I enjoyed all of our learning this week especially the work of Zaretta Hammond. I have been stuck thinking about the diagram of the Learning Pit and as I read through our homework to see what else we needed to complete I was excited by the fact we needed to think of a lesson that left our students in the learning pit . This happened to me this week ! I have had a tough week feeling rundown, behind in my life, and then I needed to make sub plans because I was going on a field trip. I created a lesson that I thought was a review for my students to do with the sub. Well this was not the case they all fell deep into the learning pit and I was right there with them. I have been sitting and pondering what went wrong ,where their confidence and perseverance went. I have also been reflecting on myself and why this lesson didn't work. The learning pit isn't a bad place to be and I embrace the opportunity to improve my lesson. I was just shocked that my students after all the progress they have made in the growth mindsets and confidence were not able to at least try to solve equations. As I work my way out of the pit I am realizing that I need to present this lesson in a new way that looks different and is more engaging than their previous experiences with solving equations. I am excited that I have come up with some ideas that would have been hard to leave with a sub but should work to have my students start making their way to the other side and out of the pit. I think this is a very frustrating part of teaching we work so hard to build their confidence and at the early stages of this process they can so quickly go backwards many steps. The learning pit is a great visual and may also be a fun way to have students illustrate where they think they are in their learning of a topic with words and pictures. Another valuable day of learning for me !
1 Comment
Brandon DeJesus
11/6/2018 11:04:16 am
I think the hardest part of building our students confidence is helping them realize the their improved abilities do not come from us but from their persistence and developing understanding of the material. So many students think that our presence is the only thing that allows them to climb out of the learning pit. I have had similar situations where my students have so much confidence when I am present but as soon as you take away the safety of the classroom or the comfort of being able to ask questions they crumble. I wish I knew a way to build their SELF confidence in a way that they would believe in their own abilities.
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Julie LovieJulie Lovie Is a Math and Science teacher at Valley Oak High School with 25 years experience in teaching at a continuation high school. Julie Also teaches at Napa valley Adult School in the High School Diploma Program. She is passionate about the environment, loves gardening, and learning. Archives
June 2019
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