When I was asked to help write a technology grant to the Cape Elizabeth Education Foundation, little did I know where that path would lead. I never expected the overwhelming response from CEEF and experiences that lay ahead. I just knew how much technology was impacting my classroom and felt it was important to try and move our school forward. 

Not a day goes by without a child mentioning their use of technology;  Skyping with grandparents, listening to an iPod, playing a video game, or getting time on the computer at home. How many times have we, as adults, asked our children to help figure out the TV remote, program a VCR, or figure out a new phone? This is their world and as a teacher, I sometimes feel like I’m playing catch-up. The children definitely live in a world that is technology rich. There have been times in my class where the children solve a ‘techie’ problem before I do. I would never dare tell my first graders that they wouldn’t understand how to solve a problem because I’d get an earful. They are definitely involved in the process and that is how it should be. When I leave my classroom to a substitute, I may say, “If you have a problem with the SMARTboard, just ask a child, they usually know what helps.” One of the most important things I try to impart to my students is that adults are not the only teachers in the room. They are each teachers as well. When dealing with a laptop that suddenly “is doing something funny” or a listening center where “we can’t hear anything, it’s not working”, peer assistance is both powerful and empowering. Children seem to absorb technology almost intuitively and we need to nurture and build on that skill. I began to realize that besides being fun, technology truly made a difference in how children perceived themselves as learners. This process allowed them to show how they could collaborate and communicate their knowledge in a creative and innovative way. Sharing it with their families, friends, and community gave them an audience. As a teacher, I discovered technology allowed them the freedom to experience and direct their own learning. 

Kids are engaged. They want to contribute and be a part of what we’re doing. I can demonstrate concepts in a clear, efficient and effective way, even the more abstract ones. Because of this, it is possible in many cases to increase the pace and depth of what I teach. For instance, teaching the life cycle of a butterfly used to require a lot of cutting and pasting, challenging for little first grade fingers with fine-motor issues. With a SMARTboard, they use their finger and move pre-typed words to the correct spot on the cycle. I can assess the skill and take the fine-motor piece out. Watching a child working on the SMARTboard, I notice peers watching, posing questions, predicting outcomes, and offering their own ideas. They make new connections and deepen their understanding of the concept. 

The students aren’t the only ones collaborating. Through the generosity of the Cape Elizabeth Education Foundation, this influx of technology tools in our school required professional development for teachers. TimHattaway, our technology integrator, 4th grade teacher Erik Nielsen, and I collaborated to teach workshop sessions to help teachers with new SMARTboards. Thanks to a supportive administration, we are building time into our professional development workshops to continue staff training and meet the needs of teachers whose skills are now at different levels. In a tight budget environment, finding alternate ways to meet these challenges is critical. This kind of professional sharing and learning is one of our school’s strengths and it’s obvious the children (and we) are reaping the benefits.

In class a few weeks ago, the children were having some free time before dismissal. I needed to check email and make sure there were no last minute dismissal changes. That’s when I realized my computer was attached to the SMARTboard where some children were playing a math game, the two available student laptops were being used, as well as the iPad. It made me stop and smile. Technology had certainly become quite an important part of our classroom. So how did I get my email? My iPhone, of course! 

            I was accepted by the Spanish Embassy program to attend the The Road to Santiago, a three-week course taught at the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) in Spain. Santiago de Compostela is in Galicia, a region in northwestern Spain, north of Portugal. The Embassy housed us in university residence halls and we took courses in language, history, art, geography, literature, and music, all in relation to Galicia and its history since the Middle Ages.

            There were twenty-six people in the U.S. group, (one from Maine!) and we were part of the three hundred Spanish teachers from around the world who studied through the Embassy at USC in July 2010. There were Spanish teachers from forty countries, including Morocco, Finland, Brazil, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Bulgaria, England, and Uzbekistan.

            My reasons for taking this course were (1) to immerse myself in Spanish culture,

(2) to learn culturally authentic material to enhance the Cape Elizabeth curriculum, (3) to make global connections to bring into my classroom, i.e. make contacts for skyping with Spanish classes in other parts of the world, (4) to become a student again, to have time to study, research, and reflect without the demanding time constraints of a teaching schedule, and (5) to take advantage of a unique professional development opportunity that could never be replicated in Maine, the chance to study in Spain at a first-rate university.

            The Road to Santiago exceeded my expectations; it was an exhilarating experience to study, live, talk, attend cultural events, and travel in Galicia. Immersing myself in Spanish culture and life was invaluable to my language skills.  Also, having a venue in which to converse with Spanish teachers from around the world was amazing. It was fascinating to compare and contrast our educational systems, share teaching ideas and lessons, and to use Spanish as our common language to learn about and become acquainted with each other.

            Cape Elizabeth students will benefit from this Embassy program because I am invigorated by my summer study and I have lots of new ideas, cultural experiences, and material to use and share. Three major units that I plan to develop as a result of my studies are Global Classroom Digital Exchanges, Traditional Galician Games, and a Spanish Iditarod unit.

            You might be asking yourself, “What do Galicia, Spain, and the Alaskan Iditarod have in common?” It’s one of the many stories and interesting connections from my summer study. I became friends with a Spanish professor in the program, from the University of Alaska, and she told me about a website for educators about the Iditarod. (http://www.iditarod.com/)  Students can pick a sled dog with whom to blog and there is a dog who will respond in Spanish and my friend happens to be the dog’s writing assistant. I’m excited for my students to use their language skills to blog and to learn about the Iditarod via lessons I’ll create in Spanish. I plan to incorporate math (distances traveled), science (weather, climate), geography, and reading and writing skills, albeit on an elementary Spanish level. I’ve discussed this idea with colleagues and we plan to implement it in our classes this winter.

            Another result of this professional development is Timoteo’s Blog. Timoteo is a stuffed animal who is the class mascot for third and fourth grade Spanish classes at Pond Cove. Last spring I visited the Pond Cove third grade classes and told them that Timoteo would be traveling with me to Spain and that he’d be back in Fall 2010 to tell them about his trip.  I asked them what they wanted Timoteo to learn and the students generated questions and ideas, such as What type of music is popular? What are some good foods? Go swimming. Find a Spanish cow. Timoteo blogged about his experience. http://timoteospain.blogspot.com/ I will visit the Pond Cove classes within the next few months to talk about his trip and report back on their scavenger hunt questions.

            I didn’t take the real Timoteo with me but a flat version, similar to a Flat Stanley, and I took about two hundred photos of Timoteo as he tried to accomplish all that the Pond Cove students had suggested. Timoteo became well known by the other teachers in my program. At times I wanted a break from photos but they would say, “Debes sacar una foto con Timoteo! / You have to take a photo of Timoteo here!” A number of teachers liked the idea of a Timoteo blog and they plan to implement a similar idea in their lessons. We had numerous opportunities to exchange teaching ideas and Timoteo is one example of that.

         In spite of bleak economic times, teachers must keep up-to-date within our profession to create fresh, relevant, exciting lessons for our students. In order to realize that goal, educators themselves must experience fresh, exciting pursuits. I hope that my summer study keeps alive the importance of ongoing professional development.             

            The Cape Elizabeth Education Foundation is an incredible resource for our students and schools. CEEF’s partial funding of my Spanish Embassy program was invaluable and made a big difference in my ability to participate. I used personal monies for part of it but the CEEF funding and support made the opportunity more accessible to me. An intangible benefit is that I feel validated as a professional educator because CEEF understands the critical importance of innovative, relevant professional development and it’s willing to support teachers in our endeavors. CEEF is an organization that benefits our students, teachers, and community in so many ways. Thank you CEEF for an amazing professional opportunity! 

The Spanish Immersion began with a session on Spanish film presented by Sheila Cockey.  Several years ago a Spanish professor at the University of Virginia, David Gies, wrote a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to compile not only clips from various Spanish films, but accompanying lessons and activities.  Sheila is one of the site’s contributors so her guidance was quite valuable.  We were led through the comprehensive site and shared movies that we have successfully used in the classroom.  I looked forward to sharing this resource with my colleagues as a way to bring authentic language and culture into the classroom!  The website, called Cine Con Clase, is located at:  http://hitchcock.itc.virginis.edu/SpanishFilm /principal.html

The next session took place at the Spanish Embassy.  It was exciting to go inside and be “in Spain.”  It was wonderful to hear the Spanish accent again!  The Embassy provided us with a tour of their website and several educational materials published by the Embassy to take back to our classrooms. In a subsequent session presented by the Spanish Embassy, we learned about España Verde, the most northern regions of the country.   I have not yet visited that area of Spain and I learned that I am missing out on a beautiful landscape and a unique experience on the Camino de Santiago!

In the afternoon, our group received a private, guided tour of the Spanish collection in the National Gallery of Art.  I enjoyed seeing the Picasso and Dalí.  Afterwards, we viewed the Alejandro Amenábar film, Mar adentro.  It was a sad, heavy topic, but the film is beautifully put together.   A discussion of the film followed.

Prior to arriving for Spanish Week, we were all asked to provide a lesson to share with the group.  Each of us had time to share our tried and true lessons with one another.  Since we were a varied group of teachers, from grade 3 through college, we were able to brainstorm ways to adapt the lessons to the different language levels.

The Spanish Immersion also featured a session with a Spanish-speaking teacher/guitarist.  That session marked the first time I had ever held a guitar! The guitar sessions were a source of struggle for me.  It was tough to look around and see others jumping right in and playing songs while I plucked along trying to make sure my fingers were in the right spot to play the chord!  It later came out that those who just “got it” had some prior musical instruction.  However, in the midst of my frustration I realized a couple things.  One was that experienced guitarists make it look easy to remember the chords to a song, form the chords, play the chords and sing along all at the same time!  The second thing was that I was glad I was experiencing frustration while learning something brand new.  I know that there are students who experience the same anxiety and frustration as I did with guitars with language learning.  It served as a valuable reflective teaching moment for me.

I encourage other teachers to connect with CEEF about future opportunities.  Throughout the grant process I felt comfortable and supported.  I appreciated that the grants committee asked questions about my proposal that demonstrated a true interest in my professional development idea.

A big thank you once again to CEEF for making this professional development experience possible.  It was both worthwhile and enjoyable.  I was able to learn from colleagues in other parts of the country, practice my own skills, visit the Embassy and garner a wealth of resources and ideas for the classroom.  I have created lessons based on materials from the NCLRC website and Cine Con Clase.   There is a selection of Internet resources for colleagues at: http://guest.portaportal.com/srtadionne.



What is my motivation?  Well, I have a degree in Engineering.  Chemical Engineering in fact.  I worked for five years in the environmental engineering field.  However, the longer I work in education the more I am comfortable stating that engineering was probably not the best career fit for me.  When I was in high school, I excelled in math.  The advice I got was "if you're good at math, go into engineering."  There was a certain appeal to that career, so that's what I did. 

Why did I leave engineering?  It probably has most to do with personality.  Now I don't want to "broad brush stroke" engineers too much, but the best engineers I worked with had a certain "let's do it, this is fun" attitude towards solving problems that were both physical and mental in nature.  My educational background, I felt, was largely that of solving paper-and-pencil problems.  I had a hands-on void.  Now that's not to say I couldn't have found an engineering niche where I was more comfortable, and I certainly want to encourage students interested in engineering to pursue this career, but for me, once I sampled teaching (quite by accident), I knew I had found a career in which I could contribute and be very happy.

Back to the after-school Robotics and Engineering program.  Robotics is a great program because it indeed offers "hands-on, minds-on" challenges that I believe simulate the real world of engineering.  The Lego Robotics and VEX Robotics competition programs are global.  Academic curricula for high schools to support VEX Robotics engineering is available.  This is the aspect of our program that is tied to national, if not international, standards for excellence.

I think there can be an equally-important home-grown nature to our afterschool Robotics and Engineering program as well.  With the support of CEEF, I am reaching out to the local and greater Portland communities to develop sustained after-school programs in electronics and small engines.

I also believe there are members of the community who could work on small one-time projects with students.  During the 2008-09 Engineering elective course for seniors, members of the local and greater Portland communities helped with projects that had students converting a bicycle to a moped, and had students refurbishing and racing an electric car at Beechridge Speedway.

The final component of the Robotics and Engineering program, which has yet to be developed, is that of organized job shadows.  In this age of rapid communication, it seems that interested students could be rapidly connected to members of business and industry during times when they are performing something of educational value.

It is my goal to keep this blog updated with the status of each of these program components.  Thank you, CEEF, for all the support you have given me!

Click here to see a photo gallery of Evan Thayer's students at work.

Before my trip I was guilty of generalizing the West African culture. My stay in Ghana cured me of this misconception as I learned how much diversity there is between tribes, languages, traditions, dances and instrumentation within the country of Ghana alone.  By the end of the trip I could see dramatic differences between the clothing, instrumentation and dancing between the Dagomba tribe and the Ewe tribe, for instance.

I saw first hand how Ewe language is tonal and many rhythms mimic the language.  This is how rhythms themselves can communicate specific information.  Many books discuss the ways in which West Africans communicate with drums. The history books note that slaves communicated with drums as they came to the United States.  I could never truly understand how this could be possible until I sat and worked with a helpful child in Kopeyia.  As I practiced the kroboto part in the piece Agbekor, he translated it for me and told me that the kroboto rhythm was saying, “Go to the bush.”

The experiences that I had studying Ewe music and dance were profound and transforming.  Equally profound was the process in which they were taught, through the aural tradition. Within our culture, teaching music aurally is often misunderstood and thought to be substandard to reading musical notation.  I am defending the aural tradition because I discovered that it is inseparable from the music and is critical to understanding and appreciating it. I have also learned that truly teaching in the aural tradition is an art in itself and is effective, thus it has been used in virtually every culture around the globe for thousands of years.

As I continue to reflect on this experience I’ve discovered many surprising similarities to my immersion in a foreign culture that directly compare to the day-in-the-life of an adolescent!  My time at the Dagbe Center and every other experience that I had in Ghana allowed me to experience what it is like to be a student again! In my career as a middle school music teacher, I make an effort to empathize with adolescents by acknowledging the challenges that students face on a daily basis. In addition to attending a new school, students are dealing with physical changes, social changes and increased responsibility. All of these factors contribute to an unfamiliar and sometimes challenging world for kids. 

In Ghana, I was immersed in a completely unfamiliar environment that was at times uncomfortable.  Even with my best effort to be considerate of the culture, I still made mistakes and was corrected for taking a photo at an inappropriate time, using my left hand, and greeting someone incorrectly. Sometimes I was unfamiliar with the social expectations, other times I simply forgot the different rules of etiquette even though my intentions were good and I meant no disrespect to the people.

This made me consider the way an adolescent is in the midst of transition between childhood and a teen. This experience reminded me that kids are sometimes muddling through a new world that they don’t understand yet.  I thought about how embarrassing it was for me to be corrected when I committed social faux pas, like mistakenly using my left hand, or greeting someone as though they were my enemy! I also often forget how painful learning can be.  I’m grateful that in addition to the authentic experience with Ewe music and the aural tradition, I was immersed in an unfamiliar world and through that experience I got a powerful reminder as to what it feels like to have to figure it out.

As I became aware of the connection between my experiences in Ghana and a day in the life of an adolescent, I also began to pay close attention to the way that I felt, and the way that I reacted to the challenges throughout the learning process. I also thought about the reactions within our group and had a sense that I might see some of the same reactions that I see in my classroom! 

 I think that it is important to mention that this experience was filled with tremendous joy the majority of the time, but for this blog I will put a lot of focus on some of the more troubling emotions because after all, teaching would be easy if everyone was happy and comfortable all the time!  Being a student gave me an opportunity to remember the emotions and reactions associated with learning challenges. 

 I was able to reduce all emotions as being rooted in frustration. Once frustration occurred, a multitude of other things began to happen within me.  First, the inner dialog started.  I thought about the fact that I needed help, but I didn’t know what to ask.  If I did ask a question I was afraid it had already been answered and I would be asking them to repeat. I tried to figure out how the parts all worked together but I couldn’t make any sense of what was going on.  From there I became overwhelmed. Because I couldn’t understand how all the drum parts worked together I couldn’t use them to remember my part on the sogo or the kidi drums.  As a result, when I stopped playing, I forgot my part and was unable to come in correctly or play it without the help of a teacher.  I concentrated intently but still felt lost. Distracting thoughts took over my mind.  I started looking around thinking that I was the only one that didn’t understand what was happening.  I then became less focused and got further away from being able to play the part.  I wanted to give up and take a break.  Out of disgust with myself I had to resist the urge to sigh or roll my eyes!  This was an “ah ha” moment for me! Perhaps my students get frustrated with themselves and want desperately to get it right just like I do!

As I come back to my teacher’s philosophy about learning through life experiences I know even more after this field study that he could not have been more correct. There is no substitute for experiencing this music within the cultural context that it exists.  I feel extremely fortunate to have attended a funeral and a shrine ceremony where I saw dancing and drumming in its true form as it was intended.   We cannot go back to Beethoven’s era and experience the world that his music was created in.  With the exception of a few jazz clubs around the United States, it is rare to see jazz being created as part of the culture as it was intended. It is rare to see any style of music that is as old Ewe pieces are, still being performed traditionally. I had the extreme experience of being a student in a completely unfamiliar world. The perspective that I got from essentially “walking in my students’ shoes” is one that I could not have gotten any other way. This was the professional development endeavor of a lifetime.  The books give us the facts but it is the sounds, smells, traditions, culture, emotions, thoughts, and reactions that we have, that are the missing pieces of the puzzle.  These elements are the parts of the experience that create the connection to and appreciation of the culture, the music, the process, and the people. All of these factors worked together to create an unforgettable period of growth for me as a teacher and a musician.  It is my hope that I can pass on the cycle of learning to my students by encouraging them to be curious about worlds different from their own, and for them to be passionate enough to take the necessary risks to do so.

Thank you so much Cape Elizabeth Education Foundation for your assistance in innovating the classroom, and helping teachers to grow and develop to the best of their ability!

          Click on the photo to see more from the African Encounters Tour Gallery.

Sometimes it’s hard for our youngest learners to hear the subtle differences in the pronunciation of numbers.  Take 15 and 50 for example.  It’s not that uncommon to hear first graders counting like this . . . 13, 14, 15, 51, 52, 53 . . .  Imagine the impact on your life with that kind of misconception.  Counting money?  You would think you had more than you really did! 

Helping a child understand place value, number sequencing, and visual differences usually clears up the misunderstanding in a very short time, and the look of amazement on a child’s face when he or she “gets it”—well, that’s the highlight of any teacher’s day!

One of the missions of the Math Lab at Pond Cove is to identify and untangle some misconceptions like that. 

Generously funded by CEEF, the Math Lab provides extra instruction and practice with specific concepts on a short term basis for K-2 students. Building on that solid foundation, their math skills expand with a deeper understanding as they move into more complex mathematical ideas.

Of course, our students don’t know that’s the real reason they come to Math Club—they view it as a fun math playground, where they play games, use the SmartBoard, and gain the confidence that they can do anything!

 THANK YOU CEEF !!!!!

 --Debbie Butterworth

  Pond Cove Math Lab teacher

In today’s economic climate, educators are forced to find ways around shortages in teaching aides and replenishment of materials such as textbooks.  In fact, it often seems as if the only surplus a teacher has is of things to accomplish each day.

If there is one subject where a teacher’s resourcefulness is routinely tested more than any other, it is science.  Especially during the elementary and middle school years, one cannot simply learn scientific concepts and develop meaningful skills by reading about them out of books.  This usually results in many hours of rummaging through junk drawers at home, and scouring the supply closets at school – all in the spirit of finding valuable materials for hands-on science experiences.  Reading is still important, especially when research skills are being taught, but the reading must be coupled with experiments and discussion that drive scientific inquiry.

Having an entire classroom’s worth of new laptops for kids to use is not a luxury that many educators south of 7^th grade have.  For the past two years, however, fifth graders in Cape Elizabeth have enjoyed just that. Besides providing expected benefits such as word processing and internet research, the laptops have catapulted students far beyond anything possible in the textbook world. Having used the machines in hundreds of lessons myself, I have seen the awesome power of developing minds growing through the use of innovative software and online experiences.

The program Inspiration has allowed students of all ability levels the opportunity to organize research into webs or traditional outlines.  Explore Learning’s web-based “gizmos” have allowed kids to conduct virtual science experiments with topics ranging from energy and scientific method to building electrical circuits – all without purchasing costly materials or separate textbooks for each student.  Webquests and numerous other online experiences have also been used to broaden students’ science experience. In math, students have even designed and built spreadsheets using Excel to plan monthly expenses and graph spending and savings.

A former colleague and school librarian once told me that there was no such thing as an old book, just one that needed to be rebound. It is quite possible, with the ever-increasing usage of electronic media, that there eventually will be no such thing as a new book.  Cape Elizabeth is a community that is fortunate enough to have a significant base of external resources available to supplement our schools’ needs.  By supporting the use of technology in the classroom, we are not only solving the problem of replacing outdated print materials, but we are also preparing our students for success in an electronic world.

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