The second issue that I ran into when I revisited the concept of a 'safe' environment that I try to make for my students. Safe seems to me to be just as ellusive as a butterfly and again, I 'have to try'. .But students will all have differenct ideas about what is safe to them and provision of a safe environment starts very early in life. True safety requires a multidisciplinary approach at the home and community level long before the student is part of the education system. This is not small task as illustrated in the following article on adults and safe environments (2)
I once had a student with a serious mental disorder (schizophrenia) that I had placed in a team with a group of young women. Unfortunately the young women were not so tolerant of 'differently able' individuals and I had to move him to a team of young men. But the damage was done and at the end of the term he had to be admitted to hospital...I tried to ensure a safe environment for him but failed. I try to understand my students but sometimes issues are not visible until the damage is done.
Unfortunately the teaching learning systems (3 below Figure 1 adaped from Biggs) are highly dependant on the social and economic environment in which they operate as subsystems. But like Hearts lyrics I 'have to try' to understand and to link students if possible to supports outside the classroom to assist them which brings me back to the sheepdog trying to keep her flock 'safe' and lead them to knowledge that will ensure a better future for them...while rounding up the ones wandering from the safety of the flock.
References...
- 'HEART's love for dogs has even influenced their music. Ann penned the words to "Dog and Butterfly" but it was her Sheepdog that inspired the lyrics. Ann watched intently from her bedroom window as her Sheepdog chased a butterfly around the yard. "As Ann watched her dog it struck her as symbolic as to how life can be," explains Nancy. "When you're an earthbound creature we're always jumping and reaching for things we can never really catch, but you try anyway. And that's the point of the song, we're always trying to grab at something higher."' http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060606202632AAZgCum
- Osher, David, Dwyer, Kevin P. and Stephanie Jackson. Safe Supportive Schools Step by Step. http://scholar.googleusercontent.com/scholar?q=cache:taAamRpKvGAJ:scholar.google.com/+adult+students+and+safe+environments&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5&as_vis=1.
- Adapted from Biggs, J. (May 2002). Conceptualizing the curriculum through the idea of constructive alignment. Aligning curriculum, teaching and assessment to construct desired learning outcomes. Teaching for Quality Learning at University. Buckingham: Society for Research in Higher Education & Open University Press
Hi Lyn,
ReplyDeleteI liked the idea of the butterflies as it helps me visualize the connection between teacher and student. You raise a really interesting issue in that teaching and learning can be constrained by factors outside of our control. I think this is an important observation and one that we should consider in terms of how best to manage the 'unmanageable' or 'uncontrollable'.
Jules
Hi, Lyn,
ReplyDeleteSometimes the learning environment cannot accommodate all students, try as we will, being as cognizant, proactive and creative as we can be with universal design.
There were likely many more influences outside of the learning environment that tipped the scale for this vulnerable young man in his struggle with schizophrenia, thus you the teacher taking the full blame is, I believe, not warranted.
That said, it is commendible that you tried to accommodate the young man. Maybe after treatment he would be able to pursue his studies with more stability and success.
The butterfly analogy I can relate to as sometimes a teacher doesn't know what direction of flight any student might take, considering the flight path of some can be quite erratic, as you alluded to.
The neuron pool is an interesting metaphor as I can imagine the pool as a source of combination and recombination in a neuroplastic brain (malleable and changeable) as new ideas are presented and processed. It suggests a living entity which is capable of great change and growth with the right input (teacher directed).
Very thoughtful, LLyn1
Brenda
I really appreciate you sharing your story of trying to create a safe environment for different types of students and failing.I wonder how much of an impact that had on you as a teacher and the students in the group as co-learners. Going back to your metaphor; when neuron are fired by the appropriate signals, a number of connections are made. Some of these connections inhibit a particular action while others stimulate a particular action. As teacher how often do we hit the "correct action potential" to trigger the inhibition or stimulation that would engage the students to a higher degree. As sheepdogs we lap around them and try to gather them together but sometimes we do lose a few. But hopefully that lose acts as feedback as to how to improve the lesson to capture and engage more studentsnext time around.
ReplyDeleteLyn, you need to get a net to catch those butterflies. :) What you said about the butterflies sometimes coming to you if you remain still got me thinking about the teacher as a quiet presence in the classroom, as someone students can turn to if they need help, but who doesn't intrude or "chase them, as you say. The trick would be ensuring students understood they COULD turn to you if necessary, perhaps. Or reaching the shyer ones who are reluctant to ask for help no matter how badly they need it.
ReplyDeleteI wonder: does it matter whether students share the same idea of a safe environemnt, with each other or with you? If our goal is to create an environment that studnets would CALL safe, perhaps. Buit if the goal is only to create an environment in which they ARE safe, then perhaps it doesn't matter whether they'd call it such.
Still, we need to determine what we mean by "safe environment" in this case. As you indicate, the environment extends far beyond the contexts of our courses and other encounters with students. So we should probably restrict our use of the term to environments over which we have some control. Okay then: what kind of safety are we talking about in such environments? And to what purpose? What are the appropriate limits of such safety? Are there ways in which we DON'T want students to feel "safe"?
With you, I assume that students' learning is affected in some ways by their socio-economic environments, but it isn't clear to me how much, or in which ways. There was an interesting meta-analysis released a few years ago by John Hattie (and maybe some co-authors) that looked at variables affecting students' learning in primary and secondary education, which found that the impact of socio-economic and other environmental factors was overstated. (I'm running on memory here, but that's how I remember it!) That makes me wonder if we should take caution in assuming such influences in post-secondary education, too.
Nevertheless, I'm inclined to assume that external factors can affect our students' learning. The question for me is: since I can't control them, nor even determine every factor that might affect a given student, what can or should I do about them? Not an easy question to answer.
PS -- Glad to meet another Heart fan!
Hi Lyn:
ReplyDeleteI like your post; quite deep.
Originally, I thought perhaps you could try to be more consistent with your metaphor finding links between the different elements of your picture- herd dog and neurons. I like where you are going now with the sheep dog and the buttery fly. Very artistic and conveying. I found some intakes collectively that way perhaps; or groups and individuals within them.
I do appreciate so much sharing your experience and thoughts about safe environments. I find this part of the program very useful (think CTL has that part intentional facilitating the sharing amongst us); it adds to everyone I believe and gives us exposure.
ahmed