california association of independent schools · dance, martial arts, arts and crafts, and writing....

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LLLLLEARNINEARNINEARNINEARNINEARNINGGGGG C C C C COMMUNITOMMUNITOMMUNITOMMUNITOMMUNITYYYYY

Playful Science

Beyond Diversity

Teaching Tolerance Through Art

California Association of Independent Schools

PLUS:

Faculty Newsletter | Winter 2003

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Building a Community of Learners

mplicit in the design of the professional development programs CAIS offers for teachers is a philosophy of professional

development that we put into words this fall, and which follows below. In truth, we constructed it inductively, deriving it in

large part from the many particular instances of enthusiastic participation from teachers and

administrators in our independent school community. For instance, in a few months, our Northern Regional Meeting will

take place at the Sacred Heart Schools in Atherton where more than 200 workshops will be offered. CAIS

teachers will present all but a handful of these. Additionally, we are pleased in this issue of the CAIS Faculty Newsletter to

provide the means for other CAIS teachers to spread the wealth of their experience and expertiseas it is evidenced in their classrooms, their schools, and their wider communities. We celebrate your sharingwith a completely re-designed newsletter which we hope will serve to highlight further your good work. It is a pleasure to

participate with our teachers and our schools in the on-going collaboration of building a community of learners.

Effective Professional Development

ust as research has outlined for us �best practices� in teaching our students, it also has demonstrated what teachersneed in order to become more effective, and the two aren�t all that different. In Professional Development for Teachers: Setting

the Stage for Learning from Teaching, Linda Darling-Hammond, professor at Stanford University and chair of the National

Commission on the Future of Teaching and Learning, outlines a number of criteria for effective professionaldevelopment for teachers. Sitting in a room and listening to �experts� isn�t on the list. Effective professional development is:

experiential, engaging teachers in concrete tasks of teaching, assessment, and observation that illuminate the processes

of learning and development;

grounded in participants� questions, inquiry, and experimentation as well as profession-wide research;

collaborative, involving a sharing of knowledge among educators;

connected to and derived from teachers� work with their students as well as to examinations of subject matter and

teaching methods;

sustained and intensive, supported by modeling, coaching, and problem-solving around specific problems of practice.

The philosophy behind CAIS professional development programs is based on the knowledge that effective professional

development for teachers is embedded in the practice of teaching. Active learning is as important for teachers as

it is for students. Presenting, leading, writing and collaborating with colleagues are extremely effective

methods for developing professionally.

Our workshops and retreats utilize the knowledge and expertise of our teachers and administrators. The CAIS Faculty

Newsletter provides a forum for teachers to share their ideas and experiences in writing to the broader CAIS

audience. Each year at the Regional Meeting the largest percentage of presenters come from our own classrooms, and

colleagues often collaborate in making presentations. To provide professional development to others is to provide for

yourself. We all know the truth of the old cliché that �you don�t learn something until you teach it.� A corollary is that youdon�t learn what you know - until you share it.

Sandee MirellCAIS Director of Professional Development

[email protected]

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From the EditorFrom the EditorFrom the EditorFrom the EditorFrom the Editor

Winter 2003

California Association of Independent SchoolsWinter 2003

BUILDING A LEARNING COMMUNITY

C o n t e n t sReaching into the Community

Beyond Diversity .................................................................. 1

Making Theatre .................................................................... 3

Mentoring

Pitfalls in Mentoring ............................................................ 5

Mentoring By Using the Collaborative Journal ................... 7

Collaborating

Focus Fridays: Creative Collaborationfor Interdisciplinary Learning ........................................ 9

School Culture Survey ShowsTeacher Collaboration Lagging ..................................... 11

Sharing Strategies

Playful Science ................................................................... 13

Teaching Tolerance Through Art ........................................ 15

Faculty News is published bi-annually by the California Association ofIndependent Schools, 1351 Third Street, Suite 303, Santa Monica, CA 90401

310.393.5161 fax: 310.394.6561www.caisca.org

encouragement, and education forpeople of color. It offered people of allethnicit ies, t i t les, and posit ions achance to learn from each other and,in my case, to inspire others.

I had been a k indergar tenteacher at Stuart Hall for Boys in SanFrancisco. My school head, GeraldGrossman, had suggested that Iattend the conference the summerbefore. Flattered at the suggestion,I agreed. I had been runn ing aprogram, Raising the Standard, foru rban ch i ld ren /you th tha t myhusband and I started. Attending theconference caused me to reevaluatemy career goals.

Reaching into the CommunityReaching into the CommunityReaching into the CommunityReaching into the CommunityReaching into the Community

Creating a diverse community goes beyondenrolling and employing people of color. SanFrancisco-based Sheryl Davis partnersSchools of the Sacred Heart with area publicschools to expose students to peers with

backgrounds different from their own.

am realizing increasingly eachday that in order for the idea ofdiversity to be successful we mustdo more than sprinkle faces of colorinto our community. To paraphraseLyndon Johnson �s speech toHoward graduates in June of 1965 -it is not enough to let people of colorrun in the race. They need trainingand preparation. Fortunately, CAISis aware of this idea. My life haschanged because CAIS hasembraced the concept.

In October 2001, CAIS held its firstLeaders of Color Conference.Reaching beyond diversi ty, theconference served as support,

I I came back to the school anxiousto do more. I talked to my head aboutdeveloping Raising the Standard. Ialso wanted to work with the schoolcommunity. The conference hadmotivated and educated me and Iwanted to share my experience.

Stuart Hall is one of four schoolsat Schools of the Sacred Heart in SanFrancisco. After my initial conversationwith Mr. Grossman, I met with theEducation Committee of the Board ofTrustees, the heads of the otherschools and Pamela Hayes, theDirector of Schools. By the end of allthe meetings I had the support toinitiate a new position and program.

by Sheryl Davis,Community Outreach Coordinator Schools of the Sacred Heart [email protected]

Beyond Diversity

Faculty Newsletter Winter 2003

1

Community Outreach Coordinator wasmy new title, but what did it mean? Ispent the summer writing it up. Itmeant preparing a curriculum for K-12 deal ing with the concepts ofdiversity and inclusion. The lessonsseemed removed from the concepts,but each would explore differencesand their importance to communities.People need to accept diversity as apart of life in order for those who aredifferent to succeed.

The next focus was onstrengthening Raising the Standard(RTS). The program went from one daya week after school to two afternoonsa week. Teachers and studentsvolunteered for the afternoon classes.RTS students get help with theirhomework and enrichment classes. Iwent to the students� schools, met withtheir principals/teachers and tried toensure that the students would getproper support in our program. Icontinued to work closely with theparents of the RTS students. Our aimis to eventually create programs thatsupport and educate the families ofour students. Raising the Standardheld its third summer camp this year.This summer the program ran for twoweeks instead of one. We hosted overeighty students. Parents, teachers andstudents from SSH participated.

New this year is Learning 2gether.Our goal is to partner with publicschools and teach lessons on diversityissues. Our first prospect is to developa multimedia project between our fifth

grade and a public school on a day inthe l ife of a student - comparing,contrasting, and learning together. OurFriday night program has expanded.We serve dinner, have chorusrehearsal, offer enrichment classes indance, martial arts, arts and crafts,and writing. This keeps some of thestudents off the streets at night andfurther prepares them for the �race�Johnson alluded to. Families fromSSH help prepare dinner and stay forthe classes. We are bui ld ingcommunity one at a time, heart toheart, school to school, community tocommunity.

Exposure becomes a tool foreducating. Many of the students havenever interacted with someone who isdi f ferent f rom themselves. Bothcommunit ies benef i t f rom theinteraction for many of the samereasons. I believe that as we lookbeyond diversity in our enrollment, wemake a bigger impact. The childrenwe work with are on our campus atleast once a week and have done morefor our community than just one or twoenrolled students of color would havedone. Don�t misunderstand me, weneed teachers, students andadministrators of color. At the sametime we need support, education andencouragement in place for all people.We are trying to even the odds. Weare attempting to give studentsoutside and inside our community anopportunity at a fair race.


We

are

trying

to

even

the

odds.�

�

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s each summer approaches, Ieagerly anticipate those days whenI am not knee deep in theater anddance productions, when I can diginto the enticing pyramid of booksgracing my bed table and, for somereason, the trunk of my car. I am alsoa sucker for any program whichseduces mass numbers of peopleto read, so that I can have others tota lk to about my own l i te ra ryexperiences. As a result, I havebecome involved in many of thecitywide reading programs, initiatedin Chicago, that have been receivingpositive press across the country. Ibegged my students to tune in to aradio discussion of Fahrenheit 451with Ray Bradbury. I participated inmy town �s read ing mara thon o f

Taking acting one step further,

students at Viewpoint performedscenes from Mark Salzman�s The Soloist

for the author himself.


Making Theatrein the 21st Centuryby Julianne Mia De SalDirector of Dance, Instructor of Theater Viewpoint School [email protected]

A Ste inbeck �s Grapes o f Wra th .However, my most s ign i f i can texper ience o f the summer wastaking part in the city of Pasadena�sOne Story One Book celebration,wh ich cu lmina ted in a s tudentshowcase of talent at the PasadenaLibrary. The book that the entire citywas u rged to read was MarkSalzman�s The Soloist.

The librarian called me in Julyto ask if I had a group of actors whocou ld p resent an excerp t f romSalzman�s text. I told her I would readthe book and get back to her. Twodays later I cal led and asked forf i f teen minu tes o f t ime in theprogram. What made me agree soqu ick ly i s tha t beyond be ingreadable, entertaining, and

access ib le to a w ide aud ience ,Sa lzman�s book was beaut i fu l l ycross-curricular in nature. It tells thestory of a young cellist, a prodigy,who loses his gift, and seeminglyhis soul, at age eighteen until heserves on jury duty and puts his lifeback in to perspec t i ve . Moreimportantly, however, is the fact thatSa lzman �s nove l o f fe rs what Ibel ieve is crucial to the study ofperforming arts right now, that is, anoppor tun i ty to d iscover what i tmeans to make theater in the twentyfirst century, whether through

origination,

improvisation,

or adaptation.

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I love the classics, and directthem with both reverence and mymodern American sensibility; yet, Ihave been a long time advocate ofstudents learning to make theater. Ibelieve that the young must learn toerect their own myths and not bedependent upon or comfortable withthe art of the old or the dead. AsThomas Jefferson wrote to JamesMadison, �The earth belongs alwaysto the living generations.� (JosephEl l i s , Amer ican Sph inx , p .131) .Students must learn to struggle withwhat it is that will entertain peoplein a society mesmerized by boldcomputerized images and sounds,which evoke, in their larger-than-lifev i ta l i t y, immedia te emot iona lresponses . So , I was de l igh tedwhen four special students agreedto be part of this summer project.This was not new to them havingworked w i th me on o ther suchprojects including a work entitled,The Geography o f Home, wh ichcelebrated the literature of Californiaas connected to the land. What wasdifferent about this experience wasthat the author was going to bewatching them present his literatureon stage.

One actor, himself a gifted youngmusician, played Rene, the cellist.The others, two boys and one girl,nar ra ted passages and enactedvar ious scenes in the nove l ,a t tempt ing to cap tu re , in jus tminutes, the crux of this author�smessage and his signature senseof humor. As the final words werespoken, the cellist played a hauntingBach suite as the other actors leftthe stage. I looked at the author. Hewas beaming. When Mark Salzmanaddressed the s tudents ,complimenting all who performed, itwas clear that he was deeply movedby my s tudents � humbleperformance. �To see your wordsbecome alive before your eyes,� hesa id , � i s an unbe l ievab leexperience. Thank you.� Later at the

�The young must learn to

erect their own myths

and not be

dependent

upon - or

comfortable with -

the art of the

old or the dead�


reception, his genuine gratitude wasapparent to every student in thatroom. My students realized that theyhad been part of something great.They were making theater.

This is what was most importantto me about this experience. Mystudents felt affirmed. They were asignificant part of a cultural entity.They had made ar t and createdsometh ing new, innovat ive , andunique to their living generation. Itwas presented, not in a theatrical oreducat ional vacuum, but for thela rger communi ty. F ina l l y, theylearned that everything we studyowns a life much grander than thatwhich is confined to our classroomsand our typ ica l methods o fperforming theater.

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Even when the mentor teacher program has beendesigned with the mission of the school in mind andthe objectives of the program are clear, failure canhappen. Three common pitfalls are:

there can be a mismatch: the newteacher and the mentor just don�t get along;there may be a question of priorities: whatissues are the most important and whodecides that question?the new teacher and the mentor may havedifficulty getting together

The very best classroom teachers may not be thebest choice as mentors. The most important traits forp rospec t i ve mentor teachers a re compass ion ,tolerance, and openness. A superb teacher who says�we don�t do it that way here� or �that won�t work� maybe quite right, but those kinds of statements destroy anew teacher�s sense of self worth. Some risk-takingis necessary. The mentor teacher can suggest, butrather than criticize the plans of a new teacher, thementor needs to be there to �pick up the pieces� if a

MentoringMentoringMentoringMentoringMentoring

PitfallsinMentoringNewFaculty

Making a mentor-new teacher matchis not as simple as it may seem.Lisa Merryman offers time-testedtechniques in assigning mentors.

by Lisa MerrymanDean of Faculty St. Margaret�s Episcopal School [email protected]

M entor teacher programs are meant to be supportive and altruistic,yet no matter how good the program or thorough the planning,sometimes things go awry.

disaster occurs. If the mentor teacher assumes theresponsib i l i ty for a new teacher �s success, bothteachers suffer. Expect mistakes from first year faculty.Expect mistakes from seasoned faculty too - we allmake them.

If a conflict between the new teacher and the mentorsurfaces it is best to confront it right away. With thehelp of a mediator, like a dean of faculty, assistantprincipal or principal, the two teachers can look againat the goals and objectives they both perceive and cometo an agreement. If either teacher feels there is no hopefor an amiable solution a new mentor needs to comeinto the picture.

It�s important to understand that not everyone canmentor; it�s not an easy job. It�s equally important tounderstand that even when failure occurs, i t �s notbecause two people did not care. Therefore changinga mentor is not a bad thing. It�s all about matchingpersonalities and that is hard to predict. �Sticking itout,� when a mentor situation becomes painful servesabsolutely no purpose.

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Mentor teachers must also be careful not to placetheir personal expectations upon those whom theymentor. A lead teacher who likes a quiet classroommay be overly critical of the noise and freedom comingout of a classroom that has less structure, but mostlikely no less learning. Mentors need to be reminded ofthis. Experience has taught us that it�s best to avoidhaving a mentor teacher teach at the same grade levelas the new teacher. When both teachers share the sameteaching assignment the newer teacher is doomed todisappoint; they just don�t have the experience at theschool. I t can be disastrous when there are threeteachers with the same assignment, two experienced,and one of them new. Immediately a situation of �twoagainst one� is created, the new member being �oddperson out.�

If teachers are new to the profession they are goingto make natural mistakes that come from inexperience.If they have years of teaching experience, but are newto the school, they may be criticized if their methodsare radically different from what has been traditional atthe school. Again, that issue of tolerance is important.A mentor teacher needs to be willing to allow the newteacher to try things many ways, listen to lots of ideas,and be understanding and support ive. People areprobably not going to remember the stellar lessonsyou taught, they are probably not going to rememberhow wonderfully organized you were, but they are goingto remember how you �made them feel.� Mentor teachersmust have this understanding if they wish to create aharmonious team.

I t cannot be emphasized enough that mentorteachers also understand the value of a positive note.Short, affirmative notes have tremendous impact andreduce the insecurity that all new teachers face. Evenwhen a lesson is less than perfect, a mentor teachercan refer to the value of learning what would need tochange in future lessons. The attitude of the mentor,and the cont inuous fo l low up�with notes and e-mails�is a great way of showing support.

It helps if the mentor teacher and the new teacherunderstand the objectives of the program. Is the mentorteacher going to �mother�, is the mentor teacher goingto operate at a �business� level? Is f r iendship anobjective? Is advocacy important? How dependent isthe new teacher to be on the mentor? What does thementor do when something really serious comes up?These quest ions are best thought out before theprogram starts: establish your priorities.

�New

teachers

need to

know

they

are

not

alone�


Trust is lost and theprogram wi l l fa i l i f amentor teacher is seenas an eva lua to r. I fsomething very seriousdoes come up, and theadmin is t ra t ion needsto be invo lved , thementor teacher can tellthe new teacher thathe/she will �go with you,to suppor t you andmake sure your side isheard.� New teachersneed to know they arenot alone. A priority fora mentor teacher is tomake them feel valued,accepted, and secure.The whole faculty teamthrives when this is theapproach to folding innew facu l ty. Th isphilosophy is good forALL teachers.

F ind ing t ime tomeet is crucial. Thesemeet ings may becasua l , bu t theava i lab i l i t y o f bo thteachers at a specific time is crucial to the success ofthe program. Because mentor teachers have lists oftime sensitive material to go over, such as tips forparent conferences or how to write a comment card,time to meet must be worked out. Meeting for coffee inthe morning before school, or going off campus for aquick lunch are two ways to handle this, besidesmeeting during the school day. If there is a commonpreparation period or a shared �pull out� block, thesetimes to meet and discuss can be readily met. Anotherkey aspect to the success of the program that alsodeals with meeting availability is geographic proximity.If the mentor teacher is not close by, the meetings won�thappen. The mentor teacher needs to be available withthe tissues when disaster hits.

Having a program to mentor your new teachers willbenefit the entire staff. Retention of faculty and a boostin faculty morale are two positive by-products.

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Keeping a shared journal gives

both teachers a chance to reflectand serves as a written record to

re-visit.

his year, my 27th as an educator, I have the opportunityto share my classroom and my expertise with a teacherwho is preparing himself to take on a self-contained class.This mentoring/co-teaching partnership enriches both ofus. I have the stretch of articulating why I do what I do withmy second graders and the joy of modeling it for someonewho is eager to learn. He has a chance to plan, rehearse,and practice in a living situation while the children get agreat gift: two dedicated teachers.

Mentoring Using the Collaborative Journalby Claire SmallSecond Grade Teacher Marin Country Day School [email protected]

T This summer at the New Teachers� Center Foundationsin Mentoring training I was introduced to the use of acollaborative journal in mentoring. The idea is that there isa confidential written format for the ongoing conversationhappening between an experienced teacher and the teachershe/he is mentoring. It typically takes the form of a notebookthat is written in by both people and passed back and forth.In our school, however, we are using e-mail so much thatwe have tried using it as a way to �journal� back and forth. It

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works well because laterwe can cut and paste fromtha t work in to o therdocuments. We also eachhave copies of the text sono copying is needed. If Vicwants to cite from thesenotes la te r dur ing h isevaluation time, they arereadily available to him.

V ic and I s ta r tedp lann ing toge ther inAugust, and improving ourwriting has been one of ourpr imary goa ls . S incerepor ts , news le t te rs ,communications to parentsand other documents needto be written regularly, theextra pract ice in wr i t ingback and fo r th cans t reng then our sk i l l s .Us ing the co l labora t i vejourna l , the beg inn ingteacher can practice theski l l of art iculat ing keenobservat ions and tak ingnotes o r the mentorteacher can take notes onthe agreed upon aspectsof the practice of teaching.One wish I�ve had for my class has been to have anextra pair of hands to be in charge of writing downsome of the gems that show up in the school day.�What was that funny thing that Harry said?

When that tender moment happened in c irc lebetween Cyrus and Spence, what was going on?�

In more recent years I�ve had the same wish aboutrecording or videotaping. I have found myself so deeplyinvolved in the living moment that the idea of stepping out,recording it or reflecting on it is foreign. Now I see the timeof reflection as another part of the cycle of time that we spendin this life in school. Like morning, afternoon, evening andnight, reflection has a vital role in the healthy life of a teacher.

�Reflectionhas a

vital role

in the

healthylife

of a

teacher�

So, writing as a part of them e n t o r i n g / m e n t e ere la t ionsh ip is �a many-splendored thing.� I havebeen meaning to do it foryears (and it�s so darn hardto get to), now I have helpin the classroom, so thereis time - and necessity. Inorder for V ic and me toremember something thatwe have to tell each otherwhile the other person is inthe middle of teaching, wewrite it down.

Journaling in and ofitself has a freeing, kind ofbuilt-in safety. As with mystudents I can �best guess�my spel l ing, there is noserious outcome for howand what I wr i te s incegetting it written down ini t se l f i s anaccomplishment, if I like ordon�t like what I wrote, sowhat? Co l labora t i vejournal ing gives us as ateam a safe place to reflect,ask ques t ions , no te amoment that might have

gotten missed otherwise. We can jot things down inlist fashion and draw from it later when we sit down toour planning meeting or when we look over notes onVic�s goals at our weekly mentoring meeting. Anyonewho is work ing wi th beginning or new teachers,whether formally or informally, could benefit from usingthis model. This is professional development worththe time!

More inspiring information can be learned fromattending trainings that the New Teachers Centeroffers. Visit them online at newteachercenter.org.

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CollaboratingCollaboratingCollaboratingCollaboratingCollaborating

After four days of structured classes,teachers at The Athenian Schoolcollaborate for

interdisciplinary,

hands-oneducation to

round outeach week.

by Marilyn Nachtman, Middle School Head and Chris McCulloch, Middle School Humanities TeacherThe Athenian [email protected]; [email protected]

Focus Fridays:Collaborating on Interdisciplinary Learning

F rom our founding in 1979, theAthenian Middle School has beencommitted to offering our students acurriculum that is rigorous,interdisciplinary, and experiential.

We have developed a weeklyschedule which we believe allows for aperfect blend of these threedimensions. Monday through Thursday,our students rotate through a schoolday of eight class periods, each forty-five minutes in length, beginning at 8:10AM and ending at 3:30 PM. All studentstake math, science, English, socialstudies, art, physical education, andeither French or Spanish, four days per

week. In addition, students haveseveralelective options including music,technology, study hall, sports, andstudent government to name a few. OnFridays, we begin at 8:10 AM and end at3:30 PM, but the design of those days iscompletely geared to interdisciplinary,hands-on learning. Time and again, ourFriday Focus Days are cited by students,teachers, and parents as one of theoutstanding aspects of our school.

Despite what we all know abouteducating middle school students andtheir need for variety and experientiallearning, truly engaging projects andfield trips become logistical challenges

with the competing demands of otherclasses, schedule constraints, andtransportation logistics. Our FocusFridays eliminate these obstacles.Every Friday, students at each gradelevel work with a team of teachers whohave designed the day�s activities tobe an extension of the curriculum.These teachers create the theme,schedule the day, and gather theresources they need. On Fridays,busses are reserved for middle schooltrips, allowing for frequent field tripsthat give students the chance to seethe world as their classroom.

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From the teacher�s perspective,Focus Fridays allow for longer periodsof concentration and investigation.Flexible scheduling on Fridays allowsfor one or several aspects of a topic tobe explored in breadth and/or depth farexceeding the regular 45-minutes of atypical class. Calculating the volume ofthe pool can take the better part of theday; however, a fifteen minute chariotrace can be just the thing to beginanother grade�s Roman adventure. Inaddition, these special days allow for acreative collaboration among teachersthat enriches the entire school.

Planning is essential to thesuccess of our Focus Days. The entirefaculty of 20 comes together for one staffday each semester completelydedicated to planning the Focus Daysfor that half of the year. Themes arediscussed and refined in collegial andspirited dialogue. Teachers sign up forthe days they want to be a part of, basedon their interest, expertise, andcontractual obligation. Following thetotal faculty planning, subsequent teammeetings to refine the day occur during


prep periods, at lunch, or after school.On a typical Focus Day, four

teachers work with each grade level.Each of the teachers brings a love formiddle school students, subjectexpertise, and a firm commitment tointerdisciplinary instruction. Forexample, an intensive study of Japan inthe sixth grade includes major strandsin English, social studies, and art. Inaddition to completing a research papercoordinated by their English and socialstudies teachers, students also learnbrush painting in art, write haiku inEnglish, and discover the socialstructure of feudal Japan in socialstudies. The unit ends with Shogun Day,a daylong exercise in the type of powerpolitics prevalent in early Japan. Here,students are organized into clans,forming alliances and angling for theultimate prize: the shogunate. The dayincorporates several unique athleticactivities, strategy games, anddemonstrations of artistic prowess.

Seventh graders take a similarlywell-rounded approach with their studyof ancient Greece. Projects that begin

in their English, art, and social studiesclasses converge in an event known asPanathenaea, named for a tributary pathemanating in Athens and ending at theAcropolis. During the Panathenaea,students are grouped into several city-states. Each group creates an altar toits patron god or goddess and displaysartwork and other items emblematic ofits city-state. Additionally, studentsparticipate in a processional with theircity-states and perform scenes fromAeschylus� Oresteia. Finally, studentsrepresent their city-states in the Olympicgames, performing feats of strength,speed, and grace that date back toancient Greece.

One of the interdisciplinary projectsin the eighth grade is a research paperon an environmental issue. Known asthe Pollution Paper, this project involvescomponents from science, English, andsocial studies. In science, studentschoose their topics and conductresearch. During this stage, studentsare encouraged to conduct interviewswith public officials in addition toobtaining information throughtraditional means. In English, studentsare taught proper formatting and correctcitation of sources. Finally, in their socialstudies classes, students write lettersexpressing concern about their topicsand send them to selected publicofficials and publications.

These are but a few examples ofthe interdisciplinary lessons that occurthroughout the year at Athenian.Cooperation is a priority among ourfaculty, and we are constantly searchingfor new ways to bring new perspectivesinto traditionally isolated units.

At Athenian, we feel strongly thatcross-curricular, experiential educationcreates a lasting impression onstudents. Understanding the processas well as the product, the �how� and�why� as well as the �what,� is central toour pedagogical method at Athenian.

�Understanding the

process as well as the

product, the �how� and

�why� as well as the

�what,� is central to our

pedagogical method�10



Recent doctoral research

shows teachers have

inadequate time to

communicate and

plan with one another.

by Jacqueline Yarbrough,Assistant Head of School Carlthorp School [email protected]

School Culture Survey Shows Teacher Collaboration Lagging

ow collaborative are independentschools in the perception of those wholive and work within them? EighteenCAIS schools from all over Californiaelected to participate in my doctoralresearch by taking the School CultureSurvey, developed by Middle LevelLeadership Center, of the Universityof Missouri . The survey providesinsight about school culture and therelat ionship of cul ture to schoolimprovement.

Schools, like all organizations,have their own individual cultures. Theydiffer in the way they work, as well asthe effect they have on the lives ofchildren. School culture, defined asthe �glue� that holds the organizationtogether as a source of identity anddistinctive competence, is one of themost significant features of a school.Research indicates that an effectively

collaborative school culture appears tobe a key factor in determining whetheror not a school is a successful place oflearning for both students and faculty.

The survey evaluates school cultureon the basis of six factors, each of whichmeasures a unique aspect of theschool�s collaborative culture. They are:

collaborative leadershipteacher collaborationprofessional developmentunity of purposecollegial supportlearning partnership

Collaborative leadership measures thedegree to which school leadersestablish and maintain collaborativerelationships with school staff. A highscore indicates that leaders valueteachers� ideas, seek input, engagestaff in decision-making, and trust theprofessional judgement of the staff.

They support and reward risk-takingand innovative ideas designed toimprove education for the students, andreinforce the sharing of ideas andeffective practices among all staff.

Teacher collaboration measures thedegree to which teachers engage inconstructive dialogue that furthers theeducational vision of the school. Teachersacross the school plan practices, evaluateprograms, and develop an awareness ofthe practices and programs of otherteachers. Professional developmentmeasures the degree to which teachersand staff value continuous personaldevelopment and school-wideimprovement, seeking ideas fromseminars, colleagues, organizations,and other professional sources in orderto maintain current knowledge, particularlyabout instructional practices.

H

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development. School personnel alsoperceived their cultures positively interms of sharing the same valuesamongst staff, as well as with parentsand board members.

The high-scoring factors arereflective of the purpose of independentschools. The mission of eachindependent school is integral to theattraction of families who share thesame educational philosophy. Theschool head and the board of trusteeshave the ability to shape and define themission of the school, as opposed topublic schools in which goals areshaped by public policy. The NationalAssociation of Independent Schools(1992) states that the primaryresponsibil ity of the head of theindependent school is to carry out theschool�s stated mission. The highscores for these school culture factorsimply that indeed, the heads of thesample schools are carrying out theirresponsibilities admirably.

However, 89% of the schools ratedteacher collaboration as the lowestfactor. Lack of teacher collaborationindicates that the faculty and staffbelieve that they do not have enoughopportunities for dialogue and planningacross grades and subjects, and thatthey do not spend considerable timeplanning together. Low scores on thisfactor indicate that teachers and staffdo not openly discuss disagreementsabout teaching practices. When Iinformally polled teachers as to why theythought this was a low scoring factor,the overwhelming response was thatthere was little time allocated to planand collaborate with colleagues, and

The degree to which teacherswork together effectively is measuredby collegial support. Indicators ofcollegial support include the degreeto which teachers trust each other,value each other�s ideas, and assisteach other as they work to accomplishthe tasks of the school�s organization.Unity of purpose measures thedegree to which teachers work towarda common mission for the school, andthe extent to which they understand,support, and perform in accordancewith that mission.

Final ly, learning partnershipmeasures the degree to whichteachers, parents, and students worktogether for the common good of thestudent. Parents and teachers sharecommon expectat ions andcommunicate frequently about studentperformance. Parents trust teachers,and students general ly acceptresponsibility for their schooling.

Unity of purpose was the highestscoring factor in the schools surveyed.A high rating on this factor suggeststhat teachers support the mission oftheir school, that the mission of theschool is clear, and provides directionfor teachers while reflecting the valuesof the community. Teachersunderstand the mission of the school,and their teaching performancereflects the mission.

All but one of the other schoolculture factors also scored stronglyin the study implying that the schoolsdemonst ra te cons iderab lecollegiality amongst faculty and staff;tha t they fe l t va lued by schoo lleaders, and received professional

conflicting schedules seldom allowedfor the opportunity to plan or discusspractice across grade levels.

It appears that because the lowscores of teacher collaboration factorwere so prevalent in independentschools, school leaders may want tostudy school schedules and look forcreative solutions in order to allow formore collaboration amongst facultymembers. It was interesting to me thatteacher collaboration was rated lowestin sixteen out of eighteen schools, yetthese same schools rated unity ofpurpose highly. Perhaps thoughteachers may share the samephilosophy of learning, there may bewide, unvoiced disagreement aboutpractices across grade levels.

Time should be scheduled fordiscussion, curriculum development,and committee work. The question ishow to find creative schedulingsolutions to make time for theseactivities. Some schools reserve Fridayafternoons as pupil free, some schoolshave students arriving late on specifiedmornings. Another creative schedulingsolution is to use faculty meetings astraining and collaboration time. Muchinformation disseminated at facultymeetings could be done in memo form,or through intra-school e-mail.

Collaboration is often viewed astoo time-consuming, or as a non-decisive activity. Time devoted tocollaboration is not wasted; a culture ofcollaboration takes time to evolve.

If your school is interested in thissurvey, please contact me, or visit thewebsite of the Middle Level LeadershipCenter at www.mllc.org.

�Teacher collaboration was rated lowestin sixteen out of eighteen schools�

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Sharing StrategiesSharing StrategiesSharing StrategiesSharing StrategiesSharing Strategies

hough most teachers try to inspire their studentswith the examples of great scientific minds such asGal i leo, Newton, Darwin, and Einste in, are thei rclassroom practices actually helping students to bescientists, or merely technicians? According to MitchellResnick, associate professor of learning research atMIT�s Media Lab, science education is most effectiveat two opposite ends of the spectrum: kindergartenand graduate school. In both, there is a great deal ofautonomy, many student-centered act iv i t ies, andlearning by direct contact with manipulatives and realproblems. Walk into any elementary school scienceclass rich with caterpillars, microscopes, bubbles, andbuilding blocks and you will tangibly experience theexcitement and thrill of discovery. If lucky, much of this

Playful Science

By assigning a

Rube-Goldberg-type

design project,

Algis Sodonis inspired

physics students to see

electricity and magnetism

in a new light.

by Algis SodonisSecondary Physics Teacher The Urban School of San Francisco [email protected]

can carry over into middle school. By the time moststudents reach high school, however, the thick textbooksand massive quantity of terms, formulas, and conceptsto be memorized and mastered convey the message thatscience is a technical, boring subject lacking in creativity,and oppressive in its details.

In an attempt to expand my own teaching practicesto more accurate ly s imulate the exc i tement andcreativity of a science research lab, I tried a boldexperiment. For a week last year, with the help of a fewfriends from the Exploratorium and the PIE Network(Playful Invention and Exploration), I deviated from thetraditional curriculum in electricity and magnetism andasked s tudents to engage in a wh ims ica l , ye tchallenging design project.


T

13

Working in small groups, students were given thetask of des ign ing a p iece of a co l lect ive �chainreac t ion , � ak in to the type immor ta l i zed by thecartoonist Rube Goldberg. For example, in one finalproduct a sp inn ing wheel created f r ic t ion whichtriggered a motor which released a bowling ball down

a ramp which deformed a piece of clay, changing itsresistivity which triggered another device. Each studentgroup was given a cr icket, a programmablemicrocomputer, and input and output goals. One group,for instance, received a temperature input and a lightoutput. Effectively, their part of the chain needed tomeasure temperature as a triggering event and producelight at the end to trigger another part of the chain.

Sure enough, for the next few days, studentsfeverishly learned basic programming, applied theirunderstanding of circuitry to turn on lights, motors andbuzzers and constructed a wide array of floating boats,wiggling do-nothing machines, spinning chinchil laheads and many other dreamed up devices. At thismoment, I was clearly a facilitator who could stand backand marvel as students figured things out for themselves,helped each other, and often asked for very directed andspecific help. Not once did someone ask, �what do I needto do next?� or �is this the correct answer?� Studentswere clearly in control, defining their own criteria forsuccess and motivated beyond belief.

Without a doubt, this was one of the most excitingprojects in my teaching career. Though the entirechain reaction stalled a few times between steps, the

�Students were clearly in control,defining their own criteria for success

and motivated beyond belief.�

students found the experience well worth conducting.As a student later wrote, �while we were working withthe chain reactions, we experienced a different kind oflearning�I learned about creativity in science and howeven though I discovered nothing new, the illusion thatI was discovering made me much more curious and

excited. The excitement led to very in-depth learning.� Imyself spent some time after that week reflecting andweighing the value of such activities. Did studentsreally learn more subject matter? Aside from sometangentially applied simple circuitry, where would thisf i t in a standard physics curr iculum or, as manyteachers wonder, would this help them on an AP exam?

I firmly believe that these kinds of activities areworthwhile for less tangible reasons. For at least thatweek, students felt the excitement of discovery, theadrenaline of a design deadline, and used the tools ofscience and technology to solve a problem that theyfound more engaging and compelling than most labexperiments. In effect, they had experienced, albeit ina somewhat contrived way, what makes scientists andinventors so passionate about what they do. By givingmy students a brief window into this mindset, I feel Ihave communicated to them something more importantabout scientific endeavors than another equation orrelationship in physics. My hope is that I can learn toadapt other curricular goals to emulate this kind of�kindergarten learning� without sacrificing the need forrigor in the high school science classroom.


14


used for worship. Each is considered to be holy by thosewho use them. All are places of safety and comfort. The Godof Abraham is the same God worshiped by Muslims,Christians, and Jews. The basic tenets of each religion arethe same.

Using white paper, thin black permanent markers and thephotocopies of mosques, students were asked to pick a portionof the photographs that interested them and to draw it anywhereon the page. The children became so intrigued with the picturesand their selections for drawing that there were copious moansand groans when they were told to pass the photos to the personon their right. This process continued, as the drawings becamemore elaborate and creative. While the students were workingin silence I explained the five pillars of Islam and how they worked.Because the study of Islam was so new to the children, specialcare was necessary to insure time for student�s questions. I didnot know many of the answers to their questions. I informed thestudents I was not an expert, but would look up the answers andreport back the next class period. It took me twelve hours toresearch 20 questions! Perhaps a better technique would be toassign their questions for homework.

Authentic teaching of this important global topic is achallenge for every teacher regardless the grade level or subjectarea. At best I feel I have only scratched the surface of possibilitiesfor teaching respect for the world�s third largest religion. If we allmake an effort, no matter how small the contribution, we canmake a difference. World peace depends on us. If you wouldlike a copy of the �Mosque Architecture Project� (grades 4 through12) and to view student art work, you may do so atwww.sandomenico.org or contact me personally [email protected].

by Douglas ErwinArt Specialist Grades 1 through 5 San Domenico School [email protected]/ [email protected]


Teaching Tolerance Through Art

n September 12, 2001, in reaction to the WTC tragedy Ibegan researching the subject of Islam. I knew this would bea topic of conversation for a long time and wanted to beprepared with factual information. For the past decade, mycurricular focus as an art educator has been cultural diversity.During the late 80�s and early 90�s I spent time in the MiddleEast teaching peace and tolerance via visual arts. I workedwith Palestinian teachers and students. I read backgroundinformation and educated myself as best I could. We sharedpersonal stories and exchanged cultural lore. Yet I am stillamazed at my lack of knowledge of Islam, the fastest growingreligion in the world. There are six billion Muslims worldwideand the bulk of information I knew was hearsay. Statementslike �Arabs are nomadic peoples� (not true, most live in cities),or �Arabs are terrorists� (not true, they are no more involved interrorist acts than any other cultural group), are the norm.The Christian Bible, the Islamic Quran, and the Hebrew Torahall teach non-violence. Our challenge is to educate ourselveswith facts and to challenge Islamic stereotyping. This hugetask begins with each individual taking responsibility todiscern fact from fiction.

Teaching fifth grade students about Islam via art was achallenge. Remembering a �Collective Architecture� projecta colleague had developed, I reworked the concept utilizingmosque architecture as the basis for a new project. Usinglaminated photos of mosques from books and magazineseach student was given a picture to study. Included weredescriptions of the pictures giving students furtherbackground information about the buildings and culture.Briefly, I discussed the differences and similarities ofchurches, synagogues and mosques. All three buildings are

O


Using photos of mosques, fifth graders atSan Domenico School broadened their

knowledge of Islam post 9/11.

california association of independent schools · dance, martial arts, arts and crafts, and writing....

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