I just spent the hour helping my 3rd grader with math. He needed a fair amount of help with a couple of "counting change" problems. I tried to explain, unsuccessfully, that he got a couple of the problems wrong. His first reaction was one of shame, which quickly turned to anger and then sobbing. What seemed like a simple solution was dumbfounding at best and totally made no sense to him. His frustration was matched by mine and on and on it went, ending in me raising my voice and him crying profusely.
So why is learning something new so frustrating? Is admitting failure or ignorance hard for us to do?
He is so good at so many things, but always seems to focus on his mistakes! He reacts the same way whether he is trying to understand math, learning how to pitch a baseball, or ride a bike.
His attitude improved and thus learning took place when my wife reassured him that everyone in his class is learning new things and that many of them cry over their homework. She also explained it to him differently with real life experiences.
I guess the best we can do as parents and educators is provide an environment for accepting failure and try different approaches to our lessons. A lesson that I forgot from a former employer, Intel..."Fall, Forward, Fast!".
You are correct about providing an environment that views failure or mistake as an opportunity to learn and being continually open to new questions. Regarding learning math, you might find this useful: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9822 Adding It Up: Helping Children Learn Mathematics (2001) explores how students in pre-K through 8th grade learn mathematics and recommends how teaching, curricula, and teacher education should change to improve mathematics learning during these critical years. It's a free PDF download from National Academies Press.
ReplyDelete