Sharing? Or Bragging?

Like many teachers who share what they do with the world, I've been accused of bragging...

When I started blogging a couple years ago, I searched for good blogs by teachers that I could follow (via feedly, my favorite feed reader). One of the blogs I stumbled upon was Silvia Tolisano's Langwitches blog. Tolisano is really, really dedicated to the idea that teachers should document what they're doing, and then share it with the world, even if they get accused of bragging for doing so. She even argues that teachers have an obligation to share, and that there's more to gain than lose by doing so. 

Of course, it's hard and it takes time, and somehow, while getting teachers to share what they do with each other ought to be one of the main points (if not THE point) of professional development, it never happens often enough. 

When teachers are able to share ideas on their own, outside the framework of PD, it's probably most effective.  --Or is it? You bump into so-and-so in the copy room who has a great idea you want to try, and you agree to talk more later, but it almost never happens... You forget, or you're too busy, and a whole year goes by without the two of you getting together to share that great idea.

And then there's that whole Midwestern inferiority complex to deal with: if you share what you're doing, either in person, or by giving a presentation, or by constantly emailing your colleagues with links to articles, videos of your students, blog posts (including ones you've written yourself), etc, then you're going to seem like you're bragging. --And we Midwesterners don't do that, except when we do, because we feel so inferior to the rest of the world.... (Insecurity is the flip-side of bravado, as I will be the first to admit.)

Another great blogger I follow (Richard Byrne of Free Technology for Teachers) passes on the message of Derek Sivers to remind us that "what's obvious to you, is amazing to someone else." We all should be sharing our ideas and lessons with each other a lot more than we do, even when we feel we have nothing to offer, even if we fear we might be bragging by doing so. What we share with each other might have a significant impact on others that we can't even imagine.

Last year, when I offered to film a few classes so that other folks could see what I was doing with student-led discussions, I didn't know then that I'd be giving a presentation at MAIS on the topic several months later. I also didn't know I'd be giving that presentation again in-house, or that I'd be asked to give it yet again next fall at the ISACS Conference. [As it turns out, my proposal wasn't accepted!] There's a ripple effect to sharing, as Tolisano points out. Maybe those student-led discussions are good; maybe they're just hot air, but if my sharing gets even one teacher to think twice and try something--anything--new, then it's worth it.

If nothing else, I've been having good--if far too brief--conversations with some of my colleagues as a result of this work. I look forward, for instance, to talking more with Johnathan Woodward about how he's organzing his student-led discussions (and how he gets the Spanish club to do such amazing things), with Lori Durant and Nate Mattson about their experiences with minecraft and gamification. I wish I knew how Anita Larson and Brianne Vigen set up their Salon days. I wish I had time to go through my entire curriculum with Matt Whittaker--and maybe that can be arranged, actually...

But in the meantime, I'm going to keep on bragging, I mean, sharing. --And you should, too! If nothing else, please contribute something to Whittaker's "Great Lessons" Archive. If it helps, pretend that it's called the "Probably Mediocre Lessons" Archive. 

Don't let me win his "Best Lesson" contest by default! (If I do, I'm going to use that $100 prize to make some of you share what you do.)

Pacing and Intensity

Here's a clip from 2A English 12 (forgive the audio quality). One of the things I like about this clip is that while the quality of the conversation is pretty good, the pace is also relaxed. Some times, these discussions are really intense and fast-paced. Sometimes, they're more relaxed and the students dig a bit deeper into the issues that come up. 

You can't really tell from this clip that there's a time-limit on this conversation, nor can you tell that the students are multi-tasking (by using the GoogleChat function while also talking face-to-face). 

Sometimes students say that these discussions feel scripted, and that is a risk, but I also think that our students aren't used to consciously and actively preparing for discussions. They're perhaps used to thinking of discussions as totally accidental and unpredictable, and so when they've actually prepared, then they feel as though the conversation is scripted. Sometimes, we do stumble on unexpected topics and discussions take an unusual turn, but it's also okay if students just work on articulating and organizing their thoughts about the reading...

"Do you agree or disagree?"

Some Student Responses

Some time ago, I asked my students to reflect on their experiences with the Student-Led Discussions we've been having all year. Some students don't like them, of course, and some find them stressful, and indeed a good Complex Fishbowl Discussion is pretty intense. At one point, long before I asked the students to do this reflection exercise, one student (I can't remember who) said, "I feel like our classes are really productive." That made me pretty happy. Of course, not all discussions are truly productive. My one section that really struggles often tells me they felt we had a good discussion when in fact I know they could have done much better. As part of the "homework" I gave to my attendees at MAIS, I provided some links to student reflections. Those links are below:

• these two students feel they struggle (but only one does)
• these two feel they’ve made progress (and they have)
• these two are confident, and rightly so
• these two international students have struggled (one more than the other)

I hope to do more with reflection exercises next year.

Group-Grading: A Work in Progress

One of my classes is really struggling with the group-graded Fishbowl discussions. They would be really happy if I just let them have Simple Circle discussions for the rest of the year. That would be easy and simple.

This group of students seems very reluctant to problem-solve their way out of an impasse. I can think of several strategies they might use to improve their performance as a group. Should I tell them what those strategies are? 

I have, at times, given them class-time to hash out new strategies, but they don't really talk to each other in the right ways during these sessions. If they honestly assessed their own strengths and weaknesses and then did some strategic thinking about how to use their strengths to compensate for their weaknesses, they could improve. A few (perhaps not enough) of these students are accomplished athletes, and I'm surprised that they haven't transferred their skills from one domain to another...

But they'd have to get past thinking like individuals who are competing with each other for the best grades ... they'd have to truly pool their insights and skills. They'd have to see themselves as a team.

What I'm assessing, along with their critical thinking and reading skills, is the overall quality of the conversation and the demonstrated teamwork of the group. 

And, as I found out during parent-conferences, some parents don't yet understand the direction we're moving in. I had a frustrated parent ask me, "Why are you teaching collaboration in English class?" I wanted to say, but didn't: "Why aren't we teaching collaboration in all classes?"

Too many of our students are still passive learners. We have a ways to go if we're going to change that.  

While I won't be giving up on group grades for discussions, I may experiment next year with combining individual grades and group grades in both Simple Circles and Fishbowls. I also plan to have the  Outer Circle from the Fishbowl help me assess the quality of the Inner Circle's discussion...

Observation Dates: An Open Invitation

My English 12 students are beginning to read Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones. If anyone would like to stop in and observe our Complex Fishbowl student-led discussions, please note the dates below. (This is the last sequence of student-led discussions for the year, apart from a very few in May.) 

We start each class-period with an assessment of some kind. These take anywhere from 30 to 40 minutes at the start of the class period, so if you want to observe the discussions, please try to arrive by 9 for the 1B class, by 11 for the 2A class, or by 2 for the 4B class. Barring any unforeseen events or special schedules, the available dates are below:

1B: 9-9:50 on 3/13, 3/17, 3/23, 3/25, 3/27, and 3/31.

2A: 11-12 on 3/16, 3/18, 3/24, 3/26, 3/30, and 4/1.

4B: 2-3:05 on 3/13, 3/17, 3/23, 3/25, 3/27, and 3/31.

Because State Music contest is happening on March 16th & 17th, we may have to revert to Simple Circle discussions on those days, so if you want to see how that format works, those are the likely days.

If you bring your device, I can share the students' prep-doc with you so you can see how they use it, as well as the chat function, during the discussion. 

In the 1B class, we're experimenting with gendered discussion groups, as this class has struggled with group-dynamic issues. The girls have also decided they want to try using TodaysMeet as a second (& public) back-channel; I will project it on the screen as they discuss the reading for the first couple sessions. If they like it, we'll stick with it; if they don't, we won't!

You don't have to stay for a full hour, though you are welcome to do so. I think it takes about 30-40 minutes to get a real feel for the format, but pop in or out whenever you need/want to. 

You don't have to know anything about the novel to get a sense of how discussions like these could work in your class or your discipline!

I have told the students we may have visitors, so don't be shy!

MAIS 2015 Presentation: Student-Led Discussions

This is my presentation for the 2015 MAIS Conference. Obviously, it doesn't give you access to what I said during the presentation, but you should be able to access all the links from here.

I used Slides.com (at the suggestion of Mr Mattson) because it's one of the few free presentation vehicles that allows embedding of non-YouTube videos. I'm also proud of using my first QR code! (Thanks to Señor Woodward for that tip!)

What Do We Want For Our Students?

I teach seniors, mainly, so I really want to make sure they're prepared for the college classroom. I don't want them to be the shy student I was. I don't want them to have the problems that these college students at Stanford have. [Update: Sometimes, the video below goes offline; it's usually temporary, so check back in a few days, if it's not available.]

Adina Glikman. Raise Your Hand. The Resilience Project. Online Video. Stanford University, 27  Jan. 2015. Web. 7 Feb. 2015.

Instead, I want them to have the confidence to speak up in class, to take ownership of their learning. I want them to be like these students in Alexis Wiggins's class.

Alexis 7 minutes 2012b from Authentic Education on Vimeo.

I want my students to be able to do this:

And this:

And this: