Intrigue

Students must be intrigued and inspired to learn.  All of us do.  As adults, why would we learn about something if we are not interested.  Would you pick up a book about a topic you don't like?   Back when public education started it was easier to gain the interest of our students.  Schools were the only place where people could be intrigued about anything beyond their daily grind.  The public library began a shift away from schools.  Radio and printed material for all ages (comic books) intrigued the youth.  I think school began its movement toward obsolescence when the television became a popular home item.  Cable made it worse.  Home gaming systems and the Internet were the final nail in our coffin of boring obsolescence.  This is how many kids see traditional schooling. Can you blame them?

I had this thought as I was making my last 2 videos for my Flipped experiment.  I used ahead.com to create a presentation.  From what I have heard, it is similar to Prezi.  The kids were SO into it.  They were clicking through, reading slides, zooming around; they loved it.  They were intrigued.  I think this is the value of using presentation tools beyond PowerPoint.  We become a one-trick pony.  The show gets boring and we lose our kids.  Granted this type of intrigue is short-lived.  Its a new toy on Christmas that gets forgotten by New Years.  Even though the intrigue is temporary it increases your skills and deepens your repertoire.  On a separate note, the web-based tools I have been exploring lately are really impressive.  I have always believed Apple had the edge on the creative market when it comes to software, but the web-based tools are giving Apple a run for their money.  If this trend continues, I might actually be convinced that Chromebooks are a better device than a Macbook for schools.  Sorry Apple. 

Flipped Classroom Report 2 and Homework

I really regret this experiment.  I was ready to trash this idea on Tuesday.  I can already see the problems with a Flipped Classroom, but in the name of science I want to give it a fair shake.  Our school is 1:1 with Macbooks in grades 6-8, but next year grades 4-12 will all have their own Mac.  Teachers will be thrust into the wide-open space of a Digital Classroom.  The popular buzz of the Flipped Classroom will tempt our teachers, so I want to gain some solid experience, so I can offer better advice to anyone who wants it.  Obviously this is not a conclusive study.  Other teachers may have more success depending on the students, subject, and organization of their Flipped Class.

On Wednesday, I conducted my second student survey.  The results were very similar to the first survey (click here to see the full data summary).  Most of the kids didn't watch the video on Islamic Architecture, despite my encouragement and reminders of how important it was to the next day's project.  Again, the students that didn't watch the video said they "just forgot".  The only real change was in the increase in the number of students who said they learn "worse" in a Flipped Classroom.

Survey One (1-5 range)

The only difference between the two questions is that Survey One was a range of 1-5, Survey Two was a range of 1-4.  The reason for this change is too many people pick the middle option with an odd number of choices.  An even number (4) forces them to make a clearer choice--research 101.  Most of those that chose the middle option trended toward "worse".

In Survey Two, I added a few new questions.  In one question a majority of students admitted to being distracted when they watched the video.  I feel many more were likely distracted, but they

Survey Two (1-4 range)

might not understand how distracted they actually were.

As I have said before, data doesn't tell the true story.  Even students who told me they watched the video couldn't name basic types of Islamic architecture.

This experiment has taught me one major lesson. Homework is not worth it.  Its not worth risking instruction, enforcement measures, disciplining noncompliance, increasing hatred of "learning" and school, or the TIME.   Students come to school for 8 hours.  How can we realistically expect them to do 2-3 hours of homework after 8 hours of school work.  Sports?  Job?  What about family time or hobbies?  In our culture?  Sure, we can fight it, but where does it get us?  On the other side of the coin, how many students succeed BECAUSE of homework?  How many would not learn without homework?  A Flipped video is just a different version of homework.  We might think, "all you have to do is watch a video".  Homework is homework to most kids.  Thanks to Joe Bower, I have a great new saying, "homework should be inspired, not assigned".   This is my new mission.

A New Class Model

As a field scientist of learning, I love to experiment with new classroom methods.  In the midst of my Flipped Classroom experiment, Joey Till (math) has inspired a new classroom model--as he so often does.  The new model is built on two main ideas.  1. Students seem to learn the most with my method of direct instruction.  2. Students learn best when THEY choose what they learn.

This year my class has had relatively little direct instruction.  Students have learned most of the content from discovery activities.  I have noticed, after a topic or unit is complete, the knowledge students usually recall is what I taught them in my mini-lessons, not information they discovered in the projects/activities.  I have also observed that students remembered information they wanted to learn more about.   One feature of Joey Till's class I love is that the students choose what they want to learn.  The kids totally buy into his class because they have ownership. 

I have put a GREAT deal of time into creating authentic, interesting, and engaging activities this year, but next to Mr. Till's self-created "math journals", the kids just aren't very enthusiastic.  In his class, they work ahead, give themselves homework, and cover more material than he would using direct instruction.  So, I feel like my activities are slowing learning in my class.  They are starting to feel like really good worksheets (that hurt to type). 

Unfortunately, I'm running out of time this year, so this experimental class model will last until the end of the school year.  Here it is: I'm going to use direct instruction (my style) 4 out of 5 days each week.  My instruction will end with 10-15 minutes left in class.  Students will then write a journal entry on what they learned and what they want to know more about.  Once a week, students will have the whole period to do 2 things: 1. post and respond to an online discussion about what they learned that week.  2. choose a topic from the week, something they learned or want to learn more about and make a presentation of some kind--podcast, PowerPoint, iMove, iPhoto book, etc.  I would also like to include a unit-long project that would combine the weekly presentations into a unit portfolio of some kind. 

I hesitate to publish this new model.  As a champion of progressive education I feel like a hypocrite advocating for direct instruction.  Am I moving backward?  I hope not.  Its just an experiment.  There are a few pieces to this new model I'm not quite sure about and would desperately like some feedback about:

1. What are your general thoughts?
2. What should my expectations be about daily journals?
3. Is 1 day enough each week for posting and presentations?
4. Should I include a presentation day for student work?  Weekly?  Biweekly?
5. What should the end-of-unit project look like?
6. What programs would be best for each component?
7. What are the potential problems?

Flipped Classroom Report 1

Today was the first day of Flipping my class.  I think my method differs from the traditional model as I don't use quizzes to enforce the instructional videos.   My instructional videos are meant to provide a conceptual framework for the activities in class.  After watching my video today during my prep I realized its a bit dry--I need my goofy nature to shine through in my recorded instruction.  I gave a short anonymous survey today to all my students.  I wanted to see how many students watch the video before class--most of them did NOT watch the video.  It was, however, the first day of our Flipped class and a Monday.  

 For students who answered "No", I asked them why they didn't watch the video.  About 72% said they just forgot.  Only about 8 students out of 84 gave negative reasons for not watching the video. 

Of the students who watched the video, only 3 said they didn't understand the video.  The rest of them said they understood at least some of the video.
I hope this is some indication about the effectiveness of the video.  My next survey will ask about how effective the video was.  I also want to ask the kids for suggestions.  I have read about some people who say you should always include the teacher in the video rather than just a voice.   Despite all of the incredible presentation option, I thought I might go old-school and get out my video camera.  I have a huge projection screen--I can focus the camera on the screen and include myself in the video walking back and forth and pointing things out.  This is closer to the way I teach, so I think it will work better. 

The final question was answered on a scale.  I asked the students--"At this point do you think you will learn better or worse in a Flipped classroom".  This is a question I plan on asking throughout the experiment.

Kony 2012 and Student Engagement

Last Wednesday night (3-7-12) four students emailed me in the evening--this is typical email traffic in our 1:1 school.  However, these were not typical emails.  These emails were from kids who had seen the Kony 2012 documentary and who trying to convince me to watch it--they had been moved by what they had seen and they wanted to share it with the whole class.  After I watched the video, I was both sad and excited.  It is heart wrenching to see human brutality, especially when it is aimed at children, but it was exciting to see a grassroots movement that would inspire people.  And inspire it did.

When I watched Kony 2012 there were 9 million views.  Twenty-four hours later there were 40 million.  Kony 2012 worked well to meet my state standards (current events, current conflicts, international organizations), so I decided to show it in class the next day.  I have never seen 100 kids so glued to a video in school. As soon as the movie ended they were making plans about what we were going to do.  I told them we would continue the conversation, but regular class had to go on.  The next day they had started a conversation on my Edmodo page (now 32 comments long), built a website, a few PowerPoints, several posters, T-shirts, a Wabash-based Kony bracelet prototype, designed fundraiser ideas, and made plans for April 20th to "Cover the Night" in a way consistent with curfew laws. Many of my students then went to art class.  On Friday, I received the following email from our art teacher:

"Hey, Mr. Vail,
I just wanted to share some wonderful learning that went on in my class Friday..........The 7th graders have been working on their 3-D models and ..........they were on display in the art room on Fri.  The kids came in fired up after hearing about Kony...........and printed out posters to decorate the walls of their models.............When other classes came in...........they asked why so many posters in the room talked about Kony.........Not only did you get the message out.........and encourage the kids to think and feel and take action........but when it was combined with an art project......I could talk with the kids.......that art is about expressing your beliefs........not just creating a pretty picture!!!!!!!  Yahoo!!!!!!!" 

Of course with any movement, there is criticism.  One could argue that our fight is too little too late against Joseph Kony, Invisible Children doesn't report all their financials, US intervention is not the answer, Kony has moved on, Uganda is corrupt, etc. etc. etc.  None of this matters.  Today there are 73 million views--people are aware, people have a way to organize, people are taking action, people are empowered to do the right thing.  Young people are focused on using technology to improve the human experience without concern for national borders.  This is what matters.  This is why I teach social studies.  This reminds me of a great quote I tweeted by Joe Bower--"Homework should be inspired, not assigned".  

Flipped Classroom?

Overall, I feel pretty good about my 1:1 class.  However, in the tradition of this blog, I'm always looking for new ways to improve.  We have all heard of the "flipped classroom".  This idea has been increasingly popular in education in the past few years.  When I first heard about flipping the classroom I thought it sounded interesting, but I was skeptical.  Part of the concept makes sense--students should be doing the "work" in class with the teacher, not at home without the support they need.  However, doesn't the same logic apply to instruction at home?  How can we expect students to learn without asking questions in the heat of learning?  Homework completion is a problem in school.  The learning in a flipped classroom relies on homework.  This seems like a gamble.

http://edudemic.com/2011/12/15-flipped-classrooms/

In addition, my philosophy about homework has changed over the last few years.  I really don't feel homework has great value, in fact there is a fair amount of research against homework.  Besides, we ask the kids to be at school for 8 hours, now we ask them to do more work at home? 

Despite my misgivings, I have been flirting with this concept for a while, and after a recent conversation with my superintendent, I decided to give the flipped classroom a chance.  Our Macbooks offer us a unique opportunity to create very personalized videos and other presentations in a number of formats.  Besides, I do love a good experiment!  As a man of science, how can I dismiss a theory without testing it?  After ISTEP (Indiana's standardized test), I will start a 2-3 week period of flipping my class.  I plan to use some students surveys and keep careful records of student learning.  I will report my finding and information on this blog.  I will create several videos as the learning materials students will watch at home or on their own time and class time will be used for learning activities and/or one-on-one remediation.  Here is a sample of a a video podcast about the Spread of Islam I made in Keynote and edited in iMovie.  Student will watch this and post a question or comment on my Edmodo page.

Standardized Testing Week...

Here we go again.  My students are taking a standardized 'end of the year' test this week with 30% of our school year remaining.  Isn't this a little like deciding on a winner at the end of the 3rd quarter of a football game? CTB-McGraw Hill employees will choose 50 questions from the ancient-to-present history, geography, government, and economics of Africa, Asia, Australia, and the entire Pacific region.  How can 50 questions possible evaluate that massive body of knowledge in a valid way?  How could 500 questions?  Even if they chose great questions (which they usually don't), which magically evaluate the accumulated content knowledge of my students it would still be an act of futility. 

What we learn in my class is more than content knowledge.  I am trying to inspire a love for learning, an appreciation for social studies, an interest in the world, and an understanding that we are all citizens of the world.  I think this will be much more valuable in the future.  Facts will be forgotten.  How much do you remember from 7th grade social studies?  Intrigue will last forever. How can use measure that?

Wabash Middle School always outscored the surrounding schools, despite a lower socioeconomic status, but I just resent that this test is the lone public measurement of everything I do as an educator and everything my kids have learned.  All the hours, the creativity, the professional development, the late nights, the extra time with students, $1,300.00 in charity money per year--it all comes down to a single number--(__) percent passing.  I feel like my class is so far beyond this test, but I am still anchored to it.  I honestly feel like I'm  taking my driver's license test with a horse and buggy.  

School Schedules

One of the reasons I love the Digital Age in education is how it has forced us to challenge conventional wisdom--one of my favorite hobbies.  From infrastructure spending to pedagogy, the Digital Age has stirred the pot and made us question how and why we do things.  Currently, my school is trying to decide what to do with spring parent/teacher conferences.  Since every student has their own Macbook, students and parents check their grades daily online.  I have exchanged emails or phone calls with most of the 7th grade students and parents.  The 7th grade team has had dozens of parent meetings during the school day.  Why do we need to schedule time to sit in the same room?  Granted, some would benefit, but we are challenging one of the traditional pillars of education—something we don’t do enough of. 

http://21stcenturylearning.typepad.com/

As a district, we are looking at new calendar options and daily schedule models.  Next year every student will have their own computer in grades 4-12, so this should dramatically change the conversation and conventional wisdom of school scheduling.  At this point I have more questions than answers, but I am eager to have this discussion:

• Some of my class days are 'work days' for the kids, where I facilitate, but I could easily do this digitally--do we all need to be in the same room?  
• How can teacher collaboration by grade/building/district and beyond be regularly scheduled?  How long should the school day be?
• Do classes need to meet every day?  Can all students handle the responsibility?  
• I typically answer emails from students from 8-10 pm, should teachers keep virtual "office hours"?  Would we need traditional P/T conferences at all?
• Do I need to meet with each class every day, if not, what would that mean for attendance?
• Are 9-week report cards obsolete when students/parents check online grade books 24/7?
• Are grades the best way to measure a 21st Century classroom? 

 While I don't think we are ready for a radical schedule shift at Wabash City School just yet, we need to keep these conversations in mind.  After a few years more teachers will be more comfortable with 1:1 learning and a 21st Century classroom, maybe then we can design a 21st Century Schedule for the Digital Age.  Any feedback/advice would be greatly appreciated!