When a high performer, who believes he or she is a high performer, goes through the experience of observing an experience level that is much higher then his or her own, he or she suddenly looses interest in what he used to perform well at and his or her performance drops dramatically in it.
For instance let's say some computer programmer who was spending much of his time making 3D animations. Let's say this programmer has reached an edge and is, according to his belief, making superb 3D animations. Imagine that programmer experiencing for the first time a 3D animated movie done by a competent 3D animation company and discovering that 3D movie to be way beyond his 3D animation skills. This programmer will suddenly loose interest in his 3D animation programming and may leave it all together. Yet if he is obliged to continue his work may show a drop in performance due to loosing interest and motivation which he had previously gotten from being, according to his own belief, on the edge of 3D animation.
Deadlocks
Ever experienced the state wherein students brains come to a deadlock as you are explaining something to them? Turbo mode is what I call this state of student’s minds, wherein their brains race so fast in a narrow corner and is effectively brought to a deadlock, unable to get out of it to be able to comprehend what is being explained to them. I will proceed by explaining first what turbo mode is and then provide methods for how to avoid it.
Turbo Mode
You ask a student a difficult question in a way that suggests the student should know the answer, the student switches to ‘turbo’ mode trying to compensation for his lack of knowledge of the answer and feeling he/she should be able to know the answer and is supposed to. He/she then feels dumb and inadequate or at least not competent in this subject.
The above turbo mode situation to which students often shift can also be reached not when asking them questions but just during normal (or abnormal) instructing. You explain a concept to the students, they do not get the concept, you act as if they should be able to grasp it and that it’s their dumbness and incompetence that led them to not understand. This again lets them shift to the turbo mode state in which they try to speed up their thinking dramatically and their brain starts to spin wildly trying to find any path to comprehending the concept. The result is that their mind gets trapped in a narrow corner in which their mind speeds up like crazy. This is the turbo state mode.
Even if you try to explain the concept further their minds have just become stuck and will not break free as long as you are explaining to them while giving them the sensation that their lack of understanding belongs to them, their shortcomings and their incompetence.
Avoiding Deadlocks
The key to avoiding the deadlock situation in which students’ minds race speedily in a narrow corner unable to get out of it to reach comprehension or to make use of their full mental potential is to always give students the feeling that they are bright. Never give a student the feeling that he/she is slow. This will automatically lead to him/her switching instantly to the dreaded turbo mode.
Suppose while explaining a new concept, you realized that students were unable to grasp it and did not comprehend. Do not give them the feeling that they should have comprehended. Instead, just go on as if you have not finished explanation that concept yet and that by no means they should have comprehended it at this ‘early’ point in your explanation.
Whenever you get the sensation of “hey, those students are dumb,” just rethink the non-verbal communication (as well as the verbal of course) you are about to impart to them and hold yourself from ‘accidentally’ making them feel they are slow. Give them the feeling they are okay, they are bright. They will then never fall into the trap of overspeeding and comprehension levels will be brought to a record high.
Letting students think on their own pace gives their minds the freedom to explore more thinking paths and make use of their full mental abilities. Failing to maintain this state of free minds in students will lead to nothing but difficult comprehension, deadlocks and a lot of frustration on both sides.
Note: When students reach a deadlock state, they feel so bad about their ‘dumbness’ and often do not tell you they are unable to understand. They even blame their own ‘incompetence’ for this and put not blame on you. But the result is that they still do not comprehend the subject at hand.