Learning Environments: A Student's Avenue to Thrive or be Squelched

The topic of space within schools has been one on my mind quite a bit lately. The main reason being that our school is in the midst of a building project. We have had to get a little creative when it comes to using the space we have and been getting creative in terms of what it would look like if we added on to our existing building. Teachers have been providing input in regards to the set up of where rooms are placed and how space is used. A second reason is because of a webinar I watched recently led by Danish Kurani. Danish is an architect who seeks to create sustainable schools that are designed to prepare students well by providing learning spaces designed to meet the function of the task. Out of these two experiences stems a lot of different ideas as to how space should be used and who should get what. What it all boils down to though is the following:

How a classroom or school is physically set up tells a lot about how the teacher or school views the students.  

Are rooms in the shape of nice boxes with long, narrow hallways going to each room to keep students in a nice straight line when they go from room to room where they stay for the whole day or for a set period of time?  Within the rooms, are desks in a straight line, facing the whiteboard, so that students can clearly see the teacher up front?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dcjohn/74907741

Or are desks arranged in groups, so students are sometimes facing each other and able to talk with one another?

https://mrtylerslessons.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/7-my-classroom-august-2013.jpg

Or are there tables in the room that students sit around, creating less of a mindset of "my spot"?

http://www.foursquarefurniture.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/school-hushboard1-725x484.jpg

Or, does your room model the one below, with many different learning areas available depending on what is needed for the task?

https://processofliving.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/21st-century-classroom-2.jpg

The adage "form follows function" is a key one when it comes to designing learning environments for students. What is the function of what you are trying to do as a teacher for your students? Are you trying to teach them how to sit straight and learn everything from your mouth? Or are you trying to have them collaborate and share with one another? Or are you needing to have some of both? 

A room does not, and most likely cannot be all the learning environments a student should have in order to be successful. A school should, however, strive to provide different areas throughout the school where different environments can be available to learn depending on the task. Is there an area where students can present to each other what they have learned? Is there a collaboration space? Is there a "big board" where brainstorming can happen? Are there places that look like places in the real world that students can interact with to allow life skills to start developing at a young age? Teachers are often too possessive of "their space" and are unwilling to give up the space they call home. Sharing spaces and physical resources does not happen as much as it probably should. If the focus is on the students, spaces should be a little more flexible and willing to change to fit the need. Student learning should not expect to happen at a high level in the same room and same set up every single day of the entire school year. 

Keep the focus on the students. What do they need to be successful and how can the environment be shaped in order to best allow that to happen?

Module 4 Reflection

DCSM4T Module 4 Reflection

4 weeks...just like that the class is over! It went by very quick, but not without a lot of good information and learning happening along the way. 

The biggest takeaway for me will be the use of Twitter. I had been on Twitter as one who took information from it, mostly following new stories or sports stories with a few education related people/organizations thrown in. All of these were mainly there for me to read up on if I felt a need to. After going through this course and learning about a PLN and finding the value in Twitterchats, I will be more of a producer on Twitter! There are so many people out there to connect with, and Twitter is a phenomenal resource to do just that, connect! I hope to continue my use of Twitter and continue to make valuable connections on it.

This blog is another tool I will commit to using. The blog provided a forced reflection :) Whenever I do sit down to think and reflect, I find it valuable, having a blog will provide more of an opportunity for that to happen and hopefully more growth results as well!

The digital footprint aspect of the course definitely made my use of social media change. I can control what I put on social media, so why not make sure there is a good footprint of me out there? With actions I can control, I need to make sure there is a good output with what I do share. Using Twitter well and posting relevant blogs will allow for a positive digital footprint.

The biggest challenge...time :) Life is full, but figuring out what priorities are will allow for the important things to get done and get done well.

Thanks #DCSM4T!

Rick Wormeli Summary/Response

The school I teach at recently attended a 1 day conference to listen to one of the current gurus in the field of education, Rick Wormeli. Rick is a phenomenal presenter and will keep viewers engaged throughout his whole day seminar though his quick wit, humor, references to movies/songs, dance moves, and his constant movement up front and in the crowd. This keeps those viewing watching intently and waiting to hear the next words to come out of his mouth. Oh, and it doesn't hurt that he is extremely passionate and about what he is talking about!

The following is a snapshot of some of a couple topics he talked about: Homework and Assessment.

Standards Based Grading

Homework

Homework is a time for students to practice the learned material. If students do not know how to do the homework, they should not have to do it because “practice makes permanent.” In addition, because it is a time for students to be practicing, homework should not be graded. Homework will will include multiple attempts and failures before it is learned well. This is one aspect I really like. I believe each students is unique and made in God's image, therefore they will not all learn at the same rate. We differentiate the content, product, and process, but why should we still think that all students will learn it at the same speed. Students are not all the same, so why should they be expected to learn it at the same rate?

Assessing

Wormeli’s overall purpose of assessing students is a way for teachers to provide communication to them about where they are in terms of where they are going. Rick stresses that schools should be assessing based on the standard the work is connected to. This way there is no false reporting of a grade, and it can be easily seen how well a student has learned a specific standard. Because of this, schools need to shift their focus to be criterion referenced, not norm-referenced. Basing a student on where he/she is at in comparison to other students does not necessarily show how well material is learned, instead it shows how well material was learned compared to how well everyone else learned it. By assessing based on a set criteria, the standards, all students are compared to a set standard and measured by it, not each other.

Averaging grades to calculate a final grade really does not make sense in Standards-Based Grading. If, again, we see that homework is used to practice and we do not expect every student to learn the concept at the exact same time (they are all unique, made in God’s image, and not 100% alike, correct) then why penalize them for not knowing it as well at the beginning of the year if now, towards the end, they do know it well?

  

Dordt College Social Media For Teachers: Module 3 Reflection

Connectivism 

For a nice overview of connectivism, watch this YouTube video.

For my first reactions to connectivism, read on. Know that they are my first reactions, and I am always learning about what it is and how it looks!

To me, the idea of connectivism makes a lot of sense. When I do not know the answer to something or a problem arises that I have not experienced before, I will immediately do a google search. Watching the video above showed some of the same experiences that I have when online. I will read an article, see comments, click on another link within the article, watch a video on that new site. Before I know it, I have gone to 4 different places to learn more information on a certain topic. It is something that comes natural to me when learning about something new. Connectivism, to me, seems like an individual way of constructivism. A person is interacting with ideas to learn more about it. It is self paced and self motivated.

Now...does that make it a learning theory? If a learning theory describes how information is learned or absorbed, then I would have to say yes, it is. So what would be better ways to make this connectivism learning theory work better? The person who is searching needs to be more conscious that it is a time where learning is going to happen. Don't just get connected to quick learn the answer and then jump out, devote the time you are using when connected to make it stick so that the next time you do not have to do the same thing again to learn it.

For educators, connectivism is a key aspect of ongoing learning. With all the information out there. Conscious steps need to be taken in order to connect with the right sources and people. The social media tool I looked at this week, Periscope, is an interesting one in light of connecting parents/community members with what is going on in school, but I am not so sure it is a great one for teachers to develop ongoing professional learning. Again, I would need to explore Periscope more as well to find out if this is true, but as far as information sharing and learning more about a specific topic, I do not see it as being a "go-to" to get connected.

DCSM4T: Module 2 Reflection: Google Update

I Googled myself.

Dave Mulder Googled himself and found some things that he did not necessarily expect to see and I had the same experience. I did not expect to have sports articles from my high school career, but I did enjoy the nostalgia of reading up on some the articles I was mentioned in from high school! Not that I am that old, but it is definitely a sign of how things are permanent and that there is sometimes no control over how my name gets online.

I also ran across a personal website I made for a class at Dordt. It was interesting what I found on there. There were a few things on it that did not necessarily help my digital footprint. I had a nice little bio of me, which is obviously now outdated. Someone who looked at it could possibly think that was current, and have a very different perspective of me than what is actually true. Also, there was a list of educational websites, one of which was now an invalid link. Invalid links on websites make me agitated because I don't understand why someone would put a link on there when there is nothing to go to. Here I was doing the same thing! It looks bad on me as an educator to have a list of educational links with one of them being invalid. A final page on the site had two documents attached to it: a resume and a classroom management plan. They were quite interesting reads I must say. Again, the resume, like the bio, was quite outdated and would not allow me to have much to stand on if it were to be used for any sort of application. The classroom management plan was ok, but definitely not what I would say is true for me currently. It was great to see what I thought back then, but it looked like that document, and whole page, was who I was currently.

I deleted the page.

This aspect of my digital footprint was something I had control over, so I decided it was one that I wanted to get rid of because it no longer accurately portrayed who I was. For an updated bio, my faculty page at school is now the only thing online that tells a little bit about who I am. This is a good thing, because before it looked as though I was currently doing undergrad work at Dordt, 20 years old, and no teaching experience!

Google search now has an updated version of who I am.

Social Media For Teachers: Module 1 Reflection

Module 1: What Is Social Media?

3 things I learned:

1. How to upload a video to YouTube! I use YouTube often for viewing videos, but I have never made a video myself to upload on the site. I have recorded videos of myself speaking to send to others, but never had it up on YouTube. Once you get past the fact that you are talking to a device with no one actually listening, its not so bad :)
2. Stick with a blog post. I have had this blog site for a while, but do not always use it. I actually have a few things written that are still "drafts" and not published. I enjoy reflecting, but do not always put in all the effort to get the post finalized. So it feels good to get this one done and through doing this class I will be able to form more of a habit of posting....hopefully.
3. Fill up Twitter with people who you would like to stay connected with. I don't think it is bad to follow a bunch of people on Twitter. Obviously, you cannot read every word of every tweet and article posted, but by following people, you set yourself up for success and learning.

2 things that were confirmed:

1. The importance of a Personal Learning Network, PLN. Staying connected with people, both face-to-face and online, are important to keep up in order to continue growing as a person.
2. Being in this class was a good idea! This class will open up new ways of connecting with people and sharing ideas.

1 question I have:

1. Is it possible to be connected with too many people? The more quality connections a person makes, the more time and effort that is needed to invest and keep up those connections. 

Who Moved My Cheese? An Educator's Response

I first heard about the book Who Moved My Cheese? from a colleague who mentioned it during a meeting when mentioning how people can be resistant to change. The younger crowd of teachers kind of laughed at the idea of a book being called that and brushed it off. It was soon realized though that it was definitely a real book, and it must have some backbone to it when the premise of the book was being explained and it was recommended that we give it a read at some point! The book title easily stuck in my mind and I thought about it from time to time over the next couple of days and even gave it a few Google searches to learn a little more about the book. Within the week, I went to the library because they had a book giveaway/donation going on. As I was browsing, a book caught my eye, Who Moved My Cheese? There was no reason not to grab it, take it home as my own and give it a read. So I did.

As mentioned above, the book is meant to show how change can be a difficult thing for some people to adapt to. Change can mean more work, it can mean leaving your comfort zone and does not allow for stability. The book uses cheese as a metaphor for things we want in life such as jobs, money, houses, relationships, etc. The story revolves around 4 main characters: Sniff, Scurry, Hem, and Haw. They are out in a maze, which represents where someone spends time looking for what they want--cheese. The cheese is found at the beginning of the story and the 4 characters are enjoying their time by it, eating it, and looking at how big it is, thinking it will last forever. Soon though, the cheese runs out, but not to the surprise of Sniff and Scurry who had been paying attention to the depleting resource. Hem and Haw on the other hand, had not been paying attention to the small changes taking place, and were taken by surprise when the cheese was gone. Sniff and Scurry went out to find new cheese, but Hem and Haw did just that, hem and haw. They did not know what to do because they liked the comfort of their spot where they found the original cheese, they were scared to venture out into the unknown. Eventually, Haw decides to go out into the maze and after some time, he finds the new cheese where Sniff and Scurry also were. The story ends with a noise coming through the maze, around the corner of where the 3 are gathered. They wonder if it is Hem, but the book does not explicitly say if he made it or not. 

Throughout the story, and mainly during Hem and Haw's bantering and Haw's venturing out into the maze, quotes are on the maze walls that provide applicable pieces of advice for others looking for cheese. These quotes provide great insights to the reader as to how to think about adapting to change. 

As an educator, I definitely read the story and especially these nuggets of wisdom, with an education mindset. The book is mainly intended for the business world, but can span across many different fields. Here are some of the handwritings on the wall and how they apply to education:

Smell The Cheese Often So You Know When It Is Getting Old

How often have you been doing the same thing over and over in your classroom? Have you sniffed out any new ideas that might be better than what you currently do? Getting stuck in a rut or a routine can be a common and easy thing to do because it is safe and once the initial effort is put in, can require little upkeep. Continually looking at lessons you teach and units you go through to see what can be improved upon is a great way to smell your cheese to see if it is lacking something or if something should be taken out. If the world, technology, and students are constantly changing around us, so should our teaching methods.

Movement In A New Direction Helps You Find New Cheese

This may sound like an obvious one, but how often is it done? How often do you move in a new direction and take on a new, possibly daunting task? If you want to find a new teaching method, the next technology integrated idea, or new behavior strategy, you have to take the initiative to find it. Ideas do not just fall on your lap, get up and find the new cheese!

Noticing Small Changes Early Helps You Adapt To Bigger Changes That Are To Come

Do not just turn your head away when something you don't like happens. If you see a struggling students, put something in place to help the student so it does not become a bigger problem later. If you see a shove on the playground, do not just dismiss it thinking it will go away. If you see that technology is slowly entering into the education world, do not just push it aside because someday your classroom will be expected to be filled with it! 

Anticipate Cheese: Get Ready For the Cheese to Move

There are many changes that happen within the field of education, and they only seem to happen at quicker and quicker rates. One of the best ways to be aware of what may happen is to constantly be reading up on some of the latest ideas. There are many educational websites, blogs, and books available to keep you up on some of the latest research and ideas. Stopping at that point would not be as beneficial though as it is important to share the ideas you learned to process them better for yourself and engage in conversation with others.