Teaching in the Moment

Mindful Teaching… 

If variety is the spice of life, then teaching is the perfect career choice. I am fortunate that my job is never monotonous. Each day presents unique challenges and periods of inspiration while at the same time, provides me with daily lessons on humility.

It is easiest for me to be mindful at work, this is my element. My role of "teacher" is largely about observation, having a keen awareness of both the learning and engagement of the group as a whole and of individual students. I often find myself creating a silent narrative of the learning behaviors of my students, evaluating the clarity of my presentation, the usage of teaching strategies... noticing what is effective in the learning structure and perhaps more importantly, what it is not.

That said, some days are more fluid than others. 

Second period math is usually my most energetic bunch. This semester, the content is identical from the first class to the next. Today's topic, division with decimal divisors. First period had gone without a hitch. But then came round two.

Began the lesson as before, leading the discussion by connecting students' prior learning of fraction operations.

“How does the value of the divisor affect the quotient?”

The students stared blankly, so I posed another, more concrete question, “how many 2/5 are in 5?” 

More poker faces. 

I thought about the possibility that students had not retained the fraction concepts that were covered at nauseam the entire second quarter. These also happen to be advanced math students, it seemed highly unlikely that the entire group did not understand the concept. 

To reel them in and give greater context to my questions, I grabbed the candy jar and pulled out 20 pieces... if this candy is 1/10 of the total number of pieces in the jar and I want to divide it between the five groups, what fraction of the total candy will each group get? Still nothing! Eyes glazed over, one student flailed over his desk as if this candy problem was the most uninteresting thing he had ever encountered in school. 

I'm practically dancing around the room now, trying to get students to engage. I noted that two of the students were actively involved while the rest looked at me like I was speaking Martian. 

Based on my observations and knowledge of the kids, the students were either bored, fatigued, drugged or totally checked out. I decided to mix things up with a little brain break, perhaps a little movement might get the blood flowing back into their brains?
It was a hoot! We stretched, did jumping jacks and formed a chain while dancing about the classroom to popular upbeat songs, finally returning to totally different seats.
Surely the students will be more engaged after all that!?! I pulled out some nickels and a twenty dollar bill. Kids love money! I was certain students would check back in and actively participate in the decimal exploration. After giving the new math problem a situation and context, I gave the instructions, "discuss with your newly arranged table groups how many nickels are in twenty dollars? 

I began to walk the room, it was surprisingly quiet. Noticing the lack of conversation, I prompted... how many nickels are in one dollar? I encouraged the use of manipulatives, symbols, drawings, anything! Students answered my direct questions but went no further. 

Finally, I threw up my hands and asked my normally intelligent and insightful group of students, "who are you people and what did you do with my second period class!" 

Chuckles heard around the classroom, Jaxson, one of my brightest mathematicians finally chimed in to inform me that the class had just watched a movie during the entire language arts block. Everyone agreed that yes, it was the movie that caused my typically lively group to grow weak and weary. 

Fifteen minutes of math class left on this Friday morning before lunch. What to do?
After considering the options, I told the class to pack it up and sit atop the desks. For the rest of the math period, we energetically tossed a stuffed animal to one another, when students caught the (appropriately chosen) stuffed lamb, they had to perform whichever task I had assigned, name multiples of three-tenths, say a prime number, and even...
How many nickels are in $20? Yes, enthusiasm and intelligence had returned!
Success? It simply was what it was. Ultimately, I observed that my second period math students had not suffered brain damage and do indeed know math! 

Mindful teaching. It can be exhausting! 

-Jennifer Fox