Choice is a waypoint on one route to engagement

Could a classroom be transformed into a place where "on task" and "off task no longer had any meaning, where all student activity that led to learning was honored and promoted?

@GeraldAungst poses this disruptive question in his recent post entitled On-Task is not a waypoint on the route to engagement. He describes a four-quadrant grid with On-Task as the horizontal axis and Engaged as the vertical axis.

He correctly observes that "While we'd like to have all students in the upper-left quadrant (on task and engaged), we seem to think that the lower-left quadrant is the next-best place to be." And he asks, "What if instead of forcing kids to the left, we looked for ways to raise them up into the quadrant of off task but engaged? What kinds of teacher action would encourage a student to engage on his terms without necessarily participating in our activity?"

The distinction that @GeraldAungst articulates between on-task and engaged relates to Phil Schlechty's distinction between ritualistic engagement and authentic engagement. With ritualistic engagement, students go through the motions of a task, complying with the instructions of teachers, but not fully committing themselves to a task because they do not intrinsically value it.

I commented on Gerald Aungst's blog about practical considerations relating to his proposal for a classroom where ALL student activity that leads to learning is honored and promoted. Gerald appropriately responded, "If practical things are getting in the way of learning, maybe we have to change what we consider practical . . .Change the system, and what is practical may change."

Honoring ALL student activity that leads to learning is an incredibly high standard. Accepting Aungst's challenge to "change the system" with this high standard in mind leads to many disruptive questions. How should the student day be organized? What type of classes, if any, would be held? To what extent, if at all, should we rely on direct instruction? How should we assess and recognize student progress in learning? Is there still a role for course credits/Carnegie units?

And this brings me to the key role of student choice. Even within the confines of the current system (standardized tests, bell schedules, Carnegie units, etc), educators can increase the likelihood of student engagement by providing more student choice. This leads to greater variety of student activity within a classroom, even if it does not achieve the proposal of honoring and promoting ALL student activity that leads to learning.

Imagine a continuum that runs from teacher control to honoring ALL student activity that leads to learning. Providing students more choices moves us along the continuum.

We can provide students different types of choices. Broad or narrow. Relating to means or outcomes. In any case, as we provide students more choices, we will open our minds to the possibilities and avenues towards honoring ALL student activity that leads to learning.

To use the language of @GeraldAungst, choice is a waypoint on one of the routes to student engagement. 

You might also be interested in reading, 

Fretting about Authentic Projects

Students & Transformative Work

Using Technology to Transform Teaching and Learning

Kindergartners Do Work That Matters

Gallup's Five Questions Regarding Student Engagement

If you were to ask students just five questions in an effort to gauge their engagement, what would you ask?

@punyamishra blogged recently regarding a five-item Gallup survey that concludes that student engagement drops precipitously as students progress through school. @punyamishra did not disagree with the Gallup conclusion, but he questions whether the five items Gallup used were the best measure of student engagement.

Gallup asked students to respond to these five statements:

I have a best friend at school

I feel safe in this school

My teachers make me feel my schoolwork is important

At this school, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day

In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good schoolwork

Should Gallup have omitted the statements relating to best friends and feeling safe? It makes sense that these items would correlate positively with student engagement: students are more likely to fully commit themselves to their schoolwork in a positive, safe school climate. However, even if positive, safe school climates are a necessary condition for high levels of student engagement, one should not conclude that high levels of student engagement exist in this situation. Educators need to take advantage of this climate by giving students high quality work.

Asking students whether they believe their schoolwork is important comes the closest to measuring the heart of student engagement. When students value schoolwork, they are more likely to fully commit themselves and to persist when they face difficulties. However, should Gallup have omitted the reference to teachers in the third item? Teachers greatly influence student engagement with the quality of work they provide, but this item could just ask students to respond to "my schoolwork is important."

The statement relating to students' sense of efficacy is also on the right track. Although we need to stretch students to work in areas in which they are not comfortable, we can build engagement with opportunities for students to experience a sense of mastery, a sense of being in the zone.

The item relating to recognition or praise is certainly on the right track to the extent that it is asking about students' opportunities for affirmation. Teachers can promote student engagement by designing tasks and activities so that the work of students is visible to persons who are important to students. Students are more likely to be engaged when they know that they quality of their performance matters to peers and others whose opinions matter to them. We need to be careful with this particular item. When students sole motivation for working hard is the pursuit of a good grade or other external recognition then the engagement, using Phil Schlechty's terminology, is ritualistic, rather than authentic. Authentic engagement leads to deeper, longer-lasting learning.

Even if we would create different items or approaches to measure student engagement, kudos to Brandon Busteed and Gallup for their focus on student engagement. Asking students about their level of engagement can provide rich information to guide our efforts to engage students in meaningful work.

Check out these other blog posts regarding student engagement:

Design Qualities that Promote Student Engagement

Discussion of #Edchat regarding Student Engagement

Designing a Mousetrap Vehicle and Student Engagement

Building Engagement by Giving Students Opportunities to do Transformative Work

1 to the World, Not 1:1

"Let the rebranding begin" announced @SuzieBoss as we tweeted one another at the 2012 Microsoft Partners in Learning Global Forum (#PilGF) regarding the limitations of the 1:1 phrase. Rather than referring to 1:1 initiatives, let's refer to 1 to the World initiatives.

As Lisa Nielsen (@InnovativeEdu) reported in her recent blog post, Microsoft Vice-President @AnthonySalcito cautioned 1:1 advocates regarding focusing on digital devices rather than the learning opportunities associated with connectivity.

I first heard the phrase 1 to the World from friend and disruptive-questioner Alan November (@globalearner). Here are five reasons Alan November was right to suggest that we refer to 1 to the World rather than 1:1 initiatives. What other reasons can you identify?

1.      The 1:1 terminology mistakenly implies that people use just one device. Although some adults and students do not have access to any digital devices, many adults and students use multiple devices. They might use a smart phone one moment, only to employ a netbook shortly thereafter, while sitting down at a desktop computer later in the day. 1 to the World does not muddy the water by suggesting people use just one device.

2.      With the 1:1 phrase, many people assume that a group of students will all be using the same type of device. People naturally work alongside and collaborate with others while using a variety of devices. Let’s not use terminology that suggests that everyone should be using the same type of device.

3.      The 1:1 terminology incorrectly suggests that providing ubiquitous access to technology is an end in and of itself. The existence of every student with a device is a means to an end, not the goal.

4.      1 to the World effectively emphasizes that we want to connect every student globally. Global connectivity provides students with resources, collaborators and an audience throughout the world.

5.      1 to the World appropriately avoids focusing on who provides the device. Obviously bring-your-own-device/bring-your-own-technology initiatives involve students providing the devices. The common perception is that schools provide the devices with 1:1 initiatives. In contrast with these phrases, the source of the device is not the point with the 1 to the World phrase. Schools may provide devices. Students may bring their own devices. Alternatively, some students may use school-provided devices while others bring their own. Thus, 1 to the World helpfully focuses on the purpose of the connectivity rather than who provides the device.

Help us rebrand these initiatives as 1 to the World. Blog and tweet using and advocating for this terminology. Use the #1toWorld hashtag. Share this post. Words mean a lot so use this terminology to help focus the conversation on learning, not the device.

Dot Day & Choose2Matter

Too often educators adopt a content coverage mentality to prepare students for high-stakes tests. They try to cram a ton of facts into students’ heads without engaging students in deeper, longer-lasting learning.  International Dot Day and the Choose2Matter movement are opportunities for teachers, principals, superintendents and others to reject the content coverage mentality and articulate a more compelling vision of teaching and learning. With this vision, students commit themselves enthusiastically to work that makes a difference locally, nationally, and/or globally. Students learn the content and skills of the curriculum as they choose to matter.

International Dot Day is inspired by Peter Reynolds children’s book The Dot. The Dot tells the story of Vashti, a little girl who is dared by her teacher to “make her mark.” Based on registrations, over 500,000 students are participating in Dot Day September 15-ish.

Students from all areas within our school district are participating in International Dot Day. The level of participation by school varies ranging from an entire school, to entire grade levels or departments, to a few classes. Students in each of our nineteen schools will make their mark matter during the school year. Third grade students will research options for fertilizing soil in rural communities as part of managing actual charitable contributions. Sixth grade students will write letters and create videotaped public service announcements for 5^th grade students regarding lockers, homework, and other topics relating to the transition to middle school. High school students will engage in oyster restoration to improve water quality and increase the native oyster population. Students at all levels will create tutorials using screencasting, Claymation, and videotaping in a variety of content areas, including Driver’s Education, Spanish, Algebra, and Biology. They will publish these tutorials for a global audience on the Internet. You can read blog posts relating to these and other similar projects via the links provided at the end of this post.

Student Dots from Mount
Vernon Elementary School 

Participation in International Dot Day can launch sustained efforts to support students as they do work that matters. Participation in Dot Day can generate excitement, extend understanding of the concept of choosing to matter, build community, and make connections. These examples illustrate the different ways schools can use participation in Dot Day to launch a year of doing work that matters:



Dot Day Digital Quilt of Magruder
Elementary School Staff Dots



·         Students, teachers and administrators are making their own dots.

·         High School students are Skyping with elementary school students for a read-aloud of The Dot and related activities.

·         Multiple schools are planning aerial photographs of students and staff standing together forming a Dot, making their mark as a school.

Waller Mill Elementary School, with a Dot Week of activities, provides other examples of using International Dot Day to kick off sustained efforts to support students’ making their mark matter.

WMES Display in Front Hall will
Display Dots Soon

·         A bulletin board near the entrance to the school will display staff and student dots.

·         Gold frames will initially exhibit student dots and eventually exhibit other student work that makes a difference.

·         The morning show will feature students sharing their commitment to make their mark matter.

·         Students will write responses, some of which will be published as blog posts, in response to a school-wide common writing prompt relating to making one’s mark matter.

Gold Frames, Just Like Vashti Used!

Here are five steps you can take to participate in International Dot Day:

1.       Visit the official Dot Day web site to learn more and view resources for instructional activities.

2.       Read Angela Maier’s blog post regarding connecting the dots to change the world.

3.       Sign your students up to participate in International Dot Day.

4.       Register for the Skype in the Classroom network to use videoconferencing to participate in Dot Day and followup activities throughout the year.

5. Exchange ideas with others through Twitter using the #DotDay #Choose2Matter and #MakeURMark hashtags.

Participating in International Dot Day can be an effective part of engaging students in deeper, longer-lasting learning through projects that make a difference.  When students learn the content and skills of the curriculum through these projects, we see that a content-coverage mentality that focuses on just exposing students to content is not the best perspective. So, join educators and students around the globe in connecting their dots to make a difference locally, nationally, and/or globally.

You might also like:

Choose to Matter: Don't Underestimate Students
The Digital Learning Farm: A Call to Action
Students and Transformative Work
Using Technology to Transform Teaching and Learning

Exhibition of Transformative Work

Last week, the 900 teachers of the York County School Division participated in a gallery walk, an exhibition of student and educator work. To start the day, teachers walked for ninety minutes with colleagues among 140+ exhibits presented by their peers. The exhibits included project descriptions, student work, assessment rubrics, assessment checklists, and other materials to help teachers "steal" ideas from one another. Following the gallery walk, each teacher participated in a series of three 20-minute small group discussions, each of which focused on one of the exhibitions.

The tweets sent by participants provide a glimpse of the power of the exhibition. In addition to providing camaraderie, the exhibition generated three valuable benefits:

Learning from presenters and other participants;

Inspiring teachers to take action; and

Sparking further collaboration across the district.

The exhibition showcased examples of transformative learning. We define transformative learning as follows:

Transformative learning engages students in rigorous work that makes a difference. Students master the content and skills of the curriculum while making a positive impact on their local, state, national, and/or global community. Students are more likely to fully commit themselves to their work because transformative learning generates a sense of ownership by appealing to students’ desire for significance. Students use digital tools to improve and amplify the impact of their work.

When students make a difference through transformative learning they are accepting the challenge set forth by Angela Maiers and others to #Choose2Matter.

The exhibition featured work from all three levels: elementary, middle, and high school. Projects allowed students to learn the content and skills of the curriculum while making a difference in a variety of ways: reducing the waste of old cell phones, working to protect endangered species, designing healthy school lunch menus, managing charitable donations, creating book trailors to market books, promoting water conservation, and designing APPs. Here are three projects that involved students helping their peers:

Jennie MacBlane shared how her fourth grade students create instructional videos that are posted on YouTube to teach peers reading strategies. She emphasized that students took charge of the projects, serving in one of a variety of roles, such as Director, Head of Script Writers, Head of Filming, Actors, Filming Crew Members, and Production Crew members. As Alan November observes in describing the concept of the digital learning farm, she reports that students committed themselves fully to the work because they valued the work for more than a grade. For resources relating to this project, click here.

Sixth grade teachers Cindy Evans, Nancy Hehir, Becky Karatsikis, and Kelley Payne enlisted their students in supporting the transition of 5th grade students to middle school. Fifth grade students wrote letters to the 6th grade students asking questions about middle school. The sixth grade students wrote detailed letters in response. They then grouped the questions into categories such as lockers, the schedule, and homework and worked in groups to create video Public Service Announcements for the younger students to view. One teacher observed that some of her reluctant writers wrote lengthy responses and wrote multiple letters, although only one letter was required.

Emily Lerberg and Joyce Kuberek are examples of high school teachers engaging their students in making a difference while learning content and skills that are part of the curriculum. Their chemistry students create comic strips that reinforce and extend peers’ knowledge of Chemistry. Without any technical instruction from their Chemistry teachers, students used Bit Strips, ToonDoo, other digital tools, or free hand drawing to create comic strips relating to Chemistry content. Mrs. Kuberek shared this link to a video to explain the process of embedding a comic strip in Edmodo in order to publish work for a larger audience.

An excerpt of a student-created comic strip

These teachers are heros. They are working to resist the content coverage mentality that grips much of education. By giving students opportunities to make a difference through these projects, they increase the likelihood that students commit themselves fully to their work. They design projects that teach the curriculum, but they reject the short-term perspective of the content coverage mentality and seek deeper, longer-lasting mastery of content and skills.

These teachers are also heros because they shared their genius by presenting during the exhibition and small group discussions. In some districts, pockets of innovation exist in which teachers engage students in transformative learning. To move from pockets of innovation to consistent transformative learning throughout a school or district, a distributive model of leadership, including active teacher-leaders, is crucial.

After lunch, teachers gathered at their own schools to participate in a variety of activities relating to transformative learning. For example, staff members at some schools completed a jigsaw activity relating to excerpts of articles or books by Dan Pink, Phil Schlecty, Bill Daggett, and Robert Marzano. Each teacher joined a small groups and used a protocol from the National School Reform Faculty to make connections between transformative learning and one of the excerpts from an article or book. They then reconfigured the groups and discussed how each of the articles and books relate to Transformative Learning. Staff members at other schools used a protocol to discuss a blog post relating to the concept that student work can still be meaningful and valuable, even it is somewhat authentic or somewhat transformative, rather than fully authentic, transformative work. Another school used Today's Meet to discuss transformative learning. All three of these approaches were modeled recently at our Leadership Academy for teacher-leaders, school-level administrators, and central office leaders. 

The success of the day was based on the work of many people in addition to the exhibiting teachers. Ashley Ellis, Candi Skinner, Mike Lombardo, Len Donvito, and Stephanie Guy not only organized the day but have worked over the last several years to support teachers’ creation of engaging, rigorous projects. Our School Board members, Principals, Assistant Principals, Educational Technology Facilitators, Instructional Specialists, and others at central office and within schools have also provided teachers with support in recent years that contributed to the high quality of work exhibited.

We plan to build on the excitement and insight generated by the exhibition to engage students in transformative learning throughout the year!

You might also enjoy these posts:
Choose2Matter: Don't Underestimate Students
The Digital Learning Farm: A Call to Action
Fretting about Somewhat Authentic Projects
Students and Transformative Work

Innovative Teachers: Share Your Genius

Here is an excerpt of a guest post that I published on the Cool Cat Teacher Blog. Click here for the full post. 

The world needs your unique talents and insights for engaging students in work that matters. Understanding and acting on this truth, as championed by Angela Maiers, can change the world.

Many innovative teachers, observed Alan November at #PILUS, prefer to focus on innovation rather than on promoting innovative instructional practices. Innovative teachers, let’s break this stereotype!

You have unique talents and insights for engaging students in work that matters. Some teachers almost instinctively identify the big ideas and important skills of their curriculum and design projects that allow students to master these concepts and skills. Other teachers brilliantly support students’ leveraging of technology to connect with a global audience for the students’ work. Still other teachers wow us with their ability to coach students’ collaboration with peers and adults. As Angela Maiers emphasizes, claim your genius by acknowledging your genius.

Choose2Matter, a hashtag created by Angela Maiers, reflects the notion of using one’s genius to change the world. The world needs your genius so Choose2Matter. Others will benefit from your genius and you will be enriched by the connections as well!

Angela Maiers Livestream

Check out the livestream of a keynote address by Angela Maiers from 8:15 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. EST on Tuesday, August 7. Although flight problems will preclude her presenting at the York County School Division in person, we plan to connect with her via videoconferencing and livestream the event.

To access the livestream, visit http://www.ustream.tv/channel/ycsd-tv

Join the conversation on Twitter that morning via the hashtag #ycsd13. My introductory remarks will also be live streamed starting at approximately 7:50 a.m.

In her remarks to teacher leaders, building-level administrators, and central office leaders of the York County School Division in Virginia, Angela Matters will issue a call to action: Choose2Matter. She will share her passion for engaging students in work that makes a difference locally, nationally, and globally. She will share the You Matter message and will articulate how teachers and students and use digital tools to improve and amplify the impact of their work.