Saturday, February 19, 2011
Listening to our Students
Recently I had the opportunity to spend some time with a group of third grade students in which the goal was for me to understand their mathematical thinking. My teaching partner and I took turns showing them various sized groups of objects for a brief time, and then we asked them to tell us how many objects there were. "How did you figure that out?" was a common starting point in listening to them explain their strategy of determining how many objects were shown. The most amazing thing that I observed was that in every single instance, none of the four children used the same grouping or counting strategy. This really resonated with me in terms of the need to truly listen to our students, and hear what they are thinking. Hear their differences and respect them. I believe that this extends beyond the math curriculum. Each of our students is a unique package of gifts, abilities, backgrounds, challenges, and interests. One of the things that I think is most pressing in terms of the need for reform within public education is the need to realize this fact, and then apply it to our practice. We need to be done with a "one-size-fits-all" mentality of teaching, and grow to accept multiple ways of learning, teaching, exploring and reaching understanding. Once we achieve this, then maybe our schools will begin to receive the respect and credibility they deserve!
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I totally agree with you that we need to move away from a "one size fits all" mentality. This goes along with one of my main frustrations...this sort of constant search for the "perfect" curriculum. A case in point is the lawsuit in Seattle over Discovery Math. Some parents successfully got a court to agree that this math program did not serve students..or at least their students. Other parents felt the curriculum was excellent. The thing no one seemed willing or thoughtful enough to point out was that of course it does not serve all kids. No cookie cutter curriculum will. It is up to the teacher to know his/her kids enough to modify the curriculum to try and meet their students' needs. Of course this would be vastly easier if teachers were better supported and had smaller class sizes. But the point is, I don't think there is a perfect math curriculum out there that will arrive like the proverbial silver bullet.
ReplyDeleteLauren,
ReplyDeleteI also believe that this problem would be addressed if teachers were treated as professionals and allowed to use supplemental curriculum at their discretion. I know of many excellent math curriculums that would not be helpful for some students, but would be excellent for challenging those students who needed more in-depth coverage of a topic, or more challenging problems to solve. But teachers are not allowed to bring in "other" (read, not selected by the all-knowing school district)curriculum. I feel that it would be like telling doctors what they can or cannot prescribe for various illnesses-- without any regard for the intricacies of the actual patient. Until we are allowed to participate in the selection of the tools to educate, I strongly doubt that we will ever really be able to help each child develop to their fullest potential.
Your title of this entry captured me right away, Shelley. LISTENING is so powerful in teaching and I appreciate the way you're honing in on this powerful pedagogical practice. I think your worries about curriculum, supplemental materials, and teacher choice about what resources best meet their students needs can be well informed by the practice of listening to students. I wonder what would happen if you began noting what you hear from students as you listen and also noting what you're noticing are good matches between materials and the needs of your students that you're learning about through listening. To notice places where student needs align with the materials available and places where there may be holes. Using listening and students ideas to form instruction seems like solid ground for making an argument for materials you believe in.
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