This past summer, I attended Harvard Graduate School of Education's Project Zero Classroom and it was a-mazing. It was like attending a week of "Teacher Camp" where I made new friends, learned a lot, and even got a little veklempt at the end when it was over. I was also exhausted after a week of incredibly heavy mental processing everyday.
One of my big take-aways was this idea of complexity. Complexity in the sense of the kinds of problems/situations/scenarios we are asking kids to grapple with in classrooms and in terms of the complexity of being an effective teacher. And, the idea that there is a differentiation between complex and complicated. It may just be semantic, but to me, complex connotes layered (like an onion, or an ogre- according to Shrek) and able to be deconstructed. However, in my opinion, complicated comes with it the potential for the feelings of frustration associated with confusion.
As there were two big aspects of complexity that I really seized upon this summer, I think it is important to discuss them separately. In this post, I will discuss what I've been thinking about in terms of complexity for students.
One of my big take-aways was this idea of complexity. Complexity in the sense of the kinds of problems/situations/scenarios we are asking kids to grapple with in classrooms and in terms of the complexity of being an effective teacher. And, the idea that there is a differentiation between complex and complicated. It may just be semantic, but to me, complex connotes layered (like an onion, or an ogre- according to Shrek) and able to be deconstructed. However, in my opinion, complicated comes with it the potential for the feelings of frustration associated with confusion.
As there were two big aspects of complexity that I really seized upon this summer, I think it is important to discuss them separately. In this post, I will discuss what I've been thinking about in terms of complexity for students.
Classroom Complexity for Students
If we truly want kids to be critical thinkers and able to meet the demands of a changing world (this is like a buzz-sentence in the education world) then it is crucial that they are actually faced with important ideas to uncover and strategies, vocabulary, and habits of mind to actually do so. According to David Perkins, a long time professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, students must have practice actually grappling with real world issues and real life situations in "Junior Versions" of situations that adults actually face. As teachers, we must make sure that we are not "taming" our curriculum too much while at the same time, making sure that it is accessible on a kid level and not just throwing them in the deep end.
In the IBMYP, we are also required to organize our units and content around concepts. These concepts are broad, organizing ideas that may transcend disciplines. I like to think of them as file drawers with different names on them in your head. For example, one of the drawers would be called "systems" and each time the idea of systems comes up in science, that is another file that can be added to that particular drawer. For example, cells are mini-systems, the solar system, ecosystems, etc. If you are clear about the idea of systems in general, when faced with governmental systems in Humanities or systems of grammar in language class, you can more easily make connections between different topics in different disciplines.
However, if we are just telling kids content information, and not asking them to transfer the information and apply it to novel situations, there really is no need for the concepts because the complexity is gone. I have been thinking so much lately how having concepts (again, broad, organizing ideas that transcend disciplines) to help you simplify the complexity is critical. But, where to even start with this in the classroom?
In the IBMYP, we are also required to organize our units and content around concepts. These concepts are broad, organizing ideas that may transcend disciplines. I like to think of them as file drawers with different names on them in your head. For example, one of the drawers would be called "systems" and each time the idea of systems comes up in science, that is another file that can be added to that particular drawer. For example, cells are mini-systems, the solar system, ecosystems, etc. If you are clear about the idea of systems in general, when faced with governmental systems in Humanities or systems of grammar in language class, you can more easily make connections between different topics in different disciplines.
However, if we are just telling kids content information, and not asking them to transfer the information and apply it to novel situations, there really is no need for the concepts because the complexity is gone. I have been thinking so much lately how having concepts (again, broad, organizing ideas that transcend disciplines) to help you simplify the complexity is critical. But, where to even start with this in the classroom?
While following the tweets from Project Zero this summer, I saw that teachers had "mapped" the complexity of a Snoop Dogg show. There is a lot that actually goes into one live performance and by digging into all that goes into it, you can begin to uncover the complexity. So, for students, I decided we would skip Snoop Dogg and try something that kids from almost any culture at my international school have schema for....a McDonald's Hamburger. Even if they don't eat them, they know about them. So, we tried to figure out all the things that have to happen/are involved with getting that hamburger to your mouth. This was our whole-class example. Then, in small groups or partners, kids mapped the complexity involved in putting on a day of school.