Ross Cooper

What comes first, the writing or the blogging?

The Problem

In a previous district, I got my hand slapped for encouraging third graders to blog (using Kidblog, which was free at the time). The given rationale behind the hand slapping was something to the effect of, “These kids have trouble writing, and you want them to blog?!?”

So, what comes first, the writing or the blogging?…In other words, should students have to master the basics before they are allowed to blog? Or, can they learn to write through blogging?

Blogging: Teaching Students How to Quality Comment

By Ross Cooper 5 Comments

After co-presenting on blogging at EdcampNYC and then blogging about the significance of student work being made public, I have heard lots of conversation and questions regarding how to teach students to comment on each other’s blog posts.

In this area, one of the resources that has guided me is the work of Silvia Tolisano.

Nonetheless…The last thing we want to do is simply tell students, “Here’s what’s included in a quality comment.” We must model inquiry by having them “uncover” what is involved. Then, students will (1) have a deeper understanding of why these components are significant, and (2) be more likely to apply them.

Here’s what this process could look like:

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Why write for your teacher when you can publish for the world?

By Ross Cooper 10 Comments

Last weekend at EdcampNYC, Starr Sackstein (@mssackstein), Tony Sinanis (@TonySinanis), and I facilitated a conversation on blogging and branding. This was the first time I had run a session with either of them, and it was an absolute blast!

Making my work public is something about which I am passionate. Also, I strongly support students being provided opportunities to have their work reach an authentic audience.

Not convinced student work should be made public?

According to John Kotter, one of the biggest mistakes you can make when attempting to achieve buy-in “is to communicate with all ‘head’ and no ‘heart.'” In other words, the odds are not in favor of educators saying, “Well, if Robert Marzano says this is what’s best, then we should all be doing it in our classrooms!” So, rather than use facts/research/data to convince/tell you why students should be able to publish their work (as opposed to handing it in)…Here are two resources that will evoke emotions and “tug at the heart.”

The graphic featured above. Imagine, after countless hours of dedicated blogging, only one person is able to see or share your work on each social network. (By the way, my fourth graders blogged regularly with KidBlog, Blogger, and WordPress…It’s not a matter of if we can make it happen, but how.)
The Alan November TEDx Talk. Start at the 7m 30s mark, or just watch the whole thing. I always use this video when conducting workshops on student publishing. Rich Kiker (@rkiker) first introduced me to the resource a handful of years ago.

Seriously…Why write for your teacher when you can publish for the world?

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Cheesecake Factory Professional Development

By Ross Cooper 11 Comments

The Problem

Over the past few months, a few administrators I hold in high regard have talked/tweeted/blogged/bragged about the endless options their teachers have for professional development. In some instances, their entire district’s professional learning plan focuses entirely on teacher choice (in an effort to create something like a wide-scale Genius Hour).

This is an approach with which I strongly disagree.

As I have previously tweeted…“We need to balance choice with vision. If your school PD options are all over the place [much like a Cheesecake Factory menu], strong chance there is a lack of direction.”

5 Ways For Teachers to Make a District-Wide Impact

By Ross Cooper 2 Comments

Classroom teachers can either (1) wait for change, or (2) go out and contribute to it. I encourage teachers to choose the latter. In most districts (yes, there are exceptions), I don’t think teachers realize how powerful their voices/actions can be. The majority of administrators with whom I have worked would love nothing more than for significant change to start with those who are in the trenches.

Based on my experiences as a former fourth grade teacher, here are five ways for teachers to make a district-wide impact:

Curriculum Mapping, 5 Ideas

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Last week I had the opportunity to attend two days of Curriculum Mapping Boot Camp with Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs and Dr. Marie Alcock in New York City. Here are five of my takeaways:

Literature Circles – Are Role Sheets a Necessary Evil?

By Ross Cooper 6 Comments

In a recent article for Edutopia – (Almost) Paperless Literature Circles – I wrote about how I facilitated this process as a fourth grade teacher.

The Problem

An earlier draft of this article focused primarily on the predetermined jobs/role sheets students completed on a weekly basis: connector, passage picker, wonderer, predictor, etc. Upon reviewing this version, one of my colleagues – Erin Murphy (@MurphysMusings5) – encouraged me to revise my writing to deemphasize teacher-specified roles, asserting that “ideal” literature circles do not include them. To substantiate her claim, she pointed me in the direction of Comprehension and Collaboration by Stephanie Harvey and Smokey Daniels, which at the time was an unread book sitting on my bookshelf.

The Solution

As a result of Erin’s contributions, I amended my article to contain two quotes from the book:

Reconstructing Multiple-Choice Tests

By Ross Cooper 3 Comments

The Problem

In education, the most common type of summative assessment consists of nothing more than multiple-choice questions. This is a problem. In general, these types of questions (1) do not lend themselves to higher-order thinking, and (2) do not promote creative expression as they declare, “You must demonstrate your learning in this way!”

From what I have seen/experienced, many teachers recognize the drawbacks of constantly using publisher created multiple-choice tests, but they do not have the confidence to try something new…As a classroom teacher, it took me a few years to overcome this fear of creating my own assessments. Looking back at some of what I put together, nothing was perfect, but I do believe it was all a step in the right direction.

Here’s the thing…

5 Reasons to Throw Out Mandatory Lesson Plans

By Ross Cooper 6 Comments

While mandatory teacher lesson plans might seem like an idea long retired, I am continuously amazed at how many districts and schools still heavily rely on this approach as part of their master plan to improve instruction. Have we learned nothing from state mandated standardized tests, which also (1) force compliance, and (2) turn our attention away from what matters most, student learning?

In the spirit of Mark Barnes, Starr Sackstein, and Teachers Throwing Out Grades, here are five reasons to throw out your lesson plans.

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6 Stages of Personal Tech Integration

By Ross Cooper 2 Comments

Here are the 6 stages of personal technology integration, which I devised based on my experiences as a teacher and administrator. The “lowest” step starts with educator unwillingness to use technology, while the “highest” involves being able to leverage these tools to promote inquiry-based learning (through project-based learning, 20% Time, etc.).

These stages were part of a keynote presentation I did last week for a school district in New York. During the presentation I also emphasized:

How technology “fades away” at the greatest levels of use because it is leveraged to enhance effective pedagogy, not replace it. (For more on how this shift can be accomplished, see “Project-Based Learning: The Easiest Way to Get Started.”)
Educators should be aware (“technologically self-aware”) of (1) where they fall on this spectrum, and (2) what needs to be done in order for them to climb the ladder (by visiting each other’s classrooms, taking more risks, getting support from administrators, etc.).

Technical/Research jargon has been omitted from the 6 stages to make them understandable at the surface level with minimal explanation. Most importantly, educators should be able to easily identify with the different steps/quotes as a result of the various on the job experiences they have had throughout their careers.

What are your overall thoughts on the 6 stages? Did I hit the nail on the head or did I leave something out? How could you see yourself leveraging this model during professional development?

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