I Wish my Students Knew (Sharing teaching values to build classroom culture)

I am not, generally speaking, a fan of making videos. (Or, often, of slide decks)

I feel self conscious on video, and do too many takes, and I’m not even really a video-watching fan, and we’re doing zoom sessions anyways, and, well, it’s just not my favorite thing.

But, when I started planning for this year, I knew there was one video I would definitely be making: a screencast of the my “Wish my Students Knew” presentation.

I’ve been trying to figure out how we establish a classroom culture, when we don’t have an actual classroom. It’s puzzling, but core values still seem like the place to start.

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Originally Published Feb. 2018, updated fall 2020

I kind of knew what I wanted in a classroom culture: support, and listening, and welcome, and a palpable belief in every student. But, I wasn’t always sure how to create it. I would not have guessed part of the answer was PowerPoint.

I had been using ‘What I wish my teacher knew….’ to start my classes. I love this. It’s beautiful, and valuable, and works at least as well for centering the teacher (and reminding me why I do this!) as it does for giving voice to the students.

So, as I pondered all of the misconceptions, and information gaps, and misunderstandings about math learning that my students started with, I added, ‘What I Wish my Students Knew…’. 

A dozen or so slides with some key ideas that I share in some form or fashion every first week. It’s my chance — before we start with the variables and the word problems, in the middle of the attendance policies and school calendars — to tell them what I think is really important to know about math class. (And to start to debunk a few things many think they know)

It doesn’t create a culture by itself, but it sets a nice foundation. They know where I stand, and what I believe.

I’ve been adding to it as I think of new wishes, and playing with the presentation format. I’ve given this as a straight-up powerpoint, a gallery walk, a read-around, had pairs look at a few slides, and now, a video.

And, if some administrator ever comes looking for a teaching philosophy, this might be what I hand them.

So, without further ado (but with commentary)

I wish my students knew…

… Everyone can learn math. (They are often fairly certain that this is not true, at least as applied to them.) (( If they learn this, I don’t care if they learn another thing))

… But we don’t all learn the same way, or at the same pace. And that’s ok

 

 … I hated my math class in high school. (I often talk about Mr. B – -, whose teaching style combined with the difficulty but apparent irrelevancy of cosines to my life, to convince me that I wasn’t a math person) ((I hope they hear “I can empathize”))

… Turns out I don’t mind math as an adult. And I love teaching it. (I hope they hear, ‘it can change’)

…You don’t have to like math to learn it. … But it feels really good when you get something that you thought was hard. (Those moments are the reason I keep doing this job)

… Most of math looks scary… until you learn it. (I’m a big fan of exposure therapy for math anxiety  “Look at this thing we’re going to do today….” …”Hey, nice job, maybe that crazy-looking thing wasn’t so bad)

 

… You really learn math when you do math. Not when you listen to or watch me do math. (So, no, we’re not going to sit in rows facing the board)

… You’re learning the most when you’re working on something that you can just about figure out, but it’s still kind of hard.

… Mistakes happen. Even to me. And it’s no big deal (I put mine on the board for all to see)

… Being a good learner is its own skill. Everyone learns in different ways and it will make your life easier when you figure out the best ways for you (Metacognition, my personal crusade)

… Checking your answers helps you learn. If you do more than mark it right/wrong, and instead figure out how to fix your mistakes. (Answer keys are a fixture in class and a learning tool, except for all the past-teachers in their heads scolding them about cheating. )

… It’s natural, but frustrating, for your brain to have a hard time remembering something you only do once a week. The best remedy is to do math more often (Study at home!) (Our biggest challenge, my constant plea)

… Asking questions is how you take charge of your learning, and get the information you need. Also, I’m a terrible mind reader. (Phrased for those with trouble asking for help, and for those who just want to help)

… It’s ok to ask for help. Better than ok actually.  (Some things bear repeating)

I added a version of this (adapted lightly to be slightly more universal) and to my  subscriber resources. Enjoy!

(If you use it, please leave a comment telling me how it fits in your class)