The Right Kind of Challenge | Hooray for Monday

February 7, 2022

By Aleta Margolis, Founder and President, Center for Inspired Teaching

Hooray for Monday is a weekly blog filled with questions, ideas, reflections, and actions we can all take to remodel the school experience for students.

What makes learning feel great? When was the last time you learned something new – and loved the experience of learning it? Maybe it was a recipe that challenged you to create a dish you’d never prepared before; maybe it was a new melody to a hymn or blessing that seemed complicated at first, but then started to flow from your brain to your lips; maybe it was a new app that you didn’t think you’d be able to master – until you did.

A century ago the Soviet psychologist Lev Vygotsky coined the term zone of proximal development to refer to the place just outside of our comfort zones, where we’re functioning just beyond our current capabilities. This is the space we inhabit while we are challenging ourselves to learn something new, do something we haven’t done before, or understand a concept more deeply than we have in the past.

Developmentally Appropriate is the “D” in Inspired Teaching’s ABCDE of Learner Needs. For children and teens, developmentally appropriate learning means having the opportunity to engage in learning tasks that are interesting, relevant, and challenging, but that meet them where they are, developmentally.

For example, as my dear friend and colleague Pax always points out, it just doesn’t work to ask 3-year-olds to share. They have to experience ownership (“It’s MINE!”) before they are ready to actually share. When we ask 3-year-olds to share, they simply feel like we’re taking something away from them, which affects their sense of autonomy.

As adults, our developmental stages are far more spread out than they were when we were children. (The developmental differences between, say, a 5-year-old and a 15-year-old are far greater than the differences between a 45-year-old and a 55-year old!) However developmental appropriateness is still highly relevant for us. In order to continue to grow and learn, we adults need to spend time in our zones of proximal development. This means stepping out of our comfort zones on purpose, knowing it will increase not only our knowledge but also our wellbeing.

The challenge is to step far enough outside of comfort and routine that we can learn, but not so far that we slip into the alarm zone. The alarm zone is the place that is so far outside our comfort zones, and so full of fear, that we begin to shut down. Learning can’t happen in the alarm zone, for us or for our students. There’s no need to list the events that have propelled us into the alarm zone during these past few years – we all know what it feels like to try and pull ourselves and our students out of that space. But we do ourselves a disservice if we don’t seek opportunities to spend time in that vital place between alarm and comfort.

As my mentor, Oran Sandel used to say, “The imagination is a muscle!” Imagination is a key part of our learning apparatus. And, like all muscles, it can be damaged if it’s overstretched. But if it’s not stretched at all, it will atrophy.

Developmental Appropriateness: “I am nurtured in my continual growth.”

Developmental appropriateness for a teacher is about access to the supports we require throughout our careers to keep growing in our work, and the appropriate level of challenge that keeps us in the zone of proximal development.

Where is this need in your life right now according to this spectrum?

How is the need for developmental appropriateness being met in your life right now?

What changes might be necessary in order for your need for developmental appropriateness to be better met?

You can download an interactive version of these questions on our ABCDE website.

This week, as you think through the lessons you have planned for your students, consider how you can invite them outside of their comfort zones, and into their zones of proximal development. And consider ways you can step safely into the unknown and meet your own need for challenging, developmentally appropriate learning too.

Wishing you a week of joyful learning.

Micaiah Anderson

Community Outreach Specialist

As a Community Outreach Specialist, Micaiah is responsible for program promotion and outreach support for Inspired Teaching events and workshops. Micaiah has a passion for collaborating with community members to build-power and connect. She is an educator with a heart for youth and has experience supporting students fight injustices within their schools and communities. She has a BA in Political Science from, the real HU, Hampton University & anticipates graduating in May 2024 with a Masters of Arts degree in Educational Policy Transformation from Georgetown University.

AUTONOMY

"I want to have a say in what happens to me."

Autonomy is the need for independence; the ability to make choices, to create, to explore, and to express oneself freely; to have sufficient space, to move around, and to feel unrestricted with opportunities to exercise free will.

Brady Maiden

Outreach Coordinator

As the Outreach Coordinator, Brady helps maintain Inspired Teaching’s social media presence and supports the organization’s mission to connect with DC community leaders, educators, and parents. Brady has her Master’s in Public Policy from George Mason University and her BS in Political Science from Northern Arizona University. She is passionate about community, equity, and coalition building recognizing that learning and growing with the community at large is how we continue to be impactful.

What brings you joy in life?

I find joy in spending time with my friends and family and meeting new people. I like going to concerts and festivals, and finding new books to read.

The Learner’s Cycle, Wonder-Experiment-Learn, and the Teacher’s Cycle, Observe-Plan-Instigate, comprise Inspired Teaching’s approach to engaging students in inquiry-based learning.

When they are engaged in the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, students are immersed in learning. They take the lead in designing authentic learning experiences around their own interests and their school’s standards of learning. Each discovery leads to a new question which in turn leads to more wondering and more learning. In the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, Learn is not a destination or an endpoint; it is a deeper understanding, leading to a deeper wondering and new possibilities that create new entry points to further exploration. The cycle continues because what students have learned generates more wonderings that require more experiments that foster more learning – and on and on.

The Observe-Plan-Instigate Cycle is the work of an Inspired Teacher. While a student is expected to follow the Wonder-Experiment-Learn Cycle, the teacher joins them on the learning journey while following their own cycle of Observe-Plan-Instigate. This cycle ultimately serves to ensure an inquiry-based atmosphere is at play in the classroom.

Jaqueta Abbey

Teaching and Learning Specialist

Jaqueta is the Teaching and Learning Specialist for Inspired Teaching. In addition to her current role with Inspired Teaching, Jaqueta is a first-grade teaching assistant. Her background features a variety of traditional and non-traditional experiences in the field of education, including working as an adjunct professor, teaching summer reading programs to children and adults, and tutoring children in the foster care system. Jaqueta earned a B.A. in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and an M.A. in Interactive Media from Elon University.

What brings you joy in life?

Creative self-expression! In addition to my passion for storytelling, I love dancing of all kinds. I've studied belly dance, bachata, and Brazilian Zouk among other styles. I also enjoy glass fusing, crocheting, photography, and cross stitching. These art forms allow me to express myself and build connections with other people at the same time. I think life would be a lot less vibrant without artists and storytellers!

Michelle Welk

Communication & Marketing Specialist

As Communications and Marketing Specialist, Michelle is responsible for finding and creating new ways to highlight Inspired Teaching and promote its programs in order to expand and deepen the organization's impact. Michelle has worked in communications in an array of settings, from creative agencies to state politics to national nonprofits. She has a BA in Journalism from Temple University in Philadelphia and is passionate about education, access, and equity.

What brings you joy in life?

My son, the beach, making a persuasive argument and good food!

Max Peterson

Real World History Assistant Teacher

Max received his Bachelor’s degree in History and African American Studies from Boston University in May 2016. He has worked in museum curation at the Museum of the White Mountains in New Hampshire and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Max has worked with young people of varying ages from young children to young adults transitioning to college.

Feedback and Accountability

We grow through feedback and an understanding that the quality of our work is a reflection of what we are learning, but the shift to remote learning this spring disrupted a lot of the tools teachers were used to using to evaluate student growth. How might we do things differently this fall? Participants in this workshop will explore ways to bring meaningful assessment into the virtual and/or socially-distanced classroom and approaches to student feedback that strengthen motivation, and build relationships and achievement.