Christopher D. Sessums :: Blog :: Fun with six word learning plans

Oh, the power of the Internet blogosphere….

Recently, I had the opportunity to encorporate the 6 word learning plan idea I found here on Stephen’s website (via Mark Oehlert and Dave Pollard). Last night in a class I am co-teaching on teacher learning and professional development, we were scheduled to discuss (among other things) the notions of change, modernity, and post-modernity in light of school reform articulated in the first three chapters of Andy Hargreaves’ Changing Teachers, Changing Times. Two of the course’s major pillars are change and working with teachers to improve their practice. Given the various issues associated with these pillars, I asked students to put themselves in the role of an educational consultant and gave them the following scenario:

You have been hired by a school to advise them on how to improve their students’ state test scores. How would you frame you’re your approach in six words?

We all listened intently to each other’s work and then began recognizing ideas or concepts we overlooked in our initial compositions. I watched as some students took notes and modified their original work.

I felt this sense of real collaboration, real listening, thoughtfulness and critical reflection.

This exercise provided a wonderful opportunity to begin shaping and refining our philosophical approaches to working with school personnel.

This exercise reminds of a classic haiku from the Japanese poet Basho

        Old pond
        a frog leaping --
        splash!

So much said, so little space.


If you haven’t already, you can read more about the six word plan here.

Let me know what you think or how you might use the idea in your own settings.