Will
grew up as the oldest in a large family. Although his brothers often got
hand-me-downs, Will’s clothes were brand new. This was an advantage, but his
frugal mother recognized how quickly her boys were growing and made sure to buy
clothes for Will that he wouldn’t quickly outgrow. In fact, it usually took
quite some time to grow into them. Out
of habit, this practice continued after Will was fully grown. As a young adult,
his mother gifted him oversized jackets and too-long pants. She supersized all the clothing she sent his
way.
Although
supersizing outlived its purpose for Will, supersizing can be a great approach
for learners. It’s Vygotsky’s well-known
zone of proximal development. If the
learning activity is just beyond what a learner can currently do on their own,
it might seem a little oversized, but it’s actually a good fit.
If
a kindergarten can count a set of objects accurately, she’s ready to move to a
larger set. If a high-schooler is good at providing evidence to support a
claim, he’s ready to learn about counterclaims. Similarly, if a teacher asks
great questions for partner talk but hasn’t taught her students to be the
questioners, she might be ready to give Socratic Circles a try.
Both
Emma and her first-grade students were ready for a stretch. She was
successfully differentiating reading instruction and wanted to expand
differentiation to math lessons as well. Emma’s first graders were leaning
about measurement, she and her coach designed a math lesson where students
worked in small groups to measure objects she provided. The lesson was a
stretch for the learners, because each group had objects and measuring tools
that were a bit more difficult than they’d been successful with in the
class. Some groups had small objects and
rulers. Others had larger objects that they measured with paperclips. The
lesson was a stretch for Emma because she had to think about how to group
students based on their previous work, and she had to make the task a
just-right stretch: hard enough, but not too hard. For both Emma and her
students, the task was something they could grow into.
When
coaches and teachers supersize the experience and offer support, learners will
soon grow into tasks that at first seem too big. Vygotsky’s principle holds
true when a task is just beyond reach: What a learner can do with assistance
today, she can do on her own tomorrow.
This
week, you might want to take a look at:
3
Ways to More “Aha” Moments in Coaching:
Helping
teachers work smarter together:
The ABC’s of feedback:
How
lifting a line from mentor texts helps students’ writing soar:
How mentors help first-year teachers:
That’s
it for this week. Happy Coaching!
Want to know about new posts? Click “Follow” (bottom
right)
Follow on Facebook at: facebook.com/mycoachescouch or Twitter
@vscollet for more coaching and teaching tips! You can
also find me at VickiCollet.com
No comments:
Post a Comment