SWC #10: What our Walls Think

In follow up to Day #9, I have been thinking about what I want my walls to look like.  Naturally, they are going to be reflective of our learners needs and desires.  This is number one.  But how do I make this happen? 

When I was a full-time trainer, I came up with the idea of an inquiry tool wall.  I wanted a place where I could place all of the mind maps and thinking routines that we explored together.  WIth time and practice, I wanted my learners to self-select the various tools they would use to answer complex problems on their own, leading to personal inquiries.

When discussing this idea with my third-graders, they were eager to get started with this process.  They shared that the tools helped them to solve problems easier, but they were still quite challenging at times.  What I heard...we are in productive struggle when we use these tools.  Win-win. 

My first wall was the mind maps.  These were easier to use, because my learners were already familiar with them.  The next step, we discussed their purpose, which is to organize ideas, so we can make meaning.  This was a huge concept that many of my learners had not considered before.  It's been wonderful to see them use the mind maps with the purpose of organizing for meaning.  

We are still growing in our practice of mind maps.  By the end of the year, I hope to have six to eight different mind maps in use that are regularly used to think, chat, and create. 

The next area that we have been working on is thinking routines.  This has taken a bit longer, because they've never used them before.  By the end of the year, I plan to introduce six to eight different routines.  We have been using See Think Wonder and See Wonder Think.  It's been quite magical to see my learners get so connected with these tools.

With time, I want my learners to mix and match between the mind maps and thinking routines, so that it's a fluid process.  In my opinion, this is what it means to support agentic thinking.  

Watch this space for the evolution of my walls.