Mistakes Made Using the Socratic Method

While sitting in our school's office for 1-on-1 tutoring, I observed that a good tutor is a good at explaining, not necessarily questioning a la the familiar Socratic Method.

A lot of times when you see an adult trying to tutor a child you witness a dialogue that runs something like this:

Child: "It says to solve for x. It says 2x + 10 = 50

Parent: "So how do you solve for x?"

Child: "Uh,...."

Parent: "How do you do it, honey?"

Child: "Multiply?"

Parent: "No,.... What do you do first?"

Child: "Add."

This is frustrating for both parties, of course.

The problem here is that the Socratic Method is a great pedagogical technique, but mostly for teaching a class in seminar-type environment.

It is not a winning strategy for tutoring a single student in a 1-on-1 environment.

Here's why:

1. Unless a student is very bright, he probably don't know everything they are supposed to know. About anything. He may have some areas where he knows way more than you would think. But just try asking an average kid to remember metaphor vs. similar or order of operations. They are gonna slip up.
   
2. In a class, there are a lot of students that know nothing about a subject. But there are also bound to be some who know something. In the aggregate, a conversation can arise where most questions can be answered. Or an answer can be attempted. Which the teacher can guide. Maybe using the Socratic Method, and maybe not.
   

Let the tutors explain. The teachers can teach. And use the Socratic Method with caution, everybody.

Next, I Will No Longer Teach My Class

At the end of my first year of teaching, I heard from another first year teacher, Mr. X., who taught a special education class with some really big challenges. He had some experience with technology and film production and so his fresh take on teaching was to:

1. Record his lessons in advance, and play them during class time
2. Work closely with his students who required the most personal attention during the time when the class learned via prepared video

Amazingly, this teacher was running his own focused Khan Academy in class. And then provided individualized special education service, while his lesson was being taught simultaneously. By him!

Now what does this have to do with me?

This year I am teaching a small class that needs a different approach to math. (Which I am fully intending to provide.) While I am teaching this class, I want to do the same thing that Mr. X. was doing. And I think, via a Technology PD session at my school, I've learned the way that I can do it.

VoiceThread

Here's what I know already I can do with VT:

• Post images
• Connect audio and video to those images
• Set up a slideshow presentation
• Write on the slides/images with colored pens (Just like Khan!)

I don't yet know what my capacity limits are for this site though. Can I do a whole lesson? Can I do a week's lessons? For how many classes? Semesters? The whole year?

What else can I do with this? Anything better out there that I've been missing?

So excited for the potential to clone myself in the classroom!

Duelling With Math

In my history of mathematics course, we are reading William Dunham's Journey through Genius, which I highly recommend for those who can admire a good proof.

The thing that has got me so excited about this class though isn't the beautiful theorems we're reading about. Far from it. It's the sense of storytelling that you can create by including some of the history of math into your teaching.

I was blown away with the historical perspective I gained in reading the following passage (p.134-135) about mathematics in the Renaissance:

"[A]cademic appointments were by no means secure. Along with patronage and political influence, continued service depended on the ability to prevail in public challenges that could be issued from any quarter at any time. Mathematicians like [Scipione] del Ferro always had to be ready to do scholarly battle with challengers, and the consequences of a public humiliation could be disastrous to one's career.

"Thus a major new discovery was a powerful weapon. Should an opponent appear with a list of problems to be solved, del Ferro could counter with a list of depressed cubics. Even if del Ferro were stumped by some of his challenger's problems, he could feel confident that his cubics, baffling to all but himself, would guarantee the downfall of his unfortunate adversary.

"Scipione apparently did a good job of keeping his solution secret throughout his life, and it was only on his deathbed that he passed it along to his student Antonio Fior."

I was so taken with this idea that I came up with some slides for a game that I'd like my students to play: Math Duel. (see slides below)

I've seen teachers have students generate their own questions for each other, but how about setting it up within the historical context of famous men and women in the course subject. I've got to give a lot of credit to Dunham for writing such a thrilling history of a subject that gets a bad reputation as too dull and black and white.

Favorite Practice #2 - Snapping Good Read Alouds

First the problem with read alouds:

I used to be paralyzed with fear at the thought of teaching in the lowest grades of elementary school. I teach math - algebra, geometry, equations, exponents. I'm not equipped to teach reading.

Like many I have taught a single person how to read; I did the whole Hop on Pop/Cat in the Hat thing with my sister and would claim her as one of my earliest pupils. However, reading with one person is 1/1000th as hard as teaching a class of squirmy, distracted students.

That's why read alouds are great. 1) Teacher reads, everyone else follows along. 2) It mimics the benefits of the reading-learning relationship between a reader and his sister/child/friend/etc.

However, there are many problems with the read aloud.

1. Can't tell who is listening at any given point in time.
2. Don't know if they are reading or just listening.
3. Hard to tell whether there is comprehension until its Q and A time.

So finally, Best Practice #2 goes to a second grade teacher at Achievement First Crown Heights for his use of a snapping good read aloud.

The simple method works like this:

1. Teacher reads.
2. Teacher pauses.
3. Teacher snaps.
4. All students reads the next word.
5. Repeat steps 1-4.
6. Q and A time.

This easily solves read aloud problems #1 and #2 above. #3 is trickier, but its a lot easier using this method than otherwise.

Now read alouds are a snap. And fun for the kids too.