Letting Go

Letting go is a very difficult pill to swallow in the realm of education. As teachers we have an almost innate reaction to be controllers. "This is the method or algorithm for solving this math problem. Use this decoding strategy while reading." The list goes on and on. Why? Why do teachers have the innate reaction to be controllers of the classroom? Is the because of tradition and what we "know" of education? Think on that for a moment. Does that description describe you? It surely describes me. Watch this webinar  on inquiry based learning and then reflect on your teaching style and classroom. 
After watching the webinar myself I thought endlessly on how I need to reshape my classroom in order to give my students the best learning environment. In the webinar Chris Lehmann states "This education is for every child!" I couldn't agree more with this statement. Children need to be taught how to live and be successful in the world today. This means that they need technology in their hands for research, creating, and collaborating. If we are not giving our students the opportunity of a progressive education or inquiry learning we are doing them a disservice. According to Lehmann, "Technology is like oxygen." It is readily available and waiting to be put to use.  In fact as Lehmann also stated, "Inquiry and technology aren't optional anymore. This is what is needed for our schools." 
What is known as a traditional classroom, a room with 4 walls where the information being learned comes directly from the teacher is no longer the real world. That is now the fake world. In the real world of today the role of the teacher has transformed from lecturer to facilitator/ mentor. We, as teachers, need to focus more on scaffolding our students through inquiry learning and then allowing them to apply their knowledge independently through projects and experiments. Grant Wiggins states in his article Great Teaching Means Letting Go, "...many teachers seem not to know: unless you back off completely, on a daily basis, in scrimmages as well as games, to see whether or not students draw appropriately from the repertoire in a timely and effective fashion in challenges that demand it, you really have no idea what they can do on their own." This mentality of teaching is the only way we can create successful citizens for society. Alvin Toffler has a great quote that applies to teachers now more than ever before, "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn." 
So how can we implement this inquiry style of learning into our classrooms? First, our classrooms need to be student centered. This means the desks should be arranged in groups to incorporate collaboration, and then technology in the hands of our students with the opportunity of self choice for tool use in project creation. If we begin with these steps we will begin to see a shift in learning for our students. 

I also think that with this inquiry and technological approach to learning you will see less behavioral issues in the classroom because students are being challenged and engaged in learning. This inquiry approach also allows you to personalize education for each of your students by allowing them choice of technology and/or web 2.0 tools. Seemingly enough it is very obvious that great teaching, technology, and inquiry learning are connected through learning in the classroom. 
In the article Great Teaching Means Letting Go, Wiggins asks this very important question, "Do students know what the complex ‘game’ is that they are preparing for on any given day?  In the short term, do they know what the big performance is for which they are preparing?" In my classroom every lesson is presented with a learning target that encompasses the objective to be mastered, however, those learning targets are focused on a skill and do not necessarily speak to students applying those skills that are being taught. I think that is something I really need to rework as I think about the upcoming school year. Thinking outside of the box is definitely a must when it comes to this learning style. 
How do you incorporate inquiry learning in your classroom? Have you learned how to let go in your classroom? If so, please share your ideas in the comment section. :)