How is it different in March?

Winter returned last night. It wasn't too bad here but around Michigan the temperatures fell (along with some significant snow in the southeast part of the state). The reaction on Twitter and Facebook made me wonder how we go from having fun playing in the snow

to wanting to commit snowman murder in less than three months. 

It's probably related to perspective. When the snow is fresh and new, it's easy to get excited about the change in season. But after a few months of bundling up and shoveling snow, we can't wait for warmer weather.

Unfortunately, complaining about the weather does nothing but put me in a bad mood. So we try to make the best of it by staying active

Kathy skiing from our cabin in the UP

and exploring new places created by the very cold we wish would go away.

Eben Ice Caves

What does this have to do with education? I think the same thing happens in a lot of our classes. While there is initial excitement about a new school year, students and teachers quickly get stuck in a rut of doing the same thing day-after-day. I once heard Debbie Miller say (in regards to the Gradual Release of Responsibility), "If you're doing the same thing in February and March that you were doing in September and October, you're doing it wrong." As teachers, we need to find ways to keep everyone active and explore new ideas and making the best of it.

Before Spring Break, I asked my students what was working and what they wanted me to change. I used their suggestions to make adjustments to the upcoming unit. They had some really good ideas about combining some assignments and addressing new areas. One group wants cookies.

Nice try.

Can we follow the trail?

It snowed last night - a lot.

from NOAA

This morning, as I began the process of digging us out, I began noticing how the snow kept a record of my progress.

This got me thinking about assessment and monitoring the progress of learning. Too often, it seems that the assessment information we collect provides a picture of where learners are at but not enough about how they got there. It's as if they magically appeared in the snow.

But moving through the snow forces us to leave tracks. If the tracks are clear enough, we might be able to follow the path. One of the reasons I have learners write metacognitive memoir is that it leaves a trail for me to follow - it makes their thinking visible.

Sometimes the trail can be confusing, however. It's not always clear the path that was taken or even which footprints belong to the traveler and which were left by someone else.

That's why I often like to interrupt learners in the middle of their efforts -- to catch them in the act of thinking.

It is also the reason why I like Ewan MacIntosh's idea of engaging learners in problem finding rather than problem solving. Perhaps a pristine area of snow will make it easier to follow their path.

Thanks for indulging me this metaphor. It was a great day to play in the snow and think about assessment.