CONNECTIONS: Learning by Doing (and Planning to Do)
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
–Abraham Lincoln
“I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.”
–Pablo Picasso
The above quotes are both important when it comes to learning. As learners, we must spend time preparing to do and also engage in the actual doing. It is popular to proclaim that we learn best by doing and I tend to agree with the spirit of this sentiment. In fact, when speaking to educators about learning, I often start by defining learning as, “Doing what we can’t,” meaning that it is not until I can do something which I previously could not do that I have learned. At its essence, learning results in a change within us; when we learn, we are changed in some way. We now think differently or we possess new knowledge or we can now do what we previously could not. As important as doing is to the learning process, we must not discount, however, the importance of planning to do. I am reminded of the importance of both learning and planning to learn when I travel and have reflected often on the differences between my travel planning today and my lesson planning when I served as a classroom teacher for nineteen years.
I have traveled to all 50 states and 30 countries. Early on in my life as a traveler, I realized that the more I learned about a destination prior to actually traveling there, the more I would see and could do once I actually arrived. A good example is my trip to Pamplona, Spain several years ago to run with the bulls. I was a Hemingway fan as a young man and running with the bulls had been on my travel bucket list for many years. When I finally decided to make the trip, I also made the decision to learn as much as I possibly could about running with the bulls prior to actually arriving. I read several books on the topic, perused scores of online resources, watched a number of videos, and spoke with a few people who had already made the journey.
The background knowledge I gained from this research helped me immensely once I arrived. By acquiring this knowledge prior to my arrival, I knew where I wanted to stay, what I needed to wear, at what point along the path I wanted to start my daily run with the bulls, proper running etiquette, what would happen once we entered Plaza de Toros de Pamplona, and even what to do should I fall while running. Had I not arrived in Pamplona armed with all the knowledge I now possessed about running with the bulls, I would not have been as confident about what I would be doing and I may not have achieved my goals.
So, how does this relate to education? I think background knowledge still matters. Ultimately, the most enduring and impactful learning we experience comes from doing rather than knowing, yet knowing as much as possible before doing still makes sense. When speaking to educators, I often share the following on a slide:
Make no mistake: We need to intentionally push our students to act as the learners described on the right hand of the slide. At the same time, there remains a place in all classrooms for students to engage in the learning behaviors listed on the left side of the image. Our ultimate goal must be that students “make meaning,” “produce,” and “do” as learners. Yet, they are more likely to accomplish this when they “gain meaning,” “know more,” and “consume” what we have to offer them, so that once they begin “doing,” their chances for success in terms of enduring skills and knowledge are strengthened.
When traveling to any new destination, I believe that the more you know about the destination before you arrive, the more you will experience and learn about the destination once you are actually there. Ultimately, we learn by doing and, at times, it suits us–and our students–to simply jump right in and start doing. Yet, planning to do also matters and it is more often the case that we will do more and do better when we are thoroughly equipped to embark upon the doing. Empowering our students to actively "do" learning matters. Preparing them to "do" by building their background knowledge and equipping them with necessary skills also matters. Ensuring that our students are learning by doing and planning to do are two important ways we create a positive and productive culture in our classrooms and schools.
Thanks so much to all educators reading this for the amazing work you are doing during these challenging times. As always, Teach and Lead with Passion...
Jeff and Jimmy
DAILY INSPIRATION EDUCATOR
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COMING SOON!
The Educator’s ATLAS: Your Roadmap to Engagement by Weston Kieschnick (Twitter: @Wes_Kieschnick)
Think back to your most engaging experience as a student. What made it so exhilarating and memorable? What made it so effective?
Such questions about student engagement obsessed Weston Kieschnick from his earliest days as a teacher. Today, Kieschnick travels the globe to keynote and coach educators on the topics most relevant to student success. In the intervening decades, Kieschnick refined his teaching craft, observed the most captivating teachers, and studied the best speakers to reverse engineer a student engagement formula. The result is his ATLAS model—a simple, five-point roadmap for capturing student engagement in the first moments of class sustaining it all the way to the last.
ATLAS holds both learner needs and teacher wisdom in equal importance. Central to this is a definition of student engagement that—once and for all—clarifies the teacher’s actionable role. Teachers will finish this book with a plan in hand and the full confidence that they are ready to be engagement pros. And as is always the case with Kieschnick’s books, readers will laugh and have a lot of fun along the way.
We are so honored to partner with Weston on this important book. We anticipate a release date no later than May 15th; stay tuned for more!
FEATURED BOOKS!
Culturize and Live Your Excellence Action Guides by Jimmy Casas.
Our Action Guides are tools to accompany best selling books by Jimmy Casas: Culturize: Every Student. Every Day. Whatever It Takes and Live Your Excellence: Bring Your Best Self to School Every Day. These Action Guides are road maps to taking action steps based on the ideas found in Culturize and Live Your Excellence so that our schools can best serve the students of today. If you are conducting a book study group, seminar, class, or professional development event based on either book, these Action Guides will serve as a resource to help you organize your sessions and work with your group. They provide assistance to staff developers, superintendents, principals, team leaders, college professors, and other educational leaders who are working with teachers to develop their professional skills. To help you plan and organize your study sessions, the Action Guides are divided into the following six sections:
Reflections: These are short thoughts on key sections of the chapters from each book.
Critical Concepts: These are simply bullet-point summaries from each section of the books and are presented here to help you review and focus your thoughts.
Questions to Consider: These questions are designed to reinforce your understanding of critical concepts and will promote constructive conversation among those participating in the study group, workshop, or class.
Writing to Reflect: These reflective journal prompts help you consider what you have read as well as discussions in which you have engaged to independently work through essential issues, recording what you have learned and what you are thinking about in writing.
Team Activities: These activities allow you to further explore concepts and ideas found in the books by interacting with others in your study group, workshop, or course.
Putting It to Work: This section provides specific actions for applying what you have learned through your reading as well as work undertaken in the book study back in your own classroom, school, or district.
Check out more here and contact us for bulk order discounts!
CONNECTEDD’S TAKEAWAYS:
Thought for the Day: “If you want to test your memory, try to recall what you were worrying about one year ago today." E. Joseph Cossman
Teaching Technique to Try: Pick a Number: The Pick a Number strategy asks students to read a selection of quotations on a topic and choose one to explore more deeply. Use this strategy when you want to briefly introduce students to several perspectives on a topic and then offer each student the choice of which perspective to discuss and investigate in more detail with their classmates. Check out this link from Facing History and Ourselves for a step-by-step process for using this technique.
Eyes On Culture: We believe that culture is a true difference maker in any classroom, school, district, or organization. As a result, we focus much of the work we do on creating and maintaining positive and productive cultures. Culture Focus: Practice and Feedback. High performing schools with strong cultures are places in which educators are intentional about providing both students and staff opportunities to practice what they are teaching and learning. In addition to intentional practice, they also provide targeted, specific, and timely feedback on such opportunities. Perhaps the two most important ways we get better at anything we do is through engaging in deliberate practice and receiving feedback on our performance, whether that performance is dribbling a basketball, playing a musical instrument, delivering a speech, conducting an experiment, or teaching a class. High performing educators do not take for granted that students (or themselves) will improve simply by going through their daily routines. Instead, they design practice opportunities that allow them to show what they currently know and can do while providing (or seeking) feedback on how they can get better.
What are some other thoughts you have on practice and feedback in classrooms and schools? Please share your thoughts about a culture and gratitude via Twitter: @ConnectEDDBooks We would love to hear from you!