When A Teacher’s Vision Gets Cloudy...Go Back to the Basics

by Ellen Kenimer

Ahh….the beginning of a new school year….the anticipation, the goal setting, the fresh, new bulletin board that welcomes students to start a new journey with me -- a journey I aspire to be meaningful, fun, life-changing, and unforgettable. And then, reality sets in. The routines, the paperwork, the data, the hustle and bustle of each day can easily cloud my mission. I’m often left feeling, how do I manage this? How do I make a difference? How can I make learning occur for my students?

This summer, I had the opportunity to be a part of work led by The Fund for Transforming Education. I worked with a team of teachers and leaders from all over the state of Kentucky who were passionate about helping their students succeed. We spent two days creating and refining a meaningful unit to be taught in our classrooms this fall. During our work sessions and discussions about how to engage students in learning, I was reminded of a few basic principles of good teaching and purposeful learning. On days when my vision gets cloudy, I find they are helpful to revisit.

1. It’s All About Relationships. On the morning of our first meeting day this summer, I entered a room full of people I didn’t know. I had no idea what to expect. I had no idea what the schedule for the day would be. I had no idea how our work sessions would be organized. Needless to say, I felt a bit nervous, much like a child on the first day of school. Now, I am fairly shy and not outspoken, so for the first half hour, I took on an observer role which fit nicely in my comfort zone. But then, something happened. Our leader got up and began the “program” for the day and her introduction included a key element...laughter. It was then that I realized just how powerful laughter could be! Laughter brought together an entire room of strangers. Laughter helped me begin working relationships with people I had met 30 minutes prior. And I thought, “Laughter should be present every day in my classroom.” Laughter builds community and in turn, builds a place for students to invest their hearts, effort, and lives. When a student has a genuine relationship with a teacher and peers in his or her classroom, the student feels safe enough to explore new concepts, make mistakes, engage in productive struggle, and ultimately, achieve success they can be proud of. As part of our work this summer, one of my favorite activities was interviewing a student about what he liked/disliked about school. This activity gave me insight into just how powerful relationships with students can be. By listening to this child’s ideas about ways he learns best, I was able to refine my instruction. In summary, when my vision gets cloudy, it is important for me to remember relationships with my students are foundational.
2. Work With the End Goal in Mind. In our instructional design work this summer, we used the process of backward design - essentially identifying the end goal first and working backward. While this wasn’t a new practice for me and my colleagues, it was an essential reminder that designing instruction this way really does result in tight alignment and focused instruction and classroom activities. This is positive for two reasons: (1)It focuses my questioning and instruction in my teaching. When I know the end goal and am continually directing my students toward it, it helps me in my reflect on and refine which activities are the best to get students there. (2) It shows students a clear path for their learning. In my experience in the elementary classroom, I’ve found that the best learning occurs when students are able to make meaningful connections. By working with the end goal in mind, students can see the connection between the activities we do and the learning that should be taking place. Using the LDC template and the CAS template fostered the backward design thinking within our team this summer and it is a tool that I will continue to use in my classroom. When my vision gets cloudy, I try to refocus on the end goal.
3. Set Up for Authentic Learning. One of the most thought-provoking experiences with The Fund occurred about a month after our summer work when I viewed a documentary titled “Most Likely to Succeed”. I won’t take the time here to give a detailed description of the movie, but I will say it is definitely worth watching. For the most part, the movie walked viewers through a close-up look of a school called High Tech High, located in California. The authentic learning that occurred in this school was nothing short of incredible. At this school, instead of test scores measuring student success, a public exhibition night showcased authentic learning and hard work of the students. The ownership of learning the students showed was what captured my attention the most. Since I teach elementary school, the implementation will need to be drastically different, but the basic premise is something I want to continue to explore. When students begin to take responsibility for their learning and begin to own their progress, true authentic learning begins to happen! When my vision gets cloudy, I can ask myself, “How can I make this learning authentic for students?”

As an educator, it is easy to get overwhelmed with new initiatives and feel defeated by constant changes. However, I’ve found that by starting with these 3 basic principles, I am able to get refocused and refreshed, which in turn, directly benefits my students!

Ellen is a third grade teacher at Rosenwald Dunbar Elementary School in Jessamine County and is a NGID Participant. Currently, The Fund is featuring blogs from teachers in the Next Generation Instructional Design network. They will share their journey, their ideas, and their collaborative work related to being in the network and with building units of study with LDC modules embedded.