This week I had the honor of hosting the twitter chat for our class. It was really fun to pre-read the material and try to think of questions that could really cause some deep conversations. I was surprised at the questions that did cause conversation. One question specifically that I was holding off on was, “Should a leader's motives be egotistic (self-centered) or alturistic (unselfish)?” People had many things to say and contributed and added ideas to one another.
https://twitter.com/andreacolvin91/status/839309922311401472 This week I read Jule’s blog and she talked about teaching the whole student and using SEL to achieve this moral purpose. I loved how articulate she was with her moral purpose and can definitely connect with her. I added on to her thoughts by sharing an article about SEL for students and why it is essential to their learning. Natalie talked about how SMART goals can help us see results in our moral purpose. Fullan talks about how we should have measureable goals to help others achieve results from a guiding moral purpose. I can relate to Natalie with wanting goals, as a special education teacher, my entire job is focused on the goals of my students. Jim talked about how his moral purpose was doing what is best for kids. I shared with him that my daily motto when making decisions is, “what is best for kids?” I also shared a reading challenge that our school does to motivate students to read. Getting kids to have fun and learn at the same time creates lasting habits and memories. This week my blog impacted the learning of Gerald. He was really moved by the video that I shared. It was about a principal in a low income school. She needed leadership with a strong moral purpose to create a learning space that was loving and welcoming. I will post my twitter session as soon as I have access to my computer again.
0 Comments
My moral purpose has been deeply ingrained in me since I was a small child. When I was 21/2 I became a big sister to my brother John. One thing that I didn’t know about John until I was a little older was that he had Down syndrome. My whole life, I have grown up as an advocate for people with disabilities. John is my brother, I didn’t know any different from any other brother. He helped me learn that people with disabilities are people just like me and you, they have feelings, enjoy life, and, most importantly, should have access to everything anyone else does. When I was in 2nd grade, my teacher inspired me to become a teacher myself one day. Fast forward to high school, I realized that my passion for people with disabilities and my passion for teaching children overlapped and I could do both. Here I am today, dual certified as a special education teacher and elementary education teacher.
In my current teaching position, I have had the honor of working with 3 students for the past 3 years who qualify for “intensive funding,” this means that they get individualized support throughout the day to support their inclusion in the general education classroom. My moral purpose has contributed to my leadership with these students by advocating for them and supporting them to gain access to what all children receive in the school system. At times, it was (and still is) really hard, but I know all students deserve the opportunity to participate in and access the general education classroom. Fullan (2001) describes leadership that has a strong moral purpose must have an explicit “making-a-difference” sense of purpose, use strategies to get people to tackle tough problems, have measurable indicators of success, and awaken people’s intrinsic commitment (p. 20). I know my moral purpose and I think it is an important one, I am far from being perfect leader, but I am trying! An example of a woman who is a great leader with a very strong moral purpose is Linda Cliatt-Wayman. She became a principal at a very low poverty school. She shared that on her first day a student said, “Why do you keep calling this a school? This is not a school.” This motivated her to make the school a welcoming learning environment. She shared that her 3 slogans are:
Her moral purpose helped improve this school not only in academics and attendance, but made it an overall welcoming place for the students. Palmer (2007) talks about how teaching goes beyond technique by saying, “good teaching cannot be reduced to technique; good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher” (p. 10). This reflects what Fullan says about moral purpose. Our moral purpose is our identity and integrity, it is required in leaders like Cliatt-Wayman. All students are deserving of an education. They all deserve access to peers and teachers who will shape them to be great people. If we take this access away from any child, we take away their right to pursue happiness (Kushner 2004). My moral purpose, all children can learn and deserve equal opportunity, has shaped me as a teacher and how I lead with those around me for the benefit of each student. References Cliatt-Wayman, L. (2015, May). Retrieved March 10, 2017, from https://www.ted.com/talks/linda_cliatt_wayman_how_to_fix_a_broken_school_lead_fear lessly_love_hard/transcript?language=en Fullan, M. (2001). Leading in a Culture of Change. John Wiley & Sons. Kushner, T. (2004, November 10). The Power of One: A Teacher Can Make Every Child Feel Important. Retrieved March 9, 2017, from https://www.edutopia.org/power-one Palmer, P. J., Jackson, M., & Tucker, E. (2007). The courage to teach: exploring the inner landscape of a teacher's life. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. https://biochem.wisc.edu/sites/default/files/labs/attie/publications/Heart_of_a_Teacher.pd f Mentor Project Update
My mentorship project is with the speech language pathologist at our school. There is a student at my school who has very low language and accuracy in body movements. They have tried to use proloquo to go with this student, but she is too young. What they have found is a device called the Dynavox. It is in the form of a tablet and has a communication system on it. There are categories for the student to choose from and then lists of questions, statements, positive comments, and negative comments. The student got this device about a month ago. The speech language pathologist is setting up the Dynavox for the student and I have been helping with the process. I have also been helping her implement the device and had conversations with her to talk about what that will look like in full usage.
We had plans to set up the dynavox for her to communicate happy feelings as an initial lesson. In our first meeting, however, my mentee expressed an immediate need for the student to be able to express her wants and needs. The student often communicates in the form of hitting adults around her. I made low-tech cards to mimic what the student would see on the screen. These have been working in the speech room and she has been using them. Another idea that we came up with was using a peer to model the use of the dynavox. This student is very motivated by her peers, so seeing a peer using it in a positive way that got a message across is one of the first steps in her using it by herself to communicate. Overall, this device has been very difficult for both the speech language pathologist and myself to learn. Being able to ask each other questions and troubleshoot together has been a great resource. The majority of our work together has been talking about how to scaffold the usage of this device for the student and the adults who work with her. This starts with a low-tech communication system that mimics the actual technology and slowly teaching the student how to use it. This week I found the leadership topic making me reflect not only on strong leaders in my life, but on my own leadership qualities. Reading others blogs opened my eyes to the reading in new ways and made me think about leadership from a multitude of perspectives.
My blog this week reflected mainly on my leadership qualities of moral purpose and relationship building in terms of a special education teacher. I think this was a new perspective to many people because it seemed to have an impact on many of my peer’s learning. Tristan, Jule, and Gerald both shared how it was good to hear about leadership through a special education teacher perspective. Josie and Jim both connected with the moral purpose that I shared, “What is best for kids?” I read Sarah’s blog this week and was moved by the amount of different leadership qualities she shared and how well they aligned with one another. What she seemed to lack was actual implementation of the qualities, so I shared a website with her that gave some in-practice examples. http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/ed-leadership/5-school-leadership-qualities-every-teacher-possess/ Jule shared a fascinating image about how a leader helps with the process versus just telling a team what to do. She reflected on her strengths of moral purpose, relationship building, and understanding the change process. She mentioned feeling a lack of confidence in knowledge creation and sharing, I provided her encouragement in this. Her blogs weekly always seem to have great ideas about making a 21st century classroom and this is valuable knowledge to share with peers. Larissa shared how critical it is for a leader to have a strong moral purpose to be a great leader. She talks about how some of the components carry more weight than others. Without moral purpose, she talks about how a leader would have a difficult time staying on a straight and narrow path. I told Larissa that I agree that moral purpose is very important for a leader and it drives the rest of the components. Week 7: Why are all five components of leadership necessary for success in leading through change?3/3/2017 As a special education teacher, I have many different roles in the school; Learning support, behavior specialist, case manager, etc. One important leadership role in my job is managing paraprofessionals and their work with students. Fullan (2001) lists the five main components of leadership as moral purpose, understanding change, relationship building, knowledge creation and sharing, and coherence making. These components are critical in leadership roles and I have been learning (and working on) these to better myself and work toward what is best for the students.
The first and foremost component of leadership is moral purpose, which Fullan (2001) describes as, “acting with the intention of making a positive difference in the lives of employees, customers, and society as a whole” (p. 3). They has been a key factor in my first 3 years of teaching. With moral purpose as a driving factor, I can ask myself in any situation, “What is best for the kids?” This has been critical when working with students with large behaviors and paraprofessionals that work as 1:1 support for those students. There have been times where I have wondered what is the best decision and the right course of action to take. Times where I have wondered what if the goal is for a student to complete a worksheet or develop transition and social skill to navigate the school day. As a special education teacher, my moral purpose as a leader is crucial to giving the students the best education they can have. Elias (2013) says, “To follow any leader, others must be convinced of that leader's dedication to equity, fairness, overcoming disadvantage, and giving voice,” working with paraprofessionals and other teachers, my moral purpose must show and always be the forefront of my work. Another component that I find to be extremely important to lead a team with the purpose of making a student’s program the best it can be is through relationship building. Relationships with parents, teachers, paraprofessionals, specialists, and administration can ease feelings of hesitation and nervousness with any of the parties involved. Rush states, “Building positive relationships might involve active listening, demonstrating respect and incorporating others’ ideas into your proposed plans for helping students.” Building relationships as a leader makes communication with all parties open and promote problem solving in a positive manner. Fullan (2001) talks about how relationship building leads to purposeful interactions problem solving. I can’t say that I am an expert of either of these areas, but I do find them to be extremely important in my job. I am working on becoming more consistent with sharing my moral purpose and intentional with relationship building. As a special education teacher, it is crucial for me to take a leadership role to ensure inclusion for my students (York-Barr, 2009). I need growth and consideration in all areas as a leader, but I can start working on all components in my career to make positive changes for all students. References Elias, M. J. (2013, July 18). 6 Paths to Better Leadership. Retrieved March 02, 2017, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/educators-improving-school-leadership-maurice-elias Fullan, M. (2001). Leading in a Culture of Change. John Wiley & Sons. Rush, M. (2013, November 24). Leadership Skills for Special Education Teachers. Retrieved March 02, 2017, from http://work.chron.com/leadership-skills-special-education-teachers-27448.html York-Barr, J. (2009). Impact Newsletter: Special Educators as Teacher Leaders in Inclusive Schools. Retrieved March 02, 2017, from https://ici.umn.edu/products/impact/161/over9.html
As I look back on the beginning of this week, I defined “what” “where” and “how as:
This was prior to reading the text and learning that the “what,” “where,” and “how” are much more than that. It made me realize how much students need to need a “where” to make learning relevant and real for kids and the “how” of learning as the act of playing with new information.
My post this week impacted the learning of Natalie, Matt, and Larissa. Natalie was impacted by the Tedx video that I had found by Eric Sheniger. She was inspired to allow students to bring their own devices to school and trust them so they can develop lifelong skills. Matt saw the disconnect between online collaborative and the school. He wondered if it is our responsibility to give them the “what” to move forward in life. Larissa also saw the importance of giving students a “point” per se, the, “why does this matter in the real world?” I read Sara’s blog and really enjoyed what she had to say about student interest. She talks about how much talent can be wasted when we don’t let students show us what they know. I promoted a diversity of ideas to Sara by sharing a website with her that also focuses on student interests. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/differentiated-instruction-learner-interest-matters-john-mccarthy Sarah’s blog spoke about Bloom’s taxonomy and how the “what” falls at the lower end and as you moved toward “where” and “how” you move up the triangle. I found a really neat article to share with Sarah. It shows Bloom’s taxonomy, but related it to technology and what we can do to promote the best learning. https://teachonline.asu.edu/2016/05/integrating-technology-blooms-taxonomy/ Josie shared about making classrooms hands on with things that students are familiar with. She also shared about how we can become digital classrooms. Her idea of using Lego’s to teach fractions really stuck with me. I have been trying to find a way to make place value interesting for my students and I think Lego’s may just be the thing! It inspired me to search for some lessons that included Lego’s and I found one on scholastic.com and shared it with Josie. https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/blog-posts/alycia-zimmerman/using-lego-build-math-concepts/ Overall, this week has reminded me of the importance to make sure students know why they are learning what we are teaching them. Beyond that, give them a meaningful experience that they can relate to real life in the lesson. They will easily be able to transfer knowledge and show what they if we give them experiences that are real to them. To know how to shift from “what” to “where” and “how,” one must first know what they mean in the context of learning. The learning of “what” is whether something is true or false or it is a belief. It is something that can be tested and has a correct answer or can be argued. An example of “what” from Thomas & Brown (2011) is to find Iraq on a blank map. To move from “what” to “where,” we essentially need to contextualize the knowledge and determine where it means something. Thomas & Brown (2011) expand on the Iraq on a map example by saying that when given a map, only few people can pinpoint Iraq, when given the internet, many can not only find Iraq, but give multiple different ways to answer the question.
In schools today, we can move from a “what” to a “where” by contextualizing learning for our students. Bernard (2010), says that when activities engage students and connect with what they already know, long-term memory is saved. Students need context to find meaning in what we teach them. Without it, they not only will find it pointless or boring, but they have no way to apply the content. Eric Sheniger says in a Tedx Talk (2014) that there is a large disconnect between school and real life. Our students live in an ever changing world of technology and we must allow them to keep up. He suggests that teachers should engage in social media to show learning and conversations, use their own devices at school, create makerspaces, create real world environments, and use blended and virtual learning options. Thomas & Brown (2011) describe this shift from “what” to “where” by using context and how they both lead into the “how” of learning: “Learning content through making is a very different exercise from learning through shaping context. In the first case, we are still concerned with the what, while in the second, we are concerned with the where. Both elements, nevertheless, are critical for understanding how one cultivates the imagination, and they provide the basis for what we think of as play. The process of making and remaking context is, in itself, an act of imaginative play (what we might call the “how” of information)” (Kindle Locations 1351-1356). A school in San Diego has a nice example of making learning meaningful to children through a computer science program. The children created their own games through coding on computer programs. The students were so excited about the project that they worked on them at home and collaborated with others for game ideas. The learning in this school was meaningful and relevant to the children. They had a chance to share their work with the community and teach them their game. To move from the “what” to the “where” and “how,” learning needs to make sense, be meaningful, and have context for children. References: TEDx Talks. (2014, November 03). Retrieved February 23, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=mwrLVvORugw Bernard, S. (2010, December 01). Science Shows Making Lessons Relevant Really Matters. Retrieved February 23, 2017, from https://www.edutopia.org/neuroscience-brain-based-learning-relevance-improves- engagement Roscorla, T. (2014, November 10). 5 Ways Schools Can Make Learning Relevant for Students. Retrieved February 23, 2017, from http://www.centerdigitaled.com/news/5-Ways-Schools-Can-Make-Learning- Relevant-for-Students-.html Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning: cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. S.l.: Createspace. Kindle Edition. Tynker. (n.d.). Retrieved February 23, 2017, from http://www.tynker.com/blog/articles/success-stories/when- kids-teach-others-everyone-wins/ I really enjoyed learning about the topic of “Learning in Collectives” this week. I thought that finding resources to promote this in the classroom seemed especially useful. Reading my peers blogs also deepened my understanding of the topic in ways I did not think about before.
One way that I impacted the learning of others this week was sharing a way teachers can promote a collective in the classroom. This was through the usage of “chalk talks” which I also participated in during high school. Tristan and Larissa both thought it was a good idea to scaffold students into commenting and asking questions in an open learning environment. I read Larissa’s blog post this week and really enjoyed the video she posted. It made me think more about how technology has changed and how communicating is different and constantly changing.She shared that she would like her students to work together on researching their interests. I promoted a diversity of ideas by sharing Google Classroom. This could help Larissa get started and use a safe and secure website with her students. Gerald spoke about a neat idea that he found about giving students a detailed lesson plan and letting them teach. This made me excited to research ways that kids can teach in the classroom. I found a neat article about students sharing “coding” projects that they had done with other students and parents. Sharing this not only added to Gerald's findings, but promoted a diverse idea of them sharing what they learned with others. Michael spoke about how quickly he found a chemistry collective online. He also talked about leading children with a question so that they can be in a collective. I validated this idea with referencing the text for the week. Thomas & Brown (2011) talk about how students will lose direction if left to their own devices on the internet. They need guidance! Before this week, I never really thought about “learning in the collective.” After our Twitter Chat and reading the chapter, I grasped an understanding of what this really meant. One part of the text that stuck out to me was in the area of blogging. In the past year, I have seen many blog posts, and news articles, passed around Facebook on the topic of the recent election. Thomas & Brown (2011) talk about how blogging is a way for us to express our ideas and have them shared and challenged, therefore creating a collective. They are real thoughts from people without the corporation behind them. Dylan Kissane (2015) points out one reason that people read blogs is, “When a blog reader has reason to distrust traditional sources of information, blogs fill the gap”. With all the news articles flying around, it was hard to know what to think. Reading others blogs helped me see how others thought about topics and helped me form my own ideas in a much deeper way than I ever could on my own.
Thinking about collectives reminded me of a video that I found last semester. It is from a 2009 ThinkQuest competition for children ages 9-19 to create a website. They need a coach and teams of 3-6 people. The cool thing about the teams is that they could physically live near each other, or they could be peers anywhere around the world. They worked together to create an educational website for 7 months. The collective work of the group highlighted is phenomenal. They are working toward one goal and each person is contributing. Thomas & Brown (2011) say, “Students learn best when they are able to follow their passion and operate within the constraints of a bounded environment. Both of those elements matter. Without the boundary set by the assignment of playing the prelude, there would be no medium for growth. But without the passion, there would be nothing to grow in the medium” (Kindle Locations 1055-1057). These children are passionate about their work and have boundaries within the competition to truly learn. In reflection of how I have learned in collectives and seeing examples of how students have learned in collectives, I wondered how this sort of learning could be incorporated into the classroom. Thomas & Brown (2011) made a point of a worry I had about using the internet for a collective, they say, “Left to their own devices, there is no telling what students will do. If you give them a resource like the Internet and ask them to follow their passion, they will probably meander around finding bits and pieces of information that move them from topic to topic—and produce a very haphazard result” (Kindle Locations 1078-1080). Some suggestions to foster a collective in the classroom begin with in-class activities, not necessarily on the internet. McCarthy (2015) speaks of four ways to foster student questions. When students question and inquire, they show interests in the topics. When a group of students are doing this, they have created a collective. One suggestion that he gives is to facilitate a “chalk talk.” This is when students write about a topic by adding onto each others comments on a white board (or any other large surface to draw on). The key factor is that they can only communicate on the board and can ask questions and make comments. I did this when I was in high school and thinking about it now in relation to our Twitter Chats, it almost seems like a precursor to the online version of communication. References Edutopia. (2012, May 08). Retrieved February 16, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsQqoTHZV2Y Kissane, D. (2015, October 07). The Nine Reasons People Read Blogs. Retrieved February 16, 2017, from http://www.doz.com/content/blogs-nine-reasons-people-read McCarthy, J. (2015, August 17). Fostering Student Questions: Strategies for Inquiry-Based Learning. Retrieved February 16, 2017, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/strategies-for-inquiry-based-learning-john-mccarthy Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning: cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. Lexington, KY: CreateSpace? Kindle Edition. This week, we focused on the guiding question, “What does the way you play have to do with embracing change and how does this impact you as a professional?"
In our Twitter chat on Tuesday, I had not yet read the text for the week. Many of the questions about play brought be back to my times as a child. One question that Tristan asked specifically was, “Why does it seem like children no longer use their imagination to play? Are we as teachers partly to blame for this?” This question made me reflect all week long. I looked at children during the week to see when they could truly play and when they used their imagination. I saw this at recess, but never really in a formal lesson. The only time I saw this in the classroom was during free time. In my blog for the week, I reflected on this. How during free time children play and use their imaginations to help explain the world. In the world of technology, I have been experimenting with this on Instagram. In conclusion, knowing that imagination in play helps children understand, we need to use it in the classroom. Natalie and Josie both shared that they think play should be incorporated into the classroom. Play can help them with social skills as well. Joie noted that with STEM there are many ways to make play part of the learning. I definitely agree! With all the problem-based learning, the kids are coming up with their own solutions, exploring, and playing with different outcomes to find an answer to a problem. I read Larissa’s blog and she talked about how she played in elementary, but it was skirted when she got to secondary education. She has a difficult time playing in her own life with all the business that happens. I shared with her some thoughts on using problem based learning to encourage students to play and learn at the same time. This is a way to get more play from high school students. Another blog that I read was Sarah’s on embracing change. She talked about her game play style which is exploring. She also said that sometimes emotions can keep her from change because of fear. I completely relate to Sarah on these feelings and way that I play. I encouraged her to take the Myers Briggs test, this helped me realize that I am a “feeler” and know that I tend to make decisions based off of my emotions. Overall this week, the biggest takeaway I had was from the text and thinking about play as imagination trying to explain what we are learning. Before reading the text for this week, I had a very difficult time thinking about the way I play. I play cribbage with my husband, I play with my dog, I play games with my students and children, I like to hike outside… Not much that I felt impacted me as a professional. In their text, Tomas and Brown (2011) talk about how children play and imagination to cope with the amount of new information they are receiving. This is in all areas of their lives. As we grow up, we understand more of the world, so we may not need as much play to help us understand the way things work. Thinking about play in this context, however,very much applies to adult learning the ever changing world of technology. Thomas and Brown (2011) state, “In a world of near-constant flux, play becomes a strategy for embracing change, rather than a way for growing out of it” (Kindle Location 562).
With so much structured instruction time, children hardly have time to play during the school day.This week, I thought about the amount of time that children get to truly play during the school day. They get recess time, but beyond that, they do not get much. In my classroom, I have a “break zone” for students who are needing a break. On Fridays, my 2nd grade group (who I see for 1 hour a day) gets 20 minutes of free time. It is amazing how they gravitate to the play kitchen with fake food. These are 7 and 8 year olds playing with a toy intended for toddlers. They share the food, they bring me “meals,” and they cook food in the oven and on the stove. They are mimicking what they see and as Tomas and Brown would point out, trying to understand the world around them. In his article “Don’t Forget to Play,” Andrew Miller (2013) argues that a reasons for people to play are to predict outcomes, persist challenges, and learn social skills. These are all aspects seen in my 2nd graders free play time. An area that I have been playing with lately (and I am almost embarrassed to admit), is managing my dog’s Instagram account (ridiculous, I know, but if you want to see it @cider_doodle). In many ways, however, it is so similar to children playing to learn the world we live in. I have had my own account for years and learned how the social networking works. This world of social media is ever changing and feels like a puzzle to figure out. Learning what hashtags get followers, who to follow to get followed back, and what pictures get more likes; these are all areas of the network to learn and play with. It has been argued that children learn much better through play. In fact, Kohn (2015), says that formal instruction early on actually inhibits children later in school. He states “it may have the opposite effect, potentially slowing emotional and cognitive development, causing unnecessary stress and perhaps even souring kids’ desire to learn.” So how important is play? I think play is very important. Do kids still need instruction? I think that students still need to learn how to read. By using play ourselves to keep up with the ever changing world, I think we need to remember that children need play just as much as we do. We can do this by planning for play within our lessons, using technology as a tool for play, and using physical movement to promote play (Schimel, 2013). References Kohn, D. (2015, May 16). Let the Kids Learn Through Play. Retrieved February 9, 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/17/opinion/sunday/let-the-kids-learn-through-play.ht ml Miller, A. (2013, August 23). Don't Forget to Play! Retrieved February 10, 2017, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/dont-forget-to-play-andrew-miller Schimel, K. (2015). 3 ways schools can incorporate play into innovative instruction. Retrieved February 9, 2017, from http://www.educationdive.com/news/3-ways-schools-can-incorporate-play-into-innovativ e-instruction/405762/ Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning: cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. Lexington, KY: CreateSpace? Kindle Edition. |
AuthorAndrea Colvin Archives
April 2017
Categories |