Originally this post wasn't intended to be about the #blogamonth Feburary topic of Creating a Culture, but it turned out to be a post about creating a culture of digital learners. Enjoy! If you would have asked me last week if I was willing to give up control of my classroom to the students, I would have said of course! I am an avocate of allowing students to take the lead. But a few things have pushed my thinking since then... Am I really willing to give up control? Really? The above twitter conversation was sparked by Cat Flippen's (@Catflippen) keynote at the UGA Digital Learning Conference. As I read it, I nodded my head in agreement, asking myself, "Why is it so hard for teachers to let go of control in their classrooms and what does it take for them to change?" But I was quickly faced with the truth that I wasn't as progressive as I thought. The idea that truly challenged me was from Eric Sheninger's (@NMHS_Principal) book Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times. We all know that we are teaching a new generation of digital natives. But the characteristics of these types of students wasn't as clear to me until I read the list of qualities of a digital learner that Sheninger includes early in his book. He explains the ways that digital learners want to obtain information or function vs how the traditional teacher wants to spend the lesson. Sheninger writes: Digital learners prefer parallel processing and multitasking, but many educators prefer linear processing and single tasks or limited multitasking. I am guilty of this! Just last week, we were working on essays on Google drive and when a student asked me if she could share her essay with a friend in the class, I told her "No. Not until you have finished drafting. You still have a few key parts to include." Well, granted, even though this student really did have more work to do on the essay, I am now asking myself, why not? Why couldn't she have shared it and gotten feedback even though she wasn't done writing yet?
Real writers do this! I do this as a writer - I am always seeking feedback at every stage. I consider myself a "digital learner" like them - wouldn't I want the ability to share my work when I wanted instead of having that be controlled by the teacher? So today, I took a different approach. I offered for my class to openly share their essays on Google drive with anyone else in the class for feedback. I allowed students to move around the room, not limiting who they work with specifically, which I was doing before, too. Did they gravitate toward their friends? Well yes...but were they on task? Yes...even some of the more easily distracted students. They were discussing ways to help each other revise and fervently leaving comments. Were they sharing with multiple students? Yes, which provided each student multiple perspectives of feedback. The moment I knew it was working was when I heard a shy voice speak up. There is a sweet girl in my class who is a strong student, but she is very quiet. When I conference with her about her writing, it is very hard to get her to respond even when I am praising her work. But today, her voice lept over the noise as she talked across the room to her friend, giving her friend advice on how to revise the essay. I know I had a shocked look on my face as I glanced up to see who was talking. She was embracing her role as editor and providing feedback, not just through the digitial comments, but out loud. Something had changed. Mission accomplished! In the back of my mind, I was a little irked at the noise in the room. My inner teacher wanted to tell the class to be quiet and focus on what they were doing. My inner teacher wanted to stop conversations from continuing that seemed to be off topic. When I listened closer, students were talking about the events they are writing about in their essays. My inner teacher needed to be shhhhhushed today. She needed to embrace the fact that digital learners need a different environment to thrive in. It’s my job as a teacher to create that environment and ultimately create a culture tailor-made for these digital learners. I still feel like I have a long way to go, but at least I know where I'm headed! Try This Tomorrow! Ask yourself if you are still holding onto control in some areas, and if you can continue to loosen your grip. What simple change can you make to quiet your inner teacher voice and let students function more like digital learners? My question to you is this... where is the balance between good classroom management and allowing students the freedom to learn the way they want to as digital natives? When (if ever) do you let your inner teacher come out to set boundaries and control the classroom noise, activity, etc? Also, how do you ensure that students aren’t just sharing with friends and everyone plays a part in this digital experience? Please share your thoughts below! __ Allison Petersen @alcp
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We are all created in the image of God. Even the maker of the universe himself seeks praise! And in his image, his people crave it too. Think about it. When someone praises you and tells you how well you’ve done, how do you feel? When there is a person in your life who you just can’t get that praise from, how hard do you work for it? People crave positive feedback and it transforms their attitude and actions. A simple, encouraging word can change a person’s entire outlook and perspective. This applies to any age person - from a three year old, to a middle schooler, to an adult - because it is a basic truth rooted in the way God made us. Angela Maiers makes an amazing case for the power of praise in her Ted Talk called “You Matter” which has sparked a movement and a hashtag #youmatter. If you haven't seen it yet, it is worth 20 minutes of your time! My perspective of positive feedback changed after attending a Writer's Stylus course with Kevin Washburn. (Side note: Here are 5 Reasons Why you should attend Writer's Stylus too). Before, when I worked with writers, I simply pointed out mistakes in their writing, which is what I thought was the purpose of conferencing with students. The page was covered in changes and corrections. No wonder my students felt defeated. Washburn calls his approach to providing feedback “coaching” because it truly allows the focus to be on uplifting the student writer. This style of conferring is student-centered with authentic praise as a key component. He provides a specific cycle of steps for each “coaching session” that helps to maximize the writer's strengths and provide them positive feedback and practical steps to help them improve. It helped me establish a new way of encouraging students in their writing, rather than just reinforcing their mistakes. Negative feedback can be detrimental to a learner. Yet, it is often all that students will receive from their teachers. Or all they receive is a bad grade without any notation as to the reason behind the score. After years of being told they are doing it all wrong, most students accept that they will never be good at anything. Writing is the perfect example. Every year I have students who enter my classroom and tell me “I am not a good writer.” And every year I strive to help them change their pre-established fixed mindsets. Carol Dweck’s book Mindset transformed my own resolve to help students see they had amazing potential because the reality is that they can all be good writers - but that starts with a mindset change. Positive feedback is the key to transforming a mindset because it provides a surge of energy. When a student sees that he is excelling in an area, even if it is just in a small way, he see the fruit of his labors, and - hopefully - will work harder to continue to improve. The teacher (or coach) plays a vital role in revitalizing this learner’s mindset. It takes another person holding up a mirror so that the learner can realize his capabilities and potential. The Gordon Ramsay Effect It makes me think of Gordon Ramsey - you know, the three michelin star chef who is known for yelling and cussing on his TV shows. Hell's Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, and Master Chef are three of my favorite shows. Kitchen Nightmares is the best of the three. Ramsey goes into a family-owned restaurant that needs help, usually because the food is horrible, and gives them his honest opinion as to why the restaurant is failing. The man is brutal. He is blunt and often mean when he gives feedback to these families. And they rarely react well to his expert opinion, no matter how much they respect this man for his accomplishments. Throughout the show though, Ramsey builds relationships (sometimes via shouting matches) with the family and gets the root of the problem, which usually has absolutely nothing to do with the food. These relationships allow him to make an impact on these people, and when the end of the show arrives, there is honest praise leaving his mouth for the family. There are tears and hugs and smiles - and transformations. All because this man gave his honest feedback, built relationships, and showed them how to change for the better, and then gave them genuine praise. He changed their mindsets. Providing Positive Feedback While I don't suggest anyone approach feedback with Ramsay's volatile style in mind, there is a cycle and process that he follows that works when providing feedback.
1) Build Relationships Feedback is always better received by a student when they do not feel threatened or judged. The quickest way to win their trust is to humble yourself and show them that you are still learning too and that you don't know everything. Then, show them that you care about their ideas and opinions, even if they are not in line with what you might do yourself. Allow them to explain their thought process and listen to their concerns. 2) Provide Honest Feedback Start with authentic praise of elements the learner has done well. Positive feedback doesn't have to be contrived, fake, or untrue feedback. Instead of pointing out mistakes in a negative light, simply point out what they have done so far and praise them for their work. Then, guide them by explaining what they still have left to do. 3) Model How to Improve Often students respond to feedback with a defeated sense of “but I don’t know how to fix it.” Your job is to model the change and improvement for them. With writing for example, you can’t simply correct comma errors for a student - this helps nothing. But you can take the time to show the student three steps to determine where the comma goes in the sentence and model those steps for them during a conference. Now, when the student goes back to work, she will at least have a task to complete with steps to follow. I love how Gordon Ramsey will often step into the kitchen to cook with the families on Kitchen Nightmares and show them how to improve. He doesn’t just yell and say the food is horrible; he steps in and models for them how to make the food better. 4) Provide Support and Praise This becomes a cycle. Continue to meet with students to provide additional praise, feedback, and modeling. While we all wish that one instance of teaching or modeling is enough, it never really is. Continue to work with each student and encourage her to continue to craft until she can be truly proud of her work because it meets all the expectations. The more positive reinforcement she receives, the more she will take ownership of her work. But what if the student is completely off base? I know this is a valid question because I see it so often with students. There are two helpful tips when encouraging this type of student. 1) Focus on one key element for constructive feedback. Still start with providing genuine praise (find something! Anything!) and then give this student one element to improve upon. With each additional conference, you may be able to tackle something else. Don't overwhelm this type of student; he/she will shut down on you! 2) Ask him questions! Instead of telling him what to do, ask this student questions so he can quickly realize himself what he has done wrong or needs to work on. Allow him to reach these insights on his own, and he will be much quicker to embrace the revisions. A rubric is an ideal tool for this. Put it in front of the two of you and ask him if he has met the requirements on the rubric. (The Writer's Stylus course provides amazing rubrics for these types of conversations!) Try this tomorrow. Change your own mindset in your classroom and opt to offer genuine, positive feedback to students. When you see their faces light up, you will know you are making a difference in their lives! These are the books that have influenced my thinking on this topic. What have you read on this topic? Please share in the comments! Mindset by Carol Dweck Quite Leadership by David Rock Your Brain at Work by David Rock Choice Words by Peter H. Johnson Opening Minds by Peter H. Johnson Role Reversal by Mark Barnes ___ Allison Petersen @alcp |
About AllisonAllison is an K-12 Instructional Coach. Her goal is to empower educators to grow continually. Recent Posts#5Tips4LMS Series
Cast a Vision Create Momentum A Problem and a Solution HIGHLIGHTED POSTS Re-Center on Vision Letting Go of Control The Power of Positive Feedback Inspiring a Love of Reading Turning Ideas into Habits The Truth About Writing This I Believe Essay Quiet Leadership Qualities Thinking About New Ideas Goals Provide Focus The Power of Twitter Use Storify to Organize Tweets Build a PLN Categories
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