As the semester comes to a close, I have said "we all need a break" too many times to count. What should be a joyful time of year turns into a miserable one, ready to just be done and move on.
Lately, I have been in a funk because my classroom has turned into one I despise, full of rote-memorization and regurgitation of step-by-step procedures. I do not want to build robots, I want to build thinkers, and I am not teaching just math, there should be more. When travelling down the rabbit hole of reading online, I stumbled upon an Edutopia article, 9 Brain Breaks That Teens Will Love and some reasonable ways to incorporate breaks daily. This article connected to an article written by Paige Tutt, 17 Brain Breaks Tailored for High Schoolers. Here were a few I loved.
I hope these brain breaks will bring some joy back into the classroom but also some 21st century skills, like communication, collaboration, and creativity. We all need a break once in a while from the routine of school, but why can't we take a break and still be learning and growing together?
References
9 brain breaks teens will love. (2023, November 9). Www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBjMEVbnZ4E&t=166s
9 brain breaks that teens will love. (2023, November 9). Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/video/9-brain-breaks-teens-will-love-middle-high-school Tutt, P. (2023, September 1). 17 brain breaks tailored for high schoolers. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/17-brain-breaks-tailored-for-high-schoolers/
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What is fantastic about my collaborative group is that not only do we influence our social ability, we delegate our time and conversations between the courses we are taking together. While there are a lot of similarities between how we approached our course on Leading Organization Changes to the Growth Mindset course, there were also distinct differences. These differences can be categorized into leading, organizing, and changing, just like the class covers and they apply to my individual approach as well. Leading Leading for me is not necessarily attached to an official title, but rather being the example or role model for others to see, hear, and act like to be better themselves. Being actively engaged in the weekly class meetings as well as in the discussion boards were some ways I led, but something I know I can improve upon though is my timing and being proactive in completing readings, reflections, and posts in case of setbacks. This term's setback was getting the flu. Could I have foreseen the illness? No, but I could have not procrastinated to the point where I needed to ask for an extension on my Big Picture Growth. If I had been intentional about spacing out my work and not relying on being able to complete it in a short amount of time, it is likely I would have been fine. Even after my submissions, I would go back and adjust components based on my new learning and perspective.
Organizing What felt like the most intense reading expectations so far in our master's program, we identified that splitting the work and becoming mini-experts in a section was best. We agreed that everyone would be expected to read the introductory and concluding chapters, otherwise the reading was divided amongst us by chapters or topics and we would summarize we have read in a shared document. Choices were made based on our innovation plans and education roles. A screenshot of our Influencer book notes. A screenshot of our 4 Disciplines of Execution book notes.
We also looked to include examples we found in past student work, articles, or other professional blog posts that included the fundamentals of the four disciplines of execution or explaining the why. It did not hurt either that Hillary's husband found a great summarization of 4 Disciplines of Execution and that Amanda reads Crucial Conversations every year (I think she has some fancy certification as a trainer for it). Even if I did not always participate in the discussion boards during the appropriate weeks, that did not prohibit me from reading what others shared to start formulating my own connections and ideas. This also led me into a routine of revisiting assignments or blog posts to integrate my new learning and connections from other's viewpoints or ePortfolios. Changing A lot of changing happened during this class too. There were times when the readings, assignments, videos, and discussions were deprioritized. Even now, when writing this, I am fully aware there is a discussion board I have not posted to... yet... but my self-responsible nature will nudge me to getting it done. I sometimes become figuratively paralyzed due in large part to the juggling act of all of my professional and personal roles especially in the midst of a NOW culture. Reflecting my journey from where I have left to where I am headed, including my mental health journey, helps me remember that we exist in a gray world and depending upon the day and circumstances, we could be anywhere in that spectrum of gray. It changes every day. Ultimately, the course on leading organization change incorporated each word: changing in the form of Big Picture Growth, leading and organizing in the form of Big Picture Goals. We often let life and the whirlwind can take over but once the storm clears and the rainbow comes, we can keep moving forward together. While I was never at 100%, I would give myself a 93/100 to my contributions to learning in my Leading Organization Change course. If I keep leading, organizing, and changing, it will only get better. References Covey, S., McChesney, C., & Huling, J. (2018). 4 Disciplines Of Execution. Simon & Schuster Ltd.
Grenny, J. (2013). Influencer : The new science of leading change. Mcgraw-Hill Education.
Stumbling upon a Reddit post about New York City and the reputation of being rude, someone clearly articulated why there are people who agree with this stereotype and others simply don't see it. The response was about ask culture versus guess culture. The moment of new perspective and clarity hit me so hard that I have to share it and connect it to my classroom. The following video is a great explanation of the two different cultures.
Personally, I lean more towards ask. Being direct with me eliminates any ambiguity of what you might actually mean and it is not my fault that you did not clearly articulate your needs or desires. The superpower of mindreading is one of the last things I would want, especially if I don't need it when you can just tell me what's on your mind if you feel comfortable to do so. Being direct can also mean actually telling me you aren't comfortable to share. Around certain people, I become a guess because it's my attempt to mirror their style and not be offensive. Now, when in my classroom, I have to consider how my students live with these different perspectives and how our interactions are a result of these cultures. Naturally, like-minded people tend to get along well with each other. It's when an ask person and a guess person start to communicate that trouble could happen. Every year, I start the school year off by sharing with students The Yet Mindset but this has me thinking there could be more this or that perspectives worth exploring and sharing, starting with Ask or Guess. Being aware of your own perspective, other perspectives, and how all of them come across to others really opens up better communication and collaboration between students, building a positive classroom culture. Initially, I thought about simply fostering an ask culture in my classroom because that's what I am comfortable with. We tend to follow confirmation bias, especially as we grow older, so rather than restrict students for my benefit (I am literally rolling my eyes with how selfish I sound by saying that) , embracing both viewpoints is another opportunity to incorporate 21st century skills: communication, collaboration, metacognition, and reflection. We can start Teaching 21st Century Skills in a Blended Learning Environment and really building the whole student while also learning and growing ourselves.
References
Therapy in a Nutshell. (2022). Are You Ask Culture or Guess Culture? This Communication Skill Is Life-Changing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OXlZUfbsPI
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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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