There's been a lot of discussion lately about VIGOR vs. RIGOR. I even tweeted about it the other day. Some of the response tweets wanted to know what I meant, so I created the image above. RIGOR, by definition is rigid, severe, and strict. It reminds me of Rigor Mortis...not something I want to associate with learning and professional practice. I know I may be taking it too far outside of its intended context--but I still think VIGOR is a better word.
Love the visual! A vigorous learning environment is much more interesting and engaging than a rigorous one. Unfortunately, as we hear these days about school districts making drastic cuts, they're taking away the vigorous parts of student's learning experiences - not just in the classroom but through the arts.
ReplyDeleteHey Mike - to pick up our tweets last night, I think one of the appeals of the concept of rigor (or rigorous) is that instruction (or curriculum) labeled as such demands deep and challenging thinking. One can infer that if you have a "rigorous secondary English program", the students are reading difficult texts. That may not be the case but you get the point. Your VIGOR visual makes sense and leads me to wonder about two things - first, that concept of "difficult". What's organic and authentic for a fourth grader may be completely within their comfort level and not pushing them at all. Second, to return to the concept of growth. What do you mean by that? I asked if your "growth focused" refers to external standards or a student leaving the classroom 20% better (or whatever growth goal you set) and I'd love to hear your thinking about those two approaches within your visual.
ReplyDeleteThis began with me just liking the term "Vigor" more than "Rigor." Vigor implies, for me, a livelier, emotionally based educational experience, where Rigor seems to be locked down and not easily changed--in my mind--it sounds like traditional. That said, the implications around "deep and challenging" I think, could be said of both words. I wrote authentic, dynamic, and innovative to support the assumption of higher level tasks, but with a connective component. (The emotional, the right-brained, the thing that "clicks.") Add to that the reflective component, and I think Vigor implies a higher level of metacognition and transformative teaching. As for growth, I mean moving from a student from one place to another, but not necessarily in just a "change" mode--growth as measured by both formative and summative assessments that provide evidence that learning has occurred. These could be local or state assessments, but not necessarily within the framework of a particular goal, at least not in the context of this post. I was thinking more globally, but not to diminish the value of specific assessments, as they would be needed to qualify what that growth would look like. I wonder now if this is a little too far on the constructivist side of things? Or does it suggest a blended model that represents the High Energy of VIGOR with the High Challenge of RIGOR? I still can't get "Rigor Mortis" out of my mind when I say Rigor, though.
ReplyDeleteLanguage is such a powerful influence on our modus operandi. (ha - see what I did there?) The rigor of "rigor mortis" means stiff or unbending, which is clearly something we don't want when it comes to learning. Do you feel different with the word rigorous is used? "Our students engage in a rigorous learning environment that stresses growth and creativity."
ReplyDeleteAs you described it, blended makes better sense. I wonder though if vigor yet implies anything as it hasn't yet been adopted by the field. I think you can be a trendsetter there!