This week, Kate Simonds, "I'm Seventeen" TED Talk really hit me hard. It honestly gave me goosebumps. This is what we, agricultural educators, are really about - and I am glad that I am going to be able to be a part of students being about to reach their potential and make their own decisions.
It is really important that we as teachers listen to our students, even though this can be hard for us sometimes. Why is hard? Well, as teachers, we are over achievers with a lot of ideas. Sometimes its hard to step back and let our students take over, make decisions, and make mistakes. I know I am guilty of hearing outrageous ideas from students, and shrugging them off. What I should be doing is asking the right questions to help them through their thought process to build on their idea - show interest and listen to what they are saying, not just hear it.
I think that Kate made some very good arguments in her TED Talk. One was that students have some really great ideas, and adults are solving our country's problems so why are we not asking the students for help. I am only 25 and I know and can tell that my ability to be creative and come up with good ideas is on the decline. It was so easy for me in high school to make a really creative project and really easily. Now, it takes a lot of work, thought, and pinterest.
I found a graphic I really liked that can help us with the process of listening to students.
Jackie Gerstein listed some listening skills for the educator that included keeping an open mind, remaining empathetic, using nonverbal cues that demonstrate that you are focused on the speaker, and to summarize what the speaker said. Seems pretty typical? This is what we do as adults when we talk to our peers, right? Like Kate said - she had to gain respect when she walked on to the TED Talk stage because she was seventeen, when most adults already had gained it before they spoke. She also says to ask students open-ended questions and ask them how they can relate back to what they are learning (metacognition). I think that even though these seem like pretty simple ideas, we need to keep them in mind.
Jackie Gerstein also discussed what happens in our classrooms when we listen to students. As a teacher you create a safe environment, better you relationship with your students, create a positive culture, and and let the learners seem themselves as active partners in their own education (autonomy).
This really helps me to think about and be more conscience when I am listening and responding to students. I hope to be the teacher that listens to all of my students idea - no matter how outlandish and respond to them sincerely and with questions that will help them to connect to their learning. I hope that as a teacher I can give students purpose to their education.
References:
T. (2015, February 09). I'm 17 | Kate Simonds | TEDxBoise. Retrieved September 23, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OkOQhXhsIE
Karlie, thanks for such an insightful blog post! They always say to listen louder than you speak, and such is the case with teaching and letting students voices be heard. Have you researched any techniques that you can use you help students who are less like to speak up to find their voice?
ReplyDeleteThank you! I have done any further research, but it is on my to do list!!
DeleteSometimes I think teaching students the importance of public speaking can really help them with this as well, though.
Great perspectives here. Listening to students is a challenge - when you spend almost two decades of your life going through school, it can become a challenge to not want to share everything when you finally find yourself in the role of a teacher. However, students don't need to be told the right answers, they need to be able to regularly practice their abilities to construct ideas and arguments from evidence (what we call 'sensemaking'). Students that have only had teachers that have told them the right answer are completely unprepared for a world that keeps constantly changing. Vice versa, those who had teachers who taught them how to teach themselves and to find and make sense of the unknown will be prepared for anything. It sounds like you're well on your way to becoming the latter. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your wisdom and suggestions. I agree with you that students who are always given the right answers or those who are always searching for the right answers are equally unprepared. I think it will be important to find the balance as to when to let students search and when you need to provide more guidance. Thank you!
DeleteI agree that listening to students can be a challenge. Especially when you are preparing for multiple events at one time....we sometimes get TOO BUSY to listen. I try to remind myself that they are MY EMPLOYERS. They deserve my time!
ReplyDeleteVan time on the way to trips is a great way to connect with FFA members.