The power of suggestion can be mighty strong…
I’m always joking around with my students. I firmly believe that if a child enjoys being at school then the possibilities for learning are endless.
A couple of years ago I told my class that I was the world of math scholars, I was the world’s leading authority when it comes to improper fractions. I told them that in college my roommate and I started the National Society for the Advancement of the Understanding of Improper Fractions. (NSAUIF) I went on to say, that for the last 10 years I had been the president, but that I had to step down, because I wasn’t able to teach and do all the things a president needs to do.
I had no idea, but they bought it hook, line and sinker!
I forgot all about my fabricated society until sometime the following year when one of the teachers in fifth grade who had a few of my students spoke up at our faculty meeting and said, “I learned today, from my students, that Mr. A is the former president of the NSAUIF!”
As it turned out, one of my former students had tried to enlighten his teacher about the facts concerning improper fractions and he cited me as the school’s only true authority on the matter.
For me, that was loads of fun. Especially since the teacher he was arguing with is the person I go to when I have math questions.
But it got me thinking.
If while joking around I could simply suggest something to my students and have them believe it, then what else might I be able to suggest?
I decided this year to tell my students at every chance I have that they are the most gifted math students I have had in years. Don’t get me wrong, none of my students are low in math, but a few do struggle. I just wanted to see if some of their problems where all in their heads.
So that’s what I’ve been doing for this whole year.
Every single day I praise their math skills. I go on and on about how incredible they are. I even go so far as to make it seem like some big secret I’m not really supposed to tell them. And I think I’m beginning to see some individuals who have never really liked math gain some confidence.
Last week, we took a district math assessment.
My students knocked it out to the park!
Yep, the power of suggestion can be mighty strong…
3 comments:
WOW! AND DOUBLE WOW!
Mom in G-town
There has been some recent research that suggests that the best way to motivate kids is actually to tell them that they succeed because they work hard, not because they are smart. The intuition is that if they think they do well because they are smart, then they are afraid that they are actually imposters, and freeze up when they get problems that they can't do. On the other hand, if they think they do well because they work hard, they can continue to work hard and it'll provide them with more success later.
See, for instance,
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-secret-to-raising-smart-kids
There have also been some studies done that have told teachers that certain kids were high achievers, while others weren't. The kids were randomly assigned to either group. At the end of the testing, the kids who were considered "high achievers" by the teacher, did better than the other group. It's all how you see them.
*Good to know my psych background came in handy somewhere!
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