Teaching 30 students at a time, 4 or 5 hours a day, with your free time spent with the hustle and bustle of 2000 students in the near vicinity, can really drain an introvert's battery. Despite this, introverts make great teachers: they are excellent listeners and observers, so they can pick up on students' needs easily. When they plan lessons they think about the thinking that the students will be doing on the inside (and focus less on what activities the students will be doing on the outside). They think before they speak, so that explanations come out well-formed and carefully considered, instead of stream-of-consciousness style, that can be hard for students to follow.
Extroverts also make great teachers. They are enthusiastic, energised by large groups, good at expressing themselves, good at improvising and making stuff up on the spot (all teachers know how often that skill comes in handy), good at encouraging collaboration and discussion and they're more likely to take risks and make snappy decisions.
So both types of people make great teachers. I would argue, however, that extroverted teachers are seen as being better teachers by senior leaders and observers. I think introverted teachers probably get overlooked, are possibly underappreciated, and are less likely to be promoted to a teaching and learning responsibility. In the following paragraphs I will try to explain why. Please bear in mind that this is only based on my observations and experiences, and not on any real research.
When a teacher in your school stands up in front of all the other teachers in a teaching and learning meeting or hotspot or tweak of the week or whatever you call it at your school, what kind of T&L technique do they share? Chances are, it's something that appeals to extroverts. That's because that's the kind of thing that is easy to demonstrate in front of everyone. People demonstrate active learning activities, group work activities, ways of engaging students using competitions, ways of facilitating discussions, etc. I can only think of a handful of examples from whole-school T&L meetings that appeal to introverts, and that's after thinking long and hard about it. This bias means that we associate good T&L with extroversion.
How is teaching judged? Lesson observations. A member of the senior leadership team comes to a lesson, watches for half an hour, then decides how good the teaching is based on what they see. This is a flawed system for many reasons, but particularly relevant to this blog post is the fact that the observer can only really pick up on external signs of learning. Extroverted teachers tend to elicit external signs of learning. Introverted teachers tend not to. For example, an extroverted teacher may do more whole-class questioning, where students answer out loud or on mini whiteboards in front of the class (and hence, in front of the observer), whereas an introverted teacher may do more individual work where students complete a task in their books by themselves, with very skillful teacher questioning taking place on a one-to-one or two basis. The observer may not be able to see the very real and significant learning that is taking place within a student's mind as they work through a very carefully structured individual task. Therefore, the introverted teacher is rated lower than the extroverted teacher, even though the same amount of learning may be taking place. This leads to one of two things: either the introverted teacher gets poor lesson observation results every time, and they are passed over when it comes to teaching and learning responsibilities and promotions, or the introverted teacher is made to go and watch that amazing teacher who has all-singing all-dancing lessons and are told to try and use some of their techniques in future observations. The introvert may do this, but only when being observed, thus perpetuating the myth that good teaching must involve external signs of learning, and also making lesson observations particularly stressful for these teachers who are forced out of their comfort zone unnecessarily.
I would hazard a guess that at most schools the teaching and learning specialists are mostly extroverts. And I would also guess that when they get together to have teaching and learning meetings, the extroverts dominate the discussions (as extroverts tend to do). This again leads to a bias towards extroverted teaching.
The maths department at my school is not particularly well known within my school as having amazing teaching and learning. We don't do particularly well in lesson observations (compared to the rest of the school) and we are very under-represented in terms of T&L specialists (we have one in the maths department, compared to 4 in English). As a department, I reckon we probably have the most introverts. This kind of makes sense, as I think maths as a subject suits introverts (classic joke: how can you tell if a mathematician is an extrovert? He's looking at someone else's shoes). So if T&L is biased towards extroverts, then the maths department has suffered the most. We know we're good teachers because we get really good results. But maths teachers almost never do teaching and learning hotspots in front of the rest of the staff. Teachers rarely get directed towards maths teachers to go and watch good practice. Think of all the amazing teaching that is going on that is being overlooked and underappreciated.
So where are all the amazing introverted teachers? How can we encourage introverted teachers to share their amazing introverted teaching techniques? I don't actually know the answer to that. If you have any ideas, please let me know. I, personally, like to write about these things on my blog. In a blog, you can sit alone (not stand in front of a crowd), you can carefully consider your words (instead of having to speak on the spot) and if anyone questions you, this will be in the form of written comments, which you can address in your own time and space. Of course, not every introvert is like me, and not everyone would enjoy writing a blog. If I was in charge of T&L across a school, I would be tempted to split T&L meetings into two groups: introverts and extroverts. Let the extroverts talk about their speed dating and hot seating and relays, and let the introverts talk about metacognition and constructivism and individual tasks that lead to deep understanding. Of course, I'll never be in charge of T&L in any school, because I'm an introvert. Also because I always crack stupid jokes in interviews.
Introverts: please let me know what you think of all of the above by leaving a comment here or on facebook if you're my friend or in an email if you're my colleague. Extroverts: please let me know what you think of all of the above by cornering me in the corridor and talking at me until I get so uncomfortable I have to pretend I'm on playground duty so I can escape (just kidding! Well, mostly...)
Emma x x x
Tuesday, 4 April 2017
Wednesday, 29 March 2017
How to Support and Nurture Introverted Students
Our school system is designed for extroverts. Learning takes place in large groups, with participation and collaboration not just encouraged, but compulsory. Students who don't work well in groups, or who don't learn well as part of a collective, are at a disadvantage. Students who don't put up their hands are too often ignored. Quiet students are too often left to coast without being fully challenged.
Teaching extroverts is simple. They tend to respond quickly. They make fast decisions. They are comfortable with multi-tasking and risk-taking. They tell you when they don't understand something. They ask for help. They think out loud, so you can unpick their thinking and tackle misconceptions. They answer questions and contribute to class discussions. When you have students like this in your class, you will find yourself catering to their needs because they make their needs known. Extroverts dictate the pace of the lesson, because they are the ones giving you feedback.
In my year 11 class, for example, whenever the students are doing exercises from the textbook, there are certain students who will always call for me. Most of the time, they don't even need help. They ask me, "is this right?" (they could just look at the answer page in the back of the book) or they ask me questions they already know the answer to: "Am I supposed to differentiate it then substitute x = 2?" These are the extroverts. The introverts only call for me when they've already checked the answer in the back, seen that they've got it wrong, and tried to do it again and failed again. This could mean they end up working at a slower pace. That wouldn't be a problem at all, (in fact they will have gained a deeper understanding by doing this) except for the fact that the extroverts determine the pace of the lesson, and the class may move on before the introverts are really ready.
There's also the problem of teacher expectations. Studies have shown that people who talk more are viewed as more intelligent. Introverts may be labelled as slower, less confident, and weaker, and we all know that labelling students often has fatal consequences. Students also compare themselves to each other, and introverts may see extroverts as being more intelligent than them. This may make them feel inferior and this could lead to lower self-expectations, and hence lower achievement.
So what can we do to remedy this?
Encourage introverted students to email you when they are stuck on something. Emailing is a much easier method of communication for introverts because it does not involve physically being around people. It also allows them to read and absorb your reply at their own pace and internalise it (which is an awkward process when you're face to face with someone).
Similarly, ask students to write you questions or comments in their exercise books. When you take in their books to mark them, you can read and reply to these comments.
Using mini whiteboards with quickfire questions is a very effective method of gauging a class's understanding, and picking up on and dealing with misconceptions quickly. However, it is not well-suited to introverts. Introverts prefer to work at their own pace, without external pressure. They may panic at the idea of working something out so quickly and having to show the teacher immediately. In this panic, they may end up simply copying someone else's answer. Allow these students to complete questions in their book instead, and after that section of the lesson, go to those students and check their answers, and address misconceptions if necessary.
Provide hint cards for students to use when doing an activity. If they get stuck, introverts can look at the hint card and use this to get themselves unstuck. Or provide them with a website they can look at on their phone, or a page reference for their textbook.
When making seating plans, it's probably very tempting to put louder students next to quieter students in an attempt to make the louder students quieter, and keep the overall volume down. It may achieve this goal, but I'd argue it's detrimental to both types of student. Extroverts need to give and receive external stimulation (thinking out loud, talking through their reasoning) and introverts need to have as little external stimulation as possible. Therefore it makes most sense to sit introverts with introverts and extroverts with extroverts. You might say, "---- is so quiet, I should make ------ sit next to her to try and bring her out of her shell a bit". If you're thinking that, you don't understand introverts. If someone feels most comfortable inside their shell, that's where they should stay, because that's where they will learn most effectively.
Introverts are not necessarily shy, but many of them are, and many of them hate being made to answer questions in front of the class. If they haven't put their hand up to answer any questions, sometimes you may call on them just to check their understanding and to check they're actually listening. Do you have to do this? Could you wait until the class are busy with an activity, and approach these students individually and check their understanding one-to-one? If you really want them to participate in a class discussion, give them some advance warning that you are going to ask them to contribute, so that they have time to prepare what they're going to say. Extroverts are good at thinking out loud, so they can talk and think at the same time. Introverts find this really difficult, so they have to fully form their thoughts before they open their mouth.
Every so often, you'll have what you consider a "fun" lesson. This might involve a team competition, an active lesson like a relay, or something a bit different like role playing or drama. This sort of thing might be considered fun by extroverts, but not necessarily by introverts. For introverts, a fun lesson might be one where everyone is working very quietly, maybe listening to music through headphones (so that no one can talk to you), working on an individual task that involves no collaboration at all. It might involve not having to sit in their usual seats at desks, but being able to sit on the floor in the corner, or using the window sill as a desk so they can stare out of the window as they think. If you're going to have fun lessons for extroverts sometimes, you should also have fun lessons for introverts. Otherwise, you're not being fair.
The latest craze seems to be Walking, Talking Mocks. This is where the teacher talks through an exam paper and models answering every question, which the students then copy down. Doing it this way favours extroverts, who like to talk through problems and like to have teachers talking at them, as this is external. However, introverts find it difficult to think about things that are external. The teacher's model solution is external, and the introvert needs a few minutes to read it to themselves and internalise it. So an adaptation that is a good compromise is getting the students to spend a few minutes answering a question by themselves, then go through the model solution, then provide a few minutes for reflection, then repeat. Alternatively, record yourself doing an exam paper, and talk through your thought processes as you do it. Give this to the students to watch, either in a lesson (with individual devices and headphones) or at home. Introverts can pause the video whenever they need to stop and contemplate.
Please let me know if you have any other ideas. Also let me know if you agree or disagree with anything I've said here. I'd love to know your thoughts.
Emma x x x
Teaching extroverts is simple. They tend to respond quickly. They make fast decisions. They are comfortable with multi-tasking and risk-taking. They tell you when they don't understand something. They ask for help. They think out loud, so you can unpick their thinking and tackle misconceptions. They answer questions and contribute to class discussions. When you have students like this in your class, you will find yourself catering to their needs because they make their needs known. Extroverts dictate the pace of the lesson, because they are the ones giving you feedback.
In my year 11 class, for example, whenever the students are doing exercises from the textbook, there are certain students who will always call for me. Most of the time, they don't even need help. They ask me, "is this right?" (they could just look at the answer page in the back of the book) or they ask me questions they already know the answer to: "Am I supposed to differentiate it then substitute x = 2?" These are the extroverts. The introverts only call for me when they've already checked the answer in the back, seen that they've got it wrong, and tried to do it again and failed again. This could mean they end up working at a slower pace. That wouldn't be a problem at all, (in fact they will have gained a deeper understanding by doing this) except for the fact that the extroverts determine the pace of the lesson, and the class may move on before the introverts are really ready.
There's also the problem of teacher expectations. Studies have shown that people who talk more are viewed as more intelligent. Introverts may be labelled as slower, less confident, and weaker, and we all know that labelling students often has fatal consequences. Students also compare themselves to each other, and introverts may see extroverts as being more intelligent than them. This may make them feel inferior and this could lead to lower self-expectations, and hence lower achievement.
So what can we do to remedy this?
Encourage introverted students to email you when they are stuck on something. Emailing is a much easier method of communication for introverts because it does not involve physically being around people. It also allows them to read and absorb your reply at their own pace and internalise it (which is an awkward process when you're face to face with someone).
Similarly, ask students to write you questions or comments in their exercise books. When you take in their books to mark them, you can read and reply to these comments.
Using mini whiteboards with quickfire questions is a very effective method of gauging a class's understanding, and picking up on and dealing with misconceptions quickly. However, it is not well-suited to introverts. Introverts prefer to work at their own pace, without external pressure. They may panic at the idea of working something out so quickly and having to show the teacher immediately. In this panic, they may end up simply copying someone else's answer. Allow these students to complete questions in their book instead, and after that section of the lesson, go to those students and check their answers, and address misconceptions if necessary.
Provide hint cards for students to use when doing an activity. If they get stuck, introverts can look at the hint card and use this to get themselves unstuck. Or provide them with a website they can look at on their phone, or a page reference for their textbook.
When making seating plans, it's probably very tempting to put louder students next to quieter students in an attempt to make the louder students quieter, and keep the overall volume down. It may achieve this goal, but I'd argue it's detrimental to both types of student. Extroverts need to give and receive external stimulation (thinking out loud, talking through their reasoning) and introverts need to have as little external stimulation as possible. Therefore it makes most sense to sit introverts with introverts and extroverts with extroverts. You might say, "---- is so quiet, I should make ------ sit next to her to try and bring her out of her shell a bit". If you're thinking that, you don't understand introverts. If someone feels most comfortable inside their shell, that's where they should stay, because that's where they will learn most effectively.
Introverts are not necessarily shy, but many of them are, and many of them hate being made to answer questions in front of the class. If they haven't put their hand up to answer any questions, sometimes you may call on them just to check their understanding and to check they're actually listening. Do you have to do this? Could you wait until the class are busy with an activity, and approach these students individually and check their understanding one-to-one? If you really want them to participate in a class discussion, give them some advance warning that you are going to ask them to contribute, so that they have time to prepare what they're going to say. Extroverts are good at thinking out loud, so they can talk and think at the same time. Introverts find this really difficult, so they have to fully form their thoughts before they open their mouth.
Every so often, you'll have what you consider a "fun" lesson. This might involve a team competition, an active lesson like a relay, or something a bit different like role playing or drama. This sort of thing might be considered fun by extroverts, but not necessarily by introverts. For introverts, a fun lesson might be one where everyone is working very quietly, maybe listening to music through headphones (so that no one can talk to you), working on an individual task that involves no collaboration at all. It might involve not having to sit in their usual seats at desks, but being able to sit on the floor in the corner, or using the window sill as a desk so they can stare out of the window as they think. If you're going to have fun lessons for extroverts sometimes, you should also have fun lessons for introverts. Otherwise, you're not being fair.
The latest craze seems to be Walking, Talking Mocks. This is where the teacher talks through an exam paper and models answering every question, which the students then copy down. Doing it this way favours extroverts, who like to talk through problems and like to have teachers talking at them, as this is external. However, introverts find it difficult to think about things that are external. The teacher's model solution is external, and the introvert needs a few minutes to read it to themselves and internalise it. So an adaptation that is a good compromise is getting the students to spend a few minutes answering a question by themselves, then go through the model solution, then provide a few minutes for reflection, then repeat. Alternatively, record yourself doing an exam paper, and talk through your thought processes as you do it. Give this to the students to watch, either in a lesson (with individual devices and headphones) or at home. Introverts can pause the video whenever they need to stop and contemplate.
Please let me know if you have any other ideas. Also let me know if you agree or disagree with anything I've said here. I'd love to know your thoughts.
Emma x x x
Tuesday, 28 March 2017
Being an Introvert in an Education System Built for Extroverts
I recently read Susan Cain's book Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking and felt like I finally understood myself. I had always thought that I was an extrovert. I love public speaking. I'm always the first on the dance floor. I'm not at all shy in front of a camera and will happily post videos of myself on the internet. Clearly an extrovert, right? Well it turns out I was wrong. Let me explain why.
Introversion and extroversion are not about being shy and being outgoing. They are about where you get your energy from. An introvert recharges their batteries by spending time alone, in an environment with little external stimulation. Their batteries get drained by being around lots of people, with lots of external stimulation. For extroverts, it's the other way round.
I love public speaking, but that's because I'm standing by myself on a stage, not interacting with people. I'm always the first on the dance floor, because that's when it's at its emptiest and I can dance as a means of escaping social interactions. I always leave the dance floor when it becomes too crowded. I'm not shy in front of a camera, because I'm alone, and I'm sort of just talking to myself. Posting it on the internet doesn't bother me, because I don't have to be around people in real life. I don't mind attention (in fact I love it), I just don't like being physically surrounded by lots of people in a loud, stimulating environment.
Realising I was an introvert made me understand myself a lot better. It made me realise that I need a certain amount of alone time everyday in order to recharge my batteries. My job is not particularly well-suited to introverts; I spend most of my working day surrounded by 30 hyperactive children. That's why I walk to and from school everyday: that 40 minutes of quiet reflection helps me recharge my depleted energy stores.
Unfortunately for me, the way our society is built favours extroverts. That's because those in positions of power are quite obviously more likely to be extroverts. Managers and leaders are more likely to be extroverts, but that's not because extroverts make better managers, they're just more likely to apply for the job, perform well in the interview, and enjoy many of the aspects of the job.
But this is a blog about teaching and learning, not office politics, so let me get to the point. Our education system favours extroverted students. Here's why:
- Students are taught in groups, usually between 10 and 35 students in each group. Thus students spend the majority of their day surrounded by a crowd.
- Group work is encouraged, and is seen as good pedagogy. Students get told off for not contributing.
- Students who put their hands up to answer questions are the ones who receive the most teacher attention. They also receive the most praise.
- Classrooms are designed to be visually stimulating, with brightly coloured, busy wall displays and fluorescent lights.
- At lunchtime and break time, students do not generally have the option of seeking out a quiet spot they can call their own. In most schools, they either have to sit in the canteen or go out to the playground. Both of which are crowded and noisy.
- The new "thing" in education is using technology to make every aspect of the lesson "interactive". Some of us don't like interacting.
- Most of the new teaching techniques I've been introduced to during teaching and learning meetings at my school seem to cater to extroverts: speed dating, relays, walking talking mocks, hot seating, role playing... Maybe teaching and learning leaders in schools are more likely to be extroverts themselves?
In my next post, I will talk about how we can redress the balance a little by using techniques that can support introverted students.
Are you an introvert or an extrovert and do you think it affected your education at all? Do you disagree that our school system favours extroverts? Let me know in the comments.
Emma x x x
Sunday, 12 March 2017
Bad Exam Advice
I was marking mock exam papers this weekend (in fact that's pretty much the only thing I did this weekend - whose idea was it to introduce a third paper? And whose idea was it to put 31 students in my class?) when during a moment of extreme boredom I read the front of the exam paper.
I was going to blur out the student's name to protect his privacy, and then I realised he had (very considerately) already made his name unreadable. Unfortunately for me, he also made all of his working out illegible too.
In the section that says "instructions to candidates", it says:
When trying to solve a maths problem, you will very rarely know what you have to do before you start answering it. For example, take the last question of this paper:
When I look at this question, I don't know exactly what the steps are and what the proof looks like. I know it will involve some angle rules, but which ones and in which order, I don't know. It would be completely stupid to sit there looking at the question for fifteen minutes trying to work out exactly what I need to do before starting my answer. The sensible thing to do would be to write down something you do know. For example, you know that OQ and OR are both radii and hence equal in length. After that, you might be a bit stuck, so you start trying things. Eventually, you might realise that drawing in the line PO would be helpful. At this point, you still don't know how you're going to complete the proof. You give some angles some letters, so that you can write some relationships more easily. You could let PQO=x, and therefore QPO=x too. Let ORP = y, so OPR =y. Then you might decide to work out QOP and ROP, not because you know that it's going to help, but because you know how to do it so you may as well. QOP= 180-2x, ROP = 180-2y. Then you work out QOR, because, well, it's there. QOR = 360-(180-2x)-(180-2y) = 2x+2y. Then you realise that QPR= x+y which means that you have proved it. Then you do a happy dance and probably write your maths teacher a note like "circle theorems is bae" (yes one of my students actually wrote that).
At no point during this proof had you worked out what you needed to do to answer the question. You tried some stuff, and some stuff led to other stuff, and eventually the problem was solved. This is how maths problems should be solved. If you know exactly how to answer the question before you start answering it, it's probably not a very interesting question.
I'm wondering whether the creator of this exam question intended for the students to know what they have to do before answering it. That would mean they were expecting students to have memorised by heart proofs to all of the circle theorems. What a depressing thought that is. How is regurgitating a bunch of proofs a sign of good mathematical thinking?
My head of department has a speech he likes to give students on this topic. (Actually, he has lots of speeches he likes to give, as his (and my) students know all too well). He says that it's like untangling your earphones. Earphones, as we know, automatically tangle themselves as soon as you stop using them. And when you want to use them, you have to spend a good five minutes untangling them. When you do this, do you look at the ball of entwined wires in your hand and think, "right, first I'll move that bit under that bit, then I'll pull this end through there, then I'll twist that bit round..."? Of course you don't, that would be silly. Instead, you get stuck in trying to untangle them. You pull bits and you twist bits and you play around with it. And eventually, no matter how bad the tangling was, you always succeed in getting them straightened out. This is exactly how you should tackle a maths problem.
So my advice would be to ignore the advice on the front of the exam paper. Well, except the bit that says "read each question carefully". Oh and also the bit that says "You are reminded of the need for clear presentation in your answers" (which several of my students definitely ignored).
Emma x x x
In the section that says "instructions to candidates", it says:
"Make sure you know what you have to do before starting your answer."Does anyone else disagree completely with this advice?
When trying to solve a maths problem, you will very rarely know what you have to do before you start answering it. For example, take the last question of this paper:
When I look at this question, I don't know exactly what the steps are and what the proof looks like. I know it will involve some angle rules, but which ones and in which order, I don't know. It would be completely stupid to sit there looking at the question for fifteen minutes trying to work out exactly what I need to do before starting my answer. The sensible thing to do would be to write down something you do know. For example, you know that OQ and OR are both radii and hence equal in length. After that, you might be a bit stuck, so you start trying things. Eventually, you might realise that drawing in the line PO would be helpful. At this point, you still don't know how you're going to complete the proof. You give some angles some letters, so that you can write some relationships more easily. You could let PQO=x, and therefore QPO=x too. Let ORP = y, so OPR =y. Then you might decide to work out QOP and ROP, not because you know that it's going to help, but because you know how to do it so you may as well. QOP= 180-2x, ROP = 180-2y. Then you work out QOR, because, well, it's there. QOR = 360-(180-2x)-(180-2y) = 2x+2y. Then you realise that QPR= x+y which means that you have proved it. Then you do a happy dance and probably write your maths teacher a note like "circle theorems is bae" (yes one of my students actually wrote that).
At no point during this proof had you worked out what you needed to do to answer the question. You tried some stuff, and some stuff led to other stuff, and eventually the problem was solved. This is how maths problems should be solved. If you know exactly how to answer the question before you start answering it, it's probably not a very interesting question.
I'm wondering whether the creator of this exam question intended for the students to know what they have to do before answering it. That would mean they were expecting students to have memorised by heart proofs to all of the circle theorems. What a depressing thought that is. How is regurgitating a bunch of proofs a sign of good mathematical thinking?
My head of department has a speech he likes to give students on this topic. (Actually, he has lots of speeches he likes to give, as his (and my) students know all too well). He says that it's like untangling your earphones. Earphones, as we know, automatically tangle themselves as soon as you stop using them. And when you want to use them, you have to spend a good five minutes untangling them. When you do this, do you look at the ball of entwined wires in your hand and think, "right, first I'll move that bit under that bit, then I'll pull this end through there, then I'll twist that bit round..."? Of course you don't, that would be silly. Instead, you get stuck in trying to untangle them. You pull bits and you twist bits and you play around with it. And eventually, no matter how bad the tangling was, you always succeed in getting them straightened out. This is exactly how you should tackle a maths problem.
So my advice would be to ignore the advice on the front of the exam paper. Well, except the bit that says "read each question carefully". Oh and also the bit that says "You are reminded of the need for clear presentation in your answers" (which several of my students definitely ignored).
Emma x x x
Monday, 13 February 2017
The Four Tendencies in More Depth: Rebels
This is my fifth blog post in this series. If you're new here, you may want to start with the first post.
I'm sure a lot of you have been eagerly awaiting this post! How do you deal with students who always do the exact opposite of what they're supposed to? A Rebel resists all expectations, outer and inner. This means that they hate to do what they're told to do, but they also struggle to do what they want to do themselves.
You have been using the learning and decorum points system in your lessons regularly since your colleague introduced you to it. You like it. Then senior management announce that it is now school policy to use this system in every lesson. You feel annoyed that you are being told how to do your job, so you stop using this system.
You mark your books regularly and to a high standard, except when there's a work scrutiny coming up. Then you stop marking until after the scrutiny is over. When your line manager asks why, you find that you honestly can't explain. You feel annoyed at yourself.
You eat quite healthily most of the time. One day you decide that you would like to lose weight, and you put yourself on a diet. By the end of the day you have eaten more junk food than you've ever eaten before in a day, and you feel terrible.
They are often late to school, with no explanation as to why.
They resist wearing the school uniform, and alter it as much as they can.
The more they want to succeed in a subject, the worse their assessment results become.
I think that many teachers would put badly-behaved and underachieving students in the Rebel category automatically, but please think carefully before diagnosing them like this. If the student's behaviour improves whilst on report, or whilst having careful monitoring, they are an Obliger, not a Rebel. If they are able to follow their own rules but not the school's, they are Questioners. Rebels are actually pretty rare, and the students with the worst behaviour are not necessarily Rebels.
Rebels resist expectations, so use a bit of reverse psychology. Tell them that they'll never amount to anything and that they'll end up in prison and they'll never pass a single GCSE. They then might start to "prove you wrong". This is an extremely dangerous strategy and I don't actually recommend it unless you happen to be starring in a film about disadvantaged kids, and you have a co-star (possibly the late Robin Williams) to help build the child's self-esteem back up in the end.
Although Rebels naturally act against expectations, they will still follow the rules if there is literally no escaping them. For some Rebel students, this is the only way they can succeed in life. This might be why, according to Gretchen Rubin, there is a surprisingly high incidence of Rebels in the army. They hate following rules, but deep down they really want to be able to get things done and learn and achieve good grades. Having water-tight rules may be the only way this can happen. They will hate it. They will complain. They will swear at you. They may even throw furniture around. But they will be so, so, grateful a few years later.
Do you have any good tips for supporting Rebel students? I'm not sure I've ever really taught a Rebel (so far) so I'm not sure my advice is that good in practice.
If you're a rebel yourself, do you identify with anything I've said? What are your own tips for managing yourself? Please don't leave me a comment below.
Emma x x x
PS Just wanted to give a shout out to the two most annoying students on the planet who begged me to write a blog post about them. To protect their identity, I will simply refer to them as Myub and Aughal. I will not be writing an entire post dedicated to them, as the only thing I would be able to say is that they spend far too much of their maths lessons thinking of irrelevant questions they can ask me.
I'm sure a lot of you have been eagerly awaiting this post! How do you deal with students who always do the exact opposite of what they're supposed to? A Rebel resists all expectations, outer and inner. This means that they hate to do what they're told to do, but they also struggle to do what they want to do themselves.
How to tell if you're a Rebel
You have been using the learning and decorum points system in your lessons regularly since your colleague introduced you to it. You like it. Then senior management announce that it is now school policy to use this system in every lesson. You feel annoyed that you are being told how to do your job, so you stop using this system.
You mark your books regularly and to a high standard, except when there's a work scrutiny coming up. Then you stop marking until after the scrutiny is over. When your line manager asks why, you find that you honestly can't explain. You feel annoyed at yourself.
You eat quite healthily most of the time. One day you decide that you would like to lose weight, and you put yourself on a diet. By the end of the day you have eaten more junk food than you've ever eaten before in a day, and you feel terrible.
How to tell if your student is a Rebel
They are often late to school, with no explanation as to why.
They resist wearing the school uniform, and alter it as much as they can.
The more they want to succeed in a subject, the worse their assessment results become.
How to support Rebel students
Make sure they're really Rebels
I think that many teachers would put badly-behaved and underachieving students in the Rebel category automatically, but please think carefully before diagnosing them like this. If the student's behaviour improves whilst on report, or whilst having careful monitoring, they are an Obliger, not a Rebel. If they are able to follow their own rules but not the school's, they are Questioners. Rebels are actually pretty rare, and the students with the worst behaviour are not necessarily Rebels.
Change your expectations
Rebels resist expectations, so use a bit of reverse psychology. Tell them that they'll never amount to anything and that they'll end up in prison and they'll never pass a single GCSE. They then might start to "prove you wrong". This is an extremely dangerous strategy and I don't actually recommend it unless you happen to be starring in a film about disadvantaged kids, and you have a co-star (possibly the late Robin Williams) to help build the child's self-esteem back up in the end.
Go even stricter
Although Rebels naturally act against expectations, they will still follow the rules if there is literally no escaping them. For some Rebel students, this is the only way they can succeed in life. This might be why, according to Gretchen Rubin, there is a surprisingly high incidence of Rebels in the army. They hate following rules, but deep down they really want to be able to get things done and learn and achieve good grades. Having water-tight rules may be the only way this can happen. They will hate it. They will complain. They will swear at you. They may even throw furniture around. But they will be so, so, grateful a few years later.
Do you have any good tips for supporting Rebel students? I'm not sure I've ever really taught a Rebel (so far) so I'm not sure my advice is that good in practice.
If you're a rebel yourself, do you identify with anything I've said? What are your own tips for managing yourself? Please don't leave me a comment below.
Emma x x x
PS Just wanted to give a shout out to the two most annoying students on the planet who begged me to write a blog post about them. To protect their identity, I will simply refer to them as Myub and Aughal. I will not be writing an entire post dedicated to them, as the only thing I would be able to say is that they spend far too much of their maths lessons thinking of irrelevant questions they can ask me.
Sunday, 12 February 2017
The Four Tendencies in More Depth: Upholder
This is my fourth post in my mini series about Gretchen Rubin's Four Tendencies. If you're new here, you may want to start with my first post on the topic.
Upholders are people who seek to fulfill both internal and external expectations. They do what they're told to do, even if they're not necessarily going to be checked up on (unlike Obligers) and they do what they want to do too. Hermione Grainger is your classic Upholder, as is Lisa Simpson. Both girls take rules very seriously and follow them strictly, but they also hold themselves to high internal standards: Lisa is a vegetarian and big on animal rights and environmental issues, and Hermione campaigns against House Elf exploitation. In other words, they follow the rules, but they don't just follow the rules, they also do what they think is right, whether or not someone is looking.
You wait until the green man before crossing the road, even if there are no cars coming.
You have had no trouble sticking to your twice-weekly yoga routine, even though you're getting bored of it.
When senior management say that this week, instead of the usual meeting, teachers should use the hour to fill in their progress reports, you actually do use that specific hour for filling in your progress reports, while all of your colleagues spend the time planning tomorrow's lessonsor writing their blog.
When a lazy/disorganised teacher says the homework for that lesson is to "just revise what you learnt today", she actually does go home and revise, even though she knows the teacher will not be checking they have done it.
He's on the football team, in the debate club, and taking part in Duke of Edinburgh. His parents say, "I think he should give something up, he's always so busy".
If she is off school one day, she will make sure she catches up on the classwork and homework before the next lesson, even if you're not the kind of teacher who would expect your students to do this.
Upholders generally make model students. They follow the rules without much external pressure to do so. They do what they think is right, but unlike Questioners, the reason "because it's a the rule" is perfectly acceptable to them. Upholders tend to make a lot of progress in school, and be successful in life.
The only downside to being an Upholder is the immense pressure they put themselves under. If you have an Upholder student who is aiming for high grades, and is also taking part in lots of extra-curriculars, as well as taking care of their family, at some point that Upholder might start to crumble under the weight of their own expectations. You may need to help them realise that they don't need to do everything. If you need to, make it a rule. You could tell them that it is against the rules to be in more than two after-school clubs. You could make it a rule that no studying can be done after 9pm. You could make it a rule that they read for pleasure or watch TV or play a video game for half an hour every day. Of course, as a teacher, you won't be able to enforce these rules. But as an Upholder, they'll stick to the rules whether you would know or not.
It's tempting to say to the class, "why can't you be more like ---, he always does his homework and his work is always so neat and he always studies hard for each assessment". You want to encourage the rest of the class to be more like your favourite Upholder. This is bad for two reasons. One: the Questioners, Obligers and Rebels in the class cannot simply turn themselves into Upholders, even if they wanted to. You need to support them to be better within their own tendencies. Two: Upholders really don't need this extra pressure. Using the word "always" is particularly dangerous: it raises the stakes and means that the Upholder may become scared of making a single mistake in future.
This reminds me of one of my students who I taught for four years. He was the model student (and definitely an Upholder). One day, in the fourth year that I taught him, he told me he had not done his homework. It was obvious to him that he was annoyed with himself for breaking his three and a half year streak of perfection. The class was shocked (but took perverse pleasure in seeing his downfall). However, I then pointed out that he still had the three chances that I had given the class back in their first year, and hence was off the hook. I even encouraged him to make use of the remaining two chances before he left school the following year. I didn't just let him off "because he's usually so good", I let him off because that was the rule that had been established (albeit seveal years ago). This way, the class didn't think he was getting special treatment, and he didn't have to feel guilty: the rules were being followed.
Are you an Upholder? Does what I've said ring true for you? Please let me know in the comments section.
Stay tuned for the final post in this series, in which I will talk about how to deal with Rebel students. I have definitely saved the most difficult for last!
Emma x x x
Upholders are people who seek to fulfill both internal and external expectations. They do what they're told to do, even if they're not necessarily going to be checked up on (unlike Obligers) and they do what they want to do too. Hermione Grainger is your classic Upholder, as is Lisa Simpson. Both girls take rules very seriously and follow them strictly, but they also hold themselves to high internal standards: Lisa is a vegetarian and big on animal rights and environmental issues, and Hermione campaigns against House Elf exploitation. In other words, they follow the rules, but they don't just follow the rules, they also do what they think is right, whether or not someone is looking.
How do you know if you're an Upholder?
You wait until the green man before crossing the road, even if there are no cars coming.
You have had no trouble sticking to your twice-weekly yoga routine, even though you're getting bored of it.
When senior management say that this week, instead of the usual meeting, teachers should use the hour to fill in their progress reports, you actually do use that specific hour for filling in your progress reports, while all of your colleagues spend the time planning tomorrow's lessons
How do you know if your student is an Upholder?
When a lazy/disorganised teacher says the homework for that lesson is to "just revise what you learnt today", she actually does go home and revise, even though she knows the teacher will not be checking they have done it.
He's on the football team, in the debate club, and taking part in Duke of Edinburgh. His parents say, "I think he should give something up, he's always so busy".
If she is off school one day, she will make sure she catches up on the classwork and homework before the next lesson, even if you're not the kind of teacher who would expect your students to do this.
How to support an Upholder student
Do nothing?
Upholders generally make model students. They follow the rules without much external pressure to do so. They do what they think is right, but unlike Questioners, the reason "because it's a the rule" is perfectly acceptable to them. Upholders tend to make a lot of progress in school, and be successful in life.
Help them take it easy
The only downside to being an Upholder is the immense pressure they put themselves under. If you have an Upholder student who is aiming for high grades, and is also taking part in lots of extra-curriculars, as well as taking care of their family, at some point that Upholder might start to crumble under the weight of their own expectations. You may need to help them realise that they don't need to do everything. If you need to, make it a rule. You could tell them that it is against the rules to be in more than two after-school clubs. You could make it a rule that no studying can be done after 9pm. You could make it a rule that they read for pleasure or watch TV or play a video game for half an hour every day. Of course, as a teacher, you won't be able to enforce these rules. But as an Upholder, they'll stick to the rules whether you would know or not.
Don't put them on a pedestal
It's tempting to say to the class, "why can't you be more like ---, he always does his homework and his work is always so neat and he always studies hard for each assessment". You want to encourage the rest of the class to be more like your favourite Upholder. This is bad for two reasons. One: the Questioners, Obligers and Rebels in the class cannot simply turn themselves into Upholders, even if they wanted to. You need to support them to be better within their own tendencies. Two: Upholders really don't need this extra pressure. Using the word "always" is particularly dangerous: it raises the stakes and means that the Upholder may become scared of making a single mistake in future.
This reminds me of one of my students who I taught for four years. He was the model student (and definitely an Upholder). One day, in the fourth year that I taught him, he told me he had not done his homework. It was obvious to him that he was annoyed with himself for breaking his three and a half year streak of perfection. The class was shocked (but took perverse pleasure in seeing his downfall). However, I then pointed out that he still had the three chances that I had given the class back in their first year, and hence was off the hook. I even encouraged him to make use of the remaining two chances before he left school the following year. I didn't just let him off "because he's usually so good", I let him off because that was the rule that had been established (albeit seveal years ago). This way, the class didn't think he was getting special treatment, and he didn't have to feel guilty: the rules were being followed.
Are you an Upholder? Does what I've said ring true for you? Please let me know in the comments section.
Stay tuned for the final post in this series, in which I will talk about how to deal with Rebel students. I have definitely saved the most difficult for last!
Emma x x x
Wednesday, 8 February 2017
The Four Tendencies in More Depth: Questioner
This week I have been writing about Gretchen Rubin's Four Tendencies, which she writes about in the wonderful book Better Than Before. If you're new here, I suggest you check out my first post in this series before reading this one.
Yesterday I talked about how we can get the best out of our Obliger students. Today I'm going to talk about the Questioners.
Your line manager tells you to follow the school marking policy of marking books every two weeks and writing an "even better if" target in each student's book. You think that marking often is important, but you think the targets are pointless. So you mark their books every two weeks, but you don't write the targets.
You forget to fill in your register at least twice a week for several years. You get emails every time, reminding you that you must take the register every lesson, and your line manager is copied into the email, but you still put the register at the bottom of your priorities list during the lesson. However, one day your child protection officer explains how not having accurate registers at school could facilitate child sexual exploitation, and since then you have done your register every single day.
You are asked by senior management to analyse the progress matrices of your students and write a brief report. This task will take you approximately thirty minutes to complete. Instead of spending those thirty minutes on the task, you spend the time explaining to your colleagues why progress matrices are meaningless and that any conclusions drawn from them will be totally invalid. You then go home and secretly complete your own (statistically valid and mathematically sound) data analysis of your students. This takes you three hours. You make sure to save this document to your home drive rather than the public drive.
You ask him why he has only done half of his homework. He replies, "question 2 was pointless because I already know how to do it".
You have to tell her every single day not to wear her coat inside the school building. She asks you every time, "why can't I wear my coat inside?" You reply, "because it's a school rule". She continues to break this rule.
In sixth form, during his free periods, he generally works hard and makes good use of the time. However, if he thinks he can get away with it, he will sneak home and work there instead, because he can get more done on his own. For similar reasons, he will sometimes tell his parents he is too ill to go to school, so he can stay at home and get work done by himself instead of attending lessons.
When a Questioner asks you why they should do something, give them a good reason. Don't simply say "it's the rules" or "because I said so". You may think that students need to learn not to question authority and to respect their elders, but I would argue that if nobody in the world questioned authority we would be in a very dangerous situation. Don't try to convert Questioners into Obligers or Upholders, accept them for what they are. Explain that they can't wear their coat in the corridor because it covers their uniform, meaning that they are not easily identifiable as a student. If we allowed all students to wear coats in corridors, dangerous strangers would be able to roam the corridors as they please, posing a threat to the students. If you find that you don't have an answer for them, you should probably reconsider having the rule in the first place. If it's a school rule that you have been told you must enforce, take the Questioner student to a member of senior management and have them explain the reasons behind the rule to them.
I have mentored sixth form students in the past who have told me that they have chosen not to do the work set by their teacher because they didn't see the point in it. This has got them into trouble, and has damaged the teacher-student relationship. As a Questioner myself, I often sympathise with these students. However, as a teacher, I know that teachers do know best when it comes to student learning and progress. I think the easiest way to resolve this kind of situation is for the teacher to offer the students choices about what work they do. For example, telling the students that if they find section one easy, they can skip straight to section two. If the teacher wants the class to make a mind map, offer an alternative for the Questioner students who think that mind maps are stupid. When making a new seating plan, ask your Questioner whether she feels she would work better next to this person or that person. Ask a Questioner to stay behind after school for fifteen minutes to help you plan next week's lessons. Ask them which activities they find most useful, and get them to decide what the homework assignment should be.
Questioners act according to their own internal belief system. If they think something is valuable, they will do it. If they don't think it's important, they won't do it. Let's assume that this character trait is completely set in stone and unchangeable. So what do you do when you have a Questioner student who doesn't believe that learning is important? The only thing you can do is change this belief. You need to convince them that learning should be important to them. This will probably be very difficult, but if you manage it then everything else afterwards will be a million times easier. A Questioner who believes in the importance of learning is always a pleasure to teach.
As I have said many times, I am a Questioner. I was successful at school because I believed that achieving high grades was important. I am a successful teacher because I believe that teaching students to love learning and love maths is important. I have become successful despite (or maybe because of?) my Questioner nature, so don't feel like this is something that needs to be fixed. Allow students to be Questioners, but make sure you support them along the way with making good choices.
If you would like to ask me more about being a Questioner, so that you can understand your Questioner students better, feel free to ask in the comments.
Emma x x x
Yesterday I talked about how we can get the best out of our Obliger students. Today I'm going to talk about the Questioners.
How do you know if you're a Questioner?
Your line manager tells you to follow the school marking policy of marking books every two weeks and writing an "even better if" target in each student's book. You think that marking often is important, but you think the targets are pointless. So you mark their books every two weeks, but you don't write the targets.
You forget to fill in your register at least twice a week for several years. You get emails every time, reminding you that you must take the register every lesson, and your line manager is copied into the email, but you still put the register at the bottom of your priorities list during the lesson. However, one day your child protection officer explains how not having accurate registers at school could facilitate child sexual exploitation, and since then you have done your register every single day.
You are asked by senior management to analyse the progress matrices of your students and write a brief report. This task will take you approximately thirty minutes to complete. Instead of spending those thirty minutes on the task, you spend the time explaining to your colleagues why progress matrices are meaningless and that any conclusions drawn from them will be totally invalid. You then go home and secretly complete your own (statistically valid and mathematically sound) data analysis of your students. This takes you three hours. You make sure to save this document to your home drive rather than the public drive.
How do you know if your student is a Questioner?
You ask him why he has only done half of his homework. He replies, "question 2 was pointless because I already know how to do it".
You have to tell her every single day not to wear her coat inside the school building. She asks you every time, "why can't I wear my coat inside?" You reply, "because it's a school rule". She continues to break this rule.
In sixth form, during his free periods, he generally works hard and makes good use of the time. However, if he thinks he can get away with it, he will sneak home and work there instead, because he can get more done on his own. For similar reasons, he will sometimes tell his parents he is too ill to go to school, so he can stay at home and get work done by himself instead of attending lessons.
How do you support a Questioner student?
Answer their questions!
When a Questioner asks you why they should do something, give them a good reason. Don't simply say "it's the rules" or "because I said so". You may think that students need to learn not to question authority and to respect their elders, but I would argue that if nobody in the world questioned authority we would be in a very dangerous situation. Don't try to convert Questioners into Obligers or Upholders, accept them for what they are. Explain that they can't wear their coat in the corridor because it covers their uniform, meaning that they are not easily identifiable as a student. If we allowed all students to wear coats in corridors, dangerous strangers would be able to roam the corridors as they please, posing a threat to the students. If you find that you don't have an answer for them, you should probably reconsider having the rule in the first place. If it's a school rule that you have been told you must enforce, take the Questioner student to a member of senior management and have them explain the reasons behind the rule to them.
Give them choices
I have mentored sixth form students in the past who have told me that they have chosen not to do the work set by their teacher because they didn't see the point in it. This has got them into trouble, and has damaged the teacher-student relationship. As a Questioner myself, I often sympathise with these students. However, as a teacher, I know that teachers do know best when it comes to student learning and progress. I think the easiest way to resolve this kind of situation is for the teacher to offer the students choices about what work they do. For example, telling the students that if they find section one easy, they can skip straight to section two. If the teacher wants the class to make a mind map, offer an alternative for the Questioner students who think that mind maps are stupid. When making a new seating plan, ask your Questioner whether she feels she would work better next to this person or that person. Ask a Questioner to stay behind after school for fifteen minutes to help you plan next week's lessons. Ask them which activities they find most useful, and get them to decide what the homework assignment should be.
Make them see the importance
Questioners act according to their own internal belief system. If they think something is valuable, they will do it. If they don't think it's important, they won't do it. Let's assume that this character trait is completely set in stone and unchangeable. So what do you do when you have a Questioner student who doesn't believe that learning is important? The only thing you can do is change this belief. You need to convince them that learning should be important to them. This will probably be very difficult, but if you manage it then everything else afterwards will be a million times easier. A Questioner who believes in the importance of learning is always a pleasure to teach.
As I have said many times, I am a Questioner. I was successful at school because I believed that achieving high grades was important. I am a successful teacher because I believe that teaching students to love learning and love maths is important. I have become successful despite (or maybe because of?) my Questioner nature, so don't feel like this is something that needs to be fixed. Allow students to be Questioners, but make sure you support them along the way with making good choices.
If you would like to ask me more about being a Questioner, so that you can understand your Questioner students better, feel free to ask in the comments.
Emma x x x
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