An Analogy is Like__________

#9:  An Analogy is Like ___________

For many, the word analogy conjures up memories of high school SAT torture. Back in the day, we were subjected to horrific multiple-choice challenges like this one:

perspicacity:  obtuse::  truculence : _________

A. tranquility

B. pacific

C. phlegmatic

D. rancorous

Thankfully, analogies are gone from the SAT, but the practice of teaching our students to think about similarities and differences is still well worth our time as educators. Identifying similarities and differences is one of Robert Marzano’s nine high-yield instructional strategies outlined in his influential book Classroom Instruction That Works. Analogous thinking is important. I’m not saying that we should resurrect the analogies of olden days, which, let’s face it, were really measures of showy vocabulary and test-taking savvy. Instead, I invite you to think about more authentic, engaging ways to help your students discern differences and spot similarities.

The easiest and most foundational (but still important) way is to ask students to consider similarities and differences within your curriculum:

• What are the similarities between persuasive and expository essays?
• How is Scout similar to her father, Atticus?
• What parallels can you find between the Texas legislature and the national legislature? What are the distinctions between them?
• How can you tell a plant cell from an animal cell? What features do they have in common? What’s different?
• What are the similarities and differences between proportional and nonproportional linear relationships?

This kind of thinking helps learners see patterns and make connections. Additionally, students can clarify their understandings and fit their learning into a larger schema. Once they get in the habit of seeking clarification by finding similarities and differences, they will begin to look for patterns in new learning, trying to see how it intersects with their established understanding.

My alma mater, Southwestern University, is taking this to the next level by asking students and faculty to foster the exploration of connections among courses and disciplines. Their Paideia principle, which is a foundation for the university’s instructional philosophy, explicitly endorses connecting and finding similarities throughout a student’s post-secondary experience. Their website explains the Paideia concept:

Paideia centers on making connections between different ways of knowing and understanding complex issues, between academic coursework and campus life experiences, and between one’s own life and the world around them. Paideia encourages students to explore the complexity of life’s challenges through integrating multiple viewpoints and perspectives, and by engaging in intensive, varied experiences.

Southwestern is thinking ahead as it considers the possibilities of a truly interconnected curriculum. In the first years of implementation of Paideia, Southwestern has already seen changes in the approaches to learning of its faculty and its students. With the expectation that connections will be made in every class and in every discipline, faculty members are stepping outside their offices and having interdepartmental conversations, and students are understanding that an education isn’t a series of isolated, unrelated experiences.   

Many elementary schools have mastered the cross-curricular connection idea as teachers who teach the same students a variety of subjects help their students see similarities throughout their academic day. Students may consider the importance of systems in solving mathematical problems, in running a smooth city, and in the functioning of the human body. Though the systems have many differences, commonalities exist. Strengthening these connections promotes powerful, long-lasting learning.

Secondary educators have to work harder to make these connections because learning seems to become more compartmentalized and departmentalized as students get older. Creating an awareness of what’s being studied throughout the building is a start. A great way to end a lesson might be to throw the similarity-finding back onto the students: “Who can tell us how what we learned today is similar from something you’ve learned in another class?” The students’ responses might surprise you, and, if you practice this routinely, students may develop the habit of noticing more similarities and connections to share.

Perhaps my favorite analogous thinking strategy is synectics, the making of forced, unexpected connections. Students expect to compare mitosis and meiosis in a biology class, but it’s a different—and perhaps more intriguing challenge—to consider the question, “How is mitosis like making cookies?” or “How is meiosis like a middle school social?”  

I sometimes like to allow students to brainstorm a list of topics—actions, famous people, things you find in a school, modes of transportation, etc.— and then choose one connection to elaborate on:

• The protagonist in the story is like a bowl of cereal because...
• Conducting a chemistry lab experiment is like planning a vacation because...   
• Linear equations are like GPS systems because…
• The U.S. Constitution is like Clark High School because…

Students enjoy the novelty and playfulness of making these forced connections, and finding similarities between seemingly disparate things stretches students to consider the traits and qualities of both subjects in order to find what they have in common.

Making connections doesn’t have to be a lengthy activity. If you find yourself with a handful of minutes remaining at the end of a class period, throwing a question out to the class asking them to identify some similarities and differences leaves the students thinking more deeply about the topic and reinforces the day’s learning. It’s also a way to check for understandings and misconceptions so you’ll know what kind of reteaching or clarification is needed the following day.

One reminder: it’s easy for us to make connections because we presumably already know the content we are teaching. The students need to be the ones doing the heavy lifting here. Help them learn to wrestle with ambiguity, to persevere in the midst of a challenge, and to seek their own understandings. That’s how learning happens.

By the way, in case it’s been bothering you since the beginning of this article, the answer is B.

Halfway There: A Midsemester Reflection

It’s a long road to the end of the school year, but the good news is that you’ve reached the halfway point of the first semester. I think this is a good time to take a brief pitstop to stop and reflect on how the journey of the school year is progressing for you and for your students. I know you’re busy and don’t have all the time in the world to sightsee at the moment, so I’m going to limit the reflection to four topics that just so happen to spell out the nifty acronym ROAD.

Relationships: How’s everyone doing midway through the first semester journey? Are you continuing to discover things about your students each day, or are you so absorbed in your curriculum that you’ve forgotten there are young people in your classroom? Are you and your fellow teachers acting like grown-ups and getting along, or do we need to stop this car and have a little discussion with the passengers? Are you remembering that the human element is the most important factor in every learning experience? Do some of your students walk into your room every day with two strikes, and you’re just waiting for that one last strike that’ll send them out? What can you do to rebuild relationships that have slipped into dysfunctional patterns (because it’s a long time until June, and you don’t want the remainder of the journey to be an ordeal)? What can you do to infuse some joy and laughter into your work life and into the lives of your students?

Overwhelmed:  Check your gauges to make sure they aren’t overheating. How overwhelmed are you right now? How about your students? How much of this is your own fault?  What can you do to reduce the pressure on yourself and on the kids? Do you recall that students have five, six, or even seven classes besides yours and that many of them have lives outside of school that involve rehearsals, practices, meetings, and events on evenings and weekends? Do you have a life outside school? Have you figured out some ways to give yourself time to breathe and step away from your job? The engine needs some time to rest and cool off during a long journey.

Attitude:  Think back to August. Remember that optimistic teacher who was excited about learning, wanted to change lives for the better, and looked at every misstep or pitfall as an opportunity for growth? Where did that teacher go? And remember those students who walked into your class with smiles and feelings of hopefulness, ready to be the best they could be? How are they feeling about themselves, about you,  and about your class now? Do they know that it’s too early to give up? What can you do to give them a quick tune up to get them back on the road with smiles on their faces? How much of your students’ attitudes is a result of your own attitude?

Direction:  Are you and your students headed in the right direction? Are you on this journey together with the same goal in mind? Is everyone aware of the destination, what it’s going to take to get there, and what you’re likely to experience along the way? If you or your students have veered off course, what can you do to recalibrate your GPS and redirect your efforts? Do you need to increase the level of guidance for some students and give others a little more leeway to chart their own courses?

I apologize if these questions added to your overwhelmedness. Some of you probably want to reach through the computer screen and punch me in the virtual face for being so inquisitive. I think, though, that taking a moment to reflect is important for us as professionals as well as for our students. Whether you use these questions or not, take a moment to check in with yourself to see how things are going. Perhaps you’ll find some adjustments you can make that will ensure the remainder of the semester is a much smoother ride than the first half. Don’t forget about allowing your students to reflect on how things are going for themselves. I wish you all success on the remainder of the journey.

Everyone's Jobs

“I’m sorry. I can’t help you. That’s not my job.”

That’s what the A/V guy said to me before he left me in the room with a computer that wouldn’t play the audio on a video I was supposed to show. I was working as a presenter at a conference in downtown Chicago, and this was my first experience with labor unions.

What I didn’t know is that audio and visual belong to two different unions. The organizers at the conference had to hire two sets of workers to support its presenters in technology. The so-called A/V guy was in actuality just a V guy. He belonged to the video union. He could help me with anything involving the video aspect of my presentation, but he wasn’t allowed to touch the audio stuff, which was the realm of the A guy, who happened to be elsewhere when I needed his technical support. Meanwhile, the trash collectors’ union was on strike, so stinky bags of garbage piled up on streets in front of shops and in alleyways. No one was allowed to do anyone else’s work. That was the rule. “It’s not my job” was something we heard a lot that week.

I wonder how often we adopt that not-my-job mentality in education. In Texas public schools, we don’t have unions, but it seems like we are quick to disavow any teaching task that doesn’t fall neatly into our subject or specialization area.  

Here are five areas which, as I see it, are the jobs of every adult in a school to teach, no matter what:

1.  It’s everyone’s job to teach reading.  I hope I’m not the first person to tell you that reading needs to happen frequently in every classroom.  If we are preparing students for their futures, which will likely include at least some post-secondary education and a career, we must make them competent, confident readers who are able to comprehend and think about texts. That means not pre-digesting material for them and spitting it into their mouths like a momma bird. That means providing students with rich, high-interest content-area texts and giving them the tools to comprehend them in authentic ways—not study questions, packets, and worksheets. That means having discussions with students about what to do when they struggle with a word’s meaning (hint: the answer isn’t always “look it up in the dictionary,” but that’s an okay option if you’ve exhausted other possibilities), what to do when they realize that their comprehension has broken down, and how to adjust their approach for various reading purposes. You don’t have to have a degree in reading to do this; if you know how to read (which I assume you do if you’ve made it this far into this article), you have the skills to help kids get better at reading. They’re not going to get better at reading unless they read, and if reading only happens in their language arts class, that’s probably not enough practice to lead to growth. Make it part of your job to help your students improve as readers.

2.  It’s everyone’s job to teach writing.  For some reason, writing scares teachers, even English teachers.  Can we all just agree that the ability to write with clarity is an essential academic skill as well as an essential skill for most careers?  If so, we need to get over our collective fear and start implementing writing in our classes on a routine basis. This doesn’t mean we have to start writing research papers in math class. Teachers can easily incorporate writing as a learning tool in any content area. Start with something simple like a quick write or an exit ticket. Give students something engaging to think about to introduce a lesson and have them write about it before discussing it with the class. Ask students to explain a concept or a process in writing. I can hear what you’re thinking now: “I am not a writing expert. I wouldn’t know how to grade writing. I have forgotten all about grammar. What if I teach them the wrong things?” Put those doubts and fears aside. Here’s the only question you need to ask yourself to be a competent writing teacher: “Does it make sense?”  More important than any feedback you can give is the opportunity for students to write in every class multiple times a week. Show them real-world examples of what writing looks like in your subject area and ask them to identify the traits and qualities they notice. Help them come up with rubrics and indicators of excellence.  Most importantly, give them opportunities to write. I can tell you from experience that the more frequently we write, the easier it gets. Make it part of your job to give your students plenty of practice writing.

3.  It’s everyone’s job to teach critical thinking. The world requires us to solve problems every day. Math class shouldn’t be the only place where students solve problems at school. Providing students with coaching on how to analyze situations, break complex tasks into parts, generate and test solutions, and evaluate the outcomes will help build independent critical thinkers. Breaking everything down for students and reducing everything to a set of pre-thought-out steps may help students learn to follow directions, but it won’t do much to assist them when they encounter difficulties that can’t be solved using the previously learned recipe. That’s why we all need to make sure teaching critical thinking is part of our job.

4.  It’s everyone’s job to teach persistence and perseverance.  When life gets rough, it’s important to keep going. Shouting “Don’t give up!” and “Push through it” at kids doesn’t do the trick for most. Teaching students to have grit requires two things. First, you have to provide them with worthwhile challenges, ones that are meaningful to work toward but are not easy. In most instances, what challenges one person doesn’t challenge another, so it’s advisable to plan several tiers of difficulty to provide appropriate rigor for each student. Second, you have to be upfront about normalizing difficulty and openly discussing with students ways of dealing with struggle. Provide exemplars of others coping with challenges. Offer second and third chances. Stop mid-problem and strategize with your students. Make your class a safe space to take risks. Point out your students’ resilient moves as you witness them. Celebrate successes when they come. Like reading, writing, and critical thinking, teaching persistence and perseverance should also be part of your job.  

5.  It’s everyone’s job to teach kids to be decent human beings. They’re not learning it from the media. They may or may not be learning it at home. And, some aren’t learning it from their friends. The list of life lessons in the “decent human being” curriculum is long and multifaceted. Get along with others. Share your toys. Learn to win and lose with grace. Take an interest in others. Take responsibility for the world around you and for the public good. Communicate. Be honest, trustworthy, and upstanding. Listen more than you speak. Do the right thing, even when no one is going to know about it. Be kind, patient, and polite. Treat one another with respect. Don’t let the world tread on you. Speak out when you see injustice. Earn the admiration of others for being a person of integrity. The list could go on for pages. If every educator modeled these traits, reinforced them in norms and class expectations, and took advantage of teachable moments to guide students to grow as humans, not just as learners, we’d be making unimaginable impacts on the future. Indeed, teaching kids to be decent human beings should be everyone’s job, too.

It looks like I’ve dumped a lot on your plate. The good news about these is that none of these is an extra prep; all of them can be easily worked into your existing curriculum. In many cases, I suspect you’ll find that the additions actually enhance what you are already teaching. Reading, writing, and thinking critically about your content will all deepen students’ understanding, and teaching students to be good people who don’t give up easily will pay off in greater success for students who are more delightful to spend time with. If we make these everyone’s jobs, together we can achieve incredible results.

Can Openers

Do you know how to use a can opener? Not the fancy electric kind. The old-school hand-held contraption with the twisty-knob on the side.  

Imagine you are a student in a class where the teacher gives everyone a can opener pre-test. Each student gets a can opener and is asked to try to open a can. A handful of students complete the task effortlessly. Some of your classmates just look dumbfounded. Others fumble around a bit and manage to finally get the utensil to latch onto the edge of the can. The lefties in the room gripe about this task being especially difficult for them because the knob has to be twisted with the right hand, but some master the procedure nonetheless. Several minutes later, the teacher takes stock of the situation: some of the students are successful, and others are not. She marks that down in her gradebook and proceeds with the lesson.

It’s time for the can opening lecture and demonstration. The class dutifully takes notes as the teacher explains how to open a can with a can opener. Next, it’s time for the can-opening YouTube video, a five minute thriller in which a voiceover narrator explains in detail how to open a can while showing the process four times, once in slow motion to break it down for everyone. The teacher pauses the video twice to wake up or redirect the off-task behaviors of students who came into class already knowing how to open a can.

Noticing that the bell is about to ring, the teacher announces the homework assignment:  “Go home tonight, get twenty cans out of your pantry and open the odd-numbered ones. Bring the opened cans to class tomorrow so that I can check your work.”

The bell rings, and you are dismissed.

If you were one of the students who already knew how to open a can and demonstrated it during the activity at the beginning of class, how excited are you going to be about this homework assignment? If you’re a compliant pleaser, you’ll go home and waste time (and money) opening 10 cans to bring to school. If you’re one of those kids who is easily bored and isn’t motivated by grades, chances are that you will get a zero on this assignment.

My friend’s son J.T. Is one of those kids who would get a zero on this.

J.T. is a high school junior who has the (mis?)fortune of having two educators as parents. In other words, J.T. sometimes knows too much for his own good.

For instance, J.T. once asked his math teacher why, if he made a 97 on her formative assessment, he was having to do the same homework as the entire class. Instead of getting an answer, J.T. got sent to the office for insubordination.

We can speculate all day about this scenario and the cause of J.T.’s punishment. Maybe the teacher was having a bad day. Perhaps J.T. has a history of misbehavior, and this was the final straw. It could be that the studies are accurate that say that young black males are disciplined disproportionately and that J.T.’s reasonable question was viewed as an attack intended to disrupt the class and derail learning.

I suspect, though, that the real root of the problem was that J.T. asked a question that called out an indefensible practice. If an assessment is truly formative, it is used to inform instruction. If the purpose of homework is to provide practice on content so students can master it, students who have already demonstrated mastery shouldn’t have to do it. And if gradebooks are designed to communicate mastery toward objectives, homework grades of zero for noncompliance don’t give any worthwhile feedback to the person viewing the gradebook.

I can’t even think of an answer to J.T.’s question that makes sense. Because I said so? Because homework builds responsibility? Because it’s good for you? Because it’s not fair to the other students if you don’t have homework?

What answer would you accept from your teacher if you asked why you had to spend your evening opening half the cans in the pantry when you already knew how to open a can?

Formative assessments aren’t any good if we don’t use them to modify our instruction. We can pat ourselves on the back all we want for using exit tickets, pretests, Kahoots, Plickers, Nearpods, quickwrites, and quick quizzes, but all of those tools are useless if they aren’t giving us a guide for what needs to happen next for the class as a whole and, in most cases, for subsets of students within the class.

Formative assessment is one of the most powerful tools in the educator’s toolbox but only if it’s used the way it’s intended.  Don’t use a can opener to floss your teeth.