December Reflections

December is a time for reflection on the year past, and even though I'm retired, this has been an amazing year of professional growth and challenges. My OneWord for 2017 was 'stretch' and I vowed to stretch myself, personally and professionally, out of my comfort zone. I've continued to 'stretch' this year as well.

Rather than list all of them, I've selected four instances that pushed me out of my comfort zone professionally this year:

1. Finished my doctorate! I began this journey before I retired, knowing that I would need a continued intellectual challenge in my retirement. Boy, was it challenging!  But I did it - even though it was difficult and there were times when I wanted to quit, I did it!  Walking across the stage at Western's convocation and meeting all of my online classmates and professors in person was a real thrill. My doctoral work explored Enacting Self-regulation Expectations in Kindergarten Programs Using A Distributed Leadership Framework, and I have published a few articles based on this work. I hope to continue publishing in 2019.


2. Speaking of publishing, my book, Lab Class: Professional Learning Through Collaborative Inquiry and Student Observation became available in August 2018 and it was chosen as Learning Forward's Summer Book Club selection. What a thrill to hold a copy of it in my hands!  It is based on work that we did in our board, engaging as co-learners with educators using a collaborative inquiry approach to professional learning. Going through the publication process with the team at Corwin Press was exciting and scary at the same time - lots of revisions, lots of questions - but totally worth it in the end.

3. I was a guest on not one, but two podcasts on voicEd.com.  I'd never been on a podcast before, and they are kind of challenging.  You're talking with other people whom you can't see. I've read that over 90% of communication is non-verbal and in a podcast you don't have any of those visual cues - head nods, eye gaze, etc - to support the conversation. Luckily the others with whom I was chatting were very experienced podcasters and the hour flew by.  Thanks to Stephen Hurley & Doug Peterson for inviting me to join them on This Week In Ontario Edublogs, and to Stephen Hurley & Susan Hopkins for allowing me to join them on the Voices of Self-Regulation podcast.

4. I have presented at lots of conferences over the years, both locally and provincially, but this year I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and did something different.  Instead of presenting a workshop, I facilitated a conversation which is much more open and fluid.  And, to make it even more challenging, it wasn't at a Kindergarten conference or a self-reg conference (which are my strengths) but at the Bringing IT Together Conference, which is a technology focused conference with lots of intermediate and secondary teachers. I was worried that no one would attend my session, or that the people who did attend wouldn't have much to say.  I needn't have worried - I had a great group and they engaged in a very fulsome conversation.

Here's hoping that 2019 offers many more opportunities to continue to stretch and grow!


Thanks to Lynn Thomas for inspiring this blog post, and to Doug Peterson who posted the link to her blog in This Week in Ontario Edublogs.  I always get so inspired by the blogs he shares!

Never Stop Learning

This week I celebrated a major milestone in my life - convocation for my Doctorate of Education degree. It's been an amazing, frustrating, fantastic, exhausting, wonderful learning journey. There were days when I was excited to be engaged in such rich learning and discourse and days when I wondered why I was doing this and why didn't I quit? I retired from our board in June 2016, so this degree would have no impact on my employment or my salary.

The speaker at our convocation was Dr. Charlotte Fischer.  She was born in 1929 and received her degrees in Mathematics and Chemistry in 1952.  She went on to study at Cambridge, was the first woman to win an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship, has authored over 300 articles in her 50+ years of research. She currently, at age 89, is the Professor Emerita at Vanderbilt University's School of Engineering.

In her convocation address, Dr. Fischer reminded us that with today's modern medicine and health care, we can expect to live very long lives and we must endeavour to fill our lives with meaning far beyond the usual retirement age.

So, even though I have retired from full-time employment with a school board doesn't mean it's time to stop learning and growing. I'm not sure what the future may bring, but I know that my intention is to keep reading, reflecting, learning and writing for many years to come.

Congratulations to my fellow graduates!  It's been a pleasure learning together with all of you for the past three years and I can't wait to see what the future holds for all of us.

Official program from Western University

My bedazzled mortarboard from our pre-convocation reception

Community or Cohort?

In an earlier blog post, I wrote about strategies used by instructors and participants to build community in online classrooms.  Last week, Doug Peterson and Stephen Hurley discussed this post as part of their program, This Week In Ontario Edublogs.

Their discussion was quite profound; they explored issues and ideas I hadn't considered at all and dug deep into the meaning of 'community.'  Their conversation prompted me to think more about this topic, particularly the difference between a cohort and a community.

Stephen talked about the Latin root word 'munity' in community, which is also found in immunity.  He said it means making something stronger.  'So being part of a community should make us stronger, or make our learning stronger. I researched this idea further and found this etymology of the word community:

The word community is derived from from the Latin communitas, fellowship, which, in turn, is derived from communis, or "common". 

The prefix "com" signifies "with, together, in conjunction, joint". Removing the "com" from the latin, leaves you with munis, which derives from munire, meaning "to fortify, strengthen, or defend".
AKA: Strength in numbers. 

When we talk about a learning community, then we are saying that we are learning together, with one another and this strengthens or learning.  Doug likened it to the idiom, "A rising tide lifts all boats." Usually this is in reference to the economy - a strong economy benefits individuals and businesses at all levels.  But in this context, can we say that building an online community then strengthens the learning of all participants?

These three examples from my own experience to help to explain my current thinking on building an online community versus a cohort.

The MEHRIT Centre - I recently finished an 18 month series of online courses to become a Self-Regulation Facilitator with The MEHRIT Centre. There are several reasons I would characterize this group as a learning community. We were together for a long period of time, which allowed us to get to know one another, building trusting relationships and sharing our learning.  But what really brought us together as a community is our shared passion for self-regulation and our beliefs about how important self-reg is for children and adults. Through a Facebook group, we continue to learn and share with one another long after the courses have been completed.

Western University EdD Program - I also recently completed my doctorate online through Western University, which is where I did my B.Ed (in person) so many years ago. The participants in this group also became a close community, and even though we have finished our studies, we stay in touch through social media.  In this group, we got to know one another through small group assignments using Skype, Blackboard Collaborate and Google Docs as well as through online discussions. We used our Facebook group to support one another when the going got tough - when the assignment requirements seemed too much, or when the feedback was too harsh or inconsistent. When someone was feeling stressed and ready to throw in the towel, the Facebook group was there for support and encouragement. At the end of the course, several people posted that they had considered quitting but the group helped them make it to the finish line. We were definitely stronger together.

Intermediate ABQ - I have participated in online AQ and ABQ courses, both as a participant and as an instructor. As a consultant, my position at our school board was posted every four years and I had to reapply and re-interview for my job. The first time I had to reapply, my superintendent suggested that I take my Intermediate ABQ so that I would be eligible to take the Principal's Course. I did not have any intention of becoming a principal, and if I returned to the classroom, I certainly did not want to teach intermediate.  I was the Teacher Consultant for Kindergarten and Primary Programs, and that was my passion. Nevertheless, I signed up for an Intermediate ABQ in Family Studies. I completed the course, but as Stephen said, it was just about getting the work done and finishing the course.  I had no passion for this topic, and no shared interest to sustain with other participants once the course was finished.

In this instance, I was part of the Intermediate Family Studies ABQ Cohort but not part of a learning community. It is possible that there were others in the course who were passionate, who may have formed a community that continued on beyond the course. Perhaps communities and cohorts can co-exist within the same group of participants.

Thanks for pushing my thinking on this topic, Doug and Stephen.  I can't wait to discuss this with others at #BIT2018 this November in Niagara Falls.  See you there!

Online Learning Communities

There are many advantages to online learning and to online teaching. As an online student, I have the flexibility to engage in learning whenever and wherever I want. I have had the opportunity to learn together with people from across the globe in a range of contexts - private schools, international schools, small rural schools in Northern communities and schools in large urban centres. I have been able to learn from some of the top experts in the field from around the world.

But the sense of community and connection in online classes varies, and I've experienced this both in online classes that I've taught and online classes where I participated as a student.

Recently, I completed two long-term online classes as a student - a three year online doctoral program from Western University and the Self-Regulation Facilitators course from The MEHRIT Centre which took about 18 months. In both classes, a range of strategies helped us to build community and connections, even though we never met in person.

At the #BIT2018 conference in Niagara Falls this November, I am facilitating a Learning Spaces conversation around the topic of Building Community in Online Classrooms. I'm looking for ideas from both the perspective of the teacher and the participants about How do you build a sense of community in an online classroom?

Some strategies from my own experience:

1. Small group size. At Western, our cohort of 13 students remained together during the entire three years so it was easy to get to know one another.  At the MEHRIT Centre, when I teach the Foundations Courses, I typically have an average of 15 students. Even though the courses are only 6 weeks long, I still have time to get to know each student.

2. Online video classes. In addition to our online discussion boards, readings and assignments, our courses at Western included several video conferences each semester using Blackboard Collaborate.  Timing these was problematic, as we had students in China, Qatar, Tanzania, Alberta, and Mexico.  If the video conference was at 8 pm, then it was 3 am for the student in Tanzania and 8 am in China. But these video conferences allowed us to chat with our instructors and one another in small groups.

3. Group Work.  When I saw that we were required to do some group assignments in our courses at Western, I was hesitant.  But the group work assignments were really helpful. Even though we had to deal with time differences and technology challenges, we got to know one another.  One of our assignments was to read a section of each person's major paper, and give them feedback. My partner and I had two Skype meetings; we spent more time talking about the program and the course assignments in general than giving feedback, but that it was good to be able to have that conversation. However, not all group work assignments build community. One of our group assignments for Western had us working in a group of 7.  There were 6 questions so each of us took one question, and posted our answer on a google doc.  The last person to pick was assigned the task of editing for clarity and continuity, and then presenting our group's work to the class.  I didn't really get to know anyone in my group during that assignment.

4. Social Media. Both the Western EdD group and the MEHRIT Centre facilitators group have a Facebook page. Not everyone has joined, but those who have are able to connect informally on Facebook to share resources, ask questions and stay in touch. I also follow online colleagues on Twitter and Instagram, and share ideas there as well.

What other strategies for building an online community have you experienced, either as a student or as an instructor?

How do we build a collaborative learning community in an online environment?

Please share your ideas!  


Update:
Doug Peterson and Stephen Hurley had a very interesting conversation about this blog post on This Week In Ontario Edublogs, which you can listen to at the archives on VoicEd.ca


Their conversation prompted me to think more deeply and write another blog post on this topic.

Interview with Doug Peterson

I was tickled pink to be interviewed by Doug Peterson for his blog Off The Record.  Doug and I worked together for many years and he supported me and countless other educators in exploring how we could use technology to support our own learning as well as student learning.  Here's our interview from his blog post:

I had the honour of working with Lisa Cranston for a number of years in her role as the Early Years Consultant. Geographically, our offices were about as far apart as they could be in our area and yet her door was always open when I needed her candid advice. I was so pleased when she agreed to the interview.

Doug:  I always start by asking people where we first met.  I remember, do you?

Lisa: I believe we met on a golf course when I was invited to attend a Program Department year end golf outing just before starting with the department.  I was partnered with you and our friend Debbie.  I remember that Debbie wasn’t a golfer so she was really impressed when either of us hit a drive that went any more than about 150 yards! Is that right? 

Doug:  Bingo!  I think we did drive them more than 150 yards if you count the entire distance as they sliced.

One of the things that you always did that impressed me was staying on top of current issues and research.  Do you have a strategy for doing so?

Lisa: I try to keep current by accessing a wide range of sources.  The doctoral courses keep me plugged into academic journals and scholarly articles.  I use social media like Twitter to find links to popular articles, and follow a few blogs as well.  The thing I like about my doctoral program, the self-regulation courses I’m taking through the MEHRIT Centre and social media is that you have access to  ideas from educators around the world rather than only the local or Ontario context.  And I’m naturally curious and love to learn, so that helps too!

Doug:  The other thing that equally impressed me was that, unlike others, you aren’t constantly name/theory dropping and always approached topics practically.

Lisa: That’s only because I have a terrible memory and can remember what I’ve read but not where I read it or who wrote it!  I often want to jump to the practical application of research and theory and sometimes need to be reminded to take time to ground myself in theory before moving to application.  

Doug:  One of your first jobs in the Program Department was that of a Mathematics coach.  What was your focus when working with classroom teachers?

Lisa: My main focus as coach or consultant was on building relationships with educators. My goal was to build a reputation where I was viewed as a resource, a person with some expertise but really coming into the classroom as a co-learner with the teachers.  I tried to avoid being seen as ‘the expert from the board office’ who was coming to tell someone how to do their job.  

Doug:  Over the years, we’ve seen the results from standardized testing take a hit on the system.  What’s your theory?  Are we just that bad at teaching Mathematics?

Lisa: I think there are some fundamental problems with standardized testing and there is far too much weight put on EQAO scores.  It is only one quick snapshot, one piece of data, on student achievement.  I also think it’s terrible when the media use test scores to rank schools or judge teachers. I”m not convinced that the standardized tests accurately reflect student learning, especially in primary grades. We create a classroom culture of collaboration and then administer standardized tests that force students to work in isolation. 

Doug:  Is there a magic bullet that will make it turn around?

Lisa:  I don’t believe in magic bullets.  There’s a false dichotomy of ‘we need to teach basic facts’ versus ‘teaching math through problem solving.’  I think students need both a firm foundation in basic facts as well as a conceptual understanding of mathematics.  And teachers need to have a deep understanding of the mathematics that they are teaching and what good math pedagogy looks like and sounds like.

Doug:  One of my personal highlights was working with you and a number of Primary teachers in a technology project that involved computers, SMARTBoards, and sound pedagogy.  We created materials and led many workshops as a result.  What are your memories of this?

Lisa: I think we did so many things right with that project!  First we focused on the pedagogy first, not the technology.  The teachers looked at the technology through a critical lens – was this simply an interactive worksheet or was it good pedagogy? Second, we chose teachers who weren’t technology gurus. Some of them were quite intimidated by the technology at first, and they became huge advocates for integrating technology into classroom instruction. We had one teacher who didn’t even have her own classroom but was ‘on a cart’ providing prep coverage and going from classroom to classroom and she made it work!  

Over time, those teachers took on leadership for workshops and delivered PD to other teachers in our board and at regional conferences.  There was so much power in their presentations because they could talk about their own journey with the project and the impact it had had on their teaching and their students’ learning.

Doug:  A massive project that you took the lead on was the five year implementation of Full Day Kindergarten.  It’s now seen as the way that the school district does business.  But, it didn’t happen overnight.  Since you don’t believe in magic bullets, there has to be a story or two from that project that you can share.

Lisa:  Massive is right. It was unlike anything I’d ever done before.  On this project, I got to coordinate with people from so many different departments – human resources, facility services, business, transportation, IT, as well as with the staff from the co-terminus board and child-care facilities.  The first few years we had to open FDK in schools with existing room but in year three we started building new classrooms and renovating some older classrooms.  I got to work with architects, had input on blueprints, and work with the purchasing department to buy all the new materials.  There were nights when I would wake up in the middle of the night, thinking I had made some sort of multimillion dollar error, but overall it was a blast.  By the end of the five year roll out there was a whole team working on this project with me, and the learning was incredible.  The pedagogy in kindergarten has completely transformed since 2010 and I can see the work we did is now influencing teaching in other grades.  We have gone from teaching based on themes like ‘teddy bears’ or ‘winter’ to student-led inquiry learning inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach to education.  It’s been amazing.  Now that FDK has been rolled out in all of our elementary schools and with the ministry release of new Kindergarten documents in the Fall 2016, it seemed like the perfect time to retire and have someone else take on the leadership for Kindergarten in our board. 

Doug:  Recently, you have enjoyed the end to a distinguished formal career as an educator.  Yet, you continue to work at education.

Lisa:  I retired from my position at the board but I haven’t retired from education.  I like to keep learning and exploring topics in education that interest me.  There are so many ways to learn and collaborate online.  I’m doing my doctorate online with Western University and taking courses on Self-Regulation through the MEHRIT Centre. 

I am a member of a couple of Facebook groups like Inquiry Based Learning in Kindergarten and Math in Inquiry Learning, but I wanted a group that discussed things from a leadership perspective.  I couldn’t find one, so I started one called Leading in Education.  I recently started a blog called Opening Doors for Learning.  In the past ten years we moved away from the ‘sit and get’ style professional learning workshop to being co-learners with teachers at the school level through models like collaborative inquiry and lab class.  The title of the blog, Opening Doors for Learning, is meant to reflect that movement towards deprivatizing teacher practice.  Writing for me is very cathartic – I have all these ideas in my head and writing them down for the blog helps me to reflect on my thinking and my learning.  It’s not written from the perspective of being an expert, but from the perspective of a learner.

I’m still learning how to share the blog with others without feeling like I’m saying “LOOK AT ME!”  Self-promotion is uncomfortable for me, yet I get really excited when I see that people are reading my posts.  I had an article published in the June 2016 issue of the Journal of Staff Development and I have one in an upcoming issue of ETFO Voice.  I’ve also submitted a book proposal and an application to present at an upcoming kindergarten conference.  That’s a bit scary – you submit your work and it may be rejected, but when it gets accepted it’s pretty darn exciting!

Doug:  You shouldn’t feel badly about sharing your blog posts.  How will many know that you’ve written something new?  It only gets annoying when you repeatedly announce old posts time after time.  If you want some advice, I know a guy from St. Marys.  In the meantime, keep writing and sharing your wisdom via the various media you’re using.

As you mentioned, you are now committed towards a Doctorate.  What will be the area of your research?

Lisa: Western University has a really interesting approach to the doctorate program.  If you are in the PhD program, you do research with the long term goal of a career in academia.  But they also have the Educational Doctorate program (EdD), which I’m in, that has a focus on developing educational leadership skills by creating an Organization Improvement Plan for an identified Problem of Practice. So I’m still doing lots of reading and learning but with the long term goal of applying the learning. My Problem of Practice is focused on helping kindergarten teachers and ECEs to develop and deepen their understanding of self-regulation – how to teach it, how to document it and how to assess and report on it.  It’s a big part of the Kindergarten Program document that was released by the Ministry of Education in June 2016. 

Doug:  You have my best wishes with this endeavour.  I look forward to calling you Dr. Lisa.  As with all things, you continue to impress.  I wish you all the very best with all that you’re juggling.

Thanks for the interview.

Lisa:  Any time!

You can check out all of the interviews posted to this blog here.

What's in a name?

Previously this blog was titled Leading In Education but, after some reflection, I have changed the name to Opening Doors for Learning.  Why?

When I started this blog, my intended audience was other 'leaders' in education - teachers, ECEs, librarians, administrators, professors - anyone who guides and supports others in their learning.  But that hasn't really captured what my learning has been about and the title didn't reflect where I am currently in my learning and practice.

Since retirement, I've spent time volunteering in a Grade 3 classroom and I'm learning so much from the teacher and from the students.  Recently, I've been invited to participate in a collaborative inquiry project with some kindergarten teachers who are looking at ways to support Syrian refugee children who have arrived in their classes.  I've also been taking online courses for my Doctorate program through the Western University (formerly the University of Western Ontario) and learning so much from the other participants in my classes as well as from the professors and the readings.

In addition, I'm taking an online course on Self-Regulation through the MEHRIT centre and learning so much about self-regulation in the five domains.  Again, learning from the videos, the reading, the supplementary materials and discussion with other participants has been amazing.

So Opening Doors for Learning is about other educators opening their doors, deprivatizing their practice and allowing me and others into their classrooms to learn alongside them and their students.  It's about opening our minds to the idea that we don't have it all figured out and that there is always something new to learn.  And the door also represents that this new learning may lead to someplace new and unexpected.  We never know what might be behind the next door.

(image from http://antiquesdiva.com/antiques-diva/a-door-to-provence)

Leading and Learning in the 21st Century

Starting this blog has lead me to reflect on the different ways we learn and lead learning in the 21st century.  When I began teaching over 25 years ago, I could choose to attend after school workshops, full day workshops with supply coverage or I could attend night classes or summer courses at the local university.  My co-learners were people from my own board and the instructors were often from our board as well.  If you were really fortunate, you might have funding from your board or your union to attend a conference off site with educators from other boards.

How things have changed!  Last night I was online doing a group presentation with three colleagues from my Doctorate of Education program at Western University.  One of my colleagues teaches in Toronto, one in Tanzania and one in the United Arab Emirates.   We meet via Skype several times and used Google Docs to work on our assignment.  Unfortunately for them, we were presenting at 8:30 pm EST which was 4:30 am for one person and 3:30 am for another.  I guess I can't complain about being tired after work and having to present when they both had to set the alarm and get up in the wee hours of the morning to attend.

All the comforts of home while attending a live streamed meeting for the 2015 EdD class.  

Teaching online for Queens University also allows me to connect with educators from across the province of Ontario and beyond.  It's been great to get the perspective of teachers in IB programs around the globe, teachers working at remote Northern villages, teachers in small rural schools and teachers with diverse populations in urban schools.  Sometimes I think I learn more by teaching courses than the students!