Day ⑥ #SOL21: Contemplating Conditions for Learning

Years ago, my favorite Book Whisperer, Donalyn Miller, introduced me to the world-renowned educational researcher, Dr. Brian Cambourne. His seminal work titled, The Whole Story: Natural Learning and the Acquisition of Literacy in the Classroom was published in 1988 when I was in third grade. I'm pretty sure my teacher, Mrs. Sheila Barnes, read his book because the conditions for learning in her classroom were ideal. Mrs. Barnes taught Reading & Writing Workshop before it was cool 😎, and after a magical, nourishing year in her care, I knew I wanted to grow up to become a teacher. I've blogged before about our lifelong relationship, which you can read below. 

🔗 Who's on Your Mount Rushmore?
🔗 Pondering the Point of PD & A Professional Dream Come True

I mention Mrs. Barnes again today because after almost 40 years in the classroom, she continues to create exemplary learning conditions where readers and writers flourish. Each Friday we chat on Voxer and often our topic of conversation revolves around professional learning experiences. Since March of 2020, every PD I've attended has been on Zoom. This enormous shift in practice has got me thinking a lot about the conditions for learning which Dr. Brian Cambourne & Debra Couch recently updated in their newest book published in March of 2020, Made For Learning. If you don't have time to read the book, I highly recommend this abbreviated article titled 🔗 Teaching Decisions that Bring the Conditions for Learning to Life.  

 

The district I now work in engages in a partnership with The Teachers Reading & Writing Project. Once a year, a staff developer dedicates an entire day to meet with school principals and literacy coaches. On Friday, campus leaders from across the district logged into Zoom for a full day of learning with Shanna Schwartz. The agenda for the day included a keynote address, four optional sessions, and a working lunch. As we all know, a principal's day is often fractured and full of unexpected surprises. So as we settled in to learn together across screens, I found myself thinking about what it means to be an "all-in" learner in remote spaces when the real world is still spinning and demanding so much from us all. 

Shanna went above and beyond to create the best possible learning conditions for each of us. To ensure engagement, she immersed us in the foundations of Reading & Writing workshop, providing ample demonstrations and lots of powerful anecdotes. With so many things vying for our attention, I think everyone wrestled with the expectations for the day. Shanna layered in responsibility and response through breakout room discussions—yet approximation and practice felt tricky in the Zoom world. Overall, it was a learning experience  full of hope, energy, and goodness. (*See my digital notes from the day 🔗HERE.) Of course I wonder if all the learners would describe it this way—which leads me back to Cambourne's Conditions for Learning. 

This school year has been a year like no other. As Shanna mentioned in her opening address, principals are bombarded with the emotional lives of all the people they serve. Simply showing up to a PD session feels like an epic feat. I applaud every leader who carved out time in their busy day to be present, and I'm confident this investment of time and energy will reap dividends for both teachers and kids. 

I have no doubt Shanna made some intentional teaching decisions about how she created the schedule, what topics we'd explore, and when we'd pause to process all we were learning. However, no matter how perfect or imperfect the conditions of learning may be, each individual will get out it what he or she puts into it. As a wise colleague recently reminded me,"We do what's important to us and we prioritize what matters." In times of crisis and uncertainty we must all reevaluate our priorities and decide moment-by-moment where we will place our attention. 

When it comes to PD, we keep waiting for the "conditions of learning" for adults to return to normal. But as Shanna mentioned yesterday, perhaps "normal" wasn't really working for lots of folks. How can we reimagine the conditions of learning for leaders and teachers? How do we honor their time, opening up mental headspace for the intellectual labor learning requires? How will this pandemic change the the landscape of PD forever? The list of unanswered questions continues to grow, but for now, I'm simply grateful for the learning opportunities I'm afforded, and I'll continue to seek solutions and filter each experience through Cambourne's theory—knowing full well that theories are designed to be challenged and revised.