Brilliant or Insane?: ROLE

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Wouldn't it be wonderful if kids demanded school?

Kakenya Ntaiya wanted something many American students hate.

She wanted to go to school. In fact, she demanded it.

In this remarkable TED talk, Kakenya explains how she took destiny into her own hands, overcoming the tyranny of an oppressive, misogynistic village, so she could become an independent, educated woman. She now runs a Center for Excellence for girls.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if our own kids demanded school, as Kakenya did?

Friday, January 3, 2014

What if you give up control?

It took me a long time as both a teacher and a parent to learn that letting go of control improves learning and intellectual growth in kids.

In this brief interview with ASCD, I share my experience with eliminating control in the classroom. What are your experiences in this area?

Friday, November 29, 2013

What does 21st-century learning look like?

This video of the Coppell Independent School District "learning experience" tackles old-school learning and demonstrates what 21st-century learning looks like.

The teachers at Coppell Middle School East are serious about this kind of learning. They are transitioning their classrooms to Results Only Learning Environments.

Learn more about that transformation here.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Texas teachers ROLE with parent meeting

Some remarkable teachers at Coppell Middle School East in Texas are piloting Results-Only Learning. I spent an amazing day with them before the school year began, and they are now knee-deep in converting their classrooms into Results Only Learning Environments.

ROLE students help lead parent symposium

They recently convened a special parent open house, which they called a symposium, designed specifically to distinguish results-only learning from the traditional classes parents are used to seeing.

Elaborating on the symposium, one ROLE pilot team teacher, Megan Boyd, says:

"In a traditional classroom, a lot of communication comes simply through posting grades. Parents see a good grade, and they assume all is great with their child. Parents see a bad grade, and contact the teacher to get more information. Since we have taken away that resource, parents feel clueless about their child’s progress. . . We designed the ROLE parent meeting to be a symposium of information to educate parents on the day-to-day process of a ROLE and to settle their concerns that their child really is getting the support they need while being taught the same standards they need to be successful on the state mandated test."

One particularly effective part of this unique parent meeting was the involvement of students at the symposium. Says Boyd:

"It was very beneficial to have the students involved. It made the meeting more relevant and valid. The bottom line is the students, so if we have proof that it’s working for the students then we have proof that it’s working."

The symposium helped parents envision the workshop setting of a results-only classroom. Some were concerned that instruction was missing. Another pilot team teacher, Laura Melson, explains it this way:

"Instead of talking for 45-50 minutes straight, we condense the talking and give students the time to apply the concept instead of them taking notes and dying of boredom."

Now, that sounds like a sound explanation of a Results Only Learning Environment, complete with a perfect, interactive parent meeting.

Stay tuned for more comments from the ROLE pilot teachers about their symposium and about their transition to results-only learning.

Monday, November 25, 2013

New Google+ community ROLEd out today

Are you a teaching in a progressive, student-centered classroom? Are you allowing your students to choose their own path to learning, so long as the result is mastery?

This sounds a lot like a Results Only Learning Environment (ROLE). It's time to share your philosophies, theories and practices about student-centered, results-only learning.

Enter the new Results-Only learning Google+ Community.

The results-only learning community on Google+ is a place for teachers to share their joys, frustrations, innovations and best student-centered learning practices.

Learn from and share with others, who are transforming their classrooms and schools from traditional methods to amazing Results Only Learning Environments.

Join the Results-Only Learning Community on Google+ today.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Role Reversal recognized by Teacher Librarian

I am truly honored that my book, Role Reversal, has been named a 2013 Best Professional Book by Teacher Librarian. If you'd like to see the review, look for the digital edition for April 2013 at Teacher Librarian. The story is on page 55.

Don't miss my interview with Teacher Librarian, coming in October.

More Accolades

Principal J. Robinson has plenty to say about Role Reversal on his blog, The 21st Century Principal. Read the post here.

Don't miss Mark's book ROLE Reversal: Achieving Uncommonly Excellent Results in the Student-Centered Classroom, now available in the ASCD store, Barnes & Noble and at Amazon.com

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Can we be this bold?

Brilliantly bold ideas about education from consultant Will Richardson. Thanks to Lisa Nielsen for sharing this.

So, can we be this bold?

Don't miss ROLE Reversal: How Results Only Learning Will Change Education as We Know It, due in early 2013 by world education leader, ASCD

Monday, April 30, 2012

Even math people get results-only learning

Thanks to David Wees for sharing this on his blog. It's not just about math though. See if you can find the ROLE strategies in the presentation.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Patience helps independent learners develop

Photo credit: Project 365 Challenge

As I've written on several occasions, a successful Results Only Learning Environment requires patience and perseverance. When students struggle early on with project-based learning and self-evaluation, I sometimes find myself wanting to return to worksheets and grades.

Of course, I don't give in to these urges. As I tell my students, we have to stay the course. It always pays dividends in the end.

I'm seeing these dividends now in a class that not more than a month ago, I was concerned might never adapt to results-only learning. Many students just didn't seem to be improving.

This week, though, it suddenly struck me that things were clicking. One girl, who has been a reluctant participant in our year-long reading project, was quietly devouring a book, unwilling to look up from her rapidly-turning pages. Another young lady, who had expressed dissatisfaction with the class earlier in the year, was eagerly bookmarking and annotating a web article she'd located, making a special effort to come to me and ask how the annotation looked. Two more students were sitting together quietly reading to one another from a novel I'd just distributed and asked them to read by the end of spring break.

I was amazed by the quality of production in the room. Patience with the results-only system had helped reluctant students develop into independent learners. It seemed like a long wait, but it was definitely worth it.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

How results-only learning transforms schools

This video, posted to Edutopia.org, is a remarkable example of how ROLE strategies can transform any school into a remarkable learning community.

Although the people at Cochrane Collegiate Academy, featured in the video, don't call their school a ROLE, watch and listen for the results-only concepts shared by staff and students: collaboration, rapport-building, caring, hands-on, engaged and empowered students.

What you don't hear is anything about homework and grades.

All I wonder is with a model like Cochrane, why aren't more school administrators taking notice?

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Which pictures apply to you?

Found these pictures while browsing Google Images. Got me to thinking how they define some teachers and classrooms.

So, which of these apply to you?

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Teachers can learn plenty from Steve Jobs

A visionary. A powerful presenter. A creator. An innovator. Uniquely Brilliant. . .

Steve Jobs.

While we mourn his passing, consider for a moment all we teachers can learn from him. Steve Jobs always wanted more -- not for himself, but for the world.

He was driven to give "one more thing." We should do no less for our students.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Can you cry in front of your students?

I showed the video below to my students on Patriot Day. During the video, I had tears in my eyes. Students seemed genuinely surprised that a teacher would get emotional in class.

It was a powerful, rapport-building moment. So, can you bring yourself to cry in front of your students?

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Bring students into the rules discussion

One of my favorite bloggers, the extremely bright Pernille Ripp, sparked some Twitter chatter with her recent post on classroom rules.

Ripp says that students already know the rules, and we don't need to quote them in our classrooms.

'"Isn't this your 6th year in school?" All nodded and starting to wake up a little. "Do you need me to explain the rules or can you tell me what they are?" With this, the buzzing started. That little bit of chatter that kids get involved in when they start to see the light. "We know the rules, I know how to act, we can set the rules...."'

Photo by: Trexglobal.com

Obviously, as a teacher in a Results Only Learning Environment, I am on board with this approach. It's a difficult one for many teachers to embrace, though.

When I tell colleagues that I have no classroom rules, they are shocked. For some reason, there is an obsession with posting a bunch of Do's and Dont's around the room in gigantic type size.

As Ripp suggests, students already know the rules, especially older kids who have had rules and consequences hammered into them year after year by every teacher with a whiteboard or poster and tape. So, why repeat them? Why not discuss what will make any class successful, instead? Why not allow the students to lead the conversation, like Ripp did.

"I gave my students a voice and let them lead and they showed me they already know. I am so excited for the rest of the year."

Give your students a voice, and you will be on your way to a problem-free classroom.