Joan Moser
February 28, 2014
While waiting to pay for my purchases at an office-supply store, I observed as a store clerk approached a gentleman asking if he could provide any help. The gentleman explained that his grandsons had given him an iPad as a gift and that he needed to get something called Wi-Fi to make it work. He kindly asked the clerk what Wi-Fi was and if he could please direct him where to find it.
The clerk went into a too-technical explanation of what Wi-Fi was and why he couldn't just "find it" in the store, and then tried to describe how Wi-Fi worked. The gentleman listened patiently before asking again, "But what is it?"
Now, those of you who know me are well aware that keeping to myself is not one of my strong suits. I walked over and asked if I could help explain.
I asked the gentleman if he had ever used a transistor radio. He had, and could even recall the different radio programs he and his family had gathered to listen to in the evenings. Building on that background knowledge, piece of paper in hand, I proceeded to draw a picture of the working parts needed to set up Wi-Fi in his home, labeling the parts and connecting them as often as I could to the transmission of a radio signal. His look of confusion turned to understanding and a readiness to tackle getting Wi-Fi.
I have been tutoring a friend of mine who is learning to use an iPad. On Saturday we worked on organizing photos. She wanted to learn how to save all the photos her grandkids have sent her, as well as organize all the photos she was taking. Opening up the file drawer in the office, I anchored my explanation to that of the physical files. Pulling out some photos I had in my desk, I explained that right now they were just a pile of photos, and that by creating, labeling, and moving photos to the files they would be easy to access.
Both of these wonderful people taught me three valuable lessons that translate to the work we do with children.
Lesson One
When there is an imminent personal need (setting up Wi-Fi, organizing our digital data), there is a greater motivation and desire to learn.
Lesson Two
We often hear about anchoring our teaching to something students already know. I don't know if the importance of this was ever so clear to me as it became during these two interactions.
Lesson Three
Talking is not nearly as effective as showing.
These are simple but powerful reminders of how we can really make our teaching stick.