Learning Conversation_ Part I

It was refreshing to hear Maureen Dockendorf, our staff development co-ordinator, (Director of Instruction), speak at our Building Leadership Capacity (BLC*) series introduction.

She encouraged us to become 'intellectual companions' that enter into 'learning conversations'. The part I liked most about her talk was the direction of the conversation. She spoke of:
Not the Knowing, but the Process of Inquiry.
Not covering the curriculum, but 'uncovering' the curriculum.
A focus in innovation and creativity… how do we model this… every day?

Maureen also spoke of the 5 needs that we (students/teachers/learners) have:
The need to feel confident,                        
The need to feel like we belong,                        
The need to be potent- feel you have made a difference,        
The need to feel useful, and                         
The need to have a sense of optimism.                       

(She identified her source for this, but I didn't write it down.) ["The reference to the needs of the 21st learner were from the former president of ASCD , Martha Bruckner." -Thanks for passing on this information in your comment Maureen.]

I think that when using technology in the classroom, it would be prudent to keep these needs in mind!

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Learning Conversations Part II

I started by saying Maureen's presentation was refreshing. I think I felt that way because when I look back at my blog, I can see parallels to what she spoke about. I think that it is significant that the Director of Instruction in our district is prioritizing these ideas when talking to teachers interested in leadership... especially as more and more pressure is being placed on districts to perform well on standardized tests. So here is my take on what Maureen said relative to what I have written about, (here in this blog so far). Also note my Meta-Analysis of these two parts below.

Not the Knowing, but the Process of Inquiry:

         
Articulate your Thinking
The BIG IDEA:
One overall school goal of"Articulate Thinking".
Building the skills necessary to develop articulate students who can express their thoughts in meaningful, articulate ways.

The Philosophical Bent:
I don't really care if my daughters, upon graduation, can identify the subordinate clause in a sentence or if they can tell me how to find the volume of a cone... I do care that they can express themselves in thoughtful, meaningful ways and demonstrate social responsibility in their decision making.

Sharing and Engaging: Web 2-point-0h-Yeah!
Vanja both wanted, and demanded a learning conversation. For me it was wonderful to see a student expecting more from her peers, or should I say, from her community of learners.
Reflections:
From Cynthia, “I learned more by sharing than by searching.”
From Mona, “You actually get to learn with each other and help others learn.”
From Lily, “It was fun doing this project and I enjoyed this kind of learning experience when you get to find your own knowledge rather than laying it all out for you. I feel that I have achieved something really good each time I've found some interesting facts on the blog and the dialogues, which made me put more time into these things. I realized that this could be another way of learning new things and also communicating with each other rather than finding information by yourself.

“How do you know when your students are learning?... When they are asking the right questions.

"the use of blogs to learn not just to teach"
I need to ask myself:
'Am I adding technology to my teaching or providing students with new learning and new ways to learn?'
'Am I creating an environment where students will express, synthesize, and reflect on their (and each other's) learning, or am I creating a new way to report out?' (A glorified poster board).
'Am I encouraging students to be lifelong learners?'

A side note: The curriculum does not come up in my line of questioning... it seems almost insignificant in this meta conversation. Does it matter what the content is, or isn't the process far more important?

I think that if we want students to be lifelong learners, and we want them to take ownership of their own learning to any extent, then subject discipline must be, at the very least, ‘loosened’ up. [Which leads us to...]

 

Not covering the curriculum, but 'uncovering' the curriculum:

               
David Warlick's K12 Online Conference Keynote (Derailing Education)
"This is why the foundation of education systems today should not be the rails, but it should be the side trips. It should not be the central standard curriculum, but it should be those directions that students, that learners, both teachers and students, can navigate to on their own." (David Warlick)

...the teacher as the compass. We point in a direction, (not necessarily the direction that the student is going), and we are a reference point or guide to the learning.  As students sail (rather than ride the rails) they must choose their destination, (what they want to learn), and tack and adjust their path as they go... using the teacher as a compass that keeps them on their 'learning' course.

The way of the teacher is a practice in trust- (Stone Soup)
"In keeping with “the Stone Soup” metaphor, the teacher brings the cauldron, builds the fire, puts the “magic” stone into the boiling water and trusts that eventually the audience will engage enough to bring their own hidden ingredients to the process." (Mia Lobel, Michael Neubauer, Randy Swedburg)

Christopher D. Sessums :: Competing Paradigms and Educational Reform
(Linked above to his post, not my short exerpt)
"The crucial elements that will sustain school improvement is not high-stakes testing, standards, or reactionary accountability programs – “it is simple human trust… that rests on four supports: respect, competency, integrity, and personal regard for others” (George 2006). "
In terms of education, the alternate paradigm acknowledges the following broad perspective:

• Curriculum is best derived from the needs and interests of the learners.
• Developmental appropriateness should supercede national assessment.

"The developmental needs for learners are widespread and cannot be easily or meaningfully reduced to a pencil-based exam."

Articulate your Thinking (again, but this time from Gary Kern)
 I would differentiate all learning, but I would try to cluster learning objectives so that teachers can continue to play a crucial role in learning and still be the main facilitator for learning.  The computer, in its ideal form, is the tool that allows us to individualize student work.  It will allow us to communicate in real time, learn in real time, and assess in real time.  It will be the lever to better learning.  Teachers, however, will need to be better than ever before. They will be the fuel for the flame.
 
...Teams of teachers would still work together to deliver the curriculum, but the interaction and model would be much different than today.  Some genius will lay out the curriculum into standards and objectives that are clear and easy to follow.  Teachers will bring the objectives to life, and technology will allow students to demonstrate their learning in ways unimaginable only a few short years ago.  Problem based learning and rich task learning will be for the masses. 

 

A focus in innovation and creativity… how do we model this… every day?

                     
Square Peg, Round Hole
Sir Ken Robinson, TedTalks: Do schools today kill creativity?  (Worth watching again!)

Many of the Square/Round Peg Students (that don't fit into our other-shaped schools) are the future thinkers/dreamers/innovators that are going to meaningfully change our world. We need to recognize their future value... We have an obligation to nurture them, and to develop their enthusiasm for learning. It isn't just about not stifling creativity or not making schools so alien... it is about creating an environment where every child can thrive...  Not making the misfits fit, but rather helping them create a space that fits them. 

Application of Constructivist Principles to the Practice of Instructional Technology

• Think in terms of designing learning environments rather than selecting instructional strategies. Metaphors are important. Does the designer "select" a strategy or "design" a learning experience? Grabinger, Dunlap, and Heath (1993) provide design guidelines for what they call realistic environments for active learning (REAL); these guidelines reflect a constructivist orientation:
  • Extend students' responsibility for their own learning.
  • Make learning meaningful.
  • Promote active knowledge construction.
• Think of instruction as providing tools that teachers and students can use for learning; make these tools user-friendly. This frame of mind is virtually the opposite of "teacher-proofing" instructional materials to assure uniform adherence to designers' use expectations. Instead, teachers and students are encouraged to make creative and intelligent use of instructional tools and resources.     (Bonnie Skaalid)

Synthesize and Add Meaning [To some extent, this fits in the above two categories as well.]

But there is a dichotomy here: Our ‘educational language’ around standardization and accountability juxtaposed with differentiation and flexibility… we seem to have two mutually exclusive camps, yet there seems to be a move to embrace both. To embrace both is to accomplish neither.

We need to be adept at creating flexible, differentiated learning environments.

We need to be computer literate, and also be able to teach a new kind of literacy. (Warlick)

We need to challenge students by asking questions, guiding their learning, and helping them to develop their own personal learning environments.

We need to teach students to synthesize information and add new meaning.

We must change what we do. (And we need visionary leaders to lead the way!)

                             
"We need visionary educational leadership that understands and effectively communicates the importance of emphasizing student CREATIVITY and the creation of original (and remixed) knowledge products." (Wesley Fryer)

A Story About A Tree
...This started out as a story about a tree, and it will end with the planting of some seeds...

How will we use the community building aspects of the internet to foster learning in schools?

How do we make schools into 'modern day' learning communities?

How do we get students to engage rather than escape?

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Meta-Analysis: Hyperlinks fuel the fire

                           

At first, this post was going to be a short reporting-out of my BLC meeting, or more specifically Maureen's talk. Then I reflected on her words and created Part II, which was going to become this post... but the process of creating Part II 'planted the seed' for this post to evolve as it has.
 
In creating Part II, I tried to put enough information into each section that it really wasn't necessary to follow a link unless the reader had a personal interest in the specific topic. The 'effort' to create this section, in itself, was a meaningful learning experience. Searching for relevant connections and following the hyper-linked-thoughts transformed the post from a simple learning conversation to multiple learning conversations... it allowed me to synthesize ideas and add meaning to the words that I originally heard at the meeting. It took hours to do this, but it was worth it - I became a participant in the learning process - I created internal learning conversations and expressed them externally here.

How does the presence of hyperlinks change the experience of this post for the reader? I can answer that for myself having been consumed by my own reading of edublogs over the past few months. The challenge I now face is being selective on which hyperlinks, which side trips, I choose to go down... this is proving to be a skill that I am learning/honing... but the decision-making process has more to do with personal interests than a logical/deductive process. In keeping with the theme of this post, the act of effectively following hyperlinks is in and of itself a process of inquiry, it requires taking tangents from the curriculum and seeking to 'uncover' what is interesting, and it requires the participant to creatively select (personal) relevance. Teaching this skill will be a challenge... one that cannot be measured by standardized tests, but will be a necessary skill for the 21st Century.

Feb. 5th... I have to add hyperlinks to this section! Jesse Lubinsky from Irvington School District in NY sent a video link to Jennifer Cronk. Her post was picked up by Will Richardson who is in my Netvibes feedreader. The video is from, "Digital Ethnography @ Kansas State University". It is a fantastic video that exemplifies how web2.0 is changing how we connect, what we do... and who we are. I have tried to 'say' things on this video... it doesn't just speak what I have tried to say, (a number of times on this blog), it breathes it!

 

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*What is the BLC series?
The Building Leadership Capacity series is open to teachers interested in both formal and informal leadership. The four sessions will focus on inquiring and exploring the building of personal leadership capacity through a variety of experiences. The series puts a high priority on opportunities for participants to talk about leadership, bringing the unique perspective of a diverse group of educational professionals together in one room (using the School District Learning Team model**).
 
**What is a Learning Team
Learning teams are small groups of educators that meet to engage in a professional growth experience focused on improving instructional practice and student learning.  Learning teams are facilitated by a variety of educators who have expertise in the topical/curricular area, and in facilitation.  Two to three hour meetings occur six times in the year and take the following format: individual write, sharing, discussion, work-time, reporting back and a commitment for the next meeting.
Learning teams offer an opportunity for teachers to meet in a meaningful learning environment. My last post on Articulate Your Thinking came out of a conversation in a learning team. They are an innovative approach to Professional Development in that they provide teachers with an opportunity to engage in 'learning conversations' that we want to have, but never seem to be able to find the time to have!

 

 

 

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School 2.0 Participant’s Manifesto    

When I enter I will be prepared to learn, to participate, to engage, to discover, to play, to inquire, to create.

We are all different. Our opinions are different. We all learn differently. Our learning will be differentiated.

Respect makes all the difference.

We are not all equal, but we must all be ethical, just and fair.

Classes are not rooms; they are learning communities.

Our community will use technology effectively, affectively and appropriately.

Curriculum describes and directs; it is not to be prescribed or directed.  

Knowledge is static. Synthesis is dynamic. We create meaning.

Collaboration is a series of learned skills.

Grades are measurements; Rubrics offer feedback.

Self-reflection is mandatory.

When I leave I will be more literate, more resourceful, more involved, more collaborative, more connected, more thoughtful and less willing to accept injustice of any kind.

I will make a positive difference in my world.

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Both paintings used with permission from the artist, Tomas Karkalas. His work can be found on two blogs Candleday as well as Captain's Bridge. The second painting, Trust Light, Tomas tells me, "was born as the reflection of “Modus Vivendi” (art therapy club of Klaipeda psychiatric hospital). Your feedback would make a day to people whom you will see here."

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Inspiration for this manifesto stemmed from reading Christopher D. Sessums' 'The Future Begins Now: School 2.0 Manifesto'... although I took a different slant.

School 2.0 on Wikispaces has a Manifesto page that includes Sessums and other worthy contributors.

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Feb. 11th, I found a list of 10 things we need to unlearn in Will Richardson's blog post. I think a number of these things 'fit' with this manifesto... Participants can't fully engage in learning, as described above, unless some things are unlearned about how schools look at and do things in the classroom. Here is Will's introduction to the 10 things we need to unlearn.

"There is no curriculum for unlearning, and, of course, in many ways it’s simply learning to see things differently or to at least be open to it. To me at least, the key is attempting to understand how these technologies can transform our own learning practice (and, I would guess, our unlearning practice as well.) If we can get started on that road, it can become much easier to re-envision our classrooms and our schools."

He ends with this one, "We need to unlearn the premise that real change can happen just by rethinking what happens inside the school walls and understand that education is now a community undertaking on many different levels."

Worth the read, and worth reflecting on!

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Read and comment on this post at the new Pair-a-Dimes location here: http://pairadimes.davidtruss.com/connectivism-conference-healthy-discord-2/

I have been participating in this on-line conference for the last few days (or rather nights!)
This is the introduction to the conference that convinced me to participate:

"The evolution of teaching and learning is accelerated with technology. After several decades of duplicating classroom functionality with technology, new opportunities now exist to alter the spaces and structures of knowledge to align with both needs of learners today, and affordances of new tools and processes.

Yet our understanding of the impact on teaching and learning trails behind rapidly forming trends. What are critical trends? How does technology influence learning? Is learning fundamentally different today than when most prominent views of learning were first formulated (under the broad umbrellas of cognitivism, behaviourism, and constructivism)? Have the last 15 years of web, technology, and social trends altered the act of learning? How is knowledge itself, in a digital era, related to learning?"

The gem of the 'Learning Conversations', that have happened so far, has been a discussion thread started by presenter Bill Kerr tittled, "a challenge to connectivism". A considerable amount of the discussion is theoretical and I will admit that some of it is 'over my head' in that I have a lack of background knowledge to fully appreciate all that is being said. What I have enjoyed in this discussion is the healthy discord that has occurred. Stephen Downes, web guru and another presenter at the conference, posted in this discussion thread, 'What Connectivism Is'. This spurred discourse after Tony Forster said in a post reply to Stephen, "I am disturbed by your statement..."

Two things have made this enjoyable:

1.  The fact that at a Connectivism conference the very definition of the topic is open for debate by the presenters. This speaks volumes to the unchartedness/ the newness of this way of connecting to one another, and it embodies the idea that knowledge is both fluid and reconstructed/remixed in this new connected world. We are continually Synthesizing and Adding New Meaning as we connect in new ways.

2.  This discourse is something that I have seldom seen in the world of educational blogs. There seems to be an unspoken etiquette about being non-confrontational when discussing ideas on other's blogs. Essentially teachers don't criticize others' opinions. Even when there is disagreement it is often polite, reserved and... well, annoying. On the other hand, there seems to be thoughtful discord and discourse happening in the Connectivism conference forums.
 
I think that our concern that discourse and discord are forms of argument sometimes prevents us from having meaningful, healthy discourse. In their book Metaphors We Live By, Lakeoff & Johnson consider the metaphor 'ARGUMENT is WAR'. This is the metaphor that often prevents us from having meaningful discourse.

Formal debates also fit neatly into this metaphor: point-counterpoint/attack-defend.
As a society, we aren't going to change this embedded metaphor any time soon, but we can separate argument from discourse. Discourse, discord and disagreement need not be argumentative.

It is fascinating to me that in the blogosphere there is a noticeable shortage in meaningful discourse. Teachers encourage critical thinking, challenge students to consider alternative views and encourage meaningful discourse in the classroom... and then walk on proverbial egg shells when commenting on blogs.

Now, I am sure that there are some wonderful counter-examples to my point, (and I encourage anyone reading this to send me links:-). But I do wonder if it is just me- and the circles I hyper-surf around in- or do others notice this subdued politeness that hinders meaningful discourse?

I am encouraged by the healthy discourse and discord that I see happening at the Connectivism conference; I think a lot of new, innovative and creative ideas/concepts/theories can and will be born out of it!

So what is Connectivism?
George Siemens, conference organizer, says in his Connectivism Blog,"Connectivism is a learning theory for the digital age... For me - call it whatever you want - connectivism, social constructivism, navigationism (pick your own)...learning today must be seen as social, knowledge distributed across a network, capacity enhanced by enlarging the network, learning/knowledge as multi-faceted and complex, incorporating technology, etc. I'm generally not in a mood to argue against other learning theories (though, at times, it's required simply to achieve a frame of reference). I'm much more interested in arguing for effective learning representative of what learners require in order to stay current today. Evangelizing connectivism is a secondary concern as compared with discussing effective, relevant, "sustainable" learning."
In another post, he adds this interesting point about connecting in new ways, "Dialogue does not need to be direct in order to be effective. Dialogue of greatest value is what I call parallel, or dialogue of awareness. At this level, the comments and views of others are within our cognitive network (i.e. we know they exist) and their influence weighs in our reasoning and thought formation."

In my small contribution to the discussion thread I say,
"My limited experience in blogging suggests to me that it is the cross-disciplinary meandering and hyper-linking that brings us deeper levels of understanding, as well as peripherally participating with a mentor or expert. In fact, I think innovation and meaningful learning/synthesis of ideas comes from the fringes... connectivism isn't about the theory- the great body of knowledge to be shared, it is about the ability for any Joe (or Joan) Schmo to meaningfully add to the learning conversation.  (As I hope this Schmo has )"
[Note: This has actually been adapted from my original post. Another contributor disagreed with a specific point I made- and I agreed with him! Originally I said 'as opposed to' instead of 'as well as' (italicized above)]

Please feel free to disagree!

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Reference: G. Lakoff & M. Johnson (1980), Metaphors We Live By. The University of Chicago Press.(Paperback edition, 1981, *pg. 5, **pg. 4)

Image Credits:

"Arguments Yard, Whitby" by David Hastings (Flickr username: dr1066) 

"Definition of Discourse": Mac PowerBook Dictionary Version 1.0.1(1.0.1) Copyright © 2005 Apple Computer, Inc. 

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Exerpt from My Feedback/Reflection post on the Connectivism Conference, (Feb. 10th, 2007).

About me:
Well I still have to look at/listen to the Stephen Downes presentation before I would feel comfortable saying that I have come close to concluding with the conference. As I say in [this] blog post, I have found both the discourse and even discord refreshing. I think best when I am surrounded by people who challenge what I say and what I think. At more than one point I felt misunderstood and had to clarify myself... but I believe that 'the meaning of your communication is the response that you get' and so I take full responsibility for my lack of communication. In an effort to clarify my words, I do the same with my thoughts... isn't that what being a life-long learner is all about? This conference has provided a considerable amount of fodder for me to chew on for a while. I have had many opportunities to synthesize and add meaning to ideas both new and old alike. I have also found many new friends!

Thank you all for contributing to my learning!

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How Not to Talk to Your Kids
The Inverse Power of Praise.    

A Feature in the The New York Times, By Po Bronson.

Thanks to Kris from Wandering Ink who sent me this link.

I will let the article speak for itself:

Later, when given a much more difficult test, these results were magnified. It really is worth reading the whole article, but here is a key point about the research above:


More food for thought from the article:

In a nutshell, praise effort rather than intelligence. The article goes on to mention the value this has on developing persistence when faced with failure, while praising intelligence increases the stress and reduces the desire to face such challenges.

I will be thinking about this a lot over the next few days both at school with my students and at home with my own kids.

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Po Bronson's blog, "How Not to Talk to Your Kids" Part 2, Part 3, Part 4. From Part 4:

"A common praise technique that people use (I know I did it with my tutoring kids... up til a few weeks ago, that is....) is to use a present success to control future performance. For example, if a typically-sloppy child writes an essay that's atypically legible, a parent or teacher may say, "That's very neat: you should write all of your papers like this." Even if it's meant as sincere praise and encouragement, the research shows that's not only an ineffective way to praise. In fact, like praising for intelligence – it can actually damage a child's performance.

Here's what is going on..."

On Tuesday I got to hear Chris Kennedy speak. He is a principal, teacher and somewhat of an unofficial district technology guru. His main message: "It isn't about the Technology!" Good teaching practice transcends the use of technology. What technology can do is: create new ways to use and improve your skills as a teacher; engage and interest students in ways that you could not before; prepare students for a world very different than the one we grew up in. 

 

It was the 'side trips' in the talk that I really appreciated. Here are two that hit a chord with me.

 

1. Mentorship: Chris weaved into his talk, time and again, how much he appreciated his mentors at the school - teachers whom he learns from. He seems to have created a real learning community at his school (with a voluntary book club, and an open invitation for any teacher to come to Team Leader/ Department Heads Meetings).

“Teachers want to be more than independent contractors that share a parking lot.”

 

Chris also mentioned how important it is to be in an environment where "I can screw up and it is ok," and he notes that critical friends are needed as well as mentors.

 

In my exploration of web2.0 I have not done a good job of seeking out mentors... the result has been hours of forging my own trail, trial and error, and in many cases a very steep learning curve. Chris spoke humbly of his digital immigrant status, and that he counts on friends, teachers, students and mentors to show him new things that he then plays around with, until he too can take ownership of the new skills or tools. It is interesting that in the past couple of days I have had two friends request some time with me to 'show them the ropes' with some of the tools that I use. All these people seeking mentors and here is stubborn Dave slogging away at it on his own... This I will [am] change [ing]!

 

2. Not Obstacles but Opportunities: Before I begin this section I need to give a little background to my day, before Chris' talk. I started the day at a team leader meeting where it was decided that we are banning mp3 players from our classes. Students are free to use them outside of class on breaks, but not in the classroom. I voiced my desire not to do this, but I didn't have the benefit of hearing Chris talk before this decision, and I guess that I was less than convincing.

Here are my notes from Chris' talk:

Kids are going to text message.
How are we going to make that work in our school?

When someone wants to ban something,
I ask myself,
how can we use this to help us in education?
‘It is a new tool’.
Not obstacles but opportunities.

I like mp3's in my Math class. Students know that when I talk, headphones are to be removed from their ears. In my experience students appreciate, and are respectful of, the opportunity to listen to music in class. However, I also know how important it is on a staff to have teachers support and show respect for school rules (and each other). I have already made the rule clear to my students... I just happen to think that this is something that teachers should have autonomy over.

Now here is the thing… Am I using mp3’s in my class for any kind of educational purpose? No, not specifically... and until I do, it really isn't something I should be terribly upset about.

What it comes down to is qualifying the kind of questions we are going to ask ourselves when considering (new or ubiquitous) technology use in the classroom.

“How can we use this?” Seems to be a much better question than, “Should we?”

 

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Photos: 'Helping Hand' by popofatticus/Barrett Hall, 'What Dragon?' by wjklos/William Klos.

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Introduction
I have just spent my 2nd of 3 days with Bruce Wellman of Mira Via in a Pro-D session tittled Developing & Facilitating Collaborative Groups. The first session had a focus on facilitating groups and my personal learning focus centered around two main ideas:

1. Being deliberate about when we use Discussion and when we use Dialogue.

• Discussion is most effective when a decision needs to be made.
• Dialogue is most effective when we have a Change Initiative.

2. Effective paraphrasing with two powerful concepts: 1. Identifying the 'baskets', the key themes, and not getting lost in the 'noise', the content, that people get stuck talking about without meaningfully moving the conversation forward; and, 2. Shifting the Level of Abstraction. Either shifting down to concrete points or examples, or shifting up to Values, Beliefs, Goals, Assumptions, Concepts, Categories, or Intentions.

An example for this second form of paraphrasing given was a student in a VP's office going on-and-on about his car troubles being the reason he keeps coming to school late. A shift down would be to figure out the specific problem, brakes or alternator, that needs to solved. A shift up would be, "Oh, so what you are saying is that you have transportation problems. We need to sort out if walking, a bus pass, or friends picking you up will be the best possible solution until issues with your car are solved." (This could also be considered 'identifying the basket' in the first form of paraphrasing mentioned).
The idea is to use paraphrasing as a means to direct the conversation towards meaningful discussion.

In the second session the emphasis was more on ways to Promote Inquiry.  Each of the sub headings below have specific skills that can be practiced, and focused on, in order to be more effective at promoting inquiry.

Inviting Thinking
"We are wired to detect threat in the communication of others."

Think about our language:
Decision has the same root as Incision, Precision, Recision... Cutting Away
    Decide other ‘cide’s… suicide, pesticide, herbicide  …killing [ideas]
(note: coincide- co-incident- these have a different root than above.)

So… We can not confuse People with Ideas – kill ideas not people!
Separate People from ideas… Neutralize it linguistically
‘The Idea’ not ‘Dave’s Idea’,     'The key point is' not 'Your point is'

We are wired for psychological safety – so HOW we inquire is as important as the topic of inquiry. We need to reduce the potential for threat in our questions.

The following Elements of Invitation aid in promoting the spirit of inquiry.

Attending Fully
The idea here is congruence... both our physical and our verbal elements of communication demonstrate full presence.
How many times do we have conversations with people while trying to pay attention elsewhere? I am horrible at talking on the phone with my computer in front of me, whereas I am pretty good at having students wait a moment while I complete a task so that I can turn and face them and fully engage in helping them.
I am reminded here of the SOFTEN Model I use with students at the beginning of each year: Smile, Open posture, Forward lean, Touch, Eye contact, Nod.

Approachable Voice

An interesting parallel to this is the universality of our body language across cultures...

'Palms down' is authoritative and controlling "Settle Down/ Listen here/ You need to know...".

Whereas 'palms up' is inviting, "What do you think?/ Tell me.../ In what ways...". Here are some Approachable Invitations:

How might...
What would...
What are some...
What might be some...
In what ways...
How might you...
What seems...

We spent some time looking at how we might use these Invitations with Cognitions, (predict, recall, select, describe, sequence, compare/contrast, analyze, prioritize, summarize, conclude, generalize, connect, apply), in order to inquire, and promote meaningful discussion on specific topics. (These all work well when  paraphrasing as described above).

"How might you summarize the results from the grade-wide assessment?"

"Given these issues around student behavior, what are some generalizations that we can make?

When asking such questions an Approachable Voice will invite much better responses than a Credible Voice.

The 'gift' is to bounce between these two voices, and use them to your advantage.
Think of a new teacher telling the students in a questioning, approachable voice, "Today we are going to ...[?]." -Credible Voice is important too!
Not enough of this is focussed on with student teachers!
A pet peeve of mine is when people use uptalk and make statements sound like a question?

Use Plural Forms  
...to invite better inquiry.
-observations
-options
'The' is singular, 'Some' is plural. (See below)

Exploratory Language
...is psychologically safer.
These promote more meaningful responses. They reduce the need for confidence/surety and the need to evaluate and sort ideas, until after several ideas are fully developed.
Switch:
The...    to    Some   "What are some key ideas here? (Plural Form)
Could...    to    Might
Is...    to    Seems
Why...    to   What    "What are some of your thoughts about that?"
Can anyone tell me...    to    What are

Positive Presuppositions
Finding and focusing on the positive aspects of the message being communicated... it encourages an "on-going willingness to engage with each other and with ideas". This reminds me again of paraphrasing by shifting up- with the purpose of finding a positive belief or assumption.
Example:
Statement: "Our students just can't do the work."
Facilitator/Group member: "So, you're concerned about helping all of these students be successful."

Non-dichotomous Questions
Ask question that can not be answered by Yes or No.
"Did you notice..." becomes "What are some interesting or unusual things that you noticed..."
Avoid these dichotomous question starters:
Did you...   Will you... Have you...

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I used information from both of my Pro-D sessions with Bruce Wellman to create the post above, with most of the information coming from notes on a page that was:
Adapted with permission from: B. Wellman & L. Lipton, (2004). Data-Driven Dialogue: A Facilitator's Guide to Collaborative Inquiry. Sherman, CT: Mira Via LLC.
Thanks to Bruce for allowing me to share this information... please cite appropriately.

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My thoughts:
What happens to most Professional Development (Pro-D) resources? For me it often gets tucked in a drawer, or piled onto a filing cabinet for later reference... and then it is forgotten! This is part of an on-going attempt to make the learning more meaningful. By reviewing and synthesizing the session for this post, I start to 'own' the material, or the concepts taught.
There is actually quite a lot of very useful information here not just for facilitators of groups, but for any member of a group. Things I can immediately work on:
• Effective paraphrasing in order to move the conversation forward, rather than just to summarize.
• Being a little more deliberate/aware of when to use my Credible vs my Approachable voice.
• Making questions more inviting, exploratory, and positively framed.

Depending on what the third session is like, I might write another post, or I might just add to this one.
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Photo Credits:
untitled by gregw,
渴望：DESIRE by ah BOB lee -- the JiuHuKia,
and Katie by me.

 

Kelly Christopherson has put out an invitation to join a book club. For those of you who have not visited Kelly yet, his blog Educational Discourse is a blog from the trenches. He is a Principal who also teaches and coaches. Kelly's blog posts are not only thoughtful and insightful, they are written with a personal touch... they have heart.

Kelly has suggested a wiki or a forum, or skype as examples of places we can meet and 'chat'... who knows we could even meet in Second Life. These are only suggestions, we invite other ideas. The simple goal of this Book Club is to create a space where participants can get together and have a meaningful, enjoyable learning conversation.

As an example of how a Book Club can enrich the reading experience, A Whole New Mind introduces Six Senses, each with a working Portfolio. These portfolios all have website links to follow... wouldn't it be great if 6 (or more) people each collected the links from just one chapter, explored them, and provided them on a wiki with comments as to what they thought about the sites they visited? I'd be far more likely to interact with others contributing this way, than to go to all these links on my own.

Let one of us know if you are interested.

Read and comment on this post at the new Pair-a-Dimes location here: http://pairadimes.davidtruss.com/fieldfindr-connect-classrooms-to-the-world/

[Update: October 3rd, 2007]

Here is an idea that has been brewing in my mind for a while:

The site could be sort of a combination of Warlick's HitchHikr and MySpace or Facebook. (In a way it is more of a matchmaker site.)
You can sign up and log in as a teacher, or as a willing contributer (Volunteer) in you field of interest.

Basically Volunteers create a profile listing talents and skills. Then they set up a time-line of when they would be interested in helping with, or presenting to, a class. Then teachers can contact volunteers who have profiles of interest.

There could be an opportunity for volunteers to contact teachers too, but I think this should be done through a contact page like this, rather than by direct e-mail.

Here is a mock-up wiki that I built to give you an idea of what I mean. (Yes, I know the profile pictures are a bit big, but they were easy to format that way.)

Below the mock-up profiles, I created a space where interested contributors to a classroom could actually post their information. Teachers can find prospective volunteers by searching a particular field/subject.

However, I believe that there is a need for a fully committed portal site that is dedicated to:
CONNECTING TEACHERS TO GLOBAL CITIZENS THAT ARE WILLING TO SHARE THEIR TALENTS WITH A CLASS.

At a dedicated portal:
Tag searches could easily be set-up. (See my 'Super Tags' post [coming soon])
Teachers could find other teachers to help them.
Positive relationships between business and education can be formed.
Success stories could inspire teachers hesitant to explore web2.0
Retired teachers or field experts can be tapped into.
There is so much opportunity for collaboration! (I came up with this list in about 3-4 minutes... and I'm sure you could add to it:-)

Once the site is set up, the opportunities and possibilities are endless!
Again, just off the top of my head, here are some kinds of volunteers we can easily tap into...Especially if we had a portal to help us do so.

• A musician or poet who is willing to judge a performance or contest.
• A Researcher willing to share new ideas in their field.
• A Math tutor who offers after school assistance on a forum. (Time differences could actually be an advantage here.)
• A dance instructor could teach ballroom dancing at a local high school.
• A retired teacher giving a video tour of a Boreal Forest or a desert he lives close to.
• An art gallery tour from half-way around the world...

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A similar idea originally came to me a few years ago after seeing this award winning Timebank Commercial.

It came to me again a few months ago when I read this David Warlick Post where David is talking about Will Richardson's session at MASSCUE:


I finally had to get this idea out after reading these Wesley Fryer and Vicki A Davis posts over the weekend.

Feedback?

A Typical Day...
Last Thursday started out as a typical day. I was supervising my Athletics Leadership group as they ran their first lunch-time 3-on-3 basketball games... the event went well with participants and spectators from all grades. Right at the warning bell for the end of lunch, another teacher came to me and, with a serious look, said, "Didn't you hear the announcement there is an important meeting for all teachers in the staff room. So as the leadership kids cleaned up, I headed over to the staff room. On the way I saw a couple teachers going to their room, rather than to the staff room. Then as we headed towards the staff room I saw my wife, Ann, and youngest child in the office.

2 Things to Know
My wife is also a teacher at our school, but she has Thursdays off... and the last time something like this happened, I found out my grandfather had died. So at this point my heart is pounding and I rush into the office to hear the bad news.

It's All Good!
I've been told, "You should have seen the look on your face." The fact is Ann did see it and said to me right away, "It's all good," as she gently tapped me on my forearm to calm me down. I wasn't convinced. Next she asked me where my bag and jacket were, and told me we were leaving the school... this did nothing to calm my nerves. We headed back to the office after I picked up everything and I could now see that the office staff were excited about something that I didn't know, so I finally realized that all was good.

Clueless
 But what about my class? "...Taken care of." But I have an appointment after school! "...Not anymore." A quick stop home and an e-mail to my basketball co-coach about the practice I was already scheduled to miss (for the appointment I no longer had), then my wife instructed me to drive to my cousin's house. We had one of our kids in the back with us, and the other was at school. I knew we would have to go back to get her from daycare before 5pm and since my cousin's house is a good 40 min. away, I knew this would be a short surprise... I was wrong. Did my sister come for a visit?- I was wrong. Someone else is visiting (my cousin lives close to the airport so I kept guessing who came to visit us)- I was wrong. Ann asked me to bring a coat and then mentioned it was a nice day so I guessed, "We are doing something outside"-wrong again. A lot of the trip was quiet with my wife not wanting to give anything away. We arrived at my cousin's place and went in. "So what are we doing?" My cousin shrugs, then I notice something by the door... his suite case. "Where are we going?"

Viva Las Vegas
On the short drive to the airport I finally find out that I am on my way to Las Vegas. My class has been planned for Friday, my leave of absence has been taken care of, Monday has been planned (my kids had minor surgery- it went well)... everyone on staff but me knew that I was going. "Here is some US money, here is your travel insurance, have a wonderful trip!" Happy 40th Birthday... nine months early! Before I knew it I was sitting in a limo, compliments of my cousin, on my way to the Mirage Hotel on the strip. While checking in we see my sister and her husband, with my two nieces and nephew , (they live in California). By the end of the night I am reunited with two other cousins and my other brother-in-law, all coming from Toronto.

3 nights and 7 days
Who needs sleep! I was there until Sunday night, but it felt like a full week. Wonderful company, great meals, a show with my nieces (Le Reve), and more Texas Hold'em poker than I have played in the last 2-3 years. One of my cousins helped my game a lot, and in the process of playing with him, I really got to know him. When I left Toronto for Vancouver he was just a kid and so this is the longest we spent together as adults. As an interesting aside, he told me that I had a very profound influence on a major life decision, when we had a chat on one of my visits home to Toronto. I also had an enlightening conversation with my nephew who taught me a bit about the social cliques in his high school, and he suggested that I don't use the term 'hook-up' to mean 'meet with' friends since that is the old-school meaning. There was enough time to do everything I wanted except sleep. I think I spent less than 12 hours in my hotel room.

Icing on the Cake
I came home with more money than I left with. All-in-all only about $70 more, but with all the meals, and gifts for Ann and my girls, this was a wonderful bonus. I'm sure the trip cost enough without me going there and spending a large sum of money so it was icing on the cake not to do so. After my abrupt departure at school my TOC (replacement teacher) casually mentioned to my students that I had been kidnapped. On returning yesterday it was great to see that my students were very excited for me. Their first two questions were invariably, "How was your trip", and "Did you win?" It was a little weird, I actually felt a little uncomfortable telling them that I won. I found myself taking advantage of this moment to talk about gambling as a form of entertainment, "When you go to the movies, you know you are going to spend a certain amount of money for your entertainment... tickets, popcorn, a drink, maybe some video games afterwards. The same should be true for going to a casino, you have a budget for what the entertainment is going to cost you, because more often than not you will lose. The secret is to stop when you reach your entertainment budget for that trip... and the absolute worst thing you can do is spend more money trying to win back what you lost." Then as I looked out at my grade 8's, who are years away from getting into a casino, I wondered if such a lecture (short as it was) was necessary when these kids are years away from gambling age? I repeated this with my second class, oh well, I just can't help myself sometimes.

Thank You!
To my wife, you are truly wonderful. I certainly didn't make this easy for her, first I had an appointment booked on the Friday to get my braces off, then I told her I wanted to go to a Student Leadership Conference in Seattle on the same Friday. Little did I know of the headaches I was creating for her as I went about planning activities for the same day as my surprise get-away. Thanks again for your efforts Ann, I will cherish the fond memories of this trip for a while. I can't wait until our next holiday!

Thank Teachers!
This trip was above and beyond anything I needed, but it was such a wonderful break. I am refreshed, (after sleeping 11 hours on Monday night), and ready to teach! To all the administrators reading this... teachers could use a break... it's the end of February, this is the longest stretch before a break for teachers... go to Starbucks or Tim Hortons and buy some coffee, hot chocolate and treats... go to each room pushing your treats on a trolley and serve your teachers in their rooms... tell them you appreciate them, tell their students how lucky they are... spend less than 5 min. in each class and totally make their day! Or write a card and add a $5 coffee card, or bring treats to your next staff meeting... recharge your teachers' batteries and make them smile. They don't need to be kidnapped to know that they are appreciated.

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New voices: Following Miguel and Kelly, I will seek out 7 new voices in my next 7 posts. I found Patrick Higgins, Jr.'s 'Chalkdust' blog through his interest in our book club. Some of Patrick's posts, such as Creativity, with reason will keep me reading!

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Photos: Ghosts and Figures by kodama (on the road), Airplane (2006.06.04) by Bruno D Rodrigues, Volcano Erupts at The Mirage - Las Vegas by Old Shoe Woman, [pocket 10's] July 7 2005 by Peter Kovacs, and Coffee Love (F1-20473) by javaturtle