RPI Day #8 Create in Reading

Kaupapa & Pedagogy

As teachers, we are in the hot seat and have the ability to design learning experiences that are exciting for our learners. Opportunities to create is how we hook our learners in. We know that this idea is backed by research and therefore justifies how it empowers students to embed their learning further.

It's often forgotten in this fast-paced technological world, that we are actually in 'The Creative Age'. As young children, we learn through experiences and play. Those who don't often need to go back and fill the void that they jumped to make further progressions (e.g. walking before crawling). As human we are have differing ways of having creativity. My Dad is great at coming up with creative ways to fix things, that may often be a little eccentric. My Mum was a dab hand on the sewing machine. Every disco meant a trip to the fabric shop and me conveying some outlandish vision I had in my head that she would somehow create. My School Ball (Younguns' call it a Formal now) dresses... and sometimes my friends. My wedding dress. I was pretty lucky!

I need to point out, that for both of my parents, school was not a place they experienced success. Both left school as soon as they were of an age to, heading out into the world to work. Now, I can see clear barriers to their learning that weren't known back then. The ADHD gene is strong. Dad is a phonetic speller (when required to write). Mum learned, when required to sit an eye test for her license, that her vision was quite impaired. It turns out this is a developmental issue so they have always been this way. She knew no different! (She only weighed 2 pounds at birth).

The point I'm trying to allude to is that for many of our learners... it is through the act of being creative that they are truly able to flourish, thrive and demonstrate their otherwise untapped potential.

There are so many opportunities to be consumers... YouTube etc. We need to encourage our learners to be creators.

I really do believe that this is a key area I want to focus on. In trying to meet all of our curriculum needs and time constraints within our classroom, we often skip through the Create tasks... or don't chase up their completion by learners. One of our Cluster Goals, from the Strategic Plan, is Rich Create Tasks. I have tried to push for these within our own context, however, it is often a struggle to convey the value to others who are perhaps not as fluent with TMP kaupapa and pedagogy. It is hard to build momentum in an area where value is not placed on its importance. It can be hard to effect change when you are somewhat hamstrung by the constraints around day-to-day practice.

With well-designed learning experiences we can encourage our learners to be engaged, creative thinkers.

There is no excuse for the continued use of "busy work", We need to be planning purposeful Create tasks that get our learners applying their understanding, working collaboratively and especially linking back to the LI.

Upon undertaking our Reading Observations, I was actually baffled... dumbfounded... horrified... It's a real struggle to come up with the right word to adequately sum it up. It had been a collaborative effort from the Literacy team, to get a clear message out to our teachers to "make sure you share the Learning INtention with your students and that everything links back to the Learning Intention". This was not evident. I'm sure that follow-up activities that link to the text occur, but they weren't in the planning shown etc. We could be more deliberate about this too. There could be options within Play-based learning that link into the theme's of the text etc. We need to think outside the square a bit more, rather than making excuses.

This links in with Talk like TED, which outlines the ways to engage our audience and hook them. As a teacher, we need to hook our learners.

In this age of AI, we really need to ensure we maintain a focus on humanity. It's very easy to get caught up in the hype and visual effects, forgetting the human aspects that are so very important.

The news that is being spun in this weird downgraded version of New Zealand media at present has predominantly been negative. The government are selling a narrative of abysmal achievement to get the public on board with all the curriculum changes they are bringing in in a very short time frame. (There's actually a great article from Sir Geoffrey Palmer about the rushed changes.)

In all the hullabulloo the genuine success has almost been brushed over. I can't help but think about the long term impact of these sweeping changes in education, and what they may mean, in terms of unintended byproducts or unforeseen outcomes, down the track. 

Loads of wonderful opportunities to create with AI. Many are illegal for learners due to age. We need to be mindful of them protecting our learners' data. I often relate back to the pencil analogy of adaptation, that I came across probably a decade ago. In this sweep of AI that is constantly descending, there are those who are averse and keeping well clear of having anything to do with it. I wouldn't sat that they may also don tinfoil hats or stand in another room while their microwave is running... but there are many who are lurking in the "what if" realms of Sci-Fi that predict that it is set to take over the world. On the other hand, one could argue that they are quite sensible in waiting to see how all of this plays out before leaping in guns blazing.

TYhe other extreme, probably the sharp point of the pencil, are those who have been dabbling for a while now, with all the various platforms that keep descending. They will have their individual favourites, as we all have our favourite font, and will be hopefully sharing their journey with those around them. The danger is in not foreseeing the areas that need to be constantly at the forefront of consideration... Privacy and data. Are we ensuring that we are using our Cybersmart Knowledge to ensure privacy in regard to Data and Information?

This task created a rich discussion, incorporating critical thinking, compare & contrast.

Here's the text... what do you think it looks like? Then look at what the AI generates as an image. I found it really interesting to use the same text to image prompt, cross various platforms, and found that there was a large spread of what the outcomes were.

Adobe Express eliminates background noise, rather than learners who don't get to go into a quiet space, everyone gets a clear audio recording. This is something I'd really like to dabble with. I tried it out, after attending a Toolkit on this a few days ago.

We use what's at our disposal to bring Creativity in. I have to be honest and say, I'm battling with my space this year and finding it lacking in creativity. Last year I was spoilt in that I had my own space for my own class. I wish I had taken photos of it... In terms of the design of the environment and learning experiences, this year couldn't be further from my previous years. It's hard. It does make me wonder at the transition for students, who move from collaborative spaces to more formal classrooms. If I'm struggling, then surely some of our learners do to? In previous years, I had group tables that I could send a literacy group to work at. I could move around the space to workshop with the groups as needed. The literacy groups could have collaborative discussions about their text or task... These just became organic. I'm in a quandary about how to purposefully plan for collaboration etc, when the environment I teach in doesn't lend itself to it.

Gender based:

Let’s get those ‘Create’ juices flowing! 

I found it fascinating that, despite pasting the same text into various AI tools, they generated quite different images based on that text.

Here's mine:

 

Here's the original published version:

Why is creativity so important? 

Professor Jonathan Neeland:

With all the negativity around our learners' abilities at the moment, it was virtually skipped over that we are actually doing well in creative thinking. 

The draft curriculum is dropping, first with math and literacy next week. I believe it is absolutely imperative that teachers adapt to these changes while maintaining the pedagogy and practice that has been proven to be best practice.

Similar to SISIMO, text can be multimodal in order to make text more creative.

We want to prepare them to be flexible thinkers who are able to think about what they know and come up with the type of creative thinking that Kiwi's are renowned for!

We're not advocating that everything should be digital, it's about harnessing digital affordances to leverage the learning up.

Create Enablers and Constraints:

Using Create to show learning from reading text(s):

Sometimes the simple tools for create can give the best depth of understanding. It can be "rich" and "quick"

We need to ensure that there is a clear link between the "create" and the learning intention. We need to be thinking about doing things offline, enacting etc.

We tend to think of create opportunities AFTER reading, but why not BEFORE or DURING?

Google online: free online template png. Caps, T-shirts etc.

Any characters within a story can be created as a playing card. Consider their "attack" or "defence" value.

We have a Create Resource Register!

Opportunities for learners to work together outside of the task as well as inside the task.

In our own context, there is a real lack of collaboration. Reflecting on the design of my own learning space and timetable, there is a real lack of opportunity, let alone intentionally planning for it.

A  One Shot Film approach to designing a ‘book’ trailer.

If using a Chromebook, can it be positioned high up?

If we start doing these things earlier in the year, we can build on their understanding to creatively think about how they can develop their skills, knowledge and understandings.

Think about the long game. SSet up success criteria and reflective habits.

If we need 2-3 weeks to delve into a unit, then do it!

Link into a wider cross-curriculum topic or novel study etc.

Each chapter has a focus on a particular theme.

**Uses Padlet to curate a Word Wall!**

So what...

Something I've really struggled with in these RPI sessions, is to narrow my focus to create resources for 'now'. My head wants to leap from a number of topics and doesn't actually settle on one. I end up with a few different projects on the go, with no actual finished product to run with, which is the whole point of the exercises! Acknowledgement is the first step! It probably doesn't help that I'm undertaking this big-brain thinking on a Friday, after a full week... Post Brain Tumor me doesn't function at its optimum in those conditions! Today, I created a sandpit doc, to hold all these tangents in one place, so that I could corral ideas and resources across the two topics in one doc, but separated into two areas, and a table with each of the Learn, Create, and Share aspects addressed. 

In some ways, I'm a little old-fashioned and analogue in that I like to draw out what the finished product might look like. Sometimes I need to sit on something and visualise/process it in my head for a few days so that I can sit down and produce the product I see in my head. I've always been this way, it's just now I need to actually be more deliberate about planning the time to execute it (for example when my brain is rested). Sunday nights are good! The joys of hidden disability.

I need to plan for actually recording more of what I'm trialling. There are so many initiatives on the go that I keep forgetting this part!

I'm pretty excited about falling into this blog post today. I'd forgotten how powerful it is to take the time to reflect on your own pedagogy and practice. To get your thoughts out of your own head and actually acknowledge them. It's actually something that I've avoided, due to the impact my Right Parietal Lobe has on reducing. my ability to articulate what I want to say. All my life, I'd had "a way with words'... Some on the receiving end may not have the same description... but I've really battled with the decrease in functionality I've had. Recently I've just run with it a little. It's a little like the jigsaw puzzles from when I was fresh out of hospital... in the beginning, I could barely tell an edge from a centrepiece, but with practice, my spatial awareness developed and I could complete a 1000-piece Wasgij in a week. Neuroplasticity in action. Writing and reflecting is surely the same. The more it's done, the easier and better it gets.

That bucket list goal of writing a book could be still on the agenda yet!