Stop, Start, Continue

This week’s article summary is Stop, Start, Continue, and it resonated for me as we reach the mid-point of school year.

If you’re like me, one of the benefits of education is the opportunities you get to take stock of how you teach.

The article  below asks us to reflect on three questions:

• What should we stop doing?
• What should we start doing?
• What should we continue doing?”

In answering these three questions, the author to me hit on Trinity’s goal of empowering students in their learning. 

When I think of all the teachers I had—be it in elementary, middle, upper, college, or grad school—the ones who meant the most to me were the ones who asked me to think and decide for myself. My best teachers guided rather than led me.

As we moved into a well-deserved hiatus, remember that when we return to school, we have a great opportunity to reset ourselves, our kids, and our classes. And those three questions might help us see what’s working and what needs to a little modification. 

Enjoy the holidays with families and friends and thank you for a spectacular first half of the year!

Joe

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When I worked at United World College, on many days when we concluded our activities and jobs, we met in a circle and asked ourselves: What should we stop doing? What should we start doing? What should we continue doing?

As simple as these sound, these questions provided a safe, predictable set of questions that became habits of mind, a way to pause and reflect before engaging in something else. Our aim was to get better at what we were doing.

We need to give students in every school, at every age, real agency and authentic opportunities to make a difference in this volatile, unpredictable, complex, and ambiguous world. 

With this in mind, we cannot be satisfied only with students learning and developing deep conceptual understanding of multiple disciplines. 

We need young people building an ever-expanding portfolio of skills and experiences of things that they have done, created, and contributed to -- things that matter to them and others.

I propose three things that teachers need to stop doing, three things to start doing, and three things to continue doing.

What Should We Stop Doing?

Stop teaching as if we have the answers: Nothing could more powerfully demonstrate an inquiry-based approach to learning and doing than to design ways of engaging students with questions to which we ourselves do not know the answers. In this way, students may contribute to both their own understanding and also to ours.

Stop rushing: We need to slow down the race to cover content. We need to get more creative about ways to focus on key conceptual understandings, and about designing ways to demonstrate evidence of applying these conceptual understandings. Deep learning takes time.

Stop talking: Even with the most experiential, project-based approach, it would be good to figure out how much time any one person spends talking compared to listening. How much silence is there after any member of a group of learners poses a question? In a classroom setting, what would happen if we reduced teacher talk by 50% and increased the pause time between question and response by 50%?

What Should We Start Doing?

Start looking for problems to solve, actions to take, and beauty to create:If we were to do something that really mattered to ourselves, our classrooms, our schools, and our community, the potential for impact would be at once local and global. Start finding ways to engage students in understanding real-world problems, and then support them in solving those problems. Every student should experience the joy that comes with being a unique and positive force in the world.

Start teaching with new discoveries about the brain in mind: There is emerging evidence that where there is no emotion, there is no learning. Let's bring a full spectrum of positive emotions to teaching and learning. A good place to start is by sharing your passion, personal mission, and the questions and problems that are important to you. Bring all this to your students. And have them bring theirs to you.

Start seeking out authentic, high-stakes audiences for student work: We often ask students to spend many hours solving problems or creating things that are never shared beyond the teacher or the classroom. Partner with businesses, organizations, and your larger community to showcase innovative work produced by your students.

What Should We Continue Doing?

Continue with your professional development, and model the growth mindset in action:If we ourselves can't develop and model the 21st-century skills of collaboration, communication, and critical and creative thinking, how can we prepare students to master them? Regularly try new things in the classroom, and ask students for their feedback. Demonstrate that education is a lifelong process.

Continue to place our work with students in global contexts: We share a common humanity, and that's worth finding ways to be mindful of our interdependence. Foster the sense of connection that comes from seeing oneself as a part of a larger global community.

Continue believing in the potential of every student: Each student can make a positive difference, and each should understand the importance of investing in his or her own well-being along with the well-being of others. We cannot develop ourselves or contribute to the development of others if we live stressed, unbalanced lives. Introducing and modeling habits of mindfulness and doing what it takes to maintain well-being are critical for our very survival.