MAC Week 4 Reading - The Art of Possibility, Chapters 9 - 12

Photo by Flickr user t0msk

This week I was hit smack dab in between the eyes by Chapter 9, "Lighting the Spark." I've been burning the candle at both ends with work, the EMDT program, and the school musical, which opens next Friday.  On top of the Publishing and Leadership Project, I had grades due on Wednesday, and tech week rehearsals.  Needless to say, I'm about ready to flame out, especially since the kids in the cast have been flaking out and missing rehearsals.

I've grown very frustrated with them for over-committing themselves and with myself for poorly managing my time.  To top it all off, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer last week as well, so my stress level was at an all-time high.

Now, I'm not telling all of you these things so that I can have a pity party.  My purpose is to illustrate why I may have lost sight of my passion recently.  But, when I read this chapter, it reminded me of why I do the things I do, and that means all the things I do.

The steps for this chapter's practice were outlined on page 126 as:

1. Imagine that people are an invitation for enrollment.
2. Stand ready to participate, willing to be moved and inspired.
3. Offer that which lights you up.
4. Have no doubts that others are eager to catch the spark.

I've been so self-involved lately that I've only been doing step 3, offering what I'm passionate about to those around me.  But I've learned that when you do that without the readiness to be inspired by others or with the expectation that you are among a hostile audience, then you will burn out rather quickly.

I love what this chapter has to say about approaching our students.  I know that I'm very much different in my presentation style when I teach to one of my classes that is not as receptive to my subject that I am in one of the others that has students with more enthusiasm.  And the students recognize these differences as well. This leads us to feed off of each other's energy in a vicious cycle that only leads to frustration.

So, with this in mind, I'm heading out this week to begin a unit on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, put the finishing touches on the Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella, and kick start month 12, all with the expectation that if I sparks a fire in me, others will soon catch the spark, too.

Books I should have read in school, but didn't challenge

Tonight I signed up for the Books I Should Have Read in School, but Didn't Challenge on Dana Huff's blog, Much Madness is Divinest Sense.  Dana is a fellow high school English teacher in Georgia whose blog I've followed for a few months.  She has transitioned her blog into a more focus literature blog lately, and I'm excited to have the challenge to finally get around to reading the books I should have read by now, especially since I'm an English teacher.  So, now all I have to do is pick my books (suggestions are now being accepted in the comments).

For more information about the Challenge, check out Dana's blog.

ETC Final Movie

For my final video in my ETC course this month, I created a movie to introduce the big idea of apathy to my students for when we begin out Challenge Based Learning project later this fall. You can view the video below.

BP11_OMM_Planbook

This time I uploaded my video to YouTube first so that the quality would be better.  Here's my One Minute Message for Planbook by Hellmansoft.

Enjoy!

Week 2 Reading

The CBL Framework

This week, I looked at three articles in relationship to my Action Research (AR) project.

The first was Challenge Based Learning: An Approach for Our Time from The New Media Consortium. Since my AR project is focused on using Challenge Based Learning (CBL) as a means to increase motivation and engagement, I needed to read more about CBL and how it can be implemented.  This research study presented information from the six schools which piloted the CBL model during the 2008-2009 academic year, and presents the findings related to student motivation and engagement.  Through this, I also found the topic for my CBL project in our classroom, which will be Apathy.

The second article I read was the Challenge Based Learning White Papers from Apple, Inc., which further outlines the program and provides sample challenges.  This was mainly a description, so I'm not sure it will provide much support to the research beyond the guidelines for the project.

The final article I read was"Redefining Rigor: Critical Engagement, Digital Media, and the New English/Language Arts" by Jessica Dockter, Delainia Haug, and Cynthia Lewis.  This too brief article chronicled the use of documentary film making as the frame of study in a combined English/Language Arts (E/LA) and History class, and its affect on the students.  All though it gives no quantitative supportive data, the qualitative data collected from student interviews and reflections demonstrates that the use of digital media and Internet resources can motivate and engage students, especially when a focus challenge and real world scenario are included.  It also demonstrated the importance of having a showcase for student work, in this case a film festival for the student created documentaries, that was open to family, friends, and the community as a whole.  This showcase was a high motivating factor, and I think I might use a film festival as a showcase for the work my students create in their CBL projects.  Although it was not a CBL project by name, the design of the E/LA curriculum in the study had many similarities to the design of CBL.

BP1_Google Reader

I've been using Google reader for a quite a few years now, so I was very excited to get to share some of my resources for this project.  It was also enjoyed looking up some new blogs to add to the ones I was already following.

NCTE Inbox: This blog is a product of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).  Functioning as an extension of the work the Council does to further and support the work of English teachers, this blog provides many thought provoking articles on topics relevant to their members. I've followed this blog for the last few years.

Ben Johnson's Blog & Rebecca Alber's Blog: These two blogs are new editions to my list, and I've grouped them together because they focus on the same topic - student engagement.  My AR project is focused on seeing if Challenge Based Learning (CBL) can improve the engagement and motivation levels of my students, so I thought these two blogs, which are hosted by Edutopia.org, would be a good place to see some other topics associated with engagement.

The Art Initiative: Aside from teaching English, I also teach journalism, drama, and public speaking.  The Art Initiative of The Ohio State University uses its blog to provide updates about arts events taking place at and around the university, along with updates about the Shakespeare education program they are developing for teachers in Ohio in conjunction with the Royal Shakespeare Company in London, England. I hope to participate in the program when it is opened to other teachers.  I hope to use the information provided here in my drama class as examples of work, and also for ideas for performances to take my students to see.

Huff English: On her professional blog, Dana Huff, an English teacher in the Atlanta area, shares her lessons, recommendations for reading and technology, and thoughts on various topics associated with English education.  This is another new blog I found, so I haven't had the opportunity to explore it fully, but the lessons I perused are quality lessons.

Teach J: A self proclaimed blog for journalism and media educators, I'm excited to check out the resources on this site.  From the posts I scanned, Robert Courtemanche uses his sense of humor in recommending resources, and he also has his syllabi posted, which is a great resource for me as our school is developing our media course offerings.