How Would Jesus Teach (HWJT)?

July 3, 2022June 4, 2023 ~ Blue Cereal ~ 1 Comment

I’m not a preacher, a prophet, or a theologian. I like too many different colors of children and accept too wide a range of people and their efforts to make sense of this world and their place in it. I don’t worship the police, the military, or the GOP. I don’t even own a gun. So, despite what the current Supreme Court seems to think, I’m probably not the person you want teaching your kids about what American Christianity demands they think, feel, believe, or do.

I’d mess too much of it up.

I do have some experience, however, with being a teacher. I’ve taught literally thousands of teenagers over the past three decades (how terrifying is that?) and worked with hundreds of educators during that span as well. I have a pretty good idea of what often works and which things usually don’t. In a pinch, I can even use fancy pedagogical terms and reference Marzano or Dweck like I mean it.

If you take the (Protestant) Bible at face value, it turns out Jesus did some teaching as well. Apparently it was something he wanted to do from a young age. The scriptures provide only a single account from the period between the Nativity and his adult ministry: as a young man, he bailed on his parents to hang out with successful teachers and practice a little pedagogy of his own (Luke 2:41-52).

I assume carpentry paid better, but sometimes you gotta go with your calling, whatever the tax bracket. He’d later turn down even more prestige and prosperity in favor of his true gig (Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13)

The first four books of the New Testament – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – contain multiple accounts of his approach to teaching and to those being taught, as well as excerpts of some of his actual lessons. I thought a few of these might prove interesting, given current events.

Now, before you get yourself all worked up in either joyous anticipation or preliminary outrage, I’m not interpreting the actual teachings of Jesus in this post – at least, not as they apply to our eternal souls or doctrinal disputes. I’m more interested in his approach to the enlightenment process itself and what we might be able to learn from it as educators in a very different time and place.

In fact, we should probably start with the “very different” element right up front.

Cultural Context and Contrasts

The times in which Jesus taught were complex enough in their own way, but most of us would have found the pace of life rather tedious. Things simply didn’t happen as fast as we expect today.

Revisit any classic film from the 1970s or 1980s. It doesn’t even have to be a drama – you can choose 101 Dalmatians, Beverly Hills Cop, or even Jaws. While you may still enjoy them, you can’t help but notice the pacing is radically different than what we’ve come to expect. Go back another few decades, and the distinction is even more noticeable.

Keep going for about two thousand years and you have the plodding tempo of the year zero.

That fact alone made teaching anything to anyone a bit easier because you weren’t competing with a wide variety of far more exciting alternatives, many of them in their pockets or hidden under their desks at that exact moment.

The curriculum was also arguably more engaging. Most of Jesus’s teaching focused on the nature of the relationship between man and God, or between people. Some involved divine mysteries, others addressed practical approaches to networking or helping an outreach campaign go viral. But there are few (if any) technical explanations recorded in the four Gospels – no Algebra II or explanations of RNA vs. DNA. Consequently, there wasn’t much in the way of graphic organizers or foldables used in Christ’s lesson plans (as far as we know).

Jesus also taught in a culture much more comfortable with oral instruction. He may have been the only actual Son of God exhorting the crowds in his time, but by most accounts there were dozens of similar “prophets” or “teachers” who took similar approaches and made their own cases for whatever was on their minds.

Finally, most folks listening to Jesus wanted to be there. As is so often pointed out whenever super-smart experts from outside public education share their inspirational analogies about pilots or blueberries or whatever, we’re tasked with capturing, focusing, and enlightening youth who are essentially prisoners in our care for eight hours a day. Anyone not enamored with the Son of Man, on the other hand, could simply walk away without consequences.

Well, without immediate consequences, anyway. I suppose long-term it was probably a bad idea.

Lessons (from Lessons)

Still, there are some recurring elements of Jesus’s approach to teaching which should be familiar to any modern educator and which no doubt increased his effectiveness substantially.

First, Jesus offered wraparound services. He often focused on meeting the critical needs of his students before even thinking about schooling them on whatever topic was on the agenda that day. Most of the time this involved providing health care, although feeding them was sometimes a priority as well. He recognized that many people couldn’t or wouldn’t focus on difficult concepts until their basic needs were met. Such attentiveness also built relationships and credibility, which made subsequent lessons or corrections far more meaningful (Matthew 8, 9, 12, 14, 15, 17, Mark 1, 6, 8, Luke 4, 5, 9, John 5, 6, 9, and other examples too numerous to cite).

Jesus took on every student, whether they “deserved” to be there or not, and whatever their discipline record, lifestyle choices, or societal status (Matthew 15:21-28, 19:13-14, Mark 2:13-17, 10:13-16, Luke 19:1-10, John 4). He rejected the idea that illness or poverty were “natural consequences” of poor choices and instead approached them as opportunities to serve (Luke 5:17-25, 6:37-42, 10:25-37, 14:12-14, John 9). He supported targeted efforts to reach every student (Luke 15) while still recognizing that at some point, whether or not learning and growth actually occurs is up to the individual (Matthew 13:1-9, Mark 4).

At times, he seems to have neglected his family in favor of his mission (Matthew 6:46-49, Luke 8:19-21). While it’s not clear this was intended as a literal example to be followed by the rest of us, it’s a tendency many educators will recognize.

As to his actual teaching, Jesus expressed complex ideas in ways accessible to his audience (Matthew 5:13-14, 7, 13, 20:1-16, Mark 12:1-11, Luke 8, 10:25-37, 19, 20, John 10, 15, and other examples too numerous to cite). His analogies (“parables”) connected new ideas to familiar experiences common to farming, parenting, etc. He was also good about connecting new information to his audience’s prior knowledge (Matthew 5, 12:1-8, Luke 11, 17) and providing real-world examples of potentially elusive ideas.

For particularly important tasks or skills, he offered mentor texts (examples) for them to follow until they were confident enough to customize or create their own (Matthew 6:7-13, Luke 11:1-12).

Jesus insisted on the value of even seemingly small efforts in the face of overwhelming odds and celebrated mindset over standardized measures of achievement (Matthew 13:31-34, Mark 4, Mark 12:41-44, Luke 21:1-4). He even appreciated stubborn determination when the results themselves were questionable (Luke 18:1-8).

Progressive Education

Jesus refused to simply “teach the content” and leave relationships and attitude out of it. He constantly exhorted his students to exceed minimal expectations and push themselves to do better than was absolutely required. Given the choice between performing some task or accomplishing some goal and practicing kindness, restorative justice, or social emotional learning, he preferred the latter (Matthew 5, 7:1-5, 22:34-40, Luke 6).

While pushing “students” to preserve and practice their faith in all settings, he suggested that overtly religious rituals be reserved for the appropriate time and place – not, for example, celebrated on the 50-yard line after lawyering up and contacting the local media (Matthew 6:5-8).

Jesus generally tried to avoid unnecessary socio-political conflict and focus on his mission (Matthew 22:15-22, Mark 12:13-17, Luke 20:20-26) but he wasn’t afraid to break the rules or violate stupid laws in order to better serve those in his care (Matthew 12:1-13, 15:1-20, Mark 2:23-28, 3:1-6, 5:1-17, Luke 6:1-10, Luke 14:1-6). He spoke out on issues related to his efforts and wasn’t afraid to criticize those doing harm to his “kids” (Matthew 11:20-24, 23, Luke 11). He was vocal in calling out bad policy and bad practice (Matthew 23:13-33, Luke 20:45-47, John 2:13-17).

He continued teaching and encouraging others to join the profession in the face of constant insults and opposition from those in religious and political power (Matthew 10). He was willing to learn from “experts” but didn’t become overly enamored with them or automatically buy into everything they were selling (Matthew 23:1-12, Mark 12:38-40). He at times attempted to engage and reason with political and religious authorities despite realizing in advance that they weren’t really looking for solutions so much as grandstanding to promote their own pre-existing ideologies or status (Matthew 12:25-37, Mark 12, John 8).

Practical Considerations

Jesus wasn’t afraid to practice “self-care” and withdraw from the craziness from time to time in order to refocus and re-energize (Mark 1:35-39, Luke 4:42). He willingly worked alone, but actively mentored those newer to the gig (Matthew 9-15 and pretty much every other conversation with his disciples).

He differentiated his lessons from large groups to the smaller, PLC-type sessions with his inner circle (and presumably spoke differently to the little kids than he did to the adults as well). He taught fishermen differently than he did Pharisees and recognized that not everyone could handle all parts of the same curriculum (John 6).

For his efforts, as you probably know, he was demonized and eventually murdered by those representing entrenched religious and political power. I’m not suggesting most educators are likely to be literally crucified before 2025, but it certainly suggests that hating us for what we’re trying to do isn’t exactly new.

Conclusion

This is not my introductory rough draft for an upcoming Teach Like A Messiah book, nor am I looking to break into the gift book market at the local Mardel or LifeWay. Mostly, I just thought there were some interesting elements in Jesus’s approach that might be worthy of consideration.

Not everything that works for one person in one situation works for everyone in all situations – even when that one person is, you know… THAT ONE PERSON. But surely if there’s anyone we could benefit from emulating as we hope against hope that perhaps the truth might still somehow set us free, he’s as good a place as any to start.

What’s Your Name? (This Year’s First ‘Virtual’ Assignment)

August 5, 2020June 4, 2023 ~ Blue Cereal

What’s In A Name?

In Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, Juliet laments that she cannot be with Romeo largely because of their last names. Their families are enemies and neither would ever accept the other into their homes. Standing on her balcony, unaware that he’s listening, she rejects the idea that names could be so important. Why should it matter what you’re called if you’re as awesome as Romeo – at least in Juliet’s eyes?

Still, sometimes our names do matter. It varies from century to century, family to family, and culture to culture, but sometimes your name means more than others might realize. Maybe it was given to you for a specific reason, or maybe it’s influenced how people react to you or what they assume about you. If nothing else, it usually (but not always) reflects the family into which you were born. Sometimes a major religious conversion prompts a name change. Many women still take the name of their husbands when they marry. Best friends sometimes have nicknames for each other which only they use. Couples often call one another by names that no one outside the couple can use without causing problems.

Or maybe your name is just a name and its meaning is only what you give it by being you. That’s OK, too.

The Importance of Communication

One of the primary goals of any English class is to improve our communication skills. While there are an endless number of ways humans communicate with one another, two of the most important and most universal are (a) speaking and (b) writing. We’re going to work on both this semester.

Please note that it’s never my goal to embarrass you or put you on the spot or push you to share anything you don’t wish to share. If you don’t want to say it or write it, then DON’T. I won’t be fact-checking you on anything unless there’s some specific reason I should. Our goal is to get better at communicating our own thoughts and ideas and understanding the thoughts and ideas of others. What your thoughts and ideas ARE is your business. Share them or not as you choose.

The Name Video Assignment (Due ____________)

You’re going to make a brief video (60 – 90 seconds) talking about your name and share it with me by uploading it to Student ‘Name’ Videos {linklinklink}. Your video can be as simple or as involved as you like, as long as it meets a few basic guidelines.

1) Your video should be at least 60 seconds but no longer than 90 seconds.

2) It should begin with you introducing yourself with your full name.

3) For the rest of your brief introductory video, talk about your name or some part of your name – were you named after someone? Does one or more of your names have a particular meaning? Is your name common? Rare? Often misunderstood? How does your name reflect you and/or how has having this name shaped your life a little bit? (You don’t have to cover all of this. These are just starting places and ideas. Talk about whatever you wish in conjunction with your name.)

Click Here For My Sample ‘Name Video’

The Technical Stuff (How To Make It Work)

Use Chromebooks or phones or whatever you wish.

If you’re unsure how to record video on your Chromebook, there are a few quick ‘How To’ guides posted along with this assignment on Google Classroom.

If you’re not sure how to upload your video, click the link for Student ‘Name’ Videos {linklinklink}. Then choose the ‘+ New’ near the top left of the screen, and ‘File Upload’.

If for some reason you can’t upload your video using these instructions (for example, you don’t have a working Chromebook and you’re doing all of this on another device or something), try sharing it with me some other way – email a link, etc. MAKE SURE YOU LET ME KNOW, however, so I don’t miss it and think you simply didn’t do it.

Email me with questions or problems – {email address}

This, pretty much, is my opening day assignment this year. The links will be different (the only one that actually works here is to the sample ‘name video’ – and even that will look different for students), but otherwise, this is how we’re starting off.

I borrowed this lesson from Barrett Doke, who teaches 8th Grade American History in the Houston area. We taught a series of virtual workshops together this summer, and I loved his approach to technology in the classroom, even when ‘in person’ school was still a thing back in the day. He’s done it successfully for years, although I’ve dressed it up a bit differently (anything you don’t like is probably me).

Why This?

Some of my motivation I covered in the actual directions. I won’t see my kids in person for at least nine weeks, and that’s going to make it difficult to form that there ‘rapport’ we always talk about. And honestly, while my pedagogy is fine, my strength has always been the face-to-face. Obviously, that’s out for a while.

I also believe the part about communication being an essential skill and all that. In fact, the second assignment is a short personal essay which builds on the “let’s talk about YOU” idea. Yes, it’s partly about trying to establish connection, but the ability to talk about ourselves coherently is an essential academic and professional skill. (You won’t get through many college admissions officers or job interviews if you can’t handle “so tell me about yourself a bit” decently.)

On a related front, if much of this year is going to be done long-distance, we’d better start getting comfortable using the technology – both students and teachers. If I’m going to ask them to eventually submit video summaries of what they’ve read or otherwise express themselves using this format, we’d better practice it with something easy first.

Finally, there’s an additional, somewhat awkward motivation as well. I’m an old white guy whose hearing isn’t what it used to be. I genuinely want to learn my students’ names and say them correctly, but there are more each year that I never seem to quite get comfortable with. At the same time, it feels more important than ever that I demonstrate at least that much attention and respect to those whose names are most likely to give me trouble. With this assigment, I’ll have a reference as often as I need it to exactly how they want their name pronounced – because they’re the ones saying it.

These instructions clearly take an ELA approach, but that’s not essential. When I taught American history we’d always discuss the power of names, usually in relation to slaves and slave-owners. I’m not even sure you’d need a justification for it if you’re interested. It’s your class, and you have to start somewhere.

If you want to give it a shot, all I ask is that you NOT use my sample “name video” or Barrett’s. Obviously you’d want to make your own anyway, right? Also, I’d love to hear how it goes – seriously.

Here are my instructions (pretty much the same as the first half of this post) as a Google Doc if you’d rather edit them than start from scratch. You’re also welcome to the follow up personal essay instructions. I should probably note that while I’m definitely using these this year, I haven’t yet. I honestly have no idea how it will go.

But then, that’s often the case – even with things I’ve used for years. We wouldn’t want it to get too easy or boring, would we?

RELATED POST: Those Circle Things

RELATED POST: Is That A Right?

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Is That A Right?

July 16, 2020June 4, 2023 ~ Blue Cereal

Don’t get excited – I’m not diving into current events or anything. (I’m far too demure for such things.) In fact, I’m intentionally avoiding the subject at the moment because any effort I make to write rationally about what we’ve become ends up as a spittle-spewing, obscenity-laden rant and, worse, totally off-brand. Those of you who follow me on Twitter or Facebook, where I’ve lost even the veneer of professionalism or decency towards my fellow man, can no doubt verify this assertion.

Instead, I’d like to share two very simple things you may find useful. Or, you may not. You may find yourself a little bit sad for me if these are my best new cutting-edge distance learning ideas at the moment. Either way, I’m giddy enough for both of us.

“Is That A Right?” is the name of an activity I’ve done with American Government and American History classes for years, and which I’m considering trying “virtually” this fall if circumstances lead us down that path.

It’s not even an overly innovative lesson. It’s really just a PowerPoint presentation with a series of descriptions of potential “rights” as per the U.S. Constitution. Students vote ‘Yes’ if they believe whatever’s on the slide is a protected right and ‘No’ if they don’t, and we discuss it a bit (“Tasha, why do you think so?” or “So, Garrett… would you still say that’s a right if we change the wording to what Tasha said?” You guys know how discussions work.) The next slide tells us the “right” answer, often with disclaimers about how it’s actually a bit more complicated than that – because it’s almost always a bit more complicated than that. Then we go to the next one.

I recently converted the most recent version of this presentation into Google Slides. You can access it in its entirety right here. If it’s something you’d like to use, all you have to do is make a copy (File, Make a Copy…) and it’s yours. Once you’ve copied it, you can change prompts, explanations, images, etc., just like with PowerPoint.

So how could we do this if we’re not in the same place?

I’ve had the privilege of co-teaching several workshops with an amazing history teacher from the Houston area named Barrett Doke. He’s one of those guys that loves technology, but always as a tool for putting more of the learning into the hands of the students and never as an end in and of itself. We all say that’s how we want to use technology – but he actually does it that way. (Now, the rest of you don’t get all defensive – I’m sure MANY of you are just as wonderful. I’m just sharing my personal warm fuzzies.)

Doke is partial to Google Slides and gets rather… enthusiastic when given the chance to share the many simple things you can do with them to make your lessons more flexible and your technology more useful without investing endless hours or – and this is a biggie – relying on your district to purchase and maintain subscriptions to specific apps or equipment. He showed me something he liked to do in Slides that would never have occurred to me. (As I said at the outset, it’s entirely possible this is obvious to everyone else in the world besides me. I can live with that.)

If you adjust the ‘View/Zoom’ for your slideshow while NOT in ‘Presentation’ mode, you’ll discover there’s all sorts of unused space around each slide. You may have stumbled across this in the past when moving around graphics or setting up animation. As it turns out, you can put stuff in these margins and it will be saved and accessible along with everything else, even though it’s not part of the slide.

I KNOW, RIGHT?!

Doke often uses this space for what I think of as ‘tokens’ which students can access. These can be numbered or customized to include their names (although the tokens have to be slightly larger that way). Whether they’re all in class together or meeting virtually (but synchronously), he’ll pose a question or prompt and offer the same sorts of options you’d see with multiple choice. Students move their tokens to the part of the slide which best reflects their response, then Doke calls on a few to explain why they chose what they did. Because they’re all on the same document, everyone sees what everyone else is answering – just like in class.

Yes, this is very similar to what Pear Deck does. I’ve not used Pear Deck extensively, but I hear great things. It might actually do this particular type of activity a bit better. I don’t have it, however, so it’s not a factor.

Here’s the long distance version of the same activity. I’ve used it with teachers successfully, but haven’t yet had the chance to do it this way with students. You’ll have to make your own copy (File, Make a Copy…) if you’d like to use it.

I like several things about this lesson in this format:

The discussions are still the discussions. They’re the key to the lesson being meaningful and the information sticky. Without good discussions, it’s just another quiz.

Anytime you can have synchronous (i.e., “live”) student responses in a form other than asking them to speak up in class, you change the dynamics and who’s likely to participate. That’s not to say it magically guarantees full engagement, but students who may not take initiative in class will often drag their token to the answer they like best.

If you have particularly shy or fragile students, the alpha-numeric system allows a degree of anonymity. One of my priorities is usually creating a dynamic in which everyone learns to speak up, and in which disagreement is healthy and means you respect the other person enough to challenge them, so anonymity is not a priority to me. Plus, it’s difficult to have discussions, even online, anonymously.

Finally, the slideshow is easily shared with students. It’s forever available should they choose to review anything or question anything after having time to think about it.

There are, of course, several downsides:

It’s tricky to keep track of who’s who on Slides. On Google Docs or Google Sheets, students logged in to their school Gmail show up on my screen as a cursor with their name next to it. I can also check version histories and edits in case there are shenanigans. I’m not sure Slides has a similar feature, and even if it does, it won’t help you if your students don’t have school Gmail accounts. That means in theory, anyone can move any number. (Then again, is there ANYTHING in class – virtual or otherwise – that’s completely bozo-proof?)

In order for students to have access to move their tokens around, I have to give them access to ‘Edit’ the Slideshow. That means in theory, they can add or delete slides or change other elements of the activity. I’ve made messing with the slides (accidentally or otherwise) a bit more difficult by ‘locking in’ everything except the tokens themselves. If you’ve made your own copy of the “Long Distance” version of the activity, you may have noticed that while you can move the tokens around, you can’t move around shapes or text on the slides like you normally could. It’s still possible – for you or anyone with ‘Edit’ access – but it’s more laborious and would require both knowledge and focused intent. This is thanks to another cool thing Doke showed me that is gradually changing my online instructional world. (Again, keep in mind that I’m nearly a thousand years old and still both startled and impressed by things like lava lamps or instant music downloads.)

If anyone’s interested, I’ll try to talk about ‘locking in’ elements of various slides next time. I’m learning to get better at doing it, but I’m not yet adept at explaining it. For now, you’re welcome to play with “Is That A Right?” and let me know how it works out. Keep in mind that you’ll have to make your own copy before it will let you edit anything or even move those little tokens around. Obviously, once you’ve made your own copy, you can add far more antagonistic, current event-related slides of your own and blame it on that guy who posted it on the internet to begin with.

You absolutey have that right.

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Causes, Triggers, Events, and Results

May 1, 2020June 15, 2023 ~ Blue Cereal

This is something I lifted from Rhonda Johnson who used to teach with me in Tulsa. Rhonda is one of the most entertaining and intellectually challenging people I’ve ever known, and I appreciate her agreeing to let me sponge off of her in this way.

Then again, why should this be any different than anything else I’ve borrowed from her over the years?

The “Cause & Effect” Conundrum

It’s not unusual to see history presented in terms of “cause and effect.” It’s a rational, if simplified, method of trying to pull events together and understand the connections and interactions that make it all meaningful. Without cause and effect, history could only be taught as a series of unconnected events – this happened, then that happened, then another thing happened, and probably some other things, until today… so make of this what you will.

While there are those who capitalize off of accusations that teachers are somehow manipulating and abusing students by not presenting history in a completely random, meaningless, way, the reality is that none of us can cover in exacting detail everything that’s ever happened anywhere in the world over the past 10,000 years or more in 180-or-so class periods. Some degree of subjective triage is essential, and “cause/effect” is a useful part of that.

Causes, Triggers, Events, and Results (CTER)

The anchors of the whole “CTER” approach are whatever major historical events you choose to prioritize in class. Surely we can all agree that some stuff that’s happened over time is more important than other stuff (at least for educational purposes). While no one wants to shortchange Coleman Sellers’ patenting of the Kinemascope in 1861 (allowing the illusion of motion when exhibiting stereoscopic pictures and eventually leading to what we today call “movies”), most biased, brainwashing history teachers set that aside in favor of discussing the secession of the South and the onset of the American Civil War.

The Civil War, then, was an “Event.”

Like most Events, the war had multiple Causes. Causes are generally ongoing – they can be in place for days, weeks, months, or years without the event actually happening. Debates over slavery, sectionalism, tariff disputes, cultural differences, vocal antagonists on both sides – these were all Causes of the Civil War.

Events also have Results. Like Causes, Results can be short-term or long-term, and sometimes interact in unexpected ways. Reconstruction, the end of slavery, three new constitutional amendments, nearly a million dead Americans, a dramatic increase in the power of the federal government – these were all Results.

Just to keep things interesting, the Results of one Event easily become Causes for the next. (History’s wacky that way.)

The new wrinkle (for me) was Rhonda’s concept of the “Trigger.” While Causes may occur for an extended time without an Event actually beginning, Triggers convert all of that potential into action. They strike the match that ignites the fuel and timber. Without the Trigger, Causes might continue or eventually fade, but the Event wouldn’t occur – at least not when it did and how it did.

I’d argue that the firing on Ft. Sumter was the Trigger for the Civil War, because until people are shooting at each other, all we have is conflict and tension. You could reasonably make a case that the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 was the Trigger, or the secession of the southern states – and I could live with that.

So, yeah – Triggers can prove a bit subjective and some stuff happens without them, but I’ve found it to be quite useful in helping students organize the general flow of events in any history class.

CTER: An Easy Example

The American colonies had been restless for decades regarding British rule. Enlightenment ideals shaped the thinking of their most accomplished citizens. They enjoyed the benefits of “salutary neglect.” It was difficult for an island so far away to effectively rule a continent. Then came more specific antagonisms – the Proclamation of 1763, the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, the Boston Massacre, etc. Individuals and small groups begin pushing back more forcefully – the Boston Tea Party, Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense,” and so on. These were all Causes of the American Revolution.

But every one of them occurred without a revolution starting – at least not in the violent “you’re not my mommy anymore!” sense. Some had been going on for years and may have continued for many more.

Then came Lexington & Concord – the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World.” At this point, those causes were suddenly activated, lit on fire, and exploded into the Event. The American Revolution began and lasted nearly a decade. (It was a pretty big deal, so it’s an “Event.”)

Many things after the Revolutionary War weren’t the same as they had been before. The colonies were now independent and resented Great Britain for generations afterwards. They called themselves the United States of America and wrote a constitution called the “Articles of Confederation.” George Washington was forever after known as the “Father of Our Country.” 40,000+ men who’d been alive before the war were dead. Because war is expensive, there was also debt. Debt meant new taxes, and since not everyone felt equally represented in the new government, there were some who objected to this new taxation without—

Well, you get the idea. Some of the results of the American Revolutionary War became Causes of the next major event – replacing the Articles of Confederation with the U.S. Constitution to which was quickly added a “Bill of Rights.” The process continues through Manifest Destiny, the Civil War, the Gilded Age, a few world wars, the 1960s, grunge, and Donald Trump somehow getting elected President. One way or the other, it all connects and more-or-less flows together.

Using CTER In Class

There are two ways I like to use CTER in class. The first is as an introduction or overview for major events or eras. Students are given a CTER graphic organizer for one or two events from the upcoming unit. As we move through the unit, they use their CTER organizers to keep new information coherently tied together. (If you choose, however, you could just as easily use them as unit summaries or quizzes.) CTERs don’t require deep analysis, but they do require a “big picture” understanding of main events and why stuff happened the way it did – and that ain’t nothin’.

The second way I love to use CTER is as end-of-semester review. Students work in small groups and each group is given a stack of index cards. On each card is written a Cause, Trigger, Event, or Result. (I never label them as such, but Causes are all one color, Triggers are all another color, etc. Whether or not I share this system with students depends on the group.) Groups are assigned to place the Events in chronological order and to identify the Causes, Trigger, and Results of each event.

The activity requires factual recall, but also a degree of ongoing analysis and understanding of how things connect. There are few things which promote retention and understanding more than impromptu debates over whether a card makes more sense as a Result of this Event or a Cause of that one, or whether such-and-such was truly the Trigger or just another Cause. Sometimes students organize things differently than I would have; if they can justify it, that’s fine.

The specifics of the activity vary with the needs of the moment. Sometimes I end up dropping hints to keep groups from getting overly frustrated. Other times, I’ll allow students to use their textbooks or technology to look stuff up as they go. Most of you are educators – you know how this stuff works. It’s also easy to simplify the activity for some classes or make it a bit more challenging for others.

We wrap up by walking around and seeing what other groups did, then discussing. You can even hand them cards and assign a new Event or two to create their own for later review. Once you’ve established the concept, it’s infinitely flexible.

The attachments below represent all sorts of variations of this particular activity. Most are primarily American History, but some are from World. You can use them “as is” or modify them to fit your needs. If you really go to town with the idea, you can do right by the rest of us by sharing whatever you create with me and I’ll add it here.

Intro to CTER (Presentation) – Google Slides

Sample CTER Events w/ Causes, Triggers, and Results (for Teachers) – Google Document

CTER Individual Practice GO – PDF

CTER Two Events Generic – PDF

CTER Protestant Reformation – Columbus 1492 – PDF

CTER Sample – American Revolution (Completed) – PDF

CTER Fr-In War – Declaring Independence (w Key) – PDF

CTER Am Rev (basic) – PDF

CTER Am Rev – Fr Rev – PDF

CTER Key – 4 Early 19th Century Events – Google Slides

CTER Civil War – Reconstruction (w Other Stuff) – PDF

CTER World War I – PDF

CTER WWI Assignment (w/ Other Stuff) – Google Slides

CTER Bolshevik Revolution – PDF

CTER Great Depression (basic) – PDF

CTER Recap of Late 19th Century / CTER Assignment: Great Depression – Google Slides

CTER Great Depression – WWII – PDF

Those Circle Things

April 25, 2020June 16, 2023 ~ Blue Cereal ~ 1 Comment

Sometimes it’s the simplest ideas that end up being the most useful.

Several years ago I co-presented a workshop with an amazing woman named Ayn Grubb. While I pride myself on getting along with other consultants or trainers or whatever they happen to be called that week, I’m sure it won’t surprise you to learn that there are really only a handful I genuinely admire and for whom I maintain an irrepressible teacher-crush. Ayn is one of that handful. Her style is quite different than mine, but she works a room of educators like Yo-Yo Ma works a bow or a hibachi chef works a seafood combo for eight.

At one point, she went up to the white board at the front of the room and drew the simplest little thing – a circle divided into four quadrants. In each quadrant, she wrote a single word. (I don’t even remember what the topic was; I was too busy having a life-changing experience.) She asked us which one didn’t belong and why, then gave us time to discuss.

I immediately stole the idea and never looked back. I have no idea if she lifted it from somewhere else or came up with it herself. I’m sure it would never occur to her to take credit either way. And, to be fair, the underlying idea does sorta go way back…

I started using variations of what I’ve come to simply think of as “Those Circle Things” in workshops, in class, and sometimes just to annoy friends at parties. They make great bell-ringers, discussion-starters, and I’ve even used them as informal assessments.

They’re also pretty easy to use with Google Slides or Pear Deck or whatever technological platform makes you tingle, and work equally well for synchronous or asynchronous discussion. They’re especially useful when you need ideas for “e-learning” on snow days, or when something else you had planned completely falls apart at the last minute.

Whatever the context, I always begin with something non-threatening and not content-based. Since I’m a sucker for superheroes, here’s one I used for many years:

What do these four things have in common? Which one doesn’t fit, and why?

The first few times I use something like this, whether with students or teachers, we’re establishing norms or procedures or classroom dynamics – whatever you call it in your world. See, we don’t actually CARE about these four characters, at least academically. What we care about is the process and the approach.

At the risk of preaching to the pedagogical choir, I’ll be annoyingly specific about what I mean.

We’re learning a new skill with non-threatening content (and usually learn new content with familiar skills).
The first few slides shouldn’t require much in the way of specialized content knowledge in order to participate. Anyone can come up with a few things even if they’re not particularly deep. This should be encouraged.
As it becomes clear that some of us know more about the topic than others, this should be celebrated. It demonstrates that we all have different backgrounds and bring different insights to the discussion. If I know more about Luke Cage than you do, that’s not because I’m “smart” or you’re “stupid.” One’s depth of knowledge regarding Luke Cage is not actually how we evaluate one’s usefulness or potential as a human being these days (although we’ve all endured worse metrics, I’m sure).
It’s better to be “wrong” than to be afraid. If someone suggests that three of the characters have superpowers and one (Agent Carter) doesn’t, others might disagree and argue that Green Arrow is really just a guy with money and toys who exercises. As a result of this discussion, however, we may end up exploring how we’re using terms like “super” or “hero” or “abilities” in useful, enlightening ways. If the person who was “wrong” about Green Arrow hadn’t floated his or her idea to begin with, we might never have gotten there, and that would be sad.
As with many classroom discussions, it’s important to find ways to be inclusive. The most basic is to encourage students or participants to ponder each slide in small groups for a few minutes before we talk about them as a whole. This allows individuals to bounce ideas off of one another, resolve minor errors, and learn from one another before “speaking up” and taking what often feels like a greater risk before the entire group.
When we’re learning a new skill or procedure, the process is more important than the content. We’re modeling academic courtesy and discussion, learning to take risks with information about which we may be uncertain, and practicing the sort of listening to one another and civil disagreement which is often essential for real learning to occur.

Let’s try another one. Keep in mind we want to discuss ways they’re all the same as well as identify which one doesn’t fit, and why: (And yes, I should update this example before using these again.)

You probably figured out pretty quickly that there’s usually more than one solution to which one doesn’t fit and why. These aren’t multiple choice questions with one objectively “correct” answer. It’s the process of examining each item in comparison with the others that forces us to review what we already know, reinforces the information we use to argue whatever point we choose to make as a result, stretches our understanding of each item a bit, and lays the groundwork for actual analysis and argument should we eventually go there.

It’s a critical thinking thing. It just doesn’t look like it right away because… Twilight.

Once the idea is established, these can be used in endless iterations depending on your needs and goals and the depth of knowledge expected of your students. If you’re using them to introduce a topic, their existing content knowledge may be less important. If you’re using them as an informal assessment, on the other hand…

I’ll leave you with a few of my favorites in recent years. Some are a bit more complex than others based on the classes I had at the time. You’ll notice that sometimes the visuals are related to the text and sometimes they’re not – an inconsistency I should eventually address. I can tell you from experience you’ll want to clarify up front whether you expect students to consider the visuals or just the words in the circle.