The Matrix- Red Pill Or Blue Pill?

Its a good thing we all think differently. Last week I was a bit challenged by one of my students who had a different way of organising information. Interpreting it. I would not have done it that way.  The way I know how to do it. My first thought was that this is simply wrong. However after she talked me through it I could see the (her) logic. How she thought it out. Her way of understanding.  I could see that this was her way of showing understanding. Even though for me I would not have done it that way, for her it made sense. It was at that point it made me reflect a bit and think we don’t all think the same. Yes we all know that. We need the freedom to think differently. Especially we need the way to think in a way that might end up to be ‘wrong’ and fail so we can then go back and try again. As teachers though, we SO want our kids to be the same. Its easier right? Reality check. Learners need freedom to think, express, We are different. 

I feel the same needs to be applied to teachers.We need the freedom  to try things differently. To try a different ways to think out of the matrix, to use tools differently. To FAIL. Yes we may fail. Will the world come tumbling down if we fail? No. If teacher fails at at something will this affect the child long term? No I doubt it. Do teachers learn from failure, like our students? Yes of course. Is this good modelling for our learners…well Ill let you answer that one.

Trying different approaches to using different models or ways of thinking is what teachers need to be doing. Looking deeper into metacognition is needed to understand deeper concepts.   Box ticking of basic facts in a matrix is very low level thinking but I understand that box ticking feels good. Why? Because you’ve’ ticked the box’. Who doesn’t feel some level of satisfaction of ticking a box? Its done. Understood. An Aussie would say ‘Done and dusted mate’.

Visible Thinking Routines help but its what you do with them that makes the difference. Yes they look great on the wall. Great for Admin as they walk by, parents might go ‘wow’, but it is what you do with this ‘evidence’  (or have done) the unseen evidence that might otherwise go unnoticed in the learning process that really need to the recognition. Learning isn’t neatly packaged up in pretty bows, its messy..but thats another blogpost all together.

So..learners and teachers need to think beyond this and push the kids and ourselves. I learned a lot about learning and teaching from friend @whatedsaid and her blog (because I don’t learn alone, I learn from others, my network).  I love this post about Thinking about Thinking.