Andrew Petrolito – Re-thinking learning for the 21st Century

I believe they will challenge themselves, and they do!

January 9, 2020 / Andrew Petrolito

HMW:

How might we engage Native French Speakers, and FSL speakers alike, in a manner that challenges both, while attending to and respecting each’s level and need in the Advanced Placement classroom?

This has been my challenge for the last little while and I have looked to approach this with a sort of Project-based learning style, while not completely abandoning the traditional classroom. I never really fully jump into one style of teaching or engagement as I do believe that every method, including the traditional learning classroom, has its advantages!

I chose to implement the idea that each student will challenge themselves inherently. I am aware that this requires supervision, but I always believe in the people around me, including the students until they give me a reason otherwise. Within my novel study unit. Students were given a series of tasks or mini-projects to complete. Each task requires students to use the teacher as a check in order to ensure that each student is challenging themselves. These projects decentralize learning and force the student to push themselves to engage in the lesson. Gone is the boredom of comparing themselves to others. Students now work knowing their peers are working on the same project in a different context. This eliminates students from comparing themselves to others.

Thus far, engagement in lessons has increased tremendously, and students are so focused on their own work that they don’t seem to really worry about others and their progress. The unit concludes this month with an in-class essay. We will see how it goes…

The Tale of 2 Students!

November 21, 2019 / Andrew Petrolito

My blog post today is about my #COHORT21 action plan. My focus in the past 2 years has been linked to my past plans regarding a focus on learning skills rather than marks. While I don’t believe in having a new plan each year, this current plan was created out of the issue that I have begun running into, in the Advanced Placement (AP) French program.

As a teacher or language, in Grade 12, I tend to run into 2 students, the Second Language Learner who is eager to learn the language yet not fully comfortable with it, and the Native Speaker, who tends to drop in and Is looking to master the language or at the very least, obtain an easy credit. Both students are entitled to take the course, but as we can all recognize, these 2 situations are going to wreak havoc on classroom culture and more importantly, the comfort of taking risks will be extinguished. These 2 students will either coexist wonderfully or clash, killing the joy of learning.

How to accommodate both students, you could, if you are very lucky, create 2 different sections, but let’s be honest, that doesn’t always work. How can we accommodate both of these students in one room?
My “How might we” question is:

How might we engage Native French Speakers, and FSL speakers alike, in a manner that challenges both, while attending to and respecting each’s level and need in the Advanced Placement classroom?

I have begun. I have some ideas, and frankly, some experiments to come , some potential help from @cgaffney and @egelleny, who may have some advice for me I have been told, which will hopefully create an environment where all are engaged!

Chaos is fun, and educational!

November 4, 2019 / Andrew Petrolito

As a teacher, so much time is spent perfecting my craft. There is a daily focus on the most effective and dare I say, an efficient way of helping my students learn. I am hesitant to use the word efficient, because sadly for me, efficient has turned into a word that means “cutting off the fat” or removing extras.

As a teacher, I do want my students to learn quickly. Efficiency is important, but I am learning that sometimes, the inefficiencies are what make the Independent School experience so special! From classes outside on a sunny day to half-days declared by a Headmaster, these are all inefficient ways of getting my students to learn, yet they learn a great deal with these experiences. Teaching in an Independent School like TCS has taught me to appreciate the lighter moments of teaching rather than trying to recreate my best lesson day-in-day-out.

Participation in Cohort 21 has brought me to the idea of self-improvement on a daily basis. Thinking about making myself a better teacher, rather than a more efficient teacher. My focus is on a small personal project per year. Not so much improving my efficiency, but improving my understanding of best practices, new practices, and different practices.

While some may lament this way of thinking, personal growth is my focus as it is with my students. Efficiency is great, but it is the unexpected that makes for great experiences. So create some inefficiencies in your classroom, you never know what fun may come from the chaos!

Throw it all out the window… Again.

October 4, 2019 / Andrew Petrolito

Throw it all out the window… Again.

Often, the teaching profession is filled with many preconceived notions about what it means to be a good teacher. Teachers work in an environment that is filled with different ideas and ideologies. Year to year, new teachers join the herd and bring with them their newfound learnings and perspectives on what makes a good teacher. They spend many of their early years trying to find and fit into the public image of a good teacher.

My thoughts on this topic have swayed from idea to idea. Do we really need to be hyper-organized? Ultra-disciplined? A type-A personality? Many of us have prided ourselves on these traits when interviewed for our positions. What happens if all of us in the building share these traits? My initial thoughts on teaching come from a strange background. My family, on both sides, is filled with teachers. Most of whom have Ph.D.’s and have totally different approaches to learning. I have been lucky to be surrounded by some amazing teachers on my wife’s side as well, and I have come to appreciate one thing.

We all need to be ourselves.

Students don’t need to be surrounded by one particular trait, they need to be surrounded by all of them. The ultra-organized and the disorganized, the slow markers and the fast markers, the teachers who use lessons unchanged from 30 years ago, and the teachers who are trying something new. Our search for one specific, most-efficient way of teaching is what may rob students of our greatest trait: individuality.

As I start this new year at Trinity College School and as a Coach at Cohort 21, I remind myself this year once again to remember:

-We are individuals, as are our students!
-Respect the journey, some of us are in a stage of experimentation, in trying something new. Others are not in this place, which is perfect.
-Be social and ask questions, you never know who is going to give you help. Meet new people and find out what they have to offer!

When I meet new people, colleagues and Cohort members, I always take into account that they are all in a different place. Some are looking to create comfort in their everyday lives, while others are ready to throw it all out the window and try something new!

I have enjoyed meeting all the new people at school as they all have something to bring to the table. I can’t wait to meet all the new people this weekend at Cohort 21.

Andrew

Understanding why the process is important, creating a meaningful product.

April 10, 2019 / Andrew Petrolito

I have been very focused and deliberate with my assignments this year. I have focused on quality rather than quantity. Hoping to allow students to strike a better work-life balance, Classwork has had a focus on efficiency. My students seem to be making the connection and understanding why the process is where all the learning is.

This last little while has justified my process and encounters with two separate students have thankfully reinforced my stance on process over product.

Teaching Grade 12 Advanced Placement French has been a blessing and a curse. Students both wish to learn more, but feel they should be getting a higher grade because they are an “AP” student, as though it makes them a little better than the rest. I have been toiling with students all year and my goal in the course has been to get them to become proficient by learning in the language, not just about the language.

The course dictates academic writing and I have always instituted that students write an essay and this year I have given much more time for students to create a meaningful conversation regarding style and writing. Asking students to come for help in class has allowed me to really sit and comment on a student’s writing, and more importantly, give one on one feedback. Two students provided me with insight into my progress. Anne (not her real name), who is a weaker French student, came with new material and progress each day. Asking multiple questions regarding style and grammar which helped make her mark better than it would have been. She was hoping for a mark in the high 90’s (which is a little far fetched) but was quite happy with her mark in the end. On the final handout, I indicated to students that I would not write on their final drafts but merely assign their mark. If they wished for feedback, we would go over the paper together to help understand their result.

The reason for this, is that students are forced to use google docs and the comment system. The digital conversation that ensues is in sort, a conversation, observation and product. All items that are to be evaluated. The conversation involves mentioning how they reacted to the comments and how their changes indicated learning. Anne was happy with her responses to critique. She did not need her final paper to have a mess on it. The conversation was the mark. She felt that she had shown growth and understood that her original paper would have given her a low 80 and that thanks to her work and growth, she was able to learn about her mistakes and change them. The end result, learning.

Julia, on the other hand, decided to go solo. She had nothing to show in all classes. I made a point of prompting and conversing with each student in the class twice a period to give them an opportunity to ask questions and seek feedback. She wanted none of it. She then submitted her essay late. When her paper was returned she was taken aback. I was generous in giving her an 80. She, on the other hand, challenged immediately for at least a 90.

I then asked her if she would like her paper to be properly corrected and returned to her. After this was done she stood in disbelief in my office. Julia had never had a paper carved up like this and felt I was being too strict (I indicated that she had even spelled the protagonist’s name 3 different ways in the paper). It wasn’t pretty. The conversation that ensued was interesting. She felt that it was unfair and seemed to feel that she didn’t know she would get a bad mark…

Her lesson:

No one in the real world submits work without having someone review it first if it is important.

Creation requires feedback. Working alone means only looking with one pair of tired and biased eyes.

Work should not be treated like the lottery; I’ll buy a ticket and hope for the best! The best creations go through various iterations before they ever see the light of day! Needless to say, focusing on skills creates thinkers, focusing on marks creates anxiety.

My question is:

How might we create a classroom where evaluation is evolving in order to accurately gauge a student’s ongoing learning?

My Journey is found here!

Cohort 21, Design thinking, TPRS, Pro/Pro… I’ve been a little busy!

January 9, 2019 / Andrew Petrolito

Cohort 21 Is leaving an indelible mark on me. As I prepare for the second part of the academic year, I’ve discovered that I am really enjoying this. While I know that I am preaching to the choir, I am floored to be involved in a room full of wonderful and insightful teachers. Through Cohort 21, I have been restructuring how I view teaching.

The Design Thinking process is quite entertaining for me. I find myself creating far more questions than I can answers! I enjoy questions. These new questions have led me to my focus for this year: “How might we create a classroom, where evaluation is evolving in order to accurately gauge a student’s ongoing learning?”

This question has always, in one shape or another been at the centre of my teaching philosophy. It has surfaced far more in the past 18 months than in the past, thanks to the various PD opportunities that my school encourages. In these, I have had certain sentences engrained, or branded onto my brain. Sentences that have shaped my C21 “How might we” question.

“Curriculum is what is needed to be known by the end of the year. If a student had trouble in October, it’s ok, they should know this by the end of the year. Give them time.”

“If a student can’t answer a question, there may be many reasons. One that we sometimes ignore is that maybe they aren’t ready to learn that yet.”

“In school, we learn how to learn. If we are successful with this, the content is irrelevant.”

These thoughts and a very determined colleague led me to the TPRS method (teaching proficiency through reading and story-telling). A method that is tried and tested. It is also a method that encourages participation, through speaking, reading and general laughter.

Cohort 21 has taught me to look at all these methods and to look at teaching in new and evolved ways. Never stick to the same lesson, and never forget to grow. The conversations are the food and the meeting is the feast. I look forward to bouncing more ideas off others in order to expand my knowledge. I have been playing with the TPRS method, but I am looking at taking the pros of this method and applying this to the other strategies I employ daily. This PRO/PRO list is what seems to be the solution to my “How might we” problem. Positive thinking makes for fun learning.

Constantly evolving

November 24, 2018 / Andrew Petrolito

As a language teacher, getting students to participate is always a challenge. Many of us grew up learning a language in the same way. Stop me if this sounds familiar: “Here is a verb tense, conjugate these verbs. Fill in the chart…” This sums up many student’s experiences with a new language. The end result is what I hear all the time: “I hate French, I’m not very good at it”.

Oddly enough, the reality is that you never really were engaged. You were learning about the language, not in the language. This is the reality. Many of these students have never really spoken French. How do they know if they are any good at it?

It is much like picking up a tennis racket. Learning about a service, but not really serving. Then giving up after several attempts. You then learn about the basics of the game, play 2 points, and you are done. You leave tennis class saying I’m not good at tennis.

Where was all the practice? We have focused so much on the theory of language that we have forgotten about speaking a language.

Many programs have begun to permeate language teachings such as AIM and TPRS, which is where evolution in language teaching is going. TPRS and AIM focus both on communication rather than conjugation, which would have helped many of us learn a second language more effectively. Students are encouraged to speak rather than write. Writing is an instrument but is spawned from speaking rather than the opposite in TPRS. Teaching Proficiency through reading and story-telling gets kids engaged. It gets kids moving, sharing and participating but most importantly, it gets students learning!

The evolution removes the desks and the barriers, which brings on a whole new way of thinking! More to come

See TPRS in action here from the person who presented to us here at TCS. More to come as this gets moulded into the classroom.

Andrew

@jbairos

A new culture of evaluation.

November 20, 2018 / Andrew Petrolito

Evaluation, test taking should be only one of the options.

In the first few days of this academic year, I was lucky enough to take part in a workshop at my school that looked to introduce a more effective way of teaching a language. The methodology is known as TPRS (teaching proficiency through reading and story-telling). The presenter was fantastic and I have begun to incorporate many of her strategies into my day to day teaching.

Within the workshop, several ideas stood out to me. The classroom setting is the most important. Homework being the least relevant. This is something that I really enjoy. The main focus of the class being communication and structured communication at that! The presenter used a line that hit me quite hard that day. “If a student can’t do something, it’s because he or she hasn’t learned it yet. That means I have to teach it to you”. This was a simple and powerful thought, especially if you have already taught the skill. Maybe it needs to be re-taught, a different way, or just repeated…

I think the time crunch works against this idea, and we need to begin to look at skills and skill acquisition over content and testing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jczglmpEvSE

There is a plan in the works!

Andrew

A wonderful moment.

November 8, 2018 / Andrew Petrolito

Andrew Petrolito

I had a wonderful moment this evening. It was a scenario that most teachers will never get to experience, ever.

I’m going to start with a little background. I live where I work. Even the people that work here think we are crazy. I used to commute to my previous school all the way into Toronto every day, 92kms to be exact, one way. I lived here at Trinity College School but did not yet have the privilege to work here. I do now, and I love it! My wife runs one of the girls boarding houses, and I teach and live that life. Every now and then, I am the teacher on duty (TOD) for evening study which is where this moment begins.

Their Housemaster allowed the girls to have study in their residence tonight, which is a rare occurrence. Given that all of them will be travelling in less than 24 hours, this is a treat for them. During study, students will sometimes write tests. My students, who are from all 3 girls residences in the photo, on their own initiative, asked to write a small quiz this evening in Study. I didn’t have to chase them (It gets better).

Each student rolled in and began their Google Form test on the Principles of Design. A quick 30-minute quiz that is a touch on the “easy” side, but effective. They entered the study, sat down where they wanted, ate some OREOs and laughed and joked all through the quiz. No one was upset about the quiz. No one dreaded the quiz. They all wrote in their PJ’s and track pants. Made jokes & laughed. I was in track pants and a sweater.

Then it hit me. This is what school should be like…

This is what the school I work at is like. I work at this school.

The box of OREO’s was destroyed. A wonderful moment!

https://twitter.com/apetrolito/status/1060344421990961152

Image result for trinity college school

So there’s this thing.

October 15, 2018 / Andrew Petrolito

I don’t write. I ask my students to do this all the time, but I don’t write at all.

The reason. I have always felt that there are too many rules, too many judgments & too many criticisms. There are too many people who feel that a certain writer does not write well. I use the example of J.K. Rowling. I know many people who feel that the Harry Potter Series is not well written. So if this famous writer, whose profession is writing, is not a good writer… I guess you can see why students and kids are nervous to write. You can see why everyone is nervous to write.

As I write this blog, my thoughts shift to: “why is that person famous?”, or “Why do they still do it?” My answer is: because they are interesting. They are creative. They are fun! They are putting themselves out there. So I ask the same of anyone who reads my words. Forget the style, the rules, and the stuffiness. Read the words because they are interesting to you!

The last thing we need is a child, or a student, or a person who is scared to write! So I will follow my daughter’s lead, and be proud of my creation!

Andrew