“From passive consumers of information to active participants in their learning.” I have read, written, and spoken this sentence with teachers and administrators countless times. This sentence encapsulates the core aspiration of all schools for their students. Conversely, I have seen pedagogy that does the opposite. Unhappy, bored, disengaged students are sitting at desks and tables, consuming the presentation of the day. I have fallen victim to the same educational spiral. I know what I want to see students doing when engaging in their learning, yet I managed to fall back into the industrial model that I experienced.
I was in my little rut. I needed a jump start. As a novice educator, I remember just wanting to collect curricular “stuff.” Having these materials meant that I had a plan and would not be days behind the students because I was filling the time. We would grow together!
Eventually, I stopped collecting and looked at what I was doing. I was the purveyor of information, reinforced with worksheets and practice. At that moment, both data and observations revealed a sobering truth. I was “teaching” by explaining information to classes that could easily look it up on their own. Waiting during each lecture for those few students who wanted to engage to raise their hands and ask that higher-order question made me feel effective.
What I thought that I was doing vs. what was actually happening. It was bad, people.
Where to start? Well, with training. I needed to go and see what others were doing. What are best practices that open the classroom walls? We often tell students that “school gives you the world.” Then we send them out of ELA and into math, where nothing connects. How is that “the world?”
Fast forward 25 years, and things could not be more different. My classes still read, write, and synthesize facts, but in very different ways. The curriculum is now designed utilizing identified core strategies that create opportunities for teachers to engage their students in purposeful and meaningful ways.
Our core strategies:
Increase student voice—identify opportunities for students to be leaders.
Movement—Incorporate movement as an integral part of learning.
Track how much time the teacher is leading vs. the students’ work time. The disparity can be shocking.
Be Transparent. Why are they learning this? How does the thought process help students grow?
Track the Learning Quest—Provide multiple opportunities for success. Standards, executive functioning skills, transferable skills—they should be celebrated targets for students.
Learning for Mastery– How are students approaching true understanding? How is this demonstrated?
Assess, Assess, Assess—This approach sounds like teaching to the test, but LPC adopts the philosophy of low-risk, high-reward formative assessments. There are myriad ways to formatively assess, peer assess, self-assess, and summatively assess. Catch misconceptions and celebrate the steps being taken so students see the value and achievement in learning.
Take Down the Walls—This may mean engaging your staff in looking for connections within the curriculum and asking for professional development to do some interdisciplinary planning. Look within the community. Where are the experts? Who has a story to tell? These emails and phone calls can change a lesson in ways that inspire.
Maintain a Skills and Systems Development Approach—Educators are teaching students to do jobs that have not been developed yet. That seems impossible, but it can be accomplished. This career focus can change how curriculum is developed and assessed.
Personalize Learning! Think of ways that students track and self-assess their learning over time. How do we engage their interests and passions? What can they teach us? Student experts engage very differently in classroom situations.
This is an introductory list. We recommend starting with small steps. Your students will need scaffolding and support as you implement changes. Change should be slow to be meaningful and have an impact.
These changes serve to create engagement, encourage student growth, and increase transparency for students. Teachers receive a refresh and remix for their classroom. How might a teacher’s time be spent when students are independently engaging in their learning?
Book an introductory meeting to see how LPC can help teachers and administrators design impactful learning for students.
