Coming Out of the Shell

The screen lit up to show a photo - slightly unfocused - of hermit crabs. My class had examined plenty of hermit crab photos, identifying the shell, abdomen, claws and so on, and done so with little fanfare. This latest photo had a very different effect. Within minutes of viewing this photo the class had sprung into action, turning our classroom into a laboratory. What made this photo so motivating? This photo had context for us.

My colleague John Otterstedt (working at a school across town) and I decided to link our 3rd grade classrooms over a social network. We wanted to see how well we could connect beyond the building (when even connecting within a building has it’s barriers). The hermit crab photo they sent was of a student-designed experiment. What was clear in this blurred image was that the class had set up mazes for the crabs to explore. Their note to us explained the objective; to measure crab intelligence and speed.

That’s all it took. Seeing what those other scientists were doing, and having direct communication with them, was highly motivating. My students had gone from looking at hermit crab photos with compliance to looking at a photo with true engagement. They worked together to respond with their own experiment.

Being in a classroom can seem like a cloistered experience. This might be attributed to the physical structure of the school building, class size, routines, subject compartmentalization, etc. A social network allowed us to circumvent some of these things that we might otherwise use as excuses… excuses to remain cozy in our classroom’s shell. In this case, reaching out across the district might have been just as easy, if not easier, than within the school walls.

I felt lucky to be partnering with John. I’m finding that the people who are willing to collaborate and share their classrooms have something worth sharing… I’m betting that everyone does, it just takes a little risk to reach out and share that with just one other group.

This example is one way I’ve been working to find student-centered moments. While we might strive to create a student-centered classroom, I’m finding that a focus solely on the physical space and schedule structures has its limits. Spending more time building student relationships to their topics and interests when the opportunity arises is important.

To continue this exploration, I worked with two colleagues in my school to build a collaborative relationship. Kevin Blois (5th Grade) and Chris Kearns (1st Grade) look to create projects and/or collaborate on just about anything. I think we share a belief that the student interaction has deep value and we’ll take it any chance we get.

We’ve worked with our students to create and maintain a school-wide recycling program, composting program, wellness initiatives and a recent monthly meet-up between 5th, 2nd and 1st graders. We can always find limits to this work in the structures of schedule and physical space, but we reach out anyway and share the smaller moments, even if it’s for a class period or less. These quick connections have made for some powerful student experiences. Kevin explains that part of this work is about having fifth grade students develop an understanding of their best practices. This leads to deeper meaning and connections about their process. Here are some of the tools and experiences we’ve set up to foster this approach.

Beyond Book Buddies

We do love having near-peer groups get together to read. We looked at this and decided to offer more varied opportunities for kids to connect and learn across grade levels. While our latest focus has been science partnerships, we’ve looked to partners in other areas. So, step one, get the peers and near-peers together on any topic. We do this on a regular basis, for a small part or all of a subject block. This can be to share together, listen together, experience together, even if it’s something simple or small. In partnerships the small things can grow.

Kevin guides the fifth graders to use these moments to teach from their best practices. He sees this creating the foundation for academic risk-taking, leading to ownership and a deeper understanding of the content. Chris’s first graders and my second graders benefit from the guidance of fifth graders who give them special attention that seems to be reserved for peers and near-peers. We have seen the fifth graders exhibiting an intensified ownership and excitement about their work.

The opportunity to take on a teaching/leadership role brings out a natural passion for their work because they have a deeper vested interest - it is theirs to share. The first and second graders naturally have child-like excitement for science work, but working with peers it takes on a new focus through questioning and working with the more experienced student scientists.

Who Do You Know?

Both Kevin and Chris have close relatives with jobs in the sciences. Using Google chat as well as live visits we’ve been able to get kids talking to scientists in the field. This energizes their science work when there is a larger group of students with a common experience to draw upon, discuss and refer to. Skype education offers opportunities to collaborate if you don’t find someone locally… if you ask there is someone with insights to share. Parents are often a great resource for coming in to answer questions and share about their areas of expertise.

It’s Not About the Content

While 5th grade is working on ecosystems, the second graders are focused on life cycles or chemistry-related topics. While not having direct alignment would seem like a reason to suggest we wouldn’t link up, it actually has been very effective to have students share and teach near-peer groups in whatever topic they are studying. For one, much of the science we teach is connected to the scientific method and keeping notes on their work. This focus is a part of any science lesson (I’d venture to guess scientific method is central at every grade level and beyond). Partnerships also allow students to take leadership roles to teach other scientists about their work. Through this, we begin to see the links that enrich our understanding and see where ecosystems and life cycles merge.

Peers as Teachers

My colleagues and I often comment on the social interaction that occurs in collaborative moments. This creates a focus and a level of interest that is strong and sustained. While we’d consider ourselves quality teachers, there is something that these kids are able to offer each other, beyond what we’ve planned for, that we could never teach them ourselves. It is in this connection that they listen in ways we might not be able to offer as teachers. This confirms my desire to get out of my students’ way as often as is appropriate, setting up the environment for them to take control of the experiences, relationships and the struggle of their learning lives.

Tweet

My students and I share photos and links and microblogs of the things we’re up to. Using twitter you can send these things directly to other classes, authors, and anyone else using the service. It’s been a useful way to share some of our moments. Twitter allows for quick contact between classes, working on each others' questions, sharing photos, etc. It has also been a way to look back and review some of the things we’ve been exploring. Other tech tools like blogs can help here too. Follow and chat with us on Twitter @2altieri

For the next endeavor I’d like to explore the link between high school and elementary age students. We’ve had success with the high school environmental group coming to offer support to our environmental group, the Green Ambassadors. Having more regular connections could create that context for our learners and bring more of that deep social learning only kids can offer to one another. If you are one of those people ready to make that connection, let me know. We all need help coming out of our shells. I guarantee that it’s worth the risk.

This post was written by John Altieri, second grade teacher at Willard School in Ridgewood, NJ. 

Email him at jaltieri@ridgewood.k12.nj.us.

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Leadership is Learning

After working with hundreds of leaders in a wide variety of fields and settings -- from educational institutions to private corporations, from camps to communities--a few things have become abundantly clear to me.

• Every leader has his own style and approach to leading others.
• Their individual style is almost always directly related to their own experiences of having being led.
• Most leaders have a sincere desire to do right by those they are leading.
• There are few who don't fall prey to the unconscious belief that their job as leaders is to control people and outcomes. 

Natural leadership is not about control. It's about learning.

Recently I co-facilitated a corporate leadership training event with Dr. Martha Beck (nationally best-selling author and columnist for O, the Oprah magazine) and Koelle Simpson (horse whisperer and leadership expert). While both of these ladies could write the book on natural leadership, this time, we let a heard of horses do the teaching.

As the high level executives stepped into the round pen each was tasked with the same challenge - to build rapport with the client and to create movement - in this case the client was a half ton, untrained horse. 

What played out with each of these brilliant leaders of industry, was the very same thing that created challenges within their leadership styles back at the corporate office. Fortunately, they were all open to being vulnerable and willing to learn something about themselves. 

First, their attempt to build rapport was little more than an introduction, a hand shake or in this case, a pat on the shoulder or head. Horses like people, don't follow those they don't trust and a handshake or job title doesn't automatically earn you the trust you need to effectively lead. This became apparent when after a friendly hello and pat on the head, the horse refused to move or even walk away.

Truth for horses, unlike people, can't be corrupted by social agreements. They don't pretend to like or trust you just because you smile at them. They trust and will only follow you after you have taken the time to learn what it is they need. They need to know that you are the safest option for them. 

Next, in an effort to create movement, some of the members of the group demonstrated their leadership style by grabbing hold of the horses bridle and pulling them along while others, timidly made a variety of gestures and noises that left the horse confused and standing still.

"I think this one's broken," joked one man in the round pen whose horse seemed to be ignoring him. 

We invited him to stop drawing conclusions and making judgements about the horse and to start paying attention and making observations. What he found was that the horse, despite refusing to move or even face the man, had his ears pointed towards him. "What's that mean he asked?" 

"It means..." spoke Koelle, whose lifetime of experience taught her, "that the horse is very much paying attention to you. However, she's confused and uncertain of what you want from her and that makes her uneasy."

Another executive joked as she walked in circles with her horse, "I kinda get the feeling that the horse is leading me rather than the other way around." Indeed she was right, yet continued to walk in circles. If it hadn't been for Koelle's invitation for her to stop and get clear on what she wanted to create, she might have gone on like that all day. Fortunately, she accepted the invitation, stopped walking in circles and asked herself, "What is it that I want this horse to do and what must I do in order to get the horse to trust that it is worth doing?" 

Horses are amazing teachers.

Herd leadership is very different than how most of us view or have experienced leadership. To horses, leadership has nothing to do with title or rank. Rather, leadership is a fluid process that shifts from one horse to another as the needs of the whole shift. Leadership is held by the one best suited for the job at the given moment. 

As our human friends learned that day, leading a horse is not about controlling it. That would be impossible. Rather leading a horse is about learning to observe and understand what it needs to trust you. 

Leadership is no different in the classroom. Children of all ages must feel safe and trust you as you figure out what they need.

By Michael Trotta
Sagefire Institute for Natural Learning and Leadership Development

3 T’s of Learning and Support

I feel incredibly lucky because my job is all about support.

Support entails partnering with teachers, listening, sharing my experiences and ideas, and rolling up my sleeves and taking risks alongside them. Support is about the relationships that are built with a shared, vested interest. Both individuals (teacher-teacher, teacher-coach, teacher-consultant, principal-coach, student-teacher) work together with a common intention. There is no blame or shame in support. There is honesty and authenticity. Support is essential.

My colleagues and I created a framework that helps us, and the educators we work with, think about different levels of support. We call it the 3 T’s-- teach, tend, tether. We use a gardening metaphor because it is about helping living things thrive. We see our job as helping teachers (and their students) grow and bloom. The 3 T's guide us whether we are supporting five year olds, fifteen year olds, novices or very experienced educators.

The first T stands for Teach. What we mean by teach is to tell or show learners how to do something. For example, this might be a writing minilesson where we demonstrate a revision strategy. When we teach, we are planting seeds. We don’t learn simply from watching but the seeds of knowledge are planted and we are ready to go try what we saw. Teaching is usually directed by the teacher and learners mostly watch and listen. Of course anyone in the class can become the teacher of a particular skill or topic.

Teaching: teacher is in front, planned, doing

The second T stands for Tend. What we mean by tend is to help learners clear away obstacles and implement strategies in their own way. This might be working through a challenging part of a text, generating an idea, or thinking through a problem. As teachers we are often sitting side-by-side when we are tending, as we do the work WITH the learner. In the garden this looks like pruning leaves, getting rid of pests, and making sure the plants have enough water. The seeds have been planted and we want to help them grow, but we know there will be some tending along the way.

Tending: side-by-side, co-created, may be planned, doing

The third T stands for Tether. Many plants in a garden need to be tethered to a trellis, beam, or other plants to help them grow. The tethers are connections that can either help or hinder growth. As a gardener, you can’t just look at each individual plant on its own, but you need to step back and look at the whole. Is there enough space for each plant? Are some plants shading out others? Are plants connecting in ways that work (tomatoes and basil thriving together), or are some plants taking over others? As teachers, it is important to observe and take in the whole the class. Which students are making connections? What topics, genres, or units are students connected to? Are there connections that seem helpful but some that might not? We examine the tethers, help students do the same, and make decisions about which ones are worth keeping and which ones should be let go of. The role of the teacher is to bring awareness to the whole classroom community and make decisions that foster positive growth.

Tethering: on the sideline, observing, not planned, being

When we think about how to best support students or teachers, really anyone who wants to learn and grow, we try to incorporate all 3 T’s. I encourage you to take a look at your classroom and think about which of the 3 T’s you regularly use to support your students. Our blog is called Teach, Tend, Tether because we hope to document, share, and celebrate real life examples of all 3 T’s.

By Gravity Goldberg, Ed.D.