problems together. Students need an understanding that our world is ever-changing and the solutions to current problems will continue to change. When presenting our students with problems, they need develop the skill of knowing the correct questions to ask. Communication and collaboration skills should become second nature, where using these skills align with a student’s creative thinking. Classrooms need to become driven to nurture these behaviors and allow students to fine-tune their passion. Children who are exposed to this philosophy of education are the innovators of tomorrow’s work force. “We need to outinnovate, outeducate and outbuild the rest of the world.” (p.6)
I was intrigued by the correlation of innovation with MIT college pranks, the process of creating, planning and executing with a nominal budget. I can see the value of the motivation, process, planning, and collaboration. These students have an intrinsic motivation to execute the prank.

My questions and concerns would be about the intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Not all students are going to have a passion and internal motivation to excel and explore the standards I am required to teach and assess. Therefore, developing an intrinsic motivation becomes more difficult. Secondly, there is a relationship between play and the development of these skills. Play is very difficult to schedule once standardized tests become the norm. Also, play is not always aligned with standards. How to I willingly give up classroom and devote it to play when I already feel pushed for time?​

Chapter 3 Response

Out of the many factors that thread together the educational experiences of the innovators highlighted in chapter three, the fact that there existed an “outlier teacher” using a project-based learning style is not insignificant. I was fortunate enough to have a high school teacher who had a lasting impact on my learning and personal development. However, it was not until I began these courses and started thinking about PBL that I put two and two together and realized that my own “outlier teacher,” Mr. Sherard, used PBL as the primary mode of learning. Mr. Sherard was the agricultural education teacher in my small, rural, hometown high school. Even though I was not really interested in the subject matter, his classes were some of the most engaging I’ve ever taken. When learning tree identification, for example, we walked through the woods, noting leaf patterns, drawing sketches, and experiencing trees firsthand. When studying soils, he dug a hole with a backhoe and had us in the soil pit judging the different layers. When preparing for environmental competitions, we were placed into teams, given a real-life environmental problem affecting South Carolina, and asked to develop proposals for a presentation that we would deliver to a panel of stakeholders. We learned everything from tool identification and construction to public speaking and parliamentary procedure, all in a collaborative, project-based setting. We were usually in class for three days and in the field for two, and I still remember much of what I learned in those classes.

I suppose it’s only natural that I should aspire to be an outlier teacher for students who are too often stifled by the hoops of education. I find myself, however, a bit envious of disciplines that allow for more hands-on, practical learning, learning that requires students to create something that is innovative and useful for other people. As a humanities teacher, though, I question if PBL is a natural fit for our discursive curriculum. How much of a classroom shift can I make in light of the limited number of authentic products for PBL units? Sure, I can ask students to make presentations and design exhibits and create photo essays, all of which develop essential skills that are transferrable for any job. But oftentimes with literature, the end product is a rich discussion about character motivations or universal themes. Granted, those discussions still foster skills that accomplish the end goal of helping students become problem solvers, great communicators, and empathetic leaders, but there is not a necessity for a PBL project. I am currently teaching Lord of the Flies, for example, and while I am about as far away from PBL on the pedagogical spectrum as can be, I feel as though I am creating some of the most effective and engaging lessons of my teaching career. These lessons, though, center primarily on close reading analyses, psychological concepts, and great discussions about good and evil and the human condition. This also raises another concern for me. Let’s say that my PBL project for Lord of the Flies were to run a mock trial in which students either prosecute or defend the crimes of the boys on the island. Although I would love to facilitate this project, I wouldn’t want to be tied down to the full model throughout the entirety of a unit. I would want there to be time for Socratic Seminars and the ability to completely break away from the project to just read and discuss a passage – content or ideas that probably have little to do with the end product. I am sure that there are ways to build PBL products into literary units, but for now, I think implementing PBL with writing units is my current level of comfort with the model.

This brings me back to the idea of creating a classroom that looks like the D-Lab or even my high school “FFA” classes. It may not be possible for that kind of hands-on learning, but I still am convinced that the humanities class is practical and teaches invaluable skills. PBL achieves the process, but I still need to figure out how to incorporate the content. 

Cecere Blog

   Chapter 2 was interesting. I like what what was said about parenting our children. As teachers we always see these students that just stand out from the rest and we ask ourselves Why are they so awesome? What did the parents to to make them this way? Reading what the parents did for Kirk and his siblings I am actually very relieved. My wife and I have always questioned if we are doing this parenting thing right. We have 3 girls and we try to fill them up with self confidence. We expose them to new things,food, culture, sports, music, etc. I agree that these things make children more well rounded.
  I disagree with Kirks parents letting their son drop out of HS. I have a different philosophy in this respect. It worked for them and that is great. I say quitters never win, winners never quit. Finish what you start and then move on. There are things to learn in every situation. But that's my opinion.
  His teacher at Stanford seems pretty amazing. I think with a class like the one he teaches is very hands on which in itself makes a more interesting class. What I like about PBL is that you can make the class more hands on. You just have to be creative in how you want the students to learn.

Ch 2 Response

Kirk's experiences with schooling and his experiences outside of school were very responsive to him as an individual. His perspective on education -- that it's not so much the content as it is "knowing how to find those things you are interested in" stood out to me. It speaks to process as opposed to product. It also reminds me of a powerful comment made by Alan November at ISTE 2014. He was also talking about class culture when he explained the importance of the first 5 days of school. Focus on skills, passion, community - not the drudgery of procedures. He framed this with the role of the teacher. "It used to be a teacher's job to teach the information. Now the teacher's job is to teach how to find the information." This really stuck with me, and it speaks to the culture of innovation that we want to build for our students. While not all children will have the experience that Kirk had, as teachers, we can begin to reframe our classrooms to incorporate this type of philosophy or framework. I know I am repeating myself with this, but teachers do walk a fine line, balancing multiple constraints in the classroom. Teachers who are attempting PBL even more so. The contradictory philosophies of PBL and culture of innovation with the traditional educational institution (p.57) make for a tightrope, but one that only teachers, those on the ground, with the children, are capable of walking. While I have yet to begin implementation of my PBL, I am wondering -- what are the ways that I can begin to take small steps to build this culture of innovation in my classroom? To encourage exploration, creativity? Finding your own path and your own answers?

My personality G.O. for grouping

 What you see here is the personality Graphic organizer that I created for my classes. The students were asked to take the personality test and share the reults using the Google Classroom. They were asked to autograph on this Personality Class G.O. Every time they get into a pair for a Pair-share or a group work, students are asked to introduce themselves and state their personality type and add to the description of their understanding of their personality type. After having worked in a pair and experienced a pair-share or Group work, they are asked to state during their presentation if they find the description of their partner in relation to his/her personality type accurate. They are also asked to evaluate how they worked together and whether it is consistent to what the Myer`s and Brigg`s 16 personality combinations have to say about their pair or group. This raises a student awareness about different personality types and also deepens the understanding of their own personality.

My standard wall

I am teaching Waste Unit currently in my class and this is my Environmental Studies Standard Wall. This standard wall will be up through out the year.
As you can see, this standard wall represents different levels of societal existence of the student: Personal, Greenville High School, Greenville County, South Carolina ,the United states of America and the My Green Home : Our only Planet!!

The sticky notes that you see on the American level of existence represents the research that students were asked to do on how much solid waste is produced in United states annually and details about it.

Chapter 1 and 2 Response

Chapter 1 and Chapter 2
Creating Innovators listed Seven Survival Skills that students now need for careers, continuous learning, and citizenship.  Yet after publishing his book, Tony Wagner stated "he sees the need in perseverance, a willingness to experiment, take calculated risks and tolerate failure".  Then Tim Brown described his five characteristics of what he called "design thinkers".  It seems to me that both list are very similar in what skills they want students to have.  When 4 year old children ask questions it always ends with why.  These children are developing some of the most important skills of innovators.  What happens to this curiosity?  Wagner says that teachers value right and wrong answers more than anything else.  The reason is standardized tests.  So we need to change but where do we start.  Is it really all the teachers?  How many parents don't encourage the curiosity of their child?  I see this with my own two nephews.  My brother and his wife are very quick to hand the 3 yr and 1 yr old the cell phone or iPad.  It is an attention grabber and their curiosity drives them to mess with it.  Yet, after I spent a long weekend with my nephews they are both very interested in "playing".  The three year old likes trucks and trains.  He also loves to just run in the grass.  How do we change the parents?  My brother and wife do spend lots of time playing with toys with the children, reading to them and spent countless hours outside.  Many parents just don't have the time or desire.
I realize that Kirk was more about the process than the paperwork but did he really finish what he set out to do?  I do see a lack of student motivation in some of my students but for every student that lacks it there is one that absorbs everything.  They are curious and creative.  I think if businesses want to create these skills that will bring students directly into the workplace then we need to offer some sort of work release or work study so that students can earn credit for going to work.  Our students are very goal driven, it may not be the goal that we as a society want some do have goals.  Cars, money, jobs are just some of the personal motivators.  The "Career Centers" are all about a certification.  Cosmetology, Welding, and Automotive Technology but these classes are limited in the number of students they serve.  Supposedly we are putting these programs in the high schools but not all schools are giving the students the same opportunities.  Shouldn't the "Career Center"be teaching our students the skills they need for their career?  Whether it is a after a 4 yr degree or no degree at all.   I see the district headed in a direction of dual credit.  We did this 15 yrs ago and it went away.  So why is it coming back?  Everything goes full circle in education.   I love the idea of "Creating Innovators".  I feel like I am an innovator even though I went through the old school style of learning.  I feel like good teaching will always be important in student education but offering PBL learning allows students to learn the 21st Century skills.  We need to give students the tools and not the answers.