More than One Answer

In No One Right Answers Anywhere from Actualization, Walter shares,

“Today I’m announcing a game-changer. And once you let it sink in you won’t be able to look back. Ready? Here it is: there is no one right answer. And I’m not just talking about in classroom instruction and achievement assessments. This is bigger than that. There are no one right answers anywhere, at any time, in life.”

There may be times that there is only one right answer such as a math calculation or some known fact. But I feel that there is more than one way to arrive at any given answer and it is my job to help students learn that even though the answer might be important, there are multiple ways to arrive at this answer.

I have such a hard time when I’m helping my students with assignments from other classes. I may not show them the exact way that their teacher did or I’m told that it has to be done exactly the way the teacher showed them. I remember having the same conversation with my parents when they tried to help me with my homework.

When I give an assignment to my students, I make sure that they know there are usually more than one way to come up with the answer. As long as they don’t cheat or copy someone else’s answer, I’m happy with them getting the right answer. I may ask them to explain how they came up with the answer because it might help someone else in the process. But I’m not stuck on one way only. Sometimes I can learn a new way too.

Sometimes the student gets the right answer by luck and when sharing the process, I realize there is a flaw in this process. That opens up the discussion and we try to solve other problems the same way. The students are able to discover that this was more of an exception to the rule rather than a rule for all. I feel that my students learn more by doing this than just hearing me tell them how to solve the problem.

I feel this helps students learn better problem solving skills. They won’t be in school forever and someone won’t be there to always give them the answer. I want them to learn how to work through a process and look at all options. One option is definitely to go to someone else for help and I don’t want them to ever be ashamed of doing that. But I think that option should be the last resort. My students feel so good about themselves when they can solve a problem on their own.

But this is usually a slow process because so many of my students have faced failure. They are afraid to take new risks and fail again. I try to explain to them that getting the wrong answer is not the failure; it is not trying or taking the risk that is the true failure. By getting the wrong answer, it gives us a stepping stone towards success. You can now rule out that answer and work towards a better one.

I encourage students to solve the problem but if they have trouble, I share my way of solving the problem. Then I encourage them to look for other ways that this can be solved. They are so proud of themselves if they can find a new way. I think learning this skill will be important to making them successful in life.

How do you feel about having only one right answer?

Image: 'The CNCC'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/95572727@N00/6232093469
Found on flickrcc.net

How Do I Answer the Question?

After reading Are These Three Words Ruining Your Life? from Zen Habits, (Thanks to Edventures who shared this with me), Jonathan Mead writes,

“The unmagical words
Those words are: I don’t know…
Just imagine all of the possibilities for you to practice actively making decisions based on your desires, rather than re-actively defaulting to unconsciousness.”

This had me thinking about how I could relate this to the classroom. When I ask a student a question that requires their opinion or their views, many will answer, “I don’t know.” I know with my autistic student, saying, “I don’t know” was a defense mechanism for him most of the time. By using this phrase, many of my students would hide behind the words rather than risk making a mistake. I had to begin thinking about when I use these words and why I use them.

I know sometimes I say this to my husband when I don’t want to start a disagreement or I’m not sure of the answer he is looking for. Or maybe I just don’t have the energy to really think of an answer. Or maybe what I really mean is, “I don’t care.” Am I avoiding the answer because it takes effort to really respond to the question and I don’t have time to do that?

Do my students feel the same way? Are they afraid that they won’t say what I want to hear? Is it too risky for them to give an answer in case it is wrong? Maybe it is my facial expression or my body language that is making them feel this way. Or maybe they don’t have the energy to think of an appropriate answer? Maybe they are tired, or having a bad day.

Then I began to think of some other phrases they could use that might also help them feel more secure. (Of course I have the usual rules that we don’t make fun of any wrong answers, or make the person feel bad etc. But you know that these are just words too and students still can make someone else feel bad without the teacher knowing it.) I think I use certain phrases when I blog because I’m afraid of offending some reader or coming off too strong. But I learned these phrases through trial and error and testing. When I use these phrases, I feel less intimidated.

Phrases like:
1. I feel…
2. I think…
3. In my opinion…
4. If it was me…
5. I have done it this way…

I think I would actually give them opportunities to practice these phrases. I would also try to give them situations where they would feel less intimidated. Maybe they could work in small groups or with a peer. Maybe they could write out their answers or record their answers verbally outside of the general group. Maybe they could make a comic strip that includes their answers.

I believe over time, they would become more comfortable with answering. Using the “unmagical words” would occur less and less and they would be more successful with answering questions in the classroom.

Original image: 'is flickr an addiction?' http://www.flickr.com/photos/91903883@N00/2311427946 by: Candace