The Penny-dropping Moment

It's the situation that every teacher strives for: after several seemingly fruitless attempts to get across a principle or idea or essential fact, suddenly the pupil's face lights up, they break into a broad smile and their face, even if only for a few fleeting seconds, says what a hundred words couldn't possibly do - at long last, the penny has dropped! They've got it!

The teacher should, quite rightly, feel very self-satisfied at this progress. However, an effective practitioner should be asking themselves two very important questions:

(a) How do I build on what I've just achieved, and? (b) How can I make the pennies drop more quickly?

The answer to the first question is straightforward - repetition! Remember that, when that penny dropped, the teacher would have been going through one single example. To ensure that the penny stays dropped, the teacher must be prepared to go through a second example, then a third then a fourth. And, when their pupil moans wearily that they fully understand after the fifth example, they should do a sixth, just to be sure.

Muscle memory and confidence go hand-in-hand. The pupil must move from a state from where they are getting things right, to a state where they cannot get it wrong. That can only come through repetition.

At the start of the next session the teacher should review this new learning but, at the same time, they should not be disappointed if the pupil has retained little of what was previously achieved. Sometimes it takes just one 'walk-through' example to get the ball rolling again - once they're in the zone, they'll take over and successfully talk the teacher through an additional example or two. Reinforcement completed, the penny remains dropped!

But how can the teacher make those pennies drop more quickly? More of the same strategy which produced the most recent result? This is natural place to start. Obviously, if something is seen to work then only the bravest of teachers would be tempted to try something different. It is also worth remembering that a result such as the one described above always breeds self-belief within the pupil. Their confidence grows, the desire to learn increases, the willingness to succeed is enhanced, and the pennies will keep on dropping faster, and more readily.

The act of learning contains within it a very important self-fulfilling prophesy - if a pupil is permitted to believe that they can achieve, then they invariably will.