A Flat Classroom? Oh Yeah!

 In 2004, my world changed.

It wasn't changed by the birth of a baby (thank goodness) or the death of a loved one (double thank goodness).  No, it was nothing this earth-shattering, yet it was a profound change none-the-less.
 
I read Thomas Freidman's The World is Flat.

In this brilliant book, Freidman explained the changing nature of our lives and warned that our world was shifting...flattening.  He artfully explained all of the forces, most importantly the advent of the World Wide Web, that were forever changing our world, challenging the U.S.'s superior status in the world's marketplace...making the world flat.  He cautioned us to work to make ourselves one of the "untouchables" of the workforce...one whose job could not be outsourced to another country OR to a new technology.  He cautioned today's youth:  "Do your homework; children in China and India are hungry for your jobs."

His words hit a chord deep within me.  I knew what he said was right.  I knew I had to begin to prepare my children to be competitive in this new, flat world.  And I knew I had to prepare my students, too. 

Enter the Flat Classroom Project.  This brainchild of Vicki Davis and Julie Lindsay is founded on the premise that in order to prepare our children for their futures, we must knock down classroom walls.  Ms. Davis, teaching in Georgia, teamed with Ms. Lindsay, who was teaching across the planet in China, and created a project which their students completed... together.   This partnership was made possible through Web 2.0 tools such as Wikispaces and Skype and Google Docs.  Thus, worldwide collaboration, once problematic in major industries, was now happening in small classrooms.  Wow!

But two teachers endeavoring to flatten walls were not enough.  Davis and Lindsay followed their passion and drew others into their vision.  They held a conference, attended by students and teachers from around the world.   Classroom walls were falling all around the planet.  And due to such visions of twenty-first education witnessed in the Flat Classroom Project,  I predict these walls will continue to slowly crumble.  Our students must realize that they are members of a global community, and we as educators must guide our students, tearing down walls as we go, and lead them into this brave new world.  The time for action is now.

So, guess what?  It's conference time again!  From February 19-28, 2011, in Beijing, China, a group of dedicated and energetic educators and their students will gather and continue flattening their schools.  In a remarkable work of collaboration, young people and their brave teacher-leaders will devise projects that encourage....er, require...that students collaborate with teens from various countries, overcoming any barriers that may appear, and learning amazing things along the way. 

And I want to be a part of it. 

I want to show the world to my students.  I want my students to actually SEE the world.  I envision Boone High sophomores reading a novel and then discussing this literature with teenagers from China or India or...who knows where?   I envision my students collaborating with students across the ocean, creating a Wikispace which explores the themes of the novel; students can utilize online discussion threads to compare where in their world they see these themes reflected.  Or maybe we could have a Skype conference, comparing our impressions of a character.  What would teens from Singapore think about Jay Gatsby?  I think my students would like to know.

So, Dr. Z will sort through his applications and make his difficult decision of which students to take with him on this adventure.  And I hope I'm on his team.  I want to help build opportunities for  students.

I want to see the flat world.

Does Anyone Know How To Teach Writing Effectively?

Photo courtesy of Flickr.com

I have been teaching for 20 years, but it seems I STILL do not know the magic answer to this haunting question:  "How can I get my students to use the correct rules of grammar and mechanics in their writing?"

Now, please know I have tried many, many strategies.  I have taught grammar units utilizing textbooks.  I have structured my class into a Writer's Workshop, based on the research of Nancy Atwell.  I have created a hybrid classroom combining writing workshop and structured instructional units.  I have found grammar websites and had students access these to drill the mechanical and grammatical skills necessary for solid writing.  I have collaborated with special education instructors, and we have implemented the Kansas Sentence Writing Strategies.  Yet, I am never satisfied with the writing skills of most of my students as they leave my room.  I always am left wondering, "What more could I have done to improve their skills?"

I was reminded of the difficult nature of teaching writing effectively as I evaluated the first lengthy essay I assigned to my Boone High sophomores. Actually, I haven't finished correcting them yet because I just couldn't take any more..but already I am painfully aware of a simple fact:  a large percentage of these students can not write a structurally sound sentence. 

 Now this is not a criticism of past instruction or instructors.  I am certain these students have been taught to write over the past nine years.  But what is glaringly obvious is that not many have actually internalized this instruction. For some reason, these teenagers don't seem to know how to write very well...and I suspect many of them don't care.  It's a tough fight ahead.

And unfortunately, I don't have the magic answer to teach this...or to say it more precisely...to have my students learn it.  So, I am pausing to reflect on what my common sense indicates, balance that with what the research says, and devise a plan to teach this critical skill.

Thought #1:  I DO believe kids need some grammar instruction in isolation.  Now, this flies in the face of what experts are claiming.  They say there is no transference into the writing.  However, I respectfully disagree.  One colleague challenged the "experts" with this analogy:  would you ask an architect to design and build a house and not teach her the basics of house construction?    I agree.  They need a foundation on which to build.  But I will work hard to show the transference to their writing.

Thought #2:  Students need LOTS of practice.  And this means LOTS of feedback.  And this means LOTS of correcting.  I do believe that students don't do nearly enough writing in schools, and the biggest reason for this is the immense amount of time it demands when correcting.  The National Council of Teachers of English addresses this with its recommendation that English teachers have a smaller student load.  I currently have 145 students every day.  That's not the smaller load for which I had hoped.  Thus, I must teach it and survive it.

I'm off to design.  I hope to make my professor, Dr. Elaine Chen, proud.  I'll even use the Dick and Carey model of Instructional Design.  But I don't think I'll be using flow charts.  Sorry, Professor.

Stay tuned for a follow up.  I hope that includes the picture of a happy face :)

Reactions from Day 1 at the Iowa Council of Teachers of English

Today I had the good fortune to attend the Iowa Council of Teachers of English Fall Conference in Johnston, Iowa.  Let me tell you, I love these conferences!  I always learn so much and return to my classroom with fresh ideas and renewed energy.  

Today I have to add one descriptor to this list:  conflicted.  Let me explain...

You see, the first breakout session I attended was a presentation on how to effectively grade student participation in class discussion.  This passionate professional, a high school English teacher from Johnston, presented her very thoughtful method of evaluating discussions, giving consideration to not only the amount of contribution, but also the thought level involved in what is shared.  She had a thorough rubric with clearly outlined levels of thinking:  Higher Order Thinking, Glimmers of Higher Order Thinking, Lower Level Thinking, and Building on Others' Comments.  She noted, and rightfully so, that speaking is a skill required by the Iowa Core, and discussions addresses this skill.  She also prepared students for the graded discussion with pre-discussion activities; thus, the students should arrived prepared.  AND she had her students evaluate their own participation levels, so they could compare it to her (teacher) evaluation.  All of these are good things.

Then why do I feel so uneasy?

I will try to articulate this.

I think part of my uneasiness is with evaluating a student's thought in a discussion to some intellectual standard.  Now, the question is, is that a reasonable feeling?  Don't I evaluate a student's writing in this way all the time?  For some reason, this feels different to me.  It just "feels" wrong to grade intellectual thought in a discussion. But are feelings a legitimate basis for a professional decision?

I asked my 15-year-old daughter about this when I returned home this evening.  I explained the rubric, and here was her reaction:  "That's just rude!"  Yeah, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, I guess.

I know part of the rationale of my daughter's reaction is due to her anxiety disorder.  She struggles mightily (even with the help of medicine) to control her anxiety in many situations, and a whole class discussion is, in the words of Sue Sylvester, PE teacher extraordinaire of Glee: HORROR!  I know part of my prejudice against grading discussion is based in my empathy for her.   

But am I wrong?  Do we need to be evaluating a student's participation in a discussion?  Do we need to be providing feedback to students on the intelligence level behind the participation?  I've always told my classes, "We need to move beyond the duh!"  Then why am I so hesitant to label their contribution to discussions as such?

Part two of the day was the application of my graduate studies.  As I sat in the sessions, I took notes on my Google docs, published the doc to the web, and shared the link with my colleagues in Boone High, and then I twittered using the hashtag #ICTE2010.  Last year, I would have had no idea how to do these things.

Part three of a conference day: my lunch table, I shared strategies with a new-found colleague and friend from Cardinal School District.  She showed me the electronic portfolios her students were creating using a Google site.  Each site contained PDF's of the student ITED scores, academic artifacts, results of interest surveys, etc.  It was great!  I loved it and will definitely be sharing this idea....and I didn't get it in a session.

I do love a professional conference!


Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/28549294@N05/4336846570/