Of all the interesting innovations I read about in Chapter 3, the encouraging parents and mentors, and the bright minds, what struck a chord in me most was David Sengeh's desire to create a school that was designed around feeling your presence in the world (p.87). I think more often than we would like to believe our students feel exactly the opposite during their school day -- that what is happening in the classroom is disconnected from their worlds and does not acknowledge their presence as individuals who are capable and creative. I believe this is less about teachers than it is about the state of education. The reforms of the last twenty years have put unnecessary restrictions on teachers and limited student experiences to those justified by the standardized test of the year. But I do feel an end is in sight, or at least a relaxing of some of these measures. Recent calls by President Obama to limit the amount of testing in classrooms are one indication that some of the rigid educational framework of recent years may be loosening. The refocusing on project based learning in many districts across the country is yet another ray of hope.
Sengeh's comment leads me to think about how this can be a primary goal in my classroom -- that children in my class feel their presence in the world. What does this mean in a math classroom? How does this guide my lesson planning, my project development, and my collaboration with other subject areas and teachers? How does it shape the daily activity in my room? Certainly student voice and choice is a strong element in their feeling their own presence in the world. How do my lessons provide for voice and choice? for making visible the aspirations and dreams of students? How can I continue to increase these elements in my classroom? All of this points again to the teacher as facilitator, who has the freedom to listen to student interests, to follow unconventional pathways and to build classroom time around collaborative exploration toward student interests and goals. A teacher who is willing to grow, to listen. I do see this idea, of feeling our presence in the world, as an important principle in the process of owning and developing project-based learning as a way of teaching and learning.
Sunday, November 1, 2015
Ch 3 Post
Ch 3 Post
I am seeing a pattern among Teachers, Parents, and Mentors. They are all tapping into encouragement of the innovators.They are trying to build confidence and self esteem in these individuals. They are trying to nurture the very thing that makes the child motivated and nurture these talented individuals and develop their gifts. They encourage play and discovery in each of these people. They also seem to tap into the curiosity of each of these individuals.It is interesting to me that they also are becoming entrepreneurs or leaders of companies.
I am seeing a pattern among Teachers, Parents, and Mentors. They are all tapping into encouragement of the innovators.They are trying to build confidence and self esteem in these individuals. They are trying to nurture the very thing that makes the child motivated and nurture these talented individuals and develop their gifts. They encourage play and discovery in each of these people. They also seem to tap into the curiosity of each of these individuals.It is interesting to me that they also are becoming entrepreneurs or leaders of companies.
Sunday, October 25, 2015
PASSION,PLAY & PURPOSE
I love the way this chapter emphasizes on this three words: PLAY, PASSION and PURPOSE. It is indeed very important for our students to be intrinsically motivated to sustain the culture of curiosity, focused research, idea generation and innovation. All the examples of the innovators mentioned in this chapter talks about their educational experiences that fostered intrinsic motivation in them. I particularly liked the example of David who created the Malaria Nets in Africa and Shanna who wanted to democratize 3-D printers but ended up doing much more.
This chapter also talks about the "outlier" teachers who made a huge difference in the learning and innovating process of these innovators. It comes to my mind that almost all of the innovators that I know have had an OUTLIER teacher that they admire. It is very important for a teacher to model the "SKILLS"and the "WILL" that they want their students to learn from. In my mind only an OUTLIER teacher can be a good PBL teacher since the very nature of PBL teaching requires the teacher to be innovative.
I am teaching the Waste Unit in my Environmental Studies classes and all my students will be analyzing the SC SOLID WASTE report 2014 from DHEC tomorrow and do the Wall Gallery on recommendations for waste reduction. They were introduced to the TRASHY-CORE PROJECT on Friday and they will be creating an Art piece, Craft or Usable from the test representing their CORE through their favorite Quote. Also, this project teachings them the CORE values of Trashy eco-preneurship. They will be asked to identify a business opportunity in Solid waste reduction/ Recycling sector going forward.
I feel really blessed being in this class and having an opportunity to be an OUTLIER teacher that I had always envisioned myself to be. I know I still have to learn a lot and grow into a really good PBL teacher but, I have gained lot of confidence due to this class with planning meaningful lessons for my students.
Friday, October 16, 2015
STEM Innovators
I just spent the last hour and fifteen minutes watching the Last Lecture of Randy Pausch, who was Shanna Tellerman's Carnegie Mellon professor of computer science. Wow! What a teacher! Now I feel that I'm ready to write about the STEM innovators chapter.
I see the type of professor that Pausch was at Carnegie Mellon as a facilitator much as the ideal PBL teacher should be. The course that Shanna had taken was a PBL course where all that the students did was explore their interests in programming for virtual reality. His role was to act as cheerleader and coach rather than as a deliverer of content or knowledge. His childhood dreams acted as the glue to hold his talk together, how to inspire others to achieve their dreams. He said that one must decide whether one is Tigger or Eeyore, and that choice was one that for him was easy to make, energetic and enthusiastic as he was. I imagine that Shanna caught the enthusiasm bug just by being in his classes.
Shanna went on to found a company that dealt in virtual reality and three-d design. First she tried first responder software, and then eventually her small company was bought by Autodesk. She indicated that her best moments were when she was able to collaborate with creative people to work on difficult projects. That is what we PBL teachers are trying to facilitate in our students, the sense of belonging to a group and of moving toward a purpose and goal with that group. Some of our students will be able to work with others better than some; our goal as PBL teachers is to nurture the sense of purpose, much as what Shanna felt as she was working in her groups.
The other interesting person the author discusses in this chapter was the young man who wished to provide malaria nets to African countries. David was an extremely well-rounded individual who attended Harvard. He had not much at all to say about his classes there but he indicated that the out of school experiences there formed more the basis for his eventual life work than the classes he had taken. He said that following his passion was the most important lesson he learned. He flet that his classes needed more emphasis on translating learning into social action and businesses. This is what we need to instill into out PBL students in high school, that the learning is more about the doing than the knowing. We can have the students look up all kinds of factoids and learn about the world, or we can have them DO something that will move them in the direction of social action or of beginning business activities which will lead to lifetime learning.
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Sonja Bryant Post for Wagner Chapter 2
Reading Wagner definitely allows me to question my own parenting style as well as my style of teaching. It would be difficult to let my children quit college especially with the cost, it was hard enough to let my daughter quit swimming and that was only $180! I encourage my 2 children in whatever endeavor they are interested in. I have spent entire Saturdays at anime conventions and I have sat in the rain watching soccer games. These are things they have wanted to do not things I have forced them to do. My children are smart and they have ability and I encourage them. But I am also busy and I get tired and I get frustrated. I dream of them being happy and being successful and I pray for it.
As for being a teacher, 75 students is way more difficult than 2. There are students that I don't have time to get to know mainly because they are quiet or there are other students that demand attention. I do have control over what I can do with them but how do I reach every single one? It is a little unfair to expect the classroom teacher to be able to do it all but I have found that with my project based lessons I have more ability to walk around my room and listen to my students and to get to know more of them. I will take responsibility for that time that I have them in my classroom and I will do my best to take an interest in what they do outside the classroom but I learned a long time ago that I cannot be good at everything especially when so much is expected of me. I do the best I can and then I have to let it go.
Wagner makes a good example but an example is not always the best case scenario. As a wise teacher once told me: we need to make them good and make them smart. I am trying to do that at home and at school and PBL is helping me get some good mojo to do it!
As for being a teacher, 75 students is way more difficult than 2. There are students that I don't have time to get to know mainly because they are quiet or there are other students that demand attention. I do have control over what I can do with them but how do I reach every single one? It is a little unfair to expect the classroom teacher to be able to do it all but I have found that with my project based lessons I have more ability to walk around my room and listen to my students and to get to know more of them. I will take responsibility for that time that I have them in my classroom and I will do my best to take an interest in what they do outside the classroom but I learned a long time ago that I cannot be good at everything especially when so much is expected of me. I do the best I can and then I have to let it go.
Wagner makes a good example but an example is not always the best case scenario. As a wise teacher once told me: we need to make them good and make them smart. I am trying to do that at home and at school and PBL is helping me get some good mojo to do it!
Kelly Dill's Blog Post 3
Chapter 3
I would love to see both of my children pursue their passions, but I must confess; I have had the same conversations with my children that David’s father had with him. I don’t think any parent wants to watch their child struggle with finances through life. We all want our children to have better lives than we had. Parents want to see their children successful and happy and let’s face it, income does make a difference.
After thinking back to my own life, my job as a teenager was working in the local hospital pharmacy as a technician. At the time, it was fun, but there is only so much counting and labeling you can do before you want or need to talk to others. The pharmacist encouraged me to go into pharmacy, we discussed the hours, education I would need, and the pay. Then when time for college came, I chose to go into education. I believe I made the right choice, because I feel very effective in my job, not only did my job help my dyslexic son, but other families where I can honestly say, “I have been there and I will help you develop a plan and begin this journey.” I followed my passion, but like all of us, my passion doesn’t reflect my paycheck.
So far with this text, I feel like I reflect more like a parent than an educator. The students I teach are with me for 180 days, but my children are with me until they are self-sufficient (hopefully before the age of 30.) As a parent of 2 teenagers, how to you trust your child’s judgement? Even though they will be on their own in several years, they still don’t have the ability to analyze all elements of a situation. We continue to have family discussions on decisions that will impact their future. For their entire life I have developed their leadership skills, confidence, encouraged their interests, and allowed them the opportunities to apply their skills. I feel like I have provided my children with a lot of the same guidance and support discussed in these chapters.
I would love to see both of my children pursue their passions, but I must confess; I have had the same conversations with my children that David’s father had with him. I don’t think any parent wants to watch their child struggle with finances through life. We all want our children to have better lives than we had. Parents want to see their children successful and happy and let’s face it, income does make a difference.
After thinking back to my own life, my job as a teenager was working in the local hospital pharmacy as a technician. At the time, it was fun, but there is only so much counting and labeling you can do before you want or need to talk to others. The pharmacist encouraged me to go into pharmacy, we discussed the hours, education I would need, and the pay. Then when time for college came, I chose to go into education. I believe I made the right choice, because I feel very effective in my job, not only did my job help my dyslexic son, but other families where I can honestly say, “I have been there and I will help you develop a plan and begin this journey.” I followed my passion, but like all of us, my passion doesn’t reflect my paycheck.
So far with this text, I feel like I reflect more like a parent than an educator. The students I teach are with me for 180 days, but my children are with me until they are self-sufficient (hopefully before the age of 30.) As a parent of 2 teenagers, how to you trust your child’s judgement? Even though they will be on their own in several years, they still don’t have the ability to analyze all elements of a situation. We continue to have family discussions on decisions that will impact their future. For their entire life I have developed their leadership skills, confidence, encouraged their interests, and allowed them the opportunities to apply their skills. I feel like I have provided my children with a lot of the same guidance and support discussed in these chapters.
Kelly Dill's Blog Post 2
Chapter 2
As I reflected on this chapter, I thought about my role as a parent and also and educator. I am completely on board with the concept of unstructured play when students are outside of the classroom. I believe a true partnership with parents can develop students who are genuine innovators. Today’s young people are not encouraged to go outside and play. They have the mindset of wanting to be entertained continually. Imagination is being lost in-between Sponge Bob and Family Guy. I hear students groan with “extra recess” and the repeated “I’m tired” comments of the day. This is a drastic change from 25 years ago when we prayed the teacher would forget what time we needed to go back inside.
I believe school and home should be a partnership with a unified vision, but visions are only successful when everyone is on board. I’ve noticed that parenting seems to have 2 extremes: parents that freak out over mistakes, “because my child has always been straight A’s” or the parents who schedule a conference and then never show up. This month I have been amazed at the parents who are frustrated because they want more worksheet, busy work homework. Daily, I send a parent email with details of what happened and questions they can ask their child. I usually include vocabulary and tell parents to have students retell stories. I would much rather encourage parents to communicate with their child and ask them to describe what they are learning, than complete a worksheet to add to the plethora of papers on my desk.
Ultimately, humans usually repeat what they know and are comfortable with, because it is safe. Parents seem to expect to see a repeat of what they did in school and if mom was all A’s then that is the expectation for their children. If both parents are busy with their work and life, the pressure of discussions or listening to your child read becomes less important than paying the bills. The rush and pull of everything in life seems to make it OK for a child to just “go watch TV.” Listening to my sweet eight year olds, I have very few who really experience the unstructured play when they go home.
Although, these examples are from middle class homes and experienced some of the same parenting styles; the kids had intrinsic motivation. Yes, the parents were guiding their children and allowing them to have meaningful experiences; but the teenagers or young adults were not satisfied. It is ultimately the individual who determines their path in life. Parents and educators can guide, make suggestions, and provide experiences, but the student has to have the desire for change.
As I reflected on this chapter, I thought about my role as a parent and also and educator. I am completely on board with the concept of unstructured play when students are outside of the classroom. I believe a true partnership with parents can develop students who are genuine innovators. Today’s young people are not encouraged to go outside and play. They have the mindset of wanting to be entertained continually. Imagination is being lost in-between Sponge Bob and Family Guy. I hear students groan with “extra recess” and the repeated “I’m tired” comments of the day. This is a drastic change from 25 years ago when we prayed the teacher would forget what time we needed to go back inside.
I believe school and home should be a partnership with a unified vision, but visions are only successful when everyone is on board. I’ve noticed that parenting seems to have 2 extremes: parents that freak out over mistakes, “because my child has always been straight A’s” or the parents who schedule a conference and then never show up. This month I have been amazed at the parents who are frustrated because they want more worksheet, busy work homework. Daily, I send a parent email with details of what happened and questions they can ask their child. I usually include vocabulary and tell parents to have students retell stories. I would much rather encourage parents to communicate with their child and ask them to describe what they are learning, than complete a worksheet to add to the plethora of papers on my desk.
Ultimately, humans usually repeat what they know and are comfortable with, because it is safe. Parents seem to expect to see a repeat of what they did in school and if mom was all A’s then that is the expectation for their children. If both parents are busy with their work and life, the pressure of discussions or listening to your child read becomes less important than paying the bills. The rush and pull of everything in life seems to make it OK for a child to just “go watch TV.” Listening to my sweet eight year olds, I have very few who really experience the unstructured play when they go home.
Although, these examples are from middle class homes and experienced some of the same parenting styles; the kids had intrinsic motivation. Yes, the parents were guiding their children and allowing them to have meaningful experiences; but the teenagers or young adults were not satisfied. It is ultimately the individual who determines their path in life. Parents and educators can guide, make suggestions, and provide experiences, but the student has to have the desire for change.
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