2 Year Old Demonstrates the iPad

My daughter Jonelle is almost 2. After my wife bought an iPad for her web business I gave it to Jonelle to see what she would do with it. At first she was fascinated by the home button and pushed it repeatedly. I showed her that she could touch the screen and move things with her finger and she quickly moved away from the button. Now she can unlock the iPad (not always a good thing!), scroll through the apps, and find her games without any help. It's amazing to see such a young child navigate a complex device like the iPad with such ease.

How to motivate students

People are motivated by being pushed, or being pulled.

Michael Watkins, author of The First 90 Days, explains:

"Push tools, such as compensation plans, performance measurement systems, annual budgets, and the like, motivate people through authority, loyalty, fear, and expectation of reward for productive work. Pull tools, such as a compelling vision, inspire people by invoking a positive and exciting image of the future."

How does this work in the classroom? Here's my list of push and pull tools that impact students:

Push Tools	Pull Tools
·         Grades ·         Threat of discipline ·         Parental disappointment ·         Peer pressure (positive and negative) ·         Fear of failure	·         The understanding that hard work now will lead to future success. ·         A desire to be a life-long learner. ·          An understanding that habits developed now will be habits for life, for better or for worse. ·         A sense of autonomy and purpose. ·         A sense of belonging to something bigger and more important than myself.

Dynamic classrooms have a strong pull that motivates students. This frequently involves collaborative, dynamic, and self-directed learning. 

Can you think of any other push or pull tools that are frequently found in the classroom? How can teachers create a strong sense of pull to motivate students?

The Long Tail of Education

This spring I read The Long Tail by Chris Anderson. It's a very entertaining and insightful book on mass marketing and how the internet has made infinite choice possible.

The title of Anderson's book stems from the graphic below (click to enlarge) which shows that while a large portion of consumers are condensed at the front of the tail, an equal number of consumers are positioned within the infinitely long end of the tail. These customers are much more selective in their choices and more difficult to find, but together their purchase power equals that of the front end of the tail.

For decades, industries of all types have focused their time, energy, and ingenuity on creating "hits" which appealed to the largest possible segment of the population. While most of these endeavors fail, it only takes one "hit" to compensate for all of the failures.

The internet has made niche products economical by reducing marketing and distribution costs to zero (or very close to zero) making it possible to offer products that, while not hits, will still sell. Finding the customers who want an obscure, unique, or specific product is no longer cost prohibitive. 

One of the best examples of this is Netflix which offers its customers approximately 90,000 movie titles to choose from. Contrast this with the 3,000 or so found at your local Blockbuster movie store. The same is true for online music retailers. Rhapsody offers somewhere around 4.5 million unique song titles. This dwarfs the approximately 55,000 sounds found at the worlds largest retailer, WalMart. Finally, if you need a book, you can choose from the 5 million or so titles from Amazon or the paltry 100,000 or so from your local borders.

The Long Tale is listed as a business and marketing book, the principles contained in it can be applied to education.

Since the inception of public education, schools have been "hit" markets. Because of their mandate to educate all students, public education gets watered down to service the students that comprise the fat end of the tail. This isn't meant to be a knock against public education, it's simply the reality of the position into which they have been placed, a point recently discussed on a local school blog that I follow. The public has recognized the weakness of the public education model and niche schools (we call them private and charter schools)  have become increasingly popular.

Most private and charter schools have a limited and focused mission. Some have excellent sports programs, many offer religious instruction and training, some concentrate on math and science, some tailor their curriculum for gifted learners, others for struggling learners. These schools are after long-tail students

Up until recently, education was a product of atoms, meaning it required students to go to a physical place and learn in the presence of trained professionals. While private education served a niche market, it was a limited niche market because brick and mortar education is expensive and geographical. Only those families who could afford the cost of niche education could send their students to private schools and they could only choose from the schools in their immediate area.

The rise of virtual learning and online schools has blown open the possibilities for niche education. A small group of individuals can create a school with a very specific focus, hire minimal number of staff, and run a successful and economically viable learning institution with a relatively small number of students. Instead of a school specializing in math and science, it could specialize in engineering or computer science, or vocal arts, or basket weaving, integrating the essential skills for these vocations into every aspect of their core curriculum. 

Online education has great possibilities for struggling learners who can receive focused individual support. Online learning is highly flexible and modular which allows it to be hand tailored to the specific needs of the learner. It is also cost-effective, a critical detail for struggling school districts, both public and private. 

According to the Sloan Consortium the number of K-12 students engaged in online courses in 2007-2008 is estimated at 1,030,000. This represents a 47% increase since 2005-2006. This number will continue to grow. Clayton Christenson, author of Disrupting Class, argues that online learning will become the dominant form of education around the world within the next 20 years. 

Choice is good. As the number and variety of private, charter, and virtual schools increases families will be able select an educational product that meets the specific needs of their student, no matter how far "down the tail" they might be. 

Helping Students Master Information Analysis

As a teacher I am always looking for new ways to challenge my students and effectively assess their understanding of the concepts that I teach them. Additionally, I want to teach my students to be critical thinkers and be able to analyze and interpret data and information. This is a skill that goes beyond any content area is beneficial to all aspects of life.

This past year I began giving what I titled "ACT Challenge Questions" to my students. These questions are modeled off of the science section of the ACT and other standardize tests. The basic format of these questions is as follows:

1. In introductory paragraph containing information about an experiment or scientific principal.
2. A series of 2-4 graphs, tables, or charts.
3. A collection of 4-7 multiple choice questions related to the provided information.

There are seven sample question sets posted on the ACT website. It's worth taking a look at them to understand their structure.

I tell my students that they don't need to know anything about the subject of the questions in order to answer the questions correctly because the answers are "hidden" in the information that is provided. It's their job to find these answers. An interesting exercise to prove this to your students it to give them a set of problems for a course they haven't taken and see how they do. The won't get all of the questions, but they will get some of them!

To help prepare students for this challenging segment of the ACT and to teach them the importance of data analysis and critical thinking, I begin writing and giving timed mini "challenge questions" to my students. At first these took the form of optional assignments in which I gave candy to any student who got all five the questions correct. The first time I did this in class I had a lot of candy left over! I used this first exercise (which most of my 9th graders failed) to teach strategies for tackling a set of problems:

1. Ignore all of the information, charts and graphs. Go straight to the first question. Typically this will be a general "what are we talking about" type of question in which you will be asked to identify the purpose of the experiment or study. Usually this information can be found within the introductory information or the titles of the data sets. While you don't want to rush, it is important to work through this question quickly because you will need extra time on the final question.

2. Ignore all other information and focus on the table/graph/chart that is referenced in the question. Questions 2-3 will usually contain a phrase such as "look at table 4" or "according to the graph". This is your clue that the answer to this question can be found in this data set. These questions are typically pretty easy. All you need to do is correctly interpret the data that is provided. Again, while you don't want to rush, it is important to work through these questions quickly because you will need extra time on the final question.

3. Work backwards on analysis questions. Question 4 (sometimes question 3-4) will be similar in construction to question 2 however this time you will be asked to compare, contrast, interpret, or order the results of two or more charts, graphs, or tables. There will typically be a key phrase such as "according to tables 2 and 3", "compare the test results of trials 1 and 2," or "arrange the test results of experiment 1 from largest to smallest." Do some quick mental math and choose an approximate value/answer for the question. Next, look at the available choices to see if there is a value/answer close to your approximation. Work backwards to determine if the value is a reasonable choice. If none of the answers are close to your guess, re-calculate your guess or re-read the information to ensure that you didn't make an error or miss an important piece of information.

One of the common mistakes that student make on these question is missing important directions such as smallest to largest, fastest to slowest, etc. If your guess was way off, look for such a phrase and make sure you interpreted the data correctly.

4. Make a prediction! The final question (s) is/are the most challenging and will take the longest. In these questions you are asked to make a prediction. These questions can be tricky because the require you to use multiple pieces of information to draw a conclusion beyond the scope of the provided data/information. If your understanding of any of one portion of the data/information is incorrect, your final conclusion will also be flawed. In questions based on an experiment, you might be asked what would happen if one of the experimental variables is changed. In questions based on collected data, you might be asked to extrapolate the data beyond the range that is provided. Pay careful attention to units, time, and be sure to double check your calculations (most of the time you will be doing basic math).

Practice is essential if students are to master information analysis. Every test that I give has an "ACT question" on it. These question sets are a ton of work to put together but they require students to work with information in complex and challenging ways.

Am I teaching to the ACT test? Well, kind of, but believe that the data analysis skills I am teaching my students will benefit them well beyond the ACT test. I am trying to train critical thinkers and problem solvers, not just students who can fill in the right bubble with a #2 pencil. Frequently the ACT problem sets that I give cause discussion amongst the students as they talk with one another to figure out the correct answers. Each of them has some "logical" reason for their choice and in talking to one another they frequently find errors in their own assumptions and calculations. While my students don't particularly enjoy these problem sets, at the end of the year several of them told me that they thought they were valuable exercises.

If you'd like to challenge your students with similar problem sets feel free to use the handout I created with a sample question from the ACT website. I'd be interested in hearing if you think these types of questions could be used in other disciplines in addition to science.

Organizational Success: A Sailing Analogy

I'm about halfway through the book The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins. It's a very practical and challenging book that seeks to help new leaders transition into new roles and assignments. Watkins wrote, in my opinion, the most lucid and clear explanation of the essential elements for success in an organization that I have ever read:

"Aligning an organization is like preparing for a long sailing trip. First you select your destination (the mission and goals) and your route (the strategy). Then you figure out what boat you need (the structure), how to outfit it (the systems), and the crew mix (the skills). Throughout the journey, you keep an eye out for reefs that are not on the charts."  Michael Watkins, The First 90 Day, pg. 135. 

 I've recently been given a new assignment (more later!) that will require creating something from nothing. Watkins' clear outline of the critical elements of an organization has been very helpful.

Improving Instruction Through Course Evaluations

At the end of the year I ask my students to complete a course evaluation. They typically enjoy this because I tell them that this is their opportunity to give me a grade for my performance as a teacher. I take this survey seriously and try to make adjustments the following year based on the feedback that I get. In typical high school fashion some students leave suggestions that are completely ridiculous ("let us play video games all the time"), impossible ("don't give homework"), and just plain funny ("get warmer tables"). Others, are helpful.

Of all the questions that I ask, these are the ones that I pay most attention to:

• What was your overall experience in class this year? 
• Did you have to think in order to do well in this class?
• Did Mr. Sowash teach using a variety of different methods?
• How difficult was this class? 

This year I also added a question asking students to describe my class using one word. There were lots of creative responses! You can see the results in the word-cloud in the infographic below (click to enlarge). 

These responses help me gauge the effectiveness of my teaching. I also include three free response sections for students to provide more specific responses. Here are the most common (and helpful) comments that were left this year:

One thing I really liked about this course was...

• "How you made us think about stuff and not just memorize things".
• "I liked how we did a lot of differennt projects and different types of assignments."
• "Field trips"

One thing I really didn't like about this course was...

• "The fact that you put the ACT practice questions on tests and then graded them"
• "I thought that some test questions had multiple correct answers"
• "The tests were hard"

This class would be even better if...

• "We had more time to study for quizzes and tests."
• "This class would be even better if you had demanded more respect from the students early on so the students wouldn't always be talking and out of control. And if you told them to stop they would right away. Sometimes class was a little crazy and you didn't get the respect that a teacher should."
• "If we did more interactive things"

Reviewing the results of my evaluation is always a humbling experience because it reminds me that I have areas that I need to improve. Teenagers are brutally honest and will tell you what they think.

Based on the results of this year's evaluation, here are three action points I will seek to improve upon next year:

1. Class Management: As one student commented, I need to demand the highest level of respect early in the year so that later in the year, as we become more familiar with one another, things don't get out of hand. 
2. Study Time: I need to get my study guides out earlier so that students have the information they need to study. Many of them won't, but at least they have the opportunity to do so! 
3. ACT Questions: I regularly have my students complete what I call "ACT questions" to help them learn how to interpret data and ignore unnecessary  information. These are the hardest questions on my test and I got lots of complaints about them, however I know that they are beneficial and useful therefore I need to do a better job explaining the purpose of these questions and slowly ease students into them over the course of the year. 

I would strongly encourage all teachers to give course evaluations on a regular basis. We assess our students all the time, it's only fair that we give them at least one chance to assess us. Good assessments provide a unbiased snapshot of someone's ability and can lead to tremendous growth. 

I have posted the evaluation that I used in the Google Docs Template Gallery. Please feel free to use it!

Summer Blog Makeover

After nearly two years of using the standard blogger template, I decided that it was time for a blog makeover. I have been (and will continue to) make adjustments and improvements. Many of the features that I have incorporated into my blog came from carefully reviewing YOUR blogs and noting things that I liked. Here are the tools that I am using:

• The header of my blog was created in Photoshop with instructions from this site.
• I used the new Blogger template designer to setup the overall structure of the blog. I am using a modified form of the Picture Window theme.
• Live traffic feed from Feedjit. Provides an easy way to see which posts are popular and where visitors are coming from. 
• Twitter badge provided by twitterbutton.com. If they don't have a button you like, it doesn't exist!
• Social media buttons above posts provided by The Yoboo. I really like the "pencil" look of the icons he created. 
• Social media sharing below each post provided by AddThis. 
• I was able to embed my Google Profile in the "About Me" page using the script created by Carter Cole. This was a nice way to include links to various social media sites without including a long list of text links or going to the trouble of finding icons and linking them to the correct source. 

The new Blogger template editor is a much needed improvement. I was ready to leave the Blogspot platform because of its lack of features and updates however the new revisions have made it worth my while to stay put.

Throughout the summer I hope to be able to blog more than I have been over the past few months. As always, I appreciate your thoughts and comments.