DRAFT

Guide
on
the
Side
A Visual and Active Book for
Teachers, Students, Parents,
Principals and Taxpayers

Compiled by
Steve McCrea

Contributors
Cary Elcome
Jeffrey W. Hutt
Celest Joseph

1
 Anthony Lloyd
Ben Udy
Dennis Yuzenas

This is a draft.
20 Sept 2010

please send comments to

TheEbookman@gmail.com

2
 This book aims to share with you how to
transfer responsibility for learning to your
students with digital portfolios, projects,
eBooks, Facebook, videos, YouTube, Sites
Google and the suite of programs available
with a Gmail account.

Keywords: Guide on the Side, digital portfolios, projects,

eBooks, Facebook, videos, YouTube, Sites Google, Dennis
Littky, Yuzenas, Fischler, Hetland, Howard Gardner, Dan Pink,
Thomas Friedman.

This document is available on Scribd.com for free download.

Yes, free. Why are you thinking about buying this book?
Share it with friends, translate it, post elements on your
website (just please please please attribute it, put a
guideontheside.com button on your webpage or ebook or
whatever form these words appear. Be sure to include the
attribution, such as “Dan Pink” or whoever the author of the
quote is.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution

3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ or send a letter to
Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San
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Receipt ID: 4219-3360-6756-9530An email with your order

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MERCHANT CONTACT INFORMATION
Creative Commons

3
paypal@creativecommons.org
415-369-8480

I’m on a mission. I want to give kids the benefit

of an open classroom. I want kids who want to
take charge of their learning to have the choice
to do so.

I’ve identified a principal obstacle: Teachers

like to perform (from a conversation with
Abraham S. Fischler). I know that when it
comes to prepring a lesson, my first impulse is
to LECTURE about a topic. The more difficult
route is to write a word on the white board and
ask, “Work with a partner and write five things
you know about this word...” and then let the
pairwork flow from there... That’s hard for me
and hard for many teachers because they want
to be in control of the flow of the class.

I have a mission: I want to capture “what goes

on inside the heads of teachers who are guides
on the side."
4
5
Brief Table of Contents
(Longer version at the end)

Survey

Part 1
Quotes that inspire us

Part 2
Schools that inspire us

Part 3
how to transform your classroom

Part 4
Free materials

Part 5
Tips and examples of projects

Longer Table of Contents

6
To Start: Please take this short survey

7
What short quotes could help teachers focus on what
they can do in their classrooms -- today -- to move
along school reform?

Make photocopies of these pages of quotes. Place the book

on the photocopy machine, increase the size to 140% and hit
“copy.” Paste the quots on walls in classrooms, bathrooms,
stairwells.

Math: The PRINT area of the book is 7.5 inches tall, 4.25
inches wide. If you increase the size by 50%, you will get a
document 11.25 inches tall. So set the document for 140%
and you'll be safe.

Download this book from Scribd.com and select pieces. Email

the pieces to friends, colleagues, stuents, teachers, principals,
directors of schools, politicians and taxpayers.

8
The teacher
of the future
is a GUIDE
on the SIDE,
not a sage
on the
stage.
Aphorism passed on by senior teachers

9
Ron Renna used the phrase when I interviewed for a job at
Downtown Academy in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

10
Education is
NOT the
filling of a
pail, but
rather the
LIGHTING
of a FIRE.
W. B. Yeats

11
12
Most students
might forget
what you
taught them,
but they will
always
remember
how you
13
treated them.
Aphorism passed on by senior teachers

14
A big obstacle
to bringing
Computer
Assisted
instruction into
the classroom
is the teacher,
because
teachers love
15
to perform.
Dr. Abraham Fischler, author of TheStudentIsTheClass.com

16
Jack is a boy
from
Brooklyn who
dropped out
of school to
avoid
terminal
17
boredom.
Biography of an entrepreneur, Emaginos.com

18
I never let
school get
in the way
of my
education.
Mark Twain

19
Drive
out
fear.
W. Edwards Deming

20
Never do
for a child
what a
child can
do for
himself.
Maria Montessori

21
22
There are 2 billion
children in the
developing world.
Instead of asking
their teachers to
"reinvent the wheel"
every day, why not
share lesson plans
that work with their
59 million teachers?
Gordon Dryden
Get his 1999 book as a freedigital book from
thelearningweb.net

23
Keep
Teacher
Talking
Time to a
minimu
24
m.
Certificate of English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA)
training

25
The
purpose of
education
is to turn
mirrors
into
26
windows.
Dan Pink, Free Agent Nation

27
What a gift some
power could give
us:

to see
ourselve
s as
others
28
see us.
O would some power the gift to give us to see ourselves as
others see us. Robert Burns (adapted to modern language)

29
What other "pithy" and focused items can you quote? What
short thoughts can transform a classroom? Send your
suggestions to TheEbookman@gmail.com

Recommended perusing:
Danpink.com
Will Sutherland's Qualified ByExperience.com
Thomas Friedman's columns
WhatDoYaKnow.com by Dennis Yuzenas
ascd.org articles
EdReformer.com by Tom vander Ark
TheStudentisTheClass.com by Abraham S. Fischler
TheLearningWeb.net by Gordon Dryden and J. Vos
Download the free ebook, The Learning Revolution (1999
edition) and read the 2010 edition.

Someone to hunt down for a cup of coffee: ribbonfarms blog

by vgururao@gmail.com

Or call me at +1 954 646 8246 and dictate your favorites. I'm

ready.

30
Take the second survey:

31
Part 1
Quotes that inspire us

32
Part 2
Schools that inspire us

33
Part 3
How to transform your
classroom

Digital Portfolios

Video reference:
Dennis Yuzenas describes portfolios
in Schools

http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=nJzLQiWmRwQ

34
35
Dennis Yuzenas
Here's a classroom that works: Room 2-212
Motivation is the most critically
important variable in the learning
equation
By Dennis Yuzenas

What follows is the educational rationale for what passes

as teaching in room 2-212 at Bak Middle School of the
Arts in West Palm Beach, Florida. The class is U.S.
History and the students are all gifted and advanced
students. The school is a performing arts magnet.
Students audition to “get in.” The teacher is an old bald
guy. This is all “real.” Everything that goes on in the
classroom has a solid pedagogic rationale.
It is clear that gifted and “advanced” students differ
greatly in their ability, knowledge base, reflectiveness,
and style of learning. This is a wonderful opportunity to
employ successful teaching strategies. Combining the
top academic students with teachers dedicated to Middle
School Philosophy and a placing all the stakeholders in
the richest academic setting possible is a concept whose
time has arrived.

Nicholls (1983) and Millington (1993) argue that if the

right motivation is established, students will select tasks
of suitable difficulty level and work on them in a
productive manner.

36
That is, if attention is directed to motivation, many other
apparent learning problems will be resolved. Peak
motivation is achieved when the learner selects tasks
judged to present just the right degree of difficulty
(Csikszentmihalyi, 1979; Malone, 1981). Whether it is a
reader choosing a book to read, a mountain climber
selecting a cliff to scale, or a child playing a video game,
motivation is enhanced when the learner makes the
choice. Thus, in the “inclusion” classroom, learning is
facilitated by allowing students to choose, within well
defined limits, tasks to attempt and the degree of
difficulty. As de Charms’s (1984) and Hoffman’s (1992)
research shows, there is a need for the learner to be the
originator of learning tasks and yet to operate within a
structure. The need also exists for constant aid
sustained feedback, to teachers, parents, and students.
Expectations in the classroom must be well defined and
achievable.

Nicholls (1983) posits three forms of motivation: task

involvement, ego involvement, and extrinsic
involvement. When a learner is task-involved, he or she
is focusing on die task rather than self (not “What will
they think of what l am doing?”); learning
(understanding) is an end in itself rather than trying to
look smart or not to lock stupid. Ego involvement is
characterized by concern for self rather than with
leaning, understanding, or finding out. In this condition,
one learns only to avoid looking stupid. An extrinsically
involved person learns to achieve some reward or to
avoid a penalty or to please the teacher. For this
individual, learning is a means to an end rather than an
end in itself.

37
Within any class of students, not every student feels
confident of his or her ability. Bright girls, for example,
tend to have low estimates of their ability to tackle new
concepts in mathematics (Dweck, 1986). Because
competition to enter the class may be keen and ability
has been brought to the forefront by the creation of such
a class, some students will feel insecure. If a highly
competitive and rigid environment exists within the class,
students will not become task involved. By reducing
competition and stimulating student interest in the tasks
to be learned, tensions can be reduced and students can
be freed from anxieties that block learning.

Problem-
How are the Classes Taught?
Centered (or Project-based) Learning and
Motivation
Problem-centered (or project-based) learning is
facilitated by cooperative learning. In cooperative
learning, students work together in small groups, usually
to solve a problem. Cooperative learning has many
benefits. Noddings (1985) among many others, lists the
following effects of small group problem solving:

1. Students are stimulated by the thoughts of others.

2. Students assist each other in problem interpretation.

3. Students clarify their thoughts by explaining to others.

4. Students learn useful procedures from others.

38
 5. Students experience increased motivation by
cooperative efforts.

6. Students grow from challenges to their stated

positions.

7. Students show intellectual growth from peer

interaction.

In addition to Noddings’ list, there is also the skill

acquisition involved in finding the appropriate medium in
which to display student findings. In the digital world we
find ourselves in it is imperative that students be taught
how to use the myriad tools available to them. Every
student leaving school today should have a working
familiarity with web page design and construction, video
pre and post production skills, and an understanding of
communication networking and the internet. These are
real-world skills that will serve our students well.

Schools in general, advanced and gifted classes in

particular, tend to be competitive. Competitive
situations promote ego involvement and an extrinsic
orientation to learning. They make it difficult for students
to value learning for its own sake. On the other hand,
cooperative learning environments foster understanding
as a goal; learning becomes an aid in itself rather than a
means to some other end. Teachers should strive to
reduce competition and ego involvement among gifted
students and to help students experience the satisfaction
of solving problems and making ideas their own.

Realistic Inquiry Experiences

39
In summary of all that has been said so far, it seems the
ideal learning experiences for gifted and advanced
learners involve the following conditions:

A sense of internal control or self-selection on the part of

studentsIntrinsic interest in the tasks to be learned

A sense that the learning tasks relate to the real world,

and are not simply “school” activities

A real search for meanings, solutions, or understanding

A discovery of the plan or system when skilled behavior

is the goal

Some of the major forms of realistic inquiry experiences

in school include the following:

• Discussion (Good and Brophy, 1984)

• Role playing (Gallagher, 1975)

• Discovery and guided discovery (Anthony, 1973;

Bruner, 1960)

• Inquiry (Taba, 1962; Suchman, 1961)

• Small groups (Good and Brophy, 1984; Feldhusen,

1986)

• Seminars (Kolloff and Feldhusen, 1986)

• Games and simulations (Greenblat, 1982; Maker,

40
1982b)

• Induction and deductive logic (Halpern, 1984;

Nickerson, Perkins, and Smith, 1985)

• Critical thinking (Ennis, 1962; Harnadek, 1976, 1980)

• Mentors (Haeger and Feldhusen, 1987; Edlind and

Haensly, 1985)

• Field flips (Feldhusen, 1986)

• Experimental research (Dallas Independent School

District, 1977)

• Library plus online research (Polette, 1982 and Gardner,

2003)

• Tutoring experiences (Ellison, 1976)

• Problem solving (Glaser, 1984; Tuma and Reif, 1984)

• Future studies (Flack and Feldhusen, 1983; Whaley,

1983)

All of these teaching methods can involve gifted and

advanced students in generative learning (Wittrock,
1977), a process in which students themselves are
actively involved in higher level cognitive activities.
They can create their own understanding of concepts and
principles and their own cognitive guides for skilled
behavior.

41
Wittrock points out that generative learning experiences
make it possible for students to relate current learning to
prior experiences and perceptions stored in memory.
Generative learning contrasts with reception learning
(Ausubel, 1978), an approach to instruction in which the
emphasis is as transmission of well-organized information
to the student. In the latter approach, the student acts
more as a passive receiver of knowledge and less as an
active pursuer of understanding.

The sixteen strategies (there are four and then another

dozen or so that follow...) proposed here can all be used
by teachers to achieve the following goals for gifted
students:

1. Teaching of broad concepts and principles in the

discipline

2. Developing a broad range of process or thinking skills

3. Helping students became self-directed learners

4. Stimulating intrinsic interest in the content

Teachers who are concerned about the teaching of basic

skills will see that the relatively automatic behavior that
must become a part of every student’s repertoire
(Samels and Eisenberg, 1981) can best be developed
through initial learning experiences in which gifted and
advanced students develop a cognitive schemata or plan
for the skill through their own self -directed exploration or
investigation. Automatization of a skill evolves best
though repeated experience in using the skill in real

42
contexts or new and more complex leaning situations.

General Guidelines for Developing

Strategies in a Project-Based Classroom
The various methods and strategies discussed are based
on a conception of learning that sees the gifted and/or
advanced student as an active, generative, problem-
solving learner, creating his or her own understanding
and conceptual framework within the disciplines.

We now examine a set of very general guidelines that

teachers of the inclusion program can use in a wide
variety of teaching situations. These are general
strategies for implementing curriculum plans. Curriculum
specifies goals and objectives, subject matter content,
concepts and principles, thinking skills or processes,
basic skills, attitudes, and values to be learned by gifted
students. In this chapter we have focused on
instructional strategies that seek to motivate and involve
the student in an active, self-directing role in the learning
process. The following general guidelines embody the
general approaches for such learning for gifted students:

1. Make extensive use of generative instructional

strategies such as discovery, discussion, small group
problem solving, and other nondidactic methods.

2. Use instructional strategies appropriate to the content.

Obviously, certain subjects and topics are best taught by
one instructional strategy, whereas other topics are best
taught with other strategies. While small group problem
solving might work well in science, practice might work

43
better in math. Good teachers constantly make their
strategy choice based on judgments about the content
and student learning styles (Gardner, 2006).

3. Encourage students to develop their own methods of

reasoning including self-generated algorithms; encourage
alternate ways of thinking and performing tasks.

4. Allow students the freedom to organize their thinking.

5. Provide a learning environment with a variety of

options that enable students with different learning styles
to choose activities and materials that fit their own
learning styles.

6. De-emphasize competition and encourage cooperative

learning.

7. Establish a learning environment conducive to task

involvement Nicholls and Burton suggest that, “The
teacher’s task is to create and sustain task involvement
and to prevent children’s preoccupation with task-
extrinsic incentives or with how their ability compares
with that of others.” This is no easy task, but striving
toward it will produce a richer intellectual climate for
gifted and advanced students. Grading policies and
evaluation methods should be examined to consider the
effect they have on motivation.

7.1 Alternative means of assessment should be

incorporated into every classroom. The process may
begin with a modified type of portfolio and should be
expanded into the multimedia arena.

44
8. Use little or no drill and practice. Since gifted children
are often advanced in skills, it is necessary to first assess
what the students know, then teach the skills needed.
Practice is useless unless the skill is newly acquired, and
gifted children need far less practice to acquire skills than
average students.

9. Make differentiated assignments to meet the various

needs that each student in the classroom has. It is
accepted that the skill levels for any particular task will
vary widely within every classroom.

10. Encourage students to set their own goals and to

make decisions about what to study. Provide mechanisms
suds as planning forms and lists of options to enable
students to develop their own learning plans (Feldhusen,
1986).

10.1 Failure is accepted (provided learning has taken

place.) Bold experimentation on the part of students will
only be realized when the academic climate allows for
both trial and error. Taking academic risks is encouraged
and rewarded. You can add your own cheesy Edison
quote here!

11. Resources for these types of classes are not limited

to a single teacher in a single subject area. The use of
interdisciplinary team teaching and co-teaching with an
assigned resource teacher makes effective and sustained
team curriculum design and implementation essential.

Conclusion

45
Imposition strategies alone, such as lecture and other
modes of “showing students how,” can have an adverse
effect on how students learn. On the other hand, it is
argued that negotiation strategies are powerful in
establishing a learning environment that allows students
to create, integrate, and synthesize ideas and the way
these ideas are presented and shared. By learning in an
environment that encourages cooperation and free
exchange of ideas, students become capable of setting
goals and achieving them with guidance, not imposition,
by the teacher.

Although students vary greatly in their orientation to

learning, it is, in a practical sense, impossible for the
teacher to design a separate learning experience for
each student. Attempting to do this risks having the
teacher as the puppeteer and putting the learner in a
puppet’s role. An alternative strategy is to challenge
students to set goals and make decisions about how to
attack a problem and present their solutions in the most
appropriate fashion. In this way, learning becomes an
adventure in which the students are anxious to
participate. The basic thesis is that in matching
instructional strategies to learners, the matching is best
done by the student with guidance from the teacher.

Motivation plays a key role in the learning process. By

attending to the motivational effects of what develops as
a classroom culture, it is possible to enhance learning a
great deal. It has been said that we learn what we want
to learn. Whether gifted and advanced students (or
students at the other end of the educational spectrum)
want to learn topic X depends on their beliefs about the

46
learning process and how they feel about their role in the
activity. Task involvement is a desirable goal. By de-
emphasizing extrinsic rewards and competition, we can
stimulate students to be interested in the subject for its
own sake and enjoy the love of learning.

Dennis Yuzenas teaches at Bak Middle School of the Arts

in Palm Beach County, Florida. He can be reached at
yuzenasD@gmail.com – his website is
WhatDoYaKnow.com.

To see a summary of his method, search these works:

Dennis Yuzenas Visual and Active
edu-taining teaching technique on
Youtube Link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=ZnR_nCakIKk

To see how Yuzenas gets his

students to gradually take over
responsibility for their learning, go
to Youtube. Search words: Dennis
Yuzenas uses Mindsets and
Paradigms Link:
youtube.com/watch?v=EAaXhuiLAAU

47
To see a rubric, see Part 4 (the first item in the Free
Materials section)

Assesments

A Narrative (derived from the Met Center's format)

Student: Jorge Gonzalez

Parent: Maria Gonzalez

Mentor: Jane Dawkins

Advisor: Richard Flanagan

Grade: 10th Quarter 2

Date of Narrative:

Absences: 4

Late: 2

Highlights:

48
 • Jorge sought and won an internship at the YMCA

• He is also pursuing his interest in car mechanics

with a class at Vernon Vo-tec: Air Conditioning
Systems.

• He helped to organize a food drive.

• He was ill for an extended period but rallied to

make up homework for his car course.

Learning Plan Work:Goals Met LTI/lnterest Search:

While beginning to look for an LTI at private detective
agencies, Rhonda then matched this interest in being a
“detective” with archeology and pursued an internship at
the Public Archeology Lab. Currently, she is working in
the lab washing specimens and working with the
education director.

College Prep:Rhonda has been writing drafts of her

college resume and visited the college fair. She also took
the PSAT in October.

First Quarter Project:Rhonda chose to write a paper

about high school dropouts, but is behind. While she
completed the reflection part, she has not completed the
interviews or the research component. We decided to
move the deadline for this paper until after her college
research paper is due in January.

49
Big Picture 301:Rhonda has met most of the goals in
this area this quarter — she has been consistent in her
journal, she uses her Supercalendar effectively; as a
leader, she spoke to 9th graders about exhibitions and
she has worked with new students to help them learn
about the school.

Main Gaps

Big Picture 301:While she writes in her journal consis-

tently, she does not always turn it in. I would also like to
see her participate more in the school community and in
advisory discussions.

Quantitative Reasoning: Increase exploration of this

goal in the projects.

Empirical Reasoning: Increase the exploration of this

goal in projects. Pursue research for the first quarter
project.

Personal Qualities: Perseverance and time

management. These are satisfactory, but given the
demands on her time, she will need to work very hard on
these to succeed.

Overall - Depth in project work

Exhibition/Portfolio evaluation: Rhonda’s exhibition

50
was well organized with documentation of all the work
that she had finished and time-lines for the work that she
had yet to finish.

Graduation Readiness: Rhonda seems to be on target

to graduate on time. She has a bit of contract work to
complete for early December, but given that she has a
college class in addition to other Learning Plan work, she
has done an admirable amount of good quality work.

Overview:Rhonda has had to face many new challenges

this semester. She’s found an internship at a business
outside of the hospital setting and has begun facing the
challenge of a class at a local university. This year, the
expectations on her work and her thinking have been
increased. As she has always been a good student, she
has felt the challenge this quarter and has been
confused, lost, and overwhelmed at times. In general, 1
think these challenges are good for Rhonda, who has the
opportunity to learn and grow with these new
expectations and persevere through challenges. As
always, it is a pleasure to have Rhonda in class. It is
difficult to see her feel discouraged from too much work

or overwhelmed, but I also know this is a good test of

Rhonda’s determination and she will be better prepared
for college and the work world having tested herself now.
I am proud of how bravely she is facing her challenges!

51
What should be on the second quarter Learning Plan:

Communication with advisor —asking for help.

Participating in advisory discussions/leading by voicing

your opinion.

Contract work

Research/Empirical Reasoning (for first quarter project

and for the college paper) and Quantitative Reasoning.

Depth in each project. (The college research paper will

allow a great opportunity for this.)

Ask more questions at the LII and at school. Focus on

being more inquisitive.

Exhibition — add visuals; plan and teach a lesson on

what you are learning at your internship and college
class.

Show at the next exhibition how the college class allowed

you to work on Social Reasoning and Personal Qualities —
it will be important for you to connect the class to your
personal goals.

Advisor: Jane Dawkins 11/2010

52
53
Form

A Narrative (derived from the Met Center's format)

Student: _______________________

Parent: _______________________

__________________________________________

Mentor: _______________________

Advisor: _______________________

Grade: ____ Quarter ___ Date of Narrative:

________

Absences: ___ Late: ___

Highlights:

• Jorge sought and won an internship at the YMCA

• He is also pursuing his interest in car mechanics

with a class at Vernon Vo-tec: Air Conditioning
Systems.

• He helped to organize a food drive.

54
 • He was ill for an extended period but rallied to
make up homework for his car course.

Learning Plan Work:Goals Met LTI/lnterest Search:

While beginning to look for an LTI at private detective
agencies, Rhonda then matched this interest in being a
“detective” with archeology and pursued an internship at
the Public Archeology Lab. Currently, she is working in
the lab washing specimens and working with the
education director.

College Prep:

_____________________________________________

First Quarter Project:

_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

Integrated subject areas:

_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

Main Gaps

55
Journal:

_____________________________________________

Quantitative Reasoning:

_____________________________________________

Empirical Reasoning:

_____________________________________________

Personal Qualities:

_____________________________________________

Overall - Depth in project work

Exhibition/Portfolio evaluation:

__________________________________________

Readiness for Graduation:

__________________________________________

56
__________________________________________

Overview:

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

What should be in the next quarter's Learning

Plan:

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

Advisor: ________________ Date: ____________

Pages 152--171 in Littky's book, The Big Picture:

Education is Everyone's Business details this form of
assessment.

57
Part 4
Free materials

Project-based Learning Rubric from Microsoft.com

Presentatio
Score Content Conventions Organization n

§ Is well § No spelling, § Information §

thought out grammatical, or is clearly Multimedia
and supports punctuation focused in an is used to
the solution to errors organized and clarify and
the challenge thoughtful illustrate the
or question manner. main points.
§ High-level
use of
§ Reflects vocabulary and § Information is § Format
application of word choice constructed in a enhances
critical logical pattern the content.
thinking to support the
4 solution.
§
§ Has clear Presentation
goal that is captures
related to the audience
topic attention.

§ Is pulled §
from a variety Presentation
of sources is organized
and well laid
out.
§ Is accurate

3 § Is well § Few (1 to 3) § Information §

thought out spelling, supports the Multimedia

58
 and supports grammatical, or solution to the is used to
the solution punctuation challenge or illustrate the
errors question. main points.
§ Has
application of § Good use of § Format is
critical vocabulary and appropriate
thinking that word choice for the
is apparent content.
§
§ Has clear §
goal that is Presentation
related to the captures
topic audience
attention.
§ Is pulled
from several §
sources Presentation
is well
organized.
§ Is accurate

2 § Supports § Minimal (3 § Project has §

the solution to 5) spelling, a focus but Multimedia
grammatical, or might stray loosely
punctuation from it at times. illustrates
§ Has
errors the main
application of
points.
critical § Information
thinking that § Low-level appears to have
is apparent use of a pattern, but § Format
vocabulary and the pattern is does not suit
word choice not consistently the content.
§ Has no
carried out in
clear goal
the project.
§
Presentation
§ Is pulled
§ Information does not
from a limited
loosely capture
number of
supports the audience
sources
solution. attention.

§ Has some
§
factual errors
Presentation
or
is loosely
inconsistencie
s

59
 organized.

§ Provides § More than 5 § Content is §

inconsistent spelling, unfocused and Presentation
information grammatical, or haphazard. appears
for solution punctuation sloppy
errors and/or
§ Information
unfinished.
§ Has no does not
apparent § Poor use of support the
application of vocabulary and solution to the §
critical word choice challenge or Multimedia
thinking question. is overused
or
underused.
§ Has no § Information
1
clear goal has no
apparent § Format
pattern. does not
§ I pulled
enhance
from few
content.
sources

§
§ Has
Presentation
significant
has no clear
factual errors,
organization.
misconception
s, or misinter-
pretations

Discused by Dennis Yuzenas at

http://whatdoyaknow.com/ProjectBasedLearning/AssessmentRubric.htm

60
Part 5
Tips and examples of projects

Projects
The project-based classroom requires
projects. Sometimes one comes along
that really suits the bill. The YouTube
sponsored What's Your Issue contest is a
perfect project.
For 2010 – our 5th year — we’re outreaching
to 200 million young adults 14 to 24 to create
and submit local solution-project ideas to
front-burner issues, submitted digitally via
three-minute videos accompanied by a one-
sheet project outline.

Winning solutions – picked by an illustrious VIP

Jury and the public, online – will be presented
to senior officials within the Obama
administration and the Republican National
Committee.
Apple, Best Buy and YouTube Video for Change

61
have joined us for 2010 as our premiere
partners in this massive outreach to engage
youth in solution-finding, with collaboration
and participation of The Corporation for
National & Community Services, American Red
Cross, NAACP, Association of American
Colleges and Universities, Colin Powell’s
America’s Promise Alliance and others.

Tom Brokaw is heading our VIP Jury Leadership

Committee, as Distinguished Honorary Jurist.
Joining Tom are Deepak Chopra, Jack Black,
Yoko Ono and the heads of The Oprah Winfrey
Network, NAACP, Apple, Sony Pictures and
others.

Our historic roster of past Jurists includes

Senator Barack Obama, Walter Cronkite, Wolf
Blitzer, George Clooney and Anderson Cooper.

Jack (we’re not really on first-name basis with

the amazing singer-actor-activist) Black is our
inaugural VIP Jurist for the new “Issue Song”
competition. We’re looking for 3-minute songs
from young adults 14 to 24 on any issue that
burns for them, because we believe in the
power of music to touch hearts and change

62
minds – and we believe in music-making.

Winning videos and songs will also be

presented at a VIP reception in Washington,
DC, at our annual Awards Ceremony co-hosted
by Sony Pictures at its Los Angeles studio, on
iTunes – and on screens in every Best Buy
store on the planet!

Prizes also include a MacBook and iPhones.

The Issue Song winner will also be presented

to 70,000 industry leaders at the annual
NAMM conference, and the winners will be
included in a compilation CD of emerging
artists in partnership with Band Together.
Proceeds will benefit Gulf Coast recovery. (We
are also hoping that a few VIP Music Jurists will
record versions of winning songs.)

We have defined seven front-burner issues for

2009-2010: environment, education,
healthcare, pathway from poverty, national
security and defense, public service, human
and equal rights issues.

Our catch-phrase – and if you don’t like it,

63
come up with a better one! – is that our
initiative is at the nexus of digital video media,
user-generated-content, the internet, social
networking, public service and activism,
specifically geared to millennial young adults
14 to 24.

We also see problem-solving as an act of

leadership and entrepreneurship and social
entrepreneur. To that end, we are launching
Y/E – the Young Entrepreneur Network. Y/E will
provide valuable resources, content and
tutorials from our partners to support
leadership and entrepreneurial skills.

The submission period begins mid-January

2010, and runs through early April, 2010.
Voting follows shortly thereafter, and winners
announced in May 2010.

Submit your email for updates as we move

closer to launch!"

Cutting to the ChaseSarah won with her

entry: Shark Finning

Here is the page the students started with:

64
http://whatsyourissue.tv/film-your-issue/

65
Tip: Use Google Documents to share files
By Anthony Lloyd
A Gmail account comes with access to a suite of programs
that are free. Yes, they are available only when you are
online. The key advantages are a) the files are less likely to
be lost that if you store the items on your hard drive or a pen
flash (small flash drive). The flash drive could be lost, a CD, if
burned, could be scratched, lost or stepped on. A google
document is (almost) forever. As creator of the document,
you can allow others to read it or edit it. This is a great way
for students to work together. The process of writing is
actually a lot of RE-writing. You can document the changes
by saving previous versions. The teacher also has access to
the document. Students who are confused about what is
expected can look at previous projects to get an idea what's
been done by other.

66
Tip:

By Iain Barraclough

Iain is what teachers and parents might strive to be: experts

in any field in addition to education. Yes, it's important for
parents (and student) to know how to learn. It is often an
outside expert who sees something that we teachers miss.
That's why it is essential for teachers to read Dan Pink,
Malcom Gladwell and Thomas Friedman as well as other non-
professional educators. These authors are actually experts
on how to prepare for lifelong learning, but they have
prescriptions for building better schools that might work....if
implemented. Now, if we could just find someone who could
apply these methods and then reach a dozen teachers...hey,
how about you?

Tip: Volunteer work for students (and teachers? Parents?)

I volunteer at Sunland Park Elementary. They need volunteers. I
have a program called “Breakfast with Mentors” from 7:15 to 8 am.
Do you think some students might come by for service hours? They
can be flexible 7:15 to 7:45 and then walk or bicycle over to Dillard?
Let me know who is in charge of volunteer or community service at
Dillard. Thank you.
That's what I sent to a teacher at Dillard High School in Fort
Lauderdale. Why not try something similar for your students?

Here are the videos that explain what my team of volunteers does:

67
Part one (6.5 minutes)
http://www.youtube.com/buildingintlbridges

Part two (7 minutes)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G0PeKfHSW4

Tips: Websites for Teachers

Convert PDF to text ONLINE
http://www.convertpdftotext.net/

File Juicer to convert PDF to text. Cost ujder $20 (2010)

http://echoone.com/filejuicer/download

Convert a youtube to
keepit.com (a
zamzar.com sendds a message with a link to uyour email
account. Click on the link, then click on the “donwload”
button and you have the video or mp3 document in your
computer's download folder.

Dennis Yuzenas: WhatDoYaKnow.com

Tip: The Five Skills

(attributed to Thomas Friedman)

Recommended reading: Hot Flat and Crowded, The World is

Flat (especially after page 309), and his columns on “Super
Frugal, Super Broke, Super Power” (distinction between

68
desirable and vital), “The New Untouchables” (what it takes to
become indispensable) and

Interview with Celest Joseph

Celest Joseph teaches at Dillard School of the Arts. His

Advanced Placement students routinely earn college credit
and say, “This is one of the best classes I've ever taken.” He
can be reached at cj8178@msn.com.

Interview with Cary Elcome

Cary tells this story: There was a kid who didn't do well in the
preparation for standardized tests. “Boys like you are not
destined to go to University,” intoned one of the kid's
teachers.

It took the kid twenty years to realize that the teacher was not
right. The kid, now an adult, earned a certificate from Trinity
College and became a certified trainer, teaching people to
become English Language teachers. That teacher had
decided to be a gatekeeper and he used psychological
intimidation to dissuade the kid from finding some way to get
into university and “make something of himself.”

“Many teachers have no idea how powerful their words are.

That SOB knew exactly what to say to intimidate me and
destroy what little self-esteem I possessed at that time. He

69
wanted to keep people like me from aspiring and joining his
class.”

TIP: Students pick up more from us than just the content of

our lessons. A casual comment can damage or reinforce a
kid's world.

Tip: Expect Some students to “get it” and others are

confused
I've evolved the portfolio system (with an individual education
plan, which appears in the Free Materials, Part 4).

Some of the students understood your ssytem but many

thought it was strange, chaotic. The teenagers liked your
methodology possibly because it allowed them complete
freedom to do as they wished. The energy and passion you
bring to the classroom is excellent. However, you lack of
regard and respect for the school's curriculum, methodology
and personnel is unfortunate.

Tip: Use OpenOffice.org

By Ben Udy

Two-thirds of the world operates on a shoestring or less. The

suite of programs that come with a Gmail account are

70
fabulous – but only if you have cheap Internet access. I use
GIMP instead of Photoshop, Linux instead of Windows and
OpenOffice instead of Microsot Word. Why not make a
contribution to thank Sun Systems for creating a free offline
word processor?

Ben Udy runs a school in Honduras, inspired in part by John

Corlette, Kurt Hahn, the round Square philosophy and
numerous teachers at Aiglon College. He never went to
college, so he joins the ranks of Jobs, Gates, Ellison and others
who altered the planet with their entrepreneurial efforts. He
invites anyone to visit his school’s website
cofradiaschool.com and consider making a donation, coming
down to teach what you know and learn more about
Honduras.

71
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Table of Contents (annotated)

Survey

Part 1
Quotes that inspire us

Part 2
Schools that inspire us

79
Part 3
how to transform your classroom

Part 4
Free materials

Part 5
Tips and examples of projects

Longer Table of Contents

Quotations on One Page

80
The Quotations (on one page)

I have a mission: I want to capture “what goes on inside the heads of

teachers who are guides on the side."

The teacher of the future is a GUIDE on the SIDE, not a sage

on the stage. Aphorism passed on by senior teachers

Education is NOT the filling of a pail, but rather the

LIGHTING of a FIRE. W. B. Yeats

Most students might forget what you taught them, but they
will always remember how you treated them. Aphorism
passed on by senior teachers

A big obstacle to bringing Computer Assisted instruction into

the classroom is the teacher, because teachers love to
perform.
Dr. Abraham Fischler, author of TheStudentIsTheClass.com

Jack is a boy from Brooklyn who dropped out of school to

avoid terminal boredom. Biography of an entrepreneur,
Emaginos.com

I never let school get in the way of my education. Mark Twain

Drive out fear. W. Edwards Deming

Never do for a child what a child can do for himself. Maria

Montessori

There are 2 billion children in the developing world. Instead of

asking their teachers to "reinvent the wheel" every day, why
not share lesson plans that work with their 59 million
teachers? Gordon Dryden

81
thelearningweb.net

Keep Teacher Talking Time to a minimum.

Certificate of English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA)
training

The purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.

Dan Pink, Free Agent Nation

What a gift some power could give us:

to see ourselves as others see us.
O would some power the gift to give us to see ourselves as
others see us. Robert Burns (adapted to modern language)

More quotes:
If you recall being a child yourself and how you might have
completely closed off every thing else as you lost yourself in
the drawing, you might also recall the intimacy with self. In
other words, losing oneself in the act of drawing. Only to find
oneself. – G.E. Barr, “How Teachers Can Use Art and Music
Education to Heal Children Heal form Trauma.”

Frequently Asked Questions

Steve, you should be a teacher of teachers.
Response: Jaime Escalante. The guy who wrote My Hair is
on Fire
The list of quotations ought to make it clear that my
transformation from lecturer to facilitator came because I sat
one-on-one with Dennis Yuzenas and visited Dennis Littky's
school. It is they who ought to become teachers of teachers
– and in fact they have. Dennis Y. gives workshops and
allows his classes to be videoed and shared on Youtube.
Dennis L. wrote a book (retail $26, available on Alibris for $6
plus shipping) – the Bible, Koran and Ramanaya of school

82
reform or transformation...and it can start with the teacher.

But you should be teaching teachers.

Response: I do. If some students rave about the class, some
teachers grumble about having to teach in a room “filled with
things” (pens, books, magnets, laptops for searching a picture
dictionary, etc.) to spark conversation and reactions from
students plus poster-making materials, colored markers, large
sheets of paper, magaziness for photos, scissors, glue).
Other teachers ask, “What happened here?” and “How do you
use posters?” and “What does your lesson plan look like if
every student has his or her own project?” and “Where do you
get your ideas for projects?” That teacher to teacher
exchange of information is why I'm still in the classrom. It's
hard to do that without being a teacher....facilitator.

Note: Dennis Littky's interview on NPR April 25, 2005 is

required listening for anyone who wants to earn the Visual
and Active Teacher's Training certificate (VATT can be posted
after your name). For more information about the VATT,
contact VisulaAndActive@gmail.com

You should write a book about your methods

Response: The book would be excerpts from other books. My
book would be a reading list and watching list. I would give
links to websites and the teachers would magically transform
into facilitators. Those who were still confused about what a
facilitator does can call me: 954 646 8246. So the book
would not be anything new. As Gordon Dryden and others
have observed, “There are no new ideas, just new
combinations of existing ideas... so they appear original.”

Student-centered learning is the way to go to maximize

83
student learning and success. It's so unfortunate when our
administrators see our passion but fail to understand the
route we need to take to keep our students engaged and
accountable for their own learning. Your project-based
classroom system also seems like an excellent way to get
parents and the community involved in student
accomplishments. Can you share a couple specific projects
you've assigned? Thanks for sharing.
Sandra Lawrence

The key is GRADUAL transfer of responsibility for learning from

the teacher to students. The first week or so, there are clear
choices to make but guided. A or B.

You asked about specific projects.... If the student wants to

be a doctor, guess what? the vocabulary of anatomy and
human digestion and other functions is important. If I'm
teaching literature, after the basic vocab of the doctor is
learned, the student analyses the readings from a Doctor's
viewpoint. Why not? This is straight Littky: rigor, relevance,
relationships. The project can be making a poster, analyzing
the medical conditions of characters in Shakespeare (?). The
controlling key to project-based learning is the assessment
tool: the portfolio with rubric. Dennis Yuzenas does a good
explanation in nine minutes on Youtube.com
Dennis Yuzenas describes
Search words:
portfolios in Schools
Link: youtube.com/watch?v=nJzLQiWmRwQ

How to Use CDs in the Classroom

Search words: CD Parents Dennis Yuzenas
Link: youtube.com/watch?v=U0Rxyv6by88

84
Portions of at least five books from Dennis Littky's reading list
will help. Neil Postman (Teaching as a Consrvative Activity,
Teaching as a Subversive Activity)

That's a good start.

Where do you teach?

Response: Wherever I'm tolerated. I've left three schools
before I was asked to leave because the administrator didn't
understand why all of the students were not on the same
page of the book, why the students were asking to go on field
trips, why students had portfolios, why everyone took a
different weekly test, why the tests were “portfolio
assessments,”'...

Projects: Your emphasis on technology is admirable and I'm

sure students love to use smart phones and computers in
your class and keep touch with you on facebook or by email.

here do you teach?

85
 Some teachers are on a mission. They want to
give kids the benefit of an open classroom. They
want kids to take charge of their learning. They
want to transfer control of the class.

Here's a principal obstacle: Teachers like to

perform. We know that when it comes to
preparing a lesson, our first impulse is to
LECTURE about a topic. The more difficult
route is to write a word on the white board and
ask, “Work with a partner and write five things
you know about this word...” and then let the
pairwork flow from there... That’s hard for many
of us because we want the best results and we
want to be in control of the flow of the class.

Let's capture whatever goes on inside the heads

of teachers who are guides on the side. Let's
adopt “teacher talk” that inspires kids (and
others). I want you to have access to the same
fabulous input that makes me a better teacher
facilitator. – Steve

Guide
on
the
86
 side

This is a draft. Please send comments to

TheEbookman@gmail.com

87