Presence. Amy Cuddy

Judging by the fact Amy Cuddy's “Your Body Shapes Who You Are" is the 2nd most-watched TED talk in history (behind Sir Ken Robinson) I am probably in the minority in that I read (or listened in my case) her amazing book 'Presence' before watching her talk. 

The video is a must watch for all, but the book goes so much deeper, into a wide range of tools, research and strategies. I have found myself recommending the book to everyone, to the point that I wish it was the compulsory Year 9 English text.

Here are my 5 takeaways for educators.

1. Presence is about being our truest selves. This means believing in our own abilities, values and feelings. If we do not trust ourselves, others will never put their trust into us - and trust is the medium that ideas travel though. As teachers, we need to ensure we are not trying to make 'imperfect versions of ourselves' and allowing each individual student to shine. 
2. Expectations. One of the best things we can do is have high expectations for all students and believe in their abilities. Amy notes the 1970s experiment where teachers were told a random selection of students were expected to have phenomenal learning growth over the coming year. No surprises that these randomly selected students had phenomenal growth over the year due to the teachers high expectations.
3. Self Affirmation Theory. Self affirmations should not be about lying to ourselves, trying to fool the brain into thinking we own something we have no idea about. Rather, research shows self affirmations work when we recall times that we have demonstrated values that are important to us. As teachers, we can help students get through stressful situations by having students write about when they have demonstrated their values. The research shows that this will keep cortisone (stress hormone) levels steady in stressful situations.
4. Our bodies change our minds. The studies in this book demonstrate that by positioning our bodies into powerful poses (power posing) hormonal changes occur that configures our brains into being less stressed and more assertive, confident and comfortable in ourselves. 'Power posing' for 2 minutes before an important exam, speech or event would be a great 'life skill' for everyone. If there was ever evidence to finally squash the idea of children sitting on the mat it lies within this book. 'The mat' is a submissive position for students and power position for teachers. Yes, there may be times where students need to sit for short periods of time, but squashed on a mat will not allow students to be their best.
5. I'm excited. Another study with implications to education is what to do when a student is stressed. The answer is not telling the person to calm down, rather it is telling the person to get excited! This shift, from nervous to excitement is easier and more beneficial than attempting to shift from nervous to composed.

Engagement - At What cost?

No one can would deny the importance of student engagement, and I am not going to dismiss it. 

As professionals, we should always question the 'unquestionable'. The 'technology is essential' 'class size is paramount' and  'testing is bad'. Everything has its place, but within reason. I see student engagement as no different. 

Five (possible) consequences of student engagement at all cost.

1. Students do not 'expand their world'. Students following their passions is popular, no doubt because of the engagement that 'passion led learning' brings. No one would question the great integrated learning that can occur, and the high levels of student engagement. However, if a student is not exposed to new ideas and concepts, their 'passions' would be very limited. How is a child meant to know they love Space, Africa or Maui Dolphins without being exposed? When does a child move beyond their 'Train and Truck' fascination and into Nanotechnology without exposure? As teachers, we need to know our student passions, and at times allow them to follow them. However, I would hate for us to forget to introduce them to potentially new life-long passions.
2. Extrinsically motivated kids eager for the end (extrinsic) outcome Another possibility for teachers that want engagement at all costs is to extrinsically reward students for an end result, not progress, effort or resilience. I recently read a post about an American school that had charms  (i.e. charm bracelets) that students received when they passed specific maths tests and completed a series of reading books. With any reward system, I would question if the engagement is with the end reward or the journey to get there. In other words, does the learner that progresses in their maths thinking, takes a risk in their learning but ultimately fails a test resulting in not getting a 'maths charm' feel engaged to take another risk next time? Or will they attempt to rope-learn the 'teachers answer' in order to get an extrinsic reward.
3. Subject Bias. 'Either reward everything or reward nothing'. In many ways, I agree with the above statement. By having some learning areas 'reward worthy' e.g. Maths Charms (above) and other learning areas left out (as usual, Science is probably the loser) we are telling our learners "This is important, this is not". 
4. Fixed Mindsets. If we reward a child for winning and scoring highly in a test, that child learns that winning or scoring high in tests is something ingrained - they are a winner, they are smart. But if winning makes us a winner and scoring high scores makes us smart, then losing makes us a loser and scoring low makes us not smart. (Josh Waitzman). 
5. No control of student learning pathways. I love the fact that students can have multiple learning pathways to reach the same learning outcome - that one learner can sing a song, another record a video, another create a model, yet all achieve. Where we need to not throw the baby out with the bath water is forgetting to ensure students have a wide variety of learning opportunities. Yes, some learners may be highly motivated editing videos, but if they are not forced into other pathways (acting on the video) a fixed mindset of 'I am good at editing and not acting' may eventuate.

My thinking in this post has all come about from my daughter attending her second ever school assembly and being presented with a certificate. Every day since I have been asked if it is Assembly day, and every Assembly Day since a look of disappointment has set in from the lack of said extrinsic reward. The thing is, she loves learning and loves school, the certificate was like a drug, giving her instant gratification, but she is now hanging out for more.

My ideal would be a balance. Students who are engaged, but not through extrinsic sources and fun for the sake of it, rather through intrinsically feeling great for taking a risk, through adults praising them for their efforts and for passionate teachers exposing them to the world.

The Power of "Tell me about ..."

When my daughter was 2 years old she went to Playcentre. Playcentre is an Early Childcare provider where the parents are the educators - a beautiful concept. In order to secure government funding (I assume) parents need to gain some qualifications (makes sense). 

My wife, who is not a teacher, completed a Playcentre creativity workshop.

One of the stand out messages in the resource she brought home was a simple phrase that adults should use when talking to children about their art work 'tell me about your picture?' 

This is a simple idea but the more I use the 'tell me about..' phrase the more I realise the deep importance of allowing a person to tell you about something they have created.

So, here are my 5 reasons why you should use 'tell me about' when talking to children about their learning.

1) It stops your judgement on their ideas. Though "I like your picture of a witch - she looks scary" sounds like great praise, if the little cherub is actually attempting a beautiful princess this comment will cause her to do one of 3 things; a) Cry b) Lye ("yes - it is a good witch") and/or c) never want to attempt to draw a beautiful princess again. Enough said.

2) It allows 'authors voice'. Often artwork, movies, TV shows and books are more enjoyable to the viewer when we hear or read the creator talk about them. I recently read a biography on Walt Disney, and immediately watched (and appreciated) a series of old Disney movies. The enjoyment comes from understanding the intention of the artist.

3) It encourages story telling. The 'tell me about it' question to my now 4 year old has often lead to great stories - about how the circle and stick (princess) is trying to find a true friend (scribble with stick) or how the tiger is chasing the man through the forest because he is crazy. The questions allows for the art piece of art to be a true form of communication.

4) Growth Mindset - You value the process - not the end outcome. My favorite piece of art that my daughter has made is by no means her best picture - but it was the idea that went with the picture - something I would have never known if I had have praised with a 'I like your car'.  The conversation went something like this.

Me: "Tell me about your picture " (I never say "You finished" - who am I to say a picture is finished?)

3 year Old: "They are driving to get married"

Me: "Can you tell me more?"

3 year Old: " They are smiling because they are happy - there are 3 sisters and a Mum, all the girls are in this car. They all have hats on it is a special day"

Me: "Weddings are special days. You have thought really carefully about making your picture a wedding day - and I like your idea of putting hats on all the girls. 

3 year Old: And dresses.

Me: "I think you have done a great job because you thought carefully and tried really hard - and you took a long time to add all of your ideas into the picture"

I am no Growth Mindset expert, but I am pretty sure this conversation would develop more of a growth mindset than "You are great at drawing cars and people - I love it - it looks like our family going to the beach!"

5) Insights. This approach can (should) also be used in other curriculum areas. Before reading a piece of writing I try to ask a child "Tell me about the writing you have done". 9 times out of 10 the piece will reflect exactly what they have said (my trip to the ice cream store) but occasionally the answer will give an insight that astonishes me - "I was wanting to write about how much I love my family, but all I could do was write I love you with a list of reasons why I love them. So I wrote about the time we went for ice cream so I could show how much I love them." 

Often in maths I will ask the student to 'tell me about what they have done' when solving a specific problem. Their answer to this question always gives you far more knowledge than reading what they have written.

Really, the 'Tell me ...' approach works in everything with life. There is nothing worse than people assuming something about you and jumping in with opinions before asking you a question. Take the time and listen :)

Sunk Cost Bias in Education (and Life)

I have enjoyed listening to the book Essentialism. The Disciplined Pursuit of Less By Greg McKeown over the last week. Many ideas have challenged my thinking, but one that I want to act on is a relatively well-known theory - The Sunk Cost Bias. 

The Sunk Cost Fallacy is explained on Freakonomics as;
 A “sunk cost” is just what it sounds like: time or money you’ve already spent. The sunk-cost fallacy is when you tell yourself that you can’t quit because of all that time or money you spent. We shouldn’t fall for this fallacy, but we do it all the time.

I found it remarkably easy to think of times I have falling to this fallacy. I guess like anything when you are aware of a problem you are halfway towards a solution, so I write this post to aide my awareness (and yours...);

1. Do you pay more to maintain technology than you would pay to purchase it if you did not own it? E.g. spending hundreds on technicians servicing computers that you would not purchase in their current condition for more than $50 if you did not own them. 

The hard thing about this is research has proven we value things we own more than things we do not own. So we may only be prepared to sell something we already own for $200 - but if we did not own it we may only be prepared to buy it for $100. 
Counter: Ask yourself how much money you would spend if you walked into a store to purchase the item before you commit to spending more on its 
maintenance. 

2. Do you spend money on a service or product because 'you know how to use it now' or you spent a long time setting it up? When a product or service is complicated to set up and learn I believe you are far less likely to move away from it - even if it is no longer meeting your needs. Any product in which individual accounts have been created for every student seems to stick around longer in schools than products with minimal user input - which seems completely counter-productive; but if you have invested time in setting something up you often want to 'reap the rewards' even when the ship has long since sailed.

This is the reason so many companies offer 'free trials'. They know that once you have invested your time into learning their system you are likely to use it.
Counter: Balance the time you will save with the superior product - and acknowledge that time spent on the old product served its purpose and probably provided you with transferable skills. Understand that ongoing commitments to services, ideas or products should depend on their continuing usefulness - not their past history.

3. Do you persist on using an idea you have spent lots of time with - even when it does not work effectively? I was once part of a group that spent alot of time with an external facilitator on an Inquiry Learner Model. The more time we spent with the facilitators model, the more we knew it did not met our needs; but the more time we spent the harder it was to let go of - after all we had invested so much time!
Counter: Chances are there will be takeaways from any learning - even if you ultimately do not fully subscribe to the ideas. Recognise that knowing what you do not want is just as important as knowing what you do want.

4. Do you use technology for no purpose - because you previously spent money on it and time to learn? I often wonder why teachers can fall into the Substitute trap (i.e.  SAMR model). Thinking of the Sunk Cost Bias it makes some sense, time and money has been invested in this new device - so it needs to be utilised now - even if it is not achieving anything beyond what pen and paper could.  A classic example is seeing calculators being utilised on devices - even though a set of class calculators has gathered dust on the shelf for years before the shiny new device was brought in!
Counter: Utilise the Sunk Cost Bias productively by having teachers spend some time learning something new; be it attending a conference in the school holidays or joining in a twitter chat. Know that by investing some time we will be more likely to invest further time - no one wants to invest something and see no rewards from it! 

5. Do you continue with a lesson/idea/project - even when the students have lost engagement? When you have spent hours over the holidays planning the most amazing learning for your students but the students do not share your enthusiasm....how easy do you find it to flag the concept, talk to your students about alternative ideas and forget about the late nights you spent researching ideas and developing resources? 
Counter: Don't spend hours planning something for others, thinking that your excitements means others will also be excited! And if you still find yourself in this situation, remember you cannot reclaim your time! 

Be proud to admit your mistakes - and have an honest conversation with your learners to show that you have a Growth Mindset.

Digital Badges - Part 2 of 3. Why use Digital Badges.

Not matter how I look at it, badges are a form of motivation. I am not comfortable with the 'carrot and stick' mentality of learning - do this and you get this. I want students to be intrinsically motivated and have growth mindsets.

However, I believe that Digital Badges have a lot of other positive attributes, and as far as motivational tools go are better than certificates, awards and stickers. 

To ensure I encourage growth mindsets, I would like to see Digital Badges feature a wide range of 'Growth mindset qualities' - badges for 'taking a risk' by tying something new 'Obstacle Clearer' by persevering despite obstacles, 'Action Your Feedback' for taking on feedback and 'Feedback Giver ' for giving feedback to others learning. 

With these disclaimers in mind, here are my reasons for using Digital Badges in the classroom.

1. They are student driven and student managed. As outlined in my previous post "Setting up Digital Badges" I recommend having the Digital Badge process student driven - where students decide what badges should be awarded for (along with you) and students create the badges for everyone. Likewise, I believe in 90% of cases students should be able to determine if they can 'award themselves' the badge, according to the criteria set for each badge. All this means students have ownership and autonomy over the badge system.
2. Reflection. As a teacher, my purpose of having students post badges on their blogs is not so their blogs look cool, filled with funky badges. Rather, it is for badges to provide a catalyst for reflection, feedback and discussion. When a badge is posted on a blog the expectation is for some reflection to be posted alongside it. Sentence starters like "I am proud of this badge because..." or "This badge demonstrates my problem solving/creative thinking/perseverance because..." allow for the reflection to be focused on the process of gaining the badge - not the outcome of achieving it. Having other students, parents and teachers comment also adds to the depth of learning and reflection.
3. Fair. Compared to other 'awards' badges are fair. Watch any Assembly where certificates or trophies are handed out to see the disappointment that comes with the many that miss out. Why should this be? If 20 students have succeeded in fulfilling the criteria, why should they not all get an award? Digital Badges place no limits - if a cohort of students are amazing problem solvers, they may all earn the 'Solve it in Multiple Ways' badge - rather than the 'top' problem solver chosen.
4. Expectations. We all know that 'what gets measured gets taught'. Likewise, 'what we award, students (and parents) will aspire towards'. By having badges for specific activities, like 'Lead a student workshop' or 'Taking a risk in my Learning' we make clear what we value as educators.
5. Identity. In today's world of selfies and self-promotion, students want to show their peers how they are unique. When a student gets into a Rep Sports team, they can post a photo, when they perform at a concert they post a video - but what about students who have skills that are not as 'visually tangible'? How does the student that collaborates effectively share their identity with others? The advantage of sharing your skill-sets with others is more than just an ego-trip. In the classroom, it allows for students to see who has strengths in areas they need support. It allows for students who may otherwise go unnoticed to be recognised by their peers. In an ideal setting, I imagine students approaching peers for help. One way to make this happen is for students to have a true map of their peers strengths - and this can effectively be achieved through badges.

My finial thought is to reiterate that Digital Badges should be used with careful consideration. Though they are a strong motivational tool for students they should not simply be used as a carrot. 

Interesting Reads around Badges

I Don’t Get Digital Badges

More on Badges and Assessment

Intended Purposes Versus Actual Function of Digital Badges

Boosting Intrinsic Motivation with... Extrinsic Motivation?

Effective Language for Learning

Do you have any bad language traits you need to break...

Setting up Growth Mindsets in your class

Watching this talk leaves the viewer with no questions as to the importance of mindsets - rather "how can I ensure a growth mindset is installed into my students." Here are my Top 5 tips to achieve this.

1. Teach your students what a growth mindset is - and most importantly, have them give you feedback if you are using growth mindset language in your interactions.
   

2. Remind yourself and students to use growth mindset language through visual posters in your room.

3. Consider what you are giving feedback, praise and awarding certificates/awards for in your class and school. Ensure awards are for process - not outcome.

4. Change the way you set tasks. It is hard to give praise for anything other than the 'end process of a correct answer' when you ask the question 5 X 5. Asking the question of 'The answer is 25 - how many ways can you obtain this answer using only odd numbers' allows for students to demonstrate their perseverance, effort, focus and creative thinking.

5. Allow time for students to reflect on their mindset at regular intervals. Create rubric based on effort, perseverance and risk taking to structure students growth mindset.