by TeachThought Employees
What’s ‘3 Earlier than Me’?
‘3 Earlier than Me’ is an easy classroom technique–arguably each a educating and studying technique–that requires that when college students expertise a problem, they need to first ask three totally different individuals for assist earlier than reaching out to the trainer.
An evolution of that technique? When college students grow to be ‘caught,’ they need to first attempt to clear up the issue in three alternative ways earlier than asking the trainer. This makes it extra versatile. You’ll be able to require college students to ask one individual and search two assets or two individuals and one useful resource. You can also group college students in your classroom and require college students go to 1 individual from three of the teams. (You’ll be able to group by basic capability, content material space, social components, and so forth.)
College students’ capability to resolve issues each independently and collaboratively is an important element of a contemporary, environment friendly classroom. When college students get ‘caught’ or aren’t positive the place to go or what to do subsequent, the trainer is usually the primary place to go. However in a classroom–whether or not digitally linked or not–they typically can clear up the problem on their very own or get help from a number of sources. To actually empower college students on this age of knowledge requires that we develop in college students the capability, willingness, capability, and tendency to navigate advanced duties and data.
And this ‘rule’ is an easy strategy to begin.
What Does ‘3 Earlier than Me’ Require?
After all, this method requires that college students develop a progress mindset (i.e., that they consider that they will) and apply over time to construct it as a studying reflex. It additionally requires there to be precise ‘solutions’ within the classroom: extra educated college students, books, a search engine, encyclopedias, and so forth. The ‘caught’ doesn’t must be tutorial, clearly. If it’s a matter of classroom course of, process, or path, ‘3 Earlier than Me’ is extra quick and efficient. If the issue is predicated on abilities or content material data, the chance of the trainer needing to become involved remains to be increased however remains to be lower than 100% (as it’s earlier than utilizing a technique like this).
Over time this method generally is a good place to begin for changing college students from ‘study to do’ to ‘study to do effectively.’ After all, there should stay ‘areas for progress,’ which is why the holistic ‘studying + others + caring’ method that accompanies ‘3 Earlier than Me!’ is significant. Past mastery of content material data and the power to suppose critically, college students additionally want time (each experientially and temporally) to develop in different areas and construct capability as readers, writers, and thinkers–that’s, as ‘college students.’ We study extra in relation to and alongside our friends relatively than being in comparison with them.
Solely by way of progress and independence from establishments and adults can we create a society that may truly have an effect on change–develop and clear up persisting challenges. To evolve relatively than reproduce itself. Progressive educating and studying fashions must be ‘individuals first’ and give attention to serving to people develop their capacities to determine clear up issues on their very own. After all, ‘3 Earlier than Me’ isn’t a world-changing tactic. It’s merely a step towards scholar self-directed studying constructed round a self-organized studying setting.
Conclusion
In colleges, college students typically study in relation to books and adults relatively than in relation to nature, objects, or different environment. As an alternative of describing studying by way of levels of understanding, depth, or complexity, we determine achievement as relative and consider studying by way of subjective evaluations of how effectively college students did relative to particular studying aims relatively than how effectively they recognized issues, sought assets, persevered by way of uncertainty and, over time, constructed studying literacy (i.e.g, studying study)
Whereas ‘3 Earlier than Me’ isn’t at all times ‘fixing advanced issues’ about ‘understanding,’ the constant use of it over time will help college students obtain understanding in ways in which create a extra sustainable studying setting for each lecturers and college students.
What Is 3 Earlier than Me? A Instructing Technique To Construct Capability In College students
