Monthly Archives: July 2013

Being Intentional

Barb’s blog post about her yellow walk on Wear the Cape Tuesday takes me back to a week or so ago when I first heard of something called streetview that seems to be some version of something we are tagging in the Connected Learning MOOC as a #learning walk. The streetview/learning walk is not really something new, it involves that ever important skill of noticing that I wrote about the other day and adds another intentional element: documenting the noticing. The documenting described in the sreetview make was photography—convenient for me!

I tried my own version of a learning walk last week focused on the parking garage at UCSD. I took some pictures, found an app that would let me put them in a collage (many collage apps seem to have a six photo limit—but I needed more), and then thought about what that composition said to me about my experience.

I love that this composition takes away a lot of the cold, institutional feel of the garage and highlights the icons, textures, and angularity. It would be interesting to capture the smells and sounds of the garage as well as the things to see–capturing more layers of the garage experience. Mostly what occurs to me by doing this exercise is that I was more aware of interesting details, noticing things I hadn’t noticed before. (I hadn’t been aware of the electric cart parking space–is that for the all the golf cart-like vehicles? I’ve never seen one parked in the parking garage!)

In addition to my streetview and Barb’s yellow walk, on Wednesday Linda @hirshmiller, who is also participating in SDAWP Photo Voices photo-a-day, read a piece of writing about her increased noticing as a result of her search for yellow this week. We were all incredulous as she described her amazement at noticing that her cat, Flounder, had yellow eyes. And how that discovery sent her on a mission to wake the sleeping pets and peer into their eyes to see what color they are. (For me, that would have been a small job…for her with her husband’s animal rescue mission and her kids’ aspirations toward animal-focused careers, that meant checking the eyes of 55 animals!)

These experiences are reminding me how important it is to be intentional as we move through our lives, to be open to noticing new details, and to uncovering interesting connections. Writing does that too…when I write regularly (like I am doing now with this new blogging adventure) I pay close attention to the world around me and make connections in unexpected ways. What have you noticed lately?

Writing, Science, and Making

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On my way to UCSD yesterday morning I listened to this story on our local public radio station about a zombie horror video game inspired by a nature documentary, with commentary from a local entomologist from the San Diego Natural History Museum, Michael Wall. I’m not much of a video game player, but I love the idea that a nature documentary and the very real behavior of parasites inspired the story of this game. I started to think about the ways that science and writing are natural partners and the roles that curiosity and creativity play in both.

And then I started to think about the ways that curiosity and creativity often get squished in schools in the name of supporting our learners. We’ve been reading, writing, and debating formulaic writing in the SDAWP Invitational Summer Institute this week and asking ourselves what is gained and what is lost when writers, especially young writers, are encouraged or even forced to fit their thinking and ideas into five paragraphs (or three or…) predetermined and highly structured by a formula?

I’ve heard people say that “structures” (provided by formulaic writing) free young writers from the frustration of figuring out effective organization for their ideas and their writing. But I’m guessing that neither the writer of the nature documentary nor the video game maker used a formula to craft the stories behind their movie and game. I wonder if they even thought they were writing (as in school writing) as they crafted the narrative structures that hold their work…or were they simply making and/or playing as they explored the ideas in their heads? I’m also wondering if they worked with collaborators–and how that shaped their stories and their productions. (It sounds like both making and playing to me…and fun!)

My brain is already on fast forward to the new school year as I think about how my students might be inspired to write video games and documentaries and radio podcasts like the one above and who knows what else! I know I won’t be providing any fill-in-the-blank formulas to structure their compositions. Instead, I will help them locate mentor texts (texts in the broadest sense of the word) to play with, examine, and study to figure out how they will construct their own. And I will create and compose along with them.

And for those of you who think your ideas are not clever or original or good enough, take a look at this video (thanks Kristina Campea for sharing on google+ at the #clmooc).

So what inspires your writing and creating? What structures do you depend on to move from ideas to composition?

Eat…and Lead Locally

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Local Love. That was the phrase that caught my eye while enjoying some yummy gelato for my mom’s birthday on Sunday. EscoGelato makes a point of highlighting all the ways their products are local—using local bakeries for their breads, local farms for their avocados, eggs, strawberries…

Yesterday I ate locally again. At Urban Plate with my friend and San Diego Area Writing Project (SDAWP) colleague Abby, I also noticed signs in the restaurant pointing to the sources of the local produce and other food products. It feels good to eat locally—in both places the food was delicious and the feel in each place was friendly and welcoming…accessible.

As we ate, Abby and I caught up on the progress of our summer and moved to the topic of professional development for teachers. We talked about how teachers need to not just hear about some new approach or instructional technique, but to try it out and think about how and why it is useful for themselves as learners and for their students before they can truly implement effectively in their own classrooms. And that, as professional developers, our hearts drop when participants say, “Can’t you just come to my classroom and teach it for me?”

Abby and I talked about the power of connectedness and collaboration for professional growth. How opportunities to talk about our ideas caused those ideas to grow and develop and transform into something more than where they began. And how that collaboration makes us a bit braver and more willing to take risks with our teaching practice…and in the process we grow as educators. We also talked about how important it is for someone in your local place—your school site, your district, your writing project or other organization—to see you as a leader. We grow leadership when we nurture leaders.

At the SDAWP, we’re right in the middle of the Invitational Summer Institute…a place for nurturing local leaders. And I’m not so sure that all of the participants see themselves as leaders—yet. But we’re ready to help them and to ease them into some accessible spaces where their leadership can emerge and continue to grow whether that is in their own classrooms, at their school sites, or beyond. Maybe that, too, is local love.

On Noticing

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One of the reasons I love taking pictures is that it helps me notice. Instead of going full-speed-ahead about my life–checking this thing or the other off my ever growing to-do list and worrying about whether I will ever get caught up–noticing helps me slow down, appreciate interesting things around me, and then I find myself asking questions. When I watched this caterpillar wiggle its way into a chrysalis, my curiosity about everything related to monarch butterflies became insatiable. (This incredible process happened in the planter box right outside my classroom. I was also experimenting with using a macro lens on my phone–as seen in the top two photos–helping me to really look closely and focus carefully. More on focus to come!)

As a result of what I had noticed and photographed, I wanted to know more. I researched on the web, found and read non-fiction books, watched some incredible videos, talked to people around me, and enjoyed reading some fiction as well (Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver came out at the just the right time for me!). I think that everyone around me also learned–whether they were interested or not–about monarchs and their life cycle! But most importantly, this event heightened my noticing behavior. Everywhere I went, indoors and out of doors, I was noticing: paying attention to patterns, colors, numbers, textures…subtleties in the world around me.

This article a friend of mine who works at the San Diego Natural History Museum referred me to reminded me of the importance of noticing–not just for me, but also for my students. My favorite question to my students is always, “What do you notice?” I ask that about text, about songs, about pictures, about math and science and social studies…about just about everything!

And even though we do a lot of noticing, I wonder if there is enough time in schools for noticing, for curiosity, for inquiring into things that are interesting. As I photograph and write my way through the summer, I will also be thinking about that question–and the actions that I will take to make sure my students have ample opportunity to notice as part of their learning experience. What do you do to help yourself (and the young people around you) notice?

Milkweed is not a Weed it is Important Monarch Butterfly Food (earthelixir.ca)

SDAWP Photo Voices: Red

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At SDAWP Photo Voices this month we are doing something different: a single prompt (they happen to be colors) for an entire week. This week was red. Rather than picking a single picture to highlight (although there is one that is the header for this blog!), I decided to create a collage (using collageit) or map of my week (a nod to my experience with the Connected Learning MOOC). I did throw in a couple of extra red photos that I didn’t post as part of our photo-a-day challenge.

I was surprised just how easy it was to find red…everywhere. Because of the 4th of the July holiday, I was at the beach several days this week–and I found red without a challenge! My favorite is the red shoes picture (edited with the app colorsplash), but I also love the unexpected red apple in my own backyard and the odd assortment of three red chairs. I’m looking forward to seeing others’ red favorites today and tomorrow as they get them posted on our SDAWP Voices “red” page!

Up next…yellow. Hmmm…

frames

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With each photo I take with my cell phone, I spend more and more time thinking about how to frame the picture I see. I’ve learned that using the zoom feature on my phone helps me see the object clearly in the moment, but degrades the quality of the photograph when I go to edit. I can reframe in the editing process, pulling the image in closer, eliminating some of the background noise. If I shoot too “big” I often find myself with a nondescript landscape. Finding some kind of focal point makes the photo more interesting–and often evokes the curiosity of viewers.

This article in the New York Times on July 2, 2013 also has me thinking about frames and framing. The author plans an outing for his 6 year old nephew based on both his budget and his nephew’s interests and personality. A focus on Grady’s interest in art and low-key, meandering pace in life creates a day filled with drawing and art museums punctuated with opportunities for Grady to interact with working artists, study a variety of art forms, and enjoy a leisurely day with his uncle. Framed in another way, Grady could have been disenfranchised, alienated by having to hurry here and there without the time to study and try out what he found interesting along the way. Uncle Seth’s focus created spaces for Grady’s curiosity to blossom.

This has me thinking about ways I can use this idea of framing in my classroom and in my work with teachers, foregrounding student interests while keeping the skills and processes needed for learning success in mind. I’m wanting each of my students to feel like Grady did on his outing with his uncle: like learning is what you do when you’re enjoying what interests you. That’s what happening with my photography. I’m learning as I play around–and through connections with others with a wide variety of interests and skills that relate to what I am doing. My photography (and the photos themselves) are not framed in a permanent shape with a single focus, I am continually exploring frames and how they work with the images and ideas for each shot.

School curriculum often feels like it exists in the noun “frame” rather than used flexibly with the verb “frame”–ignoring students’ strengths, challenges, and existing interests and knowledge. Does the frame/framing metaphor work for teaching and learning? I’d love to know what you think!

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