When do we stop chewing their food?

The birds have found the feeder. We moved it and a suet holder closer to the house this winter since the trees that used to shelter them were cut down over the summer. I was afraid that their proximity to the house might frighten the birds, but it has not been a problem. In fact, it has made it easier to watch the birds as they feed.

During the spring and summer, I watched as the adult birds fed the babies. The adults would grab food from the feeder and place it in the mouths of the babies waiting on nearby branches. I do not anticipate seeing much of this behavior over the winter. I could be wrong, but I think the birds that visit our feeder and suet cakes have outgrown the need to be beak-fed.

When does this happen in education? In other words: when do we quit feeding learners information and expect them to fend for themselves? This came up this past week as I talked with university colleagues about student evaluations. We have all had comments that our students want more lecture because that is how they "learn" best. I make up that these comments are from students who have come to expect that the teacher's role is to gather and chew up educational information for students to consume. Is that too harsh?

For the sake of completing this post, let us assume that this learned helplessness is indeed the problem. What can we do about it? This is where I try to apply the Teaching-Learning Cycle and the Gradual Release of Responsibility. The Teaching-Learning Cycle provides a framework where I can identify the information and the processes learners need to make it on their own, monitor learners' progress toward these goals, and plan and implement appropriate supports. The Gradual Release of Responsibility represents an instructional approach which helps learners to "fend for themselves" through a series of lessons that begin with demonstrations, move to collaboration, and eventually result in independent practice.

I am fortunate that my colleague, who teaches the prerequisite course for the one I am teaching now, uses these frameworks in his practice. Even after only a few days I have seen a difference in my learners. Not everyone of these learners had John's section, but those who did are able to share with the rest what is expected of them in and out of class. I get the feeling that there will be a lot less gathering and chewing on my part this semester. And for that, I am grateful.

Now what? Part I

Learners who lose the ability to make decisions are disempowered.

Brain Cambourne

This quote comes from Cambourne's theory of learning as it relates to responsibility. I see this "disempowerment" in the secondary math classes that I observe and the college courses that I teach. Students are constantly waiting for someone else, usually the teacher, to tell them what to do. The time when this is most evident is when a student finishes an assigned task and sits back waiting for the teacher to answer the question, "Now what?"

Disempowerment has tremendous consequences. It removes from the student the responsibility to be a self-directed learner. Once a task is complete, they fail to consider what might come next which results in a loss of cognitive momentum - disengagement. Their need to be directed by others to explore beyond the assigned task is unsustainable. What happens when a teacher is not available to tell them what comes next? They sit and wait.

This is why I spend a great deal of time in my classes, especially those populated with teachers-in-training, encouraging them to ask the "Now what?" question to themselves and not wait for me to tell them what comes next. Granted, this is not easy at first since it runs counter to years of training, but with time I have found that I can gradually release the responsibility of identifying extensions to my learners. It usually starts with me explicitly identifying the disempowerment issue and modeling what self-directed learners might do with extra time on their hands. After modeling this behavior multiple times, I share with my learners the responsibility of coming up with ways to maintain our momentum. My goal is that eventually learners will develop their own approach to extending their learning and thus empowering themselves.

An example of sharing this responsibility comes from a probability and statistics course I have taught for preservice K-8 math teachers. The activity is based on an article from Ann Lawrence, "From The Giver to Twenty-One Balloons: Explorations with Probability." I like this article because it models several possible extensions students might consider to further their learning. For example, after working on several probability problems related to The Giver, the middle school students in the article are asked to write their own problems given the story's context. Here are the results of this extension:

Novice teachers are sometimes hesitant to turn over this responsibility of generating problems to students because they feel unprepared to deal with what might be messy stories. Therefore, I ask my preservice teachers to look at Mark's story and consider possible solution methods and then what comes next. With practice, these future teachers can become more adept at dealing with unpredictable situations. Also, I explicitly state that their "Now what?" question can focus on either pedagogy (responding to Mark) or content (exploring the math) - it's up to them. Empowerment!

Before I share the typical results, I want to provide you the opportunity to explore Mark's problem. A chance to ask and answer your own "Now what?" question. I hope you will share your learning in the comments.

"What if we mutiny?"

That was the question a graduate fellow asked me when a workshop we were doing in class took an unexpected turn. The fellows had been working in small groups to identify important information read in one of the course textbooks. Each group was assigned a different chapter, and they were preparing to share with their peers what they had gotten from their reading. When preparation time was up, however, I changed things up. Instead of having them share with the whole group, I asked that they stay in their small groups and develop a rubric for evaluating collegial sharing.

My request disrupted the anticipated flow of events - do assigned reading, plan in expert groups, and share with whole group. As I have said before, effective teaching is a lot like storytelling. And I wanted to shake up this "story" (lesson) in an effort to make it more memorable. I also knew the larger plot of this particular "story" and that it involved several opportunities to share these chapters, while incorporating more readings in future lessons.

It was not a surprise to me when the fellow asked, "What if we mutiny?" This is a group that is highly motivated and wants to know as much as they can about facilitating learning environments. The fellow's peers had important information that was expected to be shared with the group and that ought to happen now in the typical chain of classroom events.

When the fellow asked, "What if we mutiny?" I responded with something like, "I would love that!" But there was no mutiny and I went ahead with my own storyline anyway. The following day, I thought more about the exchange and decided that a mutiny fit well with the next lessons' theme - responsibility. So, I replaced a learning workshop dedicated to reading groups with time for a mutiny (what Daniel Pink has called "20% time").

The day arrived and I explained that for the next workshop how they spent the time was up to them. I reminded them of the goal of this particular journey (collaborating in development of effective learning environments) and then said, "I'll be in the brig." For the next forty minutes, the fellows took responsibility for their learning. They organized their time. They monitored their progress. And they negotiated their needs. As they worked, I took notes on their collegial efforts that I could use to evaluate their progress on this project.

At the end of the time, I broke free of the brig just before the fellows began a second round of sharing. I affirmed their efforts and said that I was pretty sure there would be another chance to mutiny during the next class. A fellow asked, "What if we mutiny now?" I smiled.