myOMET.com Blogs

Our campus newspaper printed an op-ed piece complaining about some of the bad teachers the writer had encountered. I could not help but reply with the following:

The act of teaching is exactly that; — an act. It is a second class citizen, a miscreant, an unwanted stepchild, the loser pretending to be hip. After all, teaching is not the exclusive sacred realm here; it is learning that is sacred. It is the conscious act of the learner taking responsibility for their own learning that becomes the crowning glory of higher education. Teaching is just the flawed process by which we do our best to facilitate learning, and without the conscious choice by the student to learn, teaching is just an act of futility.

As a faculty member, it would be all too easy for me to complain about the lack of initiative of my students, or document their late papers and their excuses, and use these as the scapegoat for any deficiencies in their learning. But I will not do that, for the truth is I am blessed to have many wonderful students; — students who want to make their lives better by learning.

We’ve all had bad teachers. The people who make us feel bad when we don’t have the “right” answer, the people who favor memorization over independent thought, and the people who have helped us accept, as fact, that the process of regurgitating spoon-fed information is synonymous to learning.

As students and faculty, we have daily opportunities to take ownership of the learning process. We have opportunities to take back the seemingly lost art of thinking and to find ways of learning how to learn effectively. Yes, learning HOW to learn. I know, oddly, there aren’t many courses called “Learning How to Learn 101.” So, let me give you the crash course.

I would expect the author of your column to have had six words permanently impressed upon the grey, rippling contours of your brain. They are the “5 Ws and H,” or who, what, when, where, why, and how. I learned those words more than 25 years ago from a man who is now my colleague and they have changed my life in very favorable ways. So I owe him a thank you.

Here’s how they can help you learn how to learn. You start by picking one or more of those words and apply it to something you just thought you learned. For example “why” is this so? “How” is it that I have come to accept this as truth? “Who” claims this to be true and are they to be trusted, or is their point of view skewing the veracity of their claim.

As you ask these types of question, and more importantly answer them for yourself, you begin to develop what are called meta-cognitive learning skills; — you start thinking for yourself. And, your learning will accelerate. The second step in learning how to learn is to remember that your teacher is only one of many vehicles for obtaining information. If you choose to take control of your own learning, you’ll expand the realm of your learning options to include, but also move beyond the classroom. There are fellow students, family members, libraries, the Internet, co-workers; — an entire community of people who can stimulate your learning; — and at the heart of that community is you, the person who is ultimately responsible for that learning.

So, are there some bad teachers here? Probably. Are there teachers who are expecting you to regurgitate? It wouldn’t surprise me.

But, if you really want to learn, I can assure you, there are a many, many, many faculty members here who would be thrilled to help provide you with some awesome learning experiences; — experiences that you can carry with you for the rest of your life. I still carry many of those experiences with me today. So, if what you really want to do is learn, the choice is yours. Most of us here will support you in that choice, — after all, it is learning that is the sacred realm here, not teaching.

Greetings, OMET community. It has been a really long time since I have been on this page. Though I did not forget it was here, and think about my OMET experience often as I hunt for work as a teacher, I have not found inspiration or time to jump on and say hello. That, and I guess I would not know what to say.

I could tell you about graduating from Lewis and Clark and earning a 4.00 and a MAT. I could tell you about the three disabled students I work with and all the lovely project-based curriculum I have planned for their summer school experience. I could tell you about the death of my dog, whom anyone from my cadre might remember. But none of that seems relevant (though I will post my ideas for my ADHD project based summer school later on). I am not far from finishing my first novel, or at least an edited first draft, and have been chasing jobs all over the country. All that and I expect you to ask - "so what?"

But I can tell you about adventure. I can tell you about where my job hunt has taken me and the strange things I have seen. My job hunt has taken me to New Orleans, for the longest interview I have ever experienced followed by the first Mardi Gras parade and plenty of French quarter madness. I have never seen anything like it, and must admit that I have fallen in love with the place. Soon, my job hunt will take me to Charleston, South Carolina, and also to Memphis, Tennessee, Atlanta, Georgia, and Washington DC. What ties all of this together? Where is the answer to the "so what," the question that any good teacher and student should ask when reading a blog post, newspaper article, magazine, novel, etc.? Discovery.

In all of this madness, the job hunting, the tragedies, the victories, and the adventures, I have found "adventure." I am preparing to move across the country, lighting out for the perimeter, where there are no stars. I have found that my OMET experience has given me more than I thought it did four years ago, when I graduated. It not only gave me an understanding of constructivist approaches, project-based learning, engagement, and the like, it showed me that the greatest tool I can bring to my own classroom is a sense of adventure, the ability to be flexible, to adapt to the needs of my students, to be creative in my curriculum design and involve my students in it whenever possible, and to let things happen, let it all hang out (in a wholesome way, of course). It served me well as I earned my second degree and it served me well as a private teacher, substitute teacher, and consultant.

I forgot this existed...until I googled myself to find a picture to put on my school website. Hello me!

Sitting in the learning circle on the last day of presentations, I remember trying to come up with something “great” to say in the final circle. In the end, I don’t quite recall everything that I said, but I do remember that it wasn’t anything special - more the ramblings of a sleep-deprived, but extremely relaxed grad student.

One thing I did want to share with the final reflection circle was how this experience has changed all of us - I liken it to when I graduated boot camp in 1996. When I went home for my 10 days of leave before reporting back to the next step in Marine Corps training, I was beset by the question “how was it?”

That question still haunts me to this day - and I still don’t know how to answer it. Boot camp was a lot of hard work, but there were moments of incredible hilarity, or amazing accomplishments, or personal growth, or just... It is really hard to encompass the whole experience in a quick-to-say sound byte, which you kind of need to answer that questions.

In the same way, I feel the OMET experience was unique enough to warrant the same sort of flummox-ation in trying to answer the question - people around me who knew me could see glimpses of the process that we went through, and the changes that I embraced. My student workers probably saw this the most - they were the people I talked to about the program the most, and were subject to several of my well-mannered rants against the top-down, standardized testing educational system that we all know too well these days. But they were also pulled into the process, as talking about this stuff seemed to light a spark in their eyes as they agreed or disagreed and offered their own opinions.

But to those who haven’t really seen me through the process - it is really hard to describe. Cadre 11 knows, and previous cadres understand, but how to describe the experience to others who ask if it is a good program or a bad program? How do I respond when they ask if the homework was hard, or how much time did it take per day, or any of the other sorts of metrics that simply don’t apply?

In the end, many people around me can see my newly unlocked passion for education and learning theory - I personally have a deep sense of satisfaction that in the last month or so, I have finally found/acknowledged what it is that I want to do with my life, and what I can do to change course and go forward. And that’s the biggest change, and most important aspect of this program - unlocking potential, igniting passion, and enabling future action.

This was such an exciting flight, we traveled as a family. We did not get to all sit together but we were close enough. I looked at what I could accomplish if I just put my mind to it. Once we landed we had to rent a vehicle large enough for 7 people. I have learned to open my mouth and ask for help. I spoke with a relative yesterday and told her I needed a rental and she was able to get me the employee discount, the rental was only $400.00 for the week. I as so thankful, I am constantly seeing how blessed I truly am. We stayed at a friends house who just gave us a key and opened her home to us. When we landed we met with the Cadre at the beach for a cookout. This is what I appreciate about this program. The personal time we spend together. Not everyone is taking advantage of this component, but I think I get it. The children loved meeting my classmates and my professors. Paul and Margaret, jand Gary have such open personalities. I find it amazing that children are able to tell if people are fake or real and my children especially have that gift. Later that night, back at the house my daughter JoJo stated when she grows up she wants to go to Pepperdine, because we have fun. Fun along with work… Classes tomorrow, we will see.

I can hardly believe it I am leaving tomorrow to go back to Pepperdine finish our last face-to-face session and graduate. I have learned so much this year, but the most important lesson was about me. I have learned and am continuing to learn about me. What can I do to make my environment better? How can I change? Why do I, or should I change? Will it make a difference? I have truly used efficacy this year. The study of belief has become almost second nature to me. This year I faced the death of 3 close relatives, trials with my children in school, a daughter attending school overseas, my marriage and my job. But through it all HOPE, FAITH, LOVE, and BELIEF has prevailed. I am excited about this because this is a dream come true for me. I took on extra jobs, and saved the money so we (all 7) could come to CA. I am so excited I can hardly sleep…. Well, I had better sleep, our flight leaves at 8 am… I told the family 7 am and we are getting to the airport by 5 am. Moving 7 people is like Moses moving the children of Israel into the Promised Land.

I wonder though, if by staying in the classroom am I limiting myself? Am I limiting the possibilities that could exist for me and my future? I think there is a lot of validity to my being a classroom teacher with speaking about my changes I have implemented in my classroom. But I wonder if that too is a cop-out? Am I sacred to try something new? Am I scared of change and where it might take me? Couldn’t there be a hybrid out there of classroom teacher/staff development instructor/ speaker, etc…?

Today, I thought about the fact I haven’t blogged for class for a while. Part of it is challenging because with my AR work done, and the school year at AHS over, I feel like there is not much to right about. I am leaving tomorrow to go to LA to present my work on creating more successful learners. I feel proud about what I have accomplished this year and am thankful for the never ending guidance of Margaret and my LC. I truly feel blessed to have had such a community of learners guiding me through this past year. What a challenge, change, and blessing.

I have practiced my speech about 8 or so times; it has been helpful to help me deal with some of the raw emotion in discussing a topic I put so much heart into. The first few times I read my speech, I couldn’t get through some of my personal changes or quotations from my students because it touched something deep inside of me. I was too close. I liked the emotion, but didn’t like feeling as though I was going to cry during an important presentation.

Congratulations! Good Luck with your Action Research Presentation and some words of advice
Robert Martellacci [Cadre 9] - 06/12/2009

To our future alums, A short note to congratulate you on a successful year. While you have an extremely busy week upcoming to prepare for your Action Research defense savor the moment and be sure to prepare and rehearse your presentation. And finally, don't forget the sunscreen...I did and it hurt for a couple of days! I look forward to welcoming you all to the alumni family. Feel free to drop an email if you'd like additional advice, robert@mindsharelearning.com

Reflection

The following is a meta-cycle of inquiry for Cycle Three:

Content:

Reflecting back on what occurred, problems that presented, obstacles and issues that became apparent during the my Action Research Project, I am impelled to self reflect. In looking back I realize that my enthusiasm, vision and inspiration about starting a learning community were personal. Reason (as cited in Coghlan and Brannick, 2005) states the action researcher has the responsibility of making the following “choice points” clear; that alliances are developed between the action researcher and affiliates of the group, that it increases our opportunities for understanding, that the project has high level of import, that the action research is informed by legitimate reflection, and that the action research supports “sustainable change.” As I self reflect I realize that my original enthusiasm was instrumental in limiting the effectiveness of my first steps. What I learned is that regardless of how passionate I may be about the action I intend to take, others may not share my enthusiasm. In retrospect, the most important action I will take when recruiting potential participants is to not make assumptions, recruit people by focusing on their needs and desires, and recruit people who share similar interests and values as those of the group.

Process:

As I look back, the steps I took where filtered through the following protocol. Using the first filter, I attempted to recruit participants based on the premise that my enthusiasm would be enough to inspire them. The second filter I employed was recruiting people based on their needs, interests, desires and concerns.

In the process of making sense of what happened I have determined that my own internal dialogue informed my initial steps, as did my personal interests and a sincere belief that the knowledge we would create as a learning community would benefit everyone. Though this latter assumption may be correct, not involving potential participants in the dialogue and not encouraging them to assess their own interests in the project, was a shortsighted approach. The approach may have been shortsighted in that, if we are to effect sustainable social change based on our findings in the action research project, I have discovered it may be best to first value, support, encourage, draw from, pay close attention to, have dialogue with, listen to, and nurture relationships with, members of the society we intend to change.

Premise

One of the key components that appear to have improved the outcomes in regards to recruiting participants to work in this learning community was my willingness to accept, seek and self critique. Some of the more effective steps that I took in my action research were directly informed by suggestions, dialogue and conversations I had with cadre members, potential participants and concerned others. I took particular note, during the one on one meetings, that by encouraging people to talk about their lives and interests they often became members of the learning community. During these conversations I made of point of listening and asking the potential participant about themselves. My focus was to better understand their circumstances, their current life situations, how much time they had to participate, if perceived value in the project and if there were any perceived shared values or interests. The potential participants were keenly aware that I was hoping they would join the learning community, yet I did not directly ask any of them to join the learning community during our scheduled one on one meetings. Instead I primarily asked questions, encouraged them to talk and I listened to each person.

The last day of class came with some mixed emotions. I had the students fill out a final questionnaire with only three questions – I intend to use their answers as a starting point for adjustments next school year. I have tried to figure out how the students have permanently changed and what has accounted for that change. What I have found is that it is terribly hard to undo a culture. The culture at school, right or wrong, promotes grades over the love of learning and the pursuit of topics. While my students mentioned that my class was far different than any class they have every taken, few of them admitted they will approach other classes differently – I don’t blame them. With the pressure to get into college greater than it’s ever been, I feel like they don’t even have a decision to make – make the grades or someone else will.

The end of the year was partly sad for me as well. Although I feel like I have generated some great momentum within a knowledge building community of computer science at our school, I am afraid other classes with trump my former students’ ongoing participation in the community. While they may come back to visit my class, I am afraid that very few will take an active role in helping the next class move their knowledge forward. Part of my task next year will be to find a way to keep students involved and passionate about the subject.

As I look back on the year, I can’t believe how far my students and I have come. There are so many things I want to change for next year and so many successes from this year. Part of the nature of Action Research is that it doesn’t ever have to end – I have been struggling to find the right words to sum that up in my final reflections. I chose to call it a living puzzle because of the dynamic nature of the puzzle – things are always changing and so are your actions. Actions produce data with produces more actions – I love the process of trying to “solve” this puzzle. I love my job.

This week was great I was able to get ideas from my learning circle for my cycle three. LC team members suggested I try an easier approach. The suggestions was, why not make it easy and take the next meeting and provide the medium to collaborate on the agenda for the meeting and sharing out the notes form the meeting itself. This way I can overcome the low participation issues. To combat the technical support issue I would be more involved since it was a project that would be quickly planned and executed.

I would have never thought of coming up with this idea for my third cycle. I am happy that we are able to talk and share ideas with fellow cadre members. This is great since sometimes getting other team members inputs are critical to any project.

I think am positive that with the suggestions I received from my LC I will be able to have a more productive cycle. Looking at cycle two results I I think that I needed to be more involved in providing support.

I can see the value of changing oneself to change your own community. I also see how critical it can bee to talk to other people to gain different perspectives. Sometimes it is difficult to ask the right questions, and even more difficult to provide the right answers

At the end of cycle one I thought I had learned enough about my organization to be able to get a second cycle going with a different audience. Was I wrong, everything that I could have imagined going wrong went wrong. For the second cycle I began work with a different team. This team was a team that was not located in the same office and from the initial survey participation I knew it was not going to go as smooth as the first cycle. For the second cycle I approched it the same way as the first. I chose a project that would be meaningful to the team so they would be more willing to participate . As it turned out I received very little participation. All the participants when I talked to them about participation informed me that they had trouble making time to participate as much as they would have.

Cycle two did not go as planned. I think that there were definitely several reason why it did not go as planned. I think the biggest issue was that team members did not have time to participate. This made the whole cycle not as productive as the first cycle. The second issue was technical understanding. I did not provide enough support to allow participants to have support other than the built in wiki help.

I am trying to figure out how to overcome the challenges of time constraints. Not sure how to overcome this issue? I do think that if I can somehow make it easier somehow to participate maybe people will want to participate. Maybe the other key is providing more support as some people did mention that they were not sure how to use the wiki? Maybe the key is to provide more support? Or maybe some more training or a how to? I will try this approach in the third cycle.

As I continue on the road to change my myself to try to trigger a most needed change in my community I am realizing that I had made some assumptions that were not accurate. I am also finding that there are always unforeseen events in any project, especially when dealing with teams. I have to take into account issues that are particular to my community.

Don't forget to clearly understand and be able to explain what learning theories and theorists are applicable in your Action Research Project.

ARP Presentation and Mr. Winston R. Wolf Sr. of Vizky
sonja wood [Cadre 11] - 05/28/2009

In ongoing discussions between myself, learning circle members and cadre members revolves around our presentation in Los Angeles, the topic of what technology we might integrate or use to present our action research project inspired me to look into an holographic presentation.

There only two accounts of holographic like presentations/interviews that I have heard of, those are:

The CNN election night holographic interview with Jessica Yellin and Wolf Blitzer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=js6b31_p5cc

The other was when “Britain's Prince Charles gave a speech at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, although he wasn't really there. Instead, a 3-D holographic projection of the Prince, recorded the previous year in the United Kingdom” was used.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf5esT95Glw

So, via the web I find the name of the company that produced the CNN holographic interview. Enter Mr. Winston R. Wolf, Sr. Mr. Winston was not only immensely encouraging, he was as passionate about integrating cutting edge technology in education as any of our professors.

Here is what I learned:

The CNN interview was not actually a hologram it was video chroma! This process required over forty camera, a green room and about 2 million dollars. Hence, I have decided to purchase two, maybe. Moreover, the noise and blue haze effect in the CNN holographic interview was added to give it the “Prince Leia” effect as in the Star Wars movie. (Got to love Hollywood)

The wonderful news is that there is actually a free software program available through Vizky that may allow me to create a holographic type image of my presentation at no cost, with great ease and fast. I will keep the cadre posted about this in the event that you would like to play with this software in class, in corporate training/presentation sessions or higher education.

Reflecting back to when I wrote my letter of intent to the OMET program director, Dr. Paul Sparks I was enthusiastic about the idea of using technology to enhance, deepen and deliver curriculum and or learning experiences. In my letter of intent I wrote; if we could use and integrate technology in academic curriculum and learning environments it may be possible to create the same kind of excitement and engagement that occurred when “Grand Theft Auto” video game was launched. I also strongly believe that academia should be a major conduit for introducing learners to the very lastest technology.

I will leave you with this:

Mr. Winston shared with me the excitement that surrounds him when he delivers cutting edge technology to ball teams across the nation. The use of this technology enhances the game/entertainment experience for the viewer, and the ball teams love it. On the other hand when Mr. Winston has the occasion to speak those in academic environments he finds that they are excited about the savings they realized on old/obsolete technology. (Plus kids keenly know what is obsolete and what is not)

Greg went on an interview recently and was able to tell his action research story. Paul also mentioned in class last week the importance of telling our story to as many people we can. Now that I am coming to the end of this phase of my Action Research on Self-efficacy, I am excited about telling my story. I bought a small notebook and I am writing down short notes related to my ARP. I was in the car this afternoon talking (sharing my story with myself) and someone looked at me for another vehicle and started laughing . Do I mind, no I do not mind, whether I look crazy or not. I am going to keep telling my story to all who will listen.

(1 min) Introduction-- your opening statement should be more
interesting than My action report is about.... You might start with
a provocative statement, a quote, a question, or some other way of
getting the interest of your audience. (It is good practice to
memorize your opening and closing sentences. ) Really put some
thought into the your first sentence as that starts the tone of your
presentation. This can be something that you mull over for the next
few weeks.

(1 min) Some theoretical justification or some framing in terms of the literature. You all did a lit reivew... tell the audience what you learned or what was the most critical thing you learned from your
reading and how it helped shaped your planning .

(30 secs ) Tell us about the problem you plan to tackle in your context

(30 secs) A comment or two about why action research is a good
strategy for explroing your problem might be helpul

(3 min)Then in broad stocks, what did you do in each of the cycles.
You will NOT have time to tell the whole story in all of the rich
detail. Give us the "Cliff Notes" version. Depending on your work,
you might want to give more time to one cycle. You don't have to
spend equal time.

(3 mins) Then tell us what you learned from the experience of doing
action research...
--what you learned about your own development or practices,
--what you learned about creating change in workplace (including that
it is not as easy as you might have thought) ,
--what you learned about yourself as you worked through the process.

You might end by sharing an insight, a quote, telling us something you
plan to do in the future or maybe by giving advice to the new recruits
for cadre 12.

A teacher can see behind the stone facade that masks student potential. How does a teacher unlock the masterpiece that lies within each and every student? How does a teacher engage her students to want more, to know more, to be more? Students in a traditional educational setting struggle to find their place in the world of learning. Education seems something more done to them than they are a part of the design and implementation of their learning. Students should be more than receptacles of information teachers fill up and pass along from class to class, hour to hour. Students who are valued, encouraged, motivated and who have high expectations set for them achieve. Too often as educators, we allow students to slip through the cracks disappearing behind layers and layers of paint covering who they really are. Teachers do not expose the original work of art that lies beneath the facade. Students need to be collaborators in their learning working with their teacher and peers to change the picture of education. Students need to expect more from themselves than they have done previously raising the standard of achievement and learning. No more should a student desire to just finish a product, but instead produce a creative and interesting new way to demonstrate their understanding. Teachers should work together with their students. By engaging their students in meaningful, relevant real world projects, teachers are communicating a larger message to all the learning matters. By assigning projects that must be completed on time and only see one version, teachers are halting the learning process. Instead, teachers and students should be engaged in learning as a process with multiple revisions of student work and reflection on the learning process throughout. Then, learning becomes the focus, not simple completion.

Michelango is often quoted ashaving said that inside every block of stone lies a beautiful statue (Zander and Zander, 2000, p26). In our current educational system, many students are viewed not as beautiful statues but rather simply as blocks that are unwilling to change. The industrial model of education has received the brunt of the blame being cast on all sides from teachers, to students, to legislatures and the larger community. Rather than focusing on assigning more blame, many researchers suggest what is needed is a shift in conceptualizing student learning and motivations in order to create learning environments that are beneficial for all parties. (The Alliance for Excellent Education , 2008;Tapola & Niemivirta 2008; Jones, 2008; Khamois, Dukmak & Elhoweris, 2008; Vansteenkiste, Timmermans, Lens, Soenens, & Van den Broeck ,2008). This review of these studies will examine the modifications necessary to transform our traditional classrooms by focusing on reshaping the classroom environment, recasting the role of a teacher and his/her instruction, and increasing student motivation. By creating student centered classrooms where teachers deliver personalized instruction, there is evidence that students are more motivated to learn and be successful thus revealing the possibility that lies within every stone.

In the first cycle of my action research, in order to empower my students to become more successful learners, we decided as a class to remove the possibility of a D. No student could get by with barely passing. So that I was not setting my classroom up for failure, we decided that students needed multiple opportunities to demonstrate their learning and understanding. Students and teachers need additional opportunities to improve on their learning since learning is a continual process. When given chances to revise their work over and over gain, my assumption was that students’ comprehension, writing, and success would improve. Also, students needed a role in deciding how they are going to be assessed. When students know the expectations for work ahead of time, they can determine their own grade and take ownership over their grade.

In the second cycle of my action research, our class accepted a student teacher where we focused on helping him become a more successful learner and teacher while still retaining the No D policy, multiple revision policy and student generated rubric. Together, westudied the use of feedback and explored the idea of one to one feedback, oral feedback, modeling effective uses of feedback, peer feedback, and written feedback. The students, the student teacher, and especially my self all grew tremendously as successful learners as a result of this cycle.

also think their reflections are a testament to the power of students having a say in the design of their education. By students being in charge of their grade through the multiple redo policy, the students generating the rubric to assess their learning, and failure not being an option, students achieved more in this class than in many of my previous years teaching this same class. I feel that through their comments, this was the best many of the kids had ever achieved in a Language Arts class. This success would have been possible without the mutual pairing of the No D policy with the multiple redos. I think the class would not have been as successful if only one element would have been implemented at a time.

1) Extensive Feedback: We decided that we needed to give feedback throughout the paper. Even if students are making the same mistakes, we thought it was important to give thorough feedback since we are doing limited in class peer to peer feedback. With the peer to peer work, we found that weneeded to do a better job training our students on how to give feedback. This could be an extension of this work into next year and their next writing assignment since they have seen Randon and I model feedback and they have reflected on the kinds of feedback they have received from us.

2) Using similar language terms for editing helps students: I used writing terminology that is familiar to the kids when I taught first semester and Randon used language in his feedback when he taught the class. This might have lead to some confusion because I overheard students debriefing with Randon at their final writing conference that they were confused as to some of the terminology (explanation of quote, relate quote to point of paragraph, relate quote to thesis- Anne’s terminology v. Randon’s –quote says, point to the paragraph, make the point). Keeping our language similar would assist the students in their feedback and understanding.

3) Stress Coherence. We discussed the need to focus on bringing all their points back to the overall point of the essay. This was a struggle for Randon having never taught writing before. This is one area consistently where he would consistently focus on details rather than the students making the big argument. Are they actually relating everything back to the thesis?

A major area of reflection is the change in giving feedback both to our students and to Randon. The students responded so well to helping us all learn and grow from the experience. When first presented with dual sets of feedback the students were really overwhelmed. Interestingly though, although the feedback was abundant, they rose to the challenge and realized how valuable the feedback was even if it seemed too much for them.

Looking forward, I am wondering how I will do all this next year without a student teacher. I wonder what will make the greater difference in my students’ success: more class time to work or individualized time with teacher (Ruggles or Smith) or even dual feedback on assignments? In school there is limited time for me to connect and conference with each student. Not to mention, I actually need to teach the curriculum and meet each student’s learning needs in a 55 minute class period. So as the teacher in the classroom, I must decide how to spend our class time to benefit all students not just some. Can I enlist the assistance of the students who are more proficient or advanced in providing feedback to some of the struggling students?

1-When students feel in control and empowered, as we all want to feel in our lives, change is possible. Students realized that by determining the rubric, there were going to be no surprises in the grade. And, if students did not achieve to the best of their ability in round one of an assignment, they had the opportunity to keep revising it as many times as necessary up till the six week period in order to truly demonstrate their learning and understanding. They seemed to really embrace the idea as a class that failure was not an option.

2-One thing that really surprised me was how encouraging all their feedback was towards me as their teacher and the changes I was trying to make in the classroom. Some students now see their learning and grade in their hands and not so much in the teachers. I think this is a dramatic shift for such young kids to experience. I also was impressed by the reflections of students who really see my role as a teacher as more of an encourager, not wanting them to fail, but instead giving them multiple opportunities to be successful. It makes me wonder what teachers have done in the past to them that teachers haven’t created this feeling within them before. This echoes the difference between teachers as coaches and teachers as assessors. Students are differentiating roles of a teacher into a golden standard

3-Focusing more specifically on the multiple revision policy, I think one of the things I garnered from their comments is how critical it is for students to be able to redo/ revise/ rework their work in order to learn. …My students overwhelming value the chance to redo their work, and see it not as an expectation placed by me, but an expectation they place on themselves. They value the opportunity to learn from their mistakes and to grow as learners. Whether it is through feedback I have given them as their teacher, the peer feedback or student teacher feedback, they have taken all of this in mind to change their work

Another area to acknowledge is helping the students see themselves as writers not merely students in a Language Arts classroom. I think the students do not always see the huge changes they have made since they stepped foot into my classroom back in August. I noticed this as well with Randon. He would be so focused on the negative or things he did not do well, that he would forget all his accomplishments and areas of growth. So whether it is helping my students see themselves as more successful writers, readers or learners, I need to focus on making this an aspect of my classroom. Learning is a continuum and we are all on the path towards continued improvement.

Over the semester, I have seen growth in Randon and myself each of us becoming a different version of who we were before. Having never taught before, Randon grew into someone who put together a writing unit, developed writing skills in his students, and challenged them to change the world with their essays. He grew in learning to accept feedback from me and his students in order to improve as a teacher. There is still so much to learn for him (giving consistent feedback, remembering the big picture with writing, variety in feedback, expanding in explanations), but he is on the continuum of learning especially if he learns to accept, reflect, and be open-minded. He has had such an experience of student teaching because he not only had me mentoring him, but in a way, he had a classroom of students mentoring him in teaching and learning as well.

I saw a change in how I think about feedback as well. I realized how important it is to make sure I am explaining my comments, the value of 1-1 time with my students, the value in providing multiple feedback times without overwhelming myself, and the need to train my students to be better at giving feedback. I already see how important it is for me to explain the kind of feedback I give and why I give that feedback. Thinking ahead, I will make a more conscious effort to give positive feedback but making sure it is meaningful and relevant.

I learned that it is more important to learn from my students. If they need me to work harder by providing them with more feedback so that they can be successful learners than that is my job. If only given one chance to succeed on an assignment, they do not learn, they simply feel defeated and give up. Giving multiple opportunities improves their writing, their work ethic, and their personal feeling about themselves as learners. It also improves the student teacher dynamic because they see all of us working together to achieve the same thing: success as learners. I am learning from them, they are learning from me, and they are learning from one another.

The responsibility rested on their shoulders. I had moved from the enforcer of policies to a supporter of their learning. It was such a natural shift and so welcomed by me. The positive change to the learning environment was transformational. I could now be the teacher I wanted to be. I could be the coach, motivator, encourager, educator not the task master, scheduler and hand holder. Kids were staying after class to finish work. They were reflecting on their learning and changes they witnessed meta-cognitively

I have incredible support around me to try new things- to be the masterpiece of myself. I am surrounded by greatness that my students embody. They want to work hard for someone who believes in them. When they are challenged to do more and be more, they rise to that level. I know great things lie ahead for these kids. They will be forever changed and opened to the possibilities that are contained within them. I see the same for my student teacher Randon. He has so much to learn, but if open to the opportunities, he will be amazed at the transformation that comes from learning from others and reflecting himself. Lastly, I have learned the possibilities that lie with in me. I am an agent of change who will not be satisfied with mediocrity anymore. I will hold myself and my students to a higher standard.

I still need to do a lot of condensing, but I think I am at least getting an outline down that works and is more manageable than where I was a week ago. I need to do some thinking about my backboard and brochure. I am going to continue with the art metaphor and creating great works of art, but I need to make sure that aligns with the art of possibility. Anyhow, lot of thinking and time narrowing down.

As I come towards the end of my Action Research Cycle I can only wonder will I be able to properly present my action research project. I found a website today that spoke about action research and immediately began to panic. I need more time! Maybe I should start over! Then and only then it hit me, “Karen it will be alright. I first must believe and feel comfortable with myself before anyone else can and will believe in my ARP” I am truly thankful that when we first started this class, our instructors suggested we choose projects that we believed in, projects that dealt with our places of employment. Following the directions of the Professors in this program has been one of the smartest decisions I have made in my life. Thank you for allowing me to see the “Art of Possibility” within myself.

Reflection: What is the role of an electronic portfolio in my ongoing academic and professional career in educational technology?

Electronic portfolio, e-portfolio or digital portfolio is form of technology used to display, feature, evidence and/or present a compilation of an individual or and institutions works, goals, creative self-expression, digital identities, learning records and evidence of achievements. Electronic portfolio may include hyperlinks, weblogs, text, images and electronic files. Moreover, electronic portfolios can be used as a platform for academic presentations. The assessment of National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) is now popularly collected and managed using electronic portfolio technology, with the added benefits of reduced cost, easier access, easier maintenance and distribution. .

The three noted e-portfolio types are representational, reflective and developmental. Developmental is a working portfolio showing steps in a process overtime, representational is exhibitive of achievements, and a reflective e-portfolio is an exposition of learning and the thought processes involved in the learning experience.

Ongoing, my electronic portfolio can be used to compile and display work I have completed, both academic and professional. In addition, there is the opportunity to use this portfolio as a career portfolio or curricular vitae.

Change is like a Monet. The closer you are to the change, the harder it is to see the change. The problem with this is that it is impossible to step back, because you are part of the change. I have really been messing with myself this week because I am not sure what I am witnessing. I have been saying for weeks that I have seen substantial changes in my students – in their process, their learning, initiative, excitement, and engagement. However, I have been questioning whether I see this change simply because I am involved. Would I have documented the same thing if I had been an impartial judge at a distance? This is the essence of Action Research of course – you are part of the process and the change is both within you and your participants, it just didn’t hit me how hard it would be until now. Next week I am conducting interviews with my students. I really hope to pin down some of the changes I am sure I have seen, I just hope that they come from the students without prompting. I feel like if I prompt the students, I am tainting the results, or I am leading them in a direction they would not have gone without me. The most comforting part of this process is that I can acknowledge my change – the change in myself. That is where the blogs have helped me the most. Reading some of my previous posts, I am amazed how far my knowledge has advanced. I am so excited to keep learning and moving my classroom forward. I laugh at all the mistakes I was making months ago; yet, I am excited to laugh months from now at the mistakes I am making right now. This is such a rewarding, yet endless process.

Action Research Underpinnings-Working with People
sonja wood [Cadre 11] - 05/20/2009

“How do we learn to work with difficult people.”

Donna this was both a timely and fitting question in light of all of our Action Research Projects. It is my belief that in order to be effective in changing the world, if you will, we must first win people. Whether it was Albert Einstein, Bill Gates or Ghandi these people where able to gain support and get peoples attention. Dijlah shared this article with our last learning circle and it seems to tie right into what we are all really doing in OMET and our Action Research Projects. Particularly, if we plan to change the world.

Donna that catchy theme that posits, “ there are no difficult people only difficult behavior”, caught me too. As I read about your experience at the Mentoring Workshop it caused me to reflect back to our theorist work with Bill Moseley. Karen Smith and I covered Dr. Albert Bandura and his theory of self-efficacy.

The theory of self-efficacy states that perceived self-efficacy is a belief people have that they posses the ability to achieve specific outcomes and have a level of control over issues that affect their lives.

According to Bandura, people accomplish more and sustain a greater level of well being when they have a strong sense of efficacy. The more heightened the perception of their own capabilities are, the better they manage arduous tasks. Moreover, difficult tasks are approached as challenges to be mastered as opposed to risks to be avoided. Self-efficacy promotes keen focus and deep interest in activities. Per Bandura, lower depression rates and reduced stress levels are bi-products of an efficacious outlook.

Bandura says, “In contrast, people who doubt their capabilities shy away from difficult tasks that they view as personal threats have lower aspirations and weak commitment to the goals they choose to pursue. When faced with difficult tasks, they dwell on their personal deficiencies, on the obstacles they will encounter, and all kinds of adverse outcomes rather than concentrate on how to perform successfully. They slacken their efforts and give up quickly in the face of difficulties. They are slow to recover their sense of efficacy following failure or setbacks. Because they view insufficient performance as deficient aptitude it does not require much failure for them to lose faith in their capabilities. They fall easy victim to stress and depression.” In fact, Bandura posits that self-efficacy is in fact beneficial to one’s overall state of health.

http://www.des.emory.edu/mfp/BanEncy.html

According to Bandura there are four main sources that influence self-efficacy:

1.   Developing skill, gaining usable knowledge or mastery experiences. “Success raises self-efficacy failure lowers it.”
2.   Social Modeling. Observing other’s similar to self-mastering an experience. “If they can do it I can do it.”
3.   Social Persuasion. Encouragement or discouragement.
4.   Physiological Factors such as stress and mood.

What I take away from Bandura’s theory is that when we genuinely care we will help people develop skills, partner in their learning, encourage, and offer support to reduce the stress, assist them in mastery, and at the very least do no harm.

Bandura goes on to say that we select our peers neither homogeneously nor indiscriminately. We have a tendency to select peers based on commonalities. According to Bandura, unfortunately selective peer association is not all beneficial. On one hand selective peer association does promote self-efficacy in regards to shared interests, but this leaves inherent latent capabilities undeveloped.

Bandura says, “ those who readily resort to aggression perceive themselves as highly efficacious in getting things they want by aggressive means.”

Donna, could it be as Bandura points out that people who are difficult to get along with or are even aggressive are possibly “perceiving themselves as highly efficacious in getting things that want through aggression?” How unfortunate that these difficult people ultimately leave their inherent latent capabilities undeveloped and forfeit possible overall health benefits?

With children the opportunity may still be available to influence self-efficacy. How do we expand limited self-efficacy in adults or difficult people?

I have had two of the greatest teaching weeks of my career. Last week I blogged about the best class of my career, and this week could have topped it. Every year I promise my kids two movies – one during Thanksgiving and one as a surprise during the end of the year. I like to show a movie at the end of the year in my class because they have so much work in their other classes that it gives them some relief. I get very excited to show them a classic movie which they usually haven’t seen. I also enjoy letting them kick back and relax after working hard throughout the semester. This year, I experienced something I have never had in the past. I announced today that we will begin the movie, and much to my surprise, half of my students groaned. I immediately thought it was my movie choice; however, I quickly learned that they were bummed they were bummed that we were not continuing to work. I couldn’t believe it. The students actually preferred to work over watching a movie. When does that ever happen?

I have really been trying to pinpoint the change in my students. The more I think about it, the more I realize that I do not have to pinpoint the change – the examples of change are the change. That has never happened in my seven years of teaching this class. Having kids more willing to do work compared to watching a movie is perhaps the largest evidence of change that I have from my research project. I really feel like I have been going about my evidence wrong. I have been trying to pinpoint the change, when, in fact, the change is far more broad. The examples I have been collecting are evidence of this.

I had the best class of my career this week. I have only seven kids in a particular class and they are great workers; however, on this particular day, I have five of my students in a different period come in to work with this class just for fun. They all had free periods and decided to come in and work – and it wasn’t because they had a due date coming up for a project or they were behind in class participation points – these kids genuinely found it fun to work. I was so proud of my students. My classroom was loud and noisy, abuzz with busy kids. The classroom was collaborative and engaging. The kids didn’t speak to me the entire 50 minutes – they were engaged with each other and relied on each other for help. It as if I had paid admission to watch these kids work and I was a lay tourist just passing by. The students couldn’t be bothered nor distracted.

My last cycle has been to work towards pinpointing the change I have observed in my students. This is definitely one of the strongest examples of change that I have been able to document. It was real, and it was physical. I wasn’t just observing their thought process evolve or watching them engage each other a little bit more than they did in the beginning of the year – this was a major event. This was so much fun to watch!