Is It Worth Telling the Average Story?

Does anyone care to read a story about someone who decides to live a mostly normal life? Would you sit through a movie about a person who had big dreams, but ultimately life squeezed it out of them and they just went along with a dull day-to-day routine? I mean, maybe if the routine started at the very end of the movie, you might watch it. But what if most of the movie was about the uneventful life?

I wonder about this because stories are supposed to be relatable. And what's more relatable than being normal? But for some reason we prefer to hear about the special cases. The ending needs to stand out, or it wasn't worth our time.

And this also makes me think about the vast majority of us who don't have an amazing "dream came true" story to tell. See, for the "dream come true" story to be special, it has to mean most of us don't have one.

So if we take all those people without such a story, how many had big dreams that didn't come true? How would we know, since people don't care to hear those stories? 

Do most people with average stories simply not have big dreams? Or do they just learn to accept reality and stop dreaming? And are a lot of those people privately pretty bummed about the whole thing, but again, who wants to hear it? Do they just keep it to themselves?

I was thinking about this because of a project I didn't complete. Back in December I put a lot of work into an updated Teaching Like an Artist Journal. In my usual way, I was super excited about it. I was actually getting close to finishing it. I planned to do the final touches after a big conference in March, 2020. But that's when schools closed and I got crazy busy helping everyone teach online. 

I returned to the project a couple times, at least in my mind. But teaching seemed so different. I started questioning the value of what I had written. I eventually lost steam and haven't done anything else with it for almost four months now.

I read the introduction that I had written for the new edition and it took on new meaning, considering I didn't finish the book. Here's what I wrote:

There are times the artist considers throwing out the work. You might feel that way as you reflect on the questions [in this journal guide]. I know I did as I wrote them. But if you are reading them now, it means I didn’t give up. And maybe my small example (with the help of a little backstory) can be encouragement you need. 

So the finished book would have been a sign I didn't give up. But I didn't finish the book. Like a million other unfinished projects we could all tell about, I let it sit. Does it mean anything? Not much, if average stories aren't worth much.

As I reflect on this, here's my conclusion for now: We are pulled along by the happy (and special) endings we hear about, because we hope our own stories are not yet finished.

I'll try to get back to that journal.

8 Lessons From the Pros - Master Class Takeaways for Teachers

Last year for Fathers Day I asked my kids for an all access pass to Master Class. You've probably seen the ads for the service. In it's many classes, experts in several areas tell you the secrets of their success. From writers to directors to performers, I was intrigued by so many different topics I had to just get them all.

So I watched several over the past year. I didn't take any careful notes, but it wasn't hard to notice patterns emerging across all the domains. I focused a lot on writing and film making. I sampled a number of music and performance lessons too, but I didn't complete any of those classes. I watched most lessons quickly, usually at 1.5 speed. It's not a great way to learn the details, but it helped me distill the ideas I'll share here.

While these lessons have helped me explore creative pursuits as a hobby, I'm intrigued by how they'll help me be a better learner and educator. For each takeaway below, I included at least one Teaching Like an Artist question for reflection.

Takeaway 1:  There is not a single process that leads to success, but there are principles.

Time and time again the experts, regardless of the field, would argue there's no one way to succeed. They'd describe their creative process, then make it clear that's just what worked for them. When they worked, how they got ideas, how they planned--all those things could change.

But through their lessons and stories, common principles for creative work did show through. Of course, the most principles that emerged are the things I'm listing here.

Teaching Like an Artist:  What essential principles do you follow to ensure you're doing your best work as a teacher?

Takeaway 2:  Find the passion.

Some instructors stated this explicitly. For others it just came out in their lessons. We have to find that thing we are passionate about. When it connects with our hearts, we find the energy to persist. You'll see throughout many other items on the list below, success is standing up again when others would have stayed down.

Teaching Like an Artist:  What is your passion for teaching? As I've asked other times on this blog, what made you originally want to teach? How do (or can) you keep that passion in your mind when everything falls apart around you?

Takeaway 3:  Find the story

As I said, I focused on writing and film making lessons, so obviously story would be a big topic. But story came to the forefront in the documentary, communication and advertising courses too. A powerful, unique story is the key for grabbing attention in our noisy world.

While they didn't always delve into what they meant by storytelling, a big theme was the interplay of desire and conflict. What did the person want (there's that idea of passion again)? What obstacle did the person faced? In powerful real life examples, Robin Roberts summed this up as, "Make your mess your message." (See my past posts about the power of story for how I've related story to learning experiences.)

Teaching Like an Artist:  Clarify you teacher story by considering these questions. What do you want as a teacher? What obstacles have you overcome to succeed it?

Takeaway 4:  Do the work.

A lot of this list focuses on the struggle to keep going, but this one is more about the mundane struggle. It's the battle you win that no one would care to hear about, the work you choose to do daily instead of ignore.

Almost all the lessons touched on it. For writing, the main thing was to set a regular time to write. From music creation to performing magic, it was the routine practice and the hours of searching for the better idea.

Authors would talk about the "marathon of the middle" and how they questioned the value of finishing their work. They emphasized the importance of writing anything, because even bad writing gives you something to edit. Word by word, page by page, they made sure to finish.

It seems so obvious to say you must just do it. Yet it makes all the difference between the dreamers and the people living their dreams.

I have done creative pursuits "on the side" all my life and crossed paths with people who aspire to do the same. It has astounded me over the years how many dreams and good ideas never came to fruition because the people didn't have the discipline to do the real work.

Teaching Like an Artist:  What regular, mundane tasks do you need to do regularly to make sure you become the teacher you dream of being?

Takeaway 5:  Be known for Something

No one said this explicitly in the Master Class lessons I watched, but it was driven home to me. I would find myself skimming bios of the instructors when I didn't recognize their name immediately. I was looking for a work they created that I'd recognize. If I found something, they instantly had credibility.

Furthermore, I loved it when the experts would share how they first got noticed. Dan Brown, for instance, talked about his first couple books that barely sold. But then when he wrote The Da Vinci Code, people knew his name and his previous books sold well too.

I heard a very successful game designer give this advice at the start of his talk once. Be known for something. Ideally it will be something very good, of course, but mostly just be known. Be that person who did the thing people heard about. Even if it's locally, stand out. Build from there.

Teaching Like an Artist:  As a teacher, what are you known for? What could you do that would "put you on the map", either locally, regionally or on a larger scale?

Takeaway 6:  You are your first audience.

I have heard this idea for years from experts in several fields, yet I struggle with it. It feels a little selfish at times, but there must be truth to it. Artists often say they make the work they'd love to see.

So writers write the book they want to read. Musicians play the songs they want to hear. I heard a comedian say he only knows what will make him laugh, so he pictures himself in the audience.

It's easy to get distracted aiming for the target audience, so this advice is one way to simplify the challenge. The beauty is eventually the artist discovers the work which resonated with him or her also resonates with others.

Teaching Like an Artist:  In what ways are you the teacher you always wanted to have? Are there other things you can do to better become that teacher?

Takeaway 7:  Failure happens.

I've had my share of disappointments in my quest to create. It meant a lot to me when I heard some Master Class instructors talk about the ideas that didn't pan out. They talked about their stack of rejection letters. Everyone has them. They are part of that conflict and obstacle that makes for a great story. The trick is to keep moving. Keep holding out hope.

In the victories, we find a story that can help encourage others.

Teaching Like an Artist:  What failures are part of your story? Which past failures can you tell about to help students or colleagues strive for their dreams?

Takeaway 8:  Listen to the problem, not the solution.

Only one or two instructors mentioned this, but it was a powerful insight for me. I think it was Aaron Sorkin who stated it most clearly. He said people will critique your work and tell you how you should have done it. He learned early on to hear the problem they were expressing, not their solution.

After hearing it, it was his job to decide if it actually was a problem and how he would solve it. Essentially the artist is the one with the talent to creatively address the problem. It has to be done in a way only he or she is capable of.

The world is full of armchair artists who love a chance to influence someone else's work. Part of the skill of a real artist will be filtering their comments and skillfully addressing the valid problems they point out.

Teaching Like an Artist:  Almost everyone went to school, so almost everyone thinks they know what teachers should do! We get "input" form too many sources. What filters do you use to sift out the feedback that helps you truly get better at your work?

No One Could Blame You

Last year I read a tip on the Faster to Master site has been helpful. The author suggested reflecting on your wins from each day. I've been terrible about doing it on a regular basis, but I've been more conscious of the wins since then. I want to share a story about one of them.

The win is what mattered to me, not the details of the surrounding story. So forgive me if I'm being vague about what might seem like the juicy parts. I'm trying to be brief and avoid naming names.

Last month I'd been dabbling in fiction writing and (as always) reflecting on how we can use those same ideas to make meaningful stories in our lives. At this time I was thinking about theme as opposed to the plot of the story. What would be a good theme for a story? What's the theme of our lives?

One morning before work I was musing on all that. I considered a story with the theme of pressing on when the going is tough. (I didn't say I was a very original fiction writer.)

I had time for no more details than this:  At a key moment, someone would say something like, "No one could blame you for giving up. But maybe that's why the choice has come to you."

That seemed potentially epic, so I wrote that down just to remember it. Then I went on with my day.

Two hours later I was helping a teacher prepare for student presentations in one of our collaboration areas. We were chatting about work as we set up. We've known each other for years and we usually talk openly. I mentioned a particular task I was consciously avoiding at work. In fact, I probably said I refused to do it.

Without explaining, she well understood my resistance to the task. It was because of an awkward moment that happened in a staff meeting months earlier. That's the part of the story I won't elaborate on, but we've all been in staff meetings. You know about awkward moments, right? I'll just mention "power struggle" and "poor communication" and leave it at that.

Probably every person who was in that meeting remembered the moment. I bet most of them would have caught my implication that it was still an obstacle for me months later.

Then after I said I wouldn't do the task anymore, this teacher said the thing that caught my attention.

With a knowing chuckle, she said, "No one could blame you."

Well, there it was. No one could blame me. In that second my life intersected with the fiction I dreamed up earlier. What fool would I be if I didn't act on it?

I decided I better talk to the principal and make plans to do that that task I'd been avoiding. A few weeks later I did it, in front of the same staff, in the same place as the awkward meeting. Though I didn't mention any of the backstory, I'm sure at least four of us in the room understood the significance of my brief presentation. 

I don't know if the particulars of those events will ever matter or if anyone will remember them besides me.

I do know I was paying attention and I didn't give up. That's a win in my book.

10 Takeaways from A Mind for Numbers by Dr. Barbara Oakley

When I was editing the second part of our epic* Learning Journey Series, I was excited to come across this article from Mindshift about Dr. Barbara Oakley. Our video series uses a hike as a metaphor for learning, so this quote from Dr. Oakley caught my attention.

“There’s a race car brain and a hiker brain. They both get to the finish line, but not at the same time. The race car brain gets there really fast, but everything goes by in a blur. The hiker brain takes time. It hears birds singing, sees the rabbit trails, feels the leaves. It’s a very different experience and, in some ways, much richer and deeper. You don’t need to be a super swift learner. In fact, sometimes you can learn more deeply by going slowly.”

I watched her TED Talk and immediately was hooked by how she makes the science of learning practical.

I looked up her book, A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science (Even If You Flunked Algebra) and recorded my top 10 takeaways below.

Two things to keep in mind before I start my list:

Dr. Oakley hated math when she was in school. She did not feel she was good at that subject or science In her mid-twenties, however, she decided to get a degree in engineering. She learned how to excel at both subjects and now she is a professor of engineering. Her personal experience plus years of studying how we learn best resulted in this book and much of her other work.

Though I'm excited about what I learned from it, I was a little disappointed in the book. I’ve been working in the middle school math class a lot this year. I had high hopes for the book after I read the description. I was let down only because I think a lot of the people who found hope in the book’s title would not finish reading it. It is long, overly repetitious at times and it could use some more concrete examples in parts. I don't know if a struggling learner would press through it to glean the important lessons it holds, especially if they're also trying to keep up in a class. I do recommend it highly to teachers, thought, since they can take the key ideas and bring them to struggling learners.

So let’s get on with those key ideas:

1)  Most importantly, this book continually reminds us that anyone can learn anything. Dr. Oakley’s story is powerful, but so are the many others she highlights throughout. She tells their stories and at the end of the chapters, she lets some people tell their own stories. She says persistence is often more important than intelligence when it comes to learning.

2)  We can get too caught up in following our passions. Dr. Oakley knows from experience that sometimes passion can come after we learn we can succeed at something. It’s a powerful lesson for anyone growing up in this time of rapid change:  Try it. Once you learn it, you might discover you have a passion for it.

3)  There are two types of thinking and we need to employ both when learning complex concepts. There’s focused thinking, which comes to mind for most of us when we consider learning. That’s putting in the hours, with full attention on the task. But there’s also diffused thinking, which takes place in our subconscious, after we stop focusing. I can attest to this, as I often find the right way to organize my paper or the right line for a song after I close my computer and walk out to make tea. Regular breaks in studying is important.

4)  Besides regular breaks, make it a habit to learn math and science steadily, studying and practicing every day. Also review topics over time. Returning to them again and again over time helps move the ideas into long term memory.

5)  Chunking is a major concept in the book. I think of it as compressing a lot of related ideas or a concept. As you need to use those ideas, solutions or procedures, you can unpack the whole concept quickly without holding every piece in your limited working memory. It aids in problem solving.

In my own teaching, I use the trip from our homes to school as an example of a “chunk”. For most of us, that trip involves a lot of roads and turns to remember, but we can just think of it as “on the way home”. We travel it without realizing most of it and minor changes to the plan are easily accounted for. We don’t freak out and forget everything just because one road is blocked or because we have to stop at the post office sometimes.

6)  Practice, understanding the basic ideas and focused attention help build these important chunks of understanding. Learning on your own can also help. Also (as teachers will tell you) this deep understanding can develop from explaining concepts to others. And warning:  Dr. Oakley specifically points out multi-tasking when studying makes it very unlikely you’ll develop this deep understanding.

7)  Our focused approach to learning and even our focused attention can trick us into thinking we know something better than we do. Reading notes or a book over and over, for example, can make us feel we learned a lot, when really it might not stick. Instead, practice recalling the information from memory. At the end of every chapter, she reminds us to look away and try to remember the list of items in the chapter summary.

8)  Get enough sleep. When preparing for a test, if you don’t get your rest, you probably undid any other preparations you made.

9)  Dr. Oakley refers frequently to the Pomodoro Technique when learning or setting any important habit for success. The idea is you set a timer for 25 minutes and ignore all distractions during that time as you work on a task. When the timer goes off, reward yourself with a short break.

10)  Build discipline and fight procrastination by committing to important routines and tasks each day. It helps to write your planned tasks out the night before so your diffused brain can think on them.

And a bonus (unstated) takeaway I couldn't ignore was this:  You have to be intentional about real learning. It’s hard work to learn what doesn’t come naturally, but the good news is that it’s possible.

*That video series I was finishing is only epic by my standards! I think it's worth seeing though. Please watch it and share it if you're so inclined.

A metaphor for K - 8 learning - The Learning Journey

I've been working this year with Brenda June, a math teacher at our middle school. We are completing a MACUL funded project where we and the students created "learning chats". I'm excited to say I just completed the editing on the largest undertaking. (Click here to see some of our free resources related to the project.)

It was a three-part series called the The Learning Journey. Brenda and I have been gathering resources for over a year and trying out many things in her classes. We took what we learned to develop a metaphor for learning. Our hope is that we can use it through through all subjects and grades K - 8 in our district.

While the videos are not perfect, we are very proud of the message they tell. I'll be glad to hear any feedback you might have for us. Just send me an email.

The first video in the series introduces the metaphor and gives "Three Big Questions" for self-assessment. Note that we were perfecting our production process and this is the roughest of the series!

Part two looks at how to identify your next step in learning. It focuses on the first of the Three Big Questions.

Part 3 wraps up with a very important look at the third Big Question. Each possible answer results in different next steps.

Why I Stopped Saying Learning Is Fun

I decided this year to stop saying learning is fun. I was preparing a tech activity for kindergartners when I decided to kick the habit.

I figured if it matters, I'd start out right at the beginning of the line. Grade 0.

I found the results encouraging, so I've kept at it.

Before I'm accused of heresy or (worse yet) being boring, I will point out a few things.

I love learning. I love what I get to do in education. I could say I often have fun learning new things and helping others to learn. I've seen a room come to life when I set students lose on learning activities I've created.

I'm also a game designer. People from all over the world have told me me about the fun they've had with my games. I've made money from fun, explored fun and created fun more than almost anyone I work with regularly.

But I made this decision to stop saying learning fun. I did it because words matter.

But why cut out the word fun? Don't we want kids to associate school and learning with positive words like that?

I gave it the ax because it's highly valued and too vague. That's a volatile combination. We could call "fun" the three-letter f-bomb.

In education, where stakes are high and time is limited, I see it as a dangerous risk I don't want to touch.

It's Highly Valued

In our culture, fun often becomes the ultimate measure of value for an activity. "At least you had fun," we say. While not a bad thing in itself, we know for a fact many people use that to write off harmful decisions they make. At the very least, it's also a justification for what was otherwise a waste of time.

Fun is a big deal to us and we want these school things to be associated with it. By saying learning is fun, we ultimately are saying it has value because fun has value. In the short term, when most of the class is smiling or laughing as the learning happens, it seems silly to be so concerned about this. But school and learning are long term affairs. Giving learning value because fun is valuable might have some serious consequences.

Even if we as teachers wouldn't word it quite that way, I'd bet money that's how a lot of our students hear it. And I'd also bet there will be times when learning isn't fun for them. What does that imply?

I actually value learning because it is a vital means in which we realize our potential. It is required for the journey to becoming the individuals we are meant to be.

That makes it far more valuable than fun.

Now, if I end up having some fun along that journey, bonus! Can we enjoy those times together without missing the point?

It's Too Vague

Then there's the ambiguity of the word itself. My friend Kory Heath is a game desire I admire. He says fun is one of those things people can't define, but they know when they're having it. Why analyze it beyond that?

But teaching is serious business and we should think about it more. As people, we have fun with a vast array of activities. But not all of us have fun with the same activities. I don't enjoy watching sports, for example, though many people can make a party out of it.

I have entertained hundreds of people with tabletop gaming events. I can't comprehend how a person wouldn't want to join us. But I know a few friends and family members who (though they love to have fun) have almost no fun playing games.

When we use the word fun in class, think of all the pictures that come to mind in our students' heads. What activities do they imagine? What excitement, laughter and other positive emotions are they thinking of?

Do we also imagine that the fun we regularly find in learning looks just like what they're imagining? I'm sure there are a few in every class who have absolutely no overlap between fun activities they dream of and what they experience regularly in school. That certainly becomes true as the students get older.

I am impressed with teachers who seemingly can make every lesson fun. The reality, though, is some required content is challenging and, at least to some students, uninteresting. It requires perseverance. And not every teacher is an entertainer. It's not a terrible thing to admit this:  There will be necessary, good lessons and maybe entire classes that students wouldn't describe as fun.

If we tell students learning if fun, do we risk making them feel something is wrong (with the class, the teacher or even themselves) when it's not feeling like they expect fun things to feel?

So You're Really Making This About a Word?

I can hear what some of you are thinking. I'm overreacting. Couldn't we just solve this by saying, "Learning can be fun." What's wrong with that?

I'd say that's a step in the right direction, but we can do better.

There are loads of carefully chosen, accurate words or phrases I will use to let students know learning is often an exciting experience. (That's one of my favorites, by the way.)

Depending on the age of the students, I might refer to it as enjoyable or surprising. When working through a tougher problem, I could say the end result is satisfying or rewarding. I'll talk about simply liking to learn or at least liking to learn certain things or in certain ways.

For younger students I might talk about that little bubble of joy that rises up inside when we discover something interesting or figure out something that used to confuse us.

In fact the more I thought about this, I actually started seeing how we use the word fun lazily. It's too easy to toss it around and attach it to class activities, knowing our kids value fun greatly. Even though we'd probably admit, everything that "fun" means to students simply doesn't accurately describe a lot that learning entails.

We know most high school students would never describe the regular routine of school as fun. "Boring" is far more likely, according to any study I've heard. I asked our students in a survey myself a few years ago and that's exactly the word that rose to the top of the list. No one I talked to about it was surprised. I'm convinced these points I've raised here are involved in that travesty.

If nothing else, every time I stop myself from saying learning is fun, I'm reminded of the weight of what we do. I'm reminded my words matter.

___________________

This past week I had to meet with a teacher in that kindergarten building. Many of those students saw me and asked excitedly if I was coming into their class to do another tech activity. From what the teachers have told me, all the classes loved it. Probably many of them would say it was fun.

But they didn't hear that from me.

What we've done regularly

It is what we've done regularly that has made us.

Yes, some will have counterexamples to this. Sometimes big events come along that, in a day, make it impossible for us to be exactly who we were before.

But most of the time it is the slow shaping of routine that gradually directs our path. Habits are set that force decisions. In a moment of choice go for what seems obvious, maybe not even aware enough to say we chose it at all.

I bring this up because it is so important when it comes to learning. At least in the really important things that take time, it's essential to remember.

I used to teach math and my students frequently tried to dodge tough assignments by raising that age old question. As if I hadn't heard it a hundred times, one would ask, "When are we going to use this?"

Some teachers will try to counter that with some specific case the students might encounter someday. I'm not for impractical assignments, but I gave up on trying to get a possible example for every piece of the subject. More often than not, their question missed the point.

That skill, that assignment on that day very well might never surface again in that student's life (other than on The Test, of course). Who could know?

But that lesson was a moment in a long journey of learning that did indeed matter very much.

It reminds me of those old bookstores that stay in business even when large chains are a few miles or a click away. When I pull some random book from the shelf and read the odd title, it seems so unlikely anyone could stop in and want exactly that book. Yet as a whole, the varied collection that has something for everyone is exactly what keeps people coming.

It takes maturity to see the value of (and work hard for) every piece in a complex whole. I don't fault the young minds that fail to comprehend it. So many of us adults make the same mistake.

In the middle of any tough lesson or in that moment before we take our next big step, it's tempting to question the purpose behind it. It's easier to get objective, look at it from some other angle and call out the foolishness of it all.

But to use an analogy of school itself, that's the time to remember the course we're in (learning how to learn, growing in valuable skills), not the lesson we're on (solving equations involving imaginary numbers).

Of course there must be balance. School leaders have to be sure there is purpose behind the curriculum and teachers should remind students of that bigger purpose.

But to bring it back where we started, remembering that bigger purpose is definitely one of those things we should do regularly. What other disciplines, habits and practices make good learners?

What routines (good or bad) have made us what we are as teachers?

Five Thought Provoking Questions for Teacher PD, PLCs or Personal Reflection

Image by Bart Everson from here.

If you’re interested more about good questions for reflection and PD, please see:

• My free daily journal, 31 Days of Teaching Like an Artist.
• Finding the Strength to Do the Real Work of Teaching
• A Note to Myself as a First Year Teacher

________________________

Asking questions is probably my favorite part of teaching. Whether it's in the classroom, at a conference for teachers or just while talking with friends, I love giving people something to think about. (I even made a party game about asking one really BIG question.)

My math students weren't always thrilled with my idea of a good question in that subject! From my career and college class to my teacher professional development sessions, though, I've received a lot of thanks and appreciation for thought provoking questions I've raised.

Good questions at the right moment can make a tremendous impact on our lives. In searching out the answers, we experience the excitement of discovery. They help us see the wonder that is around and within us.

I like to ask teachers questions that remind them why they chose a career in education. I want to awaken dreams and that vision they once had of making a big difference. Questions can draw us back to those moments and give us a fresh perspective on the daily challenges we face.

So here are some of my favorite questions for teachers. With each one I'm also including followup questions for further reflection or discussion. For all of them, keep in mind:

• You should alter the wording and list of followup questions to fit the specific needs of time and the purpose of the meeting or activity. (As worded here, some of these could be too personal or time consuming for some settings.)
• Some of these are suitable for small group discussion or sharing in pairs. Others are probably best for each teacher to write a response individually that no one else will read. 

1)  What is your favorite advice that you share with students? 

This might be something you have told students for years or something you recently started saying. It might be that thing that they say in a mocking voice, to make their classmates laugh when you're not in the room.

• Is there a particular way you say it (or otherwise present it) to help them remember it?
• Why is this advice particularly meaningful to you or how did you come up with it?
• Do you have a story to tell about how students have received it or what difference you have seen it make?

2)  When did you first realize you wanted to be a teacher?

• What do you remember about that moment? Explain it in detail.
• What appealed to you about the job?
• Who did you first share that dream with and what was their reaction?
• How does the vision of yourself that you had in your mind then compare to the reality that you see in your classroom each day?
• Did you believe that those early moments of the dream to teacher were, in some sense, a calling? Explain.

3)  Imagine writing a letter to yourself as a first year teacher. Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give yourself?

I thought of this question after reading Austin Kleon's book Steal Like an Artist. See my own letter to myself here.

• What struggles and successes did you experience that first year that relate to this advice?
• Would you try to talk yourself out of the job (maybe even just a little) or encourage yourself to stay in it?
• Did this activity bring back a memory or make you think about your work in a new way? Explain.

4)  What are your three favorite books and why?

• When did you read these? If it was years ago, do you think they'd affect you the same way if you read them now for the first time?
• Do you recommend them to your students or colleagues?
• What is the most recent book you've read that had a big impact on you? Explain.

5)  Imagine your retirement party. Three people stand up to pay a tribute to you and your work. Who would these people probably be and what would they say? 

This is a spin on Stephen Covey's excellent Funeral Exercise in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. One of the most memorable, emotional moments that took place in my classroom was the day I had high school seniors work through that exercise.

• Also imagine you give a closing speech to the friends and colleagues in attendance. What message would you most want to leave them with? What story would you almost certainly share?
• The purpose of this type of exercise is to know what you're aiming for. What did the activity reveal about the mark you want to leave?
• How well have you done so far at making that mark?
• What changes could you make in the remaining years of your career to be sure you have this desired impact on your students and colleagues?

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10 Things that Make Life Exciting (and that even schools can afford)

I tried to generalize what I've seen excite students in school or what has moved me in big ways over the years. While new things and entertainment can achieve some of these, I wanted to focus on contributing rather than consuming.

Getting a glimpse of what you could be
Taking a step closer to what you could be
Playing a significant role in a successful endeavor
Having a big dream
Bringing a dream into reality
Seeing other people excited about your dream
Showing off what you made
Making a positive difference for others
Discovering something you care about or are curious about
Being lost in the wonder of amazing things

What am I leaving out?

What does this mean for school in general? Or for the lessons we'll soon teach?

_________________

I'm doing a challenge this month to post on one of my blogs every day. It's in preparation for my conference session, The Way of the Google Drive. Be sure to follow me on Twitter or on either blog to keep up with the "thoughts and tools to inspire". 

Click here to see all the posts from Teaching Like an Artist with the tag The Way of the Google Drive.

Lifelong Learning, PBL and a Passion to Encourage Others - An interview with Clark Rodeffer

I'm really excited to be presenting with Clark Rodeffer at miGoogle next week! He will be joining me and Jake Gentry for our session, The Way of the Google Drive. (Here's a video trailer for our session.)

I met Clark about 12 years ago through our mutual hobby of game design. He worked in the automotive industry, but around 2010 our conversations began shifting toward education. He was tutoring and substitute teaching at that time and I could tell from his stories that he was a gifted, insightful teacher. He was eventually hired in a district that offered promising innovations along with enormous challenges.

I'll let Clark tell more of his story, but suffice it to say I have learned a great deal from him and his straightforward approach to teaching and learning. He met with me and Jake last summer through a Google Hangout and that discussion helped fuel Jake's passion for the inquiry-based lesson I wrote about a couple weeks ago.

You can follow Clark on Twitter at @CDRodeffer.

Read on to learn:

• What he will be bringing to miGoogle
• What he sees as the best attitude for success in education
• What keeps him inspired.

______________

Mike:  You came into education later in life than most, but just this year you had another job change. Where are you working now and what does this new job entail?

Clark:  In an effort to both reduce costs and improve service, over the summer, the boards of education for Lincoln Consolidated Schools, Ypsilanti Community Schools, and Washtenaw Intermediate School District came to an agreement to share technology services. Beginning September 1st, technology services for the two local districts are contracted through WISD, where my title is Instructional Technology Specialist.

My role is transitioning away from fixing broken technology (one of the many hats I've worn for the past 20 years) toward instructional technology (a hat I enjoy a whole lot more). Instead of fixing broken stuff, now I get to open educators' minds to the possibilities technology enables. As you put it so well, I get to show teachers how technology can help them and their students do more, not just the same thing faster or more easily, but do more.

My job entails research (both original and external) for using technology (including any efficiency tools, not just computers and electronics) to improve learning in the districts I serve. I plan and lead professional development, run workshops, and train educators at the individual, team, small learning community, building, and district levels.

Mike:  So even though the tech support is not your job anymore, you are still juggling a fairly wide range of responsibilities!
Now, as I've always said, you bring a perspective into the schools that is very different from most educators I've talked to. Tell us more about your unconventional entry into the field and what advantages you think it offers.

Clark:  I grew up in a family of educators -- both of my parents are retired special education teachers, and my grandfather and several other relatives were or are educators -- but you're right, I took a different path, one you might describe as elliptical.

Let me explain. My undergraduate and graduate degrees are both in chemical engineering, and my main focus throughout college was research. I researched oil additive chemistry, gas-liquid separation science, diffusion, and fiber-reinforced composite materials. But at the same time I had an educational focus at the other end of my ellipse. I led Bible studies, tutored, assisted professors with their instruction and grading for courses I'd already taken, and taught general chemistry lab courses.

This continued in my first post-college job as a research associate in the legal/automotive industry. My focus was on automotive safety, but my work included the educational aspects of helping lawyers, engineers, and scientists understand one another, and of how technology could be used to improve that communication.

When my job disappeared in the 2009 automotive industry bust, I found work tutoring and substitute teaching, and after a year as a long-term special education substitute teacher, I was brought on as Site Technology Coordinator and Technology Coach for the New Tech program at Willow Run Community Schools.

The New Tech instructional model orbits around project-based learning, often integrating two or more subject areas, and more group work than in most traditional instruction models. Students are graded, not only upon their demonstration of knowledge and critical thinking for the subject area, but also upon their ability to collaborate with peers, to express themselves orally and in writing, and to demonstrate agency, advocating for themselves and others.

A couple of years later, Willow Run Community Schools and neighboring Ypsilanti Public School District consolidated to form Ypsilanti Community Schools, and the New Tech high school programs from both schools continued as one. From the consolidation until September, my role within these New Tech schools has been more than the basic tech support of fixing broken laptops. I help teachers (often referred to as facilitators) research, plan, and develop projects that meet their curriculum standards, are relevant and engaging to the students in the district, and that sometimes push the boundaries with original methods. So while my path to public education was nontraditional, I always had those two focal points of research and education to define my ellipse, my orbit.

Your second question, about advantages, is harder to answer. I don't like the standard pat responses many would expect, "Having worked in industry prior to academia helped me gain a real-world perspective," along with its equally condescending corollary, "It takes someone from the outside to recognize, repair and prevent the damage education is doing to itself." Neither is true!

There are intelligent and observant people both within and outside of education who are trying to make a difference.

Instead, I'm going to answer that I merely come with an attitude of lifelong learning, a growth mindset (to use the popular buzzwords), and a genuine care for the students in the districts I serve. Being an outsider coming to education is, of itself, neither an advantage nor a disadvantage. What matters is attitude.

Mike:  There's that straightforward approach I referred to! I appreciate how you zero in on what matters most.

When Jake and I were getting started with PBL activities in our district, the conversations you and I had were a ray of hope. They helped me see it was something to keep working for. Coming from a New Tech High School, what do you see as the strengths of PBL?

Clark:  Before answering that, I need to review the context from our earlier conversations. In our Hangout, you mentioned having used a more traditional approach to learning (direct instruction, assigned reading, classwork, writing prompts, etc.) followed by some sort of final product other than a traditional test or research paper to assess the learning.

By itself, this "project-based assessment" (your wonderful term for it) can be valuable. Instead of a research paper, assigning a graphic novel or a music video as the final product encourages creativity, appeals to different learning styles, and is a great example of how technology can help teachers and students do more.

However, the problem is, even with wonderful technology, innovative assessments can eat up class time. Imagine a traditional unit beginning with some sort of formative pretest, then a week or two of learning, then a test on the last day of the unit. If a project-based assessment is used instead of the test, it may add several days to the unit, throwing your class pacing off. By the end of the school year, you might not reach your curriculum targets.

In project-based learning (e.g., the New Tech model), the expectation for the final product is expressed right away, usually on the first day of the unit (or project) through some sort of entry event. Depending upon the content, your formative assessment could be an ongoing (the ongoing part is important) group or whole class discussion of what students know and what they need to know to complete the project and, along the way, acquire the curriculum content. Based upon their current needs, students collaborate with one another, the teachers (a.k.a., facilitators), and possibly community partners to fulfill those needs.

The lists of "knows" and "needs to know" has to be kept current, and students need to demonstrate agency by asking for workshops when they get stuck. Some classrooms even use Agile methods and hold brief stand-up Scrums in their groups to keep things moving forward. (What have you done since our last group meeting? What are you going to do before our next group meeting? What, if anything, is blocking you?)

Sometimes students work together as a group, and sometimes they work independently on different parts of their final product that will later be synthesized into a coherent whole. Instead of homework or a worksheet, teachers might have students use technology to make a YouTube video for their future selves explaining key curriculum concepts they need to remember. "How do I complete the square?" Such self-scaffolding videos are also formatively valuable.

In short, the learning is integrated into the project work itself rather than front-loading it, and this helps restore the curriculum pacing as opposed to the project-based assessment model.

I'm not sure this fully answers your question, but I see both strengths and weaknesses to the PBL approach. One weakness is that students need to be at least somewhat self-motivated. If they aren't, it's very easy for a group to get behind when one member doesn't contribute.

If the lists of "knows" and "needs to know" are not kept current, gaps can arise. The teacher's role definitely shifts from the highly controlled mode of direct instruction toward continuously monitoring individual student knowledge and support through workshops. That shift can be chaotic and uncomfortable.

On the other hand, project-based learning may make it easier for students to learn in the ways they learn best, and it develops time-management and project-management skills. As long as the end product is interesting and relevant, students are more engaged in their learning.

Mike:  I'm thrilled that you are able to present with us next week at miGoogle. What will you be sharing in our session?

Clark:  I'll be sharing how to create what I call "enhanced assessment items" in Google Slides as a way for teachers to help prepare students for high-stakes exams (e.g., M-STEP). It seems really small, just another thing that teachers can use, along with traditional writing prompts, paper worksheets and the like.

But using them could have two big benefits. First, by mimicking the types of questions students are going to see on these high-stakes exams, students will become more comfortable interacting with them and, if practice really helps, do better on the exams. Second, when a teacher models creativity and, as you say, teaches like an artist, it engages students and inspires them also to be creative.

Mike:  Through our talks, email conversations and thoughts you post on Twitter or Facebook, you’ve often been an inspiration to me and you set a great example of giving 100% even when it’s tough. What’s your secret to “staying inspired to inspire others”?

Clark:  This is the easiest of your questions. It's all for the kids, these kids. The districts I serve are, for lack of a better term, disadvantaged in many ways. I get to know these students day-to-day, and I see the discouragement they face. As young innocents, they deserve better. They need hope. They need a chance to succeed.

Obviously, I can't do everything by myself. But if I can encourage teachers, if I can ensure that technology never hinders their teaching, if I can model the energy that these students need, then I'm doing my part.

_________________

I'm doing a challenge this month to post on one of my blogs every day. It's in preparation for my conference session, The Way of the Google Drive. Be sure to follow me on Twitter or on either blog to keep up with the "thoughts and tools to inspire". 

Click here to see all the posts from Teaching Like an Artist with the tag The Way of the Google Drive.

Life as Art

I've been writing a lot about The Way of the Artist in this series. I sum it up in the three "not so simple" steps:

1. Dream big
2. Do the work
3. Share it

My point is that as the dream transitions to reality and people are touched by it, inspiration happens. The artist is inspired and so are those who enjoy the work.

We can think of any project as art in this way. Maybe it's something we'd normally consider art, like a painting or a song, but it doesn't have to be limited to those things. 

My wife helps run a homeless shelter in our community. She could talk about the initial vision, the work it takes to make it real and how the end result is shared with those in need. I call that art too. People are inspired to take part in it.

But what if we go beyond projects and look at our lives as art? Or if not our entire lives, how about roles we play such as teacher, father or husband? I think there is great value in reflecting on ourselves and our actions in this way.

• What was the initial vision that got us in this role? Was it our vision, someone else's or a combination of many? The power of the final work starts in the uniqueness of this original vision, so it's worth exploring.
• What work did we do to make that vision a reality? How close have we come?
• How are the results of this vision and work being shared? It might be shared with only a few people, but my guess is there's a way in which it can inspire.

Of course, when our lives is the work, we almost always talking about a work in progress. It is a special type of art that's never done. It's like a song that changes as many people play it or a long-running play that develops over the years.

There's always a chance to get closer to the vision (or maybe alter the vision). There's a chance to share it with more people or share it in a better way. 

I encourage everyone to think about life this way, some aspect of it, some ongoing work you're involved in. Look long and hard at it. Connect with the original dream and do what it takes to make it real. Tell the story and stay inspired to inspire others.

_________________

I'm doing a challenge this month to post on one of my blogs every day. It's in preparation for my conference session, The Way of the Google Drive. Be sure to follow me on Twitter or on either blog to keep up with the "thoughts and tools to inspire". 

Click here to see all the posts from Teaching Like an Artist with the tag The Way of the Google Drive.

Step by Step

I've been going to school in one way or another for over 40 years now. I think there was one September in the past four decades where I didn't start school again, either as a student or a teacher. In the class or in front of it, I've tried hard to pay attention to what's going on.

One thing that's becoming clear to me after all this time is how each step in our work--each assignment, test, professional development session or evaluation--is only part of the long journey of learning. It's never just the task at hand, as if we're done with it and we got what we needed. Every one of them is an investment for something later. It's value can be missed without reflection during and after the work.

In my job I'm often helping teachers with technology. I realized at one point the ones who struggle the most with tech tools are the ones who think it is about the particular project we're doing. It's like when I'm helping them edit a video, they think the goal is to have a finished video. At first it can take way too long to make one video. Was it really worth three hours to get those 30 seconds?

And even after all that time it might turn out bad or the tech doesn't hold up for us. Maybe we couldn't finish it in time at all.

Of course the finished video is important. Not having a good one might have negative consequences. But in education, the trick is to remember there are at least a hundred other things going on for further learning (ours and our students').

In this example, when we realize the real goal is to develop digital literacy so that we can help hundreds of students over the course of our careers, suddenly a few setbacks and unmet expectations are not complete failures. Important lessons were learned. We took a step toward the real goal even if the task in the moment ended with some frustration.

Could we really imagine we'd inch along such an enormous, important journey with anything less than some periods of pure work?

And when we try, yet fail in the short term, it's not so bad when we realize it was at least a step in the larger journey. To not try was to only stay where we were. If that's not wrong in how it affects us, it certainly shortchanges the students we will teach.

To see these possibilities that lie before us, this endless road of repercussions, is both encouraging and overwhelming at times. It is a  journey that we'll never really complete. It's important to get as far along as possible, though, because it's the only way to catch a glimpse of what could be.

Just seeing it from afar, somewhat clearer today than yesterday, is a gift.

_________________

I'm doing a challenge this month to post on one of my blogs every day. It's in preparation for my conference session, The Way of the Google Drive. Be sure to follow me on Twitter or on either blog to keep up with the "thoughts and tools to inspire". 

Click here to see all the posts from this blog with the tag The Way of the Google Drive.

photo credit: Forest via photopin (license)

What We Could Be

The key to lifelong learning and personal development is to be more excited about who we could be than who we are right now.

I work in leadership in a school district and in a church. In both places we deal with personal growth and learning. Whether we are leading 5th graders, staff or retired adults, the challenges are the same.

When we present to someone an opportunity to stretch, or in a bigger way, to be transformed, excuses are quick to follow. It's similar to asking someone to pack up their belongings and move to a new state. Or maybe it's a weekend stay in a nearby city. It wasn't in the plans and even if it promises some benefits, suddenly the way things have been sounds good enough.

Our lives are busy. The many pleasures and pastimes of our society, that break up the routine and give a semblance of change, offer more than enough distraction from the vision of what we could be. We are consumed with what we are and what we've got on the schedule for the near future.

Our resistance to change is a retreat to comfort in what we are and the world we know.

• "I'm not really into...."
• "I'm too busy to...."
• "I tried that once and now I know...."

On the other hand, an openness to opportunities is focused on who we could be or how life could be for others. If there is comfort in the moment, it doesn't compare to the promise of possibilities ahead. This requires a shift in thinking and often a herculean effort to resist the pull of our culture.

There are other factors too, of course. Perhaps change is easier for some because there isn't comfort in the moment. And there also can be a sense of responsibility. Sometimes we plunge in, leaving comfort behind and dreading what it will make us, but we feel it's something important that we must do.

To get practical, though, what does this mean for us as teachers and leaders in education? 

Consider the benefit of highlighting the stories of transformation. In church we call those testimonies. Let the people who have grown the most talk about the experience. Lift up the promise that we could all be something more than we are now. Open doors of opportunity to those who are willing to step inside, then ask them to share it with the group.

Publicly value personal growth as if it were more rewarding than a family trip to Disney. Because it is. It's not without tremendous cost at times, but it is worth it. If the leaders among us are living it, the community will begin to believe it.

_________________________

I'm doing a challenge this month to post on one of my blogs every day. It's in preparation for my conference session, The Way of the Google Drive. Be sure to follow me on Twitter or on either blog to keep up with the "thoughts and tools to inspire". 

Click here to see all the posts from this blog with the tag The Way of the Google Drive.

Like Never Before

"I am not a teacher, but an awakener." - Robert Frost

I have an introduction I give before introducing Google Apps to students. Before I get to the various apps themselves or how to sign in, I point out the power of digital tools. I want to wake the students and their teacher up to the why before talking about the how.

I noticed a spark in the room when I first did this. I had the students' attention at a deeper level. We knew something different was happening in the room. I’ve honed my message over the last year and a half and now when I’m done with my 15 minute intro, I see signs of life more clearly. They ask questions related to their dreams. They start thinking about doing things they care about.

This ed-tech stuff is far bigger than time saving tips or ways to increase test scores.

Last week I spoke to a fifth grade class. The next day I got a note from three of them who wanted to make a comic book about a novel they just finished. The teacher (a hard worker who has been slow to integrate tech tools) said the talk changed her outlook toward technology.

Teaching them the how of the Google tools is going to be a lot easier from here out.

So here’s the short outline of what I say in the first few slides. This is it, but it makes a big difference.

1) Tools help us do more. Consider a task like digging a hole by hand, using a shovel and using a backhoe. The best tools make an amazing difference.

2) The computers on our desks, in our bags or in our pockets are the most powerful tools known to man for many things.

3) What do digital tools help us do more of? There are many things, but for school:

• Connect like never before.
• Create like never before.
• Learn like never before.

4) Many people use technology to play like never before. Some use it to do something big. Which will you choose?

The right way teachers should use technology

I get paid good money to help teachers and students use technology in education. At work and anywhere else where people know what I do, I'm often accused of being in love with technology. I do tend to surround myself with the tools, both when working or in my hobbies.

But I'm not in love with the technology itself and I don't think this is a minor point. For those of us in the business of educating the younger generation, a field where far too many leaders are still slow to embrace digital tools, it is vital to acknowledge the difference between the tech and what one does with it.

In fact, I'll be so bold here to submit the right way to use digital tools. I'll even go further and suggest that we as educators need to master and model this right way. I'll try to be brief, but I need to go back a ways to set the stage.

I've been playing around with computers for over 30 years. I remember long ago there was a fascination with the tools themselves. I liked getting the latest and greatest. In time, though, the thrill wore off. Oh, I remember a couple times in the past two decades when the tool itself impressed me. The first time I saw an iPhone that old spark was there. But even if new gadgets can still snag my attention for a second, my budget won't allow me to live under that spell.

Somewhere along the line my interest shifted from the tools to what I could do with them. I fell in love with creating new things in all my areas of interest. From graphic design to writing to games, new tools allowed me to do more than I could before.

Tools improved and the internet put me in touch with more people. I am colorblind, but I have learned a few tricks in my graphics programs to work around it when I created images for websites and my games. My love for music and songwriting far exceeds my natural abilities, but I found ways to capture fleeting melodies, transcribe tricky rhythms and communicate arrangements to people who could take them further.

Like all of us who first did that web search for our hobby, we know social media and fan websites have put us in touch with people with similar interests. I grew up and have lived in small towns all my life. There have never been many people who live nearby that shared my interests to the extent that I did. After almost 20 years of having internet access, though, I've created games and music with people from all over the country, some of whom I've never met in person.

I get excited about technology because it lets me create better art and gets it to more people who will enjoy it. I didn't realize it at the time, but all those years I did this with my hobbies were preparing me for my job. Now a lot of my time is spent inspiring teachers and students to create and share the work.

Yes, years ago technology was complicated. Those of us who poured months of our lives into it were impressed with the tech in and of itself. Nerdiness, in one way or another, was required to care that much. Certain skills gave us an advantage to overcome the insane learning curves of the hardware and software.

But the digital revolution we've experienced is not because more people have those skills now or more people just love technology. It is simply this: 

The tools became easier to use and they put us in touch with each other. Then what makes us human was finally able to take over. 

Technology is so prevalent in our society because it allows us to discover, create and connect like never before.

A possible downside is that, just as easily, it can help us retreat and consume the entertainment we discover like never before. It clearly doesn't have to be that way though.

Those possibilities--creating more or consuming more--are why it's so important for teachers to understand, master and model the right way to use technology. Let's look for ways to discover, create and share in a way that amplifies our talents and gifts.

As we do that, we will naturally inspire our students to do the same.

Our Motivational Song for School

Here's a song I put together with Crystal Owen, the music teacher in my district. It represents so much of what I've been learning and trying to practice the past two school years.

Top Five Things Easier Than Personal Growth

Here's a graphic based on the list I made earlier in the week.

Teaching Sunday School

My first experiences with teaching were through my church. I think I led a lesson at a camp once, then I was eventually asked to teach the high school Sunday school class. It was a small church, really small. I usually had two to four students at the most.

I liked the process of putting together lessons and talking about things I cared about. I don't remember it ever crossed my mind that I should be effective at it. It's crazy that eventually I took that to be my calling. I decided to make a career out of it.

A lot of other things had to come together before I actually did make a career out of it, but those small classes helped steer my thinking in that direction. 

I was coaching the ELA teachers in the middle school awhile back and for an icebreaker I asked them to tell how they got into teaching. Out of the five of us in the room, four of us started in Sunday school. I wonder if it ever happens the other way around?

I met my wife in Sunday school. This was years before we dated, but the first time I ever saw her she was a student coming to my class. She walked in, saw the other one or two kids there and said, "This is it?" Now we often wonder if, rather than falling for me at some point, she should have remembered how underwhelmed she was with my world at our first meeting.

"This is it?"

Well, I could go on, and I probably will in another post, but that's enough about my past for now. I think of this because my brother asked me to teach Sunday school with him this week. Now that I've been teaching for twenty years outside of the church, it will be interesting coming back. It's the same old building actually. Some of the people in the room will probably be ones who taught me years ago.

I'm not sure what to expect, but I know I didn't put together a conventional lesson. My job is to raise some questions, then my brother will take it from there to balance me out. I don't know if anyone else will learn anything, but I'll be taking notes.

Avoiding My Next Step

Teachers should be lead learners. I feel strongly about that and I'm hard on myself when I see my own resistance to stretch.

We can relate to our reluctant learners by finding the same reluctance in ourselves. Maybe I always did my homework, took good notes and didn't miss school. But there are always important responsibilities (things I won't confess!) that I resist. Week after week, I put them off.

I was thinking today of this list, in no particular order:

Things That are Easier than Taking My Next Step In Learning

• Listening to people who say I'm good where I'm at
• Complaining about people or groups that aren't as far along as I am - This might even be in an area not related to the next step I should take. Another easy approach is to direct it to those people who are making it harder for me to take the next step.
• Drowning myself in entertainment
• Taking on the priorities of others (possibly without thought) so I'm too busy
• Planning to take my next step