Connecting The Dots

https://youtu.be/_7o3Jh1KZLw

Have you ever seen the show Nailed It on Netflix? The premise is that a bunch of people are gathered and they are given a task to recreate a baking masterpiece. This masterpiece is meticulous crafted by an expert baker, obviously done in a lengthy amount of time. The participants are given identical tools, work stations, and ingredients and then they have to recreate this masterpiece in a much shorter duration of time. Then the creations are judged on taste and looks. Now, these participants have ideal set ups, they are in the perfect baking kitchen environment. They have the same tools, the same ingredients, the same recipes. Yet the outcomes are vastly different. Some are *cringe*, some are comical, and some "Nailed-it!" and did pretty well! What's the difference? According to science, they should all turn out the same. But baking is also an art. And art does not turn out all the same-every person adds their own flair.

This leads me to "The New Art and Science of Teaching" (Marzano, 2017). As learners, there are certain skills that are are taught, developed, and then used in understanding and applying to concepts. There are certain "dots" to collect and landmarks to visit. That is the science of teaching. On the other side, it's how those dots are used or "connected" and applied, and the route taken along the way that gets our learners where they need to be. That is the art of teaching.

That is why even in the best of best-case classroom scenarios with equitable and accessible backwards design, clear goals, formative assessment with timely feedback, etc. curriculum with a passionate teacher with the same students at the same time (the science), you will get a wide variety of results (the art). The art of teaching is connecting the dots between skills and knowledge and how it works together for the unique person on the learning journey and help them find the pathway that makes it toward the end goal (Big Hairy Audacious Goal: LEARNING).

I think as an educator, it's hard to work in the connecting of dots when there are so many dots that need to be collected. It's hard connecting to things that aren't there. Similarly, it's hard as a learner when you have all the dots and you are getting repeated dots and now you have so many dots, you don't know what to do with them.

I think, for me, I love seeing the big picture and working my way back. I love then guiding others toward little success markers, balancing the need between foundational skills and application of those skills, and then celebrating and using and connecting to that success to propel forward. There may be some pauses and readjustments along the way. There may be an ingredient that is out that needs some substitution (reteaching). There may be a stop at the store for a missing item (fill in some missing information). However, always moving forward to turn all those ingredients into a masterpiece.

As long as we can collect and connect the dots in meaningful ways for the learner, we will absolutely "NAIL IT!".

References

Learners Mindset. (2021, January 18). Collecting dots vs connecting dots [Video]. YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7o3Jh1KZLw

Marzano, R. J. (2017). The new art and science of teaching: More than fifty new instructional strategies for student success. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD).

Nailed It. (2018, March 9). Netflix. https://www.netflix.com/title/80179138