In a recent Twitter chat called #FLEdChat on the topic of Lesson Planning, Curriculum Writing, and Instructional Design, Alaska educator Joe Robison (@joerobison907) tweeted, “My lessons differ each year because the world changes…”
Joe knows and embraces what often goes overlooked. Lessons can be rooted in the standards but still applicable to the ever-elusive real-world. A teacher who understands this concept knows that an idea in isolation will never really embed itself into a student’s understanding. Until that idea has something to grab hold of, a previous experience or something out in the real world, it is lost. Learning needs to be relevant and anchored to prior knowledge to truly be internalized.
While it seems like such a simple thought, it can be extrapolated out and is a key factor for many different decision-makers and stakeholders. A director in an organization can’t make the same decision on the same issues each time because the world that the decision is impacting has changed. There are always new factors to consider and an effective leader will know that each decision needs to be made independent of past decisions. While the past decisions are one factor to be considered, all of the other data points that guided that decision must be reconsidered because the world is dynamic.
A program or project conceived and implemented in one economic climate needs to be re-evaluated as time goes on and situations change for both the organization and the world around it. Laws change, the economy changes, the climate changes (or DOES it?), and organizations need to adapt.
The work changes because the world changes… thanks, Joe.