Noticing the Details

Try the following exercise: Draw two circles. In the first, sketch in the details that are on the front side of a penny. No reaching into your pocket, wallet or bottom of a handbag here, stay with me. Now, in the second circle, draw the elements that are on the back of a penny. It’s not your art skills that we’re focusing on so do the best you can to remember what’s there (Is there a president? If so, who? Which direction is he facing?) – once you have as many elements as you can recall, start digging through that drawer for an actual coin to compare. How’d you do?

Most of us would find this exercise quite difficult. Yet, we’ve held pennies in our hands quite often, felt them, and looked at them. All this without really “seeing.”

Think about how this compares to our experiences in the classroom. As we teach, observation and noticing details are essentials that help us to ensure that every child is understanding what is being taught.

I know that in my own life there are situations, where I should have noticed something earlier, and I wish that I had paid better attention. This week, let’s make an effort to notice more details and “look harder” trying to discover something new that we may not have seen before.

Have you been in a situation where noticing the details helped make a difference to a student or your classroom? Please tell us about it.