Getting to Level Four

I am more interested in my students learning the skills, strategies, habits and belief systems on my four posters (see previous posts for posters) than even learning the math I'm trying to teach them.  This is because everything on the 4 posters are things that will be helpful in all of life... not just another math class.  I am teaching life.  I use math as my vehicle to teach all of these life skills.

My students have a test coming up next week.  My goal is to help them get to the place of understanding all of the material and being able to do all of the questions on the test correctly.  Just because they understand how to find slope does NOT mean that they will be able to find the slope of a line on a question on this coming test correctly.  I want my student to learn the material, and as they learn, consciously develop strategies to double check and ensure precision.


We talked about this idea of PRECISION today.  Most of my students did not know what the word meant.  I offered the example of a watch.  I watch that has precision would be accurate every time you looked.  If it also had durability, it would be accurate every time you looked for a long time.  I want  100% of my students to get 100% on their test.  I want 100% of my students to improve on their: Learning Skills; Head and Heart beliefs and habits; Behavior of Intelligences; ability to solve problems.

To help all of my students get to level 4, I continually teach, exhort, challenge, motivate, point out, hold up the 'mirror' to, and on and on, about the things on the 4 posters.  Here is where they find the tools to build bridges over ravines and to tear down barriers that are preventing them from getting to level 4 (I CAN DO THIS).

ONE HUGE BARRIER TO STUDENT LEARNING IS THEIR INABILITY TO LEARN FROM THEIR MISTAKES QUICKLY.  Successful students make mistakes all the time... but they learn from them quickly.  (This is a whole other talking point for the future.)

Another barrier is their inability to develop strategies of precision and double checking as they learn.  I am confident that my students will know and understand most all of the material, but I am not confident that they will all demonstrate that on their test.  Many lack the discipline to develop habits of precision and the self-awareness of the fact that they make mistakes.  I call it the PARADOX OF MISTAKES.  Here is how it goes.  Successful students make few mistakes on tests because it REALLY bugs them when they get something wrong on homework, warmups and quizzes.  They also are keenly aware of the possibility of them making a mistake and take all actions to avoid and eliminate them.  While the struggling student makes lots of mistakes on test because it REALLY DOESN'T bug them when they get something wrong on homework, warmups and quizzes.  They are unaware of the distinct likelihood of them making lots of mistakes and therefore take no actions to minimize or avoid them.

I have all of my student repeat after me, "I am not perfect.  I make mistakes."

There is so more to say here, about how to get to level 4, but I will stop for now.

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Day 13