Tag: professional development

Online PD and Impact

We are so lucky to live in an age where if we want to learn something new – about whatever topic! – we can just look up the topic online and find all sorts of help, tutorials, guides, etc. As interest in Teaching with CI grows, more and more high quality training materials are appearing online every day, from webinars, to blogs, to whole books that people are writing to support new to TCI teachers in finding their way through the thicket of innovations available to us now.

What’s more, many teachers are catching onto the fact that it is often easiest to learn teaching skills by watching them happen in real teaching contexts. Teachers have taken to YouTube and Vimeo to post videos of themselves teaching their real students, so other teachers can get a sense of how to bring all the skills of teaching with CI together with the ever-expanding repertoire of activities/contexts for delivering CI. Sarah Breckley recently made a plea to teachers to film their classes as much as possible, and post the videos on YouTube. If enough of us do this, then we all get to learn from each others’ expertise, and seeing the same activity or skill used in different ways may help us build our own individual conception of how to implement what we learn in a way that works for us. (I recently bought this tripod for the purpose of recording my classes! #NotAnAd)

(Now, maybe you can’t post your own videos because of student privacy concerns – always make sure you have a release before you post anything! BUT I think the process of filming yourself and then watching the film back can be INCREDIBLE for pushing yourself into exponential growth. At first, hearing your own voice is awful, but it gets easier with time. And being able to see what you’re doing well can be a great motivator to keep improving!)

I really enjoyed this book!

Now, I myself have spent many hours getting some “YouTube PD,” watching other master teachers do their thing with real students. But my recent reading of Ten Mindframes for Visible Learning by John Hattie and Klaus Zierer has given me a lot to think about when it comes to what I’m getting out of all that viewing. It can be easy to fall down a rabbit hole of watching video after video of a teacher that you’re obsessed with…I mean…enjoy watching. I am guilty of sometimes thinking, “Oh goodness, why am I even trying? This person is a super-teacher and I would never be able to get to that level of organization, participation, etc etc etc.!”

But after my reading of 10 Mindframes for Visible Learning, I am going to approach any video I watch with the mindset that Hattie and Zierer pose as the first (and maybe most important) mindframe: I am an evaluator of my impact on student learning. This mindframe has been helping me, well, frame my thinking for what I’ll be doing this year. I have sometimes been guilty of assessing a lesson’s “success” based on whether we get through all the activities I have planned, whether or not students “behaved themselves,” and whether or not I thought the activities were cool. But now, I want to look for evidence that my students comprehended everything that happened, that they felt comfortable interacting with whatever new vocabulary came up that day, and that they felt increasingly more comfortable contributing to class.

Video Watching Mindframe

I want to carry this mindframe into my viewings of YouTube videos of other teachers teaching. I don’t want to get blinded by other teachers’ brilliance – I want to learn from it! Here are some questions I want to keep in mind to guide my viewing and personal professional development:

  • What is the impact of what I see while watching this video? How do I know that this instruction is having an impact?
  • Is there a “din” of Target Language in my head by the end of the video? (The “din” is an idea that comes from Krashen – hearing the L2 bounce around in your head after the class is over, which Krashen posits indicates the activation of your brain’s Language Acquisition Device. If you’re experiencing that, it may mean that the teacher used a ton of Target Language and – even better – provided a lot of Comprehensible Input to the class! Sweet – it’s acquisition time! Now, how did they do that? Watch the video with that in mind!)
  • Do you feel like you can answer the teacher’s whole-class or individual questions when they are asked? (If this is in an L2 you don’t speak yet, this means the teacher made themselves comprehensible – again, how?)
  • How do students respond to teacher questions or classroom events? (This can mean “with what language resources?” as well as “with what affect?” Both of these are worth looking into!)

It is easy to be dazzled by other teachers, but always keep in mind that we’re usually seeing teachers on their best days. (Nobody is going to post a lesson that ABSOLUTELY bombed, unless it’s a “cautionary tale” sort of situation.) But make use of these questions as you watch teacher videos on YouTube, and it might accelerate your learning of new skills as you dive into the world of Teaching with CI. What did the teacher do, and what was the impact?

So, Ben, who are your favorite teachers to watch teach online?

Thanks for asking, myself! Here are some faves that have helped me learn and grow a lot in my journey:

  • Tina Hargaden was the first teacher I watched using non-targeted CI, and my mind was blown wide open. Here she was, on the first day of a class, speaking so close to 100% TL! Her channel has TONS of video, as she filmed herself every day for an entire year, but this video in particular got the wheels a-turnin’ for me.
  • Alina Filipescu is a TPRS master teacher. Her classes always look so engaged, so lively, and so fun. She has really driven home the power of expectations for me, as she teaches and reteaches her expectations constantly to keep the class on point. I could watch this video all day.
  • Brett Chonko teaches in Virginia, and his videos always start with a good-natured “Welcome to Spanish class!” Here he is on Day 1 of a Spanish class, explaining how the class will look in a fun, relaxed way, and getting to a Write and Discuss on Day 1! What a pro.
  • AnneMarie Chase is an awesome TCI teacher located in Nevada. Her blog is also incredible – she has so many ideas for organization, grading, games, you name it! See her ideas in action on her YouTube channel.
  • The aforementioned Sarah Breckley is a ball of sunshine energy! It is a lot of fun watching her teach, because she always looks like she’s having a blast. Her blog is awesome, too. Watch this video if you want a great overview of how to provide high quality, comprehendED input.

What about you – who are some of your go-tos for YouTube PD? Comment below and let us know!

Carol Dweck’s Mindset – Mr. Fisher Gets Growing Pains

I set a goal of reading 24 books in 2019 (about 2 a month), and it’s going very well so far! I have read 18 so far this year, so I’m a little bit ahead of “schedule.” (Granted, I have read 5 since school let out on June 19th, but whatever. I will take that as a success, as it means I adequately re-appropriated time I would have spent playing video games or drooling on myself or whatever. Mindset!)

Carol Dweck’s Mindset is a book I think many educators have heard of, and no doubt we’ve all been to at least one conference presentation or PD where someone was like “we want to do [this and this strategy/activity] to help students build a growth mindset!” (And then of course, we all nod sagely because mmm yes mindset.)

As evidenced by that last bit of snark, I had developed a bit of an eye-rolling reaction when growth mindset was brought up in those settings. Growth mindset sounds like a DUH sort of teaching thing, like DUH we should set high standards and believe that all students can reach them, and DUH our own potential as teachers can also grow despite challenges. It also has that flavor-of-the-month feel, sounding like a nebulous platitude that doesn’t necessarily change your day-to-day or give you ideas of what to do when things actually go sideways (kid cusses you out, a lesson is just bombing, your admin is laying the pressure on during an eval and you’re not sure what to do, etc.) “Have a growth mindset!” Ok!!! I did it!!! …now what?

I discovered something that maybe I had learned before, but apparently not well enough: it is so much more powerful to go directly to the source material, rather than hear (often diluted) secondary interpretations. And I am glad for having done this, because I think my processing of this book will help me become a better educator and a better person.

The gist of the book (my German irony senses are tingling) is that people face the many challenges and contexts of life with one of two mindsets: the Fixed Mindset, which says that peoples’ abilities and intelligence are innate and, well, fixed, and the Growth Mindset, which says that intelligence and ability can be developed through a commitment to teaching, learning, and appropriate challenge. Dweck illustrates how these mindsets play out in the realms of business, teaching, parenting, coaching, and even relationships to illustrate how they permeate every aspect of our lives, though mostly unevenly. For instance, a person in business may know they are lacking certain skills and recognize their need to gain experience from hard work and mentorship by others as they learn their trade. They then grow, and can be fabulously successful! That same person can be fixed in their romantic relationship, deciding that their partner and the relationship will always go the way it is currently going, and if it’s going badly, then the relationship was ALWAYS bad and should be allowed to self-destruct. (Two things: if a relationship has ALWAYS been bad after reviewing all the moments together, you should probably get out. But sometimes, all it takes is just telling your partner what you’re thinking and feeling. Mind-reading is not a thing, y’all.)

This all sounds great! Be growth-minded in every arena of life! Believe in change! Try hard! WOO!

But reading this text was actually a little painful for me, and I imagine it could be that way for others. Because in reading about people who typified the Fixed Mindset in their professional and personal lives, I sometimes saw myself. Not in an “oh god I have had a fixed mindset this entire time!” unmasked Scooby Doo villain sort of way, but in recognizing that there are situations and contexts in my professional and personal lives where I am triggered to a Fixed Mindset, and it holds me back from seeing and realizing my true self and true potential.

I’m realizing as I write this how wishy-washy I’m sounding in trying to let you know that I actually had an intense experience with a book/concept that I had perceived to be fairly wishy-washy. Ah! But I want to continue reflecting on how these mindsets have played out for me: now, and as the school year progresses. Here are three quick reflections I had while reading:

  1. “That Class.” This past year I had two classes that regularly drove me up the wall. There were certain characters in these classes that I had subconsciously given up on – in my mind, they were never going to participate in the way that I wanted, and their challenges that existed outside of the school building were going to persist in making school hard for them no matter what I did. We, as educators, don’t want to admit that we think that about any kid, but it’s easy to write off a class with something like “oh, that’s my High Blood Pressure Class.” I know we’ve all had those classes, and that I have to be patient and forgiving of myself. But I want to engage in active, constant reflection this coming school year to avoid falling into the thinking traps that caught me last year. What skills are my students lacking, and how can I bring them to practice and master those skills? Have I made clear to them why these skills are worth mastering? How can I engage my class in problem solving when things aren’t going to plan, so that they get a say in how they learn and I don’t have to generate every solution? This also plays into an idea I grappled with in Radical Candor by Kim Scott – how can I open the doors for honest feedback on my performance so that we all get better, every day? If I catch myself having a “That Class” next year, I want to do a thorough, honest assessment with myself of what is happening, so I can teach.
  2. Classroom Management Leader / Nervous Wreck. I took on a role this year that allowed me and a colleague to give a classroom management workshop over the summer, with the expectation that there would be follow up one-hour meetings during the school year to check in and practice skills. I take on leadership roles because I like being helpful and sharing – and things were going well management-wise in my classes the previous year. But I think having the role almost made me stop learning more about classroom management. I found myself saying “I’ve got this, I’ve got the skills to work with my classes,” but also running into moments where I, uh, didn’t “have” it. I felt like a fraud, because I had been given a neat title, but if anyone had come into my room, I may or may not have been compelled to lay blame wherever to overcome my feeling that things weren’t going as well as I wanted them to, and I wasn’t adapting. I’m a little bit more wary of taking on leadership roles as I transition to a new district and new school, because I end up letting them be a time suck, and if I do end up taking on any roles in the years to come, I want to enter with a boatload more humility. I want to maintain that learner’s stance, always.
  3. Singing and Writing – In my personal life, two of my greatest self-care outlets are singing and writing. I sang in choirs for 6 years, and have been writing poetry since I was 11 years old. (I’m also published, it’s fine.) But asked to present these “talents,” I freeze. I am so afraid of being judged – finding that my voice is unpleasant to listen to, that I don’t sound good singing songs that I like, that my writing is trite garbage. But at the end of the day, truly, truly, they are for me. Only me. I sing and write because it feels good. Now, if I decide that I want to be a pro at either, or even just perform either in public for fun, I will have to accept that people will offer their opinions on my performance whether I want them to or not. And I can either take those as value judgments, or search for nuggets of wisdom and constructive criticism, and grow.

I recommend reading this book for yourself, and pausing whenever you find yourself reflected in a description of a fixed mindset. It is hard to be honest with ourselves about these things sometimes, but I think that this specific hard pain can help us grow. And maybe at the end of the day, you’re very content with your life and will find it to be self-help-y junk. But the other possibility is that you grow.

Have you read Carol Dweck’s Mindset? Let me know what you thought!