Reading Reflection 5 - I'm thinking...

...of an animal, mineral, or vegetable that is invisible yet has the ability to muddle minds into pulpy, circuit-shorted, puddles of mush within mere moments. Sigh. I am not, not happy about this digital age thing, and all of its myriad windows and buttons and sites and micromanaging, at all. Which probably makes the idea of group work...especially non tech-dependent group work, seem like a welcome antidote.

Cohen reinforces many principles that we have already explored at CSUSM in terms of setting clear roles for students in group work, providing challenging and diverse tasks, and designing activities that include all learners. She emphasizes assessment that evaluates the individual as well as the group. She describes the importance of teacher's making their objectives clear to students, and of modeling, directing, and reinforcing group skills such as sensitivity, receptivity, openness, and reciprocity. These are all important components. But in some ways, I feel as if more concrete examples of how this would look like in each subject area would be are needed.

While it is important for us to understand the research and philosophy behind these principles, we once again have a clash between theory, or ideal group work, and practice. Right now in my CP II at San Dieguito Academy, I am already seeing a lot of group work modeled and executed by an expert teacher. The problem is, yes, you do have dynamics where some students don't do the work; the higher level students take over; some students aren't polite; and the most recent challenge: a very vocal student who blurts out outrageous comments is now being mocked and shunned by his peers, and he feels like a pariah. These are ninth graders who are still learning about consideration and maturity. So I have some ideas of what to do...for example, to try to reinforce with the groups that everyone has the right to speak and to comment, and that no one should dominate. And to talk to the student directly to let him know that his insight is appreciated, but he doesn't have to comment all of the time, and needs to take more time before blurting out his responses.

However; we can preach democracy and equality all we want--but to some degree, we will still be working with students who can be savage. I have a hard time seeing that and calling kids out on that. And I feel like those individual conferences and adjustments may be just as important as promoting good group behavior.

Reading Reflection 4 - Groupwork ch. 4-5

This book is really helpful in demystifying the process of groupwork and ways to model it to students. I would like to focus on Chapter 4, which talks about evaluation and how to design tasks where all students will be engaged and learn. Cohen emphasizes that the process of learning is more important than the product of groupwork itself, and that we must be careful in how we assess students when they participate in group activities. If there really is a danger of social hierarchies being re-created and reinforced in group work, than design and evaluation will be critical in creating an even "learning field."

Cohen makes keen observations and suggestions--so far I agree with most of what she says. But the problem is the implementation. How much is easier said than done? How are we as novice teachers supposed to develop a rich store of complex activities made to keep everyone engaged and learning and equal? At my school site, San Dieguito Academy, one of my cooperating teachers embraces Cohen's principles wholeheartedly. Her group activities are very engaging, diverse, and effective. But my CT is a unique force of nature who can figure out these amazing activities while driving in her car on the way to work. There's no way I could model or lead activities to the same degree she does. My own foundation and teaching infrastructure just isn't there yet. Then there is the fact that this all requires a tectonic shift in thinking. We are doing this on the job, in the air, and with no guarantee that the activities will even work! I am undergoing some major growing pains as I try to not to focus on the outcome, since I was raised focused on nothing but that in many ways. As Cohen says, it does mean making some allowances for what progress and learning look like. It's not just a grade or a score or a "you got it! ding ding ding" sensation. It may be more subtle than that. The one who will really know is the student. So how do you evaluate learning, if you can't evaluate the product? I suppose it means we will just wind up assessing the process more than the product. As the Taoists say, "the journey is the reward."

Reading Response: First day of class (old)

Karen Oberlander and I were the only ones to do the reading responses for the first day of class. Didn't want mine to go to waste, so here it is:

Thoughts on the Rethinking High School introduction:

So it would seem that the pressure for schools to evolve and re-invent themselves today is greater than ever. We see the rise of private schools, charter schools, academies, specialized schools. Does it work? Well, judging by what happened to my alma mater, San Dieguito High School, which changed into an alternative “academy” in 1997, the answer may be: yes. Teachers and students attest to a symbiotic and comprehensive learning model. There is great demand to get into the school. But is SDA just changing with the times? I think it is in interest of every school to place close attention to the needs of their students…and teachers.

We often hear about the 50 percent quit rate for teachers in their first five years. It would seem that the demands of state and local administrations; as progressive new teachers graduating from CSUSM and other programs find themselves subjected to old-fashioned, rote procedures for doing things in schools to weighted with their current responsibilities; sometimes starting from scratch with a new school would seem to be the answer. To often, schools are seen as the solution and cause of complex , societal changes and challenges. I wonder how difficult and tiring it is to make changes from the inside out. Never before have institutions been so assaulted by the influences of technology, text messaging, short attention spans, broken homes. Is it only possible to get everyone on the same page by working with populations in smaller chunks, meaning school-by-school instead of state-by-state or city-by-city?

Reading Reflection 1 - Rethinking High School (late)

(Late due to my confusion over reading the blog. I actually did a reading response the very first week, which I will also post here).

There were many things that resonated with my from the Rethinking High Schools and BPHS high school, especially: Relationships, Voice and Leadership, Climate, Curriculum, and Community Experiences. I think it's easy for school to default to their antiquated, post WWII, "factory" structure, and this book and the Second to None reforms are trying to alter the student-community-student-teacher-student-subject relationship so that schools are more cohesive, dialectic, organic, and ultimately, relevant places. (By relevant, I mean that they prepare students for their futures, which falls under Restructuring Schools, Powerful Teaching, Accountability, Support for All Students, and New Curriculum Paths in the Second to None reforms). How smoothly this can be achieved or under what similarly-minded groups of administrators and teachers is another thing. But I think it is helpful for us to look at how relationships between students, teachers, and the community can first be reformed so that those effects can radiate outward, and the other reforms can fall into place. I would like to know more about how work the students and teachers are doing at school interfaces with the community and job internships or volunteering. It is one of the most important connections a high school can make with a student to prepare them for the future, I think.

The aspects of BPHS I'm not so excited about are the ones that I don't think are realistic or plausible in classrooms that are increasingly crowded and diverse. (Class size, scheduling, and technology).

Reading Response 2: BPHS

3 – Of the variety of practices you learned about at BPHS, identify 3 that you think had the most impact on the school. Of course, please say a little bit why you think this may be true.

There were so many aspects of BPHS that were worth repeating, and it's hard to choose which ones were the best. But I was most inspired by the emphasis on integrative units, authentic experiences (especially when it interfaced with internships, the community, and other future opportunities), and mentoring models in which counselors and teachers were more involved in the students' lives. I would say that these fit into all 6 of the reform categories.

2 – Identify 2 practices at your CP 1 high school that match the vision in the Second to None document. Describe the affordances and constraints each of these practices seem to have had on the school environment.

At Vista High School, administrators tried to create a 3) Comprehensive Accountability and Assessment System. This unfortunately meant putting teachers under more pressure to produce higher test scores, placing more emphasis on standards, and even pressuring teachers to teach the same materials and units at the same time. Before we arrived at VHS, I know they also successfully taught an ITU that combined English with History, which might fall under 5) Restructuring the School; and 6) Creating New Professional Roles. The emphasis on standards really put a damper on things. It felt as if teachers were always holding their breath, afraid an administrator might come in and pose an arbitrary question to some random student, "what did you learn today?" There are so many ways to assess students; I'm not sure how these spot checks were a show of support and trust of teachers. And it must be difficult to teach (and learn) in that sort of environment.

1 – Identify 1 practice suggested in the Rethinking High School text that you predict will no longer be in practice at the school. Why?
I think it will be really difficult for the school to keep class sizes down, as there are greater demands for a mixed, diverse curricula and fewer teachers they can hire under budget constraints