On Thursday, September 27, 2018, the #G2Great PLN had a brilliant conversation regarding the importance of student-centered learning. After all, students (and their needs) are what teaching is all about. That sounds simplistic, doesn’t it? It would be a perfect world if that were easily done; although, the reality is that teachers are pulled in many directions throughout the school day. There are pacing guides with curriculum goals. There are standards and grade level expectations. There are report cards, progress reports, and parent meetings. There are so many meetings: RTI, faculty, and data meetings just to name the top three. All of which have a purpose and are designed to keep students and their needs at the forefront. However, it is the day-to-day work that is the grease for that machine. It is the softer formative assessments in the hands of a highly skilled teacher that help children to learn and grow.
When I think of learning and growth the word steady comes to mind. Yet, we are living in a world marked by change: technology, politics, or global demographics are all shifting beneath our feet. For these reasons, now more than ever, we need to have the conversation as to HOW we can become more student-centered because learning and relevance are two sides to the same coin.
Defining Purpose: A Passionate Pursuit
I think the reason Twitter is so important to teachers is that it gives us a platform to clarify what we value within a plurality. It connects us to other professionals who push us to think more deeply and to reflect daily. I know that is what it does for me. As I read these tweets I feel a fire in my heart and I want to call out to anyone who will listen, “Learning and passion are inextricably linked!” Student-centered learning means that children are wide awake and are learning because they are connected to the process:
Authentic Learning: A Serious Shift
Teachers who dare to create authentic learning experiences for children have to believe in themselves. In a world so full of doubt and criticism it can be daunting to be an agent of change. It can be hard to take that first step away from a scripted lesson plan. After all, we are just teachers. No. It is because we are teachers that we must take an informed look at the lesson plan, curriculum goals, and grade level expectations. Then we can consider who are students are and how we can build momentum. When it comes to learning, experiencing success is essential! When we see ourselves as the “facilitator”, when we understand how to use “formative assessment, when we focus on ways for students to “engage in the work,” we are shifting the focus to student-centered learning:
Deconstructing Norms: A Shared Structure
The days of reading from a scripted program really need to be over. Our students are coming into our classrooms with a wide range of life experiences, access to languages, and world knowledge. We cannot assume that what they bring will be familiar to us. In many ways, this new normal is a gift. We have so much to learn from one another. Educators who practice student centered teaching share the responsiblity for learning with their students. These teachers are keenly aware which studens are ready be more independent. Teachers who embrace student centered learning are open to their own learning process knowing that there is always room to grow.
We are teachers, who value our students and all that they bring into our classrooms. A student-centered classroom is marked by a community voice. It is not about me and what I have to teach you. It is about us and what we have to learn. Thank you, for learning with me.
The Sparks in the Dark chat with authors Travis Crowder and Todd Nesloney was trending on August 16, 2018 by the second question. No doubt about it. A chat based on a book with a foreword by Penny Kittle captured many minds and hearts and then exploded across the Twitterverse for one hour. The wakelet was collected. I was carefully perusing the conversations, seeking out tweets to curate while capturing additional sparks. What tweets would garner my attention and showcase the chat? What ideas would continue to fan the sparks and create a blaze across the #G2Great community? I kept returning to the book subtitle. Book subtitles say so much about a book. “Lessons, Ideas and Strategies to Illuminate the Reading and Writing Lives in All of Us.” What to collect? What to display? What to hold tightly to? How to write a blog post to capture the chat and the text, the words and ideas of the authors, the passion of Sparks in the Dark?
In order to rise to this challenge, I resorted to the dictionary for guidance in understanding the subtitle. Definitions are a common beginning for me. So what does “illuminate” mean? “To light up” And what about “ALL”? From my own reading: Teachers, Administrators, Students, Families, and Communities … Everyone. Wow! Illuminate the Reading and Writing Lives in ALL of Us. What an important goal!
How could this text be used?
A study group could use this book to assess their current status in literacy. Personally. Collectively. Each of the chapters offers “Things to Think About and Tweet” that include #SparksInTheDark so the conversations could be out in the world on Twitter. Internal and external conversations could spark additional applications.
No, this book does not offer fancy surveys to give you data that makes you feel good and affirms that “Yes, you are doing the right thing.” Instead, Sparks in the Dark will provide you with conversation starting points to grow the strength and fortitude of all readers and writers in your building. Rich conversations that will encourage you to dig into personal and collective values, attitudes, beliefs and habits. Or after conversations you might develop your own questions that you want to answer with a survey or some other form of data collection. Administrators will grow as they explore Todd’s leadership stories across multiple campuses and teachers will grow as they unravel the threads in Travis’s path to creating lifelong readers and writers. It’s not a book for the faint of heart.
Do you read on a regular basis? Do you write on a regular basis? If you don’t like to read or write, stop right now. This book is not for you. But if you don’t like to read or write, I would encourage you to examine why you are teaching students. Why are you working with our most precious resource, the children of our world, if you don’t have a passion for reading and writing? (Chapter 2 Disturbing the Universe and/or Chapter 7 Critical Conversations)
Why did Travis and Todd write this book?
“In writing this book, we sought to encourage, challenge, inspire, question and shift your thinking when it comes to reading and writing and instruction overall. We hope we have shown you glimpses of our hearts and our classrooms and schools as examples of what is truly possible when you start to believe in what was once thought as improbable.” Sparks in the Dark, 2018
Conversations, tweets, and quotes from the book fell under several important concepts: Personal, Priority, Powerful, Persistence, Patience, Perspective and Pedagogy.
Personal
What is one book that you have read recently that touched you deeply in some way? That opening question was answered in many ways that you can see for yourself in the wakelet. “Touched you deeply” means not just a book to complete a task, or to record on a log, but a book that evoked a powerful personal response. Is that a priority for you? How would we know? What would be the evidence? Todd posted this example of public posts in a school building for students or teachers.
Priority
Books need to be present in every classroom, in every hallway, in every nook and cranny. Free up the space and the resources to make ALL books easily accessible and important-not just the books in the ELA classrooms or the library. Building staff might decide on a long-range goal and plan to increase classroom libraries and access for students and families.
Powerful
Readers and Writers change because of their literacy responses. Those “personal” responses above can become even more powerful when we collaboratively celebrate by sharing the initial difficulties, the continuing struggle, the messiness and back and forth nature of seeking meaning that ends in the ultimate joy of our reading and writing. Building staff might choose to study their own reading and writing journeys.
Persistence
Time will be both your friend and your enemy. Staff meetings need to include literacy work that moves teacher understanding forward. Whether you try Todd’s “choose a read aloud with another staff member” or you deepen your work with students and make sure they are all included in the texts in the classrooms! Naysayers will need more positive interactions in order to see the necessity for change, but your persistence will eventually pay off. Similarly, students are not all necessarily going to be overjoyed to take on more work that is required of them when they learn and think deeply about topics that that they choose. Change takes time at all levels.
Patience
Find others in your building to join your literacy group or seek out like-minded individuals on Twitter, Voxer, or Facebook to continue to grow collaboratively. Enlist the aid of your students. Advocate for student needs. Give students voice and choice so they are empowered to think and advocate for themselves as well. Building staff might identify and discuss the “beacons of light” that illuminate and sustain your learning.
Perspective
Opening our minds and our hearts to new situations in books and in the world brings us closer together and increases our own understanding. This also helps us more easily grapple with change and find similarities in current work and desired states. Change is not easy but it’s within our grasp if we build a solid base. Honoring beginning steps with “I used to …, but now I …” can be a rich faculty discussion.
Pedagogy
Teachers improve their craft by reading and exploring new resources. You might want to review some titles under A2 in the wakelet to see what others are reading. But a deep understanding of reading and writing comes from those who work to improve their knowledge and skills in order to outgrow their own reader and writer selves. This means lifelong learning for all as a professional responsibility. A common building expectation to constantly share faculty reader and/or writer notebooks. That’s more than just one tiny spark. That should be a blaze visible from miles away without Google Earth!
What begins as a spark, fueled by passion becomes a flame. Perhaps a beacon. Reading is important. Writing is important. Education is important. Many other factors can and are part of those flames as previously included: Personal, Priority, Powerful, Persistence, Patience, Perspective and Pedagogy. In Sparks in the Dark, Travis and Todd say
“…my role as an educator – no matter my subject specialty – is to use the tools of reading and writing to develop all of my students and staff.” (Sparks in the Dark, 2018)
Travis also says that “Quality reading instruction does not begin with literature, it begins with students.” Students, not standards, assessments, or programs. Students, books, and the subsequent reading and writing that calls them to be better human beings.
How do you begin with students to fuel your sparks and continuously fan your own flames?
What other resources do you employ – books, professional resources, or communities of learners?
How do you prevent “book deserts” on your campuses?
Additional Resources:
Wakelet Link
Podcast Link
Book Link
Blogs – Travis Crowder link Todd Nesloney link
Bloggers write to push the thinking of their readers. After reading, Harvey “Smokey” Daniels’ (@smokeylit) Homewreck, as featured on TheRobb Review, the entire #G2Great team was inspired to explore ways to reimagine homework. On July 12, 2018, we invited educators to engage in a broader conversation about the role of homework and how we might make it more worthwhile in the 21st Century.
Homework in the 20th Century…
My third-grade teacher definitely believed in homework. Even though the school day was over, the far-reaching hand of my teacher knew no bounds. There I would sit, a little girl with curly hair, impossibly thick glasses, and a highly developed vocabulary, Monday – Thursday (mercifully Friday was my reprieve) with spelling lists, worksheets, and heavy textbooks – it was obligatory and there would be no negotiating. My mother, the saint that she was, would give me a snack, and let me leave Jeopardy on in the background to keep me “company” as I did my work.
Jeopardy is still on the air, and for that matter, homework hasn’t changed much either. So, I wonder if Alex Trebek is some other child’s wingman to a homework dilemma of today. Change can only happen if we are willing to discuss trying something new.
In a Word: Homework!
There were many words used to describe people’s positions on the subject of homework…
In Smokey Daniels post he writes, “The greatest source of tears and heartbreak in our family, over all of our child-raising years, was homework.” and #G2Great educators all seem to agree! Our words used to describe homework were: useless, irresponsible, and ineffective. The way we’ve done homework in the past is not worthy of students’ time and energy. If we aspire to make homework worthy or, “homeworth” we might alleviate frustration if turned homework into passion projects, built around inquiry and relationship building.
The Category Is...
“So, let’s start by changing the categories of what counts as homework. Then, let’s design a time that’s stress-free, that invites kids’ curiosity and choice, and that doesn’t start battles between parents and kids, ruin whole evenings, and sell more Kleenex.” – Smokey Daniels I
The best categories are ones that are self-selected and assigned by the students themselves. Reimagining homework means handing over the reins to students to pursue their interests and to stoke their curiosity. We can participate in this process and encourage their ownership and creativity if we involve everyone. That includes students, families, and colleagues. There would be a lot of moving parts but in the end, wouldn’t it be worth it to have happy, engaged children who wanted to continue learning outside of school? I believe it can be done.
I’ll Take Reimagining Homework for $1000
So, let’s join Smokey Daniels and #ditchthehw! Together, we can reimagine a better way! We can start by sharing our great ideas. I am so grateful for @Kpteach5 because she did just that, and her tweet was a celebration!: She shared what she does to make homework more meaningful. She provides students with choice, structure, and opportunity:
As I think back to my third grade self, I wish I had a teacher like Ms. Picone, or any of the essteemed educators that participate in our #G2Great PLN. I would have been cooking with my mother, or reading to my younger brother. I might have been working with Dad in the garage building something. Perhaps I would have been singing with my sister, or sketching my dog. It seems very fitting that for me, I will forever associate the words “homework” and “jeopardy” as one in the same:
On August 3, 2017, authors Katie Stover-Kelly and Lindsay Yearta joined #G2Great to extend a conversation that began with their book, From Pencils to Podcasts Digital Tools for Transforming K-6 Literacy Practices. Providing an education in the 21st Century means that whatever our role: teachers, administrators, professional developers, or college professors we need to be open to seeking out ways to intentionally integrate technology with learning.
This post is dedicated to the vibrant #G2Great Professional Learning Network, (PLN) because we are a community of educators who are unafraid to try new things, to learn, to mix it up and push ourselves forward in the name of our students. In that spirit, this post is beginning where our chat ended with our future technology goals. To boldly step out of our comfort zones and meet learning at the cutting edge of the 21st Century.
Our last question initiated BIG GOALS for future learning…
Global Read Aloud is an opportunity to connect and learn around story with a digital backdrop. According to Katie and Lindsay, “In this age of digital tools and multiliteracies, there are increasing demands of students to collaborate in order to consume and produce multimodal texts in online spaces.
If you are interested in learning more about Global Read Aloud: “The premise is simple; we pick a book to read aloud to our students during a set 6-week period and during that time we try to make as many global connections as possible. Each teacher decides how much time they would like to dedicate and how involved they would like to be. Some people choose to connect with just one class, while others go for as many as possible. The scope and depth of the project is up to you. While there are official tools you can use such as Skype, Twitter, Write About or Edmodo, you choose the tools that will make the most sense for you. Teachers get a community of other educators to do a global project with, hopefully inspiring them to continue these connections through the year. “ – Pernille Ripp
Twitter provides a unique social learning environment, It gives a space for intellectual engagement through live interactions with others. Katie and Lindsay underscore the importance of Twitter in their book, “Twitter provides students with a digital space to connect with other readers and authors to share and discuss books.” However, due to its organization and fast pace, Twitter can be daunting. There is a solution. Tweetdeck is a web-based tool that helps users to organize their Tweets into more manageable columns. It offers many useful features such as enabling users to “pre-tweet” or schedule tweets ahead of time. This is especially useful when planning and facilitating Twitter chats.To learn more, watch this video.
Understanding why a goal is important is essential, answering what you will do to accomplish the goal ties it to an action. This article offers 15 dynamic ways to make reflection a habit of mind in the classroom. In their book, Katie and Lindsay remind us that, “In the 21st Century, information is updated and readily available in real time.” Collaboration, and reflection begin with us. Teachers who lead by example, are the ones who will give students experiences that will help them grow to meet their potential.
If you visit Kate Messenger’s blog, you will see that she has created a platform to connect readers and authors through FREE Skype visits. Technology offers virtually limitless opportunities to provide access that would otherwise had been impossible. All we have to do is step out and take a risk and try. In Katie and Lindsay’s words “It is through the struggle that we learn. Additionally, the struggle provides you with thoughts and ideas to share with your students…”
Flipgrid allows teachers to create video discussion platforms. There are so many creative ways to incorporate this technology tool that are too numerous for this blog post! The important thing about Flipgrid is that it is a tool that amplifies student voice from pre-K to college aged students and beyond. It’s ok to start small with this technology, but the important thing is just to start. We need to start because we are educators, “As teachers we have the responsibility to equip our students with the tools that they need to fully participate in our interconnected, global society.” – Stover & Yearta
Thank you for writing this book Katie and Lindsay. It is an incredible resource that teachers need to have in their hands so they can put your ideas to work in their classrooms. I especially love that at the close of your book you extend an invitation to keep the conversation going through Twitter. That’s just what you did, and now we have even more resources and ideas to explore. That is is what learning is all about, and we are educators who fully embrace a learning lifestyle. We are flexible thinkers who are fueled by a collaborative spirit ready to take the next step forward together.
LInks to share…
From Pencils to Podcasts by Katie Stover Kelly and Lindsay Yearta
On Thursday, July 13, 2017 #G2Great welcomed three dynamic leaders Jessica Johnson, Shira Leibowitz, and Kathy Perret co-authors of The Coach Approach for School Leadership. Their book examines how to find the balance between the roles of learner and leader while fulfilling all that comes with the charge of being an administrator. They believe that if administrators can integrate instructional coaching techniques into their roles, they will lead their faculties to embrace learning with a sense of team spirit. Our #G2Great PLN welcomed their “coach approach” with great enthusiasm, understanding that when we view ourselves as learners first we are also leaders on a mission to improve education.
If we are willing, we can live the life of a learner in whatever our roles as educators and that is a powerful proposition. Any one of us who is willing to step into a leadership role understands that education is very complex and none of us knows all the answers. We also understand how important it is to “walk the walk” our actions, or inactions, impact the culture of our schools. If we adopt a coaching stance, we also understand that no great work can happen unless there is trust. For all these reasons Johnson, Leibowitz, and Perret coined The Coach Approach Mindset using the acronym HAT:
It’s never about the administrator, coach, or teacher the real work is always contextualized by the learners themselves no matter who they may be. A leader’s first priority should be to help learners achieve their best possible selves. However, before we can proceed we need to know what do our learners need? This is how we begin to adopt a coaching mindset.
Q2 Coaching is part of so many roles in education. What are key characteristics of your coaching mindset?
In writing this post, there is a need for many voices to define the key characteristics of a coaching mindset. Effective leadership requires a plurality and diverse perspectives. In order to define what makes a great leader or coach, we need to understand that a coach’s’ role is not defined by the coach or leader. It is defined by those we are honored to serve. While reading this post, repeat this as if it were a mantra, “Any one of us can be a leader.” If we are leaders who view our role through a coaching lens, we understand that any actions taken must reflect the needs of those around us. As we continue to make trust our priority and safeguard it, we all can continue to be our best for the students under our charge.
If the #G2Great PLN were a dream faculty, this would be our collective Top Tenfor how we would define the characteristics of a coaching mindset:
1. Growth is essential for everyone. It is contextual to the team you are part of:
2. Listening is essential for learning. It is an active presence in all that we do:
3. Positivity is essential because we find what we seek. It colors the context of our work:
4. Collaboration is essential because we all have something to offer. It requires ongoing practice:
5. Relationships are essential because they open doors to learning. Focus on care and trust:
6. Teamwork is essential because it expands empathy. Shared understandings help everyone to thrive:
7. Belief in potential is essential. Let your actions prove that you believe in other’s success:
8. Vision is essential because it is the underpinning for intentional work it requires flexibility:
9. Creating culture is essential. What do you want most? Look at it from every perspective:
10. Reflection is essential as we continue to learn we shape ourselves around other’s needs:
Coaching work begins to happen once you realize that the very nature of coaching is to lead others to self-discovery.It is the purview of each coach to believe in the power and potential that every teacher in the classroom possesses. As leaders, we do not distribute knowledge, but rather we thrive on the quest to learn more with and from teachers.
Our last words of wisdom come from the authors themselves, as they continue to strive to lead and learn by example:
Don’t be afraid to try new things
Set meaningful goals to work towards
Always question your purpose and recalibrate your path if necessary
Thank you, Jessica Johnson, Shira Leibowitz, and Kathy Perret for working to help us be our best possible selves as we continue our work as learners and leaders!
Kathy Perret offers Virtual Coaching for Instructional Coaches and School Leaders with testimonials on the home page. My first call with potential clients is always free. website http://kathyperret.net
From the moment the chat began, our #G2great family came alive as their own sense of wonder virtually spread across the Twitter screen. While their personal wonder was certainly in no short supply, each tweet made it quickly apparent that our #G2Great educators were motivated more by a deep desire to light that flame of wonder in their own students within a place where it could shine ever brighter with each new day.
What is this place for wonder we all crave? Well, I don’t think anyone could answer this question more eloquently than Georgia and Jen:
The enthusiasm of our #G2Great educators made it evident that they embody the spirit of these words. So how can we intentionally create classrooms that inspire the wonder Georgia and Jen describe? As I looked back on their words during the chat, I began to envision a lovely roadmap that would help us make our way to the wonder, mystery, and discovery found in a place where children and teachers alike are passionate about learning and love school.
Wonder is contagious when we look through the eyes of a child
In order to nurture the wonder that naturally resides in the heart of children, we must re-awaken the wonder that we too had as children and bring it back to life. Wonder begins with teachers dedicated to creating an environment designed to inspire a culture of wonder that fans a flame spreading across a room like a wildfire. We keep our wonder perpetually alive when we look through the eyes of our students, joyfully learning side-by-side in a place of wonder.
Wonder can be captured and shared with children
We create a culture of wonder by placing our own wonders in writing alongside the wonders of our children. Recognizing our powerful role as wonder models, we show students how we make our wonders visible on paper so that we can relive the experience that inspired that wonder again and again. We invite them to do the same as we leave paper trails of shared wonder to celebrate together. These references are a constant reminder of the things that captivate us as wonder permeates the very air we breathe.
Wonder is about the journey, not the destination
Wonder rises from the uncertainty that is inherent in the questions that inspire us to wonder – not THE answers that thwart our path to discovery. As we travel along the unknown, each question comes face to face with new questions in a never-ending process of meandering. If we truly listen to remarkable ideas children share without tethering them to expected answers, we are inspired to continue our journey to uncertainty. This journey is what forever keeps the wonder flame aglow.
Wonder grows when we invite wonder mentors to join us
Once we create a place of wonder, we want to invite others to join us. Our invitations are extended to those we know will keep our wonder growing through their words, pictures, ideas, and life experiences. Wonder is inspired with each new story we read about people and topics that send us off into a frenzy of reading and writing wonder leading to new stories shared in a constant stream of wonder joy. Our wonder mentors leave us with a lovely gift that keeps giving within a bottomless wonderfest of exploration.
Wonder begins with WHY, WHAT and “I don’t know.”
We plant new seeds of wonder when we are so inspired by our wonders that we simply must share them willingly and with great enthusiasm. We gratefully let go of the flawed idea that as teachers we must know the answers to every query. Rather we celebrate the not-knowing because we desire the ‘cool wonderer’ we happily set loose into the instructional universe, knowing that we will in turn inspire our smallest cool wonderers to join us. Before we know it, we find ourselves honorary members of the cool wonderer club that only fellow wonderers can join.
As I close this post, I feel a deep sense of gratitude to Georgia and Jen for helping us bring a place of wonder into view. That vision came into even sharper focus when Georgia shared words that have stayed with me since the chat. In fact, I was so inspired by those words that I was moved to look up the full quote from a lecture given by Nobel Prize Winner, Wislawa Szymborska. These words beautifully sum up the inspiration each of us will take from Georgia and Jen:
“This is why I value that little phrase “I don’t know” so highly. It’s small, but it flies on mighty wings. It expands our lives to include the spaces within us as well as those outer expanses in which our tiny Earth hangs suspended. If Isaac Newton had never said to himself “I don’t know,” the apples in his little orchard might have dropped to the ground like hailstones and at best he would have stooped to pick them up and gobble them with gusto.”
Thank you for valuing that little phrase Georgia and Jen. Because of your inspiration, we will forever embrace “I don’t know” in a place where wonder can fly “on mighty wings.”
Growing up, Thursday nights meant Cheers, Seinfeld and Friends. NBC ruled the ratings, but after those shows went off the air, the truth is Thursday nights really have been blah. That was until….#G2Great. While only in its second season, the ratings are through the roof. Not many Twitter chats trend almost every week and word has spread across the Twittersphere that #G2Great is the place to be. This past week’s episode, Dream BIG: Envisioning Possibilities, did more to inspire than Sam, Jerry and Rachel combined. We might be biased, but this episode was right up our alley because the scenes are near and dear to the work that both of us feel so passionately about.
One moment as we go to a commercial break….
We co-produce a small, independent blog 2 Teachers Let Me Shine. At the heart of this production, is our curiosity in identifying the critical factors that need to be in place in order to let students shine.
Now we return from our 30 second commercial break (Hey, 30 seconds is nothing these days)
Four highlighted scenes of this, sure to be Emmy Award winning episode saw the starring cast of #G2Great educators talking about the very things that inspired us to spin off our own dedicated journey. Those four critical factors that let students shine also just happen to let students and teachers Dream Big…
SPOILER ALERT!
Critical Factor #1: Building Relationships
If Neilson ratings were the only validation of the success of a show, we would be left with very few shows. (Horror!) The truth is, shows captivate different audiences because they build a connection and foster relationships with their viewers. In our ever obsessed data driven world, it’s very easy to lose sight of the lives in front of us. In order for people to dream big, we must grow relationships which requires us to dig deeper than the number on a chart. #relationships
Critical Factor #2: Forming Community
Many successful shows have been built on the camaraderie of the cast. There is little doubt the behind the scenes deep friendship of the entire Friends cast was key in making their on screen acting even stronger. Similarly, the stars of #G2Great have created a powerful learning network (PLN) which pushes everyone to “build bridges” to Dream Big. Isn’t it our responsibility to create these bridges for our students? #community
Critical Factor #3: Seeing Strengths
Casting agents are faced with the difficult task of matching roles with actors which requires not only knowing the actor, but identifying their strengths. Could you imagine anyone else but Ted Danson flourishing in the role of Sam Malone? Likewise, we must find those secret places in the hearts of each of our students, their own individual strengths, and bring them to the surface. #strengths
Critical Factor #4: Risk Taking
The amount of piloted shows that are tried and rejected is jaw-dropping. What makes directors and producers keep trying? It is a culture of risk taking; failure is expected and embraced as part of the process. What we see on TV is a result of the many dreamers, but behind the scenes are countless tries. Without perseverance, we would never find the gems. Similarly, the cast of #G2Great made it clear that we need to embrace this risk taking and growth mindset in our classrooms and schools in order for our students to Dream Big. #takerisks #growthmindset
FINAL SCENE
#G2Great is no longer a pilot! It is here to stay. You too, can be in future episodes. It is a place where the cast of characters always Dreams Big and lets each other Shine. #2tlmshine Join us!
Our friend and fellow #G2Great cast member Trevor Bryan encapsulates it so perfectly….
On 7/21/16 #G2Great celebrated the amazing book, A Mindset for Learning by Kristi Mraz and Christine Hertz. With Kristi and Christine at the helm, we spent the hour thinking about the stories we tell ourselves about growth and learning, and how to attempt to see the world through the eyes of our students. Promoting a growth mindset for students begins with us.
This post is dedicated to many the many voices who embrace the search for knowledge over the safety of what is already known.
Christine, Chris, and Mary…
It’s a funny thing that risk has everything to do with loss and yet it’s synonymous with growth. How do we build environments for risk taking? Well it’s a lot more than a collection of rules – it’s a frame of mind. Start the school year with fresh eyes and be ready to create a world for new students. Build spaces that support independent work. Look at classroom design and think, how am I supporting growth and learning? The choices we make are ours alone, and we are obligated to make smart decisions for our students:
Kristi, Jen, and Pam…
Learning is an experience. Our work is not done in isolation because every lesson is connected to a larger process. If we want to make a positive impact on how students perceive themselves then we have to hold them in the highest esteem. We need to read our students as thoughtfully as we read our professional texts:
Christine, Briana, Justin, Bryan, Eric, and Kristi…
Having a growth mindset is a lovely idea. If I believe I can do it, I can achieve it. How do our actions really support that kind of thinking? Growth mindset is rooted in the learning process itself. It isn’t accomplished by the end of the day, or week, or even the year. It’s the work of a lifetime. A growth mindset is a way of life that begins as an extension of our beliefs about ourselves and our students:
Akilah, Kristi, Kristin, Christine, Dana, Sonja, and Kate…
Our students are living in the narratives we write for them. The kinds of stories we tell them and ourselves impacts the kinds of teachers we become. Akilah’s tweet inspires me to write some professional development work around storytelling and growth mindset. Kisti shared a collection of articles about the power of stories, and Kristin shared a Prezi as a resource for growth mindset. Thank you so much! Our #G2Great PLN is a community, one that supports, connects, and encourages us to dream:
Mary, Christine, and Kristi…
We are teachers and joy is our job. Our message of joyful learning that embraces play is an important one to send out the to world. We live in serious times and students will inherit a world that requires flexible thinking that stems from creative play. Our kids will need to be resilient in the face of adversity. Empathy will deconstruct walls to progress, and persistence will help to unlock inner strength and stamina. We are not just teaching reading, writing, and math we are teaching students how to read the world. Above all else let’s be a part of building strong optimistic hearts and minds. Thank you Kristi and Christine for writing such an important book for teachers everywhere:
As it turns out, research supports our collective enthusiasm. Dr. Stuart Brown, the world’s leading researcher in the science of play, states that “what play does better than anything else is unite what is in your head and your heart.” Celebrating play as one of the best exercises for the brain, he lists an impressive array of by-products including lightheartedness, empathy, hope for the future, optimism, flexibility, and adaptability, making a strong case for purposeful play in our classrooms.
In a nod of enthusiastic support, our #G2Great chatters added a myriad of benefits including opportunities to discover, explore, negotiate, imagine, create, rehearse, problem-solve, revise, collaborate, engage, innovate, elaborate, persevere, cooperate, compromise and plan. Add social and emotional intelligence, growth mindset, motivation, choice, curiosity and flexibility to that lofty collection and the ‘necessity’ in purposeful play is elevated to a new sense of urgency.
What makes Purposeful Play such a powerful book is that it is brimming with research support that inspires us to embrace purposeful play and affords ample evidence to convince naysayers while their treasure chest of tips and suggestions in a step-by-step illustrated guide transports us to a visual playground of pure joy. They don’t just tell us how to make purposeful play a reality – they show us. Purposeful Play is a magical mix of compelling research evidence and practical application that is sure to bring the play movement back into glorious view.
This message comes at a time when far too many schools view recess and other forms of play as expendable in favor of an ever-increasing emphasis on academic rigor. In response, Kristi, Allison and Cheryl highlight the rigorous nature of play as ‘play in work and work in play.’ In or out of our classrooms, purposeful play engages children in enthusiastic ‘rigorous’ learning that can fuel our instruction to a new level. Our favorite new play friends remind us that although we may not have a choice in what we teach, how we teach is always in our hands. In others words, purposeful play as a personal and professional priority is a choice.
This week on #G2Great, with the gracious support of Kristi, Alison and Cheryl, our chatters made a conscious choice to make purposeful play a personal and professional priority and their excitement was palpable. Teachers left with a new resolve to embed purposeful play into every learning day. Best of all, our #G2Great Twitter playdate will impact our students and make them the lucky benefactors of their enthusiastic determination.
Kristi, Alison and Cheryl keep the promise emblazoned on the front cover of their book. Through research support and words of encouragement and guidance, they take us along on a purposeful play “joy” ride toward igniting deep and joyful learning across the day. In their words, “Play connects us to the world and to each other and offers unlimited possibilities. So come. Let’s play!”
On April 7, 2016 #G2Great, we were lucky to have Meenoo Rami, author of Thrive, as a guest host on our Thursday night chat. Just as her book helps us to thrive in the professional work that we do, Meenoo’s message on the chat was that when we make our own learning a priority, our students in turn benefit greatly.
Meenoo’s message supports Carol Dweck’s idea of growth mindset. Since the publication in 2006 of her book, Mindset, Dweck continues to remind us that we are actually on a continuum between fixed mindset and growth mindset. My friend @JDolci, an amazing educator, lifelong learner and questioner, illustrated this continuum when he was faced with putting together a complicated easel this week. He reverted into the “I am so terrible at putting things together” mindset but luckily used the growth mindset to assemble it (with the encouragement of our Voxer network). As we work to strengthen our professional growth mindset, Meenoo’s message helps to guide us.Her words give us a roadmap for our own learning journey.
Meenoo’s tweet reflects a responsibility that we all have to reach out to others in the teaching community in order to help them grow. Thrive gives us a template to offer to teachers in our community. This message of mentorship is more important than it has ever been before because many teachers feel isolated. Meenoo encourages us to step outside the boundaries of our school environment to connect with a greater teaching community.
A dear friend has been teaching for over 20 years. She goes to the end of the earth for her students but she hadn’t read a professional book in years and had no current mentor to look up to. By her own admission, she was stuck, isolated and bored. Her years of experience and successes in the classroom make her such an invaluable asset to her school community, but she lacks the spark, the drive and the community to help her grow. She was eager to learn but the PD her district offered never seemed to meet her personal learning needs. I shared with her that Twitter has provided me a platform where I can grow in the company of others. She was ready to break down those barriers.
Meenoo suggests here that as mentors ourselves we don’t want to change others, only spark their own personal growth. She also clearly advocates that we all hold the roles of both mentor and mentee and she encourages us to help others learn and learn from others. Meenoo emphasizes the importance of being in a community of learners in order to thrive, but we each have to find our own path to accomplish this. Professional inspiration can come from many sources, including our students.
Herein lies the great impact of Meenoo Rami’s book, Thrive. She gives us, the teaching community, a guide to help us all continue to grow and learn as teachers, no matter how long we’ve been in the field. She lays down the groundwork to be able to cultivate a growth mindset around our very important work. As guest host on this week’s #G2Great chat, Meeno shared her amazing wisdom with a group of eager learners. Her clarity in the importance of growing as educators beyond our comfort zone resulted in changes that could be felt in the course of the chat.
During last night’s chat and in Meenoo’s book, Thrive, she reminded us of the importance of cultivating professional growth and curiosity which, in the end, greatly impacts our students.
(RE) Invigorate your teaching with Meenoo’s newsletter and remarkable book, Thrive.
Susie Rolander & Dani Burtfield will be leading a book study on Thrive with Meenoo every Tuesday during June. Stay tuned for time or contact Susie or Dani. #EdThrive
