Why Modeling Works I: Learning by Example
I mention quite a bit the importance of letting students see you struggle to write as you model. To some, that may seem counterproductive—don’t we want our students to see that we know what we’re doing, that we’re professionals?! Don’t they need to understand we’ve got it going on and don’t ever find writing difficult? Thinking like that seems to be wrapped up in the traditional mindset that teachers are these supreme beings, an elitist pitcher of water that must pour into the empty vessels we call students. Our focus should not be on how we appear, but how our students can grow as writers. Modeling writing works much the same way as modeling any other sort of activity or behavior. An emphasis is put on showing rather than on telling.
Kerry Holmes says, “Children think ‘that when adults write, the words flow, arrive ‘Shazam!’ on the pages’…As the teacher, you must let the students see and hear the struggle that all writers go through” (3). We learn by seeing someone else do the same thing we want/need to do and also how they cope with difficult situations. We watch our parents cook and drive in real-life situations and we know that if they can do it, so can we. We see a casserole burn or end up stuck in bad traffic and watch our parents react. Everything turns out fine and when it’s time for us to be in similar situations, we feel confident handling them because we’ve seen it done before. So, we continue to watch and learn, and at some point feel capable of performing the same task on our own.
In Write Like This, Gallagher says,
“When I taught my daughters to drive, I did not simply put them in the driver’s seat and say, ‘Let’s get started.’ I first had them watch me drive. When I taught a high school basketball player how to put backspin on his shot, I did more than describe what backspin looks like—I took the ball in my hands, had the young player stand beside me, and I demonstrated how to do it […] In these cases I did not simply tell learners how to become better; I showed them how to become better. I modeled. And then I modeled some more. I went first, and then they followed. (15)”
We learn so many important skills from people who teach us through modeling and by their example—why should writing be any different? Too often teachers describe what good writing should look like and how to go about creating it, but rarely are students shown how to do it. It’s not enough to simulate the process or talk about it; students need to see it happening in a real life situation—you picking up your pen, reading a prompt, and trying to get somewhere with it.
In this video, simulation obviously isn’t an effective way of teaching or learning. It wasn’t an actual real-world situation. It would have been better to make Sheldon actually try driving in a car (definitely in a safe place initially!) so he could learn. Likewise, when we model and teach writing through example, we need to give students a “safe” place to practice. Build their self- efficacy about writing, let them see you struggle in an authentic situation, and then let them work their way through the process in a safe environment.
