Excellence in Education: Causing Struggle
“Causing a student to struggle,” sounds counter-intuitive to our mission as educators, doesn’t it?
It’s not.
So when I saw a math teacher challenge students to solve a problem without telling her how, I was excited. Research shows that when you’re asked to solve a problem before being shown how to solve it, the subsequent solution is better learned and more likely to be remembered.
So whether it’s solving a math problem, or asking students, “How do you think (insert historical figure/event and a scenario?” or having students make corrections to something they haven’t yet learned, you’re actually priming their brain for learning. It’s perfectly acceptable for them to struggle—learning shouldn’t be easy and learning is actually made more permanent when it is difficult.
The challenge, of course, is finding the appropriate zone of development for each student. Asking one student "How do you think..." will cause him/her to dig deeper and pursue an answer, but for another student in the same class, it might cause them to shut down. Then, working with the student, we need to diagnose why he/she shut down and adapt our responses accordingly. As we are committed to ensuring the education for all students--which I believe should be measured by progression--this at the heart of what we do and often defines our why. This level of differentiation and scaffolding is strenuous, especially at first.
Exams provide a great opportunity for us to examine our teaching practices. Are we appropriately challenging each student or are we accepting a one-size fits all approach?
For more information see Daniel Willingham’s Why Students Don’t Like School or Make it Stick by Peter Brown, Henry Roediger, and Mark McDaniel.
The challenge, of course, is finding the appropriate zone of development for each student. Asking one student "How do you think..." will cause him/her to dig deeper and pursue an answer, but for another student in the same class, it might cause them to shut down. Then, working with the student, we need to diagnose why he/she shut down and adapt our responses accordingly. As we are committed to ensuring the education for all students--which I believe should be measured by progression--this at the heart of what we do and often defines our why. This level of differentiation and scaffolding is strenuous, especially at first.
Exams provide a great opportunity for us to examine our teaching practices. Are we appropriately challenging each student or are we accepting a one-size fits all approach?
For more information see Daniel Willingham’s Why Students Don’t Like School or Make it Stick by Peter Brown, Henry Roediger, and Mark McDaniel.
Tasks, Important Information, Upcoming Events
Midterm Bell Schedule: bit.ly/MontMid
Fire Alarm: 2nd Period on Monday. Ugly Sweater Contest on December 19; Faculty Meeting 8:15 and staff lunch
Golden Apple Awards: Read more from this post
Kudos!
Hats off to Monticello's Orchestra for their great performance on Thursday night. Thanks for all staff who attended.
Looking for something to bring your family to and support our students? Choir performs on Tuesday and our band concert is Thursday!
Kudos!
Hats off to Monticello's Orchestra for their great performance on Thursday night. Thanks for all staff who attended.
Looking for something to bring your family to and support our students? Choir performs on Tuesday and our band concert is Thursday!
Field Trips
January 9: All seniors will be attending UVA Law Trials
Birthdays
January 1: Jessica Eisenhauer
January 1: Jessica Eisenhauer
Useful Information
Seeking volunteers? ACPS is attempting to expand volunteer outreach and help teachers find volunteers. Here’s a form that takes a minute to complete.
Morning Announcement Stream: http://streaming.k12albemarle.org/ACPS/links.htm
Want something included on the Monticello Outlook Calendar, the Monticello website, in the PowerSchool Daily Bulletin, schoolwide Schoology accounts, or the student newsletter (viewed by parents, students and staff)? Please use this link https://goo.gl/forms/bIjfJLKokWPcEHx33
Worth Your Time
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