learning and becoming a successful, confident learner? How do I develop this idea
of responsibility, particularly among my struggling students? My recent experi-
ence with Eliza has given me valuable insight into how I can best help my stu-
dents take responsibility for their own learning.
Introducing Eliza
Eliza is a seven-year-old first grader who repeated kindergarten. At the start of the
year, she appeared to be doing well in mathematics. She could perform some rote
mathematical tasks and could count and write numbers to 20. However, as I con-
tinued to work with Eliza, I noticed that she sometimes needed help recalling how
to write certain numbers when they were out of sequence. She appeared to have
one-to-one correspondence at times, but was inconsistent. She sometimes spoke
the numbers faster than she could move the objects, making her count inaccurate.
I also began to notice that she had trouble comprehending and solving story prob-
lems without help. She would sometimes write random answers and turn in her
paper without asking for help.
In addition to her struggles with the mathematics content, Eliza also had a
passive attitude toward her own learning. She would often sit quietly, appearing
to be busy but not really doing any work. She never asked me for help. She tried
to blend in while working with other children and frequently attached herself to
Katie, a friend from kindergarten. Katie often did Eliza’s work for her, thinking
she was being helpful. During partner or group games, Eliza wrote down what
other children told her to write, with little or no thought of her own about the
mathematics in the game. Eliza hardly ever participated during group-time activ-
ities. She did not appear to listen to other children as they were sharing, nor did
she offer any strategies or ideas of her own.
Along with helping Eliza gain mathematical proficiency, I recognized that I
had to help her learn to be an active participant in our classroom community, to
see herself as a learner of mathematics, and to be responsible for her own learning.
To that end, I developed the following goals for what I wanted to accomplish with
Eliza:
- to become less dependent on her peers
- to increase her attention and contributions to the classroom community,
in both small- and large-group settings - to ask for help
As a first step, I wanted Eliza to gain some confidence in her own mathemat-
ical abilities. As a more confident learner, she would feel more comfortable asking
for help and contributing ideas to the group. Then I would be able to work with
TAKINGRESPONSIBILITY FORLEARNING