Reflections of a Techie

3 Questions for ELA/Science writing and social media implementation

I'm very interested to learn about the art of communication in science.  It seems like one of the things that my 6th graders can work towards..even if their science isn't that advanced.  Imagine my delight when my Twitter timeline held this jewel for me....from Scientific American's Blog Around the Clock a guest post by Michele Arduengo, Scientific Communications Specialist at Promega Corporation.

She wrote that she was "  I’m curious to see how the web can facilitate the development of communities across communities, particularly to see if science communities can interact meaningfully with non-science communities." 

That is exactly what I've been wanting to do with my 6th graders.  I have been trying to connect and collaborate with other 6th grade teachers so that my students can develop ideas that both classrooms study.  Maybe it would be a Skype chat or co-creating a wiki page about a lab or an experiment.  And then taking that learning and turning it into something that all people can understand.

It really is a twofold process: 

• Understanding what you know and what other people who as expert in that area can learn http://lmsblogs.org/together; and
• Communicating that to an audience of people who don't know much about your area of expertise.

To some extent we already do this in class when we have students write a letter to their grandparents to explain what they've been doing in science class.  Wonderful letters come back in response.  And it's also what you might see my students doing on our classroom blog.

Ms. Arduengo also raises the point of how social networks must not only do the work of supporting your work, but also of helping you critically evaluate your work.  This has been a huge component of what working scientists do....critiquing each other's findings until they stand strong in what conclusions can be made. 

It's the hardest part for 6th graders.  They only want to ask friends and family to critique their writing in hopes of avoiding the hard, uncomfortable growing questions.   I am concerned that the ability to personalize news pages, subscribe to particular news feeds or blogs, actually makes it easier for people to become more isolated. People connect with others across the world, but the only those who share the same interests or views.   What a fair question for not only the real-world scientists that Ms. Arduengo is working with but for all teachers who are trying to ask how to incorporate social media and networks into their classrooms.  There will be a surge of activity in this realm with the implementation of Common Core curriculum standards and the Next Generation Science Standards....all of which push the idea of connectedness and community.

I do believe these all wise issues to raise and consider.  1) What is the function of a community in giving support but also critique?  2)  How do we construct lesson design so students learn how to build networks from a wide-ranging set of perspectives?  3) How do we teach students that they've insulated themselves with "yes" people so they don't limit their growth?

Why Teachers Need to Take Ownership of Implementing the Common Core

How schools will go about implementing Common Core Standards is a huge topic within education  today.  Stephanie Hirsh has written an impassioned discussion of what will be required of our school communities in order to move forward.  It made me stop and think.

Teacher leaders will be critical to the successful implementation of Common Core Standards (CCS). Sounds like a no-brainer, but teacher leaders are most often the missing piece of education reform. Effective teamwork and sustainable implementation of such a large change depends on teachers leading the effort forward and co-designing professional development. 

I've been lucky to work with an amazing set of 22 NBCTs from North Carolina and Kentucky that who have spent the last six months piloting curriculum tools developed by the Math Design Collaborative (MDC) and the Literacy Design Collaboartive (LDC) at the Center for Teaching Quality.  It makes so much sense to capitalize on all the knowledge these teachers have gained from their working with the MDC and the LDC in a real classroom situation.

Alignment between states, districts, and teachers depends on teacher leaders. Even the Department of Education blog acknowledges that this implementation needs to be different: “Neither students nor teachers are served by a structure that treats some teachers like interchangeable cogs in a machine. We long to lead our own profession because when we drive our craft, we will see huge shifts in the responsibility, leadership, pay and respect.” 

As states begin to blend CCS with their own standards, district administration may be ready to move ahead without teacher input. They realize teachers have no choice in whether to implement. But the choice isn’t to implement or not to implement; the choice is in how to implement.  With a strong base of teacher leaders in place and leading the effort, other teachers will find inspiration and success.

Time and again, top-down implementation stalls as teachers fail to hear workable plans that reflect the realities of their classrooms. One must only look as far as the top-down force-feeding of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) to see how negative side effects may outweigh any benefits. Ask any teacher how she felt about the implementation of NCLB and you’re likely to get an earful about how things could and should have been done better.  

With the implementation of CSS, educators and administrators have a chance to find a better model for rolling out widespread change. According to the MetLife Survey of the American Teacher, more than 90 percent of teachers believe that other teachers contribute to their success.Teacher leaders can help build a climate that draws on their colleagues’ expertise and wisdom to improve the CSS implementation. Teacher-designed and teacher-defined professional development is the other critical element in aligning CCS.  

Critical to a successful launch of CSS in schools is establishing credibility for that change.  Teachers are often wary of anything they had no part in creating. This attitude is even more pronounced toward CSS, since the standards come from a political movement started by governors to “fix” education.
 
There is no force that is more adaptable, nimble, or capable of calling to action every one of the 3.2 million classroom teachers than genuine teacher leaders. These are leaders who work in classrooms every day. They have lived through NCLB and can apply the best and worst of that initiative. They have the respect of their peers, and can therefore call into action the legions of teachers who simply want to make tomorrow better for their 49.4 million students.

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