The Fallacy of Precocity

or..."I'm not a smart kid, I'm in algebra I"

Malcolm Gladwell speaks about this idea at length in his awesome lecture found here, don't have an hour (also available on 92Y itunes account to listen whenever) here is a summary which this post is based on.

Prodigies are easy. They advertise their genius from the get-go. Late bloomers are hard. They require forbearance and blind faith. (Let’s just be thankful that Cézanne didn’t have a guidance counsellor in high school who looked at his primitive sketches and told him to try accounting.) Whenever we find a late bloomer, we can’t but wonder how many others like him or her we have thwarted because we prematurely judged their talents. But we also have to accept that there’s nothing we can do about it. How can we ever know which of the failures will end up blooming?  The problem is that we identify talented kids by their ability to learn things, and we identify talented adults is by the ability to do things.  Yet the difference between learning and doing is the difference between black and white.

Rest of Article

I personally struggled (well maybe not struggled, but I was certainly aware of it) with classification in school. In elementary my friends were in Gifted and Talented and I wanted to go with them to do the cool stuff they talked about (we are talking 3rd grade here), I don't remember the explanation as to why only some 8 year olds got to go the "gifted and talented" class, but I am sure it was rich.

In 7th grade I wanted to be in pre-algebra with my friends, so much so that one day I got a bathroom pass, walked into Mrs Drakes 2nd period class with my friends in it and asked if I could be in the class.  How would you handle this situation?  I really wanted to be in the class, and although I never felt "dumb" because of the classes I was in, I quickly figured out I wasn't one of the smart kids...

... and by 9th grade, I stopped asking.  I didn't enroll in AP courses when given the chance, and I only took one honors class (H Spanish 3, which was a joke by the way that I got a credit boost for that class) when a teacher said he/she thought I would be successful at that level.  This is the challenge of a system that has certain gatekeepers to achieve at a certain level.  I lost all agency in determining how high I could go.  The bar had been set, I knew what kind of student I was and worked hard to do the best I could at that level.

The problem lies in the focused linear and non-permeable lines we draw for students to move through school.  I feel like online lessons can work to undue this problem.  I am delivering content through Youtube videos that I make and let students work through material asynchronously, sometimes in class, sometimes at home.  I'm trying to introduce the business concept of ROWE, into my classroom (thanks Daniel Pink!).

This year I have asked our AP physics teacher to list one or two ideas per unit that I can present the students that he would like them to be familiar with coming into AP physics.  Students can self-select into this content should a bolt of confidence strike them given their progress on any given idea.  Having produced the lesson and practice online, I am not responsible for the differentiation that comes with inviting students to choose to do this work.  I only have to be there for support when they come to bumps in the road.

The big picture is this class, for any student, at any time, can morph into a H Physics class as the students choose to.  Students have a choice to push themselves to that level that is never there once you enter the College prep track.  The open ceiling also includes a clear well defined floor.  If you can do these things (insert list of essential core standards of passing a class here), you are guaranteed a C.  One teachers comment.

"So you have asking them to do the work in your class, that they used to have to do in G (general) Physics".

My response was yes! the only difference being that with confidence and encouragement, that student can self select into more challenging work at any time.  Where as once they were enrolled in the G course, that was all they were going to be exposed to all year long.

It's important to note that everyone (teachers) would prefer school to be this way, we have simply been lacking the tools to make it viable....until now :)

Cheers!

Mastery Teaching

Otherwise known as Standards Based Grading....

if you are not familiar with either term, or just want to be inspired watch this video by Dr. Tae the skateboarding physics professor and assessment reform proponent.  The first 8 min are epic.

If you are familiar with this the term skip down about 2 paragraphs.

I was having dinner with my wife the other night and I was sharing the model for the flipped classroom with her and accidentally used the term Mastery Teaching (from Bergmann and Sams book and other stuff from the 1980s) instead of Standards Based Grading.  My wife stopped me and asked me what "Mastery Teaching" was (she is a principle and is very familiar with what I do).  I shared with her how it is another term for SBG that I have come to describe in elevator pitch mode as

"A method of instruction and assessment that allows the teacher, as well as the student to know exactly where they are on the path to mastery".

She loved it! not the specific idea, she is an administrator and knows all about SBG.  What she was interested in was two things 1st: the cultural implications of the term "Mastery Teaching", she felt that it implied the teachers role in moving students toward mastery is at the core of the assessment system.  2nd:  She didn't know what it meant and was curious to ask...as opposed to "Standards Based Grading" which is getting dangerously close to being a "thing" that everyone feels like they know what it is (which can be dangerous).

Mastery Teaching is essential for flipping given that the criteria focus makes the videos and subsequent assessment to follow, manageable by students and parents who may not have any previous experience in our own content areas.

Here is a link to one of my current unit plans...science teacher or familiar with the material?  please offer ideas for improvement.  One of the biggest changes I made this year is a move away from a descriptor model of "Basic", "Proficient", and "Advanced"...as students were beginning to adopt the labels and apply them to their own fixed mindset (thanks Carol Dweck).  That is to say, after a few units students began to believe they would never be able to access "Advanced" content, and therefore tended to check out on those days lessons.

Reflections from my first week of flip (student) training

"It always starts with them, it is for them, they want this to happen and here is another reason why.  I have to continually remind them of the message that started it all.  Although the conversation was powerful and engaging, it was like three or four days ago and big emotional and cognitive ideas don't stick for that long in the heads of most people."


Here is a walk through of  what my first full week in the lab looked like.


If you have questions about curriculum design follow LINK to a post on how I formatted my class so that students can self navigate content, which (seems to be?) is an essential component to making this thing work.

The first two lessons were done in the "lab" that is to say the controlled environment of the classroom so that I could coach steps of the process (as opposed to simply letting them know today's lesson can be found at www...be prepared for discussion tomorrow).



Topic 13 Lesson

Cultural Goal:  practice what it is like at home, and learn the structure of the lessons.  

Lead with the "Why":

 "We are going to be spending a week practicing what this process will be like for you.  I have done this with students before so I would like to warn you it may be awkward.  If we are going to succeed at changing school so that it can serve you better, we need to practice like we play.  Therefore (although it may seem small), it is very important that everyone works independently (no sharing computers) so that you can get a feel for what it is like."

I learned this lesson the hard way last year, because I didn't think it would be, and it has nothing to do with being distracted.  Students are far less likely to do the things that are intended with this model.  Pause, rewind, "stop and think" when the lessons prompts them to because they are concerned about the person sitting next to them and slowing them down.

Also notice how different this message is then just simply starting with

"Today you need to work individually, so no sharing computers or devices"

This message was shared before I walk through the structure of a lesson.  It took me two periods by the way to figure out that I need to Start with this idea as opposed to end when they are (mentally) on their way into the computer lab or what ever.

Here is a look at some types data I collect at the end of every lesson.  How cool would it be to know this stuff at the beginning of class.




Topic 14 Lesson

Culture Goal:  I need your feedback, but am not sure the best way to get it.

"We have already discussed how much more efficient school could be if we weren't so stuck on the idea of delivering one message to everyone, there is another possible benefit to this system should we succeed in working together to make it work.  I usually share some info, we work on it, then have a small quiz or assessment.  It is only then that I really am able to take a look inside your heads and see what things are sticking and what things are missing their mark.  Think of all the time wasted between the lesson and the grading of the quiz...we usually have moved on to another topic by then.  That crucial information is almost useless at this point.

One thing I would like to coach you all to get good at is leaving feedback the moment you finish a lesson, when you are best able to articulate what works and what didn't.  Here is one way to try doing that..."

It always starts with them, it is for them and they want this to happen and here is another reason why.  I have to continually remind them of the message that started it all.  Although the conversation was powerful and engaging, it was like three or four days ago and emotional and cognitive ideas don't stick for that long in the heads of most people.

One important question that I lovingly rip off from the godfather of flip, Harvard Physics Professor, Eric Mazur 1, 2, 3.


He is my friggin hero! and all three of those links are worth investigating in order of awesomeness.  The first is an audio documentary on the observed ineffectiveness of lecture at the college level. Number 2 is a video podcast with tons of his "how to" stuff.  3 is a keynote he did at a teaching/tech conference. killer.

"Please tell me one thing you found difficult, even if came to understand everything, some parts were certainly more difficult than others.  We are going to practice different ways for you to communicate with me your thoughts.  Feel free to look at what others wrote and give them a thumbs up if you agree with them, as opposed to putting another comment. "

Here is the information they left me...open the "view comment" button.
video feedback (check comments pretty sweet)