Langford International, Inc.

This week I visited Olmsted Elementary in Urbandale, Iowa. I witnessed principal Mark Lane and several teachers guide 52 second graders through the beginning of a PDSA on improving reading. They had already completed several tools and I saw them work through a Force Field Analysis on what drives us to read and what prevents us from reading. Mark wrote the following comment.

“Here is the follow-up to the Force Field Analysis you observed at Olmsted. In talking with the teachers we are thinking we need to do two things.
1. Students need to begin to gather baseline data on screen time and reading time. We will the start a run chart in the classrooms capturing a class total of minutes of screen and reading time.

2. We need to engage the students in developing a way to ask their parents for help. We are thinking of creating a movie of students telling the PDSA story. WE would begin with the Five Whys and go through to Hot Dot and starting data collection.

We discussed that the data collection will not be tied to any extrinsic reward or punishment it is simply for monitoring current state and any change over time.

I told the teachers I would send a picture of their Hot Dot to you both and they are excited to for any feedback on if these are good next steps.

Thanks for your help. ”

I think your plan on engaging parents through the students and collecting data sounds like a solid approach. I will post the Hot Dot picture you sent in this section. Remember to get the tools in sequence so the students see this as a process and not isolated activities. I only saw one student out of 52 that was a bit confused about what they were doing. Well done.

David

Hi Belinda,

“Owning” learning is a conundrum. We are all tasked with teaching people what they do not know and trying to make them like it and be motivated. It is sort of like having to take bad tasting medicine; even with a spoonful of sugar it tastes bad. Capacity Matrices identify the depth and breadth of what is to be learned. When the levels of metacognition are added, we suddenly have a pre and post reflection tool and a formative assessment tool. Capacity Matrices also become a planning tool for teachers. All of that is great, but students need meaning.

Students have to be able to attach meaning to what they are doing or else there will not be ownership of learning. “Why are we doing this?”, “How will this help me?”, “Is this information necessary for survival, safety or friendship?” Most of meaning comes through how they are learning the material. If the only way to learn something is by sitting and listening to someone telling me about it, the meaning level will be low, even though the authority figure is saying it is important. However, if I am learning what is on the matrix, while making my life better and the lives of the people around me better. I will take more ownership of the learning.