What do we know about learning?

I can't say enough how much I value the work of researchers, Bolstad and Gilbert et al who wrote the report for the Ministry of Education on "Supporting future oriented learning and teaching".
The report focuses on a vision for New Zealand learning and what transformation of education could look like for New Zealand.  In some schools, the transformation has begun.  We need to focus on the six themes of future oriented learning and teaching to undergo the transformation.
They are personalised learning, new views of equity and diversity, new connections to the community (local, national and international) using knowledge to build learning power, lifelong learning for leaders and educators, and new roles for teachers and learners.  Another earlier blogpost refers to these themes.

My mind keeps wandering back to page 15, table 3 in the report.  "What we know about learning." The table heading is a statement, not a question.   In other words, this is what we know about learning from the research.
I think the table provides a great basis for a  reflective tool to check out how we as teachers are supporting learning.  I have made up a form (see below) based on the table so you can do a self review.

• It would be great if you could answer all ten questions.  That would allow you, and other teachers to view your responses.  
• This form is completely anonymous and I see it as a way to think about the learning that is going on in your class, and learn from others as well.  
• You are able to edit your responses.

If you are the first person here, go on, fill it out and allow others to learn from you, as well as reviewing your own performance as a teacher.
You are also welcome to make a copy of the form to use in your schools.  Make a copy of the form here by going the the menu "File" and choosing "Make a copy"  (You will need your own Google (free) account to do this).
The responses can be viewed at this link (which is also available at the end of the form)
For those of you who do not want to complete the form: here are the ten questions:

Are students in my class thinking?  How do I know this?

Am I providing experiences to draw on? Examples of this are?

Am I supporting my students to build deeper knowledge by searching for different approaches to answers?  An example of when I have not “given the right answer” is...

Are my students actively engaged in processing new knowledge (is there a task which required them to engage and interpret the new knowledge?)  The new knowledge is ….  The task is ….

Do my students want to learn this material?  How do I know this?  Is it relevant to them is there another way of learning the material which makes it more relevant?

Do my students have control over the pace and goals of the learning?  I have given choice to them when …..  The students can go back to the learning at …...time.

Is there structure to the learning? When students are ready for the learning, have I resources and learning management systems that allow them to do this?

Does the learning involve interaction with others? Do my students work with each other to create new learning?  What evidence do I have of learning that happens with people other than myself?  Do I enable connections for interactions to happen?

Does learning happen outside the classroom and do I acknowledge it, and plan for it?  In what ways have I enabled learning outside the classroom?

How do I expand the intelligence of each of my students?  Can I demonstrate ways in which learning has happened for students who thought they were “no good” at something?

Golfing and teaching - the same but different.

To help teachers understand the concept of teaching as inquiry, I use the analogy of golfing. When you start golfing, it takes a while to learn how to hit the ball and send it in the general direction you want it to go. After the first few months you start to get the hang of it and then you start trying to refine and hone your game.

You think about the way you hit the ball. You try different clubs and irons to get the best result. You start taking into account the conditions on the course, wet, dry, long or short grass, wind from what direction? You don't go out on a golf course and hit the ball and say "that is as far as I am ever going to hit that ball, I can't get any better". You go on and try different strategies to stop the ball curving in the direction you don't want, and you seek improvement in any way that you think will work. You practice. You ask you golfing buddies to help you. Sometimes you seek help from a professional, Sometimes you might even become a professional but you never, never, never say, "that is it, I cant do any better." You analyse what happened after you hit the ball. Did it go where you intended? Why or why not? Do you need to try it again?

So when you talk to any teacher, ask them what their inquiry is this year. They will be excited that someone is interested in their role as a professional. Teaching as inquiry starts with looking at the evidence (know your students using student data, and information about their environment) and then deciding where do you want to get your students to. You put together a plan based on your experience and you trial new strategies that you think might work, and if they don't, then you try another strategy. You reflect on the influence your strategies have had on the outcomes for the students. If it does work, you keep practicing and striving to hone your practice. You don't ever, ever, ever, give up!

The difference is, that in golf you can go home happy that you gave it a go, good day or bad. In teaching, the well being and future of the children is at stake. You see - same but different!

Note: - Teachers in New Zealand must be registered. Their principals must attest to the fact they they have satisfied the "registered teacher criteria" every three years for them to remain fully registered. There are twelve of these criteria and they can be found online.

Criterion number twelve is that a registered teacher must 'use critical inquiry and problem-solving effectively in their professional practice.' This means that teachers must strive to improve their practice. They must continually look at ways that they can improve outcomes for their students. This is known as "Teaching As Inquiry" (TAI) in the profession.

So What Are You Afraid Of?

I was a cautious child. As I have grown older, I have taken more risks in my life (not the least of which is flying, my least favourite pastime) and, with every risk I take, come more great spin-offs. Admittedly, they are not the kind of risks like going over Niagara Falls in a barrel but risks in my personal and professional life have had much greater benefits to me than if I had not taken them. With every risk taken, there is an element of letting go control, allowing yourself to be swept along by fortune, and having to give up something that you may find comfortable and comforting. But along with the risk-taking comes a journey of new experience and richness in my life.
As I go into schools, and talk to educators across New Zealand, I become very aware that so many teachers are in that position of fear of taking risks - not wanting to take the plunge into the unknown when it comes to being curious and letting students tell them how to do things. In our past, we were educated in a system where you did as the teacher said and there was no questioning of that at all. If you did you were deemed to be a "cheeky little monkey" as I once heard a teacher tell a classmate of mine who was much more questioning than me. Now, although the concept of Ako (being a learner alongside your students) is relatively well known, it seems to be hard for many teachers to actually step down from their position of power or control to allow the students to take the lead. I have heard many times "I need to learn this so I can show my students how to do it" when I would like to hear "I wonder what the students could do with this if I gave them some time to figure it out?". The natural curiosity of children seems to be suppressed and certainly it is lacking in many of their teachers. The future oriented teaching and learning themes also accentuate the changing roles of teachers and learners, alongside the theme of an educator of being a life-long learner. What is it that makes you think that once you are qualified and trained, you can be content with that for the rest of your life? My question to you educators out there is, what are you afraid of? Is it not meeting the agreed achievement goals? How many of you allow your students to take control what is learned in your classes? How many of you have stepped down from the sage on the stage position to become a guide on the side? I am taking a risk, asking this of you. Lead me down some unimagined pathway of enlightenment.

Goldilocks can teach educators about learning.

I learn about hundreds of new things every week.  I peruse a list of items, articles, how to's and latest news on my reader "Feedly".  (It used to be Google Reader but sadly they dropped that.)  When perusing, the trick is to filter out what is not immediately useful, and store other stuff somewhere (usually in Diigo) for future reference in the hope I can remember it when the time comes.  Tags are great.  They help you search for stuff that you may not immediately remember what it was that you are thinking of.  Does that even make sense?
Another trick in my job is not to overload other people when it is not useful.  This is called "PD just in time."  You are much more likely to remember stuff when you have to use it for some specific purpose.  The same applies to learning with students.  Too much stuff becomes boring and pointless unless you are going to use it.
Our school curriculum in New Zealand is great.  There is so much scope to choose contexts that will be relevant for every student.  To personalise the learning, we need to use digital technologies.  This allows students to learn along their own pathways but it does add to the teachers' burdens.  When is "not enough" guidance, when is" too much", when is it "just right?"
I have been mulling over this question this morning, in response to an educator, Kevin Schindel, who in his blog on A New Class Project reflects whether some educators trying to develop 21st Century skills rely too heavily on the technology to be able to take over the role of the teacher.
I also read a blog by Charlotte French on "Student Agency vs Student Anxiety" this morning which really asks the question 'How much should a teacher really let go?'.  Her year 13 students want the right answers rather than having to construct the answers themselves.  Of course, they are preparing for NCEA assessments, so of course they want the 'right' answers.  Just how much does assessment detract form solid learning.  Another similar vein was raised by Heather Eccles in her blog "Good Results Do Not Necessarily Mean Good Teaching" and I could not agree more.  I just have to share this video.

Probably the 5 minute university is just not quite enough.  But how much is too much?  Are we expecting too much of our teachers?  Their roles as facilitators of learning requires them to be educated and trained in their fields, adept with digital technologies, and really overseers of the whole class of learning pathways every single year.  That is a pretty big job, don't you think?