ULearn 2018 - Break Out - Teaching with Thinking Dispositions

Break Out - Teaching with Thinking Dispositions

Karen Boyes

FAIL - first attempt in learning

Our students are so scared of getting things wrong that they shy away from giving new things a try.

The Learning Pit -

What do students do when the answer is not always apparent?  

What do we teach students to do when they are stuck?

What makes successful people successful?

What are they doing and what dispositions do they encompass?

It doesn’t matter whose research we are using but rather that we are using these disposition to create a mindshift in education and student thinking.

Many schools put up key words and values and cultures but are they actually taking the time to unpack these ideals with students so that they know how to put them into practice.  

Metacognition - thinking about our thinking

½ - ⅔ of people are actually aware of their thinking

This is about the art of stopping and slowing the process of learning down so that there is enough time to reflect and analyse our thinking and learning process.

TAPS - thinking aloud problem solving

In junior classes this could be as simple as starting as affirmations.  Saying them aloud and then internalising the thoughts.

We want students to think about think about their process.  

Add these numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Strategies:

• Top to the bottom
• Bottom to the top
• Grouped in 10s
• Grouped in 11s
• Mathematical formula n=(n(n+1))/2

It is not about the answer but as humans we always want to know if I am right or not.  We want students to change their thinking to focus on their process and compare the strategies they used.  

This is a process which needs to be modelled so that student know how to collaborate and engage with other people's points of views.

Taking Responsible Risks

Helping students to get outside their comfort zone while avoiding the panic zone.  This is about teaching them that it is ok to be in a learning zone where you do not have the answers and you might feel the struggle.  

Fostering the sense of adventure with students so that they know that learning is exciting and full of new possibilities.  Students often do not think they have this power and often so not have the strategies to deal with the struggle when they are faced with it.  Eg. spelling and unknown word. What can you do or use to assist you with this? - often this will move you from your comfort zone to the panic zone.  If students recognise that there are strategies to assist them then they are more likely to move into the learning zone.

RR - Responsible Risk.  Encourage students to put this in the margin and give the unknown a try.  9/10 times this happened children actually go the process or working correct and possibly the answer but the idea was more about fostering risk taking rather than content based learning.  

Responding with Wonderment and Awe

You cannot teach this is has to be caught.  

Model this authentically to students as if they see that you are having WOW moments throughout your day - they will instinctively crave this too.  

Take the time to stop and see the magic.

Questioning and Problem Posing

Every problem has in it the seeds of its own solution.  If you don’t have any problems, you don’t get any seeds.  

We needs to help students get to the main problem and the crux of the problem.  

Children should be asking most of the questions in a classroom not the teacher.  

While teachers are busying planning and marking and designing and creating content the students are having a life.  We need to get smart as teachers and reverse the roles more.

Teachers demonstrating does not always give them the best learning because they generally just see that you can do it and they can’t.  It is more effective to coach then through the learning process.

Get children to think like a subject specialist - what type of questions might a subject specialist ask?  

Remain Open to Continual Learning

Getting students to think of themselves as life-long learners

Students are coming out of schooling with a higher level of knowledge that those in the workforce.  It is ok to keep on learning and learn from others - this is how we progress and develop our own expertise.

Vulnerability is key - recognising when we do not know everything and knowing that this is exciting and where the learning is about to take off.  Learning does not stop at 10, 12, 18… students need to understand that the end of each section of schooling doesn’t mark the end of a chapter but it marks the beginning of the next chapter.  

“Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage.  Truth and courage aren’t always comfortable but they aren’t a weakness” - Brene Brown

ULearn 2018

ULearn 2018 is The Culture of Change.

Āheinga: Capability

With so much focus on the future now is the time to focus student learning on capabilities and allow these to thrive in our students.  We as educators have a responsibility to prepare our students for this unknown future and developing a skill set of transferrable skills is key to a successful future for our akonga.  As a Digital Technologies curriculum PLD facilitator the integration of key competencies and developing a framework of integration that supports schools to integrate digital technologies across the curriculum in meaningful and authentic ways.   

Hapori: Community

In this day and age schools need to collaborate as working in isolation is not in the best interests of our learners.  The old saying "It takes a village to raise a child" rings through and schools need to utilise the shared expertise of family, parents, whanau, community to build a community which fosters relationships and collective learning opportunities.  As a Digital Technologies facilitator I know that one key way of building this ecosystem is using digital tools which make engagement and communication easier and more efficient in our busy day-to-day lives! 

Hurihanga: Change

Education is changing at rapid speed and educators needs to move with these times to ensure we can provide our learners with the most effective learning opportunities we can.  From a Digital Technology point of view we often talk abut the exponential growth that is taking place but this is true in all aspects of society and it is about how we prepare our learners for the changes that are currently happening and will continue to happen throughout their life.  The importance of transferrable skills is key and we need to disrupt education as it currently stands to challenge the status quo to prepare for the unknown - transferrable learning and adaptive expertise are the answer because it is not ok to just continue educating how we have been for the past 2-3 decades...what has to change?

I am looking forward to ULearn 2018 and making connections with like-minded people who are all keen to contribute to the capability, community and change that is fundamental to our education system moving forward! 

I will post my notes from the keynotes and breakout sessions in seperate blog posts - raw notes because it isn't about what you put in writing...it's about how you put your learning into action! ENJOY!

Padlet - An Oldie but a Goodie!

Padlet - An Oldie but a Goodie! 

Recently I have been using this tool so much in class to grab student voice quickly and also encourage collaboration between my students.  

This is also a tool I used frequently when presenting at conferences or running staff meetings as it lets people collaborate and share ideas in real time.  It is easy and accessible and generally adults love this way of brainstorming or contributing to a professional discussion or planning session.  

Below is an awesome example of how I recently incorporated this tool into my classroom programme! The answers are cute and well worth a read! 

COPIED FROM Room 15's 2017 Class Blog


Room 15 have been looking at what makes a good ROLE MODEL.  We think that people who do the following make good role models...

- Inspire us to try new things
- Be the best we can
- Do the right thing at the right time
- Follow their dreams
- Do good things for other people and not just for their own interests

We talked about how role models can come in different forms.  They can be people who are close to you such as family and friends.  They can also be people that you admire but have not personally met, like celebrities.  Role models can also show up in many different areas of your life from school, to home, to other activities such as church, sports, after school activities...

This padlet shows some of our thoughts! It is an amazing read and I loved seeing who was named as being a role model within our class and school! 

The Wonderful World of DMiC Maths

Maths has always been about stages and Numeracy Project for me.  A new approach which I have had to learn this year is DMiC Maths which teaches maths through real-life contexts and problem solving.

I found the following explanation a good starting point to my DMiC teaching... https://nzmaths.co.nz/mathematics-inquiry-communities)

Through working with Generosa Leach I have learnt so much about the way I deliver my Maths programme.  Firstly the class is split in half into two mixed ability groups.  The problems that are written are constructed around a 'big idea'.  I need to know the students and which strategies I want them to work on but when writing a problem I plan for other strategies to be used.

Problems need to have multiple entry and exit points.  The students should all be able to relate to the context of the maths problem which gives then an understanding of why we are learning about it.  It also promotes language and discussion which is based on the story of the problems.

Lessons start with the whole group breaking down the problem and understanding the story.  Once we have a common understanding we then look at the numbers involved and start to break down with the question might be asking us.  Children then break into small groups to work on solving the problem in a collaborative way.

Maths norms and talk moves guide students to drive the strategising and problem solving in their own way.  Students need to contribute to the answer and success is determined by each person in the group understanding and being able to share back in their own way.

I have also looked at refining my planning to really think about the students in my group and their strengths and weaknesses.  This is known as 'Mathematical Status'.  All students have status but they are not necessarily the 'best' at maths or the 'smartest'.

DMiC Maths - Room 15 Tangram Question


 My journey with DMiC Maths has just begun but I feel confident in this way of teaching and I will always incorporate aspects of this problem solving model into my teaching from now on.

Twitter #engchatNZ: Growth Mindset...

I love the idea of taking an edchat and then blogging my own answers following the discussion to consolidate my understanding of each question. I took the idea from http://learningshine.blogspot.co.nz/ as I loved her way of reflecting beyond a twitter chat.

What does it mean to have a growth mindset?
Being open to try new things and push boundaries with my teaching. As a teacher, the learning shouldn't stop and if it does then I am unsure how that helps your students. Learning from our mistakes and seeing mistakes as an opportunity - being in 'the pit' and in a state of worry, unknowing or confusion is one of the most powerful places or mindsets you can be in!

Why is it important to have a growth mindset?
So that development and individual learning occurs. Life must be a very boring place when you are stuck in a fixed mindset...growing and learning new things is so much fun. Especially in education which is so fast paced and embracing exciting change at the moment. Having a growth mindset is important to maintain and achieve what I have dubbed the CSI's! 

C's - continue, collaborate, create 

S's - share, succeed and sustain 

I's - implement, improve and inspire!

So - how do we begin to develop those growth mindsets in our students (and ourselves)?

Ask children what they want to learn and let them be involved in the creation process. Foster and encourage their curiosity about various subjects and let them ask questions and lead their own and each others learning.

I have been doing lots of work with my class on 'The Pit'. By teaching them that making mistakes is a powerful tool, they are really challenging their own thinking and learning. Teaching children that it is about the journey rather than the end product. If the journey is a direct route then it possibly hasn't inspired, challenged or taught you much...

Describe a particular time when you saw a student change their mindset.

Describe a time you overcame your fixed mindset about a particular obstacle and how it relates to Ss perspectives?
Moving from teaching seniors to middle school at the beginning of this year. I was convinced that I would hate it! Turns out I am absolutely in love with teaching Year 3 and 4. They are so creative and have such curious minds! I am able to do some very cool things with them (Edmodo, Blogging, 3D Printing, Tinkercad, Digital Badges, Using GAFE Tools) all because I am not constrained by the extra-curricular pressures I had teaching in the senior school.

What is the next thing that you are working on to build your growth mindset? Next goal?
Embracing the challenge of 3D Printing and designing with children aged 7 and 8. It is scary but so exciting and I cannot wait for them to overtake me and then become my little teaching experts - it is bound to happen sooner than I think!

Also continually developing my patience around teaching with people who are 'still developing' their growth mindset. It is one of the hardest things to watch but at the end of the day if a teacher is not willing to change their own thinking then it is very hard to assist them - it leaves you with an unspoken question!!!

Thank you +ariaporo22 for hosting!

A Week on Twitter #engchatNZ and #edchatNZ

This week Twitter has really taken off for me! +Sonya Van Schaijik has continually been on at me about the power of this tool and reluctantly I have become a convert!

This week I participated in both #engchatnz and #edchatnz - both fascinating and gave me a total buzz! It is like a hit of adrenaline - partly from trying to keep up and partly from collaborating with such amazing names in NZ education! (I would tag you all but there are simply too many!)

#engchatNZ was hosted by the lovely and inspiring +ariaporo22 (Alex Le Long).  The topic was #growthmindset and throughout the chat a trend was definitely apparent.  I found it ironic that all of the people involved in the chat would be the type to have already adopted or at least realised the importance of having a growth mindset as a NZ educator.  Yet, the trend was largely about why having a growth mindset is important and sharing ideas of what this 'jargon' term means.

The storify of this chat is available at

#EngChatNZ - The Importance of Developing Growth Mindsets - 19th May 2015 https://t.co/30rXgzvdoj via @ariaporo22 #EngChatNZ

— Alex Le Long (@ariaporo22) May 19, 2015

Also, as part of the chat, Alex shared a great collaborative document of Growth Mindset Media Tools which I have added many videos which have helped me understand the importance of this mindset.  They also motivate me to carry on finding professional development which targets and interests me.  These two videos in particular stood out to me (the Kid President one was a hit with my class)

On Thursday night, #edchatNZ took place and this weeks topic was about MLE vs MLP. Hosted by +MissDtheTeacher (Danielle Myburgh).

#edchatNZ Twitter Feed

@BeccaSweeney @tonycairns You've been quoted in my Storify "Modern Learning Practice - #edchatNZ (21 May 2015)" http://t.co/H6lojDhw4U

— Marnel van der Spuy (@1MvdS) May 21, 2015

 Again, a powerful way of highlighting my own views on the importance of the pedagogy that goes along with 'Modern Learning Environments'.  It isn't enough to chuck some colourful beanbags into a classroom along with a few wobbly chairs and varying tables of different sizes and colours.  If the pedagogy and mindset of the teacher doesn't change then the learning will remain the same as it always has.  Teachers influence students in such a profound way and the pedagogy behind their teaching will directly impact on the type of thinker, learner and future leader each student will be! 

I truly believe that teachers who are set in their ways and are not willing to change, have no place in the classroom anymore.  In saying this, I personally do not think that expecting teachers to keep their thinking and pedagogy current and up-to-date is a big ask or requirement.  If teachers are not willing to change and continue their own learning then what kind of role model are they being for their students?  And are such teacher meeting the Registered Teacher Criteria? It becomes detrimental for children who remain in backwards or standstill thinking classrooms.  

This is an area I am passionate about and really feel should be embraced and developed by all NZ Schools - Drop the E on MLE, it goes beyond that!

More to come!