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CEP 850. Rewired: Understanding the iGeneration.

I was interested in this book; a title that was buried in the USA Today article from our Week 1 readings. Like many, I always thought those born in the 90's and onward, would be so infused with technology that it would "de-sensitize" them, yielding great attention deficits. But I suppose research like Larry Rosen's shows that this new "iGeneration" is, in fact, more sensitized and highly aware, making them able to multi-task and produce greatly. It's a "rewiring" that's new to me and I'm trying to understand it as a parent and educator.

For example, I have a 12-year old daughter, a rising 7th grader. She can listen to loud rock music while writing compositions. I could honestly never manage in that environment of sound. Though, don't get me wrong- I love Rock 'n Roll. So, I check her work, and it's pretty darn good. Strong content, vocabulary, spelling, pithy. Huh? I'm thinking- how can she manage with all the stimuli?

I see this new "mindset" and I see accepting it, but a gal can still worry. And I do.

Thoughts?

SW

Blog synthesis.

This class has changed me forever. First as a person, then as an educator.

The module projects required "all of me." I felt as though I had to take myself to a place far from “myself.” It was very philosophical. I thought this blog helped with the much-needed release of reflection and synthesis of ideas. Here is my final synthesis.

Particularly for a distance degree program, I think a blog is brilliant. The blog's "analogical bridges" fascinated me. I tried to zoom way out and take them to a very abstract level to challenge myself, because I felt "safe," very assured and convinced, that Dr. Wong knew that zillions of possibilities were out there for us to find. (HOW EXCITING IS THAT? Way exciting for me!)

CEP 882 would be a very thrilling class “live.” Would it have provided me even more daily "refreshment," possibly. But it did the job long-distance. Yes, it consumed my entire mind/body, each and everyday, since January 10, 2011.

My husband received a lot of my pontifications and free thinking, since I craved "live" discussion through the journey. He, too, has been touched and changed by CEP 882. My daughters, as well. To hear a 9-year old go on about "compelling this or that" in advertisements, food prep, stores we shop in, is simply a gas! (How to wean the children off WNTW though! Right now, it's the number one program in our TiVo queue.)

Most of the weeks, prior to the module projects, I just sat with some tea, thought about my topic and the multimedia experience and stared out into space. Empty, then full, empty, full, letting myself zoom out and back in. Reading and re-reading the project requirements. Printing them out, highlighting key ideas, reading and re-reading them over. I carried around our project requirements everywhere- in my purse, my satchel, found them in my Doritos bag, under the car seat, in bed, the fridge. Each pass, I discovered another bit that Dr. Wong was gently handing to us, to guide us. I found that if one just read Dr. Wong’s instructions once through, on the surface, one would never truly grasp the meaning. So, I read and re-read, finding hints, humor and handshakes from Dr. Wong to us, his students, many key things simply implied. CEP 882 is its own "microcosmic" example of the NDCE. The course is a “little world” representing its very own title. “A community or other unity that is an epitome of a larger unity,” (Merriam-Webster dictionary.)

The TV / film compelling experience required going very deep inside of myself. Before I had a handle on my TV/film “foreboding” video, I found myself living with a great puzzle inside of me. I couldn’t sort out the pieces, nor find a fit for them. It was really, really eating away at me. I had said this in my “Director’s Commentary,” but it really wasn’t until I decided not to take it all so seriously, as Dr. Wong suggested, that my head was able to wrap itself around the puzzle. And then, boom, I was in control of it. Everything started to flow, but up until that point, it was uncomfortable, really uncomfortable.

The WOA final was the same. I may have taken Dr. Wong too literally when he asked for the following: “amateur,” “highly visual,” “highly mundane” and “personal.” I wonder if I got it with my “nametagging?” This was one of the most difficult, yet absorbing projects. I think it ranks as possibly THE most demanding in its "thinking" requirements, of anything I’ve done in the MAED program thus far (with 40% of my degree left.) I’m proud of my final project though, and I think I may have been on the right track. I say this because it was extremely touching when I viewed my own video experience. I cried for a moment there when I first layed down the acoustic “Hey Jude” on top of my self-interview. It's the segment where I make some pretty raw comments and speak about my daily strife of “being artful”. I meant it, and I hope it came through. The demands of these projects were so great that they yielded very visceral reactions in me, when I took them in, over and over again.

I often think about being done with my Masters and how through the process of “detoxification,” I might, on some level, begin to feel irrelevant. Sounds strange, I know. But as this class winds down, I’m getting that feeling. It’s allowed me the abstract and creative thinking through a wonderfully “safe” set of modules that I could tell Dr. Wong had honed over time. They were each an unforgettable adventure allowing me to forget the war in Egypt, the earthquake in Japan, bad news, daily mundane tasks, and on and on. The class touched me way deep down in all ways- both intellectually and viscerally- “dealing with crude or elemental emotions.”

I esteem it to have been a privilege.

Seeking Japan.

The hot, new field of national branding in the 2006 NPR piece intrigued me. The idea of countries "having reputations" that have a tremendous impact on their destinies is really something to think about. That comparison of "Made in Mexico" versus "Made in Japan," interested me. Japan has the higher value. I'd like to apply it to the branding of a middler schooler.

I think despite the recently devastating earthquake and tsunami, Japan's reputation will remain high, perhaps even higher now than ever before?

So, let's try to seek cool, to seek Japan, through ideas as fashion.

I am Stacy Walden. New post: "branding minister" for our middle school boys and girls, seeking the "consideration of possibilities, of a world that could be." Something like the qualities that Japan holds.

With a few, quick fashion fixes, a student would most likely end up being someone kind of well-regarded, who others might not mess with, which makes "everything easier" for that student. "Seeking out Japan" in the milieu of middle school. We've come up with 5 elements necessary for the "cool" mix. (My 12-year old daughter was consulted!)

1. hat (any type, knit like the "Brad Pitt" beanie - Sting wears one too, cheap hat, or baseball, rim, even fashion hat, but please take it off in the classroom).
price range: Target $7.00 on up.

2. good pair of jeans (like WTNW says- dark wash)
Price for a decent brand: $40. on up.

3. footwear- Converse, red Vans, or Sambas and you're good to go.
price: $40.

4. girls- pierce your ears.
price: $20.

5. backpack- totes are hip, the backpack is a REAL statement, satchel, army bag, think it over before purchasing.
price: $15 and up.

Don't be a critic of ornament. Check it out. Strut your stuff. Be novel, but not too different. Fix the branding problem with a good hat, jeans, pack, and colorful footwear. Welcome to middle school!

Target framework and "fashion-ing."

This is a big reach. I'd like to use the Ames Target model (1990,) studied in depth and drawn from Dr. Oka's CEP 802. I want to build connections to Dr. Wong's "Ideas as Fashion" in the classroom. The Ames model explores six factors in the classroom that can be managed by teachers to guide students towards "learning for mastery goals," rather than performance goals. It's really a guide to using adaptive approaches to motivate students in our classrooms.
As I think carefully about the NDCE, I thoroughly enjoy Dr. Wong's premise that traditional educational psychology or motivational theory, like that of the Ames model, only partially "illuminate" compelling experience. It's not the full deal. However, I thought it would be fun to attempt to take a widely used traditional framework to see it match up to "If ideas were fashion, how might we teach?" framework. In particular, I'll use the WNTW program format, our week 11 discussion and educational representation as connectors.

T-A-R-G-E-T
Task, Authority, Recognition, Grouping, Evaluation, Time.

(T) Task
Ames: select tasks so as to provide an optimal level of challenge and to emphasize activities that students find interesting and intrinsically engaging.
Wong: select "fashion" so as to provide an optimal level of willingness (to try it on) and to visually express something unique about yourself. Focus on connecting you to your valuable story, interests, experiences. What's holding you back?

(A) Authority
Ames: share authority with students by providing them choice and input on learning activities.
Wong: Trying on the idea, and feeling safe enough in the classroom to do so, yields "a greater appreciation for it," and a certain comfort level with the teacher's expertise of what really "works" for them. Both teacher and student honor a shared understand that experience and day-to-day use will ultimately be the judge.

(R) Recognition
Ames: recognize all students who make progress and show improvement, not just the highest achievers.
Wong: recognition is inherent in fashioning through the nature of adding character, coolness, chic, a "new you," seeing your potential, etc...

(G) Grouping
Ames: group in ways that promote cooperative learning and minimize interpersonal competition and social comparison.
Wong: Increase variety of pieces that work well together but don't clash and compete for the eye's attention. Group pieces based on "interest" like pattern, texture, color. Work towards mutually agreeable fashion-ing.

(E) Evaluation
Ames: focus on individualized assessment of progress rather than comparisons of individuals or groups.
Wong: The Reveal, a private evaluation on how a person has "evolved" and their new "outlook" on fashion. (Wong & Henriksen, p. 15.)

(T) Time
Ames: use time in creative ways that ease the constraints of rigid scheduling and allow for more use of valuable learning activities that are hard to fit into shorter class periods
Wong: Allow this "trying on" process time- it's an internal and external shift in perspective (p. 16.) Doors will open, but it's a work in progress, set at an individual's unique pace.

Sine Wave.

As I was dissecting, "Not Ready to Make Nice" for Week 2 of the music module, I discovered that the song, as in the case of most pop hits, has a certain distinct "wave" to its' "sonorous image."
The Dixie Chicks' piece begins with minimal instrumentation and dynamic, and we feel it smoothly growing- in energy, texture, and tone color. A certain height is achieved, it invites our greatest free imagination as listeners, and then we are released from its' catch, brought back down to the baseline or below it, in order to reflect on our emotions and truths.
I aspire to use the same "sonorous" energy, carried in a sine wave, as a way to inform my instruction in the classroom. For me, the idea is to begin a lesson with a catchy hook that encompasses review and a connection to the new, as we gather participants that hold "attention" and "expectancy."
We begin our journey up the curve, moving towards new energy and relevant ideas. I use smooth transitions, like the logical addition of the upbeat on a snare drum. I allow time, and I design optimally challenging work with full examples and supports for the children. Harmony enters just as a teacher would design independent, parallel tasks within a lesson. We are locking in. I'm relaxed, smiling, full of wit and light (L. Bernstein.) Tiny grace notes ride atop a conducted time signature and make for a lively piece, a "capriccio." Tasks that hold meaning and novelty enter as points on the curve.
The peak of our curve is full exploration. Freedom in our imaginations; cooperative, productive efforts and shared authority in our classroom relationships! Choice and time are given- a fair wavelength is set. We then travel down the other side of our sine wave; it holds private evaluation for understanding, recognition, reflection and thoughts on improvement. Mistakes are okay. A glimpse of tomorrow, a preview for everyone- more points on the curve. A tempo. Down at our baseline, we are filled inside and out as "gifted listeners." We've lent ourselves to the enjoyment and understanding of the "music" we've made.
Like Copland recognizing the truth in abstract art, when the beautiful sine wave takes shape in my classroom, it's "somewhat of a minor miracle, and each time it happens I remain slightly incredulous." Gasp!

The Hook.

If "the hook" is the musical phrase that grabs you from the outset, can we find "hooks" that inform instruction in our classrooms? Perhaps catch a student with an opening statement or question that ignites a flame, the same way a listener of music is caught and feels the hook in a musical piece? A way to present a task or new idea so that a student is looking "around the corner" for what is coming next?

I began a 1st grade word study unit (on the "ack" phonogram) by sitting on our carpet circle with the children, smiling, crouching smaller and whispering, "Good morning, word detectives! Today we are going to look for clues..." They looked up. No one could stand to miss what was to come next. It was a catchy phrase and it stood out. I saw the energy grow as they wondered what was next, and how they'd take on the work of detectives.

But perhaps it was the whisper, or the close circle? Non-verbal cues. Maybe like a great hook, we don't need lyrics.

To take the analogical connection even further, what if "the hook" is the probing (or detective work!) that a great teacher or parent can do with a child, to find what it is within that child, that you can support or accommodate, in trying to find the hook for say early literacy? The hooking process is a fluid one, requiring detailed and nuanced changes to even possibly ever consider breaking through. We chip away at it, we change the environment and the hook is contextual, but it can be found through great teaching!