Terry Heick<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nThe long-term output of any school should be not just proficient students, but enabled learners. An \u201cenabled\u201d learner can grasp macro views, uncover micro details, ask questions, plan for new knowledge and transfer thinking across divergent circumstances. This doesn\u2019t happen by content \u201cknowledge holding,\u201d or even by the fire of enthusiasm, but by setting a tone for learning that suggests possibility, and by creating a culture of can.<\/em><\/p>\nFirst, it\u2019s important to realize that a \u201cculture\u201d is comprised of tangible factors (students) and intangible factors (curiosity). It is also ever-present \u2014 it exists whether or not we as educators acknowledge it. It precedes formal learning and will last long after that formal learning experience has passed.<\/p>\n
Learning \u201cI\u00a0Can\u201d<\/em><\/strong>
If a learner is to develop a sense of\u00a0can<\/em>, he or she must learn it.\u00a0While some students have more natural confidence or initiative than others, can<\/em> is slightly different than confidence. Can<\/em> is a mix of knowledge and self-efficacy that has been nurtured through experience \u2014 by consistently meeting both internally and externally created goals judged by standards that are also both internally and externally drawn.<\/p>\nSo how does this happen? Where does it come from?<\/p>\n
In\u00a0Developing Minds<\/em>, a kind of anthology of ways to teach thinking edited by Art Costa, there are suggestions for promoting cognition and metacognition, including \u201ccreating a safe environment,\u201d \u201cfollowing students\u2019 thinking,\u201d and \u201cteaching questions rather than answers.\u201d1<\/span><\/p>\nThese suggestions often have emotional roots, implying that learning must be emotional (an implication that is hard to get away from). One broad approach to teaching that works nearly every single time \u2014 and can work here as well in creating a culture of\u00a0can<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 is the gradual release of responsibility model.<\/p>\nThree Ways to Create \u201cCan\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n1. Use the Gradual Release of Responsibility Model<\/span><\/strong><\/address>\nThe gradual release of responsibility model can be neatly summarized as \u201cshow me, help me, let me.\u201d This funnels learner participation from a teacher-supported role of observation to a collaborative role with a \u201cmore knowledgeable other,\u201d and finally to a role of independence that is hopefully sustained.<\/p>\n
By definition, this pattern begins each time with the teacher in control, and ends with the expectation that the learner will assume control. It doesn\u2019t throw learners into the deep end to manage the application of skills and concepts they are not ready for, but rather places the burden on the teacher to expertly model ideas and practice \u2014 and further, to view the end result of the learning process as an in-control, independent doer.<\/p>\n
2. Intentionally Use the Individual Student as a Culture-Maker<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nStudents gather individually to create a larger culture. Habits modeled in class, the tone of critical discussions, the mood of collaborative assignments and the relative ambition of projects and academic work all contribute to the culture of a classroom. If this culture comes from the top down, it ends up being more talk and \u201cexpectation\u201d than actual culture. Culture is organic and nearly impossible to impose \u2014 but it can be nurtured and grown.<\/p>\n
Honoring the contribution of learners is a critical factor. This is different than acknowledging their achievement, which can be either academic or patronizing. Contributions, however, involve nuance \u2014 supporting roles, emotional support, mini-milestones in long-term projects, and other \u201cminor\u201d actions.<\/p>\n
In fact, there is more nuance here than any teacher with 35 students could ever possibly find the time to highlight. But as you make a practice of pointing out, highlighting and otherwise drawing attention to these actions and cognitive behavior, you\u2019ll eventually see the other students doing the same.<\/p>\n
And when that happens, you\u2019re creating culture!<\/p>\n
3. Diverse \u2014 and Authentic \u2014 Terms for Success<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nNobody wants a well-intentioned ribbon for participation, but coming up with authentic\u00a0terms for success in learning can make or break an experience for a child.<\/p>\n
The more diverse the reading and writing, the more choice built into the project, the more self-designed the rubrics, the more \u201cself-published\u201d the multimedia, the more authentic the success. We\u2019ve (hopefully) moved beyond strict \u201cacademics\u201d where the teacher dictates the goals, domain and \u201cend game\u201d terms, and moved to a place that\u2019s truly learner-centered, a place where students won\u2019t make superficial decisions that barely alter the course of learning, but rather establish their own reasons to learn, their own standards for quality and their own metrics for success.<\/p>\n
This is the foundation for a culture of\u00a0can<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
\n1Page 12-13,\u00a0<\/em>Developing Minds: A Resource Book for Teaching Thinking<\/span>. \u201cThinking in Context: Teaching for Open-Mindedness and Critical Understanding.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n2A reference to\u00a0Lev Vygotsky<\/a>\u2018s relative term that identifies the \u201cknowledge holder\u201d in a learning process.<\/em><\/p>\nImage attribution flickr user luciellaribiero<\/a>;\u00a0Establishing A Culture Of \u201cCan\u201d In Your Classroom; this article was written by Terry Heick and originally published on edutopia.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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