If there was any solitary advice I could provide teachers and parents, it would be this simple recommendation: respond to content-specific questions with “I don’t know”. Especially in the realm of math education, where the teacher in the room is thought to have all of the content knowledge (which is a whole other problem for another post). Traditional math teachers are substantially guilty of reinforcing anxiety around having closed-ended and correct answers.
As we continue to shift away from a teacher-centered model of education, the more we need to guide students to self-direct and find answers themselves. The content is ‘out there’, in Google, Youtube, working professionals, and various other free tools. When educators conform to content knowledge as being integral to a teacher’s identity, the more students will continue to rely on the classroom teachers as the ‘keeper of knowledge and success’. This is an antiquated idea. An iPhone has more content than any human could ever possess- why try to compete with that? Finding and using content is a far more valuable skill than being able to recall content off-the-cuff.
One of the greatest joys from the last few years of teaching is I have been able to work with students on content that I did not know anything about. This left them to figure it out themselves entirely- knowing that I could only provide guidance and feedback on soft skills, but no content. When a student asked me “is this the right way?”, I simply replied, “I don’t know, try it”. After a while, students stopped asking me altogether. They knew it was on them to self-direct the learning process. They felt the pressure to direct their own learning.
An important caveat- make sure it is clear to students, administrators, and parents that you are taking this approach. Explain why this is your pedagogical decision and how helpful it is for students. This helps curb the “Ms. Person isn’t teaching me anything” complaints.
Learning V. School 