I took a risk this week. While I am comfortable empowering learners with choice and autonomy on a regular basis, this time felt different. I admit that I was nervous about losing control, that learners would get off task, that I would be negatively judged by district administration sitting in the room.
Perceived Challenges
The day began in typical fashion. Audio/visual and internet worked seamlessly. The content I was to present, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), is one of my favorites to address.
But this full day of professional learning included an entire district of over 50 educators in a single room, representing various grade levels and subject areas. And I was on my own as a learning facilitator. I was concerned about a few things. Firstly, similar to students in a classroom, these learners were attending not by choice, but by mandate. Additionally, due to the large size of the group, I would not be able to spend the time for educators to periodically share their learning in front of the whole group as is my normal practice. How could I monitor learning while multiple individuals instead simultaneously shared to small groups? In lacking this evidence of learning, this formative assessment, how would I be able to alter my instruction to meet the unique needs of the learners in my midst? Because of the set up of the room, it was difficult for me to circulate the room to provide guidance to learners. I wondered, “If educators are unclear as to a task, will they give up and begin checking emails because I am not able to provide personalized support to each learner?”
Stay True to Your Beliefs
While fears rushed through my mind, I felt it was vital that I facilitate learning in accordance to strategies I know to be backed by neuroscience. I believe in the power of UDL to activate brain networks that support learning. What message would I be sending if I succumbed to my apprehension and ditched these strategies? This is especially true since the workshop was about UDL itself!
In accordance with UDL, the workshop provided opportunities throughout the day to explore resources according to choice. This activates the affective networks of the brain, granting autonomy to educators and empowering them to delve into the resources they deem to be most relevant and valuable to their work. I embraced my fear and allowed for this choice based exploration despite my concerns about losing control in this new setting.
Your Learners May Surprise You!
As I walked by the learners in my midst, I feared what I might see on their laptop screens. While the task at hand was to explore resources regarding UDL using the devices, I wondered if educators would be checking the stats on their favorite sports team or looking at Pinterest in search of the perfect recipe for that evening’s dinner. My fears were by no means a judgment of the learners who were in my midst, rather my apprehension was internal. This is akin to educators who fear student off-task behavior with the introduction of cell phones in the classroom, or apprehension about the chaos that may ensue in a classroom in which students design and create projects to demonstrate learning. The human brain has a negative bias. We naturally expect the worse as we consider a change from the familiar. But it is when we embrace fear and take a risk that we empower our learners to teach us. As I walked around the room, I smiled as I noticed that all educators were accessing the resources I had shared…at their own pace, according to their choice. And my heart warmed when I heard them speak with one another about how they would connect this learning to the needs of their students. Because I trusted these learners, because I encouraged them to create individual goals and self-assess along the way, they felt ownership of the process and the content.
Share Your Story
I began to remember what it was like to be a teacher, attempting to implement a new initiative. An administrator might walk into the room while a teacher is trying something new, taking a risk to adopt change. I had spoken with these educators about empathy for our students, and realized that I too must express empathy for these educators. I made a quick decision to be vulnerable, to share my initial fears with the teachers whose rooms I would be walking through throughout the year. I held up the microphone and began to speak. I began, “I need to be honest about something.” I told my learners that I had been fearful of utilizing these strategies, of allowing them to own their learning process and product. I indicated that I moved forward despite the fear because I believed this was best for learners. And then, I called upon these learners to take risks as well. As you try something new, it won’t always be successful. But each time you take a risk, you either find out what works, or what doesn’t. And that is how we move forward. We will never find out what is best for this year’s group of students unless we continue to iterate. And then we observe. We collect feedback. And we adapt the learning experiences we design to meet the unique needs of our students. Negative bias is natural. Embrace the fear and innovate for the sake of your learners.