Always Learning

Lilacs. I love the smell of lilacs! I grew up along the Lake Michigan shore and I went to school farther south and farther inland, at UW-Madison.

One benefit was that in mid May, the lilacs would bloom in Madison. I would go home for the summer, and I'd get to smell them bloom all over again. Where I live now, I have over fifty flowering crab trees in my yard. The smell in the yard when they all blossom, is heavenly! I often wish there was a way to capture smells. To stand out in the yard, among all of the trees on a cool early summer evening is divine. How can we recreate that experience or make it last to sustain us until the next season?

I recently spent two and half days at a conference with a collea

gue. As I get ready to start year 28 of my educational career, I continue to be excited for the learning, both for me and for my students. Often times I am exposed to wonderful ideas and interesting insights. How do I prevent the brilliance that I hear and enthusiasm that I hear from waning over time? The opening speaker at the conference was Kaitlin Roig-DeBellis. She is a first grade teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School and she told the story of the tragic day that touched us all in December, 2012. I simply cannot imagine being in that time and place.

As she spoke, she took us through the process of healing after that traumatic day. She questioned, "What do youy do when the power of control has been taken from you? How do we get our control back? How do we make certain the event doesn't define us? She also noted that the essence of time alone doesn't change the event or the feeling. Optimism is a choice. She started the initiative, Classes 4 Classes to connect students around the country, paying it forward. As I reflect on her words, I think of my own times of stress and traumatic experiences. We tend to lose a sense of our place or who we are. Gandhi said, "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in service to others." How can I best serve others and find myself? How can I help create experiences so my students can learn, not just about the curriculum but also about themselves? At the conference we sat in on two sessions with Dylan Wiliam. I appreciated his no nonsense approach. Such a bright, articulate and funny person, he didn't mince words to say that some things are just wrong. He spoke of formative assessment and responsiveness & engagement.

A few bits of wisdom from him:

* "We should stop looking at the next big thing. Let's do the last big thing, properly"

* "We need to find out what students know and start from there."

* "Differentiate success criteria, not learning intentions."

* "Make self-assessment a routine part of the lesson. Activate students as owners of their own learning."

* "Diversity is your greatest instructional asset. When everyone is thinking the same thing, no one is thinking."

* "Plan a question. Ask a question. Then shut up."

* "The only good feedback is that which is acted upon."

* "The purpose of feedback is to improve the student, NOT the work."

Other quotes from the conference:

John Medina: "Memory is not fixed at the moment of learning. Repetition in timed intervals provides the fixative."

Tom Schimmer: "The gradebook becomes a behavior management tool."

Tom Schimmer: "When students fall short, are we the hammer or the support?"

Tom Schimmer: "Punishing irresponsibility does not teach responsibility." Katie McKnight: "Just because a text is difficult doesn't mean all kids can't analyze it."

Tom Hierck: "The kids who challenge us the most, need us the most"

Tom Hierck: "Never be defined by your past. It was a lesson, not a life sentence."

Tom Hierck: "Is what we are doing going toward our beliefs, or away from our beliefs?"

Tom Hierck: "We have 21st century students being taught by 20th century teachers using a 19th century curriculum with an 18th century calendar."

Tom Hierck: "A healthy school culture is one that has an unwavering belief in the ability of each student to succeed." (Cromwell) George Couros: "We say we want creativity and innovation but what we really want is compliance."

George Couros: "Does nostalgia hold us back?"

George Couros: "If a kid leaves school less curious, then we've failed them."

George Couros: "Would you like to spend a whole day learning in your classroom?" George Couros: "Do kids create because of us or in spite of us?"

Many ideas and much wisdom were communicated at the conference. How can I translate all of that thinking into classroom improvements to bring about increased learning? Driving to a conference an hour away gives time to process and discuss with a colleague. I have been fortunate to have been able to team teach for much of my career. Having colleagues with whom one can discuss and in whom one trust is vital. Teaching is bit of a gestalt experience where each teacher brings ideas and the end product is greater than the two voices alone.

How can we capture the ideas to make them last? What does learning look like? How should our classes be organized and run to make students engaged and responsive?