Repetition

So, um, we did it. Natalie has now learned how to log in to her computer. 

I started this story three weeks ago. I decided to teach Natalie how to type out her username. I recited it to her, and she typed. She had the whole thing memorized in a day.

If I stood over her while she typed it, it would work. But I would hear her sometimes recite her username when I wasn't standing over her. It wouldn't be long before she would come up to the teacher's desk to request, "Help, please". 

(One of the things we work on with the students is for them to request help when they need it. They don't always.) 

I tried to get her to not log out as often as she does. (She isn't good at exiting things, but she knows how to restart the computer. And this leads to having to log in again. A lot.) 

Because I stood over her while she was logging in so much, I spied the big problem she was having. She always hesitated over the period key. 

So, the week before spring break, I asked Natalie if I could put a sticker on the period key so she could locate it. She agreed. 

And after that, she hasn't called me to help her log in. 

Did she suddenly stop logging out? Nope. I hear her reciting her username periodically. 

But now, I see that it actually works for her.

Stubborn Natalie can learn something through repetition. Now, if I could only leverage that to teach her something useful. Because stubborn, she will fight me on doing anything she doesn't want to do.