Overwhelmed And Overloaded: Welcome To Homework Central

By Oskar Cymerman | @focus2achieve | BAM! Radio Network & Teaching Channel Blogger

Hi everyone,

Today, I want to tell you about a serious concern I have. It all began this morning...

She looked visibly tired entering 1st period this morning, so I asked: How are you Mandy?

Mandy: I'm really tired. I didn't get back home from gymnastics until 7:30 and then I had 50 Pre-calc problems to do. Other homework wasn't too bad, maybe 15 minutes each, but when you have 6 classes... I got done at 11:30 and couldn't fall asleep till like 1:30, so I'm kinda out of it.

All I could say was that I am sorry she had such a stressful evening and night. She replied that she gets a lot of homework in math every night...

Mandy is in my engineering class.

Later, I had my chemistry students reflect on our classroom blog about their school year so far. I asked them to write about how they feel and whether they are stressed or not. Here are a few posts:

Notice a pattern?

Not every student wrote about homework, stress, or being overwhelmed. But, these were the most common and recurring themes and it's only week 2. It's the 8th day of school!

The ironic thing is that had I not started the classroom blog this year, I would have no idea how bad this is.

I engaged one student after reading her post and she told me that her math teacher doesn't always finish the lesson in class, so she has to try to teach herself before she can do the huge homework assigned every night. Even if the teacher does finish, many students do not understand or feel confident they understand the material as there's never time to practice in class.

We have grown accustomed to homework being the holy grail that solves the "practice" dilemma.

Stress, frustration, lack of sleep...

The next day cycle repeats.

Overwhelmed, overloaded, stressed, frustrated, tired, and expected to learn.

And, many students succeed despite these things, which is a flipping miracle considering how detrimental stress, fatigue, and frustration are to the brain operating at it's full capacity.

And no one knows. Hardly any student complains. They suck it up. They power through. This is what high school's supposed to be like, right?

This is the status quo in many American high schools. But who creates it?

We, the teachers, and our inability to let go of the old paradigms, are the source of student stress. We overburden students believing we are doing them a favor. We overwhelm them with information. And then, we promptly overload them with "practice" problems, often without regard for the fact that many of our pupils have not mastered the skills and concepts necessary to "practice."

What we are not doing is seeking to understand. We are not inquiring. We are not considering.

We assume too much. We don't trust enough. And that saddens me.

But the simple truth is that we can change it. We can decide to teach the whole child and pay attention to all of the other things that are not just important, but essential in children's lives.

Standards can wait. We must have the courage to put the standards aside and do what is best for the child.

I'm talking about embracing the development of the teenage mind, body, psyche and spirit here. Helping to reduce the meaningless busy work and stress. Fostering movement and encouraging physical activity. Decreasing the load to increase rest and sleep. Nourishing the individual with understanding and respect for who he is, and not who or what we think he should be. Validating the incredible importance of relationships, family time, and things that feed our spirit.

Whatever the status quo is where we are... We can do better. We must do better.

I am hopeful we will. It's because I know that a great majority of us join the education profession to serve students and not our own devices. We are at our best when we remember this.

We affect lives. This is a fact, not a choice. We can influence change.

We are dreamers. We are believers.

Sometimes, we wear capes. It's time to earn them.

Educators Have The Power To Change The World. Let's Use It Now. Let's Use It Often.

Hey. Thanks for reading! We can get rid of most, if not all homework, and it's not that difficult. All you need is the will and a few drops of creativity. But that's my next post, so Sign Up for my Newsletter and I will drop it in your email inbox as soon as it drops. Till then :)

Google It! Collaborative Classroom Activity

By Oskar Cymerman | @focus2achieve | BAM! Radio Network & Teaching Channel Blogger

Hiya friends!

So I switched to coffee shop style flexible seating in my chemistry classroom, which means that

1. Students face each other and not necessarily me or the front of the classroom.

2. I have to be intentional about building collaboration into my lessons and teaching students to collaborate..

3. I have to change the way I deliver much of the instruction and look for ways to change my teaching to fit the environment my students and I suddenly found ourselves in.

Today, I decided to let my students "Google It." They already learn this way outside of school, so why not let them inside? I too learn a lot of things by Googling or YouTubing them. If learning this way is something students already do, they can benefit from it, and I can curate it, why not do it?

The new concept to learn was "Isotopes." We did a bell ringer activity to review from the day before and got right into it. Here are the directions I gave:

I went over the directions and reiterated cooperation. I repeated the directions and gave them the go-ahead.

Off they went googling "isotopes." Starting out with this activity instead of direct instruction allowed me to walk around the room, talk to students, ask questions, redirect the ones who needed it, and get a glimpse into how my students learn. I could make corrections if I saw misconceptions forming and provide guidance on group work.

I found that some students are programmed by years of "same old." Instead of looking the concept up and collaborating on a group definition they'd take notes in their notebook and maybe try to discuss what they wrote later. Being in the space with them, as opposed to lecturing about isotopes from the front, allowed me to constructively explain to them the benefits of the collaborative approach. I communicated to them that I know they are good students trying to do the right thing, it's just that i wanted to show them a new way.

We collaborate every day. Group work is not this "once in a while" deal. We are getting there, but it's a process...

One group copied a definition they found on the web using a word or two that were new to them. I asked if that is the definition they want to "own" and will be likely to remember. The answer they gave was no, and they rewrote it in a way they felt would be more memorable.

One of the groups in my 4th hour team class was kind of squirrely. It was easier to redirect them and point them in the right direction, because I was able to talk to their group directly. They were distracted, but weren't called out in public. I sat down on an ottoman next to them. It was non-threatening. No power struggle ensued. They even asked for the clarification of a couple of concepts. They learned.

After each group finished with their definitions, examples, and drawings, I asked for their attention and proceeded to short direct instruction and practice.

I was able to curate the content as the students were working in their groups, so everyone had the "right stuff." Students volunteered the information as I asked leading questions. I wrote it on the board. Here are the 3rd hour notes.

Finally, I had students practicing figuring out the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons if given the isotope notations (hyphen notation or the nuclear notation). They rotated through by each student doing one practice problem, while others help him/her if need be. This also allowed me to check in with students in between problems.

I really felt I was able to get a lot of feedback on my students' understanding, because the wall has fallen. The teacher desk is gone. I let students teach themselves. I share the physical space with them. I can help them more in smaller groups. i can give them more attention individually.

I have to be honest here - I am sometimes concerned with using technology to replace instructional methods. But now I am finding myself using technology and the space I created to enhance instruction.

I have a strong suspicion it's working. More to come...

What do you think about the "Google It" activity I came up with this Tuesday morning? Do you see it as something you can use? Let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

You Have The Power To Change The World. Use It Often.

School Isn't The Movies: Unlecture Video Instruction

By Oskar Cymerman | @focus2achieve | BAM! Radio Network & Teaching Channel Blogger

Videos can be a great way to deliver content learning to students. But how do you leverage video instruction to maximize learning? After all, school isn't the movies.

EDPuzzle

I use EDPuzzle to prep videos for instruction. You can sign up for free as a Teacher, upload and trim YouTube or other videos, and insert questions (quizzes) or prompts for students to answer or discuss during the video. Students sign in with a Join Code you give them or via their Google Classroom email.

I recommend trimming videos to less than 10 minutes and include a question/prompt every 2 minutes or so. For example, I used a 5 minute video today and included 3 discussion prompts in it.

Collaboration

Students usually expect a video to be shown via the LCD projector to everyone all at once. It may be accompanied by a worksheet they are supposed to fill out as they watch... That approach is time efficient, but is it effective?

Multitasking is ineffective, so why ask them to pay attention to the video and write down answers at the same time? And, no time is allowed to process concepts during the video.

I ask my students to watch the video with a partner or as a group of 3 or 4 using the Chromebooks I have or their own devices.

This is something they are not used to, so you have to sell it. I talk about the fact that we avoided being sabre tooth dinner by working in groups, cooperating, and having a common goal: survival. And I explain that our brains got much bigger than those of the other species with better physical attributes due in part to collaboration, which led to world domination. World Domination sounds kind of cruel, but kind of cool at the same time.

As students watch in EDPuzzle, the video stops at strategically chosen points and students discuss each prompt. This allows them to "fill in the blanks" in the information they might have missed and offers multiple interpretations and perspectives. Additionally, students can teach each other by explaining concepts they understand better than their teammates.

At the end, I ask students to write a group summary of the main concepts and, depending on time, we might share summaries. We then do a follow up activity that allows students to somehow apply the knowledge.

Why "Unlecturing" Is Better

Besides the few reasons I named, it is beneficial to "unlecture" videos (or presentations) as they allow for multiple ways to process the information. Students interact with the video and the content longer, which is less time efficient, but that's precisely the point.

Quality trumps quantity. Less material, more understanding. This is how the brain likes to learn: less "stuff," but more processing time leads to more retention, greater depth, and better understanding.

To me, that is what the education game is all about: decreasing the noise to increase the learning. What do you think?

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You Have The Power To Change The World. Use It Often.