Plan Failure to Scaffold Success

Planned failure is an effective way to scaffold success.  Creating success criteria with students has been extremely rewarding for me and this year I have developed an even better way to get students engaged and make my assessment far more descriptive and specific.  Key steps to improving learning outcomes include planning failure into assignments, building success criteria based on actual student experience with students after their opportunities to fail, following up with targetted feedback through self-assessment, peer-assessment, and teacher conferences, and providing additional opportunities to improve.



Planned failure may sound counterintuitive but research shows that failure is an integral part of improvement.  After all, if our students didn't need to improve, why would they be trying to learn?  Regardless of how it sounds, I was able to relate to this concept because personally, it only seems like I'm able to learn anything 'the hard way'.  My version of planning failure isn't as terrible as you may imagine.  I start by assigning a fairly open-ended task with minimum instructions and no exemplars.  This can generate some very interesting interpretations that could even be improvements on what I initially had in mind.  In response to student requests for details, I like to ask with a smile, "What do you think?" which empowers the students to be creative because they are unrestricted by my pre-conceived expectations. 



The students are then left with work time to think and develop their products with positive feedback and encouragement.  This part of the process activates their problem-solving processing which is required for deep learning.  During this struggling phase students are free to explore their ideas and build towards fulfilling the expectations based on their own ideas about what is required.  Having time and positive encouragement at this point encourages students to visualize their own ideas and keeps room for creative expression.  The instructions need to be devoid of too many details or specifics with regards to elements that might limit the products but the format of the final product needs to be clear and literal with a definite time frame.  Having a time limit helps students limit the scope of their products and promotes the use of techniques and strategies they are already comfortable with.  This is beneficial to the next step of success criteria building because we all get to see various the student strengths. 



Once the 'failure' is complete, it is critical that the work is shared as a class.  We take time to examine the work as a group so that we can compare the various strategies for problem solving.  During this time, it is important that the teacher does not give much feedback other than to point out the positives.  Many students are highly sensitive to criticism and are very easily able to identify the weaknesses but struggle to identify things they have done well.  A few prompts that I find helpful when students are not forthcoming with reflections right away is for them to look for "something similar to what you did", "something very different from your own work", "something you really like", "something that you find confusing or surprising".  I encourage students to ask questions that pertain to helping them identify, reflect on, and clarify the elements of the work that is effective.  It is helpful to leave this process on a positive, non-judgemental note so it helps to finish up the class by asking students to identify something they liked about the work and express why they liked it. 



The next class is the success criteria building process.  Have students identify the elements that they think are essential to having a high quality result.  This is done in a brainstorming style session and encourage lots of ideas, recording all of them randomly without rejecting any of them.  If a student makes a suggestion that has already been mentioned, I like to ask them to clarify if they mean the same thing as the other person or if they have a different meaning because sometimes students have forgotten that the idea was already noted but sometimes they have a nuance to add and they need help recognizing how it is the same idea.  This conversational style of brainstorming helps the students actively engage in analyzing the elements of the work and how to explain them.  Students can be successful at this task because they have already tried (and somewhat failed) to be successful so they have a first-hand understanding of what success should be.  Once all the criteria have been identified, have students discuss with their peers which criteria are more important and which are less important.  Focus on selecting the top 3 or 4 criteria by consensus. 



After class, I take the criteria that they created and I sort them into categories based on the ones that are most important.  I then create a rubric directly based on the criteria.  I explain what I did and show the connections between the success criteria they identified and the rubric that I made based on it.  I provide copies to them so they can examine and give feedback on the contents.  This is an opportunity for them to really engage with the rubric and develop a personal idea of how they can achieve success.  If changes need to be made to the rubric based on student feedback it can be made at this point.  This continuously honours the student voice in the process.  In order to ensure that students are engaging with the rubric, have them now assess their 'failed' first attempt and identify their personal strengths and areas for improvement using the criteria.  Then, as they are working on a different assignment, (which can be doing the same thing with a peer's work) I like to conference with them individually to determine if they have engaged with the rubric as expected and that they were able to identify areas for growth.  The focus of the conversation is on which criteria they know how they can improve and guide them into suggestions for how to improve areas that they may not be sure how to improve.  The end result of the conference is to have students identify a plan for how to improve. 



Now it's time for the next assignment which is similar in a fundamental way but different enough that they are not repeating the same learning goals.  Remind them to use the rubric to help them improve in their targetted areas.  Then step back and let them work only providing encouragement and reassurance as needed.  The role of the instructor at this point is to assist with focus, facilitate progress, and to ask questions that help the students reflect on the success criteria as needed.  Instruction takes the task of directing students to resources they may find helpful depending on what the student is trying to improve.  Once students have determined that they are 'done', have them get a peer to assess them and revise as needed.  When that has been done, have them conduct a self-assessment in a conference setting and highlight the growth they have made by comparing their assessment with the previous work they did.  Ask them to identify something they could still fix and if they can't, identify something for them and explain how they should go about it.  This process ensures that feedback is immediate, utilized, concrete, and helpful. 



Finally, when they have completed the project it is time to celebrate the biggest successes and to focus the outcomes in terms of growth.  Sometimes students are already extremely high achieving in one specific area and that area still shows as their best area.  Rather than praising them for what they were already good at, this process is meant to highlight the criteria on which they displayed the most growth.  So, I may be praising them for something that they are still not reaching high achievement in but that they have improved on.  I will hone my praise by telling them about how much improvement they made and ask them to reflect on what it was they did to make the improvement.  This enhances their metacognition and helps them to remember how to work in that area of weakness in the future. 



Some students need a lot more guided feedback than others and this process of learning provides a fluid learning environment that is perfect for meeting the needs of diverse learners.  A little planned failure paves the way for a lot of improvements!  It also helps students step away from focussing solely on the end result, mark, or product, and helps them to re-frame the way they think of learning as a process that requires trying things out, stepping back, comparing, reflecting, analysing, prioritising, and fine-tuning.  This student-centred method develops learning strategies and metacognitive awareness of the process of learning itself and helps students take ownership of assessment. 

I hope you'll try this method and let me know how it went. 

Summary of steps:
1.  Give an assignment with a deadline that seems a little short.
2.  Let students struggle and solve it on their own while providing encouragement for them to think independently.
3.  Share the results in a non-judgementally venue and encourage positive reflections.
4.  Facilitate students as they brainstorm a set of success criteria for the assignment.
5.  Create a rubric based on the criteria they selected.
6.  Have students self and peer assess using the new rubric with a focus on identifying strengths and areas for growth.
7.  Give a similar assignment with a somewhat flexible due date putting the emphasis on quality.
8.  Provide encouragement and guidance in the form of resources and specific strategies as needed.
9.  Provide feedback as requested through conferences while guiding students to make improvements based on the rubric criteria.
10.  Praise for growth and encourage metacognition as students reflect on their learning process. 

Curse of (cursive) Homework

I'm writing about homework because today I became involved in a Twitter dispute over the importance of teaching cursive. The Twitter thread originated by @alicekeeler spread over from a lengthy debate on Facebook. 

Personally, I see cursive as belonging on the endangered curriculum list because we won't need it in the future any more than we need to be good at quill calligraphy or chiselling stone now. We have cursive fonts on the keyboard and that is enough for me. 

Sure, it's good to be able to read cursive and some people find cursive helps them take faster notes. There's certainly some benefit to learning cursive (although I would put Latin well ahead given the choice) and I have recommended it for students with dysgraphia who never developed good printing skills due to phonemic awareness issues. I'm not at all opposed to anyone learning cursive. And this link http://time.com/2820780/five-reasons-kids-should-still-learn-cursive-writing/ shows even more reasons to consider learning cursive. 

It's just that there is so much to cover in school that takes priority, I cannot justify giving cursive studies any more than cursory attention. Cursive isn't the only victim of progress. Many ways I was taught in school have mostly and thankfully gone the way of the dodo. My grade 5 teacher (loved him anyway!) made us do timed drills of the times tables. This wreaked havoc with the perfectionists, demoralized the average kids, and utterly drove the math-shy further into hiding from all things numbered. 

So my question becomes, "How, as a teacher, can I provide opportunities for students to take responsibility for their own learning, cover the most critical learning tools, and still honour the traditional learning that is valuable but not required?"  And my answer is a sort of Chinese menu homework strategy. I require that students work toward certain homework goals which they set within parameters. 

My students have to complete a certain number of minutes of homework per school day within each week. I based this on the requirements set out by our school board director which is 10 minutes per grade. So my grade 7 students are expected to complete a minimum of 70 minutes per school day which can be distributed through the week as fits the individual schedule. 

Within the minutes, each student must make up the time from 3 categories of homework: reading, math, and other.  I encourage them to balanced these fairly evenly but I also encourage them to proportion the minutes based on what areas they need most improvement and which areas they enjoy. 

Finally, the homework they do is a combination of required and chosen work. The required work consists of any incomplete class work, any assignments or projects, remedial work specific to the individual student needs, and time spent studying. The remainder is made up of chosen activities and may vary depending on what we are doing but at base consist of math mastery (khan academy), French (Duolingo), independent reading, Genius time pursuits (instead of Genius Hour I call it genius time because we don't have an hour at a time and I encourage students to work on this outside of school so they develop lifelong learning habits), independent writing, or something else of their choice related to school work (but I ask them to have me approve it).  

This method works because homework isn't shoved down their throats like regurgitated worms. Students these days still mostly hate homework and they mostly seem to hate it because on top of eating into texting and gaming time, it's not relevant in their perception. By giving them freedom to choose from beneficial activities, I'm allowing them to develop habits of not just doing learning after school but thinking about what they are doing and taking responsibility for what they do. I don't expect they can decide what's best for them but I also have seen an increase in how much they do. I review their progress weekly and ask them questions about what they need to do next. These reviews spur conversations about what they are learning and why. 

This method is designed to increase metacognition and self-awareness, responsibility and accountability in students. 

So where does that leave cursive?  It is an option among others for students who are interested. Perhaps their parents have requested it or they have asked, or I have suggested it because we can't read their printing. This method is what I call a 'soft push' because the directive to complete the homework is there but the parameters are malleable to suit the child. I like to think of it as an iron fist in a velvet glove approach; it's inviting but firm, not intimidating but not weak. 

I'd rather they choose to do cursive (or even calligraphy) than just curse the homework. 

Noticed and Noted

Notice and Note Lesson

Here's my grade 7/8 lesson plan in brief. I'm sharing it because it went so well and I'm so impressed with how the students engaged as collaborators, readers, and developed their skills as close readers. I took my inspiration from this amazing resource book Notice and Note. 

This text by Kylene Beers and Robert Probst has inspired me because it makes so much sense. I have also gained inspiration from the Facebook group which is full of great ideas and discourse about the close reading strategies in the book. https://www.facebook.com/groups/260078764136335.  So far with my class I have covered the first three signposts using the lessons directly from the resource. 

For this lesson I have selected some good but simple picture books. I used The Magnificent Thing, Whimsy's Heavy Things, The Invisible Boy, The Dot, and Ish.  

They are all rich picture books with great deep messages. Any set of such books will work.

I gave one book to each group of 4 students. Students have to each take on a role:  reporter, reader, recorder, and orderer. In the group they read the book, identified the signposts using sticky notes in the text, recorded and responded to them in a reading log, and then gave a short presentation to the class explaining how the signposts helped them understand the author's message. 

After the presentations, they each independently wrote down their own description of how the signposts helped them understand the book. 

My students chose to present their findings by reading the stories to the class. Each group did it their own way and some creative things happened. One group used sound effects to indicate signposts!  So while one student was reading the story, another made the sound (using an iPod touch) and then described the signpost. Another group held up pictures to enhance the story visually. I asked the students to complete a reflection activity at the end including assessing themselves and their group members on their collaborative skills, 2 stars and a wish, as well as a reflection on how he signposts helped them understand the author's message. 

I'm very happy with how it turned out. The kids were all engaged, they enjoyed the activity, they were challenged, and they were able to use the signpost strategy to read deeply.  

My next steps are to teach the next three signposts and then do the activity again with different groupings and different books.

I'd like to thank @Leslie_hodgins for giving me this fabulous resource. Here is a link to the rubric I provided to students for reflection. https://docs.google.com/a/rscloud.ca/document/d/14w9f3Yld3ky3YbfS0PLazH-S2-wfCy0-iCn48StSCAg/edit?usp=docslist_api

Promote the Vote!

We have been watching the leadership debates and learning about the tragedy of so many young eligible voters who failed in their civic duty to vote in the last election.  And now, I have given my students an assignment to create an ad to promote the vote!  They have to select a target audience which was done after brainstorming to find out why some people choose not to vote.  I have created a media literacy rubric for this assignment and I'm excited to see the ads.  I will have to post some here as a follow up when they are done.  Promote the Vote rubric

I made a rough example for them using Tagul which is a great word cloud service which can be logged in to from Google.  Here is a link to the mock-up:  Mock-up

Manipulatives!

I'm so happy to be able to get my grade 7&8s using manipulative for math. Yesterday I pulled out a big tub of algebra tiles and I had then build arrays to model multiplication of fractions. It was amazing to watch all the different ways they tried to model 4/5x2/3. They were actively engaged and discussing with partners. There even was heated debate. It did take hem a lot longer than just following the formula, but I think some of them actually started to understand why multiplying fractions results in smaller fractions. 

"Can we cut these ones in half?"

Please UNBLOCK the web!

I'm frustrated today because my students are frustrated.  I use our eLearning Ontario site to teach Science, Geography, and History in a 'blended learning' style.  So far, things have been going well with a few kids who struggle but some who fly and the rest are in between and good.  Except that some of the course content I chose includes BLOGGING for the students.  Fine.  Or, it should be.

I taught them how to use their restricted access to Blogger to make blog posts to meet the assignment requirements.  Great!  They like it even.  Then they tried to go and view their own blogs only to discover that our board has BLOCKED the blogs.  What nonsense is that?  They can create the blogs but they can't view them!!!!

I really think it's time we stopped relying on baby gates and taught the kids how to go down the stairs one step at a time, don't you?  I think we need to unblock the web and teach the kids how to use the information.  It is old fashioned to hoard information.  I'd like to see the board of education let it go.

Here's hoping that my request to have it unblocked gets approved!

Election time

I have been teaching my students about elections and we are starting to follow the federal election. The lack of comprehension about how the Canadian electoral system works means I have a lot of instruction to do!  The conversations we have had around it is amazing and interesting. I am thankful for the organization that has put together an excellent package for the student election process: studentvote.ca

Having held a student election campaign prior to this was a really good idea because it helped them develop a concrete understanding of important terms such as ballot, candidate, nominate, campaign, and vote. 

Now they are discovering ridings exist!  And the questions are flying!