Why should kids think like a computer?

Today in the NY Times, Laura Pappano, an education journalist writes about Learning to Think Like a Computer.  It has become super popular lately to learn computer programming in college - and we see the excitement in elementary and middle school with robotics, Scratch and other programming activities.

Programming demystifies computing in many ways and gives kids practice in sequencing  - the step by step brain work that is required to program successfully.  "It's the idea of abstraction," Pappano quotes in her article. "It requires recognizing patterns and distilling complexity into a precise, clear summary,"

I see it in action in school through the intensity that kids bring to robotics - the perseverance they develop and the whoop of joy when they get the result they are looking for.  They often work together, too and get a lot of practice collaborating when they are designing a 3D prosthetic limb for an amputee or adding voices to a life-story animation.

On days that we have after school robotics club, kids often come to show me what they've accomplished: in the photo above, a second and a third grader got their robot to stop at each color line and say "red", "blue"or "yellow".  But it skipped saying "green"!  Oh well - they weren't deterred - they went running back to the drawing board to try again.

Math is a creative endeavor

Fifth graders design and sew quilt squares to demonstrate tessellation.

Can all kids love math?  I think so.

For students in the past, math was considered something you were naturally good or bad at. But, thank goodness, it's different now.  Along with a base of mathematical concepts and facts built through games, objects, and some good old memorization, math learning  can move into a realm that is highly interesting to children.  Kids can "make math"  - and they love it.

In Teaching Math to People Who Think They Hate It the author talks about a Cornell professor who wants to teach math so that students "get the pleasure of thinking, the pleasure of wrestling with a problem that fascinates."

That's what I see on students' faces when I walk into math classes at Parker - math that is both an intellectual discipline and a creative endeavor.

Building  and programming a robotic trebuchet or catapult to throw a ball the farthest builds skills in measurement, geometry, calculating distance, speed and acceleration, predicting proportional relationships and measuring angles,  Boolean logic...need I go on?!

Calculating proportional relationships and ratios with liquids: "Which juice is the juiciest?"

Robotics to tree forts - the balancing act

Technology is such a mixed bag.  Building a LEGO robot and programming it to do very cool stuff - that's truly fun.  And so is building an awesome tree fort.

I remember as a child, begging to watch the hour of cartoons available on TV on Saturday mornings before I was told to "Go out and play!"  That part lasted the rest of the day.

Finding the balance for our kids today is challenging.  How much computer time is OK?  How can we make sure our kids are getting time outside for exploring?  Both build skills they will need in their futures: intellectual acuity, perseverance, ingenuity, a creative mindset, emotional stamina, flexibility and cooperation.

Teachers struggle with this balance, too.  When should we start teaching keyboarding?  How young is too young for learning through apps?  Here is an interesting article from MindShift about an experiment that shows that pencil and paper note-taking is much more effective for recall and analysis than taking notes on a computer.  The brain processes information in many ways, and we want to get it right!

This summer our faculty is reading Catherine Steiner-Adair's book, The Big Disconnect.  I've heard her speak and she is compelling in her arguments against screen time for both adults and kids.  Our reliance on our phones and iPads  - our literal addiction to our devices - prevents us from connecting on an emotional level with those we love most.

Teachers will be discussing The Big Disconnect this fall and we'll hold some discussions with parents, too.  I hope you will join in the conversation!

How do we motivate kids?

A preschooler explores the properties and movement of water and air.

A sixth grader designs his own project for the 3D printer with Google Sketch Up.

A K-1 team uses their knowledge of force and motion to move a ball with a LEGO robot.

An eighth grader leads her mother and grandfather through her portfolio and goals at her student-led conference.

How do we motivate kids at Parker?  Motivation has been a big topic in the education news lately and here are some great articles about what elements you need in school to create it.

How to Foster Students' Mindsets and What Keeps Students Motivated to Learn? both in MindShift.

These articles could have been written about Parker, along with another, Moving Towards Inquiry about Project Based Learning (PBL), that urges schools to use PBL as effectively as we do.

The methods and mindsets described by these prominent educators tell the story of how we teach at Parker. They are not just buzzwords and they really do motivate students.  Here are a few of the elements we weave into the life of the school. The pictures above show some of them in action.

• Inquiry
• Deep learning
• Student-centered culture
• Collaborative teams
• Integrated projects
• Hands on learning
• Topics relevant to students
• Self and peer evaluation
• Learning from failure
• Belonging to an academic community

These elements describe the tenets of the progressive movement in education. They are inherent in our mission.  We do them really well - and they work.  The education mainstream is finally catching on - and urging schools to be more like Parker.

Building, tinkering, and sharing - but it's more than that

I started out thinking I'd write about Scratch - the coding program that our Computer Club is working with under the guidance of our former math and science teacher Teresa Ferrer-Mico.  Teresa is completing a PhD and one of her projects is teaching kids Scratch.  Here is a great description of what Scratch is and why it's so cool to teach it.

But as one idea leads to another I started thinking about all the ways Parker kids are learning by doing, building, tinkering, and sharing.  It happens all over the school and it is leading our students to habits of mind that are vital to their success - and intimately linked to how they are naturally motivated to learn, as we now have proof from the research of neuro-scientists.  

Kids' minds thrive on solving problems, and when presented with appropriate problems (big, complex ones) and an openness to diverse solutions using a wide variety of materials, their motivation soars and their skills in agency, grit, innovation, and collaboration develop at astonishing rates. 

Examples: LEGO Robotics in all the grades; mounting a "pattern museum" in Kindergarten; inventing a better bee hive or building a wind powered machine in 4-5; inventing ways to clean up an oil spill in 2-3; building a bridge in 6-7 STEM.

I am excited about our kids and their futures!  Here are some comments from our alumni panel on Friday - they were mainly college kids (Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Bard, College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, St. Rose...) who answered the question, "What did you learn at Parker that helped you most in high school and college?"  I swear, we didn't script this. 

• Writing a thesis - I can write a great paper or essay
• Not having grades made me more self-motivated than other kids
• Small classes - I got to know my teachers so well, and in high school and college getting to know my teachers is a huge advantage
• Working with people - I'm better at that than most of the kids I encounter
• The advanced curriculum  - learning algebra and earth science let me move ahead in high school to accomplish my dreams quicker
• The close community and the connection with teachers gave me confidence
• Project-based learning - it's what the real world is all about - in my college and in my job
• Openness to other people and other ways of thinking has helped me to explore more
• Parker allowed me to learn about things I'm interested in and gave me the freedom to explore 

Students should experiment first

At Robotics Camp, everyone is experimenting!

“We are showing that exploration, inquiry and problem solving are not just ‘nice to have’ things in classrooms. They are powerful learning mechanisms that increase performance by every measure we have.”

Research at Stanford shows that students who experiment first, before they read about a topic or watch a video, improve their learning substantially.  It's great to have proof of the importance of this sequence of presenting lessons.  Hands-on familiarity with materials gives students a context in which to organize thoughts and it deepens what they learn.

Authentic work

Persevering to get just the right design in LEGO Robotics Club

Charlotte, Veda and Jared present the "Fun Fact of the Week" at Assembly

            In Muddy Boots Club, K-1's and 2-3's decide "Who Eats What in the Woods?"

 ...students work should be something they create on their own, or with others, that has real value in the real world.  They are capable of doing authentic work that adds to the abundance of ways that can make the world a better, richer place.

Teachers discussed the article Should we Connect School to Real Life? from Will  Richardson's new book, Why School?  Richardson envisions how students can create work that is relevant and useful in the world.  Our focus on Signature Experiences for students that develop leadership and communication is exactly what is called for.

Making creates evidence of learning

In this excellent article in Slate by Dale Dougherty, Learning by Making he says "American kids should be building rockets and robots, not taking standardized tests...I see the power of engaging kids in science and technology through the practices of making and hands-on experiences."

He talks about John Dewey who founded the movement for progressive education that Parker subscribes to.  And he picks apart the myth that standardized tests measure learning.

Read the article and you will understand better the real power of the education here.  Our teaching philosophy coupled with an imbedded culture of positive community is what sets Parker apart.

Programmed to learn

I had a parade of excited Robotics Club kids racing in and out of my office this afternoon. They have programmed the robots to drive in a square - and one follows a black line using a light sensor.  Just look at these faces!  Next week: mastering remote control.

Math teacher Shelli Casler-Failing is in charge of Robotics Club.  She gave presentations this weekend to NY State math teachers on using writing in math and bridge building.  She is as charged up as the kids!