STEM According to Mr. Rogers

This post originally appeared on the STEMecosystems.org

“The most important learning is the ability to accept and expect mistakes, and deal with the disappointments that they bring” – Fred Rogers

The only time I ever made my mother cry was because of Mr. Rogers.

Overall, I was a pretty well-behaved kid. Like anyone, however, I had my moments. When I was five, I got in trouble for not listening and, defiantly told my mom, “Yeah, well MR. ROGERS likes me JUST THE WAY I AM!”.

That unwavering support in the face of failure was a cornerstone of Fred Rogers’ belief system. It is a big part of why I am willing to take risks in my adult life. My loving parents were the biggest influences in my young life, but Mr. Rogers continues to impact my thinking 35 years later.

Fred Rogers has been in the news a lot in the past couple of years. Between last year’s documentary and this year’s feature film (starring Tom Hanks), I seem to hear those familiar piano riffs tugging at my memories regularly. For me, however, his presence has never left. I think it is very possible that Mr. Rogers is one of the best humans to have ever lived and his heart and words have guided my entire life.

Life lessons can be learned from Fred, but the STEM community has a lot to gain from The Neighborhood, too. Here are five of my favorites.

“Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else”

We talk a lot in the STEM world about both the discrete skills of STEM and the transferable skills that help everyone, regardless of vocation or avocation. The end of a project not only opens up the opportunity to engage in a new project, but it brings with it lessons that carry forth to future work.

“What do you do with the mad that you feel?”

When something we’re working on doesn’t work, it is okay to get angry. But then we take that anger and funnel it into finding a solution or finding the next iteration. Don’t let frustration and anger sink you, let it give you the drive and energy to make things even better.

“Someday you’ll be a grown-up too.”

Our job is to make sure that our children are prepared to be positive and productive members of our communities. However, the inverse is true too. Adults were once children and would benefit from remembering the wonder, creativity, and problem solving inherent in the youngest members of our society.

“Did you know that when you wonder, you’re learning?”

Do you have children? Grandchildren? Young neighbors or friends? Watch them as they move through the world. I remember watching my daughter spend nearly an hour exploring a single leaf when she was a toddler. When I remember that lesson and make sure that I allow myself the time to think and explore. When I take time to wonder, I am filled with solutions to new (and often unrelated) problems and fresh ideas for my personal, volunteer, and professional lives.

“We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It’s easy to say, ‘It’s not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem.’ Then there are those who see the need and respond.”

The STEM Learning Ecosystems Community of Practice is filled with responders. Twice a year I am blown away by the ways that this community comes together to meet the needs of young people around the world. This isn’t something that any of us can do alone, but together we can make a difference that will ripple through our communities and beyond.

Blended Learning in the Mix: The Informed Parent

This post originally appeared in Edutopia, and was co-written with Megan Kinsey

Parents of students in blended learning programs should understand the changing roles of technology and teachers, and make an effort to stay informed about edtech.

If you know anyone in the education field, you may have heard lamentations about the cyclical nature with which the instructional strategies and programs from 20 years ago resurface under a new name. Although we are the first to admit that this is often the case, there are some core components of our educational system that have stood the test of time.

Parents play an important role in their child's education. Literacy-rich environments, when children are in the earliest stages of their development, lead to greater understanding of the English language and eventually reading comprehension. In a digitally-immersed school environment, many parents, with or without a technology background, are often confused and unsure of how to support their child at home. After all, almost everyone has experienced school for a period of time, and this certainly doesn't look like your own experience in elementary, middle, or high school.

Devices are Learning Tools

Here's a critical piece that parents need to understand -- although the tool has shifted from a textbook to a device or online program, the fundamental role of the technology is to enhance learning. Yes, many devices have embedded entertainment capabilities, but the role of this technology in school is allowing students to engage in an individualized program and create content of their own. Reinforce the use of the device for learning at home. Explore current topics of study together, and have your child teach you about an app or program that he or she uses on a regular basis.

Understand the Teacher's Role

Blended learning has shifted the role of the teacher. Now more than ever, teachers are focused on having students develop and enhance skills in the areas of verbal and written communication, collaboration, and problem solving. Teachers are not only helping to provide insight and information, but are also creating scenarios and situations where an answer may not exist, and prompting students to seek answers independently or in a small group. Do not assume that, because a teacher directs students to seek answers to their own questions, doesn't assign nightly homework, and isn't using a lot of multiple-choice assessments, he or she is not teaching. The work that teachers are doing within the blended learning classroom is highly targeted, discreet, and data-driven. If you are unclear or have questions about your child's progress, ask. Teachers appreciate the opportunity to explain what they're doing.

Be an Advocate

Moving to a blended learning environment often challenges the way that students are accustomed to operating in the classroom. If your child is used to sitting in an assigned seat, getting information, and then restating these ideas on tests, a blended classroom with self-paced, individualized instruction may present a new type of learning curve for him or her. As your child adapts to this different method of teaching and learning, it may be advantageous to talk with the teachers about areas of strength and where support is needed.

Although the structure and model may change and look different, the end goal has always been the same -- student learning. What parents need to keep in mind is that education is education, and their role remains constant regardless of the format.

You Can Learn, Too

The rapid rate of technological development is often hard to keep up with, especially if these tools are not part of your daily life. Students of this generation are sometimes referred to as "digital natives," and many if not most of our students can't imagine a world without internet, tablets, laptops, and social media. Take advantage of the wide range of resources available online that can teach you the ins and outs of devices, predominant programs used at the school, and any other topics related to blended learning and the incorporation of technology in the classroom.

Follow Your Child's School

Now more than ever, schools are creating their positive digital footprint through social media such as Twitter. By "tweeting" about the work students are engaging with and about upcoming events, schools are better able to communicate with parents and community in real time or something close to it. Set up a Twitter account and find the handle of your child’s school (like @MentorSchools) to get up-to-the minute pictures and messages about the day's events. There are also helpful parent resources through Edutopia and Common Sense Media.

Blended Learning in the Mix: The Proactive Teacher

This post originally appeared on Edutopia, and was co-written with Megan Kinsey

Teachers in blended learning programs should take the opportunity to learn and lead -- your ideas and observations are worth hearing and acting upon.

It's early spring, and you're just leaving the faculty meeting where you've learned that next year your classes will fall under the umbrella of blended learning, and each of your students will have an iPad as a take-home device. Awesome, right?

With the rapid national push toward moving classrooms and learning experiences to a blended approach, many educators are playing catch-up to learn the best ways of implementing these tools in their classrooms. It's important to keep in mind that feeling overwhelmed by this concept is normal and OK. After all, some schools and districts are just now getting their hands on technology that was developed more than five years ago.

Teachers can be highly successful in a blended environment when they make time for thinking ahead and planning how their classroom will look, feel, and sound in a technology-rich environment.

Find Your Philosophy and Live It

Remember putting your portfolio together at the end of your undergraduate experience? The first article you were instructed to share was probably your philosophy of education. Although you may have felt this was a waste of time, really understanding who you are as an educator -- and understanding your purpose -- can be extremely powerful.

1. Define Blended Learning in Your Classroom

The term "blended learning" is extremely broad by definition and leads some to believe that it hasn't dramatically changed previous definitions of teaching and learning. Refine that definition by asking yourself:

• What will the infusion of technology look like in my classroom on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis?

• Will student opportunities for collaboration increase or decrease due to the amount of time that devices are used?

• Based on the technology tool that I have, what is its optimal use?

• What does assessment look like?

• How do I know if students are learning?

Answer these questions and establish your definition of blended learning.

2. We Are All Learners

Somewhere in the course of our educational system's development, teachers were the sole keepers of information which could only be accessed in a classroom. Talk about pressure! Thank goodness times have changed and learning alongside your students is now an admirable quality and what sets some of the best educators apart from the rest. It's now acceptable and even encouraged to ask students for help importing an image into Google Docs, adding music to a presentation, and even allowing time to explore apps that you didn't know existed.

3. It's Not Failing, It's Learning

It's honorable that teachers want to have every detail in order and a plan in place for absolute success. However, it should always be understood in a blended environment that some things may not connect as intended and, most importantly, that your students may not be the digital natives that you once thought. Things will go south from time to time. When that happens, your role isn't lamenting how or why it happened. Instead, you should be focusing on what can be learned and what your next iteration will look like. Accept failure, embrace it, and make it a teachable moment. Ken Robinson said it best: "If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original."

Don't Wait Around for PD - Find It

School districts tend to provide teachers with a scripted professional development program, typically driven by federal and state mandates. Although the district has a responsibility to support its teachers, it will likely not provide you with a personalized learning experience. If you don't already have a defined personalized learning network (PLN), get started with one now:

1. Get a Handle

Joining Twitter and following educators and education organizations is an ideal starting point. Twitter is full of great articles from ASCD, Solution Tree, and your grade-level professional organization or association. Try a hashtag search for #BlendedLearning. Learn about growth concepts like SAMR from its creator, Ruben Puentedura. You will see great examples of work from teachers across the country, collaborating and sharing every day.

2. Start Talking

Professional learning communities (PLCs) have a longstanding reputation for improving student learning through data, collaborative planning, and differentiation. Do you know what your content partner is doing in his or her classroom? Do you have any idea what the other teachers at your grade level are planning? Find time to share knowledge and insight with your colleagues on a regular basis. Consider creating a set agenda for each meeting, including celebration, tips and tricks, and collective inquiry.

Design and Implement

In a blended learning environment, the need to plan and develop thoughtful units of instruction has emerged as one of the most critical factors in creating a successful instructional program.

When creating units of instruction, focus on larger themes and big-picture concepts. Too much emphasis on small skills and minutiae will have you feeling like you are drowning in apps, digital content, and 25 individual student learning paths and lesson plans. Reflect on your blended learning philosophy and evaluate its presence in your unit design. If you find you're not using the tool in the manner that you initially intended, make adjustments.

Blended Learning in the Mix: The Engaged Administrator

This post original appeared on Edutopia and was co-written with Megan Kinsey

For a successful school-wide blended learning program, administrators should remove obstacles, let teachers lead, and remain engaged with the process as well as the results.

Innovate. Differentiate. Teach with rigor. Implement with fidelity. These actions required of today's teachers can seem almost impossible and potentially counterproductive to reaching our missions of getting students ready for "their" future. From the perspective of an administrator, it is challenging to determine where to begin and how to bring your team along with you.

It's very easy to find yourself drowning in the monsoon of educational research available. But one piece of educational research that is hard to dispute is that students learn best in small, targeted instructional groups. As we look further at current research, we see that schools want students to leave their educational program as problem-solvers, collaborators, and effective communicators. As Will Richardson often says, "We want our students to be learners, not learned."

Through a 1:1 program, focusing on the concepts outlined above, our students' educational experience can be new, exciting, and creative. That being said, it all begins with an administrative belief that teachers are the ones who make things happen, and it is the sole responsibility of the administrator to remove barriers and let teachers do what they do best -- teach.

To quote Ohio State's legendary football coach Woody Hayes, "You win with people." Time and time again, initiatives fail and disappear due to trying to get everyone on board and with the same enthusiasm. We believe in cultivating change and innovation in small batches. Getting the right people in the right positions to capitalize on their strengths will ensure implementation. Our teachers "opted into" our blended learning project. This one decision and action proved to be critical in the success of the program and contributed to its expansion in a short period of time.

Removing Barriers

School districts, much like other organizations, can be top-down with mandates and requirements. Going into our program, we had to make a few administrative agreements in order to help this take off. When you're a building-level leader, it can be hard to let go, especially because you are often in the middle of doing what the central office wants you to do and working in the best interests and within the strengths of your staff.

1. Find Out What Barriers Exist

After a pilot program and with the introduction of our vision for student learning, we spent time talking with teachers about what they saw as things that could impede their ability to teach in this environment. Out of these discussions, we discovered that teachers needed time in their day to meet. They needed flexible furniture, they needed IT support -- and they feared failure.

2. Develop and Support a Loose-Tight Framework

Rick DuFour often speaks about the "loose-tight framework" -- choosing those things that can't be compromised (student learning) and not mandating others (how to reach this end goal). Teachers feel empowered when you let them make decisions about what happens in their classrooms. One example is in the area of district-wide common formative assessments. We are firm believers in CFAs and find great value in the information gleaned from these. That being said, if our students regularly engage in self-paced units, how do you stop everything and assess them all? CFAs can't be compromised -- but when, how, and in what form they are given is strictly up to the classroom teachers.

3. Say "Yes" as Much as Possible

A staff full of empowered, motivated teachers is a great problem to have, even if what comes with it are continual requests to do more and change things up. Giving the teachers the go-ahead -- even when it results in more paperwork, going to battle for reprieve from a district mandate, or finding a few more funds or additional evenings -- is always the right thing to do when it's in the best interest of students and innovation in the classroom.

4. Embrace Failure

Our teachers were really afraid of failing and falling flat on their faces with this blended learning initiative. It is our belief that the best learning comes from our failures. Besides, if we didn't do things because of the possibility of failing, none of us would ever do anything new. When we encountered stories of failure and lack of success, we simply responded with, "OK, now what?" The only consequence for failing was not quitting.

The Engaged Administrator

Making the leap into administration can be a very scary thing for a multitude of reasons. The main fear is having teachers say, "You have no idea what it's like to be a teacher." Vowing to never be "that administrator," it was important, especially in this time of change, to get our hands dirty in the trenches alongside our teachers.

1. Walk the Talk

We do not ask teachers to do things that we are not also doing. The most basic example of this was our switch from PC to Mac. Teachers rid themselves of their desktop computers and moved to MacBooks, so it was only fitting that we did the same. This small act can send a powerful message to your team, and it furthers a relationship founded in the belief that we are all in this together.

2. Be Present

Our team has participated in an intensive professional development program. We hold weekly grade level meetings. We're all over Twitter. We do these things in order to share, collaborate, and learn from each other. We remain active participants because we too have much to learn. In order to provide support and implement new ideas with our teachers, it is critical to the process to actually know what we are talking about.