Making Learning Visible
Education is a challenging field. No one ever disputes that statement. The issues and concerns that make it a challenge, however, are often argued and disputed. Decisions, laws, and mandates are made by those in local, state, and federal power that alter how, what, and why teachers should teach, usually without the input of the actual classroom teachers and without fully informing parents. Most educators would agree that the decisions, movements, curriculum sets, and standards are all fine. Many of them are backed in reliable and valid research so they do have the ability to improve student achievement and create more educated adults. The problem, however, is not the movements, curriculum, standards, or methodology. The problem is that nothing is kept in place long enough to actually make a difference.
I teach in a district where personalized learning was once the new gold standard. The overall goal was to create student-centered learning environments in which students could work with their teachers and peers to create their own learning paths. The district received a 3-year $3.1 million dollar grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to implement personalized learning (Stanford, 2017). We were trained on lesson writing, choice boards, and unpacking the standards, encouraged and given time to plan collaboratively, and praised for personalizing as much of our classroom content as we possibly could. Teachers were honored and had articles written about them because they were doing such great work. At the high school where I taught, the entire schedule of our day was altered to include a longer lunch to encourage movement, create time for individual and collaborative student projects, and allow for extracurricular activities and clubs within the school day. Grants were written and more money was received to improve the seating arrangements, provide tools and resources, and continue to grow the personalized learning atmosphere. Most of the teachers and students made mental and physical sacrifices to upend their attitudes and personal beliefs about education as a whole. Everyone stretched to grow and improve through the new initiative. It was new and shiny so it was fun to be a part of it all.
After the grant money ran out, though, no one spoke of personalized learning again. In the matter of one summer, the district moved from what was quickly becoming a completely personalized learning based education system to whatever we did before. It was a complete and total mindset shift for teachers and thousands of students who were just getting used to the new way of learning. And the worst part is that personalized learning was fine. It was working. Students were interested and liked having choices. They were getting creative and were learning in a way they chose. The grant from the Gates Foundation was great because it helped provide training and resources. In theory, the district could have continued on that path because the foundation was there. But that is not how our education system works. Nothing stays because we are always on the hunt for the magic plan that makes everything fresh, makes all students hardworking geniuses who love every aspect of learning every single day, and doesn't cost a dime to implement or maintain long term.
The current next new thing is a focus on mental health awareness and school safety. Don't get me wrong, I am ALL IN on teaching students about mental health. I wish I had classes about mental health when I was in 3rd grade. I would have benefited greatly from access to a trained mental health counselor on campus who I could pop in to see whenever I needed. But my fear is that it will be another 3-year solution to a much greater problem and when test scores and graduation rates don't increase, when money runs out, or when we realize that students are still horribly anxious, we will move to something else that is of great importance and must be implemented immediately. I am worried that, once again, the bottom will drop out and students will be, once again, forced to accept yet another new law or educational plan.
Marzano, Kagan, Ron Clark, Bill and Melinda Gates, Thinking Maps, higher-order thinking, personalized learning, Bloom, Learning Styles, Social Emotional Learning, NCLB, ESSA, E.D. Hirsch, Jr. and Common Core... these are just a few of the people and initiatives in education that have been influential in the last 10 years. Most educators today have been trained on one (or all) of these different educational movements. I have been a classroom teacher for 5 years and have been trained in or expected to know about every single one of those people and initiatives. That list, at least in my 5-year career, encompasses an entire shelf of books in my home office, a 6-week in-person class, multiple online trainings, at least 15 days of in-person training, and the expectation that I will incorporate pieces of everything I learn into my daily classroom routine. I am not an expert on any of these initiatives so every three years, my students are learning with me and we never really master anything. Can you imagine if we did this to doctors? Or bankers? Or even the grocery store clerk? What if, every three years, their job requirements completely changed and they must be retrained in a vastly new and different way?
Teachers are (mostly) well-adjusted highly educated adults. We will adapt. Most teachers realize pretty early in to their career that they can't get too comfortable. Our classes change each year, teachers and administrators move to new schools or out of education, and we are always learning to better meet our students needs. Teachers will be fine. But will our students? If education continues on a 3-year implementation plan of new standards, methods, and programs, students will have experienced at least four major shifts in their educational career from Kindergarten to 12th grade. Students are pretty intelligent. By middle school, they recognize what is happening and they learn to play the game (or not) but in the end, are they really learning to be solid, hard working, talented adults whose opinions and needs are valued? I'm not sure. I don't have the solution but while we are disputing each challenge in education, maybe we could ask teachers and students for their input and pick something for longer than three years and see what happens.
References
Stanford, L. (2017, July 6). Central Florida school district changes course on personalized learning. Retrieved from https://www.redefinedonline.org/2017/07/lake-county-personalized-learning/
I teach in a district where personalized learning was once the new gold standard. The overall goal was to create student-centered learning environments in which students could work with their teachers and peers to create their own learning paths. The district received a 3-year $3.1 million dollar grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to implement personalized learning (Stanford, 2017). We were trained on lesson writing, choice boards, and unpacking the standards, encouraged and given time to plan collaboratively, and praised for personalizing as much of our classroom content as we possibly could. Teachers were honored and had articles written about them because they were doing such great work. At the high school where I taught, the entire schedule of our day was altered to include a longer lunch to encourage movement, create time for individual and collaborative student projects, and allow for extracurricular activities and clubs within the school day. Grants were written and more money was received to improve the seating arrangements, provide tools and resources, and continue to grow the personalized learning atmosphere. Most of the teachers and students made mental and physical sacrifices to upend their attitudes and personal beliefs about education as a whole. Everyone stretched to grow and improve through the new initiative. It was new and shiny so it was fun to be a part of it all.After the grant money ran out, though, no one spoke of personalized learning again. In the matter of one summer, the district moved from what was quickly becoming a completely personalized learning based education system to whatever we did before. It was a complete and total mindset shift for teachers and thousands of students who were just getting used to the new way of learning. And the worst part is that personalized learning was fine. It was working. Students were interested and liked having choices. They were getting creative and were learning in a way they chose. The grant from the Gates Foundation was great because it helped provide training and resources. In theory, the district could have continued on that path because the foundation was there. But that is not how our education system works. Nothing stays because we are always on the hunt for the magic plan that makes everything fresh, makes all students hardworking geniuses who love every aspect of learning every single day, and doesn't cost a dime to implement or maintain long term.
The current next new thing is a focus on mental health awareness and school safety. Don't get me wrong, I am ALL IN on teaching students about mental health. I wish I had classes about mental health when I was in 3rd grade. I would have benefited greatly from access to a trained mental health counselor on campus who I could pop in to see whenever I needed. But my fear is that it will be another 3-year solution to a much greater problem and when test scores and graduation rates don't increase, when money runs out, or when we realize that students are still horribly anxious, we will move to something else that is of great importance and must be implemented immediately. I am worried that, once again, the bottom will drop out and students will be, once again, forced to accept yet another new law or educational plan.Marzano, Kagan, Ron Clark, Bill and Melinda Gates, Thinking Maps, higher-order thinking, personalized learning, Bloom, Learning Styles, Social Emotional Learning, NCLB, ESSA, E.D. Hirsch, Jr. and Common Core... these are just a few of the people and initiatives in education that have been influential in the last 10 years. Most educators today have been trained on one (or all) of these different educational movements. I have been a classroom teacher for 5 years and have been trained in or expected to know about every single one of those people and initiatives. That list, at least in my 5-year career, encompasses an entire shelf of books in my home office, a 6-week in-person class, multiple online trainings, at least 15 days of in-person training, and the expectation that I will incorporate pieces of everything I learn into my daily classroom routine. I am not an expert on any of these initiatives so every three years, my students are learning with me and we never really master anything. Can you imagine if we did this to doctors? Or bankers? Or even the grocery store clerk? What if, every three years, their job requirements completely changed and they must be retrained in a vastly new and different way?
Teachers are (mostly) well-adjusted highly educated adults. We will adapt. Most teachers realize pretty early in to their career that they can't get too comfortable. Our classes change each year, teachers and administrators move to new schools or out of education, and we are always learning to better meet our students needs. Teachers will be fine. But will our students? If education continues on a 3-year implementation plan of new standards, methods, and programs, students will have experienced at least four major shifts in their educational career from Kindergarten to 12th grade. Students are pretty intelligent. By middle school, they recognize what is happening and they learn to play the game (or not) but in the end, are they really learning to be solid, hard working, talented adults whose opinions and needs are valued? I'm not sure. I don't have the solution but while we are disputing each challenge in education, maybe we could ask teachers and students for their input and pick something for longer than three years and see what happens.
References
Stanford, L. (2017, July 6). Central Florida school district changes course on personalized learning. Retrieved from https://www.redefinedonline.org/2017/07/lake-county-personalized-learning/
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