What Are You Learning?

Dalat students communicate skillfully by conveying clearly their ideas and learning.

I like to visit classrooms and ask the students, “What are you learning?” I often get responses like, “I’m answering these questions.” “I’m drawing a picture.” “I’m writing an essay.” “I’m solving these problems.” They aren’t really answering the question I asked. They are telling me what they are doing, not what they are learning. When I ask again, it takes them a bit of time to think about how to answer.

When kids come home from school, many parents ask, “How was your day?” The kids usually respond with a one-word answer. “Fine.” Instead, you can ask them to tell you one thing they learned today. If you really want the kids to answer, you might also consider telling them what you are learning. It is good for the kids to know that their parents are still learning too and that learning is not confined to school.

I tried this with my SAT group this morning. I asked them what they had learned in the first two weeks of school. I got a number of very brief answers: the periodic table, sodium catches fire, my schedule, and routines. With a little more prodding, they were able to tell me a bit more. I shared that I was trying to learn the names of more students.

Clearly explaining their own ideas and learning takes a lot of practice for students. We can help by giving them lots of opportunities. Let’s all keep asking the students what they are learning.