Fail Often...Succeed Sooner

In October, I had the opportunity to attend the Schlechty Center's Working on the Work (WOW) Conference.  Phil Schlechty, the author of Leading for Learning and Working on the Work, provides a great professional development experience for participants.  I attended the Design 2.0 sessions and returned to work with great ideas to share with other teachers in my district.  As we walked through the process of designing engaging student work, one participant made a profound statement, "Fail Often...Succeed Sooner."  This video on the design process shows how we must go through a trial and error process to arrive at the right design for our customers.

The idea that we must fail is not very popular in education.  Administrators and parents expect their students to succeed, and many people believe that success is about passing rates on standardized tests.  As a result of these expectations, many teachers feel that they can't try new teaching strategies that might jeopardize the success rate of their students.  We settle for "ritual engagement" and "passive compliance" instead of "authentic engagement."  The only way to have actively engaged students is to know our students and design work that is meaningful and valuable.  And that process, as many of us know from experience, can be a bumpy ride.  Some strategies that we try will not work as planned, and we'll be back to the drawing board just like the designer in that video.

With so much on the line, how can we move forward in designing project and problem-based learning experiences for our students?  My suggestion is to create your own coaching circle of colleagues who can cheer you on, give you feedback, and be there for support when something doesn't turn out the way that you planned.  At the WOW conference, I was able to participate in a coaching circle as I designed a lesson.  I enjoyed taking the lesson back to the circle and having the participants ask me questions to help me with my design.

As educators, we must continually reflect on our failures and successes to provide the right learning experience for each of our students.  The key is to step out on a limb and surround yourself with teachers who are working through the same process.  Take that chance, and your failures will turn into brilliant successes.

PD Goes Viral!

I was in a district meeting recently, and a teacher shared with the group how she is using Edmodo with her students. I didn't know that teacher, but I was thrilled to discover that she is having success with Edmodo. This semester, I've included Edmodo in many of my staff development workshops and the word is spreading. I've also been sharing Lodge McCammon's great ideas for creating paper-slide and one-take music videos. DI coaches in our district have worked with their students on videos and posted them to our Edmodo group.

These two easy to use tools have given many teachers a great way to have their students share and collaborate. If you want professional development to go viral in your school or district, follow these steps:

1. Pick one amazing and easy to use tool to share. I shared Edmodo as a first step in getting teachers to collaborate online. They were also able to easily create groups for their students. Simplicity is the key. If you can attend a 45 minute session and walk away feeling comfortable with the tool, then you're more likely to use it with your students.


2. Provide time in your session for teachers to share and brainstorm ideas for using the technology. Continue the discussion online.


3. During the second session, extend the use of the tool by sharing a great curriculum integration idea. I've been working with teachers on creating paper-slide videos using Flip cameras. Students just need a few directions, and they can produce great videos that can be used to teach concepts to other students in the classroom.


4. Model the use of technology by giving the teachers a chance to work in groups and create a product. This gives them the confidence to go back to the classroom and work with students on a similar project.


5. Ask the teachers to post their work, and schedule a time for them to share their successes. Once the work is posted, other teachers in the school and district are able to see examples. They're motivated to begin using a new tool or idea in the classroom if they can see student work samples.

Follow these steps and you're sure to have successful professional development that spreads throughout your school or district. Let me know what is working well for you.