Action Study 

Sheryl and Trina -

Homeschool parent-teacher, Sheryl, was incredibly frustrated with her daughter’s resistance to the learning tasks she had planned for her.  It seemed every day was a fight and Sheryl was at her end. 

We spent some time considering the different actions that might be helpful in this situation. Sheryl decided to study CHOICE. She started with the religion curriculum because it had the same kind of tasks each week, a reading and a written response to a prompt about the reading.  She took a few minutes to…

1. Figure out the learning goal of the written response.
2. Write 2 other prompts that would accomplish the same learning goal but along a different path.

OBSERVATION - Trina read the assigned reading and then seemed pleasantly surprised that she was allowed to CHOOSE one of the 3 writing tasks. She got straight to work. Sheryl was SHOCKED. No resistance. No hesitation. Just a smile and a solid 30 minutes of writing work.

Sheryl was so pleased with...

Environment of Support 

Let's consider each part of this...

1. Environment of SUPPORT

What do I mean by support? 

Anything that helps a learner complete a task.

It could be the music played while working, a voice recording app, colored pens for color coding, a calculator, you as a scribe, spell check in Word, a list of transition words, and/or anything in between.

It does NOT mean… make something easier.  Of course we want stage appropriate, but if the child is engaged you may be surprised by the level of difficulty they will rise too.

2. ENVIRONMENT of Support

Is support a crutch or a stool? 

One you lean on while you heal and frequently feel frustrated about needing it.  One you use to get to higher places; and since NO negative emotions are attached, you never hesitate to use it. (This is how my son, in the video above, sees his little chair, a stool to get to anything higher. AND he never hesitates to use it.) 

The environment contributes to the support as much as the ...

There are many things I enjoy.  Picture books are one of my favorites.  I have collected a wonderful library for Jacob; and I enjoy reading different books to him as often as he will let me. Of course his attention span right now is about 2-4 pages and thus we miss most of the meat of a book. But the times we get through to all 10 ladybugs disappearing... I smile. He smiles. And once in a while, he turns it back to the beginning and we read it all again. 

Pictures books amaze me.  

So this shouldn’t surprise you… but my latest plunge is into creating a series of picture books that address learning, my specialty. I haven't seen these kinds of stories in the market and I think they could be valuable to learners. 

My main character is Pistachio the Pug who loves to learn and tackles many of the struggles learners face as he completes his work for the Pugademy, School for Smart Pugs. Pistachio will be a hit because his learning journey is not that different from what every young (and ol...

A few weeks ago I observed Jacob, my now 2 year old, pulling on a rope, that was attached to a tree. He would run with it until it ran out of slack and would yank him to the ground. (watch video) He didn't like getting pulled back or falling; but he continued to pull the rope and run. Repeatedly. 

I wondered WHY he kept doing this. Wasn't he learning? 

But then I observed him in the backyard... with his play horse. 

He had observed his dad take the dog for a walk ON A LEASH and now he was walking his toy horse ON A LEASH.  

If I pull on the rope, MY LEASH, then... what's attached will follow. 

He had LEARNED this from observation and was just applying it to the tree. But the tree didn't behave like his WORKING THEORY.  

For years it was thought that a student's mind was a blank slate. MYTH!!  From the moment a person enters this world as an infant they are learning. They don't know they are learning, but they are.

If I cry then... 

If I smile then... 

If I throw this then.....

As I’ve shared before I absolutely LOVE picture books. In a short period of time you can be TOTALLY moved.  I have been amassing quite a library for Jacob and truth be told… they’re just as much for me. :)

Some of the books capture you with the illustrations, some with the characters, some with the stories. But every now and then one just MOVES you. This is one such picture book.

What Do You Do With An Idea

For years I’ve had the IDEA… change education in a way that reaches every child as a unique learner. I’ve tried everything… the classroom, administration, district level administration, consulting, teacher training, tutoring, curriculum development, conference speaker, etc. Nothing has impacted in a way that sustains my IDEA… use your expertise and enthusiasm to help every learner into a customized program.

In 2009 I gave up. I sought a totally different career direction. But following me around was this IDEA…awaken every learner through an individualized approach. I found mys...

Exercise… BLAH!

Why can’t I love it like others do? I see moms who can’t wait to get to the gym every day. And there are those that run 5-10 miles, lift weights at home, and then do yoga before bed. OMG! If I could just have an ounce of their LOVE for exercise.

As a kid I played sports… but the running and stretching was always a chore. Catch a ball while running and I would do it all day. But take away the ball and just do sprints… YUCK!

I’ve recently been working with a posture pilates coach. She gives me a home routine involving stretching, weights, and pilates exercises that increase my heart rate and simultaneously improve my posture. I love how I feel after working out with her. I love how I feel after I do my home routine. My doctor has even commented on my improved health as a result. BUT I struggle every day with rallying to get started. I even putting on my work out clothes first thing every morning to get my head into it.

But… I just don’t LOVE doing it.

WHY?

My husba...

Writing seems to be a tough skill for most children. Actually many adults would confess to not being great writers either. And teaching writing can be an even bigger challenge. I’m not talking the mechanical act of writing… I’m talking about getting words into the form of sentences, paragraphs, dialogue, and pages, with a cohesive feel that accomplishes your purpose and reaches your audience.

 I have found writing is less painful when it is associated with something FUN. Thus I promote writing from PLAY.  (I am in the middle of a series called “Using PLAY to improve Writing.” You can find the videos on my FB page .)

 I know what you’re thinking. How do I use PLAY to address writing?

 First, let me clarify what I mean by writing. It’s any way that I, the writer, communicate what I understand OUT to an audience. It could be a paragraph, a data table, a graph, a visualization, a video, a script, a poster etc. And writing could be informational, story, or persuasive.

 Now, let’s tak...

Counting, arithmetic, geometry, algebra, mathematical thinking, reading stories, reading informational text, reading visualizations, creating visualizations, writing stories, writing paragraphs, writing essays, writing comparison/analytical responses, 2nd language, music, art, art appreciation, culture, ancient civilizations, World Wars, Discovery of America, Slavery, birth of America, biology, chemistry, physics, environmental science, geology, forensics, how to drive, car maintenance, video editing, word processing, keyboarding, use of technology, test-taking, collaboration, time management, project management, cursive, character development, sex education, Biblical/Belief foundations, discipline, home economics, economics, money management, job skills, investments, cooking, cleaning, yard work, gardening, and the list goes on…

Overwhelmed yet? Of course you are…as are most of us.  It’s why we ask, “What do I do, there is TOO much to learn?”

I don’t know if this offers any comfort,...

Learning is MESSY.  OK. But how do I support the learning, when all I want to do is make it NEAT?

Do you remember learning to feed yourself? Of course not. But I'm sure your parents do. You do remember your child learning to feed him/herself. It’s a combination of letting go and stepping in. They have to use that spoon for the first time and when they do the food tends to be everywhere but in their mouth. MESSY. But it’s part of the process of learning how to feed yourself. 

My little Jacob wanted to use the spoon himself very early. (He has a self-sufficient streak that is both exciting and frustrating.) And so I handed him a spoon. I was a little reluctant because I knew that my table and chairs would never be the same. But if I never allow him the chance to learn, which is messy, then I would still be feeding him at 10. And that is ridiculous.

For him to get proficient at eating, he has to spill. He has to miss his mouth and get the spaghetti sauce all over the new striped shirt...

How did you feel as a child when you got back your work and it was covered with red pen? Excited or fearful? Empowered or disappointed? 

I find most people felt negative about the red pen. 

WHY then do we use it? Let's explore the motive behind the red pen. 

For some it may be a power trip to get to mark up a paper; sort of a passing along of the pain they felt with the red pen. But this is a whole other problem. 

The motive behind the red pen, is usually that of wanting to give feedback that can be helpful to the child. Then let's explore feedback and how our RED PEN BEHAVIORS might impede that goal. 

First - Research has a bit to say about feedback. 

1. If any of the feedback on the page represents a SCORE, that is all the learner sees. Regardless of the quality of the rest of the comments, the only one that is remembered (and usually read) is the SCORE. 

IMPLICATIONS - If you want your learner to read, internalize, and use the feedback, then DON'T put a score on it. If you wa...