A Growth Mindset

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

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

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

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

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

Do you have a growth mindset?

My sketch notes from HLC Conference 2016.

Engaging the Gen. C Learner

I was recently given the opportunity to attend the Wisconsin Technical College System's 2016 Tech Expo at Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton, Wisconsin. The conference targeted faculty and staff that were interested in integrating technology to Enhance Teaching & Learning. I was especially intrigued by the keynote speaker, Dr. James May, who was an award winning Faculty Fellow for Innovation and Technology at Valencia College (FL). And he did not disappoint.

In an engaging, content rich, and powerful presentation, Dr. May encouraged participants to find a way to 'Engage Generation C with the Adjacent Possible". Dr. May described Generation C as “Generation C refers to Constantly Connected Citizens who are Creative, Capable, Content-Centric Curators, Copiers and Combiners who are Community-oriented, Collectively Communicative, Collaborative, and Co-developing Consumers of Common Content.” - via Allan J. Kimmel (teachertricks.org)

My Sketch Notes from Dr. James May's Session - Engaging Generation C with the Adjacent Possible 

While listening to Dr. May talk about how today's technology can provide so many possibilities, I found myself pondering how Flipped Learning can help open the door to the adjacent possible. How can Flipped Learning encourage learners to be Connected, Creative, Collaborative, Co-Developers, and Curators of their own learning? That's when it dawned on me - if we want students to develop these characteristics, we must also expect our educators to model them! 

You see, the age of your learner does not matter. When the transfer of ownership takes place between educator and learner, rich and life-changing learning occurs. Educators are too often constrained by the boundaries of institutional limitations, as well as their past experiences. To open the door to the adjacent possible, educators must be encouraged to explore beyond their boundaries and Create authentic learning for themselves and their learners. 

In a Connected, Content rich world, educators should Collaborate, Copy, Combine, and Collectively Communicate about what they are doing in their classrooms. Institutions should release the constraints of traditional learning and foster a growth mindset among their educators. Give educators more freedom to design their own Professional Development and Growth Plans. Begin to ask educators what they need to become better, what opportunities exist for them to improve. Transfer the ownership of learning and watch the Adjacent Possible expand to depths of all students!

Generation C - what a profound label to place on learners today! 

Flipped Learning to meet the Guiding Principles of Teaching & Learning

Wisconsin’s Guiding Principles for Teaching and Learning inform the design and implementation of all academic standards. All educational initiatives are guided and impacted by important and often unstated attitudes or principles for teaching and learning. The Guiding Principles for Teaching and Learning emerge from research and provide the touchstone for practices that truly affect the vision of every child a graduate prepared for college and career. The principles inform what happens in the classroom, the implementation and evaluation of programs, and remind us of our own expectations for students. (Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction)

While I have stepped away from the every day middle school math classroom, I am often caught reflecting upon the wide array of strategies and instructional practices shared with me at the college level. Furthermore, I continue to witness and recommend flipped learning to help create an active, engaged classroom that truly focuses on putting the students first and meeting their needs. Flipped learning, when done correctly, can provide students with such a vast array of opportunities to become successful in school and prepare them for what lies ahead.

As I was writing an article for the Association of Wisconsin School Administrators, I couldn't help but realize how flipped learning helped me to meet the guiding principles of teaching and learning that Wisconsin established: Every student has the right to learn, Instruction must be rigorous and relevant, Purposeful assessment drives instruction and affects learning, Learning is a collaborative responsibility, Students bring strengths and experiences to learning, and Responsive environments engage learners.

For the full article, click here.

Creating a Kahoot!

Are you looking for a fun, interactive assessment tool to use with your students in your Flipped Classroom? Do you want to know if your students completed their pre-class assignment or reading? Would you like an item analysis for questions and topics your students are struggling with? If you've answered yes to any of these questions, then I have a great solution for you!

Welcome to KAHOOT! Create, play, and share fun learning games for any subject, for all ages, for FREE! Kahoot gives users the ability to create an interactive, game-based assessment. Similar to playing trivia at Buffalo Wild Wings, Kahoot asks participants to answer questions correctly in a timely manner. The quicker you know the answer, the more points you are awarded. Use pictures, videos, and generate your own questions and answers. Download game results to analyze your students' progress or how well a question was written.

Kahoot is redefining formative assessment in the 21st century classroom! Check out my video tutorial below for directions on how to create your first Kahoot, or use this attached file!

Death of the Textbook

When given the ability to be creative and unique, students will often rise above and beyond the task given to them. One of the most rewarding parts of my role at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College is that I get to facilitate a teaching methods course, helping varying levels of instructors explore new and innovative methods of instruction. I am a big believer in modeling through my instruction how instructors can help their students become successful. Often, our instructors are asked to reflect on their weekly learning plan by answering several questions. When replying, we leave the reply format open - in that instructors can choose the vehicle in which they choose to respond (i.e. journal entry, power point, podcast, video reflection, etc.)

Giving your students the ability to choose their vehicle empowers them to be creative, unique, and problem solve all on their own. What follows is one of the best reflections I have ever read by one of NWTC's part-time instructors, Jenny Holtebeck. Jenny, and English Language Learners instructor, used her creativity to reply to the questions: what are the benefits of technology to help promote/maximize learning and what is one watch out about technology?

NEW YORK TIMES OBITUARY FOR THE TRADITIONAL TEXTBOOK, WRITTEN BY A REPORTER COVERING THE FUNERAL
By: Jenny Holtebeck

After more than 400 years of service to the educational community, the Traditional Textbook passed away recently due to disuse.  It is believed that the Textbook’s spouse, the Teacher Manual, has also gone to glory. 

Born in America in 1690 under the name The New England Primer, the Textbook has also been known to its loved ones by many other names:  The McGuffey Reader, Principles of Biology, Math Expressions, etc.  The Textbook was known for providing students with accurate information about a subject in a clear, concise format.  It was also passionate about being well organized, teaching generations of pupils how to use a table of contents, glossary, and index. 

The Textbook is survived by its children, various forms of educational technology.  These glamorous offspring have vowed to continue their parents’ goal of promoting and maximizing learning, they explained during their joint eulogy.  “It helps that there are so many of us,” explained one child, the Power Point Presentation.  “We can do so much more than our parents because we all have different purposes.  Like, I can present information like my parents did, but I like to do it in a more graphic way.  Charts, pictures, bullet points, ya know?  Some people really respond to that.” 

Power Point’s sibling, a Teacher Tube Video, put it another way.  “Those of us in the younger generation can appeal to more learning styles.  I address the needs of auditory and visual learners.  And my brother, the Math Manipulative, is very effective with somatic learners.” 

“I give people experience with the tools they will use in their jobs,” added Design Software.  “Some of my former students have kept in touch with me for years after graduation because they find me so useful.” 

His sister, the Government Database concluded by saying, “Our parents were great, but the information I have is always up-to-date.  We’ll miss our parents, but we really believe they would want us to continue their work.” 

Unfortunately, the funeral was interrupted at this point by a loss of wi-fi, which rendered Teacher Tube Video and Government Database unable to communicate with the mourners.  Shortly after, Power Point Presentation displayed the Blue Screen of Death, a medical condition it periodically suffers from.  The funeral officiant was unable to revive the Power Point Presentation, and had to resort to her back-up plan for the eulogy, which was to write the important points on a chalkboard.  The chalkboard was a surprise guest at the funeral, since it had not been seen for almost a decade and was presumed dead.  One can only reminisce about how the Traditional Textbook would have risen to the occasion.

Talk about owning a reflection and making it your own. Students, and instructors alike, want their work to shine. When given the ability to use their own skills and talents, they will give you something you never expected. Perhaps it's time to get out of their way and let them drive!

Reflections from Flexible Learning Conference

Madison College, part of the Wisconsin Technical College System, graciously hosted the 3rd Annual Flexible Learning Conference in Madison recently. I was afforded the opportunity to represent my college, NWTC, by attending and presenting at the conference. After a few days of mulling over my notes and pondering how to use this opportunity to grow, I thought what better way than to share my experience with those not able to attend. With that, I give you my big three take-aways.

1) SOCIAL MEDIA is having a huge impact on higher education - Keynote Speaker Tanya Joosten, nationally recognized for her work on Distance Education and Technological Advancement, highlighted several compelling reasons that social media needs to be harnessed by instructors across our nation. Perhaps the image below is the most compelling reason to think of alternative communication means:

2005 PEW Data results

"Email is for OLD people" the survey found! That must mean I'm pretty old! You see, students today view social media as much more than a vehicle to connect with their friends or family. Today's students get their news, alerts, weather, research, and so much more from a variety of social media outlets. Yet, many instructors and institutions demand that the best vehicle for communication is email.

It's time to think outside the box and allow students to drive the vehicle. Ask them what platforms they use and devise a methodology to employ their strengths in your class. If your stuck in a rut, then consider backward design. Tanya facilitated a great pre-conference workshop on how vital backward design is in incorporating social media into your classes. While perhaps a daunting task, when framed in the proper order, social media can drive creativity and innovation.

Think about your course level outcomes and WHAT students must be able to do to meet them. Then, think about how you plan to assess those outcomes - what evidence do students need to show you. Finally, think about the content and interactivity that you can provide through a unique learning experience. What social media tools can you use, or encourage students to use, that will harness the power they have in their fingertips for good! Tanya provided a great definition for what is social media? "Social Media is a virtual place where people share; everybody and anybody can share anything anywhere anytime!" (Joosten, 2012, p. 6)

2) Passionate Educators Abound -  Through attending the #flexlearn2015 conference, I was quickly reminded of how passionate many educators are about meeting their students needs, going above and beyond was is outlined in their job description. Take Martha Schwer for example. An English instructor at Madison College, Martha teaches English Composition ONLINE to students that just have to 'take the class'! While a daunting class for in-person students, Martha has taken it upon herself to provide her students with a unique learning experience that engages them in a such a way that they don't even realize it's an online class.

Martha provided, shared, demonstrated, and beamed with positivity as she walked us through her course. Her liquid syllabus that incorporates videos, voice-overs, and explicit details and directions give her students the sense that she is a real human being, not some robot behind the computer in their online class. Her use of Voice Thread and Zaption to engage students in the learning process is nothing short of inspiring.

And then there's Trey Morales, psychology instructor at Madison College. His love for brain based learning and willingness to share engagement strategies that are tested and true was impeccable. Trey's presentation on the 4 rules that should drive instruction are spot on: Emotions Matter, Vision Matters, Movement Matters, and Novelty Matters.

Through a careful navigation and engaging presentation, Trey had us eating out of the palm of his hands as he incorporated all 4 of those rules. I couldn't help but think what Aristotle was thinking about Trey's words - after all "Educating the Mind without Educating the Heart is no Education at all!"

3) Teaching Is Not Easy -  Finally, among all the learning and innovation that was happening around me, I was reminded that teaching is not easy, nor is it for the faint of heart. Students are rapidly evolving, technology is busting at the seams, and educators feel the pressure of time and budgets suffocating their creativeness. And while many educators may feel doomed about their position, I was reminded that it is vital to connect with others. Making those new connections helps to harness the energy you feel may quickly fade.(Thanks Daniel, Sundi, and Trey.)

Teaching is the ultimate sacrifice. I am fortunate to work at an institution that believes in life-long learning and supports and my goals and aspirations. If we do not believe in life-long learning, how will our students ever believe that what we are teaching them is important? Enjoy the journey that teaching is and be daring to try new things. Model the creativity and innovation you wish to see in your students and you will be amazed at what they give you in return.

Do You Kahoot!?

Are you looking for a fun, interactive assessment tool to use with your students in your Flipped Classroom? Do you want to know if your students completed their pre-class assignment or reading? Would you like an item analysis for questions and topics your students are struggling with? If you've answered yes to any of these questions, then I have a great solution for you!

Welcome to KAHOOT! Create, play, and share fun learning games for any subject, for all ages, for FREE! Kahoot gives users the ability to create an interactive, game-based assessment. Similar to playing trivia at Buffalo Wild Wings, Kahoot asks participants to answer questions correctly in a timely manner. The quicker you know the answer, the more points you are awarded. Use pictures, videos, and generate your own questions and answers. Download game results to analyze your students' progress or how well a question was written.

Kahoot is redefining formative assessment in the 21st century classroom! Check out my video tutorial below for directions on how to create your first Kahoot, or use this attached file!