Talking to your learner about school!

Another school year is in full swing and the energy and excitement we feel around growing personalized learning is immense. We had some opportunities over the summer to learn from other incredible people in education blazing the trails of personalized learning.

We have been inspired by the national platform of powerful leader in education. People such as Tim Brown, Cassandra Erkens, Mike Mattos, and Dr. Anthony Muhammad as well as many others. Their voices have helped us grow and feel validated in this work. 

We have been energized and impressed by fellow educators in other states. Our new friends from Westside 66 in Omaha, Nebraska, Andrew Easton, Kristin Hogan, James Sides, Katie Sindt, and Mark Weichel have been instrumental in supporting teachers personalizing. They are highly knowledgeable individuals leading at the local level to expand personalized learning and prioritizing what is best for our kids in education! 
And here at home in Minnesota, Eastern Carver County schools are leading the charge with district wide personalized learning and standards based grading.  Presenting at their  personalized learning summit was a highlight of our summer.  

Each training, conference, networking meeting, observation/visit have been influential in shaping how we hope to mentor others in our new coaching/teaching role this school year.

Even with all of these great opportunities, some of the most meaningful things we have learned have come out of everyday conversations and interactions with a neighbor, a friend, a stranger in line at the store or at the park. Speaking with people about their current reality and experience within the education system has broadened our perspective and fed our motivation. Which is how this blog came to be.

One recent conversation with a friend only strengthened our why. Her kids were starting their school year and she was expressing how difficult it is to engage in conversations with her oldest child around her learning. She described homework "fights" and the loathsome feelings she has whenever she has to figure out what is going on in her child's education and how she can help. She wants to play an active role in her children's learning, but considering how brought her stress. I found myself feeling frustrated for her. Frustrated that she has to have homework battles with her 12 year old. Frustrated that talking about school, the place where her children spend most of their time in these formative years, gives her such distress. She felt some sense of relief when the principal at the school sent a letter asking parents to be less "helicopter" and allow their children to have more independence. The letter suggested that it's okay for kids to "fail". This friend then said, "So how do I talk to my kid about school?"

The foundation of this work is to empower individuals to take charge of their learning. For each individual to understand not only WHAT they are interested in learning, but HOW they learn. Enter the "learner profile". No, we aren't asking families to keep a file on how each child learns. What we're suggesting is when engaging with a child about school consider the elements of a learner profile. Instead of asking them to describe what their homework is for the evening, ask questions that get at a better understanding of THEIR learning process. Our working definition of a learner profile is as follows:

Learner Profile

Belongs to the learner.

• who they are as a whole
• express their aspirations and passions
• Used to set goals, reflect on learning and track learning preferences

Transformative “Road Map” or “Play List” used design learning.

I told my friend to start asking her child questions that would help the child start to identify who she is as a learner and how she navigates her path. Having these little interactions and conversations be it in the car at pick up or clearing dishes after dinner is motivating and empowering (see blog "The Learner's Voice"). I suggested she start asking questions that would help her daughter think about learning beyond the math worksheet she brought home.  We would not ask these questions all at once, just the ones that seem appropriate to the task at hand. 
 

Here are some questions that go beyond a homework sheet:

Interests:

What are some things you really like (personal passions)?

What hopes and aspirations do you have for the future?

Think about a personal goal you want to strive for in school/life? How will you meet your goal?

Are there some assignments or projects where you can fit your passions into your work? 

Preferences:

How do you like to get information?

Do you like when the teacher talks directly to the class?

Do you like to work with a partner or group?

Do you like to be given a task and work completely independently?

Do you like to have some one on one conference time with a teacher? A peer? 

Do you like to listen to a podcast or audio file?

Do you like to see a graphic or poster of content to learn?

Do you like to read plain text to learn a new concept?
Where do you sit in class?

"Life" data:

How much sleep do you think you need a night?

How much sleep are you getting?

Are you late to school?
How does being late impact your learning?

Are you on pace in your classes? 

If so why?

If not, where are you and how can I help you get back on pace?

What kinds of snacks/lunches help you have energy at school?

What are you eating for snack/lunch? Do you feel good and energetic after you eat at school?

Learning Strategies: 
What do you do when you are feeling frustrated or stuck?
How do you take notes? 
How do you document or keep track of what you have read (notes, post-its, book marks, don't have any...find some)?
How comfortable are you asking questions from the teacher? From peers?
How do you check for understanding of new material? 
How do you stay organized? How do you know what you need to work on?
How much effort are you putting in?  
How can your parents or other mentors support you in your learning?

We felt it might be helpful for other parents/teachers to consider how to begin entrusting a child/teen/young adult to approach their learning this new school year by taking a less typical approach to what they ask their kids about school. Even if it seems one is too young to really understand why it's important to think about these things, or if one seems too immature to understand the impact of personal reflection, it is still beneficial to engage her/him. Doing so can only strengthen learning. Having conversations about HOW one learns and setting goals around one's passions and aspirations will allow her/him to be much more prepared to "take the reins" when they are given more freedom/voice and choice in their learning. 

Once they get a taste of how incredible it is to have a say in their learning, their engagement in their education becomes will be much more considerable. In turn, they see more meaning and purpose in their schooling. Anyone can start asking any of these questions to a learner in order to trigger her/him to embrace and desire the opportunity to be at the center of creating learning pathways. Yes, maybe at first that homework sheet still does get completed. However, in time if you help your learner begin to take ownership beyond that worksheet, we believe those homework battles will be a thing of the past.