If you've ever spend a spring in Raleigh, you know that at this time of year is often affectionately known as "pollegeddon." Pollen from every plant in the city seems to be dispersed at the exact same moment covering cars, playgrounds, and sinus cavities in a thick layer of yellow misery. So needless to say, outdoor activities are frightening to say the least.
Earlier this week I was babysitting a little girl I have come to believe is either my long, lost niece or just a miniature version of me. At 6 years old, she wants to know everything and already knows a lot more that your typical 6 year old. This week, as we were making alternate plans because the pollen had demolished the local park, she asked her mom: "Why do we have pollen?" Her mom stumbled a little but gave a semi accurate, hardly scientific explanation and then said: "Liz knows more about it than me. You should ask her."
*insert dear in headlights look here*
My mind started spinning. How do you explain sexual reproduction of plants to a 6 year old without eliciting some sort of questions about sexual reproduction in PEOPLE (A topic I am simply not qualified or comfortable talking to a 6 year old about.) Quickly, I responded: "Your mom's right!" and tried to change the subject.
Though I had dodged the "birds and bees" bullet for the moment, I thought all the next day: How do you explain pollen to a 6 year old? How do you lay aside the science-y words and technical jargon stuff to explain the basic concept of pollen?
As I was sorting this out in my brain it occurred to me that even though I have a minor in horticulture and have taught this concept to high school students more than once, it was still a challenge to try to transpose what I knew into something that a 6 year old could understand. This was a whole new level of comprehension for me.
If this experience was such a challenge to me, the teacher, imagine how powerful this tool could be to encourage higher order thinking in students? Ask them to take a concept you're working on and put it into terms that someone from a different walk of life could understand: a 6 year old, a 90 year old, an alien from Mars. Just the process such an activity would lead your students through would challenge them to really think and could be the difference between a mediocre understanding and total mastery of the content.
3 comments:
Using developmentaly appropriate language is something that's not only applicable to teachers in the traditional education system. This skill is something parents, nonformal educators, professionals, and all individuals should understand. The Child Life profession really stresses this skill because hospitals and medical settings can be a scary experience for children, but developmentally appropriate explanations can really help children to understand and cope with the situation. I think this is something that parents should be aware of, as well. Regardless of if we recognize it or not, this is one of those parenting/life skills that we must all recognize if we hope to create healthy, educated, and contributing citizens of the future.
I wish you were my teacher Ms. Gray. You have a way with words! ;)
You're totally right @moomoogal. Strangely, I'm usually pretty good at providing developmentally appropriate explanations. But this time, I've spent the last 9 year of my life learning the science and it was hard to convert it to something she could grasp. I think my greatest the challenge is finding the balance between being developmentally appropriate and honest and accurate, specially as they grow older. I'd love to talk to you more about this!
And thanks @Justine! Any time you need a developmentally appropriate explanation of something, I'm here for ya!;-)
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