The Power of Assumptions and Levers Discussion

Each of the following practices are based on assumptions.  As educators, we have the ability to use levers of change.  Two key levers that educators can apply and affect the greatest change are practice and self.  

I’d like to take the time next session and go over the practices highlighted in chapter 1 as they relate to these two levers.

When you look through these practices think of the lever of self.

• Which assumptions are you holding on to in your mind? In your practice?
• Which assumptions are your students  holding on to?

Now, look at the lever of practice. Can you change practice to challenge these assumptions?

Practice: Grouping learners by age and moving them through the system in batches.

Assumption: Students learn at the same rate and are ready for new learning at the same time as others born in the same year.

What if…we gave students the support they needed to learn at a pace dictated by their individual readiness rather than by their ages?

Can I change this practice at the classroom level?

Yes

What ideas do we have for practices or current practices that challenge the assumption?

• Mini-lessons and seminars for groups of students
• Learners self-pace to meet defined learning target
• Learners can work in groups based on level of mastery of a single learning target in terms of the assistance they need to help each other reach mastery; personalized learning included collaboration
• Technology tools can provide content for students who have specific gaps

Practice: Using the same instructional approaches for entire groups of learners.

Assumption: Ability to keep pace with the class and learn from a set of standard instructional strategies is a good measure of learning aptitude.

What if…we gave students the time they needed to learn and the support necessary to learn in the ways that best fit them?

Can I change this practice at the classroom level?

Yes

What ideas do we have for practices or current practices that challenge the assumption?

• Learners are given choice for how to meet learning target
• Learners given menu for how they might be able to meet a target (e.g. different forms of writing for a college writing course)
• Targets can be blended in the same product.
• Access to technology allows students to access and create content in a variety of modes

Practice: Waiting for learners to fail repeatedly before providing "remediation."

Assumption: Failure is inevitable for some, and learners who fail need to be "fixed."

What if … students were able to learn the way they learn best from the beginning and could receive the support they need in real time, as they're struggling?

Can I change this practice at the classroom level?

Yes

What ideas do we have for practices or current practices that challenge the assumption?

• Students identify what targets they need to focus on based on pretest and formative data
• As learners work towards mastery of targets they have different needs, teacher observes if the can be meet as small group or whole class instruction

Practice: Attempting to capture learning performance and progress through credits and letter grades.

Assumption: It isn't necessary to be specific when reporting what students have learned; a general indication of what the educator judges as unsatisfactory, satisfactory, or exemplary is enough.

What if…learners had access to immediate feedback and were able to track their progress against standards in detail and in real time, all of the time?

Can I change this practice at the classroom level?

 Yes

What ideas do we have for practices or current practices that challenge the assumption?

• Gradebook is broken up by target which were determined as a part of the UbD process
• Targets are written in learner friendly language
• Pretests help determine where students are at at beginning of learning
• Assessment documents the process of learning
• Assessment can be a conversation where learner and teacher discuss progress towards mastery rather than a simple letter grade

Practice: Using a system of rewards and sanctions to control student behavior.

 Assumption: Students will not choose to learn without either the promise of rewards or the threat of sanctions.

What if…the incentives and supports we offered to students were designed to develop self-regulatory skills and an internally driven commitment to learn?

Can I change this practice at the classroom level?

Yes

What ideas do we have for practices or current practices that challenge the assumption?

• Students create authentic artifacts to demonstrate learning
• Learners in charge of their own pace helps control some behavior issues
• Learner presents plan to teacher of how s/he will meet learning outcomes
• Still need some check-ins to keep students on target

Practice: Administering standardized tests and assessments that focus almost exclusively on content knowledge.

Assumption: Knowing names, dates, places, sequences, and formulas is enough.

What if…learning and teaching were focused on building the learning skills and capacity necessary to thrive in a rapidly changing future, with specific content serving to provide context for learning application?

Can I change this practice at the classroom level?

Yes

What ideas do we have for practices or current practices that challenge the assumption?

• Assessments are based on learning targets that are not simply knowledge
• Demonstration of mastery could be one on one conversation in which they show how they have met learning targets through their work
• Assessments are legitimate products that demonstrate mastery of knowledge and skills