Passion in Action

Sweet Thunder! is going to roll again.

 Many of you are participating in a passion project for class, and some of those projects are things that you'd be doing anyway, even if no course credit was involved. I love that. All of us work and play outside of school--passionately I hope. We've been discussing the intersection of talent, passion, and faith, and how these things can move beyond theory and into practice. Well, here's my example: The Cycle of Giving.

The Cycle of Giving is a yearly event put on by The WRENCH (Winnipeg Repair, Education, and Cycling Hub) that brings together volunteers to reclaim bikes from the landfill, rebuild them, and give them to community children for Christmas. You can read about this year's event in the Free Press, here.

I'm an amateur bike mechanic. Learning to repair and build my own bikes started as a personal passion project and has developed into a handy skill and a lifestyle/hobby. So, it was cool and humbling to rub shoulders with so many other mechanics, most of whom were far more skilled than I am. I'm still learning.

Tools of the trade (admittedly in a bit of disarray).

Parts, parts, and...

...more parts for rebuilds and recycling (pun intended).

My faith includes a deep concern for people and the communities we live in, including the state of our environments, both urban and global. The Cycle of Giving allowed me to combine my talent, passion, and faith. I helped prevent 900 bikes from ending up in the landfill. Children (250+ children!) received bikes for Christmas and a connection to a local bike program. I worked with people from a variety of faiths and worldviews with whom I had at least one common connection, a starting point for relationship and community.

Call it community-building or earth-keeping; call me an image-bearer or a mechanic in God's kingdom. Call it what you like, but it is what a life of faith is about--using the passion and talents God has given to improve relationships, communities, and the environment in His name. It was a blessing to be a small part of it, and I pray the blessings will spread exponentially through the families and their communities.

As good as new!

Mechanic rebuilt, tested, and approved. Now, off to a home with a proper-sized rider.
Merry Christmas!

Inspired and Inspiring Projects

This first round of passion projects has been a learning process for all of us, so I thought I'd start this post (my first in a long time) with some quotes that are inspiring me.

"Have you ever realized that it sometimes doesn't matter how much you feel like doing something? Sometimes, you're just not that great at it. But...greatness requires practice." ~Bryanne

"If any of you fellow people have heard of the magic school bus, you would know Mrs. Frizzle always says "Get messy, take chances, make mistakes!" and that's what I want to do." ~Hannah

Douglas Karr

Learning involves mistakes and practice. Education is a messy business, filled with winding paths and false starts as we find ways to learn and grow. However, it sometimes feels like mistake is a bad word in school, so bad that things like play, brainstorm, and experiment have also become risky instead of fun and full of potential to learn. Based on several of your projects, Hannah, Bryanne, and many more of you have not completely forgotten that messy mistakes can sometimes be great discoveries if you're paying attention.

If you've been a slow starter when it comes to your passion project, take heart. Learn from your mistakes. Don't let fear of failure keep you from starting or restarting. Start. Don't know where you're going? Don't worry. When it comes to learning, the journey is just as important as the destination. Take the first step. Start.

Check Out Our Wall

Created with Padlet

This is a live look at a Padlet wall that we will use for exit slips and questions throughout the semester. Bookmark the link for easy access. padlet.com/wall/cccbible

Welcome Back!

(CC BY 2.0) shared by Lel4nd

School is back! Maybe that excites you; maybe that scares you, but ready or not here comes the 2013/2014 school year, the launching pad of the class of 2014.

I'm excited (and a wee bit scared) about so many of the plans for the year, and I'll need plenty of help--from God and from you--to bring them to life.

This blog is a growing hub of information and resources that will support our learning. It's a work in progress designed to challenge, inspire, and support your growth and education. So, welcome, and prepare yourself because this year I'm not simply going to hand you the steering wheel; I'm going to chuck the wheel out the window, and we're going to re-imagine this ride called school. Buckle up! (see class for details)

Poetry from Literary Focus

Predicament

you said it at supper

over macaroni and cheese

“We have a predicament, Dad.”

“That means problem,”

your sister chimed in

(always my teachers as much as my students)

“We love staying and playing with Mom,

and Kindergarten rocks,

but we can’t do both.”

“Yeah, that’s a predicament, Dad.”

“Cute,” I thought. “That’s sweet.”

and the moment slipped away

until now--

It’s your birthday

--can you be five already!--

and I watch you

blow out candles and

the past five years.

You open gifts and

your eyes twinkle

with a future full of reading,

swimming, and two-wheelers.

I see little big girls, and it’s

a predicament

a problem

I treasure our past.

I see a brimming future.

Can’t I have both?

Yes!

In the moment, yes.

Together, on your birthday

we embrace today.

What a present!

Making the Grade

I want to begin by thanking the six of you in Comp who have helped me learn so much about learning and motivation. Your efforts (and sometimes your lack of effort ;-) have helped me begin to see the exciting possibilities of reorganizing and repurposing a class. I also have been less organized and polished than I would typically be in a class, and I thank you for focusing on the positive results and embracing the messiness that accompanies first attempts, trial and error, and collaboration. If I've learned one thing well, this semester, it is that I have a lot more to learn (and that really excites me instead of scares me)!

photo by joguldi

My learning log this week looks at assessment. I've learned that a single percentage grade that comes from me alone is not an adequate response to the work you've done, even if it is accompanied by comments. You deserve better and more frequent feedback from a greater number of sources. Your blogs have provided some of this, but we can do better. Your voice must be a more important factor in the assessment process, both individually and collectively. I'm learning about how to make these ideas a reality in our classes.

Below I've included an excerpt of a course description from one of Dean Shareski's classes. He's a professor at the University of Regina. Some of his students determine eighty percent of their mark. You can check out the entire sample, but I'd really like some feedback on one section: Social Learning. I'm really invested in community building, as you know, so this section really resonates with me and seems important. I also think it is undervalued and underrepresented in our assessment at school.

Here's where you come in. I'd like some feedback on the social learning section. What are your reactions to having part of your mark depend on how you benefitted from and contributed to the learning of others? Can you think of specific things you've learned from someone else in your class this semester? Have you contributed to anyone else's learning? Please, leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

Assessment Sample from Dean Shareski

Tech Tasks

A simple summary and assessment about the quality, consistency and timeliness of your work. Grade yourself between 20-30% percent of the course.

Blogs

Grade yourself between 15-25% Use a rubric or your own standard based your favorite blogs. Be sure to reference the criteria discussed on the course assignment page.

Mentorship

This will be a challenging one for some of you but the core of this will be your interview with your mentoring teacher. I would like a report that highlights your involvement as well. Grade yourself between 20-30%

Social Learning

This will be about a one page report answering the 2 questions: What did I contribute to the learning of others? and What did I learn from others? 10-20%

Final Reflection

This will be a media presentation of your learning. We’ll talk more about the format of this next week. This will be the only assignment that I’ll grade exclusively. You decide between its value between 10-20%

What's My Motivation?

I'm in the middle of learning about motivation. During the last year or two I've had some success implementing principles of motivation promoted by Dan Pink, who writes and speaks about motivation. The video below is familiar to some of you; it demonstrates that autonomy, mastery, and purpose are far better motivators than incentives (like money or marks) in many cases.

Your passion projects are one example of success in my expanding knowledge of motivation. For several of you, choosing your own projects and improving skills involved with those projects has proven to be very motivating. You are working hard, spending time outside of school, and learning with more joy and interest. I'm thrilled.

However, in other instances, work is not being completed. I have set up novel studies in a variety of ways that include student choice and voice, but a majority of students don't complete the necessary reading. I'm stumped.

There are parallels in my own learning. My desire to help next year's 1:1 iPad project succeed motivated me to learn new skills, ask new questions about teaching, attend meetings, collaborate with others, and generally spend more of my discretionary time on work. That's the power of autonomy, mastery, and purpose. But, recently I completed mid-term reports, and while I understand the importance of this work, I put off some of the marking and preparation for reports in order to pursue more interesting work. Only the looming deadline motivated me to shift gears and get the less pleasant work done. Deadlines (and the potential consequences of missing them) are motivating.

So, while I have expanded my understanding of motivation, I have more to learn, particularly about the application of motivation theory. My latest thought is that we all have a unique ratio of freedom and restriction that will optimize our motivation--a personal motivation profile. Personally I am more productive when I'm aware of my own motivation profile; as an educator I need to have a clearer picture of the motivation profiles of the learners in class so that I can help them maximize their learning. I'm scratching the surface of an idea that I'm sure has been studied by many sharper minds. I plan to discover what these giants have to say, and then maybe I'll be able to stand on their shoulders and see a little bit farther.

What's your motivation?