Google 20% Day

     We have all heard about the google 20% rule...giving employees time to work on ideas that interest them. Obviously it's much more than that, but we can take the basic principle and run with it in our classrooms. In addition, we have been reading of more examples of teachers re-creating this experience in the classroom. Therefore, Bob and I decided to have a "google 20%" day in which students could research and explore topics that interested them or work on creating something. This was our first time running this kind of day so we thought it would be good to document the experience. We are excited to share video footage of this experience, but also some bulleted observations:

• Being able to come up with ideas that capture their learning is a skill that needs practicing. 
• Students really have a wide range of interests...they are more dynamic than we think they are.
• We noticed kids struggling to make the connection between research and expression. 
• We noticed a number of students already so engrained to be a "cog in a wheel" that they felt lost. 
• A number of students have a story/background that could drive a ton of learning. Stories can provide so much of the "Why" in the learning process. 
• Instead of expanding the process, we feel students just need more opportunity and practice at asking questions and finding ways to become involved in what interests them. Keeping things small early on will be our theme! 
• Sad Comment: Too many students don't know what interests/excites them. 

Here is a video reflection of the day!

HMS 1st Google 20% Day from Mr. Malefyt on Vimeo.

Amazing Race (Fall 2012)

Hamilton 7 Science Amazing Race 2012 from Mr. Malefyt on Vimeo.

Reflection on Student Engagement

Real Story

  Meet Bryan, upcoming senior on our IchallengeU team. Bryan loves football and can't stop talking about it on his first day at the summer academy. His life revolves around work, football, friends, and going through the motions. During the two week summer academy, Bryan engages in a life changing experience in a field that he had no previous interest in...Agriculture! Bryan had a hard time shutting down at night because he couldn't get the problems out of his head! He left the program with a new life goal of making it back into the board room of Zeeland Farm Service as a business professional.

Have we really spent time to focus on what student engagement looks like? I wonder if we have a major misconception of the importance of time on task? Upon some reflection and reading I have come to the following ideas...

How should we document student engagement? 

     The first step in documenting student engagement is understanding what we are looking for. What does student engagement look like? If I am in church sitting through the sermon, I can look very engaged and can play the "game" just fine...but my mind is in a completely different place. On the flip side, I can learn in a variety of ways and one such way is through walking and talking...does walking and talking look like I am engaged? I think that there are three levels of evaluating engagement. 

Three Levels of Evaluating Engagement:

1. Visual: What do I see my students doing? In my opinion, the lowest level of evaluating engagement lies in what we see. In our science classroom, rarely do you see the teacher talking in front of the class. Students are moving, talking, debating, wondering, questioning, socializing, living, breathing, reading, writing, drawing, laughing, looking, daydreaming, etc... How do you decipher what is engaged and what is not? Is the learning meaningful? In Alfie Kohn's blog entry, "Time on Task" he talks about meaningful learning leads to faster learning which lends time irrelevant in the big picture. I think we can do better to understand where each student is in his/hers level of engagement.
2. Conversational: What are my students thinking? If I want to know what my students are thinking, I can't do it by visual cues. Conversations can occur verbally or written and attack a much deeper level of understanding. Having conversation of what they are doing, thinking, wondering, dreaming, and living will lead to clues about their level of engagement. How can we best create learning environments that foster this conversation on a consistent basis? I have a fellow teacher, Mr, Fuzak, who has a great line hanging in his room..."every student...every day". 
3. Impact: Are my students making actual change to the way they think, live, or learn? Is the highest level of engagement a situation where we have made actual change in the way someone thinks, lives, or understands a concept? Is our classroom environment allowing more "Bryan's" to exist in the world? Will our students work to create positive change in our health, environment, workplace, and world to name a few? How can we best create this learning environment in our everyday classroom? 

     To document this, I challenge us to focus on the conversational and impact piece. Instead of using a visual cue to dictate a checkmark in the "Class Dojo" app, there better be a conversation to go along with that checkmark. In addition, we need to continue to have students "share their story" on what is impacting them. I wonder if we should use this documentation to relate back to their skills for success and/or if we should use it for teacher reflection? 

How can we help students self-reflect on their own engagement? 

     While engagement is not usually listed as a 21st century skill or skill for success, it is an essential component to ones ability to be productive.  Would it be best to reference engagement as a "state of mind" and not a skill? If so, how do we teach students to self reflect on their "state of mind"? A couple of thoughts come to mind: 

1. Can we teach students how to self advocate for methods to get back on track?
2. Are we OK with non-conventional methods of providing students time/space/freedom to refocus? 
3. Can we change focus from "Time on Task" to the actual meaning of the activities and include students in this discussion? 
4. Can we provide an adequate portfolio system where students can reflect upon and share their engagement?

     In conclusion, I want to work at documenting the higher level of impact our classrooms have on our students.  I want to have conversation and understanding to drive our documentation of student skills and state's of mind. I look forward to continuing this discussion with my colleagues and PLN this upcoming year! 

References:

"The Limits of "Time on Task" - Alfie Kohn." 2011. 18 Sep. 2012 <http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/tot.html>

Should Personal Wellness be included in Skills for Success?

     I remember the days of old when I was sitting in high school. On the black board was posted a sign that read, "An ounce of Prevention is worth a Pound of Cure." Almost 20 years later that phrase still sticks, especially as I think about the skills for success. Skills for success and 21st century skills are closely related. I think it is fantastic that local companies teamed up with our ISD to emphasize certain skills our graduates need for their future. Each skill addressed has merit and makes a lot of sense. However, I would like to make an argument that one very large skill was left out...Wellness...the ability to be physically, mentally, and emotionally well.
     In reading the book, The Coming Jobs War, a lot was mentioned about the facts of our health. The numbers are staggering in how much health care costs. In fact, the book goes as far as saying that in order for us to win the upcoming jobs war, we need to double the amount of fit people in our nation. Marvel at these stats from the author, Jim Clifton:

1. The US spent $2,500,000,000,000 on healthcare in 2009. Compared to the $200 Billion per year price tag of war. Compared to the entire economy of India, with a population of 1 billion people, is right under $1.5 Trillion. Compare to Russia's entire GDP of $1.5 Trillion. 
2. The Gallop corporation predicts that the US will need an additional $10 trillion in the next 10 years for health care alone. 
3. The CDC reports that 70% of the $2.5 trillion dollars America spends on healthcare goes towards preventable disease. A significant contributor to this number is the fact that 2/3 of Americans are considered to be overweight or obese. 

     Therefore, why have we not addressed this issue to the point of making it a 21st century skill? The data says this topic has the power to make or break this country. Are we afraid that this issue hits home with too many of us? We currently work on evaluating citizenship, dependability, and social skills...is wellness to personal? If we are serious about educating our youth in what our businesses really need, we need to consider upgrading the importance of personal wellbeing. If we are serious about educating our youth to keep America significant, we need to consider the importance of wellbeing. Maybe then the cost of cure will be easier to handle because the price paid for prevention was a wild success!

Another Way to Start the Inquiry Process

Bob and I seem to always search for ways to kick off our units. We began starting the unit with student questions to guide the learning process. However, we need to find more creative ways to spark the conversation. Therefore, we tried to use a imovie for this topic!

A Fresh Look at Learning Targets

     Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of good to learning targets. They provide structure and focus to the learning that takes place in the classroom. Additionally, learning targets help in the process of grading, especially for teachers implementing a true system of standards based grading. However, I would argue that there might be a better way!

The Process
     This year, 7th grade science has started to implement more challenged based learning into the classroom. With this implementation we discovered that students had a difficult time asking good questions to drive their research. Upon reflection, Bob and I made a decision that we needed to increase our focus on student inquiry. In addition, we took a look at learning targets and came to the conclusion that each learning target was teacher driven. Not a single learning target was derived from student inquiry! Therefore, we decided to pursue a method that would preserve the content the state was requiring of us all the while encouraging student inquiry. We came up with a plan to have student questions drive the formation of our newly found (thanks to Brad Fuzak and Nate Alkire) road map.



When you take a look at the road map, student questions were divided up and organized into appropriate categories. These categories were designed to match the state curriculum. We hypothesized that student questions would match the general curriculum. In fact they did with a little teacher influence on the organization.
     The next phase of this newly found "road map" is the formative structure that it provides. As students complete the "box categories" we enter into a discussion with each student. Using their questions as a guide we determine if they have a good understanding of the content in that category. If a students has completed all the tasks and can demonstrate content knowledge they receive a stamp on that box to verify. No student is allowed to take a summative assessment until they have all their stamps!

The Data
     The data supports the validity of the student inquiry driving the tasks and the formative assessment. After the first trial of summative assessment on rocks we came up with the following:

• 175 students (88%) scored above a B-, which we consider to be proficient. 
• 22 Students (12%) scored between a B- and D-.
• 1 student scored below a D-

Conclusion
     Without actual numbers from previous years, I am very confident that we have never achieved this kind of student performance on the first summative assessment for a concept of this magnitude. A concept as complicated as a dynamic rock cycle has proven to be difficult in years past for many students. Many times we have found ourselves finding ways to re-teach material and providing justification for using retakes. Witnessing 88% of our students demonstrating proficiency this early in the process is good, but having only 1 student receive an E the first time through is bigger. In my opinion, reflecting on our use of learning targets is a discussion worth having.

Mineral Inquiry

We are changing things up in our rocks and minerals unit this year. In years past the labs and activities were based upon our interpretation of the standards. This year, we are going to format the unit based upon student questions. Our hypothesis is that the student questions will match the content expectations of the state. From these questions, we will create a "road map" of activities and tutorials for students to use to answer their questions!