Eclectic is My #oneword2016 and More

ec·lec·tic

əˈklektik/

adjective

1. 1.

   deriving ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources.

   "her musical tastes are eclectic"

   synonyms:

   wide-ranging, broad-based, extensive, comprehensive, encyclopedic;More

2. 2.

   PHILOSOPHY

   of, denoting, or belonging to a class of ancient philosophers who did not belong to or found any recognized school of thought but selected such doctrines as they wished from various schools.

noun

1. 1.

   a person who derives ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources.

This is How We do it!

I wrote a post about this word a couple of years ago. I find myself still drawn to the word, and the application of it in education. As a lead learner I believe THE best practice is to take a little bit of everything that works and USE them all in the presentation of materials for our students. There is NO one concept or method that will meet all of our student's needs. Having a large tool box from which to pull our lessons will only benefit the students with a more complete approach. If we look at our assignment summary or grade book and see a repetitive pattern...read chapter, outline chapter, vocabulary from chapter, quiz or test over chapter, and REPEAT; we are most likely not engaging students. If we are still presenting material in a whole group atmosphere, and never allowing for student choice; we are missing some great teachable moments. If we have never worked with a small group of individual student; start small and work into more individualized instruction! Offer multiple means of assessment. Take baby steps; there is NO silver bullet!

Recalculating...

Our standards are no more than a general compass to point us in a general direction, and our curriculum outlines or maps are to give us our routes in getting at our destination. Ultimately the course we choose comes down to independent teachers. I realized this past summer that some people can get off the easiest route, shut off the GPS, and find their own way to a destination that is much more enjoyable, more engaging, and might only add a few miles and minutes to a journey. People who do this will have experiences that others will not, merely for comfort and safety. Some of our best lessons will be when our students, "think," they have gotten us off topic!

Take the road less traveled! We have, for the past fifteen years been controlled by the test, it is time for us to swing the pendulum of change back towards the middle. Formative assessment is important, and data does help us measure growth, but if we are only teaching to the standards, and ultimately the test, our students are missing a great deal of learning that would go far beyond any standard or test. 

BartmasBlurb#40

Save the Dinosaurs?

Dinos

The lone female of her species trod slowly down stone lined corridors. Following at a short distance was a male of her species. Both hung their heavy heads and peered around at the changes that were quickly taking place. The scenery that had once filled their world had all but disappeared. Gone were books, papers, desks, worksheets, pencils, and many technologies that at the time seemed like they were here to stay. They heard other species talking freely, and functioning in the changing environment with the newly evolving young.  They witnessed adults and young of different species sitting beside each other learning with one another in ways that once was unheard of.  These younger adults create and curate learning in ways that are totally foreign to them. The aging dinosaurs know they are in danger of becoming extinct. Will they just migrate into the tar pits of the past, and be forgotten until a social anthropologist uncovers them? Will they adapt and change slowly to become more highly evolved within their own species?

We have all heard the stories of the disappearance of the dinosaurs. Theories abound of whether it was a cataclysmic meteor strike, or some other phenomenon that is incomprehensible in the modern age of astronomical stability. The dinosaurs that I am speaking of are not only objects like those pictured above, but also the beings that used them comfortably for years. Does the same fate await those that have slowly watched their world change, and have not adapted to the changes?

Adaptation?

You do not need to be very forward thinking or prophetic to see the changes around us as educators. Students of all ages are bringing with them their native digital understanding and adaptability. The young no longer carry heavy book bags with bulky textbooks, stacks of paper, multiple notebooks, packs of markers, glue sticks, and other objects that used to help them survive in the stone halls of our schools. How much longer will we be tied to the buildings themselves? Teachers communicate with other educators and students all around the globe. They create, curate, and share lessons with teachers they have never met. Lessons are developed electronically and supported with technology or hands-on projects where students have choices.  Educators Mystery Skype, Tweet, Pin, Vox, G+, Link, Blog, IG, Facebook, Flip, and more as they find applications for the ever-changing digital edworld. Today’s teachers self-evaluate using new scales such as SAMR and TPACK.  We check our lessons using ISTE standards and student learning goals and scales.

Three F’s

As with any event of change or challenge we have three choices. We can Fight, Freeze, or Fly! I would like to add a fourth- Function. There are many educators that are fighting against the new technologies. They tell themselves that the old ways are the best ways.  We have many that have frozen in their tracks telling themselves they cannot change, and then we have some that have packed up their file boxes and fled from the classroom. All teachers must be learning leaders! We as educational leaders need to learn to function in an ever changing world. Those of us that do not adapt will find ourselves unable to connect with the digital natives that we now lead.

Connecting the Data Points

Getting it
Educators have been connecting the dots for thousands of years. In the early years of education many said they just had a, "gut feeling," that a student or disciple needed something. Apprentices were under the watchful eye of the master. If their production was not up to the standard of the craftsman they would have to find another approach to teach the skill, or the student would have to match the requirements of the skilled tradesman or lose the apprenticeship. In the private education that started our educational movement, teachers spoke directly to the needs of the student. There was a personal vested interest in the student, "getting it!"

Standards and Data
We have had standards for thousands of years, we have had data and facts for those years, we have parents, we have had students, and we have had schools in one form or another for all of history. So why now is there such a push for hard data? As technology has improved our access to personalized data has improved along with the technology. We can use not only informal assessments, but we can drill down through students' formal assessments to ferret out data points that we might not even have realized existed ten years ago. We see a correlation with data in adult's lives also. everything we search and use on our computers is tracked and used to specialize advertising to our lives. Data mining has become commonplace in the world.

Begin With the End in Mind
How can we use this technology without becoming test dependent? How do we find a balance? If we test to little, we do not know what our students need. If we test too much, our students will take the tests with little alacrity. We have found in our school environment that if we use the eight-step process our student's success rate increases. The problem we have had is that the testing process has become overwhelming for the teachers and the students. What is the solution? How can we make shorter more valuable assessments that give the information that will best define student needs?
We start by breaking our nine week grading periods into three week blocks in our calendar. Each of these three week segments has specific standards that will be covered. This might be part of the issue! Standards are the base of learning goals, not the ultimate goal. Our instruction must go beyond the standards to meet the needs of all the the students in our classrooms. Using a method such as Understanding By Design in creating lessons will help in this endeavor. Having explicit questions that are to be answered that include the standards, but also tie those questions to other standards or goals will enrich student's understanding. The formative pretests that are given before our three week instruction can be teacher, team, or grade level generated to collect the data on which students do not need specific instruction and could benefit from enrichment. They will also allow instruction in areas that need remediation as well as grade level teaching. at the end of the three weeks this would be re-tested to see what level of mastery students have achieved. As students finish a nine week block- three, three week calendars, an overall summative and formative test will be given to get a reading on the overall success for the nine week period. The process is repeated using the state testing as an end point. Time after this will be used to extend knowledge and enrich learning through hands-on learning.

Don't Overthink the Process
Testing has become an overwhelming part of our educational process. Using a more streamlined process in which we use informal assessment more judicially along with metered formal assessment will allow teachers to trust their, "gut," and support those feelings with data points. A rebellion is starting to brew in the educational world, and the only way to avoid it is to come up with a solution. More testing is not the answer! Simplifying the process for students, teachers and parents will help avoid the testing glut that is plaguing education today.

BartmasBlurb#38

My New Found Addiction!

Twitter

            A year ago I had very limited knowledge of Twitter and any of its uses. I thought it was stupid, a waste of time, and was just another social media platform. I was already using Facebook and LinkedIn, I did not need another. Boy, was I wrong! Twitter has become my go-to place for ideas and collaboration. For a while I was overloading the staff in my building by emailing them articles that I found in the Twittersphere. Two weeks ago I challenged them to get a Twitter handle by Thanksgiving, and I would stop sending them ALL those emails.

            I found that many educators have had a similar experience with Twitter; apprehension. I first just lurked in the background…which is fine on Twitter, and followed two educators that I had heard of. I then realized they had common people they followed or that followed them-I made the connection. Find other like-minded individuals to follow. Pretty soon I was reading a wide range of information on education, technology and leadership. Holy smokes, I was learning! My next step was realizing that many of these individuals were in little groups with hashtags. They met on a regular schedule and had quite interesting discussions. My next move was to become involved in these, “chats.”

            Not too long ago in one of these discussions, or thread, an educator said something that I disagreed with. We exchanged views in a professional manner and defended our viewpoint to each other, and no one was hurt! I am now using Twitter as my main source of professional development and gaining in knowledge almost daily. I have learned from younger teachers how to integrate technology and use it more efficiently, and I have learned from seasoned educators that our technology advances are tools to add to our toolboxes. It amazes me that educators all over the world are connecting and collaborating with each other. Teachers of varying grade levels from pre-kindergarten to collegiate level are sharing research, and ideas. You connect with teacher candidates and professors at the same time. Twitter is one huge, non-grade classroom! There is one common point, children. Every educator that interacts focus is what is best for children now and in the future. Don’t fear the Tweet! Have fun, connect, and learn. I would suggest hatching out of your egg photo- you will understand when you get your Twitter account, and start following some simple hashtags(#) #edchat ( there are state versions of this) instructionally focused, #edtech- great for integration ideas, #tlap and #nbtchat- being more creative in your thought processes, #edutopia- resources, #weirded- a little different mind set! My learning curve is going straight up, and I love it!

Homework or No Homework; Good Question

Over the past several weeks a topic has been prevalent through many levels of conversation. At school, home, work, news outlets, Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook and professional development. Many parents, professionals, educators, and legislators have been struggling with the concept of homework.
What should be done, and how?

For many years it was common place for children to come home from school, and with a parent's help, sit at the kitchen table or go to a desk in their room and complete multiple assignments to be turned in the next day to multiple teachers. Days were simpler thirty years ago; Dad worked outside the home, Mom was at home as a homemaker, school day ended, work day ended, people ate together, there were fewer distractions, three channels on the television, no cell phones or computers, children could sit for longer periods of time focused on objectives, play outside was done when homework was finished, and most children played until parents called them in. Life has changed! Family has changed. The world has changed. Education has changed with it. Social evolution or de-evolution has brought about the need to adapt to changing social pressures or be left as obsolete; ask the 3.5 floppy disc!

The answer is really quite simple. Homework must have a true purpose, it must be concise and review concepts covered. Projects that are assigned need to be given ample time for completion. Many children will not have adults to guide them at home.  Homework cannot be busy work or mundane. If you asked one essential question for students to ponder,  you may get more interest than if you give a worksheet covering the same material!

Bartmas Blurb #37

“Change”

People fear change, they avoid it; they even get rid of it when it is in their pocket or purse! There are different definitions of change, but the one that affects us most in education is the change of approaches towards education. Human beings love habit. People love comfort. We all tend toward the status quo. Change is inevitable, so why do we fear or resist it so much? Change is HARD!

I have a friend and a colleague that placed all of his change in the console in his car. He would keep it there until it was full, and then scoop it out and take it the bank to cash in. This would almost always equal ninety dollars! Change can pay off! If we all look back at when we grew the most, it was probably because a change forced us to. In education we see the same fear or resistance to change. As we are entering the digital transformation of education we are facing change.  Many educators, administrators and classroom teachers, fear the openness of the new frontier. The change we are part of is exciting to some…but fearsome to others. Our ability to now have information at our fingertips has changed the paradigm of learning. We are no longer the presenters of all knowledge that is important! Teachers and administrators must get comfortable being directors of digital learning, while incorporating other methods that will engage students while in the classrooms.

The transformation of how information is disseminated has changed where and how I get my information. I no longer trudge through professional journals or books. I scan my Twitter feed, and LinkedIn groups to see what others are finding, and writing. I then peruse the ones that garner attention, and pass information on to my colleagues. The teachers in our building are sometimes inundated with multiple articles a night! Technology is not the silver bullet to education! If there is a silver bullet in education, it would be adaption to change! We need to be eclectic in our approach, accept change at what it is; if it improves the student’s experience, use it. If it doesn’t, cast it aside and move on. Students today do not need us telling them in lectures how the colonies were started, the parts of a cell, how to write a narrative, or simple geometry. They can access that information with a few clicks. The more important aspect of education will be, how do they apply the information to make it transformational?

Don’t fear change; embrace it!

Eclectic Education

BartmasBlurb#36

“Eclectic Education”

What is, “eclectic education?” In today’s world of education there are all kinds of catch phrases, and new ideas. Many educators that have been teaching for twenty plus years can tell you that many of these new practices are just old ideas that have been repackaged, reworded, or reworked. The pendulum continues to swing in education. We once again are data directed, but there is a concerted effort to continue to do this along with college and career readiness and problem solving. How can we stop the pendulum?

I may have coined a new word, but I am sure there is educational theory and theorists that word say, “been there, done that.”  How can we in this new age of technology education adapt all the theories into one massive warehouse of knowledge that connects teacher-student-parent-learning. With all the variables that are involved in the vested parties, there WILL NOT be one technique or theory that fits all of them at the same time. In this newly coined phrase, “eclectic education,” we will take what works for each student-teacher-parent and adapt all of the pieces into a plan of differentiation that create a backflow of curiosity within the child. You may liken it to how many decorate their homes. Many have a main style, but mingled in are hints of other tastes or design elements. Some even are so differentiated in their home design that there is no discernable style, but to call it eclectic!

A student’s daily experience in school and at home should be one of different experiences and discoveries. Teachers that are the most successful in their classrooms and with children are the ones that offer many different experiences and exposures to knowledge throughout the day. There are activities that are project-based, technology-focused, text-centered, stations, mini-lessons, games, etc. These classrooms have students that are engaged and are a hub or hive of activity and learning noise. An eclectic classroom would have minimal worksheets and busy work. An eclectic teacher should be data directed, but not be data driven. An eclectic teacher should be aware of the standards, but not tied only to them. Data and standards have so confined us that teachers are no longer comfortable varying from them. The standards in our plan are the basic strands of knowledge that are expected for mastery by a specific grade level. Our goals for our students should be much more vast than the bits and pieces of standards that have been placed in our states’ guidelines.

In our school we are approaching the end of the first nine-week grading period. Our state opted out of the common core standards and created their own college and career readiness standards. The amazing point is that even though the verbiage has changed, the majority of what we are expecting at the base level out of students has not. Teachers that are mapping their out their weeks are finding that they have a little more flexibility to guide their instruction in logical sequence of skills instead of an awkward flow that existed previously. Even though they may not match the quarterly assessments that we take perfectly this first year, our teachers are finding that by the end of the year all of the requirements will be fulfilled and their students will be ready for the state standardized test. Our teachers may be taking different routes, but they will reach their destination!