The Case for Collaboration

Collaboration is a big buzzword in education right now. We’re told that employers want creative team-players, who can solve problems with critical thinking. Working together often allows students a place to bounce around and grow ideas, yet I find some teachers still reluctant to take a risk and change their practice to include a collaboration project. There is pressure to hit all the curriculum expectations, to deliver quality test scores, and to regularly communicate with parents about student progress, be it in person or through written reports. To contemplate, on top of all this, a new way of teaching that involves another class, possibly another school, and technology-infused learning can seem daunting and intimidating to even the most seasoned veteran. So the question then begs: Why would anyone do this?

I have now completed two different collaboration projects involving my grade 4 class, and a grade 10 class in a neighbouring city. Both projects happened towards the end of the year, and integrated a few subject areas, as well as the “soft skills” like communication, compromise, and teamwork. The first year we had one end product- an interactive history museum, featuring structures from Ancient Times; the second one resulted in a variety of passion projects, ranging from constructing and operating a drone, to designing a music school and lessons for the less fortunate, to running a bake sale and flag football tournament to raise funds for a local sports charity. (as a team we raised $600)

All well and good, but in your educator’s mind, you are asking: how did this push students forward?  How is this an improvement on what I’m already doing?

The first Grade 10 class was at the Applied level; kids who were not ordinarily in leadership roles suddenly became mentors; grade 4 sought opinions and valued their input into the design process. The older students acted as “contributing citizens” fostering “respectful relationships”, both qualities outlined in our Board’s Improvement Plan.The learning products weren’t just another task in the vacuum of our classroom; the exhibits were for someone else. Parents, grandparents, and other school visitors came to our museum to learn from the experts. Students became more confident and creative with how they used technology tools. Students blogged about the entire process, often getting comments and feedback from their high school partners, and family members too. Growing confidence, practising metacognition, developing critical thinking; all of these elements push students forward.

I believe one of the most important features that kept students engaged, was creating something for others. Students enjoyed opportunities to help the less fortunate, or to teach other students, and in both cases helped to create the conditions for success. Kids made a difference on their own, to people in the real world. As a team, with constant communication in an environment of respect, kids felt great about what they accomplished. At that point I knew this was something bigger than just a cool, innovative project. The students grew as people. A year after the fact, my high school colleague still had students coming back to him, asking if he was going to do another project with this year’s class.

Was it difficult and at times messy? Yes. Did we know what the exact outcome was going be? No. I am not in the classroom this year, otherwise I would absolutely do this again. In my current role, I can share my experience with other education innovators, and hopefully persuade them to try a collaboration project too.

In my experience, this approach was well received by both our school administration and the parent community. If you are interested in learning more, chatting about this or ready to find a project partner, please follow the link to a form where you can leave me your contact information.

https://goo.gl/bePPgi

cross-posted at http://teachers.wrdsb.ca/aliringbull/blog/

Reflections on AB2 Museum Day project

It has been two months since our Museum Day; this was our day to showcase our learning, with physical models we had built, along with incorporated QR Code guided tours. Tonight I look back and reflect on how this project changed my teaching.

I was excited to give others students the opportunity to take a mentoring role. Andrew's (Mr. Bieronski) Grade Ten students became mentors to my Grade Four students in the planning and execution of each phase of our 6 week project.  I was impressed by their meticulous planning processes, and considerable thought given to each stage of the project, from design to build.  Upon meeting these young adults in person, I realized just how much more they got from this than just offering a set of printed, guided instructions. In our whole group discussion, one student shared how great she felt after having helped someone else. As a teacher, knowing that I helped someone realize the sheer joy and power of doing good is highest degree of success.

Life is not about getting good grades, landing the cushy job, and making scores of cash. The true joy in life lies in intrinsic rewards. If I can allow 16 year old kids to realize the power of philanthropy (whether guided by school or not), I have touched on a powerful nerve. If they can use a simple tech tool to touch base with their 9 year old partners, offering encouragement and constructive criticism that result firstly in a positive step forward, and secondly in the deeply satisfying feeling of having done good, I have done what I set out to do.

Museum Day proved to be the highlight of our year. Even though my students worked for 6 weeks on the constructing, designing, and preparing for their exhibit, they showed no exhaustion or indifference to The Big Day. Without the use of iPads, the internet, or Google tools, this project would have undoubtedly taken twice as long, with far more frustration, both from students and teacher.

I am grateful that I could use Google Hangouts to confer with Mr. Bieronski, and his students immediately, and frequently to make sure we were all on the right track. I am also grateful to Ian Tao, who introduced me to his app Sesame Snap, that allowed the students to collect their own assessment data in a personal digital portfolio, that I could also share and use in my evaluations.

This project introduced me to several new ideas and people who propelled my learning along the way. I explored new Google tools like Hangouts, Drive, and Google Apps for Education to keep myself on the forefront of assessment and feedback, without needing to work harder. Ian Tao's Sesame and Sesame Snap allowed my students and me to immediately collect, reflect upon, and evaluate our data as we built the project.

Watching kids bustle through the door twenty minutes before the bell in order to get a head start on building for the day told me that I had something special going on in my room.  Engaged in their task, my students forgot that they were still learning and growing. Education needs to be more of this, and less of monotonous, irrelevant tasks that do not relate to their lives. As a teacher, one may need to throw out last year's plans and jump off the cliff into something new, exciting, and motivating. You may fail; you may be gloriously successful. The point is, you tried to stay relevant and inspiring.

I feel like I made a major step forward in my teaching. I undertook the planning and new learning that was required to facilitate the Museum Project for my students. It wasn't perfect by any means, but it lit the fire of motivation in me; motivation to be better, to stay current, and to inspire children to love their learning. I will take those tenets with me as I strive to grow and stay relevant to newer generations of kids as they cross my threshold on their journey through education.  This project has given me an inspirational, rewarding start on this trip.