Frameworks and Foundations

Several weeks before the winter break I wrote about the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia and the book that documents their efforts, Authentic Learning in the Digital Age.  At the time, I indicated I thought we could learn from their work.  One key component of their efforts is what they call the “Learning Framework.”

 A framework is not prescriptive.  It does, however, provide guidance and insight and could inform our efforts as we prepare for next year when all students will have in their hands a computer or tablet.  Here, in brief, is their Learning Framework, with a few comments about connections to HSHS:

• Shifting the Emphasis from Content to Skills: They state at SLC, “When education is content-based, the primary skill being practiced is memorization.”  Technology makes basic content incredibly easy to access.  Our primary efforts should be on understanding the deeper connections and contexts that give the facts and figures meaning, and not on memorizing facts.
• Allowing for Constant Engagement: Phil Schlechty’s advice on engagement fits right into this piece: The higher the engagement, the deeper the learning. In UbD terms, engagement makes the difference between knowing and understanding.
• Democratizing Learning: The authors state, “In a traditional gatekeeper classroom model, the teacher must impart all relevant knowledge to the students personally because the teacher is the expert in that subject.”  In the SLA model, teachers no longer serve as the sole source of knowledge.  The role of the teacher is less about lecture and much, much more about assisting students in their quest toward learning.  This is the heart of inquiry- and project-based learning.
• Connecting to the Real World: SLA says, “Instead of just observing what takes place beyond the school walls, students can now contribute to current movements, debates, and initiatives.”  This is the heart of authentic performance tasks in UbD.
• Simplifying the Back-End Work: With technology, materials can be distributed electronically.  At SLA, making copies and taking time to hand them out in class is a thing of the past.  Grading is done, for the most part, electronically, and all scores are updated and accessed directly by students.  With BYOD, we will also have this capability.

Our work on Understanding by Design, High Probability Engagement Strategies, Inquiry- and Problem-Based Learning, Authentic Assessments, and HSE21Initiatives all take us down the same road being traveled by SLA.  In the book’s forward, Chris Lehmann reminds us that the journey is not always easy and it is essential to do the work in a caring environment:

The work we do, while we take a lot of pride in it, often still feels like work.  There are days, like in any school--or any community really--where we get frustrated or don't feel good about what we are doing or feel like we are failing.  But that is where the ethic of care really comes into play.  And when you are asking people to do the hard work of authentic, empowering learning, that care is essential.  The work people at SLA do is hard.  It is taxing.  It is frustrating.  And yes, it is exciting and awesome, too, but without a caring community to get you through the hard parts, many of us--including me--would fall short of many of our goals.

Our task ahead can be daunting, but we can certainly learn from those who have gone before us and not only have survived, but have thrived.  For now, I think you can take some assurance from the idea that the much of our work over the past three years has given us a rock solid foundation on which to build.

Phil

A few closing thoughts:

• "It's not the beauty of the building you should look at; it's the construction of the foundation that will stand the test of time."  --David Allan Coe
• "Whatever good things we build end up building us."  --Jim Rohn
• "A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him."  --David Brinkley