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The Pancake Principle
by Elizabeth Helfant

The school year is rapidly winding down. As I reflect on the successes and failures of our first year with a 1:1 tablet program, I am reminded of something my division head adheres to. Let’s call it the Pancake Principle.

Tenet One of the Pancake Principle

 

Risk-taking and doing things for the first time are like making pancakes. You have to remember that the first one is never going to turn out right but the ones after that are usually awesome. The fact that the first one fails does not deter us from making pancakes. 

 

This year we made a lot of pancakes and the risks are paying off. We started the year with week-long interdisciplinary units. These units were designed to give students receiving tablets a foundation in technology and library research skills that would help support the 1:1 program. It was a successful week but it had its share of difficulties. Next year, we’re going to pour the second pancake and we’re going to do it with all four grades. We tried lots of projects that used the tablet  and most of them were definitely worthy of pouring syrup on. It will be good to revise them and make them better. We attempted to give exams electronically with the tablets. We discovered that we were doing a traditional task in a somewhat nontraditional way. This pancake needs the most work before pouring the second one on the griddle.  The exam doesn’t need fixing, our very methods of assessment need to be shifted and we are working that into our strategic plan. The culminating assessment for a course doesn’t have to be an exam and as we shift to more student centered, problem based learning, assessment must change to be consistent with that shift. In almost everything we did in conjunction with 1:1, we learned things that will help us make the second year much better- just like pancakes.

 

In our second year we’ll roll out another 300 tablets, and take some new chances. If I’m ever in doubt about taking chances, I’m going to remind myself of two things I learned from a session on managing social media given by Angela Maiers on Classroom 2.0 Live.

 

Angela said two things that really resonated with me and support the Pancake Principle.

 

“The risk of ignoring (technology & change) is far more risky than the risk of being overwhelmed.”

 

“Learning is a mindset….We’re in a space that is redefining what expertise is. Those who were experts in one space may become obsolete because in their own mind they’ve reached proficiency. Proficiency is a blind spot. Once you have the opinion you are proficient…you stop reaching out as a learner….The successful of the future will not only be those who know how to learn but those who see themselves as LEARNERS.”

 

Translation- Pour that first pancake and make modifications as needed. Never settle for the first pancake no matter how good the “expert” recipe is.

 

Tenet Two of the Pancake Principle

 

The basic batter is the same, but you can always tweak it.

 

There has been much talk about evolving, emerging or new literacies and about best practices with technology.  We did a great deal of work convincing faculty that there was a need to change our practices and integrate technology into our day to day work. We articulated the literacies students need in a way that our school could embrace and move forward with. That pancake was good, but we’ve found a way to modify it to make the second one better. We found it in the TPCK model.

 

 

 

TPCK is a framework that does an excellent job of explaining technology integration. In my mind, it moves technology from an integrated role to an integral one. It acknowledges the expertise associated with technology, content, and pedagogy and demonstrates the strength in overlapping any of the areas. The real power in teaching and learning occurs when all three areas overlap. As Angela Maiers said, what was once an expertise has shifted and not embracing that means never reaching the center point of the TPCK model.

 

My second pancake will be poured when the majority of my faculty are dining in the center of this model.

 

Tenet Three of the Pancake Principle

 

Pancakes come in a wide variety.

 

The way a person takes their pancakes is individualized. Some want blueberries, some chocolate chips. Some want boysenberry syrup; others strawberries and whipped cream.

 

The same level of individuality exists with technology and demands that teachers get very intentional with planning their lessons if they are to shift their expertise into the center of the TPCK model. Understanding by Design provides a methodology for designing curriculum but requires that faculty understand the technologies available to enhance their curriculum as well as the evolving literacies their students need to acquire. The myriad ways that technology can be harnessed to deepen learning require that professional development be equally varied. As we move into summer, we’re gearing up for an active professional development season. We’ve got an exciting speaker series coming to campus and are doing some internally delivered sessions as well. We have alerted teachers to a number of opportunities online ranging from book discussions on the English Companion Ning to online talk shows like Classroom 2.0Live. We’ve gotten a number of teachers active on twitter. We’re taking a group to the Lausanne Laptop Institute. I’ve got several individual curriculum development sessions scheduled with teachers. (You might recall from a previous post that we are under orders to revise our entire curriculum next year.)

 

We have mixed up our professional development opportunities so that there has to be something for everyone. Correction – there has to be something for every LEARNER. The table is set and there is a pancake dish for everyone, unless you don’t like pancakes! And if you don’t like pancakes, you might be in the wrong kitchen.

 

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About Elizabeth

Elizabeth Helfant is the Upper School Coordinator of Instructional Technology at Mary Institute Country Day School, a JK-12 institution embarking on a 1:1 adventure. using Tablet PCs and DyKnow.