Why work with uncertainty

ABOUT TiE – WHY WORK WITH UNCERTAINTY

Through research, we have identified the importance of increasing opportunities for students and staff to work with uncertainty (as well as with certainty) in school. This is where students do more than simply work out the right answer. It is where they can question and creatively disrupt the taken-for-granted within their school day, in line with their rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Transformation becomes possible through having opportunities to adopt and negotiate different ways of knowing, doing and being in school.

Knowing
Sharing opinions & raising questions;
not-knowing too quickly or narrowly.

Doing
Responding thoughtfully, when we are not all-knowing.

Being
Contemplating who we are when we are less certain; responding in unique ways.

Children are expected to conform a lot in schools. There is a demanding curriculum to get through and students learn existing knowledge to pass tests and exams, requiring them to sit silently for much of the school day, listening to what teachers know. Always having to work out right answers can provoke anxiety and the avoidance of challenge. While knowledge is important, TRANSFORM-iN EDUCATION advocates that pupils do more than simply study existing knowledge.

Working with uncertainty is highly demanding, intellectually and emotionally, for students. It has implications for their progress, behaviour and wellbeing.

Deep learning: Getting the right answer (achieving certainty) matters educationally and is core to exam success. Providing students with the space to explore uncertainty makes for deeper learning.
This is where they are not simply concerned with identifying correct answers, but ask questions, share opinions and explore different ways of looking at things. This way they engage more deeply with existing knowledge.

Behaviour: Young people are finding ways in schools to explore divergent ways of being and behaving. When done inappropriately, it takes up teacher time and attention. What counts as appropriate behaviours differs across contexts. Students can shift gear between times to listen and to voice opinions, and develop a language to question respectfully. For example: ‘I’m going to think about this differently?’ ‘Let’s try out another way’ ‘I wonder whether . . .’

Personal wellbeing: Working with uncertainty is important to prepare students to find their place in a complex and uncertain world.
Many students are already dealing with uncertainty in their lives. Having opportunities to rehearse being uncertain in a safe space, with teachers who pay attention to them as they figure things out, is important for wellbeing.