“Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand.”

I decided to start off my blog this week with this Chinese proverb that I found while online. I think that this proverb provides a good lesson, especially in teaching. You can't simply tell your students information and facts, and leave them to memorize them. That is not an effective teaching method. Students may remember the information briefly for the test, but will not be able to use this information in a productive manner.

Showing students how to do something, through modeling, is one step closer to students retaining new information. Students are able to see how to use this new information in their lives by how the teacher uses the information. 

Though both of these methods have the students learning new information, it is not guaranteed that students will retain the information and be able to implement it. The key to this is to involve the student. Yes, you can provide new information through direct instruction, you can model new techniques, but then you need to somehow involve your students in the lesson. Students will remember a lesson if they are involved, by being out of their seats, by working cooperatively, and by making learning fun. 

I remember back in my junior year of high school, I took AP Environmental Science (APES). In this class I learned a plethora of knowledge about ecosystems, global warming, and how to be environmentally savvy. My teacher took this class to a whole new level, involving his students in as many hands on learning experiences as he could. In class, we would learn about a topic via PowerPoint and textbook work. Then we would take the words that we learned and apply them in real life situations. We would go out to a local creek and test the water to see the pH levels, to see if there were too many nutrients in the water, etc. Being able to go out and see science in real life made me learn the vocabulary and be able to use it. Almost 5 years later, I can still tell you that excess nitrogen and phosphorous in water can lead to eutrophication, which causes hypoxia (an oxygen free environment) and living organisms will die. 

It is because my teacher involved his students in so many ways, that I still remember this information from his class. This is what the Chinese proverb meant by involving students and they will understand.