C113 (Book Club): Students become the experts (pgs 91-130)

This week, we were fortunate to have the authors of the Expert Effect join our conversation!  Unfortunately, I was unable to attend, because I was traveling for a workshop.  The positive thing is that we were able to record the session.  Click here to watch the session. 

​From the beginning, I was captured by a quote that lingers.  “Learning should feel like discovering something new, not simply being told a fact.”  How many of us are a product of this learning model?  We were told as young learners to be quiet, compliant and do our work. This touched me, because as a second language learner, the traditional model didn’t work for me.  I needed more experiential learning to connect the ideas together, which drove my teaching practice. 

This idea was transferred to our book club chat as my co-host Mike Medvinksy asked a simple question:

The responses were interesting.  

• Dissecting a cow’s eye
• Reports about famous people, such as Nathan Hale
• Speeches from famous people, such MLK
• Marching band: performing for the team and not for self. Four years of memories that made school so special
• Research report on a state within the US.  
• Learning Swahili in primary school
• Sixth grade, a teacher allowed me to research what I wanted to do.  I noticed that some people in our community didn’t have access to books, so I created a book drive, which made me think good and visible. 
• I had to stay home a lot when I was younger and life skills were so important; this book helped me to understand that children can become experts.

Grayson and Zach usually ask, “What do you remember most about school?”  Most people remember the things that they were doing, creating, and making an impact on our lives.  If these are the things that we remember the most about school, how do we support it? 

Creating Memorable Moments

• Dan Heath, The Power of Moments
• Creating memorable peaks that learners remember about how we made them feel and the skills we allowed them to develop on their own. 
• If we have one peak in the school year, this is why our learners don’t remember us and our experience together. 
• We are striving to create multiple peaks in a year.

When Giving Students Choice Over Their Learning…

What Stays the Same for All?

• Same driving question
• Same learning outcomes
• Same time frame
• Same learning standards

How can we Differentiate?

• Different interests and related subtopics
• Different types of learning materials
• Different end products
• Different authentic audiences

​Two Truths and a Lie

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​When you become a master of the curriculum for your grade level and specialty, it is easier to know where the learning journey is going to create more learning peaks.  It takes time to create a culture of learning that is focused on project-based learning.  There will be inevitable changes, but by knowing our content, we can weather the storm. 

Pacing is key to this process.  Each child has their own pace for taking in information, organize their ideas, and take action.  By knowing our curriculum, it allows us that flexibility, because we know what is coming up ahead.  

You need to be prepared to be flexible.  What does this mean?  You need to have a plan, but be flexible enough to go where the learners want to go.  Newer teachers often bring a fresh perspective and open-mind to curriculum development.  It allows for fresh ideas.

​The SAMR Model

​How do we leverage technology to drive our learning and teaching beyond using Zoom?  How do we use technology in a different way?  Look at this SAMR model interpretation by Emily Cordwell. 

• The learning comes first and the technology supports it.  
• How do we leverage the learning instead of means of doing
• Technology is not an extra thing to do
• A natural way of expressing themselves
• Different language:  I want to play Minecraft to We are going to simulate in Minecraft

George Couros

​George Couros urges educators to be mindful of technology being used as a thing to do, instead of a tool to create thinking opportunities.  This aligns with the goal of the approaches to learning to create independent thinkers who are able to use tools to create their own learning pathways.  

The connection I make to this idea is the current rage of ChatGPT.  I know many educators that are going gaga for this tool, because it can spit out lesson and unit plans at the drop of the hat.  It’s a wonderful tool to use, but what is our ultimate purpose?  

Ultimate Purpose

• Turning in unit and lesson plans solely created by ChatGPT
• Using ChatGPT as a tool for more ideas

There is a major difference between the two answers.  I am all for using technology to support our learning, but it doesn’t replace your ingenuity, creativity, and connection with your learners. We can be easily lured in by the easy, but I would argue that the productive struggle is where the most growth happens. 

I’ve truly enjoyed unpacking this section of the Expert Effect and listening to Grayson and Zach’s thoughts in our book club.  Be sure to check out both in the club tab on my website.