The Backbone of My Classroom

Have you ever asked yourself, "How do I get my students more engaged in the learning process? How do I get them excited to challenge themselves?" If this has ever been you, then I have the answer you have been looking for! It's called.....*drum roll, please*....The Learning Pit. In my classroom, I utilize James Nottingham's ideas on the The Learning Pit. This is the idea that students have to fall into a "pit" or get confused before they can begin to construct new knowledge and work their way out of the pit.

As a young teacher, I remember scrolling through instagram and seeing these amazing activites that studetns were so engaged in. I would ask myself, "how do these teachers do it?" I was still in the phase of my career where I was just trying to survive. My goal was to check the boxes, get through all the standards, and get kids to meet benchmark assessments. I was laser focused on the surface level of learning. I was beginning to become drained of life at work. Each day was the same, I was disinterested and most importantly, my kids were disengaged. They may have been learning surface level knowledge, but I would be lying if I said true deep learning was occuring. Then, I went to a conference where James Nottingham was speaking. He drew me in and had me rethinking everything I was doing my classroom. That summer, I reenvisioned my whole belief system and discovered new paradigm for my beleifs about learning and it was all centered around this foreign concept called The Learning Pit.

This is something I now teach my first graders about in the very first week of school. I teach them that if they understand quickly and easily, then they need to want and ask for "more of a challenge" so they can grow their neurons and continue the learning process. In order to create this belief in my young learners, I first have to get all of them to buy into the idea, then teach them to have a growth mindset because it can be a frustrating process if you don't have a growth mindset! I also have to teach them that they are never in the learning pit alone, they need help from myself and others in the form of feedback in order to begin working their way out of the pit.

While they are constructing this new knowledge there will be lots of "cognitive wobble". A term Nottingaham uses to describe students gathering lots of information and making meaning of it. There will be confusion along the way, but this is how we get to the new and accurate knowledge. In order for this whole idea of the learning pit to be successful, the main thing is students have to feel SAFE in our classroom. They have to feel supported and not afraid to be vulnerable with myself and their peers. This culture has to be created from day one of the new school year and continue to be built upon each and every day. We have to build relationships with each other, be there for each other in our time of need, and encourage each other that mistakes are good and mean we are learning!

The Learning Pit provides a visual representation of the learning process and allows students to phycially identify where they are with their learning. When students can have this clarity of their own understanding on a skill, it allows them to take ownership of their own learning. This then snowballs into higher engagement and kids seeking out challenges rather than hiding from them. The Learning Pit is a magical tool that has a place in every classroom. Give it a try and watch it work it's magic!

Nottingham, J. (2020, August 06). Free Graphics. Retrieved January 23, 2021, from https://www.challenginglearning.com/learning-pit/free-graphics/