“noisy classrooms”
When I talk to teachers about what they are most looking forward to this fall, there is always some mention of sound.
Teachers miss the familiar buzz of their classrooms, busy with students. They miss the laughter and levity that emanate from a school building in session. The sound of their students’ voices eking out a question aloud, stumbling through an especially long story, or trying new vocabulary words on for size.
Even on campuses that have reopened this year, the sounds are different. Not all students have returned. Masks muffle much of our talk. In many classrooms desks have shifted back to rows and students have been separated from one another by plexiglass partitions.
Even the spaces normally swelling with kid sounds — like the cafeteria and lunch areas — have changed to accommodate for social-distancing and COVID precautions.
Bring in ‘da noise
A “noisy classroom,” as some teachers have described it to me, is not just a sound, it is a signal. A signal of learning, of students using their voices to figure out what they know and what they connect it to, out loud. It is often messy and uneven, meandering more than we have prepared for in our planning. But it is also evidence that the students are engaged actively and emphatically in the work of learning — in their own ways — not just the teacher.
For some, however, “noise” signifies chaos in the classroom, disorder, a lack of management. How are you bringing your students’ voices into the process of learning? When and how and to what degrees is your classroom “noise” indicative of learning?”
Noisy data
“Noise” has another meaning when it comes to data analysis: information that distracts or interferes with our ability to make clear sense of the evidence in front of us.
Many teachers experienced a comparable kind of “noise” during the abrupt shifts to virtual and hybrid learning models this year — and responded by paring down curriculum and assignments that surfaced as superfluous in order to strengthen focus on core content and learning objectives.
“Figure out what is most important for your students to learn and teach them that. Also, take time to form connections and allow your students to get to know each other.” -middle school teacher
As we imagine what classrooms will look like this fall, we have a new and unique opportunity to leverage these spaces for our students’ thinking and talk, for more dialogue and collaboration between students, for more of that productive “noise” we have all missed so much.
Much ado about teacher talk
What our nation’s teachers can — and cannot — talk about in their classrooms has sparked a cacophony of concern from public officials this spring.
Lawmakers in fifteen states have introduced bills that restrict teachers’ discretion when discussing issues of racism, sexism, and other social justice concepts, current and historical, that are deemed “divisive” or that cause “discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress.”
Here are a few recent examples:
- Texas passed a bill that both limits how teachers discuss controversial issues and bans schools from issuing credit for internships in social or public policy advocacy.
- Missouri lawmakers are considering measures that ban the use of Learning for Justice or Southern Poverty Law Center resources, the implementation of 1619 Project curriculum, and promotion of “Black Lives Matter at School” programming.
- Oklahoma’s governor signed into law a bill that claims to combat racism and sexism in schools by restraining teachers from connecting historical events like the Tulsa Race Massacre with enduring inequities.
- Arizona lawmakers recently advanced a bill through their legislature that would fine teachers $5,000 for promoting one side of a controversial issue.
- Tennessee’s new law will withhold funds from schools and districts that discuss over a dozen specific concepts such as whether “one race bears responsibility for past actions against another; the United States is fundamentally racist; and a person is inherently privileged or oppressive due to their race.”
Others exploring or implementing similar actions include Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Utah, and West Virginia.
“This goes against what we know good instructional practice to be. We’re a little baffled at the idea that we’re going to legislate away certain types of freedoms and responsibilities that teachers have.”-Lawrence Paska, Executive Director, National Council for Social Studies
Mistakes to learn from
Risk. Fail. Rise.: A Teacher’s Guide to Learning From Mistakes by educator extraordinaire M. Colleen Cruz is on the TeachFX summer reading list. I have been a fan of her paired reading/writing lessons as well as her young adult novel Border Crossing, and was elated to see her newest work released earlier this year.
The 2020–21 school year might be the best example of a time in which we all took on new risks — and experienced plenty of mistakes — as we adjusted to instruction in new formats and with new tools.
In the book, Cruz reminds us how powerful it is to reflect on such moments and grow from them, encouraging fellow teachers to embrace this process alongside students as a learning opportunity for all.
She shares a number of ideas, from a micro-lesson on unpacking the word “mistake,” prompts for a discussion about the differences between intent and impact using multi-media, and an assignment to develop a “mistakes resume,” blending writing skills with reflection.
“One way of evaluating our classroom learning culture is to consider to what degree we’d characterize our time with students as a conversation versus a list of assignments and commands.” — M. Colleen Cruz
I’d love to know what you and your team are reading together this summer!
TeachFX’s mission is to promote more meaningful and equitable classroom dialogue by superpowering teachers’ work — using technology to provide educators with regular, automated feedback on their practice.
