Reggio Emilia: Progettazione or Projected Curriculum

Have you ever met a child that decides that he or she likes something and then wants to learn EVERYTHING there ever was to know about that subject or item?  Surely you have. :) 

Like the pre-kindergartner that can label and discuss all the dinosaurs.. 

Or like when my oldest daughter, Maddie was in early elementary and she learned about the Fibonacci number sequence. Maddie carried a notebook around with her for YEARS where she would add numbers to her sequence. She finally grew out of the phase when the number pattern would take up an entire line of her spiral. Really. She was adding 20+ digit numbers together. It was amazing.

This focus was done on her own and completely child paced. We helped her when she asked. Like she needed us to help her find out the name of a 24 digit number. Septillion. 

Anyway, watching a child totally engrossed in a learning is fun. The joy and concentration is amazing. 

So often as parents and educators, we forget about this innate quest children have to learn. We push and prod and poke for children to learn the way WE want them to learn. We fuss and threaten and then wonder why they don't care!

I really think it's because we have forgotten to engage their sense of wonder. Basically, we have forgotten about that they are kids and NEED to be be challenged in their own way. 

  

We want them to do math or science. From worksheets. 
And then we bemoan that they don't care and that test scores are low.

So how do we get them care? 

Well... what if we engaged their sense of wonder through the use of Projected Curriculum?

Projected Curriculum is a Reggio Emilia mindset that uses teaching strategies that challenge students to research and explore real world topics. Students decide on the topic (with a little supervision and direction), become the expert and share their learning with others. These investigations can be done in a small group or individually.

Some of the investigations include projects, but Projected Curriculum is NOT a series of arts and crafts days! (I know, my pictures that I have included look "crafty.")

Going back to the Reggio mindset, Progettazione means to project to the next steps.  Teachers are to watch, observe and listen FIRST and then a help students take the next step in a learning journey. This journey might take 10 minutes or it could take months. It's a flexible approach. Yes, I said the big bad word flexible.  So much of life in public school does not seem flexible.  But really, providing individual learning opportunities doesn't have to be time consuming. Nor does it have to be outside of the bounds of what we are already doing.

For example, as a late elementary student (4th-6th grade), I was totally obsessed with reading biographies on American Presidents and the President's children. I read all of the books our local library had and any others I could find. This was done completely on my own and no grades were ever given. I don't think my teachers even knew that I was interested in reading biographies. But can you imagine the tie-in to established classroom curriculum that I could have had if projected curriculum had been offered. 

So why this post? Because as I work through lesson plans and ideas for this next school year, I am going to be more flexible. That doesn't mean that I am going to through my curriculum bundles out the window! But I am going to be more intentional about OBSERVING and LISTENING to students in order to engage their interest and sense of wonder.

It's my job to make sure that when students leave my classroom that they have the knowledge of the subject. That's it. It's not my job to force all students to learn in a cookie cutter way.

Through investigation and exploration, I'm going to let students take the lead on their learning this year! 

And sometimes that learning will be take shape via arts and crafts. 

And sometimes science experiments LOOK like arts and crafts but really teach the scientific method and in the end make AWESOME digital art work! :) Thanks Lexi for a great science lesson on food coloring, dish soap and milk.


Want to read and learn more about Reggio Emilia? Here are some great links:

https://tecribresearch.wordpress.com/2014/01/28/progettazione-reggio-inspired-teaching-in-dialogue-with-the-learning-processes-of-children/
http://reggioalliance.org/  

Differentiation DOES Work

James R. Delisle’s article “Differentiation Doesn’t Work”  in Education Week absolutely hit a nerve with me.  His statement “differentiation is a failure, a farce, and the ultimate educational joke played on countless educators and students” to be honest made me mad. 

I agree that differentiation is hard and incredibly difficult in a classroom of mixed ability students. But to say that differentiation is a failure and a joke is ludicrous and I felt like I had been slapped in the face!

Why? Because creative differentiation not only WORKS, but is sometimes the ONLY glue that keeps a classroom running and students achieving more than they ever thought possible.  Is it easy? NO! But curriculum that provides creative approaches to education and gives students choices about their education is crucial if students are to be met at their current educational level and then be challenged. In my opinion, this is the very essence of differentiation.

To say that differentiation doesn’t work, is a copout. It’s like saying because some students struggle to read that we should just stop teaching reading.  Instead, we have to say that maybe the way we approach differentiation needs to change.  Or maybe the expectation that teachers would know how to differentiate needs to change. What I do know is that the traditional model of lecture, take notes and give a test doesn’t work for students if we want them to be the best self that they can be.

Why am I so adamant that differentiation works? Because after spending the last 15+ years in the public school classroom teaching everything from 3^rd grade special education Math to 8^th grade Reading to 12^th grade Economics and a dozen other subjects in between and afterwards, I KNOW that if we want to reach students we have to do things differently.  And to be honest, I am tired of always hearing what doesn’t work and that we have such a hard job so woe is me. NO! We have the BEST job! Yes it is hard! Yes, things aren’t always great and sometimes things happen in our classrooms and in our schools that are crap. And sometimes it’s because we have crappy curriculum and no support. But you know what, at the end of the day, I can adapt my crappy (or lack of) curriculum and I can work through times when I feel like I am being sabotaged by administrators. Because my students are worth it!

I could give you some of my real-life tried and true differentiation strategies. For those of you out there that might care, my differentiation strategies are really a blend of differentiation and choice-based learning. What I have learned is that when given options, students will self-differentiate effectively most of the time. I might have to eliminate a few options for the students, but a choice in differentiation strategy creates individual by-in and ultimately yields better results.

But here is the caveat… in order to create this environment, you have to be willing to think outside the box and be willing to give up the worksheet that you made ten years ago! Even harder, the “bundle” that you spent all summer working on has to have embedded alternatives in order to give you the flexibility to reach students. We have to let go of the mindset that things HAVE to be done a certain way or they are failures.  Because my gravy, does it really matter what students use to process when working with a manipulative if they master the concept? Does it really teach students to be creative writers if the only poems they are allowed to write are a,b,a,b patterns?

So here are the most common statements against creating individualized lessons and my response.

•         “I have 100+ students; I can’t give every student their own assignment.”
•    No, but you can create a sheet of options that allow for the different skills students have and their interests.  When teaching Agamemnon to around one hundred 9-12 grade theatre arts students, I created a project that allowed for the skill level of students AND their interests. The assignment sheet listed 10 options, like “write a new ending to the play.. 40 points” and “research the Ancient Greek culture and explain the role of the chorus (essay, powerpoint or speech)”.. 50 points as well as stuff like “draw a mask for one of the main characters..10 points.” If there was a basic piece of the assignment that everyone had to complete, I would make that a required element and assign points. Then I would meet with students and they would tell me their plans. Lower achieving students might have to earn 80 points and I would guide them to maybe not do a research paper. On level students would be required to earn 100 points. Yes, this is a time consuming approach. But SO WORTH IT!! Students who didn’t think they could understand a Greek tragedy not only understood it, but were able to adapt the play into a reality tv series and act out a scene!
• 
  
•    My curriculum is bundled and if I do “fun” things I won’t get in the required lessons.
•     Why are “fun” things not valued? Why are required lessons boring?  Example: when teaching Economics instead of having students take a paper/pencil test on the economic impact of WWII, I gave students three options. 1^st option, take the traditional test. 2^nd option, create their own version of a ration book that rationed cell phone minutes. Students had to come up with the guidelines for the rationing, how it would work and all of the details that would go into rationing their data/minutes. 3^rd option was interviewing someone who lived through this time period and create a report (written/documentary/powerpoint) from this original source.  The overwhelmingly majority of the students created a ration book. The hardest and most time consuming option.  Even better, these required elements were “fun” to the students.
• 
  
•    I’m not creative.
•     Then ASK FOR HELP!!!!! Explain to your students what you want to do and ask them to help you come up with creative options. You would be shocked! Their assignments will be much harder than ones you would come up with. It has been years and years since I taught 3^rd grade special education inclusion math. But what I remember the most is that while they were NOT interested in counting blue bears, they created a “store” and counted money and did fractions and everything imaginable in order to get Legos to build with! Blue bears did nothing for them. Legos did.
• 
  

In the end, I realize that differentiation is hard. 

And by definition, my brand of creative choice-based learning with a differentiation approach is probably not classic differentiation. But I’ll take my brand, my students are worth it.

And for the student that is struggling in written expression, being given permission to verbally say his essay into a computer, spell check it and print it and then using his printout to look at, copy in his own hard to read handwriting, his very own legitimate essay, that is a win. 

Will he pass the state mandated writing test with this approach? I don’t know. 

But what I do know is that by differentiating today, he gained the courage to try next time. Sure, as the teacher, I could have demanded that he write his essay like everyone else. But what would have happened? At best, the student would have turned in something that I could “accommodate” to a 70. At worst, the student would have been reminded that once again, he wasn’t “good” enough.

A lose never translates to a win. And saying that differentiation is a farce is saying that students aren't worth the trouble. Personally, that’s not why I got into education..

136 cards in 2 1/2 hours

Since moving into our new house, I haven't had a place to create or craft. The house is wonderful and everything our family needed, but I lost my craft desk and space. sad face. Last night I was feeling blah and just needed to create something!

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week and feeling left out since high school teachers don't get the love that elementary teachers receive. We get a paycheck, that's about all the love we get. (told you I was blah) I decided to make cards for my fellow high school staff members. I've done this before, but not in a couple of years?? wow. that's a long time.

So.. back to the cards. I got everything out and at 8pm started making cards. I had helpers that asked lots of questions and wanted to touch things. But I'm pretty efficient and started cutting paper. I make 3"x3" cards as they are cute, cost effective and they fit in our mailboxes at school.

If you plan on ever making bulk cards, I suggest cutting the paper first. I randomly chose paper that kinda of coordinated, but really I just wanted all of the cards to look decent with one color of ink. Simplicity is the key to bulk cards! Cut all of the 3"x6" strips and then the 2"x2" accent paper. Then fold the cards.

Next get ready to stamp. I stamped the sentiment first. I knew the sentiment that I wanted, but it took me a few different tries to decide on my accent stamp.

Next I stamped the accent stamp and then flipped the pieces over, applied tape to 20 or 30 squares at a time and adhered to the front. I varied the placement on the front of the card.

Now that the cards are made, it's time to embellish.

It is important at this point to just go with the flow. I use glue dots and just put coordinating buttons on the roll of glue dots about 20 at a time. Pick up a button and put it on the card. DO NOT LINGER on this step :)!!

And there you have it. 136 cards in 2 hours.

This morning, I ran to the store and picked up a bag of mixed chocolate miniatures. These are perfect for the inside of these cards. I rolled the glue runner on about 20 cards at a time and slapped a piece of candy down.

 And there you go!

All in it was about 2 1/2 hours. Not bad for a last minute project!

Paper, stamps and ink are Close To My Heart.

A Creative Challenge Just For Me: Get Your Paint On!

I did it. 

I've been looking at this class for a while.

I really wanted to do something for me.

But who has the time?

But this morning, just now, I registered!!

YIPPEE!

As a teacher, I am committed to keeping up with what is going on in the art industry and this course just seemed to have all that in one.

So get ready!

I'm gonna do some painting!!

I hope it's as fun as it looks :)

I'll keep you posted.

A Strange Night and Post-Infectious Bronchitis

Have you ever had a completely sleepless night, total insomnia or some reason your brain wouldn't stop and you never went to sleep even though you were in bed from 9pm to 5am?

Well, I did Wednesday night.  It was nuts.

It's been a hard week and teachers everywhere are facing the daunting reality that teaching as we know it is changing because of careless politicians.  Many, many teachers are losing jobs and districts are facing tough choices.  It is really sad.  Because the reality for us it that when we strip down our schools to the bare bones we are short-changing our kids. I am truly worried that unless something dramatic changes and funding returns to education in the state budget, that we will lose a generation of tomorrow's leaders.

So needless to say, there is a little stress.

But not going to sleep? That's crazy.  While I do mull each day in my mind at night and plan the next day, I still go to sleep at a decent hour.

But not Wednesday night.

So as I lay in the bed I sang praise and worship songs in my head.  I've always been one that can actually hear the music in my head ( I already know I'm on the crazy side of crazy..) so at least I was entertained. :)

Then about 1:30 am my heart started burning like it was on fire and God told me to immediately pray for my sister, her husband and their daughter. It was like when Samuel heard God in 1Samuel 3.  No, I did not hear an audible voice, but God directly spoke into my heart and told me exactly what to say. I did a virtual prayer walk around her house. It was incredible.  I wanted to call my sister, but I didn't want to scare her at 2am!  So I texted her and told her what was going on.  I asked God that please, please, if something was wrong for Him to use the ping of my text to wake her up.  She didn't text back, so I went back to bed.

I thought hey, awesome.  I felt so privileged that God would use me this way and thanked Him for not allowing me to sleep.  (thinking that I would be going to sleep now!!)

But nope.  My chest heart.  My heart felt to big for my ribcage and my pulse was high. 

Finally at 5am I got up and got ready for the day.

Thankfully I had an awesome workshop presenter (Jill) lined up for my classes from Texas Pottery and all was ready.  An interesting side note here.  When we scheduled her workshop, it was originally scheduled for another day.  Isn't it incredible how things work out?

When I heard from my sister later in the day, she said that she hadn't slept well, but that all was okay.

I made it through the day amazingly well.  I still felt icky, but God had gave me amazing energy. We have an after hours clinic that is open late, so I went in and found out that my bronchitis from a couple of weeks ago hasn't cleared up yet.  The infection is gone, but the inflammation is still there.  So all my crazy symptoms that I have been having make sense now.  I'd never heard of Post-Infectious Bronchitis.  Hopefully with meds and a little rest, I'll be well soon!

Finishing off my crazy day, I finally went to sleep a little after 10pm and never moved until 5:30am this morning.

And there you have it.  Sorry for such a long tale, but it is really quite abbreviated.  You know, there are a lot of hours in the night when you are not sleeping!

And just a side note about praying or singing  "Fill me Holy Spirit. Speak to me.  Use me."  These are not idle words or a time filler.  They are a wonderful invitation to the Father to join Him on an adventure. I pray that you will join Him on an adventure soon!