For those striving to bring clarity, intentionality, and alignment to their learning initiatives, the journey can sometimes feel disjointed. You may find yourself needing clarification on the right strategy, floundering as you try different approaches, and hoping something will stick. This state of uncertainty is what I call the wilderness.
I love the wilderness. It’s wild, unpredictable, and full of the unexpected. When it comes to bringing clarity and alignment to our learning initiatives, the wilderness can feel like the opposite of a curricular approach. But in truth, the wilderness can be a vital phase—both a precursor to and an essential part of evolving a curricular approach.
From the Wilderness to a Curricular Approach
Recognizing that you are in the wilderness—where your efforts to reach, support, and educate feel scattered—can be the first step toward change. In the wilderness, we often respond reactively, offering a wide array of learning opportunities with no clear sequence. We fall into a mindset of “more is better” and equate activity with success, leading to a trap of constant busyness without clear outcomes.
Acknowledging this disorganized phase can be the catalyst that drives us to consider, launch, and evolve a curricular approach—a more intentional, structured, and aligned way of facilitating learning.
Navigating the Wilderness Within a Curricular Approach
Even once you’ve adopted a curricular approach, there will still be moments that feel like the wilderness. These are the areas where clarity may be lacking, uncertainty reigns, and the possibilities feel overwhelming. You might be uncertain how to approach a specific student population, learning outcome, or strategy.
While being in the wilderness means you are not fully operating within a curricular approach, this phase should not be viewed as a failure. Instead, it’s a stepping stone on the journey toward a more cohesive strategy.
Here’s how the progression might unfold:
- Exploration Phase: We don’t know the best approach yet, so we try multiple strategies around this learning outcome (LO). We pay attention to what works and what doesn’t.
- Refinement Phase: After testing a broad array of strategies, we identify 5-6 that seem most effective. At this stage, we focus on these options (like a menu) while continuing to evaluate which works best.
- Curricular Approach Phase: Through ongoing assessment and learning, we’ve discovered the most successful strategies. These now form the basis of our curricular approach.
Awareness is Key
The key to navigating from the wilderness toward a curricular approach is awareness. Being aware helps us recognize when we’re in the wilderness, and it allows us to observe, assess, and learn from our actions. This awareness fuels our ability to develop more effective strategies and ultimately implement a systemic, curricular approach to learning.
