Listen, Ask, Talk, Laugh, Write - One Thing At A Time

I think students learn and perform best when 

• I make it crystal clear what they should be doing, and 
• I only ask them to do one thing at a time.

There is a long list of possible activities that go into any lesson - teaching, questions, reading, writing, note-taking, practice, discussion, thinking, and so on.  All of these are important and all of these have their place. Teaching is complicated, strategic work, and choosing and sequencing the right activities is an art, to be sure. 

Most of the time, most students want to do what is asked of them.  Oftentimes, however, exactly what they should be doing isn't clear to them.  Should I be taking notes while he's saying this?  If so, should they be in my notebook or on this handout?  If I don't understand something, should I ask or wait?  Should I ask him now or later?  Should I ask him or a classmate?  Can I check my notes while I practice this?
​

​No doubt about where their attention should be.

​Worse yet, when all those questions are swirling through a student's mind, how can they possibly learn?  Figuring out what to do (and what not to do) can consume the totality of someone's attention and mental space.

A tactic I've had great success with is to be vigilent that

• Students always know exactly what I want them to be doing
• I only ask them to do when thing at at time

That way each task gets its full due.

​In the clip below, I ask the kids to do five things while they learn the definition  and characteristics of moons:

• Listen (0:00-0:30 is the tail end of the listening portion)
• Ask questions (0:30-1:00)
• Talk/Discuss (1:00 - 2:00)
• Laugh (2:00 - 4:00)
• Take notes (4:00 - end, and then some)

Everything has its place, and everything contributes to the overall learning process.  The kids with questions know that time will come.  The talkers know their time will come.  The note-takers do, too.  There's no pressure to try and do two things at once, and (hopefully) there's never any question as to which should be happening right now.  100% of attention and mental space can be devoted to the task at hand.

As far as I can tell, the kids appear comfortable, engaged, and involved, which is just the state I want them in to maximize what they learn.

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