Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'...

Yes, yes, yes!!! I am so excited to be rolling along now with teacher collaborations and student projects. The past two weeks have been so crazy, but extremely fun and full of collaboration in the library.

Our 6th grade CSI project began on Monday with my friend, a crime scene investigator for HPD, coming out and spending the day talking to the kids about how to look at evidence, find the facts, make inferences, and look for bias in people's stories.

We also had 4 different stations -

• A re-created a car accident  
• Research stations (using infographics) on 3 types of drivers 
• distracted drivers
• teenage drivers 
• drowsy drivers

Day 2, they read and analyzed statements from the 3 drivers and a police report to see if they could decipher facts, bias, and filter the evidence to find the cause of the accident. It's been interactive, full of energy, and more fun and authentic for the kids! They will be completing authentic writing pieces based off of the accident scene as well - newspaper article, diary entry, or a letter to their lawyer (we even have a lawyer who will respond to their letters!)

I've also been working with our U.S. History teachers to help them locate and utilize primary source documents in online activities. They've discovered docsteach,org, the New York Public Library, and the Smithsonian Learning Lab. What has been fun is creating and working through activities on docsteach.org - a fabulous resource from the National Archives! We had kids work through documents about Valley Forge in one activity a couple weeks ago, then we created our own activity we started today about the Articles of Confederation - weighing evidence and deciding on the strengths and weaknesses of the Articles.

Student #1 scale

Student #2 scale

Again, it's amazing to see how much more engaged kids are when they are investigating and doing authentic activities rather than simply taking notes during class...more to come at a later date!

Are you a difficult student?

Yesterday, I was a difficult student. I was frustrated, upset, even angry at times. I'm sure my attitude was difficult and I know I didn't make my "teachers'" lives any easier. Why was I difficult? I was asked to complete some inquiry learning...you know, the kind where you're given a task to complete, but you don't know what it should look like, how to get it finished, or what process to use to complete it. Ooooohhhhh, was I frustrated!! Let me take a moment to apologize to my "teachers" - Karen, Krystal, Amy - for any stress or difficulty I caused them yesterday as well, and then share a few reflections and takeaways I have from that experience:

• Learning is messy. Ever wonder why learners act the way they do during activities? Learning is messy...maybe they don't understand how to do what you're asking. Maybe they just want the end result. Maybe they just want structure. Maybe they've been spoonfed. Maybe, just maybe, they're like me and take longer to process something and later that day or even the next morning, they'll have their AHA moment and understand what to do and how to accomplish it.

• Everyone is a learner...even the adults! Have you ever been to a PD training session and wondered why the adults were worse than your students or were working with your team and realized that you have just a difficult person in the group? We forget that adults are learners too with similar needs as the kids. They'll get frustrated, bored, upset, difficult, stressed, etc and will act - like me - just like the kids!

• Maybe, I need to remember that teachers, administrators - well really all of us adult-types - are learners too. I need to treat the adult learners around me in a similar manner to the kids I work with. They think learning is messy and frustrating too. They need time to process, adjust, and figure out how to work through the "projects" they are given. They may be difficult, frustrated, and stressed, and I need to not take that to heart so much. It may have everything to do with me, or it may have nothing to do with me...it's just the process!

In the end, am I going to stop asking learners, kids or adults, to do "messy learning"? Of course not, because messy learning is one of the best places to go deeper, reflect, and learn so much more than simply "sit and git" teaching. I just have to give myself and others more grace in the moment!

Joys and Challenges...or should I say Challenges and Joys!

OK...I admit it...it's totally true...I'm a self-professed nerd and geek and I LOVE it! I can't turn off my curiosity and zeal for finding and trying new ideas and activities with my students. I am an educator who is constantly trying out ideas (even on just my library aides), running ideas by others, and working to collaborate and improve student achievement and engagement.

I think conceptually, with PBL and design thinking at the forefront of my brain at ALL times. It is virtually impossible to turn it off and see things in reality, but these past couple of weeks, while I've seen some absolutely AMAZING innovative steps being taken, I've been forced to consider reality quite a few times. It's been extremely frustrating to think big only to be forced back to earth...so what to do...what to do? I feel like I've hit the wall of limitations and "inside the box" thinking one too many times and my creativity/innovation/idea making is crying out for attention !

I truly understand having to fulfill district and state requirements in education, but at the same time, my brain ponders the question..."What is best for my students?" Yes, they need to pass tests and improve their skills, but can't that be done using engaging, innovative activities? Do we as educators and classroom experience designers have to be the same as everyone else? Where is the balance between what is proven to work with others and innovative practices that move students forward and provide authentic real-world engagement that not only improves skills, but also requires more critical thinking, engagement and creativity from them?

I don't have the answer, and that bothers me to no end! 

So the hunt begins for answers...and one of the biggest joys of thinking big has to be the hunt. I've been stymied by reality, so what's the next step? Find ways to think big AND innovate within the boundaries (and then go beyond outside of class hours!!!). I'm on a hunt for a place to try some of the innovative ideas I have to help students better engage with their learning and begin to cultivate their own curiosity to learn and grow independently and within a community. I will hunt for opportunities to try new things - no matter how many baby steps I need to take - and work to improve my educational practices, my growth, and affect change for my students! Because in the end, as I read and learned from one of my eduheroes, Todd Nesloney, #KidsDeserveIt! They deserve my best each and every day and that involves THINKING BIG!!