Board-work: Students using Whiteboards to Make Their Learning Visible

There is nothing more exciting as a teacher, when you have that moment, the moment that you get out of the way and listen to what the kids are saying and they are just exploring ideas. Today I listened and watched a number of students talking about how to create a Lewis dot diagram for a number of molecules that they have yet to encounter. I listened to them say; “Try this. . . that doesn’t work, what should we do?, Try this. . .. I stood back in utter excitement knowing that they were in the full throws of learning something. THEY WERE LEARNING. I did not need to give them a test. I did not need to give them a quiz. They were in the zone, that special zone where it is not too easy but yet not too hard. Just at the end, when they exhausted all their ideas, I was called over and they asked for help. I gave them a couple of suggestions and then, the insight, the HUGE smile on their faces and the laughter that followed. It is just that moment that we as teachers all live for. Needless to say I felt as though I was making a difference.

I have to be quite honest that these moments seem to be occurring more and more for me as a teacher. I have to give credit to where it is due. I would like to share with you my insight.

Last year I was given the opportunity to teach in a classroom with a colleague who was teaching a math course. Our math department, phenomenal I might add, has been exploring an idea of how to get students more engaged in Math. After attending a conference with Peter Liljedhal from Simon Fraser University, our math teachers were inspired.  Who can doubt inspired education? Not me. As a result they have made a movement toward the incorporation of the latest and greatest technological advance in teaching, the whiteboard, and lots of them. The intention in their math classes is to have students doing math up out of their seats and doing it in small groups on a whiteboard. They have put up whiteboards on all the walls of their classrooms where there is space. The work that they are getting to do is affectionately referred to as “Board-work”.

Board-work is

1.       Cooperative and active

2.       Visible for others

3.       A great opportunity for formative feedback

4.       Time saving

5.       Engaging

6.       Promotes risk taking 

So what does board work look like in a classroom? Board-work is corporative and active by design. Students are working together in small groups. Often the teacher will have their students assigned into random groups of anywhere from two to six students. These groups will be assigned a set of problems for which all are responsible to try and solve. Students work together on a whiteboard, one writing others helping, monitoring, learning in the moment. If a group gets stuck, they can just look around the room and see what other groups are up to. Group learning is at the forefront of this organizational approach to learning.

Board-work is a visible for others and a great opportunity for the teacher to provide formative feedback resulting in lots of time saved. Students see that there are a number of different ways to solve a problem. As a teacher it is mind blowing. Rarely is there such an opportunity to provide such instant formative feedback to student work. Often we are organized in such a way that students work at their desk, a teacher circulates, provides individual help, and students may get some help from a neighbor. With board-work a teacher can help four students at a time and neighboring groups can listen in. Common mistakes become instantly visible for others to see and the teacher can address the whole class quickly to correct the issue. Making student work visible for others by bringing the work up off the worksheet and into a public form is another of its strengths.

Students love it. In a conversation with a colleague out in the hallway, I was asking, do you think that this approach could be extended beyond math and be used in a science classroom? His response, “Let’s ask.” He proceeded to stop numerous students in the hallway and ask them two questions: 1. “What do you think of board-work?” and 2. “Do you think that it could be done in Science?” It was a fantastic insight for me as I listened to student after student just light up and respond with how much they liked it. Additionally it was an overwhelming yes to the thought of doing it in a science class. One student even went as far as to say, “Could you convince my Chemistry AP teacher to do it?” Board-work in my experience is engaging.

Finally, board-work promotes risk taking in the simplest of ways. As students write on a piece of paper, and there is a mistake that needs to be corrected it seems to be so much more difficult to correct. When writing on a whiteboard, a student is more likely to feel the freedom to explore a variety of different ideas. With others, students will explore these ideas through conversation using the whiteboard as the visual for the exploration. Students often will say that is it so much easier and acceptable to make a mistake on the whiteboard as it is easily corrected. “I can simply erase it.”

It has been my goal has been to incorporate more board-work into my practice as a science teacher. Recently, inspired by the work that our math department has been doing I have discovered what structures might enhance the opportunity for these moments. I have found that taking a large group of students and dividing them up into 6 large tables (merging 6 individual desks) I have created an environment whereby I have enough room to visit everyone comfortably, students are ready to converse and get involved in group learning. Having each of these groups sitting next to a whiteboard is an open invitation for students to explore their ideas on the board. There is the opportunity for peer teaching, collaboration on a problem and me as the teacher to provide formative feedback.

If you are looking for one approach which can have a dramatic impact on teaching and learning, making learning visible in a classroom for you and others alike, I would have to say board-work is a great answer.

Highlighting Barriers of Learning for Students- Making Visible Student Learning

In my experience as a teacher I have used a number of different approaches to beginning the semester with my high school science classes. There is the dissemination of information approach; students arrive, I hand out a number of informational pieces, we review them, students get their textbooks, we talk about classroom expectations and then move into the first lesson. There is the” let’s get hands on” approach: students are given a task to get started with, a lab exploration exercise, completing a hands-on activity, we review the experience and then use the dissemination of information approach above. This year I tried something a little different. The conversation centered on learning and where the students were in regards to their own learning.

At the heart of this approach is a little seven question survey that a colleague of mine, Brett Dibble, created based on reading from John Hattie’s (2012) book “Visible Learning for Teachers: Maximizing Impact on Learning”. According to Hattie (2012), from his extensive meta-analysis of educational research, there are ten self attributes that students bring to the classroom which impact their ability to learn. These include: self-efficacy (the confidence or strength of belief that we have in ourselves that we can make our learning happen); self-handicapping (when students choose impediments or obstacles to performance that allow them to deflect the cause of failure away from themselves); self-motivation (is the learning itself the source of satisfaction or are extrinsic rewards the source of motivation); self-goals (students view “ability” to be something that can be developed by increasing effort); self-dependence (students have the ability to self-regulate, keeping themselves on task); self-discounting and distortion (students do not accept feedback as valuable, accurate and worthwhile); self-perfectionism (setting standards for yourself that are so demanding that we cannot meet them and thus are not worthwhile to try); hopelessness (a student’s view of themselves as a helpless individual unable to change their situation); and social comparison (comparing your work and abilities to others). Each one of these attributes are worthy of bringing to the attention of all learners. In doing so, we offer an opportunity to set goals for improvement. Enter a little survey with great insights for students and teachers alike.

Brett  took this list of self attributes and turned it in a 7 question survey. The survey responses are use a six point Likert scale, one being strongly disagree and six being strongly agree. The survey reads as follows:

Answer questions 1-7 based on (1) being strongly disagree and (6) being strongly agree:

1.       I compare my marks and success based on other classmates

2.       I am a perfectionist when I do schoolwork

3.       I feel like I cannot improve

4.       I find feedback that I get from my teacher to be useful

5.       I can monitor my own learning (example: making sure you are handing in assignments, studying for tests ahead of time, not having to be told to do your work)

6.       I am able to focus on my work and not procrastinate

7.       I find I am appropriately challenged in class

 As well all do, when as a teacher we see something we know would be great for students, we borrow it. This semester students completed the survey as the first task that they had in my class for the semester. To me, in this act, I have shown to my students that learning is going to take priority in this class. It is my full intention to ensure that students improve, not only in their understanding of science but in their learning overall.

Upon completion of the survey we had a discussion about the different items on the list. I conveyed to them that each one of these pointed to a barrier that could exist to their success in learning.  For example, in comparing your work to others you take the focus off yourself. Success, as defined by John Wooden (one of the great coaches and mentors in modern history), is “peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.” His definition is one which turns the focus on self- improvement as opposed to an external measurement for growth. To those students that tend to compare their work to others and use it as a justification for what they do I hope to open their eyes to a new possibility. There-in lies the possibility to reaching a greater happiness, the great satisfaction of self-improvement. This is only one of the seven items that I speak to. Each one addressed and displayed as an idea for consideration.

After our discussion I asked students to set goals for themselves in their own learning for the rest of the semester. The students were asked to focus on one of the areas on the survey that they felt that they could improve upon. My hope is that in an effort to bring their attention to the different barriers that exist for learners that they might grow in their own understanding of themselves as a learner making it more visible for themselves.

References

Hattie, J.  (2012).  Visible Learning for Teachers- Maximizing impact on learning.  New York, N.Y.: Routledge.

Wooden, J.  (n.d.).  The Official Site of Coach John Wooden. Retrieved from http://www.coachwooden.com/index2.html

Using Technology and Documentation in the Secondary Context

With the explosion of technology in the classroom, specifically the invasion of smart phone and the use of course shells online the question arises as to how we, as educators, can harness this for good. There is a tremendous amount of potential. The phones that students are bringing to class today have the ability to take pictures, record video, edit and post these to the internet. The course shells offered through “Desire to Learn (D2L)” provide the opportunity to post student work and create discussion groups online.  Exploring how to use these technologies for secondary students to document their own learning seems like an obvious and worthwhile undertaking.

To start, let’s explore the use of the cellphone. One of my first attempts of having students document their understanding using the cameras on their phones involved a grade 11 biology classroom and the concept of photosynthesis. As the concept of photosynthesis is not one that lends itself to inquiry, I used direct instruction to introduce the concept. After having spent some time with the information I asked them to go outside and using sidewalk chalk draw out the light and dark reactions. These are very complicated processes which require a lot of space to diagram out. The students were then asked to take a photo of their work and post it in our course shell with in a discussion area. We ended up with a number of great photos, a great first step. However, for those of you that are familiar with Reggio Emilia and documentation this activity was lacking, what Tiziana Filippini would describe as, the opportunity of the students to examine and learn from their documentation.  Enter the use of the discussion area on our course shell.

 

Attempt number two involved the biological process of cellular respiration. Cell respiration is a process that has a number of steps and involves large separated events connected together by chemical products linking one process to another. I thought that creating a movie would be a great way to demonstrate our understanding. I had the class divide up into groups and provided them with a number of post-it notes. I required that everyone must be in the video but no one may have their face in it. Students used their phones as the device to create the movie on. As a result, the movies were of a variety of hand movements and post-it notes with chemicals written on the post-it notes simulating the process of cell respiration. The videos where then posted in a discussion area on D2L and students were required to comment on the work of others. This to me provided that opportunity to use student work as text, providing that opportunity to learn from each other but there was a lack in the depth of discussion.

My third attempt, and more effective in my opinion, was during our discussion of enzyme activity for our digestion unit. I provided the students with a number of materials (coloured paper clips, oven mitts, lab aprons and string) and asked the students to demonstrate their understanding of a variety of principles associated with enzyme activity by creating a series of photos. The photos were to be a representation of their understanding of how enzymes work and the factors that can affect them. These were then posted on D2L in the discussion area and students were asked to comment on the work of others. This was an improvement over my second attempt as the materials that I provided really required a deeper level of understanding of the concept. Despite being our third attempt, the depth of learning that I was looking for still had not raised.

My final example is from the circulatory system. Students are required to have an understanding of the entire circulatory system, including movement of blood through the heart to the rest of the body, down to the capillary level. To demonstrate their understanding I asked students to write a story from the perspective of a red blood cell traveling throughout the system, starting at the heart and travelling throughout the entire body and returning to the heart. Students were given the option to create a narrative or a comic strip to represent the movement. Students again were asked to post their stories onto a discussion form on D2L. The difference from this activity to the others that I had attempted earlier in the semester involved me requiring the student to respond to the story in the following way: “Comment on the two project(s) that is posted directly below yours on D2L. Your comments must be specific indicating 1) what you really liked about how they displayed their understanding of how the circulatory system works and 2) how that individual could change their text or illustrations to improve your understanding of their thinking on the circulatory system.” By providing these questions there was an enhancement of the discussion for some, but others still were reluctant to share any deep feedback.

 
As a result of the process I have a number of insights regarding technology and its use in documentation at the secondary level. First and foremost, technology provides a great opportunity for documenting student learning. The technology allows for the capture of images which when used can provide deep insight into student understanding of a concept. In addition, digital technology creates a digital record of learning for individuals allowing them to see their own learning progress as well as seeing how others in the class have progressed as well. The opportunity for discussion and using student work as text is enhanced through the medium as students post and comment on each other’s work. Finally, the technology by itself is insufficient to act as a documentation of learning. Students need to be guided and prompted throughout the process of documentation. Bringing documentation to the secondary context is worthwhile and using technological tools that students are familiar, provides a great stepping stone, enhancing students understanding of their own learning.

Can We Make Learning Visible on Tests?

Testing and Reggio Emilia are clearly two ideas that seem to be philosophically incompatible. Yet given the context that I am working in, I asked the question can we use tests to demonstrate learning? It became apparent to me during parent teacher interviews that there are a number of students that, despite their time in school (10 to 11 years), cannot recognize the gaps that they have in terms of the content they are required to know or the skills they need to write a test. In addition, they seem not to have any idea why they are not successful, and are at a complete loss. They have yet to be empowered to improve in this area. Listening to the desperation in their voices and seeing the tears in their eyes as I state to them that clearly they want to do well, they are working extremely hard, yet the performance on these evaluations is really not a representation of their effort or desire to do well. It was after a period of time of reflection that I asked myself: “What do I do to help students better understand what these examinations are telling them?” , “How can I support them and uncover gaps that they have in their learning, specifically in their preparation for these academic displays?”

As a result of these questions I began to apply an approach of self-evaluating performance on tests for students. I started small. My first attempt at bringing out their learning was during a quiz. Upon completion of the quiz we corrected it together. Students were given the opportunity to talk with others in the class and share their quizzes. “The answer is out there in the class. Find someone who got it right”, I stated. Students milled about talking to friends and classmates, trying to determine why they got certain questions wrong. I remind them: “Ask yourself, why did I not get this question?”

Emerging from the moment were three simple questions which I have been using with students to help them evaluate their work: 1. Did I have the background knowledge to answer this question? If not, why not? 2. If I did have the background knowledge, what was it about the question that I did not understand, was it the question that I did not understand? What is it about this question that I did not get?” 3. Did I just make silly mistakes? If so, what can I do next time when I write a quiz or test to ensure that I do not make the same silly mistakes?

Asking these three questions is important but more important is taking the opportunity to make their learning visible for themselves. To do this I extended this activity to unit exams, asking students to write on their tests after getting the corrected test back. I asked them to write beside each incorrect response why they got it wrong. Was it because they made a silly mistake? Was it a result of not having the back ground knowledge? Was it because the question itself tripped them up? Taking the time to write out the reason why they got the questions wrong gives them an opportunity to see that they need help in test taking; they need help ensuring that they are studying properly or they need to be more careful when writing tests. After completing this self-evaluation I asked the students to write themselves a letter about the test. In the letter I asked them to give themselves hints about what they need to do differently for the next test as well as ideas about what to study at the end of the year for their final exams.

The feedback that I received from students about this approach to documenting learning after a semester was very positive. I gave them a survey at the end of the term and asked students to “Describe what you found most helpful in this course.” Students responded with answers like:, “I found that your teaching style in the aftermath of an exam, writing down how we can improve, greatly increase my awareness” and “I liked going over my unit exams to see how I did, and write notes to myself about what I need to pay extra attention on.” It is clear to me that taking the time to have a student document “the why” of their performance on any test is valuable to student learning. Providing these questions as a framework as a starting point is clearly important. Having students articulate why they did not perform well is a great starting point for them to see that they need help on test writing, they need to improve in their studying or need to be more aware of making silly mistakes. When it comes to taking a test, the devil is in the details and students need to be aware of that. Documentation helps to make this visible for students.

References

Jaruszewicz, C. (2006). Opening windows on teaching and learning: Transformative and emancipatory learning precipitated by experimenting with visual documentation of student learning. Educational Action Research, 14(3), 357-375.

Turner, T. and Wilson, D. G. (2010). Reflections on documentation: a discussion with thought leaders from Reggio Emilia. Theory Into Practice, 49(1) 5-13.