Who's Driving This Car?
Have you ever been a passenger in a car, headed to a new location, being driven there be a person who knows where they're going, but it's not anywhere that looks familiar to you? You have no idea where you are, turning at unknown streets, just going along for the ride. If you aren't particularly interested in the destination, perhaps your mind starts to wander, thinking about a challenging student you're trying to reach, lessons you need to design, or even what you'll be making for dinner. Maybe you're chatty and you carry on a conversation with the other people in the car, not thinking about where you're going or how you're getting there. As a passenger, you become passive, not really engaging with the world outside of the car, not concerned with the landscapes, the traffic, or what street you're on. You're in passenger mode, just along for the ride.
I wonder how many times our students treat learning as if they are in "passenger mode" throughout their day. Do they walk in to our classes, sit down, take out their pencils and get ready to fill out the next worksheet or read the next textbook, all without really thinking about it? Are they engaging with where they're headed, thinking about what they're learning and why, or have their thoughts drifted?What is occupying their minds? Lunch? Friends? Snap chat or YouTube? Is it the learning opportunities we're giving them, or are they able to just pass through the day without truly engaging in the content, like passengers, just along for the ride of school?
I know none of us wants that for students or our class. But how do we reach them and pull them out of their "passenger mode"? I think one of the first steps is to provide learning opportunities that echo our district's theory of action: to “engage students in learning that is authentic, deep, irresistible and exciting.” This idea is not proprietary to Enumclaw School District, but is supported by many educators. In Erin Whalen's article, "Who's Doing the Learning?" She explains that we want "students to have a fire within them. An insatiable curiosity. A thirst for knowledge. A passion for learning" and the key to this is getting students to become "active participants in the learning process." They need to be the one "doing" the learning. They should be designing and conducting the experiments, finding answers to their questions, and presenting their findings in creative and unique ways that match who they are and the passion they have. In other words, they should be the ones driving the car, and as educators, we don't become passengers, but the providers of the vehicle and the destination. In this way, students won't be able to ride through their day - they will need to ignite their brain and their thinking; leading instead of following.
I'm not saying this is easy. I don't know if I have what it takes to build the car and let students take over the driving process. What if they don't make it to their destination by not learning what we've decided they're supposed to learn? What if they get in an accident and the whole thing is a failure? I don't know, but I do know, if I want to have students walk out of my class at the end of the year as better scientists, better member of our society, and more aware of the world around them, then I need to let them drive - at least every once in a while.
I wonder how many times our students treat learning as if they are in "passenger mode" throughout their day. Do they walk in to our classes, sit down, take out their pencils and get ready to fill out the next worksheet or read the next textbook, all without really thinking about it? Are they engaging with where they're headed, thinking about what they're learning and why, or have their thoughts drifted?What is occupying their minds? Lunch? Friends? Snap chat or YouTube? Is it the learning opportunities we're giving them, or are they able to just pass through the day without truly engaging in the content, like passengers, just along for the ride of school?
I know none of us wants that for students or our class. But how do we reach them and pull them out of their "passenger mode"? I think one of the first steps is to provide learning opportunities that echo our district's theory of action: to “engage students in learning that is authentic, deep, irresistible and exciting.” This idea is not proprietary to Enumclaw School District, but is supported by many educators. In Erin Whalen's article, "Who's Doing the Learning?" She explains that we want "students to have a fire within them. An insatiable curiosity. A thirst for knowledge. A passion for learning" and the key to this is getting students to become "active participants in the learning process." They need to be the one "doing" the learning. They should be designing and conducting the experiments, finding answers to their questions, and presenting their findings in creative and unique ways that match who they are and the passion they have. In other words, they should be the ones driving the car, and as educators, we don't become passengers, but the providers of the vehicle and the destination. In this way, students won't be able to ride through their day - they will need to ignite their brain and their thinking; leading instead of following.
I'm not saying this is easy. I don't know if I have what it takes to build the car and let students take over the driving process. What if they don't make it to their destination by not learning what we've decided they're supposed to learn? What if they get in an accident and the whole thing is a failure? I don't know, but I do know, if I want to have students walk out of my class at the end of the year as better scientists, better member of our society, and more aware of the world around them, then I need to let them drive - at least every once in a while.
Love this analogy! If I can change it a bit. The students are the drivers 100% but we are in the passenger seat with a break peddle and directions. We help them learn to drive the car. Technology is not a tool, it's a skill that needs to be taught and it's our job to teach that skill and we do that be being right beside them, making sure they don't crash but allowing them to make the decisions and if and when they need us we can take over and correct the path they are on.
ReplyDeleteBy driving, they decide the route, the path they want to take. Some will take the shortest way, others will take the long way.....and yet others will want to study the map, make a plan before they leave and there will always be one that just wants to go, roof down and not a care in the world. You are the passenger for all of them. Helping all of them get to the final destination no matter their path.
I agree they should be the drivers - especially as they get older. I think my challenge is that I teach 6th graders, so sometimes they need to have extra modeling and scaffolding in order to know how to drive. It’s more like being in a simulator for a bit before I they take the wheel. Using the “I do, we do, you do” strategy can help them reach those milestones and get their drivers license.
DeleteThere are two ideas that I would like to add to your post.
ReplyDelete1. We are also fighting against students who not interested in taking the wheel. This is something that is a part of their brain development. That curiosity we see in children begins to wane as they reach adolescence and into their teens. This is a difficult phenomenon to adjust to because I'm not sure how much we facilitate that by just doing "the same old thing"
2. They are going to crash the car. And that's ok.
Yes, some will definitely crash! But that’s how they are going to learn. I think as a high school teacher you see a lot more of the students that have become complacent and apathetic towards learning. That’s where, in therory, the shifts in teaching can ignite them. I think it’s more than just letting them drive - it will probably take major changes to education that need to start in elementary.
DeleteI don’t think it’s natural to loose our curiosity. I think the system our world has developed can crush it. In order to educate the masses we have created lots of boxes and made students fit inside them. And those kids that can’t, or won’t fit, become disenchanted with learning. They get their diploma because they’re supposed to. Or they drop out because they just don’t see the point of school anymore. It’s like they loose a personal connection to learning. It’s no longer exciting anymore. But if we could reach them early enough, show them the value of learning, and help them keep their curiosity alive, maybe we’ll see less apathy and more students willing to take the drivers seat.
This post really hit home for me. I like to think of it as providing opportunities for students to discover the learning as opposed to being handed it to them. Somehow, if we can create a need for some piece of information and an avenue for students to get it, it's pretty hard to sit in the passenger seat. It's almost like, to use your analogy, if we step out of the driver's seat, the students not just going to sit there in the passenger seat twiddling their thumbs, but if we step out of the driver's seat and say, "I wonder what's on the other side of that hill..." we know what's going to happen. When they have the tools to go and the drive to get somewhere, all we have to do is give them a little gas. I'm going to keep extending this metaphor way to far, so I'll stop here and just say thanks. This got my wheels turning (...I couldn't help myself).
ReplyDelete