What gets your attention?

What was the most formative experience of your school life?

Was it a result on a test?

Or was it something you experienced with a teacher (good or bad)?

Our school system places a lot of faith in testing and scores as a measure of learning success,  but does all the testing and measuring capture the essence of education? Chances are that the answer most of you gave to the question I asked earlier was thatnit was an experience with a particular teacher, or even a particular lesson. A result on a exam or test doesn't seem to capture the essence of education in quite the same way. You have to wonder then whether school in its presesnt form is 'working', whether it really prepares our children for a future that we can't even imagine. Does a test score build passion, creativity, problem solving ability, team work, tenacity or any of the other skills which are being discovered to  play an important part in success, not just at a school but also in life-after-school, that much larger slice of life?

I have been reading a fascinating book called 'Now You See It' (by Cathy Davidson ) which looks at the science of attention. In it she argues that the narrowness of focus that both our school system and culture value is contributing to the decline in scores that is of concern to educators. Our gifted children are not exempt, although lack of engagement may play an additional role in their apparent failure to perform to their potential in many cases. Our school system is well designed to prepare students for the sort of working life that they were likely to experience in the past but many of those jobs no longer exist as readily as they did. Our children tend to be effective learners in the interconnected world of technology but most are without the opportunity to continue to build or refine these skills in their school based learning. Those whose skills do not lie in the subjects or methods taught in staught are likely to grow up believing they are 'not good at learning', despite many having great strengths in learnig via techology.

The things which command our attention and inspire us might hold the clues to developing an education that will engage and inspire our children to learn and believe they have the skills to cope in a rapidly changing world. Tapping into the new way of learning that they are pioneering and continually evolving will also make a difference.

If you are interested to read about some innovations in learning, including a school where learning opprtunities are designed based on gaming principles, have a dip into Now You See It. And if you fancy some further reading to understand the changing world look for a copy of Dan Pink's book A Whole New Mind and also Guy Claxton's book called What's the Point of School . They are sure to leave you thinking.

School and the Real World

My apologies, things have been a bit quiet on the blog front lately, partly due to an extended overseas break, but I have been gathering ideas in my notebook from things I have been reading, and what comes to mind as a result. This thought started somewhere else but it raised some interesting questions about just what is 'real'.........

When I speak to groups of teachers, or even parents, on the topic of grouping inevitably someone comments in favour of mixed ability groups, claiming that grouping gifted kids together in groups or classes isn't needed because it doesn't reflect the 'real world'.

Equally when talking about the need to tap and develop students' passions in order to keep them engaged, learning meaningfully and on the path to success in life, someone inveitably comments that it is all very well but in the 'real world' you don't get to delve into what ever you like. This is usually said with some degree of envy, most people still feel that work is something you have to do, not enjoy.

The reality is that in the so called 'real world' (that is, the world after our school years are completed) we don't limit ourselves to friends of the same age. We mix with and enjoy the company of people with similar interests to us, regardless of their age. Nor is it likely that we will be in a work situation that includes people from such a wide range of intellectual abilities as a mixed ability classroom (particularly by the end of Primary school or beyond). We tend to work amongst others of a fairly similar intellectual level as ourselves on the whole.

For our children who are at school, that is their real world, perhaps the only one they have had the opportunity experience as yet.

So which is the real, 'real world'?

The value of failing

It is tempting as parents to scaffold so tightly that our children never experience failure, that they never learn how to pick themselves up when things don’t go well and discover that the world doesn’t end, no matter how uncomfortable the might feel. Being able to persist in the face of challenge is a crucial element of grit or perseverance, a really important factor in becoming successful.

Learning what doesn’t work helps build resilience. Not knowing can also help build independence, self reliance and the ability to problem solve. Ultimately this can reinforce the belief that we can control our destiny to a degree rather than being a victim of circumstances. Monitoring too closely can interfere with our children learning these valuable skills. As much as we would like to see them do well, they need to learn how to do that independently, to learn that their actions (or inaction) have a consequence, whether it is forgetting their lunch, not completing homework, or preparing insufficiently for a test. The important thing for parents to do is not to stop them falling, but to provide a safe environment in which they can do so and help them learn from the experience.

It turns out that error-free learning is inefficient. Learning becomes stronger and more long lasting if conditions are arranged so that we make errors. It sounds contradictory but it has been shown that we remember things better and longer if we are given really challenging tests before we learn the material. It appears that an unsuccessful attempt to retrieve information before we are given or find an answer helps us remember information better than simply studying the information. Trying and failing to retrieve an answer actually helps learning.

Pre-testing, or giving a test before content is taught, then studying or learning just the bits you missed will improve learning. In some ways this makes sense, spending time covering material you already know isn’t likely to move your learning forward. But perhaps more important is becoming comfortable with not knowing. Students who find school easy, who get high marks without effort are missing the chance for deep and long term learning.

The role of frustration in learning

When we learn something new, progress is rarely seen in a smooth and steady line. It happens in bursts. At first progress seems to be slow, then we break through to the next level where we might sit for a while consolidating our skills before we move on again to the next stage.

Schools on the other hand are set up for steady progress. Despite the fact we know that the brain develops in bursts of activity followed by consolidation, and this is what we observe in learning ourselves,  there is pressure to show continual learning.

It is frustrating to reach a certain level of expertise and then feel ‘stuck’ and feel that no matter how hard we work, we cant get past that stage to the next. It doesn’t matter whether it is learning a piece of music, playing a computer game or learning a physical skill like water skiing. But think about how often have you felt frustrated when you couldn’t break through to the next level of something and you left it alone for a while. When you came back to work on it again, it seemed much easier to make the progress that had been alluding you previously. It was as if you had been working on it in the back of your mind while you were doing something else.

It just might be that the frustration actually serves a purpose in learning.  Perhaps frustration is designed to get us to leave something we have been working hard on, so that we can continue the work subconsciously and refresh our energy by changing to a different activity. Perhaps it is the brain’s way of being efficient.

If we jump in when our kids are frustrated and help them out or do it for them, we might just be taking away a valuable moment of learning. Sometimes kids are really annoyed when an adult jumps in to ‘fix’ something for them, perhaps with good reason! We might not be doing them a favour after all when we helped them out.

Perhaps one reason we jump in is to avert the risk of the child feeling like a ‘failure’ for not being able to do something themselves. Certainly with regard to school work, we worry that if a child cannot do something they might feel badly, but perhaps the feeling of ‘failure’ is a result of us telling them (or showing them by jumping in too soon) that we don’t believe they can do it.

The frustration of not being able to do something doesn’t stop a young child from persisting with learning to control their body and become independently mobile.  And persistence is rarely a problem when they are trying to complete self directed tasks, perhaps moving on to the next level of a computer game. Maybe the differences is that no-one is telling them they cant do it and they are following the natural learning process.

Surviving and Thriving at Work Home and School

Thriving is a little more complicated than surviving isn't it? Knowing what makes the difference so you can get the best results via the shortest route can really make a difference especially when life is busy and the demands of a household with the added intensity of giftedness is added on top.

While I was sorting out my books for the Book Sale recently I found one I had forgotten about. It is a great book with lots of information about making the most of what we have got, called Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work School and Home by John Medina.

His short list of the 12 Rules he believes we all should know are

EXERCISE Rule #1 – Exercise boosts brain power

SURVIVAL Rule #2 – The human brain evolved, too.

WIRING Rule #3 – Every brain is wired differently

ATTENTION Rule #4 – We don’t pay attention to boring things

SHORT TERM MEMORY Rule #5 – Repeat to remember

LONG TERM MEMORY Rule #6 – Remember to repeat

SLEEP Rule #7 – sleep well, think well

STRESS Rule #8 – Stressed brains don’t learn the same way

SENSORY INTEGRATION Rule #9 - Stimulate more of the senses

VISION Rule #10 – Vision trumps all other senses

GENDER Rule #11 – Male and female brains are different

EXPLORATION Rule #12 - We are powerful and natural explorers

A nice easy list to remember, perhaps not so easy to put all of them into practice at once, but it is worth aiming for. Helping our kids to remember them too might mean more thriving rather than simply surviving for them too.

(If you are interested in reading more, this book will be available in round 2 of the book sale next week. It is a hard cover book and comes with a DVD)

The dangers of speed

I came across a warning about the dangers of mistaking speed for efficiency in an article in a business newsletter (Is speed killing our communication skills?) but in many ways it applies equally well as a warning about education. Perhaps business is just catching up with what education has been doing for ages.

The immediacy with which we can now communicate has placed an increasing focus on speed, for better or worse. Why do we think fast is better? Have we mistaken speed for understanding (and in the case of business for efficiency)? Is it better to have an answer however shallow rather than to think.

The concern about the effect the Internet with its ready answer to any question has on our ability to think is gathering speed, but perhaps the problem is not so much the ready access to answers but the fact that we value ready answers over thought out ones.

Is speed at mental computation an adequate indicator of maths ability? While it is a part of a balanced program and it is important to know basic facts readily, asking students to demonstrate the skill in an arbitrary time limit (I wonder has anyone measured whether 2 minutes is the best time, or whether 5 or 7 be more appropriate) might actually hinder some children’s learning, establishing a belief that they aren’t good at maths, influencing their effort and enthusiasm in future. Some students respond well to competition and timed situations and thrive on the pressure to bring out their best. Others have a different reaction.  The focus on timed tests as a standard measure of how much a child knows also clearly spells out to children that ‘faster is smarter’.  Our ‘smartest’ students by this measure are the best test takers, not necessarily the brightest students.

‘Thinking Time’ is a rare thing in a classroom, despite its proven value in getting beyond superficial thinking or narrow answers.  A teacher posing an open question but insisting that no-one answers for 30 seconds would be an unfamiliar experience for most kids.

Divergence is not highly valued, it is more convenient (and therefore faster or more efficient) for everyone to behave the same way or produce the same product.

Our reflective kids who need to consider things from many angles before feeling ready to contribute often feel they don’t have time to answer or contribute to discussions, teacher often comment that these kids appear to be ‘somewhere else’ or a little bit behind the conversation, with the implied message that they aren’t that clever (or not fast enough to be clever)

Our divergent kids often have off the wall ideas to contribute but many quickly learn that these are less welcomed than the expected answer, which allows the teacher to continue on the planned path of a lesson. They may come into their own if there is a brainstorming opportunity, but often these are also cut short at the point where the initial ideas dry up, rather than waiting for the deeper more considered ideas to have time to come to the fore.

The need for children to develop thinking skills, to be innovative or demonstrate creativity is clear when employers are spending time and money re-igniting these skills in adults. They need not be add-ons to the regular curriculum, if we shift the emphasis away from speed and begin to appreciate depth of understanding as a measure of learning.

How challenge can reduce stress

A while ago I worked with a family with a young girl who had completely turned off learning at school (at home it was a different story although she was selective in her interests and increasingly preferred to know she would succeed even at home). Her teachers were concerned about her anxiety levels and the way she was (not) coping with year level content.

After a thorough investigation looking at potential, achievement levels and other background information the family arranged for their daughter to be accelerated to the next year level. The change of expectations, finding the bar had been raised (along with an expectation that she could manage the work at that level) and being offered more meaningful challenge led to higher achievement levels as we expected but also to her parents noticing that her stress levels reduced and that she was coping better, even at the times when things were not still challenging enough. Had the focus simply been on the emotional state of the child without an appreciation of what might be happening at a chemical level in her brain, the opportunity she needed to turn things around might have been denied.

Making decisions about what is best for a child does need to include the whole child, but it also needs to consider the whole picture. Focussing on one aspect without consideration of it’s place in the whole is a bit like putting a band aid on a blister but not removing the stone from your shoe.