SIMIODE Director's Blog - Two Ears - One Mouth
Two Ears and One Mouth
[Director's comment: Here is an excerpt from a September 2023 sharing to NCTM members from Kevin Dykema, the President of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (See complete text). We have been a member of NCTM for years. We suggest you can benefit from the wisdom of teachers at all stages in students' mathematical development and consider supporting and joining NCTM. Complete details and great materials can be found at their web site, https://www.nctm.org/. Meanwhile, keep listening! On a more personal and confessional note I might alter the title to, "Two Ears and One Mouth, Sometimes with Foot in the Latter!"]
"The ability to truly listen to someone else can be a very difficult skill for many. I remember as a student being reminded that we have two ears but only one mouth so we should be listening more and talking less. I’m sure this reminder was for my classmates, but certainly not for me!
"I know I strive to have a discourse-rich mathematics classroom and I recognize that on some days I’m able to implement that better than other days. The importance of communication in learning mathematics is especially apparent when you consider that three of the eight Effective Teaching Practices from Principles to Actions focus on facilitating discourse, posing questions, and eliciting using student thinking. Additionally, several of the other eight practices depend on communication and discourse.
"However, listening to our students and having our students listen to each other are not easy tasks. I wonder how often we anticipate what our students are going to say and then interrupt them and finish their thoughts to try to keep the class moving along. And too often, we likely finish their thoughts incorrectly. I know that when I do allow the student to complete their thought, I often immediately repeat what my student says; unfortunately, the result is that the other students in my class quickly realize that they don’t need to listen carefully to their peers because they know that I will repeat or summarize what was said. My focus has been too much on helping my students learn how to communicate their thinking and not enough on helping them learn how to listen carefully to others. Helping students learn to listen is a skill I need to continually improve!"
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