Opal School Blog

Any questions?

This week, the Museum Center for Learning had the pleasure of hosting a gathering of Los Angeles' Westside Collaborative.  Seventy early childhood educators and center administrators flew to Portland to join us for two days of classroom visitations, presentations, and facilitated discussions.

Many teachers commented on the central role questions play in learning at Opal School.  Student and teacher questions are prominently displayed on the walls of the classrooms; it was clear to participants that curriculum and class conversations are catalyzed by student questions - both those clearly stated and others that are lurking behind comments and behaviors.  Questions at Opal School are pursued as a pleasurable intellectual and social-emotional voyage.  Elliot Eisner tells us,

Great ideas have legs. They take you somewhere. With them, you can raise questions that can't be answered. These unanswerable questions should be a source of comfort. They ensure you'll always have something to think about! Puzzlements invite the most precious of human abilities to take wing. I speak of imagination, the neglected stepchild of American education.

Honoring the recognition Westside Collaborative teachers gave to the role of questions - and wanting to support a disposition toward inquiry - we set aside a piece of our two days to generating questions. To foster this, we applied a discussion protocol designed by the Right Question Institute (RQI). Discussion protocols level the playing field, removing the dominance of any one voice and, in turn, elevating inclusivity leading toward a conversation that benefits from all voices.  RQI takes this aspect of the work so seriously that they call their work "A catalyst for microdemocracy." 

As with other discussion protocol, the RQI tool has guiding rules.  In this case, they're:

1. Ask as many questions as you can.
2. Do not stop to judge or answer the questions.
3. Write down every question exactly as it is stated.
4. Change any statement int a question.

Questions are generated around a "Question Focus" - a provocation.  Because both playful inquiry and Story Workshop were foci for study, we selected this passage from What About Play:

Opportunities for playful inquiry are enhanced within environments that contain abundant invitations for story making and story sharing.

Not surprisingly, the questions that they generated were juicy.  Just a few examples:

• How does story making contribute to the development of relationships and democracy in a classroom?
• How is the early telling of stories liked with our cognitive and emotional development?
• How do you notice when playful inquiry is happening? What's the difference between play and playful inquiry? Is there a distinction?
• How do we hold the history of these stories to change the context of our future?
• What are different ways we can capture the stories they share (both verbal and nonverbal)?
• How can we, as teachers, think creatively about story structure to tell stories across disciplines?
• How do we encourage children to tell stories without words?
• How do you decide which materials to use in order to enhance a specific environment and stories?
• What kind of questions most fully support story?
• What are the elements to feeling invited?
• How does storytelling create and support community?
• How do you create a safe environment to share your stories?
• How do you set up an environment that nurtures collaborative storymaking?
• How do we set up an environment for children to make their stories visible?
• What is the role of the teacher and the role of the children in making these opportunities possible?

 I'm curious:

Which of these questions inspire you?

What protocols are you aware of that support the social construction of ideas?

What is the role of questions in your practice?

 Is you're school or organization interested in working with the Museum Center for Learning and Opal School - either in Portland or your location?  We'd love to explore possibilities - send us an email outlining your interests. 

Thanks to the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Program Western Region office for introducing us to the Right Question Institute!

Play, Passion, Purpose

Thomas Friedman's March 30 column was built around a conversation about education with Harvard's Tony Wagner.  In it, Wagner repeats the coda he discussed in his Ted Talk.  Quoted in the column, Wagner says,

Reimagining schools for the 21st-century must be our highest priority. We need to focus more on teaching the skill and will to learn and to make a difference and bring the three most powerful ingredients of intrinsic motivation into the classroom: play, passion and purpose.

Visiting the Opal 2 classroom this week, I was struck by the visibility of those three ingredients.  When I arrived, Kerri was just finishing sharing a picture book with the class of 6-8 year-olds. She asked them about the connections they were making in the reading.  Several students shared, culminating with S.

She said:

I noticed that every time there is a story that your read at Story Workshop, it makes me want to write a new story.

Passion.

Kerri then negotiated with each of these children how they intended to pursue their stories.  I heard her asking these young authors about what materials they would be using and why they thought that would be the best site to uncover their stories.  She challenged them to think about their previous efforts and to determine their best steps in moving forward.  Other students jumped into those negotiations, offering helpful suggestions - thoughts about what might help their classmates/fellow authors move forward.

Purpose.

Then, I watched each artist/author interact with the materials. Students painted, collaged, drew, built - all with an aim toward creating and capturing stories.  The amount of writing was more than what we generally expect of groups of almost 30 children in a classroom - and maybe even more unexpecte, the amount of joy that seemed utterly natural.

Play.

Passion. Purpose. Play... Possibility. For both adults and children. Here are some ways you can join us:

Learn more about...

- Story Workshop:  Susan MacKay's recent hourlong NCTE webinar is posted here.

- Creating classroom communities that value connectedness and belonging:  Join us at our Sustaining Learning Communities Workshop April 24.  Register here.

- Our efforts and research:  Summer Symposium June 20-22; Opal School Online beginning April 8.

 

Visiting Ventana School

This week, I've had the pleasure of working with the staff of the lovely Ventana School in Los Altos, CA. I've observed in classrooms, consulted with teachers and administration, spoken with parents and presented at a gathering of The Third Place, an inspiring organization that supports caregivers of young children.

 

Ventana serves children ages 2 - 9, and is in the process of growing to be a full elemenatry school. Their stories remind me of growing Opal School. The parents, administrators and teachers are filled with the same kind of hope and courage that it takes to build a school with a fresh vision. They are a committed team that is asking hard questions such as: How do we create environments for learning that sustain the power of curiosity and wonder and at the same time support the development of a highly skilled intellect? What is the role of the arts? How do we create a community of learners on all levels that supports children to develop habits of heart and mind that will lead to a productive and sustainable society? They are big questions -- the kind that must be worked on in collaboration and with strong vision. Ventana has all of that.

On a personal note, I must admit that walking into several Story Workshops in session in Ventana classrooms, absolutely made my heart sing. 

What a thrill it is to find other people's children actively engaged in exploring the connections between arts, literacy and the creative mind. 

Most of our discussions centered on the power of big ideas, and reflections from the staff worked towards a more refined and collaborative understanding of the adults' role in seeking connections between children's interests and the content of the disciplines -- not in order for children to collect the facts of the known world, but in order for them to learn to see themselves as a vibrant and valued part of the world. Adults have a special capacity to connect the things children care about to aspects of the human condition in ways that can build a strong platform from which children launch their voices, observe, wonder, and imagine new ways to live in the world.

   

Schools that are working to make sense of this possibility need each other as collaborators, provocateurs, cheerleaders, reflectors. Thank you, Ventana School, for inviting me in!

 

Guest Post: A Week at Opal School

This guest post is written by Louise Cadwell and Ena Shelley. It is cross-posted on the Cadwell Collaborative blog.

We, Ena Shelley and Louise Cadwell, just returned from an amazing and wonderful educational week at Opal School of the Portland Children’s Museum, a public charter school now 11 years old.  This is the second year that Butler University has offered an intensive week-long seminar entitled: Creativity, Imagination and Learning: A Field Study in Early and Elementary Education based at Opal School in Portland, OR.  Ena Shelley (Dean of the College of Education at Butler University) and Louise co-teach the course along with Susan MacKay and the staff at Opal.  Perhaps because we had laid the groundwork last year, this year, we were able to journey even deeper into the work, the philosophy and practice at Opal.  This year, we were also ready to make more and stronger connections between our experience during the week and our contexts and schools back home.

Last week, participants were struck over and over again by the language used by all the teachers at Opal that invites children’s best selves and best thinking into the classroom in every discipline and during every social occasion.  For example, “James, would you share your thinking about this idea?”  ”Could we make room for Cindy’s voice?” “Jane, who would be a good thinking partner for you?” “What does it mean to be wild?” “Who lives underground?” “What can your hands do with clay?” “Where do stories come from?”

This practice of language choice and framing open questions, has grown over the years, influenced greatly by the practice in Reggio Emilia, Italy and also many authors and educators here in the United States, among others, Ellin Keene and Karen Gallasin literacy,  Catherine Fosnot and Maarten Dolk in mathematics, and David Orr andFritjof Capra in systems thinking and sustainability.  A book that they are reading at Opal right now is Opening Minds: Using Language to Change Lives by Peter Johnston.  Louise read it before she arrived in Oregon and it is worth ordering right now to read right away.  So applicable immediately to your classroom and school, it is filled with examples and stories about what kind of language and stance supports a flexible learning mindset and what closes learning down to a fixed mindset.  Johnston cites Carol Dweck’s research and takes it further.

Every time we go, we come home from Opal thinking something like this, “This is it. If you want to see complex theories in action, learning for the future taking place right now, rich, inspiring places and spaces and the real-life, hard work of collaboration that is paying off for children and their community, go to Opal.”  And, we are always re-inspired to do the work that we do with renewed insight and clarity, purpose and passion.

You can gain a peek into the life and experience of Opal by reading their blog.  Every week there are posts, stories of learning, links to books and other worthwhile events and opportunities.  Louise will write her next few posts for the Cadwell Collaborative blog on aspects of last week because there is so much more to reflect on and to share.  In the meantime, we suggest that you follow the Opal blog and take advantage of all that they have to offer in professional development even if you can not go there.  There is an on-line course that you can sign up for now that was very successful the first time it was offered.  There is also a free webinar on Sunday the 24th offered by NCTE and Susan MacKay.

In a world where we are all looking for mentors, leaders, and paradigm shifters, Opal is one place where you will find them.  Thank you, thank you, Opal School.

 

 

Expanding the Imagination

Opal School - and the Museum Center for Learning - exist to expand the public imagination for environments that support the wonder of learning.  To do this, we start with a strong image of the child - a recognition of the tremendous capacity in this vibrant natural resource - and a broader vision of learning and cognition than what dominates today's discourse.  We do our part to push at these artificially narrow limits by sharing our research and documentation with other educators through a range of efforts: This blog, workshops, publications, Opal School Online, the annual symposium, and many other projects that reach beyond the student population that attend Opal School.  Last week, for example, we led a professional development workshop on Thinking Like Scientists and Mathematicians for three-dozen teachers and administrators that came from as far away as South Carolina; all this week, we're hosting a study group from Butler University's College of Education.

We're thrilled to be a partner to the A Year at Mission Hill project.  A Year at Mission Hill features a series of ten video clips documenting different aspects of life at a public school in Boston.  I don't see these as "answer" videos; they're not technical films telling others what to replicate; they're not "superhero teacher" films showing what happens when an unbelievably dedicated teacher sacrifices him- or her-self to serving the needs of others.  Instead, (I think) they're provocations - discussion starters with which you can engage co-workers, neighbors, and family in a conversation about what are the fundamental characteristics of the schools all of our children deserve.  These bite- sized videos, released every two weeks, bring up important questions: What is the purpose of public education? What is the role of children in determining curriculum?  What is authentic learning?

The fourth video, Love and Limits, examines children's social and emotional needs and intelligences.  This is a theme that is near and dear to our hearts at Opal School and is closely tied to next month's Sustaining Learning Communities workshop.  "Love and Limits" shows how schools are built around relationships - relationships between students, between teachers and students,and hints at how these are related to the curriculum.  It shows how collaboration - again, between children, teachers and children, and teachers and teachers - builds networks of understanding. It names the false choice between extending emotional capacity and "academic" skills.

Take a look at what they've posted so far.  Better yet, don't watch along: start conversations with others around the series.  What do you see in these clips?  What does it lead you to wonder about?

A Year At Mission Hill

We are happy to be partners in supporting the viewing of this fantastic sereies of videos: A Year at Mission Hill. This first video introduces you to the school:

 

And here is Chapter 2:

 

Every other week from now until June, a new video will be released that explores an aspect of this public elementary school in Boston.

In video 2, Jenerra Williams says, "You have to know them to teach them well." To know them you have to see them first and to see them you have to create an environment in which it is safe to be seen. 

What structures and strategies do these videos inspire you to think about or reflect on in your own classrooms? What connections do you make between Mission Hill School and the Reggio-Inspired schools you know?

Chapter 3 will be released next Thursday. In the meantime, we hope you'll take some time to explore these videos, the website, the prezi, and the additional resources. Let us know what connections you are making!

A Center for Learning

Opal School is a learning place for both the young people who come to class daily as well as for educators who attend our workshops and web-based projects.  Recently, teachers, administrators, and specialists came from far and wide to attend a multi-day session focusing on playful inquiry.  Our work together served as both provocation and meeting place, a site where individuals and groups from six states could discuss what they see teachers and children doing at Opal, how that relates to their contexts, and how it might inspire next steps. 

Why take the time to study together in Portland?  Being here allowed participants to spend important time together in the classroom.  Observations of children and teachers involved in playful inquiry - as well as the physical settings and documentation - were focal to analyzing the environments that support curiosity and the wonder of learning.  The workshop structure provided participants from so many settings the opportunity to compare notes and challenge their conclusions.

At Opal School, we benefit from hearing what visitors say about what they see.  Being together also invites wondrous happenstance.  On this outing, the Opal 4 fifth grade class struck up a conversation with a teacher from Arizona. His gift to them of an atecocolli brought their studies forward, extending questions of colonization and duality.  

The observations and conversations were further supported by presentations from classroom teachers - from pre-school through grade five - providing both the theoretical foundations and stories revealing an arc of learning that extends beyond what can be seen on any one day.  Educators are honored to hear learning stories told with attention to meaning and detail, and it’s through this teacher-research that we learn about how children learn and extend the possibilities of what school can be.

We’re always looking for new ways to connect with our colleagues, both near and far.  In the coming weeks, we’re hosting several studies of Story Workshop, including a monthlong web-based course for Head Start teachers in Montana; presentations & staff trainings in Canada, Washington, and California; and a webinar through NCTE.  We hope you can join us for one of our upcoming opportunities, either in Portland or in cyberspace.

Upcoming opportunities include:

• Thinking Like Scientists and Mathematicians, March 6 
• Sustaining Learning Communities, April 24 
• Opal School Online, April 
• Summer Symposium, June 20-22 

We're looking forward to working with you! 

Skills for Life

A few months ago, it was hard to open a newspaper or turn on the radio without running into Paul Tough and his book, How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character (see, for example, this episode of This American Life.)  As the title suggests, the book highlights the fundamental relationship between qualities like tenacity, resilience, and impulse control, with success in school and life after school.  Tough calls these “non-cognitive skills”, but in a recent post on the Mind in the Making site Ellen Galinsky extended Tough’s arguments through directing the reader to studies which show that these traits are not just important “soft” qualities, but are, indeed, cognitive brain functions.

The traits Galinsky emphasizes are focus and self control, perspective taking, communicating, making connections, critical thinking, taking on challenges, and being a self directed learner.  How do I see a playful approach to learning and immersion in the arts that makes these traits visible across the grade span in a typical week at Opal School?  

Here are a few snapsots answering that question:

In the Museum Pre-School, students come back from their walk in the woods with seeds in hand and sticking to socks.  They’re curious about these treasures, sorting them and cracking them open.  They wonder, How do these know what to grow into?  Their theories evolve through conversation and painting.

In Opal 2, first and second graders consider, What is a story?  Through drawings and discussions, they share their theories.  One student says, “A story is what made your life because if it weren’t for stories there wouldn’t be a world.”

In Opal 3, I watch third and fourth graders investigating the idea of “quest” through a wide range of languages: Some were painting, others engaging in dramatic play, others making stop-motion video.  Teacher Rob walked through the room, asking and answering questions, bouncing ideas around, filling needs as they were requested. and listening to the students - but the students were responsible for setting the path and adjusting the sails. 

This week in Opal 4, fifth graders were investigating their personal gifts  and what it means to give and receive them. Thursday, they were using the medium of clay to consider the question.  One student explained her process of seeing how clay might guide her:  “I was just playing around to see what kind of metaphor would spark in my mind, so I started with a circle because a circle is a good shape for a metaphor.  Then I started working with a cutter and all these bumps came up. That made me start thinking about how sometimes gifts are hard to give, because you have trouble with your friends.”

What life skills do you see being developed in these vignettes?  

How do you imagine that playful inquiry supports all of the strong skills and strategies we want a 21st child to learn?

Where else are you seeing this thinking making itself visible?

I hope that you'll join us in exploring playful inquiry in practice at Opal School during our upcoming Visitation Day workshop, January 30-31: Register here.

Meet Mr. Imagine

Your attention, please! I daresay I have found Mr. Imagine himself.

Truthfully, though... I think the point ... that the following video makes abundantly clear... is that any of us who live with children are surrounded by the authentic Ms. and Mr. Imagine every moment.

There are a few other points that this video makes clear to me:

One is that the role of the adult -- the relationship of the adult to the children, to the work, to holding the big picture, is critical. It is likely that this whole experience would have been lost to another whim between these particular incarnates of Ms. and Mr. Imagine had I walked away at the beginning, or had I done something like banished them from one another for the messing around with wet paint that they do early on. These options seem to be particularly popular in our work with children. Either we expect too little and throw up our hands at their silliness, or we shut the silliness down with such consequence that children learn to hide it away from the learning adults expect them to do. We forget about the role we can play to tie head and heart in the service of what we want children to learn. We forget to believe that in Mr. Imagine's world, they are already tied. How do we invite him -- whole -- down the paths we feel it is important that he explore?

Another is about the role of collaboration and play. This particular Mr Imagine needed his couterparts to bring on his story. He needed provocateurs. He needed support. He needed audience. He needed playmates to bring his language to life.

Have a look:

  

Waking a Story from Susan MacKay on Vimeo.

 

After days of working on a story about watching fireworks, using many materials such a paint and collage, oil pastels and drama, OC was ready to move on to a new one. He had begun Story Workshop that day by looking for a new story in the block area. He played for a while and then wandered to the painting easel. Until his friends help him wake up a story he cares about... he doesn't even know it is there.

What do you notice? What do you wonder?

Looking for helpers

My fifteen year-old daughter found me reading an article about what happened in Connecticut. I knew her school had chosen to talk about it. But she asked me: Was anybody killed? As though she still didn't know that those kinds of things happen, had to be convinced that those kinds of things can happen. I felt her bewilderment and confusion. And my own sadness deepened for having to tell her the truth. She was angry. She was so angry about the gun.

Last night, as I held onto my five year-old daughter, she felt somehow more alive to me. Her skin a little warmer. Her breath a little deeper. Her laughter had more sustain. And I didn't want to let her go.

As our hearts break over the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, we are looking for ways to keep our own children safe -- both in body and in spirit. How do we raise children in this society where we've grown our own kind of domestic terrorism? How do we raise them to have hope and courage and to continue to care?

Brene Brown has shared a collection of resources to support children and ourselves at this link.

A few important reminders bear repeating:

• Turn off the television and the radio. The constant coverage of the tragedy is sustained trauma.
• Hold your children close to you. They need safety and information. Not more fear.
• Focus on the helpers. They are making a difference. They are always there to find.

And let's focus on the children themselves, knowing that the surest way to change course is to support the growth of new helpers of many kinds. We can choose to help by seeking strategies that support children to grow up with head and heart connected. With these strategies, we might see them grow to become the world we wish for them to have.

When I learned of the tragic events yesterday, I was working on a post celebrating a moment that held together the head and the heart of Opal School kindergartners. I will publish that one soon.