Whose Strategy Is It? Building Independent Learners.

Whenever we talk about strategy, we are usually referring to adults - we just don't think about students.  However, we also consistently talk about student-centered, adult facilitated classrooms.  We talk about 21st century learning skills.  We talk about being a digital citizen.  But, what we don't talk about is the strategies that are employed by students or how to get students to use strategies to learn.

As a teacher, whenever, I heard student-centered, I thought about collaborative groups and giving students' choices on assignments.  This was a really short sighted view (but I didn't know that at the time).  But, then, I met these fantastic educators from District 214 who shifted my understanding.

If you aren't aware of this district and it's curriculum resources, you should check them out:  http://www.d214.org/staff_services/si__reading_writing_thinking_roads.aspx

Student centered classrooms are ones where students solve their learning problems to master skills and content.  Student centered classrooms give students choices about HOW they will approach learning tasks and meet goals.

One of the most important things that we can do as teacher leaders is to help teachers figure out HOW they help students to solve learning problems.

Often when planning, teachers think very deeply about how THEY will present information and what ACTIVITIES students will do.  What usually doesn't get as much thought is HOW STUDENTS will be able to complete the activity and use their own strategies to learn.  Accordingly, there is usually only one path or one right answer that students are expected to hit on.

But, in order for students to really learn, they have to employ their own strategies, and, without teacher support, they often can flounder.  So, when talking to teachers, I try to steer them to the following things:

Provide multiple models/process samples.  Even though, one specific model may be used for instruction, it helps students to see multiple models and approaches, so they can determine which components of a process help them to learn with the skills that they have.  This is why "think-alouds" are important - to help students develop logic, not imitate the teacher.

For instance, if you were in school 20 years ago, you probably remember the grueling process of outlining with a specific format and then having to do research notecards.  The process worked for some students but didn't fit everyone, but then the teacher would grade you on your outline and notecards, regardless of how good your written product was.  Even worse, there were always some kids who never wrote anything because they were stuck in the "process" of outlining.

I remember other kids asking me how I wrote my papers; the truth was that I would write the paper, go back, create the outlines, and notecards based on my paper.  I would turn in that part of the assignment late, but my paper always arrived on time (we were expected to attach the outline and notecards).

Provide multiple templates/graphic organizers.  As teachers start off the year, I encourage them to teach students how to use individual templates and graphic organizers, but, eventually, point out that the students need to be able to choose how they will complete the learning task.

Templates and graphic organizers are great ways to help students organize and demonstrate their thinking, but they should lead to an additional product.  When the teacher is showing the students how to complete templates or graphic organizers, it is an instructional activity; when students choose their template or graphic organizer, it is then a strategy.  High level classrooms have students independently selecting these "helpers" even when not prompted.  In high level classrooms, students find these items "helpful" and don't see them just as part of the "work".

Additionally, I encourage teachers to post the templates and graphic organizers in their classes, so students can be reminded of the strategies and have references as they work.  It also assists teachers in directing their conversations with students to focus on strategy use rather than "what is the answer".

In schools, at a really high level, they provide a bank of common templates and graphic organizers that students can use in multiple classes.  My school isn't here yet, but I hope to see this emerging over the next year or two.

Provide starters.  Sometimes, you just need a push.  I encourage teachers to use sentence starters and paragraph frames just to get students moving in the right direction.  If used well, students can internalize the structures and focus less on quantity of work and more on the quality of work.

Additionally, starters can maximize class time - rather than working for 15 minutes to figure out how to get started, with sentence or paragraph starters, students can begin working on the content and build on the assignment to make them their own.

The one caveat that I give with this advice is that teachers should not provide this all the time.  The starters should be removed as students get more and more practice and then referred to only when students need to be engaged in "strategy selection".

Using these strategies, helps students to become independent learners who can function in and out of the classroom.  After all, strategy selection and creativity are the hallmarks of the 21st century.  Independent learners have something to contribute in all situations - individually or collaboratively.  

What strategies are you sharing with teachers to build independent learners?