Monday, October 14, 2013
It Pays to Overcommunicate
I have two classes at the same level following the same course curriculum. During the morning class, I assigned a task and later realized that students had a lot of questions about the expectations I had not anticipated. I spent a lot of time repeating the same answers to many inquiring about details of the task. For the afternoon class, I decided to approach things differently. I spent a few moments explaing each page and number of the assignment, thus quelling the barrage of questions I was faced with in the morning class. The moral of the story for me this day was that you can't assume students understand a handout or written instructions such that they will produce optimally as a result. It pays to overcommunicate and assume that what I've prepared and is eminently clear to me may not be clear at all to the students. It pays both from the standpoint of use of my time and of student success to go over each parameter and answer any outstanding questions. I wonder how often students don't understand and don't bother asking and just do what they interpret, rightly or wrongly, to be what is expected. This is more guesswork than it is learning.
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I would think very often.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think the same would hold true for a teacher assigned to teach a class you have prepared. Without supportive notes and some elaboration, how can you be sure that said educator will execute the lesson in a manner you would find acceptable. I think it is important to deconstruct a lesson you have designed point by point and try to anticipate what questions or worries another individual may have about the content. Doing so will bring to light points that you yourself may have overlooked while creating it.
As for students not asking for clarification, there could be any number of reasons for them not doing so. They perhaps do not want to stand out, are worried they will offend you or perhaps they just don't care at all.
I think this is something that just goes with the territory and we can use each and every teaching opportunity as a chance to make improvements in the next class.