Ownership of Learning

A message from Head of School Ann V. Klotz and Director of Teaching and Learning Megan Weiskopf

To provide a superb education for girls has been Laurel’s goal since 1896. As we move into our 126th year, our understanding of teaching and learning continues to evolve. We know now, for example, that attending to social and emotional wellbeing improves academic achievement. To thrive in school, girls must feel seen and heard and valued. We seek to empower girls and young women, reminding them that they are not passive recipients of knowledge, but participants in and designers of their own education. Agency, voice and choice matter.

Too often, girls subscribe to the myth of effortless perfection; brilliant grades must be achieved without breaking a sweat. At Laurel, we seek to interrupt this dangerous misconception by making learning visible, by commending the struggle to master a challenging concept, by offering opportunities to try out ideas, and to show deep learning. Emphasizing understanding over points; honoring process as much as product; holding high standards while simultaneously showing students a variety of paths they can take to scale those heights are all tools our teachers use to help our girls understand that education is not something that happens to them, but something that happens for them, with them, even led by them.

In conjunction with Laurel’s Center for Research on Girls (LCRG), over the last two years, the Coronavirus notwithstanding, the academic faculty and divisional leadership have been hard at work on ways to encourage ownership of learning in students, Kindergarten through Grade Twelve. Ownership of learning means that a girl is in charge of her choices as a student. This past year more than ever, girls at all grade levels were keeping track of their supplies, remembering to wash hands and stay distanced, and generally taking more responsibility for themselves and their spaces. These were not just critical health and safety protocols in an unusual time; they were the kind of habits that encourage attention to detail, sense of purpose and agency, ability to take responsibility—all transferable skills that are foundational for learning. They were a pandemic-specific part of “readiness to learn,” a category on the LCRG-designed “Ownership of Learning” documents used by a student, together with her teachers and/or advisor, to guide and chart her growth. The strategies outlined in these documents create a kind of checklist for executive function, which is itself a critical foundation for learning.

Students work with advisors and teachers to set goals and identify areas of strength and areas on which they need to focus. At student-led conferences, girls share progress against those goals. While there are, of course, developmental differences between the targets a Fourth Grader and a Junior have, girls know what they need to do to be successful. While teachers and parents serve as guides and resources, we want girls to develop habits of mind that will inspire them to think deeply, to take responsibility for their work, to understand that the degree to which they apply themselves will have an effect on outcomes.

This is an exciting new shift in the focus of education, and it requires that adults learn along with the girls to see teacher/student/classroom dynamics in new ways. Adults are accustomed to thinking of teachers as people of authority, and that is, of course, one of a teacher’s roles. However, at Laurel, we know learning happens best when the students do not simply depend on the authority of their teachers. When girls look exclusively to their teachers to tell them what to do or what to think or what to see, they are following directions—but they aren’t becoming designers of their own understanding.

Of course the word “authority” is rooted in the word “author” and is a word derived from a Latin verb meaning “to increase” or “to grow.” This means the word “author” literally can be translated as “one who causes to grow.” So our teachers are also, in this way, authors, those who cause knowledge to grow in their students and their students to grow in knowledge. But, even more importantly than that, at Laurel, we aren’t satisfied simply honoring our teachers both as authorities and authors—we ultimately want the girls to be the authors of their own academic stories, to have the confidence—and the knowledge—to question, to care, to learn, to thrive.

Ownership of learning goes far beyond a document or checklist. It is a power, one that comes from a sense of agency, one that even younger learners are ready to take on. That doesn’t mean, of course, that they are “all the way there,” yet! The framework is built along a continuum. Kindergarten through Fifth Grade learners have their own version; there is another iteration for Middle School students and a further-adapted version in Upper School. By building these foundations from the beginning of a student’s time at Laurel, even in those areas where she is just getting started, each girl is constructing habits of mind and trust in her capabilities that will support her from learning to read her first book through learning to read with fluency in another language; from learning how to write numbers through learning how to solve complex multivariable equations. The work will change and grow over time, but the anchoring mindset remains the same. Routines and habits that may not look like academic learning are a crucial part of intellectual growth. This goal—for a girl to own her learning—involves a balance. It isn’t about girls teaching themselves. We want girls to grapple with hard learning problems to solve at every grade level. And we want them to trust that they can do hard things by themselves, without being overly dependent on a teacher or a parent or a peer for help. A little frustration won’t hurt our girls—in fact, we know that learning to manage a little frustration is quite good for them— but we don’t want the struggle to feel pointless, the payoff to be minimal or nonexistent. Teachers make space for student voice and choice, but they are still teaching, still designing lessons and offering (metaphorical and literal) tools and providing the necessary instruction so girls know how to use them.

If a girl decides not to do her homework, her grasp of particular content will be weaker, which may mean she earns a lower grade. Actions have consequences. It is neither her teacher’s job nor her parents’ or guardians’ jobs to stand over her to be certain she is doing what she needs to do. No one can take a driver’s test for anyone else; we want our students to be in the metaphorical driver’s seats of their learning—to think critically and to question, not simply to regurgitate facts. In an era of information overload, we believe it has never been more important for girls to learn to assess a source’s validity, to discern bias and point of view. We want, too, for girls to have a broad understanding of the world, to wonder, to form and test hypotheses, and to be rigorous in all their intellectual endeavors. We hope they will contribute meaningfully and articulately to class discussions and also learn how to listen respectfully, conscious of how often they are speaking and whose voices are not being heard. Exceptional students don’t speak to hear themselves talk; they seek to synthesize ideas, to build on what a peer has offered, to pose questions that will take the discussion to a deeper level. We ask girls to consider multiple points of view, to develop empathy, to be curious.

By centering a student’s responsibility for her learning and by giving her the tools to drive her learning forward, then, the teachers and advisors and administrators form a strong support network for each student. In this way, the give and take and play and work of education is something we are all engaged in, girls and adults, navigating the peaks and valleys together, and ultimately celebrating the story of each girl’s journey, complete with obstacles overcome and challenges met, a story that each student has learned to write for herself. When she takes ownership of her learning, her mentors and coaches and teachers and parents and guides enhance that journey—and she lives it. This is our goal for every Laurel student; this is one way we strive to inspire each girl to fulfill her promise and to better the world.

Ann V. Klotz, Head of School

Megan Weiskopf, Director of Teaching and Learning