Fearlessly Teaching STEM to ALL

The other day, my friend took this picture of her daughter and posted it on facebook. I asked her if I could put it on my blog because I think it captures the essence of what 21st century girls are all about. As part of my work in building the STEM Institute of Design and Innovation magnet program, I read and study research about current practices in STEM education and the importance of possessing those  science, technology, engineering and math skills for the future. If you could boil down all of the data and facts and charts and graphs into one simple thing, it could be this picture right here.  Look at how intent she is. She is determined to get inside that object. She is unafraid to use the tool she needs to accomplish her goal, even if it is big and cumbersome and maybe new to her. She is fearless. And not only that,  she rocks it in her pink tutu! We say, "Oh how cute!" and "Isn't she sweet!", and of course those are all absolutely true statements. But it is more than that. Recently I saw a news article that stated that the graduating classes of engineers were still predominantly made up of men. Interest in engineering drops significantly for girls by the time they reach college and decide on a major. If we want to keep up with the roaring tide of technical jobs that are being created almost faster than I can type this blog, we need to impress upon our girls that they can do those jobs too.  We need to help them discover what they like to do and what they are passionate about. Once they discover their passion, then they can begin to determine their purpose. Somewhere out in the world, their future awaits. They can do anything they want to do . They can do MANY things...and they can wear pink tutus if they want to. 

Fearlessly Opening the Door, Part 2

Earlier this summer, the 6th grade math and science teachers in my STEM magnet program came to me, excited about their plans for the new school year. They were going to be teaching right next to each other. While they are used to collaborating on interdisciplinary units of study, they were talking on this day about the interdisciplinary use of space. The math teacher pointed out the floor space in front of their classrooms. She said, "We can have our doors open, and the students can flow from room to room and out into the halls to work on projects." She and the science teacher were super excited about this idea of free-flowing learning space and the learning possibilities it opened up.  You know how when the bell rings in a middle school or a high school, there are a few minutes of chaos, then usually, serious quiet?  I really hate that! I don't like hallways that are silent. What if the doors were open? What if students were encouraged to go out into the hallways and non-traditional learning spaces in their schools and work alone or collaboratively to solve problems or create something to show what they have learned? Maybe they would get the message that a learning space doesn't have to have four walls and a board. What if classrooms of different disciplines were open simultaneously so that students could go into the classroom that might have the resources they need to learn in order to complete the project or assignment they had, and they had the freedom to go from room to room to take advantage of those resources? Maybe kids would get the point that the world doesn't compartmentalize. Problems usually have many facets that need to be understood before they can be solved. Taking it up a notch, what if schedules were flexible enough to allow this kind of free-flowing learning to take place; flexible in such a way that students could have the time they needed to work on bigger projects that require deeper learning for a particular class or interdisciplinary project? Administrators and who ever does the master schedule might literally freak out! I am blessed to have teachers in my program who try to find new ways to use their learning spaces and time. With all the technology we have available now, and especially in a 1 to 1 environment, there is no reason to tie students to the room. They can carry the tools with them!  I intend to explore the idea of free flowing learning space and flexible scheduling this year. Here are some resources I have been looking at to get started. Please feel free to add links and ideas in the comments if this interests you as well. Let's help our students fearlessly open the doors to their learning!

Designing Learning Spaces
Scheduling

Fearlessly Opening the Door

The classroom door is a big part of the teacher's realm. We decorate it. We use the space for a welcome message, a character building message, or an encouraging message.  We stand by it to greet students everyday and we close it once the bell rings. In fact, sometimes the closing of the door is the signal for students to be seated and ready to begin instruction. I hate closing my door. In fact, I tend to leave it open. A former assistant principal even told me once, "I always know when you are teaching, Mrs. Jones. I can hear you clear down in my office!"  I am okay with that. I will sing,chant, rap, sway, make big messes, and dance with my kids, anything to help them learn the content I am trying to teach. I know there are others who feel the same way I do. I do not mind if another teacher peeks in to see what I am doing. Sometimes they do!  They ask me later what I had been doing with my kids, and I share. I wish that I could spend more time peeking in other teachers' classes. With the technology we have now, our doors are open in more ways than one. We can see into the classes of others!  Join a PLN (personal learning network) or VLN (virtual learning network). Get involved with social media as a professional educator. If you are a new teacher, or one who has been at it a while like me, there's a group out there for you!  I love this infographic on An Ethical Island , a blog by Mia MacMeekins. Maybe one of these suggestions will appeal to you.
If you are passionate about teaching and learning, it is even more important that you collaborate with other educators and share the neat activities that are working with your students. We have the opportunity now that teachers didn't have in the past. We must fearlessly open the doors of our classrooms and let others in. Just as importantly, we must open the doors and step out!  Try it. Leave your door open...let them see you dance with your students!

Fearlessly Posting for the First Time

I've been pondering this concept of fearless teaching ever since I came back from the ISTE conference in Atlanta a few weeks ago. First of all, you should know that I am a career educator with 22 years of teaching under my belt. That being said, I am not one of those older teachers who casts a cynical eye at new ideas and processes in education. I've always embraced change and made a point to learn innovative techniques and tools that will help my students be successful. I went to the conference because I heard it was a great place to get ideas and learn from leading proponents of technology in education.  After the initial feeling of "Wow, this is overwhelming!", I settled in and began to take advantage of the resources made available to me. There was so much that was wonderful, I can't begin to list them all here. Just know that if you get the chance to go to an ISTE conference, for goodness sake, GO!  It will expand your horizons. In my case, my experiences transformed the way I think about myself as an educator. 

The biggest takeway for me was the power of social media to help teachers become greater than they thought they could be and become part of something bigger. I had been a twitter member since 2011, but I had never really used it. Oh, I followed a few posters looking for  STEM and technology tidbits for the classroom, lurking surreptitiously and never really contributing anything. My experiences at the conference helped me to understand that there is a great big network of passionate people out there who are trying to do the same thing I am:  fearlessly teach, inspire, and encourage students to find their passion and develop their purpose in life.  I needed to reach out to these people! I learned that there are professional learning networks out there that give members worldwide a forum to encourage, debate, teach, and collaborate with each other. I learned that even though I am a practitioner in education, I can still be a scholar too. There are huge ideas out there about how kids should be taught that need to be thoughtfully considered, and  I have a voice. I have experience. My ideas matter and I need to make a contribution. If I expect my students to participate interactively in exploring things and ideas they are passionate about, how can I do any less? 

So... here is my first blog post as an educator to her peers. I do have a blog for parents that shares ideas about the program I lead, but you and I know that is a totally different kind of thing!  We all know it is more intimidating to share our thoughts with our peers, but I'm committed to this, so here goes.

After listening to and reading the works of educational leaders such as Vicki Davis, Jodi Barker,  and Angela Maiers, and seeing  educators just like me doing amazing things with their kids, I realized that one common factor among them is this idea of "fearlessness". I've never been afraid to try new things as a teacher, but in the various leadership roles I have held in education, I have discovered that many teachers ARE afraid. Very afraid.  I decided to dedicate this blog to exploring what it means to be fearless as a teacher and a learner. If that is something you are interested in exploring with me, I invite you to come along for the journey.