AND learning about how people learn??? OMG I am not sure it gets any better than that. This week at the KASC conference I got to learn from Trevor Ragan of Learner Lab.
According to The Power Company's podcast (one of the many podcasts where you can go to hear Trevor interviewed), Trevor Ragan is one of the most well-versed in the science of learning and how mindset affects it...
His message hit me on many levels--how our students learn, how I learn, how you learn, how fear plays into it... how we cope with challenging situations, how we develop resilience and help our children develop it...it was awesome!!
In this post, I'd like to introduce you to a metaphor Trevor used to describe ideal vs. not ideal conditions of learning--the jungle tiger and the zoo tiger...check it out! This link will take you to the page that houses a 5-minute video to introduce you to the metaphor with a downloadable workbook that allows you to reflect as you watch it or you can watch it right here:
We will be talking more about jungle tigering, but since this is the year of the monkey for us we totally need to use zoo and jungle "monkeying" as our metaphor...don't you think? I hope this little snippet intrigues you and makes you start to reflect on yourself as a learner. When are you in the zoo? When are you in the jungle? Do you need to spend more time in the jungle?
I have been spending time in the zoo this week at the KASC conference and that's okay. Sometimes it's fun and can be valuable to visit the zoo, but I can't stay there. I have been taking in information from presenters and thinking about how I can share what I have learned with you. I have had to intentionally reflect on how I can bring back what I have learned and how I can make an impact on our children. When you are "zoo monkeying" the learning isn't going be impactful unless I actively make it that way.
On the other hand, when I return to our Paint Lick "jungle" and I "jungle-monkey" by doing the hard work of looking at what we have going on in our classrooms, setting our vision for moving forward, and then by monitoring and giving feedback on teacher practice...that's when I really will be learning. It will be more uncomfortable for me and I will be more on the edge of my comfort zone, but THAT'S where the real learning for me will take place. Through the experience of putting what I learn into practice, I will really learn about what I heard here in the zoo.
So start reflecting on yourself as a learner...in my emails, that's what I will be referring to us all as--learners...(I thought that was better than monkeys) When are you in the zoo? When are you in the jungle? Do you have a tough class this year that's making you uncomfortable and making you have to learn new strategies for reaching them? OR do you need to get into the jungle a little more? Have you become complacent? Are your results stagnant?
I look forward to talking with you more about YOU as a learner in your practice and how you are stretching yourself outside your comfort zone this year and venturing into the jungle. As we do that we will be modeling what we need to do for our students...we need to ultimately be getting them into those jungle experiences...so start thinking...and
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