I have made loads of changes following the readings and videos I have watched over the last 5 years.We had to record all of our lessons at Henry Hill for a year on an iPad and this really made me realise and from watching others footage that we as teachers over talk.I have learned that I need to be quiet, talk less and allow the students more time to think and process their thoughts, I have had to think about the quality of questions I am asking,
I have also shifted in my role as a teacher to developing into a facilitator of learning. Discussions are valued and are a highly important part of learning in my classroom and working collaboratively is a major component of inquiry learning which I encourage.
I have been trying to use questions that develop deeper thoughts during inquiry learning. In maths, I provide students with thought or strategy provoking questions to get the students to use their brain rather than mine. I only stepped in a facilitator when the student looks as though they are about to give up and even then I don't give them the answer but provide a hint or a clue. I get other students doing the talking and provide opportunities for them to become the teacher to assist the other students. I also have started valuing more what a child says even if it's not the correct answer. I have put myself in their shoes more.For example in maths especially you hear all the time a student give an answer and the teacher flat out says 'no that's not right.' IIf we were in a meeting and this was said to us if we tried to solve a problem we would most likely feel stink and not want to try again. Instead of me saying 'no that's right or even "not quite", I give them the question to their answer and then relate this to the problem we are trying to solve.
For example, if the question was 8 + 8 = and a student says 17, I will respond with 8 + 9 is 17 so what must 8 + 9 be?
I believe that we do learn best from our peers and reflecting on my feedback and questioning has provided me with different tools and strategies to create confident independent learners.
I have also shifted in my role as a teacher to developing into a facilitator of learning. Discussions are valued and are a highly important part of learning in my classroom and working collaboratively is a major component of inquiry learning which I encourage.
I have been trying to use questions that develop deeper thoughts during inquiry learning. In maths, I provide students with thought or strategy provoking questions to get the students to use their brain rather than mine. I only stepped in a facilitator when the student looks as though they are about to give up and even then I don't give them the answer but provide a hint or a clue. I get other students doing the talking and provide opportunities for them to become the teacher to assist the other students. I also have started valuing more what a child says even if it's not the correct answer. I have put myself in their shoes more.For example in maths especially you hear all the time a student give an answer and the teacher flat out says 'no that's not right.' IIf we were in a meeting and this was said to us if we tried to solve a problem we would most likely feel stink and not want to try again. Instead of me saying 'no that's right or even "not quite", I give them the question to their answer and then relate this to the problem we are trying to solve.
For example, if the question was 8 + 8 = and a student says 17, I will respond with 8 + 9 is 17 so what must 8 + 9 be?
I believe that we do learn best from our peers and reflecting on my feedback and questioning has provided me with different tools and strategies to create confident independent learners.
Comments
Post a Comment