IB: Why action not grit!

Grit has been lauded as the potential holy grail for academic success.  If you have grit it is argued you a more than likely to be successfully academically and professionally.  

“The qualitative insights of Winner (1996), Bloom (1985), and Galton (1892), coupled with evidence gathered by the current investigation and its forerunners, suggest that, in every field, grit may be as essential as talent to high accomplishment.”

Willingham defines being gritty as:

“Being deeply committed to a long-term goal and following through on that commitment by pursuing it over the course of years. That goal might be to graduate at the top of your high school class, or to have a successful career in the military, or to be an internationally competitive gymnast.”

Such ideas send Senior Leadership Teams into overdrive in an attempt to give their students additionally weaponry to succeed academically; the term Grit suddenly appears on curriculum models. SLT brainstorming sessions occur to identify what is already in place to develop grit and what else could be done.  The school vision for the year adopts a grit theme to take its pride and place next to previous award winners: Accelerated Learning, No Child Left Behind, Moral Purpose.  Headteachers have a new catch phrase to give backbone to support the classic statement ‘rapid and sustained improvement will be achieved by…..’   And governors can sleep at night knowing their General has a plan.  All this despite no clear evidence to date that grit can be taught, learnt or developed.  And of course such leaps in faith send panic through the teaching ranks at the thought of another ‘great idea’ to be implemented with a potentially short life span until the next great education eureka moment.  

Whether Grit can be taught, learnt or developed, the International Baccalaureate’s curriculum model appears to be in an advantageous position due to its focus on promoting a change agent mindset in young people as opposed to grit mindset. The IB’s focus on Action as a compulsory element of the IB curriculum endeavours to help foster such a mindset. According to Asker International School:

“Action is a part of who we are. If we want to change the world we need to start with changing ourselves. If we want children to make a difference in the world we need to help them personalise the action they take, and understand that it is not just a mandate from their teachers and parents, but a life long mindset they develop. Taking action can happen at any age and may be inspired by a learning experience in the curriculum; from a homeroom project; from a student’s own initiative or from someone/an organisation outside of AIS.  It’s all about how we as parents, educators, and the community, support children and youth as they begin the learning journey towards becoming adults that are change agents!”

It is this type of mindset that has been linked to students who display Grit:

“In one study, researchers asked 1,364 high school seniors who planned to attend college why they wanted to do so. Most of the students were from low-income homes and would be the first in their families to attend college, populations in which college attrition has typically been high. In this group, grittier students were more likely to say they wanted to attend college for reasons that transcended personal success (e.g., they wanted to make an impact on the world or help others) and were less likely to offer reasons related to self-development (e.g., they wanted to develop their interests or learn about the world). These students also said that they found schoolwork more meaningful than did less gritty students. When the researchers followed up months later, they found that the students who had offered transcendent reasons for attending college were more likely to still be enrolled. The researchers explained that the fortitude to continue with difficult tasks can come from seeing them as contributing to a transcendent goal, something larger than oneself.”

So whilst educationalists worldwide continue to seek the holy grit.  This teacher will continue to promote an interest in Action

IB: Approaches to Learning - getting it right

                                                                   (Everett Collection)

“Consistently high level of impact, with pupils making an average of eight months additional progress” Education Endowment Foundation

Meta-cognition and self regulation known in the IB as Approaches to Learning can make a significant impact on students learning according to evidence provided by the Education Endowment Foundation.  Such approaches are: “usually more effective when taught in collaborative groups so learners can support each other and make their thinking explicit through discussion. The potential impact of these approaches is very high, but can be difficult to achieve as they require pupils to take greater responsibility for their learning and develop their understanding of what is required to succeed.”

Before all you progressive education supporters scream “hooray, Yes, I knew it!”  I suggest that we throw caution to the wind.  I gleamed two messages from the summary of the research.  Firstly, successfully engaging students in approaches to learning strategies leads to significant progress. And secondly, that to deploy such strategies effectively is difficult to achieve.  It is this second message that any teacher engaged in developing these strategies in their classroom should pay attention to. If the research suggests such strategies are difficult to achieve then one might infer that these strategies can occasionally, or sometimes, or even often be attempted unsuccessfully.  If so, what are the consequences of such unsuccessful practice? Is it a case of no harm in trying, and students continue on some form of progressive learning trajectory just not as steep? Or do they stall or even regress?  This research indicates that using such strategies are no precursor to significant progress.  It is rarely the what but the how, and as practitioners we need to be diligent and disciplined in how we develop our craft.  My blog on Marginal Gains and the Plateau Effect should hopefully give some indication as to the thought that goes into delivering just one small component of the Approaches to Learning framework (self and peer assessment) as prescribed by the IB.  

Idealism needs to be balanced with rationalism.  Our primary role is to master our craft so that we can deploy the right approaches at the right time to help children learn.  But this mastery should not be at the expense of students learning. We should be strategic in our own learning curve, and practise what we preach.  Using the IB's 5 ATLs: Communication; Social; Self Management; Research; and Thinking as a framework for our own practice, appears a good place to start.

You grew up in the 80s if your school playground looked like this......

Unless you live in Norway. Pictures taken 30/7/2016

IB: Take the Classroom Outside

Friluftsliv

The Norwegians have a saying 'ikke dårlig vær, bare dårlig klær' which translates to 'there is no such thing as bad weather only bad clothing'. The phrase is often used to put across the argument that bad weather is never an excuse not to do something. A phrase I would turn my nose up to whenever the Viking Queen (Norwegian mother-in-law) would recite this saying to me. Of course, her declaration was often in response to her witnessing my procrastination around the house when she thought I should be on a day trip with my children. My lame excuse: it’s too cold!  After all, five degrees (in London) is cold, or so I thought. However, my initiation into winter football training in Norway helped me recognise that this Norwegian phrase is (almost) fact. -17 degrees, 9pm in the evening, and twenty over 40 year old men playing football.

So not only was the fierce Viking Queen, who would come and plunder my home, right, but I have come to realise that her comment is part of a collective national voice. It is this shared mindset that helps Norwegians maintain a strong bond with their local environment, and the weather. Norwegians appear to get the best out of the four seasons, with a focus on the benefits of each season as opposed to the drawbacks. Summer is for utilising the fjords by daily/weekly dips, canoeing, boat trips and daily BBQs. Autumn and Spring are about weekend walks and the opportunity to appreciate the stunning countryside, like a scene from a Jane Austen novel.  Winter is snow fun time – skiing, snowboarding, sledding, igloo building, and supporting Norway's No 1 sport the biathlon.

Many Norwegians have a summer, and a winter cabin that they frequently visit, sometimes every weekend, located and built to provide a respite from the trappings of technology, and urban life. Norwegians use their natural environment to optimum effect which helps to ensure a legacy; that generation after generation will have a natural affinity to nature, and the benefits it brings. The Norwegian term for such an outdoor dynamic with nature is Friluftsliv. The term is used to describe a way of life that is often spent exploring and appreciating nature, and takes centre stage in almost all of Norway's barnahage (pre – school). Here children are taught to manage the risks of outdoor life rather than ignore it.  This focus on friluftsliv is promoted to some extent throughout a child’s education in Norway, but it would appear that such thinking is perhaps a Scandinavian thing:

“Human contact with nature is decreasing in some parts of the world. For example, Tapsell et al. (2001) demonstrated that children’s access to natural environments in the United Kingdom has declined dramatically over the past few decades and that a range of physical and social factors were accelerating this withdrawal from natural environments. Kellert (2002, p.143) notes that major shifts in family traditions, recreational activity, social support networks, and community relations have eroded many children’s traditional opportunities for contact with nature." 1

Why should this be a worry to educators?  If you believe that schools exist to simply help students pass exams then it isn't. But if you believe that schools should support children towards becoming adults that are change agents then it is.  I suspect that it is mightily difficult to expect young people to truly care about mother nature, if they view it as something separate from their existence. This is not in the case for Norwegians, who embrace mother nature as part of their identity.  Such an outlook has changed my thinking about the part my teaching plays in relation to our natural environment.  I could originally see how such a topic fits into the PYP themes of: Where we are in place and time; How we express ourselves; and How the world works, but until recently I would never have thought about placing such an issue at the centre of the theme Who we are.  Likewise before my move to Norway I would never have placed my MYP unit Poetry and Mother Nature under the global context banner of identity and relationships, especially if we consider the other alternatives: orientation in time/space; personal and cultural expression; scientific and technical innovation; globalisation and sustainability; fairness and development.  Now, it seems crazy not to!

Therefore, as teachers (if possible) we should look for opportunities to use the local environment to support our lessons, especially when our earth requires more than ever for people to be sympathetic to her plight. Of course, just like my Sunday afternoon excuses, as teachers we have some plausible excuses that help us remain within the confines of the classroom. The bureaucratic process of arranging a walk to the park, forest or lake may appear more hassle than it's worth. So instead we may turn to technology to further help us justify the ignoring of a fantastic and important resource. Youtube and google cardboard (VR) are able to bring a visual experience to children's eyes that was not possible during my school days. But this technology should be a solution for potentially unrealistic ventures: the amazon rainforest, the coral reef, the solar system, not a substitute for the natural environment that is often on our doorstep.

Does friluftsliv make a difference to mother nature?

Consider the following information: Norway has the highest growth rate for electric cars in the world. With 1 in every 100 cars an electric car. Norway's entire electricity output is powered completely by hydro electricity. Norway is the 15th biggest producer of oil in the world.  How many of the other oil rich nations have a similar collective mindset?

Does friluftsliv make a difference to learning?

If my emotive stance so far hasn't convinced you to look for every opportunity to take you classroom outside then perhaps the notion that providing variability in the learning environment can enhance learning:

If you’re after sustained improvement then you want to introduce as much variability into your teaching as possible: change rooms, change seating, change displays, remove the comforting and familiar background to lessons; mix up topics.  These desirable topics will slow down performance but will lead to increased long term retention and transfer of knowledge between contexts.” (Didau 2015: 127) 2

Short story starters

As a hook

Scenario - Journalism

Poetry - The Road Not Taken: “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood.”

1. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ834268.pdf

2. Didau, David (2015). What If Everything You Knew About Education Was Wrong? Crown House Publishing

Creating a Classroom Culture for Learning: Take the classroom outside

The Norwegians have a saying 'ikke dårlig vær, bare dårlig klær' which translates to 'there is no such thing as bad weather only bad clothing'. The phrase is often used to put across the argument that bad weather is never an excuse not to do something. A phrase I would turn my nose up to whenever the Viking Queen (Norwegian mother-in-law) would recite this saying to me. Of course, her declaration was often in response to her witnessing my procrastination around the house when she thought I should be on a day trip with my children. My lame excuse: it’s too cold!  After all, five degrees (in London) is cold, or so I thought. However, my initiation into winter football training in Norway helped me recognise that this Norwegian phrase is (almost) fact. -17 degrees, 9pm in the evening, and twenty over 40 year old men playing football.

So not only was the fierce Viking Queen, who would come and plunder my home, right, but I have come to realise that her comment is part of a collective national voice. It is this shared mindset that helps Norwegians maintain a strong bond with their local environment, and the weather. Norwegians appear to get the best out of the four seasons, with a focus on the benefits of each season as opposed to the drawbacks. Summer is for utilising the fjords by daily/weekly dips, canoeing, boat trips and daily BBQs. Autumn and Spring are about weekend walks and the opportunity to appreciate the stunning countryside, like a scene from a Jane Austen novel.  Winter is snow fun time – skiing, snowboarding, sledding, igloo building, and supporting Norway's No 1 sport the biathlon.

Many Norwegians have a summer, and a winter cabin that they frequently visit, sometimes every weekend, located and built to provide a respite from the trappings of technology, and urban life. Norwegians use their natural environment to optimum effect which helps to ensure a legacy; that generation after generation will have a natural affinity to nature, and the benefits it brings. The Norwegian term for such an outdoor dynamic with nature is Friluftsliv. The term is used to describe a way of life that is often spent exploring and appreciating nature, and takes centre stage in almost all of Norway's barnehage (pre – school). Here children are taught to manage the risks of outdoor life rather than ignore it.  This focus on friluftsliv is promoted to some extent throughout a child’s education in Norway, but it would appear that such thinking is perhaps a Scandinavian thing:

“Human contact with nature is decreasing in some parts of the world. For example, Tapsell et al. (2001) demonstrated that children’s access to natural environments in the United Kingdom has declined dramatically over the past few decades and that a range of physical and social factors were accelerating this withdrawal from natural environments. Kellert (2002, p.143) notes that major shifts in family traditions, recreational activity, social support networks, and community relations have eroded many children’s traditional opportunities for contact with nature."

Why should this be a worry to educators? If you believe that schools exist to simply help students pass exams then it isn't. But if you believe that schools should support children towards becoming adults that are change agents then it is. I suspect that it is mightily difficult to expect young people to truly care about mother nature, if they view it as something separate from their existence. Hence, as teachers (if possible) we should look for opportunities to use the local environment to support our lessons, especially when our earth requires more than ever for people to be sympathetic to her plight. Of course, just like my Sunday afternoon excuses, as teachers we have some plausible excuses that help us remain within the confines of the classroom. The bureaucratic process of arranging a walk to the park, forest or lake may appear more hassle than it's worth. So instead we may turn to technology to further help us justify the ignoring of a fantastic and important resource. Youtube and google cardboard (VR) are able to bring a visual experience to children's eyes that was not possible during my school days. But this technology should be a solution for potentially unrealistic ventures: the amazon rainforest, the coral reef, the solar system, not a substitute for the natural environment that is often on our doorstep.

Does friluftsliv make a difference to mother nature?

Consider the following information: Norway has the highest growth rate for electric cars in the world. With 1 in every 100 cars an electric car. Norway's entire electricity output is powered completely by hydro electricity. Norway is the 15th biggest producer of oil in the world.  How many of the other oil rich nations have a similar collective mindset?

Does friluftsliv make a difference to learning?

If my emotive stance so far hasn't convinced you to look for every opportunity to take you classroom outside then perhaps the notion that providing variability in the learning environment can enhance learning:

If you’re after sustained improvement then you want to introduce as much variability into your teaching as possible: change rooms, change seating, change displays, remove the comforting and familiar background to lessons; mix up topics.  These desirable topics will slow down performance but will lead to increased long term retention and transfer of knowledge between contexts.” (Didau 2015: 127)

Short story starters

As a hook

Scenario - Journalism

Poetry - The Road Not Taken: “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood.”

1. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ834268.pdf

2. Didau, David (2015). What If Everything You Knew About Education Was Wrong? Crown House Publishing

Why students need more break time not more subject time. (EIP)

Evidence Informed Practice/Leadership (Maybe)

Transcript - Senior Team: Curriculum Model Discussion

Headteacher: “Thoughts?”

Mr Grape: “If we get rid of Learning to Learn we will have an extra period for Maths.”

Miss Plum: “Keep it as it is but make sure English exam classes are timetabled in the morning.”

Mr Apple: “Extend the school day.”

Mr Orange: “ZzzzZzzzz”

Mrs Pineapple: “Create a carousel to include Technology, Drama and Music.”

Mr Mark: “How about we design our curriculum model that works on the premise that students should have a break every hour for approximately 20 minutes.”

Headteacher: “Seriously Mark - this is no time for joking. Does anyone have anything else to add that is based on rational thinking?”

What if Mr Mark’s comments are not a joke? What if, as school leaders, we continue to create curriculum models that focus on the wrong MORE.  Rather than MORE maths, English, science, norsk, Ebacc (UK) allocated time, perhaps we should focus on adding MORE break-times (recess) in an attempt to improve student performance. What a ludicrous idea, right? Wrong!  According to a study conducted in Denmark, cognitive fatigue in students has an impact on tests scores, with student performance deteriorating every hour of a school day. Unfortunately, such deterioration is inevitable based on the design of a school timetable rather than as a result of some biological design flaw.  If students receive a 20-30 minute break after every two hours of study, then cognitive decline is inevitable.  However, if students receive a 20 - 30 minute break after every hour of study, then not only is the deterioration halted, but test performance actually improves over the school day.  

Based on the above study which model should schools look to emulate?

A truthiness model showing student performance over a school day:

A reality model (based on many schools curriculum model/school day) showing student performance over a school day:

A possible model (based on a school day with a break for 20 min after every hour of study) showing student performance over a school day:

I'll let you decide...

Two Face: A baddie or an educational guru? (EIP)

Evidence Informed Practice

Recently I became the incarnation of Harvey Dent, determining the rewards for students by the simple toss of a coin. Despite Two Face’s actions (in response to gambling people's lives or situations on the toss of a coin) often leading to disaster and destruction. I, on the other hand, enjoyed the opposite impact; students became more eager than ever to answer questions or offer their opinion in class. All it took was a slight tweak in how I applied the school reward system: if I thought a student warranted a house point he/she was offered the house point but with the opportunity to gamble. This strategy had three areas of unpredictability:

• How the House Points were awarded - I awarded a point based on student performance against the IB learner profile traits when I deemed fit
• The opportunity to gamble - toss of a coin
• The gamble randomly alternated between double or nothing, triple or nothing, and quadruple or nothing

I employed this strategy in the penultimate and final weeks (weeks 6 and 7) before the winter break. Whilst I would usually expect a slight decrease in student motivation during these weeks, the opposite became apparent. Student motivation appeared to increase. When I asked the class questions, I was often faced with over eagerness shouts of “me, me me Mr Mark me!”. And when offering one student the opportunity to gamble, she responded with: “This is why I love English”. Furthermore, a small group of boys who have only been learning English for 18 months threw off the shackles of worrying about making mistakes and became proactive in discussions, group work, and question and answer sessions because they hoped they would have the opportunity to gamble a house point should they be awarded one.

I think it is worth pointing out that our reward system is based on a collective approach. There is no individual gain from being awarded a house point. All students are assigned to one of four houses. And, in an effort to reinforce our host culture – our house system is named after four of the Norse Gods: Tyr, Heimdall, Buri & Skadi. House points are distributed each week by teachers if they perceive students to be demonstrating any of the IB learner Profile traits: risk-taker; caring; communicator; knowledgeable; principled; balanced; inquirer; open-minded; reflective; thinker. These points are collated each week and posted on the house competition noticeboard. As there is no personal gain from gambling a house point, it would appear that student motivation increased due to the hope of having an opportunity to gamble.

I also think it is worth pointing out that this approach is an attempt at evidence-informed practice, based on neuroscientific research conducted by Dr Paul Howard Jones. His research looks at the amount of dopamine generated in a part of the brain called the nucleus accumbens. His research suggests that the dopamine response in this part of the brain orientates our attention, and creates synaptic plasticity which is an indicator that learning has occurred. The more the nucleus accumbens (in response to dopamine) is activated, the more you are likely to remember. The nucleus accumbens is activated when the possibility of a reward is uncertain, rather than when there is consistency and predictability in the reward process. Therefore, rewards do not predict learning, whereas the brain's response to rewards does. And the brain responds to those rewards that are unpredictable; when there is a chance of no reward.

The Final Word: Two sides of the same coin

Whilst it helps that being a 'risk- taker' is one of the ten IB learner profile traits when implementing this strategy, I am conscious that during the two week implementation process not one student commented on the need to be 'principled', another of the IB learner profile traits. The idea of using the concept of gambling as a way to stimulate learning sits a little uneasy with this teacher. You see, just like Two Face or a coin, this strategy has two sides.

The Students’ Final Word:

When I offered a student the chance to gamble by the toss of a coin I stated the following:

“You have a 50/50 chance of winning!”

In response to this comment a host of hands shot up. One student then advised me that I had made an incorrect statement - That it is in fact 51/49 in favour of the side facing up when the coin is tossed:

“...even the 50/50 coin toss really isn’t 50/50 — it’s closer to 51/49, biased toward whatever side was up when the coin was thrown into the air.”

For further information:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04g8qfg

https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/funding/closed-rounds/education-and-neuroscience/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKFjoF-YO20

IB: The Benefit of Serving Two Masters

"Not everything that counts can be counted and not everything that can be counted counts." William Bruce Cameron

The Benefit of Serving Two Masters

Within many nations, there appears to be growing uncertainty about what education should mean, each one looking over their shoulder at other neighbours, wondering how they can improve their system and gain better and better results.  A country’s place in the Pisa standings appears to be quickly becoming the holy grail for politicians looking to further their own, and their parties cause. Is Norway any different?

In 2013, in response to the release of the Pisa results, Norwegian education minister Torbjørn Røe Isaksen said: "The new PISA survey shows that we have a science problem in Norway. It worries me greatly. The results are simply not good enough."  The article published in the online newspaper The Local also stated: "‘It surprises me that the results are so bad,’ said Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, before heaping the blame on the previous Labour-led government.” 1

Alongside the Pisa tests, Norwegian children must also contend with National Tests.  The tests, which in their current form were introduced in 2007, are to be used to inform education policy and allocate resources. However,  it is widely accepted that the greater the value placed on these tests by politicians, the media, and parents, the greater likelihood there will be of a narrowing of the curriculum.  

“Curriculum narrowing, however, reduces many students’ chances of being thought talented in school and results in a restriction in the creative and enjoyable activities engaged in by teachers and students. The tests commonly used with narrower curricula also appear to restrict thinking skills. In addition, responses to high stakes environments can easily retard the development of achievement in later grades as a function of the restrictions on learning in earlier grades.” 2

The narrowing of the curriculum is not just about prioritising those subjects that are tested over those that are not, it also often entails ignoring  the holistic development of children.  Of course, most education systems worldwide advocate a holistic approach to education.  However,  if discrete disciplines such as English, Maths, Science or Norwegian are placed at the centre of an educational framework then this sends a clear message to schools about what is important, especially when such high priority is placed on tests by the media and politicians.  Unfortunately, I have witnessed first-hand how such a system of education leads to many teachers to de-prioritise, or even ignore many other essential purposes of education.  With such testing taking centre stage, it is important to have a model of education that at its core advocates achieving academic excellence by educating our children.  This is much more than just teaching subject knowledge, or worse still, teaching to the test.

In contrast, the International Baccalaureate framework places (at all levels: PYP, MYP & DP) the child at the centre of its educational philosophy in the form of The 10 Learner Profile attributes: Balanced, Caring, Communicator, Knowledgeable, Inquirer, Open-minded, Principled, Reflective, Risk-taker, Thinker.

The learner profile (and its positioning at the centre of the IB framework),  means that this approach to education is a must as opposed to a should or a could.  Its position keeps our focus on attempting to develop children into successful human beings, rather than children who are successful at tests, or knowledgeable in subject content.  Consider the following extract:

Dear Teacher, I am a survivor of a concentration camp. My eyes saw what no person should witness: Gas chambers built by learned engineers. Children poisoned by educated Physicians. Infants killed by trained nurses. Women and babies shot by high school and college graduates, so I am suspicious of education. My request is: Help your children to become human.  Your efforts must never produce learned monsters, skilled psychopaths, educated Eichmanns. Reading, writing and arithmetic are only important if only they serve to make our children more humane. (Ginot 1973, p24) 3

As such, the learner profile assembly (every Friday) is fast becoming my favourite school time of the week. It is a lovely reminder about the purpose of education.

1. http://www.thelocal.no/20131203/norway-falls-further-behind-in-maths-and-science

2. Cambridge Journal of Education, Volume 41, issue 3, 2011

3. Ginott, H. G. (1972). Teacher and Child. New York: Macmillan