Burning Questions

The great psychologist and inner development teacher A.H. Almaas is one of my favorite authors of talks that make me think hard and clearly about what I do as a teacher and why I am doing it.

Because our semester just ended and I will have all-new classes in the new semester, I have been reflecting on how I'm dealing with homework. This is the first time I've ever felt good about my homework strategy — not only because it is working but also because it is aligned with something fundamental that Almaas writes about in his talk on "The Value of Struggling," in his book Diamond Heart Book One: Elements of the Real in Man:

  When you have an issue in your life, the point is not to get rid of it; the point is to grow with it. The point is not just to resolve the issue; the point is to grow through resolving it. So in many ways, you can see that maturity has to do with this growth, this broadening, this depth. (p. 128)

In my classes, this is the point of having homework and of doing homework; so the same should be true with the way in which we deal with points of struggle.

For this reason, the most important part about homework and homework review in my classes has become what I call burning questions. As Almaas says,

   In terms of working here, the question you bring to your teacher has to be a burning question. If you have a feeling one day and don't understand it, don't run to your teacher saying, "I was walking down the street, and this person said such-and-such to me and I felt scared. Why was I feeling scared?"  That is not a burning question. (pp. 127-8)

So for the first four minutes of class, while the intro theme music is playing and while the countdown timer counts down on the screen, students' job is to compare answers and methods in their table groups and to explain to each other anything they can to work through their routine questions and problems with the homework.

Their other goal is to identify any burning questions that they can not answer for themselves or each other. I tell them explicitly and repeatedly for the first two weeks of class that I will only take burning questions — in other words, "group questions" that they can confirm that they cannot answer for themselves.

This, I believe, is the most important classroom cultural thing I establish about homework review. In my classroom, homework review is not the place where you should collapse like a helpless baby and expect me to take your problems away. Homework review and questions to the teacher should be the place to bring your burning questions, which can help you to struggle better and to get that last little boost you need to work your way up to the next level of understanding:

   Respect your issues, grapple with them, struggle with them.  When an issue comes up, involve yourself in it, observe, pay attention, be present, understand it as best you can, using all the capacities you've got. Then, if the issue is hard for you to understand and you can't get through it and the fire is burning inside you, come and ask the question. It is that question which is the best question to ask a teacher. It is the right use of the teacher. When you ask that question, deal with it, and come to understand it, you will undergo a transformation that is not possible otherwise. Then you can take the realization and digest it, absorb it. But if you tell me to give you the enzyme and you haven't digested anything on your own, how are you going to absorb it? It's like trying to absorb big lumps that haven't been thoroughly chewed. No matter how much enzyme we put in, you'll probably only get a stomach ache.  (p. 129)

After the first two weeks of hammering this procedure and prioritization home, I have found that students really take more ownership of their own learning. They seem to better understand how I expect them to mature as learners in my classroom. And they come to appreciate — and ask — really deep and meaningful questions.

Impromptu Twitter master class on homework strategies

On Friday afternoon Anna (@borschtwithanna) tweeted out this call for conversation:

Hey #MTBoS, teach me how to go over hw. I give answer keys, but it still takes like half the period to answer questions & make connections
— Anna Blinstein (@Borschtwithanna) April 24, 2015

What followed was a virtual master class on handling homework in different settings. It's the sort of conversation that the #MTBoS excels at, pulling in thoughtful responses from teachers at every level of practice.

I've been thinking a lot about homework because I am overhauling my homework strategy for next year.  This blog post is my attempt to capture my strategy overview, along with pointers to resources that have helped me think through what I need to do.

Overall HW strategy for next year

There are four pillars to my homework strategy for next year:

1.  HOMEWORK LAGS CLASSWORK: I am implementing  Henri Picciotto's strategy of having the majority of each night's homework "lag" the current classwork focus of the day; 
2. EACH DAY'S INTRO TASK IS TABLE GROUP REVIEW: the first ten minutes of class will be for students to discuss/review/help each other out on the previous night's homework problems together in their table groups; 
3. REFRAMING THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER: I will take questions on particularly troublesome homework problems, but I will take whole-group questions only; and 
4. COLLECT, STAMP, & GRADE HW PACKETS EVERY 2 WEEKS: I collect, stamp, and grade homework packets every two weeks, grading for completeness of effort (every problem in every night's problem set attempted). 

Here are my elaborations on these pieces.

1. HOMEWORK LAGS CLASSWORK

Henri Picciotto's blog post on this is a classic. There are so many valuable things about having the majority of each night's homework "lag" the current day's classwork. First and foremost, it ensures that most of every night's homework is accessible to every student every day. Secondly, it helps with heterogeneous classes. It gives students multiple at-bats for each kind of homework problem, keeping things meaningful for everybody. New material challenges proficient students, while those who are still working toward proficiency get multiple opportunities to work toward master.

2. DAILY INTRO TASK IS TABLE GROUP HOMEWORK REVIEW

The first ten minutes of class are the time for students to get help on homework — and by "help" I mean helping each other first. A big function of math homework in my view is to help each student cultivate an autonomous and independent approach toward their own struggles with their own problems.

A.H. Almaas describes the problem like this: "Many people... unconsciously act out a desire to be 'saved' by a teacher. But if a teacher 'saved' you, you would lose something. You would lose the value of struggle" (Diamond Heart Book One, p. 123).  In my view, the first ten minutes of class are the place where I expect students to begin to shift their mindset about the value of struggle. If a problem is not pushing beyond their Zone of Proximal Development, I expect them to develop the habit of resolving their own confusions themselves.

3. REFRAMING THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER

In keeping with #2, I want to be conscious and intentional with framing my role in their lives about resolving their own problems with problems. Almaas describes this reframing better than anybody I know:

So there are two ways to approach the teacher. One approach is to hope the teacher will take away your problems; the other is to use the teacher, not with the expectation that she will take away your problems or offer solutions or "make it better" but that she will give you a little push in your struggle. (DH Book One, p. 124). 

This is why I love Dan Anderson's (@dandersod) description of the "mass confusion" rule: unless a problem causes mass confusion, students have to work out their problems independently and help each other out on during that first ten minutes of class.

4. COLLECT, STAMP, & GRADE HOMEWORK PACKETS EVERY TWO WEEKS

This has been the most surprisingly successful thing I've done this year. Students have to turn in a stapled packet of their "Home Enjoyment" problems every two weeks. I collect it, I stamp it, and I give them a grade for it every two weeks. Every problem must have been attempted. They should show effort to have sought a resolution for problems they didn't understand the first time through.

This has been a great accountability practice for students. It's an easy, easy 'A' grade every two weeks plus it gives them that push to keep themselves on track and not fall behind on homework. In a high-achieving school filled with motivated students, I expected not to have to do this, but in fact, my experience has revealed the reverse: students appreciate that little push toward accountability. It triggers their automatic reflexes in a way that supports their autonomy.

It also takes me very little time. I am basically just stamping packets, looking for effort and gaps, and rendering a grade whose default is 100% unless stuff is missing or late. I take off a 10% late fee per day. That is usually the only penalty students incur. I've been astounded by how being an old-school hard-ass about this has simplified and streamlined the process.

I hope this is helpful!