Snow began to gently fall around 1:00 PM Friday afternoon and continued falling fairly consistently until early Saturday morning. My uneducated guess is that anywhere from 6-10 inches of pretty heavy, wet snow fell across Dubuque and other surrounding counties. As I drove my son through our small town of Farley, Iowa, to bowling practice (which ended up being cancelled), I saw everyone and their neighbor (literally) outside working their way through the dense snow blanketing driveways, sidewalks, and decks.
Settling into my winter boots, hat, gloves, and green coat and stepping out into the crisp, still winter air, I smiled. The first heavy Midwestern snowfall always brings a renewed sense of solidarity to communities large and small.
Most of my neighbors were outside diligently working in varying stages of successful snow removal. Single-guy John at the end of the street must have the "deluxe model" snow blower as he finished his driveway early with minimal ice-ups and clogs. My husband, Chad, tried to make just one successful pass with his bargain-priced snowblower and had to stop every foot because the thick snow clogged the machine. Not willing to waste his time cleaning out the blower every foot, he put the technology aside, grabbed a shovel, and dug in. Across the street, retired energy co-op worker, Chuck, was unwilling to give up on his machine. Every few feet, he stopped and grabbed a broom handle to unclog the blower. The three Carhartt-clad men shouted across the street to each other as they worked. John offered suggestions for preventing the blowers from icing up and clogging. Chuck and Chad paused periodically to shake their heads at each other and curse their inept machines.
I observed this scene from my front deck as I half-swept, half-lifted away the foot of snow covering the boards below. In sharp contrast to my husband and neighbors to the left, Dave, my neighbor to the right, uncovered his driveway wearing an Iowa sweatshirt (in preparation for the Iowa-Purdue game), jeans, boots, and a hat. A cigarette hung from his lips as he waved and shouted a good-natured hello. Smiling, I was struck by the sense of solidarity in which we were all independently working to accomplish a common goal: the first snow removal.
And, as a teacher, this sense of solidarity is what I strive for in my classroom. A Google search provides the following definition of solidarity: "unity or agreement of feeling or action, especially among individuals with a common interest; mutual support within a group." Wikipedia (I know, I know...just go with it) offers that solidarity "refers to the ties in a society that bind people together as one." Ultimately, if my students can work in solidarity towards common goals in my classroom, then they are that much closer to being able to successfully live and work in solidarity with their families, communities, and co-workers. And as Dave Stuart, Jr. states again and again, we need to prepare our students for successful lives twenty years from now, not just right now.
So how does all this connect to my no-homework experiment? As the snow began to cloud the sky on Friday, the last day of first trimester, I asked my juniors in English 3 what they observed about the class structure which shifted all work to within the boundaries of our daily class time. I heard responses such as: "I never felt like anything we did was 'busywork'," "I felt like everything we did had meaning," "we were always doing something different and I never got bored," "I loved that we could find our own meaning in the texts," "I liked being able to find out what my peers were thinking rather than what the teacher thought," and the most powerful to me, "I felt like we were all working together to figure things out."
My students, just like John, Chuck, Dave, my husband, and I, were all working at the same time to accomplish the same goal, even though we all had our own way of getting there. When John finished early, he offered to help those still working. When Chuck's snow-blower kept icing up, John offered suggestions for what he could do differently to succeed in his goal of clearing his driveway. When it was clear to Chad that the snowblower was going to take more time than the shovel, he switched methods and, with hard work, finished the task. Dave's casual, no-stress approach, made me smile and find my own job a little more pleasant. We were all doing the work individually, but we were working side-by-side with "mutual support within the group."
This is what "doing the hard stuff" in class has done for my students in English 3 as well. They rarely look to me for the answers anymore; instead, they seek out their peers or just re-tool and try again on their own. The "hard stuff" is more manageable when the people right beside you are muddling their way through the same challenging material or practice. Difficult texts and writings have become "the ties...that bind people together as one." And I am so proud of them.
I smile at my amazing students every day, as I watch them challenge and turn to each other for understanding, clarity, and support just as I smile at my wonderful neighbors, working in solidarity to clear away the first Midwestern snowfall.
Let's keep working together; beginning in our classrooms and schools, our world needs solidarity now more than ever.
“With solidarity, you will be more talented and handier, you will be taller and stronger, faster and wiser!” (Mehmet Murat ildan).
Saturday, November 21, 2015
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
"So how's that no-homework thing going, anyway?"
Glad you asked. Let's look at this undertaking in the format of one of my favorite children's books, 13 Experiments That Failed (I am not implying anything about my own experiment).
Question: How would the absence of homework affect class engagement and skill development?
Hypothesis: Students will be more engaged and independent if homework is replaced with meaningful and challenging class work which focuses on skill development over content knowledge.
What you need: Students; a structured plan for how students will use class time; a timer; a healthy view of failure; a willingness to turn over control to and to trust students
What to do:
Question: How would the absence of homework affect class engagement and skill development?
Hypothesis: Students will be more engaged and independent if homework is replaced with meaningful and challenging class work which focuses on skill development over content knowledge.
What you need: Students; a structured plan for how students will use class time; a timer; a healthy view of failure; a willingness to turn over control to and to trust students
What to do:
- Examine and understand the skill standards for your content area and grade level.
- Decide which and how many skill standards your students can adequately practice and hone within the time frame you are allotted (for me--12 week trimester, meeting every day for 62 minutes).
- Examine your curriculum: decide what content MUST be covered, but, more importantly, how you will use the content as a vehicle to practice and develop certain skills. Match content to skills keeping the focus on skill.
- Decide how and where student choice will drive skill development.
- Set up a daily schedule in which 75% of the time involves the students implementing higher-order skills. Limit "teacher-time" (the time in which students become listeners rather than learners) to 25% or less of class time.
- Develop skill lessons you know will need to be taught, but reserve "scheduling" them until students are at a point where the lesson will be most appropriate and well-received.
- Set due dates that must be met and create a procedure to follow when deadlines are not met. Discuss this procedure with administration to ensure their support in your policies and procedures.
- Write a student/parent letter detailing your no-homework policy, expectations, and structures put in place to support student success in your class.
- Smile and give it a whirl!
What happened:
Areas of strength
- Students in English 3 consistently show high levels of independence, self-direction, critical thinking, and enthusiasm towards learning
- Students in English 3 engage in daily small and large group conversations that demonstrate deep understanding and application of text
- At least 80% of English 3 students are actively reading their selected text (Huck Finn, A Lesson Before Dying, Incidences in the Life of a Slave Girl)
- English 3 students are not only willing to, but are excelling at "doing the hard stuff" in class
- 96% of English 4 students turned in their narrative writings on time
- 100% of English 4 students turned in their narrative writings
- 20% of English 4 students consistently turn in highly skilled writing products
- 50% of English 4 students consistently turn in proficient writing products
- A student who previously was not writing without intensive teacher/parent prodding/help is now writing frequently, independently, and confidently (still not proficiently, but he's writing!)
- Students in English 3 and 4 are writing daily
- A student in English 3 commented that class moves quickly and he doesn't have the chance to get bored
- Many of my struggling students have gained confidence in their abilities and in themselves
- Several English 4 students commented that they were able to get all of their writing completed entirely within class and were grateful because they worked a lot outside of school.
- I have a better sense of where all of my students are in terms of their skill development because all of their practice is being completed in my presence.
- I see my students becoming more independent as I (and my student teacher) spend less time "giving information"
- The majority of students are accepting more responsibility for meeting deadlines because they know they have been given adequate time in class to work as well as adequate access to teacher help.
- I feel like I know each of my students better, not just their skill levels, but their personalities and attitudes as well.
Areas of weakness/glitches
- 27% of English 4 students did not turn in informative writings by due date
- 10% of English 4 students did not complete the informative and argumentative writings yet
- 25% of English 4 students do not consistently use writer's workshop time productively and therefore miss deadlines and/or turn in hastily completed non-proficient writing
- Some English 4 students state that they "just work better at home" but then do not use class work time to conference with me or to revise/edit what they wrote at home
- Students missing deadlines would not attend the Saturday school to complete the work missed, which was part of my policy
- I did not get to conference with English 4 students as often as I initially wanted to; next year I will assign each student to a day of the week and that will be the day all trimester long that I meet with them individually
- Many English 4 students used workshop time to write but were not prepared and/or willing to conference with me about their writing leading to under-performance
Conclusions:
Despite being frustrated that not all students are using class time like I was hoping they would, so far, I find that my hypothesis has proven true for most students, especially my juniors in English 3. They are more engaged and more willing to attack difficult tasks from complex reading and writing to conversing with fellow classmates in Socratic seminars where they analyze and synthesize challenging texts and topics.
My seniors posed the greatest challenges, but I found myself more frustrated with the structures that seemed to have instilled in them the idea that they are audience members in their education rather than the leading actors. I am unclear if this is a "senior" thing, and, in particular, a "this senior class" thing. It will be interesting to see how my current juniors adapt to English 4 next year under the same structure. I plan on looking into the overall systems that may be unknowingly creating the dependency that seemed to slow down some of my seniors' progress and success in a no-homework environment that challenges them to be "on" every day in class.
I look forward to continuing my year without homework in trimesters 2 and 3. So far, I would recommend this structure to anyone who would like to see increased classroom engagement and/or wants to have a clearer idea of all of their students' skill levels. Overall, the students appreciate not just not having outside work, but getting to practice every day, right in front of me. They are more confident and less afraid of failing.
So shake things up a bit! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
"Students take risks when teachers take risks..." (Brad Currie).
Despite being frustrated that not all students are using class time like I was hoping they would, so far, I find that my hypothesis has proven true for most students, especially my juniors in English 3. They are more engaged and more willing to attack difficult tasks from complex reading and writing to conversing with fellow classmates in Socratic seminars where they analyze and synthesize challenging texts and topics.
My seniors posed the greatest challenges, but I found myself more frustrated with the structures that seemed to have instilled in them the idea that they are audience members in their education rather than the leading actors. I am unclear if this is a "senior" thing, and, in particular, a "this senior class" thing. It will be interesting to see how my current juniors adapt to English 4 next year under the same structure. I plan on looking into the overall systems that may be unknowingly creating the dependency that seemed to slow down some of my seniors' progress and success in a no-homework environment that challenges them to be "on" every day in class.
I look forward to continuing my year without homework in trimesters 2 and 3. So far, I would recommend this structure to anyone who would like to see increased classroom engagement and/or wants to have a clearer idea of all of their students' skill levels. Overall, the students appreciate not just not having outside work, but getting to practice every day, right in front of me. They are more confident and less afraid of failing.
So shake things up a bit! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
"Students take risks when teachers take risks..." (Brad Currie).
Monday, November 2, 2015
A Tale of two students in the Land of No-Homework: Student 2
We've all taught Student 2 before. Maybe you're even teaching him (or her; mine happens to be a "him") right now. Student 2 couldn't be any more opposite from Student 1. In class, this student's confidence borders on arrogance, but individually, he's a pleasant student to talk to. Student 2 is gifted with innate intelligence, but would rather verbally demonstrate how smart he is than complete the assessments which would demonstrate his skill. Student 2 chronically misuses class time, turns in assignments late, and performs well below his ability. You like Student 2, but you want to shake him. Student 1 works so hard to achieve half of what Student 2 can achieve with little effort.
In the Land of No-Homework, Student 2 started the year cautiously curious about whether or not I was actually going to hold true to my policy of requiring no outside homework. During our narrative work, Student 2 took awhile to land on the "snapshot moment" or memory he wanted to develop. Daily work time was often spent either spinning his mental wheels (but not getting far) or talking to those around him. What I noticed is that as the due date grew closer his focus in class seemed to waver even more while most of his classmates' focus seemed to grow. Student 2 ended up turning in a hastily completed narrative two weeks late. Despite the faults that inherently arrive from hurriedly completed writing, his narrative showed definite skill in certain areas. This is the student who, had he used writer's workshop time to his advantage rather than as "free time", could have scored across the board in the skilled and exceptional categories of the narrative grading rubric.
Unfortunately, as we moved into informative writing and the students were given an extra 10 minutes of workshop time per day with the addition of a research element, not only did Student 2 not focus, he became an outright distraction for other students during workshop time. Some students gravitated toward his use of workshop time and also became distracting, so they were finally allowed to work out in the hallway during this time so as not to disturb those who were working well. A hastily completed paper was again turned in 2 weeks late. True to his argumentative nature, his informative paper was much more argumentative than informative, so he scored poorly on it overall.
Although Student 2 represents a specific student, his misuse of class time is similar to a few other students in class as well. This misuse of work time is the foundation of the largest obstacle to being a successfully homework-free class. Three-fourths of my students are using workshop time to their advantage, writing, revising, editing, and seeking feedback from both me and from peers. Their writing is better and they show more ownership of their writing. Although I know "you can't win 'em all," I'm still convinced I could be doing something differently, not sure what, to get a few more of these "Student 2's" to turn away from the "dark side" and use class time to their advantage.
What I do know is that 96% of students turned in their narrative writing on time and 73% turned in the informative writing by the due date. This is a significant drop, but narrative writing did not ask students to step outside of themselves, whereas writing informatively required them to pose a tough question and research and read to find their answers. If there's one thing many students dislike more than writing, it's reading, and informative writing requires both from them.
Stay tuned for more adventures from the Land of No-Homework.
In the Land of No-Homework, Student 2 started the year cautiously curious about whether or not I was actually going to hold true to my policy of requiring no outside homework. During our narrative work, Student 2 took awhile to land on the "snapshot moment" or memory he wanted to develop. Daily work time was often spent either spinning his mental wheels (but not getting far) or talking to those around him. What I noticed is that as the due date grew closer his focus in class seemed to waver even more while most of his classmates' focus seemed to grow. Student 2 ended up turning in a hastily completed narrative two weeks late. Despite the faults that inherently arrive from hurriedly completed writing, his narrative showed definite skill in certain areas. This is the student who, had he used writer's workshop time to his advantage rather than as "free time", could have scored across the board in the skilled and exceptional categories of the narrative grading rubric.
Unfortunately, as we moved into informative writing and the students were given an extra 10 minutes of workshop time per day with the addition of a research element, not only did Student 2 not focus, he became an outright distraction for other students during workshop time. Some students gravitated toward his use of workshop time and also became distracting, so they were finally allowed to work out in the hallway during this time so as not to disturb those who were working well. A hastily completed paper was again turned in 2 weeks late. True to his argumentative nature, his informative paper was much more argumentative than informative, so he scored poorly on it overall.
Although Student 2 represents a specific student, his misuse of class time is similar to a few other students in class as well. This misuse of work time is the foundation of the largest obstacle to being a successfully homework-free class. Three-fourths of my students are using workshop time to their advantage, writing, revising, editing, and seeking feedback from both me and from peers. Their writing is better and they show more ownership of their writing. Although I know "you can't win 'em all," I'm still convinced I could be doing something differently, not sure what, to get a few more of these "Student 2's" to turn away from the "dark side" and use class time to their advantage.
What I do know is that 96% of students turned in their narrative writing on time and 73% turned in the informative writing by the due date. This is a significant drop, but narrative writing did not ask students to step outside of themselves, whereas writing informatively required them to pose a tough question and research and read to find their answers. If there's one thing many students dislike more than writing, it's reading, and informative writing requires both from them.
Stay tuned for more adventures from the Land of No-Homework.
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
A Tale of Two Students in the Land of No-Homework: Student 1
One of the classes I teach is called English 4. This class is comprised of students with all ability levels from those with reading and writing IEPs to "gifted" students who thought English 4 would be easier than College Composition. Regardless of ability, the end goal of English 4 is the same: build all students' reading, writing, and speaking skills as much as possible before graduation. During Trimester 1, our main focus is on writing so students are given anywhere from 20-30 minutes of their 62 minute class to develop, revise, and edit their writing. I thought 100-150 minutes of in-class writing per week should eliminate the need for outside of class writing work.
Student 1 has traditionally been painfully shy in class. Reading and writing are equally challenging for him; although Student 1 has no IEP, his consistent struggles have lead to an insecurity and lack of confidence in himself and his abilities that is almost more crippling than the skill struggles themselves. This student works nearly every day after school making homework a non-priority for him. In the past two years when any writing not completed during class was expected to be completed as homework, Student 1 chronically turned in assignments late and barely completed. In addition, they usually resulted from intense teacher interventions and often several Saturday school sessions.
This year, in the Land of No-Homework, Student 1 has already written several pages of in-class quick-write entries. After a 4-week unit, his final narrative writing was turned in on time, was 2 pages long, and showed proficiency in 3 of 4 categories (he is allowed to revise the "developing" category). All of this happened with no prompting from me aside from occasional check-ins to see how his writing was progressing. Although he struggled with his informative paper because of the amount of reading and analyzing necessary to adequately research his selected topic, it, too, was two pages long and turned in on time. Does length of writing really matter? Not necessarily, but this is a student who struggled in the past to write one paragraph on his own. In his case, I see quantity as a mark of independence.
Student 1 is considering college for the first time in his high school career. He is visibly more confident and smiles more in class. He is no longer scared of writing. Is his writing "career and college ready" yet? No, but he is writing more confidently every day, and this is one step closer to being ready.
Student 1 has traditionally been painfully shy in class. Reading and writing are equally challenging for him; although Student 1 has no IEP, his consistent struggles have lead to an insecurity and lack of confidence in himself and his abilities that is almost more crippling than the skill struggles themselves. This student works nearly every day after school making homework a non-priority for him. In the past two years when any writing not completed during class was expected to be completed as homework, Student 1 chronically turned in assignments late and barely completed. In addition, they usually resulted from intense teacher interventions and often several Saturday school sessions.
This year, in the Land of No-Homework, Student 1 has already written several pages of in-class quick-write entries. After a 4-week unit, his final narrative writing was turned in on time, was 2 pages long, and showed proficiency in 3 of 4 categories (he is allowed to revise the "developing" category). All of this happened with no prompting from me aside from occasional check-ins to see how his writing was progressing. Although he struggled with his informative paper because of the amount of reading and analyzing necessary to adequately research his selected topic, it, too, was two pages long and turned in on time. Does length of writing really matter? Not necessarily, but this is a student who struggled in the past to write one paragraph on his own. In his case, I see quantity as a mark of independence.
Student 1 is considering college for the first time in his high school career. He is visibly more confident and smiles more in class. He is no longer scared of writing. Is his writing "career and college ready" yet? No, but he is writing more confidently every day, and this is one step closer to being ready.
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Ethereal
Although I had an entirely different initial blog post already created on paper, when I was considering blog "theme" options, the style "ethereal" gave me pause. Ethereal: "seeming to belong to another world...lacking material substance."
Huh. This is how many of my students over the past 16 years have viewed homework. Belonging to another world, not theirs. Lacking the material substance which might incite them to complete it. Ethereal.
I guess I'm not that different from my students because the longer I teach, the more "ethereal" homework has become for me as well.
I learned early on in my career that high school students either did their homework or didn't. While I understand that home environment, work schedule, socioeconomic status, and a whole host of other factors contribute to whether or not students complete homework, I have also come to the conclusion that no matter how meaningful I make the work, I cannot change the circumstances contributing to why students do not complete school work outside of class. For one reason or another, to many students, homework simply doesn't fit in their world outside of school.
Here is where I'd like to say that those students who completed the "meaningful" homework I assigned performed better in my classes, but alas, I would be lying. At least I would be lying to say that completing homework was THE reason they performed well in my class. I guess one could assume my "meaningful" homework was "lacking material substance." And the more students continued not completing outside practice, the more "ethereal" homework became for me. SOME students who regularly completed homework were pulling ahead while SOME students who did not complete it fell behind. But I have a problem with "some" because a whole lot of students, both my doers and not-doers, seemed completely unaffected by the completion of homework. Indeed, I began to wonder if the practice of assigning homework belonged to another world of classes, not my classes, where it possessed the material substance it lacked for me and for my students.
So this school year, aside from requiring students to independently read a book of their choice for 120 minutes (thanks Penny Kittle) outside of school per week, I am not assigning any other homework. Instead, I am focusing on the only time I can control, which is the 62 minutes daily that my students sit in my classroom. My goal is to push my students to write, read, speak, and think as much as I can when they are in "school world." For me, this means trying to hold "me time" to 10 minutes or less of every class period. The students need to be directing their learning, not me. If they are not actively "doing", then they are not learning.
While homework may seem to belong to another world or to lack material substance for many students, I hope that by removing it from the equation of success in my classes, ALL students will feel like they belong in the world of my classroom where we work hard every day to build the skills necessary for them to create lives of substance and meaning in our world.
This blog is meant to serve as a record of my students' and my successes and stumblings throughout our "Year Without Homework."
Huh. This is how many of my students over the past 16 years have viewed homework. Belonging to another world, not theirs. Lacking the material substance which might incite them to complete it. Ethereal.
I guess I'm not that different from my students because the longer I teach, the more "ethereal" homework has become for me as well.
I learned early on in my career that high school students either did their homework or didn't. While I understand that home environment, work schedule, socioeconomic status, and a whole host of other factors contribute to whether or not students complete homework, I have also come to the conclusion that no matter how meaningful I make the work, I cannot change the circumstances contributing to why students do not complete school work outside of class. For one reason or another, to many students, homework simply doesn't fit in their world outside of school.
Here is where I'd like to say that those students who completed the "meaningful" homework I assigned performed better in my classes, but alas, I would be lying. At least I would be lying to say that completing homework was THE reason they performed well in my class. I guess one could assume my "meaningful" homework was "lacking material substance." And the more students continued not completing outside practice, the more "ethereal" homework became for me. SOME students who regularly completed homework were pulling ahead while SOME students who did not complete it fell behind. But I have a problem with "some" because a whole lot of students, both my doers and not-doers, seemed completely unaffected by the completion of homework. Indeed, I began to wonder if the practice of assigning homework belonged to another world of classes, not my classes, where it possessed the material substance it lacked for me and for my students.
So this school year, aside from requiring students to independently read a book of their choice for 120 minutes (thanks Penny Kittle) outside of school per week, I am not assigning any other homework. Instead, I am focusing on the only time I can control, which is the 62 minutes daily that my students sit in my classroom. My goal is to push my students to write, read, speak, and think as much as I can when they are in "school world." For me, this means trying to hold "me time" to 10 minutes or less of every class period. The students need to be directing their learning, not me. If they are not actively "doing", then they are not learning.
While homework may seem to belong to another world or to lack material substance for many students, I hope that by removing it from the equation of success in my classes, ALL students will feel like they belong in the world of my classroom where we work hard every day to build the skills necessary for them to create lives of substance and meaning in our world.
This blog is meant to serve as a record of my students' and my successes and stumblings throughout our "Year Without Homework."
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