6Cs of 21st Century Learning Project: Character Education and Citizenship

In which, @jasonrichea, @MatthewOldridge, @DebbieAxiak and @tina_zita finally finish their writing project on the 6 Cs of 21st Century Learning.  

@tina_zita:

The two newbies to the group: Character education and citizenship. Some will tell you there are only 4Cs of 21st Century Learning. Character education and citizenship won’t be found on many lists. I must admit that when I read them listed in Fullan’s From Great to Excellent report I was a bit surprised. They seem like a given in education, something we have championed for a long time. Maybe that is one of the reasons this post has been the hardest of the group. As i’ve been pondering this blog post I realized that perhaps they were included for that exact reason, so that we could take a closer look at what they mean in our digital age. The other Cs aren’t much without character education and citizenship.

When thinking about the two terms in a digital era the following comes to mind.

Character Education in the 21st Century means understanding that the digital and physical world may seem far apart but really are one in the same; it is helping students portray their best self both in face to face situations as well as during online interactions; it is the kid that lends a helping hand to a friend as well as the kid that will refuse to pass on that photo coming around.

Citizenship in the 21st Century means understanding the power that we each possess to make a difference within our community, our province, our country and beyond. It is understanding how it is not just a right but also a responsibility to be aware. Digital citizenship is definitely a part but not the only piece that is important to discuss in today’s classrooms.

Collaboration, Communication, Critical Thinking and Creativity are wonderful skills but without character education and citizenship they aren’t really given any agency. Through out the post I have been thinking of Kid President and his positive message calling us to action. That would be my hope for the students in our classrooms today.

Character education = being and sharing our best.

Citizenship is taking action.

Character Education

@Debbie Axiak

Character Education – Learning to do the right thing

Martin Luther King Jr said “Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education”. Schools play a role in the development of the whole child - teachers don’t just teach subjects, we teach people. Parents, family and other community members, and schools play a huge role in the development of character by instilling the values of what it means to be a person of good character. Being kind and caring to yourself and others, telling the truth, accepting responsibility for your actions, doing what you say you will do, respecting differences and cooperating with others are all part of what makes a person of good character  – at home, at school or out in the community.

Wouldn’t it be great if we were all good people ALL the time? Well, we aren’t perfect - we are human and we make mistakes. Children, teens and adults are constantly learning as we encounter new situations. Being kind and caring (or honest, respectful, inclusive, etc.) feels a little different when you are a three-year-old at home with a loving family than it does when your ball gets taken on the playground, at your first teenage party with no adult supervision, or at a U.S. Walmart on Boxing Day.

People of good character are the ones we want to be friends with, the people that we would hire, the people that we respect. When we are surrounded by good role models and are held to high expectations throughout our formative years, we can internalize what it means to be a person of good character and do the right thing, no matter what situation we find ourselves in. Sadly, some of us come from homes where selfishness, racism, homophobia, lying, cheating and/or stealing are the norm and school becomes the venue where we learn about the importance of becoming, and being, a person of good character.

In every case though, becoming a person of good character takes time to develop.  We must experience many different situations and people, we need to have good role models whose actions and words demonstrate the power of character, and we need the time to prove ourselves as a person who does the right thing no matter what the situation is.

**Added after reading @jrichea’s response - Jason said that in high school, Character is not something that is often specifically discussed. This is different in the K-5 and 6-8 schools where Character Education is specifically discussed by teachers through a Character Committee. Each month a different character attribute is highlighted through Character Assemblies, through announcements, by celebrating student actions in relation to the Peel’s Character attributes and through in-class activities (often integrated into Language Arts by reading, discussing and writing about the Character attributes seen in fictional and real characters). The attributes are integrated daily in K-5 schools as students learn the importance of being honest, caring, respectful, etc. in a school setting, at recess, etc.

I guess this difference is expected. Younger students require more explicit instruction during the early school years as they learn to navigate in the world away from home and become more responsible and mature.

@MatthewOldridge

This is a story from the early days of Facebook, the dark days before we started to bring digital citizenship fully into the light, and schools were equipped only with the most scary and dire media stories about this new menace to youth.

I was home, cooking, early in July.  This was for about the third date with my future wife.  I received a phone call from a parent of a girl who had been in my class.  She had been targeted with the sort of “you should die” chat bullying that happens these days in digital mediums (and happened in other ways, long before that).

That was upsetting enough, but it also turned out that a bunch of us (staff at the school) had been tagged in a Facebook photo in profane and unflattering ways.  I was unable to see the photo, due to privacy settings, and that in itself was a helpless and horrible feeling.  No calls to board or union helped- we were in uncharted territory here. Nothing could be done.

In this case though, all the parents involved have great parents who helped work out a difficult issue.  Atonement was made, but not to me, and I had to accept that it never would be.  I had it on good authority that my image was taken down, though.  The final authority on the character of the bully was the girl’s parents (as it should be). They were loving mother and father, and her first and most important teachers.  

I am sure she has grown into an excellent person.  I personally wouldn’t be who I am without making a whole mess of mistakes as a younger man.  The notion that character is fixed and immutable belongs to comic books and “Criminal Minds”.  We become who we are, slowly, steadily, as the sum of all our experiences (and those who guide us) take us down the road through childhood, to adulthood, and so we continue until the end of our lives.   

Character is becoming.

Jason Richea @jrichea

I find character is not something often discussed among educators. Not specifically anyways. We often share our opinions of students and how they behave in the classroom, but never really attach the label ‘Character’ to such discussions. We look at how they collaborate, communicate, work in teams, show initiative, determination, responsibility, maintain focus, organize themselves, and work independently as well; but never do we judge character specifically.

However, in other arenas character definitely becomes a talking point.I have had the pleasure of coaching many student-athletes, and this is where I really the character in students come out. The classroom can allow for such exposure, but I find the playing field is where true character can really shine. Many of my players have demonstrated sportsmanship, respect, admiration, teamwork, work ethic, determination, commitment, sacrifice, and what it means to “leave it on the field”. We often coach players on character, or sportsmanship in this case, and are explicit in its teachers. We reward players for demonstrating such character, and often find ourselves in regular discussions among coaches as to whether to take a skilled player over a player who displays a tonne of character? The answer is never clear, and context must be given, but more often than not, the choice is character.

So how do we instill character in our students in the same way? What attributes should we develop? I think it comes from leadership really. If we can develop our students to become leaders in their schools, then we are instilling in them many of the qualities that we look for in someone who has a tonne of character. They will lead by example, respect & listen to the opinions of others, look to harness the skill sets of their team, and take responsibility for all actions. In essence, true leaders, have true character.

Character = Leading by example

Citizenship

@DebbieAxiak

Citizenship – Contributing to a better world

When I was a girl, citizenship meant helping others in the classroom, school, neighborhood and religious community. Once a year, on Halloween, it also meant carrying a UNICEF box and collecting pennies for nameless, faceless ‘starving’ people in faraway lands (these were the same people I was supposed to feel guilty about every time I didn’t finish my dinner).  News came from the radio or television a few times a day – but I didn’t listen or watch the news as a child. As a lower-middle-class WASP girl growing up in the First World in the 1970s, war, starvation, environmental disasters, and human rights issues were abstract ideas that I had very little exposure to between episodes of Get Smart and a great game of hide and seek.

Today, news updates are constant, video footage and photos give equity and social justice issues names and faces, and people from faraway lands live next door. Students are aware of local and global issues and they want to talk about them and do something about them. I’ve had middle school students come to school wanting to discuss the dire conditions in Attiwapiskat schools, want to fight for Shannen’s Dream, stop Global Warming, or talk about Joseph Kony and his child soldiers. War, starvation, environmental concerns and human rights issues are not abstract ideas for today’s students.

As an educator, I should go beyond talking about world issues with my students and help them make a difference but I struggle with this. Luckily I’m surrounded by phenomenal students and teachers in my new school and the Outreach Club’s dedication to raising awareness and money for a variety of issues is helping me learn how to go beyond words and to take action.

Today, citizenship isn’t just about contributing to the local community; it is about making the world a better place.

Jason Richea @jrichea

I am extremely fortunate to be a teacher of Canadian geography. Geography allows you to see all of the interconnections in this world, and learn about the problems plaguing this planet; while at the same time develop solutions to such problems. Contrary to popular belief, it is not about colouring maps, and labelling the provinces & territories. Not only do I teach geography, but I find myself a student of this subject as well, due to  the various events happening around the world, every single day. One of the great aspects of this, is that I am continuously learning about Canada’s role in this world, and what it truly means to be Canadian.

So what does this have to do with citizenship? Well quite simply, Canada is an amazing country whose actions (for the most part) attempt to improve this planet. These actions really are a reflection of the citizens of this country, and led by individuals and groups of Canadians. To wit, I always find myself astounded by the way in which ordinary Canadian citizens attempt to improve the lives of millions around this world. Canadians regularly reach out to victims of catastrophes, build villages, start non-profit organizations, share their knowledge, skill, and expertise, and all because they want to make the world a better place.

The best part of all of this, is that these actions are not limited to the adult citizens of this country. Youth are engaging like never before, and leading the charge to change the world. The awareness they have for world events is astonishing, and I am in awe of their passion. Our students regularly display citizenship, just through the compassion they show for those less fortunate. They hold food drives, bake sales, runs for the cure, and a variety of other events, all organized by themselves in a lot of cases, because they refuse to wait on others to find solutions. This compassion and drive is what really sets Canadians, and our students, apart from others.

Citizenship = A Passion to Improve our World

@MatthewOldridge

I am Canadian. I stand on guard, or at least, I would, if asked. I used to have all our Prime Ministers memorized. I belong to God and Nancy and Callum and Alec.  I am Mississaugan, but I came from Guelph General Hospital, and my mother and father, and their mothers and fathers before them.  I am #PeelProud, and I belong to the #Peel21st.  I left a small piece of myself at a shrine near the Pacific Ocean in Japan.  I found another piece at the corners of Keele and Dundas Street in Toronto, although I am not a citizen of Toronto.

As @neiltyson would say, I am from: EARTH – SOLAR SYSTEM  – MILKY WAY GALAXY – LOCAL GROUP – VIRGO SUPER CLUSTER – OBSERVABLE UNIVERSE. Although based on recent findings, we may have observed all the way back to the Big Bang, and that's not to speak of possible multiverses, and earlier occurences of this universe, and the possibility that I am as I am, typing these same words, in many different times/places...

I belong to all these things.  Citizenship is belonging.

Add Calculus To Your Workflow

This weekend past was the one where everyone was working on their report cards.  I know this because:
1) I was working on report cards, and
2) my entire Facebook feed seemed to be updates on where everyone was at on their report cards.

I got to thinking about teacher workflow.  Our work is usually more incremental, period by period, day by day, unit by unit, that larger projects such as report cards tend to throw us off.  Stress levels go through the roof.  I am not immune to this, myself, but I have reflected on when I feel the best, and why.

In reading Ian Stewart's In Pursuit of the Unknown: 17 Equations That Changed The World, I just read the chapter on Newton (and Leibniz, almost simultaneously) discovering Calculus.

Calculus is often defined as the math of change, and one thing it allows us to do is calculate rates of change. Another is integrating to find the area under a curve.  We might imagine the area under our curve as representing all the work that needs to be done on a given project.  Now imagine this example for your typical teacher during the report card period:

Report card workflow. Finish, relax! pic.twitter.com/KFm60giL0z
— Matthew Oldridge (@MatthewOldridge) January 23, 2014

On our work vs. time graph, if we were to take any unique point on the line, we might not feel like progress is being made.  But if we divide up our workflow into enough unique points (for example, making a day by day plan for the entire reporting period), then it may seem easier.  As long as our rate of change is positive, we should feel as if we're making progress.  As we get to the end, momentum applies, and we may feel like we're accelerating our rate of work, simply because there is less to do, and as we get toward the end of the project, things will kind of taper off, and we get to relax.

This may seem obvious, but looking at how much work we have to do all at once is a sure mood and morale killer.  We may just give up, and not start "climbing the curve" until it's too close to the deadline, and stress and panic set in.  Instead, check where you are at any given point in time.  Set manageable time goals, and meet them.  Planning day by day for a week ahead may give you enough data slices to feel like you're making progress.

Assessment Should Not Be An "Event"

In working on IEPs this week, I found that the categories for "Teaching Strategies" and "Assessment Methods" were blurring in my head. If I had to pinpoint why, it's probably because I see them as so closely connected as to be near indistinguishable.  Things that would fit in one category, would also fit in the other, in many cases.  It is very clear that "conversations", for example, fit into both categories, especially when you consider that conversation is one of the 3 pillars of assessment from Ontario's Growing Success.

We've heard a lot about assessment for, of, and as learning.  We know the importance of diagnostic and formative assessments, and we still use big summative tasks that connect to big ideas and units of work.  But here's the thing:  assessment IS learning.  Provided I am not going to fall back to a lecture style, in which I talk too much, and completely bore everyone, including myself, then the daily life of the classroom is constant discussion, observation, negotiation, sharing of ideas, and the continued blurring of lines between teacher and learner.

I say "blurred lines", in this case, because we all learn together, and if I didn't see myself as a co-learner, then what am I doing this job for?  I learn and am taught things everyday by my students.  I may hold a higher level of math knowledge that I need to share, but that's just the job of a coach.  (I did get schooled on the value of 0/0 the other day, but I digress)

It may also be that I have come to consider "evaluation" as the least of my three roles (the other two being talker, and observer).  We do big projects sometimes, and we are proud of them.  But they are but the final step on a long journey. Percentage wise, we spend much less time working on them as well.

There's one more thing:  evaluation, necessary though it is, often occurs on artificial timelines.  I NEED to finish Geometry now, therefore the evaluation must happen, or I NEED to get to the next unit in Geography, or report cards are due next week, is my Drama unit done?

Real life doesn't work that way. Nor should it.  Learning is our main work.  We talk and learn and explore, and I coach, but mostly I learn too. In #cdnedchat the other day, I responded to a tweet from @DanaAriss, as you can see below.

@DanaAriss assessment should be daily life, not a series of high-stakes events (tests, conferences, eg.)A friendly conversation! #cdnedchat
— Matthew Oldridge (@MatthewOldridge) January 14, 2014

How far along have we come in changing our thinking about assessment and evaluation?  What do you think?

Together, Not Alone in the Math Classroom

Multi-class gallery walk on integers problem-one example of collaborative math:

Three class gallery walk on integers problem with @mparhar72 @MPichanick @HazelMcCallionS. pic.twitter.com/339UMZSYif
— Mr. Oldridge Math (@MrOldridgeMath) October 25, 2013

You may have missed it, if you don't follow math news, but there have been major developments in something called the Twin Prime Conjecture. You may not care about prime numbers, but you should, if you care that your banking data (and any other kind of data is safe). The conjecture is basically that there are infinite number of pairs of primes separate by just one number- for example, 11 and 13, or 17 and 19.

You may have an image in your head of mathematicians working, solitary, alone, crunching numbers, and developing theories that nobody else could possibly understand.  In this case, Yitang Zhang's work led to a flurry of collaborative math work.  Together, mathematicians around the world worked to refine and push his breakthrough further than ever before.

Here is a quotation from the article:

"For weeks, the project moved forward at a breathless pace. “At times, the bound was going down every thirty minutes,” Tao recalled. By July 27, the team had succeeded in reducing the proven bound on prime gaps from 70 million to 4,680."

To be clear, the "team" here was an fully open and collaborative. They worked in real time, and using their combined wisdom, pushed the project much further than anyone could have imagined.

This matters for elementary (and high school) teachers because we often treat math solely as an individual activity.  I myself have memories of sitting in a desk, in a quiet room, textbook open, doing problems in a workbook. We didn't talk math, and we didn't collaborate.

Things have changed since then, obviously, but how much do we see math as an open and collaborative activity in our classrooms?  Not enough, I think.  It all comes from the class culture.  If we are open and truly value student voice in the math classroom, starting from the first day of class, we might be amazed at the culture that develops.

Math IS a social activity. Students learn from each other, sharing strategies and solutions, wondering together about the big ideas in math, scrawling solutions on chart paper, standing and justifying their solutions, and working on bigger projects where we build our understanding together.

Yes, in the end, each student in the end is responsible for having the skills and strategies needed to succeed in math, but together we accomplish so much more than alone.

Minecraft in the Classroom, or, Things Look Differently From Different Viewpoints

With many thanks to Budder Champs, and Christmas Craft MC (@nutmegsuperboy). I am, as always, #poweredbykids.

My curiousity about Minecraft came from having a great grade 6 Math class this year. One of the most interesting things about BYOD in schools is the variety of digital experiences that kids bring with them to the classroom.  We can either harness them, or shut them down.  Too often, our tendency is probably to shut them down.

Case in point:  Minecraft.  How could this "game" be used to support learning in the classroom?  I had only a dim awareness of Minecraft, from seeing kids draw "creepers" in the classroom over the last few years. But being a new father, my time for games is, umm, not so much.

I decided to let my two students show me how they could do their math in Minecraft.  The video below came from them choosing to do a question from the Guide To Effective Instruction in Math, in a Minecraft environment, rather than on paper.

Two grade 6s chose to do their Math problem in a Minecraft environment: http://t.co/HybuPEq965 That's my #Peel21stmoment for the day!
— Mr. Oldridge Math (@MrOldridgeMath) October 30, 2013

What you will notice if you watch the video is that they have physically represented the objects in the problem, used signposts for their text, and recorded their narration using Camtasia.  It is as complete a solution as you would see on the usual chart paper in the classroom.  The question is, where does this sort of task fit on the SAMR model? I think that is a healthy debate to have.

Recently, I had some Twitter discussion about SAMR, after taking a textbook page (grade 6), and letting some students do their work in Minecraft.

@tina_zita @dcruz22 @cashjim: changing this text page on 3D drawing to a #Minecraft task...which level of #SAMR? pic.twitter.com/lWG6L8QKgh
— Matthew Oldridge (@MatthewOldridge) December 6, 2013

The thing here is, some students chose to EXACTLY substitute Minecraft work for paperwork.  As happens when you play in an open environment like Minecraft, others immediately hijacked the task and started building their own structures.

Here's the thing:  I want students to take apart the classroom work. I want them to get messy, to do their own thing, to break things apart and rebuild them.  I am never happier.  There is no "my assignment is holy writ" type of attitude here.  But students finding that they could build bigger, taller, and more interesting structures was a natural byproduct of opening up Minecraft to them in this case.

Next was a cube challenge (one of the curriculum expectations being drawing front, top, side, and 3D view of cube structures!)

@MrOldridgeMath pic.twitter.com/SMgPAUQJwM

— thegamers433 (@ninjascater) December 9, 2013

The revelation for me here was that we probably don't need to draw front, top, and side views, when we can take screenshots in Minecraft.  It then became debatable how important is is to actually draw 3D views when you can build in Minecraft, then examine the structure from literally all angles.

Next was trying to build some criteria together for the larger piece of work.

3D Structures in Minecraft Blog Post

If I can paraphrase the curriculum expectation, I think "things look differently from different viewpoints" probably captures the mathematical big idea, or the reason for looking at 2D and 3D views. We attempted to wrestle down some criteria, but the list is probably by no means complete.  Our understanding of math as knowing, thinking, communication, and applying will always help, though (the achievement chart).

This is all a work in progress (and this blog post is intended to illuminate the pedagogical side of Minecraft, not the gaming side).  I guess what I am learning matches the big idea- things look differently from different viewpoints.  Yes, I realize that building structures is exactly what Minecraft is all about.  It just made the curriculum expectation a perfect fit in this case (as it would if you were teaching grade 3 or 7 science, and you looked at structures.

What other curriculum matches can you come up with?  How can we go about planning for our classrooms with Minecraft?

Communication (6 Cs of 21st Century Learning Writing Project Part 3)

Here are our thoughts on communication. What does it mean to communicate well in the 21st century classroom? Welcome to new writer @techmagfront!

@DebbieAxiak

Communication: Giving and/or receiving information

A beautiful sunset, a Van Gogh painting or a Bach concerto are forms of one-way communication. A message is delivered to the receiver. It used to be that advertisers, news channels and teachers were one-way communicators who delivered their message to their audience. In most areas of our lives now, there are fewer one-way communications. In two-way communication, the receiver can respond to the sender. We can email the news station or send a Tweet to an advertiser to voice our opinions about their messages. As teachers, we are no longer ‘pouring knowledge into empty vessels’ - we are using two-way communication to understand what students already know, what they are interested in, what they don’t like, etc. in order to build relationships that will improve teaching and learning.

Technology enhances our ability to communicate effectively. If I can’t write, I can use voice-to-text software. If I don’t like speaking in public, I can record a video ahead of time. If my family lives far away, I can Skype with them to hear their voices and see their faces. We no longer have to wait for news reports because we can see footage and hear messages about world events as they happen via social media. This ability to instantly communicate with people all over the globe has many benefits but also has the potential for problems.

Whether it is through body language, art, speaking, or the written word we are communicating. A clearly stated message is one goal we all hope for when we communicate, and for many of us, we also hope that our communications lead to conversations and to learning something new.

@MatthewOldridge

I have learned a lot about communication in the  past number of months. Personally, I can now honestly say I can divide my career into BTE/TE (Before the Twitter Era/Twitter Era). Most of the thoughts I have about the TE probably belong in the collaboration post, but I have never communicated more effectively than I have recently, but for that to happen, I needed to learn a new text form-the 140 character tweet.

When I think of 21st century learning, tweets are just one of many forms of communication our students will need to learn. Others could be emails, text messages, posting to YouTube channels, chatting while  playing Minecraft-the list goes on. Clearly, in the classroom, it's not enough to fall back on our old lists of "text forms".  New types of texts are being created everyday.  Yesterday's Facebook status update is today's SnapChat, is tomorrow's...? We can't possibly teach them all.

The question remains, how will we teach our students to communicate in this world we live in? What matters the most about communication in the 21st century?

Whether the mode of communication is writing or speaking, I think authenticity and authority of voice is probably the most important thing.  

Can you reach your audience, and effectively and persuasively communicate your message? Can you make a personal connection?  

Can your tweet (blog post, essay, speech, video, etc.) stand out from all the rest of them?

Can you argue succinctly and coherently from a point of view?

 What separates "signal from noise"?

Voice is what matters, regardless of the type of spoken or written text forms we teach our students. We must help our students to find their voice, regardless of what medium they are working in, or what type of presentation they are giving.

Communication: making your voice heard.

Jason Richea @jrichea

Communication, like each of the other 6 C’s, receives a lot of dialogue & discussion amongst academic professionals. We often hear in our staff rooms complaints regarding the delivery of messages by our students through their written and oral work. I find myself in these discussions quite a bit, and am constantly reminded at all the different ways messages are communicated.

These ways may have never been so numerous than they are now. And these messages conveyed in all sorts of different languages - and I’m not talking about foreign languages, but the modifications we’ve made to English/other native languages (U know? lol). I think this is a challenge for many teachers to accept and acknowledge that it’s not about the spelling, but about the message. That’s what communication is really about, is it not? Believe me, I’m not about to say that spelling & grammar does not matter; but does it matter as much as it once did?

In a world where we are bombarded by hundreds of messages each minute, it’s the message that stands out, which receives our attention. When we are in our classrooms, it’s the message that provokes thought, dialogue, discussion, critique, and our collective attention that is effective communication. Whether this is lengthy verbal conversation, or a brief 140 character message conveyed in a Twitter chat, it doesn’t really matter, so long as the results are what was originally intended.

In the 21st century, it is so important that we teach our students how to access the media necessary to convey their message. How to convey their message in a way that grabs others attention. And how to use the conventions of the chosen media to do this effectively.  We live in a world now where social media is King, and the communication that we receive revolves around this media. As Clay Shirky once said, 

“The Internet is the first medium in history that has native support for groups and conversation at the same time. The Internet gives us the many-to-many pattern. For the first time, media is natively good at supporting these kinds of conversations.”

Therefore, unlike definitions of the past, where communication is all about imparting or exchanging information between a few, 21st century communication is all about conveying your message in a way that captures the attention of hundreds (or thousands if you are Taylor Swift). Because if you want to stand out in today’s age, and have your voice heard, you are going to have to scream it from the top of the Twitter/Snapchat/YouTube/Facebook/Tumblr/etc.  mountain.

Communication = Capturing the Attention of the Masses

My Post on Communication @tina_zita

Communication sometimes feels so natural that we forget how often we are sharing messages with others in our day to day interactions. From when we wake up to when we go to bed we are tweeting, emailing, chatting, discussing, singing, dancing (well for me the last two are just in my car). If we want to help students become effective communicators in a digital world, we first need to be able to articulate what makes an effective communicator.

Here’s my stab at it.

Effective communicators have a clear message in mind. I don’t mean being eloquent. There are some that can string words together in mesmerizing sentences that have no core message. Effective communicators know what they are trying to get across. They have a clear message in mind. Their voice shines through. This also means that effective communicators know they have something to add to the conversation. No one’s voice is unimportant.

Effective communicators know that they have a toolbox of communication tools and that text is just one of them. Whether I know it or not, through the way I stand, my body language, and facial expressions  I’m participating in the conversation. In a multi-modal world, more and more of our communication tools have transformed past plain text or speech. To be an effective communicator we have to pack our toolbox full of a variety of tools with a variety of mediums. Effective communicators also understand which tools they communicate best with and how to switch between tools which leads us to the following.

Effective communicators understand their audience and are able to adapt accordingly. Firstly, if effective communicators want to understand their audience they have to listen and truly invest in understanding the other side. Secondly, they need to adapt their message to their audience. Communicating with my friend and communicating with my boss require my message to be finely tuned. Finally, they have to change their tools accordingly. A song may be an amazing form of communication when sharing an inspiring message but it may not be the best tool if I am applying for a job. Preparing to be effective communicators in the 21st century requires code switching and critical thought. Our message stays the same but how and when we communicate that message needs to transform between platforms, events, individuals.

If I had one wish it would be for learners in our care to understand they have a message to share, many ways they can share it and to critically make choices on how best to do that each day with the audiences around them.

Communication: clear message, deep toolbox, understanding audience.

@techmagfront

The most effective  communicators are able not only to convey their message, but also their passion about the subject, which in turn moves others to think, reflect, or take action.  The way that they convey that message can take on many forms:  spoken word,  song,  poem, video, poster, photograph, painting, etc.  No matter what form the communication takes, it is ineffective unless it inspires others to care.  Also, in order for others to care about the message, it needs to be conveyed in a way that will be relevant to the audience - as teachers, we know that better than anyone.  Think of the greatest communicators of our century:  Martin Luther King, Jr, Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II, Steve Jobs - none of them has ever left their audiences indifferent to their message.  Think of a great book, movie, song, or painting, inspiring long and heated discussions. Bottom line, good communication never 'falls on deaf ears' and a great communicator’s voice cannot be ignored.

Communication:  Conveying relevant messages that inspire others.

Coach in the Middle

.@joe_bower also it appears "guide on the side" is maybe not the right term anymore, so how about "coach in the middle"? #edchat #onted
— Matthew Oldridge (@MatthewOldridge) November 27, 2013

The phrase "coach in the middle" has been on my mind lately. We still occasionally hear the phrase "sage on the stage" pop up, usually in reference to older, perhaps lecture-style teaching. I don't happen to know any teachers in elementary who thinks of themselves that way.  I did receive (and nod off during) lectures in university halls, though.

The counter phrase to "sage on the stage" is still "guide on the side," and for a while this one seemed to fit the way most of us teach these days. Desks are organized in groups, the classroom may or may not have a front (the closest to a front often being the projector screen). This phrase though implies more of an observational hands-off role, though, and observation is not really more than 1/3 of our assessment work (conversations and products, projects, or written work being the other 2).

We do know the guide steps in when needed, to talk to students and give advice, but perhaps "guide on the side" is not the best phrase anymore for what we do.  I came across a criticism of the "guide on the side in reading a recent work by Michael Fullan:

Speaking of a recent meta study by John Hattie on the effects of certain types of teaching, he suggests:

"...the guide on the side is a poor pedagogue; or we don’t want “a guide on

the side” anymore than we need a “sage on the stage.” More proactive partnership

will be required."

Fullan

I've been thinking a lot lately about coaching as an analogue for teaching. A basketball coach, for example, might spend some time given direct feedback to the whole team during a practice, but probably spends a lot more time giving specific feedback to individuals (spacing on a drill, or form on a jumpshot, for example), or to small groups (a centre needs far different feedback than a point guard, for example). 

A coach is always active, in the middle of things.  Perhaps as instructional coaches we might think of ourselves as more "in the middle", than on the sidelines.  This new metaphor would also defuse one of the common arguments levelled at our system these days-that we simply just let kids go off to "discover" all that they will learn, at their own pace, and style. The ever-active coach is always talking, giving personalized feedback, and offering advice for how to improve.