Just teach us, say students: Explain the math or science so we can understand it
- Joanne Jacobs
- Jun 4
- 1 min read
Teenagers say they'd be more motivated to learn math, science and other STEM subjects if their teachers explained the topic, according to an EdWeek poll, reports Lauraine Langreo. Teachers agreed that students want understandable explanations.
For years, teachers have been encouraged to minimize explicit teaching and talk as little as possible. Instead, students are supposed "construct their own understanding," collaborate with classmates and learn via projects.
Many of the surveyed students also said they like hands-on projects. However, only 26 percent said they were motivated by collaborating with classmates and 14 percent by seeing examples of people of their own race, ethnicity or gender in class materials.
Some teachers "struggle to explain topics in ways students can understand is they might not have a firm understanding of the content themselves," writes Langreo.
That's especially true of elementary teachers, who are generalists. Many don't understand math very well themselves, and don't enjoy teaching it.
Nearly 70 percent of middle and high school teachers say many of their students “didn’t learn all the basics in earlier grades,” according to the survey. It's hard to make STEM subjects understandable to students with a wobbly foundation in math and science.
Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development...lol...we called that instructional level.
"For years, teachers have been encouraged to minimize explicit teaching and talk as little as possible."
Not at the high school level. High school math instruction is overwhelmingly direct, explicit instruction.
When kids at the high school level say "teachers don't explain things" they are NOT complaining about inquiry instruction. They are saying literally that they don't understand the given explanation.
Different thing entirely. And it's not a matter of not knowing math facts, either. It's simply that kids who are weaker at math need slower instruction, which most high school math and science teachers don't give.
We have used a constructivist curriculum for years and have had great success. Could the students have learned more with direct instruction? Possibly. Let me talk about the curriculum, though. The students are guided through a series of questions. Those questions are structured on Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development. They are questions the students can answer, based on their prior knowledge. The questions then progress through an increasingly complex structure leading to a more advanced idea. Keep in mind that I am circulating through the classroom asking questions, making suggestions, etc, throughout this process. Example from this past week's lessons.
Step 1: Using blocks, find the volume of a variety of prisms (congruent top and bottom, connected by rectangles). A…
The first gatekeeper is an ability to read. The second is knowledge of addition and multiplication facts. Any student who has these will have a much easier time in school.