Deeper Learning at NTN
Too many students in schools are deprived of a thinking curriculum, and have limited access to a safe, supportive and inclusive learning environment. This unequal distribution of resources, known as the opportunity gap, disproportionately impacts underrepresented students and families (Noguera, Darling-Hammond, & Friedlaender, 2015), most specifically, communities of color. School and district leaders must lead the work of closing cultural and instructional opportunity gaps by cultivating deeper learning conditions that result in “outcomes that matter” for each learner. The word “each” matters because this is more than just making deeper learning experiences available for all learners, but also demanding that each learner has the resources they need to succeed in those deeper learning environments. This is choosing equity rather than equality, and we believe that each learner deserves our commitment to that choice. Through collaboration with teachers, university academics, and the business community, and informed by research, NTN has identified learning outcomes that are aimed at fully preparing them for college and career success. These "outcomes that matter" include: Knowledge and Thinking, Collaboration, Oral Communication, Written Communication, and Agency. At NTN, we believe that for deeper learning to result in “outcomes that matter” for each learner the learning must be authentic, active, relational, responsive, and complex. Each of these deeper learning conditions is expanded upon below.
AUTHENTIC
Learning experiences that are authentic improve engagement and depth of thinking. Learners should experience the immediate usefulness of new learning (Vella, 2002). If the learning is personally relevant, learners connect to why they are doing the task, which improves performance (Pink, 2010). Authentic learning that is personally relevant will connect to emotions, and emotions are what fuel thinking for all learners (Immordino-Yang, 2016). This requires ongoing efforts to understand your learners and your community, and to create intentional connections between your discipline and their lived experiences. Inquiry is a key driver for intrinsic motivation to learn, and creates autonomy for the learner (Pink, 2010). Also, in sparking curiosity, which sustains the inquiry, learners become more intellectually invested (Chamorro-Premuzic, 2014).
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Authentic learning looks like... |
Authentic learning does NOT look like... |
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Learning focused on what makes a difference to students’ lives/community Previously learned skills or content is reviewed and built upon in support of application of those skills Learners are suggesting and making decisions about what occurs in the learning experience |
Learning focused on curriculum that target skill deficits primarily, excluding the students’ lived experiences New learning is introduced without opportunities for application or connection to previous learning Learners are passive recipients of knowledge that is disconnected from their lived experiences |
ACTIVE
Learning experiences that are active increase engagement by providing opportunities for learners to be active sense-makers, rather than passive recipients of knowledge. Learners better understand and apply new concepts through interactive, student-centered learning (Pellegrino & Hilton, 2012). Learners must have an opportunity to conceptualize it, get a chance to feel it, and do something with it. They must be invited to put themselves into the learning task, into the delight of learning. Without engagement there is no learning (Vella, 2002). Inquiry is, again, a key strategy for activating the learning experience. In order to be lifelong learners, we must consistently practice the learning process, which includes asking questions and actively exploring those questions together.
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Active learning looks like... |
Active learning doesNOT look like... |
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Experiences designed to elicit learners’ questions and to pursue the facilitated exploration of those questions Hands-on, lab-like learning experiences where ideas and hypotheses are tested, measured, and reflected upon Performance Assessments where learners construct original responses/products to demonstrate understanding, exhibit their learning, and learn through that process |
Test prep situations that are teacher-centered and require recall only from learners Learners in their seats primarily with the teacher/leader talking from the front of the room A limited approach to assessment that consistently disrupts the learning |
RELATIONAL
Learning experiences that are relational show up well through dialogue, where we are able to construct meaning collectively that is inaccessible to us individually (Bohm, 2014). And through dialogue and discourse, when we authentically turn to one another, better relationships and community are generated. Whatever impedes dialogue must be courageously addressed and eliminated. Whatever enables dialogue must be fearlessly nurtured and used. Relationships must transcend personal likes and dislikes (Vella, 2002). Deeper relationships, established with intention, support collaborative inquiry and reflective dialogue. Helping students experience this kind of learning requires both high expectations and a supportive, caring relationship. “This combination of personal warmth and active demandingness earns the teacher the right to push for excellence and stretch the student beyond his comfort zone” (Hammond, 2015). We must build trust and rapport to ensure a culture of safety and care, requiring a new type of relationship called a learning partnership (Hammond, 2015).
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Relational learning looks like... |
Relational learning does NOT look like... |
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Learners having structured discussions with each other to tackle a shared challenge Starting the day or a session by circling up as a community to connect, listen, be heard, and be seen by one another Celebrating one another as learners, particularly when risks are taken and good learning happens (in success and failure) Giving students both care and push, and helping them cultivate a positive mindset and sense of self-efficacy (Hammond, 2015) |
Learner conversations that lack structure and focus Regularly choosing coverage of content or adherence to process over relationships Siloed individuals that are unaware of each others’ successes The environment is judgmental |
RESPONSIVE
Learning experiences that are responsive consistently assess the needs of each learner and respond to those needs. This includes proactively planning for a range of targeted experiences as well as the adjustments made in the moment to better bridge the learning experience to the learner. This means knowing where and how to begin. The learning of knowledge, skills, and attitudes should be arranged from simple to complex and from group-supported to solo efforts (Vella, 2002). Learning experiences that are responsive provide appropriate challenge in order to stimulate brain growth to increase intellective capacity. Being responsive also includes holding and communicating high expectations for each student’s achievement. Research demonstrates that students have the capacity to live up or down to our expectations, and that teachers’ expectations are significant predictors of students’ cognitive, emotional, and behavioral engagement in school (Quaglia, Fox, & Corso, 2010). Beyond holding high expectations for each learner, it is also the teacher’s responsibility to provide concrete support for meeting those standards (Hammond, 2015).
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Responsive learning looks like... |
Responsive learning does NOT look like... |
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Consistent (pre, during, post) assessment of what learners know and need to know, and using that data to guide the design of learning Learning scaffolded from simple to complex and from group-supported to solo efforts Learners working on different, appropriately challenging tasks that support their specific needs and communicate high standards and expectations |
Over-reliance on a predefined script or scope & sequence for learning that lacks flexibility One size fits all learning Teacher provides difficult work and does not provide guidance and scaffolding for meeting standards |
COMPLEX
Learning experiences that are complex develop productive struggle, and include higher order thinking and problem solving. In her book, Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain (2015), Zaretta Hammond introduces the concept of productive struggle, defined as the mental activity and growth that takes place when the learner works through something difficult. Work at this level is not too hard or easy, guiding the learner to develop new skills by building on what they already know. Inquiry plays a key role in helping students engage in productive struggle. In order to be continuous learners, we must have regular opportunities to ask questions, explore new possibilities, and share our thinking.
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Complex learning looks like... |
Complex learning does NOT look like... |
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Open-ended problems or projects that require collaboration, teamwork, and sustained levels of inquiry and problem solving Celebration of risk-taking and learning from mistakes Learners problem-solving with adult guidance and/or in heterogeneous groups Co-planned and co-taught interdisciplinary courses |
Low-level work that does not promote higher-order thinking, problem solving or collaboration All learners doing the same assignments with little choice/ability to challenge themselves Rote, low-level instruction that emphasizes memorization Single-disciplinary courses that live in isolation from other content areas and disciplinary-based thinking |
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