Scottish Independence and Canada... Finding Connections

It seemed strange to students that I started our Canadian history course this week with a discussion on Scottish independence. At first, the class thought that it was due to the not insignificant contributions that the Scottish made to the foundation of Canada. Our first Prime Minister was born in Glasgow, Scotland, just like I was. But, no that wasn't the hook. We started with a current article featuring the leader of the Scottish National Party admonishing his country folk to seize the moment and make history. A map exercise to engage the visual learners was undertaken, and a recent version of the national anthem "Flower of Scotland" was played to stimulate the environment. Even the Simpsons were thrown in for good measure. https://time.com/3372547/the-simpsons-groundskeeper-willie-scottish-independence/

The point of the exercise? To demonstrate that people come together in different ways in order to form nations. Furthermore, that nations come and go, and that concepts such as Time, place, and orientation and related concepts such as Change and Power, are lasting and transferable. This is an approach that teachers of the IB Middle Years Program (MYP) are quite familiar with. They are used to teaching concepts that are applicable across many settings.

It was a moment of real satisfaction when one student clearly made the connection between the topical issue of Scottish independence and the content of Canadian history that deals with the period just prior to the formation of the nation known as Confederation. The formation of nations is both global and timeless. This student recognized that the concepts of change and power are applicable across the globe.

Canadians are particularly interested in how this referendum will be settled given the many historical ties to Scotland and the United Kingdom. As well, Canada grapples with the challenges associated with Quebec separatism which has historically held referenda on its continued union with the country.

How will Scotland vote? That's too close to call for now, especially on the eve of this historic moment. As an educator, though, I am pleased now that my own students have a better understanding of how nations are formed, and sometimes taken apart.

August School Bells

It used to be that Labor Day in Canada signified the (immediate) onset of school and the start of another school year. For me it is now the August Civic Holiday- a holiday weekend that isn't even recognized in all provinces of the country. But it is in Ontario, and that is where I teach. So, with the passage of the unevenly observed Civic holiday on Monday, it is now time to turn my thoughts back to the world of work. Sure, there will be leisurely times ahead in the month of August in the lead-up to the start of school in September, but the month now signifies that a portion of time needs to be set aside for academic matters. In order to be ready for the challenges of a new school year, the mind needs to get back into the discipline of thinking about the year ahead (2014-15).

This morning I enjoyed a lazy second cup of coffee and looked out upon gardens that were being soaked by a steady summer rain. It afforded me time to gather my thoughts about the year ahead and think about some of the imperatives that it will entail. An immediate priority for me will be our school's application to become MYP authorized. This will be a major undertaking that involves a great deal of work and the efforts of many faculty members. It will also be a great opportunity for our school to re-examine curriculum delivery in grades 7-10, plan collaboratively, and further develop a professional learning community with a unity of purpose. This will be a busy and exciting time.

When I was a student I gave little thought to the work that teachers did over the summer. I probably assumed that they just showed up at the same time as students and got to work on what they knew best. Sure, I saw the cars in the school parking lot prior to Labor Day, but really thought little about how much thought and attention went into the preparation stage of teaching.

As a teacher I came to know that a great deal of a school's success depends upon that preparation phase. As an experienced teacher, I now know that the time for such preparations arrives earlier and earlier. I look forward to the formal week of professional development that takes in the last week of August. I also have started the daily discipline of setting priorities, keeping administrative tabs, and giving thought to the framework of the school year.

Yes, there will be time for a few more leisurely second cups of coffee, but in my mind the August school bells have started to ring.

Changes Lessons

Throughout the year I have been chronicling the process of changing our school's intermediate program in this blog. I have examined several aspects of this change project, mostly from a programming perspective.

What I have not yet examined is how the process changed me personally. This is an aspect of the process that I was asked to consider as the formal part of the CAIS Next Step program draws to a conclusion. The actual work of implementing the program is ongoing, but I was asked to consider three ways in which I was personally impacted through the change process.

For me the following three things have been noticeable.

time
trust
self

Of course there are time constraints upon the completion of any project, and generally I was able to meet the guidelines (and sometimes deadlines) that were required to complete the work. The most compelling lesson about time was that it is a critical component of any project or work-related activity. The simple take-away is that time is a valuable commodity, and one that must be respected throughout the process. There were moments when it was clear that more time was needed in order to complete certain tasks. I needed to back away from my own timeline and respect that others needed more time to absorb the change. This was especially true during the MYP unit planning meetings that were established. Colleagues needed more time in order to fully complete the tasks.

There were other moments when urgency was required. A degree of pressure needed to be applied in these instances so that we could move along in the authorization process. This was especially true of the need to get online and use the MYP unit planners on Managebac in order to at least become familiar with IB terminology and the correct manner in which to develop units. The final product could be developed over time, but a start needed to be made. Whether it was allowing colleagues more time, or pressing matters forward, the commodity of time was most valuable in this project. Like an elastic band, sometimes it needed to be stretched out, and sometimes it needed to be snapped back into shape.

A second realization that became apparent is that the project is bigger than me. As Coordinator, I had an integral role in the development of the MYP program, but I was by no means the only one involved. School administration, staff, teachers and students, parents and the wider school community each had a stake in the unfolding of this major school change. Thus, it was critical to develop trust.

Trust in others was required throughout the year in various ways. At points in the year it was important for me to let go of the ideas that I had, and to accept that another plan might be a better course of action. This was especially true in the area of collaborative planning. While IB does not compromise on the need for collaborative planning time for all MYP teachers, various scheduling models needed to be considered in order to achieve this end. I needed to trust in the process, and trust that those tasked with the responsibility of making the changes would make good on their commitment. I am happy to report that this came to fruition and I am grateful for the support that was provided. It was an exercise in trust and collegiality. Many colleagues stepped forward just as they had promised.

The final personal takeaway should, perhaps, have been the first. It was clear to me early on in the process that in order for me to be successful with this project, I needed to be in good shape. Yes, that meant taking the time for exercise, better nutrition, and finding balance between my various commitments. To do that I needed to place self first. I know that it seems counterintuitive in our driven workplaces to place self before work, but that was nonetheless true. Before I could commit to a full day of work, attend to various tasks, and complete this project, I needed to be healthy and ready to face the day. Regular exercise, healthier diet, and dedicated down time helped put me in a proper frame of mind. This provided me with the strength, stamina, and focus that was required in order to see this project through to its conclusion.

In effect, the lessons of time, trust, and self will be the most important elements that will guide my future work on this project and all others to come.

MYP Projects- Making it Personal

I recently returned from Atlanta, Georgia for an IB workshop at the Atlanta International School (AIS). This was an MYP conference co-hosted by an organization known as CASIE ( http://www.casieonline.org/home), who work in conjunction with IB and the AIS to organize professional development for IB teachers. CASIE also works with the Harvard Graduate School of Education on something known as Project Zero, an initiative to make learning visible and to develop deep understanding. I must say that I was impressed by the work of all of the partners in this enterprise. They coordinated and hosted excellent professional development that benefitted a large number of educators from all over the world. Clearly, all those involved were committed to excellence in education.

The workshop that I was involved with was MYP Projects. It was expertly led by Patricia Villegas, an  educator with a rich knowledge of IB and the role of the personal project within the MYP. The Personal Project is one of the key distinguishing features of the MYP program. It involves the creation of a self-directed personal project by a student in the 5th and final year (grade 10) of the MYP. It is inquiry-driven over a sustained period of time, with students beginning to plan the project up to a year in advance of its completion. The work is student-centered and personal in nature. Students choose whatever topic that personally inspires them to learn more about something that interests them. Personal projects can range from the particular- learning more about the life cycle of certain insects- to something broader such as whether new technological developments in fuel consumption can lead to greater self-sufficiency in the developing world. The point of the exercise is that students will be challenged to examine a topic through a global context that will lead to new insights and deeper understanding.

Of course any student who embarks upon such an ambitious project must be supported along the way.  IB does a thorough job of providing a framework for the completion of the project- milestones for accomplishing certain tasks, information on academic honesty, and guidelines for students and project  supervisors. In short, it provides all of the information required to complete a successful project, provided that the work gets done.

Over the course of the three-day conference, participants were involved in a series of activities that helped educators understand the MYP Personal Project process:

It was a terrific way to meet colleagues from all over the world- many with a great deal of experience in working with Personal Projects, and some, like myself, learning all about the projects for the very first time. It was an exceptionally rewarding experience and personally engaging, enriching, and fun.

Change For The Better

The process of change can be a difficult one. It is claimed that the human brain scans its sensory environment to discern changes, with the idea that anything new can be either a threat or an opportunity. I have been reliably informed by some experts who spend far more time studying these matters than I do, that the brain is an optimal efficiency machine, attempting to process everything it perceives in a binary fashion. Essentially it asks whether the changed landscape in front of it is worth the energy needed to bring it under control. Thus, humans are prone to avoid change unless it results in something of obvious benefit.

In examining major changes to a school culture such as those envisioned with the introduction of a new program it is important to anticipate a degree of resistance. It appears to be only human after all. Often proposed changes are examined through the lens described above. Is the change worth the effort? Will it require more work, and if so, what will the benefit be? These are the normal reactions to change that apparently most, if not all people exhibit.

When you consider that education tends to be a field that is more conservative than most, the challenge of change in this area is even greater. In his cleverly titled book: Seven Secrets of the Savvy School Leader ( http://www.robevans.org/Pages/pubBook_SevenSecrets.htm), Robert Evans points out that teaching attracts people who have an attraction to security and a strong ethic of service. Let's face it, the reward of money is not the prime motivator for teachers; the rewards are far more intrinsic and vocational in nature. Thus loyalty, familiarity, and continuity feature strongly in the field of education. For the most part these are good things, but not when you are trying to affect change on a large scale.

Introducing a program such as the IB into a school involves massive change. It impacts everything from what is taught at the start of a school year to when it is assessed (not necessarily at the end), and everything in between. It challenges schools to adopt a new framework for teaching and learning, and it places a particular onus on the student to be responsible for her or his own learning. During a year in which our graduates have taken their first ever IB Diploma Program exams (grade 12), and our Primary Years Program students (grade 6) have presented their first Exhibition of work, the impact of change has been noticeable. While the full evaluation surrounding program change will take place over time, and there may still be those who yearn for the past, the early indications are that the changes have been positive. A heightened academic profile has been noted at the senior end through the taking of the IB exams, while our younger students have transformed their own learning through the exhibition of work that is student-centered and reflects their personal interests.

In every respect this represents Change for the Better.

The Importance of Developing Student Voice

One of the most distinguishable features of the IB program is the image of the student at the centre of all of its programming. Although the program changes significantly throughout each stage, the student image is the same for the Primary Years Program (PYP), Middle Years Program (MYP), and the Diploma Program (DP). Placing the student at the centre makes a bold statement- the IB is a student-centered program at all stages of development. The image is linked closely to the Learner Profile which also runs throughout each stage of the IB. One of the traits of the Learner Profile is that of communicator.

We all know that communication takes a variety of forms in the modern world, much of it digital like this blogpost. However, a key aspect of communication that is sometimes underemphasized is student voice. I have had the great privilege of working with students in the areas of debate and public speaking since the start of my career. I can vividly remember the opportunity that was offered to me as a young teacher when I was asked to take on the debate and public speaking responsibilities at my school. It has remained an important part of what I do today as a teacher and administrator.

It would be too easy- and also untrue- to say that today's students do not engage in the speaking arts as readily due to the proliferation of digital media as a primary form of communication. Yes, the rise of social media has led to a massive shift in the way that we communicate, regardless of generational differences. But it is also true that the spoken word- debate, public speaking, and other forms of oral communication such as model United Nations- is as important today as it ever was. In fact, a case can be made that the need for well-organized, well-articulated thoughts will always be a key feature of healthy societies.

Developing Resiliency and Bouncing Back

Recently I had the opportunity of sharing some thoughts on the importance of developing resiliency. It was the start of term and the first week back to school after an 18 day lay-off. Second term reports had been issued, examined, digested, and perhaps even forgotten by the time school resumed. But the question in my mind was how should students, and teachers, and parents approach the notion of "failure"? In our quest for perfection there seems to be little room for error, mistakes are masked, and failure is often avoided at all costs. Yet, it is undeniable that making mistakes is a necessary part of growth, and in order to succeed you must fail, sometimes.

Having attended an excellent session on Approaches to Learning as part of our school's ongoing understanding of the IB program, I felt that there could be a clear connection to what I learned from the workshop coordinator (Lance King) and the start to the new term which always requires resiliency and "bouncing back."

A link to Lance King's work on this subject is found here:

http://lancegking.wordpress.com/2013/04/02/the-importance-of-failing-well/

Now, it must be remembered that our school chapel consists of students in junior kindergarten-grade eight, aged 4 through 14. Quite a range, and quite a difference in terms of both accepting and understanding the role of mistakes in the learning process. Suffice to say that the message needed to be tailored to all students, as well as the adults (parents, teachers, visitors) assembled.

What better way than to show it first? So, with the help of three volunteers we showcased three ways in which you must make mistakes in order to improve. The first was a demonstration of juggling. A simple three ball demonstration took place as a grade 8 student entertained the group with his proficiency and enthusiasm for juggling. Along with a student who enjoys the sport of soccer just as much as I do, a challenge of keeping the ball in the air through heading was attempted. Finally, a third student with a love and aptitude for music performed an upbeat and bouncy piece entitled "Summer".

The twist was that at the outset of each demonstration mistakes were made, balls were dropped, and keys were missed in order to represent the notion that improvement can only take place when you learn from your mistakes. You cannot be an entertainer (juggler) without dropping a few balls, a skilled athlete (soccer) without repetition, nor an adept performer (musician) without working through the process of learning a new skill, and learning from your mistakes.

The same can be said of education, and life in general. A growth mindset (Carol Dweck:http://mindsetonline.com/) demands it, and experimentation is an important consideration too. When we learn from our mistakes, take responsibility for improvement, reflect on what we did and how we can make changes, the opportunities for success grow exponentially. We can all take heart from these lessons in resiliency and bounce back with enthusiasm.