Noticing Works Too

I’m currently in the process of reviewing a study that examines motivation through a lens of students’ and teachers’ perceptions of classroom instruction in various ways.  In part, the study addresses students’ views of their teachers’ perceptions of them, students’ perceptions of themselves, teachers’ perceptions of their classroom practices as they relate to “Learner Centered Practices” (LCPs), teachers’ beliefs about the effectiveness of LCPs, and how all of it combines to promulgate (or diminish) positive learning and growth.  It’s an interesting study, and in my opinion, worthwhile for several reasons, including the articulation and modeling of an extremely thoughtful and extensive developmental process for generating and testing survey questions for effectiveness.  However, as I examine it, I find myself thinking about the relationship between practice and research.  Being both a practitioner and a researcher, that thinking led me to the relationship between time value.

Mini, Informal, & Ongoing Research Projects:  Are They Happy?  Are they Learning 

First, and in no way to diminish the benefit of the study, I want to touch on a concept that was brought up in the learning theory focused organizational leadership philosophy class I completed last week.  We were contemplating brain-based learning theory.  The question at hand was:  Does scientific, empirical research enhance learning outcomes, and/or our ability to intentionally achieve them?  What if classroom teachers, building administrators, and district leaders were constantly engaged in informal, but targeted research projects?  What if it were easy to collect and analyze data?  What if an informal collection and analysis process were generally accepted as suitable practice for learning about learning?  What if it’s actually good enough to think about our target learners (be they adults or children), ask ourselves if they’re happy and if they’re learning, follow that with a “why” and/or a “why not”, scratch our thoughts down on legal pads, record them in iPhones^®, or scribble them on sticky notes, bubble gum wrappers, or cafeteria napkins, then use those scratches, recordings, or scribbles for continuation, adaptation, and positive forward progress?  Maybe it is.

Scientific research takes time.  Educators are really busy people.  Educators are typically engaged and passionate learners.  Thousands of grueling, detailed, and intense hours have been spent digging into how the brain works (not by me).  Even so, we know relatively little about the subject.  What parts of the brain are firing when our emotions take over?  Where are students generally working from during moments of engagement, excitement, and truly penetrating focus?  Can we design instruction/communication that directs learners to access those parts at any given time?  All valid questions, but how complex do we need to make the asking process?  What if we could transform time consuming, complex research methodology into a very basic, and widely accessible system for practitioner application?  Maybe we should each design our own.  Maybe if it works, it is good enough.

If you know a classroom teacher, you know that the myth of extensive down time is just that…a myth.  While the much needed and well-deserved vacation structures are an important part of recharging for everyone involved, most teachers work day and night, winter and summer, rain and shine.  When they’re not developing plans for instruction, they’re implementing and adapting them.

Teachers talk about the professional challenges they face over dinner and in the dentist’s chair (even with food and cleaning tools in their mouths).  They are the kind of folks who can’t turn it off, even when they want to…which they typically don’t.  Teachers teach because they’re passionate about doing so.  Teaching is a calling.  They want to be doing research, but they need that research to be doable within the constrained time frame in which they work.

Noticing what you need to know.  The idea is that we don’t necessarily need to know the neuroscience behind happiness to know that we learn better when we’re happy.  We don’t necessarily need further evidence suggesting that supportive teachers affect the parts of students’ brains that allow those students to take risks, because we see it happening in real time.  If we’re thoughtful about our interactions, we can simply notice effective interactions, reproduce them, implement them, adapt them, then notice, reproduce, implement, and adapt them again and again (and even again if we’re so inspired); O.K., maybe not “simply,” but with dedication and hard work.

Try something like this (if you’d like).  In my experience, some form of integrated record keeping system helps.  What records are you keeping already?  Maybe add a key to your record book or other student files that you already keep.  Maybe keep a notebook or a binder with lists or pages for individuals and groups of learners.  One key might be as simply as this:

H=Happy

U=Unhappy

E=Engaged

D=Distracted

Maybe you mark a letter by each student’s name as you take attendance or record notes during a directed reading conference.  Maybe you write a sentence or two about your observations and reflections.  As time goes on, you can use the key to identify students who might need interventions in one or more areas that you’ve identified as important (“happy” and “engaged” are two of many possible attributes to look for in your students – you should decide what works for you at any given moment, with any group of learners).  I have found that simply (there’s that word again) keeping track of the things I do while I’m trying to achieve particular outcomes enhances my ability to achieve those outcomes.  In doing so for several years now, my systems have changes many times.  Less and less as they become increasingly refines, but still changing nonetheless.  I recently found a notebook that I kept in my first few years of classroom teaching.  It looks pretty different from the one I keep today.  However, there are threads of commonality.  In keeping my thoughts, recording my experiences, identifying landmark attributes that seem to contribute to growth and development for any individual or group of learners/stakeholders, I have found a relatively simple path to my own positive progress as a learner, and educator, and a leader.

Give it a shot.  Do it in whatever way feels comfortable to you.  Change it when the wind blows in a different direction.  Let me know if you discover something cool!

 

Dream Big.  Work Hard.  Be Well.