Defining a Practice

Welcome!

Today I had a vision while listening to the radio.  My vision: every radio story, every expert interviewed, and every lengthy discussion would mention the handy term Variables Thinking.  Because every student had been given the opportunity to practice Variables Thinking from Kindergarten through 12^th grade, every adult would use the short hand term to describe the process of considering multiple aspects of any one challenge or problem.  Each variable would be considered in relation to the others thus completing the process.  And to describe this process: that’s right, the term I have coined, Variables Thinking.

I paint therefore I consider variables. My thinking process… from choosing subject matter, to deciding scale, to surface, to prepping that surface, to choosing brushes, to paint, to mixing paint, to rate of brushwork, to layers of brushwork, to extending drying times, to rushing drying times, etc and so on is one example of VT.  Any expert considers a large number of variables in everything they do well.  Cooks, athletes, scientists, doctors, astrologists, hedge fund managers, yoga Instructors and teachers do it.  Isn’t it time we begin to look at the meta process of considering variables and make it something our children get to practice?  And more importantly, isn’t it time we foster in children an understanding that all problems are essentially the same?  Problems have aspects/parts/elements which are variables.   Giving thought to the relationships between the aspects/parts/elements in addition to considering what aspects/parts/elements might be missing from the problem become fundamental skills.

Here are a few concrete ways I will use Variables Thinking this school year with High School students.

As idea generation:  Brainstorm Variables.  Example:  As you design your ideal home, list all the factors that would ultimately affect your choices.  (Budget, codes, materials, location, perceived spatial needs to name a very few.)

As focusing tool:  Isolate one variable.  Example: Tell a story in 5 paragraphs, then 1 paragraph, then 1 sentence.  LENGTH is the variable here.  Which length is suitable for what use?

As play:  Pick 3 variables from a list of 5 (color, texture, shape, line, value.)  Make 3 different compositions where you emphasize the three Variables differently. In other words in composition #1 prioritize Variable 1, then 2, then 3.  Then switch the order. 

As analysis:  Read two extremely different critiques of the work of Jackson Pollock. Then write about what possible factors contributed to such glaringly different points of view.

Variables Thinking is what goes on in any reflective practice.   Therefore it is adaptable and flexible.

Start with:  What are the parts?  How do they relate to each other?  The practice can address simple things (Play Doh) and complicated things (climate, poverty) and everything in between. 

With the world we live in, a routine practice of Variables Thinking across disciplines and grade levels is a pretty logical idea.  Or at least a pretty cool dream.

Thanks for reading. - L

Lecture & The Learner

Welcome to BLOG #4!

So many topics & so much time. 

Today’s Blog is about the notion of teacher as “sage on the stage.” And what better represents this teaching style than the lecture.

I love a lecture.  Spoon feed me your digested, assimilated knowledge anytime and I will gladly listen!  A great lecture is truly a joy.  But I have an idea- let’s use the lecture not just to teach….but also as a chance to invite students into learning about learning.

Lecturing quietly expresses: “I am the expert, I am all knowing, you are the sponge, you are all seeking.” It is the dark side (glazed over students passively sitting, sneaking a peek at the phone, day dreaming, God forbid falling asleep) that needs to be addressed.

Brain research finds that 10 minutes straight of lecturing without an aside in the form of a joke or emotionally laden story is all an audience can take.  See John Medina’s book “brain rules” for much more http://www.brainrules.net/.  Lecturers must “buy” time from an audience.  Teachers can use 2 minute breaks for discussion between 8 minute lectures.  But what can be done to address the divide between the “sage” and the “sponge”?

Let’s bring students in on the secret: a good lecture is a piece of brilliant composition.

Variables:

Pace

Clarity

Humor

Repetition of ideas

Emphasis on what is really important

Connections to other material/ideas previously covered

Suspense

Hints at future material/plant seeds

To name a few…

Creating a great lecture requires VARIABLES THINKING.  Since this iconic form of teaching is here to stay, I propose a piece of curriculum that is flexible and adaptable.  The goal is to allow students to pay attention to their attention (a form of metacognition) while getting acquainted with key elements of lecture.

Curriculum:  11^th grade any discipline (this could be assigned in Science, History, etc.) 

Locate 1 lecture on the Internet.   As you listen/watch pay attention to 3 things. 1-Your engagement (tuning out versus riveted.)  2- Your connection to prior knowledge (meaning does the content of the talk “hook up” with anything you know already.) 3- Pace (your ability to keep up/follow.)  Take notes and report back to the class on these 3.

Not “science” just “subjective self-observation” designed to address where the rubber meets the road (where attention drifts and why.)  Curriculum rarely addresses this.  This basic understanding should not be reserved for the learning specialist to discover, it should be part of a holistic approach to learning.  After all, knowing something about one’s attention is a life skill.

Thanks for reading (more soon.) –L