Panning for Gold: Unpacking ISTE Standard for Students #3 "Knowledge Constructor"

"Knowledge Constructor: Students critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others." (ISTE Student Standard #3)

We as educators have a responsibility to equip all students for success. Technology often alleviates so much of the burdens and angst in the education process. We have to show students how to look for good resources, where to look for good resources, and beyond that, how to cite them appropriately. The ease of closeness of information has opened the door quickly for learning and access but we have to intentionally respond likewise. We cannot drag our feet as educators in helping our students understand what it means to be a knowledge constructor. We must prepare students to see technology as a tool and not just an overwhelming struggle for educational purposes.

This post is about teaching students the skills of becoming quality researchers. This includes discerning between good and bad digital resources. I think if we are honest with ourselves, we can all say we have fallen for "fake news" at some point. It isn't easy to spot and sometimes context clues are lacking. The same often holds true when doing research. We start teaching research skills in second grade. A website has been created that takes the students directly to some curated sites about Native Americans. I talk to them about clicking off webpages, double checking URLs, and that the word "search" is in RESEARCH. It's not a matter of opening a page, reading a few sentences, and writing down answers. They must pan through the fake gold to get to the good stuff! We talk about evidence to support evidence and not taking everything they see on the internet as the truth. I tell them if they can't find information on another source to support what they have learned then they need to look at the information through a much more critical eye. At that point, they are released to find the good stuff.

Teaching students to become quality knowledge constructors can happen with a small amount of technology in the classroom as well. The goal is to have students critically think about the information presented to them. I think this comes naturally for today's middle school student that is constantly connected. One of my coworkers (who happens to be the mom of teens) told me that we have a group of middle school students that would "fact check" teachers while they were teaching. Now mind you, these teachers didn't know they were being fact-checked (which is a whole different issue), but I wonder how often these students found something that contradicted what they were learning in class? Bigger yet, I wonder how often they brought it to the teacher's attention? Bigger still, I wonder how often a teacher could look beyond being called out and turn it into a teachable moment on knowledge construction?

Have you ever watched an assembly line? I think of knowledge constructor skills somewhat like the fryer line in our family's donut shop. There is a big vat of ooey gooey dough that is so heavy and hard to manage. To try something with that big vat is so overwhelming, so little by little we drop smaller amounts of all that ooey gooey goodness down into the fryer. They are cooked on one side, flipped, cooked on the other side, conveyed across the line to drain, covered with icing, and then patiently waiting to be devoured at the end of the line. The same thing happens with information. Our job is to help students sort through all the ooey gooey information, find a nugget of potential truth, run it through our critical eye, and turn it into something that is worthy being devoured by others- true knowledge!

Possible ways to lead students to become knowledge constructors in no tech, low tech, and high tech environments:
   
     ISTE Standard #3                     No Tech                         Low Tech                       High Tech

Total Eclipse...A Lasting Memory

For the past 2 weeks I have had Bonnie Tyler's song "Total Eclipse of the Heart" running through my head. If you are too young to know the song, that's a shame. But the reason is clear to me why it's become an ear worm...a total eclipse of the sun will happen Monday within 20 miles of my home. A total solar eclipse is a really big deal and every single day I get another email about it from fellow educators. It's exciting times for the area I live in.

Many schools are out that day and our school has an early dismissal. Thousands of people are suppose to come to the total eclipse path. News agencies have actually suggested that people gas up for that because of potential traffic. At our school, it will only be the third day of school for students but we have already started teaching about it. One of our amazing lower school science teachers created a wonderful display explaining it from a Christian worldview for our students to see and she also created a video to go along with it. Alice Sikkema's passion for science is evident and her desire for students to understand this phenomenon is contagious.

As I reflect and look forward to being able to experience this solar eclipse I am reminded of another time in my life. 1979. I was standing in the hallway by a window in Crestmont Elementary School in Northport, Alabama looking down at a piece of paper and watching the shadows of the eclipse through a pinhole on a piece of card stock. This was way before the days of Amazon Prime, NASA approved glasses, and the internet. I remember being told very strongly "DO NOT LOOK AT THE SUN, YOU CAN GO BLIND" but I looked. It was too mysterious not to try to catch a brief peek and honestly, the paper version of it was bizarre for my elementary mind to wrap around.

Just like now, I remember it being a really big deal to my teachers. I remember being told "this doesn't happen very often." Quite honestly I feel like I'm having a Mark Twain moment in my life, He had Halley's comet I've been around long enough and in the right place often enough to witness 2 total solar eclipses.

I'm writing this post to just affirm in you that I still have very vivid memories of this taking place in my life as an elementary student some 38 years ago. I remember discussions in the hallway with fellow students, I remember the disruption of the ordinary this moment brought to our school, I remember the intrigue of taking a risk and glancing up wondering if I truly was going to go blind from it. I remember not believing that was true. I remember wanting to know more about that and how long do you have to look before it does something to these cones and rods I supposedly had in my eyes that I have never heard of. It sparked wonder and a desire to learn more in me. I share this with you to say If you are an educator or parent, don't let this opportunity for learning slip away. If it sparks questions, let your students dig deeper. Sometimes the best teachable moments aren't in the lesson plan for your grade level. Sometimes the pacing guide needs to be put aside. This phenomenon is a great way to open conversations about being a global student as well. For many of us school is just getting started, we are setting expectations but it's ok to deviate. From one little girl from Northport, Alabama that decided a solar eclipse just made her want to learn more... I give you permission to teach the current moment. ;)

Why Being Average Is So Hard

"At the end of the school year my heart saddens for the average kid. The kid who didn't receive the plethora of accolades that others hauled home from end-of-the-year ceremonies. Not because the ones who received the awards weren't worthy of the award, but that there are a ton of kids out there giving it all they've got for the low B or the high C. Ah, those trophies and treasures. My prayer is that we all teach that those are the shiny things that are of greatest value living there on our insides. Character, commitment & excellence. Yes, everyone can excel in these three. May we all look to find these in each face we teach and parent." - Meghan Casey Cobble.

This blog post started with the above post my friend Meghan had on Facebook, but the sentiments could have been written by me. These are thoughts I deal with on a weekly basis. How best can we meet the needs of the average child and help them to see their worth and value? I've blogged around the idea before, today I will blog it headlong.

Schools spend extra time and money trying to meet the needs of student learning in the extremes- in fact, they are required by law to meet those students needs of the low achievers and the high achievers- therefore, the accountability of laws make states, administration, service staff, and teachers focus on these students. This is important, I am not saying that it isn't. Schools also spend funds trying to help students find their niche that isn't maybe "rigorously academic-based." For instance- the athlete, the actor, the singer, the artist, all have self confidence, much like the student that excels in learning due to the fact they have found something that pulls them out of the mundane of everyone else.

The average child that is not plugged in and the lower-level learners don't have this confidence thing going on. Yet that lower-level learner tends to have more one-on-one instruction/mentoring time to offset this issue. Connections matter! But what about the average child? How can we help them to feel confident and valued? My heart aches in this because there were times I was that kid. I was borderline average/above average most of my school career but the thing that kept me going was that I truly loved learning and had a knack for writing.

I have two children of my own that fall into that "average" ranking that don't necessarily love learning as a rule. Learning is hard for them at times. Frustrations are high for them at times. Successes are measured differently for them than for some students. There have been times I have definitely been guilty of pushing them too hard- as an educator and a mom. The truth is, there are times I've been disappointed as an educator and a mom- not just disappointed in their grades but in my inability to help them see their worth outside of their grades. I'll be honest, I probably own the angst of this more than the typical "mom educator" should.

How do I, as a mom, encourage them to be their best without smothering them or pressuring them? How do I, as an educator, see students like them and help them see their positive attributes to this world? It is a struggle for me, I will not lie, and I don't think I am alone. Average kids fly under the radar so much of the time- sometimes we don't know if they are meeting their potential or if they are skating on the "good enough" rink they have been placed.

Here is what I know- these are the kids that look back at high school and don't have a lot of fond memories. These are the kids that think there has to be an easier path, a better fit, nicer people, at the school down the road. These are the kids we often let down because they are either "easy," or because we perceive they just don't care so we don't seek to engage them. BUT these are the kids I'm passionate about- the kids I want to figure out better ways to reach. I'm open to suggestions and ideas, I'm willing to take the blame for my part, I want to help be a change agent in this area. Maybe it's because I was a "fall between the cracks" student that it makes me want to work hard to cause a culture change. Anyone with me?