Reverse Engineering: An Essential Literacy

I just had a discussion with my College Accounting class the other day about preparing them for a workforce that doesn’t currently exist. With it being an honors class, they are pretty smart kids and quickly understood my point. They know that the days of “Go to school, get good grades, get a good job” (Rich Dad / Poor Dad) are long gone. They understand that they will not go through life working for the same company or even in the same industry.

What today’s kids aren’t seeming to understand is how a good, well structured (not spoon fed) education will actually prepare them for an unknown. The tragedy is that they are learning something without knowing that they are learning it. Being aware of what you learn makes you much more likely to use it in the future. The lack of awareness of a skill will naturally result in atrophy of that skill. If we are helping kids learn how to learn, preparing kids for unknowns, teaching them how to grow in an environment that doesn’t yet exist, they should be able to identify “it” for future use.

“It” = “Reverse Engineering”

Adaptability is simply the skill to get somewhere you’ve never been before. Sometimes we are forced to adapt and sometimes we choose to adapt. Either way, we adapt. The more successful adapt more often and more easily. Those who don’t fall behind. As James York said, “The most successful people are those who are good at plan B.”

Knowing your end goal is such a key component to knowing that you are on the right track. I ask so many kids (and adults), “What’s your end goal?” This most often results in blank stares. I rephrase “What do you want the outcome to be as a result of this?” This most often results in “Ummms” and “Uhhhs”.

As humans we seem to be great at reverse engineering simple things, subconsciously.
End goal = getting to work... must drive car... car is low on gas... must get gas... head to gas station.

So much more rarely do we see people using this in a longer term, bigger, layered approach.
Final End Goal = Earning 6 figures... get job x (end goal = get job x... excell at job y (end goal = get job y... get job z (end goal = get job z... excell in College ABC (end goal = get into College ABC))))

We need to teach kids that they know how to use this approach. We need to teach them the power of using this approach for bigger “end goals.” We need to show them that they are learning these skills in our classes, how they used them, and how they can use them in the future. The more comfortable kids are with this, the more comfortable they will be taking on the future. The more laid out the path, the easier it is to adapt when a step goes awry. If I know my “sub end goals”, I know what I need to get back to when (not if) something doesn’t go according to plan.

We are giving students these skills. Let’s not keep it a secret from them. Projects with checkpoints is a great place to start. The project being complete is the Final End Goal and the checkpoints are the layered end goals. Don’t have them just do it to get the project done. Have them do it to learn how to do it!!

Projects: 3 Ways to Write 'Em Better

Project Writing... Sharing Selfishly!!

I often struggle with writing what I feel is a quality project for my students. However, I also stumble across myself writing one I feel is worth implementing in class. My requirements for what I deem to be a "great project" are pretty simple: 1.  Facilitate learning  2. Fun for the kids to work on  3. Easy to grade objectively (writing a rubric should come naturally with it)

As an accounting teacher, I am not necessarily the most naturally creative person. I want to be, desperately, but I'm realistic and know that it's a challenge for me. So, I have become uber-aware of the times I've "nailed it" (and more often aware of the times I haven't) and have identified three commonalities that have been in place during the development process of these projects. I think they may be the keys to my project writing success. Here they are!! 

1. Promise To Share

Before you start writing the project, commit to giving the finished product to someone else. If you know that other professionals are going to be using your work, you are more motivated to produce a high quality product. Find a person (or group of people) who you know would use it or use some version of it and decide that you WILL share it with them when you are finished. If you are not great at keeping your word to yourself, let them know that you will be sharing the project with them. This will hold you more accountable to sharing it.

2. Write it for Your Own Child

What kind of learning do you want your son / daughter to experience? For me, this is a biggie!! As my son and daughter are getting older, I become more and more aware of learning experiences I'm providing to someone else's sons and daughters. When I focus on whether I'd want my child to be spending their time in school on this, I find a way to cover all three qualities that I think makes a project "great".  If you don't yet have kids (you young whipper snappers out there), think about your niece, nephew, godchild, or whatever kid you absolutely adore.

3. Visualize Yourself Grading Them

Alright, if the first two aren't enough, then think about how awful it is to grade awful projects!! Holy smokes, it made me cringe to just type that last sentence. We've all graded awful projects and those of us who are reflective probably has admitted that it may not have been the best written / developed project we've ever created. Set yourself up for a fun grading (oxymoron?) experience. I have not done any research (and nobody should because it would be a waste of time and money), but I guarantee you that there is a direct correlation between the amount of fun and learning that a student has during a project and the enjoyment the teacher gets from grading it.

I hope this helps your project writing and your students' project experiences! Feel free to post comments and share any projects of yours that you are proud of!