We live in a culture that is so driven by instantaneous results or responses that waiting for a fraction of a second longer than a blink of an eye is too long. When you text someone, if they don't reply in a minute or two, SOMETHING MUST HAVE HAPPENED. When you place an order on Amazon, if it cannot arrive three minutes ago, THIS IS A NIGHTMARE. When you have a structured settlement and you need cash now, CALL J.G. WENTWORTH.
Let's consider weight loss or a fitness goal. When we have routines to try and watch our weight or be healthier, the small growths don't always feel significant, especially if the way we measure the progress measures pounds and not ounces, minutes and not seconds, miles and not feet. Having one goal maintains focus and we can determine the small actions that add up over time. It's really how we expect our students to act, right? We tell them to keep practicing skills and slowly but surely, they will make improvements, have light bulb moments, and get the confidence to aim for a bigger goal! Why don't we do the same in society? Working on my four disciplines of execution and coming up with a wildly important goal requires thinking about lead versus lag measures, what is actually measurable, and dedicating the time to follow through with accountability towards achieving this wildly important goal. Slow and steady will have to win the race in an instant world. Something I have learned through my role as a student and an educator in the education system is the word "yet" does not mean that I am on the cusp of a dramatic change or extreme growth in a short period of time but rather an opportunity to grow in almost a miniscule way in the moment, but those moments add up.
References
Wentworth, J. G. (2019, January 29). J.G. Wentworth | Opera Bus 2019 | :60. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkORcziEx6g
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I am still working on feedback though and my response to it. I accept all constructive feedback and prefer when people have suggestions or recommendations on how to proceed forward. Even prompting my thinking with questions helps. Typically though, others believe I am mad at them because I get upset, then the reality is I am upset with myself for not thinking of the ideas sooner.
This can be the same for our students. When a student has devoted a lot of time and energy from their perspective into solving a problem or completing a task, and then they get feedback on how to improve and adjust, their response is a reflection or deflection. When they reflect and understand intrinsically that it helps them learn and grow, the response comes out in a positive manner. When they deflect and the response comes out negatively, I am not sure it is because a student does not care, but they are building up a wall for some reason. Reflecting is uncomfortable, realizing that we could have been better in the past "if only we had done this before" is humbling, but our response to the feedback and having a growth mindset in which to receive and accept it makes it less uncomfortable. I tell students I ask they show their work so I can see their thinking... and then I add that usually if a student gets the wrong answer, it's not because they don't understand anything. It's because they maybe made an error in one small step. When we can identify those small places to improve, then it doesn't seem so daunting. This came from my 7th grade math teacher Mr. Fishpaw. He helped me realize that my errors came with switching positive and negative symbols every so often. Once I knew where my common mistake was, I could focus on that aspect and the rest would fall into place. Do I still make this mistake? Yes! Do I check over my work and take my time to check that I didn't make this common mistake of mine? Yes! Students often see wrong answers as complete failure but really it's small adjustments. When you are telling them what they did right, it removes that failure feeling and turns to small growth that adds up to big results. We should be intentional about leading students to this realization too... the destination always seems to be the emphasis, but really the journey is where we create lasting memories that impact our future. We get into a fixed mindset because we don't want to take risks... risk getting hurt, looking stupid, being judged negatively, etc. When others mess up, how often do we jump to give our "solutions" and think negatively? How awful does it feel when we are on the receiving end of this? There is not much more impactful than someone having grace when we mess up and acknowledge our human nature but then give us an opportunity to learn and grow. I say opportunity, because it is then up to us to seize it and produce the fruit of growth. Finding faith in feedback brings about belief in oneself to learn, grow, and improve every day. With the chaos that is the beginning of the school year, a new semester with my master's program, and everything else, my family has been going through some trials. My husband's grandmother, Poo Poo, has had a pretty big health scare in California. So significant, that my mother-in-law flew out to see her and my father-in-law followed a few days later after Scott and I picked up his brother, Jeffrey. Jeff has severe Down syndrome. He communicates with grunts, limited single syllable words such as yes and no, and his own sign language. While he does have some limitations, he is very intelligent. When I first met Jeff, he was the first person with special needs I had really interacted with, and the best advice I was given was to treat him like he is normal. Jeff and I have a very interesting relationship because of this advice. He has opportunities to be mentally enriched here and there, but his days often include endless YouTube videos of Barney and the Wiggles with meals mixed in. His autistic nature causes him to fixate on specific video clips and sounds within them, so he has ownership and choice over those aspects, navigating through the various channels at his own pace. This goes with what I am learning about applying digital learning in my classroom. Being VOCAL is something we should strive for in the classroom and I realized with Jeffrey being here, I also try to provide him other opportunities to have voice, ownership, and choice. The authentic learning for Jeff comes from doing the ordinary things most people do every day. Now, Jeff LOVES pizza. The first time I "Jeff-sat" when all of the family was out, I basically bribed my way into Jeff's heart the way the cliche goes for any man, through his stomach. He likes to constantly ask me for pizza with sign language and I like to try and sneak some vegetables into his diet. When we have pizza, building the pizza is part of our process. He consistently chooses to overload with pepperoni but the other veggies are placed as his own pace, wherever he chooses. When he is done, he will vocalize that. As the pizza is baking, we also make a salad. He had a number of choices but decided to stick with carrots, cucumbers, and tortilla chip strips. There was not any pressure to pick the others but he knew he had to choose something at whatever degree he wanted. This relates to my classroom because having voice, ownership, and choice in an authentic learning environment is inclusive. I choose to follow a vegan and gluten free diet, so my pizza was completely different than Jeff and Scott's pizza. My salad included a lot more vegetables and Scott chose to take what toppings were left. Even the order in which we ate our meals varied: I ate my salad, then the pizza. Scott ate his pizza, then the salad. Jeffrey picked off the veggies and pepperonis first, taking bites of salad in between. Being VOCAL is inclusive for all learners and in all contexts. We should look for more opportunities to embrace learning in different ways and on our terms. School only started two weeks ago, but I can already see how these six sources of influence are the key to really big picture growth. In this post, I want to focus on influence amongst my peers, rather than the influence I have on students.
Sometimes educators are described as "being stuck in their ways", but my team and I have already changed things up in our content structure, sequence, and pacing in the interest of reaching more students. We reflected and analyzed the past data, recognizing that some things worked okay, but others could work even more effectively. I foresee the biggest impact from the six sources of influence is social ability. My district is using a new learning management system, Canvas, and the math department has switched to using the Desmos calculator over TI-84s. I could go on for days about how much better Desmos is over a physical calculator, but what has really made the difference is when other teachers see the direct impact in their classrooms. Yes, there is a learning curve, but it's so much more intuitive than a TI-84 and more accessible for sure. Not only that, with the PSAT going online this fall and the SAT going online this spring, students consistently and intentionally practicing with the new tool is critical because these standardized tests open the opportunity for students to choose to go to college. Also, not only is the graphing calculator powerful, doing Desmos activities allows for exploring and quick checks for understanding and engages in 21st Century Skills through Experiences. This requires everyone to learn new technology components and not just for the sake of technology, but how to use the technology to facilitate meaningful learning opportunities for students. Having strength in numbers allows for those weary of these changes to see examples of what peers are trying and how they are adapting them after getting feedback from implementing these resources in the classroom. Starting there and expanding out to the social motivation and peer pressure, towards personal and then finally structural, is where my brain sees the most effective path. In fact, now the science department at my campus is trying Desmos!!! With more people trying new things and then feeling more confident in their ability, there's more change! Amongst my graduate classmates, social ability and motivation are commonly identified as the biggest impact - getting peer pressure involved and having power in numbers. What I fear will happen though is as the year progresses and we get more exhausted in all aspects, we will revert back to what we've done because it's easier and less time consuming. When things get tough, we follow our past habits because they require less mental energy. Right now, my "balls to the wall or not at all" motto is leaning towards "not at all" because it feels very overwhelming to have to consider all six sources of influence. What I have decided is that social ability can be enough for now and start to incorporate other sources of influence along the way. Reflecting requires an analysis of oneself and holding ourselves accountable for our actions. These actions come from our beliefs. Self-questioning is not about full self-doubt and inadequacy. It is truly about knowing we did alright for now, but what more could we accomplish? Reading about growth mindsets and learning, I found Dr. Jackie Gerstein and an infographic she created for her college students. As a professional, I plan on starting to consider the answers to these questions as I navigate the school year as a colleague, a leader within the content team, a leader within the department, and a facilitator at the district level. If I answer "yes", I will move to the next question, and continue through until I hit a "no". Reflecting and asking myself why I am saying no will be critical at progressing forward next time. After being intentional about engaging with these questions and reflecting on the no's, I am considering tracking my progress and identifying which scenarios do I find myself stuck and on which question. Then, collaborate with peers and mentors about what I could do for the future. As a teacher, I wonder what these questions would look like for my high school students. What about for middle school or elementary students? What about for parents or guardians? Even now as I ask questions, I am engaging in reflection through self-questioning. It is up to me to finding the answers or seeking the support to walk along side me and discover them together. References Gerstein, J. (2015, September 4). Is “Have a Growth Mindset” the New “Just Say No.” User Generated Education. https://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/2015/09/04/is-have-a-growth-mindset-the-new-just-say-no/
Something I have learned through my role as a student (The Yet In Me - My Mindset Experience as a Student) and an educator in the education system is the word "yet" does not mean that I am on the cusp of a dramatic change or extreme growth in a short period of time but rather an opportunity to grow in almost a miniscule way in the moment, but those moments add up. I am still working on feedback though and my response to it. I accept all constructive feedback and prefer when people have suggestions or recommendations on how to proceed forward. Even prompting my thinking with questions helps. Typically though, others believe I am mad at them because I get upset, then the reality is I am upset with myself for not thinking of the ideas sooner.
This can be the same for our students. When a student has devoted a lot of time and energy from their perspective into solving a problem or completing a task, and then they get feedback on how to improve and adjust, their response is a reflection or deflection. When they reflect and understand intrinsically that it helps them learn and grow, the response comes out in a positive manner. When they deflect and the response comes out negatively, I am not sure it is because a student does not care, but they are building up a wall for some reason. Reflecting is uncomfortable. Realizing that we could have been better in the past "if only we had done this before" is humbling. Our response to the feedback and having a growth mindset in which to receive and accept it makes it less uncomfortable. The destination always seems to be the emphasis. The final grade, the diploma, the big promotion, all of these things are what we openly celebrate and praise. What if we focus more on the journey? Consider the space program and all of the failures that led up to the success. Neil Armstrong stepping onto the moon literally defined it as "one small step of a man" because that's actually all it was. The "one giant leap for mankind" encompasses all of the events that brought them to that moment. Through trial and error, through meticulous research and development, they learned when failures happened and how to adapt their understanding to build a rocket that takes people out of this world and onto the next. You could even consider Elon Musk and all that he is involved in with SpaceX. He can be viewed as genius or lunatic, but if we consider the great innovators of humanity, wouldn't we possibly classify them as either of those labels? They are ones who decided to ignore people limiting them and just try new things to see what happens. When the failure struck, the negative criticism did not stop them but rather encouraged them to try something else. We should consider the impact The Yet Mindset has as one small step for a student, one giant leap for education and the world. Let's get out of the world we are in and look towards the future.
References
NASA Video. (2013). One Small Step, One Giant Leap. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSdHina-fTk
When looking at Bloom's Taxonomy, there's an intense focus in education on the cognitive domain. Did you know there are others?
Never in my wildest dreams would I find more information from, of all places, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Who would have thought, the Center of Disease Control has trainings on how to professionally develop adults! Understanding there is an affective domain in learning means if you really want to teach someone about something, you need to consider how they feel and their emotions. Feeding someone facts and only facts is not effective. Consider this: you can know you are smart but feel dumb. You can know you are beautiful but feel ugly. You can know you are valuable but feel worthless. Just because you know something to be true doesn't necessarily change how you feel 100% of the time, and how you feel usually dominates. My district has a great course on Brain States and Their Role in Behavior and it's where I first started to hear that it requires the highest executive function to think rationally and learn, especially when the emotional brain is in charge, but we can engage with the emotion to push someone into the cognitive state. Facts have to come with a match of the heart and the feeling behind it. This might be the reasoning for student's approach and mindsets to math. If a student is excited about learning a concept, they will take note of the facts behind the reasoning. If they are bored or do not know how it can truly deeply connect to something they are passionate about, they will consider math class a waste of time. Maybe targeting the mind is a recursive cycle... it is what others have done to try and convince us, so shouldn't we apply that to them? Oh this person gave me facts, I will give them facts... and they then give more facts because it's the same cycle from their perspective! It's about time we break this cycle, because we know there is the affective domain! Have you ever had someone say "I don't know how you do it" when you discuss your role? What if when we get this question, we share our why. It reminds me of the differences between elementary, middle, and high school teachers. I tell my sister-in-law all the time "I don't know how you do it" but I know her why as a PreK special education teacher. The same is true for my brother, who teaches high school agriculture classes. I don't understand how but I definitely know why. Our students and colleagues can sense whether or not we have a why and establishing and sharing our why (why not now?) will infuse the world around us with a sense of calling, purpose, and passion and encourage others to do the same. I hope as the new year starts, we need to consider how there is more than the cognitive domain in education. Building relationships with students, having empathy to their life experiences, and sharing our why so that they can learn takes root in the affective domain.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018, March 28). PD201 - Domains of Learning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-ZEcFaqcoE&t=168s
My Why: The Purpose
Everyone deserves access to opportunities that nurture the deeply intrinsic human desire to make the most out of life by learning and growing daily through experiences as individuals in a global community.
My How: The Process
Supporting students to become the better people they desire to be by pouring into them the love, encouragement, support, and feedback that has been poured into me comes from teaching 21st century skills in a blended learning environment through the lens of mathematics.
My What: The Result
Students will learn connections between mathematics and the characteristics that set them apart to be positive contributing adult members of society with more opportunities to continue learning and growing in college, career, and/or military.
Education and learning has been my safe space for as long as I can remember. While my parents provided me the foundation for Maslow's Pyramid of Needs, including the physiological and safety needs, it was through my friends and teachers in school that I progressed towards self-actualization from belongingness, love needs, and esteem needs (The School of Life, 2019). I have had the deficiency needs met almost daily and the growth needs fulfilled almost daily as well in some capacity (Hierarchy of Needs, n.d.). I also recognize that I come from privilege and I have been called to use my privilege to provide others opportunity to move from the deficiency needs to growth needs. For most teachers, we get a group of students for only one academic school year while they sit in our classrooms as students on an official roster. We also recognize that our students become a part of our hearts forever, even after they leave for the summer, graduate from high school, and move into adult life as a college student, career person, or military personnel. Because we are invested in their livelihoods as well as academic content, we cannot just spend time focusing only on the subject knowledge. Students who buy into your classroom are the ones who know why we do what we do - we care about their well-being and their future. Our actions of what and how we operate in our classrooms, lessons, and interactions are rooted in this belief in them. We urgently need to meet students where they are at in their hearts first to create deep, meaningful impact on their lives because they deserve the opportunity for someone to invest in them and this very well may be the only chance. We cannot assume students have this in their lives yet through parents, coaches, or other teachers. We could literally be the teacher in their life that they reflect back on and see a monumental shift in their future. We can know that students need this but feel like it is too much work. It is just like, you can know you are smart but feel dumb. You can know you are beautiful but feel ugly. You can know you are valuable but feel worthless. Just because I know something to be true doesn't necessarily change how I feel 100% of the time. This reconciliation of heart versus mind is something I personally struggle with in certain capacities in my life, but part of my personal decision and intrinsic motivation in moving towards change is that I have been able to convince my heart and rely on my past experiences to acknowledge the disconnect between logic and feeling and keep moving towards a goal. It makes me consider all the times when I have tried to build relationships with challenging students. Daily battles, feeling like I did not matter to that child and nothing I could do would change that, did not stop me from continuing to try because I knew that at some point, whether in my classroom or not, they would have an opportunity to reflect back and know that I cared deeply about them as a student and a person. I know this to be true because I have had a student or two who would, at the end of the year, express their appreciation for my role in their education and life. In contrast, there are students who have also expressed their elation for never having to step foot in my class again... but those moments of clarity and reflection from the positive provide me memories and reminders that even when the head doesn't agree with the heart, keep moving until they do. Rather than asking why, we should ask why not now? Tomorrow may be too late and yesterday did not have this opportunity. Today is it.
References
Cassie . (2021, December 21). 23 Inspirational Quotes for Teachers to Lift You Up When You’re Down. Teach Starter. https://www.teachstarter.com/us/blog/10-inspirational-quotes-teachers-us/
Hierarchy of Needs. (n.d.). Www.wichita.edu. https://www.wichita.edu/services/mrc/OIR/Pedagogy/Theories/maslow.php#:~:text=Maslow The School of Life. (2019). Why Maslow’s Hierarchy Of Needs Matters. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0PKWTta7lU Jr, M. (2017). Know Your Why | Michael Jr. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ytFB8TrkTo
Okay, I have my perspectives on fixed versus growth mindset (The Yet in Me - My Mindset Experience as a Student, The Yet Mindset). As I type this in the middle of a planning day before students enter the building, I was trying to find an analogy, metaphor, perspective on where I feel myself and my colleagues in my content team, department team, and campus team are.
For those growing... we start as larvae right? There are so many varieties... some are fuzzy or slimy, poisonous or harmless, brightly colored or monochromatic, thin or thick, short or long, the list goes on. When we encase ourselves with the different surroundings, there are magical results or mundane, underwhelming outcomes. Which do you want to be? A beautiful butterfly, an annoying moth, or a loud obnoxious cicada? How big do you want your wings to be? How do these changes impact others around you? I personally want to be a butterfly with wings that bring joy, fluttering in other stunning surroundings of flowers and the wide world ahead of me. Sure, my wings may be small, but I can also find those around me to support me and bring me up.
References
ChikenWinner. (2007). A Bug’s Life - Beautiful Butterfly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=755f0iUuJY0
Each year in education brings a new chance to invite the excitement and wonders of the first year teaching with the experience and knowledge of all the years after. New schools, new colleagues, new administration, new subject areas, new students, new opportunities. The school year is about to start back up and as my eleventh year in the classroom begins, I start by unpacking my room, putting everything in its place, and recreating my desk space. This zone is my comfortable blanket of encouragement and passion, where I can pour my heart into my students through my work outside of class as well as get reminders of why I do what I do. These heavenly nudges come in many forms: a sticky note from a teammate, an inspirational quote from a daily calendar, holiday cards from students, to name a few. In the beginning, it is usually pretty bare but as I get little sparkles of joy, I add them to my physical space so my heart can continue to be filled. There are a few constants though, and one of them is my personal point-of-view I had to write when I first applied to be a teacher for the 2012-2013 school year. The prompt reads "In your own handwriting, describe what you as a person will bring to teaching. Explain how that will support your development as a teacher throughout your first year teaching." My response? "I will bring a fresh perspective to teaching mathematics through my ability to explain topics from different view points. I will also provide an exceptional sense of patience and determination to help my students inside and outside the classroom. … Respect will be created through the perseverance I have and students will give that to a teacher who is willing to work with them and help them no matter what the circumstances might be." Every year up to this point, it seems as though I have accomplished this perspective to an extent. I initially wrote "teaching high school mathematics" because that is where Teach For America (TFA) projected I would be placed in... but obtaining a middle school teaching position did not change my point-of-view. Having first taught sixth grade science, not only was I instructing students to making connections between concepts like atoms and molecules, the rock cycle, thermodynamics, and the solar system and space, I created an inviting classroom the children could safely learn the academics and all the other components of adolescence... cooties become hormones, people. My patience was tested most days, but another artifact I have posted in my room every year is from the parents of a student I had. This student has Down syndrome and she was placed in my general education with an Individualized Education Program, including major modifications. For any teacher, differentiation can be challenging, but a first year teacher surrounded by a dozen other first year teachers (our campus had a majority TFA presence), it seemed like an impossible task that my colleagues also had never experienced. Constant communication, as well as many parent/teacher/administration meetings about proper placement after observing her overwhelming frustration through a smile and tears, I felt like a failure. At the end of the school year, I got a copy of a letter with a note from my principal written at the top... These two papers find their way to my desk space every year because they epitomize my first year teaching and remind me that I have made a difference and I still can. With this year being year eleven, I have made a conscious decision to continue to share and adapt my point-of-view, still embracing the essence of first year Ashley by Teaching 21st Century Skills in a Blended Learning Environment. The teacher nightmares have started because of my subconscious fear of having an out of control classroom where students are not learning and I am not making an impact. Despite these sleepless nights, I keep moving forward down the path I know I am destined to stay on right now. If I had to sum up my experience in my educational calling so far, it really is the quote on my Home page. I first saw it on a PostSecret postcard so long ago I can't find the original postcard image anymore. It's not about me saving the world when I wrote about Masters in Educations Means Changing the World... it is must more profound. This year, I plan on living this mantra a little more boldly so that first year teacher me can continue to live her truth and positively impact lives with the help of my current experience and support. References Frank Warren Quote: “Be wise enough not to be reckless, but brave enough to take great risks.” (n.d.). https://quotefancy.com/quote/42301/Frank-Warren-Be-wise-enough-not-to-be-reckless-but-brave-enough-to-take-great-risks
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My husband lovingly teases me when I reflect on my day with him and say "I learned something new today!" because he would be surprised if I didn't learn something new.
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