Empowering Learners: Questions to Ask Yourself and Others - TIES 2016

Approximately 30 educators from the Eden Prairie School District recently attended the 2016 TIES conference in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The conference always packs a big punch in a small amount of time.  Here is what some of our own participants had to say:

Foster a classroom of wonder where play is encouraged to promote each individual learner's curiosity. - Shelly S. EPHS Business and Marketing

Start a journey of yes! - Mark B. Eden Lake 4th Grade

Live in a constant wonder!  Embrace play more! - Patti J. Oak Point Specialist

Giving kids more choice and control of their learning empowers them! Allowing them to be creative and to play contributes to empowerment as well. Teachers need to be a model for creativity. - Nick W. Prairie View Kindergarten

It's up to us to create a work environment which is a delightful place to be and brings joy to our lives. - Michelle A. Administrative Service Center

Questions for Wonder and Play:

EPS educator takeaways truly embraced the sentiments of keynote speaker Dean Shareski. Dean authors a blog titled Ideas and Thoughts , wrote Embracing a Culture of Joy and can be found on twitter @shareski.  His message spurs educators to constantly encourage their learners to be curious, to notice and to wonder.  Afterall, asking questions is cheap and takes little extra effort.  Try adding the following to you classroom interactions:

• What do you think?
• Why do you think that?
• What evidence do you have?

Let’s work collaboratively to design schools and classrooms that are delightful places to be by creating opportunities for curiosity and wonder.  By  eliminating busywork, we can let learners explore what makes them unique and what motivates them, which in turn, instills a passion for lifelong learning.

Additional Questions to Ask of Yourself and of Others:

Many of the presenters also enforced things that we, as educators, have heard repeatedly, but may need to be reminded of or examine in our practice:

• If you believe that relationships are key:  What are you doing to listen to the realities of your students?
• If summative tests do not equate to understanding/grades: What opportunities can you provide for  learners to demonstrate their growth/knowledge?
• If we believe in the mission of each: How can we tap into passions that each of our learners have and let those passions drive their individual learning?
• If not everything has equal weight or privilege: What are we willing to selectively abandon?
• We ask our students to make themselves vulnerable every single day: What type of failure or vulnerability are we will willing to show to our learners?

Call to Action: Connect with Others

Weren’t able to attend TIES this year?  Don’t pout -- go online! A key driver for change is finding creative ways for teachers to connect with one another and share ideas.  One way to do this is to get connected on twitter.  In addition to Dean Shareski above, some of our personal recommendations for follows, and noted speakers from TIES, would include:

• Carl Hooker: @mrhooker, author, blogger of Hooked on Innovation and founder of the ipadpalooza learning festival.
• Pernille Ripp: @pernilleripp, author, blogger of Blogging Through the 4th Dimension, 7th grade educator in Oregon, Wisconsin and founder of the Global Read Aloud.
• Barbara Bray: @bbray27, author, blogger of Personalized Learning, and moderator of #plearnchat on Monday evenings at 6pm central time.
• Tony Vincent: @tonyvincent, blogger of Learning in Hand, former 5th grade teacher and self described geek (apps, stuff, and more).

Going further, you can check out all of the TIES learning by diving into the #TIES16 twitter hashtag.

Finally, as always, feel free to leave a comment about what you will commit to doing after reading this post or give a suggestion (or two) for a twitter follow.

Laurie

Instructional Excellence Coordinator

Department of Personalized Learning and Instruction