When a human being is faced with a
problem to solve, a new situation, or anything outside of their normal
paradigm, they can have one of three reactions. They can embrace the challenge
and be successful, in full or in part or they can embrace the challenge and get
it wrong. A third option, one linked to our innate genetic ‘fight or flight’
mode, is to shy away from that very challenge.
A tall levels of education, students
are faced with these choices on a daily basis. Everything from meeting new
classmates,having new teachers, going to a new school, or learning a new
concept, can present a situation whereby they have to choose one of those three
scenarios;do I run, can I succeed, will I even try!
No student can comprehend, analyse,
or remember every piece of knowledge or skill, first
time, every time.
A teacher has to empathise with this
and instil a classroom culture where running away is never an option; this just
does not happen here! Ideally there is an environment whereby the students are
engaged enough, and comfortable enough, to try each and every new task. Getting
it wrong is not wrong. In fact, it is normal, it is expected and as your
teacher I am going to help you get it right.
This process is such a vital part of
the learning cycle that it is a wonder that there still exists this idea of
being ashamed in front of classmates, of being afraid of what your parents
might say and being labelled a failure.
Jean Piaget, the Swiss psychologist and
sociologist,identified the different cognitive stages that children go through
as they mature. He observed that children would ‘grope’ for a solution or use a
‘trial and error’ problem solving process. Both of these systems lead to
mistakes, both of these lead to learning opportunities. In a classroom this can
include every student as they share the learning. This is how teachers must
treat mistakes;you got it wrong so how can we fix it? Let’s look at it
together. Gradually this fear of failure will disappear to be replaced by a
yearning to try new things and shrug off any setbacks.
Just as Piaget taught us about
cognitive levels, Benjamin Bloom, et al, provided a framework for teachers to
explore and chart the progress of their students learning. Bloom’s taxonomy is
an invaluable tool providing a visual challenge to both teachers and students
and their ability to function at a certain level of comprehension. It’s an
example of ‘OK, I can/you can do that, now what is next? How else can we apply
that knowledge?’
Teachers can, and should, expect
more from their students whilst offering support and guidance when things do
not go wrong. Students will try more things because they are not afraid to fail
– they’ll see it as a natural step on the march to success.
Doug Lemov, an American
educationalist, advocates this approach in his excellent portrayal of teaching
pedagogy called ‘Teach Like a Champion’. He expects his students to succeed and
together they’ll find a way. The book is filled with tips on how to engage
students;keeping them working, keeping them thinking, and keeping them enthused
about trying something new. He advises us to keep asking for more, to only
accept right is right’ answers, and to utilise every second of class time efficiently. Trying and
failing should never be the final stage; a good teacher and a willing student
will always master that learning opportunity.
Piaget and Bloom have made
extraordinary contributions to the theory of learning and Lemov has shown us
ways to implement them in a real classroom situation.
The brilliant physicist Albert
Einstein put it extremely succinctly when he said ‘A person who never made a
mistake, never tried anything new’. If an 11+ failure can change our view of
the world, what can the rest of us do when we just try?
Comments
Post a Comment