Remember Charlie Brown’s teacher? She always came across with “wuh-wa-wuh-wa-wa-waaaa”. Who knew what she was talking about? Have you ever thought about what our students hear about 15 minutes into a lecture? I’ll give you one guess.
Telling students what to do cannot replace showing them how to do it. Someone should have told Charlie’s teacher to show, don’t tell.
Brian Cambourne studied the conditions of learning for more than 20 years. At the core of his research lies none other than student engagement. When engagement is up, discipline problems are down. Test scores are up. Achievement is up. Fun is up—for everyone involved.
One condition of learning that Cambourne has zeroed in on is demonstration learning. Demonstration is the “ability to observe (see, hear, witness, experience, feel, study, explore) actions and artifacts”.
One popular demonstrational technique for teaching reading is the think-aloud. This way, you, the experienced reader in the room, can provide the key to unlock the text. Remember that all of our content areas come with a new set of vocabulary. Students need the demonstration of cognitive strategies to help tackle the material in front of them.
Students can learn to parrot back answers, but that is neither thinking nor learning. Teachers can demonstrate thinking as a way to move beyond the questions. We need to show students that comprehension doesn’t stop with knowing all the answers. It often means that you are just starting to find the questions.
Demonstrating the process of learning rather than teaching chunks of information is one of the best practices that secondary content area teachers can use, especially when teachers are struggling to cover more and more content each year. While thinking aloud through the text may be daunting for content area teachers, it is a perfect opportunity to demonstrate to students how to access a particularly difficult text. Remember, you are the expert in the room. Share your expertise.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
The Best Homework Assignment Ever
Crunch time is here. High school teachers are furiously preparing for state-mandated standardized testing--HSAP, EOC, etc. The list goes on and the teachers are sweating.
Lester Laminack recently shared with a group of teachers the following epiphany: "In our tenacious and arduous efforts to prepare our students for spring testing of their reading, writing, math, and science skills, let's not forget that it is our students who love to read who are most likely to be most successful on any test."
What a thought--if they are readers, then they will be prepared for whatever is thrown at them in whatever format. The tests don't seem to be going away. So if we are going to thrive in this world, what can we do for our children? There's an easy answer, believe it or not. But its not a program and you won't necessarily see results within the month so its a hard sell. Books cost money and SSR takes time and a little bit of effort. But if we make kids readers, then they will be prepared for college, for the workplace, for the world. We will create citizens that can actually contribute to our society.
Check the prison statistics. They are illiterate. They are high school drop outs. They are not contributing members of our society. They are the repeat offenders. Teaching kids to read and to love reading will not only prepare them for tests and college, but it will prepare them for the world. The results will be cyclical--they will only pass on a love for reading.
Imagine that--a world with a passion for the written word. What a world that would be.
Lester Laminack recently shared with a group of teachers the following epiphany: "In our tenacious and arduous efforts to prepare our students for spring testing of their reading, writing, math, and science skills, let's not forget that it is our students who love to read who are most likely to be most successful on any test."
What a thought--if they are readers, then they will be prepared for whatever is thrown at them in whatever format. The tests don't seem to be going away. So if we are going to thrive in this world, what can we do for our children? There's an easy answer, believe it or not. But its not a program and you won't necessarily see results within the month so its a hard sell. Books cost money and SSR takes time and a little bit of effort. But if we make kids readers, then they will be prepared for college, for the workplace, for the world. We will create citizens that can actually contribute to our society.
Check the prison statistics. They are illiterate. They are high school drop outs. They are not contributing members of our society. They are the repeat offenders. Teaching kids to read and to love reading will not only prepare them for tests and college, but it will prepare them for the world. The results will be cyclical--they will only pass on a love for reading.
Imagine that--a world with a passion for the written word. What a world that would be.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
The Act of Malpractice
We go to the doctor's office for our appointment and we expect him/her to be on the up and up with new technologies and treatment methods. We most certainly would scream in agony if he/she came around the corner with a jar full of leeches (although supposedly some people still do this). I have a feeling that a majority of us would be off the table and out the door with or without a stitch of clothing on.
We call this malpractice--which Webster's defines as "a dereliction of professional duty or a failure to exercise an ordinary degree of professional skill...". Basically, not doing your job as it is expected of you, and therefore causing harm to others.
That doesn't apply to eductors, though, does it? I mean, no one's life is in danger or anything. Its only their future and livelihood. Wait a minute, is it that serious? Yes, it is. Failure to do your duty as an educator is malpractice. We have answered a high calling. Education is an ever-changing field and in order to be the best we can be, we must change and adapt with it. It is our duty to be up on the newest best practices and to actually attempt to implement them. If we know that students don't learn vocabulary in isolation, then its our duty to find something that will work. If we know that grammar is best taught in context, then we should incorporate writing workshop into our lessons and address the problems of our students that way.
This is our duty. Its what we are supposed to do--teach children. To do less is malpractice.
We call this malpractice--which Webster's defines as "a dereliction of professional duty or a failure to exercise an ordinary degree of professional skill...". Basically, not doing your job as it is expected of you, and therefore causing harm to others.
That doesn't apply to eductors, though, does it? I mean, no one's life is in danger or anything. Its only their future and livelihood. Wait a minute, is it that serious? Yes, it is. Failure to do your duty as an educator is malpractice. We have answered a high calling. Education is an ever-changing field and in order to be the best we can be, we must change and adapt with it. It is our duty to be up on the newest best practices and to actually attempt to implement them. If we know that students don't learn vocabulary in isolation, then its our duty to find something that will work. If we know that grammar is best taught in context, then we should incorporate writing workshop into our lessons and address the problems of our students that way.
This is our duty. Its what we are supposed to do--teach children. To do less is malpractice.
Monday, March 10, 2008
The Authenticity of Research
We speak so often of making learning authentic for our students, but what does that mean? What should we be teaching them to help them prosper in their next life? Is it recognizing rhyme scheme and personification? Probably not. But there are some valuable English lessons that can help our students in the future. Research and presentation are two of those such lessons.
Students should be taught how to discern bias in texts. Teenagers these days, it seems, believe anything in writing. Its as if its on the web, it must be true, even though they know that people put up rumors and lies all the time. But if the page so much as looks official, then it must be fact. Wikipedia has been the bane of educators in recent years. Students use it as a source, yet the very definition of a wiki is a readable, writeable space. This is not a lesson that should be discounted lightly. Students can explore Wikipedia for fact and opinion. Students can even go so far as to edit pages with their own knowledge. Classes can work together to create their own wikispace that will reflect student learning (see www.nhsenglishiii.wikispaces.com for how I am using this).
Students should also learn how to evaluate websites. If students plan to continue breathing, they need to know how to find reliable information on the web. The Internet is not going away. I don't believe that it will totally replace books--there's something sacred about the turning of a page. But the Internet is only going to grow, as is the information available on it. It is more important that students know how to determine the reliability of a web page than it is that they can document it. I don't discount the MLA lesson--I'll conduct one myself tomorrow--but let's weigh things appropriately. How many professions insist that you document your sources? Yet how important is it that, as adults, we be able to evaluate the information we're being given?
I'm going to tie research in with persuasion in my next teaching unit. I've started with several quickwrites (to be shared later) to get the persuasive wheels rolling. Students will be required to evaluate webpages based on their subject of persuasion. This will be a great way to start their research and also get them thinking about reliable sources. Wish me luck--we're using the laptop carts and you never know if they'll work or not!
Students should be taught how to discern bias in texts. Teenagers these days, it seems, believe anything in writing. Its as if its on the web, it must be true, even though they know that people put up rumors and lies all the time. But if the page so much as looks official, then it must be fact. Wikipedia has been the bane of educators in recent years. Students use it as a source, yet the very definition of a wiki is a readable, writeable space. This is not a lesson that should be discounted lightly. Students can explore Wikipedia for fact and opinion. Students can even go so far as to edit pages with their own knowledge. Classes can work together to create their own wikispace that will reflect student learning (see www.nhsenglishiii.wikispaces.com for how I am using this).
Students should also learn how to evaluate websites. If students plan to continue breathing, they need to know how to find reliable information on the web. The Internet is not going away. I don't believe that it will totally replace books--there's something sacred about the turning of a page. But the Internet is only going to grow, as is the information available on it. It is more important that students know how to determine the reliability of a web page than it is that they can document it. I don't discount the MLA lesson--I'll conduct one myself tomorrow--but let's weigh things appropriately. How many professions insist that you document your sources? Yet how important is it that, as adults, we be able to evaluate the information we're being given?
I'm going to tie research in with persuasion in my next teaching unit. I've started with several quickwrites (to be shared later) to get the persuasive wheels rolling. Students will be required to evaluate webpages based on their subject of persuasion. This will be a great way to start their research and also get them thinking about reliable sources. Wish me luck--we're using the laptop carts and you never know if they'll work or not!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Teaching (and Allowing) Students to Think
Iron rusts from disuse; stagnant water loses its purity and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind. ~ Leonardo da Vinci
This month's Educational Leadership deals completely with teaching our students to think. This may seem like a daunting task, but it isn't completely impossible. Our students came to us with the innate ability to think. No one had to teach that to them—they were born thinking and questioning constantly. But do they come to us thinking critically, skillfully, and creatively? Most often, they do not. As teachers, we need to help them hone their thinking skills so that they continue to confront the world around them with questions, know how to arm themselves with data, explore various alternatives, and even predict consequences of their actions.
But how? Skillful thinking is something that must be polished, refined. One way that we can help our students learn to think is by bringing our own cognition into the open. By bringing our thinking practices out to be analyzed by others, students can emulate them and therefore become more mature thinkers on their own.
During class, use the terminology in context. Label and identify your own cognitive strategies and instruct students using that terminology, i.e. “I can infer that…”. You can also use thinking maps, graphic organizers, and other visual tools to help students break down the steps of a seemingly daunting task. As a teacher, model problem solving, decision making, and investigating. Continue to be a learner yourself so that your own thinking does not grow stagnant.
What is probably the easiest and quickest way to get students to start thinking on their own? Give them time. Yes, you may have to wait a little bit. They know that you don’t like dead silence and that you will tell them the answer if they sit still enough. Break that habit today. Wait, repeat the question, and give them time to think about it.
This month's Educational Leadership deals completely with teaching our students to think. This may seem like a daunting task, but it isn't completely impossible. Our students came to us with the innate ability to think. No one had to teach that to them—they were born thinking and questioning constantly. But do they come to us thinking critically, skillfully, and creatively? Most often, they do not. As teachers, we need to help them hone their thinking skills so that they continue to confront the world around them with questions, know how to arm themselves with data, explore various alternatives, and even predict consequences of their actions.
But how? Skillful thinking is something that must be polished, refined. One way that we can help our students learn to think is by bringing our own cognition into the open. By bringing our thinking practices out to be analyzed by others, students can emulate them and therefore become more mature thinkers on their own.
During class, use the terminology in context. Label and identify your own cognitive strategies and instruct students using that terminology, i.e. “I can infer that…”. You can also use thinking maps, graphic organizers, and other visual tools to help students break down the steps of a seemingly daunting task. As a teacher, model problem solving, decision making, and investigating. Continue to be a learner yourself so that your own thinking does not grow stagnant.
What is probably the easiest and quickest way to get students to start thinking on their own? Give them time. Yes, you may have to wait a little bit. They know that you don’t like dead silence and that you will tell them the answer if they sit still enough. Break that habit today. Wait, repeat the question, and give them time to think about it.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Help for Struggling Readers
I'm sitting here preparing my book study for tomorrow. We have our entire faculty studying Subjects Matter by Daniels and Zemelman. I'm trying to come up with something to change their pedagogy forever.
That is easier said than done. The fact is, nothing helps readers more than reading does. Its a skill and, with skills, if you don't use it you lose it. For some reason, this is a recognized fact, but not something that we truly want to address. If we know that students need more time reading in class, then why in the world aren't we offering it? It seems to me that the answer to our troubles is quite simple.
However, educators--most specifically, teachers--do not rule the world. The people that are making decisions that affect our classrooms have often never set foot in a classroom themselves. It seems easy to expect a magic fix to all of our woes. Just do this and it will all click. But those of us in the classroom know that there is no magic fix. Improving test scores is fairly easy, but improving them enough to move drastically up the comparison scale--well, that's something from fairy tales. There is no quick fix. There just isn't. There is nothing that I can do that will drastically lower scores, no matter how badly I want to have that magic answer.
My job for tomorrow: find something that will inspire teachers to fight the small battles. We have to battle illiteracy one strategy at a time. Its all we can do.
That is easier said than done. The fact is, nothing helps readers more than reading does. Its a skill and, with skills, if you don't use it you lose it. For some reason, this is a recognized fact, but not something that we truly want to address. If we know that students need more time reading in class, then why in the world aren't we offering it? It seems to me that the answer to our troubles is quite simple.
However, educators--most specifically, teachers--do not rule the world. The people that are making decisions that affect our classrooms have often never set foot in a classroom themselves. It seems easy to expect a magic fix to all of our woes. Just do this and it will all click. But those of us in the classroom know that there is no magic fix. Improving test scores is fairly easy, but improving them enough to move drastically up the comparison scale--well, that's something from fairy tales. There is no quick fix. There just isn't. There is nothing that I can do that will drastically lower scores, no matter how badly I want to have that magic answer.
My job for tomorrow: find something that will inspire teachers to fight the small battles. We have to battle illiteracy one strategy at a time. Its all we can do.
This is me, wowing Harvey Daniels with my intellect at NCTE in NYC.
I tried to impress Steven Zemelman, too. (I'm so glad I've lost weight since these pictures!)
And this is the wild group of SC literacy coaches that took NYC by storm!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
The Standardization of Testing
Standardized test time is drawing near--breathing down our necks as we try to cover just a few more standards.
As teachers, we work to create authentic assessments and exciting lessons only to end the year with a bubble-in test that our students sometimes decorate prolifically with little bubble-in Christmas trees. How do we prepare our students for this experience? How can we take the travesty of the Civil War and narrow it down to two multiple choice questions? What are they learning? When will they use these grand test-taking strategies again?
The simple answer to that is that they won't, but in this age of accountability the tests aren't going aywhere. They are here to stay, at least until something better comes along. So we have to help prepare them--without teaching to the test while making lessons exciting and tying it in to what we think students will enjoy learning and use later. What a task!
I'm sitting in an assessment meeting right now, learning all that I can about our standardized tests. One thing that I can buy into one thing that I know will be beneficial. We need to use informational texts and primary documents in our classes.
I've really been trying to use primary documents in the American lit classes. For example, before teacher Sojourner Truth, we looked closely at the 16th amendment and what it allowed and did not allow. These experiences are vital for students. They need to examine real-life documents. One, it makes your entire lesson more authentic and, two, it gives them first-hand experience with history.
Teachers can also incorporate informational texts into lessons by using manual, applications, directions, essays, etc. This one is a little bit harder to mix in, but no less important. Students are going to face informational text for the rest of their lives. A majority of senior citizens do not have the reading skills to understand their prescription medicine bottles. I can't think of a more valuable and life-long lesson.
This is me, giving in to the testing dynasty. I see the value of teaching informational texts. Once I teach them, maybe one of my students can come in and set my sound system clock for me.
As teachers, we work to create authentic assessments and exciting lessons only to end the year with a bubble-in test that our students sometimes decorate prolifically with little bubble-in Christmas trees. How do we prepare our students for this experience? How can we take the travesty of the Civil War and narrow it down to two multiple choice questions? What are they learning? When will they use these grand test-taking strategies again?
The simple answer to that is that they won't, but in this age of accountability the tests aren't going aywhere. They are here to stay, at least until something better comes along. So we have to help prepare them--without teaching to the test while making lessons exciting and tying it in to what we think students will enjoy learning and use later. What a task!
I'm sitting in an assessment meeting right now, learning all that I can about our standardized tests. One thing that I can buy into one thing that I know will be beneficial. We need to use informational texts and primary documents in our classes.
I've really been trying to use primary documents in the American lit classes. For example, before teacher Sojourner Truth, we looked closely at the 16th amendment and what it allowed and did not allow. These experiences are vital for students. They need to examine real-life documents. One, it makes your entire lesson more authentic and, two, it gives them first-hand experience with history.
Teachers can also incorporate informational texts into lessons by using manual, applications, directions, essays, etc. This one is a little bit harder to mix in, but no less important. Students are going to face informational text for the rest of their lives. A majority of senior citizens do not have the reading skills to understand their prescription medicine bottles. I can't think of a more valuable and life-long lesson.
This is me, giving in to the testing dynasty. I see the value of teaching informational texts. Once I teach them, maybe one of my students can come in and set my sound system clock for me.
Friday, January 18, 2008
A Prayer for Writing
May today there be peace
In the classrooms, brought on
By the creation
And manipulation of the written word.
May today there be time
To put learning on paper
And to see in words
What is being processed in the brain.
May today students see that writing
Is essential in math,
In science, in English,
And in fine arts.
May today students be moved
By an obsession with something to say,
By new ideas,
And by infinite possibilities in front of them.
~D. Hartness, 2007
In the classrooms, brought on
By the creation
And manipulation of the written word.
May today there be time
To put learning on paper
And to see in words
What is being processed in the brain.
May today students see that writing
Is essential in math,
In science, in English,
And in fine arts.
May today students be moved
By an obsession with something to say,
By new ideas,
And by infinite possibilities in front of them.
~D. Hartness, 2007
Thinking about assessment...
As a part of my assessment graduate course, we are working with Rick Wormelli's Fair Isn't Always Equal. He addresses assessing and grading in the differentiated classroom. And aren't we all so differentiated nowadays?
So how do we create successful assessments for our students? Differentiation does not mean using three different levels of worksheets. However, differentiation can be as simple as allowing students more time, regrouping by student interests and levels, or a list of choices for assessments. Some teachers are differentiating without even thinking about it. They are just acting in ways that they think are fair for individuals and they are realizing that fair doesn't always mean the same thing for everyone. So imagine how equitable classes would become if in-depth training and study was allowed into differentiation?
Wormelli speaks of beginning with the end in mind. He deals with two types of assessments--formative and summative. Summative is the summation of your lesson. The final assessment. But its also the beginning. Mapping out the final assessment first lends itself to successfully covering the lesson's essential objectives/standards. Wormelli even speaks of giving students the test at the beginning of the unit and allowing them to listen carefully for information that they know they will be tested on at the end. We have to stop letting assessments be a surprise to the students. Letting them know what is on the test isn't always about a review sheet the day before the test. Give the review sheet--or a skinny version of it to be filled in--at the beginning. Imagine the purpose that is set when you know ahead of time what you are expected to learn!
Teachers also have to use formative assessments--mini-checkpoints along the way--to examine what they are doing in their classroom and what is working. Instead of lamenting what students aren't doing, let's examine what we aren't doing. The most powerful question from Wormelli's reading is "What did you learn from a student today and what did you do with that knowledge?" What exactly are your students teaching you about your practices and what are you changing? Formative assessments, followed by teacher reflection, can help raise student engagement and achievement.
I feel that teachers are where the change has to occur, but that's the easy part. How can we begin with the end in mind when the end is being created in another state by a test-making company? How can I convince teachers to change the way they assess throughout the year when their major accountability comes from outside the room, outside the building? I feel very frustrated when I start to think about the role of government in education. Rules are being made by people who do not know at all what students are like in the classroom. So how do I fight that battle?
So how do we create successful assessments for our students? Differentiation does not mean using three different levels of worksheets. However, differentiation can be as simple as allowing students more time, regrouping by student interests and levels, or a list of choices for assessments. Some teachers are differentiating without even thinking about it. They are just acting in ways that they think are fair for individuals and they are realizing that fair doesn't always mean the same thing for everyone. So imagine how equitable classes would become if in-depth training and study was allowed into differentiation?
Wormelli speaks of beginning with the end in mind. He deals with two types of assessments--formative and summative. Summative is the summation of your lesson. The final assessment. But its also the beginning. Mapping out the final assessment first lends itself to successfully covering the lesson's essential objectives/standards. Wormelli even speaks of giving students the test at the beginning of the unit and allowing them to listen carefully for information that they know they will be tested on at the end. We have to stop letting assessments be a surprise to the students. Letting them know what is on the test isn't always about a review sheet the day before the test. Give the review sheet--or a skinny version of it to be filled in--at the beginning. Imagine the purpose that is set when you know ahead of time what you are expected to learn!
Teachers also have to use formative assessments--mini-checkpoints along the way--to examine what they are doing in their classroom and what is working. Instead of lamenting what students aren't doing, let's examine what we aren't doing. The most powerful question from Wormelli's reading is "What did you learn from a student today and what did you do with that knowledge?" What exactly are your students teaching you about your practices and what are you changing? Formative assessments, followed by teacher reflection, can help raise student engagement and achievement.
I feel that teachers are where the change has to occur, but that's the easy part. How can we begin with the end in mind when the end is being created in another state by a test-making company? How can I convince teachers to change the way they assess throughout the year when their major accountability comes from outside the room, outside the building? I feel very frustrated when I start to think about the role of government in education. Rules are being made by people who do not know at all what students are like in the classroom. So how do I fight that battle?
Monday, January 07, 2008
The Disenchantment of January
I am finding it so difficult to be fired up about being back in school for the second half of the year. The monsters are all hanging in the air--graduation rates, end-of-course tests, exit exams. What do you do when those things that are most frustrating are the ones that you have no control over?
For two years, I taught the same students. I had them as a group of juniors and then again as seniors. I loved this group of kids. But they gave me grey hairs. Lots of them. There was a group of boys in particular that were constantly giving me fits. It was something all the time--flatulance, late work, talking, talking, TALKING. (Did I say I loved these kids?) But I knew that when I reached my frustration level, help was only a phone call away. There were parents to call, coaches to run to, and even an administrator in one or two worst case scenarios.
But now I'm out of the classroom. There are no more unruly young men who just need to be pulled back down to earth. Now there are teachers who can't even see the top of the water that is covering their heads, much less tread in it. And here I come with no students and grandiose ideas about becoming better practitioners. Well, who am I?
I am good at what I do. I do know my stuff. But there are so many more daunting factors out there to deal with. While we know that student engagement is a major issue, there are also test scores to cope with. How do I counter the history teacher who has to teach 300 years worth of history in 90 days? How can I encourage him to incorporate supplemental texts when I know the ax that is hanging over his head?
I get very disenchanted periodically with my job. I really want to close the door and teach sometimes. That's not going to happen any time soon, so I'm looking for classrooms to borrow. I've found two...can I borrow yours?
For two years, I taught the same students. I had them as a group of juniors and then again as seniors. I loved this group of kids. But they gave me grey hairs. Lots of them. There was a group of boys in particular that were constantly giving me fits. It was something all the time--flatulance, late work, talking, talking, TALKING. (Did I say I loved these kids?) But I knew that when I reached my frustration level, help was only a phone call away. There were parents to call, coaches to run to, and even an administrator in one or two worst case scenarios.
But now I'm out of the classroom. There are no more unruly young men who just need to be pulled back down to earth. Now there are teachers who can't even see the top of the water that is covering their heads, much less tread in it. And here I come with no students and grandiose ideas about becoming better practitioners. Well, who am I?
I am good at what I do. I do know my stuff. But there are so many more daunting factors out there to deal with. While we know that student engagement is a major issue, there are also test scores to cope with. How do I counter the history teacher who has to teach 300 years worth of history in 90 days? How can I encourage him to incorporate supplemental texts when I know the ax that is hanging over his head?
I get very disenchanted periodically with my job. I really want to close the door and teach sometimes. That's not going to happen any time soon, so I'm looking for classrooms to borrow. I've found two...can I borrow yours?
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