IntroductionAt the end of cycle one, I concluded that the level of preparation that students were doing was lifting and that the were coming to discussions with well thought out ideas to share. However, they still were not taking ownership of each other's ideas and instead were focused on presenting their own great ideas. In The Art of Teaching Reading (2001), Lucy Calkins points out that often when students come to book clubs, they must be taught to let go of their polite ways of talking and agreeing with each other and must learn that it is through disagreeing with and challenging each other that they will grow new ideas. Further, she talks about how students come to talks and try to convince others to buy into their idea instead of letting ideas evolve naturally. I found that my students were doing both of these things and that I needed to plan more direct instruction and experiences around getting them to grow new ideas through their talk. The actions taken during this cycle grew out of this realization.
Action One
Writing from Each Other's Post-its
I began by gathering the students in the meeting space and having them choose a post it they would bring to the conversation. I asked them to place the post-it on a blank sheet of paper, and they immediately began writing their name on the paper. I then asked them to leave their names off, but I later reflected on the fact that they are so trained to put their name on everything, and since naming something indicates ownership, perhaps their training to take ownership of all of their work was affecting their ability to let go of ideas.
Action One
Writing from Each Other's Post-its
I began by gathering the students in the meeting space and having them choose a post it they would bring to the conversation. I asked them to place the post-it on a blank sheet of paper, and they immediately began writing their name on the paper. I then asked them to leave their names off, but I later reflected on the fact that they are so trained to put their name on everything, and since naming something indicates ownership, perhaps their training to take ownership of all of their work was affecting their ability to let go of ideas.
Next, I asked them to trade post-its with their club members and write about each other's post its. After a few minutes, they rotated, and so on, so that at the end they had a post it with comments from each of the other book club members. (See photo, above.)
I talked to them about what I had been noticing, that their preparation has really grown and that they are coming to clubs with so much to share. But, I told them, I've noticed that they are really holding on to their own ideas and that it's difficult for them to let go. They talk about each person's post-it, and they agree with each other, and they have some great ideas, but their discussions aren't really about growing new ideas, which really is the main reason we talk, to develop new thinking about the text.
After doing this work, I asked them to comment on how it went. I specifically asked them to talk about how they think their discussion will go now that they had a chance to comment on each other's post-its before beginning.
Here is an excerpt from our discussion:
Olivia: We now have more of an outline for our discussion. We could start with one idea then expand it, kind of like an essay. Instead of an outline for an essay, it's an outline for a conversation.
Ben S.: I knew what to say as soon as I saw the post-its.
Me: Can you say more about that? How do you think that will affect your discussion?
Ben S.: Well it will be a positive experience because we will launch ourselves from our post-its.
Elliot: This was kind of like a slow motion book talk. But, one problem was that it was harder to combine the post-its into Big Ideas. It might be easier to do that with talking.
Nick: This is kind of like the appetizer for a meal. It gets you hungry and ready to talk, like you're prepared.
Me: How so? Say more about that.
Nick: It inspires you because you see great ideas.
Pau: It's kind of like starting on step two of a book talk, because everyone already knows your idea. So you have more time to think about what you want to say.
Me: How do you think it will affect your talk?
Pau: We had more time to think before, so we will be able to talk more deeply.
Gabrielle: I think it's easier to get your thoughts out when you are talking, it's harder to write it all down, but I do like being able to read the ideas at the beginning.
Jolee: Writing doesn't always seem like "you." It's like you're trying to make it sound a certain way. Another thing I noticed though is that everyone had the same feedback on Carson's post-it. So that was good.
Reflection
After having this discussion, students moved into book clubs. I noticed that many of the predictions they made about how their talk would go after doing this activity did indeed come to pass. For example, they were able to jump into the "meat" of the discussion more quickly. One group began right away by discussing a contradiction they had come across in their talk. One limitation of having them write from each other's post-its was that some needed more time than others and it was difficult from a management standpoint to keep the activity flowing. Another limitation is that they weren't able to see all of the post-its at a glance to see patterns, so they didn't know if there were repeated themes in their post-its until the end. Doing work in which they are able to see everyone's post-its at once and work in which they have ample time without waiting for each other could help to correct these limitations.
I had another reflection when I saw how difficult it was for them to let go of the ownership of the papers with their post-its on them. To me, that was very indicative of the way in which my teaching has encouraged ownership and individualism over the whole. This kind of thinking really does mirror Western beliefs. People want to get credit where they feel credit is due, and this kind of thinking can make letting go of ideas in book clubs extremely problematic. Moving into sharing of ideas on the wiki seemed to make sense at this point in the work. Students had already analyzed what kind of preparation would lift the level of their talks, and they simulated a similar experience with this action in that they essentially did on paper what I would ask them to do on the wiki. I wanted to see if the collaborative nature of the wiki would lead to greater collaboration and release of ownership of ideas.
Action Two:
Using a wiki to collaborate before book talks
We have been using a wiki, an online collaboration tool, as a place to research and post research information in social studies class. The students were really motivated to do this and truly used it as a place to collaborate. They have become very adept very quickly at using the tools of the wiki to format and post information. Doing this work has enabled students who struggle with traditional literacy skills to experience greater success in readers' workshop. For example, one student who struggles with writing and who rarely comes to book clubs with coherent post-its to discuss has really taken the lead on formatting and organizing information for his book club. He is also much more motivated to be an active member of his club. Additionally, doing this kind of work in an online format is facilitating students' development in a different type of discussion skill that is becoming rapidly more prevalent. They are discovering challenges and benefits of discussing a book in this type of format. “The idea of a ‘text’ is being redefined” as students move into the digital age and must navigate the variety of multi-modal (combining words and pictures) texts they encounter. Teachers must consider the literacy demands of the 21 century and consider ways in which their instruction must match the new ways of reading and writing in which students must be skilled. In using a collaborative space to record their thinking about their reading, students not only are guided to take ownership of each other’s ideas, they also are learning to use a new type of literacy tool to grow their thinking.
Another reason I had for attempting to use a wiki to grown their thinking is that the nature of a wiki is to relinquish ownership of individual ideas in favor of growing new ideas in a shared space. Theoretically, students will be guided to do the kind of work electronically that models the kind of work they are striving to do in clubs. After reading, they went to a wiki page and each chose one comment from their post-its to post on the page. Then, they went onto the wiki another time to read and reflect on each other's comments. The full text of their discussion can be found on their wiki, and an excerpt is included below.
Click here to see the wiki page.
If prompted for login information, enter:
username: countryproject
password: gradefive
Click on the Book Discussions link.
Here are some excerpts from the page (copied here as written):
Pau's, Gabrielle's, Nick's, and Zach's Group:
Post Its 3/9/09:
Big Idea I came up With: Everyone is made up of a bunch of tiny people put together to make one person. It's like everyone on the Wanderer, they all have three sides, three mini people put together to make one. - Carson
Post It I Chose: Is it just a coincidence that Sophie and Cody thought of the same thinng at the same time during the wave? Or is it leading up to something more?
-Gabrielle
Sophie is venting her feelings and how she feels about her parents death through this "little kid". At the same time she is trying to ignore and repress her sadness like Rob from Tiger Rising, (also causing her to have to ignore half of what Brian says) she's trying to close her suitcase and ignore her grief. Also, like Rob she's trying to look forward, but in a way that she is ignoring her grief. She needs to make amends with her parents' death so then she can move on
--Nick
Pau's post-it
I wonder if Sophie believe's there's a heaven because she's religious, and if so, does she ever feel that she might want to die to be with them?
Comments:
3/10/09:
Pau's Post it: That's a good question Pau and I think Sophie does believe in heaven because in her story about the little kid she was talking about heaven and that little kid was obviously her. Also, of course Sophie wants to be with her parents but dying to go up to heaven with them is a little extreme. When she's REALLY sad or upset she might feel like actually killing herself but she isn't brave enough to do that and she's smart enough not to.
Nick's Post it: I think you're right about how Sophie keeps her feeling about her parents to herself and doesn't want to get over it. But would you want to get over your parents death? I mean keeping it to herself isn't really affecting her but it just means she'll needs to not get upset when people ask about her parents if she is never going to move on. But if you were her think about what you would do, it's REALLY hard to get over you PARENTS death. What is your opinion once you put yourself in her shoes?
-Gabrielle
Sophie believes in heaven probably because I don't think she's Buddhist or something and where would her parents go? She's in denial so she can't really say they're just gone forever. Though Remember that talk with Sophie & Cody about where a person goes when he/she dies.
I don't think it's a coincidence, but it can't be magic because this is not a fairy tale... or is it- Pau (for Gabrielle)
No, I don't think it's a coincidence, either, it might lead up to Cody and Sophie becoming good friends (typical story) and live happily ever after.
Nick, I think you are right, Sophie should open the suitcase, it will lead to a better life. It's a good comparison with Tiger Rising and Sophie (the only difference is that Sophie substituted the case with "The Little Kid" and she never sais it's herself (which it probably is)-Pau
Click here to see the wiki page.
If prompted for login information, enter:
username: countryproject
password: gradefive
Click on the Book Discussions link.
Here are some excerpts from the page (copied here as written):
Pau's, Gabrielle's, Nick's, and Zach's Group:
Post Its 3/9/09:
Big Idea I came up With: Everyone is made up of a bunch of tiny people put together to make one person. It's like everyone on the Wanderer, they all have three sides, three mini people put together to make one. - Carson
Post It I Chose: Is it just a coincidence that Sophie and Cody thought of the same thinng at the same time during the wave? Or is it leading up to something more?
-Gabrielle
Sophie is venting her feelings and how she feels about her parents death through this "little kid". At the same time she is trying to ignore and repress her sadness like Rob from Tiger Rising, (also causing her to have to ignore half of what Brian says) she's trying to close her suitcase and ignore her grief. Also, like Rob she's trying to look forward, but in a way that she is ignoring her grief. She needs to make amends with her parents' death so then she can move on
--Nick
Pau's post-it
I wonder if Sophie believe's there's a heaven because she's religious, and if so, does she ever feel that she might want to die to be with them?
Comments:
3/10/09:
Pau's Post it: That's a good question Pau and I think Sophie does believe in heaven because in her story about the little kid she was talking about heaven and that little kid was obviously her. Also, of course Sophie wants to be with her parents but dying to go up to heaven with them is a little extreme. When she's REALLY sad or upset she might feel like actually killing herself but she isn't brave enough to do that and she's smart enough not to.
Nick's Post it: I think you're right about how Sophie keeps her feeling about her parents to herself and doesn't want to get over it. But would you want to get over your parents death? I mean keeping it to herself isn't really affecting her but it just means she'll needs to not get upset when people ask about her parents if she is never going to move on. But if you were her think about what you would do, it's REALLY hard to get over you PARENTS death. What is your opinion once you put yourself in her shoes?
-Gabrielle
Sophie believes in heaven probably because I don't think she's Buddhist or something and where would her parents go? She's in denial so she can't really say they're just gone forever. Though Remember that talk with Sophie & Cody about where a person goes when he/she dies.
I don't think it's a coincidence, but it can't be magic because this is not a fairy tale... or is it- Pau (for Gabrielle)
No, I don't think it's a coincidence, either, it might lead up to Cody and Sophie becoming good friends (typical story) and live happily ever after.
Nick, I think you are right, Sophie should open the suitcase, it will lead to a better life. It's a good comparison with Tiger Rising and Sophie (the only difference is that Sophie substituted the case with "The Little Kid" and she never sais it's herself (which it probably is)-Pau
Reflection
So much of the student work on the wiki page was powerfully connected to the Big Ideas in their texts. Furthermore, students were talking back to each other and going back to the page multiple times for more reflection. One interesting aspect of doing this work that I didn't anticipate was that students seemed to feel more free to disagree with each other. It was as if they were able to overcome their training in "polite" conversation that Lucy Calkins talks about and felt more free to disagree with each other. I also noticed that they seemed to include more evidence to support their points, and I'm not certain why that was. Perhaps because the assignment was in written form and thus seemed more "official", they felt they needed to exemplify what they were saying with information from the text.
However, I noticed that students did not pay carefully attention to editing and often misspelled words or used slang. These students are part of a generation who is growing up with online communication. They sometimes used the same type of language that they use when communicating with each other outside of school online, such as using frequent acronyms and abbreviations. At first, I was tempted to ask them to edit their work more carefully as this was a "school" project. But then, I reminded myself that the purpose of the online collaboration was to grow new ideas, and a large part of new idea growth depended upon student investment and a feeling of authenticity in communication.
One limitation of doing the work this way is in the formatting and editing of the page itself. At times, it is difficult to determine which comments went with which posts. However, this could become a boon, as it will further encourage students to relinquish ownership of their ideas.
Action Three
Written Reflection of their process
This experience actually came to us fortuitously. The head of communications at our school asked if the fifth graders and I would do a write up for the Messenger, our school newsletter, about the work we were doing in book talks. This gave them an opportunity to reflect on their process and the steps they took , and it gave me an opportunity to see who could discuss their the process insightful and clearly.
First, we came together in the meeting space with reading journals in hand. I asked the students to look through their journals to reflect on the work we have done so far and to think about they steps they took to reach the level they had in their discussion. Most students were able to join into the discussion and reflect on what they had done.
In our class discussion, we outlined the following steps (initials are the students assigned to each of the steps):
1. Chart on ideas that grow or shrink conversation (OD, CB)
2. Writing about preparation assignment (NY, GM)
Include: read each other’s strategies and commented on what worked
3. Post-its: thinking about quality and growing Big Ideas (BA, BS)
Include: chose one post it, wrote why you chose it, then analyzed the book afterwards
4. Fishbowl: watched Gabrielle and Peter model a successful book talk they had, then we discussed what they did that we could try (EK, JG)
5. Chose an organization outline to bring out and record Big Ideas (UB, DO, ZT)
6. Collaborate on a wiki page to grow ideas before the talk (JM, PRV)
7. Use tag clouds to bring out Big Ideas (PD, MA)
2. Writing about preparation assignment (NY, GM)
Include: read each other’s strategies and commented on what worked
3. Post-its: thinking about quality and growing Big Ideas (BA, BS)
Include: chose one post it, wrote why you chose it, then analyzed the book afterwards
4. Fishbowl: watched Gabrielle and Peter model a successful book talk they had, then we discussed what they did that we could try (EK, JG)
5. Chose an organization outline to bring out and record Big Ideas (UB, DO, ZT)
6. Collaborate on a wiki page to grow ideas before the talk (JM, PRV)
7. Use tag clouds to bring out Big Ideas (PD, MA)
[Note: this is a graphic organizing tool that I will discuss in Cycle Three.]
Click on the link below to see the students' write ups.
Reflection
A Montessori principle is the idea that mastery is shown by one's ability to teach someone else what they have learned. It was really interesting to see how difficult it was for many students to explain what they had done in this process and who struggled. They were not able to be as eloquent as I thought they would be considering the ways in which this work has lifted the level of preparation they do for talks. I am uncertain whether their struggle with this assignment is based on a struggle using writing as an explanatory tool or with explaining the steps they took in this work. I do think this is worth exploring in the next cycle.
Cycle Two Overall Reflection
I have been working in a personal book club that uses both live talks and a shared online space for discussions. I realized that I find it difficult to let go of ideas when I am talking in this club. We are acculturated in many ways to further our own agenda and to value the individual over the whole. I hadn't considered this when I considered the challenges the students would face when letting go of individual ideas in favor of developing new, shared thinking. I think many aspects of the wiki, such as its possibility of anonymity and its design that is conducive to collaboration could help the students to let go of the need to further individual agendas.
No comments:
Post a Comment