- Support students to set goals for their learning and participate in identifying steps they will take and activities in which they will engage to reach their goals. Obviously, the goals need to be aligned with identified standards and progress benchmarks, but as much as practical the goals need to reflect the commitment of students rather than goals we assign to them.
- Monitor the level of challenge with which students are presented to ensure that success is possible with appropriate focus and effort and not so easy as to not generate new learning. Known as the Zone of Proximal Development, the best learning outcomes tend to be generated within this range.
- Coach students to reflect as they struggle, make progress, encounter setbacks, and grow. The practice of reflection is among the most powerful learning strategies available. As students become increasingly skilled at reflection, they become increasingly independent learners.
- Focus feedback and recognition on the effectiveness of learning strategies and aligned learning effort. Help students to understand that the use of effective strategies and smart effort positions them to learn concepts and skills that are increasingly difficult. Meanwhile, they will be building confidence in their learning and tolerance for unsuccessful initial attempts to learn.
- Whenever possible, frame learning in the context of the value and purpose it represents. Purpose is a powerful driver of learning. The more we can connect learning and the value it can offer, the more students will come to value learning and the more likely they are to choose to continue to learn, even when we are not present.
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In Your Corner, Student Learning
Here’s How to Build Learning Skills Now
In last week’s blog we explored the importance of designing this summer’s learning experiences to stimulate and nurture the curiosity of students to build a drive to learn that can sustain them well beyond the coming year. Research and experience point to powerful long-term benefits of students remaining curious and persisting in their quest to make sense of the world they encounter.
There is yet another dimension of building future learning success to which we need to give attention. While curiosity gives students a drive to learn, they also need skills and strategies to engage efficiently and effectively in the learning process, including when they are not in a formal setting and instructional support is not present. The combination of sustained curiosity and skills to learn in response to varied challenges is crucial to lifelong learning success.
As we engage students in learning this summer, we would do well to keep in mind the importance of building skills for learning beyond being receptive to instruction and responding to specific learning expectations. Fortunately, building these skills does not require significantly more time and resources. There are several steps we can take while supporting the learning students need for a successful start in the fall. Here are five actions we can take immediately:
In Your Corner, Leadership and Change Management
Three Phase Summer Plan for Renewal
The pressures and stresses of the past year took a toll on us. They sapped our energy, challenged our resilience, and often humbled us despite our considerable skills and experience. There was no road map to follow and the conditions under which we led the learning of our students seemed to change constantly. Now, as this incredible year is behind us, it’s time to think about how to take care of ourselves and be ready to re-engage when the time comes.
This summer, maybe more than any other, calls for a plan to help us move beyond where we find ourselves. Some people recommend a summer completely disconnected from work. While such a shift can be a good start, as the summer unfolds, we also need to capture what we have learned and how we have grown, and then begin our preparation for a successful start to a new year in the fall. Consider a three-phase plan to renew your spirit and energy, reflect and learn from your experience, and build your readiness to return to the important work of nurturing learning.
The first phase, refocusing, involves letting go and shifting your attention and energy. Now it is time to let go of what has worn you down, tested your resolve, and left you exhausted. Find time to relax, focus on yourself, and do what renews your spirit. You may find that a few good fiction books can refocus your attention and give you energy. Maybe rediscovering and engaging in a long-standing or new hobby can give you the separation you need. Volunteering in an area of significance to you may also be a good option. Returning to a regular cycle of physical activity could be the answer to your renewal. Or maybe your source of renew is spending time with family and friends. The key is to focus on what you need and give adequate attention to your emotional and physical health.
The second phase, reflection, presents the opportunity to revisit what you learned and celebrate wins from the past year. You may find it best to delay this phase until you are feeling renewed and re-energized. With the refilling of your emotional and physical energy tank will come a readiness to revisit the experience of the past year with greater objectivity and perspective. Even though the year presented unusual, even unprecedented distractions and disruptions, it offered opportunities to learn, grow, and meet significant challenges. Reflecting on what you learned about yourself can be an important source of insight and professional pride. The instructional strategies you adapted to a new environment and developed to meet new challenges despite all that was happening can offer opportunities to enhance the experiences of students going forward. Of course, not everything will translate directly to a post-pandemic context, but your reflection will likely uncover a significant collection of options and opportunities to enhance your professional practice.
The third phase, readiness to re-engage, draws on the energy you have refreshed and the insights and understanding you gained from your reflection. You may have identified aspects of your practice that you need to strengthen. You may see opportunities to go add to your instructional tools and strategies. An online or in-person workshop may offer the resources and support you need to get ready. Also, consider reading articles or listening to podcasts on the important impact educators have on the life trajectories of students and how educators often instill hope for students who may be struggling or experiencing tough times. This may also be a great time to reflect on and revisit the reasons that led you to decide that education is your calling and renew your commitment to be the force in students’ lives that will make a difference regardless of their backgrounds, circumstances, and current challenges.
Summer may seem to stretch long into the future. Yet, we know that the time will pass quickly, and we need to take advantage of the break to refocus and renew ourselves. We need to reflect and capture what we have learned. And as the summer passes, we need to ready ourselves to re-engage and continue to make a difference in the lives of our students.
In Your Corner, Student Learning
In Your Corner, Leadership and Change Management
In Your Corner, Leadership and Change Management
In Your Corner, Leadership and Change Management
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Artificial intelligence can do many things, but it cannot lead—not in a classroom, not in a school, not in a district. Leadership is a complex, uniquely human behavior, and now is the time to really, truly lead.
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