Okay. Watch the video below. My son is going to teach you how to solve a Rubik’s Cube.
Ready. Set. Go.
In a little less than five minutes, my son provided a step-by-step tutorial and now you know how to solve a Rubik’s Cube…right? You listened to him. You watched him. If I gave you a Rubik’s Cube right now and assessed your ability to solve this puzzle, could you do so successfully? If I were to assign a grade for how successful/unsuccessful you were, would you be happy with that grade? Or if I asked you to describe just a few steps in this complex process, could you do so using the correct terminology?
Unless you already know how to solve a Rubik’s Cube, I am quite confident that your answers to the above questions are a resounding no, no, and…no. It is so incredibly difficult to listen to a concept that you have little knowledge of, retain that information, and use it appropriately when needed…especially when you’ve only attended to that content once. But that’s potentially what our students are tasked with doing several times a day in their classes. They experience new material often and are sometimes expected to immediately process that information and be able to use it to answer questions or use it correctly in a conversation with a peer or apply it in different contexts. Just as you would find it extremely difficult to solve a Rubik’s Cube after only being shown how to once, it is very difficult for students to take new information and use it correctly in class. I think sometimes we teachers forget just how cognitively demanding the learning process can be.
Sometimes we forget what it’s like to be a student. We forget what it’s like to sit in a classroom and experience terms and concepts that are totally new. We forget the expectations of note taking and question answering and working with others. I cannot remember the last time I was taught new material in one instance (while taking notes) and next expected to talk with a peer in an intelligent manner about that information or answer questions about the content.
Because I am the teacher (and have been for almost 19 years), I am rarely put in the position of being the student. I already know the material. I’ve been teaching my current class for the last 13 years. I understand the key terms and concepts and can easily comprehend how it all fits together. I can see the bigger picture. And, because of that, I can easily add new information to what I already know.
But I certainly shouldn’t expect my students to be able to do so as effectively or efficiently.
Teachers, or really anyone with a firm grasp of any particular domain of knowledge, are especially susceptible to displaying the curse of knowledge. If you’ve ever found yourself thinking something like, “I taught this yesterday, I understand it, why don’t my students get it?” you may be experiencing the curse of knowledge. Humans are unfortunately vulnerable to assuming others have a shared foundation of knowledge and set expectations based on this bias. And then, when others (especially our students) don’t live up to these somewhat unconscious and unfair expectations, frustration abounds for all.
When you find yourself feeling this way, remember the Rubik’s Cube. Until you’ve had plenty of opportunities for trial and error with a cube, should you be expected to know how to solve this problem? Conversely, until your students have had numerous experiences hearing, seeing, and applying the material, should they be expected to know how to use it correctly? I’m not so sure. ***
In closing, I think it benefits everyone in the classroom when teachers remember what it’s like to be a student. While teachers are certainly exerting themselves in the classroom with preparing lessons and assessments and grading and behavior management and…all the other stuff…the role of the student isn’t exactly a walk in the park. The cognitive demands can be quite challenging and teachers would do well to remember that.
Remember the Rubik’s Cube.
If you’d like more information on a cognitive lens for shaping the classroom with a focus on memory, attention, and learning strategies to create a more effective classroom…boy do I have the book for you. Okay, so I’m a little biased because I wrote it. : ) It’s called Do I Have Your Attention? Understanding Memory Constraints and Maximizing Learning. If you access this link, you can find more information on the book, endorsements from Dr. John Hattie, Dr. John Sweller, Dr. Dan Willingham, and more. You’ll also find methods for ordering the book if you like. : )
I have also presented at many conferences and to many faculties on these topics. If you are interested in collaborating, don’t hesitate to reach out. You can find me on Twitter, Bluesky, or feel free to contact me through my website.
***Now, that’s not to say students shouldn’t be tasked with utilizing new material. They absolutely should be. But both teacher and student should set moderate expectations for success until the content has been retrieved and used several times. Not only does this create an environment that normalizes forgetting and makes it acceptable to try and fail and try again, it also models for students more effective learning strategies.
Feature image by Adam Małycha from Pixabay.