Saying “No” to regular full-group discussions

Well, I have argued with the best over this one! I am talking about exemplary and well-loved teachers and program consultants, literally the best colleagues I and our students could ever ask for. But I still feel I have to speak up on behalf those who are a) gifted, b) hyper, c) visual learners, and likely others.

The trend over the past few years towards group chats and activities ranging from Number Talks to Gallery Walks, has the potential to alienate learners, and in my view, goes against the imperative for differentiation.

As a learner, I have a bit of a), b) and c) above, and spent the vast majority of my elementary school years trying to avoid going there, and hating it while I was there. From story time on the carpet, to oral reading where the teacher called on everyone in order to read a paragraph, this was the stuff of nightmares for me. Literally.

The crippling boredom combined with the threat of dire consequences fill these years with bad memories… and stomach aches:)

I know we no longer threaten our students, but I wonder about the long-term impact of the constant re-direction of the same students, day after day, for these activities.

My first discussion on this topic occurred quite a few years ago when, as a Grade 8 teacher, I was invited to a math curriculum meeting on the subject of Number Talks. It was before the term was popularized, but that was the gist of it. I simply could not believe that after enthusiastically honing my DI skills for the previous several years, that I would be asked to do this group activity. In my naivety, I asked the consultant if there were groups with different, related questions. No! He was horrified. He then swore that all students of all abilities would relish the presentation and discussion of a wide variety of solutions and ideas.

I have to say now (though I held my tongue in the meeting, as I was obviously the odd one out), this is complete and utter hogwash!

In our fictional Number Talk, there will always be a sub-set of students who have instantly seen and processed every single option within one minute of the task being assigned, and for whom the remaining allotted time is both wasted and disliked. This is especially true in primary and junior situations where the prompts are often quite closely defined. For these students this occurs every single day, all year long. We cannot fool ourselves. For these kids, that period of time is dreaded.

As is a read-aloud, as is shared reading, as is a gallery walk with an extended discussion of what was observed.

I am certainly not blaming teachers for following a recommended strategy, and for excelling at it. And the benefits for some students are real.

But I also see small reading groups formed to scaffold the skills of readers at similar levels. How humane. How effective. Why have we rejected this approach in other subject areas?

In the meantime, we need to ask ourselves about negative behaviours that we see and respond to on a daily basis. And take steps to make learning a positive experience for all.

Assessing Coding in the Classroom

Probably the number one two question I get! “But how do I assess this?”

Right after: “This is fun, but I have a curriculum to teach…”

Here are some thoughts that I hope will help educators gain the confidence to integrate coding throughout the curriculum.

Mathematical processes

So… my first question is, are you assessing these at the present time? Would you like to? In the front matter of the Ontario math curriculum document we find a set of seven mathematical processes students need to learn and apply as they work to achieve the expectations outlined within the five strands. The need to highlight these process expectations arose from the recognition that students should be actively engaged in applying these processes throughout the math program, rather than in connection with particular strands.

The mathematical processes that support effective learning in mathematics are as follows:

• problem solving

• reasoning and proving

• reflecting

• selecting tools and computational strategies

• connecting

• representing

• communicating

It is a simple but creative process to develop a rubric for observing these processes in a class of students working on coding projects.

Curriculum expectations

Given the range of coding activities now available - Hour of Code, Scratch, robotics devices, Swift Playgrounds – it is very easy to pick any subject and see how a wide range of expectations can be met, from Art to Math to Language and more.

Looking at the primary math curriculum for example, in Math alone, we see expectations for estimation, positional language, addition and subtraction, drawing simple maps, and using a grid to show movement. Once you have taught your students how to use the menus in Scratch or Scratch Jr, you will see how effective a game can be as a learning activity or as consolidation in any subject.

Global Competencies, or Deeper Learning

Recently Steven Floyd posed the following suggestion on Twitter:

 

Here is a link to the provincial discussion document: 21^st Century Competencies.

Board Improvement Plan

If you are with the Near North District School Board, our Multi-Year Plan highlights the value in linking to deeper learning and global competencies in the following two sections:

Achieving Excellence

“Develop and promote deeper learning competencies”

Excellence in Teaching and in the Learning Environment

“The Near North District School Board is committed to creating opportunities for students to develop the skill and knowledge to learn effectively and live productively in an increasingly global and digital world.”

Cathy Montreuil

Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Student Achievement Officer Ontario Ministry of Education

Cathy has addressed the TELT Contacts on more than one occasion, and each time she has a powerful message. In one, she summed it up as “Don’t wait for us!” Our curriculum is a large and complex series of documents that takes years to update. Teachers can feel comfortable in integrating coding as a valuable teaching tool, without this being spelled out in the documents.

2016 Ministry Statement on Coding

Ontario Helping Students Learn To Code

Ministry Resource for integrating coding

Coding in Elementary

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Don't Be A Wolf!

This year, we had the idea to do a "homegrown, local, keynote extravaganza" as the launch to this year's summer institute, ReFresh, which was held yesterday.

Several of us, from our own board, volunteered to speak briefly, with a personal slant, on the topic of Collective Efficacy. John Hattie has identified this attribute as the one with the single highest effect factor, and we wanted to focus on several aspects of Collective Efficacy, based on a recent book by Jenni Donohoo. Below are my remarks...

Good morning everyone! My name is Anne Shillolo and I am the TELT contact for the east and west, and a program coordinator. My topic, as part of our amazing local keynote extravaganza, is Culture of Collaboration – Focus on Instructional Improvement.

FIRST SLIDE - ME

Let’s begin with a look at me, early in my career. As an aside, this is probably the first known selfie of me. But I could just as easily have depicted myself as this:

SECOND SLIDE - WOLF

I totally admit that I was a lone wolf. Uh, next, I was going to say, raise your hand if … but I won’t:) Because, I know this room is filled with people who harbour a small part of themselves that totally loves the independence of the job. We take pride in the work we put into our program, into making personal connections with individual students in order to learn how they learn, our intense work to do our absolute best by each and every student we teach.

THIRD SLIDE - ME

So over the years, there certainly have been some changes for me, and not just the picture! Looking back, I can easily pinpoint two projects that turned me in a 180 as far as my approach and beliefs.

FOURTH SLIDE – EDUBLOGS LOGO

My first experience where I felt that I was truly working as part of the team was about 10 years ago, as a member of a TLLP project on blogging. I was sort of the project leader. This was because I had approximately five minutes of experience with blogging. I had responded to someone’s blog - once. So as you can imagine we were all more or less on an equal footing!

However, what changed my outlook as a lone wolf for once and for all was the fact that TLLP paid for our group to meet once a month. This helped us learn together, share our questions, brainstorm about solutions, and come up with creative ideas for the use of our amazing school blog. People became comfortable with the collaboration that was going on. It helped us take some very big strides forward with educational technology. And by spring, other teachers in the building were asking for access to our blog site, to incorporate these activities into their own practice, because they could see both the pedagogical value of what we were doing and the level of student engagement. PAUSE In hindsight however, I can really see that we were at a disadvantage by not knowing the CI structure.

FIFTH SLIDE

But, a few years later the next big project that we undertook at our school was a killer CI, if I do say so! Of course, it was not perfect, as it was our first one. But it was truly memorable for all of us. For me, once again it was the availability of release time for co-planning and a timetable that accommodated co-teaching that made all the difference. As well, because the focus was on writing, and the room was full of very experienced writing teachers, the exchange of ideas from a planning, teaching and assessment perspective was tremendous. With all that insight, based on years of experience, we also had a strong sense of our goal and what an improvement in student achievement would look like. Our discussions were certainly not framed in an academic sense by the concept of "collective efficacy – culture of collaboration focused on instructional improvement," but that is exactly what we were doing, and, to me, why the project was so meaningful.

SIXTH SLIDE - WOLF

So, in conclusion, I challenge you all to kiss your inner wolf goodbye. I also challenge you to do better than I did. Ten years have gone by since that first TLLP and we can all benefit from what we have learned during that time. Be more intentional than we were. Gather more data. Join many professional learning communities, both in person and online. But above all, each year, value your school-based colleagues and dream big - together!

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