Looking for the "I wonder" in my students,

I believe we were born with a great sense of curiosity and the desire to pursue new knowledge. As young children we continued to ask the question of “I wonder”. A child encountering new things each day is struck by an enormous amount of new information and their curiosity drives them to pursue these new adventures, reconstruct new meanings of their world, and continue to ask “I wonder” questions. The child is in control of their learning. This simple truth lies at the heart of the constructivist approach to education (Brooks, 1999).

Students coming up with a "working definition"
of some terms used in an activity they finished earlier.

Learning is a complex process through which learners constantly change their internally constructed understandings of how their worlds function. New information either transforms their current beliefs—or doesn't. The efficacy of the learning environment is a function of many complex factors, including curriculum, instructional methodology, student motivation, and student developmental readiness. (Brooks, 1999).

Learning theories are typically divided into two categories: behavioral and cognitive. Both see the world as real, external to the learner with a goal of instruction to map the structure of the world onto the learner (Ertmer, 2013). But one could also add to the list of learning theories, constructivism, offering another framework of learning.

As educators, we develop classroom practices and negotiate the curriculum to enhance the likelihood of student learning. But controlling what students learn is virtually impossible. The search for meaning takes a different route for each student. Even when educators structure classroom lessons and curriculums to ensure that all students learn the same concepts at the same time, each student still constructs his or her own unique meaning through his or her own cognitive processes. In other words, as educators we have great control over what we teach, but far less control over what students learn.

But, something went wrong, something drastically went wrong over the years of our students’ educational careers. The opportunities for “I wonder” moments; opportunities to seek new knowledge and reconstruct meaning and understanding of the world, and be in control of their own learning, got suppressed. It may not have been a conscious decision by the educational system, but standard driven curriculum, standardized testing, and plethora of other environmental changes, changed our students ways of learning and their “I wonder” moments went away for so many of our students.

One story shared in the blog by Erica Warren (2015) paints this sad picture that occurs in many classrooms:

Recently, we visited a classroom in which a teacher asked 7th graders to reflect on a poem. The teacher began the lesson by asking the students to interpret the first two lines. One student volunteered that the lines evoked an image of a dream. “No,” he was told, “that’s not what the author meant.” Another student said that the poem reminded her of a voyage at sea. The teacher reminded the student that she was supposed to be thinking about the first two lines of the poem, not the whole poem, and then told her that the poem was not about the sea. Looking out at the class, the teacher asked, “Anyone else?” No other student raised a hand.
I believe that educators are finding themselves in a situation to bring back more of the learned behaviors that help students be once again more curious, motivated to learn, and resilient. Their learning experiences may have been suppressed in the methods of teaching as well as outside environments, but our students can be retaught to bring their natural curiosity to the surface. I believe grit and resilience can be developed and nurtured.

In my science classes I share with my students “I can” statements that helps them focus their learning.  My students and I review the statement at the start of class and then we review them again at the end of the class. Students assess their level of understanding and report back to me in terms of their comfort level based on the “I can” statement as we continue to explore this topic. As I proposed in our Module 2 discussion, we can also possibly use it to help drive the various competencies of SEL, and maybe even help foster grit and resilience. The “I can” statement can become a statement that begins with “I am”. For example:

I am actively persevering with a powerful and clear intention to find answers to my questions.
I am continually pursuing a course of action despite difficulties or opposition in order to help answer my “I wonder” questions.
I am acting effectively or imaginatively, especially in difficult situations as I stay on course finding answers to my questions.

Once again we can do this and it will begin with our clear mindset that offers a nurturing, welcoming environment, built on a solid relationship fostered over time with each students.
As noted by Erica Warren (2015), research offers some important outcomes about resilience and grit in the classroom:

Students and can learn skills that can increase their resilience and grit.
Teachers start the transformational process by believing in themselves.
Teachers can change their own attitudes and improve connections with their students.
Teachers can learn to nurture and instruct these skills.

"Shedding Light on Ions" an activity that
explores some of the properties of ionic solutions.

Research conducted by Yeager and Dweck (2012) supports this approach as they found that studies show that implicit theories of intelligence could be taught in school settings and that changing them could affect academic behavior. In particular they discuss the two implicit theories of intelligence - entity and incremental, of which incremental helps make the argument for grit and resilience to be taught. Incremental world is about learning and growth, and everything (challenges, effort, setbacks) is seen as being helpful to learn and grow. It is a world of opportunities to improve (Yeager & Dweck,2012).

I believe that teachers can provide the environment that helps students build a growth mindset, recognize the wonders of the world, and be resilient in their efforts. Sagor (1996) suggests some key experiences that help students feel optimistic about their educational and personal futures and feel good about their experiences learning:

Provide them with authentic evidence of academic success (competence).
Show them that they are valued members of a community (belonging).
Reinforce feelings that they have made a real contribution to their community (usefulness).
Make them feel empowered (potency).

We must structure opportunities into each child's daily routine that will enable him or her to experience that joy of learning and the reconstructing of the new meanings of their world.

Building resilience in students need not take substantial time from teachers, but it can be taught.  Helping our students have a sense of belonging, feeling competent in ones pursuit for knowledge, seeing failures as opportunities for growth, and finding opportunities for creative expression, exploration, and creativity is in essence the definition of teaching.

Resources

Brooks,G. J., & Brooks, M. G. (1993). In search of understanding: The case for
constructivist classrooms. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Brooks,G. J., & Brooks, M. G. (1999). The courage to be constructivist. Educational Leadership,
57, (3), pages 18-24. ASCD.

Ertmer, P. A. & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: comparing critical
features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly,
26(2), pages 43-71.

Sagor, R. (1996). Building resiliency in students. Educational Leadership, 54, (1), pages 38-42.
  ASCD.

Warren, E. (2015, December 9). Nurturing grit and resilience:classroom strategies for success
[blog post]. Retrieved from https://learningspecialistmaterials.blogspot.com/2015/12/nurturing-grit-and-resilience-classroom.html

Yeager, D., & Dweck, C. (2012, January 1). Mindsets that promote resilience: When
students believe that personal characteristics can be developed. Educational
Psychologist, 47(4). 302-314. Retrieved from the EBSCOhost database.