Students and teachers in modern schools are exposed to new technologies, lessons, assessments and expectations all the time. A modern educator is tasked with learning a new technology, days of professional development before implementation in the classroom. Oftentimes, the teacher’s ability to play with the technologies can often be rushed. The question becomes when new technologies are rolled out, what is the state of your teaching staff in adapting to this new technology?

As a previous middle school science teacher, I often challenged my students to think beyond the limitations of what knowledgeable facts we knew so far. Until a fact is disproven, adjusted, or clarified we can only hope that our curiosities drive for deeper learning in the sciences. One of these questions began by a student asking was there any other states other than Solid, liquid or gas? The discussion led to talking about plasma and Bose-Einstein Condensates, but then we made connections to other things in the world around us. Using the metaphor of the states of matter, I realized in a staff meeting that there were a variety of levels of comfortability in teachers present. This observation led to interviews of teachers’ flexibility with new programs, technologies or ideas in a school to improve tech integration training. This later led to ponder the connections to the three states of solid, liquid and gas but more importantly understand what would be the metaphorical potential energy of a learner?

What makes a solid teacher?

Now to begin, there is not a perfect state of teaching, students need a variety of teachers to have a better understanding of how the world works. All students have had exposure to solid teachers, traditionally these were the fixed curriculum, strict expectations and rigid subjects like Math, Physical Education and Languages. With subjects that require rules of right and wrong, good or bad, winners and losers, or more importantly a students ability to truly understand limitations and how they can be overcome with effort, work and perseverance. We learn these skills from Solid Teachers, and their ability to see the learners place and guide them to improvement. These are often the task masters who require the most practice to refine the crafts and knowledge needed to be successful in these subjects.

What makes a liquid teacher?

A liquid teacher is one of the easiest to describe, these teachers are constantly shifting in subjects, units, lessons, ideas, learning spaces, differentiation and adapting to the gravity of the classroom. These teachers tend to be more sensitive to the ebbs and flows of classroom morale, being able to push the students beyond their comfort area but knowing when they are mentally worn out from deep learning before a break. These subjects can include most of the performing arts like Visual Arts, Drama and Music. As creative teachers who strive on layers of ideas, skills, stories, and perceptions. The facilitator is taking the student interpretations of material before guiding the students to inspired variations beyond the original content. This potential energy, the content and final product influenced by the gravity of the students’ passions, classroom environment and diversity in the teacher’s knowledge allows for this shift in developing new ideas.

How can an invisible teacher have impact to learning?

Now with a gas there has to be a level of context, we can not trust our vision alone, as most gases tend to be odorless, transparent yet purposeful to something unseen. When considering the states of teachers, I think of a successful elementary teacher, who could bounce between a solid and liquid state, being rigid yet adjustable quickly based on student needs. After some time of what could be described as just ‘good teaching’ a classroom becomes its own independent learning community, where the students are solid and liquids churning through content almost with limited guidance.

Hovering above able to adjust in an instant is what facilitating educators should strive for as a 21st century educator. These educators put a smile on your face when observed, gracefully flowing through lessons, classes and any difficult situation with applied wisdom. In the classroom I have seen English teachers spark creative writing with their students, in science classes creating curious researchers who devour content relating to the real world and in social studies gaining deeper insights into who they are in relation to where they are. These teachers however often do not stay in the same place, once their students are inspired and independent learners, they move on. The winds of student needs will change, and that teacher wants to be making the biggest influence while being unseen.

Educators in any state adjust to these technology professional development sessions differently, with the liquid teachers giving it a chance to find a home in the classroom while the solid teachers have a rigid curriculum already. With educational leadership, knowing the needs of all stakeholders drives the big questions of “what do we really need and what is a want?”.

The purpose of this article is to question one’s own learning style, as an educator we can not be expected to know everything, however we need to understand our adaptability limitations. Even as a solid teacher, we must learn to melt a little, let in those new ideas or technologies but not at the loss of student learning. As a liquid teacher, of many subjects, person of many hats, does not add the level of deep learning that could be achieved by a specialist in the subject. Students are in need of a combination of states in teachers, the question remains what is the best combination in your learning environment? Some of the best teachers will come in as one state and leave after their positive influence has been made. As many elements, the truth is the same for the learning environment, the temperature of the school effects the state of the teacher, and everyone wants students with the highest potential for learning.