Addressing Challenging Comments
One of my favorite classes to teach is a mixed-grade elective economics course. It’s great! I get to teach students financial literacy and also have meaningful discussions, like if credit cards benefit society. During a unit on credit scores, one of my strongest students made an inaccurate claim about why credit scores are hard to maintain. It was a simple mistake, but I did not want to jump in and correct her. At that moment I felt a little tense and wasn’t sure what to do. I was afraid that her inaccurate comment would impede other students’ learning, especially as she is perceived as a “smart” student. However, I also did not want to shut down the conversation by correcting her.
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Ashley
Mixed Grade
Economics
Preservice Teaching Year
- What is the teacher's dilemma? Consider the teacher's goals, possible actions, beliefs about the situation and the students, and their own self-perceptions.
- Complete or modify the following sentence in a way that captures the teacher's central tension in the situation: "While on the one hand, the teacher believed/wanted/felt/did __________, on the other hand, they believed/wanted/felt/did __________."
- Thinking about your own classroom, how do you correct inaccurate information, especially from strong students, without discouraging students from sharing their perspectives?