Caffeine Fix For Your Brain Newsletter is out! Read Issue 5 now!

Issue #5 is out! http://eepurl.com/KQSnv

Enjoy the content and have a great holiday.

Student Voice and Participation in Teacher Project Tuning Session

As our building continues to push forward with Project Based Learning (PBL) and striving to challenge our students and ourselves I have reflected on the many key areas we need to work and develop to make the necessary steps to achievement.

As an instructional coach I have noticed that one of the key elements to developing a quality project for learning that is missing is project tuning.

Project Tuning is a systemic approach to helping a teacher tackle a question or mental block that they have in their development of their project. It is an approach that is very powerful and allows the staff to bond and offer insight. It allows the teacher who is tuning to hear perspectives from outside of their department and/or grade level.

Project Tuning is awesome and is something that we have continued to improve upon as we do more and more of these. The issue is that we don't have enough teachers using this key piece. As we work to provide a structure and schedule for teachers to tune I also started working on another key element to project tuning: STUDENT VOICE

This first semester we had 8th graders work on a Choose2Matter project that we titled #BettPassion. One of the groups, Iowa High Five, is focusing on Student Voice. I brought them in last week to discuss the possibility of branching out student voice to a "behind the scenes" element of project tuning.

Last week we met with them and the principle to discuss this idea. They were excited at the opportunity. We talked about the system and things that need to be worked out.

I typed up two documents for them as well as the teachers to provide them with some structure.

Wednesday we were able to pull four of the girls into my room to do an actual project tuning and give them some practice. We had the opportunity to tune a project for a teacher that has an idea and is able to put his guard down to allow these students to practice.

It was amazing! We had one other teacher show up along with our principle and myself. The students jumped right in and nailed it. They provided some great insight that we don't always think about as teachers and adults. They were open and honest and really provided a lot of great ideas. I was quite impressed by their maturity and honesty. I know it can be tough to really open up as a student to teachers and admin.

We are going to continue to find ways to include at least two students in each project tuning session from here on out. We will have to work on developing a pool of students to use. It really needs to be thought through because you need students who are honest and willing to speak the truth while also having a maturity level to handle this opportunity.

I am so excited to continue this journey and help enhance the power of student voice in our building. I will continue to provide documents, reflections, and hopefully a few video sessions to show how these project tunings operate.

You're Not That Innovative(and that's okay) by Adam Bluestein and Converting Ideas to Education

This post is going to be based on the following article written by Adam Bluestein posted in Inc. Magazine in the 9.2013 issue. You might want to read the article first.

You're Not That Innovative(and that's okay) by Adam Bluestein - http://www.inc.com/magazine/201309/less-innovation-is-better.html

Below are excerpts from the article in bold with my thoughts applied to education. Always open for your thoughts.

What if innovation is not the panacea it's said to be?

Innovation and Creativity is a huge push in education right now. I push it more than anyone and live my life on the Edge of Chaos continually trying to come up with new ways of doing things. However, not everyone is like me. And that is okay. Do we need every educator to be this way? I don't think so. Schools need a wide flavor of teaching styles and mindsets. I did not always think this way, but am starting to realize the importance of variety of a staff to ensure quality education.

How much disruptive innovation do you really need to advance your business goals?" 

Schools need disruptive innovation. You need educators pushing the boundaries to make new things happen. BUT, you don't need your entire staff. You need a few out exploring the new frontiers. Much like history. Countries did not send their entire population to new uncharted territories. They sent a few to figure things out and once established sent more. Education and schools need to be the same way with new crazy ideas.

On average, the most successful companies devoted about 70 percent of their innovation assets (time and money) to "safe" core initiatives; 20 percent to slightly more risky adjacent ones; and just 10 percent to transformational, or disruptive, ones.

I love this excerpt. Perhaps schools should be the same. A majority of the staff should be "safe" and tweak existing practices in small steps, but nothing too crazy. 1/4 or so of staff should be a bit more risky taking on new ideas to see what happens that eventually the "safe" group could adapt once things are worked out. You need just a small group to be the crazy disruptive ones. They are the ones that are way out there doing things that challenge the status quo and things that have never been done. They are two steps ahead. Then the next group adapts their ideas over time and the safe group implements. 

This seems like a safer approach to ensuring quality education while still pushing the frontiers of education. I think this keeps teachers grounded without feeling like a failure while still challenging everyone within the confines of where their comfort zones exist. Schools cannot be too overboard with disruptive innovation, but on the flip side schools cannot just sit back and be happy with how things are going.

Core innovation involves making incremental changes to improve existing products for existing customers

We don't always have to be drastic in decisions. Look at any successful company or product and it is just a minor tweak on existing platforms. Education should be the same. Educators should never be satisfied, but we cannot lose our focus on what we need to accomplish.

Transformational (a.k.a. disruptive) innovations involve inventing things for markets that don't exist yet--say, iTunes or Starbucks. Of course, when a disruptive innovation succeeds, the returns can be enormous.

Love this passage as well. When the educators who are way out there do get a hold of something special it is going to be awesome. Yet we cannot expect all teachers to be out there hoping for their ideas to be the next greatest thing. Students lose out in the end. Consistency is still a must for their day to day routines.

Coming up with ideas isn't nearly as hard as determining which ones are any good and figuring out what to do with them. 

Educators are just like students and we don't like to be criticized. Sometimes we have to put our big boy pants on and accept that our ideas are not the best. That is life. We adapt and learn. We adjust. We learn from the ideas and tweak them to make them better. Don't get pouty and give up. Be open and honest and adapt to make the ideas good. Feedback is essential. Have a backbone. Be ready for criticism. If you never get any feedback, then you really know your idea is bad.

A cool idea that excites your engineers should never become a working project until someone can articulate how it actually solves a pressing problem that your customers have.

When we come up with ideas we must have time to have conversation about the idea. We need feedback and suggestions. Educators should project tune. They should also do the project or idea before implementing with students. We have to ensure the idea is a good one before entering the classroom and impacting student learning.

 "You never have enough resources and time to attack all your opportunities," says Sher. "You want to focus on the best ones, so you can finish them first. Two nonessential ones get done, the important ones don't, and there's no value created."

Time is always a complaint in education. It is a complaint in all aspects of life. The goal should be to figure what is the most important idea to tackle and tackle it. We cannot spread ourselves so thin that we never really get anything accomplished. This is a major flaw of mine that I am working on currently.

Doblin found, companies get the highest return on investment when they focus on things such as improving business models, internal processes, and customer experience.

Education for students will increase when schools focus on their education models and organization, communication among staff and taking care of their educators, and ensuring the students have opportunities to learn.

I Lied! I am sharing Caffeine For The Brain Issue 2

So, last Saturday I shared out via blog post my first issue of my newsletter that I have created to share out every Saturday morning.

In that post I said I would not blog about future issues, but today I have decided to lie and share out my second issue.

Why? Because it is loaded with some good tidbits for thinking as we wrap up this holiday weekend.

I just did not want you miss out on the goodies shared in the newsletter.

Don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss out on future issues.

Enjoy  http://eepurl.com/Jp91f

Living on Edge of Chaos Podcast - Episode 6 - Clive Thompson

Holy Cow! Did I just type in the title that I chatted with the writer and author Clive Thompson? The writer for New York Times, my favorite article in every issue of Wired magazine, and the author of my favorite read of the year Smarter Than You Think: How Technology is Changing Our Minds For The Better (click the book icon below to buy)

Yes, I did just name drop that. Clive took time out of his busy schedule to chat with me for about 45 minutes to talk about how the new literacies and emerging technologies are shaping our world with a lens on education.

I feel quite honored to be able to present this podcast.

It was a chat that left me tweeting

Just had a great conversation with @pomeranian99 for upcoming podcast. He melted my brain and has opened my eye to new thought.
— Aaron Maurer (@coffeechugbooks) November 26, 2013

Go ahead and give it a listen, leave me some feedback on iTunes and let me know what you thought of the conversation. I did have some audio recording issues so my last question where I ask Clive to speak about predictive technologies was lost. That is a bummer as he gave such an awesome answer. I think the rest of the podcast will leave your brain full and you will finish listening excited to know more.

Show Notes

Follow and listen to this podcast on iTunes and please feedback and ratings. I would love it if you listened to it on iTunes also. Don't just follow, but listen as that is more important than anything!

iTunes link to the show

Listen to podcast on Podomatic.com below

ABOUT ME http://coffeeforthebrain.blogspot.com/p/coffee-for-brain-book-swap.html

TWITTER https://twitter.com/coffeechugbooks

GOOGLE + https://plus.google.com/u/0/113960577497815089175/posts

All Social Media for Clive Thompson

Twitter: https://twitter.com/pomeranian99

Websites

http://www.collisiondetection.net/

http://clivethompson.tumblr.com/

Please let me know what you thought. Any questions, feedback, suggestions, etc.

The problem is not technology, the problem is us!

Reading one of my favorite magazines, WIRED, I read a recent article titled "The End of Unplugging" by Mat Honan. In this article he talks about a hike he took where he was without Internet. Through his journey and hike he realized that no matter how hard we try, we are always connected someway.

It is impossible to not be connected in this day and age. It is easy to point the finger and complain about all the issues that this may cause, the lack of thinking, people not being self sufficient without a phone, etc.

However, it is easy to point the finger and come up with excuses and complaints. What we need to come to terms with is that the problem is not the technology.

The problem is us!

As Mat states in his article, "Rather than focusing on taking temporary breaks from technology, we need the discipline to live with it all times."

This is a rather unique way of looking at the issue. One that I really like and forces the individual to take charge. Lately, I have been working on this discipline. Just this weekend I worked to have my phone on me at all times while working with my son on his book report, but at the same time tried to not look at my phone every 20 seconds. Rather I wanted him to know that his work was important, more important than any tweet that buzzed my phone.

Later in the article, the author states, "The phone isn't the problem. The problem is us - our inability to step away from email and games and inessential data, our inability to look up, be at an alpine lake or at family members."

This rings true. We have to learn to develop the discipline to work in both worlds - connected and real time. We have to understand that when we are out for dinner with friends and family that we respect those who we are with and not insult them by focusing more on people we are not directly with. There is this happy medium. We have to take time to be in the moment and not constantly checking in and out and losing out on key moments. There is a time and place for it all.

Instead of pointing fingers, take responsibility, hold yourself accountable, and realize that the problem may be you.

More importantly what strategies have you used to help keep a sense of balance and discipline when it comes to being constantly connected?

How I read business/marketing books and apply to education

I have been asked multiple times since this summer about what I am reading. People usually start to lose interest the minute I tell them I am reading a great business or marketing book. It seems boring or non educational. I think they are expecting me to say I am reading some new educational book with strategies or lesson plans.

To be honest, besides Teach Like A Pirate, I have not read a good quality education book in quite some time. There are some great ones out there, but for the last two years I just don't see anything new or groundbreaking.

I am finding that reading the latest marketing/business books have really opened my eyes up to a new perspective. I am not reading them to make money or start my own company, but I read them with the lens of education.

Let me explain how I do this.

1. Vocab transfer

The following words I exchange in my mind while reading

business = education
product = students or goal of my classroom depending on context of material
customers = students and sometime parents/community
making money = helping students learn

2. I read in chunks

I don't speed read. I will read a few pages or a chapter and stop. I will then stop to think about what I read. Go back over a paragraph or two and then make notes using Evernote or my notepad. I will jot down ideas from the book into my own words moving the ideas to education.

3. Read other material

Even though I am reading the book I am still paying close attention to other blogs, Twitter, newsletters, etc. looking through it all to further apply the content to education. Many times when I have this focus I can pick and pull from several other resources to solidify my ideas

4. Blog

Most of the blog posts lately have derived from this method. I simply share out an idea when I think that I have one worth sharing. At some point I would like to mold these into a cohesive book, but with two books already in the process this will have to wait.

I have been sharing my weekly reads on my new podcast.

I am also working on creating a newsletter where I share out what books, magazines, and resources I am currently focusing on. I hope to have this up and running soon.

Applying Entrepreneurial Thought To Education #coffeechugPLN

I was recently finishing up another magazine that I wanted to share out some ideas.

Inc. 32nd Annual Fastest Growing Private Companies in America 9.2013

Below are some thoughts that emerged while I read the articles.

1. Eric Paley (page 60) "The Myth of the Perfect Product"
Don't wait until your product is perfect to build your business. You will be waiting forever.

I love thinking of this statement in education. As my building moves to Project Based Learning I think one of the issues we are running into (there are several) is that we (educators) think the project must be perfect, completely laid out, with precision details mapped out each day. We cannot just go and wing it, but we have to take an idea, build a framework, infuse it with passion and excitement, and run with it. Sometimes we have to just go and see how it develops and through the journey of learning we will find out what really works best. I really think that our lessons and projects should be just as much as learning for ourselves as educators as much as the students. We need to continue to improve our instruction and lessons, but we cannot wait for a perfect lesson because it will never exist and we will sit idle all day long.

2. As we rethink education, we have to sometimes develop an entrepreneur approach. When we think as an entrepreneur we cannot forget that this can create anxiety and some stress. Things will fail. Things will not work. You will make mistakes.

And it is okay.

The goal here is the process. The goal is to stretch yourself beyond your comfort zone boundaries and explore what you are really capable of achieving. Through the ups and downs we have to be careful not to let it consume us completely. Give time for breaks and rest. Do something different for a fresh perspective. Never give up!

It makes me think of our robotic teams. They start off super excited when building and designing their new robots. Then they hit a wall when their plans don't work and they cannot think their way through any other ideas. At this point we move to something different - our research project. We take a break. Year after year they come back to the robot with a whole new fresh perspective and make up so much ground by just getting away from it all. In the end, things just fall into place.

It is not that we give up, but understanding the ebb of flow of creativity and innovation and the process of acting upon it.



3. I just love this title. For me, I think in education we have to allow teachers to have full autonomy in their classroom. It is the duty of the teacher to then deliver high quality learning opportunities. If we provide teachers with freedom to teach, then we must be prepared for the valid criticism when we are not delivering. I feel that often times we sugar coat too much in education. We need to be strong enough to receive constructive feedback when we are not doing as good of a job as we can be. We expect our students to constantly take in feedback that tells them they are far from perfect. Why can't educators be held to the same standard? We all make mistakes. We all have weaknesses. They key is to become aware and work on it. Don't pout. Don't whine. Get a backbone and challenge yourself to improve.


And just like my design series, there will be a Part 2 to this series.

Why Thinking About Design in Education is Vital Part 2 #coffeechugPLN

I scribbled a bit on one of the interview titles and share this on Instagram a few weeks back, but I think it raises a very valid point.

How do we get students to take the leap of faith? I should add to this How do we get TEACHERS to take the leap of faith? We need to challenge the boundaries of how things are currently being done. It scares people. There is comfort with staying the course. This is needed to a certain extent, but we have many students and kids that we are losing because they are pushing the envelope and we are losing ground more and more every year.

The first thing that has to happen is to "engender trust"(page 94). This is nothing new, but we have to connect to the emotions of people(students and teachers) and bridge in a quality product(lesson or project). As we push the boundaries we have cannot lose sight of keeping things simple and the focus of the goal. It is easy to fall off the course and make things more complicated than what it needs to be.

As we try out new ideas and push the boundaries we cannot be so narrow in our vision. We must look big picture and figure out how all the "different pieces of the experience need to be fused into a cohesive whole?"(page 97) With this thought I think of staffing. Each educator brings some unique and different to the landscape of education. Not every teacher can be the same. Educators need to make up several different roles. We must learn and figure out how to blend these educators into "Design Teams" that create an experience for each student to gain maximum learning opportunities.

You can read Part 1 here

Part 3 drops tomorrow.

Why thinking about Design is vital for Education! Part 1

The other day I tweeted the following

Really questioning why topic of "design" is missing in landscape of education? #coffeechugpln
— Aaron Maurer (@coffeechugbooks) October 30, 2013

I have become fascinated(alright obsessed) recently with the whole notion of design and how important it is becoming in the business world and the landscape of innovation. Design is becoming so important as people realize the whole complete package of any idea or product is essential to being one unit from the packaging material to how the product actually fits into the package.

As I read one of my new favorite magazines Fast Company the whole issue just so happened to be the 10th Annual Innovation by Design Issue(my first issue sent in mail for my new subscription).

Below are the key ideas I marked and highlighted this issue that I feel are vital to not only innovators and business, but more importantly to education as we prepare students for the job market that will require this type of thinking. I have taken the information and shifted the angle to meet the perspective of education. These ideas are not directly quoted from the articles, but read, adapted, and modified to fit the world of education.

• Design is not just about creating new products, but new ways of working, leading, and seeing. I think that in terms of education that "products" are the students where we must infuse new ways of working, leading, and seeing to develop more advanced and visionary students.

• The best teachers are effectively designers - those who grapple with ambiguous challenges, probing for creative solutions,
• "This is what I'm thinking." I might gut-check that with him and say, "Is my gut right or wrong?" (Nike article, page 90) This is vital. This once again fits with education. We have to stop teaching in isolation and network with others to find the answers. We as educators can do a much better job of collaboration. We think we do this, but really so much time is wasted complaining and comparing barriers.
• "It's important to have a culture that doesn't punish you if you make, eventually, a mistake. It's part of the innovation process. I always joke, saying, "What scientists call experiments, marketers call failures or mistakes."" (Pepsico, page 92) Love this! We have to have a culture in our school for educators and students to make mistakes. We live in such high stakes environment that all of us are afraid to make a mistake so instead of pushing the envelope we just stay status quo to avoid any potential conflict.
• "But every time you try to infuse a new culture into a very successful and efficient organization, it's going to try to reject the new. You need the sponsorship of the CEO." In the case of education we need the support of administration and for educators to be willing to try something new. How else can we model learning to our students if we don't shake things up ourselves?

Part 2 will come out tomorrow.

Self Confidence and Modeling: Yes, Teachers I Am Talking To You!

I have given two presentations over the last few weeks that each contained a section about me speaking on teachers modeling their message and how they work and operate. Throughout these two presentations, further reading, and conversations that have occurred from these I want to call out a few things that I am still working through.

The issues

• Cannot identify a problem and come up with a solution
• Have a hard time thinking on their own
• We want freedom, but forget that creativity does require constraints
• If you don't care, then they don't care
• A culture must be developed
• Teamwork and Collaboration skills are lacking

These are issues that are nothing new when it comes to education and problems facing some of our schools and classrooms. 

What I want to include here is the missing link to all of this and in no way am I trying to be degrading or negative because I am still very much an educator, but

These issues exist for both students and educators. Yes, I am calling everyone out on this. 

The reason it is a problem is because modeling of confidence, belief, and being a game changer is not happening. Modeling is not happening because so many don't have these skills in the first place to model. If we want students to change and not be this way, then educators need to share their ways in which they do these very things. The reason they don't is because many lack the same exact skills to help students in the first place.

A major obstacle is that many lack the confidence to model and celebrate their successes and failures. It is not so much that educators don't have the skills to model, create change, and lead by example, but many lack the confidence to share it out. It is instead much easier to complain about why kids are not doing this or that. Perhaps many should watch the TED talk "Skill of Self Confidence"

What I like about this video is when he says, "without skill of self confidence you are useless". To develop self confidence requires repetition, repetition, repetition. He dabbles further into the idea of self talk. Why would we want to talk negatively to ourselves when so many already do this already?

Back to the issues stated above.

It is easy for educators to complain about this or that, but hard to actually solve the problem.

Many educators don't really want to think on their own. When given the freedom to develop things on their own, they panic and just want to be told what to do.

If you are teaching content you don't care about, students pick up on that and they don't care either. Now we have a huge issue of dealing with many factors.

Educators are the worse at true collaboration and teamwork. So many meetings are wasted with minutes spent on venting, chatting, and side talk. This happens because we are stuck in a constant cycle of mandatory meetings that lead absolutely nowhere. If we scaled back meetings and take time to teach how to really work together and collaborate then I think things would change. When we learn how to make better make use of time, then we can begin to model with students.

I don't want this to come across negative or bashing. What I am stressing here is that schools, student teacher prep courses, and professional development really need to be spent on the soft skills. These soft skills translate to real world skills that evolve and enhance all the mandatory skills that get reported on standardized testing. These skills will improve because teachers will be modeling learning and thinking. It is a worthwhile investment that will not only benefit education, but society and culture. Often times the very issues that create stress for teachers in the classroom are the same issues taking place among the staff as well.

Just think about it.

Reflecting on my presentations from #ITEC13

I always take time to reflect on everything I do. I reflect on teaching ideas, current thoughts, experiments, and presentations.

I have found that the one thing that has helped since I started presenting is to write down my reflections.

For ITEC13 I really struggled to form my thoughts into a proper presentation. I had so many ideas in my head that I could not really establish a flow to my delivery. I did not want to just go through a million ideas with no purpose. I wanted to connect the tools to a much larger idea.

I developed at least 5 slide decks for each presentation and was never really happy with any of them.

Finally, I did what I know how to do best.....

I went to my PLN and started asking for help. I received great insight from many.

Scott McLeod was SUPER AWESOME and talked with me for about a half hour one day that really was the turning point. He helped to guide me to a clearer focus. In many ways I felt like he was in my head because each question he posed lead me to the answer that I knew I had in my head but could not get out.

My slide decks continued to develop late into Sunday night. By the end I developed about 73 slides for one and 82 for the other. When I started both had about 40 slides.

I was fortunate enough to have both sessions full of people. Perhaps it was the clever nerdy titles, but I hope that I delivered and left them happy. I felt blessed to have a crowd.

I tried out several new things.

1. I brought props to show. This was a huge success. Next time I will bring more and do more hands on and get the crowd to use the tools as we go.

2. I used a backchannel. This is something I always wanted to do. This was the most beneficial piece for me. I will never present without this again. It is too valuable.

I was able to generate more help and answer questions online that the 50 minutes did not allow for. It is amazing how fast 50 minutes goes by.

For my first session I went back and created a note guide from the backchannel. You can see an example here - Speedgeeking with Coffeechug.

One of the cool things was feedback about my presentation. You never gain any real feedback about how things go. I felt good about things when I read comments like

Fabulous session; wish I'd been there for the whole thing! Thanks for all your info!

Great job! Best session yet!

Best session I've been to today. Inspiring!

Great session. Lots of good information in a short period of time. Kids are lucky to have you.

This is what it is all about. Not the patting on my back, but spreading a message, ideas, tools, etc. that others take back with them to change their teaching. I don't present because I like to be up front and center of attention. I present because it challenges me and my thinking. It allows me to share what I am learning. I want to help others. I want to share. I want to be a resource. Even better than all of the above is the networking that develops. I am having conversations on Twitter with other amazing educators that I was not connected with prior. I am now challenged to help them while staying on top of my game. It is a circle of positive challenges that does nothing but enhance more people and teaching across the globe.

I was nervous about these sessions. In the end I feel like they were two of my best presentations that I have delivered. Thank you again to everyone who attended and look forward to Speed Geeking my thoughts again in the future.

Here is a link to my slides - http://coffeeforthebrain.blogspot.com/2013/10/itec13-conference-presentations.html

Random Educational Thoughts On Drive To Des Moines #coffeechugPLN

These are ideas I recorded while driving in my car listening to podcasts and thinking.

• Ideas are no longer enough
• Teachers: Do we judge thoughts or following directions?
• Provide the unexpected is the new real important.
• Knowledge is constantly changing and therefore so should our classrooms.
• No advantage of knowing more than someone else. (Tony Wagner)
• World cares more about what you can do with what you know. (Tony Wagner)
• Teachers need to be A resource, not THE resource.
• We don't talk citizenship skills in schools anymore and therefore we are seeing a decline in moral behavior. 
• Critical Thinking means asking the right questions.
• How can we expect students to do group work when we as educators don't do it ourselves?
• Have to have skill and will
• "Brand" means to connect
•  Brand is comes from Norse word "brandr" which means "to burn by fire"
• Education is not supposed to be easy, but worth it.
• Educators are selling a life transformation product = education
• Abundance vs. Scarcity Thinking
• No such thing as failing, only learning
• We live in an age of interruption
• Education is a process, not a place

Fury of thoughts from 2 year old notepad discovery #pbl #pblchat #edchat #coffeechugPLN

A few years ago I was lucky enough to be able to visit High Tech High as we were working towards a PBL model for our school. We are now in the transition process and when looking for a blank notebook to write down some ideas I came across an old notepad that had some notes from this visit. It is interesting to read my notes and compare to where we are and where I am as an educator today.

Here are my notes with current thoughts woven in

1. Atmosphere - how you do you adjust climate of regular building into the climate of project based?

This very question is something we are trying to overcome. We cannot let the physical structure of a building limit us, but at the same time it can be very limiting. It starts with the atmosphere we develop as teachers. How can we take our rooms and what we do have and begin to cultivate a new atmosphere. Part of this will come when teachers continue to develop their ideas and projects. It takes time. It is much like the planting of a seed. We have to get our feet a bit before we dive in. For a plant it starts very small. We don't always see the growth, but overtime we will have a thing of beauty.

2. Curriculum not an object, it flows!

How do we step away from worrying about covering "content" and shift more into covering "learning"? Once again I see many schools do a patchwork system of operations trying to blend old school models with new ideas. It does not work. It is time to hit the refresh button on how schools are structured. Anyone else tired of a bell that determines everything?

3. Don't care about grades, care about learning - This is so important. I know the big issue here is assessment and monitoring of progress to put points in a gradebook or crank out standardized scores. The reason students cannot think on their own or even identify their pathways is because everything is spoon fed to them in little morsels that it is almost offensive to those that can think.

4. Do we assess learning or do we assess obedience? I think you are already know the answer to this question. Still a major roadblock in most classrooms because learning is messy and not always easily identified.

5. If you don't want to keep it or they don't want to keep it, then it is not worth it! If they are not personally invested in the material, then the learning won't stick. Teachers need to share their passion and bring students along on the journey of learning and discovery. We can't save every child, but it is sure worth the effort to try.

Your life is an illusion #bettpassion #coffeechugPLN

What do you want to accomplish? Really?

What are you going to do today? Achieve goals or really just work on getting through life?

When you die and life is over, what goal is it that is really important for you to accomplish? Basically, I am asking you to consider your legacy. So what is your legacy? Is that legacy what is really needed?

I am serious. Creating stuff is not legacy. You have to have an impact on society. But is that impact really important? This is deep. I am feeling like these thoughts are a swirl in my brain today.

Life is about balance. I need to provide for my family. Provide food and shelter. Cheetos and a house with more than one floor? Not needed, but we enjoy it and they do provide temporary pleasure.

I think goals can be a facade for feeling important in life. I mean I love goals. I blog about setting goals and aspiring to make a difference, but the goals are a skewed vision of life.

I wrote a list of goals already for 2014. Yes, I am thinking next year already. And yet these goals are really not essential. They will leave no lasting impact on earth. However, it is part of my balance to find who I am. To challenge myself. Find the life beyond my comfort zone. Those goals help me find life beyond the mundane which gives me perspective and ideas to share on my #coffeechgPLN platform to create conversation about higher levels of thought.

That is important. That is a great legacy. To have people think about themselves so they can think bigger picture and beyond the selfish ego. If it requires creating goals to reach that level of thought, then go for it.

And yes, I ended up right back where I started. Trying to figure it all out.

Education is more than academics #pbl #pblworld #coffeechugpln

Today is the first day for students in my district. Our building is undergoing some construction and major changes as we shift to a PBL model. The start was a tad rocky, but the power of our staff and administration allowed us to function and make changes on the fly.

My room is not available to me as another teacher is in need of a place. In my new job, I am able to head out and in many ways it proved to be good as it forced me out of the room and begin to connect with teachers. I spoke with many teachers today and had some really great conversations. Being the first day I was loaded with some amazing discussions and ideas.

A key idea that I heard over and over which lead to some great brainstorming is the idea of our Exhibition Night. We have begun the process of planning for our Exhibition Nights as well as having a project for each quarter of the school year. As we think about exhibitions I cannot help but think that there is a much more broader goal to these nights where students showcase themselves and work. I would like to share this idea as it is in the rough stages of thought to collect my ideas.

This broader idea is that Education is more than Academics!

We are caught up with the idea that during these exhibition nights students should have several things on display from the various classes to share out. Personally, and this is my own opinion(not the school or other teachers), but education systems need to begin to explore the real need and necessity of education - to develop people who can create, implement, and help develop positive social change.

With that being said and keeping it to the idea of PBL and Exhibition Nights, we need to think at a higher level. Our goal should not be to showcase academics. That is what our classroom tests and systems are developed for. Rather, we should be showcasing students passion, visions of the future, and helping them bridge the classroom instruction to the real world. If we cannot help students see these connections, then perhaps what we are teaching them is not the right material.

To do this, students should have choice. We need to eliminate this multi-artifact display where students can speak a little about many things. Instead have them choose one and polish this to perfection so they can blow our minds.

Perhaps students can choose which project they wish to focus on. If there are 2-3 projects in development(which is wrong, but that is another post), then they could focus on the one that speaks to them the most. For me, I would not be devoted to presenting on a science or art project as student. I did not feel like I was good at those topics. I would do the work to earn a good grade, but I would not be passionate about them. But, if I could showcase a history or language arts type project, then I would be all over that. On the flip side, another student might be complete opposite. And that is okay.

We need to remember two things.

1. Students - what do they want and how can we help them find themselves as they go through life? Forcing them to act like they really care about something they don't for the sake of a grade is wrong.

2. Students - our goal is to help them find their voice. In order for them to do that we have to guide them along with providing choice to helping them find out what they are passionate about.

Could we have an Exhibition Night with several choices to choose from. Each student can pick the one they really want to share, discuss, and prove their ideas as a person. Then they could connect it to how it will help them contribute to society. Remove the hiding behind of several mediocre projects and instead focus on one to really share their insight. If 30 students pick the science one and 50 pick social studies and 20 pick language arts that is okay. They have the opportunity to stand up for who they are!

Thoughts? You may or may not agree so I would to hear from you! I am trying to sort through many ideas from the conference, conversations, and personal reflections. This idea may change, but it is where I am at right now. Please don't take it as set in stone!

What do I think of the WCGTC after one day? #WCGTC13 #coffeechugPLN

Yesterday was the kickoff to the World Council of Gifted and Talented Conference. The conference contains over 300 presentations from 45 countries. It is a very diverse group of people. 

After meeting up with some fellow educators that I have met via Twitter I came to the conclusion about a few things yesterday. 

These are just some general ideas. I have the seeds for some much deeper insights and discussions that will be forthcoming, but for now these general ideas will have to do.

• Being a world conference you would think that many of them would be connected via social media. It is rather amazing how many people here are not online. It has really surprised me quite a bit.
• Many people have interesting viewpoints on gifted education. I believe that everyone is trying to achieve the same thing, but based on location, politics, history, and personal story, people have such strong views about certain topics.
• Sitting in a session during the afternoon I really wanted to speak up and share my insight on what was being presented, but did not speak up. Later talking with Ginger Lewman she raised a really good point of speaking up to challenge not only the speaker, but the audience. That push back is essential to move ideas and spark people to challenge their own thinking. I have never thought of it in quite this format, but it is very true.
• As always, the best part of the conference as with any conference has been the discussions I have had with other amazing people between sessions, walking the halls, or a little get together. These conversations allow much deeper discussion and insight and really make the conference worth it. I know my ideas have been challenged already and I have some really deep thinking to do on a few topics.

The best thing about this conference is the diversity. The diversity is something that you just don't get anywhere else. The key is to connect. Sitting at a table last night after the keynote I was surrounded by 7 other people and zero of them spoke English. Finally, a woman next to me spoke English and we had a delightful chat about teaching. She was from Denmark so it was very interesting. 

I connected with some others for a Tweet Up and in the room were people from several states as well as Vietnam, New Zealand, UK, and Mexico City. There were also a few authors and others who I consider big time in the gifted world. It was a bit mind boggling to be chatting with these people who I consider experts.

Today is going to be a big day of learning. It all starts in a little over an hour. I hope to have internet today so I can tweet and share ideas throughout, but that did not happen yesterday. Believe me when I say that I have some ideas worth discussing developing on this blog soon. I just need a bit of time to craft them properly.

Who are you taking with you? #coffeechugPLN

I am doing a personal book study  with the book Taking People With You by David Novak. This book was suggested to me at the LEAP Conference and as the book suggests I am reading one chapter at a time so I can reflect. I simply read the introduction and felt the need to write up some thoughts right away.

When I read this chapter it did not really connect with me at first. Like many things I have blogged about and as obvious as this should have been while reading I missed the key concept and power in my life.

I simply cannot do it alone. Plain and simple. I have a wife who allows me to pursue my passions. Without her none of my endeavors would ever reach you, my readers, or the people that I have connected with. She has allowed me to branch out. She supports me. She deserves just as much credit as anyone for the things that I am able to create. 

Nobody can do it alone. It is just not possible.

I am at the World Council of Gifted and Talented Conference and being here is a perfect example. She gave me a great idea for a handout. She helped me pick out bow ties. She ironed my shirts after I burned a pair of pants a few years back. She has listened to endless rants, stressful moments, and basically enduring all the neediness that I bring home on a daily basis.

She is my rock as cliche as that sounds. She lets me have it when I need to hear it. She reminds me to keep my ego in check and that all the ideas I have are not good(which I need to hear!).

This post is to thank her for all of her help and support and to remind you, the readers, to think about who you are taking with you on your journey to greatness. Don't forget to thank those people. Let them know how they have helped. Even the people you work with every single day. Never assume because you would be amazed at what we think people know but really don't.

Just this week I wrote out a handful of letters to students. I receive letters from students throughout the year from one of the classes they take where they have to write to someone. I decided to show these students that their letters matter. So just this past week I wrote them all a letter after reading them again to wish them success for the upcoming school year. I mailed it to their house. I don't know the impact it will have and maybe not at all. I want the students to know their voices were heard and it was important to me.

Last, being at this conference and knowing I am missing back to school night for my children and my sons first football practice in tackle football really makes me homesick. But I believe in my message of passion and spreading the word of sharing what we are good at. I know in my heart it is worth it. It is not easy. I am homesick and feel terribly guilty as a father and husband. If my message spreads, then I know that missing these two events will be ok. I will be there for the rest of the season and all of his games. I will be there for all the other school events. I will be there, but just not these. Not easy, but I know they know that I am passionate about what I am doing.

To end this, think about who you are bringing on your journey. Are you bringing the right people? Is what you are trying to accomplish worth it? If not, then quit. Quitting is not all bad. But make sure when you do commit it is going to make an impact.

I look forward to connecting and sharing my message and feel blessed to have a family that believes in what I am trying to accomplish. Withouth them it would never happen. So I ask you again who are you taking with you?

Teachers, it is time for us to embrace our profession of TEACHING! #coffeechugPLN

"Never create for today; How might we prepare for the future? ...The world is moving and we cannot stand still" --@jbrettjacobsen

I read this tweet today and could not help but think how true this statement is in education today. We are at a place and time where the world is moving and upgrading at a pace that not everyone is able to keep up with.

Schools have always been behind society and with the surge in technology, shift in economy, and dynamic swing in society/economy/lifestyle schools are falling behind at an even more rapid rate.

Teachers have to stop worrying about the past. They need to stop thinking so much about how they were taught or ways that used to work. Times have changed. The world has changed. And it will all continue to change. We must change along with it.

Educators must embrace the world we live in. We need to stop waiting for permission and make things happen. We have a keen enough insight to see how things have progressed and changed. We know enough from being in the battle trenches of education to know what is still missing in schools today. We are intelligent enough to know how to make these ideas happen.

And we are powerful enough to make change and do what is right.

Enough of the mindset that we are "just teachers". You are not "just a teacher". You are mind shaper who innovates and inspires the next generation to help enhance the world. It begins with us in our classrooms doing what we know how to do best.

So don't think for today. Don't think about standardized test scores, following the sameness factor that we have all been forced to believe. Stand up and teach! Teach these kids to be ready for the world. We may not know what the future holds, but we sure as heck know what it takes to be successful and ready.

Passion Toolkit is revealed! Find out how to share your PASSION! #coffeechugPLN

A few days ago I shared out a digital version of my handout for my upcoming presentation on Passion Driven Classrooms.

Today I wanted to give you a glimpse at the Passion Toolkit that I put together with the help of my wife. This is my handout that people will pick up when they enter the room.

The toolkit has been designed to be very simple to use and yet incredibly powerful to share PASSION!

Here is quick rundown of each item in the toolkit and what to do with them. You probably have these items around your house so please take part and participate! The more the merrier.

Take a Post It note and write a message sharing your Passion, draw some artwork, write a quote, etc. Anything that spreads your own individual PASSION. Take your Post It note and leave it somewhere for others to notice. Even more important is that you take a picture so I can add it to the Passion Project website.

Same thing with the chalk. Take your chalk and write a message somewhere spreading your PASSION. For me this summer has been about challenging my comfort zone so I have been making myself do a zentangle at least once a week. I am not an artist, but it forces me to work on something while finding myself. What will you do with your piece of chalk.

When students come to school they view teachers as all the same. They group us in this pile of Mr. and Mrs. What are you going to do to separate yourself and classroom from the rest. Students view us a blank piece of paper. Pretty blah! How will decorate your blank notecard to show students that your are full of PASSION? We must share our PASSION if we want students to celebrate their own. Decorate the notecard anyway you want to showcase your PASSION! Be ready to WOW your students on day 1.

The clothespin is the bonus item. I have not plans with the clothespin so I am leaving this item to the masses to find a way to showcase PASSION. I am ready to see what you come up with.

Don't put this off. Do it now! If you wait you will forget and your PASSION will go unnoticed. Be proud. Dig deep. Identify your PASSION and share it with the world. The more we share the more powerful we can become.

All of the images shared to me will be put on the Passion Project website that I created.

So, please rise to the challenge and submit your PASSION. Send me an email at aarmau@gmail.com and I will add your PASSION message to the website.

As always I would love your feedback. This is something new to me. This is not your typical presentation handout. I am a tad nervous, but excited to see what generates.