Mattering Through Classroom Practice II

PART TWO: Using language to boost self-efficacy through the modelling process.

Modelling is one of the most important processes we can do to boost self-efficacy

This is the second of my series of three posts about how we can foster a culture of belonging and mattering through our classroom practice.

PART ONE: Using language and routines in the first part of a lesson to foster a sense of belonging - available here

PART THREE (coming soon): How we can foster belonging through well-designed paired talk tasks.

Modelling, Metacognition, and Mastery

In my previous post, I asserted that we must consider belonging and mattering as essential to the learning journey.

The idea of belonging in a classroom isn’t ‘fluffy’ or a nice soft skill to encourage - it’s a fundamental, prerequisite condition for learning.

I outlined some of the ways we can use the start of the lesson to set a positive tone and build an immediate feeling of success for our learners. As we move beyond the hook or starter activity in a lesson, we invariably move into some sort of explicit instruction phase and ideally offer a well-planned model which we want our students to emulate. Not every lesson will include all the phases of a model as outlined here, but certainly over a learning journey of maybe two or three lessons, students will be exposed to WAGOLL and some planned, scripted (or at least incredibly well established) narration as to how to reproduce said model.

What does this have to do with belonging and mattering? It is established in Albert Bandura’s social learning theory that perception shapes production. If we can see how and why a model is successful - and if we can observe someone else explicitly performing the model - we are more likely to believe that we are able to perform the same behaviours. This is a powerful foundation for belonging - if I can do the same things as those around me, we are part of a unit. Think about it like this: there are plenty of unpleasant behaviours out there in the real world which are modelled for our students and which they can very easily copy if the conditions are ripe. We need to give young people something powerful which they can be a part of in our classrooms.

Albert Bandura’s social learning theory, 1977

Bandura’s social learning theory follows a four part modelling process:

ATTENTION:

In order to follow a model, someone needs to pay attention to what we do. The modelled activity must be appealing enough to garner the attention of our students. It’s mostly a myth that our attention spans are getting shorter - but it is likely that case that our attention spans are changing and that modern brains require more novelty and deeper social connection in order to stay focused on one thing for a long time. Therefore, now more than ever, we need to ensure that our modelled practices are engaging. Don’t doubt your content here: there is nothing that requires you to put bells and whistles on the thing you want to model. Instead, trust in yourself and the subject matter. If you believe this process/fact/theory/story is worth sharing - then sell it! Your passion and an outline of why this is worth knowing, is all you need.

RETENTION:

The next step in Bandura’s process involves using language to signal to the student exactly what needs to be remembered, and ideally how to remember it, so that the process can be repeated in the future. We need to successfully encode the content we are modelling and give explicit tips about how to store and retrieve this information. Language is thought - and thought is language. Give your students the language specific to your topic or subject. Being let in on the language of a hitherto unknown act or body of knowledge is a powerful indicator that this knowledge belongs to you - and that therefore you belong. Jargon includes those who are in the know and excludes those who are not: if you know what it means to ‘frog it’ or have played a game of ‘yarn chicken’ then you are probably a proficient crocheter. It’s hard (impossible?) to be part of a group if you don’t know the language.

MOTOR REPRODUCTION:

If modelling is to be successful, there has to be a move from the theoretical to the practical and this is the part of the process called ‘Motor Reproduction’. As teachers, we must ensure that the practical conditions are in place for students to reproduce the model we have given them. At a very early stage in education, or for some particular special needs, this might literally involve ensuring that a student has the physicality needed for the process, such as being able to hold a pen or handle manipulatives. In all cases, it is crucial that we remember our students will eventually be on their own, working through the process - so we need to frame the model as something which will be reproduced - moving from the specific, concrete example, to a non-specific, theoretical abstract idea and then back again in the language that we use whilst we model.

MOTIVATION:

The whole social learning theory is predicated on the idea that someone will have the motivation to do any of the above - and that they will be more motivated to engage the more that they become, and feel, successful. I wrote about this in my blog ‘Nothing succeeds like success’ which you can find here. It is a chicken and egg situation: are our most successful students more motivated, or are our most motivated students more successful? In truth it is a bit of both. One powerful way we can develop motivation is to reassure students that there are strategies they can put in place if - and when - things go wrong. We need to plan to include misconceptions and non-examples in our model so that our students know what to do when they encounter them and are not put off when, inevitably, learning is hard. We also need to use specific praise, tapping into the idea of belonging and mattering. Teaching and learning is a shared process [the Welsh word ‘Dysgu’ means both teaching and learning!] so show your students that you are as invested in their learning as you hope they are. The unabashed enthusiasm for your subject has a big part to play here - let them see what they stand to gain from engaging with this content.

How this process can build a sense of belonging and mattering

To build mastery, it is imperative that we model it. Done badly, an expert model would scream ‘look at what an expert can do, so go on – do your best!’. Not exactly inviting for someone who is disinterested, or who lacks self-efficacy. If we hone the language of modelling we can harness its power as a lever for fostering mattering. Success must be visible, tangible, and repeatable. Our students must believe that what they are being shown is something they too can achieve – and not only that, but that it is also something worth achieving.

Language is crucial here. Knowing the language of a social group is a symbol of being one of its members. Through metacognitive talk and scaffolded practice, students learn not just what to do, but how to think about what they’re doing. They are given the secret code to unlock a longstanding tradition in learning and they become valid members of a community of thinkers. Through a healthy modelling process, we want our students to think the following:

“I can see what success looks like.”

“I don’t fear trying hard because I know what to do if I fail.”

“I know the words involved in this process - I can take instruction and make connections.”

Questions to ask yourself

What language can I use when I’m modelling which will give students a chance to understand what success looks like? How can I signpost the common pitfalls, misconceptions and non-examples which students will encounter? How can I make my students feel like my model is part of something worth knowing?

Thank you for reading. The final PART THREE will be coming soon. If you enjoyed this, please check out my other posts and consider subscribing.