Better Learning for Schools

A couple of weeks ago, when the weather turned ridiculously cold, I was on my way home from visiting with some teachers in a nearby city when I got a little lost.  My GPS went a bit screwy and started to send me in circles.  After going by the same gas station three times, I attempted to navigate as my forefathers had done—I stopped and asked directions.

A helpful, older gentleman got me recalibrated, and pointed me in the right direction.  The route he suggested took me in front of a newly remodeled high school with a handful of sports practice fields on one side.  Though it was only 2 in the afternoon and barely twenty degrees outside, there were kids everywhere.  My first thought was that the school must have been having some sort of Arctic fire drill.  That’s when I heard a muffled explosion and a loud cheer from the kids on the field.

It turned out that these students were participating in their very own version of Pumkin Chunkin’—a competition where builders construct trebuchets, catapults, and air cannons to see who can launch pumpkins, gourds, and a variety of other edibles the furthest distance through the air.  The event was put on by a handful of science teachers and community members in order to build interest in physics, engineering, and problem solving—all of which are being emphasized in emerging curricular standards across the nation.

As I visited with the students, they kept talking about their teacher, Doctor Sylvester, and the learning activities that went on in his classes. They said that he was always demonstrating something potentially perilous to students and insisting that they would all ‘be safe as long as no one made any sudden movements.’  Even more interesting was how often it sounded like students got to be involved in these types of activities.  Pumpkin Chunkin’ seemed to be just one of a long list of activities used to get students excited and engaged in problem-solving.

The more I heard students talk, the more this teacher sounded like some sort of mad-scientist.  Every year Doctor Sylvester also rigs up an elaborate, musically-synchronized Christmas lights show up at his house. People drive for miles from nearby towns and cities just to line up for a chance to park in his driveway and experience the seasonal spectacle. He also runs the music at school dances…which he enhanced with a laser-light show and a fog machine.

It also turns out that the ‘Doctor’ in Doctor Sylvester’s name isn’t just an honorary title.  After working for a few years in the Computer Science field, he decided he wanted to be a teacher instead, so…he went out and got a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction.  His dissertation?  You guessed it—Problem-based Learning.

This type of learning insists that all of education should involve either problem solving or preparation for problem solving (Delisle, 2004).  Instead of memorizing information, PBL presents students with a situation that leads to a problem and provides opportunities for students to assume the role of scientist, project manager or engineer.

Problem-based Learning originated in the medical field as a means for improving practitioners’ critical thinking and problem-solving abilities.  Barrows and Tamblyn (1996) summarized the process as follows:

* The problem is encountered first in the learning sequence, before any preparation or study has occurred.

* The problem situation is presented to the student in the same way it would present itself in reality.

* The student works with the problem in a manner that permits his ability to reason and apply knowledge to be challenged and evaluated, appropriate to his level of learning.

* Needed areas of learning are identified in the process of work with the problem and used as a guide to individualized study.

What can a professional jazz drummer and my dad’s garage band possibly teach us about collaboration and leadership?

As a teenager, I was in a band. Well…technically, I was in the band. Anyone who has survived high school can tell you that there is a huge difference. Guys in a band get gigs, friends, and dates. Guys in the band–they get punched.

A couple of years ago, I was visiting my parents back west. As I was thumbing through one of my dad’s old yearbooks I stumbled upon an old photo of him–or at least some younger, long-haired version of him–up on a stage. Hundreds of people seemed to be thronging around him and screaming. My dad appeared to be singing into a microphone, playing a keyboard, and had on an outfit that I have since tried very hard to forget. It turned out that my dad…was in a band.

I felt deceived. I had no idea that my ‘old man’ had ever been that cool. When I asked him about it, he just laughed it off; he insisted that neither he nor his buddies really knew how to play very well. But for some reason, people kept hiring them to play at parties and at dances.

At one point, they even saved up enough money to buy a used Ford Econo-Van. Using some cardboard cutouts and three cans of spray paint, they stenciled in the name of the band–The Exchequers–on the side. On weekends, they would ‘tour’ the surrounding states and play at dance halls and bars. I couldn’t believe it. My conservative father–retired military chaplain and state delegate for the Republican Party–had been both a musician and a con man. It was almost too cool to be true.

For months afterwards, every time I spoke with my father, a single question nagged at me: just how did my father and his buddies pass themselves off as a band, despite–as they said–their “obvious lack of musical talent.” One day, he finally shared with me the recipe for turning a garage band into something more…something that people were willing to pay and cheer for. Since that day, as I have presented around the country on educational leadership, organizational learning, and collaboration, I have repeatedly shared a number of these suggestive principles with educators. Below are three that seem particularly relevant in light of growing interest in teacher leadership and collaboration.

1) Diverse Skill Sets, Aligned to a Common Vision, Make Powerful Teams.

The way my dad tells it, The Exchequers were a hit largely because they shared a vision for creating music they were passionate about and each person in the band had something unique to offer to that shared vision. Danny could play a handful of chords on the rhythm guitar. Dean could do the same on the bass. Mike wasn’t an experienced drummer, but he could keep a steady beat and wasn’t afraid to improvise a solo every now and then. My dad couldn’t read music, but he could sing a bit…and with patience, could figure out most songs on a keyboard by listening to them over and over on his turntable. What mattered is that they could commit to and share a “groove,” the steady beat that opens the doors for creativity, innovation, and the human expression audiences want to experience.

Individually, none of them were worth listening to. But as an aggregate, they had something to offer that their audiences clearly loved. The same principle holds true in education. No individual teacher, no mater how talented, can help students reach their full potential. To do so requires strategic collaboration in teams–teams whose collective capacity and performance are dependent on what each individual brings to the table (Senge et al., 2012).

An effective team of educators is likely to have one exceptional teacher in the use of instructional technology, another in problem-based learning, a third in assessment, and so on.

In this episode, we seek to uncover the key to putting the right text in front of the right kid.  Sadly, when I was an elementary and secondary student, it often seemed that the text we read in class was mandated to us because either (1) it was one of my teacher’s favorites or (2) there were several existing copies of it already purchased to check out of the library.  Today, however, teachers are expected to use a variety of texts from a variety of genres as part of their literacy activities (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010).

This could be good news for students, but it also requires teaches to become ‘hunters and gathers’ of texts that help students meet learning objectives and…that pique students’ interests.  Literacy research has consistently highlighted how student motivation to read is impacted by readerinterest or eagerness to read a particular book, article or other form of text (Schiefele, 2009).

Just think, for a moment, about what you pick up, (or fail to pick up) when an opportunity presents itself. I was recently in a dentist office while my son was getting braces put on his teeth. It made for a long appointment, so I found myself watching people enter the office, check in at the desk, and then sit down in the waiting room.  About half the people passed the time fiddling away on their phone.  The other half would sit still for a moment, start to fidget, and then eventually migrate over to one of the corner tables where a variety of magazines were laid out.  That day, a textual buffet had been laid out for the patrons that included a wide selection of ESPN, TIME, People,Better Homes and Gardens, and Cooking Light magazines.

As I watched the people in the waiting room, it seemed as though everyone found at least one magazine worthy of their time.  Some even took two magazines back to their seat.  But one thing that I noticed was that all of them stopped fidgeting, started reading, and began happily passing the time.  A couple of them were so enthralled in their reading that they had to be called two or three times by the receptionist before they realized that it was time for their appointment. They were busy.  They were engaged.  They were lost in reading.

Teachers could take a lesson or two from these waiting rooms and should keep in mind that learning outcomes are consistently higher when students have some degree of control and choice over their learning (Niemic, Sikorski, & Walberg, 1996).  This includes reading materials.  The internet and its digital appendages have made it much easier to find a variety of texts to use with students.  Search engines and news feeds allow teachers to curate articles, multimedia or a combination of the two for use in the classroom.  These materials can serve as the ‘meat’ of reading tasks or as a springboard for other language, writing, listening or speaking activities.

Some of my students’ favorite literacy activities have involved texts that I just happened to stumble upon via Facebook, Twitter or some similar site.  Therefore it behooves educators to connect with and follow individuals or organizations that regularly share teaching ideas and texts geared to their particular content area.  A science teacher, for example, could find all sorts of articles by following a shortlist of people and handful of organizations such as Science News, Popular Science, NASA, Discover Magazine, Wired, and Popular Mechanics.  In addition, tools such as

I have no doubt that many a parent has been intrigued by what I call the box phenomenon. You know what I mean–it’s when we fret about getting THE MOST educational toys and activities in front our kids—the ones that will turn them into successful, and hopefully rich geniuses someday. So, as a parent…we search, we research, we invest time and money into it.  It finally shows up on our front door—courtesy of UPS—and we are just certain that our kids will love it…and that he or she will end up being brilliant because of it. But inevitably, what transpires is the box phenomenon.

As an example, take this really cool—or what I thought was a really cool toy—that my wife and I gave to one of our kids.  It was one of those versatile building kits comprised of oddly geometrically shaped, 3D puzzle pieces that can be assembled in different ways to make anything from a dinosaur to an airplane or anything else that a kid might come up with.

And for the first ten minutes, my kid played with it like crazy.  He was happy, he seemed to be interacting with this great toy, and I felt like a great parent.  So I left him alone for a while, and walked off giving myself an invisible, but well-deserved pat on the back.

But when I came back 10 minutes later, the 3D puzzle pieces were pushed to the side.  And instead, he was folding, cutting, and drawing on the box and packing materials that this great toy had come in.  I wanted to stomp and scream, but instead…I composed myself and asked as politely as I could.  “Son, what are you doing?”

He glanced up and me, smiling.  His answer was brief and simple.  “Dad, thanks for the really cool box.” Then he went back to ‘work,’ folding, cutting, and drawing.

That’s the box phenomenon.  It’s when kids, like mine, like yours, and like the ones we teach in school would rather play with the box than anything and everything that we try to get them to do. And why is that?

To me boxes embody the sort of informal learning that we often overlook and undervalue in schools.  It is the kind of self-directed exploration that takes place beyond the confines of classrooms.  Playing with a box, building forts out of couch cushions, enormous construction projects in sandboxes, and the mixing of mud-pies.  You could make the case kids learn…as long as we stay out of the way.   One thing is apparent, though.  Kids are learning at all the time—not just when we tell them to.

I have been fascinated by the number of informal learning institutions that are springing up all over. Think of your own city, for example, and count the number of kids museums, nature and science centers, cultural centers, and other out-of-school learning places that are successfully marketing an opportunity for your child to be engaged and informed through seemingly informal interaction with interesting artifacts, exhibits, workstations, costumes, props, and people.  Informal learning has become big business.

The Association of Children’s Museums, for example, claims that their environments allow children to learn at their own pace through playful, exploratory, and interactive experiences.  My thought was, as a parent and educator, shouldn’t I be seeking to do the same—you know, trying to blur the boundaries that we so often place between the types of learning that go on in school versus the informal exploration that takes place in other places.

In a recent commentary in Scientific America, Dennis Bartels said it this way…

Informal learning environments tolerate failure better than schools. Perhaps many teachers have too little time to allow students to form and pursue their own questions and too much ground to cover in the curriculum and for standardized tests. But people must acquire these skills somewhere. Our society depends on them being able to make critical de...

As a teacher and as a father, I have watched a number young people fall in…and then out of love with books.  Even in homes where reading is valued, book-time often finds itself in competition with a variety of school activities, video games, and number of other pastimes. The situation is complicated by the fact that children’s motivation to read seems to decline as they get older (McKenna & Kear, 1990). In an effort to better understand what is it that motivates kids to read—and what teachers can do to increase students’ engagement in challenging literacy tasks—I visited with educators and researchers around the country who work with reluctant readers…

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

 

Podcast References

Birsch, J. (2006). What is multisensory structured language? Perspectives, 32(2), 15-20.

Guthrie, J.T., Hoa, L.W., Wigfield, A., Tonks, S.M., Humenick, N.M., & Littles, E. (2007). Reading motivation and reading comprehension growth in the later elementary years. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 32(3), 282–313. doi:10.1016/j.cedpsych.2006.05.004

Guthrie, J. T., Meter, P., McCann, A. D., Wigfield, A., Bennett, L., Poundstone, C. C., … & Mitchell, A. M. (1996). Growth of literacy engagement: Changes in motivations and strategies during concept‐oriented reading instruction. Reading Research Quarterly, 31(3), 306-332.

McKenna, M., & Kear, D. (1990). Measuring attitudes toward reading: A new tool for teachers. The Reading Teacher, 52, 698–706.

McKenna, M.C., Conradi, K., Lawrence, C., Jang, B.G., & Meyer, J.P. (2012). Reading attitudes of middle school students: Results of a U.S. survey. Reading Research Quarterly, 47(3), 283–306.

Nolen, S. B. (2007). Young children’s motivation to read and write: Development in social contexts.Cognition and Instruction, 25(2-3), 219-270.

Schiefele, U., & Schaffner, E. (in press). Lesemotivation im Grund schulalter – Ergebnisse einer Interviewstudie [Reading motivation of elementary school students – Results from an interview study]. Psychologie in Erziehung und Unterricht.

Schiefele, U., Schaffner, E., Möller, J., & Wigfield, A. (2012). Dimensions of reading motivation and their relation to reading behavior and competence. Reading Research Quarterly, 47(4), 427-463.

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Choice, control, ownership of learning, a few games, and a bit of technology can have a powerful impact on mathematics instruction.

I was walking through an elementary school recently, and I heard this kid in the hall turn to another kid and say, “Math was really fun today. “  He went on to talk about all the things that they ‘got’ to do. That is what he said.  Stuff we “got” to do.  So, I asked around.  I found out who his math teacher was. And I paid her a visit.  I explained that I was interested in what she does in her class.  You know, what is it that makes a kid say, “Hey.  Math is fun.”  She let me snoop around, even watch and visit with her kids…

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

Curtis Chandler can be contacted at:

Twitter @curtischandler6

Blog:  Better Learning For Schools

Email:  [email protected]

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I recently visited a classroom where a teacher was working with students to examine changes that are underway in ‘how’ and ‘from whom’ that we learn.  This educator insisted that students must work to examine the ways in which we communicate, interpret, and form culture. To do so, he worked with a photographer from National Geographic to bring small town history to life.  I was intrigued when, during our conversation, he told me that, “Teachers need to get beyond this idea that we are authoritative sources of knowledge, and instead seek out experts outside the walls of our schools. “It was at that point that I took a little digital microphone and asked him to share some of his thoughts on a project that I have since referred to as ‘Big-time Thoughts from Seemingly Small-time Towns.’

 

http://traffic.libsyn.com/remarkablechatter/Curtis_Chandler_Big_Time_Thoughts_From_Small_Time_Towns_Podcast_Episode_005.mp3

Curtis Chandler can be contacted at:

Twitter @curtischandler6

Blog:  Better Learning For Schools

Email:  [email protected]

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Lately, I have been doing much more traveling than I would like to be doing.  This often means car traffic, airport delays, and of course…road food.  But it’s not all bad. You see, I have recently come to the realization just how many American cities have or are host to what I call the Fame Phenomenon.

We have all likely heard of the Cooperstown’s Baseball Hall of Fame and Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  But there also exists hundreds of lesser known Halls. Titusville, Florida for instance, hosts the Astronaut Hall of Fame.  Dayton, Ohio houses the National Aviation Hall of Fame.  There is even a Robot Hall of Fame in Pittsburg.   I recently spoke at an induction ceremony for the Teacher Hall of Fame.  There are hundreds of such sites around the country, run by organizations feeling the need to enshrine famous or illustrious individuals. To be deemed worthy of such an honor often requires nomination, a rigorous application and review process, and hopefully….selection by a group of electors.

The other day, I visited a classroom teacher who is capitalizing on this American obsession with elitism in the form of a Historical Hall of Fame with his students…

Listen to the full podcast by clicking the link above.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/remarkablechatter/Curtis_Chandler_Engaging_Students_In_History_podcast_004.mp3

Curtis Chandler can be contacted at:

Twitter @curtischandler6

Blog:  Better Learning For Schools

Email:  [email protected]

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In the year 1989, I was just a kid, and Batman was practically a god.   This was largely due to the fact that the movie directed by Tim Burton—starring Michael Keaton as the Caped-Crusader and Jack Nicholson as the menacing Joker—was in the theater of our smallish Texas town for nearly four months.  At the time, this was practically unheard of, even for a superhero blockbuster. If my thirty-something memory still serves me, Burton’s action-packed flick debuted in the summer time, but was still around in the theater at Halloween.  Batman hats, shirts, and anything else with the Dark Knight’s logo could be seen everywhere, not to mention the fact that every kid on my block seemed to be dressed up that October like Batman or the Joker as we went door to door, ritually begging for our annual allotment of free candy.

 

The success of that Batman movie over twenty years ago put a spotlight on geek culture.  You see, up until that point, Batman, Robin, Superman, and other comic heroes were for nerds.  But in 1989, they became an integral part of mainstream America.  It seemed that for the first time, my friends and everyone else in Junior High agreed on something—we all knew…really knew…that Batman was cooler than Madonna, Depeche Mode, and all 5 of the New Kids on the Block combined.  At the time, I thought that a new page had been turned in the comic book world and that the future of superheroes was bright, even for a character as ‘dark’ as Batman.  I was certain that Batman was only the beginning…and that a new generation of awesome and innumerable superhero movies was soon to follow.

 

That’s why what happened next was so sad.  Despite 1989’s promise of an updated, cooler Caped-Crusader, in subsequent years, the image and fame of Batman devolved.  Personally, I blame a series of lackluster movies with predictable plots in which Batman, Robin, and Catwoman squared off with unimpressive villains such as Mister Freeze, the Penguin, and Poison Ivy.  The next generation of Batman failed to impress the masses…leaving the public bored and us hopeful nerds no better off than we were before.

 

Perhaps it is the ‘Batman trauma’ of my youth that has left me feeling so tentative about the emerging hype that beginning to surround the next generation of assessments that are the focus of much of the educational conversation across the nation.  When I got in to education over a decade ago, it seemed that assessment was already enjoying its moment of stardom under The No Child Left Behind Act (2001).  At the time, policy seemed to be aimed at supporting standards-based education reform by establishing measurable goals, and of course…by seeking to improve student achievement on the assessments used to evaluate them.  In other words, our nation hoped to improve education in the form of annual testing, academic progress, report cards, teacher qualifications, and funding changes.

 

But over the years that followed, the country’s initial sense of urgency seem to fizzle out, much like America’s obsession with Batman did back in the eighties.   Education reformists and assessment nerds ended up no better off than any of us comic book geeks.  Despite our country’s initial fervor and effort to improve education, after a few years, all that was left seemed to be sub-par annual tests sprinkled and a few lingering conversations about transparency and accountability.  While all of these are necessary components of education, so far they have failed to spur any significant and lasting improvements.  But in the next few years, that is likely to change.

 

Initially, conversations around the Common Core standards overshadowed the other elephant in the room—assessment.  Specifically, how can we ensure that each state isn’t just testing students,

There are times when I am really glad that we have tests…and lots of them. For example, those who know me best are aware that I am absolutely, positively terrified of flying.  My friends and family try to tell me that it is irrational to get so nervous on a plane, and that ‘statistically speaking, it’s still the safest way to travel.’  First of all, I have had a hard time finding the exact numbers that back this claim up.  Second of all, that statement was initially made by Superman—who not only possesses the ability to fly, but also happens to be indestructible if he somehow starts to fall tens-of thousands of feet to his doom.

 

It’s simple, really.  If I have engine trouble in my old Honda civic with nearly 200,000 thousand miles on it, I merely pull over to the side of the road and get some assistance.  If the plane I’m flying in, however, has engine trouble, that isn’t really an option.  Since I’m not the Man of Steel, chances are that the ground and I are going to meet, and…that it will be very, very messy.  What little comfort I can give myself as I hyperventilate into a little bag the during take-off, landing (and virtually every step in between), comes because I know that the pilot I have entrusted my life to…is no dummy.  And…that he or she has proven it on test, after test, after test.

 

The education and assessment of commercial pilots is a model of rigor and relevance if ever there was one.  Those of us who have recently received or renewed a driver’s license, might have some small glimpse of what it is like for a pilot.  Usually to pass a state driver’s test, you have demonstrate mastery of rudiments such as signaling, steering, breaking, three point turns, and parallel parking.  In other words, we are granted carte blanche on the road by merely demonstrating mastery of a few, basic skills that make it a little less-likely that we won’t hurt ourselves or others.

 

But no real assessment, let alone training, is given on how to minimize the effects of others’ stupidity and other factors beyond our own control.   For example, whether we should brake or accelerate in a split-second when trying to avoid a collision.  Or, how to regain control if we start to skid or hydroplane.  Even how to minimize damage to ourselves and others when a collision is unavoidable.  These are necessary, life saving skills that do not appear in any driver’s education study guides or on the Department of Motor Vehicle’s tests.  But that is not the case…if you are learning to be a pilot.

 

According to USA Today and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, pilots go through a rigorous training and certification processes. They are screened are rescreened—trained and retrained—not only in takeoff, flight, instrumentation, navigation, and landing, but also in what to do when something goes terribly wrong (Loewentheil, 2013).  You see, when airplanes crash, it’s usually because a bunch of unexpected things go wrong all at once, or one after another (Newman, 2009).  During flight, the difference between success and failure—and between life or death—is rigorous training and assessment.

 

This became apparent a few years ago when Flight 1549 left LaGuardia and lost power in both engines, allegedly because a few birds were sucked in to the plane’s intake.  ‘Statistically speaking,’ to borrow some words from Superman, it should have ended in a catastrophe for the crew, the passengers, and the numerous citizens of New York and New Jersey below.    But thank goodness for tests.  You see, according to author and pilot Lynn Spencer, “pilots don’t spend their training time flying straight and level”.  Instead, “In simulator training, we’re doing nothing but flying in all sorts of emergencies. Emergencies become just another set of procedures when repeated...