Can You Ride a Bicycle?

I'm going to venture a guess that all of you reading this have learned to ride a bike. Countless hours and multiple attempts went into learning how to balance your weight, how to shift the handle bars, and how to brace yourself for the fall. And while hopefully we all learned through these failures to persist and keep plugging away, we may not have been aware of the neurological connections we were making.

The phrase 'it's just like riding a bike' took on a new meaning for today after viewing the video below, AND attempting to ride this bike myself.

 


You can only imagine how trying to ride this bike myself has completely changed my perspective on CHANGE! While I've always been aware that change is easier for some and more difficult for others, I never made the connection in the relationship between your brain and change. As individuals, we have taken years to master our craft or expertise. Yet, some leaders want us to change our thought process or actions over night. What they may not realize is that our brains are wired in such a way that we struggle to understand the change and how this will improve what we are doing.

Where this video really hit home for me is though the interactions I might have with students. We all have the opportunity to work with and mentor learners that have a wide variety of backgrounds.Many learners come with predisposed notions and beliefs about themselves. Whether it be parents, previous teachers, or friends, learners have been 'hard-wired' to navigate life according to these beliefs. As educators, we are not only tasked to teach them content, but also perhaps help them to 're-learn' who they are and what they are capable of.

And what the movie proved to me is that I must be patient in my working with learners. While I may want to move fast and have accepted changes, some learners have some 'un-wiring' to do to learn. My role is to continue to be supportive of them, their efforts, and the growth they are making. Each learner deserves the time they need to grow - after all growth is movement forward no matter how big or small.

I recently started reading 'The Leadership Challenge' by James Kouzes and Barry Posner. Although I'm a mere thirty pages in so far and very inspired to learn more about The Five Practices to Exemplary Leadership - Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable others to Act, and Encourage the Heart. These five practices must shape how we continue to evolve what education is really about. We cannot impact the brain without first impacting the heart.

Each one of us is capable of impacting our learners. Continue to inspire and model the way in what you do and how you interact with your learners. Help them to unlock the potential that exists within themselves. And remember that many already learned how to 'ride their bike!'

Learning - A Life-Long Skill

Over the course of the past few months, I have become perplexed by the vast conversations and movement regarding individualized learning. While much of what I've read or studied is directed toward K-12 student learning, I've started to ponder, "why is it that learning is not held in high regards in most higher education and professional settings?" For one reason or another, there seems to be a rather large misconception that compliance equates to learning! Furthermore, too many believe that learning is the ability to answer a question correctly. I would argue that answering a question correctly is simply acquiring knowledge. Learning goes much deeper than knowing answers.

"Learning is not an action...Learning is a behavior in which one continually seeks to grow by searching for answers to questions unknown!" This definition, which I created through modifying many other quotes, helps to lay the foundation for what lifelong learning ought to be for all professionals - educators, leaders, front-line staff, and all adults. While I am fortunate to work for a college that believes "NWTC is a cutting edge, life-long learning college that transforms, strengthens, and inspires," we must be aware that there is always room to grow. By breaking down my definition of learning, I hope to show how professional learning supports individualized learning for adults/employees.

"Learning is a BEHAVIOR..." 

I see behavior as a choice - a choice to acknowledge that I may not know all of the answers and that it is my responsibility to learn what I do not know. A choice to recognize that I am never done learning and will continue to learn and grow the older and wiser I get. A choice to seek out input from my teammates, professional resources, and conferences I attend. This choice only becomes a behavior after I repeatedly exhibit my choice and desire to learn. As I turn this choice and desire to learn into my behavior, I learn that I own my right to learn.

"Continually seeks to GROW..."
In his book, 'Personalized PD; Flipping Your Professional Development', Jason Bretzmann describes giving educators C.H.O.I.C.E. in their professional development and learning. The first C, Constant Progress, is essential to all learning experiences. Organizations and institutions of learning must recognize that all people learn at different rates, including professionals. The more we encourage educators and employees to continually seek to grow, the more freedom we give them to learn at a pace that is comfortable to them. While there are a multitude of variables that effect learning, perhaps none is greater than giving employees the ability to drive their own growth and learning through personalized professional development. Likewise, growth also means that we must be willing to reflect on where we have been and where we would like to go - to have a plan and action steps that will help us achieve our goals along the way. Meanwhile, organizations and institutions of learning must also support a resilient culture by allowing employees to fail forward - to learn from mistakes and use them as opportunities to grow!

"SEARCHING for answers to QUESTIONS UNKNOWN!"
In conjunction with continually seeking to grow, searching for answers also means that we will explore a wide variety of 'expert' resources - Twitter, articles, book studies, social gatherings, conferences, trade shows, eLearning, and much more! Our willingness to think outside of the box and be creative in finding solutions to our questions will inhibit our ability to grow from learning. This also ties directly back to learning as a behavior in which I am open to hearing and learning from a variety of sources. A monumental mind shift at all levels - management, supervisors, CEO's, presidents, employees - must occur to recognize that anyone can find answers to their questions at anytime, from anywhere!


As I continue to explore what I believe to be the Four C's that are fundamental to all learning experiences (Connect, Customize, Curiosity, and Collaboration), I come back to my definition of learning to remind myself that I must also be willing to grow and learn along the way. To truly have a growth mindset means I may not have all the answers, and I may not like the answers I get along the way. To impact the greater good though, I must be open to alternative ideas, suggestions, or guidance.

A Growth Mindset

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend the Higher Learning Commission's Annual Conference in Chicago. The conference, which focused heavily on accreditation for institutes of higher education, also included several breakout sessions on assessment practices. The last session I attended at the conference, "Using the Growth Mindset to Encourage Faculty & Staff Use of Assessment" was outstanding.

Led by Dr. Eric Haas, Psychology Faculty member at Maricopa Community College, the session provided great context for how instructors ought to approach learning and assessment at all levels of education. After providing data to show that anxiety surrounds assessment, as well as how a fixed mindset can sometimes be detrimental to learning, Dr. Haas provided a wonderful synopsis of the value of teaching every student as if they have a growth mindset.

In order for any educator to effectively teach students, we must all come to one fundamental conclusion: Assessment IS NOT the goal; it is a tool! Learning IS the goal! Learning, the process by which students grow, is at the fundamental core of what every educator does. Educators at every level often spend countless hours focusing on students that are far below grade level or ability. We work effortlessly to help them be successful, sometimes with success while others not so successful.

Either way, as educators we need to continually help our students see that the path to success is not always linear. There are failures along the way, bumps that impede our process, and obstacles to overcome. However, along the way we LEARN that we can persevere and make improvements on things we have already tried. Like the old saying goes, 'No Pain - No Gain". We must be willing to put in the hard work to help all of our students be successful, encouraging them along the way. Help them to see that they are capable of anything they want to put their minds to.

Ironically, Dr. Haas' presentation really charged educators with having a growth mindset themselves. How easy would it be to continue doing what you've been doing because 'that's way I've always done it'? We must be willing to admit that we do not know what we do not know. The only way to grow is to learn - learn how we can become better educators, creating a place for all students to learn and grow WITH us, not from us!

Do you have a growth mindset?

My sketch notes from HLC Conference 2016.

Wednesday Wisdom - 11/5/14

Obsession with Grades

"I've learned so much from my mistakes...I'm thinking of making a few more."

Unlike our native ancestors that learned by trial and error, today's students seem to thrive on the notion of obtaining the best grade possible to prove they have 'learned'. Not do student obsess over the grade, but also making sure they have the 'right' answer the first time! This obsession got me pondering. Where in the world has all the learning gone? Why is it that students are so obsessed over a silly letter from the alphabet?

As I sit back an reflect on my educational endeavors, I have to painstakingly admit that I was one of those students. I didn't care much for what I learned in middle school or high school. I was driven by obtaining the best possible grade to prove to my parents and teachers that I had learned. All the while, I skated by giving average effort at best to demonstrate I was 'smart'.

And that's when it hit me - my parents were the driving force behind the obsession of obtaining an adequate grade. I wanted to make sure they appreciated my efforts in school, get a reduced rate on my car insurance, and go to college. My entire youth, school was spent as a place to get by and move to the next level. I can assure you, I never really intended on learning any valuable lessons that I could use the rest of my life.

Yet, isn't that where education is today. Too many parents stress the importance over grades and the privileges that come with them. Why must parents insist on perfection, when true learning occurs from making mistakes? Mistakes show our weaknesses, our vulnerability, and where we need the most work.  JJ Watt, of the NFL Houston Texans, states it best, "Success is not owned. It is leased and rent is due every day."

Students must work to be successful everyday. Success is not meant to be easy. Those schools that have adopted standards-based grading are ahead of the curve. They have clear, measurable objectives for students to meet, showing whether or not they have mastered a skill. There is no grade attached to being able to add your numbers 0 - 100. There is no penalty for making mistakes, only opportunities for growth.

Education needs to help students learn what they don't know. The only way to help students become prepared for the 'real-world' beyond formalized education is to promote making mistakes and learning from those mistakes. Just like when we were young and learned to keep our fingers clear of shutting doors, or off the hot stove, education needs to emphasize the potential that mistakes provide in true learning. Only then can we create a generation of young adults that know how to survive on their own, focused on learning and not the grade!

Wednesday Wisdom - 10/22/14

Connected Learning & Social Media

If you had to guess what the greatest, most common deficit of recent hires in the Green Bay area, what would you guess? Not punctuality! Not even work ethic! The greatest area of concern stems from interdependence – the ability to work on a team with others and communication. Perhaps you can guess one of the major causes of communication set-backs in a young work force; Yes social media!

While social media has drastically changed the landscape in which we communicate with each other, we still need to build communication into our classrooms. As instructors, we need to challenge our students to communicate in teams, while understanding how to give constructive criticism. Yet, as many believe social media is the sole demise of communication, there are plenty of benefits to social media to discuss and explore with your students.

For example, social networks offer professionals and students a platform to showcase their expertise in a given area. Likewise, social media can offer passive, often silent student an opportunity to have their voice heard in a non-threatening manner. Education now has a chance to reach newer and broader audiences now more than ever imagined.

For more ideas and strategies about using Social Media in your classroom, check out the following article from Inside Higher Ed.

https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/higher-ed-beta/connected-learning 

Do You Let Your Students Drive?

Is your learning plan SAVI? Did you design your classroom activity to meet all of the multiple intelligence's in your classroom? Does your instruction follow the learning cycle? Where is your technology?

The demands on today's educators to meet the needs of ALL learners continue to evolve and change quicker than the rise of Twitter. When you examine the teacher workload that includes high-stakes testing, incorporation of technology, behavior plans, Individualized Educational Plans, intervention strategies/programs, performance-based pay, and coaching duties - it's no wonder lesson planning and high-quality instruction take a back seat.

Yet, there is a very unique and humble solution - Let the Students Drive! Who knows their own learning style better than each and every student. Why must we continue to confine students to the same rigor and assessment style that has not worked for decades? As educators, we set the criteria for learning, but why not let the students choose how they show you what has been learned?

While a bit scary, and perhaps intimidating at first, allowing your students to drive their education will engage them in the learning process in ways you could have never imagine. Instead of asking students to recite a formula in math, why not let them create a rap or song to show off their artistic side? Rather than an old-fashioned Power Point, why not allow students to use a web tool to display their knowledge of the food chain? Better yet, instead of writing a paper about the Holocaust, why not allow students to complete Character Sketches through the use of a Blog to role play and interact with classmates?

You see, the more educators try to stay the same, the more students push back. Aren't we the content experts - don't we already know the answers? At some point, we need to teach students how to UNLEARN what they have already LEARNED about learning. Allow students to choose their vehicle of learning. Allow students to choose how to get to the destination. Allow students to fail and challenge our own thinking. Only then can we be the expert that helps guide them along the way and back on the right path when they are wrong. In doing so so, we can help students better develop critical thinking, problem solving, and analyzing skills.

If only we all taught like Pirates, as Dave Burgess would say. We need to teach with Passion, Immerse ourselves in our subjects, build Rapport with our students, Ask/Analyze our current practices, Transform our classroom practices, and be Enthusiastic.

Will you let your students drive the ship matey? Aaargghh

10 Things Great Teachers Do Differently

I can only imagine what you are thinking..."I've seen this list before and it's always the same old information!" Contrary to that thought, I believe it's time to take an honest look in the mirror and identify those 10 characteristics that I feel exemplify Great Teachers.

1) Great Teachers DO NOT Complain!
In an ever changing arena, teachers are constantly asked to do more with less. While it could be easy to roll your eyes and let out a gruff, Great Teachers relish in the opportunity to grow. Throw them a curve ball and they will knock it out of the park. Not only is this true in their profession, but ultimately in their classroom as well. Complaining leads to excuses, and Great Teachers leave no door open for excuses.

2) Great Teachers are CREATORS, Not Victims!
While very similar to the first one, Great Teachers take obstacles and turn them in to opportunities for growth. Since we are all human, inevitably we all make mistakes. Great Teachers take responsibility for their mistakes, learn from them, and ultimately grow and become better teachers because of them.

3) Great Teachers put Students First!
As high stakes, standardized testing continues to gain momentum, many teachers fall trap to 'teaching to the test'. Great Teachers realize the greater good in educating the whole child and helping them grow in life. Great Teachers will often wear many hats and know how to wear them well - counselor, parent, friend, teacher, or disciplinarian.

4) Great Teachers make Data-Driven Decisions!
While many teachers cringe at the idea of looking at data, Great Teachers understand the vital role data plays in directing instruction and teaching students. How else can you tell if something is working or not. Gut feelings are vital to on the fly modifications, but over the long haul of a teaching career, data needs to drive methodology and practices. With out data, a Great Teacher cannot be sure of what is working and what is not.

5) Great Teachers are Reflective Practitioners!
By reflecting on instructional activities, assessments, and methodology, Great Teachers take a deeper look at themselves and how to grow and improve for student success. Admitting difficulties and struggles allows Great Teachers opportunities for improvement, while using successes as an opportunity to share with others. Reflection allows teachers time to measure what student success looks like and feels like.

6) Great Teachers Seek Out Ways to Grow!
In understanding that teaching is a life-long learning opportunity, Great Teachers strive to stay current in the field of education and their content. Great Teachers use technology to enhance their classroom and look for new and up-coming opportunities to use technology. Great Teachers are eager to learn and are self directed in their professional development.

7) Great Teachers Collaborate and Share with Others!
Not worried about receiving credit for a great idea or class activity, Great Teachers look for ways to share ideas and information with others. Great Teachers understand how these activities can potentially reach more students. Great Teachers listen to others ideas and do not quickly dismiss them. Great Teachers are willing to try something new and work with others to modify current practices to increase student learning.

8) Great Teachers have a Student-Centered Classroom!
If you were to walk into a Great Teacher's classroom, odds are you might not know where the front of the room is located! Great Teachers create a learning environment that is Student-Centered and inviting to the student learning process. The classroom will probably be loud, chaotic at times, but a Great Teacher knows exactly what is happening and the purpose behind it. Activities are designed so that students can apply, analyze, and create based on what was learned.

9) Great Teachers are Patient!
Working with 20 - 120 students per day, Great Teachers understand that every student they encounter is unique in their own way. Great Teachers understand students learn differently and are adept at teaching in a variety of methods. Great Teachers do no mind questions, while they patiently guide students along  the learning path.

10) Great Teachers are Model Students!
We've all been part of meetings or classes where colleagues complain they can't meet a deadline, or they don't have time to do something. A Great Teacher realizes that as a student them self, they must model the same expectations they ask of their own students. Work is handed in on time, thoroughly completed, and with all required components. Often, Great Teachers go above and beyond the requirements.