An Honest Review of TEACH by Dennis DiNoia

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Mr. D Math in exchange for an honest review of Teach by Dennis DiNoia. This post may contain affiliate links.

As homeschool parents, many of us desire for our children to become independently responsible learners. We want our children to take responsibility for their own education.

But many of us are unsure how to go about the process.

The answer to this question can be found in the book TEACH: Creating Independently Responsible Learners, written by Mr. D himself, Dennis DiNoia.

The Premise for TEACH by Dennis DiNoia

Mr. D walks you through his background as a math teacher and his frustration at trying to get students to care about their work. He recalls long Sundays spent grading his student’s work, carefully writing notes in the margins about why they got problems wrong, and how they could do better. On Monday, students would take their corrected work and without a glance, place it in their bags to be forever forgotten.

He struggled with how he could get his students to take an active role in their education and seek questions about the knowledge they needed.

As a homeschool mom, have you ever struggled with this with your own children? I know I have. I was intrigued to find out how he solved the problem.

The solution, it seems, was to turn kids into independently responsible learners.

Creating Independently Responsible Learners

Independently responsible means that you are free, without outside control to do things on your own and trusted to do it the way it was meant to be done. Simple put, no one is telling you what to do, how to do it, or when to do it.

Dennis DiNoia, TEACH

Isn’t that the goal of most homeschool parents? To create within their children an individual who is independently responsible for their learning?

Dennis elaborates more on what it truly means to be an independently responsible learner and why it is important.

My “Aha” Moment

I had a bit of an “aha” moment in his chapter, “Checking Your Own Work.” If you’ve ever taken a Mr. D Math class, one thing that sets it apart is students are given the homework, along with ALL the answers. The students are expected to do the work and grade it themselves.

It is up to the student to be honest about how well they did on the homework and to seek out help for problems they don’t understand.

This chapter explains how this process helps to create independently responsible learners in his students. It places the burden of learning on the student. But it also helps the student to recognize what questions exactly they may have.

Have you ever gone to do a math problem, gotten stuck, but not known what question to ask to help get you unstuck? I have. I still remember that frustration of knowing I needed help, but not knowing the right question to ask to receive the right help.

When students are grading their own work, they can see clearly the steps they may have missed. Often, seeing the correct solution is enough to get them unstuck. And when it’s not, it gives them the precise question to ask to get them moving forward again.

Focus on the Learner

Much of the book focuses on the learner. Several chapters are dedicated to helping the learner learn how to be independently responsible. They are full of steps to move the learner from a passive to an active role in their education. These are chapters that would best be read either together or by your student.

The advice given will have more value if it is read by its intended audience.

Help for the Parent

With all the focus on turning our students into independently responsible learners, one might question what the parent’s role becomes. Mr. D devotes a whole chapter to answering this question. With the student responsible for their learning, the role of the parent as a teacher also changes.

Dennis gives great advice on how we as parents can support our new independently responsible learner. He suggests our new role

…looks like someone who practices listening. It looks like someone who is listening for the confirmation that the student has become independently responsible.

Dennis DiNoia, TEACH

Our job is to

empower, encourage, and acknowledge your student fro the work they have done. Then, continue to support them in their own journey of discovering what it is for themselves to be an independently responsible learner.

Dennis DiNoia, TEACH

Who Should Read TEACH: Creating Independently Responsible Learners?

I found the information in TEACH to be valuable and would recommend it to any parent looking for help in transitioning their student to being an independently responsible learner. It is full of practical advice and actions one can easily implement.

I would also recommend it to anyone preparing to take one of the Mr. D Math classes. Reading the book really helped me to understand why the classes are designed the way they are. More importantly, I gained knowledge on how to best support my child in helping them to become an independently responsible learner.