Clip 9: Student voice

Delwynne:

After the lesson, I would, we would be asking students, “What were you learning today? Were you successful? How do you know you were successful? What do you need to learn next?” And the responses of the students were often nothing to do with what the teacher had said that they intended to teach.

And again, it’s not about me saying, “Well, this is what the kids said.” The teachers were there, and they know when they hear what the kids are saying. And they know what they told me that they intended to teach, and when there’s a mismatch – again a dissonance.

But it’s not of my making, it’s their own creation. And they’re the ones that need to work their way through it, and they do: “Well how come? How come you didn’t get that this lesson was about writing the correct sentence? How come you didn’t get that the lesson was about…?” and so on and so forth. But by listening to the kids, and listening to the evidence, they start opening their eyes for the next lesson … and again and again.

It’s a self-perpetuating cycle. And again, it’s something they can do without me there.