A for Ask and Analyze got me thinking about the questions we ask ourselves as we plan and reflect. This was an eye opener. I'm used to talking and thinking about the questions we ask our students, but reading some of Dave's sample questions made me realize that we need to start by asking ourselves high quality questions to stretch us out of our instructional comfort zone.
“The types of questions we ask ourselves determine the types of answers that we receive… The quality of your questions determines the quality of your answers, and the type of question determines the type of ideas your brain will receive and conceive.” (p.34)
Dave's questions had my head spinning. As a mentor to beginning teachers, I'm always asking reflective questions. What went well? What would you do differently next time? Dave's questions below made me realize that my questions need a serious reboot! More importantly, I need to support teachers as they ask these types of questions of themselves.
“Where is the best place on campus to deliver this lesson?”
“What could I write on my board for this lesson that would spark a conversation or create a buzz even before the bell rings?” (p.35)
“How can I make this lesson outrageously entertaining, engaging, and powerful so that my students will never forget it and will be desperate to come back for more?” (p.43)
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The 6 Words. I don't want to spoil Dave's story by summarizing it here, but this was powerful for me. My own best teachers made teaching look easy, and I must admit that I thought creativity was something my favorite teachers had been "gifted." Total wake up call and mind shift after reading Dave's words!
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I appreciate that Dave discusses designing a system to capture ideas. I have started using my phone to take photos of ideas, and I also have a notebook next to me as I'm reading your book club comments! Your sharing has been triggering so many new ideas for me. I've lost so many ideas in the car and am thinking through ways to capture these.
This is one of my favorite quotes from this week's reading:
“If you haven’t failed in the classroom lately, you aren’t pushing the envelope far enough: “safe” lessons are a recipe for mediocrity at best.” (p. 48)
Yes, yes, yes!
T is for Transformation
Every summer, while planning for the next school year, I'd write out my teaching philosophy to share with my students and their families. While this was valuable, I really loved Dave's twist on this by writing an account of what his class was like from a student's perspective. That shift really helps keep the student in mind and challenges the teacher to be specific about what they want their students to think, feel, and experience in their class.
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I really appreciated Dave's 2 questions for raising the bar, and I know that they are ones that I will absolutely be asking myself (and the teachers I work with) this year:
- If your students didn’t have to be there, would you be teaching in an empty room?
- Do you have any lessons you could sell tickets for?
Question 1 was tough. I know that there were times where if they could have, my students would have walked out on me. Truth is, I remember some of those times vividly, because as a teacher, I could feel the energy just get sucked out of the room. Moments would pass and I would start getting sweaty and desperate and panicky. Those moments, although tough, drove me to ensure that I kept growing as a teacher. I wanted to be able to look my students in the eyes every morning as they walked into class feeling that they we both were excited to be there; that being there and doing our best was actually our choice rather than an obligation.
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Dave talks about positioning the content we teach as if it's amazing. We need to give our students motivating reasons why the material is important to know. I always talk about making sure the objective of the lesson is clear and relevant to the students, but I need to work on ensuring that students find it motivating as well.
“Our job is to create a mental paradigm shift by reframing the content and its value and relevancy to their lives.” (p. 62)
I feel like as a parent of a 3 and 6 year old, I'm positioning and reframing all the time. When we're in the airplane and hit turbulence, I tell them that we're dancing on the clouds. And they believe it. They laugh and look out the window instead of grip my hand in fear. We need to know our kids and understand what motivates them in order to position and reframe effectively.
E for Enthusiasm
I've visited a lot of classrooms, and there is nothing more exciting than being in a classroom with a truly enthusiastic teacher. A teacher's energy is electric and tangible, and sparks the best kinds of fires in students.
In this chapter, Dave talks about being committed to being “on” and the “act as if” principle (fake it!). Teachers are human. We're not going to be passionate about everything that we teach, but we can still be enthusiastic about it. After reflecting, I think I was sometimes most enthusiastic when teaching the content that I was least passionate about. I never wanted to pass along my insecurities and uncertainties about a topic to my students. And Dave's right. If you fake it hard enough, it starts to become real. I really disliked gardening (my entire life) for many reasons (I didn't like being dirty, hot, and I killed every plant I tried growing...!). I decided one year that our life science unit needed a makeover and wrote a grant for my students to investigate and grow plants in a traditional garden, hydroponics, and aquaponics systems they helped design. I knew the learning could be transformative for the students, yet even when we got the grant, I was faking my enthusiasm for the project for the first few months. I dreaded our garden time (especially on hot days!), yet faked excitement. My kids loved the semester long project, and as families started getting involved and I started to see success, my enthusiasm became genuine. That semester of gardening ended up being one of the most powerful teaching and learning experiences I've had.
“When you find yourself in a state that feels less than resourceful, either change your physiology and begin moving in a more powerful and resourceful way, or change the focus of your attention.” (p. 71)
“It doesn’t particularly matter what the subject is; our mission is to teach in such a way that who we are as human beings has a more powerful and lasting effect on students than what we say.” (p. 71)
Add your photos/links/voice on the Padlet below! You can also go HERE for the full screen padlet.
WEEK 3 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Q2. Share a lesson that you could “sell tickets for,” or a lesson that you’ve experienced that you would have paid admission for. Include photos on our Padlet if possible!
Q3. How have you used either positioning or reframing in your teaching?
Q4. Tell us about a lesson or PD you're planning that you want to reframe or "PIRATE Up."
Q5. Enthusiasm rubs off on everyone around us. How do you show and spread enthusiasm to your students? Your colleagues? Your parents and community members?