Ch 9 Reflection - Hints and Extensions

"If we are thinking, we will be engaged."
"If we are engaged, we are thinking."

This is my goal.

Every lesson.

Facilitating this optimal experience can get a little tricky though at times.

Especially when frustration sets in.

Either on my part or the students.

Three things to remember when aiming for an optimal learning experience.

1) Clear goals

2) Immediate feedback

3) A balance between the ability of the doer and the challenge of the task

Creating clear goals seemed to get better each time.

I learned quickly where loopholes would be found

And addressed those head on as we headed into a task.

Immediate feedback was sometimes right on point

And sometimes left me feeling like I was playing whack-a-mole.

I soon realized that when I was found running around the classroom

In a state of total frustration,

It was actually because the task I had selected was not balanced between the ability and challenge level for the student.

As I got better with creating thin slicing learning activities,

I started to see the magic happen.  

Not only were students being more successful

Because the challenge was very small between each task,

The frustration levels decreased dramatically.

And then a wonderful moment would appear that would take me by surprise.

STUDENTS WANTED A HARDER PROBLEM!

The excitement at being able to solve more difficult problems was amazing!

You could hear it.

You could see it.

And I, as the teacher, just revelled in the moment.

This is what I had been seeking.

My goal for this next year is to create more thin slicing opportunities.

For some concepts, it's super easy.

For others, it takes more time to set up a series of problems.

I conducted the thin-slicing lessons usually two different ways.

Sometimes, I would have the problems written out on cards,

And as students completed one, I would hand them another as I made my rounds.

This was beneficial as I could address mistakes and misconceptions for each small group

Without having to drag the entire group into the discussion.

Groups could keep working at their own pace,

Slowing down only when they started to struggle.

Other times, each group worked the same problem at the same time.

This allowed for quick little popcorn whole group discussions as we compared the boards

Before starting on the next problem.