Well, that was a success!

One of the things I love about teaching is that I am constantly learning. Nothing is ever the same, even when I teach one class over and over again. And very little makes me feel so happy as when something just works.

Today went very well. I admit that I worried about this class a little at the beginning of the semester. I felt a bit off balance with only seven people in the class, and I felt like I didn't quite know how to deal with such a small group. I don't think it would have been such a problem if I hadn't already taught the class twice with twenty-something students. That is, it would have been much easier to adjust to seven students if this were my first time teaching this particular class, because I wouldn't have to overcome all the ways that I have subconsciously adjusted my teaching style to a larger class size.

But things are feeling much better. First, my students have warmed up to each other. They still split off into their little groups of two or three, but they are more willing to interact with each other when necessary, and we're starting to feel like a whole class rather than just a group of individuals. And I've started to get a handle on the group dynamics and how planning a lesson for twenty-four students differs from planning a lesson for seven. My initial excitement at having such a small class is returning because now I am beginning to see the benefits of the class size.

Today we had a group discussion on the second article I've had them read so far. I have always struggled a bit with leading group discussions. The problem is that I want them to be group discussions, but the students tend to look to me to guide the discussion, to approve of what they say, to ask questions when things get quiet. It sort of turns into a two-way conversation between me and the class, and I don't think a lot of learning occurs in those types of situations. Sometimes something in particular will spark interest and a good discussion will get going for a little while, but eventually it lapses into semi-awkward silence, and I feel like I have to push them to think, to keep talking, to say what they feel without worrying that it will be somehow wrong.

So today I pulled the tables together so we could all sit around a single surface area for the discussion, and then before we began the discussion I had them all write down at least one question or interesting discussion topic related to the article they had just read. When they'd finished writing, I told them that I was going to step back and just listen, that I would let them guide the discussion without my input. I didn't want to be the facilitator, just an observer. It was a little experimental on my part, but worked so well that I don't think I will ever do it differently again. We talked for probably half an hour, and I said absolutely nothing until the very end. They had some great thoughts, and lots of questions, and every time I thought of an answer to one of their questions I made myself keep silent just a little longer than I would have otherwise, and inevitably one of the students would have either the same insight I had had, or a better one.

If I have learned anything from three years of teaching, it's that my students can often do more than I expect them to if I refrain from stepping in. I think that when we know the subject matter, we often want to step in when we see our students struggling and tell them what they need to know. But if we hold back they will often come to understand by themselves (or with the help of other students who are on the same level), and that sort of knowledge sinks in much more deeply because it is more personal, and because it is not accepted on authority.

I saw this happen in the group discussion, but I also saw it happen later on in the class period when I had posed a problem for them to work on in groups or individually. It was really just an extension of the first problem they had worked on, but it had a twist and they struggled with applying their knowledge from earlier to the new situation. They were so close, and I have to admit that I was very, very tempted to give them some sort of hint. I'm glad I didn't, though, because as they struggled individually they started to come together in little clusters, and finally as the whole group, and then suddenly when I was working with the one student who had retreated to work on it on her own, I heard a chorus of "Oh!" as something clicked and six lights came on simultaneously. Those are some of the most exciting teaching moments, and some of the most exciting learning moments as well, and I think that often as teachers, parents, tutors, or anytime we are guiding someone in learning, we deprive ourselves and our students of that moment. Certainly we need to know when it's necessary to step in, because our students cannot always discover everything by themselves. But I really do think it's even more important to know when to stand back and let someone work through it on their own.

And yet another thing I love about teaching is that so much of what I have learned as a teacher applies to far more than just classroom teaching experiences...