It's your first day substitute teaching for Mr. Klein's third-grade class. The bell rang several minutes ago, but the kids are still talking noisily, some are jumping on the desks, and two are playing catch with the classroom gerbil. What do you do? [[2 <- Stand in front of your desk and yell, "Hey, kids! Sit down and shut up!"]] [[3 <- Say clearly, "It's time to start! Let's all cooperate to reach our learning goals!"]] [[4 <- Turn your back on the class and begin drawing a three-legged elephant on the board.]]This is a poor choice. While in the past, the authoritative role was common, it is now believed to cause resentment, fear, and poor self-esteem. [[Try again.|1]] Correct! This makes clear that you're there to help them work together to meet an important goal. [[5<- Next scene]]While your mysterious behavior may capture the students' attention, it doesn't set the correct tone of teamwork and goal-setting. [[Try again.|1]]The students immediately settle down, because they all understand the importance of reaching their learning goals. Now, how do you introduce yourself? [[6 <- Say, "My name is Ms. Postlethwaite, and I'm here to help you on your learning path while Mr. Klein takes a rest."]] [[7 <- Say, "I'm Sally, and I'll be filling in for George while he spends some time working on himself. We all need some alone time, don't we?" ]] [[8 <- Say, "I'm Sally Postlethwaite. That's a big name, isn't it? Here, I'll write it on the board."]]While you may be tempted to use honorifics such as "Ms." to establish your authority, it's better to meet the students as a helpful guide at the side rather than as a superior who directs from above. [[Try again.|5]]Correct! This continues the egalitarian tone required for learning and self-esteem. It also builds the students' emotional intelligence because it encourages them to feel empathy for George as they think about their own lives. [[9 <- Next scene]]This will appear very self-centered to the students. You're focusing entirely on yourself and don't seem to care about the students at all. You risk damaging their self-esteem. [[Try again.|5]]Okay, let's forget Sally and the students and focus on the structure of the scenario. How would you describe the structure? [[10 <- It's a normal branching scenario.]] [[11 <- It's a fake branching scenario. I'm not learning from the consequences of my choices. Instead, every time I make a choice, the Omniscient One interrupts and lectures me and then forces me to go back and make the right choice. And this is clearly the correct answer, since it's the longest one.]]In a truly branching scenario, we would make a mistake and continue down a "bad" path until we recognized for ourselves that things were going badly. This scenario never lets us continue with a mistake and instead forces us to make the right choice. As a result, it's just a linear series of scenes, like some mini-scenarios stitched together. [[Okay, maybe it's not a branching scenario.|11 ]]Right. If we draw the plot as a flowchart, it's a linear series of decision points, not a tree with branches. We might call it the Control Freak style of scenario. When, if ever, might this type of scenario be useful? [[12 <- Never ever because it keeps interrupting and is fake and doesn't let me learn from my mistakes like real life does.]] [[13 <- It could be a way to "teach" newbies. For example, we could give brand-new teachers this scenario instead of a presentation on classroom management.]]Your purity is impressive. I agree that if the audience already has any experience with the subject matter, then the feedback is excessive. But what about people who are completely new? [[13 <- Well, this kind of control-freak scenario might be useful as a partial replacement for an info presentation. It's better than a bunch of slides with bullet points.]]Yes, the control freak style can be a good way to let absolute beginners learn through guided experience. It could replace or at least PRECEDE an information presentation. See more in the post <a href="http://blog.cathy-moore.com/2014/08/is-it-ever-okay-to-be-a-control-freak/">"Is it ever okay to be a control freak?"</a> which you'll find on my blog at cathy-moore.com. [[Play again|1]]