Discovering The Spark Of Teaching & Learning Through Equitable Grading

Photo by Cristian Escobar on Unsplash

In the 2020 Pixar film, Soul, Joe is a mentor in a purgatory-like realm mentoring a fellow soul named 22. Joe’s quest is to help 22 find her “spark” and decide to return of life on earth.  Joe believes that everyone must have a “spark” - a passion, a destination, a purpose.  It isn't until 22 lives in Joe’s body, however, that she finds her spark and desire to live on earth; and it isn't until Joe lives as a mentee (student) that he finds a legitimate appreciation for living life with purpose.  Through mentoring 22, Joe eventually discovers that a “spark” is not about finding one’s passion or single purpose in life.  Rather, the “spark” is being fully aware of moments that uplift and spark the soul. 

 Joe was supposed to be the mentor, yet he ended up seeing the gaps in the meaning of passion, sharing in a collaborative experience, shifting his perspective on the purpose of life, and reshaping his life.  Like Joe, faculty are mentors who can engage with intentional, equitable practices to discover the “spark” in learning. Both 22’s and Joe’s life experiences still mattered.  They were foundational to finding their spark.  This is a great metaphor for how teachers and students must collaborate in order to reach their full potential - our spark.

We are two community college faculty dedicated to achieving equity. In this article, we share our perspectives, inspirations, and research about equitable grading strategies. Our intention is to spark your curiosity to learn more and to encourage you to critically question your own practices to remove systemic barriers and ensure all students have what they need to achieve their goals – that is how we achieve equity

The process of schooling is at odds with the way humans learn. Dr. Christopher Emdin writes in his book Ratchetdemic: Reimaginig Academic Success, schooling “…places young folks in metaphorical cages and inhabits them from being free, [and] is a contemporary form of historical phenomena like slavery… They feel contemporary forms of the same stress, fear and anger their ancestors felt, and schools serve as spaces that condition them to accept those feelings and normalize them” (136).  As faculty, we have the opportunity to (re) kindle the spark of learning by intentionally and critically investigating our grading practices.  

bell hooks states in Teaching To Transgress: The Education As The Practice Of Freedom, “The classroom remains the most radical space of possibility in the academy, … [and calls] for a renewal and rejuvenation in our teaching practice. Urging all of us to open our minds and hearts so that we can go beyond the boundaries of what is acceptable so that we can think and rethink, so that we can create new visions…” (12). As equity-minded educators, we believe  it is time to re-examine our practice and  recognize our ability to heal by shedding oppressive practices and inspiring the spark in learning.

Seeing Inequities

Historically, grades were a means to efficiently demarcate students to different groups based on their perceived intelligence. By and large, as a system, we have been using the same A, B, C, D, F grading system that was instituted in the US in the Ivy League system in 1898. However, with the influx of immigrants, the move to compulsory education (Rickenbacker & Rothbard, 1974), the passing of the GI Bill in 1944 (Witt, 1993), and the ever-changing student demographic, the Eurocentric foundations of our education system are now (and have been for decades) misaligned with the students we serve. As such, grades are a foundational system that must be reexamined, as they serve as extrinsic rewards for performance, work as a means to favor outcomes over learning, foster competition among students, promote cheating or gaming the system, rely on subjective mathematical calculations, favor privileged students, and perpetuate systemic inequities. This then begs the question, what do grades really measure? In part, grades measure the instructor’s perception of student performance, the benchmarks of which are also defined by that same instructor. More problematically, however, grades really measure a student’s ability to succeed within the confines of our Eurocentric educational system that favors adherence to arbitrarily defined rules and guidelines. Grades measure parents’ educational background, socioeconomic status, memorization skills, and expedited content acquisition, rather than what we really hope to measure as educators: competencies, skills, outcomes, critical thinking, learning, and growth. 

Not only do grades inaccurately measure student growth, faculty have largely used the traditional grading system without questioning its foundations because they were successful in navigating grades as students. As a result, in their classrooms, they replicate the systems that afforded them the successes they had as students. Now, however, there have been many prominent scholars who have challenged conventional grading and have asked us to critically examine grades on a fundamental level. Those who have shed traditional grades in their classes have reported a sense of liberation, and students have disclosed a sense of agency and validation. Without grades, faculty are forced to reexamine their own priorities in the classroom and more creatively measure student growth. 

Sharing and Shifting Power: Alternatives to Traditional Grading

So, how do we move away from a system which has been indoctrinated in us since the move to compulsory education and which we have all experienced both as students and as instructors? There are multiple systematic approaches to modifying our grading practices. Faculty have moved to various alternative systems, including contract grading (Brown [formerly Kuhn], 2020), specifications grading (Nilson, 2014), labor-based grading (Inoue, 2019), and ungrading (Blum, 2020; Stommel, 2018; Gibbs, 2019). Although these systems have their own nuances, they all prioritize the learning process and growth. When adopting an equitized system, the instructor must also adopt the mindset that learning takes time, and to punish a student with a low or failing grade early in the semester is contradictory to the premise of education (Blum, 2020). Instead of focusing on high-stakes exams that require rote memorization, for example, faculty have shifted to open-ended discussions, project-based learning, peer review, self-assessment, revision, conferencing, and portfolios, among other activities. Instead of calculating grades based on weights and percentages, students have control over the grade they hope to achieve, and depending on the system, will complete and pass a certain number of assignments (with contract and specifications grading) or will self-assess the extent to which they grew in the course and make a case for the grade they believe they have earned (with ungrading). 

In my (Bri Brown) recent doctoral dissertation, I examined the impact of contract grading on equity gaps among underrepresented student populations in light of AB-705 and the Student-Centered Funding Formula. Equity gaps were measured by course retention, success, and grade; concurrent and subsequent term GPA’s; term-to-term persistence, and academic probation. The first research question examined whether contract grading correlated with, and predicted, equity markers for underrepresented student populations (e.g., racial minorities, females, foster youth, veterans, first generation students, Pell recipients, and returning students). The second research question examined how students experienced contract grading. The quantitative analysis included institutional disaggregated data for 1687 students enrolled in the participating merit- and contract-graded courses. I also conducted five student focus groups to explore their experiences in contract-graded classes. Quantitatively, contract-graded Latinx, Black, and Middle Eastern students were retained and successful in their English class at comparable rates to White students. Contract-graded Black and Middle Eastern students were also predicted to earn comparable course grades, concurrent GPA’s, and subsequent term one and two  GPA’s as White students. Qualitatively, students expressed appreciation for clear expectations and feedback; felt validated because they didn’t fear failure; felt more confident and safe in the classroom environment; experienced a heightened sense of motivation, engagement, and classroom community; and expressed a shift in motivation from external (i.e. grades) to internal (i.e. writing improvement). These findings confirm the results of several other studies, and as a result, it is logical to conclude that no-points grading is an effort worth pursuing. Not only does it validate students, but it also promotes equity and contributes to the decolonization of the classroom, outcomes which support the California Community College Chancellor’s OfficeVision for Success, as well as local institutional missions and values.  

When faculty let go of the impulse to situate themselves as sole-power keepers and leverage students’ narratives, the teaching and learning dynamic shifts from transactional to transitional with intentionality at the center. Therefore, through equitable grading, students find their spark in learning and we find our spark in teaching. And we are transformed.

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Incentivize! Don’t Penalize: Revisiting Late Policies for Online Students

Coming from a culture of storytellers, I’d like to share a story that inspired this post.

I was at my local supermarket in the northeast side of Los Angeles when a former student, Ignacio (Nacho), recognized me and approached me. “Are you Ms. Fabi?” He then reminded me of who he was. I also met his Mama. His Mama started to tell me in Spanish what a good son Nacho is and how proud she is of him. I felt confused because, as I recall, he had dropped my class. As I listened to Nacho, there in the store, the reason he dropped hit me hard. He dropped the class because his mother had lost her job and he needed to work more hours to take care of his family.  This caused him to struggle with time management. Nacho had a formative assessment due in my class and he couldn’t complete it by the due date. So, he dropped the class. Of course, I said, "Why didn't you tell me?"  He said, "Well you were very clear about late papers.  You set your rule and I broke it.”  To him, talking to me meant asking for help, and he didn't want to ask for a favor. A “favor” was not an option for him.  I could even see it in the eyes of his mother.  She stood by his decision. “Se porta bien” – He behaves.

Like many working class immigrant households, we were raised to be proud, which meant not breaking the rules.  Since many of our parents lived in fear of breaking rules in the US, the goal of behaving was instilled in us. Good behavior builds character. Character becomes more important than achievement. Nacho was the epitome of character. He was a good son of a single-family household, an Army Reserve Serviceman (another environment requiring good behavior) and a college student. Yet my policy became a barrier. I did not set up an environment to encourage communication and support him to succeed.

The next semester, Nacho registered for my course again.  I learned he was a hard worker who also learned how to advocate for himself when he needed to. He never took advantage of my kindness and appreciated my personalized feedback. After all, I had met his Mama. Nacho earned an A, completed his bachelors at a Cal State, and is now a college recruiter. After Nacho, my journey as an online instructor was forever changed.

When I started teaching online, I struggled with late policies.  I remember a colleague telling me I needed to be strict with deadlines to "show them how it will be in the real world." I learned my lesson after my Nacho encounter. After that, I began to imagine a learning environment where submitting late assignments could still be a method to encourage student effort and communicate that I believe in my students’ abilities. I have wondered how this change might remove barriers for students and foster a more equitable learning experience. 

What Students Want

Our goal should not be to translate our face-to-face learning environments into our online courses. Both are unique and should be designed to leverage the characteristics of the modality. Also, our students have reasons for choosing to take an online vs. a face-to-face course. Kelly Ann Gleason, a student at Cuesta College, stated during the student panel for Digital Learning Day 2019, “We are taking online classes because we have life outside the classroom, so the very reason that we are taking this [an online class] communicates what we expect.”  And what do they expect?  Flexibility. Today, more than 24% of enrollments in the California Community College system are from online courses. Most of these students are blending their schedules with a mix of face-to-face and online courses to develop a flexible schedule that allows them to advance their academic goals while also fulfilling their work and life responsibilities. To put it another way, being on campus full-time is a privilege that many students do not have.

The student panelists who participated with Kelly Ann continued to advocate the need to respect faculty and their time, yet they want to see online faculty design an online environment where students are given a fair chance to submit quality work when time management becomes challenging.  As Henry Fan, a student from Foothill College, stated, “Not all time is created equal.”

The full archive of the student panel is embedded below. To jump to the segment on late policies, click here.

https://youtu.be/7SKnCH02xMs?t=1845

How to Promote an Equitable Culture of Excellence

Equity means ensuring each student has what they need to succeed. Is it equitable to apply the same late policy to every student in every situation? It is our responsibility to measure the quality of student learning rather than how punctual an assignment is.  And if it’s not punctual, how can we use that as an opportunity to understand our students’ realities and encourage them to keep going?

Here are some suggestions to incentivize responsibility by placing a culture of excellence and care on your end.

We are content specialists.  Not life specialists.  Yet we can create an equitable culture of excellence, so all students can achieve academic excellence.

My Submission Policy:

Plan on submitting work on time.I immediately review work and provide meaningful feedback with in 48-72 hours.

Because time management is challenging, deadlines might not be met. But, you’re in luck. I’m on your side.  Late submissions will be accepted with a penalty. Assignments submitted after the deadline may receive a 10% grade point deduction for each day following the due date and time.

Don’t want the penalty? Here’s an incentive.

If you recognize a due date might be a problem, advocate for your success by following these steps:

  1. Identify the problem
  2. Contact me to propose a solution
  3. Let's negotiate

Do you have a submission policy you’d like to share? I warmly invite you to leave a reply below to keep the conversation going!

Caring is Beautiful: Memories of Pretty Classrooms and What They (Can) Mean in Higher Education

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Physical classrooms are part of our elementary school memories. Remember the ABC’s in the classroom, that scenic inspirational poster, or that poster from a Highlights Magazine?  How about other instructional posters, graphs, and seasonally decorated bulletin boards?  Now, remember how some teachers were better than others?  Why?  What attracted you to the classroom?  The teacher?  The subject?

While some of us might articulate a memory, some of us might be able to remember the feeling of being in a beautiful classroom. What did beautiful classrooms represent?  Most likely, it represented a teacher that cared. Is this relevant to an online course?  Yes.  Research suggests that the aesthetics of an online course impact how students judge the course’s usability and credibility within moments of accessing the course (David & Glore, 2010). https://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/winter134/david_glore134.html

Caring is radical. And that type of radicalism is beautiful.  Adding beauty to our learning environments sends the message to students that we care about their learning, our subject matter and their success.

Jump to higher education and our learning environments change.  We do not have an individualized classroom.  The walls do not belong to us or our discipline. So how can we make both our physical and virtual learning environments beautiful? How can we demonstrate we care about our learning environments, subject matter, and student success?  Through the practice of Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning.

4 Attributes of Caring

Geneva Gay's book Culturally Responsive Teaching: Theory, Research, and Practice propose that we focus on "...caring for instead of caring about the personal well-being and academic success of ethnically diverse students... caring for is active engagement in doing something to positively affect [success]“ (Gay, 58). According to Gay, caring is:

  1. Attending to person and performance.  Teachers model personal values such as patience, persistence, and responsibility while incorporating skills such as self-determination throughout their curriculum.  "In other words, culturally responsive caring teachers cultivate efficacy and agency in ethnically diverse students".
  2. Action-provoking.  It is not dumbing down rigor.  To the contrary, caring teachers demonstrate respect to students, provide choices and "...are tenacious in their efforts to make information taught more understandable to them.  
  3. Prompts Effort and Achievement.  Supportive instructional styles incorporate reciprocal experiences, such as providing students feedback reflecting our stories, can improve cognitive understanding between the students and the instructor. (Let them know they are not alone in their learning process.)
  4. Multidimensional responsiveness.  Caring is a process.  “Caring is anchored in respect, honor, integrity, resource-sharing, and a deep belief in the possibility of transcendence, that is, an unequivocal belief that marginalized students not only can but will improve their school achievement under the tutelage of competent and committed teachers who act to ensure that this happens” (69). 

Applying care to our learning environment requires passion, empathy, and effort, and a collective commitment to provide all students with the individual support they need to succeed.  Through the use of Canvas and course design, we can let our students know we care for them.  We can ensure their learning experience will be safe, fun, informative and successful by intentionally making the design inviting and beautiful.  Just like caring for elementary school teachers and their classrooms, we can take extra time to make our Canvas pages beautiful too. 

Let’s Take a Tour!

Trying to reconnect with my childhood learning memories, I decided to attend an elementary school to interview a teacher and see her classroom - Mrs. Marisa Torres (Ok yes.  She’s my cousin). She shared with me her way of showing she cares for students, their learning and their overall environment.

Mrs. Torres designed a classroom that feels safe, fun, informative and adventurous with no competition.  Behavior expectations, academic goals, and resources were available for students to take risks while feeling safe.  Yet she went above standards in her learning environment to send a message to her students that she cares and that they matter.

But she can’t do this alone.  She needs inspiration.  Because her school only covers about 10% of the materials in her class, she needs inspiration from her colleagues, other colleagues, online via Pinterest and then her family. Ultimately, Mrs. Torres wants her students to feel like they are walking into a second home.

Her process represents the effort and process we have to do to make our course shells beautiful.  We need inspiration, colleagues, communities of practice and the CCC Family. 

Let’s Get Started!

We may not be experts in HTML, photography or even course design, but we can make an effort.  Where to begin?  Right here on the @ONE blog!

Here are my favorite Posts about making courses beautiful:

Tip! Register for the free Can•Innovate session with Tracy Schaelen this Friday, October 26 at 2pm to learn to use Canva to create beautiful graphics for your Canvas course.

Pedagogy of Love: Teaching for Humanity

Pedagogy of Love: Teaching for Humanity

an image of a woman representing love and social justice

All Rights Reserved, Jose Ramirez, La Maestra, 2004. Image used with permission. ramirezart.com

Love is Essential

Valentine’s Day celebrates love.  Whether it’s romantic, fraternal, familial or personal, many recognize the power of love. No matter how you splice it, love is essential in building humanity.  And building humanity takes work.

Musicians, activists, academics, to name a few, invoke their perspective on the power of love in their work.  John Lennon simply sang, “All you need is love.” Argentinian revolutionary and political activist, Ernesto Che Guevara, explained love as a personal philosophy when he stated, “At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality.”  Now, of course, Che Guevara did believe in armed revolution, but I’d like to think he was conveying a balance between compassion and making hard decisions without flinching.  Feminist writer bell hooks stated in Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope, “When teachers teach with love, combining care, commitment, knowledge, responsibility, respect, and trust, we are often able to enter the classroom and go straight to the heart of the matter, which is knowing what to do on any given day to create the best climate for learning.” And then there is the work of Paolo Freire, which deserves a deeper consideration.

Love as a Learning Theory

Paolo Freire’s learning theory invokes a profound position on the efficacy of love. His theory is grounded in educators teaching with love. It promoted love as a necessary component for humanization and liberation.  In his book Pedagogy of the Oppressed, love is essential when students are introduced to oppression through problem-posing education.  When faced with the truth of oppression, love is the act of courage that enables students to find their freedom to dialogue about humanization and love.  Freire states, “Only by abolishing the situations of oppression is it possible to restore the love which that situation made impossible. If I do not love the world—if I do not love life—if I do not love—I cannot enter into dialogue.” His theory of education incorporates love as a conscious act in the pursuit of humanity through dialogue in the classroom.

Many of our students arrive in our classes with some form of internalized oppression.  If we, as educators, ignore this variable, our students may not recognize their potential to contribute to the world.  In Mike Martin’s self-help book,  Love's Virtues, he states, “Internalized oppression violates the procedures that promote mutual autonomy through subtle forms of inner coercion, both from negative attitudes toward oneself and ignorance about one’s possibilities.”  Yet according to Freire, education can be an act of love because educators themselves can intentionally choose to value and present love onto their students and into the pedagogical process.  The pedagogy of love humanizes learning by engaging students in an ongoing process of self-exploration. When love is embedded in our pedagogical practices, we enable students to recognize that their needs, their desires, their wants, or whatever it is that motivates them, matter. And when a human recognizes that those things matter, life is forever changed.

Strategies for a Pedagogy of Love

How does this translates to our lesson design?  How can the heart and the brain be encouraged to connect? Zaretta Hammond focuses on culturally responsive teaching and brain-based learning strategies from neuroscience in her book, Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain.  She provides six core design principles for learning:

  1. The brain seeks to minimize social threats and maximize opportunities to connect with others in community.
  2. Positive relationships keep our safety-threat detection system in check.
  3. Culture guides how we process information.
  4. Attention drives learning.
  5. All new information must be coupled with existing funds of knowledge in order to be learned.
  6. The brain physically grows through challenge and stretch, expanding its ability to do more complex thinking and learning.

Although culturally responsive teaching is about empowering systematically disenfranchised students through challenging our teaching practices, Zarettta Hammond states, “We have to create the right instructional conditions that stimulate neuron growth… by giving students work that is relevant and focused on problem solving.”  Only then can we build brain power while affirming and validating our students’ ongoing pursuit of full humanity. That is what makes us human and enables Freire’s vision to create “a world in which it will be easier to love.”

This year, fall in love all over again with teaching by reading these books. Do it for yourself, for your students, and for humanity.

 

Managing Microagressions for More Inclusive Online Learning

I am sure some of us have a story (or 6 or 20) describing incidences in which a teacher or another student made us feel inferior, or out of place, or just plain dumb. Maybe such an incident created an evaluation of yourself that altered your academic identity and intellectual performance. I remember my high school teacher telling me that girls don’t succeed in Chemistry because it’s a man’s job. And when an undergraduate classmate told me I could never go to Wesley College because it’s only for rich women. And what about those movies from the 80’s? I never saw a Latina represented in a positive role. Come to think about it, I never saw one represented in any role.

Did these messages affect my academic choices? Absolutely. I gravitated to the discipline of Ethnic Studies, an area in which I felt safe. But to be clear, I am happy where I am today. After all, I have a full-time, tenured position in Ethnic Studies. Yet, I often wonder what could have been. These formative messages I received are examples of microaggressions.

Lifelong Dangers of Microaggressions

Microaggressions can be overt, covert, and/or unintentional. Either way, messages can inflict injury or insult. Microaggressions communicate realities, definitions and expectations. Yet, many folks resist understanding or accepting microaggressions because many feel identifying microagressions creates victims and fuels the ideas of liberal college professors

The question I’d like to pose here is, “Is it wrong to provide students with a space to ‘call out’ hurtful statements?” My Ethnic Studies degree inspires me to scream, “No!” Students who are aware and confident in airing their grievances are a sign of progress. But are institutions listening or instigating?

Institutions of higher education must practice vigilance in day-to-day instructor-student and student-student interactions. Providing safe spaces encourages trust, mutual respect and authentic care. These are essential to student success, especially since most of our students have lives that are very different from ours. Here is why enabling a safe space is key to students lifelong success.

Imposter Syndrome and Stereotype Threat

Many community college students are confronted by two dangerous, alienating forces that are augmented with microaggressions: the “imposter syndrome” and the “stereotype threat.”

Symptoms of the imposter syndrome are feeling like one does not belong, is undeserving, unaccomplished, and not welcomed in a college setting. Do you remember feeling dumb in a group setting because everyone around you made you feel less than? If not, you’re lucky. If you have, it probably still haunts you.

The stereotype threat is the debilitating feeling one gets from the constant fear of playing into a stereotype about people from one’s identity group. Remember feeling like you represented your whole community and your failure would make them look bad? Well, the fear of this self-fulfilling prophesy can cause extreme anxiety.

How can instructors strive toward a safe learning space in an online environment?

Creating Expectations for a More Inclusive Online Learning Environment

Some might say that an online environment may create a virtual veil free from racial and gender identities. After all, there is no face-to-face contact and students can be careful about what they write in discussion forums. Let’s call it impression management. It’s a social media behavior. However, from the instructor’s vantage point, it is vital to establish a safe space zone for all learners. So I have some recommendations that are ever-evolving but can inspire a start:

  1. Establish an anti-microaggression netiquette. Don’t enable a tone deaf ear to microaggressions. Instead, do some research and identify examples of it in pop culture, curate some engaging articles defining microagressions, and create a mandatory “Welcome Ice Breaker Check-In Assignment.” Have students authenticate themselves in the class (a good idea for a future blog post). Know that you, the instructor, have your own implicit biases and may not be able to identify a manifested microaggression. From the very beginning of the course, encourage your students to inform you when they feel a microaggression went undetected or was ignored.
  2. Do not misinterpret poor participation in group work. Communicate with all students individually and ask them about their experiences accessing the project’s information and communicating with their group members. Establish clear directions and expectations.
    Follow the breadcrumbs. If you discover evidence of a microaggression in a discussion forum, read all previous comments. Aggressors may be repeated offenders and might enable others to continue the offense. Understanding the factors that surrounded the microaggression helps evaluate the next steps strategically rather than reacting emotionally.
  3. Lean on your peers. Accept and understand that all instructors struggle with the line between freedom of expression and confronting offensive content. So instructors need to keep reaching out to colleagues, research and maybe even constructing classroom climate surveys to explore how to reduce the proliferation of macro-level prejudices through microaggressions.
  4. Add meaning. As you begin to learn about your student population, be aggressive with your academic discipline and include content, data, images and/or narratives representing all of your students as genuine and essential stakeholders of the course. One story, data set, or image can inspire success or enable empathy.

Do you have a suggestion to add to this list? Or a reflection to share about how micro aggressions have affected you? I warmly invite you to leave a reply below to keep the conversation going!

Learning Quirks: How Macaroons & Pinterest Made Me a Better Teacher

Learning Quirks: How Macaroons & Pinterest Made Me a Better Teacher

To have a craft means you have something to offer/produce through a skill. To have a craft takes practice, exercise and discipline.

Well… learning is a skill.

Most of us in academia believe the university gave us permission to be the expert in our craft by jumping through their required hoops. Once we are done jumping, we graduate and place our diploma in our office so people can see it and think, “They are legitimate.”  I admit I have my degrees hanging in my wall. I paid a lot of money for them. But does that mean I should stop learning?

Instructors Are Learners Too

“Disciplines don’t change. But the way teachers design learning experiences for students must change.”
-John Landis, Apple, Keynote Speaker at the 2017 Directors of Higher Education (DET/CHE) Conference

How do you, as a college instructor, ensure your teaching adapts to meet the needs of your students’ learning? I have found that trying new tools enables me to uncover new teaching strategies. For example, I discovered a new way to learn with Pinterest. My Pinterest venture started with my quest for a single recipe – french macaroons. I was curious to understand WHY macaroon are so expensive, so I decided to learn how to make them. That curiosity led me to Google and Google led me to Pinterest.

Embracing Our Learning Quirks

I am a product of 70’s & 80’s inner-city public school. My K-12 experiences taught me to shut up, have “quiet hands and a quiet mouth.” Therefore, I was a solitary type of learner. I was taught that I should not ask for help, work with others, or speak up. However, using Pinterest gave me a chance to experience the value of socially-constructed online information and put it into my own practice. At first, I was just a Pinterest voyeur. But as I browsed, I began to interact. And that led me to failures and successes, which empowered me to identify the quirks of my own learning. I started clicking on links associated with macaroons and soon I was making macaroons, beignets, soba noodles, my own shampoo, lipstick, deodorant, makeup remove. I became addicted to learning.

I could follow directions no problem, but I discovered much more value in the reviews, tweaks, and suggestions made by other Pinterest users. Through Pinterest, my learning was enhanced by the learning of others. As I was given access to this socially constructed knowledge, I realized I was becoming empowered to understand and value my own individual quirks.

I don’t like salty food.

I don't like very sweet pastries.

I have sensitive skin.

I have thick curly hair.

I’m a quirky gal.

Quirks are peculiar habits. Habits in learning are part of our identity and we all have peculiar ways of learning. Identifying and understanding our own learning quirks can helps us become more empathetic to our students' needs. What kind of learning quirks do students have? Some might identify learning styles as quirks. Here are some learning quirks as defined by the fabulous Howard Gardner. If you want to learn more about Howard's multiple intelligences theory I recommend "Multiple Intelligences: New Horizons in Theory and Practice.”

Learning Styles: What’s Your Learning Style? Verbal - Words are your strongpoint. You prefer to use words both in speech and in writing. Visual- You prefer to use pictures, diagrams images and spatial understanding to help you learn. Musical / Auditory - You prefer using sounds or music or even rhythms to help you learn. Physical / Kinesthetic - You use your hands, body and sense of touch to help you learn. You might act things out. Combination - Your learning style is a combination of two or more of these styles. Solitary - You like to work alone. You use self-study and prefer your own company when learning. Social - You like to learn new things as part of a group. Explaining your understanding to a group helps you to learn. Logical / Mathematical - Learning is easier for you if you use logic, reasoning , systems and sequences.

Applying Learning Quirks to Our Teaching

Now I ask students to identify their own learning quirks. This helps me design my instruction and communicate with individual students. And when I struggle, I use Google for inspiration to empower me to discover more of my learning quirks and disrupt the limited views about learning that are often a result of K-12 experiences. Today, one way I develop my craft in learning is through Pinterest. By learning how to make the perfect macaroon, I tapped into other learning styles I never knew I had.

Join me!