As educators, we have all been there. You call on a student in class, and they respond with “I don’t know.” The student may legitimately not know the answer–how do we teach our students what to do in this scenario? Or, the student may just be dismissive. How do we create a classroom culture where this type of attitude doesn’t develop? Classrooms are first and foremost cultures that shape actions and beliefs of the people, our students, within them. How do we establish positive, prosocial norms that value student work, their opinions, and the willingness to try and fail? I would love to hear ideas on how to handle this common teaching issue. Thanks
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It really depends on the situation. But one of my favorite places to start is to let students know it’s okay to NOT know. One of my favorite phrases is “Be curious”… we can only be curious about things that we don’t know. I really like to encourage the students that not knowing is truly the beginning of curiosity, and that is the beginning of almost all great discoveries. Often times I feel like my students say they don’t know when they feel insecure. Reminding them that not knowing something is nothing to feel insecure about, I have found helps free their ideas and their own creativity.
If they are feeling stuck, and that’s why they’re saying they don’t know, then I often ask them, “Okay, you don’t know that, tell me what you do know. Tell me what you’ve done thus far, what you’ve tried.” Often times getting them to say anything, almost like writing the first sentence on a blank page, breaks them out and helps them keep going. And when they share what they do know, what they have tried, often times it’s a great start with great ideas, and I can work with them to give them some suggestions to build off of the ideas they have already had, and empower them.
Of course, these ideas don’t always work! I work mainly with middle school teenagers, so it’s always an adventure. I’m excited to hear what other ideas have been successful for other educators!
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@Jessica_Drayer I completely agree - curiosity is key! I teach elementary age students and I find that kids at different age levels think differently about not knowing.
My kindergarten students want to learn more and more and more like a little sponges. When I hear “I don’t know” from a five year old it’s said with a smile. Kindergarten also lends to lots of modeling and growing to understand everything from how to be friends to how to share materials. I start these students with the words, “never give up.” That’s my CS motto.
My first graders know that technology is challenging but still with a smile on their face. I love to introduce the word, “perseverance” to these students to help them understand that not giving up is just a part of class and many adults actually do try to persevere too.
My second graders are my first students that start to see not knowing as embarrassing or something to hide. I like to introduce the word, “collaboration” to my kids at this age. I like to also model that I don’t know everything and in every class we hope to learn something new and amazing. My hope is that students start to look at each other as a source of help.
Primary is very different than grades 3-5. My third graders can be dismissive and shut down if they don’t know or find a task too hard. But the secret here is the foundation. My kindergarteners will become my 3rd, 4th and 5th graders. I cannot tell you how many times I bring up lessons from kindergarten and 1st grade to my 3rd, 4th and 5th graders.
I think skills change but the idea of challenging oneself starts in kindergarten. Developing that foundation is what I find to be like planting a seed that will grow in years to come.
My fifth graders this year I have taught since they were in 1st grade. By developing relationships, continual support for persevering and collaborating with peers, these students understand that foundation to problem solve,
My biggest advice is build a culture where it’s ok to not finish a problem but discuss the process at the end of the class. When there’s a support system in place, students feel comfortable to try and possibly fail but try again. The process of any project is more exciting and rewarding to everyone. The final product doesn’t have the same story - it’s in the process where we learn.
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I agree it depends on the situation. My classes are elective, so the students here are wanting to learn about computer science. Students understand “I don’t know” isn’t the final answer they can give me. If they don’t know then we will work together to find out. That is part of the collaboration a team does. Sometimes when the students don’t know an answer, it can be a really good learning experience solving it together. I am working with several different complicated software programs, so I am asked questions sometimes that I can’t always answer off the top of my head. So, I will model going to the correct source to find the answer and we go over it together. I have also made reference folders with common questions and troubleshooting info. that the students can use for quick solutions.
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This is such an important topic, and we’ve been discussing it quite a bit around here lately! @Jessica_Drayer , @Anna_Blake and @LORI_COLANGELO have fantastic thoughts on the matter! I would be happy to be a student in any of your classrooms!
I think being very deliberate about how you build a classroom community founded on strong relationships between teacher and student and the students themselves lays the foundation for students to be comfortable enough to say they don’t know and to be able to persist through solving problems and finding answers. If students know they are accepted and valued for who they are, they are more likely to feel that trying, failing and trying again is both safe and an expected norm.
Also, as @LORI_COLANGELO said, a teacher modeling the process of not knowing something and figuring it out with students is a very powerful way to communicate to students that not knowing is actually an essential part of learning! And, as @Anna_Blake says, starting in early childhood is especially powerful, as doing so can help to build in students an enthusiasm for intellectual exploration that outweighs any fear of being wrong!
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A lot of good ideas here. Most have commented, correctly, that “I don’t know” can either be a legitimate case of knot knowing, or dismissiveness and/or learned helplessness.
When students legitimately don’t know an answer, creating a culture where that it is ok to not know the answer, as many have mentioned, is a great idea. We want our students to take risks.
For learned helplessness and dismissiveness, this is also a cultural shift in our classrooms. Something simple to consider is always returning to a student when they get an answer wrong. For example,
“Sarah, what is the first behavior our robot must do?”
“It has to move forward,” Sarah replied.
“You’re about 50% correct. Jonathan, can you help Sarah get to 100% correct?”
“We have to tell the robot how far to drive forward. So the first behavior is drive forward for 15 inches.”
“Great - Sarah, what is the first behavior?”
“Drive forward 15 inches.”
“Very good.”
Few things to note here:
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The teacher was cold calling students, not asking for volunteers. When done positively this can help all students stay engaged.
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The teacher told Sarah that she was half right. This helps Sarah focus on what is the part she is missing.
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The teacher didn’t go overboard with praise with correct answers or exasperation with incorrect answers. Providing an answer, getting it wrong, then getting it right is a normal part of this classroom routine.
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The teacher going back to Sarah allowed her to encode the learning while also showing her peers that she knew the answer.
Something as simple as consistency going back to students when they get an answer wrong can be a powerful way to establish a culture in your classroom where learned helplessness is not acceptable.
I’d love to hear what others think.
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@Jason_McKenna This is a great example. The teacher gives praise, uses collaboration by having a fellow student assist, checks for understanding
for Sarah and ends positively.
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What an insightful conversation! I cannot echo @Anna_Blake’s comments about the foundation of early childhood, and establishing positive culture with young students! Whenever we’re learning something new, we begin by not knowing - it’s simply a place to start. You know something, but maybe not the whole thing, and that’s ok. As @Aimee_DeFoe highlighted, relationship based teaching goes a long way to making this a comfortable place to be.
As for the dismissive nature of the “I don’t know”, this brings to mind something that I found happening more frequently in recent years - where students mistook asking for help or saying they didn’t know as a way to get someone to give them the answer. For instance:
“Sam, the robot went 3 steps forward, but needs to go 6 steps. How many more steps should it take?”
“Um…1?”
“Close, where would one more step put the robot?”
“I need help.”
“Ok, move the robot one more step with your hand, is it at the 6?”
“YOU’RE NOT HELPING ME!”
This generally prompted a conversation about what the word ‘help’ means, and how ‘help’ does NOT mean I do it for you, but instead I work with you to get to the answer. Especially for young students, I don’t think they are intentionally trying to manipulate or ‘work the system’ here, but in a world where answers are frequently found instantly or grownups do things for them in an effort to move quickly, building the capacity to persevere needs to be practiced and taught and practiced some more. So the “I don’t know’s” give way to taking a chance on an answer and accepting the support to get the rest of the way together.
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I think these are powerful notes for any teacher. Positivity and building confidence should be innate in any robotics lesson. I love when students teach other students. I always like to tell my students, “I want to talk less and let you have more fun.” In saying this, I’m allowing kids to see robotics as fun and giving them “their” time to shine.
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