How we learn guides how we teach

I came across a section of a book I use from time to time which had the same subtitle as the subject line of this post. It makes perfect sense and yet we ignore that reality on an all-too-frequent basis. Most kids will not learn for learning's sake. Rather, they must see some relevance in what you are asking them to do. For example, having them read the text for no other purpose than to define key terms will not likely lead to real learning or understanding on the part of the student (if they complete the reading at all). Case in point: 2P history students find a term, don't read a single word or sentence that preceded the term, then proceed to copy down the sentence that follows the key word. The words they copied had nothing to do with the word's definition. Certainly not restricted to 2P kids. The alternative is to include the reading as part of a larger, more interesting task. For example, students have to create a skit that highlights one aspect of how Canadians participated in the home front effort during WW1 or WW2. Each of the teams is assigned a reading and is given a graphic organizer. In addition, the teacher requires that the key terms be used in the skit's dialogue. Once the skit is finished, students must explain the terms and how they were represented in the skit. The skits could be followed by a whole-class debriefing or a jigsaw to help students create organizers for each of the topics. Student-centred learning isn't difficult to implement; however, teachers need to let go of the notion that just because they say it, doesn't mean the kids listen or understand. Teaching is not simply telling.

Renewal

I am really going to try to use cooperative learning more consistenly next semester. I also need to return to a more student-centred approach. I feel like a first-year teacher right now. Starting to read Kagan's Win-Win Discipline book and having a look at Marcia Tate's management book too.

It doesn't matter how interesting the topic is; unless kids are active in their learning, their eyes glaze over. Fewer topics and more tasks. I think it's also important for kids to understand why they are taking courses like history. I haven't really paid attention to the career link to history, but I think that might be something to spend at least half a class on next semester. Current events will also be more important in my classes next semester.

Similarly Discouraged

I have just recently run into a similar problem with my Civics class. I have started marking the test they just finished and 6 out of 7 tests I have marked have failing marks. My problem is also compounded by the fact that many of the students in the class have unfinished assignments.
I am going to try a little bit of a different approach to this problem. It seems to me that many students get bogged down when they have to do the same old mundane tasks. I am going to try to use technology to spark a little life into their work. When teaching the Civics class one of the class assignments is to create the "Citizen's Handbook" which is a writing assignment that requires the students to write a journal-like entry on a question related to the course material. One of the difficulties I have with this assignment is getting students to truly think critically about the issues they are studying in class. I am going to try using a blog entry to shake things up a little. Instead of having students write out a formal document I am going to have them blog their ideas and try having them comment on each others ideas. Kind of like an online debate. Hopefully this sparks some more interesting discussion on the ideas. Maybe once I have flushed out all the ideas, then I can have them write a more thought provoking paper.
Worth a try, I have nothing to lose!

Sad results

I have been marking the Ancient Greece tests that my 11s wrote recently and, to say the least, I am very disappointed in the results. My disappointment is compounded by the fact that 2 out of 3 classes overwhelmingly failed to do the homework I assigned (deep in my heart I knew they wouldn't do it). My biggest issue is that kids complain that they "don't have enough notes to study from" and yet when they are given a reading and some questions to answer or definitions to complete, they don't do them. I can't help but think that we spoonfeed them too much these days, as evidenced by the non-stop photocopying that takes place every day all day all across the board/province/country (including Quebec!)/North America. Note-taking is dead. Just look at a student's notebook. If they are asked to write down anything more than 2 sentences, it is just too overwhelming for them. I guess that is where the authentic performance task comes to the rescue. Using them circumvents the disappointing test results and seemingly meaningless homework checks. I know that the stuff kids learn the best is the stuff they do/create. Okay, I can pick out the error in my recent practice...just have to correct things now. Hmmmm.

2p assignment

I decided to try something a bit different with my 2P history class this week. The text we bought uses a thematic approach, something that is new to me and the kids. I had done lessons that were a mix of teacher and student-centred approaches, but often felt like I was going to slow for some and too fast for others. For this theme, I assembled a package of materials and assigned the performance task at the beginning of the week. The major unit task is to create a time capsule for the 20s and 30s, and the individual task that had to be done this week was to create 5 news headlines that announced actions taken by the government during that time period. I read somewhere that applied students, especially boys, prefer to begin a task with few instructions and take the “I’ll call you when I need you” approach. My class is dominated by boys and figured it was worth a shot.
The goal was to create one headline per day, in addition to completing the assigned materials from the package for that day. The package materials included a Venn diagram, a web diagram, an Examine Both Sides assignment, and some content questions from the text. I spent the week working the room, providing assistance to students who needed it as they worked through the assignment. My reflection is below:

The Cons:

• Kids getting off task


• Some kids falling behind

The Pros:

• More questions asked about the assignment (kids felt safer pulling me aside to ask instead of doing so in front of the class)


• Opportunity for ongoing formative assessment


• Able to meet the needs of individuals better

Many students were done by the end of the week. Some had to sign out texts to finish. I preferred the student-centred approach but because it was new to the kids, some didn’t use their time very well (go figure). I think the next theme will be a mix again, but heavier on the student-centred side.

Good things to come...

Our regional teams met at the Hellenic Centre today and spent time focusing on what we would like to see happen in Thames Valley in terms of keeping the II initiative alive and kicking. It was a very productive day and I am quite optimistic that all of the time and money spent on this worthwhile venture will not be wasted. It is always refreshing to see Barrie and I was again reminded of 2 things:

1. how complex our job is
2. how much we can do to make help students learn

I posted some comments about teambuilding and I think that is what I will base my action research project on. The plan is to do teambuilding on Mondays at the very least and to ask students what, if anything can be gained. I would also like to incorporate more reflective writing into my lessons. Perhaps a lesson template with built-in reminders? That's it for now. Cheers.

teambuilding

I think that setting Monday aside to do some teambuilding each week is a pretty good plan. My 2Ps cemented that decision for me today. Think the teams need to be reconfigured as well. So difficult to run the show with teams when I see a different class each day. Hard to develop any team cohesion. Classbuilding needs doing as well.

hit and miss

My last post described a terrible lesson in which I tried to create teams in a 2p history class. Today, after being out the class for 1.5 days for meetings, I decided to try again. What a difference it can make when certain students are absent! I changed a few small things but kept others the same from Monday. I took one of the teambuilding ideas from a Kagan book and had the teams play "Team Boggle" for about 5 minutes before settling down to do anything academic. Today was much better, due in part to the fact that we were missing some of the negative "poison" that some students can infect a room with. I highly recommend using Boggle as a teambuilder. Now, if I can just stay in the building for more than a day at a time! Cheers.

Who Wants to Be a Teacher?

Here's the scenario:

Last period on a Monday, 2P history, I am trying to get some teams going. The students were so unresponsive to just about everything I did I had to laugh. It made me think about that game Who Wants to be a Millionaire, largely because of the lifelines. Here's why:

One lifeline (50/50?) allows you to eliminate 2 of the answers that are causing you trouble or screwing up your thought process. How about being able to "eliminate" 2 students (even briefly) in order to increase chances of success? I had 2 kids were were poison to the who lesson and I felt virtually powerless to do anything about it.

The next lifeline allows you to phone a friend. Again, it would have been great to get a friend in there to either take the class (yeah right!) or offer advice/an objective perspective.

The last lifeline is "ask the audience." I chose a modified version: "lecture the audience." I basically gave them a choice of teams or rows and everyone chose teams. I think I tried a bit too much too fast so I will meet halfway (pairs?).

Anyway, it was a disaster and such a letdown after 2 other classes were awesome with teams earlier in the day. Good challenge, though.

Kagan Workshop

We spent 2 days with Spencer Kagan, with a focus on using CL structures to better engage a student's brain. Here are the BIG ideas that came out of those 2 days:

1. Telling is not teaching.
2. The largest percentage of brain activity results when students explain things to each other.
3. Team and Classbuilding should be integrated into our weekly plans.
4. There are SOOOO many easy ways to use CL in our classes; we just need to read, practise, and dialogue about them.

I will post more examples of structures in action in the near future. Cheers.

Developments in Science and Technology

I set up 5 stations, each with a different short reading about how science and technology developed during the war. Students were given 8 minutes to complete the reading and to add to a graphic organizer that I provided. After visiting all the stations, the students had to fill in a chart in which they ranked what they thought were the 3 most important developments. It is a good activity to use because it fits nicely into 1 period, the kids get to move around and there is opportunity for teams to talk about what should be included in their charts/organizers. The readings came from the new 2p text from McGraw-Hill. That text is fantastic; have a look at it if you have the chance.

Democracy at the Crossroads (unit 3)

So far, so good. The kids are very interested in this unit (with the exception of those who "hate war stuff"). One cooperative strategy that worked really well for me several times was "jot thoughts." Tom, you've seen this one.

We were going to do a mock D-Day invasion plan and we had done the same thing for Vimy. I told the teams they would have 2 minutes to write as many ideas on slips of paper that related to Vimy as they could. Students did their own and at the end they were told to sort them into 3 categories: technology used, strategies used, and significant effects of the battle. Teams reported and I filled in part of the chart I gave them on the o/h. After the D-Day research, we filled in the same categories for D-Day to see how the 2 battles compared...striking similiarities and the kids got the idea that technology became a much bigger part of war. If anyone wants the D-Day stuff, I will forward it to you.

Portfolio Work

The 2Ds have been creating good products for their portfolios. The next time I would definitely not tell them which products were mandatory. I might change my tune about the portfolios when I actually have to collect them all! Formative feedback has been very helpful to most students. The 20s/30s Shows look promising at this point. We'll see if they actually pull it together.

Learning Portfolio

Over the course of the 20s/30s unit the students have been compiling a Learning Portfolio, which is basically a collection of performance tasks that focus on specific areas of the Achievement Chart (e.g. knowledge/understanding). There are at least 2 activities per area and at the end of the unit, if the kids have completed every one of the activities, they earn the chance to submit the tasks which they believe best represent their abilities in the given area. I took the idea from Garfield Newman's texts. Many students appreciate the chance to choose the work that they submit for marks. The portfolio is set up to match with Gardner's multiple intelligences (more or less). So far, students have been: creating a glossary, drawing "window pane" images, writing poetry, and creating report cards for R.B. Bennett and Mackenzie King. This week they will create concept maps, write news reports, write historical fiction, construct art, then create a graphic time line that illustrates 3 major steps in Canada's growing up during this period. The unit finishes with students performing episodes of "That 20s/30s Show," an extension of "That 20s Show" from years past. Only tried the portfolio thing once before but we'll see how it goes.

New Activity

We were going to be studying the political responses to the Depression and I am in the midst of this activity:

1. Use the Jot Thoughts thinking structure first. Have the kids cut a piece of notepaper into 16 equal rectangles (I walked them through some simple folding to give them guidelines). Once all of them have their pile of paper, tell them that you are going to give them a concept and they will have exactly a minute to write down the first 16 things that come to mind (many won't be able to get 16). They cannot discuss or look at their team's answers (they are in teams of 3 or 4 by the way but this can work for pairs). After the minute is up, they lay out their cards. For the next 4 minutes, the team must sort their ideas into piles/categories. Make sure everyone places their own cards into the piles. I had some kids give their cards to others to sort. At the end of the four minutes, teams must be ready to identify how many categories and to name the categories. Use numbered heads to increase individual accountability when selecting reporters. I gave them the concept of "political parties" for this one. Results were excellent without exception.
2. Students are given the fourth learning portfolio activity of the unit: Creating a report card to evaluate King and Bennett.
3. To prepare them for the portfolio activity, students are given the team challenge to create a political party that is able to solve the problems of the Depression. They must complete a worksheet first to get some background knowledge. The activitiy will take 2 classes and the learning portfolio activity is due next week.

The Dangers of CL

My class just after lunch made me realize that using cooperative groups can pose difficulties as well as benefits (sounds obvious but I often overlook the negatives). The problem was excessive socializing when students and I were supposed to have the floor. I gave a blanket warning to the class and then, when the problem continued, I had them turn their desks to rows to complete the activity alone instead of with help from their teammates. I had them write on their reflection pages about whether they would prefer rows or teams. About 6 students of the 22 said rows while the others prefer groups. My plan is to mix things up a bit more and have some rows, pair work, and larger groups.

Thankfully, my last period class (same course) unruined my day and worked incredibly well together.

I think I will create a group work contract for the kids to sign and will post the guidelines on chart paper in the room.

Canada's Role in WWI Lesson 1

1. Students create a KWL chart in their notes to activate prior knowledge. After a couple of minutes to add to the "K" column on their own, students do Think Pair Share. Teacher records student ideas in board chart.

2. Student teams each receive a Kagan question spinner. Each student scans the text chapters on WWI and creates one question after spinning. Teacher randomly calls on 10 students to identify the questions they generated. Teacher records these 10 questions on chart paper (questions will be referred to throughout the unit).

3. Students create a "lecture road map" in their notes. Teacher delivers a mini-lecture touching on the following topics very briefly: Causes of the War, Why Canada Joined the War Effort, Canadian Involvement Overseas, the Home Front, the End of the War.

4. Teacher stops every few minutes or at the end of a topic and has students do a Think Pair Share to identify 2-3 key points they wrote down on their road maps.

5. Teacher collects road maps to provide formative feedback. Students are instructed to add one entry to the "L" column of their KWL charts.

Industrial Revolution

The students were given some text questions to answer in order to prepare for the 3-step interview that we are doing in tomorrow's class. They were asked to create 6 questions that they would ask someone who experienced the i.r. Our focus question is "Was the Industrial Revolution a good or bad thing in the short term?" The interview will incorporate 3 -4 perspectives, based on group size. I will let you know how it goes tomorrow.

Resolution

I hope to get the blog a bit more consistent in the new year, especially once 2nd semester begins.

Canadian History Lesson: Genocide and Hitler's Master Race

The students have completed their Cranium games using WW2 material and some have a bit of background in Holocaust study. Several have also seen "Hotel Rwanda" so they have at least seen an example of genocide.

Group size: students working alone and in pairs throughout the lesson

1. Using a concept attainment data set, the students are introduced to the concept of genocide.
2. Students are provided with a definition of the concept on overhead after the data set has been explained. Think-pair-share works very well when using concept attainment.
3. Students watch the video "Hitler's Master Race: the Mad Dream of the SS." I had them use the structure "Pairs View":

• students find a partner (or assign them a partner)
• each student in the partnership is either an "A" or a "B"
• tell everyone they are responsible for taking notes but that when you stop the tape (or DVD), you will be calling on either As or Bs to report important points from the clip
• teacher shows about 10 minutes of video then stops tape
• teacher asks Bs to identify to their partner what they thought were the 2 or 3 most important points in the clip
• teacher calls randomly on people to share thinking...teacher can elaborate if necessary
• teacher resumes tape; the next time you stop it, As will report, rinse and repeat.

4. Teacher provides a list of vocabulary from the video for students to define (sort of a check for understanding) using their notes and or discussion (still in pairs)

5. Reflection: Students identify in their notes what they thought was the most interesting/disturbing/strange thing they learned about Hitler and the SS as a result of the lesson.

The video we use is fantastic; however, if you can't find it, another video about Hitler's plans would be suitable.