Student Motivation, School Culture and Academic Achievement: What School Leaders Can Do by Ron Renschler
University of Oregon, February 1992
Topic 1 - Motivation and School Culture
This was an interesting topic to read in the article because I always question the role of my school culture and its effect on student learning in the school. There can be a very negative and separated feeling in my school most of the time, and it is apparent that the students can pick up on these slight nuances as much as the faculty tries to hide it from them. I wonder if I was a student how I would feel about learning if I knew that the principal thought that most teachers were always doing something wrong, as if they are stupid and cannot be trusted to give a quality education to them. If I was in a classroom like that, I would feel like school was a big joke. I would test my teachers to see if they could actually teach me something. I’d probably make them work harder and be less respondent just to prove a point. If I felt like the person instructing me was an idiot, I wouldn’t care about my work. I’d let my social life take over and go through the motions of doing work, with minimal effort. Sometimes I feel the school culture plays a big role in our classrooms at my school.
In the article it states that the administration has a heavy hand in the way a school culture is presented to faculty and students, and that once that model is in place the implementation would trickle down through the ranks. As I reflect on my administration, I don’t believe that they properly display the appropriate attitudes necessary to invoke motivation in staff and students. Even with that obstacle, as a teacher I feel that I do my best to avoid falling into the trap placed by administration to fulfill their “expect the worst” prophecies about the teachers in our school. I imagine, no matter how hard I try that there can be some residual, subconscious effects on my morale and dispositions. After thoroughly studying the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, it seems apparent to me that teacher disposition is relied heavily upon in terms of creating successful students in the public school systems. I am an enthusiastic teacher and I have deep content knowledge, however, I question whether or not the amount of trust present within the administration may hinder my performance. Through that, I expect that there could be some negative consequences for the students attending classes in my school.
According to Maehr and Braskamp (1986), in their book The Motivation Factor: A Theory of Personal Investment, they focus extensively on motivation in organizational settings. They come to the conculsion “that there is a relationship between organizational culture and personal investment - that knowing something about the cultural facets of an organization allows us to predict employee’s job satisfaction and organizational commitment.” The dimensions Maehr includes in his model of the psychological environment of the school include:
-accomplishment - emphasis on excellence and pursuit of academic challenges
-power - emphasis on interpersonal competition, social comparison, achievement
-recognition - emphasis on social recognition for achievement and the importance of school for attaining future goals and rewards
-affiliation - perceived sense of community, good interpersonal relations among teachers and students
-strength/saliency - the perception that the school knows what it is about and that students know what is expected
The results of Maehr’s study on motivation in the school system shows that even though teachers usually hold the burden of motivating students, that it is equally the responsibility of the administrators in the building to increase morale in order to have a positive effect on the students performance.
All in all, my action research cannot control the administrative realm, only my own actions in my classroom - therefore, I plan on putting forth my best efforts to ignore the negative environment throughout my daily disposition. Hopefully, with that I can thwart the permeation of negativity in my students’ motivation.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Motivating the Students by Jo Budden
This article has several suggestions for improving student motivation in the classroom. Because it is written by a European author, it discusses teaching English to students that are EFL classified. While my students are American, I can relate their learning to EFL students because many of them are bilingual with English as a Second Language. Being one who has studied (unfortunately, not mastered) many languages, I can understand how learning a new language could present certain struggles and frustrations that people born and immersed in the language do not face. On the topic of motivation, I have personally experienced a lack of motivation to continue learning other languages. I reflect on this because if my students ever acted upon their desires to rid themselves of the frustration and stagnancy of learning English, I would have seen many future drop-outs in my classes. I applaud my students for their efforts because I believe that there is nothing worse than doing your best and not seeing any benefit to the work.
The article makes an excellent point, “Adults are usually in your classroom because they have made a choice to be there and in most cases, a financial commitment towards their learning. However, children and teenagers often haven’t made their own decision to attend the English class and they are obliged by either parents or the school to do so.”
Some of the strategies mentioned to increase motivation were:
-star charts and effort charts
-setting goals
-progress markers
-questionnaires
-feedback sheets
-personalization
-bringing in outside resources
-reminding students of the value of learning
I was thinking of star charts and effort charts, but sometimes I wonder if that would be considered an extrinsic motivator, with a reward for the highest achiever. For the purpose of my study, I have decided to glean the use of questionnaires, feedback sheets, bringing in outside resources and imparting the value of learning on to my students. I believe that we already set goals in the classroom, each student knows that the goal is to achieve the highest - but do they know what they have to do in order to reach that goal? Probably not, even though I tell them every day. What can I do differently to get the students to comprehend what I am telling them?
This article has several suggestions for improving student motivation in the classroom. Because it is written by a European author, it discusses teaching English to students that are EFL classified. While my students are American, I can relate their learning to EFL students because many of them are bilingual with English as a Second Language. Being one who has studied (unfortunately, not mastered) many languages, I can understand how learning a new language could present certain struggles and frustrations that people born and immersed in the language do not face. On the topic of motivation, I have personally experienced a lack of motivation to continue learning other languages. I reflect on this because if my students ever acted upon their desires to rid themselves of the frustration and stagnancy of learning English, I would have seen many future drop-outs in my classes. I applaud my students for their efforts because I believe that there is nothing worse than doing your best and not seeing any benefit to the work.
The article makes an excellent point, “Adults are usually in your classroom because they have made a choice to be there and in most cases, a financial commitment towards their learning. However, children and teenagers often haven’t made their own decision to attend the English class and they are obliged by either parents or the school to do so.”
Some of the strategies mentioned to increase motivation were:
-star charts and effort charts
-setting goals
-progress markers
-questionnaires
-feedback sheets
-personalization
-bringing in outside resources
-reminding students of the value of learning
I was thinking of star charts and effort charts, but sometimes I wonder if that would be considered an extrinsic motivator, with a reward for the highest achiever. For the purpose of my study, I have decided to glean the use of questionnaires, feedback sheets, bringing in outside resources and imparting the value of learning on to my students. I believe that we already set goals in the classroom, each student knows that the goal is to achieve the highest - but do they know what they have to do in order to reach that goal? Probably not, even though I tell them every day. What can I do differently to get the students to comprehend what I am telling them?
Motivating Students by Barbara Gross Davis
University of California, Berkeley (1999)
According to the article, there are many factors that influence a child’s desire to learn. “Interest in the subject matter, perception of its usefulness, general desire to achieve, self-confidence and self-esteem, as well as patience and persistence,” it states. My question to that is, what if none of those factors are present in the students you teach? Then how do you solve that problem?
The article also mentions that, “Most students respond positively to a well-organized course taught by an enthusiastic instructor who has a genuine interest in students and what they learn.” Now, I know I fill the role of the enthusiastic instructor who has an investment in her students and their learning, but well-organized....... I’d like to think I’m well-organized at least! My room is organized. Their folders and notebooks are organized. But for a well-organized course, I think I’m missing the mark.
Now, I’m not sure if there is truly anything I can do about it though, and let me explain. My school currently has several initiatives for the literacy classroom. We have a writer’s notebook the students are to use a few times a week with planned lessons out of the literacy team’s book study on notebooking. Also, we have a reader’s notebook that the students are supposed to reflect on their independent reading that is to be done in the classroom. In addition to the independent novel, the students are also supposed to work in small groups with leveled novels in a literacy component called “reciprocal reading”. After that, they are supposed to read the textbook anthology together and I am supposed to teach a minilesson on the story we are reading. We also have to have a period of writing, guided writing, independent writing, shared writing, and peer editing. Then there is the time put aside for conferencing with students and their revision and word processing time. This has to be done each week. Did I mention I’m also responsible for teaching Social Studies?
Forget organization because it seems impossible in my school! Heeeelllllp! I have to do these initiatives, but there are too many interruptions and schedule changes to accomplish everything each week. How can I meet the demands of my employer while giving my students a well-organized course?
Strategies from this article that I will employ in my classroom:
-ask students to analyze what makes their class more or less motivating
(refer to instructor morale, relevance of material, course organization, appropriate level of difficulty, participation of students, variety, rapport, and understandability of examples used to explain in class)
-letting students have some say in choosing what will be studied (democratic teaching style)
-emphasize mastery and learning rather than grades (question: what if students don’t really care about their grades?)
University of California, Berkeley (1999)
According to the article, there are many factors that influence a child’s desire to learn. “Interest in the subject matter, perception of its usefulness, general desire to achieve, self-confidence and self-esteem, as well as patience and persistence,” it states. My question to that is, what if none of those factors are present in the students you teach? Then how do you solve that problem?
The article also mentions that, “Most students respond positively to a well-organized course taught by an enthusiastic instructor who has a genuine interest in students and what they learn.” Now, I know I fill the role of the enthusiastic instructor who has an investment in her students and their learning, but well-organized....... I’d like to think I’m well-organized at least! My room is organized. Their folders and notebooks are organized. But for a well-organized course, I think I’m missing the mark.
Now, I’m not sure if there is truly anything I can do about it though, and let me explain. My school currently has several initiatives for the literacy classroom. We have a writer’s notebook the students are to use a few times a week with planned lessons out of the literacy team’s book study on notebooking. Also, we have a reader’s notebook that the students are supposed to reflect on their independent reading that is to be done in the classroom. In addition to the independent novel, the students are also supposed to work in small groups with leveled novels in a literacy component called “reciprocal reading”. After that, they are supposed to read the textbook anthology together and I am supposed to teach a minilesson on the story we are reading. We also have to have a period of writing, guided writing, independent writing, shared writing, and peer editing. Then there is the time put aside for conferencing with students and their revision and word processing time. This has to be done each week. Did I mention I’m also responsible for teaching Social Studies?
Forget organization because it seems impossible in my school! Heeeelllllp! I have to do these initiatives, but there are too many interruptions and schedule changes to accomplish everything each week. How can I meet the demands of my employer while giving my students a well-organized course?
Strategies from this article that I will employ in my classroom:
-ask students to analyze what makes their class more or less motivating
(refer to instructor morale, relevance of material, course organization, appropriate level of difficulty, participation of students, variety, rapport, and understandability of examples used to explain in class)
-letting students have some say in choosing what will be studied (democratic teaching style)
-emphasize mastery and learning rather than grades (question: what if students don’t really care about their grades?)
Increasing Student Engagement and Motivation by Cori Brewster and Jennifer Fager (October 2000) Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory
After reading this article, I've come to several conclusions.
First, my main goal should be to create intrinsically motivated students. There are various reasons why, but I will cite them from the text as they were bulleted and easy to pinpoint in the article.
Intrinsically motivated students:
-earn higher grades and achievement test scores
-are better personally adjusted to school
-employ strategies that demand more effort and enable them to process info deeply
-are more confident about their abilities
-use logical informational gathering and decision making strategies
-are likely to engage in challenging tasks
-are likely to persist and complete assigned tasks
-retain information and concepts longer
-are more likely to be lifelong learners, continuing to educate themselves outside the formal school setting long after external motivators such as grades and diplomas are removed
These are the exact outcomes I seek for the students in my class. I'm wondering what I can do to promote intrinsic motivation in my students.
The article's research states that there are several ways I can increase the students' motivation. Some of these strategies I feel I already employ in my classroom, but still I'm not seeing the results. Is this because the students I see are not being broken of bad past habits? Is it because their home life negates the positive work we do in class?
Some strategies I already use are:
-using extrinsic rewards sparingly
-ensure clear expectations for performance in class
-making students feel supported and welcome
-responding positively to student questions
-working to build quality relationships with students
-breaking large tasks into a series of smaller goals
Some strategies I will try are:
-promote mastery learning by giving students another chance to complete assignments that they didn't do well on
-evaluate students based on the task, not in comparison to other students
-evaluate student work as soon as possible with clear and constructive feedbak
-model and communicate the value of lifelong learning
-develop ways to involve parents
-ensure course materials relate to students' lives
-highlight ways learning can be applied to real life situations
-arouse student curiosity about the topic being studied
After reading this article, I've come to several conclusions.
First, my main goal should be to create intrinsically motivated students. There are various reasons why, but I will cite them from the text as they were bulleted and easy to pinpoint in the article.
Intrinsically motivated students:
-earn higher grades and achievement test scores
-are better personally adjusted to school
-employ strategies that demand more effort and enable them to process info deeply
-are more confident about their abilities
-use logical informational gathering and decision making strategies
-are likely to engage in challenging tasks
-are likely to persist and complete assigned tasks
-retain information and concepts longer
-are more likely to be lifelong learners, continuing to educate themselves outside the formal school setting long after external motivators such as grades and diplomas are removed
These are the exact outcomes I seek for the students in my class. I'm wondering what I can do to promote intrinsic motivation in my students.
The article's research states that there are several ways I can increase the students' motivation. Some of these strategies I feel I already employ in my classroom, but still I'm not seeing the results. Is this because the students I see are not being broken of bad past habits? Is it because their home life negates the positive work we do in class?
Some strategies I already use are:
-using extrinsic rewards sparingly
-ensure clear expectations for performance in class
-making students feel supported and welcome
-responding positively to student questions
-working to build quality relationships with students
-breaking large tasks into a series of smaller goals
Some strategies I will try are:
-promote mastery learning by giving students another chance to complete assignments that they didn't do well on
-evaluate students based on the task, not in comparison to other students
-evaluate student work as soon as possible with clear and constructive feedbak
-model and communicate the value of lifelong learning
-develop ways to involve parents
-ensure course materials relate to students' lives
-highlight ways learning can be applied to real life situations
-arouse student curiosity about the topic being studied
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Success in Mathematics
1) Summary Statement
In order to be a successful learner in the discipline of mathematics, a student must possess various skills, dispositions and areas of knowledge. A student must be able to solve varying problems, communicate their reasoning and explanation, make connections to previous knowledge and real-life experience, use logic and reasoning in the disciplinary activities, use and create symbolic mathematical representations to support ideas and effectively utilize technology to enhance mathematical applications.
In addition to possessing certain skills, successful students must also have the right attitude towards math to gain the most relevant and valuable experience with work in the discipline. These attitudes and dispositions are also reflective of teaching practices and therefore directly apply to both learner and instructor. The students must feel a genuine excitement or interest in activities that help them to learn the mathematical concepts, rather than memorize procedures. These activities should evoke interest and engagement based on meaningful and life relevant problems. Students must possess attitudes that will lend themselves easily towards the necessary collaborative and cooperative nature of maximizing learning in math. Dispositions such as respect, high self expectations and motivation to advance are also valuable, but in summation it should be noted that these attitudes and dispositions are not intrinsic in all students of mathematics and therefore depend a lot on the teacher’s influence.
Finally, and at the core of the discipline, students must acquire knowledge principles from their career as pupils of mathematics. Essentially, the students must know number sense and operations, principles of estimation, geometry, measurement, patterns, relationships, procedures, probabilities, statistics and discrete mathematics.
With that, the knowledge, skills and dispositions that make up the components of a successful learner of mathematics depend on a highly qualified and enthusiastic teacher who shares the same qualities and characteristics as the standards envision for the student who will study from them.
2) How do the NJCCCS meet diverse student populations?
- Ethnicity
o Math is cross-cultural and multi-lingual in nature
- Special Needs
o Math is recursive, representative, symbolic and uses algorithms
- Multiple Intelligences
o Math is collaborative, individual, visual, concrete, abstract, creative and found everywhere in daily life
3) How do the NJCCCS not meet diverse student populations?
Since mathematical concepts build upon one another, if the student does not actually learn previous skills it is difficult for them to advance
The NJCCCS do not take into account teacher fallibility or external factors that might prevent their embracing and progress in mathematics
There is an inherent assumption that all areas of math from the previous year were taught and mastered by the student, which is not always true because of time constraints, absences or other struggles – forcing students to play a constant game of ‘catch up’ that would hinder the growth of necessary attitudes and dispositions towards the discipline of mathematics
4) What do they imply is of value? (in reaction to teaching and learning)
The implicit value necessary in the teaching and learning of this discipline, mathematics, is essentially the enthusiasm, excitement, engagement and relevance of math to the life experience. Logic and reason, two tenets of philosophy and the basis of all coherent thinking, are the ultimate goal of mathematical studies.
In order to be a successful learner in the discipline of mathematics, a student must possess various skills, dispositions and areas of knowledge. A student must be able to solve varying problems, communicate their reasoning and explanation, make connections to previous knowledge and real-life experience, use logic and reasoning in the disciplinary activities, use and create symbolic mathematical representations to support ideas and effectively utilize technology to enhance mathematical applications.
In addition to possessing certain skills, successful students must also have the right attitude towards math to gain the most relevant and valuable experience with work in the discipline. These attitudes and dispositions are also reflective of teaching practices and therefore directly apply to both learner and instructor. The students must feel a genuine excitement or interest in activities that help them to learn the mathematical concepts, rather than memorize procedures. These activities should evoke interest and engagement based on meaningful and life relevant problems. Students must possess attitudes that will lend themselves easily towards the necessary collaborative and cooperative nature of maximizing learning in math. Dispositions such as respect, high self expectations and motivation to advance are also valuable, but in summation it should be noted that these attitudes and dispositions are not intrinsic in all students of mathematics and therefore depend a lot on the teacher’s influence.
Finally, and at the core of the discipline, students must acquire knowledge principles from their career as pupils of mathematics. Essentially, the students must know number sense and operations, principles of estimation, geometry, measurement, patterns, relationships, procedures, probabilities, statistics and discrete mathematics.
With that, the knowledge, skills and dispositions that make up the components of a successful learner of mathematics depend on a highly qualified and enthusiastic teacher who shares the same qualities and characteristics as the standards envision for the student who will study from them.
2) How do the NJCCCS meet diverse student populations?
- Ethnicity
o Math is cross-cultural and multi-lingual in nature
- Special Needs
o Math is recursive, representative, symbolic and uses algorithms
- Multiple Intelligences
o Math is collaborative, individual, visual, concrete, abstract, creative and found everywhere in daily life
3) How do the NJCCCS not meet diverse student populations?
Since mathematical concepts build upon one another, if the student does not actually learn previous skills it is difficult for them to advance
The NJCCCS do not take into account teacher fallibility or external factors that might prevent their embracing and progress in mathematics
There is an inherent assumption that all areas of math from the previous year were taught and mastered by the student, which is not always true because of time constraints, absences or other struggles – forcing students to play a constant game of ‘catch up’ that would hinder the growth of necessary attitudes and dispositions towards the discipline of mathematics
4) What do they imply is of value? (in reaction to teaching and learning)
The implicit value necessary in the teaching and learning of this discipline, mathematics, is essentially the enthusiasm, excitement, engagement and relevance of math to the life experience. Logic and reason, two tenets of philosophy and the basis of all coherent thinking, are the ultimate goal of mathematical studies.
Knowledge, Skills and Dispositions
The vision of the mathematics standards is focused on achieving one crucial goal:
To enable ALL of New Jersey’s children to acquire the mathematical skills, understandings and attitudes that they will need to be successful in their careers and daily lives.
Big Ideas:
Number Sense
Numerical Operations
Estimation
Geometric Properties
Transforming Shapes
Coordinate Geometry
Units of Measurement
Measuring Geometric Objects
Patterns
Functions and Relationships
Modeling
Procedures
Data Analysis (Statistics)
Probability
Discrete Mathematics – Systematic Listing and Counting
Discrete Mathematics – Vertex-Edge Graphs and Algorithims
Skills:
Problem Solving
Communication
Connections
Reasoning
Representations
Technology
Dispositions:
Students are excited by and interested in their activities.
Students learn important mathematical concepts rather than memorizing and practicing procedures.
Students pose and solve meaningful problems.
Students work together to learn mathematics.
Students write and talk about mathematics every day.
Students use calculators and computers as important tools of learning.
Students foster respect for the power of mathematics.
Students set high expectations for themselves.
Students go beyond the standards to advance their understanding of mathematics.
To enable ALL of New Jersey’s children to acquire the mathematical skills, understandings and attitudes that they will need to be successful in their careers and daily lives.
Big Ideas:
Number Sense
Numerical Operations
Estimation
Geometric Properties
Transforming Shapes
Coordinate Geometry
Units of Measurement
Measuring Geometric Objects
Patterns
Functions and Relationships
Modeling
Procedures
Data Analysis (Statistics)
Probability
Discrete Mathematics – Systematic Listing and Counting
Discrete Mathematics – Vertex-Edge Graphs and Algorithims
Skills:
Problem Solving
Communication
Connections
Reasoning
Representations
Technology
Dispositions:
Students are excited by and interested in their activities.
Students learn important mathematical concepts rather than memorizing and practicing procedures.
Students pose and solve meaningful problems.
Students work together to learn mathematics.
Students write and talk about mathematics every day.
Students use calculators and computers as important tools of learning.
Students foster respect for the power of mathematics.
Students set high expectations for themselves.
Students go beyond the standards to advance their understanding of mathematics.
Analysis of NJCCCS - Math (Presentation Posting)
“The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”
Twenty years ago, the nation began standard based reform as an idea to improve schooling for instructors and pupils alike. The standards established what students should know and be able to do and were supposed to offer guidance to teachers, curriculum writers and educational administration. The state standards, upon review, are all too much vague, complex and lengthy. The intentions are good, but the fact that many teachers are forced to focus their time to ‘teach to the test’ releases the accountability that all the standards are met at each grade level. This leads to gaps and repetitions in content for the students and creates problems for the educators in the child’s future. Additionally, two experts from American Educator journal state that, “State tests and state content standards don’t always match up.” Now that we have standards in place, it’s time to redo them so that they are clear and specific and a more reasonable length. In an attempt to flesh out the state standards in Math, our group has examined the nature and purpose of the essential information that will help guide teachers through the understanding process.
“Keep it simple, stupid.”
The standards help curriculum writers because they act as a springboard for developmentally appropriate instruction that builds upon prior learning. They assist teachers in determining what should be taught in the classes they are assigned. Standards hone in on specific items of knowledge and skills that successful students should master throughout the year’s lessons. In an attempt to create a list of concepts students must understand and value in order to advance, the standards became unclear and tried to encompass everything at every level. Overwhelmed teachers have fallen prey to the complexity of standards and opt for relying on the 800 page back breaking textbooks of the district mandated curriculum to “cover” the material instead of offering students a deeper understanding of the discipline. Identifying strong core standards and limiting the length and convoluted language will help give educators and curriculum developers the necessary foundation for a content rich, sequenced curriculum with aligned assessments.
“After all, what is more central to schooling than those things that we, as a society, have chosen to pass on to our children?”
The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) has confirmed that student performance is directly related to the nature of curricular expectations. Through their research, it has revealed that the focus, rigor and coherence of Math standards are of utmost importance. These three aspects are the basis of strong Math education. Unfortunately, the attempt to focus has been lost through creating a ‘to-do’ list of too many topics for coverage instead of mastering fewer topics during a given school year. This unintentional reversal of purpose leads to students who don’t have a firm grasp of the concepts they need to build upon in the later years. Administrators and standards demand rigor in the classroom, but that falls short when students need remedial teaching of basic concepts in order to process more advanced and abstract Mathematical thinking. Finally, coherence is the most important part of well-developed Math standards. The inherent weakness of our Math framework is that there is too much covered at each grade level, some may even be called developmentally inappropriate, and the breakdown begins a domino effect of struggling students at each level – preventing proper advancement.
“Everybody else is doing it, why can’t we?”
While the question of why American students miss the mark on Mathematics assessments worldwide, one has to consider whether it is the diversity and poverty of our students or our standards before placing the blame. Math curriculum does promote varied skills, concepts and activities to reach a variety of students without sacrificing individualism but it has not fostered continued growth in many students. Because standards are open to interpretation by the teacher planning the lesson there is also great variety of content taught among courses with the same level and title. This variability in course content and the plentiful amount of requisite standards creates a set of artificial tracks in the curriculum that have negative ramifications on Mathematical literacy. While other, more successful, countries focus on fewer topics, they also demand that Math is taught in a meaningful way. Curriculum writers must delineate what is important to teach and articulate those choices through the standards, textbooks and assessments of the discipline.
“Through rose colored glasses…”
The most valued aspect of teaching and learning that the standards imply is that of student and teacher dispositions. The attitudes towards Math of both pupil and instructor help to foster the strong relationship necessary to understand the essence of Mathematical thinking and its relevance to everyone’s life. It may be easy to see how a student of the discipline can break their bond with Mathematics when they feel frustrated or confused due to the standards pushing too many demands when teachers are unable to meet and address all concepts for student mastery.
“Less is more.”
Ultimately, the review of the New Jersey Math standards has brought to light the fact that the political machine’s, controlling standards development, eyes are larger than the students’ academic stomach. We have too much on our standards plate, and the abundant cornucopia of knowledge and skills that teachers must pass down the table to their students each year never truly makes it to the other end. Students are being left behind due to superficial ‘coverage’ of Mathematical concepts instead of truly digesting what is most important to learn. This starts the end of what was once a beautiful relationship between student and discipline, leading to feelings of distaste for Math and eventually avoidance of the subject altogether. Overextending teachers and students result in the reversal of what the standards’ original goal was: The student’s internal motivation to advance. In order for the standards to improve, states and districts must bring mathematicians into the standards setting process and push the politics out.
Twenty years ago, the nation began standard based reform as an idea to improve schooling for instructors and pupils alike. The standards established what students should know and be able to do and were supposed to offer guidance to teachers, curriculum writers and educational administration. The state standards, upon review, are all too much vague, complex and lengthy. The intentions are good, but the fact that many teachers are forced to focus their time to ‘teach to the test’ releases the accountability that all the standards are met at each grade level. This leads to gaps and repetitions in content for the students and creates problems for the educators in the child’s future. Additionally, two experts from American Educator journal state that, “State tests and state content standards don’t always match up.” Now that we have standards in place, it’s time to redo them so that they are clear and specific and a more reasonable length. In an attempt to flesh out the state standards in Math, our group has examined the nature and purpose of the essential information that will help guide teachers through the understanding process.
“Keep it simple, stupid.”
The standards help curriculum writers because they act as a springboard for developmentally appropriate instruction that builds upon prior learning. They assist teachers in determining what should be taught in the classes they are assigned. Standards hone in on specific items of knowledge and skills that successful students should master throughout the year’s lessons. In an attempt to create a list of concepts students must understand and value in order to advance, the standards became unclear and tried to encompass everything at every level. Overwhelmed teachers have fallen prey to the complexity of standards and opt for relying on the 800 page back breaking textbooks of the district mandated curriculum to “cover” the material instead of offering students a deeper understanding of the discipline. Identifying strong core standards and limiting the length and convoluted language will help give educators and curriculum developers the necessary foundation for a content rich, sequenced curriculum with aligned assessments.
“After all, what is more central to schooling than those things that we, as a society, have chosen to pass on to our children?”
The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) has confirmed that student performance is directly related to the nature of curricular expectations. Through their research, it has revealed that the focus, rigor and coherence of Math standards are of utmost importance. These three aspects are the basis of strong Math education. Unfortunately, the attempt to focus has been lost through creating a ‘to-do’ list of too many topics for coverage instead of mastering fewer topics during a given school year. This unintentional reversal of purpose leads to students who don’t have a firm grasp of the concepts they need to build upon in the later years. Administrators and standards demand rigor in the classroom, but that falls short when students need remedial teaching of basic concepts in order to process more advanced and abstract Mathematical thinking. Finally, coherence is the most important part of well-developed Math standards. The inherent weakness of our Math framework is that there is too much covered at each grade level, some may even be called developmentally inappropriate, and the breakdown begins a domino effect of struggling students at each level – preventing proper advancement.
“Everybody else is doing it, why can’t we?”
While the question of why American students miss the mark on Mathematics assessments worldwide, one has to consider whether it is the diversity and poverty of our students or our standards before placing the blame. Math curriculum does promote varied skills, concepts and activities to reach a variety of students without sacrificing individualism but it has not fostered continued growth in many students. Because standards are open to interpretation by the teacher planning the lesson there is also great variety of content taught among courses with the same level and title. This variability in course content and the plentiful amount of requisite standards creates a set of artificial tracks in the curriculum that have negative ramifications on Mathematical literacy. While other, more successful, countries focus on fewer topics, they also demand that Math is taught in a meaningful way. Curriculum writers must delineate what is important to teach and articulate those choices through the standards, textbooks and assessments of the discipline.
“Through rose colored glasses…”
The most valued aspect of teaching and learning that the standards imply is that of student and teacher dispositions. The attitudes towards Math of both pupil and instructor help to foster the strong relationship necessary to understand the essence of Mathematical thinking and its relevance to everyone’s life. It may be easy to see how a student of the discipline can break their bond with Mathematics when they feel frustrated or confused due to the standards pushing too many demands when teachers are unable to meet and address all concepts for student mastery.
“Less is more.”
Ultimately, the review of the New Jersey Math standards has brought to light the fact that the political machine’s, controlling standards development, eyes are larger than the students’ academic stomach. We have too much on our standards plate, and the abundant cornucopia of knowledge and skills that teachers must pass down the table to their students each year never truly makes it to the other end. Students are being left behind due to superficial ‘coverage’ of Mathematical concepts instead of truly digesting what is most important to learn. This starts the end of what was once a beautiful relationship between student and discipline, leading to feelings of distaste for Math and eventually avoidance of the subject altogether. Overextending teachers and students result in the reversal of what the standards’ original goal was: The student’s internal motivation to advance. In order for the standards to improve, states and districts must bring mathematicians into the standards setting process and push the politics out.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Calling for Clear, Specific Content (American Educator, Spring 2008)
These are some problems that the editors of American Educator magazine have published in reference to the gaping holes in state standards:
~ Professional development is too often about pedagogical fads.
~ Too many districts don't even try to flesh out the state standards, leaving teachers to face that challenge on their own.
~ Students, especially those who change schools frequently, end up with gaps and repetitions - never doing an experiment with seeds, for example, but having Charlotte's Web read to them three times.
~ Textbook developers try to "cover" the standards by creating 800-page back breakers.
~ Teachers' (and administrators') guesses as to what will be on the state assessment often end up driving instruction.
~ Professional development is too often about pedagogical fads.
~ Too many districts don't even try to flesh out the state standards, leaving teachers to face that challenge on their own.
~ Students, especially those who change schools frequently, end up with gaps and repetitions - never doing an experiment with seeds, for example, but having Charlotte's Web read to them three times.
~ Textbook developers try to "cover" the standards by creating 800-page back breakers.
~ Teachers' (and administrators') guesses as to what will be on the state assessment often end up driving instruction.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Quality Assurance
This is a reflection highlighting the important aspects discussed in Acheson and Gall's text on the teacher evaluation process used by successful administrators, chapters seven and eight.
Can quality be measured? Within the education profession, there are certain core beliefs that drive an educator, one of them being the intention of providing a service of the highest quality to each client under his or her care. In the process of teacher evaluation, the professional service provider is observed for the purpose of quality assurance and professional development. The purpose of the criticism seems benign enough, but once coupled with the variable factors that the subjective experience presents, the unsteady and fallible flaws of human nature can shake a positive opportunity for self-improvement until it turns into a dreaded magnifying glass that no sane person would ever want to find themselves under. Knowing the anxiety and stress surrounding the evaluation experience, supervisors must follow procedures that make the topic of improvement objective, free of bias, useful and from a competent source. Once comfortable, a true and valid observation can occur and the outcome will result in a positive influecne for change to make a good service become outstanding.
Using the information obtained in chapters seven and eight in Acheson and Gall's text, combined with the approaches of Glickman and the domain components of Danielson, it becomes apparent that supervisor/teacher conference time must not take a back seat to mundane activities and inability to prioritize effectively. The supervisor's relationship with the subject under scrutiny sets the tone for the evaluation, and if the purpose of evaluating is not punitive in nature, then any supervisor that is accountable for his or her team's performance would want the observation to be used for corrective improvement in order to maximize desireable performance. All three sources focus on the importance of conferencing in clinical supervision through discussing its direct connection to the reliability of the observed practices and decision making (Danielson). Supervisory behaviors during the pre-observation conference such as listening, clarifying, encouraging and reflecting (Glickman) signal a safe environment where the educator feels in control of how the actual evaluation will transpire and what will be focused on for improvement. Once the teacher feels they are going to be judged in a safe and secure environment, they are more apt to identify areas of instruction where they feel they need improvement, instead of resorting to 'safe' concerns that try to cover the weaknesses that are hiding beneath the surface (Acheson and Gall). If a supervisor is to assess with the aim to improve, they need to be focused on a true concern in an environment where the teacher will be receptive to alternative suggestions and change, and the structure and relationship between supervisor and faculty and the evaluation process set the direction the observation will follow.
Without feedback, the evaluation is useless. Post-observation conferences are a time for reflection, review, constructive feedback and reinforcement (Danielson). Instead of the supervisor forcing the teacher to make changes he or she may not understand or internalize, the goal is to bring the teacher to a stage of autonomous thinking where he or she interprets the observed behavior and works reciprocally with the supervisor in creating an alternative approach for the future (Acheson and Gall). This relates directly to Glickman's 'nondirective interpersonal' approach that highlights routine self-awareness and empowers teachers to make necessary changes to improve instruction on a regular basis, instead of waiting for random and seldom supervisory evaluative opportunities for feedback. If quality is the goal, continuous improvement is the means to the end.
Can quality be measured? Within the education profession, there are certain core beliefs that drive an educator, one of them being the intention of providing a service of the highest quality to each client under his or her care. In the process of teacher evaluation, the professional service provider is observed for the purpose of quality assurance and professional development. The purpose of the criticism seems benign enough, but once coupled with the variable factors that the subjective experience presents, the unsteady and fallible flaws of human nature can shake a positive opportunity for self-improvement until it turns into a dreaded magnifying glass that no sane person would ever want to find themselves under. Knowing the anxiety and stress surrounding the evaluation experience, supervisors must follow procedures that make the topic of improvement objective, free of bias, useful and from a competent source. Once comfortable, a true and valid observation can occur and the outcome will result in a positive influecne for change to make a good service become outstanding.
Using the information obtained in chapters seven and eight in Acheson and Gall's text, combined with the approaches of Glickman and the domain components of Danielson, it becomes apparent that supervisor/teacher conference time must not take a back seat to mundane activities and inability to prioritize effectively. The supervisor's relationship with the subject under scrutiny sets the tone for the evaluation, and if the purpose of evaluating is not punitive in nature, then any supervisor that is accountable for his or her team's performance would want the observation to be used for corrective improvement in order to maximize desireable performance. All three sources focus on the importance of conferencing in clinical supervision through discussing its direct connection to the reliability of the observed practices and decision making (Danielson). Supervisory behaviors during the pre-observation conference such as listening, clarifying, encouraging and reflecting (Glickman) signal a safe environment where the educator feels in control of how the actual evaluation will transpire and what will be focused on for improvement. Once the teacher feels they are going to be judged in a safe and secure environment, they are more apt to identify areas of instruction where they feel they need improvement, instead of resorting to 'safe' concerns that try to cover the weaknesses that are hiding beneath the surface (Acheson and Gall). If a supervisor is to assess with the aim to improve, they need to be focused on a true concern in an environment where the teacher will be receptive to alternative suggestions and change, and the structure and relationship between supervisor and faculty and the evaluation process set the direction the observation will follow.
Without feedback, the evaluation is useless. Post-observation conferences are a time for reflection, review, constructive feedback and reinforcement (Danielson). Instead of the supervisor forcing the teacher to make changes he or she may not understand or internalize, the goal is to bring the teacher to a stage of autonomous thinking where he or she interprets the observed behavior and works reciprocally with the supervisor in creating an alternative approach for the future (Acheson and Gall). This relates directly to Glickman's 'nondirective interpersonal' approach that highlights routine self-awareness and empowers teachers to make necessary changes to improve instruction on a regular basis, instead of waiting for random and seldom supervisory evaluative opportunities for feedback. If quality is the goal, continuous improvement is the means to the end.
No Teacher Left Behind?
This is a response from a case study referencing the plight of a novice teacher that has ultimately given up on attempting to control her classroom and is fearful of approaching the principal to voice her concerns.
Why haven't they come up with a federal initiative called "No Teacher Left Behind?" In the case of a struggling novice teacher, everyone (whether they know it or not) in the school community has a responsibility to ensure the teacher's success if not for anything but student learning. The novice teacher in question displays a vital need for a supportive environment in her school and classroom. She struggles with overcoming barriers of personality clashes, classroom management, student motivation and building relationships with others. It seems that this teacher needs to build her confidence before she can feel comfortable in her classroom as the sole authority figure. Whether or not that personal growth occurs is up to the more experienced members of faculty and administration and the time they spend offering guidance and support during this formative stage. If I was the principal, my responsibility as a school leader would be to do everything in my power to ensure the safety and education of all students, faculty and staff. This includes being a role model for appropriate behavior through establishing a positive school climate and culture. In this case, the new teacher has felt no support from her surroundings and had no one to reach out to for help. This would be as much my fault as it is the fault of her colleagues (where are your ethics, people?) and her assigned mentor (who is being paid additional monies to guide a new teacher in the classroom.)
Now, as principal, my only recourse would be to rectify the mistakes I've made and reverse the hopelessness my new teacher feels while attempting to salvage valuable instructional time with the students. It is obvious that this teacher has lost all certainty that she can handle her assignment, but at the same time she has great potential to become more than what she is right now. Acheson and Gall speak of the importance of trust and comfort within the teacher/administrator relationship. I would take steps to make sure that the new teacher would feel comfortable and at ease with me before I present her with an announced observation for professional development purposes. This may take some effort on my part, but if I am to help figure out what the exact issues are in the classroom and how to remedy them, I will need to have the most effective observation the first time I enter her classroom. Time is of the essence and student learning is at stake. Together we will identify her concerns and focuses for my observation and discuss them during our planning conference. While I recognize that this is the real world, and theory sometimes does not fit easily once put into practice, I truly cannot blame anyone but myself if the teacher performs horribly on the observation. My purpose would be to catch up on some much needed professional development using the Directive-Informational approach (Glickman Leadership for Learning), where instead of revoking the power of the teacher entirely, I would give her suggestions and allow her some say in the way she runs her classroom. Autonomy is my goal because there isn't enough time in the day to hold every teacher's hand during difficult times. I would also revisit my mentor choices and seek out some teachers that would be valuable assets to the developmental process of this teacher, and create 'peer coaching' pairs, or even 'critical friends' groups in order to take some of the anxiety out of the improvement procedure. Long-term goals would include changing the clique-like nature of behavior of individuals in the faculty and improving the school climate so that no one feels intimidated to seek help when it is absolutely necessary. Again, able teachers create able students: if no child is to be left behind, that can only happen if we first make sure that no teacher is being left behind.
Why haven't they come up with a federal initiative called "No Teacher Left Behind?" In the case of a struggling novice teacher, everyone (whether they know it or not) in the school community has a responsibility to ensure the teacher's success if not for anything but student learning. The novice teacher in question displays a vital need for a supportive environment in her school and classroom. She struggles with overcoming barriers of personality clashes, classroom management, student motivation and building relationships with others. It seems that this teacher needs to build her confidence before she can feel comfortable in her classroom as the sole authority figure. Whether or not that personal growth occurs is up to the more experienced members of faculty and administration and the time they spend offering guidance and support during this formative stage. If I was the principal, my responsibility as a school leader would be to do everything in my power to ensure the safety and education of all students, faculty and staff. This includes being a role model for appropriate behavior through establishing a positive school climate and culture. In this case, the new teacher has felt no support from her surroundings and had no one to reach out to for help. This would be as much my fault as it is the fault of her colleagues (where are your ethics, people?) and her assigned mentor (who is being paid additional monies to guide a new teacher in the classroom.)
Now, as principal, my only recourse would be to rectify the mistakes I've made and reverse the hopelessness my new teacher feels while attempting to salvage valuable instructional time with the students. It is obvious that this teacher has lost all certainty that she can handle her assignment, but at the same time she has great potential to become more than what she is right now. Acheson and Gall speak of the importance of trust and comfort within the teacher/administrator relationship. I would take steps to make sure that the new teacher would feel comfortable and at ease with me before I present her with an announced observation for professional development purposes. This may take some effort on my part, but if I am to help figure out what the exact issues are in the classroom and how to remedy them, I will need to have the most effective observation the first time I enter her classroom. Time is of the essence and student learning is at stake. Together we will identify her concerns and focuses for my observation and discuss them during our planning conference. While I recognize that this is the real world, and theory sometimes does not fit easily once put into practice, I truly cannot blame anyone but myself if the teacher performs horribly on the observation. My purpose would be to catch up on some much needed professional development using the Directive-Informational approach (Glickman Leadership for Learning), where instead of revoking the power of the teacher entirely, I would give her suggestions and allow her some say in the way she runs her classroom. Autonomy is my goal because there isn't enough time in the day to hold every teacher's hand during difficult times. I would also revisit my mentor choices and seek out some teachers that would be valuable assets to the developmental process of this teacher, and create 'peer coaching' pairs, or even 'critical friends' groups in order to take some of the anxiety out of the improvement procedure. Long-term goals would include changing the clique-like nature of behavior of individuals in the faculty and improving the school climate so that no one feels intimidated to seek help when it is absolutely necessary. Again, able teachers create able students: if no child is to be left behind, that can only happen if we first make sure that no teacher is being left behind.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Understanding Understanding
What are the enduring understandings that teachers must grapple with?
Does philosophy get closer and closer to the ultimate truth as time goes by? Epistemology, the branch of philosophy that addresses what it means to know and understand knowledge and understanding and how knowledge differs from belief and opinion, is a key facet of understanding. Wiggins and McTighe state, "To understand the world we must first understand ourselves. Through self-knowledge we also understand what we do not understand." This refers to the process of metacognition, self-knowledge about how we think and why and the relation between our preferred methods of learning and our understanding. Going back to ancient Greek times, educators were philosophers. The Oracle at Delphi clearly stated, "Know thyself" to wisdom seekers. Currently, in most teacher certification programs aspects of psychology are studied that focus on the ultimate goal on Maslow's hierarchy of human needs: self-actualization, or the ability to recognize your self-potential. In order to identify an understanding that is considered 'enduring', one must first possess an open mind that is able to question its ways of seeing the world to be better able to see beyond itself and eventually achieve understanding, or personal truth. As educators we have been trained in the self-reflective nature of the profession and should be continually investigating and substantiating our fluid understandings of our work.
The concept of a reasonable person lies at the heart of philosophy and of education itself. The reasonable person respects others and is prepared to take into account his or her views and feelings to the extent of changing his or her mind about issues of significance and consciously allowing personal perspectives to be changed by others (Sharp and Splitter, Teaching for Better Thinking). In short, the social disposition of reasonableness means that the person is willing to be reasoned with. Possessing reason, one is able to focus explicitly on big ideas that connect and bring meaning to discrete facts and skills, thereby creating a more holistic picture of education. Questions and philosophy are natural allies. Enduring ideas in the form of essential questions aim to stimulate thought and enable students to uncover the value of a topic. Not only do essential questions promote understanding of the content on a particular topic, but they also spark connections and promote transfer of ideas from one setting to another (Wiggins and McTighe, Understanding by Design).
Enduring understandings use discrete facts or skills to focus on larger concepts, principles or processes. They derive from and enable transfer: They are applicable to new situations within or beyond the subject. According to Lynn Erikson, "Universal generalizations have the same characteristics as a concept: broad and abstract; universal in application; generally timeless-carry through the ages; and represented by different examples." This means that generalizations are the enduring understandings, the recurring ideas that should be framing the coursework for study. For a thought provoking proposition to be considered a worthy understanding, it must be enduring-proven to be important and useful and will not be erased from memory once the course of study is completed. Understandings should specify something to be understood, focus on the abstract and transferable big ideas, and require inquiry and deep thought to eventually uncover their importance.
With that being said, what enduring understandings would an assumed enlightened educator focus on studying? As someone who is continually trying to reach so-called 'understandings' in respect to my profession, I can only speak from... my understanding. I feel that teachers today struggle to piece together the ideas behind how people learn and how to connect it to the infrastructure of their respective content areas in the classroom. The main goal is to have a deep understanding of the craft of teaching, so that every problematic situation with a learner can be met with a bountiful supply of solutions. Any teacher would revel in a classroom where the words left his or her lips and met with the minds and souls of the students to result in a communion of understanding. If teaching and learning happened this seamlessly, imagine how much engaged learning and how little tomfoolery would occur in school.
Maybe teachers should take time to think about the purpose of their careers and its effect on society today. There are some 'enduring understandings' that everyone, teachers and students alike from all backgrounds and age ranges, should grapple with. Where do understandings surrounding the concepts of philosophy, friendship, responsibility, happiness, justice, time, courage, death, prejudice, god, humanity, nature, compassion, freedom and love come from? Teachers should grapple with enduring understandings that limit the range of content they are allowed to teach in the classroom. In ancient Athens, Plato looked forward to a time whern philosophers would govern the state. He insisted that peace is possible only if thinkers who embrace the world of ideas make the decisions that affect everyone (McCarty, Little Big Minds). The word philosophy means "love of wisdom." It is ironic that educators try to impart the love of acquiring knowledge on to their students by avoiding investigation into the discipline that is interdisciplinary by nature. Overcoming the 'expert blind spot' where what is obvious to us is not as clear cut and simple to a novice is one understanding that teachers struggle to come to terms with, but through opening the minds of those in the classroom to a sense of wonder and countless questions, ordinary understandings usually taken for granted will be enhanced with new meaning when we look deeper and investigate life.
Does philosophy get closer and closer to the ultimate truth as time goes by? Epistemology, the branch of philosophy that addresses what it means to know and understand knowledge and understanding and how knowledge differs from belief and opinion, is a key facet of understanding. Wiggins and McTighe state, "To understand the world we must first understand ourselves. Through self-knowledge we also understand what we do not understand." This refers to the process of metacognition, self-knowledge about how we think and why and the relation between our preferred methods of learning and our understanding. Going back to ancient Greek times, educators were philosophers. The Oracle at Delphi clearly stated, "Know thyself" to wisdom seekers. Currently, in most teacher certification programs aspects of psychology are studied that focus on the ultimate goal on Maslow's hierarchy of human needs: self-actualization, or the ability to recognize your self-potential. In order to identify an understanding that is considered 'enduring', one must first possess an open mind that is able to question its ways of seeing the world to be better able to see beyond itself and eventually achieve understanding, or personal truth. As educators we have been trained in the self-reflective nature of the profession and should be continually investigating and substantiating our fluid understandings of our work.
The concept of a reasonable person lies at the heart of philosophy and of education itself. The reasonable person respects others and is prepared to take into account his or her views and feelings to the extent of changing his or her mind about issues of significance and consciously allowing personal perspectives to be changed by others (Sharp and Splitter, Teaching for Better Thinking). In short, the social disposition of reasonableness means that the person is willing to be reasoned with. Possessing reason, one is able to focus explicitly on big ideas that connect and bring meaning to discrete facts and skills, thereby creating a more holistic picture of education. Questions and philosophy are natural allies. Enduring ideas in the form of essential questions aim to stimulate thought and enable students to uncover the value of a topic. Not only do essential questions promote understanding of the content on a particular topic, but they also spark connections and promote transfer of ideas from one setting to another (Wiggins and McTighe, Understanding by Design).
Enduring understandings use discrete facts or skills to focus on larger concepts, principles or processes. They derive from and enable transfer: They are applicable to new situations within or beyond the subject. According to Lynn Erikson, "Universal generalizations have the same characteristics as a concept: broad and abstract; universal in application; generally timeless-carry through the ages; and represented by different examples." This means that generalizations are the enduring understandings, the recurring ideas that should be framing the coursework for study. For a thought provoking proposition to be considered a worthy understanding, it must be enduring-proven to be important and useful and will not be erased from memory once the course of study is completed. Understandings should specify something to be understood, focus on the abstract and transferable big ideas, and require inquiry and deep thought to eventually uncover their importance.
With that being said, what enduring understandings would an assumed enlightened educator focus on studying? As someone who is continually trying to reach so-called 'understandings' in respect to my profession, I can only speak from... my understanding. I feel that teachers today struggle to piece together the ideas behind how people learn and how to connect it to the infrastructure of their respective content areas in the classroom. The main goal is to have a deep understanding of the craft of teaching, so that every problematic situation with a learner can be met with a bountiful supply of solutions. Any teacher would revel in a classroom where the words left his or her lips and met with the minds and souls of the students to result in a communion of understanding. If teaching and learning happened this seamlessly, imagine how much engaged learning and how little tomfoolery would occur in school.
Maybe teachers should take time to think about the purpose of their careers and its effect on society today. There are some 'enduring understandings' that everyone, teachers and students alike from all backgrounds and age ranges, should grapple with. Where do understandings surrounding the concepts of philosophy, friendship, responsibility, happiness, justice, time, courage, death, prejudice, god, humanity, nature, compassion, freedom and love come from? Teachers should grapple with enduring understandings that limit the range of content they are allowed to teach in the classroom. In ancient Athens, Plato looked forward to a time whern philosophers would govern the state. He insisted that peace is possible only if thinkers who embrace the world of ideas make the decisions that affect everyone (McCarty, Little Big Minds). The word philosophy means "love of wisdom." It is ironic that educators try to impart the love of acquiring knowledge on to their students by avoiding investigation into the discipline that is interdisciplinary by nature. Overcoming the 'expert blind spot' where what is obvious to us is not as clear cut and simple to a novice is one understanding that teachers struggle to come to terms with, but through opening the minds of those in the classroom to a sense of wonder and countless questions, ordinary understandings usually taken for granted will be enhanced with new meaning when we look deeper and investigate life.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Fresh Meat
Is academic intelligence more valuable than life experience? From the perspective of a novice teacher, it seems that experience would outweigh any of the disconnected balderdash pressed upon students in an undergraduate teacher certification program. I know this all too well from first hand experience. Being a master in a specific content area does not mean that you are the master of teaching that content area. Yes, I can read, write and solve most mathematical equations that come my way, and in a perfect world where there are no time constraints, interruptions, distractions or impeding paperwork, my first year as a teacher would have gone as smooth, and possibly as tasty, as butter. Unfortunately Dewey and Piaget couldn't help me when my principal came in to my class and asked my students in Spanish if I did anything all day because their work was so poor. After exhausting all my energy and resources working 16 hour days trying to help my eighth grade students read and understand on at least a fifth grade level, I considered a career change. I can still rattle off the list of Bloom's Taxonomy and Gardner's Multiple Intelligences, but that is not what a successful novice teacher makes.
Not every new teacher will have the same experience as I did. In fact, I can probably assure that most new teachers will never share that same experience throughout their entire career, but that doesn't mean that it won't be tough. Instead of writing an essay on what qualities a successful beginning teacher possesses, I'd like to present these characteristics in a list. Hindsight is 20/20.
1) They must be a master in their discipline, and depending on the grade level and department organization, it could be many disciplines. This means that they have to hold a solid understanding of all aspects of the content they are expected to teach, and if they don't, they can use logical reasoning to figure it out. I don't want to offend anyone, because we are all prone to making mistakes from time to time, but there is nothing worse than working with or being a student of a teacher that does not know what they are talking about. For example, if you plan to teach English (or any subject in America), you should be able to speak with correct grammar.
2) They must study the basic theories and schools of thought concerning how people learn. Teachers need to be able to understand why they teach in a particular way. They need to be aware of different learning strategies so that they can troubleshoot their lessons to see if they are not relaying their content effectively enough. They need to have a bank of resources and justifications for making classroom decisions. Usually after a brief overview of educational theory, this is where the colleges of education throw their pupils to the wolves to be eaten alive instead of preparing them further for the classroom experience. This knowledge is valuable to a certain extent, but it is necessary to apply it correctly in order to maximize it's value and importance.
3) Teachers need to know how to organize and keep records. Maybe I'm particular about this because I am your typical Type A personality combined with working in an Abbott District drowning in papers. Planning a lesson is a must and many new teachers decide to fly by the seat of their pants (which should be embarrassing for them because it's very noticeable!). From my experience, documenting and organizing paperwork concerning work and student related situations is a life and time saver. Plus, students and colleagues alike would appreciate someone who knows what is going on and can meet deadlines.
4) It is essential for new teachers to be well informed and equipped for handling student safety, discipline, and learning disabilities. Fire drill procedures at a new school, internet policies, electronics policies and other rules and regulations are important bits of information that they should be well versed in so when the first fire drill occurs, they aren't wandering around aimlessly. Disciplinary action is also another serious issue - new teachers should be aware of 'zero tolerance' procedures, the hierarchy of command (guidance counselor, SAC, Crisis Intervention, Nurse, etc.) They should be aware of how to send a child to the Pupil Resource/504 Committee, what kinds of interventions are acceptable to try and document, and the processes that coincide with having a student evaluated by the Child Study Team.
5) If all these qualities are in place, then the final two and probably most difficult for a new teacher to practice are time and classroom management. The idea behind my list is that if they already know their content, theories, organization style and school procedures for student safety and learning, then time and classroom management should be a piece of cake. If the new teacher practices organization and planning, their time management should go smoothly (of course not perfect, that takes years of experience!) Discipline issues are a major distraction and interruption to the learning environment in a classroom, but if a new teacher establishes a sense of organization and knowledge of how things work around the school, the student is more apt to take the teacher seriously. Professors of education rarely inform the newbies that students can smell fresh meat from a mile away! If all the appearances of an established teacher are in place, it will at least trick them or keep them at bay while you try to figure out how to slip out of the classroom unnoticed. (Just kidding, I would never recommend that no matter how many times it has crossed my mind.)
Experience is the best teacher. While this list encompasses what I feel would create success for a first year teacher, it is only appropriate within that context. It may take a novice teacher an entire year to figure out what works for them, but once they do, the following years can be spent on developing and honing their skills to become an even more effective teacher. With that being said, I believe the characteristics listed above would provide a new teacher with greater advantage for achieving success in the classroom.
Not every new teacher will have the same experience as I did. In fact, I can probably assure that most new teachers will never share that same experience throughout their entire career, but that doesn't mean that it won't be tough. Instead of writing an essay on what qualities a successful beginning teacher possesses, I'd like to present these characteristics in a list. Hindsight is 20/20.
1) They must be a master in their discipline, and depending on the grade level and department organization, it could be many disciplines. This means that they have to hold a solid understanding of all aspects of the content they are expected to teach, and if they don't, they can use logical reasoning to figure it out. I don't want to offend anyone, because we are all prone to making mistakes from time to time, but there is nothing worse than working with or being a student of a teacher that does not know what they are talking about. For example, if you plan to teach English (or any subject in America), you should be able to speak with correct grammar.
2) They must study the basic theories and schools of thought concerning how people learn. Teachers need to be able to understand why they teach in a particular way. They need to be aware of different learning strategies so that they can troubleshoot their lessons to see if they are not relaying their content effectively enough. They need to have a bank of resources and justifications for making classroom decisions. Usually after a brief overview of educational theory, this is where the colleges of education throw their pupils to the wolves to be eaten alive instead of preparing them further for the classroom experience. This knowledge is valuable to a certain extent, but it is necessary to apply it correctly in order to maximize it's value and importance.
3) Teachers need to know how to organize and keep records. Maybe I'm particular about this because I am your typical Type A personality combined with working in an Abbott District drowning in papers. Planning a lesson is a must and many new teachers decide to fly by the seat of their pants (which should be embarrassing for them because it's very noticeable!). From my experience, documenting and organizing paperwork concerning work and student related situations is a life and time saver. Plus, students and colleagues alike would appreciate someone who knows what is going on and can meet deadlines.
4) It is essential for new teachers to be well informed and equipped for handling student safety, discipline, and learning disabilities. Fire drill procedures at a new school, internet policies, electronics policies and other rules and regulations are important bits of information that they should be well versed in so when the first fire drill occurs, they aren't wandering around aimlessly. Disciplinary action is also another serious issue - new teachers should be aware of 'zero tolerance' procedures, the hierarchy of command (guidance counselor, SAC, Crisis Intervention, Nurse, etc.) They should be aware of how to send a child to the Pupil Resource/504 Committee, what kinds of interventions are acceptable to try and document, and the processes that coincide with having a student evaluated by the Child Study Team.
5) If all these qualities are in place, then the final two and probably most difficult for a new teacher to practice are time and classroom management. The idea behind my list is that if they already know their content, theories, organization style and school procedures for student safety and learning, then time and classroom management should be a piece of cake. If the new teacher practices organization and planning, their time management should go smoothly (of course not perfect, that takes years of experience!) Discipline issues are a major distraction and interruption to the learning environment in a classroom, but if a new teacher establishes a sense of organization and knowledge of how things work around the school, the student is more apt to take the teacher seriously. Professors of education rarely inform the newbies that students can smell fresh meat from a mile away! If all the appearances of an established teacher are in place, it will at least trick them or keep them at bay while you try to figure out how to slip out of the classroom unnoticed. (Just kidding, I would never recommend that no matter how many times it has crossed my mind.)
Experience is the best teacher. While this list encompasses what I feel would create success for a first year teacher, it is only appropriate within that context. It may take a novice teacher an entire year to figure out what works for them, but once they do, the following years can be spent on developing and honing their skills to become an even more effective teacher. With that being said, I believe the characteristics listed above would provide a new teacher with greater advantage for achieving success in the classroom.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Backward Design
I wonder sometimes how I learned anything at all as I recall the techniques with which I was taught. Am I exceptional? Well, yes, of course I am, but I cannot possibly be that remarkable of a student considering I'm not writing this blog from a computer lab at Harvard University. Pondering the irony of being such a high performing student that I could see through the gobbledygook of ineffective teaching to make meaningful connections and yet not being recognized as a noteworthy learner, I question how poorly our country as a whole was performing on the standardized tests of my time. I question how I would perform on the standardized tests of today. Would I run out of time? Would I not be able to answer the same question asked in different ways? Perhaps the answer is yes. I bet a Harvard grad could successfully complete both those tasks.
It makes logical sense that to achieve a goal you have set forth for yourself, you need to plan from the last step to the first in order to be the most efficient and effective. I think of this in terms of an analogy where one is presented with the typical labyrinth puzzle on the page of a game book. You see where you are, and because of the aerial perspective, you also see exactly where you need to end up. In between is where the complications arise. There are twists and turns, tricks and dead ends, maybe even a Minotaur lurking behind the maze walls. When I approach this type of puzzle, I always start with the end and draw my pen (I don't allow myself the opportunity to make a mistake only to erase it and forget it never happened) back towards the start line. Why do I approach the maze like that? Well, for one, it cuts out all the nonsense that can trip you up on your way from the start to the end point. In order for the end to be reachable, there has to be one continuous open road that leads somewhat easily from where you began. It doesn't go smoothly 100% of the time, but this is a strategy that works.
I think of the starting point as where the teacher begins. The end point is where the teacher hopes to meet the student. The squiggly lines in between the beginning and the end, full of traps and scary monsters, is the path of student understanding that the teacher has to tread ever so lightly because one false move - JUST ONE! - is written in pen and will not be so easily erased from the student's mind. If you take a quick glimpse of the maze, it actually appears to look like a brain. Continuing to teach and plan from the first to last step will maintain poor results. Those 'dead ends' and 'scary monsters' will persevere unless we make some changes.
I consider myself to work in a pretty innovative school. We grab the bull by its horns on a regular basis; new grants, initiatives, changes, whatever is sent in our direction we infuse into our system immediately and practice it well. We have so much going on at any given time, I sometimes wonder how we do it all. Principals, assistant superintendents, supervisors, teachers and politicians are frequently a part of our school's visitor log. They come to see our exemplary work, only there is one problem: we are a failing school. I've worked there for almost three years, and each year we do not meet AYP (adequate yearly progress towards NCLB benchmarks). I assume that the ideas presented in Understanding by Design by Wiggins and McTighe are not brand new, considering the 2005 copyright. Why is it that this type of curriculum design has not been adopted by failing school districts, or all districts in the state or country? It actually seems like it would be less work for the teachers to follow along with this type of lesson planning for their state standards and distrcit curricula considering they would have only outlined certain important focuses for the student's performance instead of just covering the material for familiarization.
I don't remember where or when, but I do recall hearing a fact about how pupils in different countries are tested on performance instead of the American quintessential standardized test. They excel at their test scores abroad, and when presented with American testing, they score off the charts. Our students, on the other hand, struggle with our style of testing as it is and if presented to foreign performance based testing, they fall flat on their faces. It's time to make a move to a different style of teaching and student expectations in order to keep up with advancing countries around the world. I feel embarrassed to be considered part of a country's education system that perpetuates sub-par learners when an American diploma was once considered the peak of achievement. Currently, my district is debating a new lesson plan format and I feel that the one presented in Understanding by Design would be an easier and more effective alternative to having teacher's promote a style that works for them, not necessarily their students. The most important aspect of education is to keep in mind that what you do is not for you, it is for the student. Flexibility and openness to change is an essential attribute to today's instructors.
It makes logical sense that to achieve a goal you have set forth for yourself, you need to plan from the last step to the first in order to be the most efficient and effective. I think of this in terms of an analogy where one is presented with the typical labyrinth puzzle on the page of a game book. You see where you are, and because of the aerial perspective, you also see exactly where you need to end up. In between is where the complications arise. There are twists and turns, tricks and dead ends, maybe even a Minotaur lurking behind the maze walls. When I approach this type of puzzle, I always start with the end and draw my pen (I don't allow myself the opportunity to make a mistake only to erase it and forget it never happened) back towards the start line. Why do I approach the maze like that? Well, for one, it cuts out all the nonsense that can trip you up on your way from the start to the end point. In order for the end to be reachable, there has to be one continuous open road that leads somewhat easily from where you began. It doesn't go smoothly 100% of the time, but this is a strategy that works.
I think of the starting point as where the teacher begins. The end point is where the teacher hopes to meet the student. The squiggly lines in between the beginning and the end, full of traps and scary monsters, is the path of student understanding that the teacher has to tread ever so lightly because one false move - JUST ONE! - is written in pen and will not be so easily erased from the student's mind. If you take a quick glimpse of the maze, it actually appears to look like a brain. Continuing to teach and plan from the first to last step will maintain poor results. Those 'dead ends' and 'scary monsters' will persevere unless we make some changes.
I consider myself to work in a pretty innovative school. We grab the bull by its horns on a regular basis; new grants, initiatives, changes, whatever is sent in our direction we infuse into our system immediately and practice it well. We have so much going on at any given time, I sometimes wonder how we do it all. Principals, assistant superintendents, supervisors, teachers and politicians are frequently a part of our school's visitor log. They come to see our exemplary work, only there is one problem: we are a failing school. I've worked there for almost three years, and each year we do not meet AYP (adequate yearly progress towards NCLB benchmarks). I assume that the ideas presented in Understanding by Design by Wiggins and McTighe are not brand new, considering the 2005 copyright. Why is it that this type of curriculum design has not been adopted by failing school districts, or all districts in the state or country? It actually seems like it would be less work for the teachers to follow along with this type of lesson planning for their state standards and distrcit curricula considering they would have only outlined certain important focuses for the student's performance instead of just covering the material for familiarization.
I don't remember where or when, but I do recall hearing a fact about how pupils in different countries are tested on performance instead of the American quintessential standardized test. They excel at their test scores abroad, and when presented with American testing, they score off the charts. Our students, on the other hand, struggle with our style of testing as it is and if presented to foreign performance based testing, they fall flat on their faces. It's time to make a move to a different style of teaching and student expectations in order to keep up with advancing countries around the world. I feel embarrassed to be considered part of a country's education system that perpetuates sub-par learners when an American diploma was once considered the peak of achievement. Currently, my district is debating a new lesson plan format and I feel that the one presented in Understanding by Design would be an easier and more effective alternative to having teacher's promote a style that works for them, not necessarily their students. The most important aspect of education is to keep in mind that what you do is not for you, it is for the student. Flexibility and openness to change is an essential attribute to today's instructors.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Educator's Personal Mission
No Child Left Behind has received many criticisms by professional educators across the country. I have my issues with NCLB, but it's vision is clear: all American students must be able to perform adequately at any level. I agree with this vision, and in fact I would even go as far as to say that I share it to a certain extent. The problem I have with No Child Left Behind is not with using standardized testing as one of many tools to evaluate aspects of student learning; it arises out of the means with which the federal government proposes to ensure that this vision is carried out - HIGH STAKES testing. This is where my mission varies greatly from the government's strategy to achieve their utopian image of a country where everyone is 'smart'. The way that I teach everyday is in accordance with the steps I feel are necessary to take in order to attain that very same vision, only instead of punishing those who fail to meet those standards within a given time period, I practice and refine my ability to convey the material I must present to my students in order for them to gain the level of skills and understanding they need to be independent thinkers. My personal mission, as an educator, is to teach every child holistically with their individuality in mind. There is no concept or content that is off limits, and they range from the academic to the personal. My mission is to assist my students in molding their character and opinions by presenting them with a multitude of information that I keep in alignment with my high expectations. Not all of my students will meet the time frame restraints presented by No Child Left Behind, but my students will improve drastically in more ways than are measurable by a standardized test. Every child can learn, and they do with the right teacher.
The Mission of Schooling and the Purpose of Curriculum: Engaging in an age-old debate
What is curriculum? Who should design it? Who should control it?
In life, from the beginning of human creation before there were "teachers" or "students" and "textbooks", when one was faced with a curiosity to master any given skill, one had to perform a series of trial and error before coming to the realization of what procedure works best. As humans we hold the intellectual capability not only to solve problems through our natural abilities but also to communicate the solutions of recurring problems to others. With these talents that no other creature on Earth can perform with the same magical perfection and complexity, the human race has advanced. We have developed a system of schooling to avoid wasting time waiting for situations to happen upon us in order to speed up the rate at which our civilization develops. All too often, we lose sight of contemplating our purpose of existence and get caught up in the superfluous, mundane routine of living to complete a to-do list of tasks instead of looking at the broader goals of life. As a race of people, we have lost sight of why we value learning. Imagine the butterflies-in-the-stomach feeling the first man to master the craft of fire experienced. We no longer share that excitement each time we turn the knob on our gas powered stove-top ranges to cook the chicken that someone has so kindly killed, cleaned, cut, packaged and delivered to our door. At the same time, we have made little advances in the realm of reforming outdated educational practices to actually achieve the goal we set out to complete when we created the first school - progressively moving forward. The world, as we know it, is seated on the precipice of a tremendous climactic change that will revolutionize the way we live. That change will occur inside the abstract, intangible mind of every living human being on this planet, and it will only happen if we start to pay attention to the broader purpose of why we exist in the first place.
If the goal of a teacher is to make their student a replica of himself, then change will never happen, only a stagnant pool of people that can only accomplish up to his or her instructor's abilities. Luckily, or perhaps hopefully, this is not the case in the American educational system. The goal of teaching is to create a body of students who are even more capable than their professors in order to progress. Unfortunately, the teachers of today see a disconnect between pedagogical studies in their universities where they became qualified sages and what actually occurs once in the classroom. Many factors play a role in the teacher's inability to teach well. Besides the federal and state standards and the luck of the draw on administration styles, the most important tool a teacher has for efficient instruction is their curriculum. A curriculum is a well planned itinerary for causing the student to perform in such a way that reflects successful understanding and critical thinking. Many teachers fail for the same reason why students fail - a lack of understanding and practicing the curriculum to ensure the outcome fits into the "big picture".
Today, teachers are bound by following state standards and district mandated curricula to complete a paced, artificial learning list of drills and memorization instead of following a highly organized procedure to attain their desired performance results. At every level, the student should be aware of "how the learning goals will be met, how work will be assessed and graded, and what the course calendar looks like in light of those goals (Wiggins and McTigue 2003)." While the content of the curriculum can be pre-determined by experts in education or government offices, the way in which this information is given to learners is completely at the disposal of the individual teacher, isolated like islands scattered around the building, city, state, and nation.
Giving the teachers the power to take their respective content and standards and collaborate with one another to design a framework where they create a set of cornerstone performance demands as goals for what the learner will be able to do once they acquire key skills will transform old-fashioned and counter-productive teaching into a valuable way of teaching transfer and meaningful understanding. Instead of presenting the material to be learned and hoping the students successfully absorb it's value through osmosis, the students would be continually practicing and refining their personal and internal procedure of problem solving. This allows the student to own his or her learning, empowering him or her with the ability to think critically and enabling an independent mind that can adjust or modify itself in the face of varying challenges.
Students and teachers alike should be able to take the time to reflect on their own, and each other's, practices. Once compiling the feedback, they can then review their goals and change their plan of action in order to achieve those goals. Every learner needs to know where they were, where they are, and where they are going in order to find success. Districts should hand the power of adjustment over to the teacher instead of allowing them to thoughtlessly move along with "covering the content irrespective of results (Wiggins and McTigue 2003)." Avoiding passing students on from one grade to the next without arming them with the skills they need in order to advance will help us to overcome this obstacle of dormancy found in the products of our education system. Getting our schools back to the reason they were created in the first place, optimal learning and performance, requires a reform of current practices in curriculum writing and the intense study of how people learn.
In life, from the beginning of human creation before there were "teachers" or "students" and "textbooks", when one was faced with a curiosity to master any given skill, one had to perform a series of trial and error before coming to the realization of what procedure works best. As humans we hold the intellectual capability not only to solve problems through our natural abilities but also to communicate the solutions of recurring problems to others. With these talents that no other creature on Earth can perform with the same magical perfection and complexity, the human race has advanced. We have developed a system of schooling to avoid wasting time waiting for situations to happen upon us in order to speed up the rate at which our civilization develops. All too often, we lose sight of contemplating our purpose of existence and get caught up in the superfluous, mundane routine of living to complete a to-do list of tasks instead of looking at the broader goals of life. As a race of people, we have lost sight of why we value learning. Imagine the butterflies-in-the-stomach feeling the first man to master the craft of fire experienced. We no longer share that excitement each time we turn the knob on our gas powered stove-top ranges to cook the chicken that someone has so kindly killed, cleaned, cut, packaged and delivered to our door. At the same time, we have made little advances in the realm of reforming outdated educational practices to actually achieve the goal we set out to complete when we created the first school - progressively moving forward. The world, as we know it, is seated on the precipice of a tremendous climactic change that will revolutionize the way we live. That change will occur inside the abstract, intangible mind of every living human being on this planet, and it will only happen if we start to pay attention to the broader purpose of why we exist in the first place.
If the goal of a teacher is to make their student a replica of himself, then change will never happen, only a stagnant pool of people that can only accomplish up to his or her instructor's abilities. Luckily, or perhaps hopefully, this is not the case in the American educational system. The goal of teaching is to create a body of students who are even more capable than their professors in order to progress. Unfortunately, the teachers of today see a disconnect between pedagogical studies in their universities where they became qualified sages and what actually occurs once in the classroom. Many factors play a role in the teacher's inability to teach well. Besides the federal and state standards and the luck of the draw on administration styles, the most important tool a teacher has for efficient instruction is their curriculum. A curriculum is a well planned itinerary for causing the student to perform in such a way that reflects successful understanding and critical thinking. Many teachers fail for the same reason why students fail - a lack of understanding and practicing the curriculum to ensure the outcome fits into the "big picture".
Today, teachers are bound by following state standards and district mandated curricula to complete a paced, artificial learning list of drills and memorization instead of following a highly organized procedure to attain their desired performance results. At every level, the student should be aware of "how the learning goals will be met, how work will be assessed and graded, and what the course calendar looks like in light of those goals (Wiggins and McTigue 2003)." While the content of the curriculum can be pre-determined by experts in education or government offices, the way in which this information is given to learners is completely at the disposal of the individual teacher, isolated like islands scattered around the building, city, state, and nation.
Giving the teachers the power to take their respective content and standards and collaborate with one another to design a framework where they create a set of cornerstone performance demands as goals for what the learner will be able to do once they acquire key skills will transform old-fashioned and counter-productive teaching into a valuable way of teaching transfer and meaningful understanding. Instead of presenting the material to be learned and hoping the students successfully absorb it's value through osmosis, the students would be continually practicing and refining their personal and internal procedure of problem solving. This allows the student to own his or her learning, empowering him or her with the ability to think critically and enabling an independent mind that can adjust or modify itself in the face of varying challenges.
Students and teachers alike should be able to take the time to reflect on their own, and each other's, practices. Once compiling the feedback, they can then review their goals and change their plan of action in order to achieve those goals. Every learner needs to know where they were, where they are, and where they are going in order to find success. Districts should hand the power of adjustment over to the teacher instead of allowing them to thoughtlessly move along with "covering the content irrespective of results (Wiggins and McTigue 2003)." Avoiding passing students on from one grade to the next without arming them with the skills they need in order to advance will help us to overcome this obstacle of dormancy found in the products of our education system. Getting our schools back to the reason they were created in the first place, optimal learning and performance, requires a reform of current practices in curriculum writing and the intense study of how people learn.
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