Going Gradeless — Week 11: INTERDEPENDENCE
Recently, I was inspired by Tish Richmond and her yearly #oneword. Every year she chooses one word to capture her goal for the year. As she describes it, “The ‘One Word’ approach of choosing a word that is a driving force for the year, rather than creating a list of resolutions is a bit more my style.” This year she chose the word AMPLIFY.
So, I am joining the #oneword18 party. My word is Interdependence.
Thinking back to what 2017 brought and what I would like to see in 2018 — I realized something had not been emphasized in my own classes was interdependence, the collaboration, the connections. To me, communication in class, among students is when real learning takes place. Students can hear me talk, they can write down notes, they can fill out worksheets, but did they learn from that direct instruction? In my experience, for most students, the answer is no. What my experience has shown me is that students learn by teaching each other. Had I been too focused on going gradeless that I had forgotten that important step?