"This is not a program…you have to change your philosophy!"

The title of this post is a quote that was told to me by a teacher at the Mid Atlantic MCL Consortium summit meeting yesterday.  The Summit on Friday was a huge success.  Jim Parry facilitated a great conversation around the MCL Field Book in the morning while in the afternoon summit attendees participated in an EduCamp.  I noticed a lot of cross pollination of ideas as educators from different school districts shared their successes and setbacks in their MCL journey with each other.

“This is not a program…you have to change your philosophy” perfectly encapsulates the difficulty some educators may experience with Mass Customized Learning.  At the onset of the Summit yesterday we talked about the two facts: first, that MCL is not a program but a journey. A journey toward restructuring the educational system.  Secondly,  MCL is radically learner centered.  The ramifications of of these two facts require deep reflection.  For example, if the learner is at the center of all we do in education, then how does that impact what we take for granted in education?  An example that I use frequently is that of building a master schedule for high school or elementary school. Suddenly, the purpose changes from a process that is for adult convenience (a master schedule) to one that is truly learner centered.  This is just one way that a radically learner centered approach significantly changes the structures and standard operating procedures of education.

There are three fundamental questions that must be grappled with when reflecting on the education system becoming radically learner centered:

·      What is your belief about learning? 

·      What is your belief about teaching? 

·      What is the purpose of education? 

How a teacher answers these questions (within the context of what it means to be “radically learner centered”) significantly impacts their foundational philosophy about education and their career.  Are they simply a vessel for technically correct instruction delivered appropriately?  Or, are teachers an integral part of designing learning experiences that stretch the intellectual development of their students?  The question becomes, are teachers technocrats or professionals with deep knowledge of their students motivations and learning goals?

Teachers have become technocrats.  There is a belief that if teachers are given the correct “tools” to use at the proper time within an appropriate context then they have succeeded in helping students learn.  Schools of education, professional development directed at teachers, and teacher evaluation systems encourage the technocratic vision of a teacher’s job.  This vision of teacher responsibility prevents teachers from reflecting on deeper questions of practice and purpose.  After all, a teacher can say, “If I have this set of tools to use in this situation (and I employ these tools) then the responsibility now rests on the students to learn”.  A technocratic-centric interpretation of the teaching profession is not sufficient in our current industrial age model of education and not compatible with Mass Customized Learning.  Being technocratically proficient places the teacher at the center of the education process.  Because the learning experience for the student is predicated on adult convenience and NOT on crafting learning experiences that are meaningful for the learner the system is teacher-centric.  Letting their ego not dictate their student’s learning  is the crux of the change in philosophy that is required by educators.

Adults in the system must let go of their ego.  Learning is not about their knowledge of content or their use of the newest instructional strategy.  Although both aspects are important for learning to occur, they are not the starting point for the learning experience.  The starting point is the learner.  How can a learning facilitator (teacher) craft a learning experience that will help a learner achieve?  Transitioning away from a teacher-centric view of education requires a reset on the teachers philosophy of education and learning.  Grappling with these questions is daunting for educators.  What one discovers about themselves and their profession may be frightening.  However, the simple truth is that for our profession to move forward and change for the benefit of learners, then these uncomfortable moments must exist.