Cooper on Curriculum - Page 2 of 19 -

How Do We Assess (And Possibly, Grade) Project Based Learning? #HackingPBL

Last week, Erin Murphy and I facilitated a two-day project based learning (PBL) workshop for an inspiring group of educators from Madison City Schools, Alabama. As part of the workshop, we spent some time focusing on what assessment (and possibly, grading) can look like within the context of PBL.

When discussing this topic, it’s first and foremost important to keep in mind there is a difference between assessment and grading. Whereas the goal of assessment is to improve student learning, grading (or a grade) is generally used to evaluate current level of performance.

Should Projects Be Graded?

In short, the answer is a resounding “No!”

Project based learning experiences should call for a great deal of student critical thinking and creativity. And, research tells us that “carroting and sticking” these types of skills isn’t just ineffective, but detrimental.

Pause for a second and watch this Daniel Pink TED Talk, The Puzzle of Motivation, which is based on his book, Drive. Or, if you are in a rush, just watch from 1 minute 30 seconds to about the 7-minute mark. And, if you really don’t want to watch the video, here is the take-home point for this segment:

If-then rewards work really well for those sorts of tasks, where there is a simple set of rules and a clear destination to go to. Rewards, by their very nature, narrow our focus, concentrate the mind; that's why they work in so many cases…But for the real candle problem [a problem that requires creative problem solving], you don't want to be looking like this [tunnel vision]. The solution is on the periphery. You want to be looking around. That reward actually narrows our focus and restricts our possibility.

Pink also makes it clear this experiment is not the exception to the rule: “What's interesting about this experiment is that it's not an aberration. This has been replicated over and over again for nearly 40 years.”

Looking back on my work as a fourth grade teacher, I can draw a straight line from Pink’s work to my use (or misuse) of grades as the carrot and the stick. The more I engaged my students in project based learning, the more I realized that grading the actual project was not only unnecessary, but potentially harmful.

If Not Grades, Then What?

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Throwing Our Own Ideas Under the Bus

By Ross Cooper 4 Comments

For next school year, I’m throwing around the idea of a community book study for the school at which I’m the principal – T. Baldwin Demarest Elementary School in Old Tappan, New Jersey.

Right now, I’m in the process of reading through a few books that could potentially be used. One of these books is Originals by Wharton professor, Adam Grant. While most of the book doesn’t directly discuss education, it does contain countless implications for the field.

In Chapter 3, I was particularly drawn to a section – Putting Your Worst Foot Forward – in which Grant emphasizes the importance of proactively calling attention to the problems with our own ideas. He first illustrates this point by examining how the popular website Babble gained traction:

After having their first child, Rufus Griscom and Alisa Volkman were appalled by the amount of false advertising and bad advice being offered about parenting. They started an online magazine and blog network called Babble to challenge the dominant parenting clichés and tackle the cold, hard truth and humor. In 2009, when Griscom pitched Babble to venture capitalists, he did the exact opposite of what every entrepreneur had been taught to do: he presented a slide listing the top five reasons notto invest in his business.

Two years later, Griscom took a similar approach when pitching Babble to Disney. One of his slides read: “Here’s Why You Should Not Buy Babble.”

In both instances, Griscom’s strategy worked. The year he pitched to venture capitalists, Babble brought in $3.3 million. Then, Disney ended up buying the company for $40 million.

Grant cites four reasons why we should accentuate the flaws in our own ideas when “pitching a novel idea or speaking up with a suggestion for change.”

“Leading with weaknesses disarms the audience.” When we’re only presented with positives, we become skeptical and look for holes as if to say, “What’s the catch?”
“People think an amateur can appreciate art, but it takes a professor to critique it.” We hold in higher regard those who can praise and critique vs. those who heap on nothing but lavish praise. Think restaurants reviews, movie reviews, book reviews, etc.
“It makes you more trustworthy.” This speaks to the credibility of the person pitching the idea.
“It leaves audiences with a more favorable assessment of the idea itself.” If the idea is a good one, and we’re already pointing out its worst problems (which aren’t so bad in the first place), there’s nothing damaging left to uncover.

Implications for Education

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Here’s How We’re Moving Forward as an Elementary School…

By Ross Cooper 1 Comment

As I continue to document my journey as the Elementary Principal of T. Baldwin Demarest Elementary School (TBD) in the Old Tappan School District (which began about five months ago), here are my posts from oldest to newest:

Now let’s take a look at how we’re moving forward as a school.

Below is a slightly modified version of a document I sent out to my teachers and staff with about two weeks remaining in the school year. Going into the summer, I believe it’s beneficial for everyone to have this information, (1) in case they want to get a jumpstart with the learning over the summer, (2) so everyone knows what to expect when returning to school in the fall, and (3) so everyone can better wrap their heads around how the different areas of focus fit together.

For curriculum, this is what will serve as our main areas of focus for the 2018-2019 school year. For each area, for this blog post, I’ve included additional background information.

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I’m a New Principal, Here’s How I Followed up on My Entry Plan…

By Ross Cooper 2 Comments

In a previous post – I’m a New Principal, Here’s My Entry Plan… – I outlined my entry plan for when I became the Elementary Principal of T. Baldwin Demarest Elementary School (TBD) in the Old Tappan School District, about five months ago on January 15.

For easy reference, here’s a very brief rundown of the entry plan’s components:

One-On-One Voluntary Interviews with Teachers and Staff
Meetings to Learn About Core Subject Areas
Student Meeting(s)
Parent Meetings
Questions for Superintendent
Digital Communication

Now, here’s a look at how I formally followed up on my entry plan at a Faculty Meeting on May 21.

Prior to the meeting, teachers were sent a Google doc, divided into three sections: Entry Plan Overview, Entry Plan Results Summary, Entry Plan Activity.

Entry Plan Overview

To remind teachers what the entry plan involved, this section outlined the plan in very much the same way as the previously mentioned blog post. Everyone was encouraged to look at this on their own time.

Entry Plan Results Summary

Here I included the results from the student meeting and parent meetings. More or less, the teachers received a cleaned up version of my notes. To preserve confidentiality, I didn’t include what I learned from the teacher and staff interviews (more on this in the next section). Once again, everyone was encouraged to look at this on their own time.

Entry Plan Activity

This activity encompassed the entire Faculty Meeting. Here are the activity’s directions, verbatim:

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It’s the Learning, Not the Lessons!

By Ross Cooper Leave a Comment

Not too long ago I tweeted the following:

“It’s powerful when we shift the conversation from ‘What lesson are you on?’ to ‘What are your students learning?’”

It's powerful when we shift the conversation from “What lesson are you on?” to “What are your students learning?”

— Ross Cooper (@RossCoops31) April 1, 2018

This tweet was motivated by a conversation I witnessed, during which a principal from another district said something to the effect of, “I’m working with my teachers to understand that it’s ok for students to demonstrate their learning in multiple ways, but we’re struggling.”

Although I still don’t know the entire context of this particular issue, I can say with confidence that a similar problem exists across countless schools and districts.

So let’s unpack it.

One of the Many Problems with How Textbooks Are Used

From what I have experienced, the majority of teachers still rely on a textbook when determining what to teach. And, if the principal’s problem is present, there’s an even greater likelihood the textbook is being used as a crutch, with teachers spending the year going through the textbook from cover to cover (more or less). This isn’t to say there is anything wrong with the actual book itself; the problem lies in how it is used.

The first warning sign is when the textbook is referred to as the curriculum, when in reality it’s a tool or resource that can help us to meet the needs of our students. And, if we’re treating the textbook as the curriculum, I’m more inclined to point the finger at the administrator (curriculum supervisor, principal, etc.) who is allowing for such abuse to take place.

So, if I’m a teacher heavily relying on my textbook, without the proper professional development to “move away from it,” I too would be baffled by someone telling me, “Teach Chapter 2 in a different way!” or, “Let your students show they understand Unit 7 however they want!”

At least three major steps are required for a paradigm shift to take place.

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What Is Our Default Reaction to Disagreement?

By Ross Cooper 3 Comments

Not too long ago, Tony Sinanis (Hastings-on-Hudson Superintendent) and I presented on 5 Ways to Support a Culture of Learning. One of the main points we discussed is how feedback must be a normalized and welcome part of the learning process. While conversations about feedback generally focus on what feedback is and isn’t, why it’s valuable, and how to give it, during our presentation Tony went out of his way to emphasize the idea of being mindful of how we respond to feedback. For instance, as an administrator, if I’m not accepting of feedback, I shouldn’t expect my teachers to listen to what I (and possibly, their peers) have to say. In other words, I need to model the behavior I want to see in others.

Confirmation Bias

The Oxford Dictionary defines confirmation bias as “The tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one's existing beliefs or theories.”

Confirmation bias (along with other factors, such as insecurity and ego) can prevent us from being accepting of feedback, and to a greater degree, disagreement.

In Creativity, Inc., Ed Catmull (author and President of Pixar) explains how confirmation bias can hinder an organization:

Most of us walk around thinking that our view is best – probably because it is the only one we really know. You’d think the fact that we all have major misunderstandings with people at times – squabbles over what was said or what was meant – would clue us in to the reality that so incredibly much is hidden from us. But, no. We have to learn, over and over again, that the perceptions and experiences of others are vastly different than our own. In a creative environment, those differences can be assets. But when we don’t acknowledge and honor them, they can erode, rather than enrich, our creative work.

5 Stages of Disagreement

Since our presentation, I’ve tried to be more cognizant of how I respond to any type of disagreement. And, based on my experiences (and my mistakes), I’ve mapped out five stages of disagreement. All of the stages, with the exception of the fifth (the “highest”), involve some form of confirmation bias.

When looking at these stages, if you’re self-evaluating, ask yourself, “What is my default reaction to disagreement?” (And then maybe think about whether or not your colleagues would agree with your self-evaluation.)

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5 Ways to Support a Culture of Learning

By Ross Cooper 8 Comments

Last weekend at the Long Island Connected Educator’s Summit, Tony Sinanis and I facilitated a session, 5 Ways to Support a Culture of Learning. A few days prior to the conference he shot me over a bunch of ideas and then we worked together to refine them for our presentation. So, as a disclaimer, these “5 ways” are more his than mine, although I do agree with them.

That being said, here are the five ways to support a culture of learning. And, after each one are three points to consider.

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Flexible Learning Spaces: The Start of Our Journey

By Ross Cooper 2 Comments

Over the past few weeks, my teachers and I have been exploring flexible learning spaces. And our goal is to hit the ground running with implementation at the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year. (Of course, we can experiment when our supplies arrive before then.)

Here’s the email (slightly modified) that officially began this movement. It was sent out about three weeks ago.

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I’m a New Principal, Here’s My Entry Plan…

By Ross Cooper 15 Comments

On January 15 I began my first job as a principal, as the Elementary Principal of T. Baldwin Demarest Elementary School (TBD) in the Old Tappan School District. About a month prior, as I was wrapping up my job as a curriculum supervisor, I started to prepare for my new job, mostly by (1) picking the brains of my educator friends and (2) reading The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins. The best of these thoughts and ideas made their way into an entry plan, which I started to execute soon after I became a principal.

In reading The First 90 Days, one of the quotes that stuck out to me the most was, “For leaders joining new organizations…it helps to think of yourself as an anthropologist sent to study a newly discovered civilization.” And it is this quote that sums up the overarching goal of the entry plan. Two more specific goals:

Establish relationships
Learn about the school’s history, where we are now, and where our stakeholders think we should go

That being said, here’s the majority of my entry plan.

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15 Concise Thoughts on #Leadership

By Ross Cooper 1 Comment

Before I move on to discussing my new job as an Elementary School Principal, one more time (for now) I want to look back upon my previous experiences as an administrator – more particularly, my last 2.5 years as a curriculum supervisor. Reflection is a crucial part of student learning, so as educators we should be modeling the way by leveraging previous experiences to better ourselves on both a professional and personal level.

That being said, soon after I completed my stint as a curriculum supervisor on December 22, I jotted down 15 thoughts on leadership (some of which directly relate to ways I know I can improve). Here they are. Enjoy!

What matters more than anything else is how we treat others.
It’s one thing to say relationships are important; it’s another thing to live it and breathe it and experience it.
Always seek to understand. We cannot begin to comprehend what others have experienced.
If we don’t have trust, we have nothing.
One of the worst messages we can send to others is that we don’t value their opinions.
I’ve heard many educators claim that the worst bullies in schools/districts are usually the adults; I don’t disagree.
Friction promotes growth. Conflict tears down culture.
When we’re insecure in our actions, we criticize others. When we’re confident, we can let our actions speak for themselves.
Identical accomplishments can be applauded in one context and ridiculed in another, all depending on the lens through which others choose to view the work.
When we start to justify our actions with a job title, we’re on a slippery slope.
There’s a difference between focusing on what we want to do and focusing on what needs to be done.
When we consistently harp on what could/should be, we’re possibly insulting the hard work of others without even knowing it.
Theory tends to generate anxiety, while practicality promotes progress.
Day in, day out consistency is not easy.
Intentionally surrounding yourself with the right people can change your life.

What can you add to the list?

Connect with Ross on Twitter.

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