What makes a good MKO?

[Anastasia Romanova]

The most recent example of myself entering the ZPD is probably when my partner (Art) was teaching me to ride a motorcycle. It was my third time on a bike by myself, so I already knew the basics (i.e. using the clutch, getting going, shifting gears, engine breaking, etc.). Art, the MKO in this scenario, told me that it was time to ride around the neighborhood rather than just going up and down the street next to his house. I was really nervous at first because I had no confidence in my skills (and motorcycles are dangerous!), but I went along with his instructions because I trusted him. What really helped was that we were able to speak to each other through a kind of walkie-talkies integrated in our helmets, so he could give me instructions on the go. At first, it was a horrifying experience and I was extremely tense and panicked, but I followed his instructions as we were moving around the neighborhood and it was all alright. However, if I hadn’t practiced riding before, I would’ve likely crashed and wouldn’t have learned anything. But since Art turned out to be a great MKO and could identify my ZPD so well, he knew I was prepared for the more difficult ride and pushed me to go for it for the good of my own learning. Another important thing that I realized as I was typing this post is how big of a role trust played in my learning. If I didn’t trust him with identifying my ZPD, I would have never gone on that ride and would therefore take a lot longer to learn (and might have even given up on it). But now I semi-know how to ride a motorcycle! I guess the implication of this for my teaching is that, as an MKO, I need to first show the students that I am in fact knowledgeable about the material and establish an atmosphere of trust with them.

* this is Honda Grom! (the motorcycle I am learning on)

This week’s shift at the Northfield High School felt a lot more comfortable. This time, I didn’t get lost on the way to the SSC, and when I walked in, I was greeted by some students and staff members that I had met last week. That was an uplifting experience that certainly boosted my confidence. Even though the SSC started a free drop-in (which basically means that anyone, not just assigned students, could stop by at any time), the place was pretty empty and most of the faces were familiar to me. I spent most of my time chatting with the staff members and students who were already done with their work. I also observed that the students didn’t just come there to get help; a lot of them were there because it was a quiet, safe space for them, where they could take a breather and mentally prepare for the rest of the school day. A lot of the students that I have been seeing at SSC are also the kids I used to see at the Key (Northfield youth center). When I first came to the SSC, Ms. Battaglia told me that the students that visited the SSC were talented and smart, but were often unable to complete their work on time due to unstable family situations. That was very similar to a statement that I used to hear from the staff members at the Key. The SSC and the Key are very different places, but they are both aimed at supporting the local youth that may not be receiving as much support at home, and I appreciate that about the Northfield community.

* this is the Key!

Since I am one of the SSC tutors, I don’t get to observe a teacher at work; instead, I get to practice scaffolding myself! This week I was working with a student (let’s call him Mike), who needed help with his American History homework. The assignment was to read a passage about Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” followed by an excerpt from it and to answer some questions about the reading.

I started off by simply chatting with the student about his day to make him more comfortable with my presence. It turned out that I actually knew him outside of school, from when I used to go to the Key (the local youth center). That certainly accelerated the process of getting more comfortable with each other, and we moved on to the assignment fairly quickly. In order to be able to help him, I had to read the passage and the excerpt first. In other words, I needed to become an MKO on the spot. That made me realize that one can be an MKO without the knowledge of a particular subject area if one has a toolbox which can help them tackle tasks of similar kind. What I mean is that I have had a lot more practice in reading comprehension and writing, so even though I wasn’t originally familiar with the topic at hand, I could still be an effective MKO by sharing my tools and strategies with Mike. I skimmed the reading and started to figure out a way to employ scaffolding in this assignment. Some questions were confusing to Mike, so I began by asking those questions in a slightly different way or hinting at what he was being asked to do. Importantly, I never gave him the answers; I pushed him to step into his ZPD and find them for himself (with my help). In a way, I was his guide through those questions. I pointed out the key words in the question which would help him know the best way to tackle it. Mike was very capable of answering them once he was certain about what they were asking. Next time, when he has a similar assignment, he can use the tools that I, as an MKO, gave him, to tackle it on his own. Thus, my example illustrates Vygotsky’s statement: “what a child can do with assistance today, he can do alone tomorrow.”

I hope that my role as an MKO at the SSC will help the students cultivate academic autonomy the more they ask me for help. I like to believe that the tools I share with them in my tutoring do stick with them and they can later apply them on their own. I have not worked with many students yet, so I can’t quite assess the greater impact that my tutoring has had so far. However, I talked to Mike about what other help he might need in the future, and it turned out that he is struggling in his English class. I offered my help with writing and he accepted it. I am expecting to see him again next week and become his MKO for writing. Thus, so far my being an MKO at the SSC has given some students a regular person that they can work on particular skills with and with who they have already established some atmosphere of trust. For myself, being an MKO means that I get to practice scaffolding in a wide range of subject and to hopefully get better at identifying a student’s ZPD (and taking advantage of it).

• This topic was modified 3 years, 6 months ago by Anastasia Romanova.

[Sophia Maag]

Anastasia, it’s really nice to read about your tutoring experience with Mike. SSC seems like a great opportunity to not only observe but also become a part of these high schoolers’ lives. I appreciated that you said you spent time just chatting with Mike before getting into the work. It reminded me of what you wrote about your own ZPD experience with Art. You noted that because you trusted your partner, their role as an MKO was strengthened and it seems as if you’re trying to build that trust with Mike and the other students, as well. This idea of trust and MKOs makes me think of an experience I had this summer with a new physical therapist. I love asking questions and learning about anatomy, but I also rely on my PT for my health. PTs act as MKOs. However, the therapist I saw this summer was not a great listener and I had a hard time trusting that he was going to give me the right exercises and tools for me to feel better. In this situation, the MKO wasn’t as effective because I didn’t trust him and so had a hard time trusting his medical knowledge.

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