Monthly Archives: November 2013

Do you SAMR?

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Pedagogy wheel for technology integration using the SAMR model

Pedagogy wheel for technology integration using the SAMR model

The SAMR Model (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, Redesign) offers some insight into different ways that technology can support the engagement of learners, as well as a description of the process through which educators (who are generally digital immigrants versus the digital natives they teach) grow as they broaden and deepen their facility and comfort with new tools.

Substitution: Substituting technology for former tools with no functional change

Augmentation: Substituting technology with some functional improvement

Modification: Using technology for significant task redesign

Redesign: Using technology for new tasks that were previously inconceivable with former tools

The picture above uses common programs and apps to illustrate how these different descriptors of technology use play out in the classroom.

The Art of Boredom: Don’t Just Do Something…Sit There!

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In his compelling blog post titled “The 21st Century Skills Students Really Lack” Daniel Willingham, cognitive scientist who focuses on the brain basis of learning and memory, writes:

If we are concerned that students today are too quick to allow their attention to be yanked to the brightest object (or to willfully redirect it once their very low threshold of boredom is surpassed), we need to consider ways that we can bring home to them the potential reward of sustained attention.

Willingham argues that attention disorders may not be on the rise, rather…the need for and valuation of sustained attention in our culture may be on a dramatic decline. As digital natives (a term coined by Marc Prensky) – students can largely avoid the experience of even mild boredom in their daily lives…but also miss out on some of the rewards of patience, perseverance, and waiting it out.

How do we, instead of trying to wrest attention from the disengaged, inspire it through a little healthy boredom that has powerful rewards?

What do you want to be when you grow up?

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panthera

Recently at Tuxedo Park School we had the privilege of learning about wildlife conservation efforts for big cats around the world (jaguars, tigers, lions, snow leopards, and cougars). The Vice President of the wildlife conservation organization Panthera, Andrea Heydlauff, shared the story of these secretive, majestic animals. Panthera’s mission is “to ensure the future of wild cats through scientific leadership and global conservation action.”

At TPS part of our mission is to – from our earliest years in the Pre-Kindergarten – train and inspire learners who are knowledgeable, skilled, and driven agents of change in their local and globally communities. Ms. Heydlauff shared information about four of the worlds “big cats”, threats to their survival, the science behind world-wide conservation efforts, and things we can do – at all ages – to join these efforts.

As our students grow and develop in a world that looks very different from the one in which we were educated, we work to prepare them for their future, not our past. Ms. Heydlauff’s visit was a perfect opportunity to give students an additional snapshot of the broad array of career paths that are available to them. When you ask a student what they would like to be when they grow up, you know you are asking a question the answer to which will likely shift and change many times throughout their lives. That said, you are also likely to get one of these answers: doctor, veterinarian, musician, movie star, pro-athlete, or something to do with Legos. We hope that in drawing attention to professional adults who have followed the passions of their hearts and strengths of their minds – to careers that many of us aren’t even aware of – that we can continue to train children for their future, one in which they live the mission of TPS as adults.

Take a moment to to watch the video below, an award-winning video telling the story of one of Panthera’s projects. In it, the narrator is a young boy who lives on a ranch in the Brazilian Pantanal learning how cows, people, and jaguars can all live together. It serves as a shining example of the work they do in local communities.

Smart Management

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Education Week recently published an article (read it here) on common classroom management challenges. Though this article is explicitly about teachers and students, many of the principles for the development and implementation of successful classroom management skills can transfer to wisdom for parenting, managing adults, and working with others of all ages. I recommend reading the article for greater breadth and depth, but here is a summary.

Children (and adults) are most successful when…

  • Routines are consistent and clear. Routine is the foundation and framework of all the “meaty stuff” we want to fill our lives with.
  • Expectations (and the steps needed to meet them successfully) are detailed in small bites/chunks (rather than the fire-hydrant method).
  • There is the opportunity to practice, practice, practice successfully meeting expectations in isolation from other activities.
  • They plan ahead – for content of an experience, its delivery, and the movement of materials and people through it.
  • There is a clear understanding that STEERING is more effective than CONTROLLING people towards an end goal.
  • Reminders and redirection are delivered with tone and language (words and body) that is firm, fair, calm, and respectful.
  • A close awareness and observation of others is cultivated.
  • They are seen and known and KNOW IT, when they are acknowledged for successes and supported through failures they feel safe to take risks.
  • Their teachers/parents/leaders are present (physically and mentally) throughout their world and day.
  • Appropriate space for ownership over participation and feedback to be given is provided.
  • They don’t confuse the symptom of a frustrating event for the source. Misbehavior, mistreatment, and mistakes are often the presenting symptom of an underlying cause, which is what really needs addressing.

The above improves the development of thriving, rich, meaningful relationships, thinking, and learning between people – no matter their age.

AND is Better

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Surely you’ve seen the Ford Focus commercials where two people are driving in the car and talking about how “and” is better than “or” (for example: sweet OR sour chick, black OR white, protect OR serve, going to a bed OR breakfast). They have a point.

As I was reading the other day in Because We Can Change The World by Maria Sapon-Shavin, I took note of how this same principal applies to the idea of being – as Pat Bassett says – schools and educators that strive to grow students who are “smart AND good”. Maria Sapon-Shavin writes:

“Educators are realizing that we need not dichotomize or choose between teaching skills and teaching students to be caring and responsible human beings. We need not sacrifice reading to teach sharing or abandon math goals in favor of teaching mutual support and help. Rather, the classroom community can be structure so that students learn reading through sharing, and work on math goals with teacher and peer support.”

We strive for excellence of skills AND excellence of heart because, as with the Ford Focus, AND is better.