Administrators: Thing Three

As the curators of school culture, building and district administrators can use blogging as a means to foster healthy conversation. Dissent is welcomed, so long as the conversation, on both sides of an issue, is civil. I was drawn in to Kimberly Moritz's blog (Superintendent of a district in Western NY) because of the dialogue that people are invited to do as she shares what's happening in the district, such as the great work by a 7th grade math class in What is a prism? (Check out the student videos), and especially initiatives, which leads to discussions about Resistance to Change. This blog exemplifies the productive power of involving community into curricular thinking.

Teachers: Thing 3

The EduBlogger has a an interesting list of blogs to explore. It also has tools of its own that I found interesting, such as the rss Tweets. That could be great for announcements or an information source to provide like news sites. I was particularly interested in the primary grade sites because it's intriguing to see how younger kids could be included. Some interesting approaches includes Receptions--Room 25@Willunga Primary, Wojtera's Words, and Mrs. McDonald's Blog.

Blogging with students, and for supporting student learning is one way to develop 21st Century skills. Take traditional essays, opinions, and multimedia projects that occur in classrooms, and post them on a classroom blog, or a blog maintained by each student. The conversation opportunities are enormous. Feedback is considered to be one of the top ways to improve student learning ("Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback",Classroom Instruction that Works, Marzano, Pickering, and Pollock). Security can be a concern, except that many blog sites have security tools that, for example, only allow posts by registered users, or users who have been approved or screened by the blogger. Teachers might use a blog to provide information or incorporate activities and resources for students and parents.

Administrators: Thing One and Two

Instructional leaders and Servant Leaders are critical to the progress and success of learning institutions. Whether school culture is top down, bottom up, or flattened, the work begins with the leader who is responsible for the caretaking of the culture, and progress of mission and school improvement. Web 2+ tools are pervasive in the lives of students, outside the school doors. Bringing those tools in, as 23 Things would show, can dramatically impact learning and instructional practices.

A Vision of K-12 Students Today

21st Century Skills are critical for students to develop. For this to happen, school staff need to master the same skills set. Incoming new teachers do come with a technology skills set, and perhaps including Web 2+ tools. But the culture of schools tend to be early 20th Century institutions where collaboration and communication among staff and the global society is in its infancy. How can we as leaders build a 21st Century skills based culture? Part of the answer is to model and walk the walk. 23 Things will provide some answers.

Vision for Technology in K-12 Education

Blogs can be an effective tool for adult learning. 23 Things is an obvious example. As a leader of a writer's group, I developed a writer's version of 23 things, modeled from 23 Things for Teachers. As school leaders, the same can be done for staff, developed alone, or better yet, collaboratively with school improvement or other teams. I look forward to seeing more of how 23 Things can be used by administrators.

Teachers: Thing 1 and 2

21st Century skills are crucial today. Collaboration and communication skills are honed by practice within the global society. Students generally use the technology tools with intuitive efficiency and understanding outside of school. Harnessing those skills in academic curriculum would seem liberating for instruction. The video Pay Attention is excellent. It continues to be required viewing for anyone with doubts about why technology is important to developing 21st Century skills. Another video that goes to the heart of instructional needs is: A Vision of K-12 Students Today. 

When I last explored these concepts, it was as freshman exploring a new world. Now as a wise-fool (sophomore), I'm looking for the layers. 21st Century skills are the venue through which technology (Web 2+) can be efficiently integrated into teaching and learning.

Thing Two (reprise)

When I first started this blog, I wasn't sure where it would go. 

Now, the focus is rooted in exploring concepts and ideas about education. Why? To ask questions and make decisions through the filter of "What's best for all..." learners. I'm exploring other blog ideas. Yet I find staying consistent with this one is about all the real demand I can maintain for the moment.

23 Things for Teachers and 23 Things for Administrators

Learning is in part a cyclical process. I will be reengaging 23 Things for Teachers to analyze, what I hope to discover, that my understanding has deepened from a year ago. Also, I want to support my colleagues as we dialogue on supporting 21st Century Skills that students need to develop and refine. 23 Things for Administrators is an opportunity to study the nuances for how Web 2.0, and by extension 21st Century Skills, can be used to support their work as leaders. For administrators who live up to or aspire to become Instructional Leaders, or Servant Leaders, to foster growth in their staff, Web 2.0 tools are means to forward student learning-centered agendas.

I will continue to post about educational contexts, other than Web 2.0 tools. The vision is not abandoned or remotely set aside. While we strive for What's Best for All, this forum will continue to further that cause.

The Leader in Me -- Stephen Covey

Trained in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, I've read Stephen Covey's thinking and watched him on several videos, never imagining that I'd ever be in the same room. Thursday night at the Galileo Teacher Leadership  (Ning site) sponsored event, I had the experience of seeing and listening to Stephen Covey in person. Of course there were about 400 other people in the room living the same dream, which did not lose any of the impact.

Much of what Dr. Covey discussed revolved around Habit 5: Seek to Understand Before Being Understood. A part of his current work seems to be about teaching world leaders and business executives about how to be an effective listener. He uses a Talking Stick, from Native American tradition, where whoever has the stick gets to communicate until they feel understood. Only then is the stick passed on to another person to focus on their needs. Reminds me much from 7 Norms for Collaboration from the Center for Adaptive Schools (Model), which fits with the work of Cognitive Coaching.

Empathic Listening by Stephen Covey

Up to this point, I felt affirmed in the approaches I take in the work that I do. The transformational moment began when the focus turned to The Leader in Me (Sample Chapter). In over 300 schools, the Covey team is helping implement 7 Habits as part of school culture and academic curriculum. 7 Habits is so important in the adult world that it is surprising that it's taken until now that a serious effort is being made to empower children with a similar understanding and way of living. The people in Decatur Public Schools say it well for themselves:

FranklinCovey's The Leader In Me Video Preview: Thoughts on The 7 Habits

This 3 part process begins with the staff.

1. Train them on the Habits and how to implement in their school and classroom.
2. Teach children the Habits and how to implement it in their school life.
3. The children bring the Habits home, and through their actions teach their parents.

Some of the Habits exist in many of the schools I work with in an informal way. Embedding them as a visible part of thinking and empathic decision making could be transformational. I am inspired to explore more deeply the work of The Leader in Me.

PBL and Differentiated Instruction

Question from a Teacher:
Can you differentiate Project-Based Instruction (PBL)? Could I see some tangible examples?

Project-Based Learning is a great instructional vehicle, within which differentiated instruction can be effective. The core of PBL planning is:

1. Identify the learning targets
2.  Develop the supporting assessment
3.  Lesson planning

a.       What supports are needed for struggling learners?

b.      What supports are needed for advanced learners?

Standards-Focused PBL incorporates 21^st Century skills, such as collaboration, communication, research, problem-solving, independent, and technology literate. There are many ways to incorporate these skills in learning, and support of learners.

Video Examples from Edutopia and Youtube:

Project Learning Introduction

Project Learning Overview (extended)

5 Year Olds Pilot their own Project Learning

How do I observe My world

Here are some resources to review:

• Leading Project Based Learning
  Provides a tutorial on PBL which when completed, educators have a PBL unit ready to implement. Also worthwhile is the PBL Resources section that includes a Video Library.
  
• Buck Institute
  This is an important location for getting professional learning, databases, and PD support. Many PBL institutions and schools have their roots from the Buck Institute. The non-profit organization is an international leader in PBL.
  
• Differentiation in Practice (Books)
  --Carol Ann Tomlinson and Caroline Cunningham Eidson. Differentiation in Practice: A Resource Guide for Differentiating Curriculum, Grades K-5 (2003)
  --Carol Ann Tomlinson and Caroline Cunningham Eidson. Differentiation in Practice: A Resource Guide for Differentiating Curriculum, Grades 5–9 (2003)
  --Carol Ann Tomlinson and Cindy A. Strickland. Differentiation in Practice: A Resource Guide for Differentiating Curriculum, Grades 9–12 (2005) 

These 3 books are an excellent resource for examples of high quality units that incorporate Differentiated Instruction effectively. It includes valuable teacher reflections about why and how the units were developed, and the effectiveness of the units. Each unit includes a unit outline, the lessons, and related materials needed to implement. The books are best used by teachers who have a basic understanding of Differentiated Instruction and/or quality unit design.