Gamification and Student Buy-In

I took a longer break from blogging then I was planning on, mainly because I got caught in that trap of looking for wider relevance and therefore sat down and have written, re-written, and scrapped this post a number of times.  I really don't want this pattern to take hold again so I told myself that I just needed to get some quick thoughts down and move on.

I recently came across a post from Vicki Davis who talked briefly about gamification in classrooms.  For the uninitiated, this refers to the application of traditional gameplay elements within regular school routines.  Having grown up playing a lot of games, board- and card-based and electronic, this seemed like something right up my alley.  My thinking was that if I loved playing games and I saw that lots of my students also loved playing games, this would be fairly easy to implement.

I was wrong.

Don't get me wrong, though, as I have had some successess in this area.  Last year, I started using ClassCraft as another layer on top of the work that we were already doing.  Students can receive XP for doing well on assignments or for demonstrating positive behaviour.  Likewise, they will receive small penalties for not completing assignments or being a disruption.  However, I can't help but feel like I'm not really using this as well as I should.

Vicki Davis (courtesy of Kae Novak) wrote about the idea that gamification can't just be "chocolate on broccoli."  It can't just be throwing in meaningless points and rewards in addition to the work that needs to be done.  Instead, it has to become a complete approach overhaul to how classrooms are done in the first place.  I haven't really done this... I've merely thrown in the appearance of something new and exciting and the result has realistically been something of a casual level of tolerance.  "Oh, look.  Mr. Thompson's gave me points.  Or something."  This won't do.

I've decided to look a little bit more into this, beginning with Lee Sheldon's book "The Multiplayer Classroom."  I also want to engage with my students on a more meaningful discussion about the kinds of things that they feel would make for a more relevant and enjoyable experience.  It's with this post that we're going to begin looking more at online commenting and the building of digital connections.

Here we go...


One More Cool Thing

I came across this a few days and have viewed it a few times.  Not only is the song one that I've found myself humming to myself every now and then, but I'm just amazed at the work that went into making this possible.

~Mr.T

Struggles and Reflection

I wish that I could always have great days as a teacher.  Like pretty much every other teacher out there, I love coming home feeling like I've made connections with my kids and that everything just clicked that day.  Truth be told, I probably have these kinds of days more often than I realize and even if they aren't perfect, there are still a lot of good things that happen that make everything worthwhile.  On the flip side, though, I have the occasional bad day.  These are the days when I feel like I'm the one who failed... maybe due to lack of planning, or patience, or something that just wasn't there the way it needed to be.  These days are pretty tough to take.

After our recent Teachers' Convention, I walked away feeling that I should at least be focusing more on making connections with course outcomes and helping students have greater clarity regarding my own expectations for them.  I came to school on Monday and spent time talking about the need to be equipped to solve the problems and challenges that we will be facing for what remains of the year.  I used 'The Witness' to demonstrate how frustrating it can be when you don't really know how to go about solving problems and how much easier and fulfilling it can be once we know what we need to do.  We then transitioned to the Grade 8 Language Arts Program of Studies and the curricular outcomes found there and got groups started on trying to make more sense of them.  I felt like most kids got what I was trying to say, and I looked forward to the further reflections that would be coming out of our revamped blogging.

Today did not quite go the way I had planned.  While I won't say that the day was a total loss (we still got our work done), it was one of those days that left me feeling like I let myself down.  In this case, I was starting to feel that perhaps my own lofty ambitions were getting a little too far ahead of what I could reasonably expect my students to grasp.  I can sometimes be less patient than I ought to, and it is not unlikely that I was slightly less-than-welcoming of some legitimate concerns and questions than I should have been.  I kind of hate when I do that.

Failure and opposition can definitely be tough to take but more often than not, though, this is when I'm at my most reflective.  I don't say this to brag or to boast or to show off how contemplative and virtuous I am.  I mean to say that being knocked down a few notches reminds me of just how much I can't do on my own.  A little humility helps me to more effectively connect with others for support and look just a little bit harder for what I can do better.

Easier said than done to be sure, but a necessary step in this journey we find ourselves on.

The Plan For Tomorrow

I've been a stickler for good spelling since my time in elementary school when I was locked in a perpetual battle for spelling supremacy with one of my best friends who would always beat my by one or two points on our regular quizzes.  I guess in a lot of ways I've continued to feel that this matters and should be emphasized as a valuable skill.

Sticking to the theme of making connections, I'm going to try to have a little more fun tomorrow as we shore up our writing skills.  I remembered on my drive home reading about the efforts of a class in Brazil as they attempted to correct that they found in a variety of social media posts.  A brief write-up can be found here.

I've already sent out a request for a list of celebrities and popular figures from my classes.  We're going to get set up with correcting some of the mistakes that we can find, and maybe letting our 'friends' know ever-so-politely where some improvements could be made.

Now we just need a hashtag.

Mock House of Commons Debate

Feel my Bearded Fury!!

So.  I finally began our debate on the school's dress code today.  Each student in the class gave a brief statement in support of their party's general position, followed by open debate.  I won't lie... I wasn't really sure what to expect.  Planning for a debate is pretty tough to do because you don't really know what points are going to be brought up or how much people are going to buy in.  I can honestly say, though, that I was very impressed with a good portion of the class.  Not only were they reasonably well informed on the issue, but they were pretty engaged in the whole process.

And it didn't hurt that we had some pretty sweet 'mic drop' moments in the debate.

The plan was to be finished today but we ran out of time and there were lots of hands waiting to jump in.  We are extending the debate into tomorrow.

More to come.

~Mr.T

Teachers' Convention: Day 2

It is together... TOGETHER that we prevail!!

Another Convention has come and gone and I can honestly say that I have a greater desire to reflect upon the things that I have learned over the past few days.  This is not always easily done as the majority of sessions that I have been to don't do much beyond than share a positive and energizing message.  Now this isn't to say that they have been empty or a waste of time, but I've also been in too many situations where I've thought something was cool and quickly forgot about it as I went on with my day.  The need to act is probably my main responsibility as a conference participant.  presenters and speakers have done their job, now I need to so something with what they've shared.

As a quick follow-up from yesterday, and thanks to a suggestion from George Couros, I have now listed the 11 points of the Teaching Quality Standard on the side of my blog.  When I post, I will be making some sort of connection to what I'm expected to be as a teacher instead of just cobbling together a few thoughts that just might warrant a little bit of discussion.  It's my hope that as I am more involved as tying connecting my thoughts to my own professional development, blogging will be more meaningful for myself.

So.  What did I do today?

The day started off with an opportunity to gather with other teachers to build upon our early work with Project Based Learning.  After taking a few minutes to introduce ourselves and explain the projects that we worked with, we were given the morning to break off into smaller groups and get to work.  I can't really explain just how valuable I found this.  It was really nice to be able to work with a few colleagues and think about our successes and failures, along with our ideas for moving forward so quickly after our first try.

In 8 years of teaching, I've been introduced to a variety of different philosophies including Adaptive Schools, Instructional Intelligence, Tribes, Kagan, and PBL to name a few.  Learning new approaches to education is all part of the process and I'm certainly not the kind of teacher who wants to get in a rut and stick with my routine until I retire.  However, there are few times where I've really felt like I could take the time and debrief regarding the new ideas that I've tried to implement.  This inability to reflect isn't really anyone's fault, mind you.  Usually it stems from a feeling like I just don't have the time to detach from my busy teaching schedule to revisit what we spent so much time on.  The need to keep moving forward can be pretty relentless in school's and it doesn't always provide the chance to meditate.

I'm grateful for colleagues who I can be honest with and who are so willing to share.  It made for what I felt was a pretty productive morning where I really felt like I had something to show for my efforts: I didn't just learn about PBL but I did something with it.

I also had the opportunity to hear Brian Keating talk about sacred groves and the benefits of conservation.  He definitely had some great stories to tell about his travels to places in the world I probably won't get to see for myself.  He also shared a reading assignment that I'm intrigued with, having already discussed the topic somewhat with my wife.  I'm going to try and track down a copy of "The Last Child in the Woods" by Richard Louv and see if there's something to this idea of overcoming so-called Nature-Deficit Disorder.

~Mr.T

Teachers' Convention: Day 1

 

In my 8 years of teaching, I've been able to attend a number of Teachers' Conventions... each one filled with a variety of different sessions leaving me feeling anywhere from extremely bored to ecstatic and energized.  Understand that I'm not questioning the need for Teachers' Convention and the need for it in my own professional development.  I inevitably hope each year, though, that I can have more of the kinds of experiences that not only build me up but give me tangible steps for achieving relevant and realistic change within my classroom.

Today I had the opportunity to attend a keynote by George Couros, someone that I have previously followed on Twitter but hadn't really looked into all that much beyond knowing that he has been a big advocate for using technology to expand learning and innovation within the classroom.  Without going into too many specifics, his presentation focused a lot of how educators need to embrace a growth mindset, focus on building resiliency, and build meaningful relationships with students through empathy and trust.  On the whole, it was one of the better presentations that I've been to over the many Teachers' Conventions that I have attended.  While I can't say that I agree with absolutely everything that was shared, I had a lot of moments while listening where I was asking myself questions about how I could do things just a little bit differently.

First off, I can't really disagree with the desire presented that sees technology as a way to empower kids.  I love using it myself because of what it allows me to do and the connections that I can make with a much larger community.  For many students, the power given to them through a smartphone, ChromeBook, and the Internet as a whole is incredible.  My earliest exposure to the Internet mainly involved playing Warcraft II and tying up the family phone line (much to the dismay of my parents) or taking 15 to 20 minutes to download songs on Napster.  Times have changed more than somewhat.

In discussing the presentation with some colleagues, we were pretty much on the same page in terms of recognizing these benefits.  However, we weren't as universally optimistic about the prospect of having unrestricted access to technology.  We were shown examples of schools where there aren't restrictions on device usage and told of the advantages of trusting our students to do what they should be doing.  I love the enthusiasm... but I'm still struggling with how to reconcile these good intentions with my own overly practical observations.  

Take cell phone usage as one example.  The message from the presentation was that we aren't doing anyone any favours by having penalties for using cell phones and technology.  Right off the bat, we were told, this creates a feeling of distrust: we can't possibly have our students govern their own use of cell phones so we need to do it for them.  In a perfect world, I'd love to be able to trust that each of my students can stay on-task and pursue their own learning and complete their work.  However, what I usually see when many students have that kind of freedom is that they will use that to do something else like play Agar.io or some other game, send a few texts or Snapchats, or something else that doesn't necessarily have a whole lot to do with the task at hand.

Naturally, this gets me thinking about what it is that I'm asking them to do.  There was one key question that Mr. Couros shared with the audience that really stuck with me: Are students creating content in spite of or because of school?  I'm not going to lie and say that every single lesson and activity that I have in my classroom is fun and engaging and all too often I feel like I really have to push the content that needs to be taught as prescribed by the Program of Studies.  However, we were also challenged to give students the chance to make connections for themselves if we're going to establish something more relevant for them.

It's still tough for me to process all my thinking and reflection at this point.  I have concerns, yes, but at the end of the day I'm probably asking the kinds of questions that need to be asked if I'm to grow and develop professionally.  You'll likely read more about this as I can do a better job organizing my thoughts into some sort of plan.

Another One of Those Super Good Commercials

I started watching the newest season of Survivor after a few years of a break.  During one commercial break, they showed this ad and I just thought it was awesome.  

I'm going to let it speak for itself.

There's a pretty powerful and simple message here that can be applied into more than just your phone's operating system (Android is better, by the way...).  I'm excited to show this to my students and see what they think about it.

There's also a behind-the-scenes video that I quite liked, having played piano and being involved in music for most of my life.  That a piano had to be made from scratch in order to meet the demands of the ad was pretty impressive.

 

Other Thoughts from Teachers' Convention

Here are a few other thoughts that stood out to me after attending a session on using blogging to create a digital portfolio.

• linking blog entries to the Teaching Quality Standard; making some connection to what we are expected to do as professionals
• Blogging is about making connections... students can and should be encouraged to link blog content to their different course outcomes
• The process involves 4 steps: Write, Categorize, Tag, and Publish
• This is a process that is continually evolving and can be something that students and staff do over years
• I need to look a bit more into wordpress and Edublogs for next year and see if those can't be used more effectively than what I'm doing here in Blogger
• I don't use Twitter as much as I should in part because it can be a bit overwhelming to sift through all the information... I really, really like Tweetdeck now

More to come...

~Mr.T

Annual Ski Trip and Hands-On With Governance

Apologies for the brief lapse in posting.  A quick but busy escape to the Rockies over the weekend, not to mention the pleasantness that comes with a sinus cold, had me more occupied than I would have preferred.  The last thing I need to to so quickly undo the progress that I have made.  This is even more true given my renewed commitment to do this regularly within the classroom.

The more I stare at this picture, the more uncomfortable it makes me...

I started skiing when I was 12 years old.  One Christmas, in fact, I received a gift from my dad that included my first lesson and an opportunity to share something with my parents that they enjoyed.  Like many others who have taken to the slopes, it definitely took some adjusting.  I knew pretty quickly that this was something that I liked, but I also had many times where I let fear and my own insecurities get the best of me.  This was often frustrating for my dad to say the least, but I eventually overcame these challenges and enjoyed a number of family trips to Whitefish, Sunshine, and regular getaways to Hidden Valley in the Cypress Hills.

When I first met my wife, one of the first things that she told me about herself was just how much she loved to ski.  Growing up in Calgary gave her and her family numerous opportunities to head into Banff to tear up the slopes.  My father-in-law even had a goal to teach his grandkids how to ski, which has been something that we have definitely taken advantage of.  He has been gracious enough, and patient enough, to work with my own kids and help them develop a passion for the sport.

What amused me (in that parental karma sort of way) about this recent trip to Lake Louise was seeing the frustration of my own kids when they were unsure about their own skiing.  I'll admit that I butted heads a bit with one of my boys when he outright refused to leave the safety of the Magic Carpet, in spite of skiing for nearly four years.  He didn't feel like he could attempt anything new mainly because he didn't know how it was going to turn out.  I tried to reason with him that we wouldn't be taking him on any runs that he didn't feel comfortable with, but that he wouldn't really be improving until he made the effort to try.  It took some time but we eventually made the most of what remained of our day and my son admitted that he was glad that he tried.

I suppose it says a lot about the centrality of teaching in my life when I spent so much time thinking about how these lessons could be applied into so much of what I do in my own classroom.  I often hear some of my students say that they can't or won't try something new because they think it will be difficult: they want to stay within the safety of the Green runs.  The continuing challenge for many teachers today is to find ways to give kids the incentive to try something new or more difficult.  The fear of failure has caused far too many to remain within their own comfort zones.

I don't always excel at guiding my students through this process, and can sometimes lose patience if I don't get the sense that my attempts of guidance are being that well received.  Still... we press on.


An Attempt to Add Relevance in Social 9

The Social Studies curriculum for Grade 9 in Alberta is heavily focused on the aspects of government and economics in Canada.  These are, admittedly, not always the most thrilling of topics for most 14 and 15 year-olds and yet the fact remains that this is their objective for 5 months.  This semester I have a class of 31 students... a group large enough to leave me feeling that I need to be more directly involved in providing and explaining content than I would perhaps like to be.

I suppose that it would be really easy to post notes, give my spiel, and hand out a worksheet.  It can be tough, after all, to engage with such a large group on an in-depth discussion on the meaning and impact of the three branches of government on the individual lives of the average teenager.  However, this semester I really wanted to try to give kids a chance to at least attempt the process of governance on something that many of them have to deal with on a regular basis: the dreaded school dress code.

After briefly explaining the process of how bills are made into law in our Parliamentary system, I asked the class what they felt some of the most pressing issues were from their perspective as students.  I have to admit that I was secretly hoping that at least someone would bring up something dress code related because I hadn't really planned for anything else.  Sure enough, and much to my relief, one student quickly commented that our school's hat rule (which is to say no hat's at all) was dumb.  This led to a quick conversation about some of the other policies in the dress code with an unusually smooth segue into my idea.

I divided the class into three main groups representing the Liberal, Conservative, and NDP Parties in their relative seat proportions as currently found in the House of Commons.  I then explained the purpose of this activity: our little assembly would discuss, debate, and vote on a revision to the school's dress code policy.  I further added that each group would have to work within the broad strokes of a policy standpoint that I would provide them:

• Liberals: We will respect student choices on what to wear while in school
• Conservatives:  We will respect student choices on what to wear while in school with a few reasonable restrictions
• NDP: We will respect student choices on what to wear while in school and provide financial means to provide students with greater clothing choices

I won't say it was a perfect match, but I think one could make a reasonable argument that this at least roughly mirrors what we might see within our political system.  Truth be told, I do have one student who insisted on representing the Green Party.  I allowed it for two reasons: first, like our actual Green Party it doesn't really matter all that much in the end, and second, I particularly enjoyed this student's intentions for improving the dress code with green incentives.  It should make for an interesting combination.

We should be finishing up the policy preparations tomorrow before moving on to getting individual statements ready.  I'll report more on this as things progress.  

~Mr.T