Learning about Learning

http://www.forbes.com

"Why do I have to go to school today?"

"To Learn"

"What I am going to learn?"

"What the teacher teaches you"

"Why do I need to learn that?"

"To get a better job"

I wonder how many mornings start off this way with a question and answer session over a bowl of cereal. The purpose of school is learning, right?  We learn what teachers teach, right?  How many of us remember the exact lesson we learned in 3rd grade or 7th grade or 11th grade?  I am sure that we all remember PEMDAS or "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally" to solve order of operations in math or MVEMJSUNP "My Very Excellent Mother Just Showed Us Nine Pizzas to remember the order of the planets in the solar system.  We now know that the Pluto has been dropped and is no longer classified as a planet and the acronym changes to "My Very Excellent Mother Just Showed Us Nothing".

Schools are changing or at least they should be.  The teacher is no longer the keeper of the information.  They are not the giver of knowledge and students do not have to be at school to learn.  Learning happens everywhere and all the time.  School districts are shifting to the Common Core, shifting to higher levels of questioning, shifting to cyber and hybrid education.  What is lost in all the "shifts" is the core of what school should be doing.

"Students should learn how to learn"

I am not suggesting that we go away from any standards or curriculum.  We do not need to radically change the structure of school.  Public schools, private schools, home schools or cyber schools should continue to teach students.  Students still need to understand how to solve problems, identify planets or states and capitals and become a good citizen.  But, how they learn should be the focus.
  
How do students learn?  They learn in their own individual ways.  How do you learn?  Information is available to everyone instantaneously.  The flood of information from a basic Google search is astounding and I do not believe that it will slow down in the future.

A simple Google search for learning gives me definitions, games, online schools, and newspaper articles.  You can also limit you search to images, blogs, shopping (learning tools and books) and more, videos, books, flights and recipes (Like this one for chicken kiev).  With all of this information available I better be able to understand how I "learn"best and where I need to go to find what I need.  The visual learner should find videos.  The auditory learner should find text-to-speech apps to help.  Those who are easily distracted should install apps that focus the attention on the page by removing all the other stuff like Evernote clearly.  If someone needs to hear and see an explanation there is probably a student or teacher out there who created a podcast or screen-cast that will show you step by step.  You can search for scholarly articles with higher reading levels or more simple site with reasonable vocabulary.  The possibilities are endless.

What needs to change in schools?  I believe it is not the "what" but the how.  How do students learn?  How many ways can we model different learning techniques throughout the year, across all classes?  Teaching is, was and will always be difficult.  Learning does not have to be.  The sooner students learn how they learn the easier their life will be and more choices they will have in the future.

"Why do I have to go to school today?"

"To Learn"

"What I am going to learn?"

"How to learn"

"Why do I need to learn that?"

"To choose whatever job you want"

- Google Apps and Chromebooks Training Resources

- Google Apps and Chromebooks Training Resources

Reflection on Reflection

Found at http://irvinggfm.deviantart.com/art/Cosmos-Reflection-282045378

As I approach the end of the Connected Coaching online course offered through Professional Learning Practice, we were asked to reflect and self assess.  

What do I find most important and most powerful about this course and any other courses that I have taken through PLP?

"The ability to consistently struggle with both new learning the obvious best practice and leave with a feeling that you are the most important person in the room at all times with earth shattering ideas that should be shared."

It starts with the approach of the instructors or coaches.  Lani and Amy are organized, well-prepared, effective communicators and contributing learners to community.  But, most importantly they are supporters, coaches,and positive people who can find value in almost all situations.  Connected coaching, is not like professional sports coaching.  The power-hungry, my way or the highway coach yelling and screaming at his or her team until they just do it or else... is replaced with someone who directs, guides, supports and questions learners while making them feel important and reassuring them that the work they are doing is meaningful and of great importance.  

What surprised you?

I was surprised by the way the community came together.  Many people who did not know each other came together with very different goals and left with a similar experience. Through the use of coaching protocols, and team and trust building activities, our group became united around  and supported each others learning.  The face-to-face research-based strategies were turned into connected coaching online activities.  These tools brought people together from across the globe (Australia) and right next store (York, PA).  The environment that was created made it easy to take risks and safe to admit mistakes.

 What, if anything, has most significantly influenced your thinking around coaching?

This course has influenced my daily conversations with parents and teacher by allowing inquiry and self reflection to drive conversations around what is best for kids.  I think this course has forced me to become a better listener, problem-solver, communicator and leader.

In what ways do you envision moving forward?

I would love the opportunity to continue to practice the art and skill of connected coaching.  I still struggle with how you can be both a coach and a supervisor in a school system.  I am encouraged by what I am learning about the PA Teacher Effectiveness Rubric and the changes in the observation/supervision systems in Pennsylvania.  I think that instructional coaching could play a larger role for principals.  As school districts are asked to do more with less, I see the benefit of taking the coaching strategies and moving them to the online spaces as a time saver.  The strategies and tool-kits discussed in this course could be extremely helpful to all administrators in the near future.    

In closing, I chose to represent my reflections in a Blog post because I feel that reflection is important and that  ideas are worth sharing.  I was encouraged to share in the course space and I think it is important to share beyond the course space as well.  I promote blogging to my teachers as a way to reflect and receive feedback about their practice and I need to model that expectation more often.