Small Teaching K-8

Chapter 6Practicing

Sometimes I still forget I am not the main character in my own classroom. The more time I spend talking, the less effective my lessons often become. Application and practice are pivotal elements of learning, and I can do neither of them for my students. They have to put in the effort themselves. That said, observing their practice helps to guide my teaching and helps me make effective adjustments to practice. The more frequently I facilitate short practice sessions, the better students perform on my assessments.

It's easy to feel guilty when you allow students to do all the talking. Whenever my administrators walk into the room and students are actively engaged with one another, I have to remind myself not to interject ...