Laura K Spencer, Ed.D.

Category: Teaching and Learning

  • Preparing for Life, or Preparing for School?

    Preparing for Life, or Preparing for School?

    Being as my role includes the words “innovation” and “design,” I often talk to parents about shifts in educational practice, and why they are happening. Our district is elementary only, so some parents naturally worry about what will happen to their children after they leave an innovative elementary experience.

    The question usually goes something like this:

    Are my children going to be prepared for a traditional ______
    (middle school, high school, college) experience?

    It made me think about my own children, and what I prepared them for, and how I prepared them. I knew there’d be a time when both my girls would have their hearts broken by a love interest. But never did I think to myself, “Perhaps I should break their heart fnow so they are prepared for this moment.”

    Instead, I focus on building confidence and independence in my daughters. I model resilience by being open about my own disappointing life experiences. I share books, articles, movies, and songs with positive life messages. And above all else, I encourage open dialogue with them so they see me as a source of support, and not fear.

    I didn’t need to break their hearts to prepare them for heartbreak. They have each experienced the woes of teenage angst, and unreturned love, and came out a stronger, more determined woman.

    Likewise, I don’t feel children need to be prepared for traditional school experiences by mimicking those experiences. Instead, children should be taught the skills they will need to thrive and find success regardless of the situation in which they are placed. If they learn critical problem finding and solving skills; how to collaborate with a team, even if the team is less than ideal; ways to empathize with others; and how to engage in creative thought and process they will be equipped with the skills to not only get them through the outdated, err traditional, school experience, but they’ll also have the skills to be successful in life.

    I suggest we help parents instead pose the question:

    Are my children going to be equipped with skills needed for a successful life,
    regardless of their _____ (middle school, high school, college) experience?

     

  • My Boyfriend Is Smarter Than Me…

    I have five degrees. Five! An Associate degree, a Bachelor’s degree with a double major, a Master of Arts degree, a Master of Science degree, and a Doctorate in Education.  I love school.

    And yet, even with all those fancy certificates, my boyfriend is smarter than me. He’s a welder. No fancy college degrees. But he can build and create and fix and imagine in ways my brain can’t comprehend.

    Screen Shot 2018-06-19 at 14.40.40
    John fabricating seat mounts for our ’68 Jeep I nicknamed Wabi Sabi.

    Case in point: We bought a Jeep. A ’68 Jeep that hadn’t been loved in a very long time. It had been parked in a field for 15 years, stripped of its elements and left abandoned to nature. No seats. No pedals. No steering assembly. All wiring stripped and sitting in a pile in the cab. Rusty nuts and bolts that belong somewhere filled a coffee can.

    And yet he is rebuilding it. There’s no manual for this. No YouTube video series that connects all the dots. He has to figure it out. He IS figuring it out. Sometimes with parts that are there. Sometimes with new parts he is purchasing. And sometimes with parts he fabs up on his own. Watching him work mesmerizes me. His ability to see in three dimensions, and to understand the interdependency of systems and how they contribute to the overall form and function, is a form of genius I don’t possess.

    I share all this with you not just because I am insanely proud of his skills (although I am!), but because I think it’s important to remember that there is not one best way to learn. As much as I love school and books and conversations about school and books, John would shrivel up in that environment.

    Our experiences often have a greater impact on us than degrees ever will!
    — Jonathan Spike (@Mr_JSpike)

     

    When I started play teaching my dolls and neighborhood friends at age six, I knew everything and dispensed my knowledge to them through worksheets I drew, and books I read, and homework I made them complete (my poor friends!). When I started actual teaching twenty years later, not much had changed. I still made worksheets for my students, and read books with (and to) them, and assigned homework. Over the years, I learned and adapted to a 1:1 environment, and brought in Genius Hour and Project Based Learning. But sadly, and I am not proud to admit this, I controlled much of the learning structure in my room.

    But our role as teachers is changing. We need to be cognizant of the needs of our learners. All our learners. Not just the ones that are compliant. Not just the ones that are college bound. Not just the ones that look like and sound like we do.

    And part of that change is the realization that the best way to support a learner may simply be to get out of his/her way and let the learning figure itself out, like it does for John.

    ***

    If you like Jeeps, or just watching things come to life, feel free to follow along via Instagram @wabisabi68jeep as we get this thing desert ready!

    Screen Shot 2018-06-19 at 16.11.30

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  • Transforming Learning, One Experience at a Time

    Transforming Learning, One Experience at a Time

    In August, Dr. McClurg challenged all of us to begin a journey from the tame to the wild, and as evidenced by some of the data Sarah, Paula, and I put together about our year, the DMUSD staff did just that. This year for us has been a monumental year of learning, creativity, and celebration, which would not have been possible if not for the amazing staff we were fortunate to work with throughout this school year. 
    When people think and act like a designer, they must be able to see not just what is, but what might be. The design thinking opportunities teachers facilitated for students this year truly exposed students to what might be by helping students discover their inner genius, and then empowering students to use that genius to advance the world. We watched in awe as students demonstrated sincere empathy and felt a call to action within, and outside of, design thinking experiences. We felt joy when watching the faces of teachers as they saw their students demonstrate their passion for learning. And we enjoyed seeing those proud parents listen to their children present their prototype solutions at packed exhibitions! 
    And we learned a lot, too! We learned…
    – how important it is to always start with why and to know the priorities. When people understand the why and have an opportunity to be a voice in building the how and what, there is a greater success in change efforts. 
    – that every site and teacher, just like every student, has unique qualities requiring a customized approach to integrate design thinking experiences. 
    – connecting with industry experts to not only dive deeper into the content standards and relevant application to careers today, but to provide high-quality feedback on student thinking, exponentially increases student learning. And that expeditionary partnerships with local organizations is truly a game changer that leads to extraordinary experiences for students!
    – a constant feedback loop is important from all stakeholders. Feedback, or better yet, feedforward, is an art form, and we are all working towards being master artists. 
    – our beliefs and experiences inform our actions. It is critical to give people an opportunity to experience something new for themselves so that they are empowered to contribute to leading change initiatives. 
    We have some hopes and plans moving forward to the 2018-19 school year. Besides continuing to support the momentum for implementing design thinking experiences in the classroom, we are looking to increase opportunities for expeditionary partnerships and industry expert connections. We’re building design thinking-ish mini-experiences that teachers can use within a lesson, as well as redesigning some of our planning tools to be more user-friendly. 
    We are thankful to each and every staff member and student of DMUSD for the opportunity to serve you, and look forward to continuing in our unrelenting pursuit to create the extraordinary school experience for all students.

  • Words Matter: A short blog post in which I attempt to convince people that words have power and we should consider the complexities of messages before just taking things at face value…

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    Photo by dylan nolte on Unsplash

    Media literacy.

    We talk about how students need this skill.

    But it’s not just them.

    It’s adults, too. Educators even.

    Media literacy is defined by the Media Literacy Project as the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media. Media literate youth and adults are better able to understand the complex messages we receive from television, radio, Internet, newspapers, magazines, books, billboards, video games, music, and all other forms of media.

    “Complex messages.” Media literacy isn’t just about fake news. It’s about bias, and persuasion, and subtle manipulation. Understanding complex messages is hard. It’s exhausting to have to question everything you read. But like Doug tweeted, words matter. And not just the connotations and expressions like Doug explained, but also who speaks those words.

    Because words matter. They have power. So, so much power. And when spoken by those with power they matter a whole lot more.

    Not sure I’m right? Kim Kardashian convinced the President of the United States to pardon a woman in prison. I’m not sure what words she used, but I’m pretty sure those same words spoken by me would not have rendered the same outcome.

    We need to become better stewards of our words, and of the complex messages that may be heard by those receiving our words. And we need to be more critical of the words, and the messages, presented to us.

  • Design Thinking the Design Thinking Process

    Design Thinking the Design Thinking Process

    “Empathy should be used in every situation.
    We should think with empathy throughout life.”
    – 6th grade student

    Why are there so many design thinking framework graphics? Why do they have different shapes? Different elements? Different flow patterns?

    Those were the questions 6th graders asked when we looked at a variety of design thinking framework graphics, ranging from Stanford d.school to IBM to Intuit and the Henry Ford Institute. These students had spent this past year diving into the design thinking process through a variety of experiences ranging from creating a student chair to redesigning the school experience. Because they had spent so much time exploring the process, looking through other frameworks raised an important question:

    What does Design Thinking look like in Del Mar Union School District, and how might we develop a Design Thinking visual that represents what Design Thinking means for students and staff?

    We realized that we had a unique challenge – unlike corporations or colleges, we have to represent design thinking to five year olds who cannot read all the way up to 6th graders (who think they know everything!). How could we adapt our visual for our customers?

    Luckily for me, 6th graders were up to the task. A week later, and they had prototypes to present. And I must admit, WOWZA was the term that kept coming to mind during their presentations. I’m sharing their concepts here, but what you’re missing is the rich dialogue around WHY they made their concepts the way they did.

    Some key takeaways from the student dialogues:

    “The Design Thinking process adapts to how you’re using it.”

    “I thought it was linear at first, but now I know I can move around as I need to.”

    “The process restarts again and again, going broad and narrow at the same time.”

    “I didn’t understand the value of going back until I did it so many times on this project.”

    Beyond the graphic, we also talked about the design thinking process as a holistic entity. This is where the conversation really intrigued me. One student commented that the trouble with using the design thinking process in schools is that the non-linear cyclical process runs counter to traditional teaching and learning. Content standards and state tests require classes to keep moving in a forward momentum, even when the design thinking process would have us circle back around and around again to dig deeper into a complex problem. It can be frustrating having to move beyond an experience when students know there’s still so many layers to unravel. Finding balance, as a teacher, is critical to the learning.

    But the students all saw that the value of design thinking went beyond the process itself. Students realized that using design thinking taught them time management and backwards planning. They learned the power of constraints, like deadlines, to push creative thought into action.

    Most importantly, students discovered that empathy is the start of it all. It allows people to understand what others are going through. As the students explained, empathy has a use in every situation. If we all would think with empathy throughout our lives, many problems could be averted, or solved, in compassionate ways.

    If only we were all as smart as these 6th graders!

    So… which model strikes a chord with you? Why? What do you think propelled the students to create that version?

     

    Thanks Mrs. Tanner for letting me spend time with your students! I appreciated how you identified this process as an authentic assessment possibility.

  • Do What Scares You!

    Remember, observe the masses and do the opposite. Do what scares you… that’s when the exciting stuff happens.” — James Caan, serial entrepreneur and CEO of Hamilton Bradshaw

    The other day I jumped on a Twitter convo about HyperDocs which evolved into a conversation about the state of education… (come to think of it, many Twitter conversations seem to take that turn lately). One of the tweets really struck a chord with me:

    Screenshot of tweet, which is link-embedded in the photo

    James Caan says we need to do what scares us. But Aaron says that educators are scared to think and teach beyond the “borders” of traditionally accepted teaching practices. So it seems to me, then, that it is imperative that we all think and teach beyond those borders…because in doing so, then the exciting stuff will happen.

    And perhaps that exciting stuff is that the classroom reality changes and the “borders” become a distant memory. Wouldn’t that be grand?