I am Ready for a Career Change, but Where Do I Start?
When I made my decision and began my journey to leave education, I called a former principal of mine, who had left public education a few years earlier, and asked her how she did it. At that point, getting out of public education and starting a new career seemed IMPOSSIBLE. I felt like I was handed a prison sentence until it was time to retire.
She shared some valuable advice with me and graciously answered my questions, but what stuck out the most was how she described the job search: “It’s like being 25 again.” I realize now that I did not fully understand what she meant until I began my own job search. It really is like being 25 again because the future is so uncertain. Every time I opened my email inbox, there was the potential for rejection or success
Rejection is Part of the Career Journey, So Learn to Accept It.
Of course, most of the time I found a rejection of some sort. Many of them were very kind and began something like this:
“While your background is impressive, we have decided to move on with other candidates who more closely match the skills we are looking for.”
Surprisingly, I received replies to most of the applications I submitted, whether they were rejections or considerations. I say that I was surprised because, in the world of public education, you can apply for a job and NEVER get a reply from anyone. It’s like you send your application into the ether, and unless it lands on an inhabited star, no one ever sees it.
Lost in Transition: Navigating the Unknown
Another way in which finding a new career is like being 25 again is that there are days when you have no idea where you are going or where the road you chose will take you. I read thousands of job descriptions during my nightly searches on LinkedIn, and this process helped me better understand what kind of job I was looking for. If you are doing the same right now, here are some questions you may want to consider:
Do I want to work online or in a physical office? Maybe you want a job that allows you the flexibility to do both.
Do you want to be an instructional designer? For me, this was a tough question. At first, I thought it would be easy to transition into a position like this because I had so much experience. But I discovered a few things: The mid-level to senior positions sometimes require a portfolio, and the market for these positions is extremely competitive. Eventually, decided that I really did not like instructional design enough to do it all day long, but I wouldn’t mind doing it sometimes.
What soft skills do you possess that will make you marketable to prospective employers? Employers are often looking for someone who has grit more than they are looking for someone who has a perfect profile. They know going into the hiring process that they aren’t going to find the perfect candidate, so they look for people who have some of the skills they are looking for but also possess the passion and perseverance needed to meet goals. If you don’t believe me, watch this short conversation between Simon Sinek and Jackie Reses:
Jackie Reses’ response to Sinek inspires me because it forces me to focus on aligning my values with those of the companies I am researching as possible employers. Remember that when you are researching career opportunities, applying for jobs, and interviewing for positions, you are learning as much about the company as they are about you. Do not leave education in desperation, even though you may feel desperate. Remember that you are looking for an environment that provides you with advantages and opportunities that you can’t find in your current role.
Unveiling Career Paths
Interviewing for a few different positions this past month has helped me crystalize my thoughts about the type of environment in which I want to work:
Most importantly, I want to work in an environment where my skills and talents are valued. And when I say value, I am not necessarily referring to the monetary kind. I want my employer to recognize my strengths and contributions. Yes, money is part of being valued–we all know that. But none of them became teachers because money was the most important factor. We became teachers because we want to feel as though our contributions matter. We want to feel like we are making a difference.
I also want to work in a place where I feel safe taking a risk or possibly making a mistake. I am lucky enough to remember a time when taking risks was valued in education for both teachers and students. I think that the changing educational landscape has made those in public education extremely leary about taking risks: 1. There are standardized tests where students need to perform at prescribed levels. 2. Teachers are not treated like professionals. Parents and administrators alike have learned to cater to young adults, which has upset the balance of power in many schools as well as society.
Finally, I want to exercise my creativity and problem-solving skills. I know that for me to be able to enjoy any task, I must be intellectually stimulated. I am, by nature, a curious person. It drives my approach to most situations: I want to know why.
If you are reading this and wondering where to start, you may be asking yourself how I came to the conclusions I listed above. I suggest you begin your journey on LinkedIn. Search for all the jobs available within 25-50 miles of where you live. Peruse the listings and read the job descriptions. For each one you find that interests you, save it so you can return to it later. After you’ve saved 10-15 jobs, see if you find any common threads. What do all of these positions have in common? Your answer will give you an idea of the type of jobs that align with your career goals.
P.S. Just in case you doubted my seriousness in my last post where I discussed the importance of your resume, I will remind you again that the resume is what gets you the interview. You can’t get a job without your resume getting noticed. Katie Travis is the best, and she will build a resume for you that lands you the interview for your dream job.
I made a promise to myself almost exactly 30 years ago: If the job ever became a drag, if I ever stopped feeling connected, I would get out. It’s been difficult to admit the reality, but I’m keeping my promise. If I can’t keep a promise to myself above all others, what does that say about my integrity?
Isn’t a New Year’s Resolution a Cliché? What about an Existential Crisis?
The end of the calendar year is always a little weird because I feel reflective, maybe even a little mournful about the passing year, but I also feel hopeful too, that this coming year will be better than the last, or even the best yet.
I haven’t written a blog post in a long time because I’ve been in a bit of a rut since 2020. I know many people have made this proclamation, but I’ve always been a late bloomer, so I feel like others came to the realization a bit quicker than I did.
If you asked me a few months ago about how teaching was going, I would not have been able to answer you directly. I may have half-heartedly mumbled, “There isn’t enough time to get it all done,” or “I don’t have the energy to get it all done.” But the truth–and for me, this is a hard truth to put into writing for others to read–the truth is that I no longer feel passionate about teaching.
30 Years Seems Like a Lifetime
As of this coming calendar year, I have dedicated 30 years of my career to honing my craft.
30 years of investing in young people
30 years of unpaid overtime
30 years of developing new curricula that are rarely implemented for more than three years
30 years of purpose
30 years of an identity
I can do what many teachers do: Stick it out, mark time for two years, and win the golden egg.
But I can’t do that.
Once I admitted how I really felt, I knew I needed to make a change.
Because I made a promise to myself in 1994. I saw the older teachers, some of whom were bitter, most of them were tired, and some of them had stopped learning and growing because there didn’t seem to be any point. They seemed stunted and burned and blamed the system for it.
So here I am–post-existential crisis—looking for the next thing.
The Beginning of the Transition
The transition has been hard for many reasons, but here are several:
Leaving teaching feels like a death because I am moving from a career and a lifestyle that has shaped my entire adulthood.
Admitting I was miserable was hard because I didn’t feel as though I had a right to feel that way. After all, I make a decent salary with good health benefits and a pension.
I had to have a difficult conversation with my partner. He is very supportive, but I was worried he would think less of me for wanting to give it all up and start over.
I felt like I was giving up. I’m not sure where this feeling came from, but it was strong and present.
Lastly, I hadn’t applied for a job outside of education for over 25 years. Where do I even start??
I’ve been looking for jobs since the Thanksgiving holiday, and I’ve realized a few things. I’m passionate about careers that will allow me to help people and make my community a better place. And those jobs pay A LOT less than what I’m currently making as a public school teacher. So I’ve had to consider how much money matters. For me, money isn’t as important as having a sense of purpose–which is priceless. Ask anyone who is retired. Working people underestimate the importance of purpose and inflate the importance of money.
Preparing to Jump: Some Advice
Get your résumé revamped by a professional. I used Katie Travis, and I am so pleased with the result. I was reluctant to spend the money at first, but trust me–the résumé needs to be excellent to get the interview. It’s really competitive out there, and many employers are using AI as a screener. You can’t beat the system, but a good résumé writer can.
Use ChatGPT or another form of AI as an assistant. It can probably craft a résumé, but I don’t recommend that. What I do recommend is using it to create cover letters. Paste the job description in the message bar and ask it to write you a cover letter. Use this as the baseline and tweak it to sound unique.
Take some time to reflect on your strengths and weaknesses. This will prime you for so many things. Seriously–make that list. It will help you discover your new passion, prepare you for interviews, and develop self-awareness.
LinkedIn is the place to be. Your profile matters. I used Canva to create a professional background
You never know what can come from the act of writing. It’s the surest way to discover new ideas!
Career Options
Here are some career options I’ve explored. Some have been more successful than others.
Look for jobs in academia, but NOT as a teacher–not an adjunct, not a tutor. Research local community colleges and see what’s available.
Remember to investigate small local businesses. These places can be hidden gems.
I am an English teacher, so I’ve been considering positions in local public libraries. I’ll let you know how this pans out because I’m finding that many of these positions require a Master’s degree in Library Science.
Explore office administrative positions, such as a project coordinator or an executive assistant. Teachers are masters of adaptability and flexibility. You have the skills to work in a fast-paced environment.
Can an English teacher land an editorial position? I’ve explored some of these options, and the senior-level positions often ask for portfolios of work. I have no such thing at this moment, but I am a beast at writing, editing, and proofreading.
If you stumble across this post, I would love to hear about your journey. I know there are a lot of teachers looking for opportunities right now. If you’ve only started considering a change, I am only one step ahead of you. If you’ve already made the transition, do you have any advice for the rest of us?
On this blog, I usually write about educational practices. And I’ve been silent for a while because I have been OVERWHELMED by teaching the past year. The last thing I want to do when I come home is sit in front of computer after being on Zoom all day. So this post is about education, but it’s dusted with politics and coated with a strong opinion.
Let me ask a few questions first.
Would you blame a fire fighter for the flames that consumed your house? Would you blame the doctor for your cancer diagnosis? Would you blame the department of transportation for the snow storm?
No? Then why is a rather large and disturbingly loud sector of society blaming educators for the closing of schools during a pandemic? Will someone please explain this to me? (I welcome rational explanations, not rants or insults, please.)
Here are examples of what I’ve been seeing on social media since this pandemic started.
Taxpayer 1: “Why are schools closed again? Isn’t it convenient that they are closed right before the holiday????”
Taxpayer 2 replies: “The teachers don’t want to work.”
Taxpayer 3 replies: “It’s the union. They cater to the teachers and give them whatever they want.”
Taxpayer 1 replies: “I should NOT have to pay school taxes if the teachers aren’t working. I want a refund.”
I don’t know who’s in charge in the beautiful and desperate world in which we live, but these kinds of comments need to stop. They are poison. And they are not helping your children.
These comments are perfidious. Their intention is to offend, undermine, and incite.
Teachers are working, even when the school is being cleaned or prepared for the return of students. Teachers are working online at home for just as long if not longer than if we were in the building.
Anyone who knows me knows how hard it is for me to hold my tongue when I see injustice, but as a teacher I am not allowed to have an opinion. Especially in a public forum.
This ends today.
Today I am speaking up. Why?
Because today was the day that I decided to venture out into the real world after weeks of semi-isolation. What a mistake. Because now I’ve been provoked.
I saw adults in enclosed public areas wearing masks around their chins (Why bother with a mask at all????) and wearing masks around their mouths (Again, why even bother???).
And then there is the rebel of them all: The people who don’t wear masks, sharing their naked pride and entitlement with the world.
Some of these people are serving food. Some of these people are adults with children. Some of these people are customers who boldly walk around the grocery store.
When you refuse to wear a mask in public, you are broadcasting your entitlement to everyone who sees you. You send a message that you are “immunized . . . against the complaints of other people” (James 4-5) because you don’t care about your community and the people in it. Your rights, wishes, desires, and convenience are more important than anyone else’s.
There are several businesses that I will not patronize because the mask rule is not enforced. Starbucks is one of them.
There are just as many restaurants where I will never eat because the people handling the food do not wear masks over their noses.
What do I do every day, all day, while I am in my classroom teaching? I wear my mask.
And it’s HARD. I can speak much more clearly when I don’t wear it. I can get a drink of water whenever I want without it.
And at the end of the day, I feel like I have been shouting for six hours because I need to speak loudly enough for the students online AND the students in my classroom to hear me.
When I throw my mask in the wash basket, it is damp as a dish towel, even though I wear a mask with three layers and a filter.
But yet some adults can’t wear a mask for the 30 minutes they are in the grocery store or the 10 minutes they are in Starbucks.
People who don’t wear masks will prolong the pandemic. They will also prevent schools from returning to face-to-face learning at full capacity. They are the reason schools are shifting to online learning. They are also of the cause of the impending educational crisis that looms over this country. And we are all woefully unprepared for it.
Teachers all over the country are leaving the profession in droves because they are tired of being abused by the public. Fewer and fewer young people are earning degrees in education. A large number of those that earn degrees leave the profession within five years.They are tired of being called lazy, overpaid, and selfish. Need I remind you that teachers have been protecting your children from active shooters for years?
When teachers die, they are heroes. When they want to do their jobs effectively in reasonably safe conditions so they can keep themselves and, in turn, their families healthy, they are villains who don’t deserve respect.
This country needs to seriously think about how they treat educators. Their words and actions are creating a bleak future for their children and grandchildren. Here is what you will see in the near future. It’s happening now.
Your children will have multiple teachers for each of their classes in one school year because schools can’t find permanent replacements for classroom teachers.
Frequent large group “instruction,” where an adult will oversee students from multiple classes because replacement teachers are unavailable.
People without education degrees will be teaching your children. Why does this matter? Teachers have knowledge of pedagogy–other professionals do not.
Children will have fewer mentors in their lives who genuinely care about their well-being.
This week alone I potentially saved the lives of two children. Do you want a passionate, trained educator to watch over you most precious cargo? Who will you trust? Will you trust the professionals? Or are you OK with schools putting warm bodies in classrooms?
Consider these questions. They are important. The answers impact your children’s future.
I am a public servant, like fire fighters, social workers, crossing guards, and law enforcement. I entered this profession because I want to make a positive impact on my community. Your actions matter. Your words matter. And you can contribute to the greater good, or you can destroy it.
Bibliography
James, Aaron. Assholes: A Theory. New York: Doubleday. 2012.
In any instructional design model, assessment and evaluation are ongoing and essential for growth. I am grateful that I have empathetic and knowledgable colleagues to give me constructive feedback because their eyes and ideas have helped me grow as a designer.
To practice assessment and evaluation this week, I created a rubric for writing a formal letter. I broke with tradition a bit because I feel like rubrics can be so stale and unwieldy, so I tried to keep this one as simple and positive as possible. I know that it still needs some work before I implement it.
I wish that when I started this adventure that I would have worked with the same project/lesson all the way through. I feel like my process was disjointed because I did not have a clear vision at the beginning of the adventure. I tried to follow the iterative design model, but I think I would have been more comfortable with following these steps:
Ideate
Empathize with my audience
Create a prototype
Test the prototype
Iterate
Test the prototype again
Implement
The aspect of iterative design that appeals to me is the iteration process–revising my work based on feedback–because I think that feedback is directly connected to growth. Probably the most important things I have learned form this class is that I need to incorporate more opportunity for my students to receive feedback about their work. It’s difficult to manage with class sizes over 30, but it’s going to be one thing I focus on next year when I return to the classroom.
I explored three new-to-me learning technologies for the ELA classroom this week: StoryMapsTS,TimlineJS, and Sutori. I ended up tinkering with Sutori much more than the other two sites because its intuitive design supports a constructivist approach to learning. Sutori also allows users to construct a story, fiction or nonfiction, thus allowing them to engage personally with the content.
Design
When introducing new technology to middle schoolers, I’ve found that sometimes an instructor can become bogged down with the teaching of a digital learning tool and lose focus of the learning goal because the design requires high physical effort. The seminal work How People Learn emphasizes this idea:”Design that prioritizes easy engagement for the user and productivity with respect to the intended pedagogical goal is important” (National Academy of Sciences, 2018, p. 188). For instance, if I used TimlineJS, I would most likely have to teach students how to use the Google Spreadsheet template and how to navigate the TimelineJS website. These two steps could likely divert the focus from the lesson’s objectives. Ideally, an instructor wants students to be exposed to a variety of learning tools, but she doesn’t want the newness of them to induce frustration or distraction on the part of the learner. The design should require low physical effort. Sutori constructs the perfect level of new and challenging for middle-schoolers so that they can spend the bulk of their time experiencing, exploring, and creating while meeting learning goals.
Formative Assessment
The screenshot below illustrates another reason I chose Sutori. I would never have thought of using a timeline as a way to check for reading comprehension. I think this example is brilliant because it follows the SQURR (Survey, Question, Read, Review) method. I also like that teachers can use this template to check students’ comprehension, or they can have students create their own project as a way to demonstrate the same skill. If students create the quiz, they can work individually or in small groups and then easily share their quizzes with classmates. If students share their quizzes, they are acting as creators, producers, instructors, and learners through the course of one activity.
Feedback, Collaboration, and Communication
With Sutori’s unlimited package, instructors have access to analytics for each story or lesson that teachers create. The screenshots (below) illustrate the stats teachers can access. They can see what types of files and questions and how many are included in any one story; they can also see how much time each student spent on the activity.
Some of the analytics available with Sutori‘ s unlimited packageScreenshot showing multi-media included in one Sutori project
The unlimited subscription enables the comment feature, allowing social communication between classmates. Additionally, it allows teachers to provide feedback on students’ work.
I also like that Sutori allows users to collaborate in real time, as the red arrow indicates in the screenshot. All they need to do is click on the blue “Share” button in the top right corner of the page and invite their classmates using their email address or Satori username they chose when they created their accounts.
Students may also publish their work by embedding in a website or electronic portfolio to share with a wider audience.
Knowledge Construction
The versatility of Sutori should be appealing to teachers. I’ve mentioned that instructors and students can use the unlimited subscription to create formative assessment, but it can also be used to create projects, like book reports or narratives. These templates look more like websites but better organized. The screenshot illustrates my point, but it may be easier to visit Tylie Chavez’s example. The final product looks a bit like a blog because it contains a header and short description, but the timeline that follows adds an aesthetic appeal that one might not be able to easily create on a Google Site or Wix. The template featured below can be used to create a biographical sketch for an author, a book report, or an outline for an original narrative or nonfiction essay.
As you can see, Sutori allows students to create a visualized mental model for their thinking and learning by app smashing. Like Notion, Google Slides, Book Creator, and Padlet, Sutori allows the integration of different forms of multi-media to provide their audiences with various opportunities for engaging with the content. During the creation process, students choose from a variety of templates (which forces them to think about how to best format their information), research and collect ideas, decide which ideas are most important, organize them, and then add other forms of multi-media as they deem appropriate to enhance their story. According to How People Learn II (2018), published by the National Academy of Sciences, linked representations “support cognitive flexibility and encoding variability to support learning” (p. 166). As a result the integration of various forms of information and multi-media creates a deeper learning experience (p. 167).
The screenshots below show that students can embed videos or quizzes. In addition, a user may also choose in embed sound bites into a spooky narrative to add suspense and create mood, for example, or embed images of a famous person in a biographical sketch. The tool offers options that foster creativity and critical thinking.
Screenshot of embedded video in a sample timeline on Sutori
Even though younger students have not studied Mayer’s Principles for Multi-Media Learning, they are considering and implementing them as they design their timelines. Th inherent nature of the task requires them to evaluate the sources they will use. For instance, they must consider which videos may be the most effective in teaching the content, and they must consider the reasons why as they collaborate. They are also using a variety of instructional modalities, such as images, text, hyperlinks, and audio to showcase the pertinent information.
Level of Choice
Teachers have the ability to decide how much choice students will have for any given assignment. For instance, if a teacher wants to create and administer an assessment to students using this tool, the level of choice will not be very high; however, teachers may want to create an open-ended learning experience with a high level of choice, where students choose topics of interest, organize the information in an appropriate format, and share and/or present it to their peers. Giving learners choice, according to the authors of How People Learn II (2018), “optimiz[es] motivation” (p. 172).
Representation: Sutori affords users the opportunity to use multi-media to support learning. In other words, it allows the user to show what has been learned.
Action and Expression:Sutori contains models. There are several tutorials and templates available for teachers and students to use or imitate. In regards to feedback, the digital technology provides the creator of the story with useful data, and the comment feature allows students and teachers to interact with the content. (See the screenshots above for examples.)
Engagement: Sutori allows users to choose how they would like to present and share their information. It provides choices and encourages risk-taking, but it also provides scaffolds for learning.
Very often I find myself spending a great deal of time creating models or templates for students when I introduce a project. Sutori has examples that serve as a boiler plate, providing a scaffold for students who may not feel comfortable creating their own project from scratch. The tool allows students to develop cognitive skills by experience real-world problem solving.
The one drawback with Sutori’s design, in my opinion, is that it favors users who are sighted. According to Satori’s website, their design meets all the stipulations of the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAC) because the browser accommodates for any shortfalls the actually site may have. For instance, HTML5 and JavaScript allow users to use screen readers that transmit the text on the screen. If you’d like to read more about how Sutori conforms to the Revised 508 Standards, they post a PDF on their website that delineates their levels of support.
Summary
In short, Sutori‘s affordances make learning meaningful for students:
Design: It’s interface it intuitive, simple, and flexible. Users can begin a project from scratch or adapt on of the many templates available.
Feedback: With a subscription, users can view the stats for each story they create and use the comment feature to interact and provide feedback.
Knowledge Construction: It allows students to construct their own knowledge.
Visualization: Users can create a visual model of their thinking.
Choice:It provides students and teachers with a great deal of choice in regards to format and integration of multi-media.
Communication: The site allows students to collaborate in real-time. It can also be used as a presentation tool.
I am looking forward to using this digital learning tool with my students, especially when they are planning for writing assignments or preparing for book talks. Teachers can use this tool as a way to gather research, create a plan for a project, or create a story.
I tried the edX Spanish course first. I know some rudimentary Spanish already, so I didn’t want to start with the very first, most basic course. However, I am interested in how languages are taught, especially to beginners, so I was eager to see how edX set it up.
Basic Spanish 2 is designed for English speakers seeking to learn Spanish. It is self-paced, and students can start at any time. Before beginning, you indicate your primary purpose in taking the course: exploration, completion, or earning a verified certificate. If you want the certificate, there is a $50 fee. The fee is also required if you want continuing access to the course. Otherwise, your progress is lost about a month after you begin. As the fee deadline grows closer, edX will send a couple of email reminders.
The course is well-organized, with listing of all the different units and lessons through which it is easy to navigate. I could skip ahead or go back as I liked, to find more challenging topics, or review certain skills. In his book The One World Schoolhouse, Salman Khan lists self-pacing as one of the “essential aids to active, self-motivated learning” (2013, p. 57). To facilitate this, the syllabus, resources and forums were clearly listed on the sidebar.
The first thing I noticed about Basic Spanish 2 was that the instructions are in both Spanish and English. The Spanish comes first, with English directly underneath. I’m pleased because reading them in the target language squeezes in a little more practice without much effort. However, I found my eye was still drawn downward to the English, which is easier for me to read. It would be nice to have the instructions visible solely in Spanish, with an option to translate if necessary. Then I would have a better shot of translating it on my own, but I could still check if I was unsure.
The lessons mostly center on exercises to be filled out. There are a lot of questions to answer, but they are asked in a variety of ways. The first set of questions may be matching the title of a job with a picture of the tools required. For example, matching “el medico” (“the doctor”) with a picture of a stethoscope. The next set of questions may be fill-in-the-blank, such as “_______ trabaja en un hospital” (“_______ works in a hospital”). There are a number of these different question sets, all phrased differently. The variety gave me experience with numerous sentence structures, as well as vocabulary words associated with each profession.
These sets of questions are quite reminiscent of traditional classroom worksheets. That may be good for some learners, and not for others. They are different in that there is never a time limit, feedback is immediate upon answering, and hints are available if you get stuck.
Also reminiscent of traditional language learning are the many tables of verb conjugations. I understand the reason for these, laying out the structure in a visible and organized way. They’ve always felt like walls of text to me, and I don’t know if anyone ever actually reads through them. I have a good understanding of Spanish verb conjugations already, so whenever they came up in the edX lessons, I would skim them quickly and move on. I do find such tables useful as a quick reference on the side, but not as part of a lesson to be read.
After the conjugation tables come videos. The videos feel more accessible. They are mostly in Spanish, with an English transcript on the side. The transcript can be switched to Spanish so you can follow along in the target language. Closed captioning is also available in either language. If the student desires a challenge, all the settings can be adjusted to Spanish. However, if the student is frustrated or struggling to understand, they can read along in English.
The video presenters are easy to understand. They speak slowly, clearly and deliberately. They are dressed casually, and are cheerful. However, I didn’t feel any connection to them. Their voices sound robotic and over-rehearsed. It is obvious they are merely reading a script into a camera. They don’t bring any relatability or sense of community to the course.
At the bottom of each section, there is a forum for student questions and discussion. It seems that few students utilize these forums. Like others I have seen, they can be difficult to navigate or search through. Most of the posts say something akin to, “¿Puedes hablar conmigo?” (“Can you talk with me?”), and usually go unanswered.
There are a number of lessons utilizing the “Audiolab,” which is for speaking practice and requires the use of a microphone. Unfortunately, this feature doesn’t work on iOS devices, which means I was unable to use it. The instructions are clear that these lessons are not necessary for the course, but are supplementary to the required instruction. Still, there are quite a few exercises that I simply clicked through because I wasn’t able to use them. I don’t recall anything mentioned in the course description about how some activities require particular devices. This was a disappointment, and I can’t weigh in on the quality of this feature. If I had paid for the lessons instead of using the free trial, my disappointment would have been deeper.
My role as a student in
this course was to go through the exercises and watch the videos. I matched
vocabulary, filled in blanks, put sentences in the correct order, etc. I felt
like I was going through a language workbook in a traditional classroom, with
an occasional break for a lecture from the teacher. This is not to say that I
didn’t learn anything. I actually did, as there were occasional words and phrases
I didn’t know, or needed to review.
My overall feeling about the course was that it was boring. It was a chore to sit down and do it. It felt like sitting silently in a traditional classroom, working from a workbook and listening to a teacher, but without any chance to interact or communicate back. If the forums were more useful, or if I had been able to use the Audiolab feature, I may have felt differently.
There were two features of this course I found to be excellent. One was simply the amount of Spanish used. Its focus was the target language, and it was designed accordingly. Although there were English instructions here and there, the vast majority of the textual, audio and visual components were presented in Spanish. The other excellent feature was the page of External Resources listed on the menu at the top. It was far more interesting to go through this wealth of online resources than to complete the lessons.
If you would like to improve your rudimentary Spanish in a traditional class, but are unable to enroll in one for whatever reason, I would recommend edX’s Basic Spanish 2. However, if you are looking for an online experience that differs from passive listening and worksheet-type activities, this isn’t the one for you. Also, you may get more out of it if you are not using an iOS device.
The other online course I took was Introduction to Game Design from Coursera, in partnership with the California Institute of the Arts, or CalArts. It is the first in an offering of five courses that make up a series entitled, “Game Design: Arts and Concepts Specialization.” The five courses cover various areas in game design, such as character design and storytelling, and it is suggested that students plan approximately eight months to complete the entire series.
Each course can be tried out free for seven days, after which there is a fee of $49 to continue and earn a certificate. In order to try two weeks worth of the course, I had to move a little faster through the material. I felt intimidated as I began, as I have no prior experience or knowledge on the subject of game design, and I was afraid I would be completely lost from the beginning.
The introductory course I took is supposed to take one month, with the lessons organized into units that are to last approximately one week each. These week-long units are comprised of video lessons. Each video lasts between one and ten minutes, usually landing in the middle. Each one ends with a short, multiple-choice quiz on the topic that has been covered. At the end of the unit, there is an exercise or assignment. These are to be completed and shared through the student forum, and peer feedback is strongly encouraged. An entire lesson was devoted to teaching how to give constructive feedback, and how to implement the feedback you receive in turn. However, submitting work to the student forum was not required before moving on with the class.
The Introduction to Game Design course is mostly built around the videos. There is one instructor: Fran Krause. He is not only a game designer, but a professor, film director, animator and author. His delivery is a little cheesy at times, but he is conversational and personable. The videos were enjoyable viewing.
My favorite feature of these videos was the unexpected use of a fluffy blue puppet acting as his cameraman. The puppet talked with the instructor, and sometimes argued with him. It provided a counterpoint to the instruction and another voice to chime in with questions. For example, after Fran would explain a concept, the puppet might shout out, “That doesn’t make sense!” and Fran would break it down into more basic parts, until the puppet could understand.
Yes, it was childish. Sometimes I felt like a toddler watching Sesame Street. However, as a complete
novice at game design, I’m at a level at which I appreciate the children’s
television version. The puppet was there to ask questions, demand clarification
and make common mistakes, all so I could gain a better understanding while
watching.
The Coursera features are easy to navigate. There is a drop-down
table of contents on the left side of the video. On the right, there is a
section for taking notes. If you click the “Take Note” button under the video,
it grabs a screen capture of that point of the video to save in your notes. You
can also manually type your notes in this section.
Each video has a transcript beneath it. There is a selection of
fourteen languages into which the transcript can be translated. The
closed-captioning is also provided in fourteen languages.
The main strength of the Coursera Introduction to Game Design course was its easygoing attitude. I felt that it was specifically built so as not to frighten away a newcomer like me. As David Perkins states in his book,Making Learning Whole, “watch out for piling up logistics and rules at the beginning. Let me establish an open and curious spirit” (2009, p. 77). There was very little technical knowledge required to begin. The assignments could be completed on pen and paper, if desired. A lot of the attitude had to do with Fran, the instructor, and his amusing interactions with the puppet. I don’t know if that same relaxed manner continues through the other courses in the series, although it makes sense to me that they would become more technical as they go along.
I do wish there had been more in the way of supplemental materials, instead of relying solely on the videos. Although I appreciate how basic the course was, sometimes I wanted a deeper look. Perhaps I need to sign up for the following four courses.
When I began this comparison project, I expected I would favor the edX Spanish course over Coursera’s Game Design, mainly because I was more familiar with the subject matter. I was intimidated by game design, and feared it would be too complicated and technical for me. However, due to the relaxed and entertaining presentation, I enjoyed it more in the end.
References:
Khan, S. (2012). The one world school house: education reimagined. London: Hodder & Stoughton.
Perkins, D. (2009). Making learning whole: how seven principles of teaching can transform education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Overall, the setup of the courses on edX and Udacity were pretty similar, with the instructors’ style and presence within the course.
With edX, there was a high instructor presence within the course and the instructor was always present and visible in the short video contents. This is very important: the density of the sequences in a MOOC is very different to that of a face-to-face course; in a MOOC the sequences must be short (Epelboin, Pomerol & Thoury, 2015). The instructor in this course used great and eye-catching tools in the learning videos in order to create backdrops that went along with the topics the instructor was talking about. I really enjoyed this because they all looked pretty neat and they were not boring. It was interesting to see them all in each video. Sometimes if I am in a quiet area, I do not like listening to the instructor videos out loud for others to hear. I really liked how in this edX Nutrition and Health course there was an option to mute the instructor’s voice since he had the exact script typed up next to the videos so you could read what he was saying in them.
MOOC Video Script
The edX instructor also created recap videos in order to view or read before moving on to the next learning module. These were very efficient and helpful since they pointed out the key concepts within that module. Within each learning module, there were also multiple choice questions to see if you were understanding the content. Students are also able to download the video files and text transcripts to save on their computers and watch them at another time. There was a question and answer (Q & A) section with frequently asked questions by other students, and the instructor posted his answers to all of them with links for other extra helpful references. I really liked this section because I always like to see if someone else had the same questions as I did.
Helpful Quizzes
The nice thing about this course is that all the topics within the course are posted ahead of time so each and every student has the ability to work at their own pace, either taking their time or working ahead if they would like. I personally love to be on track or always ahead of the game, so I really liked how this instructor had all the material already posted for the whole course. When I started this course in the beginning of September, I only had until September 27th, 2019 to purchase the unlimited access, otherwise I would lose all access to the course by November 8th. Access is $99 in order to be able to get the verified certificate of completion at the end of the course. Another neat thing and way to save some money if purchasing the access is that Rakuten gives 5% cashback on the total spent. If you activate this, it will automatically be added to your Rakuten account and each month you are able to transfer your cash back into your bank or receive a check in the mail. At the end of the course, the edX instructor included additional learning materials for anyone who wanted to continue to further expand their knowledge on the topics.
Machine Learning Interview Preparation on Udacity has a similar layout to the Nutrition and Health course on edX. A good thing about this Udacity course is that there is no charge and it is completely free to take. This course provides many resources in order to prepare you for any upcoming interviews. There is a forum with common questions and technical strategies that could be used or needed in any type of interview. The Udacity course also has unlimited access to mock interviews to better help prepare potential candidates going into an interview. There are many interactive quizzes in order to test your knowledge to find out if you are following along with what is being taught.
The Udacity course developer gives many video introductions in the beginning of each lesson and throughout most of them, so I would say there is a pretty high instructor presence, but not as much as the edX course that is discussed above. This Machine Learning Interview Preparation Udacity course is self-paced and you are able to complete the course whenever you want and take as long as you need.
The instructor for this course makes it interesting and not boring and dragging by having many different videos with a ton of different people and real life examples in them. The real life examples consist of more than one person “acting out” mock interviews and more, and it keeps it interesting. The only thing I did not like about this course is that on the main course page, there are no helpful resources and links like the edX course, which I thought was more helpful. It did give some good advice and links though on another module in the course on interviewing advice, phone screening and more.
Interesting MOOC videos with different people “acting out”Helpful Information
Overall, MOOC classes are great and a game changer. Everything needed for self-paced learning is right there in the computer; the cost of delivering it to students is miniscule (Khan, 2012). There is no more need for expensive textbooks and waste of paper. I know the two classes I took for two weeks, Nutrition and Health: Macronutrients and Overnutrition class on edX, and Machine Learning Interview Preparation on Udacity are different topics, but I personally liked the set up of the course on edX better than the Udacity one. It gave more resources to look at, the videos were more interesting, and the instructor presence was high. I personally think the MOOC videos in the edX course were more beneficial and interesting. The setup of this course just appealed to me more, had more interesting content and interesting MOOC learning videos overall.
References:
Khan, S. (2012). The one world school house: education reimagined. London: Hodder & Stoughton.
OVERVIEW: I explored MOOCS for the first time in September and October of 2019. One was through edX, and the other was with Udacity. The popularity of MOOCs has increased greatly in the past five years, so I wanted to try this form of disruptive education that many tout as adaptive, flexible, and inexpensive (Means, Bakia, and Murphy, 2014, p. 5).
edX: Classroom Strategies for Inquiry-Based Learning
The first course I took was Classroom Strategies for Inquiry-Based Learning with edX. Offered by the University of Texas at Austin delivered over 5-weeks, the course provides two learning options: auditing the course or upgrading to verified status ($49). As of September 23, 2019, over 14,000 students were enrolled in this course, which is typical for any given MOOC. Of course, there are courses with higher enrollment numbers. By nature, MOOCs have the capacity to deliver content to thousands or even tens of thousands of students at a low cost. Once the instructors design the course, all of the resources may be recycled with minimal cost and effort (Means, et al., 2014, p. 174).
The course is designed for current and prospective educators; it requires a time commitment of about 1-2 hours a week for four weeks. The pedagogical approach is predominantly expository because the content delivery is through audio and text, but there is a large element of independent practice because students are expected to implement the strategies as a part of their ongoing practice (Means, et al., 2014, p. 29).
Each module focuses on one of 5 Es of inquiry-based learning: engagement, exploration, explanation, elaboration, and evaluation, where each “E” is a unit to be completed within the designated week. (See the image below.) Because the course has finite time parameters, it is class-paced with self-paced elements, so students need to manage their time in order to meet deadlines. The overall intended outcome is cognitive in nature. Through their experience and practice, students obtain declarative knowledge, develop procedural skills, and implement the learned strategies.
Course syllabus for edX’s Classroom Strategies for Inquiry-Based Learning
Readers may be wondering why they would purchase the course if they can audit it. There are a few benefits and resources available with the upgrade. For instance, once students complete the course, they receive a verified certificate. A certificate serves as proof of successful completion, just as a diploma or a degree proves that the recipient has learned and developed a specific skill set. Another reason students may want to consider the verified certificate is because they then have access to the assessments, which are called “engagement quizzes.” These quizzes are mastery-based, which means “they determine if students are ready for new content” (Means, et al., 2015, p. 10). Lastly, when students do not upgrade, as Dee mentioned in her post, all progress is lost at the end of four weeks.
I found that several aspects of edX’s platform encouraged learning. First of all, the course uses helpful learning objects. All of them are easy to download and save. The instructors employ three different types:
Instructional videos that showed real teachers teaching real lessons.
Concept Maps
Downloadable documents (like transcripts for the videos and charts)
Engagement quizzes (assessments)
Collage of sample learning objects in Classroom Strategies for Inquiry-Based Learning (edX)
One of the downloadable documents, What the 5 Es Look Like, delineates the 5 components of inquiry-based instruction along with descriptions of the teacher’s and students’ roles in the classroom. It serves as a guide for teachers while they design inquiry-based lessons. In each of the domains the creators listed specific criteria describing the teacher’s and the students’ roles during an inquiry-based lesson.
The video segments are probably the course’s best feature, and their content varies. The most engaging ones show real teachers teaching real students in a real classroom. How often do teachers have the opportunity to see classrooms beyond their own? Not often. Modeling and observation are efficacious methods of learning, so these classroom videos, even though they were not for my content area (English/language arts), are still useful and effective.
Another video segment contains interviews with master teachers, and another features teachers reflecting on their lessons and providing each other with feedback. Even though the skills of providing feedback to colleagues is not a focus on the course, these teachers are modeling this practice for their audience.
You’ll notice in the visual below that there is a scrolling transcript to the right of the video. I like this feature because it helps the learner maintain focus, and as Nicole mentions in her blog post, this feature allows learners to read instead of listening if they so choose.
Notice the scrolling transcript to the right of the video.
Notice that the instructors are present, and they do speak directly to the student about the material. In the video segments, their tone is formal, and they speak as experts in the field. In other segments, the student sees them implementing the inquiry-based strategies in their classrooms. I believe the designers of this course intended there to be a high-instructor presence, but I don’t think it’s as high as the course I took through Udacity. The videos in the edX course focused on classroom interactions, interviews, and conversations between colleagues, and in all fairness, the format did fit the content, even though the instructor presence was not as strong.
Like Dee, I did not feel a strong connection to the instructors in this course. Yes, I saw the instructors teaching and collaborating with each other, which was definitely helpful, but they did not have a social presence, and I did not feel like I belonged to a community. The instructors transmit knowledge and actively instruct, but the transactional distance is great. The discussion forums are also problematic because they seem perfunctory. I posted responses as I took the course, but the exercise did not seem authentic. The discussion threads are long–there are thousands of responses–and they do not promote connection or conversation.I doubt participants read more than a few responses, if they read any. The wall of text (a metaphor I stole from Dee) in these forums is overwhelming to sift through. This feature is an invitation to learning and connecting, but it does not accomplish its goals.
Means and her colleagues point out the inability for large courses, like MOOCs, to provide effective “opportunities for the social and affective experiences that are important for developing life-long intellectual interests and learning habits” (Means, et al., 2014, p. 174). I recommend that students consider their learning style before enrolling in any MOOC. If you know that you learn best by interacting with the instructor and students during the learning process, you may want to invest in a more traditional course format to ensure that you are developing the desired skill set. If your only goal is to obtain course credit at the lowest possible price, then edX is platform that will meet your needs.
I began the course on August 26th, and still have not received any feedback on the responses I contributed to the discussion board. It may be that only verified track members receive feedback from the instructors. edX’s support page indicates that instructors monitor the discussion forums in case students have questions about assessments or course content.
edX’s support page about discussion forums
Overall, I enjoyed edX’s course on inquiry-based learning, but I caution readers about a few aspects. Students need the following skills to achieve success in the course: 1. self-regulation 2. time management, and 3. the ability to work in isolation. If you are a teacher, I recommend you view some of the videos and even snag some of the learning objects, like the 5 Es chart, for use in your classroom. If you are looking for a learning community that provides support and feedback, you may want to seek out other options.
edX, in my estimation, probably draws a wider range of users due to its wider variety of course offerings. Udacity’s are geared more toward the sciences. Courses like web developing, machine learning, statistics, and digital marketing are common. (You can view the complete list in their program catalogue.) Udacity (2011), along with Coursera (2011), is a forerunner in the MOOC world. It was founded by Sebastian Thrun, David Stavens, and Mike Solkolsky, and its name comes from “audacious for you, the student”.
The second course I took is currently offered by Udacity. It is free and self-paced, meaning students may enter and exit the course at any time (Means, et al., p. 27). The course was created by 23andme and provides a basic introduction to genetics and DNA. According to the course catalog page, the course takes approximately three months to complete if you are a beginner.
Like edX, Udacity allows for easy access to its learning objects, which are located directly underneath the instructional video. They are easy to view and download if needed. Some of the resources include concept maps, word clouds, and video segments.
The learning objects and resources are housed underneath the instructional video in Udacity.
The first difference I noticed between edX’s and Udacity’s interface is that Udacity’s is much cleaner with fewer distractions. Unlike edX’s videos, there is no scrolling transcript. You can, however, turn on closed captioning because the videos are embedded and in mp4 format from YouTube.
Udacity’s interface is cleaner than edX’s. Notice the table of contents on the left-hand side that provides easy navigation.
Notice the table of contents on the left-hand side of the video. It is available throughout the course and allows students to review sections, concepts and resources. It also allows the user to jump ahead in the course if the material is too easy. In edX’s inquiry-based learning course, each module built on the previous one and did not allow users to skip modules, even if they already knew the material.
Another major difference between the two courses is that the instructors in TFTG speak to each other and to the learner in a conversational tone. There was an instructor presence in the edX course, but it definitely was not as high. Overall, the structure in the Udacity course is much more traditional.
One of the drawbacks of TFTG is the same as the edX course: I did not feel as though I was part of a community. I know that expecting to find one is improbable when there may be thousands of people taking a course, but collaborating with others is one of the ingredients of authentic learning. Learning scientists agree that “Collaboration in the classroom now is viewed as an essential part of education.” In addition, collaboration promotes inquiry, the “sharing of mental models,” and “making personal beliefs explicit” (Bruning, Schraw, and Norby, 2011, p. 208). Means et al. (2015) indicate in their book Learning Online that the blended approach is probably a better approach for students who need developmental courses. The life circumstances of some students make it difficult for them to complete courses where self-regulation, time-management, and self-assessment are indicators of success. For these types of students, collaboration is a key ingredient to learning and achievement (p. 159)
Another difference between the edX and Udacity courses is that I received immediate feedback about my work. Some of the formative assessments are designed to check for mastery of the content because they do not allow students to progress until they submit the correct answer. The student also receives feedback but in an informal way. Sometimes I answered a question and received immediate automated feedback. Other times I was not directly informed if my answer was correct. Instead, the instructors shared word clouds that aggregated previous students’ answers. This feature allowed me to compare my answers to others’ to and self-assess my understanding.
Word clouds used a a form of feedback in Udacity
One aspect of the Udacity genetics course that I did greatly appreciate is that the learner can jump ahead to more difficult lessons if the lessons at the beginning of the module are too easy.
My favorite part of this course is when one of the instructors interviewed people–round table style–who were born with various genetic defects, such as lactose intolerance, Braca 2, sickle cell anemia, and achondroplasia (a common form of dwarfism). The instructor asked the guests poignant questions about their genetic traits and their experiences surrounding their knowledge about them. For example, one of the questions he asked was if the interviewees believed their traits were visible or hidden. These types of questions deepen learning because engaged viewers are then prompted to think about their own genetic traits, like their eye color and their predispositions to certain diseases. Which parts of a person’s genetic inheritance become visible? When do they become visible? The interview is advantageous because it induces the student to contemplate essential questions.
Overall, I enjoyed the Udacity course a bit more, and there are a few reasons. First of all, genetics is a personal interest of mine that has nothing to do with what I do for a living–it’s a topic I read about when I have leisure time. I realize that the designers of these courses can have no control over this factor, but I do believe it’s worth mentioning because people like to have choice and control over their experiences, and that’s why MOOCs were created in the first place–to provide people with more choices that suited their schedules, their learning styles, and their interests. Secondly, I am easily distracted, so Udacity’s simpler interface allowed me to stay focused. The instructors had a higher presence in this course, and they engaged the viewer with their conversational tone. All MOOC and online course designers have two prodigious challenges in front of them: How to design courses that minimize transactional distance between students and the instructor and how to increase collaboration to create meaningful learning.
References:
Bruning, R. H., Schraw, G. J., & Norby, M. M. (2011). Cognitive psychology and instruction. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon/Pearson.
Means, B., Bakia, M., & Murphy, R. (2014). Learning online: what research tells us about whether, when and how. New York: Routledge.
Let me tell you a story. It has to do with something I feel very passionate about lately. Something that I believe eats away at the heart of school culture: it’s the super teacher fairy tale.
I will start my story by telling you I have failed many times in the classroom.
After I began teaching Lucy Calkins’ Units of Study in October of 2015, I had a breakdown in late November, one month after I’d started implementing the first unit. It was a Saturday afternoon when I sat in my home office, curled into a ball on the chair, nearly crying. I had paralyzing anxiety about the revisions in the middle school ELA curriculum and so many questions, most of them focused on me and how I felt: How was I ever going to maintain this level of stamina for an entire year? How was I going to confer with EVERY kid EVERY week when I had 140 of them? How was I going to grade all of this writing? Why did my administrators think this curriculum was a good idea? Why wasn’t I getting more support? Why haven’t I received the training I need?”
The last question I asked–and I did eventually ask it–was “Is this really good for kids?” But honestly, it was an afterthought. I was so overwhelmed and so disheartened during this period that I didn’t take the time to really consider my students and the effect the changes had on them.
During the entirety of 2015-2016 school year, I was on all the writer’s workshop and Lucy Calkins Facebook pages kvetching with colleagues from around the country about how unrealistic, unwieldy, and ungratifying teaching UoS was. I commiserated–growled really–with colleagues who felt the same way. I felt validated, bitter, and enslaved, so I vented.
I finally finished the first unit. I deemed it drudgery and dreaded the following year when I was required to implement all three units. I did it, though, and I am glad that I did. Even though I was complaining on social media, I was also researching how to make it all come together. After all, I had between 28 and 34 students in each of my 5 classes; I couldn’t conference with every student every week; and I wasn’t going to be able to grade all the writing, even if I gave up every weekend to do so. THIS WAS (and is) THE REALITY. And I had to face it.
Meanwhile, in my department meetings, and especially on Twitter, the message I received from the highlight reel was that if I can’t do all these things:
I don’t care about students.
I am not doing what’s right for students.
I will never be good enough.
Maybe I am too old to change.
I am not working hard enough.
I am in the wrong profession.
Basically, I sucked.
That’s how I felt for most of the year. The last time I had felt this unequipped was during my first five years of teaching, and my feelings were validated when I talked to colleagues I encountered on a daily basis.
Do the addition: I was not doing exactly what my colleagues were doing + none of them ever admitted their struggles = I was failing.
I worked too hard that year. I nearly burned myself out. And I did not bond with my students on the level that I could have.
This is what happens when we believe in the superteacher myth.
This post is for all of you out there who have felt as though you weren’t good enough. I am here to tell you that the people who begin their sentences with phrases “I do” when they should be talking about kids are showing you their highlight reel. They are afraid of admitting that they too grapple messily with a new curriculum or a particular student’s behavior. Their “I do” statements are a mask for their vulnerabilities and their failures. We all want to look good in front of others. But teaching is not a competition. At least it shouldn’t be. I don’t necessarily believe in all the fabricated celebrations and forced building up of others. I do, however, believe in admitting to our colleagues that we have failed. Let’s face it–Teaching is HARD. Besides being a stepmother, a role at which I failed miserably, it is the hardest part that I have ever had to play.
So I propose that we eliminate the “I do” statements for a week. Instead, try using the following phrases to frame your ideas:
“Today my students _____.”
“Today my students tried _____, and the results were _____.
“Today one of my students said _____.”
Tomorrow my students will try _____.”
Today my students practiced _____.”
Try putting your ego in your pocket for one week, and leave it there.
Put the focus on the students’ accomplishments instead of your own. Speak this way to your colleagues. Speak this way to yourself in your reflections. Shift your perspective. What changes do you notice? Where did the conversation lead? What observations did you make?
And while you’re at it, share one of your failures with a colleague. What did you do this week that didn’t work? Notice the response you receive. Did that person respond with an “I do” statement? Or did he/she listen to you and share a similar experience? Maybe this colleague helped you figure out why something didn’t work or how you can make it work next time. If you do not get the response you want the first time, don’t stop trying. Culture changes with baby steps. You could be the one who turns the tide in the right direction, even if it’s between only you and one colleague.
During tenth and eleventh grade, I probably read The Catcher in the Rye 20 times. I read it during geometry, which is why I am terrible at projects that involve measuring and fitting pieces together; I also read it during study halls when I should have been doing my homework; I read it on the bus, ignoring the spitballs and competing boom boxes; and I read it walking the halls between classes. Salinger’s book never left my side those two years–I lived that book. Holden was my friend, and he became part of my consciousness.
part 2: some things change and others don’t
More recently, I’ve graduated from Salinger, whom, incidentally, I still love. You might catch me reading his short stories or parts of Catcher on a snowy day or lazy summer afternoon. But now my scope of interest is wider. I don’t just read fiction. I read almost anything I can get my hands on–anything from astrophysics to history to self-help to literary fiction to graphic novels. One genre that I never read much of unless I was forced to were books about educational practices. But now that I have over twenty years in the field, I find that I can’t read enough of them. There are so many good ones! One that has had a substantial impact on my practice is Sarah Tantillo‘s The Literacy Cookbook. It’s currently available on Amazon for $15.97, which in my eyes, is a bargain for a book that contains effective strategies instantly applicable to any classroom.
part 3: reading about teaching reading and writing
I began reading Tantillo’s book shortly after I left high school and became a middle school ELA teacher in 2014. Tantillo immediately influenced my instruction because her suggestions are practical. If I were an administrator responsible for designing or guiding curriculum in a building or district, I would buy a copy for every teacher in my purview because every teacher is a literacy teacher. I can’t listen to educators of non-English/language arts classes when they try to refute this fact. It will never make sense to me. We are all reading and writing teachers, and Sarah Tantillo’s book is a sensible and efficient way to provide teachers of all subjects with the tools they need to incorporate more literacy instruction into their subject matter.
part 4: all writing is persuasive
Chapter 5 of The Literacy Cookbook is titled Tasty Persuasive Writing, and in this chapter she reminds teachers that all writing is persuasive, but in order “for something to be persuasive, it has to be tasty” (p. 145). This year I began writing instruction with this quotation to remind students that no one wants to read writing that is colorless and dull. People want to read compelling, thought-provoking ideas–they want to be moved, excited, and astonished. To reinforce this idea, I created a “Tasty Writing Award.” Every day I choose a delicious piece of student writing (a passage that is somewhere between one and three sentences long), and I feature it on the blackboard for the entire day. I always ask the students for permission to share their work, and I give them credit. You can’t win the award if you are anonymous!
part 5: the power of recognition
When I started this routine, I did not understand the power of recognition. I had no idea how much the students would enjoy reading and honoring the work of their peers. I also did not expect that students who did not like writing would now strive to write something so that they could see their name on my “Tasty Writing Award” board. At the beginning of last week a student who rarely writes more than two or three sentences, despite my efforts to push his thinking forward, asked me how he could get his name on the board. My answer was something along the lines of you have to wow me, and I moved on to another student who had a question. For the next few days, this student listened to the mini-lessons more carefully and asked for more feedback from me and his peers. He was determined to get his name on the board, and by the end of the week he did. He still does not write much, but what he is producing contains some juicy words. He is producing quality work, even though he is not producing volume. I do not have a sample of this particular student’s work because I forgot to snap a photo of it before I left school on Friday; however, I do have another example. One portion of my blackboard looks like this every day. In this pic, the student was writing about All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury.
part 6: feedback from my colleagues → the future
Other teachers have come to me and suggested that I turn this award into a contest where parents, teachers, and students vote on the best piece of writing every month, and then that student wins a certificate and a journal or some other prize that relates to writing, like maybe a special pen or highlighter. I have considered these ideas, but I’m not quite ready to do that yet for many reasons, one of them being that I have enough on my plate with the new curriculum changes in my district. I hope that maybe next year I can expand upon this idea a bit more and implement some of the suggestions other teachers have made. If you have any suggestions, I would like to hear them! Please feel free to post them in the comments. And if you use the “Tasty Writing Award” in your classroom, please let me know how it goes! I would like to know if you receive similar responses from your students.
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