Two weeks ago, we published an interview with Cris Higginbotham that happened during Tech Camp 2017. Another Social Studies teacher who presented at Tech Camp was Gaundi Allen, who teaches 8th grade at ACMS. We talked with him about his philosophy and approach as well, and about how we in Social Studies have the unique opportunity to change tomorrow through teaching today's students about their world yesterday.
Jonathan Frantz: What would you say is your overall "philosophy of teaching?" How do you approach planning your instruction?
Gaundi Allen: I am a true believer in the blended classroom model. An engaging lesson that meets the 21st century skills needed to be successful in an increasing globally interconnected world through real world applications of knowledge learned, skills acquired, and real to life experiences is what my classroom is all about. In planning for instructional activities that meet the demands of high stakes testing, I examine my essential standards & content, and then from there I find or create digitally engaging lessons and activities that blend classroom objectives with digitally engaging methods and techniques. You provoke the students interests with the opening provocative statement, then get them the information to understand the factual questions needed, and then use instructional activities that allow students to understand the big concept and apply their understanding to produce something new.
JF: Why do you include digital technology in your lessons?
GA: First of all we must remember, technology doesn’t replace the teacher, it only digitally enhances & engages students in a way they already are in the world they live in. Several studies I have examined have summarized the “now” student into five characteristics- they are social, mobile, global, digital, & visual. That’s the world they live in and are a part of, so why use methods & techniques that don’t apply to who they are? This is a globally connected world, digital tech allows students to engage that world without the transportation costs.
JF: So what do you ask them to do with technology?
GA: In my classroom, I believe in blending digital engagement with the essential standards students are being assessed on. For example, instead of simply lecturing about personal financial literacy and taking notes, we will use digital engagement tools that instead bring the lesson to life for students using tools they already know and use & they can quickly apply their prior knowledge and what they have learned. Quality of life is a big concept that is essential to understanding the impact of personal financial decisions. So what can students do with technology, everyone wants a car, so students will use Carmax to find a vehicle they want and apply their understanding of how personal financial decisions impact their credit score which in turn impacts their interests rates. They will use the technology to determine the effect of interests rates, their monthly payments, and affordability based on prior personal financial decisions.
JF: Do you find that your students are good with the tools you use?
GA: Absolutely! Sometimes, I feel like we teachers are afraid of collaborating with our students. They have more knowledge and skills than we give them credit for sometimes.
JF: What would you say to colleagues who aren’t comfortable with technology, and might worry that the students know more than they do?
GA: You have to be willing to step out of your comfort zone and be willing to learn these things to professionally develop your craft. I love the quote, “If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.” You have to be willing to analyze who you service (students), how they learn best, and then be willing to effectively adopt that into your classroom. Coach K says it best, “A common mistake among those who work in sport is spending a disproportional amount of time on “x’s and o’s” as compared to time spent learning about people.” We need to learn more about the people we serve.
JF: You said before that the lesson always leads students to “produce something new.” Why is it important for kids to be producers? Don't they just need to get down the important information we give them?
GA: Getting down the “important” information is not effective if that information isn’t used immediately and effectively. Too often teachers say. “This is important and you need to learn it.” But students, parents, and even business leaders are asking- why is it important? How is it important? How can they use what you are saying? I think about it like coaching, as a coach myself, I tell my staff and parents, it doesn’t matter what YOU know and players KNOW, it matters what THEY can DO! Production answers the a teacher's most essential question- Can you apply what you have learned? It is an awesome thing to watch our student’s produce products that apply what they have learned in awesome new ways. For example, products like music, movies all tell a story about experiences (that was the Harlem Renaissance). What if you let students take what they have learned about personal financial literacy and create a song about how they have seen people’s quality of life impacted by good and bad choices and create a lyrical rhyme about it. That’s all music is. It digitally connects the characteristics of our “now” student to what they have a passion for- music.
JF: Wow, what a powerful way to demonstrate learning. But don’t you worry that these methods don’t really prepare kids for the NCFE?
GA: The North Carolina Final Exam is all about the conceptual mind! When using digital engagement techniques and tools, the only thing that really changes is the delivery of material to students and students ability to produce or create using a more engaging method. The content, what they should know, and what they should be able to do doesn’t change. So, the NCFE’s content, what they should know, and what they should be able to do isn’t asking them anything different from what they have already been doing in class. As a teacher, you should analyze the following before using digital engagement: NC Essential Standards, previous NCFE tests (this will allow you to understand the style of questions, concepts, and what the NCFE is assessing students on), pacing guides, and other curriculum documents pertaining to your subject. Then you use digital engagement tools that ask the same questions and give the same situations students will be assessed, except you will be using a different platform to deliver that content & allow students to create & produce answers to content you know they will be assessed on. “Prior planning prevents poor performance.”
JF: I’ve always admired how smoothly your classes run. All that careful planning sure pays off! One last question: how would you say your philosophy of learning impacts your approach to how you teach history?
GA: I’m always looking for ways to get that “wow factor” (Darrell Sheets from “Storage War” quote) from my students. I want them to feel like my classroom is not a classroom but a place where they can see and learn in ways they never imagined. My approach to teaching is like my approach to coaching. If I am not willing to learn with my students, like they are willing to learn from me and always willing to get better, then it's time for me to go. Seeing who I teach, how they learn, and what they will need for tomorrow is what I am all about. My philosophy impacts me because I am always on an expeditionary exploration of how I can make them better for the day that I don’t teach them. Like I believe, I’m changing tomorrow, today.
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