Head of School's Blogs

Wildflowers

by Bill Gerritz 2 September, 2009

Last spring ISB revised its definition of learning. You can read it at the end of this blog. Even though learning is the core business of schools, very few schools bother to define it. But at ISB, we  think that since learning  is so  important, we ought to be clear about it. I decided to try out the definition and see if it worked. This summer I spent many hours hiking the trails of Rocky Mountain National Park. Since our definition asks students to develop understanding, to progress from novice to expert, I wanted to pick an area in which I was a complete ignoramus. I selected wildflowers. 

So I applied the learning approaches that are concomitant with our definition.  My learning goal was to be able to identify quickly at least 25 varieties of wildflower and understand their patterns of life.  I also wanted to know if and how native Americans had used them for food and medicine

I found a book that provided pictures and information about the 200 wildflowers in the park. It also provided a schema for identifying flowers. It was actually the schema I learned rather than the flowers.  They came easily after the schema was in place.  By the way, the  schema has you looking at the whole plant, not just flowers.  I now have a whole new vocabulary - basal, carpal, sepals, whorls and so on.

I transferred learning from another area where I am a bit of an expert, bird watching.  It turns out that flowers are easier than birds to identify since they stay put, rather than flying out of sight! Identifying a bird is much easier when you know the main classifications. So I learned the main categories of wildflowers and sure enough my success rate picked up.  

 Whenever  I was on the trail and having trouble with a flower, I would ask others on the trail if they could identify it. This turned out to be the most powerful learning strategy since these people usually lived in the area and were experts.  I could hear how they thought and try to copy their thinking.

My poor wife - as with all good learning, the more you know, the faster you learn and the more enthusiastic you become. Understanding really is an ever expanding circle of wonder.  By the time I had my first 20 flowers, Marcia had to listen to me explain why for example - this is a shooting star and not a chiming bell.  Then she had to listen while I explained why.  After awhile, she became a partner in identifying the flowers and my learning rate accelerated again, just as it would have if we were studying history at ISB.

Marcia and I went on a short trip to New Mexico. I could not wait to apply my new learning the flowers in the Kit Carson National Forest.  I picked up a little book on the wildflowers of New Mexico and was quickly identifying old friends and new flowers that do not live farther north.

Along this learning path, I stopped from time to time to reflect on my learning. What was working? What was not working? Besides talking with experts, this was the second most powerful strategy.  For example my first reflection revealed that looking at the flower was inefficient. To identify wild flowers  you look at the leaves. They tell almost the whole story. Another reflection involved the frustration of not being able to find a flower in the book.  A little research showed that only about 50% of all Rocky Mountain National Park wildflowers were even in the book.

Summer is over but I can hardly wait for next summer to learn more flowers.   That is the life long learner part. Once you get hooked on understanding an area and move along the novice-to-expert track, you are forever curious and motivated to learn more.

Oh by the way, at summer's end I could fluently identify 49 flowers and could bore anyone with how the Indians used them.  My conclusion is that our definition of learning works and works far better than traditional learning - memorizing isolated facts and skills and being a passive learner.

ISB Definition of Learning

Learning is the primary focus of our school and we recognize learning as a life-long adventure. We value meaningful learning where students construct enduring understanding by developing and applying knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Increased understanding is evidenced by students who:

••         Explain its relevance

••         Describe how it connects to or conflicts with prior learning

••         Communicate it effectively to others

••         Generalize and apply it effectively to new situations

••         Reflect critically on their own and other's learning

••         Ask questions to extend learning

••         Create meaningful solutions

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