Ideas about teaching with a Flipped Classroom model are abundant; but this summer, I tried something different. I flipped myself.
I just completed my 25th year of teaching, which was interrupted by a nine year maternity leave. Over the past 34 years, I have been advising my children and my students on ways to succeed on high stakes tests. As a mother, I coached my daughter, as much as she would let me, to develop a growth mindset through her years taking standardized test as a medical student. As a teacher, I coached my AP students on facing the grueling May English Language and Composition exam. I have dealt with kids of all levels preparing for SATs. I really
talk a good game on how to handle the stress of taking tests that are important enough that working for a passing score is essential.
Then I tried it myself.
This summer, a group of like minded teachers and I decided to attempt the Google Educator certification test. Eight people become five, and five became two once we realized the certifications had changed.
Two of us committed to study and collaborate, and we even agreed to test together.
She passed. I failed.
Some background for those unfamiliar with the Google Certifications. This summer, Google restructured the exams and broke the initial educator certifications into two levels. Level one is for teachers new to google. We decided to start simple and work on Level One. After all, both of us are experienced Google users who implement many tools in our classrooms. So we went to work to cover the material.
Some of the material was easy. I skipped through it thinking I would be trying Level Two soon. Then without warning, the monster cognitive dissonance reared its ugly head, and suddenly I was trying to digest information that was, well, really hard to wrap my head around. Yikes! Who the heck has ever heard of “Keep”?
I started getting questions wrong in the practice tests. I took copious notes. I redid lessons. I kept trying to get my feet on the ground. I read and reread and wrote and rewrote. I practiced what I preach–that anyone can pass any test with good close reading skills. And here I experienced growth mindset. It was the effort that would reward my endeavors, not the natural ability I brought to it.
We sat together to take the test in our school library. Well, we sat opposite each other because we did not want to be distracted; we just wanted to give each other moral support. 180 minutes were allotted, and after two hours, I pushed the submit button. I was confident. I was certain. I knew that I would get the badge. The computer worked for a few minutes before it told me that I failed.
I waited patiently for my colleague to finish. She said, apologetically, “ I passed”. She was so sweet, and I was genuinely happy for her.
Nevertheless, I was devastated. I experienced feelings of failure. I told my mom who told my brother-in-law who said, “What? Kathi never fails any test.” I was ashamed. I was indignant. I was done with Google. Who needs that anyway, I thought. I told my husband, I told my kids, I told my colleagues, I told my friends, I told my manicurist and hairdresser. Well, maybe not the last two.
What I really experienced was the frustration of knowing the test did not accurately measure my knowledge. I knew enough about all the GAFE (Google Apps for Education) and other Google products to teach a course that centers on it, and I knew enough to help my colleagues. I even knew enough to know where to find out how to do what I did not know. Ha!
That is where determination erupted. And grit. There was no way I was going to not get this certification. Pride? Ego? Perhaps. But grit and determination is what pushed me to go through all the lessons again, take new notes, dig deeper, read closer. And eventually, I felt confident enough to attempt the test again. And I passed.
I got the badge. I got the certificate. I got the certification. But what I really got was a great lesson. I realized that the success was not in passing the test. The success was in being willing to do whatever I could to do the very best I could. The success was in realizing the t
est was not the final product. The final product was the process of learning.
And I even got bonus points. I realized that this experience put me in my students’ shoes. I am no longer talking a good game. I am modeling, transparently, the act of learning. I am showing them what it really means to be a life-long learner. And perhaps, even more importantly, I am realizing what their experience feels like.
I have been focused on the Human Lens in the PLN framework lately. And since I began teaching, I have always believed that teaching is 99% relational and 1% content.
Walking where the kids walk has given me a new perspective on their struggles and victories. I flipped the whole learning experience in that I, the teacher, took the place of them, the learners.
And what a lesson it was.
And that is what I did on my summer vacation.
Really enjoyed this blog. We all have experienced moments of “failure”, unlike Lucy Van Pelt. Relating your feelings to those of the students is a game changer. “Life-long learning” is a phrase that has sadly become a cliché. Self-application of its meaning for students is very beneficial.
Roe, thank you for your comment. I like how you see the turnaround in thinking as a “game changer” in the classroom. I really do want to be a life long learner, and I think many teachers do, but it is hard work, work that we may not want to deal with. “Good grief”. But if we really push ourselves, and work at learning something new, then we get to remember what we want our students to do and how HARD it is. Thanks so much for your support and guidance on this journey.
Great reflective post, Kathi. You put it all out there. You’ve exposed yourself for the learner you are. Having talked to you during this process, I can attest to the accuracy of your story.
As teachers, we don’t always get the opportunity to flip ourselves. Well let me rephrase that. We don’t always take advantage of the opportunities presented to us. Often teachers are satisfied being where they are, doing what they routinely do day in and day out. That mindset does not help our students.
Congratulations for not only doing what you did, getting the certification and Google badge, but more importantly for sharing your story. You and your students are going to better because of your learning experience this summer.
The members of the Archbishop Ryan community are lucky to have involved in their lives.
Hope the 2015-2016 school year gets off to a smooth start for you and your students.
Gene, thank you so much for taking the time to respond. I really appreciate your sensitivity and your help. You really helped me dig down and approach the test again when you said that you KNEW I would do it. And I like how you talk about being satisfied with the routine. In our Catholic vocation of teaching like Jesus, we really need to be willing to take the risk of trying new things to help our students. Thank you, and I am so glad we are buddies.
I did all the same things you did to prepare. Did all the quizzes and reviews. Made a Google doc of all the questions and correct answers. Went through my notes to make sure I could be successfull accessing all the calendars, docs, sheets, forms, sharing etc. BUT the test had those combined skills. Schedule a meeting while attaching a comment with emails of people you wanted to read the comment. That slowed me WAY down. I hadn’t practiced that. Also – when I had to check someone else’s calendar to schedule a meeting, they weren’t available on the date I tried and every time I went back to their calendar, more dates were filled up. It felt like someone at Google was messing with me. I ran out of time.The stuff we had to do in Sites was not in the quizzes. I am now going through lots of You Tube Videos and doing the stuff in the video, so I will pass when I try again in two weeks. Being in the learner’s seat is good to help us understand how the students feel in our classes.
Trish, thanks for replying! I loved the part where you thought Google was messing with you! Isn’t that just like when the kids think we are trying to trick them? The second time I took the test I read so very carefully to ONLY give them EXACTLY what they ask for. You’ll do great, and please keep me posted!
Hey Kathi
…..and I thought all teachers did on summer vacations was go to the beach….
Very insightful thoughts. I know that as an Artist/Teacher you have to produce and show to grow. I was just thinking of starting a blog myself about my self growth ….give me some info if you can on setting this one up….thanks for sharing. I think that your students will get a better understanding of you and you for them because of this experience. Congrats on your Certification.
Haha, Pat. You know how we hate the scathing comments about teachers and summers. Thanks for reading and replying! So the site I use for this is edublogs.org, and it is free! I have used it for a long time now, and I like it a lot. There are tons of other options, but this is my favorite. Let me know if you need any other information. Thanks again!
Hi Kathi,
I always learn something new from you. Thanks for sharing and connecting your personal learning experiences to our students’ classrooms.
About two years ago I had the opportunity to hear Dr. Angela Duckworth, of the University of Pennsylvania, speak about grit. Like you, she highlighted the influence of determination and persistence on grit. She also acknowledged the impact of passion on grit. Her insights reminded me of the importance of helping our children be passionate about learning. The Human Lens of Learning certainly lays the foundation for nurturing curious, determined, passionate learners.
Congratulations, Kathi, on your Google certification. We at Ryan, and especially the English Department, reap the benefits of your grit and determination. Leading by example and being a life long leaner are just two of the qualities that make you an awesome teacher.
Kathi,
Thank you for sharing your courageous google story and your loving family vacation stories! Your boundless enthusiasm for life, learning, and most especially for people continue to inspire and motivate all of who are truly blessed to know and work with you. Congratulations on achieving your certification and super thanks for being a wonderful role model for taking the “flipping” challenge!
Sincerely,
Jerry Nejman
Gerry,
Thank YOU for reading this and for taking the time to respond. I am curious to hear about your ideas on the new SAT. Amazing how many changes we have seen it go through in the last ten years.
Best wished for a great year.
Kathi
Nice post and congrats on passing!! I’m taking a course at Temple on Risk and Resilience in Education this semester, and one of the debates is around whether resilience should be defined by outcomes of by actions. Now in your case, you ultimately were rewarded for your persistence. But even if you hadn’t succeeded, you still would have been modeling strong academic habits.
Thanks, Joe. Is anyone talking about Carol Dweck’s wok on Growth Mindset? Since I have this little chunk of time before the six day weekend when Pope Francis comes, I am doing a mini unit on Growth Mindset with the AP kids, having them read a few articles, review Article of the Week and 10% summary (Gallagher and Collins) and work on writing a position paper in a group as if they are writing to the president about teachers using this idea of encouraging growth mindset. Also a little self evaluation on grit and a reflective paper at the end about their learning goals. I would love to hear more about your class!
No Dweck yet, but I’ll keep you posted if she pops up. That sounds like a great assignment. I definitely believe it’s something that can be taught.