When curiosity is sparked...

Students came back this Monday! Although this year marks 17 years in the classroom, one my favorite aspects of the teaching vocation is the feeling of renewal. Invention. Reinvention. Doing this over. Trying knew things. Failing. Succeeding. Sorta succeeding. All the goodness in between. I love it! 

Below are 5, simple, nerdy pedagogical shifts I'm making this school year just because I feel like it. Nothing groundbreaking here. Just the joy of teaching. I hope your hear is off to a fabulous start, and you are finding simple, little ways, to see your job as more of an art, than a science. 

#1. Plan in the 80's, and revise in 2017. 
This year I am going to write every lesson plan as if the only technology I have is a whiteboard. Analyze areas where my instruction could be more robust, amplified, personalized, etc. Then integrate technology to hep fill those gaps and reach my "21st Century" students. I'm hopeful this will keep pedagogy as the primary focus. 

#2. Wait 5 seconds. 
This year, every time I am trying to gather my students attention, I'm going to wait five seconds, before trying to gather their attention again. I am HORRIBLE at classroom management, and find myself always depending on my loud "teacher voice" to gather them. No more. Wait for them to naturally calm. 5 seconds. Then request attention. Thank you to so much to Jennifer Gonzales over at Cult of Pedagogy for this ProTip. 

#3. Three questions. 
This year I'm going to put 3 question marks (? ? ?) at the top of every quiz, test, etc. Im such a pushover, and find myself answering questions such as the dreaded "Am I doing this right?". I'm going to give them three opportunities to ask questions, and each time they do, cross off one "?". I'm hopeful this will force critical thinking and metacognition about what they need help on, and what they can negotiate on their own. 

#4. Share my writing with my students. 
I love sharing ideas with other teachers, writing blogs, etc. This desire was the catalyst for writing Spark Learning. By asking my students to keep Website Portfolios of their work, and engage in lessons, on a website that lives on my personal blog, I am hopeful that we will grow more connected and mutual reflective practitioners as they naturally engage in new work, while simultaneously being in close proximity to mine. 

#5. Mobile prep desk (humanities). 
The last chapter in Spark Learning is full of various, random "bonus strategies" for teachers that are not necessarily grounded in the book's thesis. One strategy is called the "Mobile Prep Desk" where I discuss using my prep period to plan in the back of a random colleagues classroom. Getting my prep done. Learning from a colleague. Two birds. One stone. This year, I'm going to make a point of doing this only in classrooms of humanities teachers. I see too much Science and Math! It's taken 17 years for me to branch out and actually observe my History and English colleagues. I am embarrassed its taken this long. Just think what I have could have been learning all this time! 

When I reflect back on the last 16 year of teaching, I see three distinct phases:

• Phase 1: Love
• Phase 2: Oblivion
• Phase 3: Awareness ​

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Phase 1 was crucial. I fell in love with the profession during this phase. My gut told me I was doing the right thing. Students loved my class. I loved being with them. All was good. But were they really learning? I didn’t care. It just felt good. Teaching felt the right choice, and the positive relationships I was forming with students and colleagues felt good. The difference between job and vocation became clear.

Phase 2 was ugly. An overconfident 4 year “veteran”, my popularity as a teacher transformed my initial love for teaching, into a fear of being a “boring” teacher. Although my colleagues perhaps did not notice this side, I saw it. I could hear it. This attitude led to a form disconnect between myself and my students. A blind adoption of the latest trends in educational technology under the guise of “innovation”.

Phase 3 is transformative. I’m in the middle of phase 3.. No longer can I hide under the blanket of being a “rookie teacher”, or an “early adopter”. Deep gaps in student conceptual knowledge, painful anonymous student feedback, personal health crisis, and a myriad of other catalysts are forcing me to face a question I should have faced along time ago: What does authentic, good, REAL teaching look like?

A few years ago I was lucky enough to give a TED Talk about this journey. Anyone of us could have given that talk. I was just in the right place at the right time. As teachers we are all on a journey. A “Hero’s Journey” if you will, full of temptation, mentors, transformation and realizations that change our outlook on the career. Our outlook on ourselves. Our students. Our colleagues. We are always changing.

Spark Learning dives into this journey. My hope is that this book can provide insight into both the emotions, and the instructional mechanics of the process. A process that I find successful. For me. I have faith that in sharing this with others, it might spark a few simple insights for you. Catalyze insight into your authentic teaching self. Spark new realizations

As Parker Palmer says, “We teach from who we are.”. My greatest fear in writing a book about teaching is that I would revert to Phase 2. Appear to be a narcissistic “I gave a TED Talk listen to me…” know it all. A “look at me I wrote a TED Talk book…” snake oil salesman. Lessons I’m learning in Phase 3 remind me to have faith in the teaching community. That the Imposter Complex can be ignored. And that's OK. That I love this vocation and work REALLY HARD AT IT. That 9pm-1am for the last 7 months was on purpose and for a good reason. I have an obligation to share. To share. To share. And so do you. Tag.

Shortly after he left The Daily Show Jon Stewart told Fresh Air's Terry Gross that, "It is through intense structure that I find the safety to be creative." As a teacher, this statement resonated with me. I love the lesson planning process and Stewart's quote really encapsulated why I do. Through a structured, directional process, even the most "control freakish" teachers (I fall in this category) can carve out space that allows for intense student creativity, showcase, mess, disaster, invention, tears, high fives, and the myriad of other emotions that come along with LEARNING, when the lesson plan process is given the respect that it deserves. 

On to a more tangible example of what I am referring to. This year is my first teaching a Robotics class in the curriculum, rather than as a team, club or after school workshop. My fear in teaching the class was that it would turn into a "club" like environment full of "BattleBot Obsession" and void of meaningful discussion around programming, mechanical engineering, and the ethical implications associated with deciding which tasks we keep for ourselves, and this we offload to our "machines.". However, you can't deny that placing technology such as littleBits, Lego NXT, MakeyMakey, VEX, TETRIX, SAM Labs, Arduino, and the many other tools we have and will explore in the hands of high school students isn't also a recipe for fun, and at times, fun just for fun's sake! 

Click here for an example of a similar invention cycle template. As you can see, this template positions the learning of basic NXT programming, rather than as an individual project, in the context of the larger, more meaningful task to "smash" together the littleBits and NXT systems to do something that is currently difficulty and/or expensive to do: build a functional remote control for an NXT robot.  See a picture of a final product below. ​

Upon conclusion of the RC project, students then blogged about their process, and reflected on ways other tools could be combined to create, new, unusual and useful outcomes. Click here to read student blogs. This project was then followed up with another project where students leveraged a more "Human-Centered" design process to build an NXT powered device that would improve the quality of life for another faculty member on campus.

Like the project described above, the initial part of this invention cycle involved learning basic skills in the context of the overall plan. This time, students needed to framliarize themselves with a more complex programming language (RobotC) and in doing so, built "BattleBots". Per my fear described in the second paragraph, the structure of the invention cycle lesson plan kept me centered and focused on the overall, more meaningful goal rather than distract from learning tasks that require more rigor and depth of focus. This structure carved out a space where the pure fun of constructing a BattleBot existed in the context of an overall, more meaningful process. One student even built an NXT Robot Flamethrower as her BattleBot! Love it! See video below. 

Teaching Robotics is teaching me that structure and student creativity can exist together and can, if positioned correctly, be symbiotic. 

Are you a teacher interested in learning more about integrating technology into inquiry-based learning cycles? Click here to learn more about our online classes (Note: more classes are being added weekly).

Are you a parent in the San Francisco Bay Area and looking to introduce the sciences to your child? Click here to learn about our summer camp offerings for students grades 2nd-8th. 

The more I teach, the less technology I use. Don't get me wrong, I love using technology as a strategic partner when designing lessons. However, with each new year in the classroom,, I find myself choosing only few tools but working hard to amplify their impact in creative ways. 

Minus Schoology, the LMS leveraged at my school, this year I only (pretty much) used  YouTube, GoogleDrive and Blogger. Ironically, I feel this year was the best teaching year I have had to date. Specifically, two "Hacks" if you will, one associated with GoogleDrive, and the other with Blogger, proved to be very successful. 

Hack #1: Blogger Post via Email 
This hack allows you to create a blog post by sending an email. Any text, images or video attached to the email becomes embedded in the blog post. The subject of the email becomes the title. The email address you create is a way for YOU to post to YOUR blog and is meant to be private. H O W E V E R, if you share the email address for that blog with your students, you can create a means for all your students to post to one blog via email. A class picture splash page, field trip documentation, white board images and presentations, etc. The options are endless! Below is a screencast tutorial. 

Hack #2: Pre-Filled GoogleForm Question 
​This hack allows you to create a GoogleForm with aspects of the a text box pre-filled to prompt the user. I have been using this feature, which is new to the recently updated GoogleForms, to create response templates to help scaffold AP FRQs, video or reading summaries, substitute assignments, etc. Essentially, anything students are submitting that I, as the teacher, would like to either be very structured or could benefit from a template that could be introduced early then gradually released as students gain fluency. Below is a screencast tutorial. 

I normally only post nerdy ideas regarding chemistry teaching, tech hacks, and a myriad of other random things related to STEM education. However, after reading the recent debates regarding the efficacy and appropriattness of homework online this past week, I feel a need to comment. Before I begin, I'm just going to out myself directly and say I DO assign homework. I assign homework after every class period. I enjoy incorporating homework into my practice and find it meaningful, for my practice. With that said, this post is meant to be a response to the superlative and polarizing conversation I am observing regarding homework. More importantly, the oversimplification of a very nuanced pedagogical strategy. Below are my thoughts regarding the major arguments against homework I have read. 

Argument 1: Equity at home. 

• Teachers work extremely hard. Teachers love what they do, and care deeply about their students. I will always work from this hypothesis when thinking about, or interacting with, other teachers. I don't care if this is not true for ALL teachers. I choose this lens, as I'm in community with my fellow teachers. Those who have arrived and those who continue to grow. I put myself in the later category btw. Keeping this reference frame in mind, the art of teaching also involves relationships. Getting to know your students. Respecting them and their situations. A teacher who assigns homework without consideration to the type of assignment, or the potential reaction at home is still growing in his or her relationships with his or her students. The deeper and more interesting lesson, I feel, is one around critical thinking, time management, and resource utilization. If a teacher, in employing his or her art, feels work outside of the classroom is necessary, helping students figure out how to leverage resources in his or her community, with his or her peers, or with the myriad of other adults in the school community, is a deeper and more contextual response in my opinion. Simply saying "No homework. Never", I feel, disrespects the intention of the teacher, and the content, unique context, that each classroom sits in and each student embodies. 

Argument 2: Use of classroom time. 

• In a recent debate on twitter, a teacher said the following to me: "If it's so important, make time for it in class." While easy to say, I am confident that my fellow teachers can agree that this statement also is a deep oversimplification of the art of teaching. I also feel this statement is dangerously hypocritical. I am confident that the same teacher who would condemn homework, believes, as do I, that class time should be used for activities of that require collaboration, argument, iteration, etc. Activities that could be categorized as "Higher Order" or "Higher Bloom's". That being said, as a teacher of a discipline that does require much skill assimilation, automation, etc., there is not always time in class to provide time for "reps" (as my friend and colleague Jon Corripo would say). My students need to balance equations, lots of them. Do mole conversations, lots of them. Draw Lewis Structures, lots of them. They need these things, as much as they need to feel empowered about chemistry, ask good questions and make interesting things. It's part of the whole picture, and the art of teaching. In my classroom, there is just not enough time in class for all of this. So, I treat my lesson plan book as my canvas, and create a work of art, that does, at time, off-load activities, "work", out of the regularly scheduled classroom. How I assess those things, or don't, is a completely different story, and again, points to the extreme difficulty, albeit, danger, in polarizing this debate. 

Argument 3: Students stress.

• This argument is one that really hits home for me. I have four children. The oldest just beginning to bring home homework (in first grade), and she is SO excited about it. I also teach 160 high school students, who, often times feel dominated and destroyed by the level of homework in all of their classes. Students come in all different sizes, ages, etc. I feel even silly writing that, as it sounds so preachy. But it's true. Homework can be overused and I am by no means trying to say it's good, or bad, or that all teacher's should embrace it, or throw it away. What I do know, is that from an educators perspective, at the high school level, with my specific group of students, in inner-city San Francisco, on the corner of Gough and Ellis street, in room 201, on the 2nd floor of the Lasalle campus, homework, even in the context of their stress, has contributed to a deeper and more conceptual, holistic and empowering understanding of chemistry. I also know that some of my colleagues on the third floor, fourth, fifth and sixth, and even those down on the first could says the same thing. I know those teachers, so I can say it. I know those students too, I have strong relationships with them. They are super stressed. Stressed about many things. College, life, alcohol, drugs, relationships, school, homework, etc. To create a direct cause and effect relationships between homework and stress again oversimplifies the situation at hand. 

Argument 4: Student passion. Student play. 

• By far the most predominant argument agains homework I read online is one that stresses the need for outside of school time to be used freely by a student. To explore. Play. Build. Hike. Fish. Sports. Be normal. Not think about school. Etc. I AGREE COMPLETELY with these arguments. Again, this is not a pro-homework blog post. However, I also know, that just last week, I got a bunch of emails from students, at crazy hours of the night asking me question about Autodesk Fusion360, a 3D modeling software we used in class to build molecular shapes in the hopes of 3D printing those shapes in the coming weeks. The students were so pumped up about the activity, at least 60% (and that's not exaggerating) when HOME and continued to explore the software. Many of them said: "Mr. M, nothing is assigned for tonight, is it ok that I'm emailing you with questions.". I could go on and on about times this happens in my discipline. Chemistry is exciting and we do lots of cool stuff. They get pumped up about that cool stuff and want to do it at home. They also will say things like: "Our quiz is tomorrow and I need some more practice. Can you send me some problems." All of these things, to me, are indicators of good teaching. The same good teaching my colleagues at my school, and around the country, employ. Those emails make me proud, not upset because they are doing work at home. They developing learning, to quote Dr. Carol Dweck, a "Growth Mindset." Or to quote Dr. Angela Duckworth, learning to negative the space where passion and "Grit" overlap. 

Conclusions
For me, homework is a complex and controversial aspect of our vocation because of the reasons (and many more) stated above. With that said, I also firmly believe, that well intentioned, growing, and passionate teachers, understand their discipline, environmental context and most importantly, students, well enough to see the homework debate as a spectrum, one that has some good points to make, and one that does not. For me, I am not a fan of anything that uses superlative statement in a career that is so nuanced. Students aren't electrons or plants. Neither are teachers. That's what makes the social sciences so great! We can plan, and research, and grow, but in the end, our relationships with our students will guide the decisions we make. Teaching is an art. I alluded to assessment above, and I think that is one feature of teaching that should be incorporated into all conversations about homework.  Keeping that in mind, and the knowledge that I AM JUST ONE TEACHER among millions, I want to share my homework strategy, because this is my blog, where I share ideas :).

As a chemistry teacher, I assign a problem set from our book for homework over the course of one learning cycle (usually about two weeks).. Usually about 30 problems. We use our time in class for negotiating lab phenomena, asking and answering conceptual questions. We also use our class time for negotiating and working together on VERY difficult problems. When a two week "learning cycle" is over, students take a quiz. The quiz looks very similar to the problems from the practice set and the phenomena discussed in class. I DO NOT GRADE HOMEWORK. However, the students work through it because it helps them prepare for the assessment. I give traditional assessment because I believe in the skills it builds in students, and for that reason, all of our  questions are short answer, and ask students to think critically through situations. This is true for my AP AND non-AP sections.

When that is all said and done, students write a blog post where they reflect on the homework problems, those they understand and didn't, the labs in class, and the quiz. Click here to see my students's blogs. In addition to the quiz, this blog is the only other thing I grade. I care about their reflection, not checking off their "reps". This process, I feel, models what we want from our students. We want them to develop a Growth Mindset. We want them to reflect. We want them to publish their work and be strong digital citizens. All of these things can't be reserved forthe 50 minutes that I have them in class. Homework is a simple term, for a complex phenomena, and is just one facet of the vocation. I challenge all of my colleagues to respect the art of teaching, as deep attention to that, will create a culture of meaningful work, some which will naturally seep outside of the regularly scheduled classroom time. That's just MY opinion. Thanks for reading :).