I use my feeds as many things; as a source for ideas, resources and strategies. Most of all though it's to enable my own curiosity into why some of the things I do work so well. Whether it be coordinating CRT Networks, providing PD or in my classrooms. This video from TEDx by Micheal Stevens, owner of the Vsauce Youtube Channel, really struck home for a number of reasons.
I have things that I do in the classroom. Things that REALLY work. Why?
Like in the video, up until a relatively short time ago, it didn't matter why. I had little reason to understand why as long as I could do it intuitively and pull the right resources out of my Bag of Tricks or come up with new strategies that worked. Stepping across the threshold into providing PD forced me to start questioning exactly why it is that I do the things I do.
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough".
Thinking back on my teaching career and the advice I have been offered over time I have to admit that most often I was simply told "do this". I learned by doing, by seeing the results and it worked fantastically but it left me in the position of having to do the same when others asked for advice. I'm working on that for my PD workshops and YouTube channel. And my blog posts of course.... I have always operated on the assumption that it's my job as a facilitator to deliver content in such a way that enthuses people and gives them the need to walk into a classroom and try it out.
At some point I realised I was relying on a lot of prior knowledge. I would show people certain things and as teachers they inherently understood that it would be good without being able to explain how and why it worked. Looking back over my Youtube channel there is one video I have often considered remaking:
Of course I have done a lot of research on educational videos over the last year or so and the style needs a serious update but the one part I truly believe is missing is why this works. It's a video sharing a strategy, not one sharing understanding. I don't explain why it works, I don't enable people's curiosity, I don't get them to THINK about the strategy.
The other day I worked a half day in a year 5 class in a school I haven't taught in for a number of years for various reasons. The year 5 and 6 cohorts have a bit of a reputation for being a tough crowd; they are good kids, good students, they simply have a lot of strong and clashing personalities, likes and interests. They just don't get along as much as the typical year 5 and 6 cohorts as a whole. As I do, I began teaching them a few signs.
We moved into a new room for another teacher to take a class and the students all filed in silently and sat down, not a common experience from these students. The other teacher asked a yes/no question and the students began to sign their answer. Puzzled she asked "what's this?" The students suddenly became the teachers as they began to enthusiastically explain the signs I had been teaching them.
So. Why is this effect generated in in less than an hour, on a half day no less when the students have even less of a reason to engage with me as a Teacher? When I certainly don't have time to "get to know the students" and formulate my teaching around their learning styles?
To paraphrase the video,: The theory of mind; We all have unique intentions and desires.
These unique intentions and desires express themselves through the questions we ask and our behaviours. So... How does this play out in an unusual cohort such as this one? It gets a reputation for being disruptive, chaotic and difficult to teach. So why did this overcome these issues in such a rapid fashion?
Instead of trying to find common interests and common goals it gives them one. It gives them a reason to cooperate, something where they are all on the same page and can share with and support each other. More than this, I have delivered the lesson with passion and interest that gives them something in common with me.
"The trick to education is to teach in such a way that people don't realise they are learning until it's too late"
Harold Edgerton.
In order to participate in this new and engaging activity, students must learn. It takes advantage of their intrinsic desire to "play the game" to make it personal instead of having to cast a wide net to catch prior knowledge and interests. It sidesteps many inherent factors that have disengaged students from their education as a whole. It takes place outside of any other lesson or activity so can work even when the lesson or activity itself is inherently disinteresting to the student. Even when this happens they still have a compelling reason to participate.
It's my personal strategy to give my students "a kick in the discovery".
So we're back to "why?" Why is it important to understand how and why these things work? Well, I obviously have some experience with Makaton so I have a decent bank of signs up my sleeve. Not everyone does. While it's been good for my YouTube channel to keep dishing out more signs, the more people that use this exact strategy the more "normal" or "less unique" it will become.
Understanding how and why it works, however, gives others the tools to develop their own unique strategies based on exactly the same educational principles. I used to be envious of teachers who could take their guitar into class with them. Teach the class a song to sing as you play along and it generates the same sort of instant bond with students through sharing. This comes out of wanting to be able to generate that sort of bond even though I can't play a guitar.
At the same time I wanted it to be more. I wanted to find a way to keep that effect present for the whole day as an engagement tool rather than a bonding tool. Using Makaton in Mainstream Classrooms is the strategy that evolved from that desire. More than that I wanted to be able to explain the underlying principles to others and use my Makaton strategy as only an example.
Knowing the principles behind strategies and gaining the necessary knowledge to be able to explain them helps me to encourage innovation in classrooms. To encourage teachers to excel rather than plod through curriculum outcomes. To re-engage with and find new inspirations for their teaching careers.
A topic was raised in one of John Hattie's videos that I watched where teachers don't talk about teaching very much. They talk a lot about students, they talk a lot about behaviour, they talk a lot about lessons, they talk a lot about the curriculum, schools, education departments, classroom setup, resources and activities... They talk very little in comparison about the actual act of teaching and how to do it well.
In spite of my initial skepticism I have come to understand how true this actually is and how much I want to do something to change that. To stop the act of teaching from being a taboo subject.
Of course how and why teaching being a taboo subject happens, as well as how to overcome it, is a story for another day ;).
Regards,
Mel.
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