How to Recover When a Lesson Fails
Every teacher experiences a time when a lesson fails. This does not reflect on you as a teacher, but how you do does. Sometimes, no matter how well you plan for your lesson, the lesson can just fall flat. However, these instances are not failures but rather opportunities for growth and enhancement. In this article, we will look at how to recognize and successfully recover from a failed lesson.
Recognizing When a Lesson Fails
The first step in successfully recovering from a failed lesson is recognizing that it didn’t meet the intended objectives. Here are key indicators to help you identify a lesson that requires adjustments:
- How well did the students perform on their Formative Assessment? Formative assessments are good tools for judging how well the students understand the information in the lesson. These assessments do not have to be conducted just at the end of the lesson. You can also use simple conversations with your students or a quick quiz to see if they understand the material.
- Are the Students bored? Take a moment to study your students’ reactions during the lesson. Are they leaning in with curiosity, actively participating, and asking questions? Or do they appeared bored, fidgeting, or distracted gazes? The subtle cues in their behavior can reveal a lot about their engagement with the lesson. While you do not have to be an entertainer, if the students are not engaged they are less likely to retain any information from the lesson.
- What are your students saying? When you ask your students if they understand, they will almost always say that they do. However, If you ask them what they thought of the lesson, They are often very quick to give their opinion. Allow them to offer ways that the lesson could have been improved. Additionally, it has the added benefit of making the students feel more invested in the class.
- How confident do your students seem with the information? Do the students seem very confident and vocal when talking about the lesson? Or do they seem very timid an unsure? This is another strong indicator as to wether the lesson was successful or if the lesson failed
What to do When a Lesson Fails
OK so you have noticed the signs that the lesson has failed. Now what? Now is the time to take steps to address the situation. This is where you begin to become an experienced teacher.
- Take a detour: When a lesson fails, sometimes you are able to notice soon enough that you can change directions and approach the lesson in a different way. It could be as simple as rewording your explanation, rephrasing a question, or introducing an engaging activity to rekindle interest.
- What does the data tell you?: After the lesson, look hard at the data. Does it appear that the students actually grasp the information? Let the data guide your next steps. Should you revisit the material? Do you need to target small groups? or maybe you should speed up. Good data can help you answer theses questions.
- Try something different: Insanity is trying the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result. When a lesson fails, change the approach. Find ways to get your students to discuss this new lesson to help you see if the change is working.
- Make the lesson fit the students: Adjust your lessons to the needs of your students. Each class has its own personality. Try to learn this group personality and adjust your teaching style to best match that of your class.
- Ask for help: If you are struggling with a particular lesson don’t hesitate to ask another teacher how they teach that particular lesson. Why try to struggle to reinvent the wheel?
Final Thoughts
I recently had a lesson that I was super excited about completely fail. The lesson involved having the students read an article about how each of the 5 regions of the US represents the US as a whole. We then had a Socratic Seminar discussing the article.
The first 3 classes were painful and eventually unproductive but I kept trying to make changes. Finally, about halfway through my last class I was able to work out the problems and have a successful discussion. This turned out to be a good thing because I was able to discover a major misunderstanding the students had. I discovered that my students needed more work at reading for comprehension. Additionally, I found it went smoother when I simply changed my wording from calling it a Socratic Seminar to simply referring to it as a conversation and I invited all the students into the circle.
Remember, every teacher has faced their fair share of lessons that didn’t quite pan out as expected. The key is in recognizing when a lesson has faltered and knowing how to respond effectively. Together, we can turn these bumps in the road into stepping stones toward greater teaching success. So, the next time you encounter a lesson that doesn’t go as planned, remember that success lies in your ability to recover and grow from the experience.
You can find another example of how to handle lesson failure here.
A Socratic Seminar can be an amazing tool for any subject. For a good guide check out AVID.
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