I spent last week at a Responsive Classroom training. And it was amazing. If you don't know anything about them, go check them out right now. Really, check them out! They believe in a high quality education for everyone everyday. They give teachers concise, positive, effective strategies to do that.
One of those strategies is called Interactive Modeling. It's not mind blowing. It's basically just the teacher modeling certain things you want students to do correctly. And that there is only one way to do it. It could be things like throwing something away (walk to the trash can, put your hand over the can before you place the trash in there, and walk back) or how to talk to your turn and talk partner (turn your body so you are sitting in front of your partner, be an active listener, and turn back when you are done). This type of modeling is different from other ways since after you model what to do, you ask for feedback from students about what they saw you do. Students have ownership over the procedures so it's not so teacher directed.
At one point while talking about Interactive Modeling, we got into small groups to brainstorms ways that we can use it in an academic setting, rather than just about classroom procedures. Remember, the purpose of this strategy is when there is only one way to do something. Immediately another teacher in my group came up with problem solving in math.
We can teach kids through Interactive Modeling (remember: only one way to do something) how to solve a word problem, suggests one of my group mates.
Yeah, step one, circle the key words, chimes in another.
And this is when I just don't know what to do. Should I speak up and say "wait, there is more than one way to solve word problems!"? It wasn't the point of the activity. We were talking about Interactive Modeling, not problem solving, not math. So I just kept quiet.
Was that the wrong thing to do? Would that have been a perfect opportunity to let others know that key words don't work? That there are other strategies? Get on my soap box about math instruction? Show them about Numberless Word Problems and Notice/Wonder?
Is there a right way to have this type of conversation in this type of context?
I know this will happen again. I just hope to be better prepared next time.
