LightUpEDU

Episode: Start Failing Hosts: Jeff Herb (@jeffherb) and Nikki Woodbury (@nikkiwoodbury) iTunes Stitcher Google Play Show notes/resources: About LightUpEDU – about page We talked about two of our articles on the episode today. Failure Leads to Success, or Does It? You Can’t Let the Losses Define You     Host notes:   Please take a moment to review our show in iTunes to allow for more educators to find the show! Have a wonderful holiday – we both send our best to you and your family. Jeff Herb Host Twitter Nikki Woodbury Host Twitter The post Start Failing – LUE003 appeared first on LightUpEDU.

  Today, spontaneously, I had a powerful conversation with a colleague in the hallway.  These are always the best conversations.  We began talking about curriculum and these “new” assignments she wanted to implement.  She talked about designing models, doing cost analyses, proposing ideas to administration and implementing these plans for the betterment of our school.  She was excited.  Her ideas were big.  She talked about the impact these assignments would have on students.  She was smiling.   This was genuine-the excitement about learning and inspiring that learning. But, after about ten minutes of bouncing ideas off of one another and talking about the potential of this idea she had, she stopped.  Defeated, she proclaimed, “well, that was fun but never will happen.”  Why, I asked, even though I knew the answer. This time, though, I pushed her before she had time to turn around.  She didn’t see it coming. And, she did something completely authentic. She, like many educators, are stuck between two different worlds.  Her thinking is ready to move into this “new world.”  But, the majority of our stakeholders are not.  She’s ready to jump.  But, she doesn’t feel like she can because it’ll be so misunderstood.  She’s standing at the edge.  She wants to turn around and do what she’s always done.  It’s safer.  But, we know that it’s not the most effective.   I, again, come back to this question that continues to haunt me.  Why do we continue to ignore the research about what works in our instruction and grading practices?  We know what works.  Marzano, Dweck, Hattie, DuFour, Guskey, Stiggins (and many more) have spent their careers researching and publishing about best practices.  We dabble in these strategies but, ultimately, go back to our safe strategies. We haven’t truly embraced the research that should guide our practice.   We are living in one of the most exciting paradigm shifts in education.  We are stuck between the old and the new.  Teachers are struggling to wrap their brains around how to focus on being innovators who inspire learning when our stakeholders tend to focus on grades, tests and tasks.  Many teachers are ready to be pushed.  Their thinking is ready.  They just don’t feel safe to jump. Many teachers are ready to be pushed. Their thinking is ready. They just don’t feel safe to jump.Click To Tweet As educational leaders, we’re teachers first.  We need to cultivate a culture where teachers feel safe to risk.  We should foster the excitement a teacher has about doing something different.  And if it fails, reflect, improve and move on.  But, what if it succeeds?  It could radically change education.   It’s hard to change a system as large as the U.S. Education System.  But, we have to try. Team challenge:  Stop teaching something old and jump into something new!   Team challenge: Stop teaching something old and jump into something new! Click To Tweet The post Stuck in between “old school” and “new school” appeared first on LightUpEDU.

It’s Thursday morning on November 3rd, 2016. The Chicago Cubs won the World Series in the 10th inning of Game 7 just eight hours ago. About 950,000 hours ago, however, was the last time the same team obtained the same level of success. That, my friends, is persistence. No one can argue that 108 years isn’t a long time – it is quite literally longer than a lifetime. And yet, a culture of embracing failure and promoting persistence couldn’t be more true in an organization. The best part is that it isn’t limited to the coaches and players, but the fans – the support structure for the team – are some of the largest instigators of this culture. Education can learn a thing or two from this three-time world champion team – 108 years means nothing if you stay persistent, stay hungry, and not let the losses define you. Photo Credit: ABC News Both in the classroom and in life we lose a lot. Our students struggle through concepts, our teachers struggle with solid instruction, and sometimes we have struggles at home that naturally bleed into our classrooms. If we let our losses define us, we set that as our culture and immediately shut down opportunities to learn from mistakes and get better as a team. Sure, the Cubs had a less than stellar World Series track record for a long time – but that’s only one metric. If we focus on moments to celebrate in the past 108 years, 8,381 Cubs wins for instance, we don’t let the 108 losses define us. The same has to be true in the classroom. We all have those students that have let their losses define them. It’s hard to admit, but we as educators have probably defined some of our students (and even ourselves) as “losers.” Where does that lead us, though? Do we give our students and ourselves 108 tries to get it right? To feel the power of the win? To recognize the power of persistence? More often than not, we don’t. The current constructs of education allow for the losses to be defining. We need to rile up our fans (parents), our coaches (teachers), and our players (students) to celebrate the wins, and learn from but not be defined by the losses. The current constructs of education allow for the losses to be defining.Click To Tweet How do we embrace failure within our classrooms? How do you promote persistence in your students? Show your students how to be defining, not defined. Show your students how to be defining, not defined.Click To Tweet The post You Can’t Let the Losses Define You appeared first on LightUpEDU.

See the Nail: Stop Grading - LUE 2 by Jeff Herb and Nikki Woodbury | LightUpEDU http://traffic.libsyn.com/instructionaltechtalk/LUE2final.mp3 Episode: Stop Grading, See the Nail – LUE002 Hosts: Jeff Herb (@jeffherb) and Nikki Woodbury (@nikkiwoodbury) iTunes Stitcher Google Play Show notes/resources: About LightUpEDU – about page We talked about two of our articles on the episode today. The Obviously, Concealed Solution An A doesn’t mean you know more than a C Here is the Nail video we referenced in the episode: Host notes: Lots to still unpack in the grading conversation. We will be continuing to cover this topic in future episodes and posts. -Jeff Do you have suggestions for the show? Drop us a line on Twitter (@LightUp_EDU) or email (show@lightupedu.com)! -Nikki Please leave us a review in iTunes to help us continue to promote the show! We look forward to sharing with you next week on the next episode of LightUpEDU! Jeff Herb Host Twitter Nikki Woodbury Host Twitter The post See the Nail: Stop Grading – LUE002 appeared first on LightUpEDU.

It's Time to Stop Teaching by Jeff Herb and Nikki Woodbury | LightUpEDU http://traffic.libsyn.com/instructionaltechtalk/E1_LUE.mp3 Episode: It’s Time to Stop Teaching Hosts: Jeff Herb (@jeffherb) and Nikki Woodbury (@nikkiwoodbury) iTunes Stitcher Google Play Show notes/resources: About LightUpEDU – about page We talked about two of our articles on the episode today. Sometimes the Forgotten Task Matters the Most Overcoming the Killer of Creativity Links to the videos (embedded, actually) are included in the Overcoming the Killer of Creativity post (above).   Host notes: I promise to not use “ultimately” 4,325 times in future episodes. -Jeff Give a shout out to Nikki for recording her first podcast! Pretty great start, right? Next week we will talk more about the idea of LightUpEDU and take on the topic of Grading – we are looking forward to sharing with you. Jeff Herb Host Twitter Nikki Woodbury Host Twitter The post It’s Time to Stop Teaching – LUE001 appeared first on LightUpEDU.

Usually when I find a video online that someone claims will “blow my mind,” I approach cautiously. Often it is something entertaining but quite forgettable; the majority of the rest of the time I wish I could get those several minutes of my life back. Once in awhile, though, a video will evoke an emotion that sticks with me and ultimately makes me critique something else in my life. Today, this reality check came in the form of an animated short that was shared with me on Twitter as no less than “something that will blow my mind.” So, before we continue, let’s talk about the power of perceptions and preconceived notions. Two questions: What do you think of when you hear animated short? Based on your perception of the term “animated short,” what is an expected storyline that could “blow your mind?” My preconceived notions came in the form of thinking cartoon when reading animated short and presuming a storyline containing an emotional uplifter would be the focus of the piece. Now, take your perceptions and watch this video:     Wow, right? A stunning and incredible story, no doubt, but perhaps an even better display of someone’s ability to challenge what is expected of not only themselves, but an entire genre and still have a tremendous impact. It is easy to get complacent and stick with what seems to work (or in many cases, what we’ve always done). If you reflect on this animated short, the producers and writers took a chance – stepped way out of the norm – and created a beautiful story and quite literally developed a new genre of animated films. Our classrooms are no different. Perceptions and preconceived notions of teaching and learning have stopped us from innovating, asking questions, and accepting the fact that we have the power to change the genre. How do I start? Create a norm within your team that it is expected to think outside the box and to challenge our traditional methods of teaching – make that part of the daily conversation with your team. Stop teaching, banish the phrase “that’s what we’ve always done” and dub it the “killer of creativity,” and start challenging the status quo. Banish the phrase “that’s what we’ve always done” and dub it the “killer of creativity.”Click To Tweet   Interested in what the creators thought of their video? Watch here: The post Overcoming The Killer of Creativity appeared first on LightUpEDU.