Failure is the Mother of Invention

My last post reflected on the importance of curiosity and risk-taking to creativity and invention.  I touched on failure as a risk, and it got me thinking: Why is failure a risk?

So many times my students see their writing as a "final project."  They put something down on paper (or on a screen), and they call it a finished project. There are two sayings that students often hear in my classroom: 1.  You can't just vomit your thoughts on paper, say it's done, and then expect me to admire it.  I don't admire vomit.  2.  There is never a finished project in writing.

My intent is to make writing, all writing, continuous.  I want students to constantly reflect on their writing, their learning, and their processes for that writing and learning.  My role is to help that reflection by providing formative feedback, and I do.  A LOT.  The problem is that students (and parents) are so used to seeing feedback as a final decision, a grade, that they are devastated if that grade is lower than an A.  Why should it be an A?  I have never done something right the first time (including writing these blog posts).  I am used to failure because I fail every day.  This doesn't mean that failure is final.  Failure is a step in my growth.  Why did I fail?  How can I fix it?  How can the next attempt be better?

Last year, I had an incredibly bright student--let's call him Joe--who was working on a digital storytelling project in my AP Literature and Composition class (click here for a link to the description of the project).  I had given guidelines and rubrics for the outcomes, but the instructions on how to achieve those outcomes were purposely loose.  I wanted the students to have freedom of creativity; I didn't want to keep them on a leash.  Joe worked happily in his group on the project, but the submitted "final" result did not meet the requirements of the rubric.  I used the rubric for my feedback, and Joe was upset with himself and his group because they didn't pay enough attention to the rubric.  I told him not to be upset; just fix the project and resubmit.  His face lit up, and he said, "You mean I can redo it and make it better?"  Of course; that's the point.  Learn from your failure and make it better the next time.  Joe's next product was MUCH better because he analyzed his mistakes from his first attempt (based on my formative feedback) and corrected them.

Now, I've been writing about, well, writing, but this can apply to anything. Ask a mechanical engineer to describe his or her career path, and you’re likely to hear something along these lines: I built this cool thing, but it didn't work, so I had to take it apart and try again.  And again.  And again. Failure is tool for learning; no inventor gets it right on the first try.

In this video profile, students meet mechanical engineer and inventor Nate Ball, who explains his big invention – a rope-climbing device named the Atlas Power Ascender that is employed in search-and-rescue operations. He describes the process used to design, build and test the Ascender and discusses the role of failure, which is not only common in engineering but teaches valuable lessons. WATCH: http://to.pbs.org/1ea3ScA

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Boredom and Mistakes: Necessary for Invention

Sometimes my favorite thing to do is to ground my son from electronic devices.  Because he is eight and mouthy, it is a rather frequent occurrence.  During this time, I forbid him to tell me he is bored (and when he does, I give him a chore to do).  

Sigh.  Okay.  I guess I'll play in the fresh air with my gazillion toys AGAIN.

When he tires of reading and writing, he starts inventing, and that is where the fun really begins.  He has created countless robots, TV screens, computers, and machines, which he stashes in his room.  We are not allowed to throw out cardboard boxes or milk jugs in this house, and my son has big plans for the stack of wood in our basement.  

This tree house is in our future.

There are at least two things that are necessary to cultivate an inventor: curiosity and mistakes.  Boredom is a plus to spark curiosity, but it isn't always necessary.  Children naturally want to know how things are put together, which is why they spend so much time taking things apart.  

I am trying to do a better job of encouraging my children to invent both at home and in the classroom.  One way is to give them freedom to meet the goals of the lesson in any way they choose.  "You need to show me that you have an understanding of Ralph Ellison's depiction of the Harlem Renaissance.  How you do that is up to you."  

Freedom can be exciting, but it can be frustrating, too.  One way to encourage invention and relieve that frustration is to allow mistakes in order to grow.  We all need to make mistakes; otherwise, we never question what we know.  Inventors make LOTS of mistakes; that is how they improve their inventions.  What if we taught our children that mistakes are something to embrace instead of something to fear? What could our students accomplish?

Are your students curious about how things work? Do they like to come up with new ways of doing things? Then they have what it takes to be an inventor!

In this MARTHA SPEAKS interactive story, students learn how new devices are developed. After inventors come up with an idea to improve life, they test it out, make changes as needed, and then work to refine and perfect the invention. From that, students will learn how to experiment as well as learn from their mistakes, and ultimately, create something that solves a problem! EXPLORE: http://to.pbs.org/1AhKFN1

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Educating Body and Mind

Can you sit still and concentrate for more than seven hours? How, when, and where do you do your best thinking and planning?  

How long before your back starts hurting?  An hour?  Two?

Chances are pretty good that your first answer was "Heck, NO!" and your second answer, either through preference or necessity, involved some sort of activity.  I am a high school English teacher, and while I love reading in bed more than I love chocolate, I would not be able to fully concentrate and function for more than seven hours without some kind of physical activity.  I can't even function for more than one hour without moving or stretching. As for where I do my best thinking and planning?  That would be in the middle of a run.

This is EXACTLY how I look when I am planning lessons. . .and finishing a half marathon.

The thing is, if we can't sit still and concentrate for long periods of time, why do we expect our children to do so at school?  Standardized testing is taking over our schools, and strapped school boards are cutting physical education and recess, what many people initially considered "gravy," from their school curricula in order to spend more time with test preparation.  Is this good for kids?  If you asked your students if they’d like to have more P.E. time, do you think they’d say “yes”? Of course, they would! 

This is what schools are losing.

Good news for them – lately, a different kind of “movement,” one that goes beyond a focus on testing and raising academic performance, has been catching on. 

Active learning incorporates strategies like dance and play to help students concentrate better, navigate social situations and practice leadership and patience. 

Teachers and administrators who create the right balance of academics and play report promising results in their classroom. Using this PBS NewsHour video, help students understand why physical activity is important to both the body and the mind. WATCH: http://to.pbs.org/1LLjwsA

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Teaching Healthy Food Choices in School

As a runner, I'm pretty aware of what I eat and drink.  I try to include as many fruits and vegetables as possible in my diet, and I do track my nutrition on myfitnesspal.com.  

My children at home and my students at school are aware of my eating choices; discussing food and exercise is just a way of life to me.  I try to show them that moderation is the key to healthy eating, and I try to demonstrate eating to fuel my body rather than bingeing to compensate for an emotional need.  

One thing I do with my Blended Rhetoric and Composition class is food blogs.  I demonstrate with my post about making butternut squash quesadillas, and then I bring in the quesadillas to share with the class.  In my blog post, I write about taste, texture, and nutrition.  Sometimes this hits home with the students when it is their turn to write posts and share food, but more often than not, it just gives our class an excuse to eat brownies.

Healthy

Not healthy, but oh, so good!

Different foods provide different kinds of nutrients, and some foods are more nutritious than others. That is the basis of this multi-media lesson from WGBH that teaches your students the fundamentals of nutrition and how essential it is to our health! 

The lesson begins with an activity in which students consider two plates of food – one composed of healthy choices and one composed of “less healthy” choices. Students then watch a video about healthy eating habits, and discuss the role of fruits and vegetables in a wholesome diet. Your class will also investigate snacks and learn about the difference between "everyday" and "sometimes" foods. 

Everyday food

Sometimes food

Finally, they’ll participate in a hands-on activity that challenges them to make healthy choices while preparing a plate of food for a friend. EXPLORE: http://to.pbs.org/1H4azqZ

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Love from PBS LearningMedia

As a PBS LearningMedia Digital Innovator, I get really cool stuff to share with you each week.  This week the theme is "Backyard Summer."  Each week I will share links and material with you to help you in your lesson planning.  Here is the video for the week of July 6:

Do you like slugs, spiders and beetles? In this video from Wild TV, students learn about many different kinds of insects, and gain a healthy reverence for them. They’ll see that some insects crawl like spiders and centipedes, while others fly, walk on water and even flip and “click.” 

Students will also learn the names of some interesting-looking insects, like the dobsonfly. They will discover how to be safe around dangerous spiders and how some use escape reflexes, like the click beetle. As they listen and watch closely, students will observe how the speakers in the video feel about the various insects by the way they react to and talk about them. WATCH: http://to.pbs.org/1ICx6Jr

Like what you read?  Follow me on Twitter @itibrout.  I will share a new link each day.  Some will be useful for elementary school teachers, some for higher levels.  Enjoy!

I'll Meet You There.

Sometimes teachers who incorporate technology into their teaching can't understand teachers who don't (or administrators who don't encourage technology use in the classroom).  I hear the frustration from teachers who say, "It's a new era of teaching.  Why won't people just give it a try?"  I get it.  We have discovered a new world, one that is both stimulating and frightening, and we want everyone to get on the roller coaster.

But.

Roller coasters can be more than scary; they can be dangerous.  They can make you sick, or at the very least give you a headache.  The key is knowing what you can handle and taking one. tiny. step. beyond that.  Unless you are like me, and you just jump in the front seat and strap yourself in with that flimsy lap belt.  Jump first; panic later--that's my motto.

This is what ed. tech. looks like.  Does it frighten you?

There are times when I talk to my colleagues, and I mention projects I'm doing in my classes, and they are horrified.

"You let the students USE THEIR PHONES?  All the time?  Why would you do that?  They are just texting."

"I couldn't spend all that time putting notes and lessons on Blackboard.  If the students want the notes, they have to pay attention when I present."

"Why should I spend all that time creating an online quiz/game when we all know the site will go down as soon as I need it?"

"What do you mean, you let your students re-do assignments until they have 'mastered' them?  How much grading do you do?  How do you keep students accountable?"

I get it.  I do.  Sometimes I say the same things.

But.

I think those people secretly want to get on the roller coaster.  I think they are afraid of failure, that failure of a lesson means they are failures.  I know this feeling, and my goal is to help my colleagues overcome it.  The question is. . . how?

This month PBS Learning Media informed me that I am a 2015 Lead PBS Digital Innovator.

STEPHANI ITIBROUT

2015 LEAD PBS DIGITAL INNOVATOR

WVIZ/PBS IDEASTREAM
MEDINA HIGH SCHOOL
MEDINA, OHIO

Read the Full Bio

Stephani is an English teacher and blended learning teacher at Medina High School in Medina, Ohio. Stephani knows that learning is messy, and Blended Learning is especially messy. She loves seeing the light bulbs illuminate above her students' heads when a seemingly chaotic project suddenly clicks into place.

Favorite PBS LearningMedia resource: Michael Palin’s Hemingway Adventure: Paris

This means that I am lucky enough to join twenty-nine colleagues who are committed to learning more about effective integration of ed tech in the classroom.

It also means I get to attend the first day of ISTE!

Because I am sure I have impostor syndrome, I have been asking myself why I have the honor of receiving this award.  I went over and over my video and essay submissions, and this is what I have decided:  I am a 2015 PBS Learning Media Lead Digital Innovator not just because I want to share my digital learning discoveries with my students, but also because I desperately want to share the roller coaster fun with my colleagues.  I've figured it out: one tiny step beyond your safety line, that's all it takes to hook you.

I'm going to try to hook you by meeting you where you are, just like I do with my students.  You like to lecture?  Ok, let me show how to backchannel using  Today's Meet, a great way to collect students' questions and reactions during your lesson.  You can archive the whole thing--no risk.  If it doesn't work, dump it.

 Do you like bell work?  Let's talk about Answer Garden; you can poll students online before class and discuss their answers as soon as the bell rings.

My point is this: we "digital innovators" need to realize that baby steps are necessary.  Offer one thing only, and if that one thing works. . .offer another.  Years ago, my very wise department head told me, "Students can only really process one lesson at a time.  Teach them ONE THING.  When they have mastered it, move on."  And so it is with teachers.

Where are you on the path of digital innovation?   I'll meet you there.

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The "New" Paper

My sophomores finished their persuasive research papers in February, and they presented them as speeches in March.  This took more than a month of preparation: how to research, how to document sources, how to prep a paper, how to edit and revise, and finally how to turn a persuasive paper into a speech for a cause.  It was exhausting for all of us but totally worth it.  I feel confident that my students have practiced good research and writing technique, and I hope they will tap into this process the next time they have to write a formal paper.

But.

Our next composition is a comparison paper, and I thought, "What do students normally compare and why should they care about it?"   The answer is this:  Students are consumers, as any marketing agency knows, and they compare EVERYTHING.  What kinds of research do students do before they make a purchase or use a product?  They read reviews on Amazon, or they watch them on YouTube.  So, I decided to tap into their natural curiosity about the products they consume.  Our comparison paper became a comparison consumer review.

The easy part was teaching them comparison format, and the fun part was showing them embedded YouTube clips of comparisons of fast food.  See James Norton, who used to be Supertaster for Chow.com, review burgers in this clip:





The students loved watching Norton review peanut butter, hot chocolate, you name it.  I loved that we could talk about the structure of his comparisons: Does he use block style or point by point?  How does he remind you of the purpose of his comparisons?

The students also had time to browse written consumer reviews on the web to see what was interesting to them as readers and helpful to them as consumers and what was not.

Then the writing began, and honestly, I thought this would be the easiest part.  Oh, they did a great job with outlines and research, but when it came time to put it all together, they started constructing typical five-paragraph essays.

"Hey!  What are you doing?" I asked the class after seeing students type up neat paragraphs with good topic sentences and quotes from sources to support their points.  "Is this what you would like to read online if you're researching products?"

"Well, no, "they replied, "but isn't this how you write a paper?"

This. Isn't. A. Paper.

It took a class period for me to convince them to support their ideas in other ways than quotes and parenthetical citations.  I reminded them of the pictures and video clips they saw when browsing reviews.  We practiced hyperlinking for the consumer who might want more information.  Finally, I saw some light bulbs going on above students' heads.  Finally, the consumer reviews became relevant to them.

Our next step is publication, but we aren't there yet.  When the editing is done, the students will load their reviews into our Blackboard blog, where they will see all the posts and comment on them.  My hope is that seeing their blog posts online and seeing comments from peers attached to those posts will drive the point home that writing is relevant, and not all writing has to be a formulaic five-paragraph essay--although I'm not knocking formulas or five-paragraph essays; those definitely have their place in the teaching of writing, just not every kind of writing.

Oh, and there is one last benefit to writing comparison consumer reviews:

I don't have to lug these around with me.

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