The Monthly Newsletter
Issue 123 | February, 2016 | www.ei-india.com
Learn at the world’s top...
Misconception Series
COVER Story
Nature Calls
by Julie
How to Develop a Culture of “Can” In your Classroom “Give a man a fish, and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and feed him for a lifetime.” What separates good teachers from excellent ones? Excellent ones hand out fishing poles; creating a culture of independence and self-reliance in the classroom. These students don’t just recite facts or regurgitate information - they have learned how to learn. They know that if answers aren’t in front of them, they have the tools to investigate and research. So how do you cultivate a culture of “I can…” in your classroom?
1. Make it a Safe Place to Fail Failure is one of the most important tools for learning. When children try to balance a block on a ball and it tumbles to the ground, that failure teaches them the nature of shapes. The next time, they’ll try the block first and then the ball. Failure can be the doorway to great accidental
inventions. Allow children to fail. The fear of failure cripples a student’s ability to risk new endeavors and try something new. Teach them that failure is NOT fatal. 2. Encourage Curiosity
couldn’t speak about fears, concerns, etc.? Teaching students how to disagree and debate respectfully helps them develop their own internal voice. 4. Tiered Responsibility
Terry Heick writes about the Gradual Release of Responsibility Model. In simple terms, it means, “Show me, help me, let me.” When embarking on new subjects, the teacher should first model the concept, then assist with the concept, and finally let the student work on the concept independently. 3. Give Your Students a Voice Each step is critical to allowing the Students who have a platform and a student the chance to trust in voice feel more empowered than his/her ability. those that don’t. Imagine a situation at work, when the ability to speak 5. Foster Peer Support one’s mind or even disagree with a Have you ever watched a child who refused to ride a bike for a parent, colleague or boss was missing. but all of a sudden did it when with Would one feel empowered to conquer a big project or would one a group of friends? Peer support is different from teacher support. Both feel doomed to fail because one Curiosity propels a young child to explore the environment. By the time we’re teenagers, that innate curiosity is squashed through rigorous testing and assignments. Allow students’ curiosity to take them to new places.
are necessary. In the classroom, students who feel “I CAN” usually have peer support when the going gets tough. There is a type of peer pressure that drives students to complete their assignments. Try to encourage that in your classroom. 6. Use Natural Consequences Natural consequences (without condemnation) work well to steer students to get back on track. This works closely with creating a place to fail safely. There is no need to strip students of natural consequences – that isn’t real life. But, there is a difference between a situation, where the student has to feel the pain of consequences with the help and support of a neutral teacher versus a natural consequence, plus a disappointed and angry teacher.
Source: http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/how-to-develop-a-culture-of-can-in-your-classroom/(modified)