Why You Should Show Your Work

Note: I promise that I won't make every post about my book from now on, but since it officially comes out next week (August 6), I wanted to explain its title and why I think it is important to let students see behind the curtain of your methods.

-----------------------------------

If you were going to write an SNL type skit that included stereotypical teacher/student interactions, at least one would be a teacher telling a student "You didn't show your work. You must show your work." It annoys students who believe that they should get full points if the answer is correct. But, because you can arrive at right answers using wrong methods, teachers insist. 

(Hint to students: It also means that if you get the answer wrong, the teacher can give you credit for what you did right and help you diagnose where you went wrong.)

Yet, for generations, teachers have not reciprocated. We have asked students to go along for the ride on any and every pedagogical flight of fancy we have. Not only is it a little condescending to expect students to just trust us, it is also counterproductive with a generation that values authenticity and transparency. Yesterday, I was having a conversation with a local judge. She said that she had even used it as an example in a speech to other judges at a conference. She said, "Just like a child should show their work on math problems, we need to show ours by explaining the decision making process behind our rulings."

So, when I decided to write a book about how I and other teachers used the science of learning in our classrooms, I could think of no better title than Show Your Work. In a recent podcast interview, Gene Tavernetti asked me if I taught students about the science of learning, and my answer was that I had to hold myself back from oversharing about all of the things I was learning about it. Part of the reason for that is that I share everything I'm learning with everyone everywhere, whether that is students, other teachers, friends, or random people on the street. But it is also because I truly believe that showing kids how their brain learns will help their brains learn more.

So, I want to make a case for why teachers should show their work to students whenever possible.

1. Modeling - As I said earlier, we ask students to show their work, justify their answers, and elaborate on their thinking all of the time. It's our default with them. We need to set the example. If they only see the end result of our thinking, it is the equivalent of our showing them a final answer without showing how we got to it. We should model for them the things we expect from them.
2. Motivation - There's a lot of talk in education circles about motivation. In most discussions, it seems like an elusive thing that will require us finding a magic gemstone in a forest. But, in real life, we know that success breeds motivation which breeds more success, creating an awesome cycle. When we explain the methods that lead to success and the reasons they work, students are more likely to do them and create that cycle.
3. You have a good reason  - If you use something in your classroom that kids and their parents aren't used to, you open the door to criticism. "Other teachers aren't doing that; why is it such a big deal for you?" and "I'm sure you have your reasons, but my son doesn't want to . . ." But you will get much less pushback if you have taken the time to show your work. If you say, "I know this may seem a little weird, but I use mini-whiteboards to make sure everyone's answer is heard instead of the kids with their hands up," they usually understand that. If you say, "Retrieval helps strengthen the neurons that aid in memory formation. I'm happy to send you a link to the study," you establish credibility with both students and parents. Your are no longer the weird teacher doing the thing we don't understand; you are the go to source for questions about learning. We can't give our students a reason for every tiny thing, but when it comes to the big stuff, why wouldn't we want to say, "Yes, I do have a reason, and it's a good one. Let me tell you about it."
4. You have an answer - Early in my career, I got the dreaded question often - "When are we ever going to use this in real life?" No answer I gave was satisfying because I was trying to make it about the content. But, no matter how much we love our content, it's only part of the point. After a few years, I started saying, "It's about learning how to learn, not about the content." I got a little better result from that, but they still weren't really satisfied by it. After I discovered the science of learning, I had an analogy - muscle training. While the brain is not a muscle, there are enough similarities to make it a reasonable analogy to use with students. I would ask them, "When you lift a weight, do you say, 'When am I ever going to put a weigh here in real life?'" Of course, the answer was no. When I asked why they did it, they replied that it was to make their muscles stronger; it wasn't about needing to put a weight on a shelf. "When you learn, you strengthen the brain cells that make it easier to learn the next thing," I said. Eventually, I put this explanation in my first day of school speech, and I stopped getting this question from that point on. I had given the answer. 

Showing your work doesn't take a lot of time. As kids are getting out their markers and whiteboards, you explain why this is a practice you find to be effective. Then, you start asking retrieval questions. Sending an email to parents that explains your practices (especially the ones they might not be expecting) and your reasons will save you time in the long run because you won't have to answer as many of those questons individually. 

As you learn about learning, establish your credibility. Show your enthusiasm, and show your work.