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Taking it Home with Self-Directed Learning by Bob Sprankle

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I love it when this happens: when learning goes home, never having been assigned by the teacher, but taken up by the student.

It happened a bunch this week, so I'm smiling hard and telling the tale in 3 acts:

Act 1: The scene is 2nd graders who are learning how to change the font in their "Peace Cards to the World" that they're making in the tried and true application, KidPix. One girl comes across the font called, "Alex" and pretty soon students are asking, "Who's Alex?" I explain that this is the name of the font and that it was probably named after the person who made it (Alex). The girl who discovered the font lights up and says, "Cool! That would be cool to make your own font." Moments later, we are downloading the template to make your own font from FontCapture.com and I'm showing her how she can in fact create her very own font. She asks me if she can take the template home, and I say sure. The next day, she has created three beautiful fonts on the templates, has named them ("Peace," "Cactus," and "The Squirrel") and brings them to me. I scan them in, upload them to the site, and voila! she has her own fonts.

Now most of her class is taking home the font template and are bringing back font after font after font. My scanner is busy and happy, and this class has become font designers all on their own: it was never a part of my curriculum.

Act 2: It's a lesson working with photo images with 4th graders at the site Pixlr.com, which is a free web-based graphics program that does many things that the very expensive Photoshop can do. Students are working with the photos that they recently took in Art and are literally jumping out of their seats when they discover something new that completely transforms their photos into amazing works of art. At the end of the lesson, student after student actually thanks me for the lesson.

Then half the class goes home and fires up Pixlr.com on their own and continues creating art. They can't wait to tell me about it when I see them next.

Act 3: I'm watching 3rd and 4th graders "knock it out of the park" with their Poetry Blog they're working on: their poems are amazing, but so are the in-depth comments that they leave for each others' work. They don't just say that they like a poem. They are following through with our lesson of "What Makes a Good Comment" and telling why they like the poem, asking the poets questions about their inspiration, and starting threaded conversations with each other.

One student goes home and shows her mother the blog, teaches her how to log in and how to leave a meaningful comment. The mother joins in and leaves her daughter and another student comments on their work. The girl is overjoyed when she reads this the next day.

Now other students want their parents to join in. Neither their teachers nor I have even sent a letter home to orchestrate this.

It's happening all by itself.

The show continues... without the teacher as director.

Posted by Bob Sprankle at 12/10/2009 05:11:28 AM |

Nov 09

I missed October and this is almost the end of November!! Phew! We MUST be having fun! Time is FLYING!!

Just spent yesterday (Nov 23, 09) in a meeting with all the other Hoover Enrichment teachers, sharing our various robotics resources. It was fantastic! Then...at lunch we talked and talked and talked to a group of teachers from Hoover High, Spain Park, & Simmons connected with the Engineering Academies. We talked about how we can all work together; through peer helpers, perhaps on Skype, which is so near and dear to my heart (being the topic of my EdS paper!!). Joy!

THEN, we had another guest, Scott Ferguson (tech-guy, late of the Rick & Bubba show) who brought his Lego 'bot (named Robbie) who solved a Rubik's Cube!!

Then we played with Scratch & Alice programming (both free, BTW), Blabberize.com, NumberTwins (from Coolgames.com), and FreeRice.com. We were in Traci Ingleright's classroom/science lab at Gwin - about the only spot that would hold all of us. We ate ALL day, and with ALL of the excitement, I had to come home and take a nap!

The students are working diligently on a number of things -

*What are MY Talents? - Looking at how THEY learn, interact, what are their strengths, are they good at flexibility, fluency, forecasting, considering all the factors, what are the rules?, etc. etc.

*They are keeping a journal entry weekly on how they can/are/should become a self-directed learner, one of my goals for them.

*I always throw in problem solving (usually math problems) as an "Early Bird" (something to work on until everyone gets there/gets settled) whether they "LIKE" math or not (they WILL!).

*The students have all (beware of saying "all") chosen logos and code names, several have put themselves in blabberize and they are on the Podcasts, vodcasts, wiki's and blogs page in this wiki.

*Most of my students have also signed up for our "social networking" blog pages on Edmodo.com, including those in the AltaMath team, the Celebrate Science bunch, and the GEMS (Girls engaged in Math & Science)(but it's not a HAVE TO JOIN thing). Each class is a separate group - like my 4th graders on Thursday aren't mixed in with the 4th graders on Monday but both classes are connected in the Talent Pool group. Other people (including parents, siblings, anyone not invited) cannot access these groups. However, the students can text back and forth to each other (to each other's group/not individually), they can text me and I can text them. I've put a few math problems out there, suggested several mind-exzercising web sites and am playing it by ear (or eye, as the case may be). I'm not very happy with the amount of "zup?" "nothing, I'm bored" conversations. But we've only had this for a week and a half.

*AND, the COOLEST part of all, is that some of my students have begun fleshing out their MESS that they will work on. The assignment (due the week of Nov. 9) was to be thinking about, and, YES, they knew about this since our second class meeting, discussing an idea for a mess that they would like to attack. Not the kind of mess in their rooms but something that they can go outside of themselves for the greater good. So far, I have a group creating greeting cards for shut-ins (& trying to figure out ways to raise money for the supplies since Mrs. Mac is getting ready to cut them off), another group who is creating a portfolio of bulletin boards and (pro bono) marketing them to teachers, a group researching how they can alleviate some cruelty to animals, a team is creating teaching videos for Mrs. Rich and myself to teach other students to run the computers in the broadcast room.

Several groups are still more into "how can we raise money" than what they will actually do with it. We have talked about their responsibility with the money and that they may ask for parental donations but must keep track of that money/what they spend on supplies and pay it back before any profits are given away. Money raised - donations to be paid back = profit to go to charity.

One absolutely fascinating "mess" some 5th graders are attempting to tackle is researching what they can do to get the ball rolling on planning and building a rapid transit/subway in the Birmingham area. Where can they find out what has already been proposed? Who do they need to talk to, convince, lobby? If you know of anyone who could be instrumental in helping these far-sighed young people, please let me know. I know a city planner for B'ham and they'll contact him next week... but this is HUGE! I'll keep you abreast of what's happening!!

*Of course, there's always room for Origami, PopUps, and Automata - Automata are those wonderful whirly-gig-type contraptions where you turn the crank and the wings on the bird flap or something like that. Well, I bought several from www.robives.com and some students are making automata out of paper. This activity teaches PATIENCE, precision (in cutting, scoring, folding, gluing) and how gears, pistons, and all manner of machinery work - by building it! I also appreciate anything that helps with fine motor skills. As groups the students built arch bridges (complete with crockodiles in the water if it should collapse!) and tested a bunch beam bridge designs to see which could hold the most pennies.

Phew! Time's flying! Enough for now!

I'll be back! XXOO!!

MacRichment
It's September still but had to add...

Have you ever read something that just opens your eyes? Yeah, you've been getting along just great but then you get enlightened through a book or another's opinion and it's like a REVELATION! I have had one and I want to share it!

I hope you will remember in my last post I mentioned (strongly!) a couple of books by Rafe Esquith for parents (& teachers!!). In them he mentions Lawrence Kohlberg's Six Levels of Moral Development as one of his tools for teaching for excellence. Kohlberg, a professor at the University of Chicago and later Harvard, subscribed to the ideas of Piaget, especially that development manifests in rigidly defined stages, one after the other, in succession, no variation. One article I read said he went about his research differently than other psychologists of his time - he looked for the process through which his research subjects came to their moral reasoning, not the product of it. When asked a moral question such as is it okay for a man to steal drugs if his wife needs them and he doesn't have enough money to pay for them, he looked at the reasoning behind the answer, not just the answer itself. He also suggests that few of us ever get to the 5th and 6th levels. I must have been distracted if his work was mentioned in any of my classes because I do not remember learning about Kohlberg & his theory before. Synchronicity (things come around when you need them)??

Anyway, the levels are:
Pre=Conventional
1. I don't want to get in trouble. This is beginning stage of knowledge of right and wrong, the stage you learn from the adults around you. Everyone starts here.
2. I want to get a reward. This is doing what is right for a reward, a sort of behavior modification.

Conventional
3. I want to please someone. I want to step outside of myself and please another: my teacher, my boss, my sweetheart. You can see the maturational progression but it still isn't necessarily a moral one.
4. I follow the rules. I believe that the United States is at this stage of development. Which is why we have to have so many laws (rules) to "guide" our behavior. And if we don't follow the rules, we will get in trouble.

Post-Conventional (Kohlberg felt few people actually reach these levels)
5. I am considerate of other people. Wouldn't the world be a great place if we all were at this level? We would have empathy for others, be considerate of other's feelings, possibly not need so many laws to keep us from harming others, maybe even to the point of considering the environment because it affects us all.
6. I have a personal code of behavior and I follow it. This is one's conscience and the need to satisfy one's own universal principals of right and wrong. Esquith likes to use Atticus Finch, a key character from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Phineas, from John Knowles' A Separate Peace as examples of people who exhibit Level VI behavior, but because it IS Level VI behavior, don't need other people's recognition for it.

Okay, so now you know my new soapbox! While trying to calm the students in the gym for carpool the other day, I told them about these 6 levels; that none of us want them to get in trouble, that we give them spots to recognize (Spotted! silently) that they are doing the right thing, that we know they would like to please us (though sometimes by the end of the day it's tough!), that they DO know the rules and that I want them to do what is right just because it is right without anyone being there to watch. They are still just children, so our (yours and mine) work is going to be continuing, an ongoing process!! What we have to do is guide them through all of the stages of moral development and help instill in them is their own concept of empathy for others and the universal right and wrong and their own strength of conviction to satisfy their internal conscience.

Go rest. This was heavy!
XXOO!!
MM

MacRichment September 2009

It's September, I am all graduated (Educational Specialist in Technology degree, yea!!), almost re-rested, and now, getting ready to be raring to go!

I've been reading (A LOT!!), for pleasure for a change, - The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan, Teach Like Your Hair is on Fire & Lighting Their Fires both by Rafe Esquith, among others. I heartily recommend all three, but especially the two Esquith books for parents. Raising a capable EXTRAORDINARY child takes us all, together, and it doesn't come overnight!! Please let me know what you think when you read of any of these books! (I also re-read three Madelyne L'Engle books; A Wrinkle in Time, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, and A Wind in the Door and I'd recommend them, too!)

Please be forewarned that this is the only means of receiving this newsletter from MacRichment - I'm not sending out hard copies unless you specifically request one and then, Il mio piacere (It is my pleasure!) to print one for you! I think that is one of the most mannerly, nicest phrases in the English language so I asked my step-father how it is said in Italian (so it SOUNDS really neat, too!).

Back to MacRichment - I've charged the students (Oh! Didn't they TELL you??) with finding a mess to tackle. Not their room but something outside of themselves. There are several examples of going outside of yourself that I use often - one is of a young fella at Gwin who was concerned about the babies of homeless or displaced people - where would they get diapers? He started a campaign with his Little League team to bring in packages of disposable diapers. But one team can only diaper so much! So he got in touch with the Birmingham Barons who held a "night" just for him and the entry fee was a package of disposable diapers! Just imagine how proud this young man felt!

Another was last year here at RES. A fifth grade student was concerned about the children who had extended stays at Children's Hospital and their morale. She thought about sending little notes, or bears attached to notes or something that might brighten their day. She called and asked if Children's could use something like this (research!!) and, if so, how many beds there were. 270+ beds!! Yes! They would be more than happy to accept them, any and all!! So all year, during various lunch times, she and a group of her friends covered old bottles, jars, & containers with paper mache' and painted them to create vases. They also made a bunch of flip-catch the ball toys out of duct tape for boy patients but the quality was not up to her standards so they remained at home. Finally, she added ribbon flowers to each jar and carried them down to Children's Hospital. They were thrilled! That was a self-less act!

We are currently in the BRAINSTORMING phase of this Mess-Finding and the final idea isn't due until November so that they will have the rest of the year to work on their "mess." As messes become project-ideas the research about what HAS already been done, what NEEDS to be done, how can I get it done will take place. By November the students, as individuals or small groups, should be ready to go. And YES!! we would love any assistance you can offer!! Just email me!

Between the Mess and the Deep Blue Sea my classes are all participating in a Self-Discovery Unit. They have looked at what really interests them (at the moment, 'cause it changes!!), their talents and not-so-talents, their motivations, and their learning styles. They are keeping most of this in a packet that they will bring home in December to share with you. The more they know about themselves, the more they know about others, the better they will be at creating the optimal environment for their learning. We had a great discussion about TV watching today. How much is actual program watching and how much is sitting passively watching commercials? Blech!!

In addition to all of the above, they are also practicing creating with paper - pop-up cards, origami, quilling, stenciling, all sorts of things to do with paper. This is in preparation for making a number of paper models of gears and other machinery. Be patient! YOU'LL SEE!!

Of course, we play 7 Scrabble Scramble every so often. That's where we draw 7 scrabble tiles and, as a class, come up words using the letters over and over to amass the highest score we can. One 5th grade class had a wonderful day and now has to try to beat their 310 point record!! And sometimes we play Farkle or Tribulation (ask your child, I won't go into them here!!) or do math problem solving. Phew!! Quite the varied life we lead, what?

XXOO!!
Mrs. Mac

August #2
Classes begin tomorrow. I've tried to make sure there are no conflicts in the schedules, that all transfers have been checked, all the good stuff. I spent two daze downtown going over all the State Department rules and regulations and how to be effective about the affective needs of bright students after a half-day with the other Hoover Enrichment teachers, going over the same things! I'm READY!

This year...
First, I really want my students to take a good look at themselves. We will be taking interest inventories*, learning style inventories*, practicing being a Self-Directed-Learner*, looking at what matters to them in the world and developing ways to take charge of it. By December they should have a packet of THEMSELVES that they can bring home to share with you (but I hope they've been sharing & you've been asking about it all along).
Second, in between all of the above, will be an artsy dip into PAPER. We'll start with just folding paper and go from there. Small muscle manual dexterity exercises. You might hear words like foldables, origami, kiragami, pop-ups, automata, & quilling and catch your child folding napkins or scraps of paper or jazzing up a report with a touch of color. Of course this also includes all the things you can do ON paper - Splodges!, printing, drawing, painting, resist...the list is endless! Wait till they get to design Holiday Cards! I anticipate that they will knock your socks (stockings??) off!! ANY paper you can part with will be accepted gladly. Pretty stationary or scraps of gift wrap? Newspapers, especially the comic sections? Tissue? Thin cardboard or card stock? Used scrap paper (works great for practice pieces)!! Do you parents have any paper expertise you would like to share?? Let me know! Come visit!! We may even make paper, that depends on their interest.


*Interest Inventory: Taking a look at what THEY want to know about and facilitating their journey to finding out more.
*Learning Style Inventory: When a student is aware of HOW they learn, how they best receive information, they can accommodate when the delivery of information isn't a best fit. For example, one of my styles is as a visual learner - that is, I like to SEE it. That means I learn best by reading or watching a movie or seeing someone do something. So when I have to sit through a lecture (and LISTEN) I have ways I accommodate to make it more of a visual (& therefore more accessible to my brain) experience. And then I have to DO it, feel how it's done, in a more physical/kinestetic style. The whole thing is METACOGNITION - thinking about how you think & working for your own best interest.
*Self-Directed-Learner: a student, of ANY age, who takes responsibility for following an interest or a need to know and, by doing so, can learn just about ANYTHING they want! AND I know YOU are modeling this sort of behavior for your children!!

Come get SPOTTED at Riverchase! More SOON!
XXOO!!
Mrs. Mac
"Learning is like rowing upstream: not to advance is to drop back." ~~ Chinese Proverb

AUGUST!!
The heart beats a little faster...anticipation builds... dust bunnies (okay, okay, dust rhinos) fly.... getting ready for the new school year is SO exciting! Of course it eats away at the summer vacation but what's a summer vacation among friends? I taught a bit of summer school (well, if you call vermiculture (worm farming) summer school), I've cleaned out my garage like a dutiful person, I scraped, re-taped, mudded, sanded & re-painted my skylight (SO proud!!), & I visited my 5 month old grandson in NY (SO cute!!). I'm ready! Except for the ironing...!

NOW for the beginning of a new school year! I plan to use this wiki more and more this year so keep it bookmarked and come back often!

More SOON!! XXOO!! Mrs. Mac

July Already!!
However, GREAT news! Last evening was the last class toward the Educational Specialist in Technology degree! Still have loose ends to complete but, phew!, that's over!
Allow me to invite you to the final product of the Leadership in Technology class, with LOADS of THANKS to all the other teachers for all of their input.
http://leadersintech.wikispaces.com/
I believe I've already started uploading some of the ideas for next year so keep in touch! Loads more to come!!
XXOO!!
Mrs. Mac