Classrooms Do Not Need Bread and Circuses (197)

Lessons have purpose. Good lessons have purpose and meaning. Great lessons have purposeful, meaningful, engaging aspects- inquiry, discovery, and hands-on components. In a classroom these are much easier to design. For the watchful eye and non-idle hands, a sculptor makes. What will we do when a hybrid or full virtual classroom emerges? 

We cannot rely on the uneventful. The tedious. The worksheet or article and organizer. We have to get creative. We have to find new ways for students to investigate and report on their learning. They need to not be bread and circuses- mere distractions. They need to be maps, X marks the spot, treasure chests and yes- treasure. Students need a shovel and a pickax. 

You ever notice in treasure seeking movies, everything is cryptic? There are puzzles and syphers. Hidden messages and cryptology. Code breaking and plenty of spy like gadgets. Learning online- needs to be that. Not a loaf and a giant tent with animals. Students need the unknown, the solution seeking, quandary driven lessons that will inspire them to engage.

A bread and circus lesson goes like: Here is a WebQuest, a card sort, a quick video, an article. Watch, read, sort, explore. Then tell me what you learned. Now there are cool videos and articles but just giving them the X, no puzzles, no cryptic problems to analyze- that is a fleeting moment, based on look and think.

A treasure hunt lesson goes like: See this odd picture it has something to do with our topic – what is it? If you were to make an analogy between this and that- how does this apply to something in your life. Something that matters to you. You are a spy, what tools would you use to solve this type of problem? Record a message (podcast) to your superiors giving them the lowdown on your case.

It is much more interesting to think like a spy, solve a ‘crime’ than have all the evidence provided to you- no mystery. The best crime novels lead you slowly through the case, give you red herrings along the way. This is how students learn best. Give them a loaf and popcorn, having them watch a trapeze show might be interesting for a bit.

But, give them puzzles, codes to solve and cryptic information- this will keep their attention. This is when learning- is secondary to thinking- for them, analyzing new information and problem-solving, takes the drivers seat. I know, as a learner, I do not want distractions, time fillers and card sorts- I want syphers, clues that lead to more clues. A process, an investigation- rather than an explanation. Don’t you?

More mysteries to come. Students deserve a good mystery. They deserve to own their process and solve their curiosity. As we re-enter the learning arena, students need our attention to detail. They need our creativity so they can use theirs. Let's do this. Let's redesign, rethink, recreate the learning process. Our students will thank us.