She was one of the cutest girls I had ever seen. A big blue bow stood proudly atop her curly
head of hair. Round reddened cheeks and
big doe-brown eyes showing distress and frustration drew me quickly to her side.
You see, I have a propensity for rescuing damsels in distress! Especially darling ones whom are struggling
to open their grape packets in kindergarten lunch. What I wanted to do was rip
open the package for her so she could indulge in her well-earned lunch. What stopped me was the amazing modeling that
I witnessed from the team of adults in the lunchroom. Instead of rescuing these precious little
people, they were patiently teaching the students how to open ketchup packets, Lunchables, milk cartons and a variety of other things. (Click here for a smile!) As I walked away in exhaustion, I could not
help but appreciate the message that the Bethke Elementary staff was teaching
their littlest learners. By letting them
struggle, they showed the kids that they had belief in their capability to
perform. By patiently standing by their
side coaching them, they showed that this is a school full of caring
adults. The big message here was that we
are not here to do everything for you, but we will teach you how to do things
on your own. These five-year-olds were becoming independent.
This experience sent me back to a conversation I had a few
weeks ago with a retired high school Life Skills teacher at a birthday
party. I have the utmost respect for this
gentleman and those who work with our special needs students. As I picked David’s brain for wisdom, he
shared what he saw his role to be.
Because his goal was to prepare his students to deal with life’s
challenges, he was purposeful in designing challenges for them. He was not focused on keeping the students at
peace and compliant with tasks that they were already apt to accomplish. He viewed himself as a challenge creator who
was there to support the kids as they struggled. After all, he would not always be there as
their guide. His students were becoming competent problem solvers despite their disabilities.
The third experience that tipped me over the edge to write
this post came last week in a first grade classroom. I am currently housed at Bethke Elementary
while my new Jr. High is under construction.
Many of the staff at Bethke are exploring how flexible seating can be
used to provide choice and create learner-centered environments for
students. While helping to raise desks
so that students could stand as they worked, I engaged the first-year teacher
in a conversation about how she planned to manage which students had the option
to stand, sit in a chair, or sit on the floor.
From my experience, I know that many teachers will avoid variability because
of the potential student conflict it may bring.
What Sarah said was powerful. She described the potential conflict between students as an opportunity. An opportunity to work through a small
conflict that would help them to get to know each other. She anticipated their problem-solving conversation
to include why they wanted to stand or sit or who had a turn already. She planned to be there to support them as
they worked through the conflict. I was
so impressed by the wisdom of this young teacher. Her students were becoming social agents capable of conflict resolution.
How do we move from
being enablers for learned helplessness to becoming facilitators of challenges
that will empower learners?
1) Plan for experiences that provide productive
struggle – when struggle only leads to frustration, your engagement will
drop. Being prepared to scaffold for
students that are at various levels of readiness sets everyone up for ultimate
success.
2) Talk less, listen more – by actively
listening, you can understand where students are to better guide their learning
path.
3) Respond to questions with questions that
lead learners toward the goal – when done in a masterful way, the teacher
is able to connect to previous learning or experiences that will prompt forward
progress.
4) Allow for think time when questioning
students – although waiting can be awkward, processing time is frequently
interrupted by the teacher. Be patient
and avoid the urge to rescue students from their thinking or demonstration of
the skill.
5) Provide guidance, walk away and then return
– this cycle promotes the expectation that you expect them to get the job done,
but you won’t leave them stranded without support.
6) Celebrate the attempt despite the appearance of the product – remember that the production behaviors are what we need to be
giving feedback on.
7) Allow for collaboration – many times the best strategy is to allow students to support each other through learning experiences.
As educators we must be be designers of experiences that our
learners struggle with and ultimately overcome.
This is how we build a growth mindset. In a world in which information
is but a Google search away, educators who serve to only deliver information
are irrelevant. Educators that support
learners on a path to discovery, competency and ownership of their learning are
invaluable. Are you becoming invaluable as you grow in your craft?
