When Students Shine!

Giving students the time to create is an important learning experience. Creativity is not limited to just building or making, creativity is a process when students:

•  Iterate and ideate to problem solve in any subject
• Collaborate to communicate for problem-solving 
• Develop character for leadership, perseverance by valuing all perspectives, ideas, and feedback
• Developing self-compassion, team compassion by being active listeners, inquiring, accepting suggestions for ideation and iteration
• Always referring to empathy, understanding the purpose with empathy to why care and how to care for learning either by designing or getting feedback and taking action 
• An interdisciplinary process that is inclusive of all thinking skills to problem solve (language arts, math, science, arts, engineering). Religion for us too as we focused on the Ontario Catholic Graduate Expectations
• Connecting learning to real-world problem-solving in all disciplines

For the Science inquiry on ecosystems, the students walked to Kanata Beaver Pond to collect data about the effect of housing developments on the interdependence of the marshes, water, and forest ecosystems. The students spotted a dead bird on the road and wondered how the bird was injured and how to care for injured wild birds.

I knew about the Ottawa Valley Wild Bird Care Centre @WildBirdOttawa . The students checked the Twitter feed and Facebook page to learn more about the centre. After connecting with Patty McLaughlin who works at the centre, she presented the students with the problem of injured birds and easy accessibility for food and water. The problem for Food and Water Dishes Patty became the partner for feedback throughout the process for designing to solve the problem.

The Design Thinking process began by defining the problem that was presented by the centre.  We followed the design process by Mary Cantwell   https://www.deepdesignthinking.com/

The students took ownership and agency of their learning in developing the process. Below there are two projects. The link to the Google Photo album also shares all students' projects and learning with Patty's visit to the classroom.

Link to the project 

The link of the project 

The design thinking process was empowered by students' inquiry about injured birds. This was the first design thinking process with a partnership for this year's group of Grade 7 students. I am looking forward to their own lead design process as they plan for many community connections and problem-solving for action taking.

Of course, many thinking strategies and community development have taken into effect in order for students to build their confidence to take risks and value each others thinking. Building this community takes time, this blog post refers to the process of self-regulation and social-emotional learning developments.

The students personalized the design process by:

• Defining the problem
• Developing the empathy map
• Ideation by valuing all perspectives individually to finalize a team design
• Team design meets all problems for feeding injured birds
• An initial meeting with Patty for the first feedback after ideation and 1st prototype
• Back to ideation and iteration for most teams
• More ideation and iteration after designs were 3D printed
• Students decompose the designs using Tinkercad involving team discussions on math, science and engineering
• Presenting the design face to face with the end user

Initial online meeting for Iteration

This was an exciting and amazing process full of agency, inquiry and problem-solving. The students were dedicated to persevere and decompose algorithms.

This post is highlighting the importance of having students explore the core of creativity. Creativity is not a task! It is the core of giving the students agency, providing them the opportunity to design their thinking, learning, risk-taking, collaboration, communication, empathy and making a difference in their community.

When students lead they learn more in any situation using creative processes from writing to designing. It is about spreading uniqueness of thinking and decision making for every step during the process and for students to continue seeking growth and be emotionally engaging for learning.

No matter how complex the knowledge is, it is not to for us to regulate, it is to allow students to connect with it to make a difference with their learning.

The students solve problems that they perceive as meaningful. We need to support thinking and not to disconnect them from knowledge building, developing ideas, prototyping their learning and making connections among each others' thinking.

Learning and students' thinking has to be revisable, iterated and reflected upon to our students to be successful. So many layers that intervene with all of the learning stages that focus on thinking skills models, social-emotional reaction to learning. Learning is prototyping, thinking is prototyping by allowing students to connect, reflect, reconnect and reflect again.

When students are experiencing designing and creativity they are also experiencing the equity of learning. We continue to transfer the empathy building from the designing experiences to our daily active learning at the school and outside the school. The design process involves social-emotional development and dealing with many situations during the process.

Some reflections about iteration, leadership, and creativity.

All reflections are in French. The students indicated in their reflections that the design thinking process has encouraged them to persevere in their learning and accept risk-taking. Also building empathy and compassion when collaborating and learning.

Let's make time for creativity on a daily basis by focusing on learning as prototyping and co-creating than just consuming.

How are we giving time for wondering than telling!  How do we foster creativity in the classroom? How are we allowing students to drive interest in learning?  How are students exercising or applying their agency?

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” 

Benjamin Franklin (1706 – 1790)

“Too much of what is called ‘education’ is little more than an expensive isolation from reality.” 

Thomas Sowell (1930 – )

Owning And Acting On Learning

Connecting to previous posts, Shifts in Learning and Honoring Within Learning of students' thinking journeys about global citizenship, a long overdue blog post reflecting on students values of exploring the Sustainable Development Global Goals. The focus of the blog will be on ownership of  acting on learning  while exploring the causes and factors of developing events affecting local, national and international communities

Giving the students the values of connecting creativity and pedagogical thinking while exploring and learning about the Sustainable Development Global Goals (#teachSDGs). The Grade 6 students focused on designing conceptions representing SDGs and bringing awareness, impacting the Grade 5 students daily actions.

As mentioned in the 10 reasons to pursue Sustainable Development Goals as educators it is our mission to have students take a lead. This year's Grade 6 students developed conceptions applying sensors (Hummingbird) and coding (ScratchX) to share their learning of SDGs with the grade 5 students.  This year's focus of taking national action by building water filters for the Frist Nation communities with mercury-polluted water.  

This blog post will focus on having students to advocate their own learning by deciding how best to reach their audience, to observe audiences' reactions during the presentation and to get feedback if the Grade 5 students were impacted.

Students' samples of the planned audio that were recorded for preparing the coding of the sensors. The planning was prepared to be presented bilingually.

Link to the description in English

A sample of a conception

There are many ideas to bring the Sustainable Development Goals to the classroom.

Dear supporters: RT this & the movement grows. Dear #globalgoals enthusiasts: Use #TeachSDGs verb & help us showcase great tweets4teachers. pic.twitter.com/rx29R5uNPo

— #TeachSDGs (@TeachSDGs) May 27, 2017

https://twitter.com/TeachSDGs/status/868275752558632963/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fteachsdgs%2Fstatus%2F868275752558632963

From visualizing the ideas of the conceptions to the actual design. The students reflected on the process by using Life of a Project. Many students persevered with the programming of the sensors and became experts in guiding others as a learning communities. A reflection sample of the design process.

 The links of students' Blog posts explaining the process of the Sustainable Development of Global Goals.

Chelsea

James

Isabella

Sydney

The students always reflect on the competencies throughout the process. I am sharing 2 samples of  students' reflections on the 6C's http://npdl.global/  Their reflections are written at students' French level of expressing their lesrning.

When we focus on a process of learning owned by the students, they make a difference in their own learning and among their community of learners too. When sharing the Grade 6 students also collected data if they have impacted the Grade 5 students. It was very powerful for students to reflect on the collected data after presenting the causes, factors, and reasons of the Sustainable Goals. They interpreted the data by using the ladder of inference in order to analyze and  conclude if they have impacted and empowered the Grade 5 students.

Many schools from around the world have taken actions by connecting with others for problems solving and making a difference. By following #teachSDGs on Twitter you will discover many projects from around the world. This is an example by Sean Robinson High School Students.

Lasting change has never been achieved through legislation but by one courageous act after another.#lightpoverty #CanadaKenya #teachSDGs pic.twitter.com/pzMLOJWQrL

— Sean Robinson (@sr_tutor) June 2, 2017

As educators, we must continue to inspire students' creativity with lasting impacts from around the world by reflecting on how other nations endure many difficulties for survival. It is building compassion for taking actions by impacting their own lives and the life of others. Harnessing and encouraging Global perspectives for investigating, recognizing perspectives, communicating and taking actions in becoming global citizens.

What learning opportunities are we creating for students to take risks and take actions toward local and Global communities?

Students Crafting Their Learning

I finally found the time to reflect about the excitement and learning with the students on MinecraftEdu. The Ottawa Catholic School Board Learning Technology is piloting few licences of MinecraftEdu for next year and thanks for giving me the chance to to be part of the pilot project and it has been a learning journey with the students. Thanks to Learning Technology technician Matthew Murphy for his guidance with the set up.

In the past the students applied Minecraft to Social Studies on a classroom Minecraft account that I have purchased. They built a museum of  aboriginal peoples' adaptations to the environment.

It  has been a learning process that the students have embraced from the Integrative Thinking model to the Designing Thinking process for the mission to Mars.

Our inquiry began with the Integrative Thinking process from I-Think Rotman School of the opposing models of colonizing or not colonizing Mars and Venus. This year the students embraced the Integrative Thinking process, the causal model and the Prop Pro models that enabled them to dive into complex issues and tensions that enriched and embraced the students learning skills. Through the Integrative Thinking process, the students interact to become creators of their own thoughts by collectively building ways of understanding.

The students were provoked with so many current events about space from NASA daily news, SpaceX achievements to Ted Talks about colonizing planets, Learning from Chris Hadfield videos and of course the ISS missions.

Throughout the process the students unpacked self lead inquiries about the planets and space as well as looking at multiple stakeholders for colonizing from citizens, scientists and governments.

The students began by defining the compositions of the planet through the Pro Pro Model of colonizing or not colonizing Mars and Venus:

The students continued to persevere, problem solve and build knowledge by creating new ideas and articulating the models by focusing on the perspectives of citizens scientists and governments. Many students continued during recess by further thinking and problem solving their inquiries. 

This video is from a Periscope live broadcasting

The Students reflected on the models by thinking about the benefits that are connected to colonizing and not colonizing the planets and described those connections. 

 

The students came to the understanding that economic growth and natural resources are always key for decision making in  colonising both worlds. Beginning a new world on the planets, where all countries agreed on the growth and development with no historical confrontations. The students proceeded by designing and imagining what the colonies would resemble on Venus and Mars.

 

During the process the students continued reflecting on the competencies and certain dimensions.

Collaboratiom

Character



Critical Thinking

From the Integrative Thinking we moved on to the Design Thinking process on MinecraftEdu  imagining and creating the structures of Mars by keeping in mind the conditions on the planet.

Again throughout the designing, creating  and planning process of Minecraft the students reflected on the skills that were being applied and acquired during the process.

We used free trial of Camtasia for students to capture their learning to explain how and the choice of blocks that they have used. This is an English version of a house structure on Mars.

This is the Playlist of all of the French version of MinecraftEDu colonisations on Mars

Learning is not about teaching, it is about acquiring skills while students are experiencing and constructing their process of building knowledge, problem solving, creating and iterating ideas to design models in which they take full ownership of thinking and creating.

When students are crafting their learning it is not the learning of facts it is training each other to think through tensions of cognitive complexity.

Some questions to reflect on when students are crafting their learning:

How, as an educator am I giving them the chance to interact and develop skills and become the expertize of their own learning?

We are still looking for a professional feedback about our structures. I am hoping to contact CSA for feedback or if you know of anyone please let us know.

We found an astronomer through Virtual Research On Call to meet with students on-line and give feedback about the structures on Mars. Thanks to Ms. Pauline Barmby for taking the time and meeting with most of the groups. Each group was able to share, explain and take advice regarding the structures for colonisations in relation to Mars conditions.

A student's reflection about the feedback of the structure on Mars. 

Designing With An Impact!

This blog focuses on promoting students voices and actions not only in the classroom as well as in their community.  Patricia Fiorino and I have a 3D printer through Teacher Learning and Leadership Program. The Grade 6 and the kindergarten students  have worked on projects together,  The 3D printing experience has been extended for Grade 6 students by applying their problem solving, collaboration  and creativity skills to passion projects.

To encourage the students' interactions through the school community, early in the year I approached our school resource teacher if the students could design and 3D print  objects that could be useful for the school's special needs students. The problems were presented to the Grade 6 students to design and use the 3D printer for passion projects not only for solving problems, also for serving the community.

The following videos represent the process from iteration of prototyping to the end users.

            The passion project for sequencing blocks.

The passion project for Math skills:

Video 1

Video 2

This link is A screencastify of Joshua explaining the changes on the numbers

Through this process of designing the students learned:

• To value each others ideas 
• To rely on each other to problem solve
• To initiate and take matter themselves by coaching each other
• To iterate many prototypes through feedback of end user
• To take control in their own hands
• To 3D design by monitoring area, ratio, volume, dimensions, coordinates on the plane and determining their next steps
• To find solutions for the school community (more projects still to be completed)
• To impact others in their community through a process of solving complex problems and that designing is full of iteration
• To impact others by their innovations
• To use the instruments of ideas and technology for a passion
• To commit to a process of creating and orchestrating solutions in a large group task
• To get feedback and insight from the users on next steps
• To initiate innovation of intimacy of consuming time with users and unpacking what works and doesn't work
• To engineer and think together as a process of research that is lead by them, a shift that is usually lead by adults
• To accept diversity of thinking and abilities for designing 
• To bring skills together from technology to multidisciplinary by building tensions of thinking 
• To experience a process with many intensities for sharing ideas and challenges by getting great insights and solutions in a controlled chaos!

The students always empower me with their creativity,  perseverance and their drive to innovation.  Their drive and diverse thinking brought skills together from collaboration, creativity, critical thinking and communication with energy and motivation to create. The main concept that the students acquired through this ownership of designing process, is that designing is the iteration from technology to multidisciplinary thinking tensions that creates great insights for creative solutions.

The students independently became equipped with a way of problem solving and continuous exploration with the passion of iteration for success. They mapped their own challenges!
.
As educators how are we giving students experiences to connect and understand how to use their talent in serving their community?

My students inspire me!

It has been a while since I have shared my learning experiences, The students inspire me and I owe them to share the process of  integrative thinking. I was just reading their reflections about the competencies which motivated me to pursue sharing our experiences.

As an educator the drive and the motivation for learning is developing on a daily basis through reflections and next steps. If the classroom learning is based on thinking and complex curiosities for creative purposes then I have to embrace the unexpected. It is not an organization of activities rather a transformation of values when learning through conversations, knowledge building, analyzing, reflecting and sharing. Reflection is the most important cause for the success, it is not an event! It takes place while observing students during the tasks, conversing with them and continuing to give students autonomy by questioning.

The  learning with me and the students unfolds together in an extraordinary situation through mistakes that are overcome by learning and growth. It is an experience of the unknown you just have to persist and follow through as it is student lead. Being wrong is a useful skill when trying, persisting than just failing. The learning for me is from the enthusiasm and engagement of the students. We travel together through the unexpected zones of the process. As educators  we should not be afraid of the unlearning, it is a trust of discoveries of  problem solving, valuing the learning through compassionate conversations that lead to more inquiries,

Thinking is not an organisation of activities. It is a process that is driven by the students' complex curiosities of problem solving. It is definitely messy and non linear learning.

Through Integrative thinking the competencies are unpacked and woven through, communication, collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, character and citizenship. As an educator I need to guide the students evidence of the 6 C's during the process by scaffolding reflections and bringing awareness of these competencies.

Here is an example of the 6c's from a team that collaborated, communicated and  focused on the critical thinking for knowledge building.

The student reflection focused on why they are accelerating in the progression of the dimension of Critical thinking and knowledge building. How during the Prop Pro model (Rotman I-Think) not only they were problem solving, analyzing and researching to confirm and learn new facts. They also pursued by adding a causal model to further the thinking of colonizing Venus and Mars.








A short video capturing the process

 A video of  conversations demonstrates the 6c's during team collaboration

Pictures about the integrative process and students' collaboration during team work after reflecting and persevering to develop their thinking.  the 1st picture indicates the initial research and the second picture further analysis. Pro Pro model (Rotman I-Think) of why colonize Venus and Mars or why not colonize Venus and Mars?

The initial integrative model followed by further analysis.

          
                














This reflection also refers by using the Pro Pro integrative thinking that the team collaborated with. The team was able to also analyze all facts, give examples and compare the reasons. This reflection shows how the team was leveraging technology through reliable sources.

The students deserve the right of growth. As educators we need to embrace learning as a life of a project.  There is no size in learning, there is lots of growth by enriching a process of competencies and thinking skills that is also self-directed learning.

Here are questions to make us think of learning and growing:

• What situations am I creating for students not to learn individually?
• How are students collaborating and orchestrating their learning?
• How are students valuing and trusting all ideas? 
• How am I integrating competencies during the learning process?

Making is a Thinking Process!

 I continue learning with my students by applying designing thinking strategies and the thinking process of the 6 Cs . We keep on evolving with the process where the students become the specialists as they apply and reflect on their thinking progressions. As we unfold the process through designing and making, the students embrace the development of skills and perseverance along their daily explorations.

Students are experiencing multiple steps during their learning from digital tools to collaboration with each other and the community while exploring design elements and habits of learning.

From a previous post  on integrative thinking using open ended conversations, integrative thinking models for valuing of ideas, combining designs and interpersonal skills for knowledge building on the concepts of electricity.

Following up on the process of thinking skills from the last blog post; the students were able to use technology to capture the thinking process of iterating from visualizing their combined ideas to the prototypes of the cardboard games.  

This video represents the revision history of the students' design and iteration of ideas while producing the prototype. The students used google drawing to update the drawing while constructing the cardboard game. I asked a couple of students to produce an English version of their process since all of their learning is in French. 

Students also explained the materials used during the process.

From the Kevin Brookhouser presentation at Ottawa GAFEsummit we applied the life of a project into our version and students reflected on the life of their project that required iteration and problem solving skills along the way.

This is the bilingual students language version of a life of a project. 

The evidence of a life of a project when designing and reflecting on the prototype.

Throughout the process students also reflected on their progressions of collaborative, character and  creative thinking skills. 

Making is so much more than the space it is:

• About the engagement phases and capturing the learning journey. 
• Building students' skills on collaboration, Character, Communication and Creativity. 
• A journey focusing on problem solving, metacognition by reflecting throughout the process on  skill building.  
• It is knowledge building of new concepts that are valued among the classroom and school community. 
• Generating ideas about the experiences, sharing them and synthesizing.
• It is about the thinking and rethinking during the process at every step. 
• It is student centered focusing on questioning, iterating when inventing and making. 
• When students are immersed in risk taking with perseverance and problem solving at every step by improving and changing ideas along the journey. 
• It is about building a community of seeking feedback and giving feedback.
• It is a journey of problem solving and creating with a collaborative mindset for innovation.

Making  is about embracing the process where students love their learning and discover the relationship of the thinking concepts of science, technology, engineering, math and the arts. It also is more than STEAM, it is about building partnership of collaborative thinking skills and motivation for learning.

I continue to reflect on:
What skills and concepts are the students acquiring, experiencing and reflecting on during their learning journey?
Are the students leading their learning through problem solving, reflecting on the process and sharing collectively their learning?
Are the students focusing beyond the content on citizenship, creativity and interdependence?
Are students aware of their own criteria through thinking habits?