Disruptive Force

In October, I had the honor of attending the Google Teacher Academy in New York City at one of Google’s main offices. The offices were just as cool as the legends tell…set in Chelsea, taking up an entire city block…there were fully stocked kitchens, treadmill desks, sweeping views, dry erase walls, scooters for getting around, lego themed wings, famous chefs…and much more. I was star struck, to be sure. But, not just by being inside the facilities but also by the other 49 teachers from every continent who were chosen to attend with me and our lead learners, who were were STAR Google Certified Teachers who had come before us. We spent two days learning and sharing ideas and being inspired by Google’s absolute dedication to teachers in specific and education in general, around the world.

Now, flash back to July and how I happened to even get the chance to be invited to attend this amazing event. Once or twice per year, Google hosts a Google Teacher Academy at one of it’s offices worldwide. They invite 50, K-12 teachers to attend each of these events. In order to find the most innovative K-12 teacher-leaders, Google invites teachers to apply via an online application (this is also the page where they announce when and where the next Academy will be). The application opens about 3 months before the scheduled Academy and  remains open for about 4 weeks. The application has the normal resume’-type information, plus each applicant has to submit a 1 minute video according to one of these themes, “Motivation and Learning”, “Classroom Innovation,” or “Positive Change in My Community” and answer the following questions…

*Describe your role as a professional developer. (75 words max)

*Describe your level of proficiency with Google Apps. (50 words max)

*What inspired you to apply to the Google Teacher Academy? (150 words max)

*Describe one of your favorite teaching moments. What made it so special for you and your students? (150 words max)

*Describe an obstacle you encountered in your professional life and how you overcame it. (150 words max)

After talking to the organizers and other applicants at the Academy I attended, I learned a few things about the process that could help you if you ever want to apply in the future. FIrst of all, start, now, applying to speak at conferences, lead PD at your school or in your community, start a blog, and get active on Twitter sharing your ideas. They are looking for thought leaders and people who have an influence beyond their classroom. Next, stand out and stand up for something. Have a “brand”, something innovative you are known for and make sure that comes through on your application. Also, when making your video and answering the questions, tell a story so that when they get done reading 2000 applications and watching 2000 videos, your story still sticks with them (in other words, be more conversational than professional).

Some other things to keep in mind are that Google provides meals and training during the day those days but does not pay for transportation and lodging. Also, many schools may not cover these expenses as professional development. That said, though, the benefits far out weigh the costs, in my mind. I am now a part of a worldwide, elite network of Google Certified Teachers. We have special forums and groups online where we exchange ideas and we even get together from time to time to “reboot” our skills at one of Google’s campuses worldwide. And, Google occasionally comes to us to ask for input on things they are developing. It’s an honor to be a part of this community.

Good luck! If you have any other questions, feel free to contact me. Oh, and if you are curious, here is the LINK to my video from the Google Teacher Academy NYC ’12.

So, I asked my students at the beginning of the year and then again after semester 1, to tell me how they learn. Students wrote their own answers to these open ended questions. The trends in their responses are fascinating.

At the beginning of the year, these are ALL of the response topics (from 120 students): pay attention, study, read, games, projects, textbook, homework, I don’t know, write, art, class notes, worksheets, tests, teacher explains things, power point, activities, museum, discussions, class work, read instructions, research, have goals, after school tutor, correct myself, re-read, parents help. Sounds really traditional and, truthfully, not very fun to be a learner.

Now, after one semester where I have tried to show them that learning is an active process (and connected that to Bloom’s taxonomy), these are ALL of their response topics: by following the steps up Blooms, fun, technology tools, projects, connect to things outside class, videos/movies, discover on my own, share with peers, evaluate peer to peer, challenge myself, read, draw, in my own time and way, teacher guides me, group activities, games, study, be responsible, pay attention, review at home, share work outside of school, great class environment. Sounds pretty non-traditional AND FUN.

What REALLY surprised me about these two lists was the utter lack of overlap. Other than pay attention, study, read, games and projects….NONE of the others descriptions overlap. In just one semester, there has been an complete change in how students view the act of learning. I am still sitting here amazed at this outcome. My goal was to make students aware of how they learned so that they would move towards becoming reflective learners. From just these lists, I would say that was a huge success.

In addition to that, I also noticed that the fist list contains a lot of “tasks” such as test, class notes and homework; where as the second list contains a lot of learner ACTIONS such as discover on my own, challenge myself, and connect to things outside class. That is another very cool shift…..from “I learn because I complete this set of tasks” to “I learn because I experience”. The first has very little “ownership” by the learner, and the second is all about the learner being at the center of the process.

Now, my question is this…. why are students still making lists like the first set of responses? Why are we treating them as if they could not possibly know how to learn, so we stuff them full of information and tasks and call them “good” or “bad” students based on how nice they are about letting us do this? Why are we not turning THEIR LEARNING over to THEM?

This blog post got me thinking…. What is my response when faced with a decision between “school rules/expectations” and what I think is best for students? If I choose what is best for students, does that make me a bad employee? If I choose to follow the school’s rules/expectations, does that make me a bad teacher?

The “rule” at my school is that students must put their phones in their backpacks during class and I am supposed to “punish” anyone who takes it out OR who uses their phone in class for anything but a school related task. BUT, if my students are ANYTHING like me, they are uber-multi-taskers. When I am in a meeting, or even at a conference, OR in an online class discussion for my master’s program, I am simultaneously checking Twitter, Facebook, Google reader, Pinterest…..all the while, participating and taking in the salient points of whatever is happening in “real time”.  Like it or not, that is reality. Forcing ME to put away my device only annoys me and makes me less likely to respect the person who forced me to do so. That said, I allow my student to have their phones/ipods/ipads/computers in class and, GASP, I do not tightly patrol what they do with those devices. Yes, at times, I have to redirect a student from a game to an in-class assignment. But, overall, I own the burden of providing engaging activities that take the place of students “wandering off, digitally”.  Bad employee, or bad teacher?

Likewise, my school has a strict “late work” policy. According to the policy, if a student does not turn in the work on the date due, then the highest grade he/she can earn (once he/she does the work-which is mandatory and enforced by detentions plus after school help sessions) is a D. Well, I allow my students to re-do or even turn in late work for the entire length of a project (about 5 weeks) WITHOUT PENALTY….I know….no penalties? Yes, it is A LOT of grading for me at the end…BUT, it communicates to students that I believe in the value of EVERY assignment (and I do!). Bad employee, or bad teacher?

One last example is tardies. I am supposed to record every student who is late for class and then punish those who are late on a regular basis. Instead, I have set up my room in a way that encourages students to arrive early to “get the best seats” (see “my classroom rocks” post below- I have no seating chart!). I have bean bag poofs, couches, love seats, cushioned lounge chairs, tables with chairs, and a few desks. The “late arrivers” GET THE DESKS. They do not like this option…at.all. SO…they arrive EARLY (and I mean EARLY, I have kids knocking at the door before the bell rings for class change in order to get the “choice seats”!). The ones who arrive last are stuck at a table with random peers OR at a desk in very remote areas of the room. Yeah, I still have tardies…BUT, they are VERY limited and the students regret them VERY much. tee hee…. Bad employee, or bad teacher?

And what about you? What have YOU done that makes you a “bad employee” but a GREAT TEACHER? I want to know….