There has been a push for years to prepare learners to thrive in an unpredictable world. I shared this in my book Learner-Centered Innovation that resonates now more than ever.

Our world needs people who can think differently, solve problems, and thrive in a constantly changing and unpredictable society. SO how can we structure learning experience with a fixed curriculum that is outdated before learners access it. We can’t! That said, endless possibilities exist to structure learning experiences for students to discover problems to solve, to develop and test ideas, and to receive feedback on the value of their ideas and products.

Learner-Centered Innovation

2020 is certainly evidence of how unpredictable the world can be and why it is so critical to have the skills that the World Economic Forum highlights such as the ability to think critically, be a complex problem solver, navigate complexity, and emotional intelligence to name a few. Rightfully, many have acknowledged the importance of social emotional health, equity and innovation in this time of uncertainty and challenge.

It is normal and feels safe to transfer practices that we have used in the classroom to an online or remote model yet if we substitute classroom practices that are standardized and designed for efficiency in the classroom, we quickly find that these same practices become inefficient, if not impossible to sustain over time. As educators have been forced to evolve in their roles and developed new teaching practices and identities to meet the needs of learners through distance learning, we continue to learn and grow and so do our students.

Over the last 4 months I have worked with students, educators, and families to understand their experiences in emergency remote learning environments.  I have synthesized much of what I heard worked well, what was challenging and have identified 6 key priorities that can help us focus on designing for effective learning any time, anywhere in the fall and beyond.

1) Focus on educating the whole child, including both social emotional learning and academics 

There is most definitely a need to prioritize the goals so that we can do fewer things well.  One of my greatest fears is that we will become so overwhelmed with the need to “cover it all” with less time and resources and we will effectively narrow the focus to academics that are easy to track and measure rather than educate and nurture the whole child and develop the skills that they need to navigate our uncertain world. In their report, Imagining September (an MUST read), Justin Reich and Jal Mehta describe what this looked like in many schools under NCLB:

“Schools made dramatic cuts to the curriculum by reducing time and attention to science, social studies, civics, the arts, physical education, recess, extracurricular activities, social-emotional curriculum, and many of the things that teachers and students love about school. These cuts make room for schools to focus on test preparation for English Language Arts tests (really just reading tests) and Mathematics tests (really just computation tests). This path will be familiar and readily available to schools, but the costs of such an approach to teacher and student morale and to a comprehensive education are now well known to anyone who has taught during the era of standards-based school reform.”

The legacy of these reforms and practices still permeate our curriculum, leadership, and view of success in many schools. One effective strategy for communicating and prioritizing a vision that focuses on the whole child is to create a learner profile that defines the skills, knowledge, and mindsets that you want learners to develop. This will help identify the broader goals and help to make decision about how you design the learning experiences and what resources you use. It also necessary to move from overwhelming lists of standards and surface level curriculum to prioritize the standards or competencies that matter most. 

Here are some other ways to identify and prioritize what matters most:

• Ask and listen to what matters most to your community
• Prioritize desired whole child outcomes
• Define proficiency and clear learning targets (both academic and SEL)
• Align resources and support to your vision

2) Ensure Equity and Access for Each and Every Child 

A response that I saw often in an attempt to alleviate the inequity was to not teach new content or not provide an engaging or authentic learning experience because not all could access it. One concrete example was a teacher who shared that she wanted her students to read novels and discuss them but because there were students who couldn’t access the book, they did not set the expectation for any learners to engage in this rich opportunity to learn and connect with peers. Instead, what if we set high expectations high and then worked to remove barriers and provide access for the few who didn’t have access to the book so that everyone had the expectations, opportunity, and support to engage in the meaningful opportunity? 

Not all kids have devices, support, or consistent routines at home and it will make connecting and learning based on the expectations of schools challenging. This means that some learners will require additional support, guidance and feedback to meet the desired goals. We need to prioritize our goals, understand where learners are and then align support and resources to get them there. 

Here are some critical steps to ensure equity and access

• Ensure all learners know and feel valued for who they are (race, culture, gender)
• Home visits and 1:1 check ins
• Conduct empathy interviews with students and families
• Provide resources, devices, and/or internet access 

3) Employ Mastery or Competency-based approaches to Assessment 

A standardized or traditional education system is designed to move kids along a certain path at a certain period of time and often ignores the variability in learners or their circumstances. In a mastery or competency-based system the learning goals are clear and transparent to the students and instruction, resources, learning experiences, and assessment are leveraged to meet the learner where they are and help them navigate their path. 

This shift in assessment requires a different view of the role of the teacher, which shifts whole class lessons to more small group instruction, 1:1 check ins, and peer collaboration to move learners from their point a to their point b.

If you begin with your clear learning outcomes in step 1, some powerful tools for competency based assessment are:

• Student goal setting and tracking
• Progress monitoring
• Student-led conferences
• Digital portfolio 

4) Develop and Facilitate a Community of Learners 

Many of our students (and the adults) are experiencing isolation and lack of connection, especially with peers. One student shared that the people and the collaboration are often the best part of the school and moving online has removed the personal conversations and the connections built outside of the classroom experiences. Collaboration and connection are vital to our academic success as well as our social-emotional well being. They can occur more naturally in our face to face environments which is why we have to be more intentional about creating the conditions for this to happen when we are remote. 

I believe that creating the community of learners to connect and collaborate with one another will be what keeps learners coming to class and what will sustain more powerful learning over time. People learn from one another, through observation, imitation, and modeling. We learn how to act and react to situations from others. When learning environments are organized to facilitate positive interactions and are designed to foster connection and collaboration, the community benefits from the collective expertise. 

Here are some ideas to connect learners remotely:

• Socially distant home visits
• Small group, 1:1 check ins
• Morning meetings
• Interest/ Affinity groups 

5) Create the Conditions for Learner Agency 

Agency is one of the 10 characteristics of learner-centered experiences that I have written about.   I often hear people equate learner agency with “doing whatever they want”.  Agency is by definition the power to act, but this doesn’t have to be misconstrued as a free for all. We all operate within constraints but we don’t have to all do things the same way to reach the intended learning targets and goals. Educators have certain expectations they are accountable for teaching and there is a variety of content and skills that we want students to learn. Within the constraints, there can still be opportunities for learner agency, which requires learners to set goals, initiate action towards those goals, revise and reflect, and develop the confidence and competence to continue to learn and grow.

I was talking with an educator who is deeply invested in his students and committed to promoting learner agency. He shared that he was really trying to create student-driven, authentic learning experiences. Yet when he asked his students to describe how they learn in school, most described him, the teacher, as the sole source of information.

So what’s the disconnect you might wonder?

Despite the teachers goals, as we dove into the day to day activities he realized although he had created fun and engaging activities all the information still came from him. Students hadn’t had opportunities to connect with experts beyond the teacher. All the books or articles had been assigned by the teacher and all feedback and guidance had been provided by the teacher so of course, the students believe that the teacher has all the answers.

As you reflect and plan for next year, consider these 6  questions to promote learner agency and help learners learn how to learn: 

Here are some ideas to promote and develop learner agency:

• Learner Profile
• Goal Setting
• Personalized Pathways
• More opportunities for voice and choice

6) Co-design Authentic and Relevant Learning Experiences

One of the major concerns is that our students will regress without being in school and this fear is real but we have to remember that learning happens in learners, when they are interested and motivated, not just because we tell them to. Much of what I have seen in remote learning has been focused on foundational skills and content and while foundational skills are absolutely necessary, when these skills are isolated or learners lack the opportunity to use them in authentic contexts, they can lose a sense of purpose and disengage. While there are many other issues that can cause learners to disengage and prevent access, a sense of purpose is more important than ever for both our academic learning and social-emotional health. If we want young people to be skilled learners and motivated, we would be wise to provide opportunities that allow them to engage in authentic tasks that foster autonomy, invite the pursuit of mastery, and intrigue them with a sense of purpose.

When school begins in the fall the instinct might be to figure out how we can accelerate the curriculum and double up on assignments and homework to “catch students up” from what they missed. What if instead, we flipped this instinct to find out what they learned? What if we take the time to understand what they do know and what they have experienced? What if we hear their questions and ideas about the world they have experienced during the spring and summer where our world has changed dramatically? What if we understand what new hobbies they picked up or the skills they learned? Our students are learning many things that we haven’t taught them. They are learning about the world in ways many history books would never describe. 

Here are some ideas to co-design authentic learning with your students:

• Interdisciplinary projects 
• Solve a problem
• Passion or Inquiry projects
• Investigate and impact the world around them

Moving Forward

As we emerge on the other side of this crisis, although there may be gaps in content knowledge and skills, I hope we have taught, modeled, and guided learners to be more resilient. I hope they not only understand that life is unpredictable but have skills and ability to navigate and cope when things don’t turn out as expected. I want them to know how to learn when no one is telling them what to do, how to fight for something that matters to them, and how to communicate ideas, feelings, and dreams and inspire others to do the same.