After 20 years of teaching at Brookfield Central, I am saying goodbye. Although I spent the majority of that time in the physics classroom alongside my learners. That changed for my last 18 weeks. I ended up in a place similar to where I started, teaching chemistry and biology. So, rather than dealing with juniors and seniors at the end of their high school careers, I was in classrooms with freshmen and sophomores still trying to find their place. At the same time, I was learning and teaching a set curriculum I hadn't taught in over a decade. So, we were learning. But, of course, I already knew the content. The point of this post is to take a step back, reflect, and share the gratitude from the last students I had in my 20 years at Brookfield Central High School, as expressed through the cards and notes they made for me on my last day with them. I don't take many "yay me" moments. But after 20 years, I'll soak this one in.
When I prepare a lecture (yes there is still a place for it in my classroom), it is often filled with questions for my students to answer. Most of these questions I already know the answer to. I cast myself in the role of expert. But what happens when learners don’t care about the questions I am asking them? When they are given the space to ask the questions that they are curious about, will I still be the expert in the room?
These are the questions that used to worry me. If I’m not the expert with the answers, what will happen?
Over time I have learned that there is no way I could know the answer to every question a student has about physics. I’ve learned to be ok with not being the only expert in the room. We have a vast world of resources at our fingertips. So, while I may not know the answer to every physics question, my learners and I can work together to vet resources and we can co-design provide the experiences that will help them make sense of some of the more complex ideas we find in our research.
In her new book Learner Centered Innovation, Katie Martin says the following:
"If we want to change how students learn, we must change how teachers learn."
Martin, Katie. Learner-Centered Innovation: Spark Curiosity, Ignite Passion, and Unleash Genius (Kindle Location 236). IMPress, LP. Kindle Edition.
In the age of the connected educator, we are able to access information and resources that tie into our professional areas of interest with just a few clicks. These resources include scholarly articles, educator blog posts, videos on YouTube, and podcasts. Once we find these resources, we are able to dive deep and use them to affect change in our classrooms. But in my practice, I realize that I am not always able to discuss what I find with as many of my peers as I would like.
That’s the power of the #IMMOOC community. It’s a safe place for educators to share, learn, challenge, and support each other as they look to try something different.
This is going to sound like a shameless plug, but this coming Saturday, we are holding an EdCamp in our district. The majority of sessions will be pitched that day. But, we have some crowdsourced sessions suggested by attendees last month. Since we never know who is coming to each session, we’ll never know who the “expert” in the room will be or even if there will be one.
As in our classrooms, we need to be willing to engage in experiences where an expert might not be on hand to give us the answer we desire. We need to look for the resources and experiences that will provide the evidence we seek. Sometimes when individuals bring their own pieces of experience and knowledge together, those pieces combine to for an answer. So, I’d like to put out a call to the #IMMOOC community.
We are looking for your experience in changing these topics from buzzwords into meaningful informed practices.
Those crowdsourced topics are:
- Standards Based Grading (including aligned assessments and practice)
- Personalized Learning
- Inclusive Practices
We would love you to help inform us by posting resources that you feel are relevant and will inform the thinking of our attendees. Are you willing to share out your favorite articles, books, videos, graphics, etc. on these topics or maybe even a personal blog post? If you click on the session titles above, they will take you to a notes document with a place to post your resources so all can access them.
Since we’ll have all levels of learners in the room, these resources don’t need to be earth shattering revelations. Remember the basics are essential for building a common language before the real conversation can begin.
EdCamps are great because they bring together a group of likeminded educators into a room to discuss a topic that they are personally invested in. But in the age of professional learning networks, we can bring in a vast number of expert resources to help inform our discussions.
As we hope to have our students go beyond the age where the teacher is the only expert resources available to them, I ask that you help us do the same for our EdCamp Educators this Saturday by sharing your resources and thoughts in the session documents.
And if you are in the Southeastern Wisconsin area, we’d love to see you at EdCamp Elmbrook. Register here: EdCamp Elmbrook
Or follow along Saturday using #EdCampELM
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