I really appreciate the distinction you make between complicated and complex systems. Teachers rely on in the moment judgements, based on knowledge and experiences and applied automatically within the unique ecosystem (LOVE that you call it this-- we use the same term) of their classroom (and each group of students creates a totally different ecosystem, even with the same teacher). This is not something that can be easily summarized or explained. This is something that we study, that write about, and that we coach. Not easy to be thrust in a classroom without prep (or even with prep) and then left to your own devices. Teacher knowledge is developed over time and so often invisible. But when we get teachers talking and writing about teaching, we can make that thinking visible, we can name it, and then we can teach it to others.
I really appreciate the distinction you make between complicated and complex systems. Teachers rely on in the moment judgements, based on knowledge and experiences and applied automatically within the unique ecosystem (LOVE that you call it this-- we use the same term) of their classroom (and each group of students creates a totally different ecosystem, even with the same teacher). This is not something that can be easily summarized or explained. This is something that we study, that write about, and that we coach. Not easy to be thrust in a classroom without prep (or even with prep) and then left to your own devices. Teacher knowledge is developed over time and so often invisible. But when we get teachers talking and writing about teaching, we can make that thinking visible, we can name it, and then we can teach it to others.
Thank you for this letter. Informative and interesting as always. ❤️ I feel the same as you do about TAW.