Learning Structures that Work and that Really Work

I remember classes. I was there to pass your test. I could listen, stare, interject three answers (because I couldn't sit still), and get an A on your test. I would do only enough homework to ensure that I kept the good driver's discount for my car insurance "B" average). Theoretically I was an example of a child who learned. I was a success story. I was in the top 25% of a good school, went on to college, grad school, a career. Ask me which teacher's I remember that I had. Over thirty different teachers and I can give you 6. Mrs. Lindahl, Dr. Antonoff, Mr. Mundt, Mr. Wiemerslage, Mr. Catalani, and Monsieur Totz. I can remember Ron Cey's batting average in 1983 (.275), I can remember Michael Jordan sinking 6 three-pointers in 1992 against the Portland Trailblazers, but I can't name the majority of my high school teachers that I spent over 150 hours each with.

Furthermore, lets break down who I do remember. Mrs. Lindahl was a mom of another swimmer on the swim team. I saw her for years before I saw her in class. I still remember her class vividly. It was chemistry and we did a lot of lab experiments. Dr. Antonoff was the diving coach and one of the greatest English teachers a live. He sat, he talked with you, he'd question, he'd hang out. I think I took 3 classes from him and that was not enough. Mr. Mundt, well I don't remember almost anything of his class, only that he had used bathroom English to explain the difference between articles and pronouns. I walked away one day laughing about the grammatical difference between what is written on a bathroom stall from "this sucks" and "this school sucks." Cute, humorous, stuck 20 something years later, 150+ hours and that is what I walked away with. Mr. Wiemerslage, physics teacher, I don't remember the class or anything he said, simply that I slept all of swim season in class and made sure I got an A in all the rest of it. Mr. Catalani had the sludge test. Two weeks of figuring out what's in a mystery vial. It's all your's go do it. Monsieur Totz, caught me reading the sports section in French class and made me read the sports section from a French paper in class.

Most of my classes had nearly 30 people in them. We had over 3000 students as a school. I learned. I graduated. I walked away with very little. It was a good school that I am proud to have graduated from.

This is why we are asking the wrong questions. Can we learn in a lecture? Can we learn in whole group? The answer is yes. Of course we can. Or at least a segment of our students can. Can we learn enough content to pass a test? Will they remember it 3, 5, 7, 15 years later? Try it. Conjugate the verb "ser."

What were the commonalities of the effective classes I remember? They had us doing things. It was small group conversations, discussions, contextual experiences. The teachers didn't think about the 150 students they had, but who they were going to talk with this hour. For other classes, all I have is a funny moment or a misdeed by me to remember the class. 150+ hours and here is my parting gift, me napping because I'm overtired from swim practice.

Perhaps the questions are not can they learn in whole group or will they increase from pre-test to post-test in my class. The simple answer is they will. Kids are programmed to do that. Perhaps the real questions are more difficult. Can I help them become independent learners? Can I maximize their growth? Can I help them become collaborative problem-solvers? Can I help them create situations in which they will retain information not for the moment but for a lifetime? When we ask these question, not questions of content coverage but questions of learner development, the paradigm changes. It is in these situations that we see gamification, genius-hour, problem-based learning, growth model student development step forward. It is these situations, the sludge test, the chemistry labs, the French sports section, the small group book discussions, that resonate for a lifetime. These are the instructional methods that change learners. That last a lifetime. Ask yourself, who you remember and why? You'll find it's not because you were learning in the whole group but rather you had someone personalize opportunities for you to develop.

Can we "teach" them? Yes. Will they learn for a lifetime, only if we allow them to be an active participant in the journey.

Student's Have Thoughts and Occasionally Share Them