Will Gourley – Page 15

June 27, 2017 Will Gourley Constant Learning, Financial Literacy, General, Inquiry, Learning in a Real Life Context, Year End Activities

Mov(i)e Time

It’s the last school week of June. Things are still happening at the speed of learning, of course. Final assessments are in the books and reports are printed. Students are buzzing, bristling, and bursting with energy like they’ve been equipped with new solar panels from TESLA to absorb the energy of sunny days.

By this month’s end my school will have hosted an evening fun fair, a talent show, track and field day(s), a graduation, a TED Ed event, a play day, and a year end celebration. Despite June being the month with the longest days, it still feels there is not enough daylight to get everything done.

In addition to the above, we have curated, collated, crafted, and corrected our report card comments. Many of us are moving classrooms within the building or to new schools. Boxes are packed and rooms are returning to their neutral states, void of anchor charts, memes, inspirational quotes, and student work. The memes are gone too.

With so much happening around a school, it might be easy to let things slide with free time or busy work. Popping in a movie in order buy a little packing time is tempting, but it is also a great time to engage in some real world learning.

So in between assemblies, graduations, and ancillary events, instruction is alive and well. My grade 6s are working, consolidating, collaborating, digging, questioning, sharing, encouraging, playing(baseball for gym), and reflecting. As I type, they’re calculating the cost of living in Markham in Math. #EyeOpener

These lessons are meant to inform students in the area of financial, social, and life literacy as well as teaching them to be reasonable, realistic, and responsible consumers in our society. The lessons spark curiosity, comments, and conversations that lead to deeper understandings about a world of responsibility out there.

I’ve discovered that whenever students engage with activities like these, they are the ones that are remembered most. Most of the lessons will fade into the recesses of the mind, but the skills, the discoveries, and the “A-ha” moments never go away. As this final week hits its stride, my grade 6s are too. Now that is a scene that I can watch over and over again.

In my post Tick…tick…ticked off I rail against media making claims that teachers are holding film festivals during the last weeks of school.

The last weeks in a classroom cannot be taught on auto-pilot because there is still a lot to teach, discover, and share. So contrary to a public broadcaster’s opinion, the kids and teachers have not “checked out”.

Sorry I’m not sorry to burst this bogus bubble folks, but the kids will have to sit on their own couches over the Summer if they want to watch a movie.

Admittedly, I was prepared for another battle as June approached. However, this year, the same broadcaster brought forward a more appreciative stance towards educators, and in doing so took time to honour the hard work and dedication of our profession. Listeners heard stories of impactful educators as well as memorable students. Hearing these simple affirmations have made these last weeks, much more enjoyable. Once again, an encouraging word makes all the difference.

With 450 minutes or less of instructional time left to count down on this year’s clock, I know most teachers are looking forward to every minute. I hope that you do too.

May 31, 2017 Will Gourley Assessment, Celebrating Success, General, Modern Learning, Report Cards, Year End Activities

On track

A couple of years ago, I shared a post titled Not feeling it today. It was a response to the highs and lows experienced in my life as an educator. The post’s banner image captured a lighthearted take on our profession in a simple sentence. It read,

“Students: If you ever want to know what a teacher’s mind feels like, imagine a web browser with 2,789 tabs open all the time.”- via Buzzfeed

Laugh it off

Each day comes with its own set of open tabs that seem like a wave of ups and downs. On the upside, I witness students working hard, asking questions, and discovering their talents. On the downside, the lows come in the form of students struggling with anxiety, issues of adolescence rearing their heads, and even some perceived/learned hopelessness about the future. Each time I look at this meme, the irony of it’s humour helps lighten my mood when I need it most coping with everything that occupies the physical and mental space of my own practice. We all need to laugh. Laughter is an effective stress reliever.

It seemed like June was so far away. I started hitting my stride around March Break, and suddenly it’s the last week of May. Instead of coasting to the finish line, I find myself running the other way after looking at my Teacher’s To Do List.

How are you coping?

I’m struggling, straight up. The frequent visits to the coffee shop are getting expensive. As this month winds down, I’m nervous that the light at the end of the tunnel might be a train pulling boxcar after boxcar of assessment, reporting, and end of year activities. Yet, here I am speeding down the track towards it.

A similar sentiment gets shared when speaking with colleagues too. The hard part is not running out of steam.

Have you noticed that students are feeling it too? I’m finding this a great time to encourage collaborative work in remaining subject areas. Free time is allotted to Maker Space, Inquiry, and Genius Hour projects. We will also be creating a Year Map to add a visual note to their past 10 months in the classroom.

In all of this many of us will be compiling assessment data. Whether, it is on sticky notes, digital, or mark books, our students will be given a snapshot of their accomplishments.

Kind words

For me, solace is found in reflecting over student growth throughout the year. I see the final report card as a treasure hunt that gets a new map attached to continue the adventure next year. Each year, our learners show so much growth and potential. As we report en masse these next weeks, take time look back at all of the amazing things that were accomplished in your classroom. Celebrate the highs, lows, bizarre, unexpected, and growth in yourself and your students. I have been fortunate to witness incredible growth in the curriculum subjects by my students this year, but it pales in comparison to the growth they have made as citizens and community. I hope you can celebrate this with your students too.

May 30, 2017June 13, 2017 Will Gourley Challenging Topics, General, Making a Difference Through Education, Mental Health, Standardized testing, wellness

Speaking of immovable objects

Here’s an open ended question for your classroom or next staff meeting.

Q: What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?

I love asking questions like this. They tend to force people to engage a different set of neurons to come up with the answer(s). Usually, the room gets quiet at first, but then what follows can be quite rich and edifying.

Did images of the universe collapsing upon itself come to mind? Were Neutrinos, light energy, and dark matter dancing destructively in your mind? Nice, but this is not a Science blog. I predict nothing happens. This seems to be the most simple answer I can conjure. Especially, when neither entity can be stopped or moved. Let the exchange of ideas begin. This is what I strive to achieve in my classroom.

Lately, something has interrupted our flow. Again.

Fill in the blank.

It’s the most __________________ time of the year.

a) Wonderful (b) Hectic (c) Incredible (d) Stressful (e) All of the above

Here’s a snapshot from last week in my own incredibly hectic and quasi-stressed out classroom.
Tuesday: Students come to school under a cloud of distraction and worry over the provincial government’s mandatory standardized test EQAO. So I prescribed a Math test to get their minds off of the days ahead.

Wednesday to Friday: EQAO testing delivered over 3 days in 6 x 100 minute periods. Followed by a decision to provide 100 minutes of movement time each of those afternoons. After sitting at their desks writing assessments, which are as long as some high school tests, my grade 6 students earned the right to move around. So to the gym and outdoors we fled. Unless Participaction and Ophea are lying to us, an active body leads to a healthy mind and the two are inextricably connected because they add up to happy learners.

Movers and groovers

If we are truly differentiating education to support all learners in Ontario, then why is the standardized assessment basically a read and respond test? How are the needs of all learners honoured here? When will kinesthetic, musical, visual/spatial, and inter-personal learners get their rightful moments to shine? And then there are the students who suffer from anxiety regardless of their incredible skills.

Anxiety is one thing parents and schools do not need to teach students.

Q: Why do so many students come to school worried about this test?
A: They’ve learnt it at home, and then they’re learning it in school.

This revelation comes from an informal poll taken over 8 years of teaching students in grade 6, many, who feel their families put pressure on them over EQAO, and also that the school intentionally or inadvertently perpetuates in the classroom in Grades 3 and 6 does the same.

Despite repeated assurances that EQAO is a meaningless test, with regards to their report cards and chances of getting into university, students and their families are still laying a lot of emotional eggs into this basket. For whose benefit, then, do tests like these really serve? In my neighbourhood it appears to be increasingly financial as homes in “high achieving” schools like Markham and Unionville are in constant demand on the real estate market. No pressure.

Think of the money

Are parents sub-consciously stressing children over EQAO scores to influence their property values? Say it isn’t so. Each year on meet the parent night in September, the test is front and centre on the agenda of many in attendance. With some time and clear information, many of their concerns are acknowledged and addressed. However, 8 months into another year, there are still remnants of confusion in the general public. Recent correlations between house prices and test scores are adding fuel to this fire?

So how can you help students overcome test anxiety? Last year I shared some of my strategies. Below you’ll find some others to choose from and build on;

a) Give them lots of tests and worksheets to build up students’ test-taking immune systems? This is a classic technique from the Drill and Kill Society of Educators. This would not be my personal strategy to share, but it is still widely in use. It is easily rationalized with, “Life is a test” and “Everything is a test.” To which I reply, “Life’s tests are, at least, meaningful.”
b) Develop strategies for answering questions? This involves a plan. I always suggest reading the questions over 2 or 3 times while highlighting the key points, skipping questions to revisit afterwards helps students to get past feeling stuck, double checking calculations helps make sure all steps were followed along the way, and re-reading answers afterwards for evidence of understanding. These techniques help students to a point, but are not test taking cure-alls.
c) You could also build higher order-thinking skills that apply understanding, knowledge, application, and evaluation into every response?
d) Don’t forget to look after your body. Drink water, have a snack, close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and repeat motivational axiom of your choice. You got this.

Our corner

What did we do to prepare? Nothing. No sheet of paper was harmed in preparation for EQAO in my class. I posted some links to the EQAO homepage via our class web site at the beginning of the year after a parent requested them. Other than that, it’s been a beautiful year of asking engaging questions, interleaving concepts*, and opportunities to develop/use critical thinking in every aspect of the learning lives.

Let me know what strategies you use in the classroom to combat standardized test fatigue. Please share in the comments section and keep the conversation going. Thank you.

* More on Interleaving via http://www.greatmathsteachingideas.com/2015/02/01/building-interleaving-and-spaced-practice-into-our-pedagogy/

April 30, 2017 Will Gourley Challenging Topics, Constant Learning, General, self reflection, Student Ownership

Discipline used to mean something good

Discipline

The mere mention of it conjures up deeply personal memories. Other than infancy, there are very few times in our lives when we act without discipline. STOP signs, social media, and schedules are all prime examples when it is required. And then there’s discipline as it relates to school. For me, it started with stories shared by my mom about a one room school house where the headmaster sadistically silenced students into submission with a switch. Shudder. I clearly remember the rows on a dusty chalkboards replete with repetitive reminders of our recalcitrance. In the 70s, my grade 6 rotary teacher allowed students to pick the paddle with which he would use to discipline us. He had a collection in the corner. Speaking of corners, many were filled with kids “rewarded” with a change of scenery and a new hat for their misgivings. It was a different time and we were afraid.

Discipline varied from year to year and teacher to teacher. Perhaps it was to keep us off balance or that a constant was simply not possible. I’ve experienced 100% of them myself, and was tied to a chair in grade 1 for good measure. Thankfully, I haven’t seen 80% of these types of discipline since beginning my career as an educator in 2009.

In 2017, discipline has evolved to lost recesses, extra work, isolation from peers, loss of privileges, the walk of shame/glory to the office to see the principal, expulsion, and yes still, the writing of lines.* Have students become better behaved or have educators become better at classroom management? Ask yourself, “How does discipline happen in your school?”

In my classroom, a collective establishment of behavioural expectations has been crucial. With my students involved there is democracy, their voices are heard, and this then becomes the standard for everyone to uphold. At it’s heart, discipline must be founded in respect and responsibility where students contribute to and are expected to make good decisions at all times.

via https://www.flickr.com/photos/st3f4n/4193370268 CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

So how in 2017, where a JK to 12 education is mandatory and free for all, why then are things like the one below still happening?

| The state of Arkansas Corrections department carried out the unprecedented execution of 4 prisoners in April. Really?|

This got me thinking about discipline, law, crime, law enforcement, punishment, society, and then, without fail, back to education. I wondered how any society built on the rule of laws, which are guaranteed for the protection and benefit of all, fails itself so frequently? Does education contribute to the school to prison pipeline with outdated methods of discipline?

Would it not be easier to rearrange the order of this equation in order to place education and society first? Could schools be funded as highly as prisons in order to end this destructive cycle? Did you know that education receives approximately one tenth of the funding per student as the prison system does per inmate? This gap cannot continue if we expect to grow happy, healthy, and whole learners.

Can we return to discipline’s original Latin disciplina; where it means method, instruction, and knowledge instead of scourging and flagellation? If we put knowledge and instruction over control we could restore discipline to its positively intentioned origins? I am positive the investment in education will lead to greater opportunities for everyone while reducing crime and prison populations.

I wanted to stretch, if not challenge, thinking with this reflection on discipline. Specifically, how this word, through its meaning and deeds, effects everything we do in education. Assuredly, any discussions of discipline require rules, boundaries, and consequences. But after all, isn’t that what it’s here for? Perhaps, in the spirit of the word, it can be so much more if we choose to use it positively instead to preserve power.

Thank you for reading. Feel free to share your memories in the comments section below.

Please read on if you’d like a little more.

* A switch history

Remember the axiom. ” Spare the rod and spoil the child.” Banning the Strap delves into the history of discipline and banishment of corporal punishment in Canada. Looking on our neighbours to the south, New Jersey was the first state in the USA to abolish corporal punishment in 1867 with Massachusetts coming a close second doing the same in 1972.

Thought this was interesting from our friendly neighbourhood land of the free.

via https://www.pinterest.com/edweekpress/

April 10, 2017April 12, 2017 Will Gourley Constant Learning, General, Mental Health, Professional Learning and Growth, self reflection

The stretch

It’s April. Phew! We made it through Winter.

It’s official because geese are honking on the playground. There’s more daylight, the snow is not staying on the ground, and my classroom is buzzing from the promise of Spring. Students’ activity levels are coming to life as the weather warms; even though, they’re prohibited from using the grass(mud/chance for grass to grow)or running on the tarmac(overcrowding).

Energy levels range from abundant to absent, as any teacher would attest. Our class is making excuses to learn outside. I love it when they ask and am happy to shift instruction and inquiry to outdoor mode. A sort of”Education on la Grande Jatte” with apologies to Seurat. There’s movement happening in the halls, and it’s not only the students this time. It’s educators too.

An annual migration of staff is in full flight. One that can only be equated to something akin to the trade deadlines in professional sports. Teachers and administrators are being moved, receiving their teaching assignments for the new year, or are actively seeking new opportunities. Whether it’s a move to a brand new grade, a new school, a new role in admin, or retirement; thousands of educators will find themselves in new spaces come September. Or is it a rut? So, like death, taxes and dishes left in the staff room sink – change is inevitable.

In March, teachers were told of their teaching assignments for the year ahead. Like the birds returning from the south, administrators were tasked with considering staff requests, future growth/decline, fit, and a host of intangible staff dynamics. Some teachers have discovered that the nest has been blown out of the tree. Some are learning, with a measure of surprise and uncertainty, how a change has happened which was contrary to their absolutism of choice(s). Yes, there are people who would go out of their way to avoid change. They have their reasons and are respected for them. However, there are still others who will be welcoming new opportunities with excitement.

It’s always a good time for a change when the dust in your classroom is older than the students.

By Stromcarlson (Originally uploaded to en as PD by Stromcarlson) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Let’s consider a sample scenario that could playing out right now with a veteran teacher in the same grade for 5 or more years. Add to this fact, s/he has been in the same physical space for that long. Now, think of the upheaval and umbrage that might underscore the news they’re being shifted to a new grade, a new room, and maybe even a new teaching team?

Some might think that this educator was being shifted as a form of punishment. While in fact the move is the breath of fresh air. Yes, there is uncertainty and people hate that, but there is also freedom. Think of it like changing the air filter of your furnace. You would never keep the same one in place for a year let alone 5 or 6?

So this Spring, choices can be met with acquiescence or anticipation. Whichever view you choose will shape your thoughts and practice for the coming year. Will you stretch beyond your walls or will you barricade yourself behind your dusty desk?

Now before any harsh replies, keep in mind that the goal of our job has never been to become the comfortable automatons of education, but to stretch as lead learners in our schools. It is the very idea and excitement of change that should set us a light in our teaching practice.

Last year I wrote a piece entitled Time for a Change where I share advice and encouragement about stepping out of our comfort zones as educators if you want to read more.

and something else

There is another side to this thought that reflects the turnover of educators in struggling/poorer schools in England. This two page graphic made me wonder whether this might correlate to our inner-city or First Nations Metis and Inuit communities are facing the same issues of teacher turnover, and therefore are creating an educational vacuum in our own country? http://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/cmpo/migrated/documents/howlongteachersstaying.pdf I’d love to know your thoughts about this.

March 29, 2017March 29, 2017 Will Gourley Constant Learning, General, Modern Learning, self reflection, Wellness

The Groove

This is my follow up post to Am I Teaching in a Rut

By Shane Gavin [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Without offending your musical sensibilities, I want those who might have been singing Madonna’s Get into the Groove, to turn it off of their mental playlist for a few minutes, and spin Stevie Wonder’s Higher Ground instead.

It’s OK, if you have both battling it out in your brain. I did. Stevie prevailed in case you wondered.

Although it’s catchy, the Madonna track gets me into a small groove, but it can’t keep me there. Music is like that. I count on it, always, to get me in a steady groove and to keep me there. Shouldn’t education be like that too?

So, what’s a groove? Is it a track or channel that you fit yourself? Is it a vibe or a feeling? Is a groove smooth? How do you distinguish when you’re in a groove versus a rut? And how does it relate to my practice and pedagogy when you’re in one?

A groove is something that fits you perfectly. A groove feels good. When you’re in a groove, it never feels like what you’re doing is work. Being in the groove is contagious. It helps others around you find theirs too.* Imagine a whole school where everyone is in their teaching and learning groove? Students are witness to enthusiastic educators who are fearless learners and relentless encouragers.

What an incredible opportunity to learn, grow, and share everything that is awesome in education?

The groove is good

So whenever it feels like work then you’re in a rut. A rut travels from A to B or deeper. A rut wears down the traveler and the trail. Teaching in a rut is like being on auto-pilot because you’ve been down the same worn path over and over. A rut leaves its travelers dulled before, during, and after the journey.

The foundation for this post was set by wondering whether I am teaching in a rut or rocking/rolling along in a groove? And whether one was different from the other? My original post can be summed up in 3 key points to help stay out of a rut;

Being a flexible learner in front of students and colleagues
Being open and adaptable to what and where I teach(kind of like #1).
Seeing the challenge as something to accomplish rather than feeling punished for it.
Being unafraid of change even when it is something unknown

Thinking about this might be scary for some. Many of us have been raised in a corporate culture that requires keeping a nose to the grindstone, focused on the job, and safe from risk. That is precisely why we have to lift our heads and stretch our outlook. This comes from taking chances in the classrooms, hallways, staff-rooms. We have to encourage one another to share ideas, passions, successes, and failures. Teachers need to celebrate “the hard times and the good” with our students and with each other. That’s how we will find our groove(s)?

For me the groove is what gets me out of bed before the sun rises. It makes me excited to share learning with my students and with a world of educators. A groove does not have time for pettiness, negativity or self indulgence. A groove is designed for the positive, potential, and process in education.

Now the hard part…

What’s your groove? If you could do anything in education knowing you’d succeed, what would it be?
Thank you for reading. Please share and keep the conversation going in the comments section.

Will

* Oh, oh! I just thought of a B52’s song to go with this post.

I love music in most of it’s forms. It pervades my day, accompanies me as I work/relax, and provides me insight into people as an inter-generational time machine and lens. For a deeper understanding about the soundtrack to my life, click on this link to I(n) Tune.

March 23, 2017October 13, 2018 Will Gourley Challenging Topics, General, Professional Learning and Growth, self reflection

Am I teaching in a rut?

It’s March, and things are changing – again. The birds now welcome me to school most mornings with their spirited songs. Not to be outdone, Winter still attempts to poison as many perfectly sunny seasonal days with its cold, wind, and snow. Preparing for outside supervision has required that I keep all outdoor gear at the ready for another March meteorological maelstrom. I am beginning to wonder whether I’ll make it through another outdoor supervision at -15 C or colder.

It’s been tough on our students too. Many times finding themselves cooped up in their classes due to frigid temps. Imagine learning, working, having your breaks, and eating your lunch in the same space as 25 other people? At least teachers can excuse themselves to the staff room. So it’s no wonder that, at the first signs of Spring, energy levels go from sedentary to bristling the moment the mercury rises above 0 C.

Yet, for all their energy, students find themselves confined to hardtop for recess while the weather changes its mind daily. The once snow covered fields are wet and look like pallid straw waiting for the sunlight to warm up its roots with the promise of growing greener. With it, a well worn patch of the mud and muck that has become the current site of a, “I dare you to jump this,” long-jump pit.

https://pixabay.com/en/earth-wet-earth-mud-ground-1280278/

Recently, something stuck to my mind like mud on a shoe. It came after seeing this newly christened jumping pit on the school yard. It was a mucky/dirty patch of exposed earth full of tracks/footprints left behind by the brave who tried to clear it, but fell far short. Indeed, Spring’s official arrival comes with its share of magnificent and messy moments at schools.

the thought process

Those footprints made me think of how difficult it is to extricate a shoe or a car that is stuck in mud. That led to think about the expression,”a stick in the mud”, and how it relates to inflexible attitudes. Then I wondered, am I being inflexible? Could I be in a rut in my practice as an educator? Was I able to avoid the ruts and muck in my professional practice to stay in the groove moving forward, or was I already wallowing in it without knowing? Did I want to know? After all, some people pay big money at the spa for mud baths.

rut or a groove?

Are there ever signs to tell us we’re in a rut? I have been teaching grade 6 in one capacity or another since starting my career in 2009. The Junior Division is, definitely, one with which I am very comfortable as a teacher. But it’s that word comfort which concerns me because it might be keeping me in a rut and hindering my growth as a constant learner? Let me ask you. How long have you been teaching in the same classroom, subjects, grade or division? If you answered more than 3 years for any of these, you might be carving out quite a rut.

When you’re in a rut you can still roll along without an issue unless you try to get out. Climbing out is dangerous if ever attempted, and leaves one feeling exposed or vulnerable. Yet, if we move our students along from grade to another, why are we not seeking the opportunities to grow into new experiences as well by changing our routines in for some new ones? Sometimes a rut maybe so high that it is more like a canyon where sunlight seldom hits the floor. This means that perspectives become narrowed our hyper focused.

…we are certified to teach much more than we do. We spend tens of thousands of dollars to be certified to teach multiple grade levels, but we are put in a position, or are resistant to being any other position, of teaching one grade level for multiple years. Some teachers teach the same grade level for decades.

At some point, that does not foster growth. It fosters comfort. ” Peter DeWitt, 2015

Have you ever wondered why educators move schools? I know from experience that moving to a new school brings an infusion of enthusiasm, and ideas into a new learning space. We can’t help, but learn from one another when we engage in new situations and with new people. Many of us feel entitled to teach the same grade each year even when we are qualified to teach a range of grades and panels. We have to remember that assignments are not guaranteed for life and that change is ultimately better for our practice.

What about the argument that a rut is really a groove? In my next post, I will share about how we can escape or smooth out the ruts in our practice and get into a groove of our own.

I’d love to know your thoughts about this post. Please take the time to share in the comment section below.
Thank you for reading.

February 28, 2017February 28, 2017 Will Gourley Constant Learning, General, Inspiring Students, Inspiring Teachers, Learning About Your Students, Modern Learning

Cultivating a culture of creativity

Recently, I was asked to explain my vision on how to cultivate a culture of creativity in the classroom. After a few moments of reflection came this response.

From the moment that a student enters our classroom fostering a culture of creativity requires 3 key things; fearlessness, fluidity, and failure.

IMO, these 3 are inextricably linked in my classroom. As lead learners first, teachers are crucial to a successful culture of creativity as they model fearlessness to students in our own approaches to learning. When students see their teacher unafraid to take chances and make mistakes, they too will be emboldened to do the same as they approach the new and unknown.

Establishing this in a classroom might require teachers to become Pirates as Dave Burgess shares in his transformative book Teach Like a Pirate. This requires complete commitment and patience. Remember, it’s about the process not the product.

This requires flexibility to escape from what is fixed within a text book, a single narrative/point of view, or schema. A classroom must be a fluid space where the way must be tried (tentanda via), but if it is limited to merely the information provided out of ivory towers; when and where will students have an opportunity to challenge it?

If we want a culture of creativity, we must allow room in our instruction to critically consider/falsify(as Scientists would according to Popper) what is being taught. This takes a mighty courageous educator who is willing to let go and share “power” with students.

Finally, for cultures of creativity to occur, a FAIL mindset is needed. FAIL is a wonderful acronym for First Attempts In Learning. We celebrate failure in the classroom because there is still something learnt in the attempts at something. When students feel safe to learn, try, and supported when they fail then they will be strengthened to extract the lesson, unlearn, relearn, try again, and repeat as a natural part of the process.

Some tangible examples of this in my class have come in my Electricity unit where we have been trying to make a fully functioning replica of BB-8 from Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens movie. Throughout the process we have ideated, iterated, learned, adjusted, tried again. Instead of disappointment after an attempt or apparent failure, there is opportunity to rethink and try again.

Students empowered with a mindset of fearlessness in a flexible environment are bound to be invigorated and engage in their learning/tasks with their creativity emboldened.

I believe these 3 things to be at the core of innovation in education and have worked to embody them in my personal practice.
ps If I was to share a fourth item it would be that a culture of creativity is messy. Often, no path exists and therefore students must blaze their own trails. With the right attitude, the mess and muck of learning and creativity mesh to form a ‘lit’ learning environment.

pss – George Couros is the current godfather of innovative practices in education. He is a brilliant and gifted communicator who shares a passion for education with the world. His book the Innovator’s Mindset is on my reading list and I’d encourage you to add to yours.

If you want to continue this conversation about innovation or to share how you are innovating in your learning space, feel free to share in the comment section below. Thank you for reading. Will

February 20, 2017 Will Gourley Constant Learning, Differentiated Instruction, Field Trips, General, Learning in a Real Life Context, Literacy, Math

Express lane to learning

Recently, I was out shopping, and came upon something that’s not usually found for sale on the shelves at local grocers. Insight.

Funnily enough, it was probably there all along. I must have blown past a bunch of times while buzzing about my mental list of must buys. But this time, finding insight was meant to be. I’ll explain in 10 items or fewer.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/kirrilyrobert/2355105082/ CC by 2.0

Usually, upon walking into a store, I’m pre-occupied with my mental shopping list, figuring whether something is a good deal or not, and by getting out as quickly as possible. This requires the use of several life, mental Math, and critical literacy skills.

The act of shopping really requires planning and strategic thinking to figure out when a store will have the least amount of people as possible in it so that we may park, pickup a cart, procure, pay, and part. It is impossible to ignore the thought required for such seemingly innocuous trips that are made for our milk, bread, and eggs etc.

From now on, and armed with this understanding, I am going to use my trips to the store to seek out and share its valuable lessons. There’s knowledge to acquire about Math(Measurement or Number Sense), to Media Literacy(package design, use of space), and to the development of crucial future life/socialization skills in every aisle.

Consider the yogurt section for a moment; there’s something for everyone in that part of the dairy case. Where else could so many products co-exist so peacefully? In fact where else could such diversity exist(except Canada)? Here gluten free, lactose free, peanut free, Halal, Kosher, vegan, and meatatarian are available to all at the grocery store and share an inclusive space.

Then there’s the produce section.

While perusing here, I saw couples discussing, quite demonstratively, which bunch of Rapini to buy. Then I spied the apple aisle. There was a person who felt compelled to touch all of the apples in the case. I witnessed a grape thieve looking from side to side and then pop a few into her mouth. Here were real lessons on relationships, human behaviour, and decision making all before me waiting to be picked and extended into the classroom.

It’s like that in the classroom or a head of Iceberg(lettuce). Teachers work hard to make learning engaging, extendable, and relevant everyday.What most outsiders see is only the first leaf, layer or ply.*

Speaking of plies. I thought it would be fun for my students to calculate which toilet paper at the store was the better deal based on size and number of sheets per roll.

Talk about a real life problem. Initially, I went around snapping pictures of the different packages and their details to build the questions. The class discovered that there’s a lot going on that can confuse consumers. We came away wiser for the time knowing we wouldn’t get rolled over by the manufacturers next time.

Your turn

Have you ever considered or taken a class to the local grocer? What about a super-type store à la WalMart(wish I could still write Zeller’s here)?

Or how about a homework assignment to include children in the planning and shopping? Who knows it might become fun, or democratize the food choices in some households. It may even lead to conversational and debating skills.

There’s a line forming behind me. Happy shopping. Thank you for reading. Please share and take time to comment to keep the conversation going.

*You thought I’d say tip since iceberg was used, but no!

January 31, 2017January 31, 2017 Will Gourley General, Making a Difference Through Education, Resources, Use of Technology

TED Ed in the Classroom

I’d like to share, what is probably, my favourite on-line and in-class instructional tool – TED Ed. And since 2013, it has been front and centre in my classroom. TED Ed you wonder – it’s like TED Talks right? Kind of yes and not exactly. Although I use both at my school, there are some differences.*

It all started in 1984

Last year, I shared TED Ed with alot of educators. So to break the ice, I begin by asking them to guess what TED stands for? Most people respond with Technology, Education or Engineering, and Design. Those happened to be my guesses too, but the ‘E’ in TED, stands for Entertainment. Since those first talks in 1984, tens of thousands of speakers(students included) have stood on the dot and shared their ideas worth spreading which are both entertaining and educational.

The Ed or education component is a relatively recent addition, but it is quickly becoming a phenomenon that is uniting educators around the world.

TED Ed Clubs

Out of the incredible talks and desire to connect educators around the world with one another, the TED Ed Club and TED Ed Lesson platforms were developed. Now teachers have an opportunity to curate, create and share lessons with a global cohort of educators and learners. What’s incredible is that students can access and contribute to the lessons too.

So far this school year, I have shared lessons with high school students in Poland, connected with TED Ed Club leaders and students in Zambia, and worked welcoming new club leaders from Syria, India, and here in Canada. From these experiences we support one another, while encouraging students and educators to discover their passions, find their voices, and develop important presentation literacy skills.

Through TED Ed Clubs in my school, students cultivate ideas, learn to organize and express them and then present their talks at number of opportunities throughout the school year. Some talks are even shared, with permission, on the TED Ed YouTube Channel.

TED Ed Lessons

Whether it is for mind’s on activities introducing new subjects, or I have created and shared over 50 lessons using their free lesson editor. It starts with an idea, and then another one, and suddenly there are ideas spilling all over the desks, into the hallways, and out the doors of the school. Simple right? Did I mention it was free?

With a certain lens. I’ve discovered the magic occurs whenever I am able to find out what interests students as I plan my instruction. Armed with that knowledge, I can then create or bookmark lessons to spark curiosity, broaden understandings, and encourage digging deeper.

In fact, one of my favourite parts of creating a TED Ed lesson is filling the Dig Deeper section with resources and additional lessons, images, and points of view. I even post music videos as a soundtrack for some. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive from students and parents. I hope you take the time to explore TED Ed and are able to use it in your classroom. If you create a lesson, please share it with me.

If you’d like to learn more about TED Ed, please message me in the comment section and I would be happy to share. In the meantime, click on some of the links. One of them is the current Prezi I share with educators for PD.

Thank you for reading.

* When I was starting out in French Immersion, the subtitles in TED Talks allowed me incredible access to fascinating digital content, while honouring the need to maintain a focus on French language learning. Now, I am trying to gather like minded educators to contribute lessons to be shared for French Language education. Please leave a message in the comment section if you are interested in joining me.