As a math and science teacher I often feel like I only get to know
half a child. With a background in elementary education I miss reading kids’ stories
and reflections and sharing their ideas about what they are reading. I got some
small insight into what my students are thinking with this tweet from a student
last week:
Social studies ? Those people are all dead. L.A? I speak English
don’t I? Math? Calculators! BOOM!
It may have been tongue in cheek but still, it made me stop and
think. If these things seem irrelevant to our kids how do we make them relevant?
Secondly, what exactly do they want to learn about?
This year my teaching partner and I have been piloting a new class
dubbed Sciracy-a blend of science and literacy. We have embarked on several
projects with the aim of finding authentic and natural connections between the
two subjects .We decided for the last few weeks of school we would open up this
time for the kids to follow their curiosity .What topics are you interested in?
What do you want to learn about? What questions do you have? Where do you want
to travel on your personal learning journey?
We didn’t really have much more vision than that; we just threw it
open to the kids to see what would happen. The direction was that they had to
generate a “non-Googleable” question and answer it. I suspected that some kids would dive right in
while others would have no clue where to begin but I was wrong. They all had at
least three topics they wanted to pursue and they set about initial research
quite hungrily. After digging around for a while the kids naturally started to refine
their thinking , honing their searches and discovering the areas that really
motivated them to delve deeper.
Across the fifty four students the breadth of fascination is
staggering. Some questions that have been developed so far include:
Can we launch our Golden Gnome (class mascot) into space?
Would a Tyrannosaurus Rex survive in the 21st Century?
Can we add composting to our recycling efforts in the school
cafeteria?
What would it take to start a successful Football team at BCS?
How can we start a school radio station?Was Merlin a scientist or a magician?
What will be the most sustainable materials to make clothes with in
the next five years?
For fifth and sixth graders I find these questions impressive, but
as their teacher I also feel overwhelmed about how to manage the diversity of
inquiry and learning.George Mixon, a colleague, suggested I try the GROW model. GROW is an acronym
for Goal-Current Reality-Options-Wrap-Up and provides a framework for me to
play a coaching role to help my students learn new skills, solve problems and
make informed decisions about their progress. The goal is to for my students to
develop the skills and strategies that will enable them to drive their own
learning journey.
I’m excited to see where this takes us all and I’m now ready to
respond to my student's tweet.
Goals? Tell me where you want to go. Current Reality? Tell me where
you’re at. Options? Tell me what you can
achieve. Wrap-up? Show me how you’re going to do it. BOOM!
