In order for a student to learn they need the appropriate amount of help. I remember when I was going to elementary school and jr. high school I had a really hard time solving story problems. I think my mind wasn't ready to apply knowledge into a real situation. When I was trying to solve these types of problems I encountered two types of teachers: One would just give me the answer because that was easiest (but I didn't learn any thing), the second type would say "just think about it, I'm sure you'll get it." Both of these situations frustrated me to the point that I would just give up. Well, maybe not the teacher that gave me the answer, but the second type for sure. In both situations I didn't learn anything.
The key for teachers is to give the appropriate amount of help to each student. I'm sure that there were students that were so much better and so much worse than me with story problems. If the teacher was giving all of us the same amount of help, I think none of us would achieve at our potential. I have found that the best way to give the appropriate amount of help for each student is to ask them questions so I have an understanding of what they do understand (and knowing my students). Once I know what they do understand I can direct them to ideas that they might not of thought about on their own, and absolutely not just handing them the answer. The students may think they just want the answer, but what they really want is the feeling of satisfaction after solving a problem they deemed as difficult.
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Jen, I absolutely love your thoughts this week. I remember having very similar experiences with story problems when I was little. In all truth, I still feel anxiety about them! Anyway, I was lucky enough to have a math teacher for a father, and he was very good at helping me solve the problem without either doing it for me or making me feel stupid for not getting it.
ReplyDeleteI find when students' understanding breaks down, they often don't put much consideration into exactly WHERE that understanding failed. So, when they raise their hand and I come over, what they say is "I don't get it." But, if I can (as you mentioned) ask the right questions, then together we can figure out (as you also mentioned) where they do and don't get it. What I also often find is they actually have all that they need already in their head in order to find the answer. All I really need to do is help them locate it in there. Interestingly, sometimes all it takes is for me to say, "What do you think is correct?" and they will often give me the right answer. So confidence also plays in.
Heck I didn't figure out most math concepts until my senior year of college. I was a late bloomer when it came to cognitive development for certain math skills.
ReplyDeleteI love to answer my students' questions with another question. At the middle school level they struggle to think for themselves and have a hard time with open ended questions that they just don't have to regurgitate information.
As you build their confidence they begin to take more risks involving learning.
Hi Jen,
ReplyDeleteI like your idea to ask questions. That really is such a good thought. I think that many times asking questions, not telling answers, will get kids where they need to go. Sometimes students don't realize how much they actually know until we ask questions. Then, through a series of questions they recognize what step they still need to take, but they figured it out by supplying answers to the teacher's questions. Really great ideas. I'm sure a whole book could be written about the importance of questions for guiding students in their learning. Great job!
Steven
Well said! I agree with you that students really do not want the answer given to them, but they do want to know the answer. I also had trouble with story problems. I know the frustration of trying to figure out a problem, and having no clue of where to start. I think some students just need a starting point so they can take off on their own. Some students just need confirmation that they are doing the right thing Either way, they need a little help from their teacher.
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