It feels, however, that is also one of the most rare elements of my teaching experience. Comprehension seems to be the ever elusive creature that pops his head in my classroom, and is gone in the blink of an eye. For every one confident and authoritative response I get, I have at least five puzzled looks and exhales of confusion. I literally had a student tell me last week that she needed a new teacher, because I couldn't explain the subject in a way that she understood. This was humbling, frustrating.
Because of comments like these, this chapter was particularly relevant. I just finished teaching "the hardest thing I ever taught" according to one student. Triangle Congruence and Geometric proofs are challenging because they require thinking and explaining congruency of shapes in a certain order. If you don't comprehend the logic and thought process behind it, you will not comprehend proofs. It is not something you can fake or sidestep.
Because of this, as I instruct, I can feel the anger and frustration ever ramping toward me. Once a vocabulary word has been introduced, I begin applying it to explanations. Unfortunately, though, if the vocabulary isn't fully comprehended first, its application to deeper topics is hard at best.
In a perfect world, students would be previewing questions, summarizing, identifying clue words etc., but the challenges that my students are facing feel much bigger and deeper. Even the brightest of my students have been bridled by their educational history, so developing new skills and processes will prove to be the challenge. It is amazing that a student can read what seems to be a very basic definition, and not be able to tell you what it meant. The reward of a greater comprehension of a topic, though, is a reward worthy of the work involved to acquire it.
Blake - I like the point of view from a math teacher. Some topics like similar figures and other sort of proofs which require so much prior knowledge can be truly frustrating. I really like though the books strategy of continually breaking things down. It's obviously not foolproof but these kids need baby food before real food!
ReplyDeleteBROTHER! You are laying down some philosophical thoughts. "The reward of a greater comprehension of a topic, though, is a reward worthy of the work involved to acquire it." I completely understand where you're coming from. I've been trying to find a way to sustain that little bit of comprehension that does happen every now and then in class. It's definitely one of the toughest things to do. It's so hard for that one kid to sustain it, let alone trying to convey that to another student and create a domino effect. I'm sure you'll find a way to get that done. And when you do, I'm gonna steal your strategy for my classroom.
ReplyDeleteBlake - I need to read a different blog, because you don't write in a way I understand. HAHAHA!
ReplyDeletere: It is amazing that a student can read what seems to be a very basic definition, and not be able to tell you what it meant.
Yeah, this is pretty amazing. I am a reading teacher, and I give direct instruction on vocabulary every week. I have almost completely given up on definitions, teaching my vocabulary through examples, context, fill in the blanks, and pictures.
thanks for your hard work, good writing, and dashing good looks.
Blake,
ReplyDeleteI definitely understand what you're talking about. One of the best things about the social studies curriculum is that you teach every objective at least 4 times throughout the year (each for different cultures) and some objectives are taught pretty much everyday. Because of this, it seems like my kids should have a better chance at comprehending any single objective, but at the moment it seems more like they simply haven't mastered any one objective. Keep doing your thing and eventually some, if not all, of it will sink in.
Every time I call my mother crying or on the verge of crying, she reminds me that I am not alone and that many of my problems are common first year teacher problems. Students actually comprehending material is most certainly a first year problem. I think its particularly hard for us young adults who are fresh out of college because we have to break things down. We are use to the college ways of thinking. I often think that my students would understand if I could just find the right words. Its weird but I feel like there is a clear language barrier and its not because I am from the North. Hang in there partner!
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