Diplomado Module #3-- Day 1

Data Collection is the theme of the week.

Kris collected a lot of data immediately:

7:55-- 5 students, no projector
8:01-- 6 students, no projector,
8:05-- Omar and Ulises arrive (our super hero translators)
8:15-- 10 students, no projector, Omar riding motor bike to get one
8:37-- projector is here and hooked up
8:40-- time to start-- still no Indiana
8:50-- introductions began

This is very Nicaraguan.  :-)

We spent the majority of the day reviewing modules 1 and 2-- from December and January.  It's been 7 months so the review was necessary.  It was also great to get feedback from the participants on how they have used the information.  Repeatedly, they commented on positive reinforcement being so powerful (kudos to Beth & Mitzi!!).  A few of the teachers mentioned how they are sharing the information with others in their schools, so I reinforced that as exactly what we wanted to have happen.  We need this ripple effect to reach other classrooms.

Anna and Maia were responsible for letting people in the front doors and getting them registered.

 I began with an activity where the participants observed changes in another person and highlighted how everyone put things back to where there were originally (earrings, watches, collars, etc.)  People want change but don't necessarily want to change.  We expect others to change and expect our students to change, but as individuals we resist change and go back to what is comfortable.  Then, we spent time asking how they have changed and implemented change in their classrooms this year.

The Nicaraguans are very literal and concrete-- which is a direct result of the current education system.  The lack of critical thinking skills permeates every area of life.  So, we started with a concrete graphing activity to lay the foundation for data collection on behavior and academics.  We used Skittles-- which they got to eat when we were done. :-)

We reviewed classroom rules and began brainstorming for a token economy.  The kinds of data the teachers currently collect are related to attendance and homework.  So, we are going to reinforce being on time and completing homework.  Some of the rewards they would like are: chocolate, pens, gum, and even cards to recharge their cell phones.  :-)

We are planning to graph their progress and hopefully--- we will reach 80% so we can let them out early on Friday.

This is not a reading culture so giving reading homework each night is a stretch.  When I handed it out, they all counted the pages!  Julio Pinedo-- one of my most favorite Nicaraguans-- stopped by to visit as well.  He mentioned that a recent survey on the news showed that only 1% of college students said they read regularly.  1% -- and these are college students.

Julio was captured and tortured by Somoza's men and he told us about a reenactment that will happen on Tuesday. We understand it is a big celebration in Leon for the day of the student, and they are commemorating when Somoza's people killed 4 students. However............with all the loud firecrackers-- ok, cannons and bombardas-- we need to graph the amount of sleep we might actually get.