dinsdag 17 september 2013

Explaining planning poker


Willy explaining planning poker
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The day we visited Ashram, we had the pleasure of experiencing what goes on in the classroom. One of the classes got introduced to estimating backlog and doing planning poker. It was just the second class in the morning, first class had left the room. And we were discussing what we observed in the first class while we were waiting.

Some moments later a new class entered the room. Willy was a little more firm on this class, no bags on the table, but same setting, all groups joining together. This time we got some more insight; this class went through the first two lessons. This, we learned, was basically about:
   having a short introduction in eduScrum, the basics and principles
   dividing in groups of four based on qualities
   breaking down their first assignment, some chapters in their class book with an end assignment
Willy continued and explained they now had to estimate the backlog, they work they had broken down the previous class into tasks with post-its. Willy distributed planning poker cards and said the first tasks, the first page of a book was 2, they had to estimate accordingly. Class looked puzzled, so he continued: “I am going to explain you something about relative comparison. I am 50 Kg,” (which I have to tell you is a little off reality), “no I am 50 Apples, no I am 50 A, how much are you?” looking at one of the girls sitting in front of the class. A little hesitant she admitted she wouldn’t know, so he asked again: “I am 50 A, how much are you?”, “40 A?”, she said. “Thank you for the compliment! but accepted, so how about you?” looking at another student. “30 A?”, she replied. “Excellent, you get the idea. Just throw away the dimensions, but if I am 50 A, you are perfectly able to estimate your are less, and you are even lesser. So let’s continue,” and he walked to a group handing them cards, taking two activities, one he declared 2 and the other was obviously more complex. “Now,” he said, “take your cards, give your estimate, and on the count of three give me your number, 1, 2, 3,…. Too slow guys, once more and all at the same moment, 1, 2, 3 ….” We saw 8,2,5, 8, 2.”Can’t be, they cannot be same as the previous task do it again, 1,2,3 ..” and 8,8,8,5,8 popped up. He declared it eight and you say some students in the other groups making sound they start to understand. He told once again the relevance of the relevant comparison, waiving away the need to be exact and stressing the importance of coming to understanding in a double blind proposal.
Some few moments later he had the impression students in all groups would understand and invited them to start estimating the complete backlog of the previous lesson. Some half hour passed, few questions, but most of all we just had time to watch and observe. And in the final minutes Willy invited everybody to add all numbers and call out the total: 250, 178, 320, 380, 290. 356, some were a little reluctant, but that would stop him.
“Now I take one of these numbers, 380, forget if it is right or not, it is the number of this group. If this is your estimation I just plot it here. We have ten lessons to go, forget about this and the previous lessons. We just take the 380, according to your estimation based on 2 for reading the first page, you need to do 380 points in 10 lessons. So 38 points per lesson (writing 38 p/l, introducing dimensional calculation at the same time again). We take the graph putting 380 on x=0 and drawing a straight line down to 0 at x=10, basically drawing the burndown chart.
“Now next lesson you will come. It will be lesson zero and you do work. The next lesson you will come and put work from todo to done and count the numbers. It is expected you do 38 points work. That your will write done here. The next lesson you will come again doing the same. We will have two points and we know what your velocity, meaning points per lesson is.” he continued, “Now I do not care what your are doing, when you are doing it, where you are doing it. But you are expected to do 38 per lesson. If you are doing more, you are ok, having free time the last lessons. doing some french exam or something. It is up to you. If you do less however, I will ask and we will have to find a way together to go faster, ” he said, “However I do not expect you to do, since nobody ever did less”. “My experience is, ” he continued, “that first and second graders are right on the spot, eager as they are. Sixed graders however are like this, doing nothing the first two lessons and then catching on, but you will all make it on time, maybe even earlier if you just follow your own planning.”
“So it is up to you,” he said. And the buzzer went of, kids picking their bags, running of, “you just do whatever you like, but remember, ” as they went out the door, ” you listen to me and do as I tell you” and he showed a big smile because he just knows after two year, they all get it. Do their work, spent less on homework, hardly ever has to interrupt himself and they would all have higher grades.
Ilja Heitlager, Posted on September 13, 2013

Jeff meets Ashram


Jeff Sutherland visit the Ashram College in Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherland.

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The eduScrum team is making some remarkable progress. Lot’s of classes are fully running eduScrum at the Ashram college, the first teachers are trained and applying it outside the team and even some first schools outside the Ashram are implementing eduScrum. Gradually it is growing.

So we welcomed the request from Jeff Sutherland and JJ to visit the Ashram and see the results for themselves. It was a little early (school had just started for one week after the summerholidays), and the team was even a bit worried they could not show the energy and excitement that is going on in the classroom. But what a wonderful day it was. Willy prepared a great little program for Jeff and JJ to show them what they are doing.
 picture copyright Ashram college, do not reprint without permission.

We arrived early in Alphen, some time before first lessons, and, boy we were allowed to visit the teachersroom, now finally we know what is going on overthere (obviously being incrowd now, we will not tell you). We stepped into the Chemistry class of Willy, with Havo 3 (15 year olds) about to start.

First thing I noticed was the classroom had the studentdesks organised in little islands of 2 by 2. So half of them with the backs against the whiteboard in front of classroom, with the back against the teacher! Furthermore everywhere there seem to be examples of scrumboards in A0 paper flaps hanging in the classroom.

The students entered classroom quietly, taking their A0 paper flaps in groups and putting them on the wall with magnets. They sat down and waited for their fellow team members to join and started discussing-working with eachother, immediately……

All that time Jeff, JJ, Willy and myself were chatting with eachother, drinking our coffee. At some point for all groups, kids stood up and shared around the A0 paper flaps, obviously starting a standup meeting. We were all flabbergasted. At some moment Willy put us out of our total confusion: he did something special, knowing that Jeff would be coming he and the class did their utmost best to do the eduScrum planning in 2 lessons, instead of three. All making sure that they would be ready before the visit, and obviously succeeded. The Scrumboards all showed backlog with broken down tasks, estimiated and prioritized, a burndown chart and remarks on Definition of Done and Definition of Fun! Everybody knew what to do and just did it!

 Willy had the students standup if they had previous eduScum experience and half of the class stood up. We all joined, Jeff made a little introduction and explained some of the history of Scrum. We learned that most kids really found class more enjoyable, having less need of doing homework.

Class continued and kids continued to work by themselves, not being hindered at all by five adults just standing their in the classroom. Sometimes one of the kids would standup and ask a question to Willy, but they all seem to have an excellent idea of what to do next. Just before the end of the 45 minute lesson, Willy all made them aware of the end of the class. The kids stood up moved tasks around from open to in progress or done, making pictures with their phones. He told me that is the way they share what to do for homework. And off they were for the next class.
We saw another class going through planning poker, which I will describe later. It was in this class that Jeff wispered to me: “This is amazing. I have seen some Scrum in schools, but that was all about having students understanding Scrum and doing some project. This is all about changing the way one teaches” and I concluded he just realized what the board of the eduScrum foundation and friends of eduScrum have noticed that something new is going on. That Willy and the eduScrum team are really inventing some new way of teaching, together with the other teachers of the Ashram College something special is happening.
Ilja Heitlager, Posted on September 12, 2013