They Expect To Understand

Over the course of this school year, I’ve become really proud of something that I see in my students - they come to every lesson expecting to fully understand what I teach them.

Not just to be able to repeat definitions, mimic processes, or select right answers - they expect to understand completely.

Since January, I’ve been studying the book Reconnectby Doug Lemov, Hilary Lewis, Darryl Williams, and Denarius Frazier, and one of the major themes I’ve learned from it is that students’ sense of belonging is a major contributor to their success in a given class and a much needed point of focus following the isolation of the recent pandemic.

To me, feeling like you belong in a class (or in any other social group) means feeling:

• Comfortable
• Confident
• Connected

​The reason I’m so proud that I see 100% of my students expecting to fully understand what they learn is that it is a signal to me that they feel both comfortable and confident.  Comfort and confidence are certainly not things most people feel in most classes they take - especially math classes.  

A few great signals that students feel a sense of belonging - they're comfortable helping, asking for help, and learning from each other.

Take a look at the clip below.
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This is an improvised follow-up lesson the day after I introduced a math concept that the kids did not understand.  The lesson went poorly, and the kids’ whole body language the day before showed defeat.  They weren’t used to not understanding something and didn’t know how to respond when it happened, so they just gave up!

Even with that day behind them, just look at the expectation they arrive with when I have to clarify and then extend the topic to an even higher level the following day.  One student had a great demonstration for how to show understanding of it (better than mine!), and after I share it, they snap into action, trying to dig in and grasp it for themselves.

They are comfortable.

They are confident.

They are connected.

They feel like they belong in this math class.  It is a place where they expect to be competent, active participants in what’s going on.

And that’s something to be proud of, I think.

Connect, confident, and very literally comfortable.

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Want to read more right now?  You're in luck - this is my 54th post! You can browse past posts by category:

• ​Building A Thinking Classroom
• Leaning Into The Science and Engineering Practices
• Classroom Practices
• Classroom Stories
• Ideas and Opinions
• Pandemic-Related Issues​​