Integrative Thinking and the Bill 115 Battle

Unlike the rest of the blogosphere, I'm going to refrain from writing about the terrible events in Connecticut. Instead, today's post stems from a Twitter request:

@mzmollytl Thanks, Diana..hope you will elaborate/blog :) Did you catch this? peopleforeducation.ca/keynote-roger-… @bharrisonp @thecleversheep @hhg
— Sheila Stewart (@SheilaSpeaking) December 14, 2012

Sheila, Brian, Rodd and Heidi were having a very thought-provoking discussion via Twitter about discussing difficult topics online. Brian rhetorically asked "how transparent we really are prepared to be about educational issues in social media" and I found their conversation related well to a book I just finished reading. Brian recognized the book right away: The Opposable Mind: Winning Through Integrative Thinking by Roger Martin. Now is a great time for me to reflect on the message of the book and how it can apply to our current situation in Ontario education.

I never thought I'd read a business book, but Anita Brooks-Kirkland (@AnitaBK on Twitter) has often encouraged cross-pollination of ideas (like in her article from The Teaching Librarian magazine). I first heard about Roger Martin at the People For Education conference I attended in October (and wrote about extensively here on this blog) and was intrigued enough to purchase his book on the subject of his keynote: integrative thinking. This is Martin's definition of the concept:

The ability to face constructively the tension of opposing ideas and, instead of choosing one at the expense of the other, generate a creative resolution of the tension in the form of a new idea that contains elements of the opposing ideas but is superior to each. (p15)

The typical process of thinking and deciding usually involves four steps:

1. Salience (What features do I see as important?)
2. Causality (How do I make sense of what I see?)
3. Architecture (What tasks will I do in what order?)
4. Resolution (How will I know when I am done?) (page 29)

Integrative thinkers use these four steps in different ways:

1. Salience (More features of the problem are considered salient.)
2. Causality (Multidirectional and non-linear causality are considered.)
3. Architecture (The whole is visualized while working on individual parts.)
4. Resolution (Search for creative resolution of tensions.) (page 44) 

The "mental models" we use to construct reality simplifies and filters information. Causality is our subjective interpretation of data based on our favoured mental models. We see our theories as the truth, not as hypotheses or our own created models. (This made me decide to use the drawing game Telestrations with my grade 5 & 6 students, because their inquiry question is "What is truth? How do I know when something is true?" and one person's truth may be interpreted quite differently ["How could you think my word was 'tie'? I drew a banana!'] - although I didn't use the term "mental modes" with them.)

The second half of the book describes how to develop an "opposable mind". The three areas that need developing are:

1. Stance (Who are you? What do you think about the world?)
2. Tools (What are your theories, processes, and "rules of thumb"?)
3. Experiences (Hone you sensitivities and skills.) (paraphrased, page 103)

Integrative thinkers, based on Martin's interviews and research involving some of the biggest names in the business world, have these thought patterns in common:

Regarding Stance

• existing models do not represent reality
• leverage opposing models
• better models exist
• I can find a better model
• I wade into complexity
• I give myself time to create

Regarding Tools

• Generative reasoning
• Causal modeling
• Assertive inquiry

Regarding Experiences

• Deepen mastery
• Nurture originality (page 190)

Please forgive the lengthy summary - I'm still processing the ideas myself and found it easier to quote key sections. The book is written in a very accessible format, with plenty of anecdotes to illustrate the points made. I'm not fortunate enough to work at the TDSB school that is working with the Rotman School of Business at U of T on integrative thinking but the book is appealing enough that I thought I'd try to apply some of the ideas in my regular practice, especially that of assertive inquiry. It closely resembled the work on attentive listening that I was taught when I became a Tribes TLC (R) facilitator. Assertive inquiry encourages you to "investigate someone else's mental model" (page 157). Roger Martin actually has his students write "personal cases" of failed interactions for future productive resolutions.

Here's an example of me experimenting with assertive inquiry and integrative thinking: now that we are on official "work-to-rule" regulations, there are certain things that we are prohibited from doing. For instance, we are neither allowed to use student library helpers, nor are we to permit adult library volunteers to shelve books. I found this directive very frustrating. I am a teacher-librarian and I would rather spend my prep time planning lessons, assessing student tasks, or working directly with students and teachers. My job does not usually involve putting books away and adding this to my to-do list would be detrimental. The union representative's response was that books will just have to pile up, a physical reminder of our current battle. I really didn't like this either-or set up (either *I* put away the books or *no one* puts away the books) and I wasn't planning on breaking the union rules (I may complain but I do listen when it's required) so I decided to talk about different options with some of my colleagues in the staff room.

I realize that one of my weakness in developing my own integrative thinking is that I don't give myself time to find the best model - I want things to be fixed now, now, now. That made me push in my conversation to try and find an option I could live with. I described the pickle that I was in with the mountain of books that needed tidying, my prep time gobbled up by my attempt to keep my teaching area clean, and my concerns that the mountain would become a mountain range. (My students are allowed to borrow multiple books at once - 3 for primary students, 5 for junior students, and 7 for intermediate students -  and if they have clean records of return, they can increase that number by becoming a "silver star" member. Multiply 30 students by 5 books or more per person, and that's a lot of books to handle!) My colleagues offered all sorts of suggestions and I had to work hard to turn off the defensive answers that would pop in my mind (like "I can't limit the kids to borrowing just one book? That's not fair to them and they'd lynch me!" or "There's no way I could use the class' library time to make them shelve their own books - I'd have no time to teach anything because some of them already take 20 minutes just to pick their books, nevermind sort them!"). I tried to ask them to elaborate on their idea, so I could, in Martin's words, "recognize additional salient data and perceive more or different causal relationships" (page 166). Our Grade 6 teacher noticed some key salient data I had ignored when I first faced this issue: the borrowing exchange period is two weeks and most students do not complete all their books in one week. Why not allow a regular book exchange time one week (providing the usual twenty minutes of book exchange and twenty minutes of instructional time) and then the following week, have the students shelve books during their usual book exchange time (and no additional time would be lost for the lesson). This training on properly shelving books would also benefit them; they'd learn some valuable lessons on decimals, classification, and responsibility. I want to thank Lorna Chan for coming up with an innovative and creative solution to my problem.

I'm no integrative thinking expert by any means, but if my brief foray into this can already achieve some results, what might be the possibilities if our union and government or school boards employed this in resolving some of their conflicts? What if, like Captain Kirk on Star Trek, there's more than just Option A or Option B to handling a crisis, a third, unconsidered solution that everyone can live with and support? The union sees workers' rights as salient; the government sees economic frugality as salient - there are many more factors that we need to consider (like our students' needs, our parents' desires, and more!). We need leaders to design creative resolutions, not within a too-short time frame (December 31? Many of the school boards have said this deadline is impossible to meet), and by considering the whole as well as all the intricate parts. Roger Martin, are there any students there who can help us find a better model?

In the meantime, we prepare for our one-day strike action. Here are the posters I've designed that I will wear (with a special outfit) while I'm on the picket line. If I devise a creative solution to this mess while I walk the line for three hours, I'll let you know.

PD Interrupted

Last Friday was Federation Day for the Elementary Teachers of Toronto. I wasn't super-keen on going to the Toronto Congress Centre, but my colleagues offered to pick me up and there was some urging/pressure to attend because of the recent provincial labour situation so I planned to go.

Wilbur derailed my plans.

Wilbur was my pet skinny pig. On November 24, we took him (along with my school skinny pig Max and my daughter's rabbit Dolly) to the groomers to have nails trimmed. He was unsteady on his feet but we initially attributed his falls to a sore nail clipped too close. We observed him for a couple of days and realized that something was wrong. This began a series of visits to our veterinarian. Wilbur was put on anti-inflammatory medicine, antibiotics, and ear drops.  Instead of improving, he deteriorated further. Although he ate and drank normally, he lost a lot of weight. His droppings turned abnormal recently and we realized that we couldn't wait to see the vet again. I called my fellow teacher and canceled my ride. We took Wilbur to the vet on Friday morning to see what could be done. Our animal doctor told us that Wilbur was so dehydrated that he would have to be hospitalized for several days and that he would have to undergo blood work, x-rays and further tests to determine the root of his problems. We discussed all our options and realized that even with all these interventions, it was uncertain that Wilbur would pull through. We made the difficult decision to have him euthanized.

This is Wilbur when he was healthy (Orville is on the left)

This is a photo of Wilbur, taken December 2, obviously unwell.

Why am I writing all of this here? I already mentioned it on my family blog, Twitter, and Facebook, but I felt the need to mention it on my professional blog to justify my absence, to explain why I didn't / couldn't attend. I still went through with my afternoon's self-directed PD with another educator off-site, but life has a way of disrupting the best-laid plans. My loss was minor, compared to a wonderful kindergarten teacher that I wrote about here - her sister died suddenly of a brain aneurysm last week - or compared to the Swansea P.S. teacher who was killed while biking to work. School is important and so is professional development, but sometimes there are bigger things to deal with, and comforting my tearful son and daughter as they said goodbye to a family pet took precedence.

ECEs are A+

These two ladies are the Early Childhood Educators at my school. I received permission from both of them (Maria Theresa [Thess] Isidro and Jennifer [Jen] Balido-Cadavez) to post this photo on my blog.

We've had full-day kindergarten at our school for three or four years now. I remember the concerns that swirled around when it was first suggested to have certified teachers partnering with certified ECEs in these classrooms, but any reservations anyone might still have would disappear in a flash if they could see these two ladies in action. I have learned so much from Thess and Jen and I wanted to share some of the unique ways they have made me a better teacher.

Early Childhood Educators are "trained in a program accepted by the College of Early Childhood Educators (College of ECE) and must be a member of the College". (www.aeceo.ca/content/what-ece.html) Their focus on the youngest learners really add a much-needed different perspective that teachers may obtain while earning their Bachelor of Education degree and Ontario College of Teachers qualifications.

As a specialist teacher, I am blessed to have the ECE come with the kindergarten students during library, computers, and media classes. Thess and Jen are solid bridges that can link together the big ideas discussed in the regular classroom with concepts taught in my lessons. They also know what makes some of these kids "tick" and can redirect, individualize instruction, and alert me when one of their charges is a bit "off". They know what strategies work for which child and will often intervene before a situation escalates out of control. We team-teach and discuss what went well in a lesson and what we noticed students doing as they work or talk. Jen and Thess give me descriptive feedback so that I can improve my lessons and help the students learn more effectively. Thess and Jen also make me laugh and we can share the amusing things that happen when you regularly interact with 4- and 5-year-olds.

Let me give you just a few examples so you don't think I'm just being a sycophant. A few years ago at the Ontario Library Superconference, my colleague and dear friend Denise Colby presented on kindergarteners in the library, and she recommended that we make our school libraries similar to kindergarten classes. I thought I'd play with this idea by having centers to explore our latest learning goal: "We are learning to identify the title and author on book covers". Jen and Thess gave me advice about setting up the centers, set up the supplies in a much more organized fashion, set up the rotation groups, monitored the performance of the students as they worked on the center activities, noted difficulties with some of the centers (for instance, one of the centers involved using pages from a vendor's book catalogue and circling the titles - some of the pages we gave had too many book covers on them and it overwhelmed some of the students), and after doing the centers (which were intended as "assessment as learning" and "assessment for learning" [www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/policyfunding/growSuccess.pdf page 28]) helped me plan for the series of evaluations I wanted to use for my "assessment of learning".  They recommended using four book covers instead of just one, in case some students over-generalize and "mess up" (some of the success criteria they came up with said that most titles are near the top of the cover - this isn't always the case and some kids may automatically circle words near the top). When I showed the different options I was considering, they recommended I place one at the back of the main evaluation page for the students who need greater challenges.

In computer class, we just took a break from our learning goal centered on identifying the program we chose to use during free time and explaining/justifying our choices. I noticed that the students could recite the name of the program while at the carpet but would shrug or say "I don't know" when asked while they were playing/using. The ECEs recommended using actual screen shots from the program in addition to the extra-large hand-drawn icons of the programs we had been using. The ECEs would go around and practice asking and responding with the students and since the children feel extremely comfortable with Mrs. Isidro and Mrs. Cadavez, they would more readily answer the questions and the ECEs could coach them using the learning goal and success criteria charts (which, based on another suggestion of theirs, I made multiple copies and placed in the computer lab as well as their regular classroom). They tied in the math language they were using in the regular class (to justify - although I had a fantastic conversation with Thess' teaching partner about the difference between explain [say why] and justify [say how do you know] and made alterations to the words used on the charts). I'd show them my anecdotal notes I'd take each week and they'd add their own observations and together we'd consider who needed extra talk-time.

I could go on at even greater length about how Thess and Jen have influenced me, but I think you get the picture. I miss them on the rare occasion when they are absent from school and they are a great source of professional development for me. Thank you Jen and Thess for everything you do!

Sitting Standards

When my husband asked me what I'd be writing about for this week's blog post, I told him the topic was sitting.

Yes, sitting.

Before you roll your eyes at how incredibly boring that idea seems, bear with me.

I teach in an elementary school and a lot of the direct instruction time happens on a carpet. The teacher will sit on a rocking chair (or stand near a SMART Board) while the students sit on the carpet to watch. I've thought about this practice and wondered about the benefits. I vaguely recall reading somewhere that standing while working/discussing makes you more active and productive than doing the same thing while sitting. (Now if only I could find the source of that information!) Does it really make a difference if a student is sitting on a chair or on the floor for instruction? Because of these musings, I've allowed quite a variety in how students are permitted to position themselves during direct instruction in the library: they can sit on the carpet, pull up a chair, or stand. My only caveat is that you put yourself in a way that helps you learn; if someone spends too much time chatting while parked on a chair near their pals, they are asked to move.

There are two notable exceptions to this unofficial policy of mine. One has to do with a particular junior division class that really has issues with excessive talking, which unfortunately leads to some social conflicts. I've resorted to something my predecessor used to do: "library lines". These are predetermined spots on the carpet for every single student. To be frank, I'm not a big fan of the set-up and neither are the students, but I can get 10 minutes for delivering information in a lecture format without gossip and distractions. I hope that this class and I can renegotiate these arrangements so we can gather in a manner that suits our goals and personalities.
The second exception involves the kindergarten students and I keep to a traditional form of seating because the students are still learning about the culture of school. The teachers might not be happy if I undo all their efforts to instill the "criss-cross applesauce" / "5 point check" routines involved with instruction on the carpet.

I suspect, however, that this laissez-faire approach to sitting may sometimes backfire on me. Some students might feel that since I am not strict about how they sit, I might be lax in how they listen (which for me are two separate things). I notice that as a specialist teacher, some kids are more likely to attempt some form of misbehaviour (e.g. talking during instruction time) with me than with their regular classroom teacher - are there other factors at play? Can it be that by demonstrating bodily forms that indicate attentive listening (such as keeping your eyes on the speaker, folding your hands so you don't fiddle, and positioning your body directly toward the person talking), you can trick your mind into truly listening? Or is that a fallacy, because you can sit nicely but your mind is a million kilometers away?

I'd love to talk with people more about this. In the meantime, I'll search around and in the comments I'll post any links to the importance of sitting for learning purposes in school.

Media Production Primary Division Style

I am so proud of the students I teach. They come up with such insightful thoughts and can create such interesting products. My schedule this year lacks open flexible partner time (not good) but grants me time for library, ICT, and media lessons for everyone from Grades JK-4 (among other assignments).

A Twitter post from Colin Jagoe inspired me to try a pretty ambitious project much earlier in the school year than I would usually attempt. He asked if the very kinesthetic definition of media that I use with my primary students was available to see online. I was originally going to make my own YouTube video but then it struck me: why not have the students make these videos?

I undertook this task with four of my upper primary classes (two Grade 1-2 groups, a Grade 2-3 class and our Grade 3-4 class). My main request was that our video share our definition of media. They were allowed to select the means and method to do this within a TV show / movie format. Each class took a different approach. I'm proud to announce that three out of the four videos are now complete and available for public viewing on YouTube. (The last video, to be created and filmed in Minecraft, has experienced "technical delays" because the open LAN connection wouldn't work and the multi-school server IP has not yet been approved by the school board. I'm not a very patient person but the students are still committed to making this film, so once this gets settled, we'll resume the project.)

Here are the other three videos. The students took on all the roles (from script writing to camera crew to technical team). I don't think Stephen Spielberg has to fear the competition just yet (as these are 6-9 year olds) but I was still very impressed with the quality of their work.

 

Just in case anyone wonders, for the last video, we obtained special permission from the parents to have their children appear in the movie. We kept names out of the credits and used initials instead.

Bitten by the Research Bug

While I was at last week's People For Education conference, I had the chance to speak with one of the most upbeat people in their organization - the incredible Gay Stephenson. I met Gay several times in the past. One of our lengthier encounters was while she was working on the Queens University / People For Education / Ontario Library Association study on "Exemplary School Libraries in Ontario". This 2009 study was the first research study that I read because I was genuinely interested and not because it was a course requirement. In fact, it was influential in my Masters of Education capping paper on The Factors that Support the Development of Exemplary School Library Programs with the University of Alberta's Teacher-Librarianship via Distance Learning program.

I finished my M.Ed. in 2010 but I still craved something more - I had been bitten by the research bug. The original topic I wanted to pursue for my final M.Ed. task was impossible to investigate because there was an insufficient amount of research done on the topic. Thanks to conversations with Dr. Elizabeth Lee, she helped me to formulate a potential research question. With further assistance and support from Dr. Marie-Claire Shananhan, Dr. Lee, JoAnne Gibson, and the wonderful folks at the Ontario Library Association, I created my data tool and conducted a survey. It took five months to get the survey questions just right! Now I am indebted to Dr. Bozena White as she analyzes the data to help me understand my findings. I've had to "take a pause" at this point to look for some external funding - my husband is very tolerant, but he began to get concerned when he learned that I planned on paying for the research analysis out of my own personal funds!

My love affair with academic research is not limited to my own study. Last year I answered questions for Stephen Smith for his research project on "Graphic Novels in the Ontario Social Studies Curriculum" written for his Research Methods Summer 2011 at Canisius College for the Masters of Education program. In 2011, I was a case study for Leo L. Cao's study called "Serious Play: An exploratory multiple-case study on the emerging practice of appropriating digital games for academic learning" for the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. (I wasn't so keen on the title or the idea of "appropriating", but it wasn't my study.) I've written academic papers a couple of times for Robert G. Weiner, an associate humanities and sequential art librarian for Texas Tech University. This year, I am delighted to be involved in two projects ... actually, both are still in the formative stage of things, so I can't say too much right now but I'm very excited to be possibly involved.

The wonderful thing I discovered recently is that my staff doesn't look at me like a freak when I get passionate about research. My inquiry topic with my primary division students focuses on control; their questions are "what is control?" "what can I control?" and "how can I keep control?". This links to the learning skill of self-regulation on our report cards. There's been a surge in interest on this topic and while reading about it, I heard about the Stanford University "marshmallow experiment". I decided that as one of my lessons, I'd recreate a version of this experiment to see what occured. I have three kindergarten classes in my school and the results were very interesting.

• The first class had 4 students that ate the one candy instead of waiting
• The second class had 0 students that ate the one candy instead of waiting
• The third class had 7 students that ate the one candy instead of waiting

I shared the results with the kindergarten teachers and it lead to some very rich discussion. Some of our discussions centered on individual students - the class teacher tried to guess who ate the single candy and it was interesting to see how accurate the guesses were to the results. Some of our discussions examined the other factors that may have come into play based on the way I administered the experiment, such as peer pressure or influence and challenges involving English Language Learners. The original study has suggested that if the child has trust in the adult to follow through with promises, they are more likely to wait and wait longer; this was shown with a "pre-task" involving crayons to use prior to the candy portion of the task. In the real research experiment, the child was alone; in my version, the students were sitting at desks but near each other (and in one class I could hear a child telling another not to eat the candy yet). I'm tempted to repeat the experiment, to see if those factors that skew results can be reduced and to see if we can teach delayed gratification (or "the big C" as my students like to call self-control). Assessment is like action research - do some investigating, examine the results and contemplate some next steps. I'll let you know how these various projects go in the future.

P4E12 in Photos and Tweets

As promised, here are a few photos from the People for Education conference, held at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto on Saturday, November 3 and Sunday, November 4, 2012. I didn't attend the Sunday session but I heard great tweets about it.


Here's the OSLA table, with Shelagh, Stacey, and Barbara. We had some sweet swag to share (like the funky frisbee Barbara's holding).

I took this photo with my iPad - apologies for the poor quality. This is a picture of Joe Mazza in his presentation on being a "social media principal". I was delighted to get a shout-out today from both @Joe_Mazza and @Sheilaspeaking on yesterday's blog post about the Parents for Education conference - proof that people DO read blogs!

 This is a photo of the closing remarks by Annie Kidder - once again, not the most ideal shot. At least it's proof that I didn't skip out early, despite my brain beginning to turn to mush around this point in time. The rooms at the Rotman Centre were gorgeous - my pictures don't do them justice.

I hope that by waiting a day, I haven't lost some of the best tweets I read from the conference. Here's a small sampling of some of the conversations happening in the Twittersphere about #p4e12. This is a puny portion of the conversation, but it took me a long time to re-teach myself how to embed tweets in my blog!

So far opposition to Bill 115 on panel seems focused on premise that education decisions should be based on partnership.#p4e12
— Annie Kidder (@Anniekidder) November 3, 2012

FOr me teaching is a dynamic process of interaction between students and teacher(s). Does the Flipped Classroom honour that? #P4E12
— Stephen Hurley (@Stephen_Hurley) November 3, 2012

@stephen_hurley Learning is happening all the time. Why would we only value the learning that happens at schools 9-3? #p4e12
— Andrew Campbell (@acampbell99) November 4, 2012