Bridging Connections to Empower Learners

The other day I was working from home, which is a rarity for me these days.  I huddled in my home office and focused my attention on email, writing a blog post, tweaking some presentations, and updating the digital handouts that all participants get during one of my keynotes or workshops.  Always joining me on these work from home days is my beloved dog, Roxie.  Like usual she was perched on top of the couch sleeping. Her snoring not only brought a smile to my face but also made me jealous that she doesn’t have a care in the world and enjoys the life of a pampered pet. 

Later in the day I moved from my desk and joined Roxie on the couch. Before I knew it I apparently dozed off. I will be the first one to admit that I love naps and inherited this quality from my father. He is always taking an afternoon nap no matter where he is.  I realized I had fallen asleep when my son, Nick, awakened me as he returned home from school. Now I was enjoying one of those deep sleep naps so I was a tad bit annoyed that he interrupted this moment of pure joy. My annoyance with him was short lived as he had woken me up to share a current project that he completed in school.

My 7th-grade son stood above me and in his hands was a bridge that he had built as part of an engineering project. As he provided details on how he went about constructing it, I could see how proud he was of his creation.  In my opinion, Nick was beaming as his bridge ranked the 5th best out of a class of 28 students.  Typically, it is my daughter who comes home from school and consistently engages my wife and me in conversations about how awesome her day of learning was. This is not the case with my son so I relished the opportunity to dive deep into his learning experiences in this particular class.

My son's bridge

My son is fortunate to have engineering every day as a 7th grader.  Throughout the year he has brought home innovative projects that he has created and each has sparked a conversation about why this type of learning is important and how it will benefit him in the real world.  The result of these discussions illustrates how impactful the daily experiences are for him. He has been empowered to own his own learning by actively applying what he has learned in this class while making connections to math, history, and science.  Conceptual mastery translates into what he has been able to effectively build with his hands.  There are also language arts connections as the students are encouraged to write and speak about the engineering principals behind their designs.  This is learning at its finest. 

My son is an empowered learner in engineering as many elements are bridged together to facilitate REAL (relevant, engaging, authentic, lasting) learning.  Pulling from my son’s experience as well as what we know about sound pedagogy, the following elements work together to empower learners:

• Interdisciplinary connections
• Authentic contexts
• Choice
• Practical application
• Creation of a product that demonstrates conceptual mastery  
• Meaningful feedback

As Tom Murray and I state in Learning Transformed, to prepare students for the world of tomorrow we must transform their learning today.  The shift is not as difficult as one might surmise.  As you think about developing or evaluating lessons, learning activities, projects, and performance task ask yourself if the six elements above are integrated.  If they are then the chances are that your students will not only be empowered but also develop a greater appreciation for learning. Happy learners are empowered learners when the right connections and elements are bridged together. 

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Learning is Not Linear

I think, for the most part, everyone strives for success.  We want to be successful in our professional as well as our personal lives.  I strived to be the best possible principal for my students, staff, and community.  Whether I was successful is a matter of perspective. My evaluations seemed to support the fact that I might have been.  I was far from perfect, but always strived for constant improvement. When I reflect upon what was accomplished during my time leading New Milford High School I think many observers would consider my leadership a success based on what we all accomplished together.  Our digital transformation, backed by evidence of improved learner outcomes, has been well documented.  In the eyes of many this is success. 

As I have transitioned into my new role over the past two years as a Senior Fellow for the International Center for Leadership in Education, I continue to set the bar high for myself. Again, whether I am successful is open for debate. Some observers might see the publishing of books as an indicator of success. Others could equate keynotes in the same manner.  No matter what someone’s view of success is, I can tell you one thing for certain – it is not a linear process. No one goes from point A to B by following a predetermined path or script. The question then becomes why does school, for the most part, focus on a linear transition that manifests itself in the form of curriculum? This is just one example that flies in the face of unleashing the talents of our students while teaching them what success really is. 

Success results from a series of experiences that include constructing then applying new knowledge, failure, persistence, commitment, perseverance, adaptation, evolution, and most of all reflection. There are so many images out there that illustrate the concept of success being like an iceberg.  In the eyes of many people, success is only what you see or a final product.  The reality is that success really is a unique combination of behaviors, skills, and mindset shifts. The recipe is different for everyone as well as the criteria used to determine success. The fact remains though that the path to success is always convoluted. 

Image credit: Sylvia Duckworth

Learning and success are intimately intertwined.  You can’t be successful if you don’t learn. You learn to eventually experience some sort of success in life. Learning, like success, is anything but a linear process.  As such we need to be more mindful of the experiences and structures in our schools if the goal, which it should be, is to prepare students to succeed in their future.  This includes the new world of work where in a few short years many of the jobs that exist today won’t.  If we continue to prescribe students to a one-size-fits-all approach in classrooms that have remained relatively unchanged we are in a sense forcing them down a linear path. Instead of a focus on learn to do, schools need to shift their practices and create a culture where students do to learn.

Students learn differently and have hidden talents that we must unleash. This is why I love the maker movement and makerspaces in particular.  Nothing, in my opinion, illustrates to kids the many pathways to success than learning with their hands through trial and error, open-ended exploration, and authentic problem solving.  Education needs some disruptive innovation.  We must lend a critical eye to our pedagogy, especially the way we assess and provide feedback to students. It is time for us to work harder to upend the status quo by redefining success in learning. Are you with me?

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10 Tips to Make Learning REAL

Another Christmas has passed and I am continually amazed by the technologies that kids now have access to. For example, my son received a drone from my mother-in-law and has been playing with it non-stop for days now. At first, he was focused on just the basics of flying the device. After having mastered take off, landing, and balance, his focus now is on using the camera to take photos and video.  It is awesome to see how engaged he is with the drone, but that he is also learning in the process.   Technology for him, like most kids today, has become an embedded component of their lives. They have grown up in a world where they have become accustomed to the fast-paced evolution of everything digital. 

The world as we know it has fundamentally changed our learners.  It is not that they are learning differently per say, but the environment in which they learn has dramatically changed.  The challenge for educators and schools today is to make learning REAL (relevant, engaging, authentic, and lasting) for all students and aligning it more with their world.  A great deal of emphasis has been placed on personalized opportunities for students. Whereas there are many benefits with this approach, the reliance on technology platform and human interaction can take away from intended outcomes. REAL learning places a greater emphasis on making learning personal for students. 

Below are some quick tips that can make learning more REAL (relevant, engaging, authentic, and lasting):

1. Provide students access to real-world tools to do real-world work (i.e. makerspaces).
2. Allow students to select the best tool to complete a learning task while moving away from a one-size-product-fits-all approach.
3. Provide meaningful feedback in a timely fashion.
4. Connect standards and learning outcomes to their interests and passions.
5. Implement Academy programs (school within a school).
6. Offer virtual course options and innovative self-paced learning opportunities in lieu of traditional independent study programs (i.e. IOCS).
7. Transform outdoor spaces into flexible classrooms and stimulating learning environments.
8. Broaden student horizons by bringing in experts both face-to-face and virtually who work in emerging fields of work. Take kids on field trips through virtual reality technology.
9. Move away from traditional grading and homework practices.
10. Clearly articulate the “why” all the time so that students understand how what they are learning impacts them now and in the future.

REAL learning should be a reality for all of our students.  What would you add to the list I have started above? 

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