How do we encourage students to stay the distance?

A story of entering and staying in the liminal learning space.

For an hour each week, my dining room table becomes a learning space. A Year 4 student hesitantly enters the room. Anxiety levels are high. Maths is not her favourite subject. The session follows a familiar routine - short, quick skill development activity, application of the skill, revision and maybe a game to finish.

I try to mirror what is happening at school. I use the same activities, practise the same skills. Weeks come and go, the anxiety remains, the learning stalls. Each time she is challenged, the learning process is broken; we return to the start. I remind myself small steps are good.

We change tack. I learn about open ended questions. The learner chooses the skill level, directs the task - I lean back in my chair, take the back seat. The learner is puzzled. There are no numbers, what do I do, how do I know? We talk and we talk. It takes a few weeks, a new rhythm emerges.

All skills are incorporated into word problems. We make prompt sheets. We talk about what we already know, what we need to know. We use a lot of trial and error. We talk, we collaborate. Then…

Watching the student sit back, relax and smile, I asked, “Why so pleased?” She grinned and said, “That was really hard but I never gave up.” She had persisted and stayed in the liminal space longer than ever before. Next week, the difference was noticeable. A smile as she entered. Increased persistence and stamina . More talk; asking questions and making connections.

Reflecting, I wonder - what had changed?

• Open ended questions

• Prompt sheets

• Choice of direction

• Relationship had developed

• Use of whiteboard to complete activities - mistakes disappeared

• Learner directed the session - what do I want/need to learn?

• Building on existing skills

• Time for practice, repetition

• Learner driven support

And perhaps the most important - no formal summative assessment. All assessment is formative and as work is completed. Feedback is immediate and acted upon. All activities are completed, not always successfully but always with explanation.

The decrease in her maths anxiety didn't remove the discomfort. However it afforded more time in the learning pit and with the productive struggle of the liminal learning space.