This powerful video supplied by Edutopia is really an AHA moment for me.

Some of the most important parts to me include the fact that he relates the rules of Improv to the rules of collaboration.  Rule 1- Accept every offer.  I knew this in acting, but it makes so much sense in collaboration.  We tend to shut down ideas– we are critical by nature– rather than accept them and run with them.  Remember the alternative is deadend.  Rule 2- Make your partner look good.  Why do we have to be competitive and worry all the time who is looking better than someone else.  If we are always concerned about making our partner look good, it is win/win.

Second, I really loved the idea that collaboration is NOT a synonym for cooperation.  The illustration was that an assembly line is a series of individual tasks.  If needed, one person could walk down that line and do each task independently.  Collaboration relies on interconnectivity and amplification of other’s ideas and tasks.  I love that.

Awesome video!

Old way- John Dewey called it the static cold storage theory or the brick theory (Kohn) give them many bricks and at graduation we hope they have a house.
We are all active meaning makers. Understanding cannot be reinforced- only behavior can. Groovy thought- teacher is facilitator- facil means to make easy- teacher should make things difficult by creating conflict so kids say “wait I don’t get it… then this must be true”

Collaborative- kids challenging other kids in a safe environment.

He use to be a high school teacher and planned this polished course; like saying I have this marriage now I just have to find a woman to share it with.
Syllabus is created before students are met? How?

The question is- given how many students, parents, colleagues, etc come out of a behavioristic assumption (memorize, reinforce, regurgitate on test, grade, etc) What can I do to make sure I don’t get pulled into this? The best teachers don’t give tests because they are not needed to assess.

Story of kids in the library taking beads and pipe cleaners making snowflakes. His mom responds with “great, good artist” Alfie says, “Do you like it?” Kid begins reflecting (because praise and criticism are two sides of the same toy)
Math instruction article (Mrs. O – David Cohen)
Invite students to – why don’t we have spelling tests? Why don’t we use worksheets? Why don’t we lecture?

How does a true constructivist assess? Why do we assess? If it is primarily to sort kids- that leads us in one direction. If it is to motivate them- that is another direction. If we are using it as a form of control, certains things follow. To ensure learning or moving forward- learning is not a linear progression. Kids abilities to make connections. Even groovy assessments are only assessing teaching done.

Collect information and share with kids and parents. When you give grade- kids becomes less interested, takes easiest path to get the grade, they tend to think more superficially. Have kids assess themselves, can I collect enough information from what they are doing without giving a test. Can they do a summative project to gather this information to check for learning?

What about Rubrics? The trouble with rubrics- article on website- adaptation of forward of book called Rethinking Rubrics on writing assessments. This is an attempt to standardize writing and teaching. Don’t give it to the kids- then it just standardizes it more.

How do you do this pbl with high stakes tests on the horizon??? Round peg in square hole. How does pbl increase the grades on high stakes test????? Big question.
Bad teaching will raise the test score ! It is a political issue. I cannot in good conscious give this test that is soooo bad for students.

What about the kid that refuses to work? If it is not measured, it is not real- according to kid. Maybe we can keep score with self not competition. Other possibilities- this topic is not of interest to me; not my input on this (how do we get more input); giving kids more say- less teacher control; ask the kid

What is the point? K-12 is not to get you into a college or a job. Nothing you do is valuable – it is a means to an end. Justify what we do by realizing that kids are not just future adults. They are miserable now, but it will help them later! Their excitement about learning matters; this is either worth doing or it’s not. Practical ways to make sure we teach them something valuable now-

How can you share- narrative and evaluation; conference; porfolio to replace grades; (step 1- pt conference with kid; bring in portfolio; kid runs pt conference) must replace all report cards. People and constituents who need more- programs that are designed for a double check (number) with criteria-work sampling (sam izel at U of M); Ways of saying here is why accoreding to standards and criteria but it is based on kids real learning over time in the classroom.

How do we teach kids to have freedom, set goals, success/redo/success- not failure, deal with no grades, self evaluation, portfolio, etc?
Is the learning organized by problems, projects, and questions?

Are children just future adults and future employees?

If you are helping students construct their own knowledge, is there a sequence?  far less often than we assume- even in upper level math how about integrate all?  Within a certain discipline you learn to read by reading… not with encoding and phonemes.  Within context you learn skills.  Article- What does it mean to be well-educated?  You have to define the goal!!

This was awesome and I will read these notes and continue to soak in and reblog on this!!!  Whew.  My brain hurts.  This is a good thing.

Big ideas-

• Personal Inspiration: standing on the shoulders of giants
• Bricolage (tinkering)
• Using the computer as something besides a prop (to gain knowledge about things they could never have done before)
• Slide was advanced… shooooot

Gary’s experience- special teacher that inspired him and made him want to challenge himself.  Mr. Jones we all have those that inspire us.  He refers it to “swimming around in the beaker” as he challenges, recapture intellectual experiences.

Digital Natives (computers in their shoes, servers in their bedrooms)

Why are our students learning keyboarding and squandering the gift they have of computing?  Why teach gifted readers phonics?

At 14 years old he had an office and secretary because he learned how to use the only computer and programming.

Bricolage-  How can computers be a part of the popular culture?  Old way- codes, bugs, solutions; making something out of nothing.  Programming the new way- if every kid should Haiku…. why is that thought so normal and programming for kids so outrageous.  By policy we tend to keep them back.  Even ISTE standards don’t deal with coding and programming.

His daughter is knitting.  Why don’t people say, “Ditch that and go to Target to get one”?  Because their is a culture and aesthetic to it.  Computing & programming-  How do we return it to the level of knitting?  Real tinkering and projects (Make magazine).  Hey this sounds like something awesome for electives and our Career Tech Center… hmmmm.

Bad ideas are timeless.

Good ideas are incredibly fragile.

Computer as a prop!  Some is cool.  Admire it because of its innovation.  It does not have revolutionary educational value.  Bloggers promote Web2.0 technologies that are just doing the same thing.  Bandwagons!  Ask yourself, “What does that tool add to the real meat of the subject?”  Use it as an intellectual lab and vehicle for self expression.  Success- work more; Failure- debug.  Be able to back up and change course

He goes into schools where kids are sitting at laptops aimlessly surfing and staring at the screen.  What do kids do with computers at your school?  Ed computing is not about hardware its about software.  Free is not always the best.  What you can do defines what you are able to learn.

Design a video game and not just consume them.  Kids hate school, they like video games, make school like a video game (WRONG).  Options- Simulations (Sim- Middle Ages), Games (Microworlds), Geometer’s Sketchpad (Microworlds- build your own)  I am very intimidated by his talk of creating programming and writing code.  But I will not be whipped by that idea.

Constructivism vs. Constructionism

• process of constructing knowledge inside the head
• Create something tangibly sharable outside your head
• (Papert)

8 big ideas- handout in folder (Wrong- if you don’t get it right, you get it wrong)

“What can they do with that?”  The idea of transferability!

Programmable Lego Materials- build a killer robot!

More from Gary:

Collaborations could be by air-  something starts in the upstairs of the building and it gravitates downstairs through the kids.  Teachers like our seats and rooms and don’t collaborate.  He is encouraging us to collaborate and “Demo or die” to force us out of our comfort zone.  The goal for this rather small conference is to spend time with someone and not to just listen to a speaker.  We want small groups and will schedule the collaboration accordingly.

Put away your teacher, administrator, tech specialist hat.  Just be a learner and enjoy the luxury of time.

Faculty at the conferences:  Sylvia Martinez (she is in my twitter network!), John Stetson, Cynthia Solomon

More to come!