As I was helping a student with her math homework the other day, I asked, “How did your math teacher explain this concept to you today in
class?” Her reply, “I don’t remember.” I probed further. “Did he explain it using
proportions or straight division or strip diagrams?” “I don’t remember.” I paused, then asked, “OK. Tell me what you do
remember about class time.” Her reply,
“Mrs. Selle, I don’t remember anything about any of my classes today. We get so much information thrown at us each
class and then, before I can even take it all in, it’s time to move to the next
class where they just give us more information that I don’t have time to take
in.” She didn’t say this meanly or
rudely, just factually with a side of frustration. Yet here she was still trying to complete her
work. She’s not yet hopeless, even in
the face of what seems like a hopeless cycle for her. What do I do about this situation? How do I help her build in time to process
all the information she is offered every day in every class so she can see
progress in her learning? This is quite
a question, one to which we all need answers. It's especially important when the amount of content material we are obligated to cover is increasing and TEKS are being pulled into younger and younger grades, all naturally resulting in shrinking student processing time.
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