Frustration as an Opportunity

I was recently facilitating a Quantum Learning for Student program that incorporated a break out session, where the teachers work with the students and help them apply what they learned from Quantum Learning to their subject matter.

As I was roaming throughout these breakout sessions, I glanced down the hall to see a student sitting somewhat dejectedly, waiting for her parents to pick her up. Noticing that this student was one I met earlier, I decided to sit and have a conversation to see if I could discover the cause of her foul mood.

The student explained how she had gotten into an argument with an adult at the school. My mind was running with ideas on how to take this situation – that from what I could gather was occurring due to the student’s own choice – and turn it into a lesson. This student could either go home angry and in bad mood, or apologize and attempt to make things right. After presenting her with these options, she reasoned that the latter sounded like a better idea. Even though she said she didn’t care and wanted to go home and forget about it at one point, I got the impression that deep down inside she wanted to make things right. After a little nudging, she chose to apologize, committing to being a better student the next day.

I think of the times when I get frustrated by students. How many times do I miss learning opportunities to teach character? In the midst of the many things we educators have going on, taking time and searching for ways to transform these moments into lessons takes energy and work. And yet these moments are key for teaching life skills that can serve them for years.

Put Me In, Coach!

I recently attended a 2-day training in San Diego City Schools called “Put Me In, Coach.” This is a program for master teachers who have or will have a student teacher. The program was developed by Mark Reardon and is an exciting new offering of Quantum Learning Education.

The opening statement, “All habits we have as teachers are just habits and patterns and those patterns — they are either useful or not useful patterns” led to a great connection on the “supreme goal” of all teachers being focused on Quality of Student Learning.

 

There were dozens of powerful moments for me in the workshop as I made connections to Central Elementary School in Lake Bluff, IL where Tom Brown, my master teacher (who trained at the University of Chicago Lab School) coached me, grilled me, got me to stop saying “okay” at the end of a sentence, modeled greatness, shared and had me think about my practice. He inspired me on a daily basis and shaped much of how I educate today.

 

Mark shared 5 simple expectations he has of a student teacher. I share them with you because they are simple, up-front and useful:

1. Teach from a place of passion and enthusiasm
2. I expect you will fall in love with my students as I have
3. Do not call me after 7pm, that’s family time
4. On-time means on time 7:28 is on time for a 7:30 meeting
5. At the end of this experience I want to say to your supervisor – you love kids, you care, you dress professionally, you speak with good purpose and what your strengths are as a teacher.

 

I saw this quote by John Dewey, “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” What a great idea for all of us to remember, because every single day a new or veteran teacher thrusts themselves into new territory, is asked to perform, think and process how they can better impact the lives in front of them, understands their content, knows outcomes, heads-off discipline issues, give clear instructions…ah, this is the education. And what a great one when you have an outstanding coach to guide and mentor.

Singing Science

I was recently delivering a presentation to a group of elementary school teachers in a rural part of a beautiful southern state. The group was leaving for lunch, and I was unexpectedly whisked away to visit an elementary school about 30 minutes away. Several of the teachers and administrators have previously received Quantum Learning training, and they really wanted me to “see something”.

Everything was shrouded in mystery and anticipation, and I was pretty excited for it. We arrived in record time, and the assistant principal greeted us at the door with a smile and instructions to follow her to a 2nd grade classroom. We hurriedly did so, and found a group of 60 or more 2nd graders waiting for us. This group of students looked like any you might find across the country: the kids came in all shapes, sizes, and colors. I imagined they all had a story to tell. This was a Title I school, meaning a majority of attending students qualify for free or reduced lunch. Most of the students were poor. But while these kids may not have the same opportunities or resources as some of their wealthier counterparts, they were just as bright and eager to learn.

After brief introductions, a teacher pushed play on her small stereo, and the kids started swaying from side to side. I easily identified the beat to a recent popular song. This was a backtrack, and the students were about to sing their own lyrics to the song. The overhead flicked on, and the teachers led the way as the room started singing about states of matter. That’s right: states of matter. Clever rhymes and hooks about gasses, liquids, and solids. The kids sang with gusto for the entire 2-minute piece. I was informed later that the teacher in the front had written the song one day while jogging on her treadmill. She didn’t set out to be super-creative or impress every teacher in the district (though she accomplished both of those things)…she only wanted to teach important content in a way she hoped would reach students.

It was an inspiring display. It reminded me of the reasons I am in education and working with young people. If you are familiar with Quantum Learning content, it was a perfect example of making connections to students’ schema, as well as The Prime Directive – entering the students ‘world’ so we can then bring them into our world of content.

Thanks for letting me be part of the magic.

Autism and the Brain

During a delightful day of professional development in Minnesota, we engaged in a fascinating conversation about the way memories are formed, stored and recalled in the brain. We talked about the thalamus, amygdala, sensory cortices, working memory, cerebral cortex … you name it, we talked about it. Or so I thought.

Then the question about autism and other disorders came up. I am a teacher by trade, not a neuroscientist, so I was unable to share an in-depth response to an often-asked question. I was curious, so I hit the books. Here is my best attempt at summarizing the information I’ve read to those of us who interact with students all day, not rats.

Basically, we have not labeled the part of the brain that is most closely connected to autism in our Quantum Learning for Teachers training, yet. We had finished Level 2, and have three more levels to go. Most of the research I’ve read on autism points to the cerebellum. Development of this part of the brain is abnormal in autism. The cerebellum is located below the visual cortex and is mostly responsible for sensory perception, motor control and coordination. In his book, How the Brain Learns, David Sousa mentions that recent studies indicate the cerebellum also supports limbic system functions and cognitive processes in the frontal lobe. (PS – the amygdala is in the limbic system.)

There is also research available that also connects autism to a dysregulation of certain amygdala functions. Specifically, some research suggests the amygdala is under-responsive with autism. This helps us understand the social impairments often seen in autism.

We explore more of the limbic system in Level 3 of Quantum Learning so hopefully more clarification will come then. We’ll take a look at the role of the hippocampus (yes, that is really what it is called) and it’s role in the limbic sytem of the brain. It too has some connection to autism.

Learning Via The Tree Octopus

I just read this article on the Tree Octopus of the Pacific Northwest.

OK, the article is not actually about the tree octopus. It is about how an online tool referenced by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills that is meant to determine the legitimacy of a website is not actually a very good tool. See, they tested a bunch of junior high kids, and they all failed.

So what we have learned is that middle school kids are not able to discern the accuracy of a hoax created by web savvy adults with the intention of deceit.

Getting real, we probably all know people who are easily fooled by misinformation, bogus statistics and put-ons, even as adults. A straight face and sarcasm can be very confusing to children.  They don’t get satire.  It’s why someone like Stephen Colbert does not let his own kids watch his satirical TV show. For that reason, the argument is not as much about the tool in question, because I think the tool can work for older kids who are more savvy.

I think perhaps what can be gleaned is:

1. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills has a notion that kids must learn what is valid online information and what is not. That is valuable.
2. There needs to be additional and conscious learning on how to verify validity of online information.
3. Developmentally, young kids are not as able to decipher sophisticated adult humor or deceptive communication, so they need active guidance in Internet use.

OK, back to reading about my little octopus friend.

Knowledge ≠ Wisdom

I mean, they aren’t synonymous. Symbiotic, perhaps, but not synonymous.

Billy Connolly from Wisdom Book

I got on a kick thinking about wisdom a month or two ago when I first saw Andrew Zuckerman’s Wisdom Book film clip. My colleagues and I have talked about this clip regarding the design and aesthetic of it, how we like the way it brings the attention where it is most pertinent and powerful, but not the actual topic of wisdom.

The question I was most recently entertaining was: How does wisdom relate to learning?

On the surface, I think most teachers will agree that one can have all the topic knowledge in the world and still not be a good or even decent teacher. You need topic/subject knowledge (this helps us know what questions to ask), as well as teaching knowledge, and the wisdom of how the knowledge can be applied for learning value.

Digging deeper, I ask myself, “What is the main point of the teacher?” For me, when I am working with a group – educators or kids – many of them expect me to teach them something. Seems straight forward, sure. But as a teacher, coach, or facilitator, I do not have this expectation. I can’t. It is too egotistical and impedes the process, like if it’s all about me, then self-directed learning just took a body blow to the uterus. Having that expectation puts all the pressure on the teacher, and it is an expectation that the teacher has little control over.

So what is an expectation that fits teaching better? For me, my number one expectation when working with a group is that they learn something while we are together. They can learn from someone in the group, from me, from themselves – I don’t really care. But they have to learn something, and they have to learn it while we are together. If I loosened the expectations a bit too far I might say, “They should be put in a position where they have the opportunity to learn something at some point based on the time we were together.” But I think that lets the teacher off too easy and creates scant accountability for my role as facilitator of learning.

What do you think? Does that work? What am I missing?