How Do I Know if My Child is Learning?
At this time, I’m going to explore the idea of offering new content on a bi-weekly schedule. I’m finding that I’m spending so much time creating new content each week that I’m not having the time to create new products that will ideally provide even more value for you long term. My idea is to put out a vlog/blog/podcast/YouTube video every other week alternating with application and reflection ideas for that week’s content. You’ll still hear from me every week and it will build in some reflection time to let thoughts percolate and also time to try out new ideas, as well.
Kids learning at outside of school may wonder if they are actually learning the things they need to know. In this episode, we'll discuss how to know when to level-up learning.
Including keeping confidence up by:
- Getting the Challenge/Skill level right
- Setting clear goals
- Giving effective feedback
In last week’s post, we discussed finding the Challenge/Skill Balance and building paper-thin progressions into daily clear goals for your child. Let’s spend a moment understanding these ideas, which might be a completely new way of thinking or perhaps some new language about how your child learns new things. Find the post, How do I know if my child is learning? HERE.
When learning new things, we want children to be working on things that aren’t too easy and aren’t too hard. The Challenge/Skill Balance is the sweet spot you’re aiming for and typically it’s just barely above your child’s current competency level.
Examples:
Mathematics
- Your child has mastered single-digit addition and is wanting to move to double-digits. You’ve explored the concept using real-world examples and now your child wants to try manipulating some actual numbers. In this instance, you might choose to start with addition facts that your child is most comfortable with and can recall quickly. Maybe smaller numbers are easier for your child or maybe your child wants to use manipulatives in some way to support the process. You’ll start small and build in probable wins to start. You may choose to be nearby for your child to lean into. You may choose to walk through several problems together (i.e. modeling) before slowly pulling back. This example uses paper-thin progressions that very slowly add complexity and balances out the challenge and the skill level so work is not too hard/easy.
What is a new challenge that your child is interested in pursuing?
Do you have a good idea of where to start and how you might build understanding from that starting place?
- Your child has started to notice patterns in the world: repeating shapes in the bathroom tiles and the patterns within pine cones and flowers in the yard.
Where might you find real world examples of a concept you are working on understanding? Start to highlight such examples through conversation, games or in other novel ways.
To introduce the idea that patterns follow rules, you might introduce simple function machines. You might start very simply and take turns trying to figure out each other’s pattern rules. See an example below.
Leave the box in the middle blank and your child can try to figure out the pattern between the numbers on the left and on the right. A paper-thin progression would entail using slightly more complex functions within the box and then perhaps even moving to two or more function boxes or finding patterns both vertically and horizontally. In the example below, there is also a pattern of +3 moving vertically down the column of numbers.
3 5
6 (+2) 8
9 11
12 14
Writing
- When learning about setting, you might begin to describe the places you experience around your house and then your neighborhood and then perhaps traveling to interesting settings in your larger community. You might discuss broad characteristics of setting, down to the smallest details. The large branches of the backyard mulberry tree reaching upwards as, the smaller branches droop with the weight of the ripe fruit, the juicy footprints left on the kitchen floor as the boy runs through the house after playing outside, the smell of fruit in the air and stains on his hands, etc. You get the picture. You might layer an understanding of a place across several weeks and start to move from simple identification and description to written expression of setting, refining descriptive language and word choice as proficiency develops. At some point your child may even start to think about how authors use setting as another character in a story, using examples from great writers.
In this example, paper-thin progressions start with what your child is already familiar with and slowly layer more and more detail atop that knowledge. A paper-thin progression may include starting with a verbal discussion and then moving to written language and then to more and more complex usage and application of an idea.
Watch for signs of boredom or anxiety when your child is learning. These are signs that learning may be too easy or too hard. If a child is shutting down, wandering off, full of distraction or complaint, you might also consider breaking learning down into smaller pieces if too hard or adding complexity if too easy.
