Students Reflect on Self-Directed Learning

On Friday my grade 7 students presented their Independent Learning. This is what it looked like.

It was a completely different experience watching students present all at the same time in small groups rather than formally in front of the class. The environment was joyful and relaxed.

We experimented with group construction.

• large group of 6
• small group of 3
• gender mixed
• gender specific
• close friends
• friendly peer - not necessarily close friends

In our post-presentation discussion, comments included:

• from the gender-specific female group - It would be nice to have a male point of view in the group
• being with all boys might ensure more interest in what others chose to learn about
• 6 was too many, by the time the last person presented we got tired of listening and that's too bad because he had done a ton of work
• it was nice to be with friends because we felt very comfortable
• having all close friends in a group wasn't good because it was distracting
• forming a group where everyone has similar interests might be better than having to listen to something you're not really interested in

When I asked students what didn't go well, a few students felt that their topics were not substantial. It took only a few minutes for them to present and then they were left with nothing to do. Other groups were still presenting at the end of 50 minutes. Several students observed that almost everyone had spent a great deal of time learning but hadn't put much thought into the sharing component. They were unsatisfied with how they presented their learning to the group. Others commented on the quality of feedback. Students were so focused on their own accomplishments but they weren't always listening carefully to others in the group nor providing useful feedback. This has now become a goal for improvement for the class.  What we are doing indirectly is constructing success criteria. 

When we go at this next week, groups will be mixed gender and have only 3 or 4 members. Close friends will be separated.  Before we start, I will give each student a copy of the Learning Skills section of the report card and they are going to take some time to reflect on how they lack or demonstrate those skills during Independent Learning. 

Three students did not really enjoy the experience. 

I rely on my teachers to show me and tell me what to do. I didn't know what I was supposed to do.  

This comment shows just how much faith and trust students place in their teachers to point them in the right direction. It also shows, however, that we have created dependency. That is somewhat unsettling.

I didn't know what was important or what to focus on. How are you going to mark this?

This shows the need for boundaries, a desire for expectations and a need to more clearly define success within this model.

It was ok, I guess, but I just didn't really like it. This student couldn't articulate why nor what bothered her about this approach. She knew she didn't like it, but needs time to develop clarity and the capacity to articulate what she values in a learning environment.

Our post- presentation discussion took 30 minutes and we by no means exhausted all that needed to be said nor everything that happened over the course of the week.  I do wish I had recorded it, as their insights about learning, school and what constitutes learning and school were highly revealing.  What I wasn't anticipating was such an obvious revelation of model clash and an entry point into developing integrative thinking skills in my students.

From the discussion, it became very apparent that students have constructed in their minds very clear models of "school" and what constitutes "real learning". These models are rigid and they vary from learner to learner. It became obvious that every child in the class has a slightly different understanding of the purpose of school and learning.  

"I think the goal here was to learn about what we might want to do in the future."

"No, the goal was to have fun and the freedom to learn anything you want."

"No offense, but I don't think some of the topics or what people chose to learn were appropriate for school. What does building a ______________ have to do with real learning? It might be fun, but it's not going to get you anywhere!"

"Learning shouldn't just be about fun. It has to be something academic."

"This is school and you should be spending time getting ready for your future."

"The whole point was that we got to be creative and do something we never get to do!"

"We had the chance to learn anything we wanted to! That was the point. It didn't matter what we chose. Everyone learned SOMETHING! You can't say that those people didn't learn from what they did,"

"What I chose to learn did have a purpose. If I want to be a set designer these are the kinds of skills I need."

"Teachers are supposed to be showing and telling what's important. We can't decide these things on our own. How do we know what's important? What we should focus on?'

Many had a great deal of difficulty understanding why other students selected certain topics.  They placed value on certain kinds of demonstrations of learning and devalued others. They have constructed models about school in their heads. They've shot up their ladders of inference, made assumptions based on limited sets of data, drawn conclusions and are now taking actions with regard to how they approach learning. Empathy is, in many cases, lacking.

My job is to use the tools of integrative thinking to help them identify their models, understand each other's models and then build a better model. Integrative Thinking as an approach to problem-solving and innovation is new to me. I am so excited but what I am discovering. What I've found are the tools students can use to develop better solutions to the problems they encounter.