Could Schools Actually Return Better Learners?

During school closures for COVID-19 much has been made about the school and educational opportunities missed during the final quarter of the 2019-2020 academic year. Admittedly, it is scary to think about the nearly 240+ hours of class time that students will do without as states have suspended in person learning for the remainder of the school calendar year. Instead of focusing on what schools will potentially lack when (hopefully) returning in August, it's fair to possibly think they may come back "better" than before. This idea was sparked by George Couros' conversation with AJ Juliani during a recent podcast. Here are a few categories of those affected and why they may actually be better upon returning when schools open their doors and welcome back students.

Teachers

First and foremost teachers need to see themselves as learners alongside the students that they serve. Modeling learning themselves, teachers can give students the confidence to also take on learning that is challenging. Throughout the school closure teachers have had to quickly adapt to new online tools, remote planning with colleagues, and rethinking what they've always done. Another benefit is they've finally had time to explore and make mistakes. There are times during a typical school year when PD is provided on Friday, teachers hustle home to plan over the weekend and implement on Monday. By Tuesday they are discouraged and all is for not. The time away has also allowed teachers to "fail forward." Some pressures of the daily school day have been removed, allowing time for reflection and increased risk taking. Formal evaluations, artifacts of learning, and data collection have been put on hold. Teachers have been able to dive deeper, provide true learning opportunities, and not just cover content because of the upcoming standardized test.

Administrators

Currently serving in this capacity I have been truly inspired by teachers and staff members putting kids at the forefront of every decision. What is best for kids isn't always easiest for adults. Administrators have had the opportunity to witness their schools serve such a wide variety of needs for their students. The spectrum ranges from counselors grocery shopping for families in need to teachers individually Zoom meeting to provide a guided reading lesson. School administrators should be evaluating what practices should become the norm and not just done because of a global pandemic. The closure also exposes the need for staff PD to be differentiated. Personally, I have had discussions with one teacher pursuing National Board certification and others simply needing help navigating basic Google Tools for Education. Both are equally important, but wouldn't we want our classroom teachers providing more than a "one size fits all'' learning opportunity? Building-based leaders have a unique opportunity to reinforce areas of strength and prioritize areas for growth, as weaknesses may now be more apparent. Leading by example, district administrators can ride momentum from this closure to lead meaningful change in their buildings.

Communities

Many members of school communities have finally "walked a mile" in the shoes of a teacher. I can't help but feel that there will be more of a mutual respect for the many aspects in the lives of children that schools serve. This is not just limited to parents. Those who are essential workers have thrust the duties of homeschooling on relatives, babysitters, and older siblings; seeing first hand the complexities that are involved with teaching. Communities have also rallied to feed one another, celebrate birthdays with drive-by parades, and felt a little more tight-knit than before. There might be many community services that continue due to COVID-19.

Students

Time away from school has allowed students more time to explore passions and ideas that they are interested in. Some have been engaging in more STEM activities while others have sold their artwork to help support the local food pantry. Is it possible that more "learning" has taken place in these situations than in our school buildings where "compliance" can often overshadow opportunities for true learning. Teachers have also been able to personalize student learning during the closure; fully understanding that all students don't have the same access to technology. Some students are being pushed to publish their writing to authentic audiences, expand on previous learning, or multiple self-paced online options.

Regardless if being labeled "better" or not, many things are true about life during the COVID-19 pandemic. Families have had more time to slow down and connect with each other, get creative with entertaining themselves, stretch finances with less income, witness spring emerging, and appreciate essential workers in their communities. The time away could in turn create "better" learners, having persevered, reflected, and sharpened many skills during this global pandemic.

What a Long, Strange Trip...

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"Do the best you can until you know better, 

and when you know better, do better."  -Maya Angelou

It's often said to avoid talking religion and politics...add "grading practices" to the list. During our school's journey towards full implementation of Standards Based Grading, one thing was clear; teachers and staff had years of experience to lean on and had developed very strong feelings towards grading and assessment practices.

With that being said, we all understood that true growth would not come from having easy conversations. Researching, challenging each other's thoughts, and working towards positive solutions became the norm in our PLC and team leader meetings. 

Our journey began with, what some would argue was a broken system of S, N, and U's...but some grade levels used S+ and some did not...and so on. On top of that our 3rd grade used traditional grading practices and had minimal opportunity to collaborate regarding grading and assessment within our own building. A system that had been tradition. A system that remained stagnant during grade level configuration changes; but not necessarily the best our school was capable of when communicating levels of understanding. 

Professional development came from the likes of Wormeli, Guskey, O'connor, Schimmer, and many more. They became household names as our new system of grading was built from the ground up. Literal trips took place to Triad School district in Troy, IL and to a conference led by SBG leader, Christine Paxon. The miles traveled and conversations on the road proved pivotal as we built common understanding among all team members. 

As our school approaches the finish line of "year one" with full Standards Based Grading, here are some takeaways from what we've learned: 

Clarity and Consistency

By establishing essential learning skills our teachers are now able to teach and focus on our "big rocks," while still supplementing with non-essential skills. Instruction surrounding these essentials skills has the potential to go deeper and narrow the focus of the biggest ROI (return on instruction). Parents have clarity of where their child excels and also needs additional support. They no longer have to "guess" or decide for themselves what it truly means to be an "A, B, C, D, or F" student." Report cards are provided with specific, grade-level standards and their child's proficiency towards that standard. In addition the grade reporting remains consistent from Kindergarten through 3rd grade, with identical PBIS behavioral expectations all four years. Students have a clear understanding of learning expectations, and are commonly restating them as learning goals with "I can" statements. Developing clarity and consistency are non-negotiable in any grading system. 

Learning is  Process

Our school has developed a growth mindset towards multiple opportunities for re-teaching, re-assessment; thus creating a culture of feedback over compliance. Compliance often weaved it's way into our academic areas and cluttered up reporting on true learning. By separating behavioral standards and academic standards, non achievement factors no longer confound the meaning of student grades. Viewing learning as a process has also helped developed resiliency in students. They've persevered through content they didn't master the first time and were never penalized by the lack of points they failed to accumulate early in the process of learning a new standard or skill. Too many times in traditional models, students fail to develop grit, resiliency, and perseverance because their previous failures place them in unrecoverable circumstances. 

What's in a Number?

With traditional grading practices, teachers often are making sure they have "enough." Enough points. Enough quizzes. Enough tests. Enough weight for formative vs. summative. Resting on the assurance at the end of the grading period the computer will spit out a number. I love the parallel between these averages to a person stepping on a scale and getting a "number." A person's weight doesn't determine their overall health like a more diagnostic check-up from a physician. Nor do "averages" tell the entire story about student learning. 

Our challenge as educators is to embrace the difficult conversations that may arise when we challenge each others' thinking. These begin with the common understanding of improving a program or a process, not for the sake of arguing or disagreeing. Traditions are personal, have their place, but often times are outdated and need revisited from time to time. Our "trip" will never be complete as we have established ongoing dialogue about what grading practices are the best fit for our school, students, and community.