Saturday 25 January 2014

Independent Day

I've been following with interest the #rhizo14 discussion on 'Enforced Independence'. I'm no psychologist, although I do have a view on why some learners are more independent and motivated than others.  Much of what I learn about human behaviour actually comes from observing my two young daughters growing up, and thinking and questioning what happens around me. Today provided me with a typical insight, that, while clearly in a different context and setting, feels somehow relevant.

Every Saturday morning I take my eldest daughter swimming at the local pool. Without fail, she heads straight for the flume and we usually spend the next half an hour (or more) going slowly up the stairs and whizzing back down the slide, in a rather ungainly manner, as she always insists on sitting on my lap. This morning was no exception. Maria is old and large enough to go down on her own, and has been for the last year or so - but despite being an extremely independent child, she seems unwilling to take that extra step where that flume is concerned. Until today.

After 20 trips down the slide (yes, I counted them), Maria stopped me at the top of the steps and told me that, this time, she was going on her own.  After checking she was sure, I left her there and waited at the bottom. Within seconds she came sailing down, a serious look on her face and without making a comment (she is a rather reticent child) but, because I know her, I could tell that inwardly she was buzzing with excitement and pride.  The next half hour was spent repeating her solo slide while I grew colder and slightly disappointed that I wasn't joining in. I couldn't work out what made today special and why she chose today to take the step, but it was clear that she was absolutely ready.  It made me consider a few things about independence.

Firstly, you can't force it. For some reason, her 454th go on the slide (or thereabouts) was the one she chose to do on her own.  I couldn't predict that, in the same way that, as a teacher I can't always predict which learners are going to be the independent and self-motivated ones, or when that light-bulb moment of independent thought or action is going to spark.  But I was interested enough to talk to Maria about it over our weekly trips to the pool. 'Do you fancy trying the slide on your own today? Shall I go first and then you could follow me?' This makes me wonder if I have enough of those kind of discussions with learners, too.   Have they considered the differences between their prior experience of learning and this new approach - how they will adjust, how there lives may be a bit different as a consequence, what fears and assumptions they have? Could this discussion be a part of my initial assessment strategy?

Secondly, part of me didn't actually want Maria to be independent today.  I like it when she wants to sit on my lap, I love to put my arms around this sturdy little character that is growing up so fast and hold onto her tightly, even if only for a few seconds at breakneck speed. That is a difficult thing to admit, and it made me wonder if sometimes this reluctance spills over into the classroom.  Is there a part of us sometimes that colludes with dependent learners - because actually, we want to be relied on and needed?  As someone fairly new to teaching I know that this is a danger for me and is partly about boosting my own confidence. The balance between being firm and providing lots of a support is a difficult one, but perhaps comes down about really knowing each individual, so that you can start to work out who really needs to be held on the slide.  There is also a slight fear of missing out - what interesting stuff might people be thinking about and discussing while I'm not there? (This fear was certainly apparent today, because secretly I really love going down the flume and standing on the sidelines definitely wasn't the same!)

When I first suggested Maria go down the slide on her own, her biggest concern was that 'it wouldn't be as good on her own'. This worry was bigger than the fear of the slide, and it took some reassurance to convince her that being independent doesn't actually mean being alone. The growth of personal learning networks and communities of praxis mean that people can be more connected with their learner peers than ever before. Once learners start to see that, and experience it for themselves, you can see confidence growing and dependence on the teacher easing off. For this reason, I like the idea of motivating factors such as points for tweets and blogs or tools such as Open Badges - anything that encourages people to take that first difficult step.

On the way home from swimming today I asked Maria what was better, going down the slide with someone else, or going it alone. She thought about it for a minute or so. When her answer came it was conclusive, and told me all I need to hear about independence  'Mum, do you know - I enjoyed it so much more when I knew I could do it all by myself.'



11 comments:

  1. I loved this story of non-enforced independent learning and have about on and off since I read it several hours ago. I was struck by your comment "This makes me wonder if I have enough of those kind of discussions with learners, too. "
    Encouragement, interest through conversation can be a scarce commodity in education through no fault of the teacher. As parents we have lots of love and interest to help our children learn to be and your lucky daughter will probably be a good and social learner with parenting like yours. Teachers working in a stretched education system may wish to have more conversation with their learners and get to know them better but feel that that they can't do 'enough'. That's all a bit gloomy but two bright spots are that independent learners won't rely on the teacher so much and may even encourage independence in other friends/learners.
    Anyway thanks for the inspiration.

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    1. Thanks for your lovely comments Frances, and especially the one about parenting which has come at a tricky time in my parenting life :) You're right about the time for these kind of conversations, but I guess time invested early on might encourage independence that allows time to be used more effectively later. I live in hope!

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  2. Your observations had me thinking of how teachers sometimes don't want too much independence from our students, either. That's a sort of blasphemy in a group like #rhizo14 but it is true, and never more so than with technology. The unknown scares the hell out of a lot of teachers. Not that there aren't things to be aware of and worry about, but students need freedom to explore and create and break the rules. That doesn't always mesh with our school system.
    Kevin

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    1. I did feel a bit blasphemous as I wrote it Kevin! Agree about the fear of the unknown, and also think there is something about the need to stay in control and be the 'expert' in a world where nearly everything we do as teachers is controlled by somebody else, and our expertise is continually questioned... not surprising it is hard to let go under these circumstances! Thanks for commenting :)

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  3. The part of this post I loved most was the discussions you had with her before her independence asking if she'd considered going down on her own, helping her consider the possibilities in a safe way, helping her identify her fears and overcome them.

    So much of what we humans do - or don't do - is fear driven and instinctual. I see it often in my role as a ski instructor. It doesn't matter if it's a child or an adult, a new skier reacts to the fear of the slope and lack of control the same way: by leaning back and using all her muscles to try to gain control over the environment. In my experience as a mother and learning coach of my own kids, I noticed a profound shift in their attitudes toward learning in 3rd & 4th grades. Just like new skiers, as the slope got steep they leaned back, away from learning, afraid of it.

    As an instructor, I teach people how to master their equipment and work with their environment. As mothers, we do this all the time for our children, since birth; we do it when we teach them to talk, to walk, to dress themselves, to master a thousand tasks which to an adult are routine. As a learning coach, I had to do it too by talking to my kids about what was hard, and about how they felt when things got hard and scary. By learning to identify our fears and discover how to overcome them, we gain a PROFOUND sense of accomplishment and a genuine boost to our self-esteem.

    As educators and learning coaches, we can foster this success in our children by reinforcing what they know from birth really matters: learning for the sake of the joy of discovery. As I say to my own children: love the learning, embrace the struggles, learn to live for the joy of the challenges and the challenges mastered, and the grades & test scores will follow naturally.

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    1. Thanks so much for your comments Debbie. Your ski-ing analogy really resonated with me, because I agree that so much of this is about fear and control. I think as educators we sometimes forget (in the midst of theory) that simple stories of behaviour and motivation can apply in a learning context too. My friend and colleague @teachnorthern is exploring ways to coach her learners to tease out assumptions and issues that block their independence - this has to be so much more effective than the big stick approach. Part of this, as you suggest, has to be about students identifying and articulating their fears in the first place, just as you so beautifully encourage your children to do.

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  4. Thanks for your lovely story and honest writing. I enjoyed reading it.

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    1. Really appreciate your feedback - thanks Karen!

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  5. this is great - one of my biggest learning experiences as an adoptive parent was that all along parents have been having conversations with each other about their fears for their children, and telling each other things will be okay. i have no idea what i'd be doing if i hadn't been so gently supported by other parents, but i do wonder a lot about those who are in charge of our kids, who often have the same impulses to protect, over-protect, hang on too long, let go - all that stuff - but who don't get to have those conversations.

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    1. I agree Aaron - we definitely don't have those conversations enough, or have the opportunity to explore the issues. Really glad that #rhizo14 is giving me a place to think about all of this. I am also interested in how we can develop resilience in our learners, as this has to be a key feature in their becoming independent I think. For me it is about how to truly see the individual in their entirety, not just a brain walking into the room (if you know what I mean!) And of course I know we need to balance our emotional labour with all the other stuff we have to do while enhancing our own resilience at the same time. Thanks for your comments!

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  6. Beautiful piece of writing. Independance day is about a lot of fears I have had in teaching. But when I read how aptly it compares to parenting it hit home. Both as teachers and parents we need to be needed - Sorry I do. I have learned so much from teach different and one of the key things for me is being able to say: It is time to let go and let this learner fly. I can now give the others their wings. I hope I am able to do the same with my son.

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