Thursday, March 19, 2015

New Curriculum: Learning Together

Students and I are learning together as we navigate new curriculum.

We're reaching many unexpected twists and turns.

Some students are more patient with this unknown territory than others.

I'm a bit impatient with the time it takes to navigate this new curriculum together, but there's no way that rushing through the new material will result in good learning.

So we'll take it step by step and I'll talk about the fact that some learning is arduous. I'll emphasize that there are actions we can take to help us--actions such as taking notes, making models, labeling the models, asking questions, and answering questions.

Earlier in the year we hit a painstaking patch of learning like this. We pushed through and the results were wonderful. I'll mention that today too, reminding them that hard work often results in good work and learning--efforts they'll be proud of.

Next year, if I'm asked to teach this information again, the lessons will be much more fluid as I'll have time upfront to locate good tools and timing for a more engaging blended approach to this information, but for now we'll have to work together to navigate this new learning path, a path not unlike a dense woods or forest.

Onward.