The Cult of Pedagogy Podcast

223: Why Students Give You the Blank Stare, and What to Do About It

Mar 3, 2024

Explore why students give the blank stare in class and how educators can address this issue with research-based teaching strategies. Topics include cognitive psychology, pre-testing, chunking information, avoiding the curse of knowledge, beginner's mind, dual coding, conversations, and visual aids.

35:01

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Episode guests

Blake Harvard

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Access students' background knowledge to aid in understanding new concepts.

Chunk information into smaller sections and utilize dual coding for better comprehension.

Deep dives

Inadequate Schema Development: Understanding Novice Learners

Novice learners often struggle with new concepts if they lack developed schemas. Students need connections to relate new information to existing knowledge. Teachers should access students' background knowledge to help them catch new knowledge. Chunking information into meaningful bits and practicing it incrementally can aid in understanding.

Introduction

4min

Unlocking Student Learning Through Cognitive Psychology

10min

Enhancing Learning Through Pre-Testing and Chunking

13min

Understanding the Curse of Knowledge in Teaching and Fostering Empathy Towards Students

2min

Exploring Beginner's Mind and Dual Coding in Teaching

4min

Enhancing Student Learning with Conversations and Visual Aids

3min

It's happened to so many teachers: You teach your heart out. Really just knock it out of the park. Then you ask a question all students should know the answer to … and nothing. What's going on? In this episode, educator and writer Blake Harvard offers four possible explanations for why we get the blank stare, along with four solutions that will help us see a lot less of it.

Thanks to Edge•U Badges and The Modern Classrooms Project for sponsoring this episode.

To read Blake's article, go cultofpedagogy.com/stare.