Latest Posts

Creative Thinking – Is There Any other Kind?



Michael Michalko, creativity specialist, offers wisdom to everyonewho says, “I’m not creative.”

1. You are creative.
2. Creative thinking is work.
3. You must go through the motions of being creative.
4. Your brain is not a computer.
5. There is no one right answer.
6. Never stop with your first good idea.
7. Expect the experts to be negative.
8. Trust your instincts.
9. There is no such thing as failure.
10. You do not see things as they are; you see them as youare.
11. Always approach a problem on its own terms.
12. Learn to think unconventionally.
13. Creativity is paradoxical.

Read the full article at:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/creative-thinkering/201112/twelve-things-you-were-not-taught-in-school-about-creative-thinking

Read Michalko’s books:
Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Creative Thinking Techniquesor Creative Thinkering: Putting Your Imagination to Work.

Serving Up Ideas for Better Schools



Taking a cue from successful microfinancing programs offeredto people in developing nations, nonprofits have begun to make presentationsrequesting charitable dollars. The “new” in this news is that schools havetaken up the practice.

The idea is to invite school families – and the public – to attenda $5 soup supper. All the money in the stewpot will be awarded to someone atthe end of the evening. Teachers, and perhaps students, make short presentationsabout how they would use the money, such as for a teaching aid, a student trip,an investigative project, or whatever. Guests then vote on who gets the pot.

Read what Linton Weeks and Sam Sanders have to say in “Overthe Bowls of Soup, Donors Find Recipe for Change.”

http://www.npr.org/2012/02/09/146138924/over-bowls-of-soup-donors-find-recipe-for-change

or listen to the 4-minute broadcast.
http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=146138924&m=146657502

Thing Seven


There’s always more information out there.

Speaking to this principle, Google thought leaders continuedto make small and large refinements to improve their work. It’s a habit, and agood one.

How does this work in the classroom? Instead of pointing outwhat is wrong with student work, do you ask your students to look for ways toimprove their work? Students can be given the task of searching for three waysto improve an essay, a book report presentation, or a classroom simulation. Theycan look for ways to improve their own work and their fellow classmates’. Sometimesthis works best with a jury of peers. Give checklists to all students during apresentation, or let a small group review a project. This is what’s done in theworld of professional work.

What are you doing to gather more information and developthe habit of improvement?

Give Charters a Chance


Courtesy of Google Images


Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School (AMSA) of Marlborough,Massachusetts, opened to sixth and seventh graders in 2004. Now it goes throughgrade 12, and has graduated two classes. School enrollment is open by lotterywith preference given to local residents. Students are tested upon entrance andgiven remedial help as needed.

AMSA is getting great results.  Students at each level are scoring high onstate and national tests. So why have they had a turbulent beginning? Initiallystudents left in droves after eighth grade. Was the work too hard? Was thepreparation too good? Now some could enter private prep schools. Were parentsunsure about the “unproven” school and its college entrance potential?

Charter schools are undergoing some of the same developmentdifficulties that new businesses face. Each one needs to be judged on its ownmerits. If all teachers would work in teams to turn their learning environmentsinto desirable places, social and economic factors in student homes would notmatter. Every student would feel accepted and valued in his space.


See Julia Steiny’s article:
http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/julia-steiny-advanced-math-science-charter-school-part-i/

Can We Be Equal?



Toby Young is on a rant. He states that “dumbing down ofstate education has made Britain more unequal than 25 years ago.”  

The latest frenzy began with tweets from a teacherencouraging a student to be content with lower grades and be happy instead ofdriven to pass the test. Maybe there’s more to that story.

Other evidence of dumbing down came from high-performingstate schools accused of discriminatory admissions policies. The accused “comprehensiveschools” are by definition inclusive, but there must be an admission process in place. 

In Young’s words good comprehensive schools, “Thanks to their reputations for academicexcellence, they were attracting more than their fair share of above-averagepupils, thereby relegating the surrounding schools to secondary modern status.  In the eyes of the progressive elite thatcontrols our educational establishment, the best is the enemy of the good.Mediocrity for all is preferable to excellence for some.”

Is making the curriculum more accessible, i.e., teaching the “new unit in the Edexcel GCSE Englishsyllabus called English Today Theme Two(Talent Television), in which pupils are expected to study the home page of'Britain’s Got Talent' and a 2009 cover of 'Heat' magazine,” preferable for anyor all students? What happened to Shakespeare?

Read the full article in TheTelegraph.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/9082053/Dumbing-down-of-state-education-has-made-Britain-more-unequal-than-25-years-ago.html

Thing Six



Google, Inc. wrote “10 Things,” or guiding principles, andcorporate leaders revisit these ideas every couple of years to see if theystill hold true. (There’s a refreshing concept for educators as well.)

How does this “thing” apply to education?
Principle Number Six: You can make money without doing evil.
For educators, I would offer, yourstudents can achieve without cheating.

One of the bestexamples of educating with honor comes from the Porter Gaud School inCharleston, SC. The most impressive part of the school is theemphasis on honor.  Elements of theschool expression of trust and honor permeate the halls and the landscape. Itseems to be working with the students as well.

From http://www.portergaud.edu/

Three aspects of the honor code support theschool’s theme of Building a Respectful Community.

First, students should respect their ownwords. They speak the truth, even when that truth involves acceptingresponsibility for infractions of family, school or community rules.

Second, students should respect their ownproperty and the property (intellectual and tangible) of otherindividuals and of the school.

Third, students should respect themselves, as wellas their fellow students and their teachers, in working on andsubmitting their academic work.

These 3 fundamental ideas form the Honor CodePledge derived from the acronym W.A.T.C.H.
       Words, Actions, Character, Thoughts, Habits.

Andmy favorite - the WATCH Prayer - recited to me by my fourth grade host:

O Lord, may our words be full of truth andkindness, our actions gracious and honorable, our thoughts unselfish andcharitable, our character noble and upright, and our habits virtuous,that our School family may grow in faith, honor, and knowledge, as wewatch together
in all things. AMEN.

Writea classroom creed with input from your students, and let it inform theiractions.

Speak Up!


One of the most necessary skills for success in life is theability to motivate and inspire others with ideas. Writing well is a must, but nothingtakes the place of face-to-face human contact. Teaching students to make apresentation and energize others will give them life-long benefits.

Teachers need not reinvent the wheel. The most accomplishedand well-known organization for leadership and speaker training is ToastmastersInternational. Local Toastmasters clubs follow a prescribed plan for buildingadult leadership, and they provide free programs to students. Your students will come away with greater skill and confidence, and they'll have fun.

From Toastmasters web site:

Purpose of the Program
Everyyoung person has the potential to become a good communicator and leader, butthis potential needs to be developed. The program's unique eight-session,workshop-style design enables participants to develop this potential throughpractical experience.

The program is not in competition with school programs or courses, or otherestablished youth projects. Instead, it's a supplement to these programs,providing emphasis on specialized speaking and leadership skills, andindividual needs. Participants learn to:
·        Overcomenervousness when speaking before an audience.
·        Organizeand present ideas logically and convincingly.
·        Listencarefully to others' ideas.
·        Offeradvice to help others improve their speaking and leadership skills.
·        Participatein - and even lead - group discussion or meetings.
Participantsincrease their self-confidence as they learn. They also make new friends andhave fun. Toastmasters is an enjoyable learning experience!

For the Organizing Teacher
Theprogram is presented in eight sessions during or after school, or on weekends.Each session usually lasts one to two hours. Activities taking place in thesessions include the following:
·        Evaluationof present speaking ability
·        Discussionof chairmanship principles
·        Presentationof speeches
·        Impromptutalks
·        Groupevaluation
·        Discussionof speech organization
·        Discussionand practice in listening
·        Discussionof gestures in speaking
·        Discussionof voice and vocabulary
·        Exercisein chairmanship


http://www.toastmasters.org/Members/MemberExperience/SatellitePrograms/YouthLeadership.aspx







Hope for Differentiated Instruction


Courtesy of Google Images


One of the greatest challenges teachers face isdifferentiating instruction - providing individualized learning experiences asneeded for their students. Help is on the way.

Building on a model used by private tutoring services,software companies are designing apps to evaluate student’s learning needs andoffer suggestions for experiences and practice in developing skills. Case inpoint - New York City's School of One: The pilot program at Dr. Sun Yat SenMiddle School in Chinatown offered a five-week summer math program to incomingseventh graders. Students moved at their own pace through objectives forseventh grade math using a mix of whole class and personal instruction, softwareprograms and online study. Data on student progress was charted daily and usedto determine the next day’s instruction. San Diego is heavily invested in usingtechnology for differentiated instruction. Let’s hope they give us a good modelto follow.

Read about other approaches to individualization throughtechnology at:  
http://www.edweek.org/dd/articles/2010/02/03/02customlearning.h03.html

"Digital Tools Expand Options for Personalized Learning" By Kathleen Kennedy Manzo
Digital tools for defining and targeting students' strengthsand weaknesses could help build a kind of individualized education plan forevery student.



Thing Five


Courtesy of Google Images


Google, Inc. wrote “10 Things,” or guidingprinciples, for their business development. Corporate leaders revisit these ideas every couple of years tosee if they still hold true. (There’s a refreshing concept for educators aswell.)

How does this “thing” apply toeducation?
PrincipleNumber Five: You don’t need tobe at your desk to need an answer.
Wehave become a society that expects instant answers. No matter where we are, we anticipatethat we will have access to information.

It certainlymakes learning meaningful and engaging when a teacher and students can askquestions from a field location rather than waiting until they return to the classroom.Is the fish they just identified in an estuary a red drum or spotted seatrout?Pull out your tablet and have a look.

Are there otherways for your students to get answers while away from their desks?

Is Bigger Better for Education?



Courtesy of Google Images
There has been a move to consolidate school districts and buildlarger schools across the U.S. for several decades. As a young teacher Iremember the grief expressed by long-time teachers when they were forced tomove from their dilapidated, six-room country schoolhouse to the beautiful newfacility in our town. The size of the student body went from approximately 100to over 900. The grade levels switched from kindergarten through sixth grade tofourth through sixth. In spite of a spacious cafeteria (nonexistent before),large playing fields, and shiny new everything, teachers were dismayed.  Along with a larger building and student bodycame more regulations. There were no more Friday afternoons in the spring whenstudents of all ages rehearsed for musicals, or played softball in the sun. Dayto day activities and delivery of curriculum became systematized. Teachers losttheir autonomy, and thereby creativity in planning and carrying out lessons.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation recently supported astudy that found that high school students in NYC are more likely to graduateif they attend a school where there are fewer than 100 students per grade.During the time period of the study 67.9 percent of students from small highschools graduated after four years compared to 59.3 percent of students fromlarger schools. The results are the same across all races, income, and previoustesting achievement.

Co-author of the study, Howard Bloom, says, “It’s certainlynot just size, it’s how the size is used. These schools were organized from theground up in ways that would be extraordinarily unusual.”

Therein lies the answer to the argument. In a smallerenvironment, “where everybody knows your name,” a student can receive thedirection and services necessary to reach his potential. I know that’s theschool for me.


The More Things Change, the More They Change . . .


Courtesy of Google Images

Are students maturing without adequate social skills? Apparentlysocial scientists and psychologists have had enough time to research behaviorsof young people using social media to determine that the face (or that would belack of face) of social contact is changing in our world.

Students who grow up with social media tools and participatein continuous digital multi-tasking are missing important social skills. Thinkabout it - you can’t learn to “read” a person’s expression if all you see arewacko photos on Facebook and short text messages and Tweets.

Are the components that make us human changing? StanfordUniversity surveyed over 3,000 American girls, ages 8-12, and found that thosewho spent the most time using digital devices had the most difficulty withsocial interaction.

So what would a society be like if people communicateddigitally, rather than face-to-face? I see a YA trilogy in the making.


Thing Four


Courtesy of Google Images

There is a great deal of buzz in the education community about 21stCentury Learning, social media and connectivity. Perhaps we should be lookingat one of the world’s most successful (though not perfect) companies to learntheir guiding principles.

Google, Inc. wrote “10 Things” and corporate leaders revisit theseideas every couple of years to see if they still hold true. (There’s arefreshing concept for educators as well.)

Principle NumberFour: Democracy on theweb works.
Google believes that its searchfunction work s because users get to “vote” each time they land on a page. Atcorporate headquarters their hard drives are crunching numbers to determinewhich sites offer the greatest content value to customers. And we are allcustomers.
They also innovatethrough open source software development, thereby making more programs “free.”  
How about democracyin the classroom? Do your students perform better when they make choices abouthow to present what they are learning? Must everyone make a poster? Please sayit isn’t so!
How do you offer democraticchoices to your students?

Best Practice Makes Perfect

I’ve thought about "practice makes perfect" since I readMalcolm Gladwell’s chapter on 10,000 hours in his book, Outliers.Gladwell contends that people who are really good at what they do havepracticed for more than 10,000 hours. It’s hard to disagree. He includes stories about TheBeatles and Bill Gates in his list of practitioners.


Now there is more research on practice, specifically whatkind of practice makes perfect - it's deliberate practice. There is no betterexample of this than the way my husband and I play golf. He goes to a practicerange weekly and hits 100 or more balls, carefully making adjustments to hisstance and swing. He also plays 18 holes once or twice a week. I, on the otherhand, play nine holes twice a month. I sometimes go to the practice rangebefore play, but not often. I have a good time - sometimes. It’s not worthkeeping score. My husband improves his game steadily.

Courtesy of Google Images
According to the research of improvement comes from the laborious process of determiningwhere we are erring and self-correcting until our achievement is up tostandard.

See the full article by Annie Murphy Paul, author of Origins.Paul is currently working on a book about the science of learning, practicinguntil it’s perfect.

http://ideas.time.com/2012/01/25/the-myth-of-practice-makes-perfect/