By Dr. Timothy Matlack
Antietam School District
Close your eyes for a moment and recall that star pupil in your elementary classroom. Maybe the first image that comes to mind is some incarnation of Hermione Granger from the “Harry Potter” stories: hand up first, ready and eager to deliver the correct answer on command.
Formal schooling, following the Industrial Revolution, historically has been designed around the acquisition and recall of static information. The teacher holds the knowledge, the textbook contains the facts, and the student’s job is to store that information and retrieve it for a test.
Neuroscience is clear on what happens when we try to teach for coverage or memorization. This approach is similar to pumping water uphill: it requires a disproportionate amount of energy, and once the force stops, the water is right back at the bottom. The simple reality is that what we do make meaning of or use, we lose. As pattern seekers, our brains are not built for memorization of facts and numbers unmoored from larger schema.
Walk into any classroom, and every student holds a device capable of indexing the sum of human knowledge in milliseconds. Artificial intelligence can now solve complex calculus problems, summarize historical texts and write functional computer code in seconds. When knowing the answer is no longer a rare or difficult feat, what is the implication for learning?
The answer lies, conveniently, in a reciprocal process between curiosity and motivation. As humans, we are all driven by three primary psychological desires: autonomy (freedom to choose), mastery (our own continued growth and improvement) and purpose (a compelling why).
When learning consists of knowing what someone else tells you to know and repeating it when they want you to repeat it, there is no autonomy, little purpose, and — at best — only temporary mastery. However, when we ask a question, indulge curiosity and allow learning to flow from there, the result is magical.
Curiosity relies on autonomy. My questions are likely different from my neighbors’ and are informed by our unique backgrounds and schema. When my question drives exploration and research and experimentation — work when directed from outside — becomes pursuit of meaning and mastery that bring me joy. When strategically directed, learning can be shifted from covering esoteric content to uncovering enduring understandings.
Backward-designed curricula that prioritize long-term transfer goals and enduring understandings over content coverage are the best system-level tools educators have at their disposal. It provides a coherent foundation for planning instruction that primes curiosity. Research by experts such as Robert Marzano reveals that a guaranteed and viable curriculum is the number-one school-level factor influencing deep learning.
Locally developed, backward-designed curriculum relies on a strong sense of purpose for learning, which supports motivation. It allows breathing room for learner autonomy that supports multiple means of representation, expression and engagement. Most importantly, having a strong sense of purpose and space for autonomy means that the likelihood of learners experiencing and recognizing growth in their own mastery skyrockets.
Motivation and curiosity are intensely personal experiences, and schools serve unique populations of children, families and communities. A backward-designed curriculum, developed by skilled teachers in local schools, is nimble in responding to the needs of students in ways that a box resource is not.
Yes, designing curriculum is time-consuming and requires intentional learning for those who undertake it. However, when box resources are not specifically designed to pique curiosity and rouse motivation for the unique students we serve, it means that either real learning is sacrificed for the sake of coverage or schools spend a nearly equivalent amount of time and energy adjusting a resource they spent significant amounts of money to purchase.
The true measure of learning is not achievement data derived from state testing. That data has a time and place, but it cannot be the sum total of what learning aims to achieve. Strong, locally developed, backward-designed curriculum opens doors to curiosity and drives motivation for learning. Curriculum that values long-term transferable learning and enduring understandings is the pathway to meaningful learning and an energized college and career-ready citizenry.
Dr. Timothy Matlack is superintendent of the Antietam School District in the eastern suburbs of Reading.