Mentorship is the Mortar That Helps Me Build Outside the Blocks

To this day, I have the most incredible mentors. I have new mentors that I have met through Twitter chats like #ONedchat (I'm part of the team), #EdBeat, #plearnchat and #whatisschool, and I have mentors that I have known through the span of my 21 year teaching career. From my husband, daughters, sister and parents to professional educators, many people have contributed in small and large ways to the teacher that I am.

My first mentor came in the form of a partner. Elaine and I shared the Social Studies curriculum. She took the History component in Grade 7, while I had the Geography. As Elaine transitioned to her role as the Middle School resource teacher, her presence in my classroom became a gift that kept on giving. Elaine taught me that all children have an IEP, whether identified formally or not. Through her guidance, I started to understand how to differentiate my teaching and how to create learning experiences that better supported learners. Her mentorship was foundational for me. Even though we have not worked together for almost a decade, Elaine remains a wonderful guide and friend.

Ricki was the Academic Coach assigned to me when I first started at my present school. She has the most incredible experiences as an educator and author. Her support has been invaluable to myself and so many of my colleagues, especially the new teachers. While our Head of School felt that I was a bit too seasoned to receive the support, I urged him to reconsider. I was permitted to meet with Ricki for a half hour each week until I was tenured after year 3. That coveted time became part teacher-therapy, part professional development and part forum-for-innovation. Meetings with Ricki continues to have residual benefits.

Though Ricki has not officially been my coach for a few years now, she is still my mentor. I have the privilege of having developed a professional relationship with this knowledgeable, critical thinker who I am lucky enough to now call a friend. It was Ricki that asked me all the right questions that led me to develop Building Outside the Blocks.

I had always created projects that happened outside the scope of a lesson or a particular block of time. One day, Ricki asked me, “What are these projects that you give your students?” I had never realized that these projects were more than something that I had always done because I had always been doing them. After a moment, I answered, “I don’t know what they are exactly, but it’s like I’m building outside the blocks.” It took several sessions of her probing the question, “What are you going to call this?” for me to realize that I had already named it. Building Outside the Blocks became the way I began referring to my projects and my general teaching style in and outside the classroom.

If it weren't for Ricki Wortzman, I wouldn't know that I was doing anything different and would have continued to view the projects I created as just part of my ordinary practise. That idea is explain well in the following video: Obvious to you. Amazing to Others. - by Derek Sivers

During one of our coaching sessions, Ricki asked me about where I was in terms of Building Outside the Blocks. By then, I had begun articulating what it was. I characterized this as an approach, and I qualified the common denominators: building skills over time, individualizing learning through student choice and voice, and building community. I was even ready with the acronym BOB that made it even more fun to speak about. Ricki asked me more more questions like, “How do BOBs help students? What data do you have to prove this?” That is when I really began tracking BOBs.

I started gathering evidence of the power of Building Outside the Blocks. I kept copies of student projects and their reflections on the experience of creating, presenting and being an audience for them. I started taking pictures and, thanks to the encouragement of another mentor who was my then MYP coordinator, a colleague interviewed my Grade 7’s on the experience of the PS2 (part of the PS Tri-BOB series), so I actually had video accounts (which you can view at www.buildingoutsidetheblocks.com). I had enough information to prove that this approach really helped students develop skills and engage deeply in their learning. I also had evidence that the entire class benefited from the experience because they became a community of coaches encouraging the presenter and articulating next steps for others and themselves. I didn’t know what to do with the information I had amassed, but I kept gathering data anyway.

One day, Ricki asked me if BOBs were a me thing or something that other teachers could do. I wasn’t sure, so I decided to explore. I didn’t know if they were a merely a tool for me to use in my classroom or something any teacher could use. Lucky for me, I had 2 wonderful teaching partners in Grade 6 who were willing to give one a try.

It began with What’s In a Name, referred to as the W.I.N. Through the W.I.N., students explore the story of their names, why they were given to them, the etymology and how they personally connect to the various possible meanings. I had always shared my work with other teachers, but I had never delivered a BOB simultaneous to a colleague with the purpose of student learning and data collection. I wanted to know if this approach worked for other teachers in the way that it worked for me. I was happy to learn that my colleagues enjoyed the experience of getting to know their students in this way, and they saw the value of the student self-direction and determination. More than anything, they experienced the power of the community building that is a key outcome of the approach. This becomes invaluable when encouraging risk taking and fostering skill development. One of those colleagues has embraced the approach so much, she has developed a BOBs of her own, but she calls hers T.O.M.

I started sharing Building Outside the Blocks with more and more teachers. Colleagues are now using the tri-BOBs: PS1, 2 and 3, What’s Up, What’s News, Master Storyteller, Whatchamacallit and History Beats, which is one of my newer creations. I have even developed a BOB for a colleague teaching Grade 4 Science just to see if I could. Building Outside the Blocks ™ is an approach that works for teachers and students in many different classrooms and cities.

Ricki asked me what I wanted to do with BOB next. I jokingly responded with: a BOBcast, a Build a BOB Workshop and a BOB Talk at TED. She didn’t laugh, and then I realized that I wasn't really joking; I was dreaming…big. Ricki told me that if wanted to do something more with Building Outside the Blocks, I should start with writing an article about it. That article was published in Canadian Teacher Magazine last February. Hearing my article was getting published encouraged me to build my website and, through my PLN on Twitter, I was excited to try my hand at blogging. Now, I am thrilled to announce that I will be presenting on Building Outside the Blocks at York Region’s (YRDSB) Question 2016 in November.

When I first tried to thank Ricki for all that she had done for me, she hadn't realized that her questions had driven me to do more than see new perspectives and try new angles. She is a person for whom I am truly grateful and I hope that, in my career, I can pay it forward. If it had not been for her and my other mentors who listen to and encourage me, I would not have been inspired to keep “building outside the blocks”.

If you are not assigned a mentor, I highly recommend seeking out people with whom you can speak about your professional goals, passions and aspirations. Everyone should be lucky enough to have people in their corner to nurture their interests, help them hone their skills and ask the critical questions that drive you forward.

#individualized #personalizedlearning #differentiatedinstruction #BOB #nurturingpassion