Teachable Moments
Monday, April 04, 2011
Abort the Landing
It is customary at the end of a flight to have the flight attendants walk through the cabin for the last time to pick up any trash, make sure that tray tables and seats are in the upright position, all electronic devices have been turned off and personal items are stowed safely under the seats.
It is not uncommon to hear the pilot thank everyone for choosing a particular airline and announce the current weather conditions in the arrival city. One last caution is to remain in seats because the seat belt lights were illuminated.
Passengers press their noses to the windows as the plane drops through the clouds, the city's building and freeways become more evident, the landing gears are positioned and the plane decreases it speed.
All of that happened in my recent flight, but suddenly the plane accelerated, pulled up and headed away from the airport!
The pilot calmly announced, "I guess you have noticed that we had to abort the landing..."
We flew full circle around the city one more time...then landed safely.
It dawned on me that we should do the very same as educators. If students don't understand a concept, it may require that we "abort the landing".
If a few students don't grasp a skill or concept, it may require some additional tutoring for them.
If the majority of your students don't understand a concept, then go back...scaffold...reteach...use alternate methods of instruction...abort the landing...and make sure that there are no major obstacles that would prevent your students from "landing" on the runway of "I got it"...
It is not uncommon to hear the pilot thank everyone for choosing a particular airline and announce the current weather conditions in the arrival city. One last caution is to remain in seats because the seat belt lights were illuminated.
Passengers press their noses to the windows as the plane drops through the clouds, the city's building and freeways become more evident, the landing gears are positioned and the plane decreases it speed.
All of that happened in my recent flight, but suddenly the plane accelerated, pulled up and headed away from the airport!
The pilot calmly announced, "I guess you have noticed that we had to abort the landing..."
We flew full circle around the city one more time...then landed safely.
It dawned on me that we should do the very same as educators. If students don't understand a concept, it may require that we "abort the landing".
If a few students don't grasp a skill or concept, it may require some additional tutoring for them.
If the majority of your students don't understand a concept, then go back...scaffold...reteach...use alternate methods of instruction...abort the landing...and make sure that there are no major obstacles that would prevent your students from "landing" on the runway of "I got it"...