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You Have To Go Down The Chute

Posted on January 25, 2014 by cmschilly

One of my favorite experiences each year is watching students on the ski slopes during Tuxedo Park School’s annual ski program for students in grades 3-9. From the beginners to the experts, students sharing laughter and movement together on the downhill is the perfect antidote to winter doldrums. This is a brief (1:49) ski-and-student-related video that will remind you of the courage it takes to try new things, and the exhilaration that comes from conquering fear of the unknown. Here’s to all the students and adults out there who take the risk….and jump. As Tina Fey writes,

You can’t be that kid standing at the top of the waterslide, overthinking it. You have to go down the chute.

Connected, but Alone

Posted on January 21, 2014 by cmschilly

This TED talk by Sherry Turkle is worth the listen and the thought-time. As we model for our students and children how to engage meaningfully in community, navigate emotions and relationships with friends and loved ones, and balance increasing demands on our time and attention as a result of this digital age: reflecting on Sherry Turkle’s words will not be a waste.

“We seem determined to give human qualities to objects and content to treat each other as things…and the end result is we expect more from technology and less from each other…When Thoreau considered “where I live and what I live for,” he tied together location and values. Where we live doesn’t just change how we live; it informs who we become. Most recently, technology promises us lives on the screen. What values, Thoreau would ask, follow from this new location? Immersed in simulation, where do we live, and what do we live for?” – Sherry Turkle

Growth-Minded in the New Year

Posted on January 2, 2014 by cmschilly

As articles, tweets, and status updates fly around the internet with all of the secrets, tips, and tricks to making and keeping resolutions and finding success and happiness…I ran across this article:

Growth Mindset and the Common Core Math Standards

It references a study in which two groups of students with comparable levels of math achievement were instructed in the same new math skills. One group was additionally coached to understand their mind as a muscle that becomes stronger with usage, practice, and even struggle. This is called the growth mindset or the expandable theory of intelligence. The control group was only instructed in the new skills (fixed mindset). The results of the study revealed that the students who internalized the belief that intellectual skill can be developed through acquisition and practiced application of knew information and skills had notable improvement in grades and study habits compared to the fixed mindset group. Not only that, but their improvement continued on an upward trajectory over the next two years, diverging from the control group’s even further.

While the research in this article is focused on math instruction and performance, some of the take-aways regarding encouraging a growth mindset are applicable to adults and children alike. As we enter 2014 as educators, parents, and individuals hoping to develop new habits and skills in ourselves and others let’s remember:

What you believe about your own intelligence and skills (expandable or fixed) will inform what you believe about that of others, and thus how you interact with them. When confronted with struggle/failure, do you approach instruction/parenting with the belief that your students/children are just not sufficiently bright, talented or smart? How might children be better equipped for their future if they are consistently treated as though they are just faced with a challenge they don’t yet have the skills to solve, as teachable learners who need guidance and feedback on how to improve?
How you talk to (encourage, praise, redirect, etc.) your students/children about successes and failures can impact achievement and growth. Do you emphasize intelligence/skill/talent as a fixed trait? Or effort, perseverance, and resilience? Research shows that praising/encouraging the process (not the person) fosters growth mindset and greater long term resilience and success.
Fixed mindset individuals see struggle and failure as indicators of intelligence and aptitude. Growth mindset individuals see the same challenges as opportunities for learning, in which effort and mistakes are highly valued.

Whether it is in relation to your profession or your personal resolutions for 2014, consider how your inward thinking and outward language (both towards yourself and to others) can reflect the belief that skills, talents, and intelligence can be cultivated, honed, and learned with perseverance, grit, and determination.

Your daughter isn’t bossy, and your son isn’t prissy.

Posted on December 31, 2013 by cmschilly

These are two incredibly thought provoking articles on gender stereotypes and their consequences at all ages and stages.

Your daughter isn’t bossy, she has executive leadership skills: Lessons from Sheryl Sandberg
“When little girls lead, they’re called bossy and, over time, children internalize these messages. Women who lead are disliked and often referred to as being “aggressive”, but this isn’t the fault of women or men, it’s the message that’s interpreted by a collective society over a long period. “

Men are stuck in gender roles, data suggest
“There is an enduring stigma for boys whose behavior is seen as feminine…If a little girl is running around on the baseball team with her mitt, people think, ‘That’s a strong girl…When my 6-year-old is running around in a dress, people think there’s something wrong with him.”

When does a boy who likes the color pink stop wearing his favorite shirt because it’s criticized by others?

This book is a terrific resource for opening conversations about gender stereotypes with children in the classroom.

When does a girl start accepting that what she needs to take a back seat during the group project or she’ll be disliked?

What do we truly dream of for our students in the classroom environments we create? What stereotypes are they absorbing and labels are they beginning to own about themselves that we – as the adults who set the tone for what is safe and accepted – are either dismantling or knowingly/unknowingly purporting?

As we seek to create 21st century schools and classrooms that allow children to flourish as creative, collaborative, critically thinking individuals we need to remember that gender stereotypes, in either direction, impact EVERYONE.

Teaching Coding Skills…& Much More

Posted on December 8, 2013 by cmschilly

Here is a list of 7 apps that can be used to introduce and expand on computer program concepts for children of many ages. I have used and seen Hopscotch implemented with children as young as 6 and 7 years and it is equally engaging for adults. On top of programming/coding skills, these apps can assist with sequential thinking, cause & effect, planning, organization, and error analysis and revision: all key components of design-thinking.

Do you SAMR?

Posted on November 15, 2013 by cmschilly

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!

Posted on November 14, 2013 by cmschilly

In his compelling blog post titled “The 21^st 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?

Posted on November 10, 2013 by cmschilly

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

Posted on November 7, 2013 by cmschilly

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.

K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Schilly)

Colleen McKernan Schilly

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