12 Shifts, Part 1

Getting Smart’s columnist Kyle Wagner wrote an article titled “12 Shifts to Move from Teacher-Led to Student-Centered Environments.” Let’s examine 6 of those 12 shifts today and then, just for fun, assign a grade to how well the traditional school system is executing these changes.

Wagner writes,

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“In my work with aspiring agentic schools around the world, and thought leaders in the field…, I have identified and curated a list of 12 shifts toward designing a student-centered and agentic classroom…”

“Shift #1: From Teacher-Designed to Co-Designed – Ancient Civilizations were former upper elementary teacher and instructional coach Linda Amici’s of Westerville Ohio City Schools most dreaded set of standards. As she states, ‘They didn’t excite learners. They saw no relevance to their lives.’ Through a simple reframing of how she designed the unit, suddenly, they did. Through a Google form, she asked students what civilization they wanted to learn about. Which questions and topics excited them? She co-crafted a more relevant question (What impact do contributions from the past have on our lives today?), and criteria for how students would be evaluated – which included rigorous curriculum standards. After six weeks of student-centered learning, her students transformed her classroom into a museum to showcase their creations. Some shared fashion tips and re-created clothing items from the Ancient Greeks, while others re-enacted battle sequences from the Persian Wars. Students were suddenly empowered and agentic, and as Linda put it, ‘even the 6 foot 10 superintendent’ was impressed.”

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Although Linda Amici might get an A here, overall today’s traditional school system receives a solid “D-“ for their attempts to shift from teacher-designed curriculum to a co-designed model involving students. In fact, most states and districts are going backward when it comes to loosening up curriculum standards these days. Tighter, more prescriptive state-mandated curriculum seems to be the way the traditional system is working these days.

“Shift #2 – From Led by Content to Led by Inquiry – Imagine fifty students huddled together in an abandoned field outside of their school. This is how the 6 week long inquiry-based experience entitled ‘Phoenix Project: Rebuilding Society’ began at The International School of Beijing. And it wasn’t guided by a textbook. It was guided by inquiry around how these year 7 students would rebuild society after being leveled by a devastating earthquake. In small teams, they would explore possible food growing techniques, government and economic structures, and a code of ethics to present to an overseeing panel of their peers. What was the teacher’s role? To set up the milestones and guide the experience behind the scenes…”

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Sometimes you will see inquiry-based learning inside science and social studies classrooms, but, for the most part, the traditional school system still has too many “sage on the stage” teachers committed to covering curriculum through content presentation, usually by lecture. The traditional school system earns a “D” here.

“Shift #3: From Teacher Questions to Student Questions – ‘To what extent has sustainability reflected on the modern Chinese fashion trend?’ ‘How do foreign ideas affect Chinese art through social media?’ ‘What are the socio-environmental impacts of rapid urbanization on vulnerable populations in China, and how can sustainable urban planning and policies mitigate these effects?’ ‘How would we present traditional cuisine in different regions of China, and how they have changed recently, to a High School Audience?’”

“These were all questions generated by students as part of a Modern China unit in Andrew Morrissey’s year 10 classroom at Beijing City International School. Students formulated questions; teamed together to explore them; and developed authentic products and presentations to address them. Some teams created video blogs, others interactive websites, some documentaries, and even more informational videos. As he put it, ‘[previously] they found no relevance to the unit in their lives.’”

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Most teachers aren’t comfortable giving “questioning authority” to their students. Most teachers have no confidence in their students’ ability to generate essential questions that will lead to deep learning. The traditional system earns a “D” here.

“Shift #4: From Isolated Siloed Content to Interdisciplinary Content and Skills – A sharply dressed 12-year-old with think-rimmed glasses and a wide smile guides a team of international educators form table to table in her flexible classroom; showcasing architectural models, blueprints and polished presentations from her class of citizen scientists. This is not an unusual Friday afternoon at Verso International School. They receive regular visits from educators around Asia eager to learn more about how they integrate learning across multiple subjects.”

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Our K-12 system tried interdisciplinary instruction back in the 1990’s and failed miserably. And there hasn’t really been an effort to try again since that time. The traditional system earns an “F” here.

“Shift #5: From Working for a Grade to Pursuit of Interests and Real-World Problems – Two very real problems faced Budapest, Hungary back in 2022. How do we provide relief for Ukrainian Refugees? And, amidst rapid urbanization, how do we live more sustainable?”

“[So] rather than approaching the typical year 5 curriculum from an educational lens, Real School Budapest decided to approach it from the lens of these real world problems. Dave Strudwick, former learning leader and head of school took his informative writing standards, parts of his science curriculum, and even visual arts and dance standards and merged them together in a five-week expedition around sustainable fashion. Students developed an online digital magazine exploring the ‘hidden costs’ of fast fashion, from its pollution of oceans and filling of landfills, to cost of human labor and exceeding energy use.”

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Grades still rule the day in our traditional K-12 system. Although you might see project-based learning take on significant world issues and problems, for the most part, in the end, those projects are graded A through F. Our public schools earn a “D” here.

Shift #6: From Worksheets and Tests to Real Product/Service – Two 9-year-old students from KPIS International School lean in across the table to listen to a same-aged peer talk about his favorite hobbies. The conversation is in Thai and has a clear purpose. In addition to helping forge new relationships and connections, these international school students are hoping to design English learning games, resources, and activities around their peers’ greatest areas of interest. It’s part of a deep dive to make language learning more purposeful…”

Just as grades rule the day in our traditional school system, so do worksheets and tests. I’m guessing whereas 80% of instructional time centers around worksheets and tests, only 20% focused on products and services that might help the world, or at least the neighborhood. “D-“.

We’ll cover the last six shifts tomorrow. Til then. SVB