Listening for the Learning

Let me set the scene. It is guided reading time in late October and I am working with a group of students on the guided writing portion of their lesson. A boy and a girl are working on writing three sentences, which I have dictated to them. The first sentence reads, "She looked in the grass," The second sentence, "She looked at the pond." I have just given the third sentence, "She looked in the barn." Both students have written the first two sentences without error. Suddenly, the girl stops and opens her guided reading book to the back page. I look at her third sentence and it says, "She looked in the brn." She looks at me, obviously feeling the need to explain what she is doing, and says, "I know that every word needs a vowel, and I am not sure what the vowel is in the word barn." This is kindergarten, folks--in October.

Had I not been sitting across the table from this girl, I may have missed this very important glimpse into her mind. I have no doubt I have missed countless other opportunities to capture the learning and thinking of children throughout the years. However, I am getting better. I am trying. I am learning to listen. I am learning to listen for the learning. The opportunities surround us every day, but often, we don't take the time to hear them. Often, we don't take time to see them. Often, we are too worried about "measuring growth" that we forget to see the growth occurring right in front of us.

Call it what you will--pedagogical documentation, taking anecdotal notes, observation, whatever. What I am trying to say is TRY IT. Stop talking, stop directing every action taken in your classroom and LISTEN FOR THE LEARNING. It is all around us, and it is magical.

Here are a few examples that I have captured. 

Student: "Mrs. Zeidler, look at my pattern."

Me: "Awesome! Tell me about your pattern."

Student: "It goes up like this."

Me: "How do you know it is a pattern?"

Student: "I don't know..."

Me: "Well, you told me it was a pattern. How did you know?"

Student: "It is a growing pattern."

Me: "How do you know that?"

Student: "Because it goes up by one each time."

Me: "What are you doing to your fort?"

Student: "It keeps falling down right here, so I am putting more weight on top of the sheet so it will hold it in place. We tried it with just one block, and that didn't work. Two blocks will be heavier."

Me: "Tell me about your gingerbread trap."

Student: "Well, the gingerbread man comes into the trap and is blocked in by the cardboard on the sides. This part in the front keeps him from getting out. And then (points to taped straw in front)...this part falls down to lock the whole thing in place so the gingerbread man can't escape."

Student: "Mrs. Zeidler, do you see my butterfly?"

Me: "What can you tell me about your butterfly?"

Student: "It is red and yellow."

Me: "What else can you tell me about it?"

Student: "It has antennae."

Me: "Interesting. Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

Student: "It is symmetrical."

Me: "What do you mean by symmetrical?"

Student: "It is the same on this side as this side."

Student: "Mrs. Zeidler, come look at my tower. I made it three dimensional. See...it isn't just flat on the light table."

Me: "Tell us about your picture."

Student: "I drew the stem brown, because it looks brown. On the bottom I noticed a round part, so I drew a a circle. These green parts are marks I noticed on the pumpkin (where a mouse chewed on the pumpkin). I drew dots all over the pumpkin, because I noticed there were spots on it."

Note: One of our science standards is "I can observe and describe objects in nature and share those observations and descriptions with others."

There is learning happening around us every day. Often, we are too busy "teaching" to capture it. I am getting better. I am trying. I am learning to listen. I am learning to listen for the learning.