For just a moment, let’s take a mental field trip.
Picture yourself back in a high school science classroom—it could be any subject. Sitting at your desk with a pencil perched lightly between your fingers, the echoing sound of the clock ticking loudly in the background mingling with the sounds of rustling papers and sniffling students. You stare blankly down at the paper in front of you, reading the words of the question over and over and over again before coming to the realization that you don’t have any idea to what the answer is. Not even a slight clue as to where to start.
Glancing up, you meet the eyes of a few other students who are in the same boat as you. In the very front of the classroom sit the students who somehow miraculously understand everything, no matter how poorly it’s taught. And while you know you’re supposed to do this worksheet by yourself in the strict silence of the full classroom, you can’t help but wonder what the point is. You’re in a classroom filled with intriguing plants and inspirational posters and empty lab tables, the environment bursting with possibility—and you have learned nothing.
Many of us know this scenario. We’ve all been there, seen teachers who have used the same worksheets and lab instructions for thirty years, never thinking that maybe, just maybe, the world has changed a little bit in that time. And the heartbreaking reality is that many classrooms are still like this today—students stuck in an endless cycle of information shoved down their throats until all they can do is spit back the routine answer. Why? Because that’s just how the game is played.
But what if teaching were different?
In a recent Twitter feed, Neil deGrasse Tyson addressed the problems many schools aren’t admitting are an issue in classrooms today.
In school, rarely do we learn how data become facts, how facts become knowledge, and how knowledge becomes wisdom.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) September 5, 2017
Exemplary teachers give students the opportunity to learn how to think rather than what to think. They explain the process of learning, fostering it in the classroom so that it becomes as natural as breathing. Teaching students in this manner has the power to change all of their learning experiences for the rest of their lives, enabling them to ask critical questions and search for answers themselves.
- Allow students to problem solve rather than giving them strict instructions, encouraging them to come up with their own way of finding a solution.
- Give students the opportunity to teach what they know to someone else-whether that be a student in another class who is struggling or a much younger student. Knowing is in explaining, and students who can teach a subject will think critically about how they think about the subject.
In school, we rarely learn probability & statistics, leaving us victims of our mind’s own inability to process random events.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) September 5, 2017
Exemplary teachers explain the why behind the what. A classroom environment that encourages questions about the material rather than shutting them down and claiming the classic, “It’s this way because it just is” allows students to broaden the spectrum of their minds. By this same theory, students aren’t left grappling with why something is the way it is—rather, they are able to come up with definitive answers. And even when the answers aren’t there, students are inspired to search for the why, creating endless opportunities for wonder and curiosity.
In school, students cheat because the system values high grades more than students value learning.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) September 6, 2017
Exemplary teachers focus on the learning rather than the instruction. It’s easy to get caught up in the curriculum, sticking with clearly defined test answers and seemingly foolproof worksheets. But if we want reform in our education systems, we have to give students the opportunity to truly learn in their own unique ways without being penalized—not just by telling them that grades aren’t everything, but by actually applying that in our own classrooms. Rewarding students for true learning experiences and working with them to achieve both a successful grade and an overarching comprehension of the subject is what teaching is all about.
- Give students opportunities to receive grades in all forms-projects, worksheets, hands-on experiences, quizzes, oral reports, etc. And for every graded assignment, be willing to work with the students to ensure their success.
- Create student ownership by giving students options for how they will be graded on certain assignments (ex. giving students the opportunity to pick any type of chemical reaction and come up with a creative way of explaining it to the class). The less boundaries around the projects, the better!
In school, curiosity is hardly ever taught or nurtured, breeding legions of students who’ve lost all love of learning.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) September 7, 2017
Exemplary teachers breed curiosity. How? By showing their own curiosity of the subjects they’re teaching. By giving each and every student a voice in the classroom. By teaching in exceptional, interactive ways. Classrooms that foster curiosity are bright, bouncing with ideas and opportunities. Classrooms that foster curiosity are classrooms kids want to be in.
I love this video of this young boy (2 years old) experimenting with his new chemistry kit. Watch the wonder and amazement on his face, and ask yourself–when is the last time I saw that same look in the eyes of high school students?
Teachers have the power to change the game.
We can give students more than knowledge-we can give them a voice. We can empower them to become lifelong learners, to leave our classroom with an entirely different view on the outside world. We can break down the barriers put up by striving for an A, instead giving students the chance to truly learn.
We can change the lives of our students today.
((For more like this, or to tell me your thoughts, follow me on Twitter at @MsPattenScience))
I agree with almost everything thing you say here. I like your emphasis on how being an exemplary science teacher, and in turn having successful students is a give an take. The teacher should be the facilitator not the dictator. In your opening remarks the teacher is a dictator. Students are doing work without knowing the point of it, just working aimlessly. In order to be an exemplary science teacher our actions need to be meaningful Students need to see the fruits of their labor and that will allow them to see their progress, and gain an appreciation for the topic.
This is exactly what I was trying to get at! Especially the idea that students should be able to see their progress and understand that they are actually learning something. I love nothing more than the “lightbulb” feeling I get when I realize that I understand something I once didn’t get, and I believe that when students get that feeling in the classroom, it can inspire them to use their new knowledge to the best of their ability.
I absolutely LOVE your intro, Naomi! Taking your readers on a hypothetical walk through this scenario of hopelessness and fear that we’ve all experienced is a great way to start the blog post, and, indeed, it’s pretty tragic when you think about the sheer quantity of terrible classrooms out there. Furthermore, I think the thing that really drives the rest of your argument forward is the disconnect between your example and how science teaching can and should be. You talk about how students need power, how they need to have freedom, and how they need to be given opportunities to grow and take charge, and all of these things are in direct opposition to the nightmarish real-world classroom example you use in the beginning. Excellent!
Exactly! The sad thing is, the parallel I’ve driven here is one that is a harsh reality for many students today. I know I myself have had both the awful hopeless classroom and the boisterous learning classroom! I’d like to change the environment of classrooms for students and hopefully, inspire other teachers to change as well. The more exemplary teaching styles, the more our students will engage and learn!
I love how you distinguish between teaching “what to think” vs. teaching “how to think.” When students are able to discover the answer themselves, they are more likely to remember it and be able to apply it to different things. In AP classes especially, I remember going through questions and term cards, being told I need to memorize everything if I want to score well. Looking back, I didn’t learn much. Whatever I “memorized” left me after took those tests.
You’re video is so unique! Perfect! We are all born with this curiosity and wonder. Exemplary teachers find a way to incorporate that natural curiosity into the classroom, because it makes learning effective and fun!
The “how to think” concept was actually really applicable in my own experiences. I remember one time, in a chemistry classroom, I had a teacher who gave us a single sheet of paper and said, “Find the width of it.” We were allowed to use anything in the classroom, and while at first I was mega frustrated that there were no instructions, by the end of the lab I had developed an understanding for metric units, mass, and general problem solving in the chemistry laboratory! I’d love to recreate this similar problem-solving environment as much as possible in my classroom, because I think it would really allow the students to have memorable experiences and take the learning with them outside of the school.