In reading student mistakes, I found it very interesting that students start to work with place values in or before kindergarten and continue to work on this idea through third grade, and sometimes beyond. This is a complicated idea that many students have trouble with and it is important to help them understand this concept by moving from concrete to abstract examples. There are many students in my placement that are having much difficulty with place value. They are in second grade, and it is frustrating for both them and me to learn/teach them the essential ideas one needs to know about the importance of place value.
I also really enjoyed reading the Value of Mistakes article. The authors say that "mistakes are catalysts for learning, or springboards for learning." I really enjoy both of these sayings, because it is very true that mistakes are very imperative to learning. I liked how Mrs. Phillips changed her practices from warning her students about possible future mistakes to giving them a solved problem with mistakes and asked them what was incorrect and to solve the problem correctly. "Rather than warn students about common mistakes as she has in the past, her new approach allows students to value the work of correcting errors by accepting ownership of the common mistakes and the reasoning processes used to overcome them." "Teachers should allow students to work through erroneous thinking as they would in a problem solving situation, that is, with minimal learning guidance." I learned this last statement is very important, because if no mistakes are made then no problem solving is taking place. We need to never ridicule nor allow other students to make fun of their peers for making mistakes. We need to let them know their mistakes are imperative to everyone else's learning. Rose and Gabe, what do you think about making mistakes? What do you see in your placement's that either enforce or go against what we've read and learned about making mistakes?
I was also surprised how long students work on place value. It is such an irrational concept when you have never thought about or even knew about large numbers. Although the concept may seem very basic to us, it is definitely one that should not be over looked. There are several if not most students in my Kindergarten class that just don't understand place value, but can do simple addition problems. I believe this is from memorization, not actual content knowledge. I also really liked the quote you pulled from the readings, I think its a strong message that is to often over looked.
ReplyDeleteLauren, to answer your question I think making mistakes is such a large part of learning and no student should be penalized for making mistakes (this obviously does not include test). Being able to recognize mistakes is another key part of learning, and is very beneficial for students. In my placement making mistakes is perfectly exceptable and no one even thinks twice about when students make mistakes. The classroom community its very good in that sense, they are all willing to help each other and show one another what they know.
Lauren, I liked your point where you said, "The authors say that "mistakes are catalysts for learning, or springboards for learning."... because I feel that everyone learns from their mistakes! I know that if I do something wrong, and my profesor gives me anotehr change to re-do it, I understand the material completely. In my placement class, I feel that the students are very bored with the same schedule day to day, and that their laziness is a reason that they are not learning from their mistakes. I have read certain words with them everyday, and we practice and write down the words they are missing, but the next time I am there, we are having issues with the same exact word again. This is a time that they are not learning from their mistakes. Maybe my CT should reformat reading time and the schedule so that it is more valuable and meaningful to them, and so if they are interested in it, they will be more involved, and note their mistakes and errors. Learning from your mistakes is a very important and successful way to learn, but if the student does not care if she/he is making mistakes at all, the same mistakes will be made. What ideas do you have to help this problem?
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