UNDERSTAND

Understand relationship between context, students and learning

What contributes to the context in which we learn? Many things. The physical space that we are in, the people who fill it, the things that surround us. But is that it? Is that all that makes up a learning context? Certainly it is not. For me, the way that my morning goes on any particular day fuels into how I feel on that day – maybe I spilled my coffee on myself that morning and as I step into my classroom I’m feeling irritated, unable to focus on what my students need in that moment. I know this relation between what is happening in our lives and what we are prepared to take on that day is also true for many of my students. Frazzled and unrested from an emotional weekend at home, they sometimes come in on Monday mornings in state that I can best describe as “absent.” Dizzy and tired from whatever made up their weekend, the last thing on their mind is what they have to do for homework.

The context in which we learn is made up of so many tangible and intangible things, I couldn’t name them all of I tried. But it is less important that I name all the things that contribute to a effective learning context and more important that I realize how connected learning and context really are. What each person needs in order to learn effectively is very different than the next person’s. What each person needs in order to learn effectively on a particular day is very different than the next day! As dynamic as we are as people, so are our needs. As a teacher, with an awareness to the interchange that exists between context, students, and learning, I know that each day I have to re-meet my students. I have to check in with them and find out where they are at that day in order to create an environment in which they may be able to learn. I have one student that comes immediately to mind. She is young and vibrant and has so much potential inside of her to achieve whatever she wants, but each day a big elephant stands in the room with us. This elephant is full of sadness from her mothers death, challenges from her relationship with her boyfriend, insecurity from her own self-concept, and defeat from her experiences in school. Each day that I see her, I know that I have to check in with her, as a person – how she is doing, what she did the day before, how she is feeling. Even though I can’t solve her problems for her, as much as I want to, by helping her as she navigates through all of these different facets of her life I might find a way to support her in whatever way she needs me to, academically sure, but also socially and emotionally.

The understanding of the dynamic that exists between context, students, and learning has been one of my most foundational understandings as an educator. Without consideration for this relationship, not only would we not be meeting the needs of our students, but we would be able to do nothing about it. Providing the ideal learning context where each learner can feel socially, emotionally, and physically able to learn can be difficult. It’s hard to know what everyone needs at every moment, and students are not always the best at communicating what those needs are, but as long as we are always trying our best to understand them and make learning available, that is the best we can do.

It can be difficult to always be patient and think of ways to adapt learning for students, especially when you consider the mental and emotional work that it takes. Thinking of new ways and getting all the supports in place to make it happen sometimes feel out of reach. There are definitely days when I think about how I don’t feel like I reached anyone and I think about the structure of our school and classrooms and wonder if we are really doing our best. Lately my train of thought has been more in the arena of comparing a typical high-school educational experience to the learning experience like the one I am currently a part of; a self-directed, inquiry based, field study, where I still have the community that I would find in a classroom, but am led by my own strengths and passions. Would high-school aged children also flourish within this kid of educational structure? Or would they lose their way in the face of too much choice and not enough experience? I don’t know. What I do know is that schools that have alternative structures exist for this very reason, because children are diverse and they need varying learning contexts in order to access that learning potential. To inform my own teaching practice further in regards to how to change context to support learning for students I plan to:
• Take intentional time out of my day to get to know students in more contexts than just my classroom
• Change the immediate environment when possible – see what happens!
• Continue to explore different theories around adapting learning environments and actually try some new teaching methods.

I even think of my own learning now as a student-teacher, and the connection between context, student, and learning is so evident. Luckily, as adults, we are given the freedom at “school” to guide our own learning, choose our own levels of participation without getting in trouble, and opt out of activities that we don’t feel are safe for us. There are days when I come to class on a Wednesday night after a busy day at work and I feel like the last thing I want to do is talk too much. I want to sit and listen, and the best part is – I feel like I could do that! I wouldn’t lose participation marks, I wouldn’t be sent to the office, I wouldn’t get in trouble for not participating. I know my teacher and peers would be understanding about how I was feeling that day and the fact that I chose not to share much that day would be okay. Although that doesn’t always make the ideal student, especially if you’re wanting to stimulate dialogue in the classroom that day, by allowing students to feel like they have a choice makes them feel emotionally understood, which is just as important as anything else. I feel lucky in the resource classroom because it naturally lends itself to adopting a less structured schedule than your typical classroom. In my classroom, students are coming together for a block that looks very different than the student next to them. Starting the class in unison and with an itinerary for the day, doesn’t make much sense. This leaves room for starting the day by checking in with each of them individually – checking in about their lives, how they are feeling and what they’ve been up to. By connecting with each of them personally and with intention, a better relationship is built. Communication is worked on, understanding is developed, and eventually together the create of a learning environment that is suited for them.