One Small Shift

I have been engaged in numerous conversations lately laced with teacher overwhelm. We are immersed in a school year that promised us some normality...and we are finding out that it lied. The real issue is not even COVID protocols or quarantines, although those often exacerbate already overburdened teachers and students. The issue, it appears, is that we all want to be amazing after a year and a half of not so amazing, but aren't always certain where to start.

For instance...

In a summer workshop for The Modern Classrooms Project, ten teachers did an intense amount of work and then struggled with how to implement the time consuming model with fidelity.

In an ELA lab classroom this month, I wanted to try out all the teaching for transfer strategies I was learning about and then found it difficult to manage time and the variety of student needs.

In a science workshop two weeks ago, Paul Anderson inspired science teachers with ideas about daily inquiry based activities and labs and then they did not have the time necessary to implement effectively.

In observations last week around Building Thinking Classrooms in Math, teachers had students up at white boards actively engaging and then questioned whether they could continue the momentum each day for curricular and non curricular tasks.

These professional development opportunities, along with several other workshops and ideas, are student centered and could revolutionize education. So, what happens between inspirational book, workshop, discussion, etc. and the actual implementation? 

Crippling feelings of overwhelm. 

Julie Stern explains the overwhelming moment teachers are living in and the complexity of change in this video. Teachers are creative, inspired, incredibly hard working individuals who want to do everything. We also like to be right. In school systems where there are a plethora of initiatives that have not yet found a common thread, it is difficult to know where to begin. Somewhere in the morass, however, we need to learn how to make just one small shift toward more sustainable practice.

In the implementation of Modern Classrooms Project self-paced learning, for example, teachers feel pressure to polish all elements perfectly from day one. However, if we believe we have to do everything, we will ultimately do nothing. The pivotal part is just...start. Perhaps in the first unit a teacher simply divides their assignments into must do, should do, and aspire to do lessons. After that, maybe they add on mastery checks when the planning of lessons is under control. Then, next semester, they might try a public progress tracker. Just find a sustainable move and start.

Small, simple shifts make a difference in classrooms and are easy to maintain. Could you create whiteboard spaces around your classroom where students stand up in a group to do their work instead of doing it on a computer or at their desks? The act of standing up accomplishes two goals. Fundamentally, research by Peter Liljedahl confirms that the simple act of standing to do a group task increases engagement, produces better results, and increases mood and energy. Additionally, when students work at a whiteboard that can be erased, there is less pressure on the students to be perfect and less pressure on the teacher to grade it. The simple shift of having groups stand up at whiteboards to do group work is effective and sustainable for students and teachers. It might be a place to begin.

When the dismissal bell rings, we all want to know we spent the day moving forward. We helped students to acquire, connect, or transfer learning in each class without burning ourselves out. We want happy and engaged students and educators. We want sustainable practice that we look forward to continuing when the bell rings again the next morning.

Pick something and make one small shift today.