What does it mean to learn? What does it mean to be a learner in our classrooms? A 21st-century classroom......
This podcast really spoke to me. It's an interview with John Hattie. Please listen to the first 20 minutes.
The Learning Scientist Podcast: An Interview with John Hattie( click on title)
At Empower, we focus on student production........,
And a lot of thoughts in the podcast have been around for a while...
BUT.... Have these concepts TRULY been implemented?
What does this look like in our virtual setting?
What is one thing you could change tomorrow to move students from knowledge consumers to knowledge producers? Just one:)
Write your one change below.
Rebecca Minerd
This podcast was fabulous for so many reasons! I now know why kids like video games so much...they learn from mistakes, problem solve, and apply the learning in order to get to the next level. Making mistakes in a video game is "safe", making mistakes in a classroom should also be safe for students so that learning occurs. One of the other things that really resonated with me was when Hattie points out that the potential exists for students to learn more from the mistakes they make in class than if they get something correct for the wrong reason. I will never forget the time one of my 3rd graders was the only one to correctly answer a word problem on a math test. I asked him to explain his reasoning and it went like this... " Well, I subtracted because you said that many -er words like smaller and greater mean subtract and since Tyl(er) was talking to his grandfath(er) and those are both -er words, I knew I should subtract." Needless to say, I replaced "key words" for "visualize what happens" when we read word problems after that day! Again, this means that we have to ask more questions so that students have a chance to talk about their learning and their thought processes as they work through content.
ReplyDeleteCompletely agree! Mistakes are so important in learning.
DeleteI loved what John Hattie said about data! "It's not the data that's important. It's teachers interpretation of the data." It made me think about our data digs. We often pull the beginning level students in a group and create another lesson about the concept missed on a test. However, are we really doing anything different fhan the first time? Should we not only look at the students' data, but also look at changing instruction to student centered? Maybe we could have some key ways to promote more discussion among these students and allow them that safe space to connect and make mistakes .
ReplyDeleteI love this thought! I do want to explore this with you.
DeleteI have been aware of Hattie's Effect size for many years and I keep his research in mind when I teach. I do feel like I can be more mindful of allowing students critical thinking and discussion time. I will also encourage my students to be curious and solve problems independently. I feel this is an area I can improve tomorrow. I like the idea of "it is ok to be wrong" and that making an error is more of a learning experience than always getting answers correct. I have to remind my students to be evaluators instead of wanting to know the "correct" answer and they need to be prepared to be wrong. Being wrong is difficult, therefore I model making errors with my students. They have to find my mistakes and they get so excited when they find a mistake I have made.
ReplyDeleteWhen students are engaged in their own learning they become producers. I want to see my students becoming leaders, producers, and more involved in their learning. I loved what Hattie stated about students; "Teaching kids to be become their own teachers and not recipients of knowledge." We need to remember to encourage critical thinking and teach students it is ok to form their own opinions. With these thought in mind, I hope to move my students from knowledge consumers to knowledge producers.
Critical thinking is so important and will be even more important in the future with the increased use of AI. We have to teach them to think!
DeleteI really enjoyed listening to the podcast and John Hattie. Though I have been aware of Hattie's Effect size for many years, it was nice to have a "refresher" . I will look for more opportunities in my classroom to allow the students to discuss their thinking and to model thinking aloud for them. The students at this age are still very curious and I want to continue to encourage it.
ReplyDeleteAfter listening to this podcast and the comment regarding video games and safety in making errors, I have more insight into why my students enjoy the Escape Rooms so much...trial and error and the safety of making errors. I also think my asynchronous approach provides that safety net, as well. Having them CREATE the Escape Rooms also makes them more of producers instead of consumers.
ReplyDeleteOne change I would like to make is deliberately providing more "errors for them to detect" and moreover, to provide them with opportunities to "look for contrary evidence". AI is an opportunity for that. I recently "vetted" an AI paragraph...WRONGLY, and a back-up spot-checker spotted it...so it has me thinking of a direction to provide those experiences. :)
The discussion regarding how valuable it is for students to examine their errors is transformational. I usually incorporate this in math where my students have to become "math doctors" and we diagnose our math mistakes. However, it could be incorporated into other content areas too. I have seen a tremendous impact in math, so I would imagine that impact would also be seen in the other content areas.
ReplyDeleteI loved Hattie's quote, "School is about teaching kids to become their own teachers, not recipients of knowledge." I feel that at Empower we do an amazing job of allowing opportunities for this. I am excited to see this continue to grow as our teachers also encourage it by the way our morning announcements have been organized.
Sorry! I clicked publish before I changed it from posting as "anonymous."
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