The more I understand about learning, the more I believe Feedback, Abstraction and Differentiation are not a "FAD".
Feedback - In a couple of our classes, we have a collection of review questions due every ten days. The review questions are concepts from two to three weeks prior to the current date. The review questions are always changing while attempting to show the integration of various concepts. What I've noticed recently is that students are completing all the review questions and submitting them to me several days prior to the requested due date. Students pass in their work and ask for feedback in the form of "Mr. Rowe, would you be willing to circle the question numbers I don't yet have correct so I can try to find and fix my errors prior to passing it in?". These aggressive learners want to learn from their mistakes and have the opportunity to fix them in time. I'm so grateful for the attitude and grit of these dedicated students! They've taught me to provide learning opportunities where we can revise our thinking and understanding to reach higher levels of proficiency. Many of these students resubmit their corrected work accompanied by the statement, "Mr. Rowe, you'll be proud of me because I corrected all my mistakes. I promise!". I see the appreciation and confidence in their eyes when they hand in their revised learning.
Abstraction - I've recently begun to introduce material in a top-down or abstract way. As a class, we're discussing the structure, significance and abstraction of the new concept. We're collaborating at a 10,000-foot view prior to delving into the specifics of the material. We're examining the behavior of the mathematical concept generically before taking it apart specifically. Recently, our students have shared with me that their "brain hurts" and that they keep having mind-blowing experiences. One specific student has been expressing his mind-blowing learning by placing his hands on either side of his head and then quickly extending his hands out to simulate a cranial explosion! These students are extremely bright in my humble opinion and appreciating the challenge. There is no compliance here. It's pure focus, pondering and questioning. I'm often tempted to prompt them slightly, but I reflect and wait. It most instances, the wait was exactly what was needed to give our students the time to wrap their heads around the meaning. One student recently muttered to me as he left class, "Rowe, you're killing me with this approach. Thank you!". Yes, I was speechless!
Differentiation - Students try to find time to learn with me during the first eight minutes of our class when we're working on our Warm-Up, during my duty period, during their learning center period or after school. They're looking for one-on-one time with me since they have specific questions. They've taken a question as far as they can and are stuck. For some reason, their questions are getting more pointed, specific and intriguing. These students have started asking really thought-provoking questions. I'm not sure I can put my finger on why now, but we spend a considerable time during our class where we're asking questions, one after another about the whys of the process. The more time I spend individually with these students, the deeper their understanding, engagement and commitment. Many of them attack me with their questions the moment they get to our class. They've become relentless in their quest for understanding.
I continue to be so grateful for the Culture of Learning that we've fostered that enables us to crave feedback, be patient learning abstractly and insist on face-to-face learning until the "aha moment" ignites! Learning can and should be this stimulating!
