One Good Thing
I’ve done Sara Van Der Werf’s name tents the last several years and have really enjoyed hearing from every student every day the first week. However, after that I wasn’t nearly as intentional about making that happen in my classroom. This year I started asking a non-math question at the end of every test, and I respond to every student like I did on the name tents. This has been one of my absolute favorite things I’ve implemented this year. I look forward to test day because of this. As I walk around while students are testing, I notice that when they get to the back page of the test many skip ahead and answer that question first, so I think they like it too.
When I was trying to come up with a question one day, I remembered that Rebecka Peterson, a math teacher from Oklahoma, has her pre-calc and calc students keep a notebook of “Good Things” and every quiz day they write something in that notebook. The notebook is just for the students and something that Rebecka never looks at. My situation is different than Rebecka’s, and because of this, I debated whether or not to ask students this question. Ultimately, I decided to put that one on the test.
My goodness. Their responses were incredible. I decided after that first time to never ask another question all year.
Some of the responses that make me smile the most are the seemingly unremarkable Good Things. The simple, everyday things that my students took the time to think of and share. They’re finding good in the everyday, and I love that. I heard about students who helped another student pick up their stuff, who realized they paid attention in class more that week, or who laughed a lot with friends that week. One student started, “Bad thing first…” and then the student went on to say how that bad thing turned into a good thing. How often do I not take the time to see that the bad/difficult thing, ended up being something pretty great?
My students taught me more than I taught them that week.
Did I get some “I don’t know” or “nothing” responses? Yes. Even then, it gave me the opportunity to think back on the week and try to point out a good thing that the student did or that happened to the student. In some cases, I’ll give the test back to the student and challenge them to think back on the week and find one good thing, no matter how small, to share. So far, every student has been able to do that.
If you are looking for a way to continue the conversation you started the first week of school, I encourage you to try this, or something similar. I’d love to hear how it goes for you!
Greta Bergman
MCTM Communications Committee Member
Do you just ask them to list one good thing from the week or do you ask them a different non-math question each quiz?
I now ask them to list one good thing from the week. I started out by asking them a different non-math question on each test; however, since I’ve asked the “one good thing” question, I’ve started asking that one every time.