Oh The Things You Can Learn

Easily one of my favorite things about teaching is learning from the students.

Prior to taking this position in China, I spent 5+ years tutoring SAT math. I used the College Board's "Big, Blue Book" which meant that I saw each problem (particularly those in the first three tests) many times.

What amazed me was the variety of ways that students solved the same problem. Here I was, the teacher ("I know how to do this, and this is the way"), learning different ways to solve the same problem, in some cases, from the 100th student. To say this thrilled me is an understatement. I so enjoyed being taught a new way that I wrote the student's name next to the problem so that I could reference her/him in the future.

(One student commented, "Really? I made the book?!")

The crux of the Harkness Method is students sharing their solutions. Combine this with several ways to solve a particular problem and learning something new is almost guaranteed. This has happened numerous times in the first four weeks (The Exeter materials are SO rich. I read somewhere that their problem sets were 8 years in the making.), and it brings a smile to my face each time.

A couple of notes:

1) I've gone back to one group in each of my classes. (Remember, my largest class size is 13.) I wanted to hear more and focus more and wasn't able to do this with two groups, particularly given English being their second language.

2) My chalkboard is divided into four panels, so I'm starting off the class picking four students to display the first four problems. This is giving me the opportunity to speak with the other students individually, checking homework and answering questions.