Every day I have the chance to learn with some highly motivated, inspirational young learners and educators at Apex Friendship High School. Imagine my excitement when the day before winter break AFHS was selected as number 13 of the near 60 high schools in the Research Triangle area. This came from a NC Department of Public Education study and was reported on by Seth Thomas Gulledge of The Triangle Business Journal. I contacted Mr. Gulledge upon my return from holiday. I wanted to know more about the measurement of “College and Career Ready”. As it turns out, the College and Career Ready Score is nothing more than an aggregate of the end of course English, Biology and Math scores. Really? Not again!
In September I wrote the following as a reaction to the US News and World Report High School Rankings How do you measure whether a high school is great? The US News and World Report of Top High schools came out in early May. It was brought to my attention from a Social Media post that stated something like, “So proud of our school; we made the top five high schools in Ohio.” I immediately went online and found the report; not so I could see where my school fell on the list, but so I could discover how the rankings were done. After all, with the right statistical measures I could be the greatest . . .. I hoped and prayed there would be something about the development of qualitative skills necessary for successful employment, or at least something other than “test scores”? Deep breath . . . In sum, the “broad range” of indicators are state tests, graduation rate and AP and IB tests taken and scores. You can read the entire description of the measurement system here. It generally looks like a composite put together by The College Board. At the top of the description of the measuring system is the platitudinous statement, “. . .a great high school must serve all of its students well, not just those who are college bound, and that it must be able to produce measurable academic outcomes to show it is successfully educating its student body across a range of performance indicators.” “Broad range of performance indicators”, really? Test scores demonstrate how successfully we are educating? Educate - from the latin root, educere, which means to draw out to bring forth. Do we truly draw out from our youth their true potential by asking they perform on standardized tests? Are our youth more than proficient test takers? Do we wish for them to be thinkers, doers and innovators? According to the ultimate customer, the employer, we want more than test takers. Therefore, how do we measure which schools are truly doing outstanding work? What other measurements are there to determine the true quality of our work as educators? Check out the work being done to develop “a master transcript” at several high schools and colleges around the country. That was back in May. And today, we are still measuring greatness by standardized tests. This is wrong. A new paradigm is needed. Do we want for our greatness to be measured by tests of knowledge that could easily be found on Google, or do we wish to provide our emerging leaders with skills that they can use to help create value for themselves and others? At Apex Friendship many of our learners and educators work wonderfully together to produce high quality human capital that is college and career ready. Most of that capital investment is in the form of skills learned from meaningful, semester-long projects that engage our students. For four years Apex Friendship students learn with some of the best in the area; no doubt about it! The results of this outstanding creativity and collaboration can not be found in a percent score. It is found on the classroom walls, at a dance recital, a choir concert, an internship night, a Battle for an Angel pitch competition, a swimming pool or tennis court. It is in what our children and educators do that make us great, not in a test score or a GPA. It is in the hearts of us all that are passionate about pursuing education purposefully. For this paradigm shift to occur, colleges must use different measuring sticks to determine entrance. Are they ready to do that, for our young learners’ sake? We’ll keep that for another time. Slow chat, indeed. It took me a week to materialize this answer. It came in the form of spontaneous action research. Apex Friendship and other North Carolina high schools assess students on what they have learned in the form of 100 question multiple choice tests. The classroom instructor is not meant to administer their own exam. Teachers rotate to different classes and administer those tests to students who they have may only seen in the halls, but not had in class. I help 11 and 12 grade students learn the intricacies of starting of their own venture. The learners I had the pleasure of meeting for the first time this week were 9 and 10 grade students in introductory classes. I decided to ask them, the first thought that came to mind when they hear the words, Grit, Mindset, Tests and Determination. Given this is the #manyvoicesofgrits, we shall focus on it, Grit.
Three different classes, 25, or so, interestingly enough, most answered some sort of breakfast food or sandpaper. Very few equated the word Grit with what many of us older souls think of as determination, reflection and resiliency. Our learners responses on determination, however, illustrated a keen sense of the effort required to make progress in their life. I was in my room this afternoon with three learners, one working independently on a plan, and a team of two, working together for the second year in a row. This time was different in that they did not have a class together, nor with me. They run together. They’re making another run to the international stage in Orlando. Last year they fell short; that has not deterred them, they are more determined than ever. That is Grit! The 11 grade learner of this dynamic duo received a text while working and shrieked, “I got an A in Calculus!” “What is so strange about that, given how much you love math?” “You don’t understand, I had a 72 after the first quarter, my 92 on the final exam earned me an A.” I pointed it out, “What do you call bouncing back and earning that A in calculus?” The learner did not have an answer. I let on it was a four letter word. Nothing. “That is Grit, and you’ve got it.” We have to be conscious of putting labels on our perspectives. We may call it Grit; for others it might be work ethic, and for still others, determination, or whatever. For as long as they possess the characteristic that drives their progress, does it matter what we call it? In the first part we examined the impact mission and the 8 Cs can have on a classroom. We distinguished between the primary 4 Cs and the proverbial 4 Cs. Without comfort, confidence, and community, a culture of curiosity, collaboration, creativity, risk taking and stretching is difficult to obtain. Does your class have a mission? In the next installment we looked at how we can bring a classroom to life each day. We should seek out ways to show “Triple-E” - enthusiasm, energy and excitement for our content and our learners. If we don’t relate to our learners and our content in some deep way, how can we expect our pupils to be excited about the topic? It is important, each step of the way, we recall the overarching vision, for all learners of all ages to wake up and to look forward to going to school, we want more students to say things like this about more classes, “One of the best parts of my day is going to this class. I get to walk in surrounded by people who are extremely intelligent and do my best work. I don't have to dread being 'PowerPointed', talked at or meaningless tests. The only thing I have to focus on is doing my best work.” This vision is driven by the data behind the Student Engagement Cliff and our desire to significantly decrease its slope.The 10 Es, similar to the 8 Cs, are not neatly compartmentalized or broken into “teachable units”; they all blend together and learners discover benefits at different times. This leads me to my next set of Es, Excite, Engage, Equip, and Empower. These deal directly with leading students in their learning. In this segment we will address Excite and Engage. Equip and Empower will be covered in the subsequent piece. With Excite and Engage our objectives are to:
Much of what is required in delivering highly 'relatable' educators, ourselves, is gone over in the previous article, Triple E, Enthusiasm, Excitement and Energy; we have to bring it every day. It is one thing for us, as educators, to be excited about our topic; It is quite another to possess the capability to excite our learners about a topic. To increase the excitement level of our learners, show enthusiasm for our content, but more importantly, show real concern for our learners’ interests! Learner capability is linked directly to instructor capability in this domain; an inability of us to bring the excitement may result in little excitement being generated by our learners. “I look forward to coming to fourth period every day because I always learn something new and interesting.” The environment in which we operate has a huge impact on learners’ perspectives. NC CTE demands that Business and Marketing Classrooms be set up with desktop computers. If at all possible, avoid this pitfall; insist on laptops. Multiple studies indicate the positive impact on behaviors and learning of flexible classroom settings. Flexibility is very hard to come by in classrooms with desktop computers. Flexible seating helps foster collaboration, camaraderie and the bee-hive like climate you want to promote. Kids should be saying things like, “I think it is a real authentic learning environment where students can truly thrive if they put their all into what they do. I think this model and environment should be employed in other classrooms at our schools.”The excitement that comes from meaningful self-discovery is immeasurable. Time is spent in the comfort and confidence stage in which learners get a clearer understanding of their strengths, weaknesses, skills, interests and career pathways that are in line with their values. The class is constantly mixed up as described in Triple E using random seating for the first 6-8 class periods. Early on, learners are regularly engaged with different classmates. Peers review one another’s early assignments including essays on Trust in Relationships and Plans to Improve Weaknesses and Capitalize on Strengths and Research on an Entrepreneur of their choosing. In addition to creating excitement and wonder, it also helps students learn accountability. Learners begin to feel what it is like to be responsible for their production in a group before they are actually made into teams. Feeling cannot be underestimated in the pursuit of engagement; Emotions are key to having students willingly join the adventure that is about to begin, Experiential Entrepreneurship Education, the topic of my final pieces. “My favorite part of it all was my heart was so full. I had a moment where I knew this was the feeling. The feeling that gave me a purpose do something for good. It got me thinking about all the potential ideas I could pursue. This is no longer just a project. This is real.” Excitement can also be generated by demonstrating service to others. Early on ASaP learners are shown the benefits of giving back to the community and is a recurring theme throughout the program. At their best, people feel most fulfilled when they have a voice in how they can help others. As a guide to some of the major problems that have to be solved around the world learners are given an infographic highlighting the United Nations Sustainable Development goals. In the ideation phase of the project learners are encouraged to develop ideas that might help solve one of these world problems. This year some notable examples are:
When learners take ownership of their ideas, the excitement and engagement levels are exponential. Listen to the words these learners choose to speak of their endeavors, “To us presenting our project is more than just regurgitating information. . ., it is an opportunity to share our brain-child and passion with others. We are incredibly proud of our work and never find presenting it over and over to be a burden. Each occasion is an opportunity to enhance our skills, tweak our pitch, and continue to spread positive ideas.” Engage: The level of engagement expressed above doesn’t come about by accident. Educators have to meet their kids where they are so as to engage them in their learning and provide opportunities that are relevant to their interests. ASaP provides many opportunities to engage the learner in meaningful activities - in-class discussions, field trips, mentors (known as Innovation Coaches in ASaP) whole-class presentations with peer critique, guest speakers and special events at nearby universities or civic organizations. See the home page for articles about my learners opportunities. The educator’s art comes in balancing project work, information/knowledge exchange, field experiences and the passion behind the project. The onus is on the educator to help the learner make connections between their project and all of these events. These opportunities for connection often take the form of reflection Fridays, peer evaluation and self-grading. (Much more on this to come in the ‘equip’ section to be published later.) One student said, I have definitely begun to develop an entrepreneurial mindset because when thinking about our product, I am not just thinking about the idea anymore. I am thinking of the whole project itself. Another described his passion as, “I am unbelievably happy to have chosen a project I am 100% passionate about. . . . an Independent business plan, built around an idea that I have genuine interest in exploring.” These events require the learner to be engaged as a participant, not solely as a spectator. Therefore our roles are much more than teacher; we are facilitators and guides, the true meaning of educator. As an example, while ASaP focus is on gaining wisdom through experience, some basic knowledge does have to be imparted before we can learn how to apply it to the project. Therefore, learners have to read materials thoughtfully and ask themselves the question, how does what I’m reading apply to my business plan? (See student quotes below.) Educators have to provide meaningful experiences in which students can provide answers to tough questions.
As far as “putting kids out there”, ASaP student partners engage in 4-5 field trips a year, including DECA conferences. In the first nine weeks learners go on 2 field trips, the first to HQ Raleigh and the NC State Entrepreneurship Clinic and Village. The second is to The Frontier, a local authentic experience that offers a networking event each Wednesday, IMM Cups. ASaP visits this event to listen to entrepreneur’s pitch and for our young entrepreneurs to give their own elevator pitch. Students have said of the field trips,
Moving Forward
Have you developed a vision of your own? A classroom mission? Do you regularly articulate these and encourage the students to do the same for themselves? How are you exciting your students? Are you reading material, worksheet, test driven? Or are you attempting to drive self-directed learning in a reflective learning environment? What experiences do you provide to your learners that engages them in their learning? How do you engage your learners’ thinking and doing capabilities? How do you connect these experiences and events to the learners’ growth? It has taken me fifteen years to hone these questions and begin to develop meaningful experiences in which students thrive. The Student Engagement Slope is indeed affected, positively! It comes from trial and error, knowing your audience/customer/learner, and a basic understanding of the bureaucracy in which you have to operate. Push boundaries, get rid of the box, be yourself and excite and engage your learners and fellow educators. Next up, equip and empower. |
Author: Dan Jackson
Experienced Reflective Learner and Strategic Thinker with an ongoing track record of of innovative, adaptive leadership in education and business management. Archives
December 2019
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