Reflection
“I feel like the author is trying to be like Hayden, in that he wants to make you think really hard about the topic and hurt your head. I have no opinion on this topic because, if you ask me, it just hurts my head.”
–Daniel
There were so many times this year that I thought the exact same thing! I knew as I began the GSE program that I would grow and learn a lot, personally and as a teacher, but I had no idea how much. My entire teaching philosophy has changed. I now focus more on the “how” of teaching and less on the “what.” As I design projects I think about how students will think critically about the topic. How will I allow for voice and choice within this project? How will they collaborate to complete the task? During my previous 12 years of teaching I had always focused on the “what.” What content standards am I teaching through this lesson? Through my new focus on the “how,” students are actually learning the content and the 21st century skills they need for their future.
I had become very confident teaching content but now struggled to make sense of these new “soft” skills. Luckily, our GSE classes were being taught in a way to allow us to build these 21st century skills too. We collaborated to help each other reach higher levels of thinking and practiced communicating effectively in order to grow in our leadership abilities. It felt strange to be consciously working on these life skills as an adult. It made me feel vulnerable and often my brain hurt. Like Daniel in the quote above, there were many times where I wanted to stop thinking so hard. Through the GSE classes, I developed empathy for my students as I struggled to grow in my own capacity to communicate, collaborate, and think critically. At the same time, I saw structures modeled that allowed me to push myself in these areas with a caring community around me.
–Daniel
There were so many times this year that I thought the exact same thing! I knew as I began the GSE program that I would grow and learn a lot, personally and as a teacher, but I had no idea how much. My entire teaching philosophy has changed. I now focus more on the “how” of teaching and less on the “what.” As I design projects I think about how students will think critically about the topic. How will I allow for voice and choice within this project? How will they collaborate to complete the task? During my previous 12 years of teaching I had always focused on the “what.” What content standards am I teaching through this lesson? Through my new focus on the “how,” students are actually learning the content and the 21st century skills they need for their future.
I had become very confident teaching content but now struggled to make sense of these new “soft” skills. Luckily, our GSE classes were being taught in a way to allow us to build these 21st century skills too. We collaborated to help each other reach higher levels of thinking and practiced communicating effectively in order to grow in our leadership abilities. It felt strange to be consciously working on these life skills as an adult. It made me feel vulnerable and often my brain hurt. Like Daniel in the quote above, there were many times where I wanted to stop thinking so hard. Through the GSE classes, I developed empathy for my students as I struggled to grow in my own capacity to communicate, collaborate, and think critically. At the same time, I saw structures modeled that allowed me to push myself in these areas with a caring community around me.
Learning to Think Critically
As I developed my own 21st century skills this year, I discovered first hand how difficult true critical thinking could be. Once again, my learning mirrored that of my students. Here I was, conducting research on reading for deep understanding when I was struggling to synthesize my own reading. While writing my understandings section I found myself challenged to come up with my own interpretation. I wanted to just restate what the experts had said in their books. I was stuck at the bottom of the triangle. I was easily able to remember, understand, and apply the information I had read but higher levels of critical thinking did not come easily. |
As teachers, how often do we really evaluate, or critically examine what we read? Creating, using information to create something new, is definitely not something I am used to doing as a teacher. Isn’t my job to just regurgitate the information on the state standards or textbooks?
Now I see my job differently. My job it to create new investigations that may not have a textbook answer. To guide students into finding their own answers and creations. To allow space for critical examinations. If I want students to think critically, I need to practice it, model it, and make it a focus of the classroom.
As I stretched myself to make my own meaning of the texts I was reading, I developed a new understanding of reading. When the school year started I saw reading as an end goal. I wanted to get kids to read and understand text. By writing and rewriting my understandings section and later, my findings, this viewpoint opened up. I now saw a larger purpose for reading, to understand the world and our place in it. This took my research in a whole different direction. I saw that students should be interacting with text in order to make personal meaning. Listening to students during this process showed me that they enjoyed books more and wanted to think deeper about them when they felt personally connected. I also saw that they enjoyed working and thinking hard when they had choice and control over the outcome.
Collaboration leads to deeper thinking for adults too
As my action research progressed, I noticed that whether it was structured or unstructured, collaboration always led to higher levels of critical thinking. This may not be the only vehicle, but as I discovered, it helped me think deeper in the GSE classes and it helped my students think deeper in our Humanities class. As I tried to make sense of the many articles and books I read this year, the biggest help was talking it out. Whether it was online or person to person, I always came away with a deeper understanding of what I had read when I collaborated with others.
One of the most surprising findings in my action research was the fact that most students didn’t want to discuss books. It was easy for me to see that they did get to a deeper level of understanding when they talked. I saw students coming to new understandings, changing beliefs, and defending ideas; all examples of high level thinking. I also saw students more or less willing to go deep depending on the structure of the activity. When the whole class was listening and the conversation was structured, less voices came out. When students were having smaller group conversations or the discussion was informal, students seemed more willing to take risks. In the end, 56% of the class said that conversations with peers helped them think deeper.
I could relate to this as a student in the GSE classes. I rarely took risks with my ideas if the whole class was listening. We often had to hold online conversations where we would post our thoughts and later respond to each other’s posts. Again, I was hesitant to take risks here. My thoughts would be in black and white for all to see. What if I was challenged and seen as wrong. I often stayed at the lower levels of critical thinking in this virtual world. On the other hand, there were many times when I did feel safe and comfortable to say whatever came to mind. Thinking back, those times seemed to be in smaller groups and with less “permanency.” I also felt more confident in my ideas when I had time to think before sharing. As my students responded to my questions about reading structures in their journals for my research, I noticed that they too seemed to have more well developed answers when they had “think time” while writing verses sharing out in a whole class setting.
Learning isn’t always fun
My husband asked me at the tail end of the research process, “Are you having fun?” I wasn’t even sure how to answer this. He had made so many sacrifices this year to allow me to participate in this program. I had learned so much, changed so much and would become such a better teacher. Fun, however, was not what this year was. “Fun” is often a word I’ve used to describe how I teach. I think this word was blocking my feelings about teaching a deeper understanding of literature. I wanted learning to be fun so students would be engaged.
I have come to realize that learning isn’t always fun, but it can still feel amazing. Often, persevering through challenge makes you feel better than something that is merely fun. Fun is only fun while you’re doing it. Accomplishment despite challenge is something you won’t forget. This year has been the hardest, scariest thing I have ever done as a teacher. There were fun moments, but overall it was like the day I climbed Half Dome in Yosemite. It was painful and I complained the whole way up but it is one of my greatest achievements. I want students in my class to understand that real learning might be hard but we are all in this together, helping each other up the mountain.
Now I see my job differently. My job it to create new investigations that may not have a textbook answer. To guide students into finding their own answers and creations. To allow space for critical examinations. If I want students to think critically, I need to practice it, model it, and make it a focus of the classroom.
As I stretched myself to make my own meaning of the texts I was reading, I developed a new understanding of reading. When the school year started I saw reading as an end goal. I wanted to get kids to read and understand text. By writing and rewriting my understandings section and later, my findings, this viewpoint opened up. I now saw a larger purpose for reading, to understand the world and our place in it. This took my research in a whole different direction. I saw that students should be interacting with text in order to make personal meaning. Listening to students during this process showed me that they enjoyed books more and wanted to think deeper about them when they felt personally connected. I also saw that they enjoyed working and thinking hard when they had choice and control over the outcome.
Collaboration leads to deeper thinking for adults too
As my action research progressed, I noticed that whether it was structured or unstructured, collaboration always led to higher levels of critical thinking. This may not be the only vehicle, but as I discovered, it helped me think deeper in the GSE classes and it helped my students think deeper in our Humanities class. As I tried to make sense of the many articles and books I read this year, the biggest help was talking it out. Whether it was online or person to person, I always came away with a deeper understanding of what I had read when I collaborated with others.
One of the most surprising findings in my action research was the fact that most students didn’t want to discuss books. It was easy for me to see that they did get to a deeper level of understanding when they talked. I saw students coming to new understandings, changing beliefs, and defending ideas; all examples of high level thinking. I also saw students more or less willing to go deep depending on the structure of the activity. When the whole class was listening and the conversation was structured, less voices came out. When students were having smaller group conversations or the discussion was informal, students seemed more willing to take risks. In the end, 56% of the class said that conversations with peers helped them think deeper.
I could relate to this as a student in the GSE classes. I rarely took risks with my ideas if the whole class was listening. We often had to hold online conversations where we would post our thoughts and later respond to each other’s posts. Again, I was hesitant to take risks here. My thoughts would be in black and white for all to see. What if I was challenged and seen as wrong. I often stayed at the lower levels of critical thinking in this virtual world. On the other hand, there were many times when I did feel safe and comfortable to say whatever came to mind. Thinking back, those times seemed to be in smaller groups and with less “permanency.” I also felt more confident in my ideas when I had time to think before sharing. As my students responded to my questions about reading structures in their journals for my research, I noticed that they too seemed to have more well developed answers when they had “think time” while writing verses sharing out in a whole class setting.
Learning isn’t always fun
My husband asked me at the tail end of the research process, “Are you having fun?” I wasn’t even sure how to answer this. He had made so many sacrifices this year to allow me to participate in this program. I had learned so much, changed so much and would become such a better teacher. Fun, however, was not what this year was. “Fun” is often a word I’ve used to describe how I teach. I think this word was blocking my feelings about teaching a deeper understanding of literature. I wanted learning to be fun so students would be engaged.
I have come to realize that learning isn’t always fun, but it can still feel amazing. Often, persevering through challenge makes you feel better than something that is merely fun. Fun is only fun while you’re doing it. Accomplishment despite challenge is something you won’t forget. This year has been the hardest, scariest thing I have ever done as a teacher. There were fun moments, but overall it was like the day I climbed Half Dome in Yosemite. It was painful and I complained the whole way up but it is one of my greatest achievements. I want students in my class to understand that real learning might be hard but we are all in this together, helping each other up the mountain.