Walking the Walk: Action Research

I have been blogging for 6 years now…

I have written extensively about blogging (131 posts categorized “blogging” on Langwitches)

I have shared two guides for teachers to start blogging with their students

• “Stepping it Up: Learning About Blogs FOR your Students”
  • Part I: Reading
  • Part II A: Writing
  • Part II B: Student Writing
  • Part III: Commenting
  • Part IV: Connecting
  • Part V: Reciprocating
  • Part VI: Consistency
  • Part VII: Quality
• Blogging Unit Plan
• 1. Blogging with Elementary School Students
• 2. Outline Blogging Lessons
• 3. Introduction to Blogging
• 4. Online Safety
• 5. Commenting
• 6. Writing
• 7. Setting up the Blog
• 8. Logistics of Formatting Post
• 9. Connecting Your Class to the World
• 10. Web Design for Student Bloggers

It is time to walk the walk…

Let me walk the path of Action Research…. to find out if blogging:

• teachers, who are “actively” learning about and participating in the blogging process (beyond attending a workshop or reading “about” blogging), are setting the stage and building a solid platform for their own ongoing professional development and life long learning?
• educators, who are blogging with their students,  can (are) learn(ing) to teach through a 21st century lens (skills & literacies)?
• improves students’ writing skills?
• motivates and engages students?
• touches on multiple 21st century skills and literacies, as well as contribute and support learning fluency.
• amplifies curriculum content, objectives and skills?

As you can see from my questions above, I am looking for answers on three levels. One is about the benefit and learning process for the educator, another is on a student level and a the third level is from the curriculum point of view.

Action Research is defined on Wikipedia:

Action research – is a reflective process of progressive problem solving led by individuals working with others in teams or as part of a “community of practice” to improve the way they address issues and solve problems.

Over the last few years, I have figured out that I learn better COLLABORATIVELY. My immediate reaction to “Where do I start?, was to connect and to surround myself with other educators to walk together down the path. I have also learned that collaborating or working as a group (especially with group members scattered across the globe) could be hard, frustrating and often fizzled out.

In order to move forward and to set my Action Research proposal up for success, I needed to connect with passionate, committed and dedicated educators. I wanted the framework of the research to take on the shape of  Quad Blogging.

Quad blogging, defined on quadblogging.net is a way:

To deliver electrical energy of a global audience to the heart of a blog to allow a rhythm of excitement to kick via the blog’s widening global audience.

Quad blogging meant to find and connect 4 educators to collaborate and conduct action research with their students.

I was able to put together four amazing Action Research teams, ready to start the process towards the end of February. We have:

Team USA (Martin J. Gottlieb Day School) with Andrea Hernandez (21st Century Learning Specialist),  Stephanie Teitelbaum (4th grade teacher) and myself.

Team Czech Republic (International School of Prague) with Nancy von Wahlde (3rd grade teacher)

Team Thailand (International School of Bangkok) spear headed by  Chrissy Hellyer (Technology Coordinator) and Stacie Melhorn (5th Grade Teacher)

Team Switzerland (International School of Zug and Luzern) with Maggie Hos-McGrane (Technology Coordinator) and Dave Secomb (4th Grade Teacher)

We will be planning via a Google Doc and Skype, disseminating and connect our research findings via our respective professional blogs.

Here are some of my preliminary thoughts:

Pre-Planning to include:

• Pre-planning Skype meeting
• Collaborative Google Doc
• Identify Goals & Objectives
• Identify Obstacles/Problems
• Identify Strategies
• Discuss Solutions
• Share resources and Materials
• Data Collection:
• Pre-assessment (writing & commenting rubric)
• Action Research Assessment and Evaluation:
• How will we measure success?
• How will we know if we have succeeded?
• What will we accept as evidence of success?

During

• Monitoring of students writing and commenting
• Coaching, mentoring and guiding students writing
• Anecdotal records
• Record student observations and behavior

Post-Planning to include:

• Debriefing Skype call
• Post-assessment
• Student interviews?
• Self-assessment (students record audio of video reflection?)
• Analyze, interpret and share results
• Was Action Research successful?
• What has been learned, gained and what needs improvement?
• Reflective post on professional blogs

Maggie Hos-McGrane  wrote about Teachers as Leaders. She referred to the Teacher Leader Model Standards that have been developed by the Teacher Leadership Exploratory Consortium. One of them being Accessing and using research to improve practice and student learning.

How about joining us in doing Action Research on your own, as you are blogging with your students! Find out what works and what does not and (maybe) most importantly SHARE your findings.  It’s about being active, reflective and transparent learners as we are teaching.

Philosophy of Education

As I am updating  my resume, filling out one questionnaire after another from recruiting companies, to become a candidate in their International Schools teachers’ and administrators’ database, I was asked to share my Philosophy of Education.

I am sharing my thoughts here on Langwitches. Feel free to add, question, probe and inspire.

What does it mean to be educated? Has the meaning of being educated for today shifted from what it meant fifty years ago? What will it mean to be educated for students who are entering our schools today and will graduate in 2024? Are schools preparing our children for their future or our past and present?
These are important questions to ask and answer as educational leaders. What implications do the answers to these questions have on curriculum content and delivery, scheduling, grouping of students, assessment, and technology?

Education is about teaching and learning, which are inseparably intertwined. I realized how heavily influenced my learning has become through the use of social network platforms and the growth of a Personal Learning Network (PLN). My learning has changed forever and in consequence my philosophy of education and teaching has and is shifting accordingly.

The possibilities that are opening up through skills and emerging “new” literacies, often labeled 21st century, will allow us to see completely different patterns of studying, researching, connecting, creating and ultimately learning. These skills and literacies are vital in order for our students to succeed in a flattened world. There is a giant divide between the theory of teaching and the practice of implementing them in our schools though. Nobody can force change on anyone, it has to be experienced.

Albert Einstein said:
“ I never teach my pupils, I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.”

This does not only apply to our traditional vision of who we label students in our schools, but must include teachers, administrators and all stake holders.  A new vision of life long and self-directed learners, transparent in their learning process, is emerging and a significant component of building learning communities in global collaboration environments. These new communities will not only “prepare” students for life, but will allow them to experience life with teachers and coaches who facilitate authentic and meaningful learning opportunities.

The Teacher as a Conductor of an Orchestra

Should Teachers Be More Like Conductors? This bog post from 2009 took me to the following TED talk by Itay Talgam.

Although I am not a musician, nor listen to much classical music, I was mesmerized. This TED talk was geared towards organization leaders, but I so agree with Tania Sheko, that it seemed to directly speak to me as an educator.

Click to enlarge image

I am quoting the following passages that made the connection to teaching and the classroom for me:

The magical moment, the magical moment of conducting. Which is, you go on to a stage. There is an orchestra sitting. They are all, you know, warming up and doing stuff. And I go on the podium. You know, this little office of the conductor. Or rather a cubicle, an open-space cubicle, with a lot of space. And in front of all that noise, You do a very small gesture. Something like this, not very pomp, not very sophisticated. And suddenly, out of the chaos, order. Noise becomes music.

Carlos Kleiber clip:

But what about the conductor? What can you say the conductor was doing, actually? He was happy. [...] he’s spreading happiness. And I think the happiness, the important thing is this happiness does not come from only his own story, and his joy of the music. The joy is about enabling other people’s stories to be heard at the same time.

You have the story of the orchestra as a professional body. You have the story of the audience as a community. Yeah. You have the stories of the individuals in the orchestra and in the audience. And then you have other stories, unseen. People who build this wonderful concert hall. People who made those Stradivarius, Amati, all those beautiful instruments. And all those stories are being heard at the same time. This is the true experience of a live concert.

Richard Strauss clip:

Did you see him turning pages in the score? Now, either he is senile, and doesn’t remember his own music, because he wrote the music. Or he is actually transferring a very strong message to them, saying, “Come on guys. You have to play by the book. So it’s not about my story. It’s not about your story. It’s only the execution of the written music, no interpretation.” Interpretation is the real story of the performer. So, no, he doesn’t want that. That’s a different kind of control.

Herbert von Karajan clip:

[The players] look at Karajan. And then they look at each other.  [...] And after doing that, they really look at each other, and the first players of the orchestra lead the whole ensemble in playing together.

And when Karajan is asked about it he actually says, “Yes, the worst damage I can do to my orchestra is to give them a clear instruction. Because that would prevent the ensemble, the listening to each other that is needed for an orchestra.” [...] Meaning that you know you have no authority to change anything. It’s my music. The real music is only in Karajan’s head. And you have to guess my mind. So you are under tremendous pressure because I don’t give you instruction, and yet, you have to guess my mind. So it’s a different kind of, a very spiritual but yet, very firm control.

Carlos Kleiber clip 2:

I’m opening a space for you to put in another layer of interpretation. That is another story. But how does it really work together if it doesn’t give them instructions? It’s like being on a rollercoaster. Yeah? You’re not really given any instructions. But the forces of the process itself keep you in place. That’s what he does. The interesting thing is of course the rollercoaster does not really exist. It’s not a physical thing. It’s in the players heads.

And that’s what makes them into partners. You have the plan in your head. You know what to do, even though Kleiber is not conducting you. [...] And you become a partner building the rollercoaster with sound, as you actually take the ride. This is very exciting for those players. [...] It is very tiring. Yeah? But it’s the best music making, like this.

Carlos Kleiber clip 3:

What happens when there is a mistake?

Again you see the beautiful body language.  And now there is a trumpet player who does something not exactly the way it should be done. Second time for the same player.  And now the third time for the same player. When it’s needed, the authority is there. It’s very important. But authority is not enough to make people your partners.

Carlos Kleiber clip 4:

Kleiber not only creates a process, but also creates the conditions in the world in which this process takes place. So again, the oboe player is completely autonomous and therefore happy and proud of his work, and creative and all of that. And the level in which Kleiber is in control is in a different level. So control is no longer a zero-sum game. You have this control. And all you put together, in partnership, brings about the best music. So Kleiber is about process. Kleiber is about conditions in the world.

Lenny Bernstein clip:

You need to have process and content to create the meaning. [...] Lenny Bernstein always started from the meaning [...]  you can see the music on his face. You can see the baton left his hand. No more baton. Now it’s about you, the player, telling the story. Now it’s a reversed thing. You’re telling the story. And even briefly, you become the storyteller to which the community, the whole community, listens to. And Bernstein enables that. Isn’t that wonderful?

I am preparing a pre-conference workshop for Building Learning Communities Conference in Boston at the end of the month. The title of my workshop is: Orchestrating the Collaborative Classroom

Collaboration is one of the most sought after skills in the 21st century. How do you transform your classroom into a collaborative community where each student is empowered to contribute and to take ownership of their learning? How do you become the conductor of an orchestra full of “unique instruments and musicians”?

This session will share examples from the classroom where students take on “jobs” to become part of that orchestra. We will look at and play with different “instruments” that are uniquely tailored to encourage collaborative work. Participants will explore how they can use classroom time as rehearsals in order to prepare their students for a 21st century concerto.

I think snippets from the above video will spur some great conversations…