Where Did I Leave My Cheese? Moving Practice, One Slice at a Time

By: Lisa Manross

One of the most difficult things about my job as a personalized learning coach is shifting teacher practice or “moving cheese” so to speak.  When I first began my job, I really did not know what to expect or exactly what my future held. Only being in my school for a few months, I can honestly say that I was surprised by the connection I quickly felt to the teachers and administrative staff.  I find myself constantly looking for the best ways to help move their practices to personalized learning and wanting them to succeed. It has become my passion and desire to become a part of the school culture and build relationships with each one of them. I know I do not have all of the answers nor do I think I should, but every day I appreciate the teachers who give their everything to provide students with new innovative lessons and work tirelessly to make it happen, even though it is not perfect. I am humbled by not only who they are as teachers but by their integrity and spirit as well.

As we travel this road together, challenges surface that we must work through in order to create learning environments where students are engaged and go beyond what is expected. Some are self-imposed barriers and some are just everyday barriers that students and teachers face through the constraints of our educational system. It is my experience, that if we want students engaged then we need to foster a love of knowledge where students can take control of their learning.  This can be a daunting task as teachers are used to being the person who delivers the content and creates the activities. Letting go of the control means trusting that students really do want to learn and that their ideas are valuable. We all want to be heard and feel like we are contributing to something greater.

“Moving cheese” takes time, patience, and a lot of reflection on what worked, what didn’t, and what needs to change.  It takes dedication to the work and getting messy through the process.  It takes living through the process and having courageous conversations to propel teachers and students to the next level. It takes focus, revising plans, regrouping thoughts, and processing ideas differently to find the balance.  It takes passion, dedication, and the willingness to fail to find ourselves as the new 21st-century educator.  It takes dedicated PLC’s to create a culture of trust and encourage change. As teachers step into the challenge of shifting their practices, we should proceed with compassionate caution. If we are not careful, we will create pockets of teachers asking “where did I leave my cheese?”, as they are wanting to hold on to their old practices and feel left behind. One thing is for sure, it can’t be done alone or in isolation.  As we go through this journey of new discovery, we will conquer many mountains, trudge through several valleys, and often swim upstream looking for answers. This work takes a community of committed individuals striving for the success of ALL students, bridging the waters with each other’s knowledge and expertise.

 Who it's all about........

 our students.

A 12th Grade Teacher in a Kindergarten Classroom: How Inquiry Bridges the Gap

If that title doesn’t capture one’s attention, I don’t know what does! Yes, it’s true. I’m a former twelfth grade teacher (straight out of the classroom) currently serving a local elementary school as a personalized learning coach. I have to say, I never would have thought I would be here, yet I can’t think of any place I would rather be.

Upon finding out I was entering into an elementary world not only frightened me, it also ignited a multitude of self-doubt. Can I really impact students this age? How could I possibly model a lesson to five year olds? How can I model lessons to assist elementary teachers? All of these feelings and thoughts both consumed and overwhelmed me. That is... until I tried to. Yep, I went into a kindergarten classroom to model an inquiry-based lesson.

To. Five. Year. Olds.

It all happened with Mrs. Parker. While listening to my array of ideas and ways I could assit, she invited me to model a lesson in her class. My initial feeling was a joyful “Great”! However this was soon followed by a shallow “great”. What in the world am I going to do in there?

So I pulled up my boot straps and relied on what I knew best….inquiry. I gathered resources and relied on my intrinsic value of asking the questions “why”. As a veteran AP Government teacher, I always asked my students “why”. It was a standard procedure in my class. After all, I learned so much from them when they shared. I would have them justify their reasoning, I would pose different scenarios (whether they were fictitious or real) in an efforts to have them justify and defend their knowledge. My students never knew how I voted because I wanted them to discover their own thinking. I never needed fancy resources to do it. It was my “go-to” method, even when technology was broken, even when I didn’t feel well, even when half of my class was absent….so I began to think why should this be any different?

So off I went, into this kindergarten classroom with my penguin lesson, my YouTube entry event of Happy Feet, my anchor chart (which, by the way I never knew what an anchor chart was before) and my array of colorful markers. Yes, I even had markers.

As I relied on my instincts, I immediately realized how trusting our students naturally are. They show up to school each day trusting that the we educators will serve them to the best of our ability. They trust the lessons we create, the decisions we make, and the values we portray. It soon dawned on me that I needed to trust myself in return. I needed to trust that, even though it was different and new, I could deliver this meaningful lesson, portray the purpose in learning it, and engage them in an experience. And though it didn't launch fire works, I have to say it was fantastic.

As I wrapped up the lesson, I realized two very important things. First, that regardless of the age or ability level of our students, the process is the same. Of course it’s differentiated, but the process and scaffolding that was centered around inquiry, was the exact same. I didn’t need to reinvent the wheel, I just needed to adapt the lesson to the ability levels, interest, and goal of my students. The second thing I learned was that if students arrive to school each day trusting us, we need to trust ourselves in return. I could have folded on Mrs. Parker and called in a colleague to model the lesson, but I had to trust myself and know it would be okay if I failed.

This eerily reminds me of the journey to personalized learning. Education reform is not about the perfection of a finished  product or a perfectly crafted lesson plan,  it’s about the relationships we create, and the experience that is waiting to be had. Not just for the sake of others, but for the sake of ourselves. It's not just a personalized journey for students, but a personalized journey for teachers as well. It was a hilarious, exciting, challenging opportunity that I could have passed up, and I'm so glad I didn't.

As personalized learning continues to push teachers into un chartered territory, I have two words: trust and try. Trust you can make it your own, for your own students, in your own classroom...and just try something new! After all, Michael Jordan got cut from the eighth grade basketball team. Just sayin’.

Suggested Resources:

Inquiry from Edutopia

Inquiry from IBL