Motivation, Innovation and teaching the "Basics"

What does it look like when teachers plan with motivation and innovation in mind? How do teachers teach the curriculum and engage students at the same time? This week I was at PD with George Couros, where he spoke about innovation in schools.  Afterward I started a conversation with Richard Roberts about innovation and what it looks like in the classroom. I expressed concern about basic skills being overlooked in the "rush" to be innovative. Richard kept reminding me that it isn't about technology or content but rather how  all content can be taught in innovative ways. I think we both agree that innovation is about learning and improving how we teach. We are just talking about innovation in different ways. I was trying to make the point that sometimes in our excitement to be innovative the purpose of a lesson gets lost.

So what can innovation look like in the classroom? First we need to ask ourselves how is student voice included in our teaching? Are we allowing students choice in how they learn and share their learning? What does it look like if we do that? Enid Lee tells us to be mindful of how much teacher talk there is. Research shows that collaborative learning is where rich learning happens, in her math PD sessions Meagan Mutchmor reminds teachers of the importance of student conversation as they problem solve.

Teaching students how to collaborate, what it looks like when they work in a group needs to be done before students can have those rich conversations.  Is creating protocols and practicing group behaviours or turn and talk behaviour innovative? I would say no it isn't innovative it is good teaching. How do we teach those behaviours? That might be innovative, but sometimes it is routine as it depends on how a teacher already does business in their classroom. For teachers wondering how to teach behaviours using the procedures set out in The Daily 5 by Gail Bushey and Joan Moser will walk them through the how. All you need to do afterward is create similar anchor charts with your students for other procedures you need in your classroom.

Inquiry requires students knowing expectations of behaviour, how to use a computer or tablet to research a topic, and how to recognize a good website among other skills. Some of the skills need to be explicitly taught before they begin a project, while other skills students will learn as they need them. How we teach those skills might be innovative, maybe in the past our teaching was mostly teacher directed so now we are trying to have students develop the skills in a more student directed way, that would be innovative. However, if I already teach such skills in a more student directed way it isn't innovative.

Will I abandon that way of teaching because it isn't innovative? As a reflective learner, I will think about the students in front of me and ask myself several questions. First, are the students getting those prerequisite skills the way I am currently teaching them? Is the learning happening quickly so we can get into the meat of the lesson where the academic learning will happen? Are my students engaged in the learning? The last question - engagement is almost the same as question 1 because without engagement the students won't learn the necessary skills. Finally I will ask if there is a better way to teach those skills? For prerequisite skills better would also mean faster, or it might mean that 100% of students learn the skills quickly. If I feel that the way I teach those skills works well already then why would I change what I am doing?

Will I change other parts of my lesson? If the students in front of me are showing I need to change then I would hope I would change. How do students tell me I need to change my practice? Engagement is a big piece of how students tell their teacher change is needed or not needed? If my students are not engaged I will need to change how I do things. Once a need for change is determined innovation will happen.

I wrote this two years ago and I find it is still relevant for me. What is relevant about this piece is that I want to be mindful of content and how I am engaging students in the content. Since I wrote this unpublished blog I have learned about the work of Peter Liljedahl and vertical surfaces. Again, the focus is student engagement and voice. Without technology Liljedahl engages learners by creating a climate of collaboration and sharing of thinking. It is amazing what happens when students realize they are in the "drivers seat" and can learn without the teacher. Suddenly students who were beginning to disengage and easily frustrated are sticking with problems and saying things like "we can figure it out."

Motivation and Autonomy in the Elementary School

I have been thinking a lot about motivation lately. During spring break I read Daniel Pink's book Drive.
Pink writes about the science behind motivation, citing a number of studies by various behaviourists. He also looks at some modern business practices that he says help motivate people and are paying off for those companies who have adopted those practices. For example, he talks about 3M and what he calls 20% time or time for employees to work on projects of their own choosing.

According to Pink, the more autonomy individuals have in their workplace the more motivated they are and happier to show up for work. As an educator I wonder how we can give our students and teachers more autonomy?
We all know of students who given the choice of what to do will choose play or research a topic totally unrelated to the course content, so how do we increase autonomy while still meeting curricular outcomes?

Maybe we can have 2 Friday afternoons a month devoted to time for students to explore topics of their choice. What could that look like? One school I worked at for a time had a half day each cycle where students would work with a staff member on something that staff person and the students were interested in. We had some students explore art, drama, music, cooking, various crafts, geocaching and dance. The idea was to help students connect with a staff member at the school in a way they wouldn't otherwise, and to build a sense of belonging so as to reduce student absenteeism.

Did teachers feel more autonomy? Did the students feel more autonomy? I don't know. Was this the goal? I wonder what it would look like if we revisited this idea with even more options. How would we give more options? If we surveyed students and staff about autonomy and motivation before and after having this time to explore what would they say about autonomy and motivation? Would it be different?

Looking at school as a whole, until high school most students have no choices in subjects, time they must do those subjects or what they will do during that learning time. I wonder what an elementary social studies class would look like if students could pick the time period or events they wanted to learn about? Could teachers invite "experts" to visit the class? What would it look like if students were to choose what they would create to show their learning?

How would we motivate teachers to plan for this kind of teaching? How do we motivate teachers to plan their day, week, month and year now? As a teacher what motivates you to plan interesting lessons for students? How do you include student voice and choice in your lessons? What does autonomy look like for teachers in elementary schools? Choosing when to teach ELA or Math? Choosing when to teach writing or the topics in the social studies or science curriculum? How you arrange your classroom, what you are able to hang or use to decorate your room with?

I don't have any answers at this time, but I do have lots to think about. I will keep reading and talking with my colleagues about motivation and continue to share here.
Let me know in the comments what you think about motivation and autonomy for students and teachers. How do we assess motivation and autonomy? Why is it important? Is it important?

I'm Back

I haven't posted in a long time, however because of a book I'm reading for work, I've decided it is time to revisit my blog and maybe make some changes along with a commitment to blog weekly.
I'm reading George Couros' book The Innovator's Mindset  and he speaks about being willing to do what we want others to do as well as the power of blogging.

Spring Break

Had a lazy day today. Took Ballou for a walk  in the same woods where the Boxer attacked her. We saw a woodpecker and then met up with a Chocolate Lab and a Shitzu. Bear and Yogi! Ballou was afraid of Bear at first, but when she realized he wasn't like the Boxer she was okay.

Japan Quake

Can't stop watching the news from Japan. It is terrible! Makes worrying about flooding seem minor by comparison.

Vicious Boxer

The days are longer and it was warmer today so when I got home and it was still light I decided to take Ballou for a walk. We have a nice natural area near us that in the winter is a great place to walk a dog off leash. We usually meet one or two other dog walkers while out and the dogs all sniff and say hello then we go our separate ways. Today was a different story, the boxer came up sniffed and then attacked. She had Ballou on her back and was trying to get the jugular. Ballou was yipping and yapping, I was trying to pull the Boxer off, but couldn't get a hold on the collar so I started hitting it with the leash to no avail. Finally the owner pulled the dog off. I was livid! I told the owner that if a vet visit was necessary as a result they were paying and made her give me her name and phone number.
I think she thought I was over reacting.
Ballou is actually fine, thank goodness, as for me I didn't enjoy the last half of my walk and was still shaking when we got home.
Good thing Len wasn't there or the Boxer might have turned on him when he planted a few kicks on its head.

Pileated Woodpecker

While walking Ballou at Assiniboine Park yesterday we saw a Pileated Woodpecker. He (I am pretty sure it was a male) was beautiful. I don't remember ever seeing one before. After doing some research on the internet I have learned that Pileated Woodpeckers do not migrate and Winnipeg is withing their range, so I am hoping to see him again, maybe with a mate, and hopefully when I have a camera, or better yet Len has his.