Left Lane Ends

Darren Wilson and I recently presented a session on Inspired Classrooms at the Texas Computer Education Convention (see my post below about the conference and/or read a brief review of our session). Towards the end of the presentation and during the time for questions, it was asked if we had any research to prove that Inspired Classrooms is correlated with an increase in test scores. Oh, SNAP. No you di’n't!

Folks, a computer is just a tool. That’s it! It isn’t magical, it doesn’t make people smarter or dumber and it sure as hell does not, in and of itself, increase standardized test scores! Beyond that whole thorn in my side, I am FLAT OUT TIRED of the Potemkin village that is ‘research based decision making’. But, I get ahead of myself. (BTW, I first heard the phrase ‘Potemkin village’ from Bernie Dodge. It creates such great imagery, and you might enjoy his quick post that describes his application of the word)
Let’s come back to the pencil. The pencil, according to Wikipedia:

The archetypal pencil may have been the ancient Roman stylus, which was a thin metal stick, often made of lead and used for scratching on papyrus. The word pencil comes from the Latin word penicillus which means “little tail.”

Some time prior to 1565 (some sources say as early as 1500), an enormous deposit of graphite was discovered at the site of Seathwaite Fell near Borrowdale, Cumbria, England. The locals found that it was very useful for marking sheep.

WHAT?! Marking sheep? Ahh… the irony. But, let’s continue - lest I get sidetracked down a different road.
This is my standard response to those that go and throw the question of laptop/computer research in my face:

‘The pencil is a tool, just like the computer is a tool. Just because a student receives a pencil to use in class, does not mean that they will score higher on a standardized test. Granted, they will be able to TAKE the test, but their score will only be impacted by the learning processes that they undergo while at home and at school. The same holds true for a laptop. It has no ‘provable’ impact on student achievement, only the teacher and how he/she teaches will do that. The difference that the laptop/computer offers (as a tool in a classroom) is that a teacher can now design LESSONS where students can output products never before imaginable, where students can locate information never before accessible and where students can develop social networks of knowledge never before possible. BUT, it isn’t the laptop that does that - it all comes down to HOW the laptop is used. It all comes down to the teaching.’

If it all comes down to (imagine this)… …THE TEACHING, then surely there is research out there that shows that TEACHING BETTER equates to HIGHER TEST SCORES. Now, I know by this point that you are shaking in your boots with anticipation that such a revelation may be, well, REVEALED to you - and I do not plan on letting you down! There is actually a little bit of quality research out there that does support the notion that teaching better DOES increase test scores. Take this excerpt, for example:

In data validated unanimously by the Program Evaluation Panel of the National Diffusion Network, HOTS (Higher Order Thinking Skills Program) students achieved spring to spring gains on standardized test scores that were 67% higher in reading and 123% higher in mathematics than national averages. These results were generated with an earlier, less refined version of the model. Second-year gains were also greater than national averages. These continued gains indicate that the results were not Hawthorne effects. Since then, we have not been able to do another systematic study, but schools are now reporting results that substantially exceed the best gains reported in the earlier study. Students in one site gained 5.6 years on the Stanford Diagnostic Reading test (fall to spring) in the first year, and 20% of the 5th and 6th grade Chapter 1 students posttested beyond the high school level. Tapes of these students reveal them to be highly articulate and sophisticated learners, an indication that the extent of the gains was not a statistical fluke. (1992, p. 88)

By now, I expect that you are standing, applauding and nodding your head while you continue to read. Please keep doing so - the standing ovation, that is, and while you continue to applaude, I would like you to consider the major point of that excerpt - teaching ‘better‘ means teaching kids to THINK. Teaching kids to think, means designing lessons that move students up through ALL of the different levels of Blooms Taxonomy. Designing lessons at ALL levels in Blooms Taxonomy is what we believe Inspired Classrooms should be all about - and the computer as a tool in that environment is simply an enabler, or catalyst, for a teacher who is GOOD at teaching. So, stop asking the wrong questions, and start asking the right one. It is a simple question, really:

‘How do we teach more effectively?’

While there is a plethora of research out there on the topic above, I feel the need to make you aware of one final thorn in my side: ‘Research based decision making’ has been to the education world what ‘Inside Edition‘ or ‘E! TV‘ is to pop culture - a shallow way to justify popular fetishes at the state, regional and local levels. There, I said it. Growing up with a father who taught Statistics (picture me as a 4th grader getting upset with my teachers for not knowing what APA was), I feel comfortable looking at published research and making a decision as to what is good and what is not. Even with good research, it is more than easy to make it say what you want it to say (after all, I found the above research excerpt in just around a minute or so!). Far too often, I see decisions made, and then the research is found to support it, OR the ‘research’ that led to the decision is nothing close to valid (in the news, at the state/local educational levels, etc). Be wise in your quest and let us throw in the unimaginable as we make our selves better teachers in this world today: common sense. When we combine common sense with qualified and validated research, it is easy to realize what is best for kids - when are we going to do it?

I must say that I was pleased with my response to the person that posed the question at the end of our presentation. Darren told me that I did a nice job of withholding the sarcasm that you may/may not have felt from the above. I did, however, hold my ground and tell that person that asking for research to prove the effectiveness of computers in the classroom is the wrong question to ask. Next time, I’ll be sure to have an arsenal of research at the ready that does support quality teaching, which is what I want to see in both Inspired Classrooms and 1:1 laptop programs. Until then, I wait with baited breath…

Well, it appears that I am becoming all too familiar with the ‘rant’ writing style these days, which may be a clue to a variety of things. Never-the-less: DO NOT take the pop culture interstate as you journey through life and through teaching others. It is boring, filled with predictability and gives you no way of getting out into the exciting places where the left lane ends.

OH - AND DON’T GO THROWING LAPTOP RESEARCH IN MY FACE!!!

(are you looking for a good tool that cross references Bloom’s Taxonomy with Technology Integration? Check out LoTI.)

I am sitting at a wonderful little coffee shop in Austin, located on Lake Austin, enjoying a cup of Salvadorian java, toasted bagle and a little slice of each of my favorite blogs. The view is wonderful and the weather is beyond gorgeous (my wife is in Chicago right now, where it’s -9 degrees on a good day without the wind chill factor… ha!). The wireless is free (none of that corporate-we-charge-for-everything type attitude), my iPod is running with my favorite tunes/podcasts and my phone/messenger are at the ready to converse with those on the network.

You see, I am here for the annual TCEA (Texas Computer Education Association) convention - it has been a full week with robotics, presentations and other TCEA related events - and I needed to get away to a place where I can LEARN.

‘You needed to leave the convention to get to a place to learn?’ That’s right - I admit it… and I’d like to take a few moments to justify my actions. Ready? Here we go:

Let me first outline my points of contention before going into further detail.

• I see behavior from educators at the convention that causes me to question what they are getting out of it
• The big name presenters typically have a standard message that changes only a little from year-to-year
• I have my own personal learning network that has, in the past year and a half, had much greater impact on my knowledge, thinking and professional growth than anything else. Ever.
• The convention is separate from my professional environment and not a place that I can immediately implement my new knowledge to take it for a trial run.
• And finally, would a cost/benefit analysis really show that the money spent is worth the results in the classroom?

Each year, the pattern grows, getting worse in my opinion. My concerns started about four years back and I’ve noticed the trend gaining momentum from year to year. It happens both while I attend sessions and while I have presented/co-presented sessions - people get up and walk out/walk in at various points. While I understand that there will be some sessions that do not meet participants needs, it appalls me that, while I am sitting in a quality presentation about any given topic, people get up and walk out. At this point, we are not talking about one or two people. No, we’re talking about ten to twenty people walking out and in to a session throughout its presentation time. Apart from being flat out rude, I question how much the participants that left took away from that session - and can only come to the conclusion (due to their leaving that session or coming in from another one that they just left) that they did not gain any new knowledge and decided to move on. This seems like a waste of valuable personal time (time where their students are sitting in their classrooms back home with a substitute) and happens on a frequent basis across all of the presentations. A wise colleague once said that, ‘as long as you get one good recipe out of a cookbook, it is worth the buy,’ and I believe the same to be true of any session that is attended at a convention. There is always something new I can learn, if only the perspective of the presenter sharing information. If attendees are wasting their time (either because they did not select the right presentation or just lost interest), why are they there? Does that make TCEA obsolete?

Next, and I’ll be quick on this one, I typically have enjoyed listening to the big name presenters, but am now at the point where I would rather buy the book that they are promoting than sit in their template driven presentation. It sure is fun the first time around, but when you hear it the second time and realize it is the EXACT same thing (and that, no, you really weren’t as special as you felt), you - or I should say ‘I’ - feel a ‘lil stoopid. No offense - they do need to sell their books. Does that make TCEA obsolete?

For me, the biggest influence on my feelings about things like TCEA is the personal learning network that I have developed for myself over the past year-and-a-half. I read blogs that challenge my thinking, I participate in the conversation, respond to people who write (not as much as I should) and do it at my own pace and as my energy allows (in between sets on the wakeboard ;). In addition, I have developed a firm belief that the ONLY time we learn is when we have the opportunity to REFLECT on our experiences. That is what learning is all about, isn’t it? If the only time we have is allocated to isolated bits during the year, then I don’t feel that we are doing our best. What is even more, educational conferences have no reason to stay away from an online environment with the success of the K-12 Online Conference. So, does that make TCEA obsolete?

One of the components of my new(ish) personal learning network that I love so much is that I am in my professional environment where I can get feedback, immediately try new things and see if they do or do not work (are or are not effective). I can not help but question how many of the large number of TCEA attendees go back and make real changes in their classroom. I know there are isolated cases, but are new ideas really put into practice? If they are, it has to wait a week, and real-life sets in by the next Thursday when Marcus is somehow back on that last nerve of yours that you thought had just calmed down after a relaxing week on 6th street. And if the implementation of those ideas survives Marcus, then does that teacher wait until next year to get feedback or new ways of integrating technology in the classroom? How ’bout that one - does it make TCEA obsolete?

Finally, what would happen if we could do a full blown cost/benefit analysis on TCEA? I have no clue how much money is spent, how many hours that could have gone to teaching kids or service projects at schools or how many physical resources that could have been allocated to a classroom in Longview, TX. I have a very difficult time imagining that the money spent on my hotel wouldn’t be better used by putting it in a fund to benefit kids (and not the kind of fund that supports TAKS in any way!!). So, does that make TCEA obsolete?

Oh, did I forget to mention how much I can’t stand 98.6% of vendors? There’s also that…

It is time to take responsibility for our own learning, and do it on a daily basis. We need to put that learning into action each and every day and we need to challenge those who do the same thing day-after-day; even after they get back from a week in Austin. But, you’re a blog reader, though, so you already know that. I propose that we still utilize time away, kind of like a sabbatical for a short period of time, to reflect in groups and dialog within our own learning networks. After all, I am still sitting in this wonderful little coffee shop after assimilating a whole new chunk of knowledge while I reflected on this single, little thought. With my new proposal verbalized, it is now time for the big question…
If people aren’t getting out of it what they could, the message from the big name presenters can be found in their books, we have our own personal learning network that blows away the current system of continuing education, our reflection is separated from our real-world experience and a cost/benefit analysis didn’t put us out on top - does that make TCEA obsolete?

As long as we’re willing to ask the question, then we’re in the correct lane - the one that ends up the road…

We had a great robotics competition at TCEA this year. Student in two different divisions performed a ‘disaster recovery’ mission by clearing Spam out of their area and rescuing survivors (Coke cans) into their area. For detailed rules, click here.

Not only did students work to develop a robot that could compete in this arena, head-to-head competition, they also participated in a discussion board. Within this environment of questions and dialogue, they prepared for the competition.

The second part of our competition was an Inventions portion. Teams who entered into the inventions competition developed their own invention and built it out of LEGO Mindstorm’s kit. They are judged on their invention, programming of their invention and presentation of their product to the judges.

Interested? Take a look at the videos below:

TCEA Robotics - Arena Competition 2006

TCEA Robotics - Inventions Competition 2006

Well, we’ve been preparing non-stop for being gone to TCEA this coming week. The state robotics competition, which Irving ISD coordinates, is on Monday this year. We’ll be going down Sunday to setup. Want to watch? We’ll attempt a live webcast.

You’ll have to use Internet Explorer for this one folks (sorry, Firefox users!). We should begin broadcasting sometime around 8:00 Monday morning.

I’ll post some reflections as the week progresses and am able to attend sessions, although I don’t plan on ‘documenting’ my experience extensively. A good part of the convention can be found online, so I’ll work to just focus my experiences towards what is applicable here on LLE.