Say "YES" more often than "NO" when you use Tiny Tasks
A kind, dedicated piano teacher was working with a typical beginner, a girl of about six.
With almost everything the child did, the teacher would say, “No.”
She said it gently, she said it warmly, but it was still “No.”
The child placed her hands on the instrument and the teacher said, “No.” Wrong position. The child started playing, and the teacher said “No.” Wrong finger. Wrong note, wrong rhythm, another wrong note, etc.
How does this happen?
Trying to do too much at once.
When you’re playing piano, you are layering expression and dynamics on top of notes and rhythms, which in turn are layered upon correct physical technique and a sense of the geography of your instrument.
When you’re writing an essay, you have to organize your thoughts, create an outline, and incorporate your research, while crafting sentences and paragraphs — and these skills depend on solid handwriting or typing skills, confident spelling and punctuation, and strong mental stamina.
This is a lot to manage. So whenever possible, we want to isolate skills. To do this, we use Tiny Tasks. We want to tell the student exactly what’s expected, ask them to carry out the task, and praise them for a job well done. Then we do the next thing, and offer praise.
When to use Tiny Tasks:
If the student is making mistakes that they are not catching on their own, the task is too big.
If the student is procrastinating, the task is too big.
If the teacher is relying on long explanations of how to do something, the task is too big.
If the student is bored or frustrated, the task is too big.
If you still aren't sure exactly what's going wrong, the task is too big.
If you don't see visible progress over the course of three minutes of working together, the task is too big.
If you, as the teacher or parent, find yourself disengaged, impatient, frustrated, or experiencing dread ("I cannot deal with helping him through this assignment right now"), the task is too big.
Most of the time, we’re not thinking small enough. Try ridiculously small. When you've made the task as tiny as you possibly can, try to make it even smaller.
This is where creative thinking comes in. It becomes a game to see just how small the tasks can get. It becomes a game to guide the student through one successful Tiny Task after another, building momentum and confidence all the while.
Examples of Tiny Tasks:
Can you write down one idea from this article in your notes?
Can you do one step of this math problem?
Can you write one spelling word?
Can you read one sentence from this book and put it in your own words?
Can you find one word on this page that you aren’t familiar with and look it up?
Can you come up with one idea for your project?
One task leads to two. A brick wall is built out of single bricks, laid one by one.
As the student experiences these little wins, the work becomes less scary. You’re building trust. You’re setting up a situation in which you are saying “Yes” as often as possible instead of “No.” This will be much more satisfying and sustainable for teacher and student.