Develop a Feedback Loop

 

 

Develop a Feedback Loop

One of the most difficult assignments during my student teaching was to video myself teaching a lesson. Planning the lesson, gathering the materials, and recording went smoothly. I was comfortable teaching the lesson. Watching the video afterward was brutal.

Did I always sound that frightened? Did my hair really look like that? Why did I wear that dress? After getting past these (and it took some doing), I had to complete my assignment: Critique my teaching practices, and then, most harrowing of all, show the video to my college class and listen to their analysis. Let them be kind, I prayed.

Ulrich Böser, in his book Learn Better, writes that after we develop our skills and knowledge in the learning process the next step is to “enter ourselves into a feedback loop, to hone our skills in a structured sort of way,” to evaluate our learning using a dedicated and focused system of monitoring and criticizing our progress. We must rewind our learning and review our skills to judge our failures and successes.

Self-evaluation and self-quizzing (asking yourself questions during and after learning) set the baselines for relearning. What do I know well? What did I forget or misunderstand? Keeping a record of hits and misses identifies needed skills and builds on already acquired skills. Self-monitoring raises our awareness of the areas we need to improve. 

I asked myself: Did I engage the students? Did I use materials effectively? Which information did I stress or miss? Did I know the material well enough to answer student questions? Did I look at students more often than my notes? I noted strengths and weaknesses and proposed adjustments for future lessons.

Next, my classmates watched the video and offered feedback: Move among the students more. Use visual aids more often. Involve the students in an activity. My classmates offered productive and kind feedback — after all, I would be critiquing their videos too. 

My supervisor was more direct. His feedback involved a list of questions to answer after I again reviewed the video and some general suggestions for improving instruction. As Boser notes “good feedback doesn’t tell people what exactly to do… Helpful feedback provides guidance. It gives us a way to direct our development.” My teacher didn’t tell me to pull down a map; he asked me how I might help my students visualize the position of a nation in relation to our own. 

All this was exhausting, but my learning wasn’t over yet. I had to include corrections in my lessons and record and review two more lessons during my teaching assignment. This repetitive and sometimes painful process made me a better teacher.

Self-quizzing, monitoring, reviewing, and evaluating are powerful learning tools. Another effective way to learn is to teach others. My classmates and I improved our skills by teaching each other to teach.

Develop a feedback loop of your own. Mentally record your performance. Review and evaluate as you learn. Ask yourself questions. Discuss what you have learned with a friend. Develop the loops which will make you a better learner.  

(For more information, read Learn Better: Mastering the Skills for Success in Life, Business, and School, or, How to Become an Expert in Just About Anything by Ulrich Boser.)

Making Meaning

 

Making Meaning

When I started teaching, I sometimes substituted at a vocational school. I didn’t know much about brick-laying, small engine repair, or computer technology but I muddled through. One class was geometry, which had been one of my worst subjects in high school. I struggled to stay ahead of the students. One day, a frustrated student looked up from his work and asked, “Why do we have to learn this anyway?” A surprising question from a student whose future would include designing and building structures and systems.

Students have always asked this question. I can imagine Aristotle clapping his hand to his forehead as a young Greek moaned, “Why are we doing all this arguing? Can’t you just tell us the answers?” Students must find meaning before they can learn.

In his book, Learn Better, Ulrich Boser writes, “Motivation is the first step in acquiring any sort of skill. It’s hard to learn something if we don’t see any meaning in it… value drives motivation.” To learn a new skill, one must see value in learning it.

What is your motivation for learning a new skill? A better salary, becoming more efficient, advancement, gaining enjoyment, improving a skill, learning a new skill, or beating an opponent? Systems analysts learn new computer skills to debug programs while video game players learn them to conquer virtual worlds.  

Children may look at learning as something they have to do based on expectations set down by parents and teachers. Again, “Why do we have to do this?” Motivation is not always intrinsic. Think about potty training. What toddler wants to give up the waste-management services rendered by loving parents? Children must understand how life will be better when a skill is learned.  

Boser writes, “When it comes to learning, meaning isn’t something that finds us. It’s something that we need to uncover on our own.” My frustrated student didn’t connect geometry to calculating the slope of a roof, designing the shape of a room, or estimating the number of bricks needed for a structure. Perhaps geometry would become meaningful for him when his first structure collapses under the weight of snow or when he runs short of bricks for a wall. 

Parents and teachers can help children find meaning in learning. Aim learning toward practical applications. Tell time so you know when recess is. Count money so you can buy something at the store. Practice the song for the big show. Read so you can find information on your own or enter new worlds. Use math to build a doghouse or share out cookies. Children enjoy learning a skill if it is part of a game or project. 

Help your children find meaning in learning. Demonstrate the value you derive from your learning. Show how learning pays off in accomplishment or enjoyment. Share the joys and purposes of learning so that your children can discover their own. Start now before the roof caves in.

(For more information, read Learn Better: Mastering the Skills for Success in Life, Business, and School, or, How to Become an Expert in Just About Anything by Ulrich Boser.)