This week, we focused on Habit 5: "Seek first to understand and then to be understood." We read the book, My Mouth is a Volcano by Julia Cook. This book tells the story of Louis, a student who has trouble "erupting" (interrupting) others when they are talking. When Louis is interrupted during a classroom presentation, he becomes aware of the challenges that his "erupting" presents for others. Louis' mother teaches him some techniques to help him respectfully wait his turn to talk.
After reading and discussing this book, we conducted an experiment in the classroom. During the experiment, a classmate was chosen to complete a task which required moderate concentration such as completing some math problems on the board, writing spelling words, listing the names of states etc. While the classmate was completing this task a group of students were chosen to attempt to distract the student by interrupting them. The students were given a specific way to interrupt the student attempting to complete the task by repeating a specific phrase such as "Excuse me!", or singing a specific song such as "Happy Birthday". We discussed how these distractions impacted the students focus and their ability to complete the tasks in a timely manner and how the results of this experiment can help us work together more effectively in the classroom.
After reading and discussing this book, we conducted an experiment in the classroom. During the experiment, a classmate was chosen to complete a task which required moderate concentration such as completing some math problems on the board, writing spelling words, listing the names of states etc. While the classmate was completing this task a group of students were chosen to attempt to distract the student by interrupting them. The students were given a specific way to interrupt the student attempting to complete the task by repeating a specific phrase such as "Excuse me!", or singing a specific song such as "Happy Birthday". We discussed how these distractions impacted the students focus and their ability to complete the tasks in a timely manner and how the results of this experiment can help us work together more effectively in the classroom.