Embracing Change

Oct 6

3 min read

A theme that was present in this video was accepting change. As educators we first must be able to adapt to our changing environment and be okay with not being in control. In the past, my focus has been on questioning my students to check for their understanding. Although it is important to check for understanding while teaching, we can't just stay there. We need to also teach our learners to be inquisitive so that they're engaging with their environment. One way I prepare my learners to have curiosity and to have a questioning disposition is to use a stimulus like an engaging image at the start of a lesson. I asked them to discuss in their collaborate groups and come up with as many questions as they can about the stimulus. I teach 2nd grade so I have also discussed with my students different levels of questions. We have a depths of knowledge chart posted that teaches them to use question stems to begin their questions. So they can ask a variety of questions, but they are encouraged to ask higher level questions that begin with words like "How might..." or "Why would..." Another way I have tried to prepare my students to have a questioning disposition is to teach them to question their peers during class discussions. Today we were discussing number lines. One student told the class the pattern they discovered on the number line was skip counting by 2s. Another student questioned that student by asking, "How do you know the number line is skip counting by 2s?" By having them ask each other questions, they are building the confidence to question their environment to help them learn more.

There is so much to take away from the 60 Schools video. My biggest takeaway was how he validated that change is hard, uncomfortable, and messy. However, staying where we are and doing what we have always done will not help us grow as learners and educators. As educators, we need to model being lead learners who are self-evolving. The speaker also stated that we need to teach into the unknown. It is hard for some educators who want to live in the comfort of knowing that something has worked for them so they continue to follow that procedure year after year. The speaker shared some of the traits of schools that were showing innovation. These schools focused more on asking questions more than answering them, they were teaching across the curriculum instead of isolating the curriculum, students were working collaboratively writing on walls instead of working in seats, and students were self-correcting vs sitting and solely being corrected by teachers.

I really enjoyed reflecting on this video. I feel validated in my views of what education today should look like to build up the learners of tomorrow. However, in my work setting I run into working on teams where some teachers put up walls. We work in a PLC model where we collaborate, yet when sharing new ideas teachers sometimes respond with "Well this is what I have been doing and it's been working. Why should I reinvent the wheel?" Has anyone ran into this as well? How are you able to inspire change in others who are resistant to change?

References

TedxTalks. (2013, March 21). What 60 schools can tell us about teaching 21st century skills: Grant Lichtman at TEDxDenverTeachers. [Video]. YouTube.