Messy Learning

Sometimes, learning is messy. Our natural reaction is to "clean up" messy learning when our plans aren't going...as planned. Get the brain train back on the track! Reel those students back in! Get back into the lesson plan and stay focused on the goal. Here are the steps, and we're going to follow them! But in the classroom, in business, and in life...some of the most valuable lessons occur when we are willing to put down the lesson plans, the note cards, or the schedule....and learn "in the moment."

It's not lost on any educator that we too, are students. We have our own professional and personal goals. We expect a lot from ourselves, even when we know we'll never be "as good" as the veteran teacher, or "as motivated" as that still-wet-behind-the-ears new teacher. We push ourselves to reach the high standards that we set for ourselves as professionals. How can we possibly allow for messy learning? Where does THAT fit into Common Core? How will THAT look on your evaluation?

Messy learning is embracing the notion that sometimes, the best learning can be unscripted, unpredictable, and unpleasant at times. Does this mean we should toss out our lesson plans, our rules, and routines? No! But it does mean that we need to allow ourselves, and our students, the freedom to be divergent thinkers.

What exactly is divergent thinking? I like to think of it as the Swiss army knife of learning. It's a way of looking at a problem and finding multiple answers, then allowing ourselves to apply our answers to determine the best solution. We want to encourage divergent thinking, for ourselves and our students, so that when we are faced with a difficult problem, we aren't fearful because we don't know THE answer. We want to look at that problem and feel powerful, because we know we have the ability to find and test various solutions.

Divergent thinkers are grown through opportunities that look like messy learning. These moments that we often try to avoid and silence, need to be looked at as opportunities. Yes, we still need to have goals, steps, a to-do list, and structure. But learning, no different than life, will often get off track. It's in those moments that we need to roll up our pants, and be willing to get our feet dirty. We're not only showing our students how to be life-learners, we're encouraging them (and ourselves), to be determined, positive, and resilient when faced with challenges.