Endings and Beginnings

For several reasons, this is my last “From B106” memo.  For one thing, my office will soon have a number change and become F101F.  This palindrome has some intriguing possibilities, but of course, I will no longer be in the office, regardless of its number.

In fact, I’m not even sure if my new office has a number, and I am still trying to figure out exactly what my new duties will entail and whether or not a weekly memo will be part of the job description.  The unknown can certainly be a bit disconcerting.

It doesn’t seem that long ago that I experienced a similar feeling.  On August 19, 2012, I wrote my first email to you as a staff.  It was signed with my name followed by “the new guy in B106.”  This is screen shot of the first two paragraphs:

It’s hard to believe I wrote those words three years ago.  Time really does fly when you’re having fun.  It’s also hard to believe that I find myself in a similar situation now, wondering what will come and how to fit in and how to make a contribution.

I am confident that will sort itself out soon, but until then and as I said before, the unknown is disconcerting.  You may feel this as well as several new administrators will be added to our team.  While you and I are making transitions from the known to the unknown, I do want to stop for a moment and let you know just how much I have enjoyed working with you all.  You have taught me a great deal, and I have confidence that we are moving forward in the right direction as a school and as a district.

Thank you for all you have done for me.  Thank you for all you have done for my children who attended Hamilton Southeastern.  And thank you for all you have done and continue to do for all of our students.

A special thanks to Charlie, Kim, Tarek, Jim, Greg, Laura, Jagga, and Nancy for allowing me be part of an outstanding administrative team. And Matt, there are no words that can adequately express my gratitude to and admiration for you as an administrator, as a father, and as a person.  You provide the rock solid foundation and leadership that will continue to make Hamilton Southeastern High School a wonderful place for students and teachers.

Every ending is a new beginning.  As educators, we experience this regularly.  This year’s ending is a bit different for me, but I do look forward to continuing to work with you toward our common goals.

It’s a great day to be a Royal.

Phil

A few quotes on beginnings and endings:

• “If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop the story.”  --Orson Welles
•  “There are some things you can’t share without ending up liking each other.”  --J.K. Rowling
•  “Life’s a movie.  Write your own ending.  Keep believing; keep pretending.”  --Jim Henson
•  “The beginning is always today.”  --Mary Wollstonecraft

If you’re interested in a journey back in time, this is the link to the full memo I sent out in 2012.  Click here.

Extending Grace

I was talking to Jason Urban last week, and we were commiserating about the difficulty of May.  It is a month of testing, a month of stress, and a month of transitions for both students and staff.  Jason’s comment was this: “You think you might be ready, but I’m not sure you can ever fully prepare for May.”

Those are profound words of wisdom from the other side of Interstate 69.

You are likely feeling some of this stress as well.  You may feel stretched to the limit.  Some of your students are falling apart or checking out early.  You are thinking about how to end the year well, about summer schedules, about the stack of papers to grade, and about plans for next year.

I don’t have great answers to this vexing month, but I will offer two statements I repeat to myself to help get me through stressful times.  Stress is sometimes brought on by events, and stress is sometimes brought on by people.  I have a saying for each scenario.

They may or may not help, but it’s worth a try.  See what your day is like if you use these as a short mantra when times are tough and you are feeling overwhelmed by tasks and/or people.

I find myself repeating them often in May. 

Number One

We can do a lot, but we can’t do everything.  This statement is a good reminder and helps me put a bit of perspective back into my life.  Sometimes my goal is simply to make it through the day—or through the next hour or even through the next minute.  It is a way of extending myself a little grace.  I know I can’t solve every problem or make everyone happy, and that is okay.  I’ll keep plugging away in my own little corner of the word and do the best I can.

Number Two

This one comes from Anne McCaffery, the Irish writer, best known for the Dragonriders of Pern series.  A phrase she penned has stuck with me for years and helps me keep perspective when I am dealing with people I find difficult.  (Yes, I know you’re surprised to know that I sometimes have to deal with unpleasant situations.)

It is another profound statement, technically from our side of Interstate 69, but a few miles and an ocean to the east.

It is easy to jump to conclusions about motivations of others, especially when we have significant differences in perspective, philosophy, and/or world view.  McCaffery’s statement is a great reminder to me to listen carefully and respond thoughtfully when I’m in these situations.  Honestly, I don’t always succeed in following her advice, but at least I’m aware I should try.  And even that makes a difference.

So keep fighting the good fight, HSE—even through the difficult month of May.  Remember that all of us, students, teachers, and administrators are experiencing both the joy and the stress of this month.

Use these phrases if you get a chance, and see if you can extend grace to yourself and extend it to others. 

May your week be a good one.   (The bad pun doesn’t make it any less sincere.)

Phil

Bonus phase from Stuart Smalley on Saturday Night Live:

It’s hard to believe he went on to become the junior senator from Minnesota!

Self-Directed Learners

Deeper Learning is the process of preparing and empowering students to master essential academic content, think critically and solve complex problems, work collaboratively, and be self-directed learners.

—Martinez and McGrath

Spring break ended a mere three weeks ago, but seems longer ago somehow.  During that time, my alarm didn’t go off, but I tended to wake up early anyway.  That is fine with me because it allowed me the opportunity to brew some strong coffee and sit and read the paper cover-to-cover, something I almost never get to do.

Spring Break Breakfast with Amelie

While we were in Florida, my granddaughter, another early-riser, would sometimes join me for breakfast and provide commentary on a wide variety of topics—few of which were covered by the Miami Herald.  Once we had finished, she often pulled out her books (or iPad), and I would take the chance to dive into my reading as well.

I have lots of reasons to love spring break, but near the top of my list is having time read.  Earlier I wrote a bit about one of the books I read over spring break, Deeper Learning, by Monica Martinez and Dennis McGrath.  The authors made extensive visits to eight public schools that are “transforming education in the 21^st Century” and drew some conclusions about best practice in our current era.

Certainly, most of the schools the authors studied are different than Hamilton Southeastern, but they are all public schools, and I think we can learn from these eight schools blazing the trail for us.  In fact, the authors state that the majority of today’s schools don’t reflect the tremendous changes and new demands that characterize the society in which we live.  Schools can no longer be what Sir Ken Robinson calls a “knowledge delivery system.”  Instead, the authors contend, we should look to innovative schools who are preparing students from a full range of backgrounds to reach their full potential and become prepared to handle the demands of the twenty-first century.

Self-Directed Learners

A critical objective for students to become more responsible for their own education, something that teachers and principals at the eight Deeper Learning schools make possible through embracing six core strategies:

• Establish cohesive, collaborative learning communities that sharply differ from the top-down national norm;
• Empower and encourage students to become more self-directed, creative, and cooperative by getting them out of their chairs and more directly involved in their own education;
• Make curricula more engaging, memorable, and meaningful by integrating subjects and establishing relevance to real-world concerns;
• Reach outside classroom walls to extend the idea and purpose of learning beyond school, forming partnerships with businesses, organizations, research institutions, and colleges and universities;
• Inspire students by endeavoring to understand their talents and interests, customizing learning whenever possible to discover the motivational “hook” for each young person; and
• Incorporate technology purposefully to enhance, rather than simply automate, learning.

 This is, of course, exactly where we are heading as a school and a district.  You will find references in this book to inquiry-based learning, Understanding by Design, authentic learning, performance tasks, and more.  In short, this is a book about HSE21.

Our school is different and our journey is different than any of the eight schools included in this study, but I think you will find that much of what they do and the ways they approach education can be thoughtfully adapted to us in Fishers, Indiana.

It takes me a while to digest a book, but I’m excited by this one and think it might be a touchstone experience in my learning process.  If you are looking for a good summer read, I invite you to dive into Deeper Learning.

Phil

The Magic

“Before meeting you, I let PowerPoints and textbooks do my thinking for me.”

—HSHS student at the Top 25 Banquet, 2015

Last Sunday I attended the Hamilton Southeastern High School Top 25 Banquet.  The honored guests are a pretty incredible group of students.  Some would say they are our “best and brightest,” and that is a good descriptor.  I would argue, however, that they are also among our hardest working students. 

They seem to buy in to the Growth Mindset philosophy.  Certainly, they have some natural gifts, but this group of students has worked incredibly hard to develop their skills and knowledge, and they have taken full advantage of the multiple opportunities afforded them at HSHS.  At the banquet, Nancy introduces each student by telling a bit about their extra- and co-curricular activities and accomplishments.  The lists for these students are so lengthy, that I sometimes wondered how they found time to breathe—but that is a topic for a different missive.

When the students come forward to receive their award, each one brings with him or her a teacher to honor as well.  The teachers receive a plaque which is engraved with a short essay written to them by the student, which is then read. These essays are always fascinating.  Most of the students thank their teachers for the positive influence they have provided, some tell inside jokes, but many of the students make statements that are nothing short of profound.  I offer as evidence the quote that started this memo.  It came in the first student speech of the night.

Take a moment to read it again:  

This is the goal we have for all of our students:
To be independent thinkers.

I was so taken with this line that I jotted it down on my program, and that got me started.  I kept finding others as the evening progressed.  I ended with the following list.  Remember these are statements made by our Top 25 about teachers who have been significant in their lives:

• “You taught me more than just academics.”
• “You taught me that learning is a journey.”
• “You taught me skills that transcend content.”
• “You make me believe that I can overcome all obstacles.”
• “You have taught me how to be curious.”
• “Thank you for making me laugh—and laugh at myself.   Thank you for teaching me so much more than English.”
• “In your class, I was always learning joyfully.”
• “The lessons you have taught me in both English and in life will last well beyond high school.”
• “You balance self-learning and instruction.”

It is worth noting that for these students content is important, but what set the teacher apart is not content.  It is the intangibles—laughter, support, curiosity, and life skills.  These are things that transfer outside of the school building.

Check it for yourself.  Who is your most memorable and influential teacher?  My guess is that the teacher who first comes to mind had depth of knowledge and was passionate about the content.  More importantly, however, I would guess this teacher taught lessons that transferred in many ways beyond the classroom walls.  As we have often said at HSE, rock solid teaching is about more than content knowledge.

I’ll end with one of my favorite student lines from last Sunday: “Thanks for the magic.”  Make it happen this week, HSE.

Phil

Creativity Myths

Sir Ken Robinson has been on the forefront of school change initiatives.  He is a prolific writer, has numerous popular YouTube videos, and his TEDTalk has had over 32,000,000 views.  He argues that the current school model was developed 100s of years ago for the needs of a very different world than the one in which we live today.  He says that if your great, great grandparents visited us today, the only thing they might recognize in society is the typical classroom.

I love the clock, the Wizard of Oz painting, and the "Smart Board."

That is a bit of a stretch, but it might hit closer to home than we want.  His most recent publication is called Creative Schools.  At the risk of writing about a book I haven’t read, I want to share parts of shorter article on the same topic (and I’ll add his book to my summer reading list).

Robinson on creativity:

It’s sometimes said that creativity cannot be defined.  I think it can.  Here’s my definition: Creativity is the process of having original ideas that have value.

In schools, creativity is essential for both students and teachers.  Robinson says there are obstacles that get in our way of bringing creativity into schools.  He calls them “myths.” These myths keep us from teaching and including creativity in all aspects of school: It is a myth that only a few special people are creative.  It is a myth that creativity is about the arts only.  It is a myth that creativity cannot be taught.  It is a myth that creativity is about uninhibited expression.

Sir Ken Robinson

Creativity is not about having wild ideas and letting imagination run wild.  Rather, says Robinson, creativity is about fresh thinking.  It involves refining, testing, focusing, and making critical judgments about the work in process.  In his words:

Creativity is not the opposite of discipline and control.  On the contrary, creativity in any field may involve deep factual knowledge and high levels of practical skill.  Cultivating creativity is one of the most interesting challenges for any teacher.  It involves understanding the real dynamics of creative work.

Read that again, and then consider that Robinson advocates incorporating the creative process from the very beginning of learning.  Students don’t need mastery before the creative work can begin.  In fact, focusing on skills and content in isolation may actually disengage the learner.

The real driver of creativity is the appetite for discovery and a passion for the work itself.  When students are motivated to learn, they naturally acquire the skills they need to get the work done.  Their mastery of them grows as their creative ambitions expand.

Does this sound familiar?  It should.  Robinson’s approach places creativity at the intersection of best practice engagement strategies.  Creativity is part and parcel of a rock solid UbD performance task.  Creativity is at the heart of inquiry learning.  Creativity is built into Genius Hour or any student-centered learning activity.  Creativity is essential in the design process.

In other words, creativity is another name for our HSE21 initiative.  And this, HSE, puts us firmly in the camp of Creative Schools about which Robinson writes.  Now that’s an original idea of incredible value.

I hope your week is full of joy, full of good work, and full of creativity.

Phil

Want more from Robinson?  Click this link to his TedTalk.

Unforgettable

Another prom has come and gone.  This year, it took place in the Egyptian Room at the Old National Centre.  I really enjoyed the location, especially since the room has raised seating along each side, so sponsors could sit and watch the kids from relative comfort.  And believe me, it is fascinating viewing.

After attending more proms than I care to count, I have come to a few conclusions about the dating rituals of high school students.  This is in no way, shape, or form a scientific study, but I have found that our prom-goers seem to fall into distinct categories. I’m sure there are others to add to this list.  If you have contributions, I would love to hear your thoughts.  My list:

• Rock On: Some students arrive early, go right to the front of the dance floor, and gyrate from beginning to end.  They jump, shout, sing along, and generally dance themselves into euphoria or exhaustion—or a combination of both.  These students are fearless, energetic, and often stay to the last note of the final song.
• Groupers: (Not gropers.  That is a different topic altogether.)  These are the kids that dance in packs.  These packs have an ebb and flow and are almost like living bodies themselves.  They form, alter shape, separate briefly, and reform again in a different location.  Think amoeba, and you’ll get the general idea. The movement seems to depend on the song being played and a few key dancers, the nucleus, to extend the metaphor.
• Roamers: Some couples are restless.  They start in one place, stay briefly, but move to another before long.  They are on and off the dance floor constantly, with no discernable reason for coming or going.  They dance for a while, get drinks, have seats, adjust their formal wear, and repeat the cycle.  A subset of this group seems to be the First-Daters.
• Lone Wolves: These are mostly male students who arrived with a group, but they are constantly on the move and tend to spend much of the time outside the pack.  They join the groupers occasionally, but more often than not, stay on the edges.  They spend time talking to adult sponsors or simply sit and watch the dance floor.
• I Only Have Eyes for You: These couples spend the entire night dancing together just outside the main pack.  They seem to be oblivious to other students or even that they are at the prom—with the exception of joining the “Cha Cha Slide.”  They stare longingly into each other’s eyes for much of the evening and provide an interesting contrast to the First-Daters.

This one gets everybody dancing....

The reason I’m writing about this topic is twofold.  First, I want to thank all of you who made the prom a successful and memorable night.  Secondly, I want to make a point about memories and instruction.  Yes, it’s true that I can take even an event like prom and apply it the classroom.  (Is it a gift, or is it a curse?  You be the judge.)

Prom, by its very nature, is unforgettable—hopefully in positive ways, but sometimes not.  It is an interesting thought that all of students, regardless of where they fall on the list above, will have attended the same prom, but they will have taken away very different kinds of experiences and memories. 

The same holds true in your classes.  All of your students attend your same class, but they take away very different kinds of memories and experiences.  We should recognize this truth, and we should be intentional to make sure students have positive memories and retain important content.  True, the experiences in your classroom are difficult to make as memorable as an evening in the Egyptian Room, but the task is not impossible. 

Students may or may not remember all the specific details and content of your course, but they can remember activities and content that is tied to emotion, is personally engaging, and/or involves high levels of learning.  In other words, best-practice instruction builds long term memories.

If you don’t believe me, do a little fact-checking.  First, think back to your own prom or other big social event in high school.  You probably have some memory of this event, either positive or negative.  Now think back to your high school classes.  What assignments and activities and content do you remember most clearly?  What emotions locked those memories in? 

Without even hearing the specifics of your experience, I believe I can rest my case because your own experience likely verifies my argument.  Keeping with the prom theme, I will now do a small victory dance!  

Photo from peanuts.com

I feel fairly confident that I am right because this is the way our minds work.  We remember those things that are special, different, significant, and involve personal commitment and emotion.

If you want your students to really remember the key content of your course, take advantage of brain research: design lessons and experiences that are unforgettable. 

Have a great week, HSE.  See if you can pull some students from the outer ring and out onto the dance floor of your class.  Rock on until the last note of the last song!

Phil

Fishing for Answers

On the Tuesday of spring break, my oldest daughter, her husband, one of my middle sons, and I awoke early, drove down the coastal highway, and took a charter boat out for a day of fishing on the Gulf.  As Captain Mike took us out of the channel and into the open sea, banks of clouds closed in, and we soon lost sight of the coastline in the fog.

The fog didn't stop us from fishing, and we trolled out many miles into the Gulf, stopping occasionally to drop lines and pull up fish.  My experience has been that fishing is always good, but catching is sometimes less so.  That Tuesday, however, both went well.

Proof that this is no mere fishing tale (tail?).

At one point, the captain told us we were out over ten miles.  Surrounded by the fog, I had no clue about our location.  We could have been 500 yards or 500 miles off shore, and I wouldn’t have known the difference.  Just before the winds began to blow away the fog, the mate asked us to point toward land.  We did so but had to laugh because all four of us pointed in different directions.  When the mate pointed in a fifth direction, we realized that none of us had been even close. 

So how did he know where shore was? 

Maybe he didn’t.  He could have been pointing any direction, but my guess is he was much closer to being on target than the rest of us.  Perhaps he looked at the GPS before asking the question, but more likely, he had experienced the fog often enough that he knew exactly what to expect and how to stay oriented.

Cuba, Key West, or Destinations Unknown

I tell you this story partly because I love being on the ocean and fishing with my kids—and I have pictures to verify my catch.  (My usual disclaimer still applies: All my stories are True (with a capital T), but I never let facts get in the way of the story.)  I also tell you this story because those of us in education sometimes have a similar situation.  We cruise along doing our thing, and if we aren't careful, we can become disoriented and wonder where we should go to find dry land.

I have no idea how, but my phone logged our route.

Just consider the fog that surrounds education in our nation and in the state of Indiana right now.  I hardly have time, space, or inclination to list the problems, issues, debates, laws, and polemics.

So how do we in education know where shore is? 

One answer is to make our best guess, point in a direction, and head that way.  In our situation over spring break, had we followed our pointing fingers, we could have ended up anywhere from Cuba, to Brownsville, to the Yucatan Peninsula.  These destinations have tremendous appeal but would, perhaps, be better if the trips were planned in advance.

Deeper Learning

Another option when lost in the educational fog is to use a GPS of sorts by consulting someone with experience.  This spring break, I did exactly that by reading a book that has been on my mind ever since.  Monica Martinez and Dennis McGrath wrote Deeper Learning: How Eight Innovative Public Schools are Transforming Education in the Twenty-First Century. 

Photo from Amazon

I found their book to be very readable, insightful, and incredibly helpful.   These authors verify that we are on course and heading in the right direction as a school and as a district.  They also provide possible solutions to problems we will encounter in the coming months and years as we continue our journey. 

From time to time, I want to share bits and pieces of what I've learned from this book.  As the subtitle suggests, innovative public school educators are on the same path as we are.  They are meeting the needs of their students and preparing them for lives in our ever-changing and often confusing world.  We can learn from their experiences and adapt some of their solutions to meet our specific needs.

We may still be in a bit of educational fog, but Deeper Learning is like a GPS that can provide guidance from experienced educators who are facing similar or even more difficult challenges.

The fog will lift, HSE.  The sun will shine.  We will keep reeling in kids, and we will dive into Deeper Learning in the coming months.

Have a great week.

Phil

One more photo, just because....  I call it "Beauty and the Beast."

Our granddaughter, Amelie, sitting beside our sand sculpture.

Spring Breaking

Since you are officially on Spring Break, I promise this will be short and sweet!  Consider these two statements:

• The Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto reportedly developed his enduring Pareto Principle by observing pea pods in his garden.  His principle states that roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of causes.
•  “Great teachers know when to make decisions quickly and when to step back and reflect.”  --Lana M. Danielson

Photo from iNotes4You.com

Life in education is often so hectic, so busy, so intense that we almost without knowing get caught up in the daily hustle and bustle.  We don’t know if we are coming or going—and it certainly feels like there is no time to stop and think. 

Pareto likely did not have education in mind, but the Pareto Principle could almost certainly apply to schools.  If 20% of our efforts get 80% of the results, it would behoove us to take the time to reflect and refocus on those key things that are the most important and have the most impact on our students’ learning.

Sometimes the best thinking occurs in the quiet times, in the times when you aren’t really planning to do anything at all, in the times right before falling to sleep or waking completely.  Spring break will, I hope, give you a chance to relax and let your mind wander.  If it does, let it.  It may take you to very good places.

I hope you take time this week to enjoy family and friends.  I hope you find time to rest and relax.  And I hope you take time to reflect on what is really important to you and to your work.

Enjoy!

Phil

“Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.” --Søren Kierkegaard

Just Stick It!

At the risk of becoming a product huckster, I have to tell you that Gorilla Tape is the real deal.  It's a bit like duct tape on steroids and shouldn't be used unless you really want the tape to stay put permanently—because it does.  You even have to be careful to make sure you don't put a small extra strip on the inside of your forearm for later use while you are working on a project because it won't come off without ripping several layers of skin and leaving a bright red mark that stays for days but fortunately is hidden by the long sleeve shirt that you wear to school--just saying.

Photo from gorillaglue.com

 Gorilla Tape is made to stick, but that is not the main point of this entry.

Culture of Coverage

At this time of year, many teachers are facing a major dilemma.  Because of snow days and delays, because of cram-packed curricula, because some topics took longer than anticipated, or because of a hundred other reasons, many of you are feeling the pressure of needing to cover the material before the year ends.  Adding additional pressure is the fact that Spring Break starts at the end of this week, and we all know that May is filled with AP tests, ECAs, and Final Exams.  That leaves almost no time to get it all in.

The danger of speed-teaching, of course, is that we can sacrifice understanding for the sake of coverage.  It's a huge problem with no easy answers.  Grant Wiggins writes about an epidemic in schools which he calls “The Culture of Coverage.”  The hallmark of this phenomenon is conflating ideas with information.  When teachers have only enough time to tell about ideas and don’t let students delve deeper, analyze, build meaning, or question, we contribute to the Culture of Coverage.  Wiggins argues that there is a vast difference between covering facts and uncovering understandings.  Unfortunately, efficiency often is the enemy of effectiveness. 

From Grant Wiggins:

Teachers often unwittingly conflate terms with ideas.  In their desire to make teaching more efficient, they often treat the theory or strategy as a fact related to definition…. By treating all ideas as facts to be learned instead of inferences to be validated and analyzed through use, we unwittingly end up inhibiting meaning and transfer.

Even though we know the research that says students must be allowed to construct their own understanding, we feel the pressure to tell and cover the content because of our time constraints.  The result, as might be expected, is the loss of long term retention and the inability to transfer knowledge to new situations.  The research is crystal clear: covering content is very different than students understanding content.

Made to Stick

So what should you do?  Admittedly, there is no easy answer, but we do have a really good question: Is it possible to cover and still get information to stick?  The easy answer is “no,” but a better answer might be, “It depends….”

Chip and Dan Heath in their book Made to Stick give some suggestions that may help us answer this key question in more positive ways.  The authors are brothers, one with a background in education and the other with a background in business.  They argue in their entertaining and memorable book—it better be memorable considering the title—that there are six principles that make ideas understandable and memorable.  You don’t need to use all six principles to create a “sticky idea,” but the more you use, the better the chance of your students understanding and remembering important ideas.

Below is an infograph of the Made to Stick model which comes from the Heath Brother website.  It does a nice job of summarizing the whole book—and hints at some of their stories that you may want to read later. 

For more information and details, visit http://heathbrothers.com/

In the next few months, you are going to be tempted to cover material quickly.  If you want to avoid the dangers of this approach, and you want your students to retain the learning beyond May 2015, somewhere along the way, you should work in as many of the Heath Brother principles as possible. 

After all is said and done, our goal is not to cover the material; it is to make ideas stick like Gorilla Tape to our students.

Have a great week and an even better Spring Break, HSE.  That’s my wish for you, and I’m sticking to it.

Phil

The Bowler's Question

I first heard Steve Barone speak at Indiana Principal Leadership Academy.  He taught me lots of things about how organizations work.  He argues that all organizations must eventually change, or they stagnate and die.  He also taught me lots about building trust, the dangers of breaking trust, and the importance of creating “strong promises.”  I often find myself quoting things Steve said or wrote.

I give you this introduction as a way of giving credit to Steve for what he calls the “Bowler’s Question.”  I’m not much of a bowler, but I’ve done enough to understand why he calls it this unusual name.  If you’ve ever been bowling, you probably know how the lanes have one set of marks in the approach area and another about 10 feet down the alley.  Whereas I use the rear-back-and-chuck-it approach to bowling, good bowlers, apparently, use these marks to make adjustments all the time.  They change their footing, their spin, and which mark to hit as they release the ball.

Photo from okcmod.com

Good bowlers are always asking themselves about changes they need to make in order to get a specific result.  And this, according to Steve Barone, is the Bowler’s Question: What would it take to…?  (Insert the outcome of your choice.)  Barone advises against asking questions in important situations that result in yes or no answers, such as, “Can you finish the project by Monday?”  Ask instead, “What would it take for you to get that project finished by Monday?” 

It’s a subtle difference in the format of the question, but I have found the outcomes and responses are very, very different.

Barone says if you frame a question with a yes or no response, you severely limit the potential for getting a positive outcome.  The Bowler’s Question actually names the result you want as the outcome, but changes the options from two to unlimited.  The framing of the question still gives the receiver of the question a choice, but it is a much different kind of choice and often moves the conversation forward in positive ways. 

I encourage you to try the Bowler’s Question with your students, with your fellow teachers, with your own children, or even with your administrators to see if it helps bring about a positive outcome and good dialogue.  I would caution you to use it carefully and for something about which you care deeply because the answers you receive will often call for interesting decisions of your own.

Maybe if we all start using the Bowler’s Question, we can get shirts and shoes to match.  For our Art Department, as you can see, this would be right down their alley. 

I hear bowling is a fine art at HSE.

What would it take for you to have a great week, HSE?

Phil

Powerless Point

I had one of those head-slap eureka experiences this week.  I could have been in a commercial for V8 or imitating Homer Simpson’s “D’oh.”   I read something and it dawned on me I was going about things in the wrong way.  In fact, I was spectacularly wrong, but I didn’t fully recognize the problem until the head-slap.

I had good intentions, and I even thought I was being helpful.  Unfortunately, you experienced my error because I did it to you!  I’m not sure exactly how to move forward.  I have some ideas of how to get better, but it will be a work in progress.

Let me illustrate my mistake:

This is a PowerPoint slide I used last September in a PD session.  If the research is correct, you probably do not remember the exact content of my presentation, but you probably do remember doing the Marshmallow Challenge during the session in which it was used.  Before going any further, think back and see if this is right.  Do you remember the topic of this PowerPoint presentation?  (Hint: It wasn’t UbD.) Now, do you remember the Marshmallow Challenge?

Typical PowerPoint Presentations

My head-slap moment came while reading an article in an EdSurge Newsletter entitled, “Why Your Students Forgot Everything on Your PowerPoint Slides.”  This incredibly long title also serves as a synopsis.  If the author, Mary Jo Madda, is right—and she cites lots of research to support her claims—I have not used the power of PowerPoints well.  In fact, my approach may have contributed to confusion rather than clarification.

Madda says our brains can only process a limited amount of information at any one time.  Like our computers, our brains have limited working memory.  In danger of mixing a metaphor, Madda says putting information in our brains is like filling a bucket with rocks.  The more complex the task and information, the more “rocks” are thrown into the bucket.  When our brains are overloaded, similar to a computer running out of working memory, everything slows down and pieces are lost completely.  Adding multiple modes of processing is like opening up another software program when the computer’s working memory is already maxed out.  It adds to the cognitive overload. 

That is what often happens with PowerPoint presentations.  Our students have difficulty reading, listening, taking notes, and processing information simultaneously.  Our mode of presentation can add stress to already strained working memory.  Madda writes about the Redundancy Effect: “The duplicate information—spoken and written—doesn’t reinforce one another; instead, the two effectively flood students’ ability to handle the information.”

I read that line and slapped my forehead.  I do this all the time.  I put up a slide full of words.  I know I shouldn’t read the text because that irritates me to no end when I am in the audience.  But I do talk about what’s in the text.  What this does, according to Madda, is put people in the audience in a difficult position.  They try to read the text, listen to me, and filter through the information to find key points all at the same time.  Our brains don’t work this way. 

If we are reading, we can’t listen fully.  If we are processing information, we can’t listen or read for comprehension.  If we are listening, we might “see” the words, but we won’t “understand” the content.  We are merely word-calling and not attaching meaning.  Our working memory becomes overloaded.  The result is the opposite of the intention.

So I’m guilty as charged—and you may be as well.

Other Options:

Fortunately, Madda does offer some research-based options for what to do when using a PowerPoint.  Her suggestions:

• Eliminate Textual Elements: Instead of words, use visuals and talk through the points you want to make.  This allows students to focus on one mode of presentation and provides a visual cue for later recall.
• Use Words as Visuals: If you have to use words, try limiting yourself to one or two words per slide.  The key words become a visual cue, as opposed to being lost in all of the other text on the slide.  For example, this slide from the same presentation might be a more effective approach:

• Use Text; Stop Talking: If you include a slide with lots of text.  Stop talking, and let your students read and process the information.  This one is especially hard for me, and I suspect it might be for you as well.  Students need time to read and process.  The required time varies for each student.  It is hard for us as the experts in the content area to remember how difficult reading and comprehending new material might be for beginning learners.  You need to give more time than might feel comfortable. 
• Build in Processing Time: Class time is precious.  Content is extensive.  The pressure to rush can be our enemy.  If we don’t build in time for students to process the information as we go, they will not make the connections required to retain the learning.   There are lots of ways to build in this processing time.  For example, have the students quietly write a short reflection, pair and share, talk to others at table group, formulate one important question, summarize the content with one word or one sentence, draw a visual reminder, or put notes into their own words.  Ironically, you must slow down in order to speed up!

No question about it.  I was wrong.  I need to change my approach.  One of the reasons I’m writing this today is so you can hold me accountable.  If I put up slides full of text and don’t follow best practice, you have permission to call me on it. 

More importantly, I want your help in a different way as well.  Do you have a favorite PowerPoint presentation that follows best practice according to Madda?  Do you have ideas for how to provide processing time in the middle of a presentation?  Do you have alternatives to PowerPoint presentations that you find effective?  If so, please send me your examples.  If possible, include a screen shot and short explanation.  I would love to learn from what works well for you. 

By the way, the topic of the PD session referenced at the beginning of this entry was about creating and using authentic assessments.  How much of that presentation do you remember?  I rest my case.  D’oh!

Have a great week, HSE. 

Phil

This picture of my desk reminds me of one of my goals:

Shattering Expectations

My youngest daughter has a science teacher at Indiana School for the Deaf who has sparked her interest in science in a variety of ways, but mostly because this teacher has a room full of animals: fish, a hedgehog, lizards, and turtles.  Mercy’s favorite, however, is a crested red gecko.  She has been saving her allowance and birthday money for a while.  Recently, she bought a cage, complete with heating pad, rock-like watering dish, and fake tropical plants.  The only thing remaining is the purchase of the actual gecko.

Mercy's New Cage

Her teacher told her that we could buy a gecko from a pet store, but we should also check out the Reptile Show at the Hamilton County Fairgrounds.  So last Sunday afternoon, while the county was still digging out after the snow storm, we loaded up Mercy and Zeb and headed over.

Red Crested Gecko: Photo from SilverToraGe

To be perfectly honest, I was not prepared for this experience.  We paid the entry fee and walked into Hall C.  Tables had been arranged to create booths all around the room, and these tables were covered end-to-end with clear plastic containers of various shapes and sizes.  Inside the containers were critters: lizards, tarantulas, turtles, scorpions, snakes, skinks, monitors, and geckos.  Two booths were set up for food: the first was for human consumption and the second, not so much.   It held cages of mice, crickets, worms and other delicacies favored by the creeping, crawling, and jumping creatures watching us from inside their plastic containers.

The word heebie-jeebies has always been one of my favorites, and I now have an experience to associate with the term. 

Almost as interesting as examining the reptilian menagerie, was watching the other attendees at the show.  People intensely interested in reptiles, spiders, and snakes, as you might imagine, tend to be unique in other ways as well.  They rolled in and out of the hall in waves.  They stood and debated the merits of different creatures, wrapped enormous snakes around their necks, and nuzzled creepy crawlies of all types.  From what I could hear, the young and old aficionados have read extensively, they have real-life experience with their pets, and they care deeply for creatures about which I know very little.

Even with a serious case of the willies, I must admit that I began to understand some of their fascination when I actually held a gecko and looked closely.  I was mesmerized by the unblinking eyes staring back at me from its prehistoric face.  I was fascinated by the movement of its sticky-toes as it walked up my arm, and I had my expectations shattered when I discovered the baby-softness of its skin, when I expected it to be hard and scaly to the touch.  I’m not a full convert, but am beginning to understand the appeal.

Gecko Feet: Photo from nsf.gov

As I think back on that day—and I have done so regularly since then—I have reached a few conclusions.  They are, in no particular order of importance, as follows:

• Cross-Cultural Experiences: When I travel, I assume I am going to come across cultures different from my own.  I know that I will run into people with different values, interests, beliefs, and passions, so I am seldom shocked.  In fact, I find the experience enriching.  After attending the Reptile Show, I am more convinced than ever that we can and do have cross-cultural experiences right here in Fishers, Indiana.  In this case, I witnessed a whole group of people who are passionate about reptiles, snakes, and spiders, but this is only one example of many.  I was surprised by this experience and my reaction to it, but I shouldn’t be. 
• Danger—Not of Reptiles, but Rather of Attitudes: I recognize that I may be unintentionally dismissive of the passions of others, simply because I am uninformed, unaware, or fail to see the beauty and wonder that they do.  Intentional or not, my attitudes have potential to hurt, especially if others perceive my own biases as rejection of who they are and what they consider important.
• HSE Students: I want to change the pronoun to plural in this point.  We see students every day who have interests in tune with our own.  In fact, we likely have multiple points of connection to most students walking our halls.  If we take time to look more closely, I believe we may also discover students who have interests and passions very different from our own.  More importantly, we may be able to tap into the passions, interests, and gifts of these students in ways that will benefit them, help them feel appreciated, and can enrich all of us.

There is no question that last Sunday’s trip to the fairgrounds took me out of my comfort zone.  It gave me the heebie-jeebies at first, but I’m starting to see how Mercy’s interest could become one of my own.  Her gecko could become one more point of connection between us.

It makes me wonder.  I wonder how our students who are disconnected from school or feel outside the mainstream might react if they could spend time in at least one class deeply exploring and sharing their own areas of interest.  Providing this opportunity may take us out of our comfort zone.  Giving up some control on content may give us the heebie-jeebies at first, but it might also shatter a student’s negative expectations of school.  It might help these students reconnect to school, feel part of the school, and result in some amazing learning—for students and for us.

That possibility gives me the shivers of a different kind.  Have a great week, HSE.

Phil

• “The man who never alters his opinions is like standing water, and breeds reptiles of the mind.”  --William Blake
• “Snakes are sometimes perceived as evil, but they are also perceived as medicine.  If you look at an ambulance, there are the two snakes on the side of the ambulance, the caduceus or the staff of Hermes.  There are the two snakes, which means that the venom can also be healing.”  --Nicolas Cage
• “The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”  --Mahatma Ghandi

I Draw My Strength from You

As is my habit, I was listening to NPR on my way to school this past Monday.   You might remember that the temperature was below zero and the wind was blowing.  Jim White had made his much anticipated call, and we were delayed—again.

We live close to school, so it’s a very short drive to work.  Even in those few minutes it took to navigate the frozen roads to Olio and 126th, I discovered that the news, like the weather, was mostly bad: On top of all the other atrocities, we now have evidence that ISIS is recruiting and using child soldiers; the recent storms have knocked out power over wide sections of the South; and our state legislators continue to battle over education—with our schools and students caught in the crossfire.

Photo from NPR

As I pulled into our parking lot, Morning Edition changed the tone of the reports, and in the process, they changed my attitude for the day.  In order to celebrate the tenth anniversary of StoryCorps, Steve Inskeep was revisiting some of his favorite recordings.   For those of you unfamiliar with StoryCorps, it is one of the largest oral history projects ever attempted.  They have collected over 50,000 interviews, and the collection continues to grow.

The particular story that drew my attention last Monday was recorded originally in 2012 by Wil Smith (not the movie star!) and his daughter, Olivia.  Together, they retold the story of how Wil had entered Bowdoin College as a 27 year-old freshmen.  Besides his age, something else distinguished him from other college students:  At Bowdoin, Wil attended classes, played basketball, lived in the dorm, and worked nights, all with his infant daughter accompanying him everywhere.  He even carried her across the stage at his graduation ceremony.

I found myself sitting in my car out in the parking lot so I could hear the end of their story.  The wind chill was subzero, but this story both warmed and moved me.  Wil ended this recording by saying to Olivia, "I draw my strength from you.  I always have, and I still do.”

Olivia and Wil from StoryCorps

If you possibly can, please take a few minutes to listen to their story.  It is simultaneously uplifting and heart-wrenching and well worth your time.  Use this link.

StoryCorps: Wil and Olivia

Life can be discouraging, and it is often unfair.  The Smith story is testimony to that fact, but it also testifies to something more.  In the midst of the all of the bad news, when we stop to look and listen, we can find examples of lives lived fully, lived with love, and lived in ways that bring hope even in the midst of tragedy.

Wil Smith appears to have lived one of these lives.

Thanks for all you do, HSE.  My hope is that you also find this story inspirational and can draw strength from the examples of Wil and Olivia.

Phil

• “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”  --Lao Tzu
• “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand.  It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.”  --Atticus Finch in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird
• “Strength does not come from physical capacity.  It comes from an indomitable will.”  --Mahatma Gandhi