Additional information
by Meredith Olson Ph. D. (Author)
They are learning what is expected of them. They will ask questions and figure things out and be rewarded with my attention. It is amazing how rewarding it is to a child, and to a classroom, for the teacher to thoughtfully listen to the comments of a child. A teacher's focused attention makes an emotional bond with the child. It draws the child from peer orientation, at least in the classroom setting. With a teacher's appreciative gaze, I have witnessed the spark of an intellect. I have watched debating skills grow. Comments become more precise, eloquent. It is a joy to watch that happen. Children want to grow up. To be seen as being competent. Worthy. Valued. Enjoyed. They strive because growing into adulthood is important to them. Children don't want friendship from a teacher. Not buddy-buddy friendship. They don't want grades. They don't even want praise, really. What they seem to want is the reflection back on themselves that they are becoming increasingly competent. Cognitively interesting. More mature. They can feel themselves growing. Debate is the reward. They thrive on a real conversation. Thoughtfully listening. Incorporating and expanding on the ideas of others. Not being judged. Just being interesting - right or wrong. No consequences. Unconditional acceptance after waiting for their turn. Just the development of an idea. My instruction has to be consistent with the end result. I can't just "tell" them. I want them to reason without being told. To own the idea. To figure it out. Mostly. Experience first, words second. So, I say, "Lets practice." "A practice topic to see how it goes." Teaching, Orchestrating the instructional setting. The ongoing discovery of how to lead students to notice and develop their inner rational self. Not to evaluate or stand in judgment of them. Report card grades are expected. They are not a surprise. They are communicated on schedule. There is nothing special or satisfying about them. They are subject to being lowered with every reporting period. A child's self image is more strongly built from the unexpected. During class debate, when the teacher pauses and says, "That was brilliant!" "Really insightful!" The child internalizes the magic of the unexpected moment. "I am capable." "I am interesting." "I am worth listening to." The magic moment of spontaneous recognition connects the child to the joy of intellectual discourse. Grades don't do that. In fact, they sabotage the very intellectual behavior we are after. I don't give grades. I give attention.
Author Biography
About the Author - Meredith Olson Ph.D. Dr. Meredith Olson, known affectionately as Doc "O" to her students, has taught elementary, middle school and high school math and science in Seattle for more than 50 years. Her primary goal is in improvement of pre-college engineering education. By going to lab to work on contraptions every day, her students come to understand properties of the mechanical world. "It has been a long and interesting trip. Studying some metallurgy in grad school. Evening classes. After a full day of high school teaching. Consulting for JPL as the Mars Pathfinder Educator. Weekends. Working in the summer with UNESCO in Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Uganda. Teaching dozens of weekend and week-long summer teacher workshops in South Carolina and Montana. Being a consultant and curriculum designer for Health and Physiology education in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska. Being a summer adjunct University instructor for more than 20 years in Seattle, Idaho and Montana. Teaching teachers. Teaching students every day, every year for 57 years. Observing how learning happens. Becoming aware when real learning isn't happening. When it is just "show." When it is just teacher-pleasing to get a grade. To get a credit. To get a university degree." See Dr. Olson's open letter outlining her philosophy of lesson design, available on the JPL website - Exploring Preface pp 11-13 http: //mars.jpl.nasa.gov/education/modules/GS/GS07-19_preface.pdf Dr. Olson believes that children must construct their own understanding from active design and assemblage of contraptions. By testing, failing, remodeling, and trying again, we come to see the structure when we look. By carefully examining materials we have, we may perceive how to use them in new and unexpected ways. Children begin to understand the engineering process. Besides, it is fun!
