I attended my first un-conference yesterday in Philadelphia (EdCampPhilly), and I was thoroughly impressed with the amount of emphasis that was placed on learning as an organic mechanism. This is exactly the type of environment that should exist in every classroom throughout the country.
I attended Dr. David D. Timony’s presentation on “Student Expectations of Teacher Expertise” and loved that the participants were engaging in conversation that revolved around a plethora of ideas about experts, perception, and teaching. I also enjoyed leading a session titled “Problems With Problem-Based Learning” that started out talking about the topic and wandered off into a number of diverging paths (not necessarily pertaining to PBL).
Any way you slice it, each session followed its own “flow” and wasn’t destined to cover an agenda, standards, or specific learning objectives. Instead, it was directed by the learners and each presenter played the role of facilitator.
Some people call these “teachable moments” as though there are only certain times where the learning should be directed by the learner.
The problem is that a lot of classrooms work really, really hard to prevent this kind of organic learning from taking place. We create elaborate lesson plans, intricate assignment sheets, and detailed rubrics that prevent the creativity and curiosity we are trying to cultivate. We utilize programs like PowerPoint (We Have Met The Enemy & He Is PowerPoint) that ensure we look at learning as a heirarchy with a specific order that needs to take place to ensure understanding of the teacher’s agenda. We “kingdomize” classes so that students can learn history or English or Science without ever having to think about how the three are interconnected.
All of the above prevents students from learning how to think and enforces dictating what to think.
At some point, we began to emphasize “classroom management” and structure rather than learning. It’s time to find a place in the middle of the continuum.
We need to allow every moment to have the structure (or lack thereof) of a “teachable moment”.
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No truer words have been said than, “It’s time to find a place in the middle of the continuum.” I do, however, believe the kind of “organic learning” you describe usually only emerges in classrooms of skilled teachers. Jamie is right; sometimes we have to set up circumstance that allow these “teachable moments” to develop. Unskilled teachers (and, sadly, there are many in classrooms around the country–most of which on NOT actively participating in these online discussions), left with not guidance on what is important, can let student-driven “learning” (and I use that term loosely) flounder and sink into unproductive, social blah-blah chaos.
I agree with Jason and Jamie that one needs to know where they are going but have the FLEXIBILITY, both in methods and TIME, to use alternative routes to get there — or even change the destination when circumstances warrant it. I absolutely believe there is middle ground between scripted teaching and no framework for learning outcomes, and the teacher should be the rudder that helps keep the student learning on a productive course.
If I had one wish for change in schools that could be achieved with my magic wand, it would be to scale back (not completely eliminate) standards to allow TIME for exploration, discovery, and creative expression. I believe there is too much variation between teachers’ knowledge and skills to just say, “Teach your subject” without some very loose framework our expected outcomes.
Amen, brother!
I’m hoping we see this more and more. We need have thorough plans to be prepared, but we need to plan to give students to freedom and time to explore. We need to plan so th at the environment is conducive to learning. Students can be “learning” without us “teaching” every second of the class.
I have to agree with all of it! Jason brings up a good point… We, as the professional in the room, need to be prepared when walking into the classroom. We need to be aware of what we want our students to know at the end and we need to have mapped how to get there. However, we also need to be flexible enough to let the students show us, through their own inquiry and discovery, other roads to get there. Sometimes, those wonderful “teachable moments” just don’t happen, so we need to drive. Sometimes those amazing moments happen, and we can sit back and enjoy the ride!
Great points! My experience has taught me to “have a loose hold on the reins” during class. I have a plan, but something as simple as a student question can create the teachable moment.
Some famous general once said that all battle plans are obsolete after the first five minutes of battle. I think classes are kind of like that. You have to have a plan, but be willing to depart therefrom when the shells start flying (metaphorically speaking, of course).
Essential Questions, flexibility and good resources go a long way. Everything else is just tick-boxes on a checklist.
Great post.
sigh.
i think i do this accidentally….and then i feel guilty about “not getting things done”. Or rather I get heat from the brass who wants things done “perfect” so we can…even if we fail…look accountable and have a defense. this heat has turned my delivery in the classroom to crap. need a new gig!
love the organic reference…classroom learning should be living.
David, over on the coöp often sites Berger’s An Ethic of Excellence, which I think might be useful reading for this conversation. Eventually, we want students to pursue one of these moments into an elegant and excellent solution of a problem that captivates them. The book is a guide to “where do we go from here?”
Happy discovering,
C