The Elephants Are Still in the Classroom

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Have you ever walked into a classroom where everything just looked right? The learning intention was posted, students were seated, the assignment was on the screen, but you still wondered who is actually doing the thinking. A classroom could look organized while students are confused. An assignment can be completed without being understood. Today we're talking about the elephants in the classroom, and some of these elephants have gotten too comfortable. They know the Wi-Fi password and have a designated parking space. Welcome to the Road to an Effective Classroom Environment. I am your host, Dr. Lashante, known as that Classy Sassy Consultant. And we are revisiting an article from 2016 written by Will Richardson entitled The Nine Elephants in the Classroom That Should Unsettle Us. And he challenged educators to examine the distance between what we believe about learning and what happens in schools. The article challenges educators to confront nine uncomfortable gaps between how students learn and how schools operate. So I want to tell you briefly what those nine elephants are from the article. But when you have an opportunity, after listening to this episode, be sure to go back and you can do a general Google search and look for nine elephants in the classroom that should unsettle us by Will Richardson. And take the time to go back through and read over that article. And you might be asking, well, Dr. Lashonta, why are you going back through information from 10 years ago? So as I was trying to uh find some items for a particular project, I was going through some emails and clearing everything out. And I happened to go back and found this. This was an article I sent myself that I used for a uh some research that I was doing in one of my classes. And so, and again, 10 years ago. And so when I saw that article and I was reading back over it, and I said, it would be great to do a where are we now based on what was written in that article. So I'm gonna give you some of my viewpoints where we are now 10 years later. But before I jump into that, I do want to share what those nine elephants are that Will Richardson talks about in the article, and then we'll jump into the conversation. The first elephant is students forget content learned. The second one, most students are bored and disengaged in classrooms. Third, deep lasting learning requires conditions that schools are not built for. The fourth elephant is that not assessing what students need for the future in reference to what's going on in schools, that schools are not assessing students for what they will need in the future. The fifth elephant, grades are what parents and students are more interested in. The sixth elephant curriculum is guesswork. The seventh, learning by subjects and time blocks is not preparation for real world. The eighth elephant is schools are not preparing students for what follows graduation. And then the ninth elephant, most learning that sticks is informal. So these are the nine that are discussed in that article. The nine, uh, the nine elephants in the classroom that should unsettle us. And so when you have a chance, after you've listened to this segment, go back and look over and read that article and see what and what and and have draw your own conclusions. Draw your own conclusions and you know share them with me. You can send an email to me at Lashonta6. That's L-A-S-H-A-W-N-T-E, the number six at gmail.com. So as we transition into our conversation today, uh so in revisiting those thoughts, we want we're fast forwarding now. It's 2026. So there are three questions that I want us to think about as we are examining this. The first question is: are students thinking? Can they demonstrate learning? And are they willing to, are we, as educators, are we willing to adjust our practices? So let's get started. A student can follow directions and complete every assignment and still struggle to explain what they learned. During a classroom visit, one thing that we can do, educators, when we're going into classrooms, whether you are our peer doing peer observations, whether you are an administrator going in, district, whether it's school level, district level, if you are a curriculum coach, instructional coach, or if you are a teacher leader. When you're visiting classrooms, ask students what you are working to understand. Then follow up with this question: How will you know when you've got it? Those answers give us something useful to examine. In CTE, a student might complete a project successfully, but can they explain why they selected a material, followed a procedure, or change their approach? In an elementary classroom, a student might get the correct math answer, but can they explain the strategy and use it on a different problem? We need to make room for students to explain, question, apply, and revise. We need to listen to them. Student voice can begin with a manageable choice. Which problem to investigate, which example to analyze, or how to demonstrate understanding. The teacher still teaches, and the expectations remain clear. Students get a meaningful role in the learning. So now let's talk about evidence. What does completed work actually tell us? That question has become even more pressing with artificial intelligence or AI. A polished response may look impressive, but we still need to know whether the student understands it. When school policy permits AI use, make the expectations clear, then ask students to show their thinking, explain a decision, evaluate a claim, compare a draft with a revision, and apply the concept to a new situation. In an automotive class, students might critique a suggested diagnostic sequence. In an English class, they might verify a claim using a reliable source. The product gives us something to review. The explanation helps us understand the learning behind it. The same applies to grades. When a family sees an 82, what does that number communicate? Can the student perform the skill independently? Are there misconceptions? What should they work on next? A grade should should come with the information that helps students move forward. You need to try harder. That just gives very little direction. Your measurements are accurate. Your next step is explaining how you select the material. This gives learners a clear next move. I want students to be able to say, here is what I can do, here is my evidence, and here is what I'm working on next. That brings us to the third question. Are we willing to adjust? Before repeating a familiar assignment, you want to ask, what learning does this task make possible? A worksheet identifying tools might introduce useful vocabulary. A follow-up task could ask students to select tools for a job and justify their choices. Students now have to use what they know. CTE gives us wonderful opportunities to connect learning. A culinary project can involve measurement, food safety, budgeting, and communication, but the connections need to be taught and examined. An exciting project can still leave important concepts unclear. So ask students to show mathematics, explain the science, and defend their decisions, then return to that learning later. The What Works Clearinghouse recommends spacing learning over time, revisiting key content through quizzes and asking explanatory questions. We can build those opportunities into daily instruction. It just requires planning, the right type of planning, proper planning. And let's give educators credit where it's due. Gallup's 2025 student survey reported improvements in classroom engagement compared with its previous two annual surveys. 78% of surveyed middle and high school students agree they had a teacher who made them excited about the future. That is encouraging. At the same time, only half agree that school gave them opportunities to do what they do best. There is progress to build on and room to improve. School leaders, we also need to examine the conditions we create. If we want meaningful feedback, collaborative planning, and thoughtful instruction, how are we making those things happen in our buildings? How are we making time for those things? What support do teachers need? Which competing demands can we address? We should be willing to adjust the practices that we can control. So here is your challenge for the week, and this is for our school leaders. Choose one assignment, one assessment, or a classroom routine. Talk with your students and examine their work. Ask the teacher what the evidence reveals. Then make one purposeful adjustment and check what happens. We don't have to solve everything in one faculty meeting. We can begin by asking better questions and acting on the answers. But if an elephant has been sitting in the classroom for 10 years, it is probably time to stop walking around it. If you want to have more, a more thorough conversation about how to coach your teachers to be better in the classroom. And how also we as in our leadership roles, those of us that are in administrative roles, how can we also improve the practices that we have in our buildings in order to have our teachers more comfortable in cultivating a culture where students are engaged and where impactful questions and evidence is being asked and is being seen each and every day. So if you'd like to have those conversations, then please look and go on to my website, LeeJanes ConsultingLLC.com. You can reach out. If you have some questions and you may want some assistance and would like to have an individual, an outside party as myself to come in and to examine some of the practices that you have in your building, then drop me an email at Lashonta6 at Gmail, and we can have that conversation. But I hope that you had an opportunity to hear where we are 10 years later from the article written by Will Richardson and examining those nine elephants in the classroom that should unsettle us. And if you did not read this article 10 years ago, take the opportunity to read over it now and reflect on what we've talked about in this conversation as far as how we can improve our practices in our classrooms and in our schools. This is Dr. Lashonta, and you've been listening to the Road to an Effective Classroom Environment. You've got the keys, I've got the mic. Meet me on the road.