Are you learning?

Simple question. Important answer. But I wonder how often we ask the words, “Are you learning?”

Oh, I think we do formative checks that imply the question with fingers, and traffic lights, and windshield wipers, and all sorts of other clever and creative checks, but I wonder how often we actually ask the words.

Seems it should be the question in our work. But I am not sure it is. And I wonder why.

Is it that we don’t trust kids’ responses? Which in itself is weird, right? I mean who else really knows the answer to this question if not the learner? To be fair, maybe that mistrust is placed in the “I don’t know” responses we tend to get. But is that “not knowing” a result of our not beginning and continuing their experiences with the opportunity to reflect and self-assess? Have we made them too dependent on us to make the call?

Is it that we have become overly dependent on data? And though we claim to have multiple measures to determine student learning, are they regarded equally, or is there a pecking order? Can we ever get to a place where we regard state testing data and student self-assessment/reflection as equally important measures? Have we come to rely on outside data because those are the data the outside accepts? Maybe, then, we don’t see the need to ask such a question. And even if we did, would it matter?

But doesn’t that seem a little off, to place more trust in an external entity to make the call when then the learner is right there in the room? But the learner is subjective. Okay, but isn’t learning subjective? Aren’t there factors that impact each learner that inevitably make learning subjective? Do standardized tests acknowledge and account for these factors? They can’t. Oh, they try, I suppose. But in truth, they can’t address all the factors, and thereby students become subjected to this factor, too. And so there comes to be a degree of subjectivity in all learning. And I am not sure we can ever avoid that. But I am sure that we can pay more attention to the learner in the room. And I think that begins with a simple question.

Are you learning?

Happy Tuesday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.