How do you get students to think for themselves?

Question

I teach in one of the most impoverished parts of the United States. Sometimes it is appalling how similar to a third world country this place is. Unfortunately, the education system is equally as impoverished. I struggle to teach children who are 16 to 18 years old and cannot read and write, let alone add and subtract correctly (I teach high school mathematics). They have been socially promoted over and over again. I have maybe 10 students out of 120 that can read above a third or fourth grade reading level as high school students.

One of my biggest issues is that these children have never been allowed to think. They've been taught trick after trick to pass a state test (which they BARELY pass) but they don't understand what they're doing. They look constantly for the shortcut around understanding. I am looking for ideas and activities I can use to start to encourage my students to think for themselves instead of depending on me to always give them the answer or the shortcut

Answer 1

It's hard, isn't it! I teach physics and astronomy to college students, who are definitely not impoverished (although many in my school are the first in their families to go to college). I, too, have a hard time getting my students to think for themselves - even my physics students want to know the "recipe" for solving each problem!

There's no magic bullet to getting kids to think, but it can be done (even with the lowest-functioning kids). They don't realize there's any other way to do math, they don't realize it's possible for anyone to "figure it out", let alone themselves. Plus, they don't see why they should think. Somehow you need to get them over those hurdles. It'll require baby steps, and you'll probably face a lot of resistance from them. But if you can build up their self-confidence when it comes to math, they can do it.

To learn to think, they need to know what thinking looks like (you need to model it for them and guide them through the steps at first) and they need to practice thinking in the classroom. You probably already know that, but it's amazing how many of my fellow college professors complain that the students don't know how to think, but they never ask the students to actually think during class, they just expect them to do it on the exams.

Answer 2

Most important thing is not to give optional answers. that wont make them think, because they can hunch the correct one. Since I'm still in 10th grade I cant really give professional advise, but try to make them associate diffrent things. The key to understanding and memorizing is to connect previous knowledge (which they don't really posess as I can understand) with new.
What makes me really wonder is the way they've been taught this far. It's hard to imagine that such things are possible, but on the other hand I've never been to the States either.
Maybe you should have talk with the other teachers? The reading and writing problem MUST be interfering with the other subjects as well. Together you should try to find motivation for these kids.

Answer 3

The best way to get students to be able to think for themselves is by making them confident in the subject. If they always get it wrong then they'll opt to learn tricks rather than understand the concepts. If you teach them a concept in maths and then ask them to practice the concept i.e trying a few sums on their own; once they can do those sums by themself then their confidence increases and they feel more confident to think for themselves. Also, make it evident that making mistakes is not a big deal and that everyone doesn't get it right the first time but with practice and patience anything can be achieved!

Answer 4

It's a very hard thing to do. It helps to pose open-ended questions to them. I know math isn't a great subject for open-ended questions, but it is definitely possible. Have them help construct some of their own knowledge. Try maybe giving them word problems that can apply to real life. Then don't tell them how to solve it. It may help to allow them to work in groups at first to build up confidence. If you start class with one of these each time then eventually they will become confident thinking through these on their own. I really don't know if that'll work, but open-ended questions are supposed to be the way to get students to think on their own. It's a very hard thing to do, though. Good luck with it!

Answer 5

If put into the spotlight that student will try to show off to their peers acting like they are smarter, or at least trying to. Make them participate individualy in front of eachother. pressure!