Lessons for the classroom from a newborn

Comments

6 responses to “Lessons for the classroom from a newborn”

1. 

   March 2, 2011

   Elona Hartjes

   I agree. My troubling students are telling me what they need. The challenge is to determine just what that need is. One of my most “noisy” students was quite happy when I let him be front and centre by having him put answers up on the board and having him operate the video cam. He got the attention he wanted in a positive way without interfering with my teaching or my students’ learning.

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   1. 

      March 3, 2011

      Tracy Rosen

      @Elona Hartjes, nice to see you Elona! I agree with you when you write, ‘the challenge is to determine just what that need is.’ I think the more we spend time listening, the more adept we become at determining those needs. What do you think?

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2. 

   February 20, 2011

   Angela Stockman

   I have been completely compelled by the practice of simply watching and listening to kids this year and reflecting on what I can learn from them. I honestly believe that it is this, more than anything else, that will help us design meaningful learning experiences for them and intervene in ways that make a difference. Sometimes, I think we all “know” too much. It gets in the way of really learning what we need to. I love the analogy you create here, Tracy. I love how you are always reflecting on what your experiences are teaching you.

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   1. 

      February 21, 2011

      Tracy

      @Angela Stockman, Hi Angela – managed to save this from the spam filter this morning! I’m wondering, how do you reflect on what you’re listening to? Do you keep a journal, have conversations with colleagues, write about it on your blog?

      The idea of listening in order to create meaningful learning experiences reminds me of a ‘rule’ we had when I was working towards my MA in Human Systems Intervention:

      Seek to understand before being understood

      A learning experience is meaningful only in as much as it meets the needs of the learner. I can’t assume to know learners’ specific needs until I hear their voices tell me what those needs are.

      It can take time to decode their needs because a 9 year old (or a 5 year old, or a teen, or an adult for that matter) is not necessarily going to tell me hid specific needs but the more I listen the more I can hear.

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      1. 

         February 21, 2011

         Angela Stockman

         @Tracy,
         I used to keep a journal, but I often find that this is unrealistic, given the amount of time I have to write and the number of people I’m working with. Over the last few years, I’ve been playing around with observation, active listening, and annotation. I find that establishing meaningful learning targets helps me hone in on something meaningful to pay attention to, so I’m listening with purpose. Thinking a bit about what success might look like or sound like ahead of time is helpful too. Sometimes, it makes sense to take experiences in as a whole and reflect on what is most compelling, but often, I find that I need targets and some ideas about what it means to hit them in order to reflect in ways that might lead to better teaching. Does that seem uptight?? I often wonder……I’m a bit type A ; ))

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         1. 

            February 21, 2011

            Tracy

            @Angela Stockman, not uptight. Purposeful. :)

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