Claiming back time

So, this Making Thinking Visible stuff sounds brilliant right? Something that makes explicit what we hope we are teaching by osmosis.

But how do we put that thinking stuff into place, in our time-poor, curriculum driven classrooms?

We all have deadlines to meet, outcomes to check off, programs to write - I know, I'm in the same boat. We are already trying to put too much stuffing into the bloated chicken that is teaching, and just when you think you've done it all, someone tells you to throw a fancy Masterchef style garnish on top too.

This is where the mindset shift for us as teachers is essential - by making thinking visible to ourselves and our students, we gain time in our classrooms.

Big call, I know. So, let's take a quick dip into the ocean that is Visible Thinking and make the thinking behind that statement visible, by using a Thinking Routine (a thinking strategy to encourage understanding - the basis of the teacher's toolkit of Visible Thinking).  

This is called Claim-Support-Question - a routine designed to consider all aspects of a statement (and a great one for encouraging critical thinking!).

So, the claim is: Making Thinking Visible allows teachers to gain time in classrooms.

What can we use to support this claim?

• By using thinking routines, we are able to gain information about student thinking patterns, allowing for on the spot formative assessment 
• Creating a Culture of Thinking encourages students to share their thinking and ideas, facilitating collaboration between peers and allowing for students to teach each other rather than direct teacher instruction
• By making the thinking behind ideas visible, teachers explicitly teach students easy strategies to analyse concepts in depth, developing a deep knowledge and understanding of topics rather than a surface understanding that can be applied across disciplines.

Ok, sounds great right? But there is two sides to every story, and using this routine allows us to consider all aspects instead of blindly accepting the claim - a skill that we often wish to cultivate in our students.

What questions could we pose about this claim?

• How about the time it takes to get started? Surely there is time that must be put into setting up these routines and cultivating the thinking needed?
• What about the time needed to up skill staff in developing the language associated around routines? Who will do it and how?
• What if my school already has a 'big idea' its pursuing? How can I fit Visible Thinking into previously established structures?

I'm sure there are others we can ask to pose against the claim. The short answer to all these? Time spent well is time gained. If we invest a teeny tiny bit of our time now in figuring out how to create a culture of thinking in our classrooms, we can be paid back ten fold in the time we gain from the collaborative and constructive environment Visible Thinking creates. 

The skills that we want students to develop as 21st Century learners - critical and creative thinking, questioning, risk taking, persevering, communicating, reflecting (this is starting to sound like the IB Learner Profile...) - are facilitated by deep thinking and become naturally embedded in our teaching through the use of the Routines. They are a teaching tool, not an extra activity.

Now that is brilliant. 

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Beyond Appian Way?

I'm currently sitting collapsed on my couch in the lounge room, after approximately 36 hours of travel getting from Boston, MA to Sydney, NSW. I have a warm, fluffy, slightly overweight cat sitting on my lap and a cup of caffeine beside me, as my body tries to figure out what time zone I'm in. 
(For the record, I think I'm floating somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.)

So, in my attempts to somehow stay awake until a socially acceptable bedtime, I'm doing some reflecting on the events of the last week that have gotten me into this very unattractive, sleep-deprived state.

I've just come back from a week at Harvard Graduate School of Education, attending Project Zero Classroom - an annual summer institute that invites participants from all over the globe to share insights and understandings into the various ventures of the Project Zero researchers. 

I'm still getting a little thrill saying that I studied at Harvard.

Oh what's this? Why yes, It's my HARVARD ID.

I spent the week working 10 hour days, learning from some of the most incredible educational researchers and minds of this era. It was exhausting but absolutely exhilarating. I felt empowered, engaged and ready to take on the world - that was the atmosphere created by the forward-thinking group of participants who gathered for this conference. 

Oh look - I was in a lecture with HOWARD GARDNER! :O

Even in our most stressful moments, the positive energy created and facilitated by the attendees pulsated throughout campus, lifting us up and reassuring us that we are doing something amazing, not only for our students, but for our own development as teachers. This was achieved through our plethora of activities to make our thinking visible, including art assignments, thinking routines and a surprising amount of interpretive dance. You can check out some of our zany antics (and some truly stunning pictures of me) on our Smore here.

You heard it here first - Tissue paper is in this summer.

Sounds incredible, right?

It was.

So now, as my cat's fat rolls slowly envelop my legs and I drink caffeine to prevent any keyboard drooling, I'm starting to think formatively about my situation. What is the next piece of learning for me? Where should I go next?

As teachers, we know the best way to figure out our next stepping stone is to look back at where we have already walked. So this week, I'm going to be bringing to you my adventures at HGSE - the highlights of my foray into the depths that is Making Thinking Visible, and my reflections on how it can be used in a public school classroom. 

And, as per usual, feel free to languish in my wit and generally incredible humour.

In addition, I'm hoping to start up a 'study group' of sorts for interested parties, so that anyone who is interested in learning more about MTV, or just want to give it a go, can take part. If this tickles your fancy, feel free to tweet me @bswain1, or email me at brianna.swain1@det.nsw.edu.au

Apples don't fall far from the tree

Prepare for a short rant.

Last Sunday, there was a violent altercation between two men who are considered very prominent in Australian society. These men were not under the influence of alcohol or narcotics, and in fact, this conflict occurred on a sunny afternoon in plain sight.

Sydney has just undergone a complete overhaul of laws and punishments for 'one-punch' violence in areas of the city. If this fight had gone differently - if one of those punches had landed in the wrong place, one of these men could have been seriously injured or killed. 

Yet, plastered across the front of every newspaper, featured prominently on news webpages, mercilessly mocked by radio presenters and in drawn out segments in the nightly news, these two men have been made cannon fodder, with this violent and pointless disagreement dissected minutely by every media outlet in the country.

What is our fascination with the downfall of others? This need to pull others down, cruelly mock them when they misstep, 'tear them a new one' if you will.  The Germans have a word for it. Schadenfreude - taking enjoyment out of other's pain. We feed on it - the hungry masses devouring this news of the mighty that have fallen.

And we wonder why kids are so cruel.

On a daily basis, we break up punch ups in the playground, chastise children for insulting each other's mothers, and listen to language used by 10 year olds that would make a sailor blush.

'Where do they get it from?!' we moan. 'Why do they solve everything with violence?!'

Well, perhaps its because Australian media THRIVES on it. We love violence. It's a no-no, so therefore it's cool and it's sexy. We smell blood and scream for more - why else would the media so readily cover any violent altercation over perhaps more meaningful and vital news?

I'm tuning out this week. I don't want to see two neanderthals in track pants solving an issue in a primitive and immature matter. There is so many more important things happening out there. Such as the 300 young Nigerian women who were kidnapped for seeking an education. Or perhaps that there was a large earthquake off the coast of PNG causing a tsunami warning. Or that this young man was murdered in Argentina in a botched robbery.

I want my students to be critical thinkers, who question what they see and read,  who think beyond the byline and see the real motive behind a story. Apples don't fall from the tree, so this week I'm going to lead by example. 

I urge you to do the same - question what our media considers 'news' this week.

Formatively Fantastic

Before I get into the intelligent smarty pants stuff, on a side note - 

WHAT IS IT WITH KIDS AND WEATHER??

The temperature drops a couple of degrees = DRAMA

It's windy = CHAOS

It's raining = CABIN FEVER

Here is an short informative clip that demonstrates my classroom during wet weather:

Anddddddd we return to our scheduled programming.

I have mentioned before here that our school is a bit nuts for formative assessment. We very rarely use summative assessment, as the way I interpret it, the students don't really need end of unit/term/year assessments because we are constantly assessing them, and they are constantly assessing themselves (Don't quote me on that - it's just my interpretation).

I knew all about formative assessment in university, but it wasn't until I started teaching that I really picked up some great strategies to feed up, back and forward to my students. Our students can articulate what they're learning, why its important and where to next - real metacognition in action!

So here they are, my top 5 formative assessment strategies for a cross stage classroom: (or any classroom for that matter, but mine is cross stage and it sounds fancy, so there.)

1. Mini whiteboards
Using a mini whiteboard is a great tool, because not only does it get students directly involved with any modelling you are doing, but it also allows you to find out, on the spot, whether students understand what you are talking about and allows you to change your practice accordingly. 
Example? Today when teaching rounding in maths, I asked students to round a 3 digit number to the nearest 10. about 50% of students got it right. I remodelled in a slightly different way, and all students were then able to get it right and justify their response (linking in with our success criteria).

Disclaimer: This is not my class. I thought I had pictures of kids using whiteboards on my phone but I was oh so wrong. Please enjoy this image of some class somewhere using formative assessment.

There's deep thoughts on them. BEWARE!

2. Exit Slips
Exit slips are a form of summative-formative assessment in a way, as they are usually completed at the end of a lesson as a form of reflection upon learning, or as a chance to ask further questions. I like to get kids to post them on my door as they literally 'exit' the classroom.  It's fantastic to see whether students have grasped a concept, or if they need help in certain areas. They can be anonymous, or have names, depending on the task. I usually either give students a deep thinking question or a visible thinking routine (more on these later) to really challenge their thinking.








3. Bump it Up
Bump it up walls are BRILLIANT. They get students to reflect on their learning in a particular activity - in this case independent reading - and rate themselves against criteria that they have created! It reinforces the concept of 'where to next' - what kids need to do next to become better readers. This is actually my wall from last year, as again, I didn't have a photo of this year's, but you get the picture.
If students are consistently achieving the top level, I like to get them to create the next level up so they have something to work towards as well.










4. Individual Goals
Individual Goals, whether set by the teacher or by the students, are a great way for students to work towards a specific criteria that they need to focus on. These  goals are worded in kid-speak, but still use any relevant metalanguage to develop student vocab. I check the reading goals during guided reading groups and remind students of them constantly. Writing goals, however, are monitored by a student's thinking partner - their buddy for a fortnight who they share their thinking and learning with.









5. And last but not least...LISC
Learning Intentions and Success Criteria are absolutely essential to any lesson. It tells the students what we are learning about, why and what they need to do to achieve it. They're simple, taken straight from the syllabus, and give students a focal point for learning.
WILF = What I'm looking for - your expectations
TIB = This is because - real life connection for learning
WALT/WALA = We are learning to/we are learning about

There obviously are many others that are absolutely fantastic - this is not an all inclusive list of what I use in my classroom, I also show much love for thumbs up/down, paddle pop sticks, wait time, reflection statements, Think-Pair-Share etc.... but we would be here all day and you would find it as boring as batpoop. 

(nice simile, huh? Wouldn't mind seeing that in some student writing...)

Do you use formative assessment in your classroom? What's your go to strategy?

Why I'm a massive Shaun Tan fan.

Oh my goodness. I'm getting through to them!

I've been dying to study a Shaun Tan with my munchkins for ages, and when I finally found out we'd be looking at the Stolen Generation and perspectives on Australian History, I emailed my supervisor halfway through the summer holidays and begged her to let us do John Marsden's 'The Rabbits'.

(If you don't know who Shaun Tan is, your mind is about to be blown. Check him out here.)

For me, Shaun Tan's work is the epitome of visual literacy. A renowned artist in his own right, Tan creates works of such incredible depth and complexity that they can be studied for hours by even young students.

(My Year 4s and 5s sat there quite happily discussing a double page for AN HOUR without beginning to get restless. They even tried to stay in at lunch so they could keep talking about it!)

There is so many different ways you can study a Shun Tan book, which is why it lends itself so nicely to visual literacy - the nuances of both the visual and literary aspects of the texts help the reader delve deeply into the text and gain a true understanding of underlying themes.

Needless to say, I'm a Shaun Tan nut. My kidlets are becoming Tan fans too.

Never have I seen a group of students so engaged with a high level text. We were looking at the double page below today (this is our second week on the text, and we've only reached the 3rd double page because we spend so much time making connections and asking deep thinking questions - resulting in me sitting, mouth agape while my 'low' students engage with the text on a stage appropriate level).

In fact, I look a little something like this:

<-------- This is my 'omgmystudentsaredeepthinking' happy face

If you'd like to see more Tan, check out some of these wonderful works - adaptable for any age or stage:

http://www.shauntan.net/books.html

 

all images taken from http://www.shauntan.net/books.html