Troubleshooting. It’s something we get asked about quite often. How do we deal with that one student that doesn't want to learn or work? What is your backup plan when the lesson doesn't go the way you intended? Do you ever have days where the technology isn't cooperating or the wifi is down?
Educators are always surprised when we reply with "we probably do the same things you do!" because believe it or not, all of these things happen to us too! Teaching and learning is full of speed bumps that slow us down temporarily but how we react to the problems is what determines the rest of the journey. Part of the interACTIVE framework is troubleshooting. It is important to remember that being responsive must incorporate a time to reflect--looking back on the lesson and the learning, often reflecting on what didn't go just right and troubleshooting how to go about fixing it.
There is definitely a frustration that accompanies a hiccup in a lesson but too often as educators we forget that there is even learning happening during a lesson or activity gone wrong. Even when a student misses the mark there is learning present. When a program doesn't work the way we expected or a lesson takes twice as long as planned--there is still learning present. We often avoid hard or unknown things because we are scared of the challenge they may pose forgetting that through the struggle there will be learning present.
Troubleshooting is the last of 5 steps of our interACTIVE framework which we outline in our book. We also explain the necessity of learning how to PIVOT when teaching students in your own interACTIVE environment.
If you haven't already, jump on board and start transforming your teaching and the learning in your classroom and join our interACTIVE family as we troubleshoot and help one another along the way! Grab your own copy of The InterACTIVE Class here and read through the five framework steps. Always remember- #bettertogether!
-K 👗