This is the second in a series of posts relating to John Spencer and A. J. Juliani’s book Empower, which I am reading as part of #IMMOOC 4 and also #sau25bookchat. Each week I will be targeting suggested blog prompts and reflecting on how the ideas presented in #empowerbook resonate with my teaching experience.
"Student choice is the heartbeat of ownership and empowerment"
Choice Time or Choice Mentality?
A year ago I participated in my first #IMMOOC. I was immediately inspired by posts, tweets, and shares describing how there were teachers co-planning units, lessons, and activities with their students. I was shocked that I hadn't heard of this before and I was eager to try it. It happened to be April which is national poetry month. I dove in and asked students how they might like to explore poetry in the library. I collected student suggestions with sticky notes on a big bulletin board and whenever I put one into action I made sure to post the sticky note by that activity to show student ownership. I then gave students the choice of which activities they wanted to participate in. Everything was great but then the unit ended. I tried asking for ideas again later in the year with a couple of other units but I didn't get the strong response. I was left feeling flat and unsure how to recreate the enthusiasm. Using this week's blog prompt, "Student choice is the heartbeat of owndershio and empowerment" the answer is simple - I gave the "heartbeat" one big jolt of energy but that isn't enough to sustain it. Like most things of value, shifting instruction to include student voice and choice takes regular thoughtful practice. I couldn't just throw it out there once in a while and hope for the best.
"The shift from making the subject interesting to tapping into student interests" - #Empowerbook pg 22
Looking more at the day to day, I can think of a few policies and procedures in the library that I have changed in ways that give students more power. For example, students are encouraged to check out books based on their personal interests and are no longer redirected to choose based on reading levels. This allows them to be more empowered library patrons. But, if we want them to be empowered information literacy learners, we need to demonstrate to them that the skills we are offering are relevant to their personal interests, needs, and passions. With the reading and listening I am doing these days, I am becoming more and more convinced that unless we start actively including those interests, needs, and passions consistently, we won't be able to make that jump to empowered learners. Offering students their choice of what to read or check out during 15 minutes of class each week is important but if it's overshadowed by a 30 minute lesson which includes minimal student choice and no effort to personalize the learning, the message there is - "You get to choose after you comply". Opportunities for student choice and ownership need to be built into the lesson at regular sensible points, not added onto the end.
"Empowering students means giving kids the knowledge and skills to pursue their passions interests and future" - #Empowerbook pg 21
Those lifelong learners we hope to encourage are people who are always ready for new challenges. Not satisfied with just knowing what they know, they always want to find out more to improve and grow. They are capable and comfortable admitting what they know and what they want or need to know, and they've got the skills to bridge that gap. That's our goal - foster the skills needed to be capable and motivated to always reach for more. If we aren't making it clear to them that this is at the core of our purpose, the heartbeat falters. The energy wanes. The light goes out.
Ways I'm working now to keep the energy flowing at a sustainable rate
Asking questions when I used to give information.
When learning how to use a resource like the online catalog I don't teach the skill unless they need me to. I pose questions and ask for students who find the answers to demonstrate it for the class. Then, ask for more students to demonstrate other ways the question could have been answered to show the benefits of multiple ways of thinking.
Giving students time to explore new tools before I give them the mini-lesson.
Whether using a new technology tool, or exploring a section of the library I am no longer trying to anticipate all the questions and front-load all the "necessary" information. I let them explore for a while and then encourage them to ask questions as needed. This allows students some time to process and develop interest before I get involved. I'm trying to approach from the objective of them "uncovering the content" instead of me "covering the content".
Allowing students to select and design thematic displays in the library.
I blogged about this last week in "Doing School or Doing Learning" and I'm excited to share the results as events unfold. Student interest was immediate and positive which means it's up to me to keep that enthusiasm going.
Stopping and backing up when needed.
Sometimes I miss it when my students are trying to find room for their passions in what we are working on. The answer doesn't quite fit the question I thought I asked and my habit is to move on. I'm now consciously practicing stopping, backing up, and looking for ways to listen a little better and find ways to get their interests involved on a deep enough level to show that they are the heartbeat of what we are doing.
These are small beginnings but I believe that, with regular practice, I can learn to maintain that steady heartbeat needed to build ownership of learning in my library.
I love this notion of keeping things going at a “sustainable rate.” We spend so much of our energy trying keep our kids engaged, but that’s the kind of thing that leads to burnout, especially when we’re also dealing with kids that have channeled their boredom toward playing the me vs. teacher game. Student ownership over learning and opportunities for authentic choice and voice are major ways to get energy flowing every day.