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The Visible Thinking Routines have been created by Harvard’s Project Zero and can be found in full here. My hope is that my thinking around each routine sparks an idea for you that can in turn grow and develop into deep thinking for your students. I would love to hear how you are using these routines in your classroom so please feel free to comment below. This weeks routine in practice is The Explanation Game.   
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The Visible Thinking Routines have been created by Harvard’s Project Zero and can be found in full here. My hope is that my thinking around each routine sparks an idea for you that can in turn grow and develop into deep thinking for your students. I would love to hear how you are using these routines in your classroom so please feel free to comment below. This weeks routine in practice is Here Now, Then There.    I introduced the concept of protocols in an earlier post this year on the Scene Analysis Protocol. As a outlined in this post, a protocol is a formal procedure or system of rules. I have found that using a formal protocol places attention on the process (let’s call it the thinking!) rather then the outcome. It also allows students to come at a task equally. Each student understands the norms of the activity as there is a clear guideline and therefore they know what to expect. For students with learning needs the protocol can act like a safety net while students who are academically gifted are able to fine tune their thinking processes due to the scaffolded approach. This particular protocol has stemmed from my attempt to improve student logbook entries in Drama. In Drama all students must keep a logbook that recounts, records and reflects on their learning in Drama through both theoretical and practical tasks. Up until this year I had students writing logbook reflections in the last five minutes of class or at home if we were pushed for time. The problem was that this did not allow for deep thinking. Even with guided questions the students were just skimming the surface or diverting down the road of classroom politics or, for that matter, every irrelevant detail of the lesson. Essentially, although I valued the insight into their individual mindset, the intention of the logbook was often lost. So I introduced this protocol, which can actually be used in any subject whatsoever to reflect on the learning and thinking that has taken place. Just replace the examples and the word Drama with whatever subject you teach. I now complete this protocol in the last 15-20 minutes I have with them during the week. This may seem like a long time to devote to the process, but…. as Ron Ritchhart writes, “Our allocations of periods of time reflect our values.” I want to show my students that I value the learning process and their individual growth. Besides, 5 minutes at the end of each lesson adds up to the same! Now I have one quality entry a week instead of three or four (if I was lucky) scribbling’s touching on a few things here or there. The quality of ALL student entries has increased. This is also beginning to transfer to their extended responses too. My favourite part of the protocol is the section that asks "How can you apply this learning to future tasks in this subject and the wider world?". I always look forward to this part as I am always surprised by the connections they make... some of which I haven't even thought of! A few things to note: - Stick to the timeline. Don’t be tempted to rush through it. We need to make time for deep thinking to occur. I do find though that depending on the class and what we have covered that week I may need to adjust the times dependent on their needs. - Allow silence. If you are sitting in silence for a minute and a half after a few elements have been initially rattled off, then so be it! Silence is not wasted time. The student’s will still be analysing and deconstructing what they saw. - After your initial prompt - “Ok… now reflect on what you have learnt this week, noting your personal ‘aha moments."- don’t say anything! Do not single out a kid for a response. If you feel they are really struggling, you might contribute an answer to model what is expected. - I have used butcher’s paper as the initial way to note down the discussion. You could use a whiteboard, liquid chalk on a window or mirror, butcher’s paper or a Google doc. I personally feel it is more easily accessible by hand. I have also taken photos of our notes to place on our shared Google Drive / Classroom in case the students want to refer back to it later. If you want to know more about protocols in the classroom check out the book The Power of Protocols (2015) by McDonald, Mohr, Dichter, & McDonald. There are some generic protocols in the book as well as suggestions on facilitating and getting started. I hope this protocol is useful for use in your classroom. I would also love any feedback on the protocol, how you have used it in your classroom and whether or not you found it useful. If you have any further questions about its use I am more then happy to answer them. Just comment below or drop me an email at thejoyfueledteacher@gmail.com . 
PS. Place these guiding questions on your classroom wall to refer to during the process!
I was recently challenged to contemplate the application of Ron Richhart's cultural forces to an Indigenous context. Many of us in Australia teach students from Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander backgrounds and/or teach Indigenous content within our curriculum. However, it is easy to overlook the individual needs of this specific group of students and the value we place on Indigenous content within our classroom. So, I decided to ask the question "How can we manipulate the cultural forces to meet the individual needs of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander students and explore Indigenous content within our classroom?" The result is this resource. To create this resource I examined research on Indigenous pedagogy, embodied the 8 ways of Aboriginal learning within each force and consulted with an Aboriginal Education Liaison Officer. I hope that it can be useful to your thinking, your teaching and your students growth as learners and Australians who share in this story.     
I hate report writing. I find little joy in it. I am never happy with the final outcome as I find they are impersonal and not reflective of the whole student that enters my class each day. So, I decided to take a different approach with this latest set of reports.
I have spent a great deal of the holidays sitting with Ron Ritchhart’s Creating Cultures of Thinking and I wanted to write reports that reflected the work we have been doing in our school in this area. Within Ron’s book he highlights a need to focus on student learning rather then the work. He makes the following comparison:
I wanted my reports to reflect a learning-orientated classroom. Hence, I ditched my usually report writing strategy of regurgitating outcomes and centred my feedback around the process of learning and developing. Additionally, Ritchhardt discusses the expectation of a growth vs. a fixed mindset, The term ‘growth mindset’ has become a buzz phrase in education in the past twelve months, but I question how many individuals have actually changed their teaching to reflect this research. This concept developed from Carol Dweck’s work around failure. It centres around an individuals ‘mindset’ in relation to their talents, ability, intelligence, challenges and setbacks. Both Dweck and Ritchhardt note the impact feedback has on a students mindset. So, I researched the qualities of a growth mindset and a fixed mindset and set out to comment on some of these attributes too. These are the areas or key words I used to guide my report writing this time. In relation to mindset :
Obviously, this set of reports are written for Drama. However, the lead in statements are generic and could be used for all subjects, Furthermore the content specific statements could be easily adapted for other subjects too. In the content specific areas I was focussing on evidence from the students Individual Project, extended responses/essay writing and in the preliminary course section, an acting practitioner performance task. I do not believe these report comments are perfect. In fact, I am pretty sure the grammar could do with some work! However, I hope you find something in there to stimulate thought or assist you in your report writing. I will also extend on this resource as I approach reports later in the year. So if you find this useful, watch this space. (I probably should also note I only teach girls (hence the lack of the word he!) and generally awesome kids!) Lead in with positive statements that comment on the process of learning.
Individual Project
Theoretical Content and Essay Writing
Preliminary Course – These comments centred around evidence from an acting practitioner performance task
The Visible Thinking Routines have been created by Harvard’s Project Zero and can be found in full here. My hope is that my thinking around each routine sparks an idea for you that can in turn grow and develop into deep thinking for your students. I would love to hear how you are using these routines in your classroom so please feel free to comment below. This weeks routine in practice is the Claim, Support, Question.    The Visible Thinking Routines have been created by Harvard’s Project Zero and can be found in full here. My hope is that my thinking around each routine sparks an idea for you that can in turn grow and develop into deep thinking for your students. I would love to hear how you are using these routines in your classroom so please feel free to comment below. This weeks routine in practice is the Step Inside.   
The Visible Thinking Routines have been created by Harvard’s Project Zero and can be found in full here. My hope is that my thinking around each routine sparks an idea for you that can in turn grow and develop into deep thinking for your students. I would love to hear how you are using these routines in your classroom so please feel free to comment below. This weeks routine in practice is the Colour, Symbol, Image.   
As I have mentioned previously, my school is working towards creating a Culture of Thinking. I have gained so much from the learning opportunities I have had in relation to this educational approach. I now wish to pay this forward to you. Each week I am aiming to post some thoughts and ideas around a Visible Thinking Routine. The Visible Thinking Routines have been created by Harvard’s Project Zero and can be found in full here. My hope is that my thinking around each routine sparks an idea for you that can in turn grow and develop into deep thinking for your students. I would love to hear how you are using these routines in your classroom so please feel free to comment below. My first routine in practice is the Creative Hunt.   
"When we make the thinking that happens in our classroom visible, it becomes more concrete and real. It becomes something we can talk about and explore, push around, challenge, and learn from” ― Ron Ritchhardt, Making Thinking Visible Creativity is the perfect means by which we can explore, challenge and learn about a given topic. This set of visible thinking routines focus on creativity and assist students in dissecting creative perspectives and making creative decisions. Detailed descriptions of each routine can be found here. These ideas are not my own, but a valuable resource which I believe should be shared and widely embraced. Please feel free to print them and display them in your classroom. (All images have been sourced from Unsplash.) |
AuthorAmy Gill - Archives
June 2017
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