DaveShearon

James Burke's K-Web is Cool!

James Burke's K-Web project combines knowledge mapping, virtual realities, and open content generation into a potentially exciting project to create a new way for learners to engage.  Check out the web site or, better yet, watch the 10-minute video here.

ABCing Parental Involvement

My monthly post is up over at Positive Psycholgy News Daily.  It's a story of how a change in parental involvement and differeing beliefs about its meaning.

Reading, Homework, Engagement, and Learning

We do a pretty good job of teaching students to read and a lousy job of getting them to read to learn.  Knowing how to read is just not enough; it is the habit of reading for the pleasure of the story and the tingle of new learning that matters.  (Buy the print here!)

E.D. Hirsh, Jr. writes here about the importance of knowledge to reading comprehension.  He notes:

"According to the latest scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the reading achievement of eighth-graders has declined since the law was passed in 2001, and the large reading gap between advantaged and disadvantaged children -- "the achievement gap" -- has stayed where it was. Today's eighth-graders had recorded gains in fourth grade, but these have not led to improvements in later grades -- when reading scores actually count for a student's future."

He argues that the focus in K-4 on teaching kids to read works, but that the continued focus on that same topic in 5-8 produces diminishing returns.  Thus, reading in middle school needs to move from "how" to "why" -- from teaching to leading.

So, why should kids read and how can we get them to read?  For some, it's easy.  Their character strengths of curiosity or love of learning make it easy to get them started reading to learn and they take it from there.  Others may require different approaches.  The principle, however, is the same.  As kids find out that reading helps them gain knowledge and experience that turn their talents into strengths, they will want to read more.  Twenty-five books per year, or more. Or the equivalent in news articles, magazines, etc.  The key is that reading builds knowledge, and knowledge enables reading.  Again, from Dr. Hirsch:

[Hmmm... those are my beliefs, but I think I've just put forth what could serve as hypotheses for research.  For example, are students for whom curiosity and love of learning are top character strengths more likely to be prolific readers?  Does helping students connect to reading material that enhances their strengths increase the likelihood that they will read significant amounts?]

As Dr. Hirsch points out, it is not just the ability to read that matters.  It is reading!  Lots of reading. 

"Studies of reading comprehension show that knowing something of the topic you're reading about is the most important variable in comprehension. After a child learns to sound out words, comprehension is mostly knowledge. Many technical studies support the assertion that after students can fluently sound out words, relevant knowledge is the crucial difference between students who are good or poor readers."

So who's going to lead the effort to re-direct more time and attention in middle school to reading for knowledge and learning?  Teachers, if anyone.  Some will focus on making time available for students to read.  Others will defend reading against ill-informed attacks.  Overall, however, it's teacher led instructional improvement that offers a realistic path to sustained superior performance.

I am grateful for opportunities to apply positive psychology!

I have had wonderful opportunities to apply positive psychology in recent months, and the schedule ahead suggests those opportunities will continue:

Culver Academies Faculty Workshop, Culver, IN, 6/11-13, 2007 (Workshop)

Culver Summer Camps Staff Workshop, Culver, IN, 6/13-15, 2007 (Workshop)

The Lawrenceville School Positive Psychology Conference, Lawrenceville, NJ, 6/16-18 (Participant)

United Kingdom Teacher Training, Penn Resiliency Program, Philadelphia,  PA, 7/21-8/3/2007 (Facilitator)

Tennessee District Attorney Generals Conference, Capital Case Litigation Conference, Nashville, TN, 8/6/2007 (Speaker)

Penn Center for School Study Councils, South Jersey Superintendents Study Council, Sewell, New Jersey, 9/11/2007(Workshop)

"Positive Psychology and the Law",  Nashville School of Law,  6:30 pm, 9/26/2007 (Speaker)

Coaches Workshop, Culver Academy, Culver, IN, 10/3-4/2007 (Consulting)

"Getting to 'Why?'"  TBA Young Lawyers Division seminar, 10/25/2007

Victim/Witness Services Retreat, Nashville DA's Officce, 10/19/2007 (Workshop)

"Lawyers as Peacemakers, Lawyers as Problemsolvers", Memphis, TN, 10/28-29/2007 (Speaker)

"Government Lawyers CLE", Nashville Bar Association, 11/30/2007 (Speaker)

Penn Center for School Study Councils, South Jersey Superintendents Study Council, Sewell, New Jersey, 12/11/2007(Workshop)

Wellbeing at Geelong Grammar School, Australia, 1/21-31/2008 (Facilitator for faculty training)

Penn Center for School Study Councils, South Jersey Superintendents Study Council, Sewell, New Jersey, 2/12/2008 (Speaker)

"A Great Start", TBA Young Lawyers Seminar Nashville, TN (webcast to Memphis and Knoxville)2/15/2008 (Speaker) 

Penn Center for School Study Councils, South Jersey Superintendents Study Council, New Jersey, 5/13/2008 (Workshop)

Why are some kids resilient?

Elona, asked in a comment: "Why are some kids able to succeed despite everything while other kids can't?"  You suggested that a caring adult makes a difference, and research on factors in the child's world does show that such relationships are important. 

The Penn Resiliency Program, however, focuses on the thinking patterns of students, especially their beliefs about adversities that shape how they feel and respond in the face of such adversity.  For example, the student who gets a bad grade on a quiz and thinks, "I'm stupid.  I'll never learn," will react differently from one who thinks "I knew that material -- I need to ask the teacher how to do better on tests!"  Likewise, a student who walks into the cafeteria and sees a friend look her way then turn and walk off and thinks, "I knew she wouldn't stay my friend, nobody ever does," is going to react badly to the incident.  One who thinks, "Wow!  Wonder what she's got going on -- must be exciting.  I'll call her later," is going to follow a much different path over the rest of the day.  A more positive explanatory style (the second example in each of the vignettes above) leads to more resource-building actions as well as to more positive feelings (the "Broaden & Build" theory, Barb Fredrickson_.  In the context of relationships with adults, students with a more positive explanatory style are more likely to develop and sustain such supportive relationships. 

Of course, this isn't as simple as "Think Positive!"  Students need to learn to monitor their internal dialogue and recognize the connections between their beliefs and how they feel.  Then they have to learn to generate alternative explanations and look for evidence about the accuracy of each.  The goal is flexible, accurate thinking, not just positivity.  But, in ambiguous situations (and how many aren't?), we should all lean toward positivity.

On that basis, the Penn Resiliency Program goes on to build skills in assertive communication styles, decision making, time management, etc.  Good stuff!  Multiple research studies, both those conducted by Karen Reivich and Jane Gillham, the developers of PRP, and studies conducted by others have demonstrated the power of the curriculum.  And they've got it down to manualized set of 12 2-hour (or so) lessons that teachers can learn to deliver.  I'll be going to Philadelphia in about three weeks as a facilitator for training Drs. Reivich and Gillham and Dr. Judy Salzburg are giving to about 80 teachers being sent over from three school systems in England.  Very exciting stuff!

Penn Resilience Program

I've been in Philadelphia this week for the first four days of a 7-day training with the developers of the Penn Resilience Program, Karen Reivich, Ph.D. and Jane Gillham, Ph.D.   The program is the result of years of research, including 13 separate studies involving approximately 2000 students.  The results have confirmed the program's effectiveness at preventing depression and excessive anxiety.  It also helps with behavior control problems.   Perhaps most importantly, the skills taught promote flexible, accurate thinking, problem solving, and initiative.  The program consists of 12, 2-hour sessions aimed at middle school students.  Karen and Jane have recently "manualized" the program so it can be delivered by teachers, but both fidelity to the approach and competence (personal understanding and application of the skills) are important.   Thus the training for the group I'm in.  That group will supply facilitators for an upcoming training for approximately 90 teachers from England as part of a major implementation that has been spearheaded by Lord Richard Layard, former professor of economics at the London School of Economics.  This will be a large-scale project with rigorous evaluation through the London School of Economics to test the effectiveness of the program when implemented through this manualized approach. 

The group being trained includes students from both my MAPP class (including my colleague Sherri Fisher), several clinical psychologists, and a couple of active teachers who've had prior contact with positive psychology, including one from the Strath Haven Project.  It's been fun seeing my classmates and getting to know more of those from this year's.  Plus I've enjoyed learning from the insights of the clinical practitioners.

If you'd like to learn more about the research and skills behind PRP, I highly recommend The Optimistic Child and The Resilience Factor.

Carnival of Education over at The Education Wonks

Check it out1

Theories of Intelligence

I've been working with a local elementary school this fall (and loving it!).  In my last session with them, I did a one-hour workshop based on Carol Dweck's work on self-theories of intelligence.  Dr. Dweck's work has focused on how individuals (pre-school to adults) theorize about intelligence, morality, love, and the world in general.  For each topic, she and her colleagues have found that indiviudals can have entity/fixed or incremental/growth theories.  For intelligence, this means thinking that smart is something you are (entity/fixed) or something you become throuh effort (incremental/growth).  This concept is very close to Seligman's attributional style theory (and, in fact, Dr. Dweck's initial work used that as a launching point). 

Here are index card versions of the correlates of these theories.  For full information, try Mindset: The New Psychology of Success  (2006) or Self-Theories: Their Role in Motivation, Personality, and Development (2000).  Mindset  is obviously newer and it's written more for a lay audience, but I found Self-Theories very clear and it lays out the research base more fully.

Entity/Fixed Theory

    Smart people just ARE!

         No need to work at it.

         Effort is a sign of not-smart.

            And pointless -- effort can never compensate for not-smartness.

   

     Difficulties in school or with learning signal my not-smart point.

          I must avoid becoming a not-smart, at all costs.

          I must avoid difficulties

             Tasks that are easy are good.

             Tasks that are easy for me and hard for others are better.

Even one action can show the core traits of a person.

Once you know a person's core, no reason to expect change.

And no reason to look for contrary evidence. (Stereotypes)

Incremental Theory

   Smart is the combination of knowledge, strategy, and effort.

         Learning is good because it makes me smarter.

         I can always work harder.

         I can always find better strategies, or someone can help me!

Difficulties in school or with learning signal insufficient effort or

Improper strategies, or inadequate knowledge – all fixable!

I must seek out challenges in order to get smarter.

What others accomplish does not diminish my increasing smarts!

People have tendencies, but situations often shape their actions.

It takes a lot of observations to start to know someone.

Even then, they can change.

Carnival of Education #77

TextSavvy has the Carnival this week, and his blog is worth some time as well!

Teacher-Developed Text Books

Great post over at edspresso on textbooks and the possible combination of teacher smarts and technology .  I've wondered about a wikipedia-style approach --wait! there is such a tool on the net.  Where have I seen it?  If I find it or someone sends it to me, I'll update this post.  Meanwhile, though I push reading, I suspect the poor writing, uninteresting approach, and shallowness of many texts help turn students off to real books, magazines, newspapers, etc.  For more on this topic, see Computer Science Teacher, and here.