Bill Rich's Opening Volley

   I'm Bill Rich, Director of VT-BLTN. After teaching middle school for two years in Montpelier and high school for sixteen years in Colchester, I founded Red House Learning, committed to helping educators use what we know about the brain to inform what we do in the classroom.
    This year's kickoff attended to many of the lessons we learned last year about how to make an innovative, blended course like this work. Just consider what's in place now that wasn't last year at this time: job descriptions for the adults involved, a calendar forecasting the rhythm of the year, an on-line course platform in place, a website and a facebook page, student blogs, responders to students' blogs, and twice as many students, just to name a few! Tim did an outstanding job using this clarity to engage our adult team in leading different parts of our kickoff at Middlebury College. So great to see so many more people--students and adults--contributing to this exciting effort.
     My top three ah-has so far this year: 1) The success of last year's students made it easy to fill up this year's course; students can spread good news quickly! 2) Great ideas need a system and infrastructure in order to bloom. 3) We have a terrific and deep team this year.
     My wonders: 1) How do we ensure that students experience the right amount of independence and structure? 2) How do we proceed in ways that make sure that what we're designing is replicable in schools? 3) Do we want, and are we ready, to have 100 students next year?

My name is Ben Krahn, and I'm in my 12th year of teaching. Currently, I'm teaching English at Middlebury High School. I graduated from the Bread Loaf School of English in 2009 and joined the Bread Loaf Teacher Network in the summer of 2015.

The kickoff was great. To be able to work with kids on topics of their own choosing is awesome. I'm realizing, once again, that learning is fun, which is the reason I wanted to become a teacher in the first place. "What's the Story" takes us out of the traditional classroom and allows the space and time to get interesting, practical things done in a collaborative setting. The most telling "aha" moment, or the best "take away" so far from this is that the students are truly the drivers of their education in this course. As a teacher of this course, I am not a sage on the stage; rather, I'm truly a guide on the side who asks questions and offers direction. I love it so far!

The biggest question I have is how do we translate this experience into a traditional high school where we serve hundreds of students and not just 21. What strategies can I take from this experience and implement them into my own curriculum?

Dianne Baroz's Opening Volley!

My name is Dianne Baroz, and I’m an Administrative Associate at Middlebury
Bread Loaf School of English. I assist Dixie Goswami and the Bread Loaf
Teacher Network, and I am also the Oxford campus coordinator. I’ve just
completed my first anniversary returning to work at Bread Loaf
(woohoo!)....where did this year go? I’ve worked at BL previously from
1996-2002; BL has been like family ever since my husband Robert studied at
BL (MA 1995; MLitt 2004). He was part of the early VT BLTN group, and I’m
so happy to see the re-emergence of this group in such a dynamic way!

It’s been a wonderful experience to get to know the VT teachers at
Frothingham this summer. My role is administrative support for the group,
which means that I do a lot of the behind the scenes logistical work to
make days like the kick-off go off without a hitch….more or less :).  Even
though the group this year was much larger, this kick-off had a much more
fun, relaxed atmosphere.

I think my first aha moment is seeing how adaptable this group is. I love
that the teachers made videos to show that they too are learners alongside
their students. I heard Dixie echoing in the back of my head…."We’re all
in this together.” I also loved that the students, while not exactly sure
what they got themselves into, were upbeat and willing participants. My
final aha moment was seeing the enthusiastic response from our guests at
the end of the day. They were so pumped up and supportive because they
realize that amazing things are happening. Will groups like this really
change the face of college education?

I wonder how ‘this’ can be replicated or if it will need a BL teacher
connection to have a common thread. Not being a teacher, I wonder if I’ll
be an effective blog responder. I hope that I can give the support and
guidance that the students are looking for. I wonder how the upcoming
overnight will go and if they will look back and see that as one of the
highlights of their educational careers.

Thanks for including me as part of this project; it allows me to stay
connected to the everyday lives of BL teachers. It keeps the big picture
of what BLTN means at the forefront of my work and what we heard all
summer—BL is a place where teachers (and students) change the world. I’m
glad that I’m along for this ride!

Henry Mohn's Opening Volley

Hello Everyone,

My name is Henry Mohn and I am a current senior at Champlain Valley Union High School, in Hinesburg, VT. This is my second year involved in What's the Story. Last year, I was a student in the class. I really loved my experience and this year, I am back as a mentor to the new students.

This year's kickoff was great! As pointed out by others, the class is organized much better than it was last year. It is clear that the experience from last year has allowed for the program to be refined. Also, the academic direction of the class has improved. The students are given a degree of freedom with their topics that wasn't present last year, when I was a student. I really like how from the very beginning, students will be working to find information for their multimedia project, as opposed to last year, where we didn't really start the final project until half way through the year. It seems that the students will be able to make a change in the community, which is an element of the class that we failed to accomplish last year. I am excited to see what the students will achieve!

For ah-ha moments, I was excited to see so many students, of different ages, from all over the state involved in What's the Story The group is much larger than than last year which will allow for more diversity in research topics and opinions. It was also great to see so many so many adults invested in the class as readers, teachers, and mentors. I was very impressed with the first week of blogging as well. The blogs will allow the students to receive personal feedback from multiple people on a weekly basis.

So much has changed from last year when I was a student, so I am curious about many aspects of the class. Initially, I wonder how students will select which social action issue they would like to study. I know I would have trouble choosing if I were a student this year. I also wonder how students will be able to combine or modify their topics into larger topics, that they can work collaboratively on. I wonder what lasting changes to the Vermont community will be made by the end of the year as well.

Colleen Kiley's Opening Volley

Howdy.

My name is Colleen Kiley and this is my 5th year teaching high school English at Mount Abraham Union Middle & High School in Bristol, Vermont. I teach 9th grade English as well as a handful of elective English classes to juniors and seniors. This is my second year participating in WTS and my role is to mentor any and all students in the cohort, while providing our main instructor, Tim, with as much support as he needs.

The kickoff this year doesn't even compare to last year's. That's because I was not able to arrive on Middlebury campus until 3 pm last year (the tail end of things). Being in Oxford last summer and missing most of the kickoff last fall left me in a confused state from day numero uno! It was hard to ever feel fully immersed in the project. This year, I was excited and inspired by the kickoff. I got to meet the kids (although I wish there had been more getting to know you activities) and was a contributor rather than a bystander (good call on that one, Tim). So yes, the kickoff was a success.

My 3 ah-ha's? The first was seeing how many adults were in the room on September 18th. It spoke to the support and excitement of this project. I feel apart of something larger in the world of education, and that is exciting. My second ah-ha was a negative one, turned positive. I'm not very good at doing things I do not want to do. Creating an introductory video was one of them. Originally, I was really excited but then I got overwhelmed, and didn't feel like I had anything important to say in my video. Seeing everyone else's video made me frustrated with myself for not trying harder...for giving up. But then something else happened. A friend of mine starting making a video about his passion for rock climbing. I started thinking about my own passion for running. I got really excited about making a video that would include footage of me running through the woods and highlight the importance of being part of a running community. So I realized something once again: I need to have passion in order to pursue a topic. Much like our students must have a passion for whatever social issue they will pursue here. We can guide and support, make suggestions and help them revise their ideas, but ultimately, they must have the passion and the drive.


My 3 I Wonder's. In reference to my first ah-ha, despite all these wonderful adults, I wonder how we can ensure that STUDENTS are at the helm of this project, rather than the adults? I'll admit, last year at a few of our meetings, I got frustrated when it felt like the adults did most of the talking and decision making. I feel like when we leave our kids alone and let them work through the awkward silence, they eventually begin to generate some really fabulous ideas. So, I wonder, if as adults who are accustomed to being in charge, can we let go of some of the control? Can we allow things to be a bit messy? Can we allow our students to create projects that are not what we had planned, but are instead more than we could have dreamed? Finally, I wonder how we can provide the space in the second half of our course for students to work together and experience the true benefits of collaboration. We all know 2 (or 20) heads are better than one...how can we help our students realize the truth in this statement?

Emily Rinkema's Opening Volley

Hi All,

I am in my 19th year teaching at Champlain Valley Union HS in Hinesburg, VT. While I am still an English teacher half time, the other half of my job is to be one of 3 Instructional Coaches at CVU. This is a fantastic position that is an honor and a gift to have, as it allows me the time, resources, and flexibility to dive into the world of education reform, the brain and learning, and pedagogical innovation in a way that full time teachers are not able. In that capacity, we spend time blogging and Tweeting and managing a teacher learning website (follow us at @cvulearns if you're on Twitter, or go to www.cvulearns.weebly.com or http://cvulearnsblog.blogspot.com).

As a member of this BLTN team, I am a mentor, and so far I am loving it. One of the biggest improvements over last year is the organization (thanks to Tim and Bill) that can occur in year two of a project. Everything is so much more defined and clear--something that was impossible last year--and already I think the project is better for it. The kick-off day was great--nice to meet everyone and start to get to know our learners, and important systems and structures were established that will allow everyone to engage more regularly and actively. It was a bit hot, but I don't think that will be a problem moving on!

I agree with Tim's ah-has...am I allowed to do that? First, the connection between the student bloggers and their readers is going to keep students engaged and will hopefully allow us to control the rigor by directing students in their inquiries. Also, this adds a level of authenticity to the project, as having real readers responding to their ideas will make them think a little more about the role of audience in change. Second, I am also really excited about the opportunity for teacher professional development (see how I am seamlessly stealing Tim's ideas and pretending they are my own?). Finally, and this one is all mine...I am already seeing how I am bringing in some of the design elements of What's the Story? to my teaching. We have an innovation project that we do with our 10th grade humanities students, and WTS has made me think about how to provide real audiences for them. Very cool.

Wonders...I have a few for sure. I wonder if we are going to be able to help students choose projects that are feasible. So many of their ideas as of now are vague or so large in scope that change seems impossible. I look forward to seeing if this changes as their blogs continue--if questions from readers are enough to narrow and hone and focus in on an element of an issue that resonates, yet is actionable at this level and in this amount of time. Another wonder I have is about the overall sustainability of a program like this--there is a lot of time, money, and other resources going in to making WTS successful, and is that replicable? I guess the idea is getting schools to offer sections that then come together around the state, or some such thing--which could work. Finally, I wonder if Common Ground Conference Center allows dogs, as we don't have a dog-sitter for the night and I think my lovely girls would have fun getting to know everyone!

Tim O'Leary's Opening Volley

My name is Tim O'Leary, and I'm in my 15th year of teaching at Middlebury Union High School (VT). I graduated from the Middlebury Bread Loaf School of English in 2007 and fatefully reconnected with the program by way of helping to found the current Vermont Bread Loaf Teachers' Network. I am the Lead Instructor for this year's "What's the Story? The Vermont Young People Social Action Team" course and indebted to all the wonderful adults and young people who are at the very center of our work together. It's all about collaboration.

The kickoff has felt really wonderful. No hangovers here. I like the movement we seem to have of finding our way together, even with all the moving and evolving pieces. A couple weeks out from the kickoff, I resolved around the importance to find ways for every contributing adult to have a specific responsibility, big or small, to build ownership and to help keep my sanity. Last year, I remember showing up in total-bystander-audience-mode for our kickoff day. I was trying to prevent others from falling into this trance. I wanted to utilize some members' strengths and build capacities with others. Asking Emily Rinkema to take the KUD/Learning Scales and run with them after her, Bill Rich, and I batted them around a bit, was important and allowed her to exercise her expertise in this field, which will be invaluable to us during the rest of our year and beyond. Additionally, I wanted Bob Uhl and Colleen Kiley to take larger roles, inline with the generous VT-BLTN fellowship covering their education this past summer and to also encourage them to potentially take Lead Instructor roles in the coming year.

The I-Search Blog and the web of 21 students and 29 readers (50 people) I was able to scaffold together has provided the tight feedback loops we desired and has to be one of the best parts of the kickoff among the work I imagined and organized. After the first round of blog posts. 20 of 21 students responded on-time and 26 of 29 readers responded on-time. No one had ever participated in something like this, and the follow through was amazing. It says something about how much value and belief people have put into the project and this I-Serach Blog. Now that writers and readers have interacted in one cycle with the blog, I only expect that our timeliness increases and moves to and hits 100% on-time in the coming weeks.

The synergy of the blog writers and readers is a big AH-HA for me. I loved the I-Search paper idea from last year, but I wanted students to have feedback along the way and a "real-time" audience that helped them evolve their thinking. On a secondary level, but not insignificant, this symbiosis also energizes a network of supporting adults actively engaged with our students, which is invaluable for our own public relations as we build support and understanding for what we are doing and what might come in the future.

The second most important take-away for me is coming to terms with just how wide-spread and wide-ranging the "professional development" has been for our involved adults. From figuring out how to respond to blogs, to how to upload photo files to a Google Drive folder, to how to manipulate Canvas learning platform, to how to teach about Blogger, to understand the pedagogy behind KUDs and Learning Scales and its connection to student-centered learning... there are adults learning, using, and explaining capacities to one another in ways that are impressive.

My "I-wonder" statement is about organization and momentum into the future. What does it look like when we get 21 orbits of student ideas crash into each other and come out with 5 or 6 group projects? This, I predict, will be the messiest work of the year. But, I believe it's a necessary part as we pry students toward one another to work collaboratively, something that is not happening now. Questions swimming around in no particular order: What contitutes change? How do we measure that? How do we build and target audiences for the collaborative student work? How do we keep every student in a group productive and engaged? I have some inclinations, and we'll work to answer these together...