Distance Learning for Teachers: Part 1 - Hyperdocs

March 18, 2020 / Oskar Cymerman

“Empty spaces, what are we living for?
Abandoned places, I guess we know the score, on and on
Does anybody know what we are looking for?”

— Queen

Hopefully, you landed here because you are looking for some help in figuring this distance learning thing out because the show must go on.

Below, I show and describe a simple structure I use for online learning in my high school science classroom. Much of what you’ll find can be adapted to earlier grades as well. Make sure to click on the 2 images below so you can copy and use them as templates. They are free.

STEP 1: Hyperdoc - The One document to rule them all

A hyperdoc, which can be a simple table with links to activities and descriptions in a Google doc works pretty great for setting up daily or even weekly lesson plans. It’s easy for the teacher to create and for a student to follow. Check out the one I made to teach covalent bonding in chemistry below. Click on the image to go to the actual document you can copy and use as a template for your own classes.

The hyperdoc is the main document students come back to each time they complete an activity.

To complete Activity 1 students click on the blue “Covalent Bonding Video” text or “video” text which takes them to the video in EdPuzzle. They watch the video and respond to the questions when prompted. I’ll explain how to do EdPuzzle later…

In a distance learning scenario Activity 2 cannot be completed as written in the hyperdoc above so I might skip it or require students to respond in writing using the “Discussion” feature in Schoology or simply create a Google Doc and provide students with a link so they can write their responses.

Then, students would come back to the “Covalent Bonding Activities” hyperdoc and complete Activity 3 by going to the linked grid in Flipgrid and recording their compare/contrast videos.

And here’s the 4-day hyperdoc I used for teaching significant figures. Extra rows can be added for additional days.

Each day consists of a front-loading activity (instruction) such as a video or a slideshow presentation and a follow-up activity (skill practice), which was a worksheet that includes an answer key for immediate feedback. On the following Monday, students took a quiz in Schoology.

Previously, I used hyperdocs for blended learning (online + face-to-face combined) in my classroom. Now, I plan on using them for distance learning with some minor common-sense adjustments.

For one, I will stick to daily lesson plans that consist of two activities only - one intended for front-loading the information and the second follow-up activity to allow the students to process the information they are learning by using it immediately. My plan is to keep the entire lesson below 30 minutes; 10 spent on front-loading and 20 on practice.

As the school district I work in (and I imagine many other ones) is planning on keeping “remote” attendance records the second activity can be used to keep track of who logged on.

The Key Points

Create 1 Google Doc “Hyperdoc” for each day or week of learning with all the directions and links in it.
Stick to 2 Activities - 10 minutes front-loading and 20 minutes follow-up for processing/encoding.

I will give you ideas for the front-loading and follow-up activities tomorrow because

“The show must go on
The show must go on
I’ll face it with a grin
I’m never giving in
On with the show
I’ll top the bill
I’ll overkill
I have to find the will to carry on
On with the show
Show
Show must go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on”

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5 Uncommon Summer Learning Ideas for Teachers

July 02, 2019 / Oskar Cymerman

Many people have the wrong idea that teachers spend their summers traveling and sipping mojitos on the beach or by the swimming pool. While those are attractive options we sometimes partake in, there’s no denying that teachers love learning. For myself, I sometimes wonder whether I love learning more than I love teaching because once the first week of the summer break passes I get a learning itch that needs scratching.

Thus, in the last few years, I’ve endeavored to do these 5 things to learn new things in the summer months and noticed that my creativity and expertise in teaching has improved as a result. Take a look and see if you can use any of these suggestions for yourself.

1. Listen to a podcast or take an online class unrelated to education

Innovation is not something that happens as a sudden spark of genius. While the final idea that makes the innovation possible might come suddenly, the entirety of it is a result of multiple, often unexpected connections the brain makes as it acquires and uses new information. Thus, if you want to increase your chances of coming up with original teaching ideas venture outside of the education realm. Start listening to a podcast (or two) you would have not previously considered and try to apply its ideas to your teaching.

2. Write a nonfiction book

As a teacher, you already know that one of the best ways to learn something is to teach it. This is why each year you feel better – more competent and more confident - about your knowledge of the subject you teach.

Writing a book on a topic is one of the best ways to become an expert at this topic. This is especially true if you find the topic interesting. As you already possess some knowledge about it you have a starting point, which is a great motivator to get going on writing a book on this topic. In the process, you learn in greater depth because you are tasked with explaining to the reader the specifics and provide examples of the things you write about. The book does not have to be long. It can be a short 20- to 30-page e-book you use to teach a difficult concept in your classroom or help your building colleagues use game-changing technology tools.

Take it from someone who loves the neuroscience of learning. Each time I write a book I learn significantly more about how to teach and learn effectively and efficiently because the book-writing process calls for full immersion in the topic and detailed explanations of the concepts. This allows me to fill any knowledge gaps I have. For example, while I dabbled in using the memory palace technique in learning, I only became an expert on how to build, fill, and rehearse memory palaces after I tasked myself with writing 4 lessons on this memory technique in my recent book Crush School Student Guide: Learn Faster, Study Smarter, Remember More, and Make School Easier.

3. Do something you fear

This will serve two purposes - becoming more innovative and facing your fears – both of which help you achieve better performance. Your fears may be the very things that prevent you from achieving your peak performance and assuming a leadership role in your classroom or school building. Before you decide, consider how reasonable your fear of something is. You might discover that while some fears are legitimate, many are anxieties conditioned by our evolution and are in fact things we can face and grow from.

4. Make something new

Build a tree house with your 12-year-old or a cardboard spaceship with your preschooler or find another DIY project online to involve your entire family in. Many people don’t do things they don’t feel competent in and that’s precisely why they don’t learn! To learn, you must go through a period of struggle but it is during that period that you learn the most. It’s the first step that presents the biggest hurdle.

5. Fix something you know little or nothing about

If you own a house, chances are you have a few projects to attend to during the summer months. Pick one and instead of outsourcing it, do it yourself. Much like creating something you might not be familiar with, fixing something you know nothing about is a big challenge. However, facing challenges and solving them is a great way to learn. Thus, pick a project that won’t lead to your demise or the destruction of your house and find a YouTube video or a blog about it and fix it yourself.

I fixed a dryer once knowing nothing about fixing dryers. It was daunting! I actually had to take it apart and put it back together after changing a heat sensor that broke. It works to this day. This year, I’m fixing the sprinkler system and mudjacking a concrete slab. Wish me luck!

Conclusion

Some activities on the list above are easier than others. However, you probably learn the least listening to podcasts compared to more difficult activities. On the other hand - if you take the information you hear during a podcast, expand on it, and write about it in a book or use it to face one of your fears or apply it to fix or make something - you have truly learnt it. This is because knowledge is not what you know but how you use it. The key to learning and retaining more is to apply new information as soon as we receive it. Happy learning!

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Criticize Me Please

June 25, 2019 / Oskar Cymerman

“Criticism is something you can easily avoid — by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.”

— Aristotle

Atta boy! You were the best! Awesome job! Such positive statements regarding a job well done or a performance gone right feel good. But, are they helpful?

There are two answers to consider.

On one hand, researchers such as Carol Dweck suggest that specific, process-oriented praise (the three statements above are non-examples) leads to increased effort, builds confidence, and motivates students to learn.

On the other, this study suggests praise may in fact impair skilled performance. It may be because praise does little to help one become an expert - it targets what went well, not what can be improved.

Deliberate Practice

I recently did a TEDx Talk. The audio of the upload stinks so if you choose to check it out you’ll really have to focus to make out my rambling-ons. But it’s deliberate practice I want to focus on here.

Teachers know that mindless repetition of words or facts does little to improve understanding or long term retention. This is why we preach deliberate or smart practice - any strategy involving repeated manipulation of new information in a mindful way to comprehend it better and remember it for potential future application.

When practicing my speech, I tried to be mindful of the places I was getting stuck on and mistakes I kept repeating. I did not practice from beginning to end each time. Rather, I’d pick up in different places. I created a memory palace to help me remember both the sequence of the talk but also its main themes. To accomplish this, I imagined my friends, famous scientists such as Einstein and Michio Kaku, superheroes, and Renaissance men such as Leonardo, Steve Jobs, and Elon Musk. I imagined them in specific parts of my house performing actions related to the topics of my speech. I think it worked pretty well because the talk went smoothly.

But I’d like your opinion.

I’d like your criticism.

Constructive Criticism

So far, I’ve gotten only positive feedback on my TEDx. And… it feels good. But…

I have not learned how to improve.

This was my first large talk. I’m typically an anxious freak when it comes to doing this sort of thing so it wasn’t easy. But I’m also someone who want to live to the max. This means facing my fears and overcoming them to become a better person and a more successful professional. There are two things I need for this to happen. One, I need to keep leaping repeatedly into the abysses of my anxiousness. Two, I need feedback that helps me grow. The “atta boys” don’t help.

Criticism can. It can offer perspectives and ideas we have not thought about ourselves. Taking an honest look at someone’s negative feedback allows us to examine our often flawed assumptions about ourselves and our environment. This in turn promotes critical thinking and problem solving. Even the harsh feedback is an opportunity to practice resilience. And all of the above equals growth.

So criticize me please! Do me a huge solid and watch my talk here and tell me what was weak and where I can improve. Rip me a new one if you will but tell me how I can get better too.

I promise to be a good student. In fact, in the spirit of deliberate practice and using the feedback I receive I will apply to present on Flexible Learning in High School at the 2019 Impact Education Conference (formerly TIES) in December in Minneapolis. I will gladly share all the resources and methods I talk about here as well.

Go ahead punk, make my day. Give me a 1-star review. Just tell me why.

My TEDx

References

Baumeister, R. , Hutton, D., & Cairns, K. (2010). Negative Effects of Praise on Skilled Performance. Basic and Applied Social Psychology , 11, 131-148.

Dweck, C. (2007). The Perils and Promises of Praise. Educational Leadership, 65, 34-39.

Ericcson, A & Pool, R. (2016). Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise.

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