How...Helping Children Learn

Helping children learn! For both parents and teachers, few things are more important. So when signs of difficulty appear, there is deep concern. Typically, the signs are based on seeing a child having trouble with some activity. It might be misreading words, not answering questions effectively; not knowing math facts. Occasional difficulties are not at issue; in fact they are an expected part of learning. But when they are common, the alarm bells go off.

Lots of energy then goes towards answering the question, “Why is the child having trouble?” Over the years, as our knowledge has advanced, the explanations have become increasingly sophisticated and they now cover a wide range of categories. Problems in attention, language, auditory processing; memory, spatial relations are just a few of the possibilities.

Underlying the varied explanations, however, is a single common factor. In almost all cases, the child has not been able to effectively handle what he or she has been asked to do. In other words, the child’s responses are marked by error!

Strangely, the difficulties are never discussed in terms of error. Perhaps it seems more scientific to talk in terms of diagnoses with esoteric names. Or perhaps errors are so obvious that it seems unnecessary to mention them. Regardless of the reason, error is rarely given the attention it merits. It is the “invisible” 800 pound gorilla who doggedly blocks the path to learning.

How does error get this power? The answer is not that hard to come by if you think back to your own school days and remember the times you did not know the answer and began praying that the teacher would not call on you. The potential embarrassment and shame of your peers seeing you fail were unbearable. Remarkably, that fear lingers on– for years after our school days are distant memories. It’s why adults avoid sitting in the first row in a lecture hall—they want to make sure that just in case the speaker asks a question, they are not the ones who might be called on to answer.

Fear is not the only problem. Children who experience high rates of error see them as incontrovertible proof that they are stupid. Once that feeling takes hold, its grip is tenacious. The child’s self-esteem plummets, often never to fully recover regardless of how much evidence there might be to the contrary.

Parents and teachers sense the children’s vulnerability and with the best of intentions, try to bolster their egos via compliments such as, “but you are really smart,” and “look at how many things you do well.” Unfortunately, the comments rarely achieve their intended effects. As one student put it, “If I were really smart, they wouldn’t have to keep assuring me of it.”

So what is to be done? How are we to dislodge the gorilla so that the path to learning is cleared. The answer rests with changing some of the ways we interact with children so that (a) the rate of error is reduced and (b) when it does occur, it is dealt with more effectively.

The following questions represent a useful start. 

1. Is the question really necessary?

Conversations between adults and children are laced with questions–questions that unintentionally but systematically produce error. Consider the ubiquitous “What did you do in school today?” that children hear upon their return home. The query is clearly designed to start a friendly exchange about the day’s events. But often that is not the way it works. As frustrated parents commonly report, the children close down, saying little or nothing.

Ironically, given its purpose, the question is not necessary and can easily be eliminated. After all, it is offered as a greeting. That type of exchange can effectively be handled by replacing the question with a comment such as “You look great. I hope your day was as good as you look.” Comments have an enormous advantage. They free the child from having to come up with “the right answer.” With the pressure removed, there is a far greater likelihood of the children beginning to talk spontaneously about whatever they want to discuss. It’s a win-win situation with the children feeling relaxed and the parents feeling delighted.

2. When errors happen, is there an alternative to beating around the bush?

When we ask a question, we are never quite prepared for anything but a correct response. For example, to the question, “How much is 3 and 4?” we anticipate hearing “7.” When an answer such as “8” is offered, we are in a quandary.

Years of training have embedded in us the idea that it is ego deflating to tell a child that an answer is not correct. At the same time, we have been taught that the child must independently arrive at the correct answer. With these restrictions in place, there are not many options open. Typically, the only possibility is to follow up with additional questions such as “Do you think it is 8?” or “Do you want to try again?” or “How can it be 8?”

Not surprisingly, the questions rarely achieve their objective. The adult may have gone to great lengths to avoid the words “You are wrong,” but the children know that this is message. Had they been correct, the follow-up questions would never have been asked. Instead there would have been a comment such as “Right” or “Good work.” So the children recognize the questions for what they are—indirect ways of saying, “Change your answer.”

The problem is not in telling a child that an error has been made. There is really no way to avoid that message. The problem is in the way the message is conveyed. If it is done indirectly through a series of challenging questions, the difficulties only increase. By contrast, if the feedback is stated directly in a simple, neutral, non-judgmental manner such as “No, that’s not the answer,” the difficulties lessen significantly.

3. Is there a way to show the child the path to success?

Human beings have a remarkable ability to learn by watching what others do and then copying the behavior. This process, termed modeling, is responsible for our learning an amazing array of skills. It’s why French children learn to speak French while our children learn to speak English.

While modeling is common in everyday life, it is typically not a major part of teaching interactions. That is unfortunate because this tool can be invaluable in helping a child reach success.

Take, for example, a child who reads with a high rate of error. Typically, with each mistake, the child is stopped and told to “sound out the word.” This practice is so widespread that it seems the only thing to do. But as many a parent knows, it is slow and draining. And if used repeatedly, the reading is so slow and halting that it is impossible for the child to comprehend the meaning of what is being read.

Through modeling, the situation can be dealt with in a very different manner. For example, a number of studies show that children’s reading improves considerably when they hear an adult reading a passage before they are asked to read it themselves.

A Final Note

Devising ways to enhance children’s learning is an exciting enterprise that will take some time. After all, we have lived with the invisible gorilla for quite a while. But now that he is in our sights, it is not hard to envision him waddling off into the distance –opening wide the path to success.

Dr. Marion Blank is the Director of the A Light on Literacy program at Columbia University. Her new book The Reading Remedy has recently been published by Jossey Bass. She is also the creator of Dr. Blank’s Phonics Plus Five, a comprehensive reading program specifically designed to minimize error and to offer techniques for overcoming any errors that do occur. More information is available at www.doctorblank.com.