Helping students take ownership of their learning Becky Navarre

I’m a teacher.

Although I come from a family where
education was not valued.

Neither one of my parents graduated
from high school.

In fact, my father didn’t make it through
the 7th grade.

Reflecting back on my schooling,

I was never taught how to learn.

Consequently in college, I struggled.

I struggled with organization, knowing
what to study, and how to take tests.

My parents were no help.

In fact, they had no expectation of
me to even use education in my future,

and told me I was wasting my time, and
my money.

My father went so far as to tell me
the only degree I needed to focus on

was the “Mrs” degree, find a husband.

But I wanted to change my circumstances.

And I knew that education could be my path
out of generational poverty.

As a teacher, I wanted this for my
students as well.

I wanted to teach them the skills that I
had to learn on my own.

I could only imagine how much more
effective I would have been

if I’d had that guidance.

It was important to me to be that
guidance for my students.

Success isn’t dependent on where you
start.

It’s dependent on good life choices
and some tools help along the way.

We have to teach these tools to our
students.

I started teaching with the optimism that
only a new teacher can have.

But I quickly realized my students were
facing the same challenges I had faced

as a student.

I needed my students to be successful
in the content, of course.

But even more than that,

I wanted to teach my students tools that
would help them be successful.

I wanted my students to approach
their learning as if it were their job.

I knew the tools I would teach them in my
classroom

were tools they could use all their lives.

Later in college, in their careers, or
whatever vocation they chose.

As I reflected on what worked and the
tools that helped me help them,

I found that there were three specific
things that solved the major challenges

my students faced in the classroom.

These three things made a positive impact
on my students' learning.

Organization.

Organization does not come
naturally to most students.

I know, you’re shocked.

So helping students with organization was
a natural place for me to start.

Everything we did in class was maintained,
recorded, and filed in “the journal.”

It kept them on task,
it kept them focused,

and taught students the value
of keeping track of their resources.

Students owned their work,

and they could see their knowledge
grow over the semester.

It was their first step in learning
the importance of organization.

Students also used “the journal” to
keep track of their grades.

There was no surprise at the end of the
grading cycle,

students knew where they stood.

They were taking control of their own
progress.

It showcased the idea of work in equals
work out, or, action equals reaction,

Newton’s 3rd law, in layman’s terms.

It put the responsibility for their
progress directly on them.

My students learned that
success breeds success.

Well, failure breeds failure.

I was choosing success for my students.

One former student said

having to update the journal consistently
reinforced the idea

that it’s up to them to progress
through school successfully.

Another, who is currently in law school,

told me she still uses the format of the
journal for her notes and case briefs,

despite having hated it
as an eight grader.

The next problem I needed to solve

was how to keep homework
from causing my students to fail.

As a teacher, we know that purposeful
homework

is a way for students to review and
practice concepts.

But I realized early on, that a majority
of my students didn’t do their homework,

causing serious damage to their grades.

I began to notice that some of the
students that weren’t doing their homework

knew the material.

Having students fail an assignment but
understand the material

didn’t seem reasonable.

But at the same time, teaching
accountability was important.

I had a dilemma.

I needed the students to practice, hence
the homework,

but I didn’t want students to fail because
they didn’t do their homework.

Our students may be tending to younger
siblings, working a part-time job,

have no parental support.

We don’t know what our students are
going home to.

I wanted my students to be successful.

Instead of collecting the homework for
a grade,

how about a pop quiz based on the homework
assignment, but with a caveat.

Those students that had done their
homework

could use the homework on the pop quiz.

For the students who were able to
comprehend the information

without having done the homework,

they proved it on the pop quiz.

Since the reason for assigning the
homework was to help them with the content

this was a win win, for the students,
and myself.

The students recognized that I was placing
importance on the outcome:

learning the material.

My goal was for the students to master the
content,

not just pass an individual assessment.

One former student said that being in my
class was the first time

she had to truly take ownership of her
own learning,

since no one was going to rescue her if
she failed.

The third problem solved by a specific
practice in my classroom,

was students not knowing what to focus
on when preparing for an exam.

To address this, I would give the students
a 3x5 index card

at the beginning of each grading cycle.

These were for their “gems of wisdom.”

And they were to write anything they
wanted on the front side of the card,

glue it to the front of the journal,

and then use the gems during their
assessments.

Since the card was so small, the students
had to think critically

about what pieces of information
or “gems” they wrote on the card.

A former student told me that the “gems”
helped consolidate information

and really focus on the important
concepts,

and this stood out to her as a tool
of success these many years later.

Another student told me,

“You were the first person to teach me how
to focus on the process,

or the “gems,” and that the
results would follow.

Teacher to teacher, I want you to
reflect on how you impact your students.

1. How do you help your students with
   organization of their resources?

2. How do you help your students reach
   academic standards in their content?

And then 3. How do you help students know
what’s important to focus on

when preparing for exams?

These were three major issues
I faced as a teacher.

Implementing the journal, adopting
student-centric grading practices,

and prompting my students to create
their own “gems of wisdom,”

impacted my students as lifelong learners.

From the moment they walked into
my classroom,

my students knew the content was rigorous

and that I expected a lot from them,

but they so knew, that they could expect a
lot from me.

I made sure they understood not to make
excuses, to work through their mistakes,

and to take responsibility for
their actions.

They knew that my classroom was a safe
space to learn in,

and that I would do everything in my power
to make them successful.

One former student told me,

“I was surprised at how much getting
organized in your class

helped me in other classes as well.”

We are pushing our students toward success
when we teach them organizational skills,

we hold them accountable, and guide them
to take ownership of their learning.