Tricky treasures….such a perfect phrase. Such a better description than the ones often used, and no doubt this group of treasures leans into the excitement of learning and curiosity. You are lucky to have each other.
“I mean, NO ONE is talking. The quiet is scary! It’s like everyone is frozen. A administrator may say, Look at their engagement! This is not engagement, this is fearful compliance. Even if I allow for the validity of the worksheet, learning is vulnerable and an innately social act. Compliant students who fear punishment, are not engaged. All this shows me is an imbalance of power.”
I say this in an attempt to expose my own areas for improvement and, hopefully, learn more…
The biggest example I see of this is in maths. The lesson ends with an independent task. The reason I prefer them to work alone is so I can see that they’ve done their own work and I can identify gaps. I think this is the right thing to do…
If I spend hours poring over the books to identify gaps.
In reality, I have a gist of what the children collectively need and we follow a scheme that works incrementally through the skills being taught at Year 6 level.
So, do I still need them to work independently on the worksheet at the end of a lesson? Can I get them to work together? Is that more likely to help the lower-attaining mathematicians develop in their arithmetic skills?
Thank you Adrian. I think what I will try with my next maths lesson then is to get the children to work on the plenary independently but then share their answers with their learning partner and see if they align or not.
I also love the idea of a notebook where they transfer their thoughts to come back to. Something else for me to take a look at!
I’m so happy that you raised this question. I think independent thinking time is very important for students. Students need time to think before they can collaborate with their peers. In Maths, for example, I often have students spend some quiet time thinking about a problem or mathematical puzzle at their seats before they enter into small groups to discuss. At the end of the lesson, students then transfer their thinking to their notebooks for their future forgetful self. I often use this as an opportunity to check in with students one-on-one to answer specific questions.
When I want students to check their own understanding, through a worksheet, they must work on this independently. I will provide an answer key to some of the problems, so that they can identify their own gaps in their understanding and check their answers with their peers.
At various points throughout a unit, I want students to show me what they know independently. By this point, however, hopefully, they have collaborated enough that they have grasped a specific concept.
I don’t want to come across as advocating for no quiet independent work time. Those classrooms I mention have students working quietly all day without ever having an opportunity to discuss their thinking with their peers.
The main point is that I want my students to be able to share their thinking with others so that they can challenge their own understanding of a particular concept. In order for students to know what they think, they need time to think, preferably quietly.
This year, I have a very chatty group, so having total silence seems impossible!😂
Great essay! I like the interpolation of anti-racist pedagogy and the Deweyan educational practices. It often feels like those two things are separate, but this piece nicely demonstrates otherwise. The power of this set-up: "I am moved to a mobile classroom where my students and my teaching will be less disruptive to the rest of the building" really drives the descriptions.
It's really refreshing to read posts like this. Often those pupils you are talking about are labelled by other staff and it becomes a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy!
It's so nice to hear you don't label these pupils and actively support them to succeed in education, using none-traditional methods. This was the main reason I left "Mainstream" teaching and joined specialist Social, Emotional & Mental Health teaching provisions.
I appreciate your kind words! Often I feel like the first third of the school year is spent helping students unlearn what they've been taught about themselves and teaching and learning in general. Lots of healing from past classroom traumas!
Tricky treasures….such a perfect phrase. Such a better description than the ones often used, and no doubt this group of treasures leans into the excitement of learning and curiosity. You are lucky to have each other.
“I mean, NO ONE is talking. The quiet is scary! It’s like everyone is frozen. A administrator may say, Look at their engagement! This is not engagement, this is fearful compliance. Even if I allow for the validity of the worksheet, learning is vulnerable and an innately social act. Compliant students who fear punishment, are not engaged. All this shows me is an imbalance of power.”
I say this in an attempt to expose my own areas for improvement and, hopefully, learn more…
The biggest example I see of this is in maths. The lesson ends with an independent task. The reason I prefer them to work alone is so I can see that they’ve done their own work and I can identify gaps. I think this is the right thing to do…
If I spend hours poring over the books to identify gaps.
In reality, I have a gist of what the children collectively need and we follow a scheme that works incrementally through the skills being taught at Year 6 level.
So, do I still need them to work independently on the worksheet at the end of a lesson? Can I get them to work together? Is that more likely to help the lower-attaining mathematicians develop in their arithmetic skills?
Help! 😂
Thank you Adrian. I think what I will try with my next maths lesson then is to get the children to work on the plenary independently but then share their answers with their learning partner and see if they align or not.
I also love the idea of a notebook where they transfer their thoughts to come back to. Something else for me to take a look at!
Sounds great! If you really want to dig into how I structure my Maths classroom, I’ve been modeling my structure after Peter Liljedahl’s Thinking Classroom: https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/64539/how-to-get-kids-thinking-instead-of-mimicking-in-math-class
I’d be happy to discuss in more depth any time throughout the year.
I’m so happy that you raised this question. I think independent thinking time is very important for students. Students need time to think before they can collaborate with their peers. In Maths, for example, I often have students spend some quiet time thinking about a problem or mathematical puzzle at their seats before they enter into small groups to discuss. At the end of the lesson, students then transfer their thinking to their notebooks for their future forgetful self. I often use this as an opportunity to check in with students one-on-one to answer specific questions.
When I want students to check their own understanding, through a worksheet, they must work on this independently. I will provide an answer key to some of the problems, so that they can identify their own gaps in their understanding and check their answers with their peers.
At various points throughout a unit, I want students to show me what they know independently. By this point, however, hopefully, they have collaborated enough that they have grasped a specific concept.
I don’t want to come across as advocating for no quiet independent work time. Those classrooms I mention have students working quietly all day without ever having an opportunity to discuss their thinking with their peers.
The main point is that I want my students to be able to share their thinking with others so that they can challenge their own understanding of a particular concept. In order for students to know what they think, they need time to think, preferably quietly.
This year, I have a very chatty group, so having total silence seems impossible!😂
Great essay! I like the interpolation of anti-racist pedagogy and the Deweyan educational practices. It often feels like those two things are separate, but this piece nicely demonstrates otherwise. The power of this set-up: "I am moved to a mobile classroom where my students and my teaching will be less disruptive to the rest of the building" really drives the descriptions.
Thank you for this kind response! I’m thrilled that someone noticed my Deweyan tendencies (and some Freire pedagogy)!
It's really refreshing to read posts like this. Often those pupils you are talking about are labelled by other staff and it becomes a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy!
It's so nice to hear you don't label these pupils and actively support them to succeed in education, using none-traditional methods. This was the main reason I left "Mainstream" teaching and joined specialist Social, Emotional & Mental Health teaching provisions.
I appreciate your kind words! Often I feel like the first third of the school year is spent helping students unlearn what they've been taught about themselves and teaching and learning in general. Lots of healing from past classroom traumas!