Students that just "Don't Get It"

Hi group members,

In a discussion thread initiated by Susan Finn, a blog by Rebecca Adler was discussed.  You can access it at: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/spot-scaffolding-students-rebecca-alber

In addition to scaffolding and differentiated instruction, there was something else in her blog that interested me.  It is certainly worth including here:

Scrambling in the moment to figure out what students need when they just don't get it is one of the exciting challenges of teaching. Being able to respond to learners' needs on the spot is hands down one of the greatest tricks of this trade. 

I don't know whether this "speaks" to you or not, but it does to me.  As a teacher, working with students who "didn't get it" was what I did the majority of time.  Learning new techniques by watching other teachers and attending professional development was of prime importance to me.  Developing my own "toolbag" was the only way I could keep up with the multitude of different students that all learned in different ways and had a wide variety of different disabilities.

How would you respond to her quote?

Rochelle Kenyon, SME

 

 

 

Comments

That's one of my more honed skills -- but it's tricky, because different students have a different "it" that they are getting. Are they trying to get the answer, or get understanding of what's happening and why they can do some stuff wtih numbers to answer a question about that situation?

  Today I had a very wide spectrum of "getting it" as our Pre-Algebra students have as many as 50 ALEKS (math software) "pieces of pie" to complete (which is done by getting 2 or 3 problems of that type right in a row) -- some sneaking that calculator in with every breath (but since they have to show work, and lots of this was long division with decimals, they still had to think)... others (mostly the ones with, say, only 15 slices to go) far more intent on understanding how and why.    

It's funny, I think some of these strugglers are more prone to the addictive nature of video games, so they persevere / perseverate with ALEKS ... some of 'em have, slowly, figured out that the more deeply you know it the easier the future problems are.   Many of 'em figure it out... but then forget ;)   

Hi Susan,

You made a good point,  Understanding what "IT" is makes a big difference.

However, what got my immediate attention was your statement, "Many of 'em figure it out... but then forget ;)    Wow --- isn't that the truth.  As a teacher, you will feel like you won the lottery when your student "gets" something that was previously difficult for him/her.  Finally~  Then, the next Monday, it is forgotten again.  Repetition was always one of my most important instructional strategies.

Comments are always welcome.

Rochelle Kenyon, SME

 

Rochelle,

This quote resonates with me, too. I have always been able to relate the topic I am teaching to my learners who do not understand.  I have found that the context for the content is essential for an adult.  They need to be able to relate to the topic being discussed and understand how it relates to their life.  Professional development activities and reading research has helped to validate what I intrinsically knew already.

Best,
Brooke

Hi Brooke,

Thanks for joining in on this interesting discussion.  Yes, I agree that the context for the content is essential for an adult student.  The more likely that the content applies directly to their lives, the more likely they will learn - and remember.

Rochelle Kenyon, SME

I do a lot of preparation for my classes, but when it comes to actual classtime, I find that a good portion of the "magic" is from improvisation. The thing that fascinates me is the way that five different people can look at the same thing and see it in five different ways. Planned exercises are the foundation of the class, but it's often the off-the-cuff remark, the follow-up question, or a student's mistake that ends up being an ah-ha! moment--sometimes for the student, and sometimes for me. My ah-ha! is when I see what the student is thinking and why his or her understanding is fuzzy, incorrect, or incomplete. Once I see that, I can go about helping the student reach the next level of understanding. I really think that this is the heart of teaching: being prepared enough that you can know when and how to depart from the plan. That's also a source of adreneline, which helps us teachers stay on our toes, ready for the next ah-ha!

 Rachel: I love your thoughts here. The best part of teachig is when we become involved in that special teaching moment with our students. When these are unplanned the spontaneity seems contagious, as if a window has been openned! Lauri

Hi Rachel,

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts within this discussion thread.  Improvisation is certainly one of the many traits that teachers must have to be successful.

Your message had multiple important points that really spoke to me.  It is easy to see that each respondent to this thread has different ideas.  From that, we know that so many different techniques exist to help students 'get it.'

I loved your comment, "My ah-ha! is when I see what the student is thinking and why his or her understanding is fuzzy, incorrect, or incomplete. Once I see that, I can go about helping the student reach the next level of understanding."   l bet all of us could write our own book about our Aha Moments.

If you would like to share your Aha Moments, we would love to hear them.

Rochelle Kenyon, SME

 

That experience of "getting it" is a great reward and as several researchers studying motivation report, the experience develops a sense of competency. So as we become more proficient with the skills, our competency and self-efficacy increases.

The implication is that as we plan our lessons and learning experiences, ensuring those opportunities for continued practice and transfer are critically important to solidifying the learning. We probably only need to touch a hot stove top once and we've learned the lesson, "don't touch the stove when it's hot." Our academic subjects require more experiences with lessons.

Good discussion.

Thanks.

Daryl