Wednesday, March 23, 2022
Monday, March 21, 2022
Coach's Corner - from Brent Truchon, EMS Instructional Coach
The Russia/Ukraine Conflict
Image credit: Johan Nilsson
The conflict in Russia and the Ukraine continues. Understanding what’s happening and the potential implications that these events can/are having is a real concern to many of us, not to mention our students. Finding a place where we, as teachers, feel confident enough to lead conversations and answer student is also a challenge. We worry about getting it “right”, about imposing our own biases, or even lacking the knowledge to effectively lead a conversation. Despite these fears, students continue to have a need to regularly check in about the conflict. Many have shared that they don’t want to do this every day but that having a safe and predictable space where they know they can discuss the issues is valuable and appreciated. With this in mind, I’d like to share an article that might be of interest. The article from Tech and Learning is called “Teaching the Russia-Ukraine Conflict“. It addresses many of the specific concerns that I have as I try to meet the needs of our students. Below is a snapshot of the articles main points:
- Approach Ukraine War As a Learner Not An Expert
- Use Primary Sources From Russia and Ukraine
- Examine Russia and Ukraine’s Competing Narratives
- Use Analogies But Don’t Oversimplify
- Don’t Demonize Russian People When Teaching About Ukraine
Around Town
The Courage to Remember: The Holocaust 1933-1945 Exhibit at the Fletcher Free Library
The Fletcher Free Library will host an exhibit from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, The Courage to Remember, from March 21 to May 1, 2022. The exhibit is comprised of 40 panels about the Holocaust to be displayed throughout the Library. FFL is working with the Vermont Holocaust Memorial on supporting programming during the exhibit's tenure.
The exhibit opening is planned for the evening of Thursday, March 24 at 6:30pm. It will be an in-person event. We are honored to have Ambassador Madeleine Kunin as the keynote speaker.
A series of talks, film screenings, and educator workshops will be offered for adults and youth. https://www.fletcherfree.org/courage
Questions? Reach out to Barbara Shatara, FFL Programs & Partnerships Librarian at 802.865.7211.Thursday, March 17, 2022
ReBlogged from: btvcityandlake.org
Do you want to Spotlight the deep learning happening in your classroom? Invite an instructional coach, Stephanie, Jocelyn, Gayle, or colleen to your classroom and we can write together. Alternatively, send a submission to bsdprofessionallearning@bsdvt.org.
REIMAGINING SCHOOL
By the time students arrive in the Burlington City & Lake Semester program, they will have spent more than 15,000 hours in a classroom. If there’s anything they know well, it’s how education functions and feels. And yet it’s exceedingly rare for students to be invited to reflect on school itself–let alone reimagine it. In BCL8, we’re doing just that.
In recent weeks, students have explored the school system through a variety of different frameworks, concepts, and perspectives, including but not limited to:
- Conditions for Learning
- Learning Styles
- Motivation
- Brain Science
- Learning Environments
and
- Deeper Learning
Not surprisingly, students don’t need to be convinced that the topic is relevant. After all, this is their lives. What’s novel is the invitation to actually see it. So often, systems are invisible. How do you see the water you’re swimming in? The first step is to acknowledge that what you take for granted has been designed–and that it could be designed differently.
The brainstorm prompt was “What does it take to thrive as a learner?”
On the morning of February 16th, 22 students met with more than 15 community partners at the BCA Center on Church St., where they collaborated on five simultaneous design challenges. Together, we deliberately leveled the typical power hierarchy between young people and adult partners, and this yielded an expansive reimagining of what school could be.
Even more radical, it unfolded through play. Each small group worked with markers, pipe cleaners, and legos, designing learning environments that embodied one of three core values. Together, we used a “what if” mindset to invite new possibilities.
- What if school was designed for wellness?
- What if school was designed based on learners’ interests?
- What if school was designed for belonging and connection?
It was really fun to work with community partners as equals and to be able to all have a say in our design. All of the designs for schools were really interesting and preferable to the school system now. Many groups said that school should be a place that students want to go. Why hasn’t the school system changed? Why does it stay the same even when so much is changing in the world?
Anders
I had a really good experience working with so many community partners, and sharing ideas with them. It was empowering to be treated as equal, and it made it easier to share thoughts and ideas. Our group focused on how to design school around learners’ interests, and we came up with an approach similar to BTC and BCL where the city and its opportunities are used to give everyone a chance to study what’s alive for them, and challenges them to have experiences outside of the classroom. I wonder how much better mental health would be if students looked forward to school, and it was geared to set them up for a future they can look forward to?
River
During our design project with my group, there was so much flow and creativity and art, and everyone’s brains were working together. I really enjoyed it, and felt very connected to the community partners we worked with, even though it was such a short period of time.
Elodie
My group worked on designing an environment that focuses on mental health by creating a welcoming environment. A tight-knit community can be very beneficial for mental wellbeing, which is why we included spaces where people can share and communicate feelings so that everyone feels heard. We also incorporated outdoor spaces and indoor plants. The city partners were very open to our ideas no matter how radical they seemed. We were never told that something would be unachievable.
Ella
After today, I am feeling more excited for college, where I think I will find a place more centered on the values we explored today. I am excited to exist in a place that is focused on wellness, community, and learning. I’m looking forward to learning for myself. This exercise has helped me know where I want to live.
Kaj
I like how the community partners joined us as if they were students. This way, we got insights from different groups and people…I also like how when we considered what makes a good school, we brainstormed through experiences and what we have seen. We won’t be experiencing the new BHS as students, but we get to say that we were an important part of building it for the next generations. A lot of us have younger siblings who will attend this new school too, so we need everyone’s voice in the community to make sure that we make a strong, welcoming school for everyone.
LJ
The feeling of empowerment and possibility resonated with our community partners as well.
It was really fantastic to be able to join in this design process as a co-creator and equal collaborator. It was important that this is a real project (the new high school) and that the ideas that were generated might have some impact – that’s something I’m really curious about. I hope these design ideas can be shared with the administration or design team, and that there is an opportunity for students to participate in the design process… BCL is doing fantastic work with amazing people – youth and adults alike!
Ben Freeman, Vermont Learning for the Future
The tone and structure set the stage for an effective and meaningful experience. BCL has done such a good job in eliciting student engagement, I feel like the students filled most of the time… The drive for authentic connections and having a safe place to grow came through loud and clear.
My takeaway was one of hope for the students and staff who are working together with respect and curiosity. It felt heartening for me personally because it reinforced what we are doing at Rock Point School. Makes me think that there may be possibilities for BCL, Shelburne Farms, RPS and others to collaborate.
C.J. Spirito, Head of School, Rock Point School
It was sweet to spend time with the students in a packed design charrette. Hearing how much the students enjoyed it was heartening as well. I heard students wonder how many of these ideas would/could be translated to the new BHS. How can the students be empowered to be in the room with the actual designers as they establish priorities?
Rebecca Schwarz, Community Artist
It was amazing to be part of a group of 4 students and 3 community partners, working together as equals to co-design backwards from essential values. There were some amazing ideas generated, and it was really cool to see alignment between wellness, belonging/connection, and learners’ interests.
Students were clear about what a school that is focused on belonging and wellness should have. They said:
“The first month of school is spent entirely on connecting with each other.”
“Grades are based on showing up for your peers, not As or Fs.”
“You’re greeted every time you enter the school and a classroom.”
“The physical spaces feel welcoming, positive, and inclusive, with nature and community incorporated into the school.”
“Someone is always there to check-in with you.”
“There are more choices for students throughout the day.”
Students also mentioned a desire for specific rooms to be deliberately built to serve as safe spaces that students can seek out if they want to share how they’re feeling or discuss personal, social, or emotional challenges with other peers (and/or adults).
I’m very grateful to have been invited to participate in the design challenge and hear from our students. The biggest insight that I walked away with is this: We need to find more ways to give students the platform to drive decisions and design choices that impact their well-being.
Nick Woolf, BSD Director of Social Emotional Learning
Wednesday, March 16, 2022
Professional Reading, Listening, and Viewing
Podcast:
- Elena Aguilar, Bright Morning Podcast, "The Power of Purpose," 16min.
- 5 ways to respond to a racist comment: interrupt, educate, strengthen a relationship, silence, preserve your own moral integrity.
Article:
- With Few Details But Big Ideas, Sec. Cardona Pushes Total Reimagining of Education, EdSurge, Emily Tate
- “How are students’ voices driving the improvement work of a school? I think that's the question we have to ask as we move forward in education.”
Book:
- Shifting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Balanced Literacy Classroom, Burkins & Yates
Spotlight on Upcoming Professional Learning Opportunities
Vermont Higher Ed. Collaborative: Design Engineering: Unleashing All Learners' Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills
Where: Live virtual workshop
Target Audience: Teachers of 2nd-8th grade students, librarians, technology integration specialists, instructional coaches.
Overview: How can you immerse your students in authentically solving challenges in science? Using a design engineering process provides ways for all learners to solve challenges, integrate critical thinking, develop & apply problem strategies, and grow their collaboration skills. This workshop includes no-tech ways to use a design engineering process, as well as ways to incorporate the low-cost Edison robot. Edison uses a range of coding applications, allowing learners to complete the same task while easily allowing teachers to differentiate for learning differences. Edison is also Lego brick compatible, further supporting the integration of design engineering.
During this workshop, the presenters will model design engineering tasks that transfer across the curriculum, embed the practice of transferable skills, and provide possible modifications to include all learners.
Participants will:
· Understand ways to incorporate engineering and design in the classroom and/or school library to enhance student learning.
· Experience the design engineering process first hand.
· Access resources to support the development of design engineering projects that foster student interests, independence, and growth.
· Develop and adapt lessons or activities that utilize the engineering design process.
· Learn programming basics of Edison (no robotics or programming experience required, but if you have some that is fine too!).
· Understand the benefits and
DLD+ Workshop: Organizational Change - The Cynefin Framework
After decades of attempts to standardize schools, education leaders are recognizing that Newtonian command and control approaches to school reform have failed. We are becoming increasingly aware of the need to embrace a more complex, humane, and diverse future. While the need is apparent, what is less obvious is what policy, practice, pedagogy, and especially the leadership of school and district transformation efforts to create this new paradigm, would look like in this emerging world. There must be a better way–but what does it look like, how does it work, and in what principles is it grounded?Systemic change for equitable, powerful, and deep learning requires a different way of thinking and leading. Leading change in the 21st century is more about working agilely and flexibly in complex and unpredictable, even disruptive, circumstances, while taking real human needs, dispositions, contexts, and social learning cultures into account. The challenges we face to address the deep inequities in our educational system require this, not to mention the challenge to create much more complex and meaningful learning experiences for young people. We’ve come to understand that this is an effort to “decolonize leadership.”
All of this suggests the need for leaders to develop different habits of mind and toolkits in order to support higher levels of adult engagement, learning, and change. In this workshop, we will discuss some of those habits of mind and tools by exploring how leaders might use the Cynefin framework as an heuristic for leading in the various domains of change, from the most simple to the almost chaotic.
We will explore the following questions:
What is the Cynefin framework?
What are the domains of change it defines?
What kinds of change challenges can be addressed by leading in these domains?
How can you use the Cynefin framework in your day-to-day change leadership?
Apr 8, 2022 12:00 PM in Eastern Time
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
Coach's Corner with EMS Coach, Brent Truchon
I know that there are many on staff who are anxiously awaiting the release of the 3rd Season of Ted Lasso-I am one of those people. This week an article titled “5 Lessons For Teachers From Ted Lasso” landed in my inbox. As a huge fan of the show I clicked on the link and was moved by these 5 takeaways:
Subject Matter Expertise Isn’t Everything
Curiosity Is Key
Don’t be afraid to incorporate ideas from others
Positivity Isn’t Always A Miracle Cure
Winning Isn’t Everything
The above principles are evident in EMS classes every single day. Our staff consistently empower students by nurturing their voice, seeking their feedback, and by always being willing to adapt and incorporate suggestions from colleagues and students when it is in the best interest of learning. Our staff- teachers, paraeducators, administrators, and support staff have collectively committed themselves to building deep and meaningful relationships with students each and every day. Sometimes this means that we excuse an assignment or provide a student with a shoulder to cry on or a pep talk to pick them up. Other times it means holding firm and asking students to redo a test, to be more respectful, or to come after school even when it would be easier not to. Thank you for your willingness to always consider the whole child when making decisions about how to support EMS students. Though at times thank yous are forgotten, your efforts continue to have an everlasting impact on the entire EMS community.
Written by: Brent Truchon, EMS Instructional Coach
Thursday, March 10, 2022
Deeper Learning Podcast with Jal Mehta & Rod Allen
Recent episodes include:
The Power of Doubt
Facilitating Belonging
Building Relational Organizations
Heart, Head, Hands
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