PME 811 Innovation Teaching and Learning

Reflection as a Way of Life

This is where I will share my reflections about innovations in teaching and learning.

My driving questions is:

What exactly is innovation in teaching and how can I apply it in the classroom at the elementary level?

In her blog, Ashley Bildfell asks this very question. By reading how she thought post secondary instructors and university lecturers could be more innovative in the classroom, it clarified that innovation does not only mean new ideas. She defines innovation as being grounded in the theories of constructivist, social-constructivist and student centered processes. She discusses students as active learners who should be part of the learning process and innovative teaching techniques that include creating an authentic, relatable and stimulating learning environment. Innovation is not invention.

https://carleton.ca/tasupport/2015/what-is-innovative-teaching-and-how-can-we-implement-it-into-our-classrooms-at-the-post-secondary-level/

January 15th, 2018

I read Frank's article "Ted Talks are Lying to You". Though I personally enjoy Ted Talks and enjoy the inspiration that comes from them, I'm acutely aware of the standard pattern they follow. A little recipe for "self-help" that never really gets beyond scratching the surface, if you will. Fun nonetheless, so I wanted to see what this author had to say about them actually "Lying" about creativity and innovation.

He starts off by reminding the reader of all the "creativity" books out there that discuss the same examples of innovation over and over: Ford, Jobs, Gates... He points out that they never mention the horrific examples of innovation (military weapons for example). Just like Ted talks, these books follow the same recipe for inspiration promising that the next great idea is out there waiting for us. It's ironic, as Frank points out, that "those (authors) who urge us to “think different...almost never do so themselves".

Frank goes on to argue that "for all its reverential talk about the rebel and the box breaker, society had no interest in new ideas at all unless they reinforced favorite theories or could be monetized in some obvious way". Basically, those who hold power in society have no real interest in thinking outside the box. It's rhetoric. He backs this up with the example that Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi gives in his book "Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention" (1996) about Van Gogh and that had "experts" (read: those in positions of power) not conceded that his work was great, the paintings would have remained unnoticed like thousands of other artists'. He quotes "creativity came into being when a sufficient number of art experts felt that his paintings had something important to contribute to the domain of art". It was consensus, not creativity, that determined innovation.

This has got me thinking on a few levels. First, I am not convinced that creativity does not exist, but that the recognition of it is only admired and respected if it serves some "useful" purpose or doesn't deviate too far from the norm. As it relates to the classroom, and I'm not sure if I'm on track here, but I see how we are told to encourage creativity and innovation in our teaching and with our students, but there are limitations imposed on that as well. If I think of a typical project assignment I give to my students, they still have to meet the criteria set out in the rubric provided. I can give them free range to a certain degree (make a poster, create a PPT, write an essay) but they still have to adhere to a certain standard in order for me to tick off all the little boxes and give them a decent grade. How far can my encouragement go when inspiring their creativity when I am limited as well?

Now that this perspective has been brought to my attention, it is something I am going to recognize, ponder and question. What is creativity, really, if it is confined to curricular expectations? And how much innovation can I expect from my students when I am trapped in the same box they are?

Source:

Frank, T. (2013, October 13). Ted talks are lying to you. Salon. Retrieved from http://www.salon.com

January 18th, 2018

Creativity is starting to sound like a concept to me that doesn't really hold much weight. It's touted as a sought after characteristics for employees and leaders, but after reading "The bias against creativity: Why people desire but reject creative ideas" I'm starting to think it's just another buzz word being thrown around. We think we desire and value creativity, but only insomuch as it fits into our neat little folders of what is possible and practical. Why the paradox? Uncertainty and fear. Taking risks and making mistakes can lead to ridicule, criticism and sometimes penalty. Another big problem is that despite desiring creativity, our biases towards it make it difficult to even recognize creativity and innovation when it is before us.

This saddens me because I believe that making mistakes is good for growth and learning, particularly in the classroom. Leticia Guzman Ingram shares this philosophy in an article that suggests ways to help students become risk-takers (conveniently titled: A Classroom Full of Risk Takers). Like her, I want to create a classroom in which it's ok to make mistakes, be wrong, and yet still persevere. When students fail at something, I always remind them that their reward will be sweeter when they finally achieve their goal than the student who didn't find the task particularly difficult to begin with.

In her piece "Inside the Box: People Don't Actually Like Creativity", Jessica Olien offers a somber reminder that "the place where our first creative ideas go to die is the place that should be most open to them—school". She echoes the above readings about how studies have shown that teachers generally discriminate against creative students, favoring classmates who "more readily follow directions and do what they’re told". Have I been guilty of that as well? Even if I argue that I personally haven't, I am still part of a system that imposes standardized testing and measurable

goals, squelching creativity and individual expression.

I may go a bit off the readings here but it has me thinking of my students in SE Asia. (Please forgive me for generalizing and perhaps coming off as stereotyping. I would love to be shown the errors in my thinking if I am off track here :) It is often noticed, and discussed, by teachers in my circle that when we ask students their opinion about something they are hesitant and confused, searching our faces for clues to the "right" answer. My thoughts are that this is a result of rote learning, memorization, and the pressures to excel academically. I remember speaking with a Vietnamese colleague one day and expressing admiration at the scores Vietnam held internationally for engineering. She responded that sure, they can do the math, but they still have no idea how to build a bridge. She was referring to a lack of imagination and ingenuity that seemed to get crushed in her educational system.

I'm left with 2 thoughts now. Not only how I can go about encouraging more out of the box thinking for my students (despite the subtle contempt that society holds for it) but how can I personally know that I am recognizing it and fostering it in my classroom.

Sources:

Mueller, J.S., Melwai, S., & Goncalo, J.A. (2012). The bias against creativity: Why people desire but reject creative ideas. Psychological Science, 23(1), 13–17. doi: 10.1177/0956797611421018

Ingram, L,G. (January, 2018). A Classroom Full of Risk Takers. Edutopia. retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/article/classroom-full-risk-takers?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

Olien, Jessica (January, 2018) Inside the Box: People Don't Actually Like Creativity. State. Retrieved from http://www.slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/01/vikings-beat-saints-and-exorcise-demons-with-last-gasp-touchdown.html

January 25th, 2018

I have been thinking a lot about the concepts we are studying; about creativity and innovation and how these two are intrinsically interlinked. I find it difficult to think of one without the other. The definitions are wide and encompass different theoretical backgrounds and frameworks, but how can I make sense of it all? How can I fit into what these concepts are and what they mean to me?

I felt like I was getting lost in the abstract and though I appreciated a deeper personal understanding of what these concepts meant, I wanted to be able to relate to them, and incorporate them, in my professional context. Though begrudgingly aware that creativity and innovation are social constructs whose definitions rely on recognition and perceived value, I wanted to nonetheless move away from that perspective and see creativity and innovation as the positive impact they are in the classroom. I came upon an article by Laura Taddei (2017) who offered a list of suggestions of ways to encourage creativity within yourself and your students. She encouraged building strong communication, collaborating, taking risks and active-learning but did not really provide concrete examples of what this would look like specifically. I agree that outcome-based, student-centered, and problem-based learning approaches have a positive impact on learning and I want to seek out as many examples of that as I can.

I came upon an article by Fatimah Bt Puteh (2018), in which she discussed her approach to innovation using technology in the classroom. She remarks: "With computer being their flesh and blood; and living in the era where they are allowed to question on things and they are empowered to be partly responsible for their learning, creativity and innovation have been incorporated in my teaching and learning, assessment and supervision." This really excited me because I have come across so many articles about how technology has not improved teaching. The same methods are being used. They're just facilitated or delivered in a different way. These articles are always reminders that we should be taking full advantage of the resources we have and using them in innovative ways. Bt Puteh showed examples of some innovative ways that she and her team are using technology to improve English language lessons.

Bt Puteh is building on an already existing medium by creating something with her students that is unique and of value. The article has inspired me to re-evaluate what I am currently doing in my classroom and asking myself if there are other ways to use the technology and resources I have to their full advantage. For instance, my students only have access to a computer for 40 minutes once a week. I have a computer at my desk that I sometimes let the students use, but with 38 in the class it is difficult to manage that everyone gets a fair turn. Most of my students have access to a computer at home, but permission may be another issue. I may not be in the same position as Bt Puteh as far as being able to create the lessons and learning platforms that she does, but I could certainly look on the bright side, do some more reading and research and see if I can't come up with other innovative ways to encourage creativity in my classroom.

Sources:

Bt Puteh, F. (2018) "Creativity and Innovation in Teaching and Learning, Supervision and Assessment". Retrieved from: http://languageacademy.utm.my/fatima/innovation-and-creativity-in-teaching-and-learning-approach/

Taddei, L. (2013, August 23). "Encouraging Creativity and Innovation in Yourself and Your Students". Retrieved from: https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/faculty-development/encouraging-creativity-and-innovation-in-yourself-and-your-students/

January 29, 2018

I’ve discovered a few sites that offer suggestions about how to be more innovative in the classroom. In the piece, “What Innovation Looks Like in an Elementary School”, Juliani (2014) reminds us to think about aesthetics in the classroom to set the tone for an enriching learning environment. But what does that look like?

Her advice inspired me to bring more plants to my class this year. I would also like the students to maintain a small garden throughout the year, not just during the few weeks we learn about the life cycle of plants! I would like to spend more time decorating and enlisting the students’ ideas and help with the endeavor. Juliani (2014) also suggested having a Class Meeting as a place for students to govern their own school experience. The activity would be designed to allow them to make rules, designate duties, and other systems within the classroom to help it run more effectively.

When it comes to delivering lessons, Britten Follett (2013) highlighted a variety of examples to get students to be more innovating. These included running a student-led TV studio, designing and building their own recycling bins, developing an app, having a robotics competition and creating a graphic biography. The idea that struck me was the one about the recycling bins. Part of our social studies curriculum is teaching the students about recycling and the environment, but despite having a separating system at home, I don’t have one in the classroom. When school resumes in March, I would like to task my new class with coming up with recycling ideas for our classroom.

The following is just a list of ideas I can use to encourage innovation in my classroom taken from Edsys:

Use creative tools
Audio & Visual tools
Real-World learning
Brainstorm sessions
Bring the class outside
Role play
Visual story boards, mind maps

By continuing to seek out inspiration and resources, I hope that I can adapt these ideas to my teaching style and help foster a more creative and innovative environment for my students.

Resources:

EDSYS. (2017, August 3) 16 Innovative Ideas to Make Your Teaching Methods More Effective. Retrieved from: http://www.edsys.in/16-innovative-ideas-make-teaching-methods-effective/

Follett, B. (2013) Five Examples of Innovation in Today’s Schools. Retrieved from: https://www.eschoolnews.com/2013/04/04/five-examples-of-innovation-in-todays-schools/

Juliani, A.J. (2014) What Innovation Looks Like in an Elementary School. Retrieved from: http://ajjuliani.com/innovation-in-elementary-school/

February 2, 2018

I came across a list called "50 Crazy Ideas to Change Education" written by Terry Heick that had some pretty innovative ideas about schools and the education system (not really focused on teaching) that I wanted to reflect on. Some suggestions did seem crazy initially, such as:

Stop claiming every child will be proficient. #2
Don’t require students to come to school. #5
Stop using the words and phrases proficient, best practice, and student engagement; stop reporting proficiency through demographic groups, and instead do so individually. #6

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized a statement such as 'every child will be proficient' doesn't necessarily imply absolute incompetence if that isn't achieved.

Heick's propostion for K-12:

Make elementary school about literacy, creativity, and play–and that’s it. #16
Make middle school about self-discovery, accountability, and an introduction to how to find and evaluate information they care about. #17
Make high school about citizenship, thinking habits, and guided participation in physical and digital networks. #18

In addition, make school walls invisible—literally made of glass. #11

About grading and assessments:

Use a grading system that starts at zero, not 100.
Throw out letter grades and test scores forever. At most, move to a 0, 1, 2–didn’t complete the work, completed without meeting quality criteria, completed while meeting quality criteria.
Promote learning through networks, not curriculum. (And while we’re on the subject, ban all scripted curriculum.

My current school uses a 1,2,3 grading system.

I thought Heick had some pretty interesting ideas for how to use technology in more innovative ways in schools. I was sruck by his recommendation that students should be allowed to use smartphones in the classroom.

Smartphones: "This is not a school problem, it is a learning model problem." #8

I'm not sure where I stand on the issue. I currently teach 3rd grade so smartphones are not a problem yet, as far as being a distraction. I can see the use and value that smartphones could add to lessons, so I'll accept that this is a classroom management issue or learning model problem for now. I would like to discuss this with other teachers though and have them share their thoughts and experiences.

I did enjoy his other ideas and am really excited envisioning schools of the future!

Use podcasts and social media channels instead of classrooms. #43
Make libraries more like app stores with technology that excites students–that they want to use. #46
Create curriculum that functions like a playlist, and that browses like Google search results; require students to document their own understanding. #47
Allow students to decide what they do and don’t want to learn; insist only that the learn something. #48

The final tip of Heick's I'd like to share is one that resonates with me because of all the reflection over definitions and terms we've been doing. It's an interesting perspective that lends to being more student-centered.

Stop teaching - which is a push-pull action; instead, promote learning. #42

Source:

Heick, T. (2018, January 28) 50 Crazy Ideas To Change Education. Retrieved from: https://www.teachthought.com/the-future-of-learning/50-radical-ideas-change-education/

February 8th, 2018

I just found out I’m teaching 5th grade next month (our school year starts in March). I’m very excited and have been reading up on the social psychology of children in this age group, I’ve been pouring over last year’s curriculum and sharing ideas with my new grade head and colleagues about what we can do to make the lessons more interesting and engaging!

Our curriculum hasn’t changed much from last year so we already have text books, power points and materials ready to deliver lessons. We don’t need to create anything from scratch or reinvent the wheel. So lucky!

Therefore, we decided that as much as possible we will try to come up with new and innovative ways to supplement the learning materials we already have. For instance, when reviewing a lesson on temperature, the PPT, textbook and worksheet seemed very redundant. Why not see if we can get a bunch of thermometers and let the students be temperature detectives?

This approach would suit the students much better than having the same information repeated to them. It will also give the students a chance to apply the learning in real life situations, from which they can draw their own connections between temperatures and states of matter.

This is just a baby step, but the first of many (I hope!) on the path of being more creative and innovative with my lessons.

February 10th, 2018

Our vice-principal has asked that we pay special attention to the reading and writing classes for our ESL students this year. The class usually entails having the students read a book of their choice (and level), and write a standard book report:

I was delighted to find so many alternatives to writing book reports online! Some of the ideas included having students:

Design a poster or new book cover depicting the climax of the story.
Post a book review on line.
Summarize the book into a comic.
Create a Venn diagram, Power Point, crossword puzzle, board game, card game or short video clip.
Write a different ending for the book.
Write a letter to the main character and the character's reply.
Write 3 diary entries that a character would write that include details about the story.
Create a simple Blog
Create a sculpture or model of one of the characters

I found these resources to be amazing for ideas and inspiration:

Gonzalez, Jennifer. (2016) 16 Ideas for Student Projects Using Google Docs, Slides and Forms. Retrieved from: https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/google-student-projects/

Robb, Kim. (2011). More Ideas Than Ever Book Reports. Retrieved from: http://teachnet.com/lessonplans/language-arts/more-ideas-than-ever-book-reports/

Scholastic. (2018). 25 Book Report Alternatives. Retrieved from: https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/classroom-activities-25-book-report-alternatives/

Stull, Kristen. Not Your Grandma’s Book Report: 30 Creative Ways to Respond to Literature http://www.hcs.stier.org/Downloads/creative%20ways%20to%20do%20book%20reports.pdf

Tenkely, Kelly. 10 Technology Enhanced Alternatives to Book Reports. Retrieved from: http://teaching.monster.com/benefits/articles/8529-10-technology-enhanced-alternatives-to-book-reports

Another amazing resource I found for book reports was here: http://blogs.egusd.net/teacherist/files/2014/09/Book-Project-Assignment-Full-Year-2014-15-25j40yy.pdf Mr. Fritzsche's pdf outlines different project ideas, including guidance, expectations and direction for each. I feel with some adjustments and adaptations we could use this in our classes.

With the abundance of ideas to choose from, I'm looking forward to sharing them with my colleagues and students, and seeing how many more creative ways we can engage with reading.

February 18th 2018

The Importance of Innovation in Teaching

I’ve been having a lot of fun looking online for new things to incorporate in my class this year or ways to improve the way we teach the curriculum we have to deliver. I’m grateful for everyone who is sharing their ideas because I think giving people an image of what learning could be like is an important part of improving our attempts to integrate it.

More importantly, I want to be reminded of why we are changing our strategies and methods to become more innovative in the classroom.

I read an article by Daniel Edelson, who admitted that the dominant image ingrained in our culture is very much in conflict with what we know about how children and adolescents learn best. He recognizes that most approaches that differ with this ingrained model are met with resistance. I must admit I sometimes question the value of being more innovative when old methods seemed to work just fine. Or I wonder if significant learning is actually happening when it seems to be just play. I know that this is false thinking, and it is only because I am immersed in a system that has trained me to produce measurable results. Edelson admits that most of us carry around traditional views about what constitutes learning, since most of us were educated in a system that focused very heavily on learning facts.

Edelson argues that we are going to have to get used to a lot of noise, mess and uncomfortableness at first if we are to truly foster an innovative learning culture. He talks about how students initially squirm with discomfort when they have to sit in groups and share their work with others. He also says that observing a classroom in which students are moving around, talking and arguing, and making a mess would make someone conclude that the teacher is unable to control the students and that learning is being undermined. And yet, these are precisely the kinds of conditions that have been shown to maximize learning.

Ederlson provides a case study to demonstrate how much better being innovative can be at engaging learners and thus why it is important to be more innovative. It’s about 2 teachers who are teaching students about the global distribution of temperatures. Teacher A has several maps displaying global distribution of temperatures at different times of year and asks her students to identify and discuss interesting patterns. Teacher B gives each of her students six crayons and a map of the world displaying continent outlines. She asks them to draw their best guess of what the distribution of temperatures is like all around the world in the month of July.

Before the lesson, teacher A warns teacher B that her students will get frustrated because the don’t know enough to fill the map in, and worse, it’s dangerous to have them draw things that are incorrect if she can’t correct them.

At the beginning of the lesson, Teacher B fears that teacher A was right but after a few minutes the students became engaged, and asked for more time to complete the task. When asked afterwards about why they colored what they did, two-thirds of their hands shot up and many students shouted answers out of turn about what the “real” temperatures were and why temperatures are different from place to place. At the end of the discussion they practically begged teacher B to show them a map of global temperature distributions.

As for teacher A, she put her global temperature maps on the projector, asked three prompting questions about what the students saw in the map and waited a full 30 seconds until one student reluctantly raised her hand and said, "It looks like it's warmer closer to the equator." After a few more minutes of discussion, in which a handful of students each identified a pattern, teacher A instructed them to take out their books and start reading about the causes of temperature variations.

In the end, I think Edelson makes a case for the value of innovative ways to teach. Teacher B’s activity was much more engaging and achieved its goal more effectively than teacher A’s. Teacher A assumed that students would be naturally motivated to notice differences and be curious about them. Teacher B recognized that they wouldn't and engaged them in an activity in which they had to draw on what they knew in a way that made them curious about what they didn't know.

Teacher B's lesson is also based on research that says that if you ask students to articulate their current understanding of a phenomenon before you teach them something new about it, they learn the new material more effectively because they can connect it to their existing understanding.

Ahhhhhh. Feeling a bit better about all the fun I’m going to have this year!

Source:

Edelson, D.C. (Winter 2009/201) National Geographic. “The Importance of Innovation in Teaching”. Retrieved from: http://www.esri.com/news/arcnews/winter0910articles/the-importance-of.html

I watched Joe Hulh’s Tedx Talk: “Teaching Methods for Inspiring the Students of the Future” in which he acknowledges that teacher-based lectures don’t always inspire in the classroom and explores other methods that do. He identifies the 4 C’s: Collaboration, Communication, Critical Thinking and Creativity as 21st century skills that kids should be learning. However, he adds Choice and Caring to this list, not as skills to be learned, but as important characteristics of the classroom.

The 6 C’s

Choice
Collaboration
Communication
Critical Thinking
Creativity
Caring

He argues that students love having choices and that in his lessons, he provides many different learning activities to meet the different learning styles of his students. A classroom that provides choice requires a shift from teacher-centered learning to student-centered learning which opens up opportunities to not merely teach, but to coach, to mentor, to nurture and inspire.

What’s it look like?

At the beginning of a new unit, students are given a menu of activities to choose from. No matter what they choose, or what order they do it in, they’ll still meet curricular objectives. Hulh admits that this requires A LOT of work on the teacher’s part, but that’s it’s well worth it because it allows him to sit down with small groups of students while still engaged in Team teaching. This provides the opportunity to respond to questions that the students come up with and to more deeply understand their thinking.

Some of the choices students have are:

Watching a video and answering questions

Doing laboratory activities

Tending to an ongoing project

Doing a computer tutorial

Playing an educationally related game

Hands on/Minds on simulations

Filling out reflection sheets

Hulh also incorporates an Arts and Entertainment component in every unit. This is where students take any concept they’ve learned in the unit and create something to present to the class. It has to be non-traditional, such as a song, model, skit, poetry or movie, and they are only limited by their imagination.

The paradox is that the more independently students work, the less important the teacher seems to become. In fact, the opposite is true because independent learning frees the teacher up to use the most valuable teaching technique of all, and that is, caring.

Hulh believes that teachers inspire through love and passion for the subject their teaching and through love for their students. He does not mean love in the warm-fuzzy-feeling way, but rather the kind of love that comes from a genuine, decisional, putting the other person first place. Air-tight, well-planned and organized lessons to meet curricular standards are important, as is the effective use of technology, but what students will remember most and what they will be most inspired by is the last C: Caring.

Source:

Hulh, J. (2015) Tedx Talk: “Teaching Methods for Inspiring the Students of the Future”. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCFg9bcW7Bk