So Transferable

A brilliant demonstration, that is what it was. Years ago, I attended a series of Kaplan workshops on Cooperative Learning. On our last Professional Development Day, the Principal demonstrated one of those techniques for us. She asked us to number ourselves, then made us read a section of an article (based on our number), and finally we were to communicate with teachers who had gotten other numbers what our section was about. It seemed great.

For an unknown reason, I must have left my critical and analytical skills at home that day, because I failed to see the flaw in her demonstration. I left the meeting wondering if I could use the technique to make my students get more involved in reading the material. As a good little soldier, I tried to replicate the experience in my classroom. It failed to produce satisfactory results.

First, I blamed myself for not being able to do this. I must be an idiot. Then, my eyes opened to what I should have seen that day when the Principal used TEACHERS as participants in the little demonstration. Teachers, for the most part, comply with direct orders from their Principal. We read our section, we stood in line where she told us to go, we shared our discoveries with other teachers.

Students (particularly my middle school students) do not listen to directions, so they had no idea what was required of them. Writing the directions on the board for them, telling them what to do, repeating the same information 20 times (the second you are done answering Johnny's question, Mary asks the EXACT SAME question), it does not help.

After giving students the time to read a section of the text, I asked them to now join a student who had another number and explain what their section was about. They looked at me with an expression in their eyes that conveyed this message: "What? You seriously expected us to READ this section? I did let my eyes go over the page, but for a strange reason no cognitive activity took place." However, they enjoyed the chance I was giving them to talk with a classmate. They were talking about anything BUT the subject at hand.

I do not blame my Principal. She means well. We, the teachers, are to blame (but what else is new?). For a more realistic experience, we should have acted like middle school kids when she attempted the demonstration. We should have asked her to repeat the directions 20 times, failed to read the section, refused to stand in line, and used the opportunity to gossip with our colleagues. Of course, she would have gone crazy. Welcome to our world.