When I was in elementary school, I loved gymnastics. Finally, there was a sport that valued being petite! My parents enrolled me in a gymnastics class at our local YMCA. I remember really enjoying those classes. Then, one afternoon, there was a “test” for moving up to the next level. I did well on all of the elements except for one. There was one skill that I had not mastered. My coaches said that I could move up — if I wanted to. For some reason, my little seven-year-old brain decided that if I hadn’t mastered this one skill, then it wasn’t a good idea for me to move on. I told my parents that I wanted to stay in the same level until the next test. They interpreted that to mean that I didn’t want to continue with gymnastics. And, with that, went any shot I had at being the world’s greatest gymnast.
Over this past weekend, I took an online webinar to gain some ideas for my students’ word work. The webinar presenter spoke of how we often teach skills and strategies in isolation. That really resonated with me. It made me really think about my approach to teaching. Am I teaching skills in isolation and not moving students on until they’ve mastered that skill? Thinking about this reminded me to revisit an article from Teaching One Moore about how we should consider teaching math the same way we teach reading (https://mailchi.mp/28cadffdeb53/why-dont-we-teach-math-the-same-way-we-teach-reading). All of this reminded me of how I felt unable to move on in gymnastics until I had mastered one skill. I completely disregarded all of the other skills I had mastered! Now I wonder, are we making our own students feel this way by teaching skills, strategies, and concepts in isolation?
As we go about our daily lives, we don’t rely on one skill or strategy to accomplish our goals. Our brains are not limited to understanding one concept at a time, so why do we teach that way? My concern with teaching concepts, skills, and strategies in isolation is that students will feel limited in their abilities if they have not mastered a particular concept, skill, or strategy. No wonder they get frustrated! We need to let our students know that they have the ability to use multiple strategies and skill, and can understand multiple concepts at a time because our brains are designed to do that. And, it’s our job to teach that way.
I would love to know what your approaches are to teaching. Do you teach concepts, strategies, and skills in isolation? Are you trying to overcome teaching in isolation? The more we share, the more we can learn from each other.
Until next time…Happy Teaching!
PinaRose Education 