Letting Go

The two resources that we had this week for our blog were informative, and helped me to start thinking of how I want to make changes in my teaching.  After the year, we take time to reflect and think of what can we do to make next year better.

In Grant's article, when the co-captain said the other team was not lining up the way we do drills.  In class, I tell my students that on the EOC test the questions will be worded different, but you will have to solve the same way.  It will be presented in a different way, but that does not mean the students will not know how to do it.  This example Grant gave also reminded of a quarterback that school use to have.  He knew how to adjust to the other team and could run great plays.  There are players that can just do that one play that the coach told him to do. The coach was able to let the quarterback go and run the plays.  Going back to the classroom, I will admit that I struggle letting go. I sometimes do not wait long enough between questions to give the students time to think. "Our instincts as teachers cause us to over-help rather than under-help." How many of us are guilty of that?  Sometimes, it is pressure of making sure all the standards are covered and we feel rushed. 

At the beginning of a unit, I will tell students what it is about and what we will be doing, but some days I will start the lesson and not inform them like I should.  They need to know what is going on. I do not have a plan to take away the scaffolding and make it more game-like and student-centered.  This is something I need to work on and let the students have more control.  This goes to the video where Chris said, "Inquiry is the root of intellectual play."  Students need time for content to sink and discover on their own.  I believe this, but like I said we are being rushed.

The video and article talks about supporting and not controlling.  Teachers need to be more flexible and give up control.  Letting students discover, giving them time to think, asking probing questions, giving "play time" are great teaching skills.  
Also in the video, someone said (I think it was Chris), "It's not about the tool. It's about the learning."  It doesn't matter if the student did a Prezi, a poster, or a write a paper.  Did the students understand the content?

Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 28, 2017 at 8:28 AM

    Your example of the quarterback highlights a key question I wondered about after reading Dr. Wiggins article. Since some students will "get it" and understand the content like the quarterback who could adjust and run plays and some students will not "get it" and become frustrated trying. How do teachers support the students who don't "get it" or who don't understand and have no idea where to start? How do teachers support students who are not motivated and have no interest in struggling with a task to better understand it? If the game is "pass the test" then why would teachers work on projects instead of test practice and debriefing how to answer the questions? I attended K-12 public schools before accountability testing. I remember presenting a third grade sea anemone project and all of my science fair projects. Those activities not only helped me develop logical reasoning skills they also helped me find my interest or passion. However, as a teacher, I feel like I don't have the luxury to have students work through projects because of the pressure I feel to prepare students to pass the test.

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  2. AnonymousMay 28, 2017 at 6:23 PM

    Oh, you are correct when you say all of us teachers are rushed. We aren't given the luxury to allow students tie to absorb the information they have learned. I need time to absorb the information we get in this master's level class - to percolate thru the brain matter - and let it simmer on the back burner before I have a good understanding of what I'm supposed to be learning. I, too, would be very reluctant to eliminate scaffolding because it is what administrators are looking for in our lesson plans and lesson delivery. I'm sure when I have students that just aren't 'getting it' I will feel like belting Elsa when she breaks into singing 'Let It Go!' in my mind. :O

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