Day 34 - Understanding by Design and Socratic Seminar

I am a recent Twitter convert and one of the educators I follow is Grant Wiggins. His Understanding by Design model has influenced the IB inquiry model. Yesterday I read one of his recent posts comparing the PBL, Inquiry etc with Ubd.

I enjoy the Grant Wiggins Blog and I particularly liked this statement yesterday. Quote. 

'understanding is dependent upon drawing inferences by oneself – as well as testing and justifying those inferences – if only to question or verify claims made by the teacher, other students, or authors. Otherwise, it is rote learning with no thinking behind it.'

Unquote

I also picked up the phrase that I have often read, Socratic seminar. After a few minutes of Google I got an interesting read on how a Socratic Seminar can be run for teaching and learning. 

Socratic Seminar

Now just waiting for an opportunity to try it! :)

Day 33 - TGIF! CMP

TGIF!

Lazy evening with yummy take away dinner from Jaggi's. Tummy and head sated, I watched the Food Network where I learnt a new recipe - the CMP Dessert! The dessert is a decadent treat guaranteed to give you a sensational sugar rush!

So CMP stands for Chocolate, Marshmallow, Peanuts recipe! But the recipe I watched was as follows..........


Take a dessert glass.
Add a scoop of vanilla icecream or butterscotch. (My take on it.)
Add a generous spoonful of chocolate ganache.
Top with sweet crushed peanuts.
Add a spoonful of melted marshmallows.
Top it up with shattered sugar glass thin.

Now take a  long dessert spoon and dig through the layers. Mess it up as you pull out the spoon with the gooey, crunchy, sweet, salty, cold and hot CMP Dessert!

Hmmmmm............. now to try a GF, Vegan version!

Happy Friday!

Day 32- Star Trek and Student Leaders

I love Star Trek! Was watching it this evening in a sort of a zombie mode after a tiring day at work.. I always enjoy watching Captain Picard at his leadership best. He inspires. He runs his ship with intensity and passion and his crew is equally passionate and committed. All characters are great but the two of my absolute favourites are the graceful Counsellor Troi and the real cute Data. 

I love the concepts of Data and Troi. A ship/ an organisation needs both to run -  data and intuition. And this somehow relates to my post yesterday. One needs intuition to get a feel of the culture, the people, the change, the happenings. However one needs data to corroborate the intuition.

On that note, I received a photo of three of our ex-students this morning. Two of the mums sent it to me, separately. All three children, who have been my students in the past were chosen Student Leaders by their respective home room classes today. It was a beautiful, proud moment! I wasn't the only one. We had other teachers who had supported their learning journeys and each one of us took  pride and pleasure in the news when I shared it at the staff meeting today.  Their parents have been incredible, trusting the children and the teachers, and today they even bothered to share this news and celebrate with us in spite of having left school. 

So where does it link in?

I intuitively believe that my small little school with its big heart does a great job of teaching and learning. We hone the children, we give them the opportunities and we invest in them much more than some of the big schools with big resources. We invest ourselves and that makes the difference. The feeling is more intuitive than data based at the moment. However, when three of a class of 20 make it to leadership positions at the same time, in different class contexts, there is something more than coincidence.

Happy chappy! :)

Day 31 - Perception, Attention, Perspectives, Data and Reality

I watched an interesting TED talk by Apollo Robbins on the Art of Misdirection. TED Talk - Apollo Robbins
This man is hailed as the world's best pickpocket and what more he actually demonstrates this art on the TED stage! As I watched his video, I realised that he was creating perceptions which were very real to my mind. I (along with the audience) was convinced that I 'knew' what he was doing.... till it turned out wrong when he shared how he was mis-directing us intentionally.

This reminded me of a conversation I had with a friend who was convinced about something whereas I wasn't. But she was firm in her perceptions, as was I. Obviously both of us had contexts that we had experienced without the other so we were quite firm with our perceptions and thus our perspectives!

The misdirection video brought back to light how perceptions can become reality for us. Till the master guy/performer doesn't open his or her cards, these perceptions are there to stay. What more, our actions are based on them. These perceptions and realities can make us unhappy or happy. After having done my 100 days of happiness I have come to the conclusion that I would prefer to keep my perceptions if they give me happiness. This doesn't mean that I'd like to stay in oblivion, however it does mean that I will not dig too deep for the truth if my sense of reality is a happy state. For example, if I have the perception that my daughter's friends find me cool, I am not going to dig too hard and ask them how they find me cool, why they find me cool, etc.! On a more serious note, if I perceive that the staff does not share ideas with me, I would be unhappy and definitely dig deeper into the reasons as well as my perceptions.

So how do we know? I guess one of the best ways is to remain open-minded to the fact that your perceptions (and thus the actions/perspectives) can be wrong. Listen to the other people (you trust). Find for yourself. Talk to the related stakeholders. Communicate your sense of reality. Watch, listen (around and to yourself), think  and communicate.

 Secondly, learn to be attentive and seek data. I am getting more and more convinced about mapping the data.........accurately! An interesting thing happened with my new found love for data.

So in the last few weeks, I felt that my helper was getting in what we euphemistically term "Contract coming to an end mode". She wasn't waking up in the mornings on time. My tea was always late and then I was late and then we both had a grumpy morning. We tried putting an alarm bell for her, which didn't work due to the acoustics. One week was particularly bad when she just didn't wake up to the 3 alarms she set up in the mornings almost daily! Micky complained the same and he is generally the quiet kinds so I felt that it was action time. After a grave discussion without any conclusion, I decided to map and actually note the days she couldn't wake up. The results were interesting. Mondays were particularly bad (The Sunday off is tiring with her Volleyball commitments). For the rest of the week, she managed to wake up on three days on an average for three weeks. I shared this with her which did wonders! It also helped me come back to senses that she doesn't always do it! (which was my firm perception for a while). It helped me realise why the Mondays were as they were.

Data is useful. However, to seek  that data you need to ensure that you are attentive. The Art of Misdirection video certainly brought home the importance of attentiveness. The Project Zero Making Thinking Visible routine Looking 10 x 2 is a useful tool to hone attentiveness and the power of observation in learners. Art of Thinking -Project Zero

The more you hone the power of observation, the more you are attuned to the power of data, the closer your perceptions are to reality!

(Wow!This is a deep reflection today! Either this is completely relevant or the fever is playing games with my thoughts and words! If you read this and reach the end, please let me know your comments! :) Thanks.)

Day 30 - Motivated by bigger purpose

I read an article heading about how a bigger purpose can motivate students to learn. Well, I was about to mentally shrug it off as something I already know.............Yes, we do look at the purpose of learning. Yes, we do understand that children need big ideas to get motivated for meaningful and purposeful inquiries.

However, I didn't shrug it off because it was tweeted by Kath Murdoch - the guru of inquiry learning. So off I went to read the blog which I found interesting. How a Bigger Purpose can motivate students Blog

I found the research interesting and it made me think of one of the debates/discussions my husband and I often have on homework and what constitutes meaningful homework for children.

I will not post my learning for the day but my questions for the day.

• How  much homework is enough?
• What should it look like?
• Who is responsible to give, to complete, to monitor homework? Why?
• What makes skill and drill homework bad if there is a place for skills in the curriculum?
• What makes the 'thinking' homework good if the thinking does not get scaffolded, challenged or even monitored?
• The research says homework does not help. What context was the research done in?What is the current status of that society- economically and socially? Can the context be transferred? Should the context be transferred? 
• How should the definition of homework change with the needs of the cohort of the children and the strata they come from?  (My Aunt taught in a rural area school and the 'homework' the children had to do was to cure leather to make shoes as that was their sole source of income. Should that not have been a valued component of practical skills development?)
• What is the measurement of success? 

The article about bigger purpose motivating children to learn resonates with me and yet it poses many questions. I am particularly provoked by this paragraph..quote

"Yet, he added, it isn’t practical or possible to render every lesson or assignment in K-12 “super fun and game-y” for kids — and even if it were, doing so could be a disservice to them later. What would they do when they get to law school and are faced with having to memorize long lists of laws? Or when they land a job that calls for mastering information that no one has “gamefied” to make it exciting to learn." Unquote.

I guess at a Primary school level we are still looking for the right balance for the right context and the right needs..... and when we find our feet the context changes again in the rapidly changing world. Having said that if a purposeful mindset motivates children, service learning should be an essential part of the curriculum. 

The learning continues as Kath Murdoch continues to provoke directly and indirectly! 

Day 29 - Maths class with loose materials

Day 29 - I went into a class this afternoon to talk to a teacher, who was rather excited with a number carpet on the floor. Teachers must be the most amazing, simple human beings who can get happy on seemingly mundane things like a carpet with the hopscotch boxes with numbers 1 to 10 on it. Anyway, the teacher was excited to tell me how she had made big sponge dices for children to roll and then jump on the number that rolled up with the dice.  And then she pulled a face saying that that did not happen. 

I waited for the story to continue... because this teacher is an amazing educator who constantly improves, looks out and facilitates open-ended inquiries. 

Her face suddenly broke into a smile as she described what her students did instead. Her classroom has many 'loose parts', open-ended materials and one of the mini baskets (Daiso 2$ cane baskets) had an assortment of paper cut-outs, foil pieces, feathers etc. Children used them to create a pattern on the number carpet! 1 feather for box with the number 1; 2 scrap papers for the box with number 2..... and so on! What a beautiful way for children to show their understanding of numbers!

Student-initiated, student-centric, student-led activity that the students enjoyed! Of course, she took no time in quickly documenting this learning through her iPad. Small yet big thrills of a teacher's daily life!

How did this happen? A combination of all factors come in  mind.

Her classroom facilitated collaborative learning. Children felt comfortable to explore and reach out.

She was "listening" to the children and was able to identify quickly when the children did not get interested in the dice.

The image of the child in her pedagogical belief was that of the children being competent, capable learners who have independent access to the learning material around them. They are able to use the materials competently to build as well as demonstrate their understanding.

She was open-minded with her own set of beliefs and though she introduced the dice activity, she did not impose it upon the children as the only right way.

She was respectful towards the children and most importantly believed in them.

Her enthusiasm was contagious. I came up to my office and reflected upon the learning in her class.  I remembered the time I had asked my Year 3 students to show me the times tables for 3. How did they know 3X6 was 18? They came up with an array of exciting ways, from using stickers, to leaves arranged in a flower shapes, to using straws in bundles, to using popsicle sticks in piles. What I still remember distinctly was a fascinating way in which a student deviced a musical instrument with straws of different lengths in groups of three. As he blew into the straws, the sounds differed (which became another inquiry!). It happened by chance as he was trying to tape the straws up and his friend remarked that it looked like a peruvian instrument he had at home. 

I got reminded of this incident this  morning. The more I thought about it, the more I got fascinated. I looked up 'loose parts' and the possibilities they offer in a classroom.

My learning for the day was that the theory of Loose parts was first proposed by the architect Simon Nicholson who believed that the 'loose parts' empowered creativity. Loose parts are materials that can be moved, carried, combined, taken apart and put back together in a number of ways to build a design or redesign an idea. They don't have a set direction or use and can be used in a combination.Loose parts website

Stones, wooden stumps and sticks, glass pebbles, clay, twigs, leaves, shells, gravel, paper pieces, yarn, wire, pencil shavings, fabric, pebbles, caps, dried beans, seedpods etc can be kept in the classroom as loose materials. Children use these competently to create, extend and demonstrate their understandings. 

I want to try it with adults in the next learning environment. What can we come up with? Will we be able to let go the impositions of our educated minds on ourselves and allow creativity to take course?

That might be a learning for another day!

Day 28 - The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is a motor neuron disorder, where the neurons controlling the voluntary muscles gradually get affected thus impacting all muscular activity of the patient, gradually and ultimately resulting in death.

I first heard of the dreaded disorder from a friend whose spouse was diagnosed with it. I could not then and I cannot now, imagine the daily dread this lovely couple is going through - physically and emotionally. As the muscles atrophy and start to affect the body slowly but steadily, it ain't just the one person who is affected. The deep-seated feeling of dread of the times to come in my friends' lives, is so hurtful that I can't even bring myself to think of it any further let aside describe it. The first time I heard about it, I decided to shut myself to it. I felt that the less I knew, the more I would be able to stay positive with our conversations and make their times spent with me happier. 

The ALS Ice Bucket challenge has been making the facebook rounds. Came even closer to me as Neetima took on the challenge last evening. My friends, Mihir and Sangeeta made the challenge even more special with this beautifully and meaningfully made video. 

Mihir's Ice Bucket video

So I decided to read more about the ALS this evening on wikipedia. I still cannot bear to go through the entire wikipedia article as I keep thinking of my friends. However, it sort of helps to know more about the disorder. I think I can now at least support the conversations by understanding the condition a little better, when my friends talk about it with amazing courage. I promise to myself, to be more supportive and help them talk about it whenever they want to. That is the least I can do to support them as a result of this day's learning.

May we learn so much about it that one day we can take the struggle out of it. Till then........ let's spread the awareness. 

Day 27 - Selfies and selflessness - Mariners' night 2014

A lazy Saturday after the first school week!

Micky and I went to an annual event for mariners. It is an amazing event, which I have always admired in retrospect! Truthfully, when I am there, I fail to appreciate it as much as I do after the event is done and dusted. 

It has to do something with the intense assault on senses - the taste of spicy Indian food - from kebabs to cold cuts that strain to glimpse at their consumer from the deluge of daal makhni and curries piled on copious amounts of rice, with a naan soaking yoghurt somewhere on the plate; the sight of  glitzy Indian women dressed in their fineries; the smells of perfumes mixed with alcoholic pheromones; the sounds of people shouting out conversations over the peppy Indian beats provided by the enthusiastic group of folks who dance, sing and take on the roles of the DJ; and the happy hugs of friends and acquaintances that grow in intensity and frequency with the free-flow of spirits! I don't enjoy huge crowds in general and this event grows bigger each year. The yearly increase in membership for this event and association is evident from the change of venue to a bigger hall and the ads of bigger sponsors.

I come here to support hubby's networking as well as to meet my friends and love the idea of dancing to the music at the end of the event. However, any meaningful conversations drown in loud music and the conversation threads break often as networking happens. Hubby and I stand talking with a group of his ex-colleagues when he suddenly catches a glimpse of his batchmate from uni days ten people away and rushes to find him in a crowd of about 2000 people! Good luck, sensible shoes and an incredible amount of physical and social dexterity is needed to navigate in this crowd to find what you are looking for. (I am sure there is also an incentive to lose your spouse conveniently for a while on this pretext!)

I am glad that I have friends to hang around with, in this event. A friend and I stand together for a chat. Since we can't have much of a conversation with  the loud music, I decide to whip out my phone camera and take pictures and selfies. Soon we have more people around us and a group comes together to be a part of the pictures. We catch hold of the nearest cooperative fella to take pics. He conveniently takes a selfie while we are all posing with our smiles. He returns the camera with a cheeky grin! We all groan and ask him to take another pic. The place suddenly appears friendlier and we all introduce ourselves to each other. Phone numbers and pleasantries are exchanged, connections are made, and loads of food and drinks are consumed.  

I have often read about how the Smart phones have impacted the social skills and graces of the younger generation. However, today I realise the possibilities of the Smartphones and Selfies in creating social bonds. It is an instrument of cohesion. An instrument that helps people connect. I like it and that is my learning for the day.

Micky is in the editorial team of the club's magazine (I do have a sense of familiarity with some of the write-ups! :) )and often raves about the phenomenal energy of the club's committee members who invest their heart and souls in running this club on a voluntary basis. I meet these guys every year and each time I marvel at the absolutely passionate and almost philanthropic zeal with which they work for this event. What energises them? Why do they do this? What drives them? Why are these guys so selfless with their time and dedication? The more I think about it, the more it confuses me and the more it impresses me. 

Remembering my favourite researcher Hofstede again....establishing rituals, symbols and heroes help support the core of the values and impact the practices, the culture of a community. The annual event is a beautiful ritual that brings people together, economically, socially and emotionally. The club magazine pages that laud partners' and children's achievements send a loud and clear message of the importance of families in the lives of the community. The core committee members that proudly and enthusiastically go up on stage are the heroes, the people who are committed, dedicated, passionate and zealous about the club. The quiet ones who support from the wings to organise the free flow of food, drinks, fun and edit the event's thick glossy magazine are the unsung heroes (and heroines) who add layers to the culture. The volume of the event and the enthusiasm of the group to open the doors for even more members gives a lovely sense of an inclusive culture. From an all Indian expat crowd in the first event to a crowd with local and expats from other countries in this event, the diversity is expanding. It bodes well for social as well as economic interests. 

We stayed on past midnight and came home tired. As I kicked off my heels I thought of the club members who would be busy wrapping up the event, now and in the days to come; again on a pure voluntary basis. It was humbling. I am glad I went, glad that Micky invested his time and support to this team and I am glad to have met new people. I look forward to the event next year! May the energies, the commitment and the enthusiasm live on! 

Day 26 - Pub and Hofstede - spirited learning indeed

Yesterday was Day 26 of my 100 days of learning - a hectic day which ended at a happy note with my colleagues and friends.

 

Many years ago I went to a workshop on Collaborative Planning and the workshop leader talked about how effective collaborative planning is and what all we need to do at work to promote, instil and sustain a culture of collaboration at school. I was a young leader - starry-eyed and willing to implement all strategies immediately - and learnt the hard way that a team willingness when different to a team leader's willingness, makes any change impossible. Over the years, I have slowed down (some of my work friends might disagree!) and have hopefully become better at implementing change. The work culture needs to be developed and readied for change implementation.

 

I continue to reflect on developing the work culture and yesterday, I couldn't help remembering the workshop, the philosophy, the events of the day and connecting it to my favourite researcher - Hofstede.

 

So it has become a tradition in my workplace to have a staff party at the end of the first or the second week once all the initial year settling down, parent evening and start of year professional development workshops are over. We go in a large group to a particular pub and the newbies to the staff are initiated! It has so happened that in the past five years, we have gone to the same pub and it has gradually turned into an annual tradition. The drinks facilitate the conversations, the bonding, the tears (with the hectic settling down first few weeks there are some), the fun, and an evening of looking at each other as human beings with life!

 

A few of us have been a part of this tradition since the last few years. As I write, I can't help reflecting back on how this annual tradition provides me a rich data of what the year might be like. Reflecting right back, the tradition started with a lovely group of staff - a close and cohesive group of some young expatriate staff members; next year some more joined in; the following year a note was put out in the staffroom... As the years went by, other nationalities and department groups joined in. Two years ago a bubbly colleague decided to hire a mini-van for the occasion each year. It doesn't allow enough seating so groups also go in cabs in masses. It is now an annual tradition of the workplace.  

 

This time spent together in the pub is a valuable 'culture building' occasion. People chat, share personal stories, giggle, laugh, cry, bond and view each other in a different light. We learn about each other, see commonalities, see differences, share the world views and solve all world problems in one go - as drinking buddies often do! We all get spirited (which doesn't necessarily mean drunk!) and after a while the perceived boundaries of being a newbie, being from a different culture or nationality, or language, or department, or age, or even heirarchy ......dissolve! (Alcohol generally is a good solvent!) More importantly, when everyone gets spirited together, it is difficult to remain judgmental, at least for that one occasion, which in turn helps get closer to team building. There are stories to share from the occasion at a later point and times to reminisce about the fun-time together.

 

Traditions at workplaces help build cultures. The symbolism, the rituals of something as simple as going to a particular place after a particular event for all staff becomes an outer core to help strengthen the values and the practices of a workplace. Hofstede's Onion model comes to my mind yet again.

 

Reference: http://laofutze.wordpress.com/2009/08/28/303/ retrieved on 17.08.2014

I enjoy being a part of this particularly because as one ascends professional ladders, one somehow tends to descend the social ones.... not because one wants to but because of lack of time or being locked away in office or simply because of being absent when the plans are being made. I often depend on the mercy of my kind colleagues and friends who remember me and invite me to come along for the outside work events! :)

 

As I write this, I realise that yesterday was wonderful. The diverse group in this annual tradition was much bigger and richer than ever before. Stories were shared, tears were shared, fun was made, fun was had, the connections were strengthened and we all learnt something about each other. 

 

I learned how workplace rituals and traditions reflect and can strengthen work cultures. An important lesson indeed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 25 - Separation anxiety

I spent the morning talking to a 3 year old about why mums cannot stay at school! With her separation anxiety mounting every second when her mum went out of her sight, she found comfort in the fact that her mum and I were wearing the same colour top, a rich royal blue top. We took a walk around the school as we went on a 'mum hunt'. What a bundle of joy! She chatted about her interests, her favourite food, what her  mum likes to do, different types of birds that she sees around her house and even where she lives........all amongst deep sobs every now and then, with a semi-muted mantra .............."mumma". All went well till she saw her mum again in a corner of the school.

 

Separation anxiety can be huge and from a child's perspective it can almost feel like abandonment! In my teaching career over the years I have read, seen, experienced both as a parent and an educator, learnt and heard about separation anxiety, time and again. This evening, I went on to Google (as most of the times) to see if I could find more strategies to help ease this anxiety in the new children and parents. Helpguide for separation anxiety

 

Hopefully this reading/experiencing and learning will help me convince the little one tomorrow as to why mums cannot stay at school for long.

 

Perhaps it will also depend on how quickly that rich, royal blue top dries up!

 

 

 

 

Day 24 - Kath Murdoch Split Screen- lessons from the classroom and life!

Some days are conducive to learning, today being one of them.

 

As the school admin and PYP Coordinator, I seldom get the time to teach students directly. This year I have decided to get back into the classrooms more often. I went to the year 6 classroom this morning to run a mini inquiry on leadership. The Student Representative Council elections are due soon and often the popular kids get the votes, regardless of how the popularity is earned, while some others don't even try because they don't see themselves as leaders. My intention was for children to see that each one had the capacity and the capability for leadership regardless whether they chose to apply for and win the School Captain's positions or not.

 

I tried for the first time the Split Screen strategy that I first heard about in the recent Kath Murdoch workshop I attended.

 

I introduced the split screen concept to the students with 'what we are inquiring into' (content) and 'how are we learning' (process). I had the two areas (content and process) written on a big chart divided into two. It was amazing to see how quickly the students got the concept of the split screen. As I started talking about the 'how we learn' some of the quick thinkers predicted what it would/could be. The more they shared, the more the understanding expanded through the group. I loved it!

 

The provocation provided to the students was the open-ended questions - Why do we need leaders? What qualities should a leader have? What are the responsibilities of a leader? Students were asked to divide themselves into three groups. No parameters were given and students were told that none would be given. The first division they did made a huge group of 12, a group of 10 and a third group of 4 students. As they got ready for their instructions, I asked them if they thought that the groups were balanced and fair. It was good to see most of them being so flexible that the groups came undone completely for a while before they all got adjusted into balanced groups. A good deal of negotiation, decision-making took place which was again a valuable tool for reflection later on. That was a moment for me to refer back to the process- learning behaviours in the split screen.

 

The concepts/questions (reasons/qualities/responsibilities of leaders) were written on three chart papers and the students did a mixed Placemat/ Bus Stop activity. The groups took one area each. They first thought about the concept and wrote their individual views, then they read their peers' ideas and finally discussed it. They rotated to the next area of inquiry and then the third one, where they repeated this. My role at this time was to provide the scaffolding. I read one of the ideas in a group quietly and asked the very quiet student standing next to me, if she understood what her peer had written. She said "Not really. " So I asked her if she should ask that peer to explain. I also talked to a group about asking questions to clarify understanding. My role included behaviour management and to get students to reflect on their learning behaviour with a one on one quick counselling if needed.

 

At the end of this, the three groups needed to choose two members who would present their final ideas to the rest. Again, no parameters were given and the groups negotiated in different ways about who would present it. One group decided on two students because they were the two who volunteered first; another group decided to play scissors, paper, stone and the third group had a discussion and debate on who would present. This was yet another point of reflection for the split screen.

 

I did have another layer of scaffolding for this session. Before the Year 6 students embarked on their leadership inquiry this morning, I had asked the Year 4 and 5 classes to share their ideas of what they would like to see in their Year 6 leaders. I shared this information with the Year 6 students after their presentations. The Year 6 students looked a little surprised when I shared this because though most of them were comfortable with the idea of them taking leadership roles, they did not have the idea that  their junior peers' could have a perspective as well as a voice on their roles. It was interesting to see their looks!

 

We reflected as a class using the Split screen again. We looked at the content learned through the inquiry and we looked at the process used. I was impressed by the children's ability to readily discern between the two and use the Split screen really effectively.

 

The sheets are now displayed in the room. The inquiry is not yet over. Tomorrow, class teachers will run a mini-lesson on Persuasive writing skills and children will then write about why they will be good School Captains and/Vice Captains. This Literacy activity will then be used to develop their communication skills and further presented on stage in front of the Primary school students for elections and voting.

 

I am really pleased with the outcome today. For me the learning was in terms of applying the Split Screen in the Year 6 context. In retrospect, I left gaps and I should have stopped more often as a class to reflect on the process. My mistake was also the assumption that the children would take time to comprehend the Split Screen. Their readiness threw me off, which was also a matter of pride since they could not have developed this had it not been for their teachers who over years of primary/pre-school helped students develop their skills, attitudes and thus their overall profile as learners.

 

So with an inflated sense of pride in my school and an improved sense of how to use the Split Screen, I returned back to some mundane paperwork, when a teacher came to show me her well-earned certificate with her very first free-online workshop on Maths after I had sent her the information about the workshop and encouraged her to go for it. Ego got a tad more inflated!

 

And then I walked out of school to meet an old man who spoke to me for a full five minutes in rapid Malay. I often see this man around and smile and he smiles at me. I had never had a conversation with him before this evening, simply because he didn't speak much English and I spoke no Malay. Today he seemed sad and agitated and kept a rapid-fire conversation up. My first instinct was to smile and go away because I couldn't understand him and felt helpless as well as worried. What if he was asking me for help? What if he was in legal trouble? What if he was angry? What if he felt sad that I couldn't understand or wouldn't help him?  After a fleeting thought with these million questions, I decided to stand there and give him a listening ear. So what if I can't understand much. He probably needs to talk. So I did. After a long five minutes, where he sniffled, he talked, I listened and tried to look sympathetic, he seemed calmer. Either he figured out that I couldn't understand him or he managed to off-load his initial sentiments in regards to something sad that had happened. I suspect it was the latter. As I walked away after a final wave to him, I felt satisfied to an extent. The situation, whatever it was, wasn't sorted but at least I could help listen. That is my new lesson for the day. I will not run away because of my own assumptions (unless instincts warn otherwise!).

 

Finally I got to read about Vandana Shiva of Navdanya. I have always supported Navdanya. With Micky and my passion for the environment, it attracted us with its noble cause of fighting against seed patents. However, I had no idea of this lady being such an eco-warrior! Vandana Shiva in Newyorker

 

Loads to learn and loads to give. I guess, time needs to be organised more efficiently....

 

... and that probably is the most provocative thought for the day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 23 - A new website

Today I came across an interesting website www.curiosity,com
The site shares interesting videos which are excellent provocations for the units of inquiry. My favourite one was on the 25 strangest and unusual buildings in the world. I enjoyed seeing the piano-guitar museum in China and look forward to the completion of rotating tower in Dubai where each floor of the buildings can be rotated! I promptly sent the website to the teachers who would be able to make good use of it during their unit.

Talking of teams, I had a marvellous experience this evening as five of the staff members were planning the staff dance. Our music teacher came up with an idea, which we all built upon collaboratively and we built up what we think is an amazing performance idea. Hopefully we'll be able to pull it together as successfully on stage! Clearly, I still haven't got off the cooperative versus collaborative teamwork thoughts and the more I think of it the more readily I am able to connect it to real situations.

In fact, the more I write each day, the more I am starting to wonder about what learning is for me and how best do I learn? Sometimes, I don't read or experience something new but simply reflect on something that I have previously read, or simply on the day and it seems like a fresh 'aha moment!'

For instance, I woke up early this morning and simply made a list of the things I needed to do today at work. Took a good twenty minutes but the day seemed so well organised after that! Now I 'knew' this fact all through and it's not that I haven't done this before. Every now and then I do wake up early and list my jobs for the day. Yet, now as I reflect and write about it, it seems to take a concrete plan in my head and I hope to be able to do this regularly.

So in effect, I learn by reflecting and writing, not only the seemingly big ideas but also the seemingly small ones!

As a teacher, we always make our students reflect on the day's or the unit's learning but as learners we seldom write our own reflections. However, it is an amazing tool and the more I use it, the more it makes sense to me in terms of observation as well as metacognition. Since I know that I will need to write out a blog at night, I try and observe things better and keep a mental note of them for a longer time. Ideas, hence, stick!

Day 22- Learning hands-on

First day of school is a hectic, happy day.

 

The biggest learning for me today was formatting Excel sheets with long-winded words! I needed to format some documents and was feeling hopeless after a while, when I suddenly remembered the lesson from my daughter. 

 

Like every other child, Neetima seems to be born with the inherent talent of being able to figure out new remotes, cell phones and other gadgets with ease that would surprise and at the same time annoy most normal adults! Micky and I remember how after shifting to our new apartment we looked around for the chimney switch for the stove top till Neetima figured out a way to run it. Like many parents we conveniently started handing her all remotes and new electronic items we bought, to figure out and teach to our helper. Micky and my infinite wisdom of "Let her figure it out, so that she can learn...." gradually morphed into "Let her figure it out because it will take us too long to learn...."!!!

 

Neetima says that all modern software/gadgets are intuitive or at least the creators try to make them intuitive. So the best way to learn is to use the 'hunter-gatherer' exploration style. She says, "Think about how a hunter-gatherer would explore something new. He/she would touch, feel, see, hear, taste things, shake them, move them around and perhaps even throw them and try to figure it out. Similarly when we wish to explore a new gadget, we should touch, slide, move, press different keys which appear 'natural' to us. Don't over-analyse and just do it!' I often use this advice and it definitely works provided I am not working under pressure. (Else I get my expert office colleagues or Neetima of course to help! :))

 

Neetima's advice worked today and after some initial exploration I stumbled on to a quick way of doing what I needed. The trick now would be to remember it for the next time. I am sure I can....

....else I can always go back to the 'hunter-gatherer' exploration style.

Love you Neetima!

Day 21 - Janmashtami, Hofstede and TCK

Hindus celebrate the birth of God Krishna with the festival of Janmashtami which we celebrated today; a festival which brings back a lot of fond memories for me. We used to fast, my grandmother, mother and I, on every Janmashtami. The one big reason for me to start fasting at the age of 12 was that I'd get to eat sago pooris and potatoes unlimited for dinner if I'd fasted the whole day. That was incentive enough!

 

We moved house when I was 16. The big Birla temple was on the same street as our house and every Janmashtami brought with it a huge fair. The street would be closed for traffic and hundreds of people flocked to celebrate the birthday party of Krishna. The street was full of exciting wares, fun stalls, games and food, food and more food. The tikka-wallah who made delicious fried potato cutlet-like tikkis, set up his stall every Janmashtami at 5:00 am. He would wash his huge iron skillet in front of our house (The Public tap was right outside our house!). Then peel and prepare huge mounds of potatoes to get ready for the masses that queued up for his absolutely delicious, fried tikki. That was my biggest test! I would have loved to eat one of those had I not been fasting. Grandmum's unspoken rule was clear, if you have the will to fast, you had to have the will to stick to home-made dinner that night. I never got to eat that tikki but I still remember it!

 

The festival was a huge celebration. The idol would be dressed up in mini-frocks and crown. Sago pooris, Ugal fritters, Potatoes cooked in ghee, Talmakhana kheer in our traditional food plate was the tastiest birthday party meal one could have. And like all grannies, mine cooked the best meal! We would pray in the evening, which was the most awesome way to teach delayed gratification to the kids at least, as the prayers would go on and on for long. Finally we would sit for dinner and I could eat those yummy pooris for ever!

 

I continued the tradition in Singapore, especially for Neetima. Barring Ugal flour, which I couldn't get in Singapore, I made everything else. We prayed together every year and ended the pooja with the ceremonial aarti.

 

This Janmashtami, for a change I decided to focus less on celebrating and more on learning. So Micky and I discussed Krishna's teachings and compared it to the teachings of the other Gods. Every discussion somehow manages to reach Google and Micky ended up listening to an interesting conversation about similarities between Hinduism and Islam. A learned Islamic scholar made the comparison and talked about how Kalki avatar in the Hindu mythology has similarities with Prophet. I found it fascinating.

 

The evening Pooja was as always but we missed Neetima, so we decided that she could connected on face time. When we finally connected, I realised that she was wearing a kurta and had her head covered as we did when she was here.

 

I couldn't help remembering the Hofstede's Onion model. The core values are surrounded by rituals, heroes and symbols.

Reference: http://laofutze.wordpress.com/2009/08/28/303/ retrieved on 17.08.2014

It is our ritual to celebrate Janmashtami together. The covered head is the symbol and Krishna and other Hindu deities are a hero. Across the core, our practices help us connect, and I am certain that these practices will help Neetima get some sense of her roots and her sense of identity, in her Third Culture way of life.

Love Hofstede! Love Janmashtami! Love Neetima!

 

Day 19 - Meditation and Jogging

15th August - Indian Independence day. Micky and I were invited by friends to listen to the independence day speech by Narendra Modi, which we did, over drinks and amazing mutton with Nachos! We discussed India and its past Prime Ministers and their styles. Then we discussed our responsibilities as citizens and very soon the discussion moved from India to Vipassana and meditation. These friends of mine have done the Vipassana course.  Another friend of mine did it this summer in Nepal. This is one area that fascinates me.

 

We compared Vipassana practices to the Art of Living Sudarshan kriya and jogging. Micky is an avid jogger and always talks about running giving him a high where he gets into a phase where his lungs open up to the next level and he gets into a rhythmic pace which allows him to go on and on. His description fits the state of mind I get in after kriya and meditation. Our friend talked about his experience in Vipassana and the focus one gets as a result of continued focus on breathing. The more we discussed the three, the more similarities we unearthed between them.

 

Some years ago, I had gone to visit a book shop in India and on the insistence and recommendation of the very old shopkeeper, I bought a book on yoga and meditation. I have tried reading that book umpteenth number of times but I have never been able to complete it, partly because of the microscopic font and partly because it is a heavy read. The book written by a Yogi, has some amazing lessons and one of the many that stand out is about breathing and the connection of it to Prana. (Ever since, I have kept myself a reminder in my office, to breathe.. properly!) It is so easy to fall into the shallow breathing mode when working. In Vipassana, one of the basic breathing and meditation techniques is called Aana-Pana, something I learned from my friends during the discussion. In Sudarshan Kriya, the breathing is regulated consciously to help get into the meditative state. Micky says that jogging helps him get into that state where all his senses are fully open yet he is able to get into a focussed mode and rhythmic breathing which he finds very calming.

 

I guess, my learning for the day is that as long as one breathes properly, is able to focus and channel all energies to a positively productive task, the head and heart get in sync and peace prevails. All roads, in this case, do lead to ... home!

Day 18 - Attitude, Aptitude, Women and Maths

Maryam Mirzakhani has won the Fields award for Maths and she is the first woman to win so.

Frankly, I had no idea about Fields medal, or Maryam Mirzakhani, but today this news caught my eye on Twitter and I read more about her on the Newsweek and on other websites. Maryam Mirzakhani

 

Maryam is an Iranian born mathematician who was told by one of her Maths teachers in her middle school that she wasn't particularly talented in Maths. Yet, many years later she wins the first Fields medal restricted to mathematicians below 40 years old and is involved in the most complex sounding mathematical investigations (symmetry of curved surfaces such as surfaces of doughnut... how many doughnuts did she research on??!!!)

 

My interest was not as much in her Maths... but the fact that she was able to sustain her interest in the subject in spite of having been told that she didn't have the talent. One of the write-ups about Maryam talks about her being optimistic and a pleasure to work with. Maryam is into doodling and jogging. She is humble, persistent, optimistic, hard-working and doesn't mind jumping straight into big, abstract problems that make her curious. She makes Maths seem rather artistic and poetic - something that needs imagination in order to "cross boundaries people set up between different fields". Her work goes into abstract areas and her husband feels that she needs sometimes to take bigger jumps rather than smaller logical steps.

 

Fantastic lessons for the day for me...

1. Your attitude has the ability to push the boundaries of your aptitude.

2. Every problem cannot be solved in simple logical sequential steps. Sometimes it is fine to jump straight on to the big picture to find the pixels!

3. Imagination and logic can breathe the same air!

 

Thank you Maryam. May you continue to explore vistas and cross all boundaries.

Day 17 - Rice porridge, google and mum!

As a child I was often subjected to the traditional kumaoni rice porridge called 'Jaula', as I often had tummy aches or the runnies. It was much later, as an adult that I was diagnosed with Gluten allergy. However, as a child anytime I had a stomach ache or a runny tummy, I was given jaula. I hated it with passion, so much so that I never bothered to learn the recipe....

 

.... till today when Micky had a tummy ache. Google came to the rescue as many a times! I made the jaula and it didn't taste bad at all. In fact I quite liked the taste with my modified recipe. Here it is.

 

1 cup rice, washed and soaked in four cups water.

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 pinch asafoetida

1 tbsp. grated ginger

1 tsp ghee

1 pinch turmeric

salt to taste

1/2 cup plain homemade Yoghurt (if not lactose intolerant)

 

Heat 1 tsp ghee. When hot, crackle the cumin seeds, add a pinch of asafoetida, add the rice, the ginger, salt and turmeric. Let it cook till porridge consistency. Then add yoghurt and cook for a while. Serve hot.

 

Was quite proud of my recipe so called up mum and checked my recipe. She suggested boiling the rice first with turmeric, salt and ginger. Then add yoghurt and cook. Finally temper with cumin, asafoetida in ghee. The ghee taste becomes more prominent this way, so lesser amount is needed. Easy on the stomach, filling and yum!

 

So what did I learn? The recipe of course, but then also consolidated the idea of authenticating or verifying information from a Primary source, an expert. Google helps but a primary source of info is always better.

 

And when it is mum.... better still. :)

Day 16 - Husband-wife Argument 'n Inquiry!

Our house and condominium have the worst acoustics possible. The voices around the swimming pool can be heard clearly on our 12th floor but my voice within my house does not carry effectively to Develyn's room! (Teacher's voice at that!)

 

So Micky and I decided to try a wireless bell that we could use to signal to her. The range seemed good according to the simple looking plastic pack with instructions in Japanese. We had initially intended it to replace our wired doorbell but decided against it. Anyway, the bell was working fine from the main door to the kitchen. It took the transmitter's frequency and chimed beautifully.

 

The problem started when we decided to install the bell switch (the transmitter) in the bedroom and the chime receiver in the kitchen. The bell chimed once, then stopped working. Then suddenly it chimed again, and as soon as we rejoiced........ it stopped! Micky and my faces lit up when it chimed again. However, each time we thought that the bell had finally started working, it stopped. As a typical husband and wife 'experiment- with- a- new- gadget' conversation goes, the dialogues cycle ensued as follows....

 

Here, let me try.....

That's not the right way to do it... 

I haven't tried it yet.

Yes, but you are holding it incorrectly. The frequency signal needs a straight line of sight.

Hmm.. but the pack said it would work over a range of .....not all homes would have a clear line of sight.

I'm telling you. There is no other explanation.

So how did it work the last time?

That was a fluke!
Yes but that means that the frequency doesn't need a straight line...

Try...

I am..it's not working.

I told you so.... Here, let me try...

 

So the poor doorbell chimed and unchimed and chimed again and so on and we continued the argument.

 

I eventually gave up and decided to toss this bell out and look for a new one. (For some reason, for me, a bell from a 2$ store does not ring a "bell"!) Micky, who by the way, is fond of books like 'Physics for entertainment', obviously could not give in so easily. So as I went to plan the dinner, he kept changing positions of the switch and the chime. Then he ensured that the chime had a battery that worked. Then he ensured that the plug point was working. Next he opened the wardrobe doors to try and reflect the radio frequency. His enthusiasm was infectious, so I joined him again. We tried the bell at different heights. Then we tried it on different surfaces and angles.

 

After loads of trial and error, we realised that the switch does not work when we place it on a metal surface. It also doesn't work if we try and press the switch continuously. (Micky feels that it is a courteous bell and has something to do with the lovely culture of patience in Japan and consequently the Japanese products are purposefully designed with that in mind.)  And the bell doesn't work below a particular height! So we have finally mounted it on the bed frame amidst the ongoing arguments about the effect of gravity on the signal and also the efficacy of the double-sided tape on a bedframe. That part of our inquiry has still not come to a conclusion. Anyway, the bell is working and hopefully it will serve the purpose well.

 

So what did I learn today?

a) Where to operate the bell from!

b) How to experiment on a gadget and keep constants, changing just one factor at a time.

c) To give time to inquiries and not give up.

d) To trust hubby but keep arguing-fosters his creativity and challenges him enough to not give up!

 

Great lessons moi thinks! :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 15 - It's not fishy at all!

For the first day of the school professional development session we looked at the Fish philosophy. I first heard of it in the school context last week and watched the video again to see how a Fish philosophy can be transferred to a school context. Fish Philosophy video

The Fish philosophy is simple. It is based on the Pike Market in Seattle, where fish sellers liven up the market with stunts, smiles and a positive attitude towards customers. As a child I used to hate the idea of going to the fish market. The first time I experienced it, was in Mumbai where my uncle was posted and I just couldn't take the smells, sounds or the sight. I detested the experience. So much so that to date, at our house, Micky buys the fish for us, from the fresh fish section. (I am happy buying it from the frozen section though!)

And then I watched the fish market in Seattle! Seriously, it looked like a fun place! I saw salmons 'flying' around the place, someone trying to resuscitate a fish and give it CPR, fish tasting, fish photography and in general people enjoying the experience. It is a fish market, it is a job that stinks (literally!) and the task can be mindless, repetitive and boring. However the sellers make the whole place come alive with their attitude. It is remarkable indeed.

Christensen developed the Fish philosophy after being inspired by the fish sellers in this market. What I like about this philosophy is, that it is simple and do-able in different contexts and follows these four essential ideas:

• Play
• Be there
• Choose your attitude
• Make someone's day

So how can we use it in a school or a classroom context?
Play - Enjoy yourself, be creative, bring a fun element in to the day to day work, take the children out for an outdoor lesson, use hands-on stuff, bring in humour in conversations and readings (Horrible Histories, Horrible Science series is my favourite!), have fun! The rigour and the depth does not get compromised because fun is an element. A joke with the class, a trick to help them take life less seriously, a competitive game, a creative task, all adds to the fun element. Of course, play needs to be culturally sensitive and it needs to be ensures that diversity is respected.

Be there - Listen. Be engaged. This will help identify teachable moments. Be there to listen to their problems. Solve little problems so they don't become big problems.

Choose your attitude -- Smile. Be positive. This is surprisingly the most difficult one in my opinion. In spite of it being a seeming no-brainer, it becomes so easy for us to go downhill. Gossip groups, complaints groups, are simple to be in, require less energy to start with......... till they start devouring the positive energy and happiness! And then it is too difficult to get out! Talk about it to the children. (This reminds me of my Giggles and Grumps Board. Children used to write their grumps to get it out of their system and become positive and they used to write their giggles to spread the positivity. It worked!)

Make someone's day - In a school this is one of the easiest and yet the most difficult things to do. Children need a smile, a caring reassurance, a sticker, an achievement award, an acknowledgement, a compliment... it invigorates... and needs to be done.

My challenge is to try and follow these four points in context of teachers, parents and children, in my role.

Fingers crossed!

Day 14 - Walt Disney at my dinner table!

Micky and I often play an interesting conversation game where we plan an imaginary dinner for 5 or 10 famous people who we would like to invite. We add caveats - they have to be from the past or they have to be from one particular area or field etc. and then we discuss why we'd like to have these guests for dinner.

 

So today, it was dinner for five personas from the past. My list included Leonardo Da Vinci, P.G. Wodehouse, Gautam Budhdha, Hitler and Walt Disney.

 

(Micky's list included Isaac Asimov, Magellan, PG Wodehouse, Leonardo Da Vinci,(Cheater!) and Mahatma Gandhi.)

 

As we discussed our choices, other than Da Vinci and P.G.Wodehouse, we realised that though we were quite convinced about why we were going to invite these people, we don't know much detail about them. So we have planned to do some reading in the next few weeks.

 

Today I read about Walt Disney and how he based his cartoon character Mickey mouse on his pet mouse after his character Oswald the lucky rabbit was lost to Universal as they took over the rights (as well as his employees!). The original name of the character was meant to be Mortimer but his wife felt that Mortimer was not very friendly a name and she suggested the name Mickey! Wives generally rule and so did she! Mickey it was! Mortimer finally became Mickey's rival for Minnie. Walt Disney himself provided the voice for Mickey Mouse for quite some time.

Brief history of Mickey Mouse

(Photo retrieved from http://operationsanta.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Disney-Walt_Mickey-Mouse.jpg on 10.08.2014)

 

I think Disney brought creativity and fantasy to the masses. Where Da Vinci's creativity in his multiple areas of expertise and mastery needs a fundamental knowledge in the audience in order to be fully appreciated, Disney's creativity reaches the basic instincts of fun in humans! I would really love to hear their conversation on my imaginary dinner table!

 

Just imagine.......!

 

 

Day 13 - Yasagumba!

This is the very first time I have heard of Yasagumba - a small Himalayan bat moth caterpillar living in the Himalayas that has a fungus growing out of its head which is used extensively in Chinese and Tibetan medicine. The Yasagumba can cost upto 15,00,000 - 20,00,000 INR or around 30,000 to 35000 SGD per kilo! It is considered to have aphrodisiac properties.

(Retrieved from http://musetheplace.com/media/uploads/2013/06/yarsagumba.jpgon 10.08.2014)

 

I first heard of Yasagumba in the video of the Askot Abhiyan. I have emotional attachments to this project as my father's friends are closely associated with this. Dr Shekhar Pathak in particular has been an inspiring figure in the hills and it is a privilege to hear from him every now and then. A man of action, Shekhar da has undertaken the Askot Abhiyan every ten years 1974 to date. Awarded the Padmshri by the Indian govt for his work on the hills in 2007, Shekhar da is a humble, passionate environmentalist, who every now and then takes the time to write to me, which is invigorating! He is also the founder editor of PAHAR (People's Association for Himalaya Area Research).

 

In their latest trek from Askot to Arakot, the team found out the damage being done to the hills by the search for the Yasagumba or Yarsagumba. In order to pick the fungus-filled caterpillar, the harvesters clear areas for their camps and light fires to help them pick the caterpillars. The lucrative trade has brought about mafia like operators in the area and the socio-economic as well as environmental face of the Himalayan region is changing because of this.

Following the Askot video I read more about the matter in a BBC report. Yasagumba - BBC report

It is a pity indeed that we are letting go of the traditional wisdom without any consideration of the ecology or the social fabric of the region. I hope the Government does a bit of learning through the Askot project and springs into action with the same gusto as the NGOs.

Day 12 - Jhulan festival

I was invited to a neighbour's house to celebrate the Jhulan festival. This was the first time I had heard of the festival.

 

Jhulan Festival is celebrated by the followers of Radha and Krishna. It is a festival celebrated in the Shravan month, the monsoon season. Idols of Krishna (one of the most practical Indian Gods, easy to follow, in my opinion!) and his friend Radha (again, I love the openmindedness associated with this relationship, though as a wife I do have mixed feelings in regards to the experiences of Rukmini, Satyabhama and others, but that is a separate chain of thoughts and I need to learn more!) ................ anyway the idols are placed on a swing decorated beautifully with flowers and fabrics and even gold and/or silver. The idols are adorned in beautiful clothes and ornaments. Offerings of flowers, music and sweetmeats are made to complete the celebration.

 

I heard the ISKCON story for the first time yesterday and how it was established. Interesting! The hymns that followed had a lovely Bengali flavour in the instruments and beats. There were a number of devotees and a number of people who had attended this for the first time. We all got turns to swing the idols of Radha and Krishna. I must say that offering the flowers and getting to swing the idols for a minute was a lovely experience. For a brief moment I could imagine how it would feel like meditation were someone to do it all by himself or herself in a quiet room.

 

 

The celebration once again has parallels to celebrations from other cultures. Celebrations inspire creativity and are expressions of shared beliefs, modified as they pass through generations.

 

Glad to have been a part of the Jhulan festival. Thanks Anu and family!

 

 

 

Day 11 - Musings on Reflective learning

The fun in inquiry-based teaching is that the facilitator gets to learn as much as the participants!

Yesterday while designing a training plan, I got to learn about the iPad app Inspiration. Sort of a mix of Pearl Trees, Popplet and Prezi, the map allows learners to organise notes, thoughts and build exciting presentations. Thinking about my learning makes me realise that I need to try things hands-on, experiment it on my own, play-around, work it out, without any pressure and deadlines, in order to learn it better.

 

I have recently learned about Kath Murdoch's split screen approach. The teacher leading the inquiry divides the screen into two parts - What we are learning about and How we are learning it. In the context above I learn about Inspiration and I learn by trying it hands-on.

 

This is a very simplistic version of course because the next part of it would be to inquire into what is happening in my head as I am learning with the hands-on approach. Am I feeling happy, frustrated, excited; am I problem-solving, getting stuck and giving up, or trying again and again without mapping my steps (stuck in a rut!); how am I problem solving - am I looking at Google- reading articles - other people's comments- am I trying it on my own or am I asking a peer or an expert; do I prefer to work on my own or do I prefer to learn with someone ...........? Reflecting not only on what I am learning but how am I learning it, is giving me some idea of my preferences as well as my learning behaviours.

 

At the moment I am intrigued, curious, reading Google info and people's comments on Inspiration (which are so varied that probably it might have been a bit of a waste of time), checking my notes, going to the App store and checking out the info, and wanting to work on my own without a deadline.

 

Coming back to the split screen approach I think we can effectively use it in the inquiry classroom to encourage learners to be reflective by using prompts suggested by Kath Murdoch:

 

We are learning about____________ Human Body

We are learning to be_____________ Creative, knowledgeable, thinkers

We are learning by_______________ reading books, using the internet, etc.

 

A next step that I think would be really beneficial is ......... 

 

We are learning so that we can __________________.

 

In an inquiry based classroom this step as a reflection prompt should be able to help learners think about the application or taking action using the knowledge.

 

If only I could get a classroom to try this approach for a year!

 

 

 

 

 

Day 10 - Purple toe!

So my fractured toe continues to be light purple in spite of not paining. My resident doctor - Micky who created the marvellous toe cast for me out of a plastic hose - is not happy seeing the purple toe! He worries that I might develop an arthritic toe as a result.

 

So my learning for the day....

There are 28 bones and more than 30 joints in the foot. Post traumatic arthiritis occurs when a toe fracture doesn't heal properly. An injured toe is seven times more likely to develop arthritis, even if the toe heals properly! The body can secrete hormones that simulate the death of the cartilage cells.

 

So my purple toe needs the hose cast for some more time I guess! Not sure whether that is the cure but definitely that will be one lesson that will come out of personal experience in a while.

 

Day 9 - Cooperative or Collaborative!

So I am still plodding through the Coursera course of Assessments of the 21st century skills and I continue to deepen my understanding of cooperative versus collaborative work. A new element comes in - group work!

 

So I will try to provide an example of the three in context of a classroom to clarify my understanding.

 

Group work - Teacher gives Chapter 3 of 'Charlie and the Chocolate factory' to the group for independent reading followed by a question answer task. All children read the chapter and answer questions. They are allowed to have a conversation, extend their learning by talking to each other and share answers. Teacher's role is to set the task and at the end mark and provide feedback. The answers are known.

 

Cooperative work - Teacher gives a cooperative task to the group, asking them to divide chapter 1, 2 and 3 between the group members. At the end of the reading children are to share the information and put the three together to create a story board. The learning intention is again clear and the end product is expected. Teacher's role is to define the parts of the task and scaffold as children are working on the story-board.

 

Collaborative work- Teacher provides an open-ended conceptual task. Charlie and the chocolate factory "Should Charlie have sold his ticket for 100 pounds? Why or why not? Discuss and present the views as a group." The task forces children to read, analyse, think, make connections (Text to text or text to world or text to themselves), discuss and decide on a way to present and finally present the task.

 

I am still working on the collegial - cooperative and collaborative continuum. There is a merit in each one of the stages/modes and different learning outcomes need different types of group work. 

The question is how does the teacher assess individual capabilities while the group is working. Does collaboration need higher order skills as compared to cooperation? Therefore, can this model be used for differentiation in the classroom? What happens to the learners who operate in a different language or have a special need? How do they collaborate? What if someone doesn't want to collaborate? Coincidentally just today I watched an interesting TEDx talk on how the introverts with high IQ may actually get frustrated by collaborative work because their thinking actually gets regressed!

 

Some of the important points I learned today in regards to collaboration were:

Collaboration is the process of people working together for a common goal. It is not the same as cooperation but it does need cooperation. It is not simply putting people together with an expectation of pooled resources.

In a collaborative problem solving, people bring their own resources to solve the problem; they depend on each other to contribute information, skills and resources, and the members agree on the goal as well as the process to achieve that goal. 

 

The steps to collaborative problem solving involve

• Recognising the problem - looking at the problem space.
• Common agreement on how this would be achieved and what info needs to be shared so everyone understands the problem.
• Plan of action and management of resources
• Analysing the problem, information and developing a systematic way of approaching the problem. - organise info, set goals, manage resources, be flexible, collect and contribute information, organise systematic steps to move forward
• Plan the move - could be together or step by step- progressive/sequential.
• Monitor progress, evaluate options, reformulate plans if needed in the face of +ve and -ve feedback.
• Check solutions.

 

Enough info the sort out for the day! All my faculties now need to cooperate! :)

 

 

Day 8 - Hole in the wall, SOLE and SOME!

I had the honour of meeting Professor Sugata Mitra when one of our students was given the opportunity of introducing him at one of the IB conferences. He is a humble, soft-spoken man, who maintained a sense of excitement and curiosity during the entire IB Conference. An inspiring man indeed! He talked about his experiment on Hole in the wall, where he set up a computer in the slums of Delhi, and observed and monitored how children came to the computer and learning happened in spite of the absence of any adult facilitator.

 

Today I read about how the experiment had been taken further in initiating the Self Organised Learning Environments (SOLEs) in the UK. Children were given big questions and allowed free access of the internet. They learnt by exploring the net and through peer discussions. The model worked and learning flourished. However, the same model could not be replicated in India due to a variety of factors, including internet connectivity, availability of and free access to the computers, etc. Sugata Mitra then moved on to the SOME model - Self-Organised Mediated Environment. He invited 'Grannies' who would be able to volunteer time over skype to children in the developing countries and help mentor the children to learn through the internet while they picked up the necessary English skills. The Granny clouds were used to mentor and encourage the students. The 'grannies' based in the UK helped read, chat, discuss and plan things online with the children, after which the children used the net to explore different areas of learning. I can imagine this being particularly useful in places where local teachers themselves are picking up their English Language skills. (It reminds me of the findings of Tully about the lower strata private schools in India and how they are actually working better than the publicly funded schools, but that is another journey altogether!)

 

What a fabulous way to harness the skills of the society to upskill the future generation!

 

The SOLEs or even the SOMEs can be applied easily in schools with computers. Free access to the internet and big questions always allow for meaningful inquiries. Having said that, it is difficult for us educators to let go, many a times! As a teacher, a number of forces and pressures act upon us. From the parents' expectations to the senior managements' expectations to our own expectations, we sometimes do not allow for SOMEs to function effectively. A busy curriculum and calendar is also difficult to manoeuvre if SOLEs/SOMEs are to be effective and vice versa.  

 

One of the important factors here would be learner motivation. The learners need to be motivated and that is the prime function of the teacher. I have no proof or data at the moment but I wonder if the hunger for learning in a population is inversely proportionate to the socio-economic positioning of the population (that is after the basic needs of the population are met). A hungry man will not hunger for knowledge but food! But once the basic needs are in place, the hunger for learning would probably kick in, in order to better the socio-economic positioning of people in developing countries or lower socio-economic groups. That is a food for thought and perhaps another learning journey.

 

A green school with SOMEs would be a great place to work! The eternal question is.... can the teacher be replaced?