Better Learning for Schools

Young people’s brains are designed to solve problems. Once they are invested in a something challenging, they will often do whatever it takes to work out a solution. One of my own son’s, for example, heard about an extracurricular trip that some of his elementary school friends were going on in order to retrace the route of the Santa Fe Trail. The trail itself was part of a unit of study that they had completed earlier on in the year.

From what he was told, the trip would be a chance to hang out with his friends for several days, see some sites, and do some pretty grown-up stuff along the way. The only problem was that it would be very, very expensive—nearly 1,000 dollars. When he approached my wife and I about it, we could tell immediately that it was something he wanted badly to be a part of.   But we also explained that we didn’t exactly have that kind of money just lying around. We are teachers, after all.

Instead of sighing or whining, he got this look of resolve. He asked us, “Would you let me go if it were cheaper?”

Without thinking, I replied… “Well, maybe if it was like half as much.”

He thought for a second, and said, ”Okay. I will find a way to earn half of the money, and you and mom can come up with the other half.”

He has now spent the last few months shoveling our neighbor’s snow and rounding up people’s old junk to sell at his own, bi-weekly garage sale. He has learned to set goals, how to network, negotiate, and how to fundraise. He has figured that a sign that says, ‘I am raising money for my education,’ works better than a sign that simply says, ‘garage sale.’ He also has learned to draw in customers through the use of his baby-faced, four-year old brother who stands by the sign and waves to each and every passerby. He is invested in the challenge because he has a problem—his own problem—to solve.

Educational research, my own experiences in the classroom, and my son’s fundraising efforts all underscore the need for more problem-based learning in the classroom. In particular, there is a need for teachers to carefully orchestrate compelling problems for students to solve. Albert Einstein once said that, “the formulation of the problem is more essential than the solution” (Einstein & Infeld).

Therefor, it behooves teachers to spend as much time as we can on the front-end of instruction—working to design thought-provoking problems that spark and propel student learning. After reading through every book I could on Problem-based Learning (PBL), visiting classrooms, and trying things out on my own students, there are a at least 4 types of problems that really seem to foster student interest and effort (Dean & Marzano, 2013; Hattie, 2009).

1.  Historical Investigation

These types of challenges start with a teacher clearly describing a historical event and then identifying to students what is and what is not known or agreed upon. At this point, the teacher offers up a couple of possible scenarios, then students work to seek out and analyze what evidence determines the plausibility of each scenario. For example, students can seek to examine conflicting versions presented by scholars regarding The Boston Massacre or President Roosevelt’s role in the events leading up to Pearl Harbor.

2.  Decision-Making

Decision making challenges start by describing the alternatives being considered by a single person or by a group of people. Students then work in groups or with a teacher to identify the criteria that should be used to influence decision-making. Collaboratively, they rate each alternative based on the scale criteria and then re-evaluate the criteria based on the result. For example, students can predict who should be considered for admittance to a particular sports or musical hall-of-fame.

3.  Problem-solving

Problem-solving challenges are similar to decision-making challenges to some extent. However,

If you ever want to have a bit fun, walk up to a group of educators and ask them—does spelling really matter? As I visited with schools over the past few weeks, I found out that spelling seems to be one of those polarized issues that everyone seems to have an opinion on…and a strong one at that. It’s almost like asking someone to share their views on the upcoming election, gun control or capital punishment.

Not too long ago, I was at a parent teacher conference for one of my own boys. I sat down and noticed that the teacher had a look of concern. After a long, awkward pause she said, “I guess I’m just a bit surprised. I mean…his older brothers were so…smart.”

Now, instead of getting upset, I just sat and listened for a while and asked a few questions. I found out that my son’s grades were excellent, that he got along well with his peers, and that he was in the high group for math and for reading. In fact, the only real concern his teacher had was regarding my son’s spelling.   Which leads me back to my question—does spelling really matter?

This week I had a chance to sit down and visit with Robi Alstrom. She works as a consultant with a number of schools and districts to improve literacy and learning. Robi also possesses a wealth of knowledge on spelling and the brain, and was willing to answer some of my questions on spelling…

http://traffic.libsyn.com/remarkablechatter/spelling_2.mp3

References

Berninger, V. W., & Wolf, B. J. (2009). Teaching students with dyslexia and dysgraphia: Lessons from teaching and science. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Pub. Co.

Dehaene, S. (2010). Reading in the brain: The new science of how we read. New York: Penguin Books.

Ritchey, K. D. (2008). The building blocks of writing: Learning to write letters and spell words. Reading and writing, 21(1-2), 27-47.

Santoro, L. E., Coyne, M. D., & Simmons, D. C. (2006). The reading–spelling connection: Developing and evaluating a beginning spelling intervention for children at risk of reading disability. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 21(2), 122-133

Wolf, M. (2010). Proust and the squid: The story and science of the reading brain. Cambridge: Icon Books.

Curtis Chandler can be contacted at:

Twitter @curtischandler6

Blog:  Better Learning For Schools

Email:  [email protected]

Subscribe to this podcast and many others!

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What do Charlie Sheen, Jane Austen, Paris Hilton, John F. Kennedy, Kanye West, and Benjamin Franklin all have in common? The answer—they’re all very well-known, very successful, and very terrible spellers. This week’s blog post and podcast is titled, ‘Does Spelling Still Matter?’ It could also be titled…’Can You Spell Better Than a Middle-Schooler?’

Some of us are just fine chuckling at our own spelling mistakes. Words like ‘acceptable,’ ‘Wednesday,’ and even ‘misspelled’ continue to plague us despite our own repeated effort. But for some people, spelling is no laughing matter. Take for example, Thomas Hurely, an 8th grader who made it to the final round of the game show Jeopardy. The final clue was… Abraham Lincoln called this document which took effect in 1863 “a fit and necessary war measure.” Thomas wrote down his answer—The Emanciptation Proclamation. He had written the correct answer, but misspelled it. As a result, the judges ruled it incorrect. Thomas lost the final round and 3,000 dollars.

While the judges of jeopardy and other spelling advocates insist that spelling is something that should be taken seriously, others aren’t as sure anymore. Sandra Wilde, college professor and co-chair of National Council of Teachers of English, was quoted by USA today and stated that, “In ordinary life, I think spelling is too overblown. We expect it to be 100% correct and don’t cut a lot of people slack. Even in The New York Times there is an occasional spelling error.”

The question continues to loom and to be debated. Does spelling really matter in this modern age of autocorrectiion tools, spellcheck, and voice recognition? To what degree should spelling be focused on in schools? And then there is my question—are we born good spellers…or do we become great through some magical combination of our own efforts and environment?

My interest in spelling got started a couple of weeks ago. I had been on the road for several days visiting schools and speaking at education conferences. I was supposed to be taking the day off, but noticed in my local paper that the middle school where my oldest kid attended would be holding its annual Spelling Bee. I figured that if I took my computer along, I could get some work done and watch my son, and some other super-spellers, in action.

The first thing I noticed was that Spelling Bees haven’t changed much from when I was in school.   Students approached the podium, were given a word, permitted to ask some clarifying questions, and were eliminated one by one as the words became increasingly difficult.

I have to say I was pretty impressed with myself for a while. On my notepad, I scrawled out words like ‘cashew’ and ‘rucksack’ with no problem. But as the words became a bit more complicated, I grew less sure of myself.   There were words that I nearly misspelled because I started to overthink them….words like skirmish, goblet, and berserk. There were other words that I had definitely heard and had used before, but that possessed seemingly random sets of repetitive letters….words likeaardvark and whippoorwill. There were also a number of words that threw me for a loop because of the way they were pronounced…or mispronounced by the spelling bee announcer. These were words like jocularity, hydroponic, and debilitate.

But a handful of the students held strong. One of which was my my son. He made it into the final three and was doing well, until he was given the word wahine. It’s pronounced wah-hee-nee. He looked alarmed, asked for the language of origin, requested the definition, and even asked to hear wahine used in a sentence. It was like watching a contestant on ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’ burn through all their lifelines, while knowing full-well that they don’t have a clue what the final a...

I have never met an educator who was opposed to higher-level thinking activities. Yet, if you or I were to drop in on any classroom at random, research suggests that that we would observe teaching and learning operationalized at a fairly low cognitive level. In this week’s podcast, we examine ways that schools, technology, and curriculum can be utilized to help support teachers in their efforts to engage students in higher-level questioning and thinking.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/remarkablechatter/Higher_Level_Thinking_Supporting_Teachers.mp3

References

Elias, M. J., Weissberg, R. P., & Zins, J. E. (2004). Promoting Social and Emotional Learning: Guidelines for Educators. Alexandria: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.

Sigel, I. E. (1979). On becoming a thinker: A psychoeducational model. Educational psychologist, 14(1), 70-78.

Curtis Chandler can be contacted at:

Twitter @curtischandler6

Blog:  Better Learning For Schools

Email:  [email protected]

Subscribe to this podcast and many others!

 

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One the most challenging aspects of being an educator is knowing when to answer questions…and when not to. For example, the other day I was visiting a school and came across two young students who were in a heated debate over whether or not megalodons—enormous, prehistoric sharks—still live in today’s oceans.

One student was adamant that the giant sharks were extinct. He insisted that he had recently been to a natural history museum, seen a model of the creature’s giant jaws and teeth, and read on the display that the last megalodons had died out about two-and-a-half million years ago.

The second student argued vehemently that the ocean was so big that there had to be at least one megalodon left. He added that numerous sightings and photos have appeared on the web and that the Discovery Channel did an hour-long program on recent evidence that was uncovered of an enormous, 5-ton shark.

After a couple of minutes of arguing, the students noticed that I was listening to their conversation, turned to me, and said, “Mr. Chandler, you’re a teacher. Are megalodons still around?”

This little scenario has caused me to reflect on a number of things. First, while the media tends to portray young people as digital zombies, today’s students are anything but. They are inquisitive, intrigued by the world around them, and fierce defenders of their own ideas. Second, as the ‘sea of digital information’ grows increasingly deeper, it is likely to become more and more difficult for students (and for teachers) to discern fact from fiction. Finally, in the midst of debate about what constitutes authoritative knowledge in schools (i.e. Wesch, 2009), it seems that some students—particularly young ones—continue to view adults as the final authority of what is and what is nottrue…

 Listen to the full podcast by clicking on the link at the top of this article.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/remarkablechatter/teaching_students_How_to_think_instead_of_WHAT_to_think.mp3

 References

Elias, M. J., Weissberg, R. P., & Zins, J. E. (2004). Promoting Social and Emotional Learning: Guidelines for Educators. Alexandria: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.

Friedlander, B. S., Tobias, S. E., Goleman, D., & Elias, M. J. (2013). Emotionally intelligent parenting: How to raise a self-disciplined, responsible, socially skilled child. New York: Harmony Books.

 Wesch, M. (2009). From knowledgable to knowledge-able: Learning in new media environments.Academic Commons, 7.

Curtis Chandler can be contacted at:

Twitter @curtischandler6

Blog:  Better Learning For Schools

Email:  [email protected]

Subscribe to this podcast and many others!

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Human beings seemed to be innately adept at asking questions. Over the past few weeks here are just a few interesting things that I have heard come out of students’ mouths. 

-Why we do round up instead of down in math class?

 -What are our armpits for?

 -Is toothpaste a liquid or a solid?

 -If I was bad, but really wanted coal…would Santa give it to me?

This week I was fortunate to be able to visit on the phone with Dr. Maurice Elias and to talk with him about questions and questioning techniques in the classroom. He is a psychology professor at Rutgers University and the director of the Rutgers Social-Emotional Learning Lab.

Maurice lectures nationally and internationally to educators and parents about students’ emotional intelligence, school success, and social-emotional and character development. Dr. Elias has written numerous books on promoting social and emotional learning and on social decision-making and problem solving. He also writes a blog for educators and parents for the George Lucas Educational Foundation at www.edutopia.org.   In this podcast, Dr. Elias gives his thoughts on (1) the increased attention in education to higher-level questioning, (2) questioning tips and techniques for teachers, and (3) pedagogy that fosters higher-level.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/remarkablechatter/podcast_higher_level_questioning_curtis_chandler.mp3

 References

 Elias, M. J., Weissberg, R. P., & Zins, J. E. (2004). Promoting Social and Emotional Learning: Guidelines for Educators. Alexandria: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.

 Friedlander, B. S., Tobias, S. E., Goleman, D., & Elias, M. J. (2013). Emotionally intelligent parenting: How to raise a self-disciplined, responsible, socially skilled child. New York: Harmony Books.

Curtis Chandler can be contacted at:

Twitter @curtischandler6

Blog:  Better Learning For Schools

Email:  [email protected]

Subscribe to this podcast and many others!

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Not everything we do in schools can be fun and games, but much of what we do in the classroom should be…especially when it comes to science instruction. I was visiting a school recently where I found a number of students outside, chasing each other and working to accumulate red and blue bracelets. But it wasn’t recess or a physical education class that I was watching. It was a science class.

This chase/survival game was actually a simulation designed by students…not by teachers. The learning objectives for the activity were simple—students were to collaboratively design and refine a game that allowed their classmates to experience and understand concepts of predator/prey relationships, natural selection, and animal adaptation. As the game was played, students also collected (and later on interpreted) data on potential relationships between predators, prey, water scarcity, survival rates, competition, and the reproduction of animal species.

In research, five claims are commonly made about the potential benefits of serious game playing in schools (McClarty et al. 2012). First, games are built on sound learning principles. In other words, game designers have to ensure that their players are successful without making it too easy for them to become successful. If players aren’t successful in a game and become too frustrated, they quit. Likewise, if a game is too easy, players lose interest. In other words, game designers have the same challenge that teachers have—a need to orchestrate and scaffold success at perfect levels of difficulty.

Second, games tend to provide personalized learning. By personalized learning, we mean that students are being taught in a manner (and at a level) suited to their abilities. As a result, one student’s experience might look quite different from that of another student. But personalized learning also implies that students are gaining the skills needed to be successful in subsequent and increasingly difficult challenges.

Third, games teach 21st century skills. While the development of fundamental knowledge in an area such as math or science is an essential component of education, one of the greatest challenges faced by schools continues to be how to best prepare today’s young people for their future. The seemingly abstract skills needed to do so are what we collectively call 21st century skills; they include the ability to think critically, collaborate, communicate, and to formulate creative solutions to problems. Many of these skills, if not all of them, are utilized simultaneously in collaborative games such as Minecraft, Clash of Clans, and Settlers of Catan which are played so widely by today’s young people.

Fourth, games often provide more engaging learning experiences than do traditional learning activities. Well-designed games seek to engage with individuals through a variety of techniques. According to research, extended effort in game play is the result of a dynamic interplay between (1) initial interest in and desire to solve a problem, (2) the level of challenge, and (3) degree of enjoyment, fun, and satisfaction associated with the experience of the game (Schoenau-Fog, 2011). It should come as no surprise, therefore, that game-play in schools often results in higher levels of engagement amongst students.

Finally, games provide an environment for authentic and relevant assessment. Medical schools and military training facilities, for example, regularly employ realistic simulations and games to evaluate the proficiency of their students and trainees. The use of such games for learning and assessment in healthcare and in the military is expected to increase over the next several years (Bredl & Bösche, 2013), but what about in education?

Big-time game designers have already created educational versions of Minecraft and Sims for classroom use. But as I visit schools, rarely do I see these (or any other) games being utilized.

How do you get learning to stick? That is the question on the minds of a number of educators I have visited with over the past few weeks…and an emerging body of educational research. Recently as I have worked with schools and educators, the term ‘sticky learning’ has surfaced on more than one occasion, along with a number of suggestions for making learning endure beyond the end of the school day.

 ‘Seemingly’ Less-Structured Activities

I was in an elementary school classroom last week where students were using cardboard, Play-do, and recyclables to make 3D maps of the geographical features of Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. Kids worked in groups to cut up toilet paper rolls for trees, used Play-do or blue frosting to mark bodies of water, and even created animals out of bottle caps and pipe cleaners. To help other students decode and navigate the features of their maps, each group also created a map key.

When I asked the teacher about the activity, she said simply… “There is a lot of important content in this unit. We want to make sure they learn it, and don’t forget it. We want it to stick.” But this activity seemed to go well beyond content mastery. I couldn’t help but notice that as these kids created their 3D landscapes, there was a significant amount of application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and creativity required.

 Research published in a recent issue of Frontierssupports this type of approach. Jane Barker and four other researchers examined a variety of structured and less-structured learning environments. Theirfindings suggest that students who spend more time in seemingly less-structured activities allow students to develop self-direction and better executive functioning (Barker et al., 2014).

 To me, the key seems to be this notion of ‘seemingly’ less-structure activities. This is not some ‘Lord of the Flies’ approach to learning where we dump materials in the center of the room and turn our students loose.   This teacher clearly knew what she wanted her students to be able to do. But to the students, the perception was that they had an extensive amount of control and choice over whatmaterials they used and how they put them to use. Instead of quizzes and flashcards, their teacher made the content ‘stick’ by tying it to a design challenge that included a few clearly articulated expectations and parameters.

‘Getting Out of the Way’ of Student Learning

Another classroom I visited suggested the need for teachers to ‘get out of the way’ of student learning as often as possible. A couple of days ago, I watched a middle-schooler grow increasingly frustrated with a math problem she was working on. The teacher noticed this and came to her side. I fully expected him to coach the student through the problem using some form of algorithm or something similar. Instead, he asked the student to think out-loud a bit with him about what she had tried. He listened patiently, and when the student was finished, asked her why that didn’t seem to work and what else she could try.

 She came up with a couple alternatives, and began trying those approaches out. Eventually, she worked out the problem.   After several minutes of students in the class going through this laborious struggle, the teacher presented them with a formula and asked them how it related to the problems they were trying to solve.

 When I asked the teacher about it later on, I expressed a concern with how long the process took for the students to work it all out.

In this podcast, we finish our visit with author Alfie Kohn. Alfie insists on the need to for educators to move beyond the ‘menus and ladders’ approach in the classroom. Instead, he insists that schools must seek to offer students real choice and control by seeking their input regarding content, learning activities, and even assessment.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/remarkablechatter/beyond_menus_and_ladders.mp3

 

Curtis Chandler can be contacted at:

Twitter @curtischandler6

Blog:  Better Learning For Schools

Email:  [email protected]

Subscribe to this podcast and many others!

 

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One of the most effective ways to improve student engagement and student learning is to extend students a bit of control and choice in the classroom. In this podcast, we examine how choice and control are employed by video game designers to ensure that players persist in difficult challenges.

 We also visit with Alfie Kohn. Alfie writes and speaks widely on human behavior, education, and parenting. He has authored thirteen books and scores of articles. Kohn’s criticisms of competition and rewards have been widely discussed and debated, and he has been described in  magazine as “perhaps the country’s most outspoken critic of education’s fixation on grades [and] test scores.” Alfie shares his thoughts on the need for teachers to extend control and choice to students. He also provides several practical recommendations to educators who want to work WITH—rather than AGAINST—their students.

We also visit with Alfie Kohn. Alfie writes and speaks widely on human behavior, education, and parenting. He has authored thirteen books and scores of articles. Kohn’s criticisms of competition and rewards have been widely discussed and debated, and he has been described in Time magazine as “perhaps the country’s most outspoken critic of education’s fixation on grades [and] test scores.” Alfie shares his thoughts on the need for teachers to extend control and choice to students. He also provides several practical recommendations to educators who want to work WITH—rather than AGAINST—their students.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/remarkablechatter/Working_with_students_control_choice.mp3

 

References

 

Kohn, A. (2014). The myth of the spoiled child: Challenging the conventional wisdom about children and parenting.

 

Kohn, A. (2010). ” EJ” in Focus: How to Create Nonreaders: Reflections on Motivation, Learning, and Sharing Power. English journal, 16-22.

 

http://www.alfiekohn.org/index.php

Beyond the Digital Zombie Stereotype: Three Tips for Empowering Student Agency and Decision-Making

Curtis Chandler can be contacted at:

Twitter @curtischandler6

Blog:  Better Learning For Schools

Email:  [email protected]

Subscribe to this podcast and many others!

 

 

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