Bandwidth Recovery

In my first Bandwidth Recovery book, I present the research that supports the argument that poverty, racism, homophobia, and other “differentisms” rob college students of the attentional resources - bandwidth - that they need to learn and thrive. Then I present several ideas about things we can do in and outside the classroom to help students recover bandwidth. My second book focuses on students in preK-12 public schools, with attention also to the bandwidth of teachers and parents.

In this section, I describe strategies that can be used with students to help them recover bandwidth by creating learning environments where all students can feel a sense of belonging, that they are valued, safe, secure in all their identities, and able to thrive in their learning and development. (This set of videos was made with college students in mind, but all the ideas are transferable to pre-K-12 students.)

strengths perspective & fund of knowledge

This bandwidth concept is a strengths perspective. When many students don’t do well academically, it’s not because they are not smart enough, but because their cognitive resources are being depleted by persistent worry about money or by the negativity and hostility they experience due to racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, and other “differentisms,” or trauma from adverse childhood experiences. If we can create learning environments in which students can recover most of their bandwidth, all students could be more successful.

It’s tempting to think of students as empty vessels, just waiting for us to fill with information and understanding. However, students as young as preschool come to school with their own “funds of knowledge,” the skills, abilities, aptitudes, and information they know from their family, culture, community, faith community, work experience, etc. When we recognize what they bring to the table, we can connect new material and skills to those resources, increasing the likelihood of new learning.

values affirmation

Low-income, first-generation, non-majority students are not often asked what they value. In fact, they are likely to have received many messages from society that what they value at home, in their culture, community, or faith tradition, doesn’t count at school. They are encouraged to leave those behind and adopt the values of a school or college. Research has shown the effectiveness of affirming that students do have personal values that matter to them and can help them succeed. See Personal Values Affirmation Exercise. And here is an example of a similar list you could use with children in early elementary school.

connecting the known to the unknown

When we are exposed to something new, our brain first looks for prior knowledge. Many times, we already know the information and other times, it is completely unfamiliar to us. Much of the time, though, we may not know the new thing exactly, but we’ve heard or seen something like it. Learning scientists tell us that if students can relate a new piece of information or a new skill to one they already have, the learning will be easier. The key for teachers is to affirm that students know lots of things and then we can leverage that knowledge to teach new material. (Here is the handout mentioned in the video.)

growth mindset

Many of us have fairly set attitudes about our ability to learn in certain domains. When we say, “I can’t do math,” we are showing a fixed mindset about math. A fixed mindset says we have certain inborn abilities that won’t change. A growth mindset, on the other hand, says that we can learn just about anything by practice and effort. This is supported by biology; we can actually grow our brains by learning new things – like growing a muscle with exercise. When we have a growth mindset, we know that mistakes are golden opportunities for us to grow our brain by correcting the error, practicing the new information or skill, and adding it to the resources of our growing brain. I’ve summarized some of the main points from Carol Dweck’s contrast between a fixed and a growth mindset here.

high-hope syllabus

A high-hope syllabus has high standards and high support. It communicates to students that you are there for them, that you want them to succeed. Assignments are “scaffolded” by breaking down large tasks into smaller parts so students can get frequent feedback, learn what is expected, and achieve the learning outcomes. Giving a grace period for late work tells students you recognize they have bandwidth challenges and that you will work with them to help them succeed. What all the things that deplete the bandwidth of students have in common - and thinking specifically about the COVID-19 pandemic - is that they increase uncertainty - and uncertainty is a huge bandwidth stealer. Here are some features of a high-hope syllabus that can help students recover bandwidth; one important function of a clear syllabus is to increase certainty for students.

Counter-spaces & Identity-Safety

Identity safety relies on several factors in a learning environment. In an identity-safe school, students see images of themselves in art and photographs that are publicly displayed. Identity-safety is increased if students at least sometimes see teachers, professors, administrators, and other leaders who share some aspect of identity with them. There are consistent messages in identity-safe schools that all students and their families are welcomed and valued. In pre-K-12 schools, we shouldn’t forget that the identities of family members, even though they may seldom be present in the classroom, must also be safe. Children whose parents or siblings identify as LGBTQ, for instance, need to feel like they can talk openly about members of their families.

A counter-space (See Solórzano, Ceja, and Yosso, 2000 in Resources.) is where students can recover bandwidth. At a college, it might be the Multi-Cultural Student Center, the Veterans Center, the gym, a local coffee shop, the activity room in a residence hall, or the Disability Access Center. These are places where students are free to bring all of their identities, where they’re not using any of their bandwidth worrying if they will be safe and valued, where they can have access to all their cognitive resources for learning. Many elementary and high schools are creating quiet rooms or meditation rooms where students can go and recover in a safe space.