The world won’t give them resources. Won’t it?

Welcome to My House: Designing Support

I have changed the oil in my own vehicles for years. Drain the oil, change the filter, refill the oil. Easy peasy. But when I bought my Tundra that peasy became a little less easy. And so, I turned to YouTube. I had to. Things were different. And in the different I had to learn. So, I sought help in a DIY video. I still have its link saved in “Notes” on my phone. And though I have now changed the oil in my Tundra several times, I still consult it on occasion “just to be sure.”

Did I pass the test? Well, my Tundra is still running. I am still changing the oil. Did I cheat? By watching someone else do it first and then going back to it during the task to make sure I was doing it right in my first and even subsequent attempts? Did I really do it myself if I had help? Well, I certainly felt like I was the guy getting his hands dirty.

Okay, I’m being a little flip this morning, but speaking plainly, using resources is “real-world learning”. “Traditional testing” is a school construct that frankly is absurd when put to the test. I am not saying that tests don’t exist outside of school. They do, but nearly all of them, even “high stakes” ones, can be taken again, and again, and again.

And it is with this in mind that I design not tests but learning experiences for my kids. And for those experiences, I do what I believe is necessarily my duty, I create and provide resources that they can initially see and refer back to as they experience learning.

In this case, I provided not only an example learning check with a different text, but I also created optional support videos to help my kids if necessary. But what if they have to make, support, and clarify a claim in the real world? The world won’t give them resources. Won’t it?

A quick “how-to-make-a-claim” YouTube search resulted in hundreds of resources. This is information that is and will always be at our kids’ fingertips. So, why should I present an experience that’s different from what’s real? I am no longer about maintaining the status quo and fabricating a fictional experience for kids just because we feel like we have to honor the austere “test” of our institution.

I am about supporting kids in their learning. I am not a protector of the test. I am a teacher of kids. And not I’m sure there is anything more important for me to do than provide supports. We talk a lot about “design” in our practice: lesson design, assessment design. unit design. But if in our blueprint there is no space for “support,” we have not fully delivered on our promise as the architects of the learning experiences we provide our children.

I provide supports. I have to. I am a teacher. That is why I design my house the way I do. People, little humans, reside there. And I am responsible for the quality of their stay.

Okay, perhaps a little “soapboxy” this morning, but the “testing coalition’s “box” overshadows mine, so I felt like I had to speak up a bit.

(from part one) Optional Support Videos

Where can I find the Tone words?

How do I write the Claim? 

How do I write the Cite?

How do I write the Clarify?

How do I construct the Paragraph?

Happy Tuesday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.