Make Learning Harder, not Easier

I was in a class this week where students were reviewing addition of fractions  They had recently learned multiplication of fractions and several students confused those solutions by adding across numerators and denominators (like you would for multiplication) instead of finding the common denominator and adding the numerators.

This common error underscores a learning principle outlined in Make it Stick, the Science of Successful Learning by Brown, Roediger III, and McDaniel.   They note that many learning environments are designed to produce the familiarity trap.

Beware of the familiarity trap: the feeling that you know something and no longer need to practice it.

The students who knew how to add fractions months ago are now tripped up by that very skill because they have now been taught to multiply fractions and they are confusing the two solutions.

Many teachers tell me that students need to stay focused on one thing until they master it.  The familiarity trap tells us this is not the case.  When we stay with one thing until mastery (a luxury not afforded often in the real world) we will gain a false sense of knowing when we receive a similar problem that requires a different solution.

The solution is interleaving, which is practicing two or more subjects interchangeably so that they not only see the underlying differences between the problems, but will be able to discriminate between the problems and solutions when they face them outside of the sanitized and carefully organized classroom setting.

Let's go back to that fraction conundrum.  Teachers and learners would be better off practicing addition and subtraction of fractions side by side (which is exactly what was happening in those classrooms I saw this week) so they can see the different solutions that are required and be able to choose the proper path.

This  learning structure slows down and seems to frustrate the learner --- and the teacher --- however, it turns out, that it has one overarching, hidden quality - it produces deeper learning.

#thestruggleisreal

Mark Twain, the Losada Line, and School Culture

This past week I received a compliment.  This person had nothing to gain by giving me this compliment and it wasn't one of those compliments that one fishes for.  You know how that goes...

"I'm the worst Principal on the face of the earth."

"No, Dan, you are an amazing Principal.  Everyone has a bad day now and then, but you're the best."

No, this compliment was not sought after.  It was a sincere expression of gratitude for my efforts at the school .... and it felt great.  There was definitely a  spring in my step and I'm sure my next few interactions with others was more positive and productive.  Not sure if the effect will last the two months that Mark Twain promises, but I'll take it nonetheless.

In the field of positive psychology Marcial Losada contends that just under 3 positive comments, experiences, or expressions are needed to counteract 1 negative experience.  This phenomenon came to be known as the Loads Line, though there is substantial doubt as to his mathematical proofs for this ratio of 2.9 to1, and it appears that we will need a ratio between 3 and 6 to 1 to turn the tide on a negative experience. The result is still the same - we need to intentionally share encouragement with those close to us.

After receiving the aforementioned compliment, and feeling that positive effect, I decided to head out and share some of that goodness.  I have focused my current teacher observations  by noting positive aspect that I could notice as quickly as possible.  No surprise that the feedback has been instantaneous and, alas, positive.  I'm encouraged to continue to look for those positive aspects of our school culture to foster their diffusion through the simple act of recognizing them more often.

For anyone in a school environment, I encourage you to take the same approach to building up your colleagues all around you. Here are three steps that I feel are crucial to this equation.

1. Know Yourself - Self awareness is one of the greatest obstacles to leading and encouraging others.  We all get so hung up on receiving the proper recognition or attention that we are often incapable of even noticing what others are bringing to the table.  The easiest way to cloud  your eyesight and miss the amazing work of others is to be focused on your own needs all the time.   Which brings me to ...

2. Observe - The power of careful observation can't be underestimated.  In order to give a compliment, you must first begin by opening your eyes to the contributions and impact of those who surround.  Great work is happening all around you every day waiting for you to discover it.

3. Communicate - Be specific. Be direct. Express impact.  Lately I've been switching to sending quick feedback to teachers as a text.  They get that encouragement sometimes while right in the middle of the lesson and early returns are that the immediacy of the feedback is appreciated.  It's also helpful to express the impact that this quality work is having on students and families.  Educators need to be reminded that their toils impact lives in a significant way.

Actually, what have you got to lose?  Maybe you're afraid that your reputation as a serious and tough minded leader will be compromised.  That couldn't be further than the truth.  You will gain a new found respect and apprciation for the amazing climate that you have jointly created.

A Gift Granted on Reading Comprehension

Grant Wiggins is on fire - sharing his thoughts on reading research and instruction over at his excellent blog.  Check out the entire series (He's not done yet) and don't stop until you've read the comments for some great example of arguing with evidence.


Part 1 Maybe we Really Don't Understand What Readers Do - And Why it Matters
Part 2  What the Research Really Reveals
Part 3 My 200th Post on Literacy
Part 4 Research on the Comprehension Strategies - a Closer Look
Part 5 A Key Flaw in Using the Gradual Release of Responsibility
Part 6 My First Cut at Recommendations

I especially appreciate his 8th suggestion on this last post.

Am I doing enough ongoing formal assessment of student comprehension, strategy use, and tolerance of ambiguity?

Just the fact that an educator acknowledges that we need to teach and measure something like tolerance for ambiguity is satisfying.  Mr. Wiggins is not settling for superficial teaching of basic skills.  He wants students who understand the purpose of reading, monitor their own comprehension and take ownership of the strategies they need to use to overcome that ambiguity.

Overcoming Discouragement

Weniger, aber besser (Less But Better)

Do you ever sit down with a stack of tasks to accomplish and can't decide where to start?

Do you quickly agree to take on another task when you know your calendar is already bloated?

Are you floating from one commitment to the next without finishing anything to satisfaction?

Then, Greg McKeown has written a book that could be a lifeline.  Essentialism is subtitled "The Disciplined Pursuit of Less".  This is an idea that warrants reflection and action for anyone who wants their life to be meaningful and avoid the pitfall of pursuing non-essential goals through non-essential tasks.   

The first step in creating that essentialist mindset is to ask yourself three questions.

What do I feel deeply inspired by?

What am I particularly talented at?

What is a particular need in the world?

Furthermore,"To discern what is essential we need space to think, time to look and listen, permission to play, wisdom to sleep, and the discipline to apply highly selective criteria to the choices we make".  

This book has many more practical suggestions for living life as an essentialist and reaping the benefits of focused energy and effort toward that unique work that can be your finest contribution.  I highly encourage educators and leaders to not only get the book, but take the time to apply the concepts for your own benefit and the benefit of the schools where you invest your time, treasure, and talent.

In this podcast with Michael Hyatt, Greg discusses his book and offers an additional idea  - the personal 90 day offsite, which is a quarterly retreat to refocus on the essential goals in a systematic and regular fashion.

Here is an excellent review by pastor Tim Challies.

Evidence of Students Ownership of Learning

What's your evidence that students are taking ownership of their learning?

Are you looking for students who are reflective about the quality of their work and can articulate their areas of strength and next steps?

Do you want students to demonstrate curiosity about academic content?

Are you looking for students who show perseverance and utilize various strategies in solving problems?

I would agree with all of these and yet I recently found some less formal evidence of student ownership of learning that bears noting.  

The first student I came across, during Independent Reading time, was reading on Wattpad.  Of course, the 6th grader had to explain to this neophyte that Wattpad was an organic community of readers and writers who submit stories and read stories form other self publishers.  While the nature of this social literary community requires monitoring and guidance so students use discretion and engage safely, I was surprised to find that this student (I later found a few others) had discovered a literary community where they could read stories of interest and submit their own for the eyes of a wider audience.  This same student indicated that she had some writing she wanted to share but hadn't gotten the courage to publish quite yet.  Her classmate then chimed in and encouraged her to take the plunge.

My second discovery that same day was in another 6th grade class where I found a young man writing a narrative in Google Docs.  I figured he was working on an assigned piece from his teacher, but soon discovered that  he was writing a story of his own choosing collaboratively with a classmate (who waved at me from across the room). They had taken this collaborative tool and repurposed it for their own personal writing project.

I can think of no better evidence for students who have taken ownership of their learning then to see them choosing literacy activities, with enthusiasm, outside the school curriculum.   Of course, we will continue to look for formal evidence of student ownership of learning, but these anecdotal and personal examples are evidence just as surely, and should be encouraged and celebrated in your school, as they will be in ours.

Teaching Writing is as Hard as Living a Virtuous Life

Virtuous behavior is like good writing. We know it when we see it, but it is not easily taught or described with any precision.

- Russ  Roberts paraphrasing Adam Smith in "How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life

What I Wish Nancie Atwell Had Said

Nancie Atwell was awarded the Varkey Foundation's first global Teaching Prize this week in which she was recognized for her outstanding work at the Center for Teaching and Learning.  If you don't know about Ms. Atwell, here's a quick summary of her achievements.

She was interviewed on CNN about her award and after discussing her philosophy of learning and education - which is rock solid amazing, focusing on authentic literacy,  She was then asked a great question:

CNN: What do you say to kids out there who are trying to figure out what they want to do when they grow up and  might be considering teaching?

Nancy: Honestly , right now I encourage them to look in the private sector.  Public school teachers are  so constrained right now by the Common Core Standards and the tests that are developed to monitor what teachers are doing with them.  It's a movement that has turned teachers into technicians, not reflective practitioners.  If you are a creative, smart, young person, I don't think this is the time to go into teaching unless an independent school would suit you.

You can watch the interview here:

So, here's what I wish Nancie had said!


Now is an amazing time to enter the teaching profession.  Public attention on education has never been greater.  The integration of effective teaching practices and the best technology is a recipe for engaged, authentic, and relevant learning.  The missing ingredient is smart and creative teachers  to lead the way.

Yes,  some schools and districts are thoughtlessly pursuing test scores, but our children's education is too important to leave public education to those who mindlessly follow dictates without thinking.

Our schools and students need smart creative teachers who will challenge the status quo.
Our schools and students need smart and creative students who  love literacy and will infuse that love of literacy to the next generation.

So, if you are considering teaching as a profession, don't hesitate!
And, if you are not considering teaching as a profession, think about it now.
The rewards are satisfying personally, but more importantly, students across the country are waiting for you to join this exciting endeavor to set children up for a lifetime of learning.

Nancie, thank you for setting such a standard of excellence for education by your amazing school, and your many contributions to authentic literacy instruction, but please don't wave the white flag!  Use your exposure to inspire those smart and creative kids to join us because some of us would love to nurture those young people into educational leaders who can write the story of education for the future - a story that does not need to be about mindless technicians, but can be about thoughtful and reflective educators who create life affirming learning environments.

Thank You Ron Schwab

It was Summer School 1977 and it was my last hurrah before heading to High School.  I was handed the baton for the final leg of the relay race.  My team was solidly in 2nd place, far behind the leader, but the team behind us had Ron Schwab awaiting his chance to run me down and hunt down the leader.  Now, Ron Schwab was a cross between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Usain Bolt.  He was strong, powerful, and fast and  a member of our school football team - an imposing figure with every athletic credential. Me - I was a skinny guy who liked to play finesse basketball, so I did the only thing I could  possibly do .... I ran!  I ran away from Ron Schwab, feeling his presence behind me at every step.  As I rounded the track for the final stretch, I was still holding off the barreling linebacker at my back and something strange happened.  The team that was far away in first place was falling back to me and I somehow sprinted into the lead, held off my nemesis and threw the baton into the air as I crossed the finish line leading my team to victory in this small corner of Chula Vista.  Nearly 40 years later, I still remember the effect that this physical challenge had on my performance.  Needless to say without Ron Schwab...

I would have never run as fast as I did that day.
I would have never overcome the front runner to capture the victory.
I would have never benefited from the competition that made all of us reach new heights.

Most recently I have seen again the benefit that well designed competition does to improve the performance of an entire group.  Some teachers at my school were sporting Fitbit trackers this January, booty from their Christmas feasts and/or possibly personal gifts to encourage New Year's commitments to health and wellness.  They mentioned something about a challenge that I eagerly asked to join.  "Why not join my colleagues and encourage one another to reach our goals?", I thought to myself.   Before long we has nearly 20 staff members in a frenzy of physical activity, each trying to outdo one another in ... moving!   Quickly, it became apparent that some of our mild mannered colleagues had fire in their belly and the competitive juices started to flow.   Our cell phones were flooded with messages of goal attainment, encouragement, and a snarky comment from time to time.  I started out on a little jog then got this notification.

I must admit my first inclination was to look behind me wondering where Amy was hiding.   While some were worried that it was a little creepy to see who was moving and when at all hours of the day, the pros far outweighed the cons as our mutual commitment to healthy activity was making it harder to stay on the couch and waist away those promises we had made to our self.  There were daily winners at the top of the leader board, but one and all reported that they had increased their personal accomplishments because of the public competition.

Today I came back from our District spelling Bee where we crowned champions from Grades K-6.  Some would decry that competition leaves students anxious and unnerved, but I would argue that all of these students put in tremendous effort and determination to strive for the crown.  No, not everyone finished at the top, but all of them learned valuable lessons and, no doubt, all became more familiar with words and literacy because of the competition.

So, thank you Camarena colleagues for spurring me on to better habits.
Thank you Ron Schwab for pushing me to strive for my very best.
Thank you competition for fostering growth, excellence, and effort toward achievement.

How are you incorporating healthy competition into your life, classroom, or school?

Quality Control and Student Ownership

Math With My Duaghter

Driving home from the grocery store, my daughter and I got into math related to the Golden Hour.  You see, my 8th grade daughter had recently shared with me her discovery of the Goden Hour and I was noting that we had just hit the tail end of tonight's Golden Hour.  I then explained to her how many Golden Hours we can expect in a lifetime.  Since we have approximately 50 cloudy days in Chula Vista in a year, we can count on about 300 Golden Hours a year.  Lifespans are generally 70 years.  So, that's 21,000 Golden Hours.  Since she has already lived nearly 15 years (She needed to remind me that she is 13, but we are estimating here, so back off on the specifics), she only has about 16,500 Golden Hours left.  Me, on the other hand, having pushed pass that Golden number of 50 can only count on, Lord willing, another 6,000 Golden Hours.  In the end, I'm so blessed and grateful to have enjoyed the latest Golden Hour with my thoughtful and kind daughter.  Life is a very precious gift and savoring a moment with my daughter on cloudy days or sunny always adds up to a good day and time well spent.  Who says nothing gold can stay?

The Progress Principle

Of all the things that can boost emotions, motivation, and perceptions during a workday, the single most important is making progress in meaningful work. 

Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer

Learning What Works Through Failure

Misconceptions are a natural phase in the learning process.  Here's  a great quote from Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning about the benefits of failure and problem solving.

It's not the failure, that's desirable, it's the dauntless effort despite the risks, the discovery of what works and what doesn't that sometimes only failure can reveal.  It's trusting that trying to solve a puzzle serves us better than being spoon-fed the solution, even if we fall short in our first attempts at an answer.

Research shows that effort is required for learning to be lasting and durable.  Sweat equity must be paid and the task for teachers is to design learning experiences that allow for productive struggle and determination without leading to frustration and burnout.

Every Child

“I have never encountered any children in any group who are not geniuses. There is no mystery on how to teach them. The first thing you do is treat them like human beings and the second thing you do is love them.”

Dr. Asa Hilliard

Simple Solutions are an Illusion

Learning That Feels Easy is Ineffective

It's Always About the Learning

Camarena Elementary is considered a technology school.  Some days I feel like that is unfortunate, because I don't want the perception to be that our focus is primarly on technology.  As the two posts below show, the focus needs to be first, last, and always about  learning.


Words Matter: Let’s Talk About Learning, Not Technology

This summary of phrasing sums up this point of view well.

Technology is a Tool, Not a Learning Outcome

Bill Ferriter's summary helps put learning and technology in their proper place.

2 Class Dojo Points for Bill!!!


At the end of the day, my hope is that our work with students moves the needle forward on learning and we will use any and every technology tool that helps us accomplish that goal.  

Everything Bad is Good For You

That's the title of an intriguing book by Steven Johnson and appears to be the theme of the science of learning form the authors of Make it Stick.  In my first summay, I described the testing effect and how it is superior to rereading.

The next section of their book describes the antitode to massed practice or blocked practice, the idea of practicing one skill until it is burned into memory - think math homework over the past 50 years.  It turns out that this type of focused and repetitive practice is not as beneficial as we would believe.

The antitode to massed practice  is spaced, interleaved, and varied practice.  It turns out that the goal is to make the practice a little harder to encourage retrieval in a manner that leads to improved descrimination skills.

Spaced Practice - Leaving a little time (at least a day) between practice sessions allows the learner to forget just enough so that it requires effort to retrieve the content.  It is this act of retrieval after a little forgetting that actually impedes the forgetting process.  Daniel Willingham summarizes the studies about massed practice and shares suggested implications here.

Interleaved Practice -  Learning several new and related concepts at the same time is actually slower and feels less productive. Intuitively we all want to practice one thing at a time until it is mastered.  It turns out that for long term benefit, even though we feels like we are not, we are actually benefitting from a less uniform approach to learning new concent.  Instead of learning the formula for area of one shape at a time, it will be better for long term memory to learn the area formula of several different shapes interleaving them together thus solidifying our ability to choose the  right formula when needed.

Varied Pracitce - The authors cited another study that showed two groups who were practicing tossing a beanbag.  One group practiced consistently at three feet. The other group practiced at two and four feet.  They were both tested on a three foot toss and the group that had NEVER practiced on three feet performed better than the group that ONLY practiced on three feet.

My biggest takeaway is that we need to develop practice routines that allow the learner to rehearse the decision making that they will face in an authentic setting.   In closing, the authors spoke about the need to add reflection to all learning expereinces. Asking questions such as What happened?, What did I do?, How did it work out? are invaluable tools to cement learning in every experience.  Finally, we should ask, What should I do next time?

Maybe Weighing Pigs Does Make them Fatter?

Photo Credit: Ethan Block on Flickr

A good friend of mine likes to remind me that simply testing kids doesn't increase their learning, thus the title of this post derives from her catchy phrase that, "weighing pigs doesn't make them fatter".  The authors of Make it Stick (Peter Brown, Henry Roediger, and Mark McDaniel) might disagree with that statement.  The subtitle of the book is The Science of Successful Learning and their aim is to review the research on what practices help us learning.    You can get a summary of their work on the American RadioWorks podcast here and a related podcast here.

The first strategy that they discuss is the benefit of retrieval to aid memory, especially when compared to simply rereading content.  Retrieval is described as self testing, using flash cards to practice the content, summarizing after reading short chunks, writing key ideas after reading, and low stakes quizzing.  Study after study compares the benefits to learning that accrue when one retrieves the information periodically during a course of study instead of simply reading and rereading the material and notes.   Students who stop to recite what they are learning or are asked to answer short quizzes learn more both in the short term - and here's the big bonus - in the long term.  This is called The Testing Effect.  For those of you who are still bent on cramming, you will see some immediate benefit from that frenzied approach, but the gains quickly disappear in to the black hole of long term forgetting.  You will get more benefit from studying and testing yourself AND you will remember more of what you have learned a month later.

Their research about this topic also found that learners benefited from questions and testing that were spaced out to allow some forgetting to occur such that the act of retrieval was accompanied by cognitive effort.  The greater the effort (so long as there was ultimate success) the more that the learner remembered.   Other benefits of frequent quizzing (effortful retrieval) included students understanding the content that they knew and didn't know in order to study more effectively, lower test anxiety because frequent quizzes helped students gain confidence, and slight improvement in attendance in higher education courses.

I see several implications for schools.

1.  Teach students how to study.  Explain to students the benefits of summarizing what they are learning through taking notes about the content they are grasping.

2.  Embrace low stakes quizzing throughout all units of study.  While we are in an environment of high stakes testing and there are plenty of reasons to eschew more testing.  Research has shown that low stakes questioning will enhance learning of all content and allow students to perform higher order thinking because of the rich content that is solidifying into their long term memory.

3. Implement this research today.  Too often educators have sneered at research that seems counter intuitive and the big losers are our students.  Check out the research yourself and you will see that this practice consistently allows students to learn material at a much higher rate than merely rereading.

Let's try this out!

Misconceptions, Mistakes, and Error are the Seeds of Learning

In an excellent article at Edutpia, Richard Curwin discussed 9 ways to embrace mistakes to enhance Learning. I especially like #7:

"Instead of (or at least in addition to) walls filled with students' achievements, have a wall where students can brag about their biggest mistakes and what they learned from them"

Indeed, if we are able to develop risk takers and curiosity we will ned to embrace errors without judgment so they we can all be better off because of them.