Loved this - except I take issue with the portrayal of “just going outside to have fun” as a bad thing or gimmick (it’s actually really good for kids and you, as you know) or, more importantly, the implication that having fun is the only reason to go outdoors. When it’s not so bitterly cold, I challenge you to think about an outdoor nature-based learning exercise that is productive struggle. Let me know how it goes. ❤️
Call-outSIDE ;). Still challenging you to do this -- and appreciate the gist of what youre getting at here too. FWIW - I loved when Ari did all of her unit-end lessons with an outdoor nature-based learning application -- and she had really great results. Are any of those still around? Can they be resurrected?
Yay - thanks DK! I'm also in touch with Ari if that helps. And Lindsey did end-of-unit outdoor applications too. Maybe she can pass them along to Ms. Forget!
In every other area of life, I'm wary of A or B thinking. I tend to think that what we want is a middle path, and that there are usually two ways to err. So reading this makes me think that of course we need some productive struggle and not all productive struggle. But do I do that in math class? Is it different because most of my teaching is teacher education, and they have often had no experience of productive struggle. I'm hoping to move them to the middle. Yesterday we were doing unit conversion with elementary teachers. I did no technique, just showed them that google will convert really well. But we concentrated on the idea of some sense of what the units were, and how they compared, and knowing what that meant about when you converted, about how many should you expect.
Sorry, rambly. What I'm wondering is if you didn't have the enrichment time, would it be worth using a day of class every week or two for such lessons? Can you get that effect with curriculum topics?
If I didn't have the time I have now I still think I would use non-curricular activities. I'd probably try to do one every three weeks or so -- I think that's enough to support classroom culture but not take up so much time that I end up rushing through the curriculum. I'm really skeptical of doing this with the curriculum. I've done it before and it's easy to fool yourself into thinking it's going well because a few kids figure things out and feel good about the lesson -- but which kids will that be? It's just really hard to meet two goals at once, and there's a reasonable chance that you'll need to reteach part of the lesson anyway.
The other thing to emphasize is that this isn't a full class period. Depending on the activity 20 minutes can be enough. I started the year trying to do longer chunks and it didn't work as well. Same theme -- do it less, do it well.
I cannot do Rubik's cube at all. No matter how hard I try, I lose concentration and do not want to do it. But most of my students (G8-10) are amazingly good at it. I purchased a few of them (but in different kinds like 2x2x2 and 4x4x4 alongside the regular one, and keep them in my class. We had an agreement and students play with them during the recess or lunch time, without getting distracted during class hours. Even if I still could not it, they helped me to improve relationships with some of my students. Their sincere efforts of teaching was great fun for them.
Loved this - except I take issue with the portrayal of “just going outside to have fun” as a bad thing or gimmick (it’s actually really good for kids and you, as you know) or, more importantly, the implication that having fun is the only reason to go outdoors. When it’s not so bitterly cold, I challenge you to think about an outdoor nature-based learning exercise that is productive struggle. Let me know how it goes. ❤️
Thanks for the call-out Becca. Should have thought about your work before writing that one!
Call-outSIDE ;). Still challenging you to do this -- and appreciate the gist of what youre getting at here too. FWIW - I loved when Ari did all of her unit-end lessons with an outdoor nature-based learning application -- and she had really great results. Are any of those still around? Can they be resurrected?
I'll look into it, I bet they either exist somewhere or Lindsey could help me.
Yay - thanks DK! I'm also in touch with Ari if that helps. And Lindsey did end-of-unit outdoor applications too. Maybe she can pass them along to Ms. Forget!
Always such a good read, and thought provoking.
In every other area of life, I'm wary of A or B thinking. I tend to think that what we want is a middle path, and that there are usually two ways to err. So reading this makes me think that of course we need some productive struggle and not all productive struggle. But do I do that in math class? Is it different because most of my teaching is teacher education, and they have often had no experience of productive struggle. I'm hoping to move them to the middle. Yesterday we were doing unit conversion with elementary teachers. I did no technique, just showed them that google will convert really well. But we concentrated on the idea of some sense of what the units were, and how they compared, and knowing what that meant about when you converted, about how many should you expect.
Sorry, rambly. What I'm wondering is if you didn't have the enrichment time, would it be worth using a day of class every week or two for such lessons? Can you get that effect with curriculum topics?
If I didn't have the time I have now I still think I would use non-curricular activities. I'd probably try to do one every three weeks or so -- I think that's enough to support classroom culture but not take up so much time that I end up rushing through the curriculum. I'm really skeptical of doing this with the curriculum. I've done it before and it's easy to fool yourself into thinking it's going well because a few kids figure things out and feel good about the lesson -- but which kids will that be? It's just really hard to meet two goals at once, and there's a reasonable chance that you'll need to reteach part of the lesson anyway.
The other thing to emphasize is that this isn't a full class period. Depending on the activity 20 minutes can be enough. I started the year trying to do longer chunks and it didn't work as well. Same theme -- do it less, do it well.
I cannot do Rubik's cube at all. No matter how hard I try, I lose concentration and do not want to do it. But most of my students (G8-10) are amazingly good at it. I purchased a few of them (but in different kinds like 2x2x2 and 4x4x4 alongside the regular one, and keep them in my class. We had an agreement and students play with them during the recess or lunch time, without getting distracted during class hours. Even if I still could not it, they helped me to improve relationships with some of my students. Their sincere efforts of teaching was great fun for them.
Sounds like a lot of fun!
Rad! Sometimes we play chess for similar reasons. Or ultimate tic tac toe. How did you get a class set of Rubik cubes?
These cubes are decent quality: https://www.amazon.com/INTEGEAR-Stickerless-Turning-Smooth-Durable/dp/B09WKQKZ8B
We get $100 a year per teacher for various expenses. Me and another teacher teamed up to buy a bunch with our money, more than enough for a class set.
I've used Ultimate Tic Tac Toe too! Not chess though, but that would be fun.
Less than $6 each, not bad! Thanks!
*Rubik’s”