Teaching & Team Leading
By Bud Hunt
I wouldn’t know Chad Evans if he passed me on the street, but I know his brain, and he’s a valuable member of my learning community. That’s shifty, and something that I’m experiencing more and more through my work with and time in communities like the NJPLP.
I had the opportunity to sit down recently with Chad and talk with him about his work as a team leader in the NJPLP. We discussed what he’s learning as he works with his team to think strategically about what technologies should inform his practice. I also was able to hear more about what he and his teammates are thinking about as they begin to prepare their project for this year’s PLP culmination.
I think you’ll enjoy learning from Chad, too. Do you regularly learn from and with folks whom you wouldn’t recognize in a crowded room? I hope that you do.
Listen to the podcast.
What’s Your Story?
By Dean Shareski
One of my favourite lines from the Cisco video “The Human Network” is
Welcome to world where people subscribe to people, not magazines.
There so much about the sentence that rings true everyday for me. The ability we have to connect with each other, not simply as learners but as humans is what is so completely revolutionary that is changing the world. As we connect and share, learning often takes care of itself.
The New Jersey PLP network has been talking about the personal side of learning in a discussion called “What’s your story?” The idea was to have folks share there personal stories of technology; not necessarily as educators but as everyday people with families, friends and and interests the go way beyond school. Here are a few examples of how people have used technology to share and connect in personal ways.
We use a family Christmas wiki where we all share wish lists. It is fun to watch what my nieces add – it gives me insight into who they are becoming and their interests. My friend doesnt live near her grandchild so they use Skype for bedtime stories….Sheryl
Earlier this year, my wife and I traveled to San Francisco with her parents to attend a family wedding. Several weeks before we left, I began placemarking famous San Francisco sites in GE on my laptop, knowing that I would have my laptop there. A few days before the trip, my in laws were at our house and we began talking about our upcoming trip. I turned to my laptop, and we began planning out our day, virtually. My in laws could not get over how “virtual” GE was. We searched for restaurants near the hotel, placemarked them, and noted what other sites were close to that restaurant. Knowing that my parents were staying at my house babysitting my kids while we were on the trip, I also saved the placemarks on my home computer. I gave my dad a quick tutorial with this before we left. While we were in SF, we called home frequently to report our location. Dad ‘flew’ around SF and found our location, sharing the exacts sights with my kids. Really neat stuff!…Scott
Our families are spread out all over and rather than emailing pictures individually to each family, and writing a note we decided to create a space for all of us to share what was going on in our lives. It has been great! Not only for my husband and I, but for our children, their cousins, aunts, uncles and everyone else. It has been wonderful for all of us to share our lives, in real time, with one another, more so than we have done in years, and a wonderful way for my 83 year old mom to be connected to everyone far and near….Robin
I’m reminded of a blog post by a grandmother, (Ewan Mcintosh’s mother) who was so thrilled to be able to see her grandaughter and stay a part of her life even though she lived far away. It’s been my experience that when people begin to understand how and when to use a technology to enrich their personal lives, it’s not long before they begin to see how it will enrich the lives of their students.
Sharing, Risk Taking, and Creativity
By Karl Fisch
One of the fascinating things about being a “Community Leader” in a PLP cohort is the opportunity to observe the great discussions going on and ideas being generated in schools around the world, and watch as learning communities develop both in individual schools and virtually in the cohort. Recently in the ADVIS PLP cohort, Dennis wrote in a post titled Sharing, Risk Taking, and Creativity:
At our faculty meeting today I was center stage discussing teaching and learning in the 21st century. My first announcement was the fact that we were getting rid of the two computer labs in the building. We would however, be adding two Innovation Studios. Of course some people laughed, others gave me the deer caught in the headlights look, and some embraced the idea and felt inspired.
. . . However, my main point was this: we need to shift the mindset of how we use the resource (the computer lab). It is no longer a place where we just go to sit down as a whole class and do the same activities.
. . . The second announcement I had was the addition of a piece of butcher block paper on the bulletin board in the faculty room. The question on the paper “what is a learning community?” I asked everyone to write their thoughts about what a learning community is and the characteristics of a learning community.
Not long after Robin replied:
I love the studio-based learning model! One of the things I like most about Dennis’s approach is the de-emphasis of the technology piece. As independent school teachers our faculties have a good deal of control over their curriculum and what happens in their classrooms and often take risks in terms of new projects or methods. Unfortunately, for many teachers, when they hear the word technology they duck and cover. This re-frames the initiative so that technology is just one piece of a much larger picture.
As far as the question on the butcher block paper…I am not surprised that there was not a rush to add input. It has been my experience that a good chunk of the professional development that our teachers participate in is about “doing”, not “thinking”. Many teachers are not often involved in pedagogical discussions. Although I understand the value of “make and take” PD we have to encourage more “philosophical and visionary” sessions as well. This can be a hard sell for some (think how hard it has been for some of us to go so slowly with this experience) but I think it is imperative if we are truly going to promote the shifts we are working towards.
Dennis then replied back:
I guess I’m just different because I’m not afraid of being wrong, that is the only way I will ever learn anything. Through the Innovation Studio I’m hoping that people will be willing to take chances and risks and say “okay this project was a flop….however I learned along with the students what not to do and what to try next time.”
Do you find the fear of being “wrong” is an issue at your school when it comes to the faculty?
Robin responded:
I just took a minute away to touch base with a colleague (one who does see the big picture) and she confirmed my thoughts. We have a very supportive faculty here so most people feel comfortable venturing an opinion. However, many teachers, here at least, are so consumed with the day to day business of their classroom that they do not often think about or discuss larger pedagogical ideas. This does not make them bad teachers – they are all gifted educators – it is just not a habit they have developed. I think it is up to us to start the conversations.
Dennis’s and Robin’s schools are physically about 5 minutes apart, but without PLP they most likely would never have had this exchange.
Later Russell commented:
Of course the great irony here is that we want our students to be risk-takers and to embrace learning from mistakes…and yet our assessments typically don’t reward taking risks, but rather punish risk-taking by holding up a single right answer. It is critical that we as adults learn to take risks and be wrong, so that we can model this for our kids.
Helping students and adults develop what Carol Dweck calls a “growth mindset” is key here. If you’re not familiar with Dweck’s work, it’s terrific:
Not only does Russell continue and expand on the conversation, but he links to resources that other PLP participants can investigate and take advantage of.
John then contributes to the conversation, and extends it by asking another question:
Great idea – I really like the shift away from rows and rows of computers. A learning/collaboration studio, where teachers and students have access to a variety of tools and resources. What if every class room was set up like this?
Dru then comments:
Awww, if every classroom were designed like this, it would be heaven for our students, messy for the teachers, and so completely different from what we see right now in a traditional independent school. BUT, it is what we are seeing on college campuses and at workplaces across the country and around the world, so we MUST start to make these changes.
There were many other comments as well, but finally Dennis came back in with an update:
I just thought I would give an update. I checked the chart paper and here is what it said:
“What is a learning community?”* Works together to share and build an enriching environment.
* A safe place to try, fail, and try again. A learning community takes risks together.
* An environment that fosters innovation and creativity.
* A way to discuss “Big Ideas.”
* An atmosphere of respect where people are comfortable sharing their ideas.
* A place where we can learn from our own and each others’ mistakes and feel comfortable doing so.
* A place where everyone is interested in learning.
* A place to share.
* Exchanging ideas.
* Collaboration cross-curricular/divisionThen I posted another piece of paper which asked “what are the essential qualities of a learning community?”
Responses:
* Time
* Access
* Be willing to share ideas.
* To know each other better as people so we feel more comfortable sharing and learning from our mistakes.
* Being okay with our mistakes.
* No one is perfect. Certainly not in this profession.
Dennis found support in the PLP cohort as he tried to foster some change in his school, and the cohort was able to learn from his experience and possibly incorporate that into their own schools. This is a great example of the support a virtual community like PLP can provide.
What are some ways you’ve seen a virtual community (PLP or otherwise) provide support for teaching and learning?
