teaching my students to problem-solve \ stacker news ~Education

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313 sats \ 6 comments \ @cryotosensei 7 Jan Education

zaps forwarded to @SimpleStacker (10%) @Shugard (10%)

Start of a new year, and I’m willing to shake off some habits.

One entrenched habit is my tendency to speak for too long. I think it’s an occupational hazard of teachers. @SimpleStacker mentioned before how he must communicate something at least five times to his students. Oh, how his observation resonated with me!

But life-changing teachers will incorporate processes that will naturally get their students to brainstorm ideas and make decisions. I may feel that my students are lacking in many rudimentary areas, but you know what? If I don’t expect more out of them, they will have little incentive to grow.

So, today, I asked them to group themselves and brainstorm ideas on a topic: How to make 2T6 (their class) more fun. They then came up with the following ideas below:

It was then time for recess. After recess, I picked up from where I had left. I gave each student a Post-it note and asked them to choose one idea from the whiteboard. Subsequently, I got the Vice Chair-man to group similar ideas together.

It turned out that movies was their most preferred choice. Here lies the quandary. My wife is the one who subscribes to Netflix, but I don’t think she will share her password with me. So, I can’t show them current movies in class and get them to talk about them. If I am to make their wish come true, I got to lean on YouTube, which may feature outdated movies that they wouldn’t like.

My Chairman was absent today, so I texted him as such:

This 14-year-old doesn’t have any movie suggestions. So, I guess I am not gonna overthink things. The first movie I thought of was Coach Carter. I checked YouTube; yup, the whole movie is available.

I’m just gonna show them Coach Carter and pivot accordingly based on their responses. Anyway, the whole point was to demonstrate an example of a problem-solving procedure for them:

Brainstorm ideas
Give each participant one vote
Go with the majority vote
Implement an idea promptly and see how things go

Today felt fulfilling because I thought I was doing my part in nurturing thinking individuals. Hopefully, I will be able to initiate further iterations and sharpen their problem-solving skills.

Here’s to fellow hardworking teachers, @Shugard & @SimpleStacker. I know there are more of us out there. I will take note of you and include you in my subsequent sharings.

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93 sats \ 2 replies \ @SimpleStacker fwd 7 Jan

I may feel that my students are lacking in many rudimentary areas, but you know what? If I don’t expect more out of them, they will have little incentive to grow.

So true.

Though, one of my biggest struggles is that I often feel like I desire my students to grow more than they desire it of themselves. It often feels like swimming against the stream to actually care.

51 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei OP 7 Jan

Oh I feel you.

And years of teaching have taught me to appreciate the young mind at the stage where s/he is at. Sometimes, they are just not ready to apply themselves. I see my persistent nagging as an attempt to break down their walls a little bit so that the next person who comes after me will have an easier job.

This year, I wanna try something different. Ditch the sandwich approach. Just focus on the positive. If I want to give a compliment, I should just give it instead of complicating it with a but you could…. What we focus on expands

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Shugard fwd 7 Jan

Though, one of my biggest struggles is that I often feel like I desire my students to grow more than they desire it of themselves.

So true! Don't waste your life energy on someone who doesn't deserve it! There are so many more children who will!

24 sats \ 2 replies \ @Shugard fwd 7 Jan

If I don’t expect more out of them, they will have little incentive to grow.

YES YES and YES!

I'm not quite sure what you're trying to accomplish by watching movies in class, but hey, go for it!

I am an old shmug, I do not like to watch movies in school. I only watch them in 9th grade when we talk about stories and why storytelling is such a unique human experience.

But I love the problem-solving aspect!

In 7th grade, they get to build their own constitution at school. I might write a post about that! That would be a great idea!

Thank you for putting me on the map!

51 sats \ 1 reply \ @cryotosensei OP 7 Jan

I’m not sure either.

Right now, I just wanna my kids to feel that I’m taking their suggestions seriously.

I will think about incorporating educational value into the movie watching as I go along haha

30 sats \ 0 replies \ @Shugard fwd 8 Jan

I just wanna my kids to feel that I’m taking their suggestions seriously.

This is so important and underappreciated by most teachers I see.