Teacher As Maestro

I have been getting some push back lately, as I converse with colleagues about the focus on personalized learning and/or competency-based education. While many acknowledge that learners benefit from choices and flexible timelines, they argue that our traditional educational structures are just too rigid to allow for these modifications.

In order for teachers to maintain their sanity and keep "control" of classes, some of my friends in academia support a streamlined curriculum and more standardized activities and assessments. In some ways, our accreditors also prefer this type of approach. While this viewpoint may provide a "clean" path to an identified educational credential, the authenticity of learning for students may be lost during the journey.

With the tools currently available, I believe it is possible to support individualized, relevant learning opportunities, without succumbing to chaos. What might this look like in a college course? Let's start with Learning Outcomes. If learners know what the end game is, then they can work to accomplish what is expected. As teachers provide appropriate resources (curating content), suggested activities, and options for assessment related to the learning outcomes, learners can identify how to achieve and demonstrate their learning. Expecting students to communicate their learning paths and choices, and providing various avenues for communication and collaboration, facilitates this work. Using the digital resources in our Canvas LMS, resources, activities, communication networks and assessments can be organized for students to evaluate and implement.

While each student may be participating a bit differently, all have the focus on the identified learning outcomes and ultimately providing evidence of the accomplishment of these. My current simile is : Teacher as Maestro. Each student is an orchestra member, playing their own instrument, and perfecting their unique part, as the instructor coordinates the efforts into one grand, beautiful sonata. What ensues is lovely music, not chaos. Anyone with me?

Reviewing the Evidence

As a prof, a good portion of my time is spent in assessment, both of students' performance and of colleagues' performance. In both instances, I often dread beginning the review of assignments and portfolios...that is...until I jump in and start examining the work.

Just this week, my dynamic media students submitted digital media presentations highlighting their explorations and analysis of emerging technologies in education. As I listen to their voices and view their visual compilations, I am encouraged by their insights. They are critical, yet hopeful, as they face the disruptions occurring across our educational structures. These students are open to innovation and unafraid as they begin to construct new approaches for teaching and learning that leverage the technical infrastructures that can make a difference for learners. Though I put off "grading" these representations because of the hours I knew they would take, once immersed in this evidence of graduate student learning, I was energized. Thanks for working and thinking, students! You made my day.

A parallel experience occurred as I reviewed the "giant notebooks" of tenure and promotion portfolios compiled by colleagues moving through the review process in our higher ed tradition. I realized that each candidate provided hundreds of pages that I needed to carefully read and assess. The task seemed overwhelming and exhausting. However, as I dove into the reading and note-taking, I was overwhelmed by the evidence of the expertise of my fellow professors. These men and women are clearly engaging educators, critical scholars, and powerful professionals. I am somewhat in awe of their many accomplishment.

Evidence of learning and evidence of professional contributions and growth can be so affirming! Because of this realization, I am wondering if moving to a more competency-based higher educational model might be exhilarating for faculty. If most of our time could be spent in documenting student accomplishment of learning outcomes by assessing their evidence of competence, would we be pleasantly surprised at the many ways learners are accomplishing their goals? I would like to give it a try.