Making learning rewindable

Noticing and naming is a very powerful act of teaching.

“I like that Suzy is checking her writing after she drafts.”

“I can see you are showing commitment right now.”

“I like how you thought about this problem from more the one perspective.”

We are giving our approval to acts that children do and say but also giving criticism to help the children in their learning.

But are we doing the heavy lifting for them?

Have you ever noticed and named something that was very different from a student’s perspective?

Sometimes we simply need to show the students what they see and leave them to make the connections.

One of my students is watching himself during a provocation – he doesn’t like what he sees. I wondered out loud if I could have done something during the provocation to help him.

“If you had told me what was happening, deep down, I wouldn’t have believed you.”