Teachers: Do less!
by Amy Bowker
April 6, 2021
Say what? This is exactly the opposite of what we keep on hearing. Admin, our boards, and the Ministry of Education all want us to do more, more, MORE!
But in the classroom, we need to start doing less. Several places during my learning this year have pushed me to do less. It’s a theme that continues to pop up around me.
Real learning doesn’t take place when the teacher knows the answer and just tells the students. Students must be pushed to figure out the answer themselves or learn where to find other resources to help them learn.
This is something I agree with so much. I’ve seen the results of doing less in my classroom. My student was struggling with posting an image on a slideshow and after explaining it many times, I just responded ” I don’t know, can anyone help him?” Immediately students took over my classroom, presented their screens. Even students who rarely talk chimed in with advice to help the student. I literally turned off my mic and camera and let the students assist their classmate. It was so awesome to see a quick comment of “I don’t know” as a chance for other students to shine and help out.
I keep on trying to teach doing less and not telling students the answer but it is so ingrained in us. This is an uncomfortability we need to get used to. We need to stop planning the whole unit and let students take the reins of their learning. We need to stop answering all students’ questions. In Peter Liljedahl’s book Thinking Classrooms, he discusses that there are 3 different kinds of questions students ask, but only one type we should answer.
Proximity Questions – students only ask questions because you are right beside them
Stop Thinking Questions -such as “is this right?” or “will this be on the test?”
Keep Thinking Questions * (the only ones we should answer) -questions students ask so they can get back to work
For my next unit: Canada’s Interactions with the Global Community, I’m not planning anything. I may have some picture prompts for help if we get stuck but I’m just going to start projecting the name of the unit and then write down everything my students think they know and connect with it. We will see where it leads but as Cam Jones has told me, I have to trust the learning process.
