Curriculum, learning and teaching
Developing independent learners through self-paced math projects Tom Cosgrove has developed a model to help students engage with their learning
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I started my teaching career in a traditional UK comprehensive school. We were teaching to an exam, in a way that was effective to get good test scores. If you could manage this, you were seen as a good teacher. I’ve shifted roles and now work at an independent boarding school in Leysin, Switzerland. I’m the sole teacher of grade 7 and 8 mathematics, and I am grateful for the flexibility I have to experiment with new approaches. In the first weeks of my new role here I was asked by my department head what I would do if I had total freedom over what I taught. Three years later, I’m still trying to find an answer to that question. How could I adjust the way I teach to truly maximize the learning experience for my students and to ensure that they leave my classroom with the bigger skills they need? I began by thinking more critically about the traditional approach of explanation, example, practice, recite. It gets great exam results. It’s an efficient method of communicating ideas. But does it truly get students thinking critically and solving real problems? I didn’t feel like it was working for me. Students were getting lost during a lengthy explanation; those that understood it quickly had to wait for the other students to get it, and those that didn’t get it needed more
Spring |
Autumn
Recently I had some trouble with my car. Every so often it would stall and I’d have to restart it. It happened twice in one day and I began to get concerned. I made it home safely and started to do some research. After adjusting my search criteria and clicking on a few links I had the solution. I drove to the hardware store to get some supplies, undid a couple of bolts and followed along with a YouTube video to solve the problem myself, without having to book my car into the local garage. This is the kind of problem-solving ability I want students to leave my classroom with. I want them to be able to tackle a situation that they haven’t seen before with some grit and a mindset that they can move toward a solution themselves, without reaching out immediately to the teacher for help. Why is this a desirable outcome? Much as I want my students to leave my classroom remembering every last thing I’ve taught them, I know they won’t. What are those bigger skills that students will take away through their years in school and into adulthood? In a math classroom, I think two of the big skills we can teach students are perseverance and problemsolving. The math just happens to be the vehicle through which they are taught.
| 2019
