Power+of+Context

Bernie Goetz and the Ya Ya Sisterhood... Parts one and Two of Context. We are getting a little deeper with Malcolm here... Hang in there.. Power of Context.. thinking again about your school environment and what Gladwell says about the power of that context. Does your school make technology a cultural thing? What about those teachers that are building that culture? We always see pockets of technology integration... Just reflect a little on the author's conversation here.....

I like the Ya-ya example.. how that book "exploded" on the market.. what connections it made and how it inserted itself in our society.

Amanda: A point that really stayed with me after reading this chapter was on the last page where Gladwell talks about Judith Harris' argument about the influence of community and environment on a child's ability to be successful in school. I grew up in VT and have a very supportive family and community, and have also lived in Baltimore and been witness to communities and living situations that were not conducive to academic success. Thinking about some of the neighborhoods and just the asthetics of some of the schools in the city, this argument makes complete sense. When there are so many other variables that are taking away from your ability to focus on your own self and school, it makes sense that learning would not be a priority. I think it is our job to think about what are those sticky ideas that we can foster within our schools and send out into our community that really positively impact our students and their families? In schools we are constantly trying to improve things and taking on new initiatives, and while there is a drive to use data to best inform our decisions, I think considering the role the school plays in a child's life, we are really responsible for investigating these ideas fully before trying to sell them to our students and families.

//Peter: Great point about place and the influence of it in schools.. yes, distraction, safety, all do play a part, great that you were able to pull both into your own context with VT and Baltimore.//

//Suzanne - Amanda I grew up in a very rural part of New Hampshire. We used to joke that if you blinked as you drove through town you would miss it. There were only 500 people in town when I grew up the population has now grown to about 1500. But even through the community was small everyone looked out for each other and others children. Education was valued, respect for the teachers and the buildings in which we were educated in was also expected. We went to the next town for grades 7 - 12 and education was still valued and pushed for. My family was supportive I had a grandmother that was a teacher, mom was a nurse and dad owned his own business. I have lived here in Vermont about 22 years now and struggle to deal with families that do not place a priority on education, that have no problems with pulling their children to go on an extended vacation or to go hunting. Some of the neighborhoods that my students are growing up in are rough, poor and have parents that did not graduate themselves. Some almost made it others just left for one reason or another. I struggle with trying not to push my perspective on education and my beliefs onto them. I know the value of a good education but at times even the best of intentions can backfire and have serious repercussions. I so yearn for the day where kids can once again play outside without worries of being hit by a car, being taken, shot and where families value the education that is here for their students.//

Marc Gilbertson: A few thoughts about technology in schools and Power of Context--- The idea that it is possible to be a, “better person on a clean street” (p. 168) – makes me happy to be a Vermonter, but bugs me a little as well. How does this logic come into play as we deal with an issue like internet filtering? Are we trying to clean the graffiti off our digital subways, and in doing so is this a form of censorship. I am not sure I wouldn’t like a subway car that a graffiti artist had decorated better than a sterile stainless steel tube, and although the subways might be safer now, perhaps the old cars with the graffiti showed New York’s artistic creative side rather than the button downed Wall Street New York that has drawn so much attention and protest lately. The YaYa sisterhood’s success became epidemic in part because of small groups. In schools the current PLC movement looks at the power of focused, like-minded groups and how they can change the culture and context of a school. I think it is important for teachers to learn not only from experts like aTech. Integrationist but also from their peers. I did some reading a while back about how tech integration can work well when people of similar skill level take on a task together, the conclusion of the study explained that as teachers learned, they needed someone who might be experiencing similar issues to bounce things off of. I think this is especially important in the tech world when so many teachers are intimidated by folks who seem to have all the tech answers.

//Peter: Marc, agree and like your interpretation of the PLC movement and teachers learning more from peers than from the resident Ed tech expert. I think the subway artist thing.. I think there was some movement to give the artists other spaces to do their art.. I recall something to that end....//

Eric -- I think as educators the power of context is a huge notion to keep in mind at all times considering that it is constantly changing. I think of those transition meetings from one year to the next where a teacher might be describing a student to the next year’s teacher in very absolute terms. And then after the summer break that student isn’t as passionate about math, or doesn’t hate reading anymore. Thinking in absolutes really bugs when it comes to talking about kids. And I’ll be honest I didn’t really notice it as much until I my own came around. One example that Gladwell highlights as support for power of context versus character is the whole notion of birth order and how it supposedly helps determine our personalities and actions. I particularly liked this because as the father of two young and unique children I hear the birth order argument all the time. And to some degree the definitions stick, but then there are all the little things that throw the whole idea out the window, like when we are with the grandparents, or at a restaurant, or in the woods. That’s the best because it is a reminder that there is really no set definition for anyone. Because contrary to the “human reduction valve” I don’t want my kids reduced to a textbook definition or anything really. And so if I don’t want it done to my kids, I shouldn’t do it to anybody.

//Peter: Boy, it sure does make sense when it comes around to your own household! Good context there .. you putting it in a personal perspective.//

Erica Houle: Gladwell talks about how much an external environment can affect who we are and how we behave (p. 182). This being said a lot of children's families outside of school may not embrace technology like the schools do or they may not have access to it. The school I work had has made huge strides in technology. However, the amout of technology within each classroom is based on the teacher's comfort level. Gladwell talks about how an epidemic can be tipped if you change small details within the immediate environment (p. 146). Gladwell also talks about how our mental energy is limited and we concentrate on what we do best (p. 189). This makes incorporating technology into schools a big task since quite a few teachers may not have the technology background. I think that more workshops may be needed for some teachers to feel more comfortable in their skills to use more technology in their classrooms. As the years go on technology will keep evolving and teachers knowledge of technology may not without the proper workshops.

//Peter: Interesting thoughts on families use of tech outside of schools. I realize I read that that I don't take it into consideration that much.. but I should... it really makes sense.. we get a little tunnel visioned in the school setting...//

Matt: This is a bit off the assigned topic, but one idea that struck me, as an educator, was David Gunn's graffiti clean-up. I wonder if there could have been a way the artistic expression of the kids could have been respected. He mentions the kids crying, which leads me to believe these were not hardened criminals, but kids trying to express themselves. I understand what they were doing was illegal, but I imagine there could have been an alternative to give these kids the opportunity to make use of their talents in a positive way. As for the culture of my school, many believe we're pushing the envelope as a whole, but the huge majority of that is coming from a handful of teachers, while the rest of the teachers range from on-their-way to no-way. Having just gone through a major loss in our tech personnel, we're trying to figure out how to continue the cultural shift that had occurred the previous two years. This is an interesting time--and the perfect time--to be reading this book and connecting it to my school existence.

//Peter: Matt, like your framing.. on-their-way to no-way.. that really nails it. I think we alll have encountered those folks on the negative end of that. No amount of "training", influencing seems to work.. it IS a culture shift.. keep pushing it.. there is no other way..//

Megan: I agree with Matt! As a teacher I was taught to try and absorb negative energy and turn it into something positive. If given the opportunity to express their talents in another place it would hopefully create a new hobby for others to join in on. Going back to the question at hand, technology is not a cultural thing at my school. In fact, most students are trying to persuade their teachers to allow for more freedom. There are three general schools of thought; some of the teachers believe that they get so much screen time at home that it is nice to have direct interaction, other teachers are unsure of the unknown and haven't had the time to explore, while other teachers feel like there is not enough time in a day to incorporate everything. I think the best professional development would be the opportunity to collaborate with other colleagues at your school to build a curriculum where you can join science, social studies and technology standards in one unit. In the book the magic number of 150 made me really think about how certain school districts are organized. I grew up in a small town with a total of 150 students and teachers. There were five other elementary schools that are all similar in size. I can't help but think about why they decided to build a middle and high school together so that it has over 900 students and faculty. When building a system that big it really makes it challenging to act on new ideas and information. That's when it is really important to have small groups take the lead. Small movements have to happen first before there can be a tipping point. What would the education system look like if middle schools and high school were the size of 150?

//Peter: I think the powers that be generally understand that small schools do hold much value.. in this day and age though, it comes down to a cost per pupil that is grappled with. Though that model makes economics come before the child, we can't deny that we are in a phase right now where that thinking often overtakes any thoughtful consideration of what is best for kids.//

Emily - The sociologist in me loved this chapter and the idea of contagiousness, tipping points, and epidemics of human behavior. This idea that our behavior is a function of social context really struck me, as did the notion that you don't have to tackle the really big problems, but that instead by addressing smaller ones, there is a ripple effect on the larger issues at hand. Perhaps we need to think about integration of technology in the same ways. Total lack of integration? Let's get everyone using the email system regularly. No one is using the portable Smartboard, let's get projectors mounted in their rooms and make sure all the wiring and speakers are in place and working. Only a couple teachers are integrating technology, let's make part of weekly staff meetings just a time to showcase, share, model, and celebrate what each teacher is doing - then set up a common planning time to get our hands dirty, and links on a resource page to ensure ideas and support are just a click away.

Renee: Emily, all of those ideas you mentioned are happening at my school. I feel a ripple effect starting to occur. Whether or not it leads to a tipping point is yet to be seen, but I think we are moving in the right direction.

//Peter: Emily, great and simple ideas all of them. Implement! Get a message to your principal.. find a way to take action.. I think a big one you mention here is using email. That comes from the principal having that expectation. I know many principals that just told their staff.. this is how it is.. we all use email now and then the principal ceased using paper communications to the staff. It set the tone and it required them to follow through.//

I was really struck by the content in chapter five and the importance of groups in social epidemics. The quote from Jim Buckley's on page 186, "People want to live up to what's expected of them." was especially powerful. Don't we a teachers hold our students to high expectations because we know that when we do, kids will achieve more? Don't we develop deep relationships with our students and the use these relationships to help establish a climate and culture in our classrooms and schools conducive to learning? I was really intrigued by the Rule of 150 and couldn't help wondering how the idea could be applied to education. Imagine if every school was divided when the exceed that 150 pupil (or pupil + teacher) mark, as the Gore company model mandates. Would relationships become stronger? Could we function without a hierarchical administration model, but instead joint decision making and peer/community pressure, bonds of memory, and responsibility to others were the basis of organization and development of teaching and learning?

//Peter: Your administration model is interesting.. could we do that? Would parents take to that idea?//

Dan Greene - Having recently finished __ The Tipping Point, __ I find myself in an interesting situation that corresponds to much I read in the book. My library has just been offered a free visit from a new author. His book is receiving lots of good press and he is on a promotional book tour that is coming through Vermont. His book, ASHFALL is basically a post apocalyptic story concerning a volcano in Yellowstone Park that changes everything, with a 15 year old central character. The book has lots of suspense, science facts and even ti-kwon-do ,(sp?) thrown in. Great book for 9th grade boy! So I the English and Science Dept heads about bringing classes to hear him speak and I received little in any enthusiasm. I was surprised at their non-interest. So I am trying a different approach.by going to my "avid reader" students and promoting the book with them, handing out copies (on Kindles) for them to read. Now I have a growing group of students going to their science and english teachers telling them they want to attend the authors presentations. I am also contacting individual teachers about all of this. I am seeing many parrelels to the __ Tipping Point __. trying to make it happen!

//Peter: Nice work Dan.. a little reverse psychology at work.. Have any of those teachers approached since to revisit their negative response? I imagine they figured out your tactic quickly, but brilliant! Go to the masses!//

Dan Greene- "Power of Context.. thinking again about your school environment and what Gladwell says about the power of that context. Does your school make technology a cultural thing? What about those teachers that are building that culture? We always see pockets of technology integration..." Someone said at a conference that I attended, "That technology is not a tool, but it is an environment", I like this concept. At my school, technology is becoming a "cultural thing" and is the environment now for many of the middle school students who as they move up to the high school are bringing their technology knowledge and use expectations to their classes, and thereby pushing some of the high school teachers to go outside their (the teachers) comfort zone, and making them use or become more familiar with technology. A specific example of this is in the middle school students do presentations using a variety of web 2.0 tools such as animoto, voicethread, bubbleshare, slidestory, Jing and Prezi. Students having used these tools are now in the High School and many are taking our Humanities Course. For years, the major project in the humanities course has been the making and presentation of a display about a particular visual artist. Students research the artist and write a paper about him or her, and then have been making a tri-fold display with images of the artists works and a biographical timeline of his/her life and works. His students are now "balking" at using this tri-fold presentation method and are wanting to do their presentations as electronic show and tells. (As I had been lobbying for for years.) So the technology flow is moving up from a very technology-supporting-middle school group of instructors to the high school. Of course their are technology leaders in the high school are too, but it is great to see those teachers who have been dragging their feet, moving or being moved in the right direction.

//Peter: I often wonder about that.. middle schools.. always more flexible in their thinking.. give students access to technology.. then they move to high school, where in many cases, access is very limited. And the students are essentially "robbed" of further use of the technology. So, they now have to fight for it.. time and time again.. they win eventually.. How do we get these examples to be bridged so that there is a more rounded approach to the "timeline" of a students school years. I wish in our 1:1 acquisitions.. we would think more about that..//

Lauren - Two examples in The Power of Context chapters stood out for me. The first was the Good Samaritan experiment. In the findings, I saw the power of a few well chosen words. In terms of technology education, I see the potential for adding a few choice comments to help teachers and students. I have become quite comfortable telling both teachers and students when I am not familiar with a piece of technology. I will tell classes that we are learning together, that this is a trial run or an experiment, etc. I have found that when I add these comments and don't present myself as having all of the answers, students seem to problem solve more on their own and share successes, tips and tricks with me and their classmates. The other example that resonated with me was the Gore example and the magic number of 150. While my school has a few more than 150 (about 180) I can see the benefits of this small community. We have a small staff and a small student body. We all know each other pretty well. I know who to go to for classroom management advice, help with with social issues among our students, or what to do with my TA. I think because of our size, some technology integration moved around our school pretty quickly - wikis for homework pages is an example that comes to mind. It started on one team, I showed it to another team and maybe another teacher shared it with yet another person. I hope that the technology committee that I started this year will also help move information around our organization. I don't see technology as part of the culture of the building as a whole. I think in some pockets it is, but in others it is still something teachers have "to do." For the most part folks are open, but I don't think we have tipped yet. The folks that value and believe in integrating technology are on the committee and helping to promote a technology culture in the building.

Heather Bellavance: There are a couple of things in Gladwell’s discussion of the power of context that strike a chord. First is the power of small stuff. I truly believe that making small changes and sticking with them can have a huge impact on initiating change. The fact that we are intensely influenced by our surroundings tells me that even the most subtle changes in a school or classroom can press the culture toward the tipping point. Thankfully, we don’t often deal with //hostility// with regard to incorporating technology; instead we are trying to tip the culture from //indifference// or //fear// to acceptance. The 150 Tipping Point is also an important consideration at my school particularly because there are approximately 900 students in our school…A VAST difference from when I taught at Waterville Elementary where there were probably 100 students at most. I wonder if fully integrating technology would be an easier task in a smaller school. Just as Gladwell and many others intuitively embraced the 150 tipping point, perhaps my school should as well. Each grade level has right around 100 students, when staff and teachers are added to the mix the number would be pretty close to 150.

//Peter: These last two seem to resonate with the 150 rule and how small schools make an impact on tech integration.. interesting thinking here.. Is it about staffing? Do we value integrationists enough to have plenty at the disposal of teaching staff? This whole chapter also seems to be about culture at schools. Has leadership helped to stimulate the culture of the school into moving in this direction with tech as a real focus? I wonder about that culture question and whether we can really impact it, there are always those at the school that have motives for not moving in that direction and if they are influential??//

Renee: I feel extremely lucky to be in a school where the leadership has fostered a culture of technology, and really does value integrationists, otherwise I would be unemployed! Although we do have a strong tech culture, there are those who either question it's value, or can't be bothered with it. I wouldn't say those people are necessarily influential to the culture, but they certainly make my job more challenging. My husband, who is an elementary teacher, was talking to me about the fact that their school is looking at implementing PBiS (a positive reinforcement behavior program). He told me that his principal had said that they need at least 80% buy-in from teachers to get it rolling. I'm wondering if somehow that is related to the 150 rule. Even if your group is 150 or smaller, would you still need 80% of them to buy into what you are doing for something to stick? At my school, we are above 150, but technology is infused in the culture of our school and community. I think a small change that we can make that may have a big impact on the culture is to have some type of accountability for technology use (or, more specifically, the lack of). Peter, you mentioned above that we always see pockets of tech integration...maybe those pockets are similar to the Ya Ya Sisterhood book example. Small pockets of people passionate about something and spreading the word can lead up to an "explosion" of tech integration. I honestly was trying to wrap my brain around this book and how it related to my job and this course, and it dawned on me. Those of us working to change the culture of our schools really do need to be brilliant marketers!

Heather Bellavance: Someone mentioned the money side of education and the idea that sometimes; especially in the economic environment that we currently find ourselves in, that budgets can appear to be more of a priority than our students. I suppose debating the possibilities for education funding reform should be saved for another class, but my feeling is that we are between a rock and a hard place. I believe wholeheartedly that more technology integrationists would substantially improve our ability as educators to prepare our students for the real world. I think most would agree with me, but so much comes down to the dollars and cents. Unfortunately I think it becomes a trade-off, what needs to be given up in order to have something else that we need/want? During our week 1 discussions there was a little talk about librarians who also serve as tech integrationists. I am curious as to how this really works. In my experience librarians can find it just as difficult to integrate technology as any other teacher and even if they are good at it; when is there time to help other teachers with their tech integration dilemmas? Lastly, in terms of the 150 Rule; we mentioned that small schools may have a somewhat easier time reaching the tipping point. But with regard to staffing there is the potential for a shared person. I can envision a district hiring someone to be shared among several schools. Is that satisfactory? When we speak of integration do we mean just on the days the tech integration specialist is in the building? Jamie: In response to Heather-I work in a district in which schools share librarians, art teachers, PE, etc. Luckily, that is not the situation where I teach. I would find this situation difficult because not consistently being in the same building, with the same children and teachers would make the environment really hard to deal with because of the lack of familiarity between everyone. It would be tough to convice teachers to do something when they cannot see you on a daily basis. Teachers are notorious for not trusting new people and/or ideas, and this is something I have heard/seen. In answering the question, I would agree somewhat to the notion that my school and its administration endorses technology as a cult 'thing', though not to the extent of the novel example in the text. To some extent putting IWBs in my school did have something to do with word of mouth, but I wonder why document cameras did not have the same impact? In my eye, they are just as important to an educator. Like in the novel and small groups of women, IWBs became a hit at my school because specific groups wanted to use them...however, it's hard for me to recognize that they are being used correctly-so in some sense this was a fad because everyone had to have them because of peer pressure (I think). I don't know if I could ever get my admin. to admit this because of the extent of the cost in the materials, etc.