Invasive Species

Brent took this picture standing
in the Eel River.

Standing in middle of the Eel River in northern California, I felt extremely blessed to be surrounded by the some of the most dramatic scenery our country has to offer.  The river zig-zags alongside.  The Highway of the Giants, a 32-mile stretch of enormous redwoods, picturesque mountains, and the famous Pacific coastline. 

Fly-fishing is my favorite hobby, and I could not be in a better spot.

As time passed, however, I wasn’t catching any fish. I tried various dry-flies and nymphs throughout the morning, but things didn’t get better.  Maybe this wasn’t my day. Maybe I was going to be “skunked.”

While wading back to my entry point, I kept casting, and finally my line went taut!  Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I landed a beautiful but unusual fish—a species that I had never caught before. 

What a great catch--or is it?

Being a proponent of “catch-and-release” fishing, I quickly snapped a picture and let my new friend go back to his environment.  I was absolutely certain that this unusual fish had a very important role to play in the ecosystem and that I was doing the right thing by letting it go.

Shortly after leaving the river and driving down the highway, I found a nature center with wildlife models to help with plant and animal identification.  When I went inside, to my great surprise, I found a figure that looked identical to the fish that I had just caught. The sign under the model labeled it a “Sacramento Pikeminnow.”  The sign went on to describe how this fish is actually an invasive species relocated by humans several decades ago. 

As it turned out, this beautiful fish species is almost single-handedly destroying the Eel River ecosystem. In fact, the DNR pleads with fisherman to keep the Sacramento Pikeminnow and not release it back into the waterway.  My discovery completely changed the way I looked my catch.

Invasive Species in the Classroom

What does my disappointing fishing story have to do with instruction?  Like the “beautiful” fish that did not belong in the Eel River, could there be good-looking lessons, activities, and/or teaching practices that do not belong in our classrooms? 

Highway of the Giants

If we are going to make the HSE²¹ shift, we will need to make changes from some former teaching patterns because of their invasive nature.  These are practices which tend to kill off innovative learning and can actually destroy the classroom environment for our young people.

An Example from Kylene and Bob

 

Monologic questions check understanding.
Dialogic questions create understanding?
Is using too many monologic questions
 an invasive species in our classrooms?

Kylene Beers and Bob Probst ask us hypothetical questions on page 61 of Reading Nonfiction: “Do we really have time to let students create meaning? Wouldn’t it be more efficient to simply tell them what they need to know?” Going on from there, they contend that creating meaning is the essence of learning—even though it’s messy and slow.  Rigor is not found in controlling the input of all knowledge. It’s actually found in the struggle, the energy, and the attention students bring to the task at hand. 

If Kylene and Bob are right—and there is no doubt they are—one invasive classroom practice might be the overreliance on telling, rather than having students create meaning.  A classroom built on telling limits innovation and squelches student voice, choice, and learning.

A Key Question: What are Invasive Species in HSE?

A German proverb says, “To change and to improve are two different things.”  The change process is purposeful and involves removing invasive classroom practices.  The shift to HSE²¹ will require careful discernment and reflection; however, it is critically important to preserve classroom environments that foster engagement and inquiry and result in greater student learning.

When should we catch and release
an instructional strategy, and
when should it not be returned
to the classroom?

Perhaps one invasive species is fostering an overly-controlled school environment.  Maybe, it is using single-perspective text which prevents students from wrestling with deeper issues. Could another invasive species be focusing more on numbers in school data, rather than identifying the reasons for the achievement (or lack thereof)? Another might be that we have become afraid of and avoid courageous professional conversations. 

When we do identify the equivalent of Sacramento Pikeminnows in our classrooms and schools, we need to remove them as soon as possible in order to preserve an environment that fosters engagement, inquiry, and improved student growth.

When it comes to invasive species—in the Eel River or in our classrooms—don’t catch-and-release!

Brent giving a demonstration of
his hobby to students.

Respond to Brent at bfarrell@hse.k12.in.us

We hope your week is a great one!

Your HSE Teaching and Learning Team

• Jan Combs, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning
• Stephanie Loane, Director of Elementary Education
• Tom Bell, Director of Special Education
• Jeff Harrison, Director of Educational Technology
• Phil Lederach, Director of Secondary Education