Jenne Parks: Guiding Teachers to Use Teachable Moments in Early Childhood Settings
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Slides from Jenne Parks' May 2, 2012 Webinar
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Jenne Parks: Guiding Teachers to Use Teachable Moments in Early Childhood Settings
- 1. sxzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzfrtttt ffffffffffffffffffff€[=------------x Guiding Teachers to Use Teachable Moments in Early Childhood Settings by: Jenne Parks jparks@hatchearlychildhood.com April 2012 Jenne Parks Early Childhood Content Specialist Hatch® The Early Learning Experts® Copyright 2012
- 2. Today’s Roadmap Early Learning Technology | www.HatchEarlyLearning.com #hatchinars | Copyright 2012 Hatch Inc. All Rights Reserved. • •Teachable Moments with Adult Learners •Teachable Moments with Children •Capture and Capitalize Teachable Moments
- 3. Early Learning Technology | www.HatchEarlyLearning.com #hatchexperts | Copyright 2012 Hatch Inc. All Rights Reserved. Defining Teachable Moments • Wikipedia • K6 Educators • NAEYC’s DAP Statement
- 4. Adult Learners Early Learning Technology | www.HatchEarlyLearning.com #hatchexperts | Copyright 2012 Hatch Inc. All Rights Reserved. MOTIVATION RETENTION TRANSFERENCE
- 5. What Motivates You? Early Learning Technology | www.HatchEarlyLearning.com #hatchexperts | Copyright 2012 Hatch Inc. All Rights Reserved.
- 6. Early Learning Technology | www.HatchEarlyLearning.com #hatchexperts | Copyright 2012 Hatch Inc. All Rights Reserved. By Golly!
- 7. Early Learning Technology | www.HatchEarlyLearning.com #hatchexperts | Copyright 2012 Hatch Inc. All Rights Reserved. Teachable Moment Synonyms
- 8. Early Learning Technology | www.HatchEarlyLearning.com #hatchexperts | Copyright 2012 Hatch Inc. All Rights Reserved. Unplanned Opportunities
- 9. Chance Learning Opportunities Early Learning Technology | www.HatchEarlyLearning.com #hatchexperts | Copyright 2012 Hatch Inc. All Rights Reserved.
- 10. Fleeting Learning Opportunities Early Learning Technology | www.HatchEarlyLearning.com #hatchexperts | Copyright 2012 Hatch Inc. All Rights Reserved.
- 11. Unscheduled Interruption Early Learning Technology | www.HatchEarlyLearning.com #hatchexperts | Copyright 2012 Hatch Inc. All Rights Reserved.
- 12. Early Learning Technology | www.HatchEarlyLearning.com #hatchexperts | Copyright 2012 Hatch Inc. All Rights Reserved. Accidental Discoveries
- 13. Early Learning Technology | www.HatchEarlyLearning.com #hatchexperts | Copyright 2012 Hatch Inc. All Rights Reserved. Teachable Moments Gone Global… Coca-Cola Popsicles Potato chips Penicillin
- 14. Early Learning Technology | www.HatchEarlyLearning.com #hatchexperts | Copyright 2012 Hatch Inc. All Rights Reserved. Teachable Moment ANTONYM Avoid Behavior Correction Overload!!!!
- 15. Early Learning Technology | www.HatchEarlyLearning.com #hatchexperts | Copyright 2012 Hatch Inc. All Rights Reserved. Open Your Mind! The possibilities are endless…
- 16. Early Learning Technology | www.HatchEarlyLearning.com #hatchexperts | Copyright 2012 Hatch Inc. All Rights Reserved.
- 17. Early Learning Technology | www.HatchEarlyLearning.com #hatchexperts | Copyright 2012 Hatch Inc. All Rights Reserved. First Stop… “If you make listening and observation your occupation you will gain much more than you can by talk.” Robert Baden-Powell
- 18. Early Learning Technology | www.HatchEarlyLearning.com #hatchexperts | Copyright 2012 Hatch Inc. All Rights Reserved. Take a Look... What you see just might surprise you!
- 19. Early Learning Technology | www.HatchEarlyLearning.com #hatchexperts | Copyright 2012 Hatch Inc. All Rights Reserved. Open Wide & Listen Well "The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when one asked me what I thought, and attended to my answer.“ — Henry David Thoreau
- 20. Early Learning Technology | www.HatchEarlyLearning.com #hatchexperts | Copyright 2012 Hatch Inc. All Rights Reserved. Open-Ended Questions
- 21. Early Learning Technology | www.HatchEarlyLearning.com #hatchexperts | Copyright 2012 Hatch Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Unknown…
- 22. Early Learning Technology | www.HatchEarlyLearning.com #hatchexperts | Copyright 2012 Hatch Inc. All Rights Reserved. Take-Aways Putting the Pieces Together A teacher STOPS to LOOK at a child knock over a friend’s tower. The teacher then LISTENS to what unfolds…
- 23. sxzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzfrtttt ffffffffffffffffffff€[=------------x Questions and/or Thoughts Jenne Parks jparks@hatchearlychildhood.com April 2012 Jenne Parks Early Childhood Content Specialist Hatch® The Early Learning Experts® Copyright 2012
Notes de l'éditeur
- According to Wikipedia, a Teachable Moment is the time at which learning becomes possible or easiest; but don’t worry, because in case you’re not happy with that definition, I have more-- K6 Educators Glossary defines a Teachable Moment as an unplanned opportunity that arises in the classroom where a teacher has an ideal chance to offer insight to his or her students. A teachable moment is not something that you can plan for; rather, it is a fleeting opportunity that must be sensed and seized by the teacher. Often it will require a brief digression that temporarily sidetracks the original lesson plan so that the teacher can explain a concept that has inadvertently captured the students' collective interest. Taking this tangent is worthwhile because it is organically timed to maximize impact on the students. Ultimately, the teachable moment could evolve into a full-blown lesson plan or unit of instruction. NAEYC’s DAP Statement, circa 2006 from Sue Bredekamp & Carol Copple says this about Teachable Moments: A cornerstone of developmentally appropriate teaching is intentionality. In everything good teachers do—from setting up the classroom to assessing children to planning the curriculum—they are intentional. They are purposeful and thoughtful about the actions they take, and they base their actions on the outcomes the program is trying to help children reach. Even in responding to unexpected opportunities—”teachable moments”—the intentional teacher is guided by those outcomes. We will talk about intentionality and Teachable Moments a bit further into our time together… From a personal standpoint, Teachable Moments are a combination of these definitions— Teachable moments are those unexpected occurrences that happen in & out of the classroom all day, everyday, no matter your audience b/c TM are not limited to children alone! And, Ms Bredekamp & Ms. Copple, teachable moments should be recognized and capitalized upon with intention and attention to detail & FOLLOW THROUGH And, finally, Mr. Wikipedia– upon a first reading, yours was the definition I had the hardest time wrapping my head around, however, your suggestion that Teachable Moments are those when learning is easiest and for that angle, I applaud you. I completely concur that TMs are the easiest in which to learn, because they are also moments that are usually driven by ACTION. I.e. a children playing together at the sand/water table. And, when TMs occur through conversation, it is likely due to a SPARK of interest, questioning and/or some kind of discovery that is based on person’s active motivation to learn more. Now that we have defined Teachable Moments, let’s take some time to talk about how you can MOTIVATE your adult learning audiences to WANT to learn more about them too…
- I’m going to do a quick review about what research says in regards to, Adult learners: Sometimes we overlook the fact that just because adult learners have the physical ability to SIT STILL for longer durations than younger learners; OR, That Adult Learners are able to ‘appear’ attentive; even when they are not; OR, that even when they are studiously writing notes, it is HIGHLY possible that they are NOT learning. Just because we WANT them to learn & they are more likely to ‘do what they are asked’ than young children, does not mean that they are learning. Adult Learning Principals tell us: That Adult Learners are commonly thinking 3 things: 1. “Why should I care about what you are telling me?” “When and how does this apply to me?” “How is this going to benefit me right away?” When those of us who teach to Adult Learners remember these 3 questions as we build our content and delivery, we are more likely flip the switch from simply Adult learners to Motivated Adult Learners. We need them to be motivated to learn because when that happens, they are more likely to RETAIN the information you are sharing and to our THIRD Point here; this is imperative because it is very difficult to TRANSER knowledge into practice when it has not been RETAINED. So the big question becomes, HOW DO WE MOTIVATE OUR ADULT LEARNERS? What teachable moments can I make in order to capture their attention in hopes that they will capitalize on what they are going to learn from you? My answer to you is this– I’m going to provide you with some ACTIVITIES that illustrate the address those 3 Adult Learning principals and that POINT to the relevance, the ease & the benefits of TEACHABLE MOMENTS. SO– with that, let’s move onto our first ‘activity’.
- We have to IGNITE, INSPIRE, ENLIGHTEN, MOTIVATE, SPARK and ROUSE our Adult Learners to do the right thing! How can we do this in a way that extends beyond words such as, ‘train’, ‘inform’, ‘tell’, ‘advise’, or, ‘notify’? In order to AROUSE you, I want you to take a few seconds to think about a LIGHT BULB moment in your life. One of those, “OHHHH! I see!” revelations. OR, as my grandmother would say, “By Golly!” Some people call them, ‘head smacker’ thoughts and whatever you call it, works for me! But I want you to write your thought onto paper, or just simply wrap it into your mind… Please remember, that there are no RIGHT or WRONG answers here. This is an activity that would be used to make a POINT and in a moment, I am going to share some of the AHA’s I gathered from a smattering of people over the last few weeks & you will hear that some sound a little stranger than others and that’s okay, because who’s to say that your AHA was cooler than my own? Let me share a few AHA’s that were shared with me from teachers at my sons’ school and when I’m done, I’ll ask that you vote on which AHA was from a child: #1 My AHA Moment My biggest, “light-bulb moment” came from an afternoon of multi-tasking- I was watching The Oprah Winfrey show and lesson planning...The topic for the day was the book The Secret and what caught my attention was a conversation about focusing your thoughts on positivity in that when you put positivity OUT and into the world, that is what comes back to you. I taught kindergarten that year & I had been struggling with what to do with a small group of boys who constantly fought in my room during centers. I had tried everything to ‘scare’ them into doing the right thing, but nothing had worked, unless they were each sitting in 4 separate corners of the room and WHO was benefitting from that??? NO ONE! I made a conscious effort that afternoon to focus on the POSITIVE attributes these rowdy boys had to offer & I stopped thinking, “Why are THEY doing this” and instead thought about what I was doing to inhibit them from being more successful. I can’t pretend that a miracle happened the next day and that from that moment on, they were perfectly behaved, but I can EASILY say that my attitude adjustment made a HUGE difference not just for them, but for the rest of my class as well AND, anytime I feel myself slipping into ‘old habits’ i.e. negative thoughts, my AHA moment smacks me into a quick adjustment. #2 My AHA moment happened when I got in trouble for eating glue and my teacher took the glue away and I had to use tape forever. So, I learned that if the teacher tells you something, she means it and sometimes my mom doesn’t. #3 My AHA moment started in high-school but did not hit me until my first year of teaching– I was a relay runner- the kind that passed the baton to the next runner on my team and for some reason, when I started teaching, the memory of carefully handing my baton to the next runner was constantly in my mind. One morning, during a meeting, I told my 1st graders about relay racing and passing the baton, but it was clear from their looks, that they didn’t grasp what I was saying. SO - I grabbed an empty paper towel roll from the Art area & showed them, but it still didn’t seem spark understanding. When we went to recess that day, or maybe it was the next, one of my students asked me to show her how to do “that baton thing”. Within a few minutes, it seemed that the whole class had gathered and we lined up and practiced passing the ‘baton’ (which was a stick). Watching my students that day provided MANY aha moments- 1. You can be taught the importance of ‘hands-on’ learning, but until you WATCH it happen, I don’t know that it matters. 2. I am ‘passing the baton’ EVERY minute of every day that I work with children. If I pass them respect, honesty and kindness, they seem to do the same for me. If I pass them frustration or inactive listening, I get the same in return. I choose to pass the baton the RIGHT way and some of that has to do with the BATON. #4. My AHA moment was when I used a new pen to write on the door to my kitchen. It has four colors and I earned it by remembering to be kind to my friends. I knew my mom was looking, but it was flat and plain and I had red, green, blue and red, I mean black too and I wanted to write on it, so bad, so I did. My mom said to have good luck making that disappear. I used toilet paper. No, it didn’t work. I spit on the wall and used a towel and that didn’t work. Then I membered those wet thingy towels that are by my sister’s bed and that made the ink disappear. So, I know that wet wipey things make ink disappear. Smack on the head to drive his point home. TAKE A MOMENT- answer the question, which participant here is a child…1, 2, 3 or 4 Sometimes these light-bulb moments are incorporated into our daily lives, and sometimes they become something you won’t forget- either way; think about how you came to this AHA moment. Was is it a ‘sitting at your desk tracing dotted letters five times’ & you remember thinking, “That’s it! I know how to write my name!” Or, was it more of a TEACHABLE MOMENT. Was it a ‘gotcha surprise’ that occurred out of an unexpected occurrence? My point here is that the first order of business you need to attend to with your Adult Learners is to help them recognize the monumental possibilities that come from everyday moments. And, who doesn’t love an AHA/Teachable Moment?
- Here are a four different AHA’s that I have collected over the last few weeks and when I’m done, I’ll ask that you to match the ‘AHA Owner’ with each AHA. #1 “My AHA Moment” My biggest, “light-bulb moment” came from an afternoon of multi-tasking- I was watching The Oprah Winfrey show and lesson planning...The topic for the day was the book The Secret and what caught my attention was a conversation about focusing your thoughts on positivity in that when you put positivity OUT and into the world, that is what comes back to you. I taught kindergarten that year & I had been struggling with what to do with a small group of boys who constantly fought in my room during centers. I had tried everything to ‘scare’ them into doing the right thing, but nothing had worked, unless they were each sitting in 4 separate corners of the room and WHO was benefitting from that??? NO ONE! I made a conscious effort that afternoon to focus on the POSITIVE attributes these rowdy boys had to offer & I stopped thinking, “Why are THEY doing this” and instead thought about what I was doing to inhibit them from being more successful. I can’t pretend that a miracle happened the next day and that from that moment on, they were perfectly behaved, but I can EASILY say that my attitude adjustment made a HUGE difference not just for them, but for the rest of my class as well AND, anytime I feel myself slipping into ‘old habits’ i.e. negative thoughts, my AHA moment smacks me into a quick adjustment. #2 “My AHA moment” happened when I got in trouble for eating glue and my teacher took the glue away and I had to use tape for the rest of the year. The AHA is that when a teacher tells you something, she’s not kidding around. #3 “My AHA moment” started in high-school but did not hit me until my first year of teaching– I was a relay runner- the kind that passed the baton to the next runner on my team and for some reason, when I started teaching, the memory of carefully handing my baton to the next runner was constantly in my mind. One morning, during a meeting, I told my 1st graders about relay racing and passing the baton, but it was clear from their looks, that they didn’t grasp what I was saying. SO - I grabbed an empty paper towel roll from the Art area & showed them, but it still didn’t seem spark understanding. When we went to recess that day, or maybe it was the next, one of my students asked me to show her how to do “that baton thing”. Within a few minutes, it seemed that the whole class had gathered and we lined up and practiced passing the ‘baton’ (which was a stick). Watching my students that day provided MANY aha moments- 1. You can be taught the importance of ‘hands-on’ learning, but until you WATCH it happen, I don’t know that it matters. 2. I am ‘passing the baton’ EVERY minute of every day that I work with children. If I pass them respect, honesty and kindness, they seem to do the same for me. If I pass them frustration or inactive listening, I get the same in return. I choose to pass the baton the RIGHT way and some of that has to do with the BATON. #4. “My AHA moment” was when I used a new pen to write on the door to my kitchen. It has four colors and I earned it by remembering to be kind to my friends. I knew my mom was looking, but it was flat and plain and I had red, green, blue and red, I mean black too and I wanted to write on it, so bad, so I did. My mom said to have good luck making that disappear. I used toilet paper. No, it didn’t work. I spit on the wall and used a towel and that didn’t work. Then I membered those wet thingy towels that are by my sister’s bed and that made the ink disappear. So, I know that wet wipey things make ink disappear. Smack on the head to drive his point home. TAKE A MOMENT- answer the question, which participant here is a child…1, 2, 3 or 4 Sometimes these light-bulb moments are incorporated into our daily lives, and sometimes they become something you won’t forget- either way; think about how you came to this AHA moment. Was is it a ‘sitting at your desk tracing dotted letters five times’ & you remember thinking, “That’s it! I know how to write my name!” Or, was it more of a TEACHABLE MOMENT. Was it a ‘gotcha surprise’ that occurred out of an unexpected occurrence? My point here is that the first order of business you need to attend to with your Adult Learners is to help them recognize the monumental possibilities that come from everyday moments. And, who doesn’t love an AHA/Teachable Moment? And- there is a blank, By Golly slide for your own use at the end of this slide-show.
- We touched on this somewhat as we reviewed TM definitions, but I want to look at some different ways Teachable Moments are referred to…because sometimes, Adult Learners (and children for that matter), may experience trepidation or worry in regards to A WORD. For example, even though I was a teacher and even though my children are relatively successful in school, the words, PARENT-TEACHER conference strikes fear into my heart every time I hear them or see them on a calendar…Perhaps this is due to my non-stellar academic experiences as a child, who knows, but I prefer to use the word, “meeting” when it comes to Parent/Teacher Conferences… You may have Adult Learners who do not feel that they experience success with Teachable Moments and that’s OKAY! Walk through some other references in regards to TM such as---
- This means you do not plan for anything to happen; it just does! Inspire teachers to let go of control and let the students initiate their learning. Your class is outside and you notice a child examining a flower, investigating a leaf or a bug, or better yet, carefully holding a butterfly or a ladybug…This unplanned moment can launch a number of opportunities; which way will you go?? Talk with your Teachers about facilitating these opportunities based on what they know about each child…Kelly loves to paint; “Kelly, what do you think about the colors on this butterfly?? They are bright, aren’t they?! I would like to use the colors I see on this butterfly to make a blanket that I am knitting! How would you use these colors?” Joqauin loves to play at the sand & water table– “Joqauin, what are you noticing about the leaves today? They are crunchy! I like to step on leaves that are crunchy, what do you like about them? What do you say we gather some of these leaves and take them inside so that your friends can explore too? Where do you think we should put the leaves?”
- Mr. Kickhaeffer- pre-k teacher I have a chance every day to motivate my students, tap into their creativity, and develop a classroom of learners. Chance is something that happens unpredictably. If we miss it, we may not get it back again. My class was making bird nests using natural resources we had found on the playground and I had asked the children to work in groups of 3; which was a new ‘adventure’ for us… As I walked around from group to group, I listened into the conversations; not many of which were about the nests or birds! One group was talking about American Idol and another was talking about how big they should make the nest; with another group arguing about their favorite colors… Not wanting to miss this chance to engage the children, I made a statement that could be heard over all the groups. I said, “I wonder who will live in these nests.” Immediately, eyes turned to me, and ideas began to flow...I jotted notes about what I heard… The children began talking about what they could put into the nests to attract birds, whether birds like soft or scratchy things best, the movie Rio (oh well- at least it is a movie about birds ), where we should keep the nests and how bird nests are different than bird houses.
- Ms. Coleman- kindergarten teacher Fleeting means, “passing quickly” and when I dismiss fleeting opportunities that arise and try to pick them up a day later, or even later in the same day, I would miss the moment. I only have each group of children for a brief time to create a love of learning and make a difference in their lives. And b/c my goal is to intentionally create learners, I need to seize every moment! As I write my lesson plans, I know that they are instructional units that are very important to the academic growth of my students, but they are not the only means to learning. They are simply the guides that direct the standards & stages of learning I need to provide. I also think of lesson plans as “roads to greater learning”. Yes, we still have to understand where numbers go on the number line, but if a child asks me why the number 8 is so funny looking (true story), I know I’m capable of spending some time asking children to draw the number in the air, use their bodies to create the number on the floor & maybe ask the children to help write a poem or short story about ‘crazy 8’.
- You spent all weekend planning the perfect lesson. You have visual aids, manipulatives, engaged children and then suddenly, RING! RING! RING! the fire alarm goes off. All your planning, your effort, ruined...Or is it? Sure, maybe the activity you had PLANNED for will have to wait until the fire drill is over and maybe even the next day, but there is still a great amount STUFF to ‘teach’ here… When you deal with unscheduled interruptions or unexpected events with patience & grace, you're teaching your students to do the same. An unexpected interruption can be a chance to discuss good listening skills, teamwork, fire safety. Be flexible or you'll definitely snap in the eventful, unscripted life of a teacher, as well as lose the chance to show children ‘how to deal’
- Another activity that can be a great launching pad for this INSIGHTFUL topic is that of Accidental Discoveries—FAMOUS teachable moments that without, our world would be a VERY different place indeed… Ask your Adult Learners to work in groups, or anyway you prefer, and to make a list of THREE (or whatever number you decide is best) famous teachable moments– accidental inventions and discoveries. Once they have had time to make their list- ask each group to share one & then reveal and compare--
- Potato Chips- a chef trying to prove a point to a customer who was continually sending back soggy fries… Coca-Cola- an Atlanta pharmacist trying to find a cure for headaches, mixed together a BUNCH of ingredients, the secrets of which are still under lock & key… Popsicles were born due to Frank Epperson leaving a drink outside in the cold all night… Penicillin– a scientist by the name of, Alexander Fleming didn't clean up his workstation before going on vacation one day in 1928. When he came back, Fleming noticed that there was a strange fungus on some of his cultures. Even stranger was that bacteria didn't seem to thrive near those cultures. Penicillin became the first and is still one of the most widely used antibiotics. As you pull this game to an end, keep in mind the importance of FOLLOW-THROUGH for each of these ‘accidents’. What would have happened if Mr. Fleming paid little or no attention to the fungus at his dirty work station??
- To summarize the Teachable Moment synonyms…We need to be able to inspire our teachers to OPEN THEIR MINDS because the things that can happen when we LET GO, just a little bit and that means different things for different people… maybe it’s showing up for lunch 2 minutes later than usual (I know a lot of you just gasped) and I know that’s a big deal, but I chose it as an example b/c my oldest son pointed out last week that lunch starts at 12:03, not 12:00; Think outside of the lesson plan book (what IF we push leaf painting to tomorrow??); OPEN OUR MINDS to the possibilities, the questions, the thoughts and the excitement of Young Learners, we have the ability to EXPAND their knowledge; motivate their thought processes and instill a love of learning that ultimately can change lives. Let’s move onto some important RETENTION points in regards to how we can provide success with Teachable Moments…
- Remind your Teachers to STOP, LOOK & LISTEN…These components are not in any particular order and are all equally important…
- Rather than moving through our days as we tend to do- getting to the right place at the right time; starting & ending every task as expected; closing the learning centers when they are supposed to be closed…Ask Teachers to STOP soak everything in…
- Another activity idea is the Dollar bill game– illustrating that no matter how often we see, touch or interact with something, we still miss things…It’s all about perspective.
- A couple ideas in regards to illustrating the importance of listening-- The first is a twist on the old-fashioned ‘telephone’ game: Ask Teachers to form a line and whisper 2 different messages one starting at one end of the line and one starting at the other. Play music, encourage giggling and other background noises. When the messages have been passed to the final person ask the original recipients if they can remember the message and then ask the final recipients what message they received. You never know what the outcome to this activity will be, but you can address the fact that classrooms are rarely quiet & that’s a good thing; at times, the noise can distract us from actively listening, but it doesn’t have to… Ask your Adult Learners to write down the names of 3 teachers who were good & supportive listeners– some may struggle to do this… Next, ask your Learners to write the names of 1-2 teachers whom they do not have fond memories of… Finally, ask your Learners to write the names of 1-2 teachers who they think of often & whom they draw inspiration from… Ask your learners if anyone from their 2nd list is duplicated in the 1st or 3rd groups. Duplication is very rare. This activity enables learners to see how good listening can lend to great memories & experiences. On the other side of LISTENING is SPEAKING – so, let’s cover some info pertaining to OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS, or as I like to call them, SPARK STARTERS
- Perhaps you noticed, but as I’ve read thoughts from various teachers throughout our session today, they share a commonality in that they consistently facilitate Teachable Moments with open-ended questions… As you know, this means that they are asking questions that do not inspire a YES or NO answer… One activity that a college professor of my own did with us back in the olden days, was that he provided us with a list of ‘closed’ questions & asked that we rewrite them all until we were certain that they were open-ended instead. We talked about WHY this was important and when we returned to class, we went to the front of the room in pairs & read through both the closed & the open-ended questions one at a time. This provided AMAZING insight– picture it= “Do you like the color red?” “No” “Tell me what things you think of when you hear the word, Red.” “Fire-trucks, my mom’s favorite color, the Kansas City Chiefs, apples that I don’t like, candy that I do like.” I encourage you to share this activity with your Teachers as it is one that has stuck with me since I left college a mere 2 years ago
- Last fall, I had the opportunity to work with a local community college’s teacher ed program & I taught a class pertaining to the importance of music in the classroom, with emphasis on multicultural instruments. Once we had covered the benefits of the instruments, I asked the students to identify why WOULDN’T they integrate this into classrooms & the overwhelming response centered around THE FEAR OF NOT KNOWING THE ANSWERS their students MIGHT ASK! Let’s review-- Consider this as you discuss Teachable Moments with your Teachers b/c not knowing the answer to the open-ended questions we are hopeful they will ask can be a yucky thing. The amount of things that my children ask me & that I don’t know the answers to is STAGGERING!!! And, if I gave you too many examples, I would lose all credibility- I will tell you one from this week though– “Mom, how many presidents have been assassinated while they were in office?” My responses to questions I don’t know the answers to vary based on whether it is information I’m going to need to do a little research (and by research, I mean, GOOGLE) or whether I can ask a semi-reliable and nearby source. HOWEVER, what never wavers for anyone who experiences this phenomenon is that when you do NOT know the answer to a question, what a GREAT teachable moment!!!! You can work with the child or children to find the answer & better yet, when it’s feasible, ask the children to TEACH YOU! When that won’t work, ask the children to teach their friends what they figured out as there is no higher level to learning than ‘teaching’ learned information. The answer, which all of you already likely know, is 4. 4 presidents have been assassinated while in office & when we arrived home & while I was googling away, I asked my sons to figure out how many letters were in the word, ‘assassinated’.
- INSPIRE YOUR TEACHERS TO make a concerted effort to STOP, LOOK & LISTEN- as often as possible. Whether it is a Teachable Moment or an Unexpected Learning Opportunity, ENCOURAGE your Teachers to take Immediate attention & to then follow-through… Teachable moments arise all day everyday, it’s our job to inspire teachers to STOP, LOOK, LISTEN & Embrace them!