Wk#2/Blog#3 Art of Possibility

In Chapter 3, Zander discussed how the idea of "giving an A" represents a shift in attitude that transforms everything into a world with possibilities. This shift allows students to realize for themselves what is possible. In a lecture I listened to this week (as well as videotaped and edited), Tony Wagner speaks at length about the role of curiosity and imagination that needs to be nurtured. I completely agree with this line of thinking and I can connect this idea to Zander's notion of "giving an A." In order for students to be able to be intellectually curious and motivated to be creative, they need to learn how to give themselves an A first so they are free from the weight of responsibility that is expected in the normal course of the school day. Giving students a A allows them to fail and then try again.

Wk#2/Blog#2 Comments to Jean Alman

Week 2 Reading

The first four chapters of the Art of Possibility are truly inspiring. It really got me thinking about how I see my students and the expectations I place on them. I was particularly inspired by the authors' idea of celebrating and valuing mistakes. "...I actively train my students that when they make a mistake, they are to lift their arms in the air, smile, and say, "How fascinating!"" So often our students feel that if they do not have the right answers they will be punished or get a bad grade. I would like to work on this in my classroom and foster a more open environment where students feel comfortable enough to make mistakes and learn something from them.

I was also interested in the concept of 'giving an A' and enjoyed reading the letters from Ben Zander's students. It was inspiring to hear a student's opinion on what an A would look like for them at the end of the semester. So often we tell students what the final outcome of a course should be, without giving them the opportunity to take ownership of their learning along the way.

The only concern I have about what I have read so far is that it all seems very idealistic. I imagine that it is harder to apply these principles consistently.
Posted by Jennifer Juniper at 3:48 PM
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2 comments:
Tonneche Brown said...
You are so right. Many student see mistakes as failure. Training the students to embrace their mistakes and learn or create from them will truly open up to a awesome learning environment. I also enjoyed the letters.
April 10, 2011 6:08 PM
lesliegperry said...
Just this week, I listened to a lecture by Tony Wagner, and failure was one of the various topics he discussed. Doesn't it seem odd that in the business world, in companies such as Google, you are encouraged to try new things and fail often with the idea that in doing so, you will create something new. Now compare this with what happens in schools where making 2 mistakes on a test can give you a B. The educational system and our grading for students is completely contradictory to how innovative business is run. With esteemed speakers such as Zander and Wagner along with others speaking about failure, why do we still grade students the way we do?
April 10, 2011 8:09 PM

Wk#2/Blog#1 Comments to Mr. Peglow

EDM613 Wk2, post 4: Free Write - ARP Pgph 2
The following was the opening of my cycle 1 plan and also is intended to be my second paragraph for my final paper for the Full Sail EMDT ARP. I welcome any and all comments and critiques:

There are many poignant opinions about high-stakes testing and whether or not it has done more harm than good for the students who are subjected to these testing situations. But, no matter what the opinions are, for teachers and students in today’s educational system, standardized and quantitative testing are a reality that cannot be ignored, circumvented, or avoided. For this reason the research conducted in this project focuses on two areas of concern in assessment of state writing tests. The first area of concern is in the shortcomings of the many students at the Middle School level who are failing to achieve a proficient score on state writing tests. "Why are our students scoring so poorly? Certainly there are a number of factors out of our immediate control (e.g., second language issues, poverty, lack of parental involvement). Dwelling on these issues, however, is counterproductive and a waste of time and energy. We are better served by focusing on what we can control—namely, our teaching" (Gallagher, 2003, p. 26).
This ARP will investigated the root causes of students performing at basic or below basic writing proficiencies at the middle school level and what teaching practices could be utilized to enhance student writing skills, motivation, and interest. "Writing is an activity that is as much emotional as cognitive. Affective factors influence all phases of the writing process. A strong need exists for researchers and educators to explore the affective factors that contribute to students' writing performance. Motivation, with its conspicuous influences, is important among those affective factors" (Lam & Law, 2007).
Secondly this ARP investigated those students who were capable of providing proficient standardized responses in response to writing prompts, but consistently fall short in achieving the advanced writing scores.

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Gallagher, K. (2003). Righting our writing wrongs: Ten concerns about writing instruction. California English, 8(5), 26-28. Retrieved from Education Research Complete database.

Lam, S., & Law, Y. (2007). The roles of instructional practices and motivation in writing performance. Journal of Experimental Education, 75(2), 145-164. Retrieved from ERIC database.

Posted by mrpeglow at 5:41 PM

1 comments:
lesliegperry said...
Colleges have noted that students are coming to their schools with very poor writing skills so looking at this issue is a good ARP. I like your first paragraph in setting up why you chose to do this ARP and what you will focus on. However, I would suggest you look carefully at the 2nd paragraph. There are a few grammatical errors ("This ARP investigated - remove "will"). But I got lost in the description especially the multiple uses of the word "affective." I think you need to find another word for some of these instances. I also think you could describe more specifically about what you see in the classroom and what you hope to change in Cycle 1. Perhaps you are doing this later in your paper but as a person new to this project, I got lost in this 2nd paragraph.
April 10, 2011 7:28 PM