Rethinking the Start of a New School Year with Learners as Co-Creators
As a new school year approaches, teachers are busy creating lists of tasks that need to be completed before learners walk in the door on that first day. Much of what is considered includes: How is the room going to be arranged? What is going to be on the walls? Which side of the room is considered the front? Where should the teacher desk go? What are the classroom expectations for the year? What does parent communication look like? What are we going to do on that "first day"? What are we going to do during that first week?
The purpose of this blog entry is to rethink and revisit those questions that we ask ourselves at the beginning of each year, this time to include learner voice and choice in these decisions to move towards a greater learner-centered and learner-led environment.
Whose room is it? What does "OUR" room say about learner's interests and passions? Is there too much teacher passion and interest present in the room? Who is at the center of the decision making for how the room is arranged? Who decides what the theme of the room or year is going to be for a particular class?
We are losing the opportunity to empower learners if we are the ones making all of these decisions alone. If we are to empower learners to be in control of their learning and what goes on in the classroom, we need to involve them in these decisions. What if we held these tasks until our learners arrived at the beginning of the year? What if the walls were an empty, clean slate for learners to fill upon their arrival? What if we co-created anchor charts and posters with learners throughout the year and showcased learner projects on the walls? What if learners identified their favorite quotes and posted them? Do learners really connect with what we traditionally post on the wall at the beginning of the year?
Many of these questions were inspired by something that I learned at Leyden's Innovative Teaching and Learning Symposium. Kevin (a principal from PA) shared a story about how learners were empowered to define and create the vision of their Makerspace at the middle school level. Learners were charged with the task to research and define what a Makerspace is, imagine what it would look like and consist of, compose a plan within a budget, and create a presentation and pitch it to their school board. This is what learning should look like! We should be putting more of this in the hands of our learners.
(I am extremely passionate about staying away from the word "rules".) Who is creating and posting class expectations at the beginning of the school year? Are they listed in a syllabus and shared, or are learners helping to co-create these expectations? If learners are co-creators of classroom expectations they are more likely to find meaning with them and are more willing to own them. Who decides if music is played during work time and what type of music that is? (I found this extremely challenging to make everyone happy at the high school level because of varying music interests.) These are just a few of the questions we should be asking ourselves as we work to co-create classroom expectations with learners.
Who is the one creating the communication plan for the school year? Is communication solely the teacher's responsibility, or can learners be responsible for some of the communication home? Which form of communication will have the greatest impact? It seems that improving communication is always a goal for teachers. What if we co-created our communication plans with learners? What if the learners assumed some of the responsibility for the communication home? Would this help us to close the gap and make sure the majority of our families are reached?
How do you build relationships on day one? The first week? What does that first day look like? What does the first week look like? We destroy some of the excitement within our classrooms when we introduce the syllabus, expectations, and supplies that learners need on the first day of class. Our first day, and everyday there after should be nothing short of AMAZING, and should be something that learners remember and talk about on the last day of class. Instead of focusing our energies on preparing our classrooms, what if we focused our energy on knocking it out of the park the first week? What if our plans included BreakoutEDU, Amazing Race, and activities that encouraged collaboration? What if activities during our first week incorporated and inspired learner's interests and passions? Check out an article on Finland's relaxed approach to the first day of school.
If we do not ask ourselves these questions, we are missing out on opportunities for empowering learners and moving towards a learner-driven classroom. The good news is, if you're reading this and the first day or first week has already passed, it's NEVER TOO LATE TO START. Putting learners in the driver's seat can be extremely scary, but is a game changer in regards to learner engagement and empowerment!
The purpose of this blog entry is to rethink and revisit those questions that we ask ourselves at the beginning of each year, this time to include learner voice and choice in these decisions to move towards a greater learner-centered and learner-led environment.
Learner Voice in the Arrangement, Setup, and Theme of the Classroom
Whose room is it? What does "OUR" room say about learner's interests and passions? Is there too much teacher passion and interest present in the room? Who is at the center of the decision making for how the room is arranged? Who decides what the theme of the room or year is going to be for a particular class?
We are losing the opportunity to empower learners if we are the ones making all of these decisions alone. If we are to empower learners to be in control of their learning and what goes on in the classroom, we need to involve them in these decisions. What if we held these tasks until our learners arrived at the beginning of the year? What if the walls were an empty, clean slate for learners to fill upon their arrival? What if we co-created anchor charts and posters with learners throughout the year and showcased learner projects on the walls? What if learners identified their favorite quotes and posted them? Do learners really connect with what we traditionally post on the wall at the beginning of the year?
Many of these questions were inspired by something that I learned at Leyden's Innovative Teaching and Learning Symposium. Kevin (a principal from PA) shared a story about how learners were empowered to define and create the vision of their Makerspace at the middle school level. Learners were charged with the task to research and define what a Makerspace is, imagine what it would look like and consist of, compose a plan within a budget, and create a presentation and pitch it to their school board. This is what learning should look like! We should be putting more of this in the hands of our learners.
Learners as Co-creators of Classroom Expectations
(I am extremely passionate about staying away from the word "rules".) Who is creating and posting class expectations at the beginning of the school year? Are they listed in a syllabus and shared, or are learners helping to co-create these expectations? If learners are co-creators of classroom expectations they are more likely to find meaning with them and are more willing to own them. Who decides if music is played during work time and what type of music that is? (I found this extremely challenging to make everyone happy at the high school level because of varying music interests.) These are just a few of the questions we should be asking ourselves as we work to co-create classroom expectations with learners.
Learners as Co-creators of Classroom Communication
Who is the one creating the communication plan for the school year? Is communication solely the teacher's responsibility, or can learners be responsible for some of the communication home? Which form of communication will have the greatest impact? It seems that improving communication is always a goal for teachers. What if we co-created our communication plans with learners? What if the learners assumed some of the responsibility for the communication home? Would this help us to close the gap and make sure the majority of our families are reached?
One way that I did this within the AP Environmental science course that I taught, is I would send home "talking points" for parents. That way when they would ask their learner what was going on in the classroom, they had something very specific to target. This was something that parents appreciated, and at first learners gave me a hard time about, but really opened the door between the classroom and home.
First Week Plans Should Focus on Relationships and Collaboration
How do you build relationships on day one? The first week? What does that first day look like? What does the first week look like? We destroy some of the excitement within our classrooms when we introduce the syllabus, expectations, and supplies that learners need on the first day of class. Our first day, and everyday there after should be nothing short of AMAZING, and should be something that learners remember and talk about on the last day of class. Instead of focusing our energies on preparing our classrooms, what if we focused our energy on knocking it out of the park the first week? What if our plans included BreakoutEDU, Amazing Race, and activities that encouraged collaboration? What if activities during our first week incorporated and inspired learner's interests and passions? Check out an article on Finland's relaxed approach to the first day of school.
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