This year I have been part of a Learning Team, a Professional Learning Network (PLN) with a focus on Learning in Depth (LiD) www.ierg.net/LiD. LiD is an innovative program created by Dr. Kieran Egan and the Imaginative Education Research Group (IERG) at Simon Fraser University. LiD fits under the umbrella of the Imaginative Education theory (IE) www.ierg.net. which maintains a core belief that imagination is a foundational key to unlocking student potential for learning. (Okay those are my own words, but the essence is there if you browse their website.) P.S. - Now that many of the acronyms are out of the way we can move forward.
In short, LiD is a way to transform student engagement with learning by allowing students to focus on a particular topic in greater depth over their school lifetime without requiring much change in teaching style, delivery, or philosophy as it does not replace the curriculum being taught. One of the only requirements is that students are given some time to "work" on their topic during the week, but what this looks like can vary from classroom to classroom. Students are often given a topic through a celebratory ceremony; or older students, like mine, can have some choice from a list of selected topics.
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| My students receiving their topics |
Regardless, the idea remains the same - that anything can be wonderful, and secondly that when we study something in great depth we become "experts" on a topic. This translates to a deeper understanding and interest not only in that particular area, but for all learning in general. Furthermore, unlike traditional learning that typically takes place within a limited time frame of a single school year, LiD allows students to study a topic over their entire school lives, a continuum often untouched in typical public education.
Di Fleming, director of Accelerated Knowledge Technologies Pty Ltd., has written for a new book, Wonder-full Education http://www.ierg.net/news-items/wonder-full-education/?searchterm=Di%20Fleming. She promotes LiD as an innovative program for 21st century learning which improves student engagement in learning. She speaks about the need to connect Imagination (creativity and ideas), Design (giving shape to ideas) and Innovation (putting the design into context) to create a successful school culture. She says,
"So often, the place called school does not provide a place to think, explore and incubate ideas. It should."
Moreover, she adds that schools often operate from a place of "safety", but establishing spaces of wonder may require some risk. She lists some binary examples as we move from the comfortable to the uncomfortable, the known to the unknown, the predictable to the unpredictable, the expected to the unexpected...this is where amazing learning can happen. This is exactly what happens when LiD is brought into the classroom. So why wouldn't teachers implement something so simple yet so transformative? I suspect that it is because we have some fears around change or we do not feel experienced enough to take that leap...when that may be just what is needed.
Something that became quite evident at our last LiD network meeting was the "wall" that we all hit this year in implementing this new program. What did we expect though, that it would be easy? Honestly, I must admit that I guess I did. I have place such emphasis on the importance of my role as teacher to bring concepts to life for my students in the way that I structure my lessons and units, and in the way that I set up my classroom. And I have done so much work with the IE theory over the past few years, including through my Master's of Education graduate degree, that I thought this would be smooth sailing. I realized that we have a choice when faced with such a problem: abandon ship, or re-orient ourselves and take stock of our situation. Well it hasn't been easy, but I am so thankful that I have continued on this journey and have been supported through my PLN.
There have been so many unintended examples of learning that I have observed that I can take away and build upon. I have learned the importance of paying attention to students' voices and choices more than ever before - this has been critically important for this project. I have found myself listening more and being beside students as opposed to talking to them and standing in front of them. Students have risen to the "task" and have quite naturally started to share ideas with each other and ask each other questions. I have stepped in at times with individual students when they have needed a simple prompt with a book, website, comment or question. At times I have opened up a discussion to the whole group to allow them to share their thoughts and feelings and suggestions of what they want to do next.
I set up some initial structures for them all to follow, LiD boxes, Wiki web pages, and journals; but they have shown me what it is that they want to do. I have intended that we would work once a week on some "writing" and once a week on some "project stuff". Well, a number of students work almost daily on their LiD boxes, which is simply a hands-on approach to allow them to collect artifacts and "store" information (in my mind initially at least). Another group of students spends much of their computer time three times a week researching and adding to their on-line wiki web pages. The library has new purpose for a number of students who continually take out books on their topic and want to share something they are currently reading about it. A few students have already begun planning their final presentations. More than any other year in my teaching, every block after lunch is full of laughter, sharing, intense focus and work. It was supposed to be my "Drop Everything And Read" (DEAR) time. My vision - a quiet time to settle down after lunch so I could get some marking down. Their vision - the students have taken this time over mainly as their LiD project work time, it is noisy, it is collaborative, it is fun! What it has become is a valuable and rich unplanned learning time!
Through my work with LiD this year, I have come to understand something very important about learning...the students don't always need me! Believe me, this hasn't been an easy realization - you know I'm a teacher right?! I have this need to instruct, inspire, and ignite! Otherwise, what's my purpose? Actually it has taken some time for me to get used to the idea that students can be learning something valuable when I am not leading them all the way through it, crazy I know! This doesn't mean by any stretch of the imagination that I am doing nothing, it's just a shift in attitude and approach. I love what Linda Young writes in a 2009 English journal article 99.2, Imagine Creating Rubrics that Develop Creativity:
"It is beautiful to dream of imagination taking wing, unfettered by the constraints of grades or rubrics. Classroom learning should always include time for students to brainstorm, envision, dream, and think impossible thoughts."
I leave you with a recent observation from my classroom:
I was feeling just so drained at the end of the week and so I just let the students extend their after lunch time, and they have just continued on their own initiative for more than 45 minutes (sustained work), without a single announcement from me, to continue working on their LiD boxes. I had one student come up to me asking about Antarctica again. I pulled two books off my reading corner shelf about Penguins and Antarctica that I remembered were there, and he was immediately back on track (and excited). I observed something else quite special that could only come from providing them with this freedom of time and constraints. Students were going over to each others' boxes and having amazing conversations. I heard "wow" and "that's amazing" more than once. And then there are the groups of kids playing with items from each others' boxes (with permission). Up until now they have been respectfully quiet about what is in their boxes and no one has violated the boundaries by taking things out. I noticed a group of girls were playing with the "scene start" from one of the girl's box on Theatre.
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| Theatre LiD box |
As they snapped the cover they were calling out "action" and then they would strike a pose or say something in a dramatic fashion. It is quite fascinating and refreshing to see what is going on, particularly when I have such limited energy to "teach" right now, so instead there is "learning" going on with a variety of groups working together without any interruptions from me:)
And here are a few comments from my students when asked what they have learned so far through their LiD topic:
"There are endless possibilities of research you can find. It brings back memories from when you were a little kid."
"I like my topic because it is related to another topic I wanted, Wolves. I could write about the food chain and how Wolves live in the Tundra (her topic). You can learn new things about it."
"Ideas just pop into my head."
"It's fun because you learn things you never knew before."
I started out with my own purposes and intentions with this LiD project. I had chosen the LiD boxes as a collection point for information, but they have become a source of joy and collaboration far beyond my expectations for my students. All that is needed at times is a little plasticine, popsicle sticks and glue to fuel the fire. Students have also brought in some incredible, valuable, and sentimental items to add to their boxes; which demonstrates to me the importance they have "placed" in this project.
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| Oceans LiD box |
There have been times where I have had to find ways to stay engaged myself, and I have had to resist the temptation to control the outcome of this project. I realize that there is always so much going on in schools and classrooms, and as teachers we have such high expectations at all times. When do students just have time to research, reflect and enjoy their learning experience? I recognize that this project will be unlike any other that I have taken on before, because there will be a sense of accomplishment, yet ongoing and "unfinished". How do we feel about that?
The results to date, have been wonderful and deep indeed.
Hi Johnathan, thanks for joining the #etmchat last night. I am very interested in the LiD work you are doing. I remember I had stumbled upon it a while ago, but didn't see anyone doing it in their classrooms. I think that LiD certainly fits in with much of the philosophy of the #geniushour - children have the opportunity to direct their own learning, spend time, be inspired. I quite agree with the idea that anything can be interesting when you spend time learning about it (its why I read everything in museums). You have raised an interesting question for me about assigning of topics vs. free choice (which is the basis of #geniushour) I wonder, is this an integral aspect of the LiD program? What benefits do you see to assigning rather than giving choice? Does it have to do with helping children really understand the role knowledge plays in interest? What would be lost in the LiD if they had choice? Or, what would be lost in the GH if they had choice? Good questions to ponder into the weekend. Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteHi Kirsten,
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading this and commenting:)This will probably be an ongoing question for all of us. I am very familiar with the Imaginative Education theory which the Learning in Depth project is based in. Having said that, this was my first year actually implementing it in my class. I have also been part of a learning team (PLN) that has been looking at the implementation of LiD, and yes we have had many difficulties to overcome; but it has been so wonderful to see the students passionate and full of life in their learning.
As the LiD program has been designed, in Kindergarten students are assigned a topic. There are many reasons for this: 1. Kids change their minds frequently at an early age. 2. The core idea is that any idea can be wonderful, even dust, apples, things we might think have limitations. You get the idea. However, as the students get older, there is the possibility of assigning or giving some choice. I decided this year to try the latter to see what would happen. I think it was a good decision, because I value giving students choice and voice, but I would also like to try the other to see what happens with that too. So, your question/comment about the "role of knowledge" is correct in many ways. LiD is about seeing that there is much more to learn about topics than we first anticipate, and secondly that learning itself starts to expand and take on a greater focus and intensity.
This is only a start, but I hope it helps. See the LiD website for more too:)