Revisiting and Rethinking Our Priorities

The landscape of education is in a constant state of transformation. As the world continuously evolves, it is a professional, moral, and ethical obligation for educators to revisit and rethink approaches to teaching and learning. We are living in a global society where the needs of learners are constantly changing. Since learning is an ongoing process, instructional practices must be refined and questioned over the course of time.

When we collaboratively develop a clear vision and focus on our purpose, the journey leads to flexible paths of promise that embrace innovative and creative approaches to instruction. According to Simon Sinek, author of the New York Times best seller Start With Why, “When we are given a clear destination, we use our own creativity and our own sense of innovation and our own problem-solving abilities to overcome obstacles to get to the destination.” After everything we’ve been through since the pandemic began, now might be a good time to look at what really matters in an effort to gain clarity.

3 Priorities to Rethink for Next Year

1. Connection before content. We know that connecting with our learners is a priority. Yet, as we reflect on the pandemic, many would agree that establishing relationships and building community has been a major challenge. These are extreme circumstances, and the constraints have been overwhelming. So how do we move forward? Below are some considerations and strategies:

2. Acceleration, not remediation. Less is more. And when we say “less,” we don’t mean less rigor. The reality is that this major disruption is our opportunity to rethink structures and redefine roles. We can prioritize standards, stay focused on critical content, and cultivate expert learners. Consider ways to rethink empowering students to learn, unlearn, and relearn:

3. Rethinking success criteria. We can no longer preserve all of the traditional assessment systems from the past. We have an opportunity to create equitable success criteria that values every learner who walks through the door. It’s time to rethink the one-size-fits-all approaches to curricula and assessment by viewing learners holistically. How can we find innovative ways to make the curriculum accessible to all students? These reflections can propel learners to take ownership of their progress while maximizing their intellectual, social, and emotional growth. Here are some ideas to consider when rethinking success criteria:

Now is the time to work with all stakeholders to cocreate a new vision for teaching and learning. Knowing our destination, we can move forward to revisit and rethink our priorities to craft our path.