Class 9: Maps, Geography & Lesson Planning

I love maps. (My girls and I made this one a couple years ago after Kaitlin noticed the Africa-shaped piece on the bank of the creek behind our house.) So, I knew working with the John Smith map was going to be fun for me. But beyond that, it was another great example of how slowing down, helping students focus in and look closely (as the teacher in the video series did), and letting go of the control of the content a bit — facilitating vs. directing —  can really help build interest at the outset. This interest, and the questions that linger after that initial discussion, will help students seek, draw out and assimilate so much more than if the unit were introduced through a typical didactic lecture. In marketing, we talked about this as a pull (vs. a push) strategy. Pharmaceutical companies use this a lot: they create some kind of urgency or interest among the general public, who then pull the product through the supply chain (their doctors) by asking about it or for it by name. This strategy works better (for the pharma co) than trying to get docs to “push” their products out to only the specific patients who need it. Slimy, I know. Clearly, the education application of this strategy is WAY more appealing to think about and use. 🙂

I keep thinking of the trees: there were distinct types on the map, and I noticed that I’ve been staring out at the trees in my yard all morning trying to figure out what species he was noting, and why. I know that lumber was an important resource for England, and so I infer this map must have been intended in part to help the investors see what was there, or to help the loggers know where to find each type of tree. I’ve also been wondering what the landscape looked like before it was all logged…and what trees they may have wiped out in their insatiable quest for financial gain…didn’t we used to have redwoods or sequoia on the east coast? 🙁 So, in my own experience, I see how the map activity set up a whole series of questions that I am now primed and motivated to find answers for…I will pull in and connect and assimilate content without even realizing that I’m learning the intended content…that’s the pull strategy working well. What a difference from sitting in a class, taking notes, waiting for the teacher to stop pushing information at me…

Shifting gears to the lesson plan discussion —

Molly’s request for an exemplary lesson — ideally three, actually: one that’s not quite there; one that’s on target; and one that’s above-and-beyond — would be so helpful to me, too. When we talked in class a couple weeks ago about providing exemplars in relation to PBA rubrics, it made so much sense to me, and I think it applies directly to us writing lesson plans, too. While some independent struggle, as you said, is beneficial — I truly do see that, and have experienced it — I think at some point, I’d learn more from seeing and adapting from an excellent example, than I would from trying to come up with it on my own. At least at this stage, when I just don’t have a concept in my mind yet of what an excellent plan looks like, having some model to shoot for would really help focus my learning on the salient skills, in a more efficient way: working smarter, not harder. 🙂

I also really love the idea of providing something similar to what the districts would provide, and having us work that into a lesson plan — maybe do one plan that way and one plan the original/full way. It is a different process, though related skills, and this is what we will (I think!) actually need to be doing on a daily basis. I find that I spend the most time and the most frustration, just trying to hone in on the content I want to “teach.” I end up refreshing/learning a lot of content that doesn’t end up in my plan just to try to understand the scope and sequence, then reading a lot of crappy lesson plans online, getting partway into resources or ideas, then finding something else I’d rather do/use and starting over. I mean, I spend DAYS on this. I have always been a “boil the ocean” type, but even making a concerted effort to just make a decision and stick with it, having a wide-open choice is a huge liability for me. Once I have the specific SOLs/ideas nailed down, the rest flows pretty well. What’s most frustrating is that I won’t need to do that first part in the classroom very often — I will know the grade level, the content, pacing, and my students’ specific needs, and I will mostly just need to decide HOW to teach it. But when I’ve already spent so much time trying to figure out WHAT to teach in the lesson plans for class, I have little creative energy (or time) left to really focus in on the HOW, which is the part I really need to be practicing. All that said, I obviously do need to figure out how to be more efficient and directed in my initial research, so there is value in that struggle too…sigh.

I’m looking forward to the conference on Saturday! I’m trying to go in with an open, humble mind so I can absorb as much as possible and try to really widen my lens. I hope to come away with tools and confidence — or at least a pathway toward confidence — to be able to work through these important and complex topics in the classroom in a sensitive and honest way.