What Could You Accomplish with 160 Extra Hours?

The Gift of Time: Image Credit

Ask any teacher what their greatest need is and many will respond: TIME! As curriculum demands increase, classrooms become more diverse, testing and test prep take increasingly more time, and schools move toward 1:1 technology adoption, teachers report not having time to fit everything into their day.

At the same time teacher contracts vary in number of months teachers are under contract. Some schools offer 9 month contracts, some 10 months, some 12 months. New teachers wonder how they should best use those summer months.  While those two months of summer can initially seem like a long time, without setting goals and implementing effective time management those two months can fly by quickly.

Just this year a preservice teacher graduated in December and began teaching in January. She jumped in and learned a new way of teaching with Project-Based Learning. When the school year ended, a wise school administrator interpreted this new teacher's 12 month contract to help her plan her summer. June is a month off for relaxation and enjoyment. In July teachers were expected to work 40 hour weeks on topics of their choosing. Teachers participated in a type of Genius Hour where they were "empowered to explore their own passions." Each teacher could read, blog, tweet, code, or create whatever they wanted to do to grow as an educator. What would you do with 160 hours outside of the school year to accomplish whatever you wanted?

Blog, Tweet, Connect: Image Credit

This preservice teacher began reading books her students would enjoy and then blogged her reactions to each. Now when students return they can go to their teacher's blog to get ideas about books they may like to read, and blog about them! She also began connecting with other educators online. She took a big step and made her blog a public blog so her amazing ideas can be gleaned by others. This new teacher also explored Project-Based Learning more deeply as she began to think about possible projects to help her students meet learning goals this year. She will empower students to ask questions, search online, evaluate information, and communicate learning by creating a project that makes a difference in the world.

In August all teachers at this school come together for collaborative workshops on this school's unique Project-Based Learning teaching format. I really like this school's creative summer plan: June off, July Genius Hour individual choice, and August collaborative staff learning. I think this teacher, beginning her first full year of teaching this fall, will be ready to share her learning with her students when they arrive in September. After experiencing herself how to learn individually and collaboratively, she will be more comfortable empowering her students to learn in similar ways.

As I calculate there are approximately 4 weeks until students return to school. What will you do with these 160 hours to grow as an educator? Please share what you do with us, and with your students! Have fun!

Six Reasons Teachers Should Collaborate

Collaborating to help students: Image credit

I have been coaching preservice teachers and their cooperating teachers in new literacies integration for several years, and I still marvel when I see effective collaboration! I love to see teachers and preservice teachers working together to improve student learning by creating collaborative networks. Guy Trainin and I are working on an article looking at collaborative patterns and learning how resourceful, motivated teachers seek out the specialists they need to make learning happen for students. And just this afternoon I participated in an #edchat where we looked at the need for increased opportunities for collaboration among teachers, preservice teachers, and students. We decided that collaboration and technology must be valued, taught, and resourced; and 21st century pedagogy must be included in Teacher Education.

I share six reasons why teachers should collaborate and challenge you to consider ways you can model collaboration for your students and student teachers.

1. ISTE Standards for Teachers says that all teachers should posess 21st century skills to learn, teach, and work in the digital age. To model digital age work and learning for students teachers need to "collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support students success and innovation." 

2. Share Expertise. Using Collaborative Inquiry teachers can plan, teach, and reflect with preservice teachers, paras, and other teachers. Team teaching makes it possible for multiple educators to work together to assist with technology, pedagogy, and content. 

3. Save Time. Collaborating online using Google Docs or other collaborative tools allows grade-level teachers to each plan one lesson and end up with a complete unit as each teacher adds a lesson. After experiencing this process themselves teachers can empower students to write and discuss

Global Collaboration: Image Credit

collaboratively online.

4. Get Global Input. Asking questions in a collaborative online network can bring insights from educators across the state, the country, or around the world at any time. Connect with authors, scholars, or classroom teachers to plan activities for students to connect and learn globally.

5. Model for Preservice Teachers. Modeling collaboration for new teachers broadens their pedagogical content knowledge. It helps them participate in school PLCs and social media PLNs. Preservice teachers learn that to effectively integrate new literacies they need to collaborate with others for ideas and assistance.

6. It's Fun! We can accomplish more together than we can individually. As technology changes rapidly, new devices, apps and websites will be difficult to keep up with alone. But collaboratively we can share ideas, student projects, and feedback to be effective teachers in the 21st century.

What Can We Learn from AIRBNB to Prepare Students to Lead in the 21st Century

As educators we know that we are preparing our students for jobs that either do not exist today or will be siginificantly different in the near future. I recently read Fortune's 7.1.15 article on The Education of Brian Chesky.  Chesky and friend Joe Gebbia were unemployed without enough money to pay their rent when they decided to sell sleeping space in their apartment to trade show attendees. They put air mattresses on the floor, called it the Air Bed and Breakfast, and three guests stayed in the extra space. The design trade show heard about this unique arrangement and blogged about it stirring up interest. They expanded the site to allow others to rent out space in their homes before becoming AIRBNB where today you can rent "unique places to stay from local hosts in 190+ countries".  40 million people rented AIRBNB locations between its beginning in 2008 and today, valuing the company at $24 billion. How did this rapid business growth happen for a 33 year old new CEO? And how can this example of necessary 21st century skills inform the way we teach students?

In the article, Brian Chesky describes himself as "intense, focused, and really, really, really curious" (Fortune, p.95). Initially he needed to be able to generate a solution to his problem. He needed rent money, he knew there was a need for housing during the trade show, he evaluated his unused floor space, and he quickly devised a plan. What teaching strategies help students learn these necessary 21st century skills? How can we build upon natural curiosity to empower students to investigate, think strategically, generate solutions, in a rapid progression?

Chesky needed additional skills to build his company. Using technology, he researched deeply to find the top expert in each required area then contacted these high level leaders to seek advice by "hacking leadership." He located investors to launch the business, divided management and technology demands between leaders, and dealt with issues quickly as they arose. Because this was a new business AIRBNB encountered problems they could not anticipate in advance so the ability to quickly analyze, evaluate, seek expert advice, and act made Chesky's company surge. Decisions need to constantly be made about hiring, firing, marketing, and expanding worldwide. Companies today are global and those who manage them effectively must think globally.

Knowing these are the skills needed in business today, how can we best prepare students to effectively lead? We must empower them to ask questions, find answers, contact experts, evaluate options, synthesize information, think globally, make strategic plans and decisions, and accomplish this in a rapidly changing technological world. Teaching methods that focus on student-directed active learning can increase student curiosity and ability to solve problems.

1. Makerspaces build upon student interest and allow them to make, share, collaborate and reflect upon their learning attempts. Creating an area in the classroom filled with a variety of items students can take apart, build, and experiment with encourages curiosity.

2. Project-based learning begins with a real-world problem that students attempt to solve through sustained inquiry. Students evaluate each attempt, reflecting upon what is needed to make it even more effective, before creating the next project. Projects are shared publically with the goal of improving living conditions.

3. STEAM encourages students to integrate science, technology, engineering, art, and math to focus on the learning process as much as the product. They try multiple ideas by sketching, building, evaluating, and documenting real-life learning.

4. Video Conferencing brings students in contact with experts and learners globally. Many projects can be completed collaboratively online today including blogging, discussions, labs, interviews, and guest lectures. Mystery Skypes can connect two classrooms in a fun way by asking yes and no questions to determine location. Teachers can then have students in these classrooms collaborate for further learning and feedback in authentic contexts.

Excited about preparing teachers for 21st century classrooms and careers!



"Brian Chesky" by LeWEB12 (OFFICIAL LeWEB PHOTOS) - Cropped from http://www.flickr.com/photos/leweb3/6477359505/. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brian_Chesky.jpg#/media/File:Brian_Chesky.jpg

Gallagher, L. The education of Brian Chesky. Fortune, July 1, 2015, pp. 92-100.