Written by I first heard about the idea of modelling skills for students almost a year ago on a cold Saskatoon morning in March of 2019. I was attending a Penny Kittle conference and, among being blown away by other eye-opening pedagogical practices, Kittle introduced the notion of modelling.
In doing so, she tasked us, the audience, with a prompt and gave us several minutes to write. As we crafted our responses, Kittle projected her paper on the screen and engaged in the writing task alongside us. As we were writing, we could see her every move: her struggles with the prompt, her thinking about the response on the spot, and her development of ideas as she wrote. The process wasn’t intended to demonstrate her mastery over ours; rather, it was to highlight the writing process as it is. Further, if we were struggling with our responses, we could get reassurance that Kittle, a seasoned vet, was still working through her own ideas, and, once she inevitably found her stride, we could look to her writing for guidance.
This practice resonated with me immediately. As an athlete from a young age, I understand the process of learning through visualization. Moreover, whenever a new skill is introduced in sports, the coach often demonstrates this skill first before sending athletes off to complete the task on their own. Being able to see a task performed provides a clear understanding of the mechanics needed in order to complete that task later for oneself. If this is true for sports then it stands to reason that it would also be true in the classroom.
Over the next two and a half months for the remainder of that school year, I sought to model each day for my students. Every class, I would introduce a quick writing task, one that could be completed in 3-5 minutes, and I would work alongside my students. As I wrote, I would occasionally glance up from the screen and often see students having a look at the board projecting my work. Some students would visually react while others would give a pensive consideration and then dive back into their own work.
My messaging to them about this process was simple: my work was not intended to the gold standard, far from it. In fact, I often left my spelling and grammatical errors on the board for all to see. In doing so, I wanted my students to understand that writing is a process and one that isn’t simply refined after a mere few minutes. What’s more, I was hoping that, by modelling my struggle, students would have a greater sense of ease with their own struggles.
Truth be told, writing is hard. If it’s hard for me as an English major and English teacher of five years, then it’s even more so true for teenagers who are just beginning to find themselves as writers. Knowing this truth, I felt as though I owed it to my students to acknowledge this fact so that they could better appreciate the process itself and feel genuine pride in creating quality work.
I have to admit that, in the first few weeks of modelling, I was nervous. What if my writing wasn’t good? What if I made many mistakes? What if a student’s response was better than mine? If I failed, would I be undermining my own abilities as a teacher? After I had these thoughts, I realized two things. One: we ask students to be vulnerable and take risks every single day in our classes, so we need to model that vulnerability and let them know that it’s ok to feel that way. And two: this is my craft, I completed five years of tertiary education and have been teaching for the equivalent, I can have confidence in my abilities.
As a result of starting to model skills for students, by the end of that school year, I had written more in those last two and a half months of teaching than I had in the previous four years. Yes, you read that correctly. If I was uncertain of my abilities beforehand, then surely this process made me more confident afterwards. And, perhaps the most profound thought that struck me as a result of my own nervousness was the fact that if I’m not confident in my own abilities to perform a task that I request of my students then perhaps I shouldn’t be asking them to perform that task in the first place.
How can you find out for yourself? Model skills for students.
Follow and tweet @bjeblack!
This is a great reflection and an important idea. As a music teacher, I can honestly say that I am constantly modeling as part of my everyday teaching strategy. This is pretty true of Arts teachers in general. I know that the visual art teacher upstairs from me projects her drawing onto the screen. I am singing all the time, and our drama teacher is constantly demonstrating and participating in the creative process. It seems to me that math teachers are frequently modeling the steps in solving problems. There must be some subject areas where this is more of a challenge, and requires conscious effort in order to make it happen. Writing is one of those, so bravo!
Hi Brandon,
This sounds amazing (and very brave!). It think it is great that you are willing to share your process and look for feedback from your students on your own attempts at the tasks you have set. It is really important for students to understand that learning is a lifelong process and one we are all on. Have you noticed a difference in the mindset of your students when approaching these tasks? I imagine they would feel more confident in sharing their thoughts and less vulnerable in putting pen to paper.
Have you applied this principle in other ways through your teaching eg. modelling empathy?
This might be relevant for your English classes
https://www.edutopia.org/discussion/modeling-perspective-and-empathy-readers-learn-make-meaning
Thanks,
Laura
Thanks for the comment @lross! I actually have noticed changes to student mindsets. I never hear my students talk about grades in my class and, when we conference, it’s always about the skills and not the final result. Perhaps they know that if they ask about a certain grade, I will always respond with requiring evidence of specific skillsets? I hadn’t considered modelling soft skills, but I think it’s a great idea; thanks for the resource!