Module 9: Classical Literature, the Canon, and Direct Instruction

This week’s module focused on the canon of western education, classical literature, and the use of direct instruction.  Many classmates and myself discussed the benefits of direct instruction on low achieving students. The scaffolded approach to teaching that direct instruction offers gives a firm structure that students benefit from both academically and emotionally. When a student feels supported through the instructional process, as they do during the guided and independent practice portion of direct instruction, they are bound to feel good about themselves and their achievements as they are learning the content.

The other portion of the module this week focused on the benefits of teaching classical literature in the classroom.  In the Paideia Program: An Educational Syllabus, Mortimer Adler discusses education as a democratic system in which all students should have equal access to the same information. This creates the idea of a canon or set group of information that all students should know.  The list at the end of Adler’s article includes what are considered ‘great books’. The majority of the works included are from European or American authors, with a few authors of color added.  This list raised a few questions for me. “What makes a piece of literature classic?” and “In what culture is that literature classic”, as well as “Can we expand the canon to reflect the current demographics of our schools?”

I do think it is wonderful that I can identify a piece of Mozart’s music, and have an understanding of Shakespearean society, however, there are many gaps in my knowledge as a global citizen.  The biggest question I have in regard to the idea of a canon is, “Is it still considered a canon if it is fluid and ever changing to reflect our diverse, fluid society?”

Module 8: Citizenship

The module this week discussed citizenship and the teaching of values. How do we as teachers promote ethics and morals, and what it means to be a good citizen?  At the elementary level, it appears to be easy as we stress sharing and the teaching of manners. At the high school level, it is more difficult.  Teenagers sometimes do not react kindly to being reminded to be polite and use please and thank you.

The lecture this week discussed the idea of morals and values being ‘caught not taught’.  I agree that as teachers, we have unlimited opportunities to ‘get caught’ doing something good.  Setting an example for students by using appropriate language, manners, demonstrating respect and inquisitiveness teaches student how adults behave and sets a standard of behavior in the classroom.

In my classroom, I teach citizenship by requiring that all students contribute ‘something’ extra to the classroom by cleaning up. They can ask me for a citizenship task and earn points, but also I give citizenship points for random acts of kindness such as just helping out another student or doing something good. In this way, I teach that being a good person benefits the individual as well as the group.

Module 7: Multiple Intelligences & Personal Relationships

The topic of module seven was multiple intelligences and personal relationships. How do these concepts factor into the classroom?  I found the reading on multiple intelligences to be timely, as I worked with some freshmen students on the concept of being intelligent musically, spatially, interpersonally, etc.  The challenge I posed the students is: once you figure out what ‘intelligence’ you are, you need to find a way to use this information in a positive way to help you in the classroom.  The irony of the lesson was that we ran out of time to really get into methods of incorporating multiple intelligence understanding into daily life, as well as the fact that the information was presented in a linguistically based lesson.

The other component of the module this week was the effect that positive personal relationships have on student success.  The Carl Rogers reading summarized several studies that have been conducted in regard to the presence of respect that the teacher has for the students, and how that affects student performance.

“The level of person-to-person conditions the teacher offers to under-achieving students more frequently produced significant main effects on school attendance, gain in reading and math achievement, and change in I.Q. scores and self-concept than any of the following variables: I.Q. levels, race/sex groups, and socio-economic status. In other words, for students identified as having learning difficulties, the teacher’s level of interpersonal facilitation was the single most important contributor to the amount of gain on all outcome measures.” (Rogers, 1983).

As I consider this research, I can say that I have observed dramatic changes in the attitudes of my ELL students over the course of the school year.  Initially, I was a new teacher for this group of students and they had been expecting a different teacher (one whom they knew).  The beginning of the year was difficult simply because the students did not trust me. Now, I have seen dramatic difference in the topics of conversation we are able to have, as well at their level of respect for me. Now that they know they can trust me, they are more able to access their education.  Interestingly, I have found that the more personal information I share (such as what I did on the weekend, facts about my family etc), the more they open up to me and want to work with me.  It is an interesting concept. I have never felt compelled to share facts about my weekend or whatever in my content ceramics class, but with the ELL population of students, it really seems to make a difference in how they interact with me.

Module 6: Collaboration and Cooperation

Module Six was on Collaboration and Cooperative learning.  I had the opportunity to put into practice much of what we learned during that module by creating a mentoring activity between my Ceramics 2 and Ceramics 1 students.  The idea that people learn best from others and in social situations makes a strong case for working together to solve problems.  As Dewey said in the reading this week, “…school is primarily a social institution… ” (Dewey, 1897).  I made use of the social institution in my class by pairing up Ceramics 1 students with Ceramics 2 students as they worked together through an investigation.  The topic was the properties of clay and the different stages that clay goes through.  I usually teach this lesson via investigation in small groups where the students make observations of the clay at each stage and make predictions of what the clay can be used for at each stage.  I took a classmate’s idea of having the ‘mentors’ brainstorm some questions to ask their students.  The rules I created for the class was: Mentors can only ask mentees questions, and can answer yes or no questions the mentees have, but they cannot tell the mentees anything outright. 

I had the mentors reflect on their experience being ‘teachers’ for the day. Most liked it, some found it stressful.  They mostly found it difficult to only teach by asking questions, their natural desire was to just tell their students the information. They understood the purpose of asking probing questions, but found it difficult. As a teacher, I can say that I sympathize with my students when we think about how difficult it is to not just tell students information, but help them arrive at the understanding. I think that is what is so valuable about cooperative and collaborative learning, is that one has more opportunities to ‘arrive’ at an idea or piece of understanding.  It allows the members of the pairing to develop real ownership of the ideas.

Module 5: Advance Organizers

I had read Marzano’s book Classroom Instruction That Works several years ago, and found it insightful and relevant to my instructional practice. At the time, I read about Advance Organizers and while I found it interesting, didn’t really internalize the information or make use of it in the way one says, “I’ll do an advance organizer today”.  I did use them, but it was less purposeful and more activity based.  Reading about Advanced Organizers and listening to the lecture this week gave a name and a purpose to what I was doing in my classroom.

One component of the lecture that was especially helpful was a description of what and Advance Organizers are: “organization cues, tools that help connect the known with the unknown, and a framework for helping students understand what they will be learning” (Lumpe Lecture Module 5).

When constructing an advance organizer for use in the classroom, Dell’Olio and Donk (2007) recommend creating an organizer that is at a higher conceptual level than the information being presented. This will help students to understand the information in a deeper manner and see how the content relates to other ideas.

As stated, I currently use advance organizers occasionally.  However, now that I have a ‘name’ for them, and I understand how they assist students to understand and connect with concepts, I am planning to use them more regularly.

Module 4: Concept Attainment

The Concept Attainment model of instruction is focused on students gaining a deep understanding of the foundational concepts of a subject area, not memorizing facts.  Students arrive in our classrooms with a variety of misconceptions resulting from inappropriately ‘learned’ information, imaginings as they try to make sense of the world, or a ‘shallow’ understanding of the foundational concepts.  The video A Private Universe, discussed how common misconceptions about the existence of the seasons is, even among highly educated individuals.  The student examined in the video, Heather, had a misconception regarding how the earth revolves around the sun.  Even as she developed a new understanding, and she made changes to her previous knowledge, there was still a lack of synthesis that permitted her from fully understanding the correct information.

The Concept Attainment model involves the use of exemplars (examples) and nonexamplars (nonexamples).  Clearly identifying these differences is the first step in students understanding the deeper concepts surrounding an idea (Dell’Olio & Donk, 2007).   Next, students generate hypothesis to understand how these things or ideas are related.  Very similar to the scientific process, students then test and affirm their hypothesis, making changes to it as they get new information.  Analyzing the cognitive road map (notes about how the class got there), is the next step.  One tool I learned about previously that might apply to the concept attainment model is a free online tool called Mindmeister.com.  Click here for a link to my screencast that I did for an Educational Technology course this summer.

Module 3: Inductive Teaching Strategies

This week’s work surrounded the Inductive Teaching Model, which strives to foster creativity and an inherent curiosity for learning.  There are several good things about this model such as:

• To teach critical thinking skills by fostering curiosity
• Learn from specific instances to general
• Work collaboratively to answer driving questions
• Collect and create work samples
• Students are motivated to answer the driving question and (hopefully) create the learning artifact

However, there are some challenges to implementing this model regularly.

The Cons of Inductive Learning are:

·   Teachers need time to develop a repertoire of inductive projects

·   Clear rules/roles for student collaboration are needed to ensure quality learning by all parties.

·   Developing inquiry teaching takes time and skill

The reading about Charlotte Mason’s theories regarding a child’s educational experience and teaching was very relevant to the inductive method.  I engaged in a small debate regarding Mason’s views on the essential learnings.  Two classmates, Sam and Rita clarified the reading for me with supplemental materials regarding Mason.  My favorite quote by her is: “Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life” (Wikipedia).

Module 2: Classroom Instruction That Works

In Classroom Instruction That Works, Marzano and colleagues report on the efficacy of nine strategies that work to improve classroom instruction and student achievement.  These nine strategies are:

• Identifying Similarities
• Summarizing and Note taking
• Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recognition
• Homework and Practice
• Nonlinguistic Representation
• Cooperative Learning
• Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback
• Generating and Testing Hypothesis
• Cues, Questions, and Advanced Organizers

In my school, I believe that cues, questions, and advanced organizers are emphasized quite a bit.  Using higher order questions to help students learn metacognition is one of our school goals. Unfortunately, according to the research presented in Classroom Instruction, the use of cues, questions, and advanced organizers has the smallest effect size in student achievement.

Reflecting on my own practice, while to do focus a fair amount of my energy on questioning, I also believe I do a good job of setting objectives and providing feedback. In ceramics, students have a clear picture of what ‘high quality’ work looks like and are given steps and techniques to get their work to that level.

I need to improve my use of cooperative learning in the classroom, especially when creating positive interdependence and individual and group accountability. Next semester, I have a Ceramics 2 class. My hope is to develop some collaborative projects where students can learn cooperatively.

Marzano, J., Pickering, D. J., & Pollack, J. E. (2001). Classroom Instruction that

Works, Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Module 1: Philosophies of Education

The first readings for EDU 6526 discuss several models of education and the surrounding philosophies that drive education.  In Models of Teaching, Dell’Olio and Donk outline educational philosophies and models of instruction as a starting point for further discussion later in the text. As Dr. Lumpe’s presentation states this week, curriculum, instruction, and assessment are all spokes of the same wheel, working together to create an entire system of education.  Likewise, educational theory, experience, and knowledge all work together to form systems of education.

Alfred Whitworth’s statements in The Aims of Excellence, urge educators and curriculum experts to explicitly teach students the interconnectedness of disciplines, just as the educational systems are inter connected.  What is the purpose of assessing student learning, if one is not going to use it to inform instruction?  As Whitworth says, “what is the point of teaching a child to solve a quadratic equation? … Whatever interest attaches to your subject must be evoked here and now” (Whitworth, 1916).  All aspects of education, and all disciplines of school are interconnected and need to be addressed simultaneously to hone these connections and create a clear image.

Module 9: The Efficacy of Action Planning

When I think of the purpose of Action Planning, I think of the purpose of Action Research.  “Action Research as research toward the enhancement of direct practice” (http://www.infed.org/research/b-actres.htm).  As I recall learning about action research in my Educational Research course, I recall that it is teachers conducting small ‘experiments’ to see what the effect is on student improvement, engagement, etc.  Action Planning is similar in that the focus is on teachers making changes and measuring the outcome as it relates to school improvement and student achievement.

 

As stated in On Common Ground: The Power of Professional Learning Communities, there are many barriers to effective Action planning.  Barriers such as “substituting training for action” (Dufour, 2005, p.248), “focusing on attitudes as a barrier to action” (Dufour, 2005, p. 246), and “badly designed measurement systems as a barrier to action” (Dufour, 2005, p. 241) are all relatable to teachers across the country.  There are so many, “Yes, that’s a good idea, but…” scenarios that impede our progress toward school improvement.

 

As I learn about school improvement and the whole process that systems experience as they work to continuously improve, it seems so overwhelming and confusing.  However, when considering my Action Plan for this course, as well as considering the School Improvement Planning process, I am beginning to see the connection.  Implementing the practice of SMART goals, to ensure the goals are concrete and achievable makes both processes seem manageable.

 

The Project SMART website supplies a variety of different words for the acronym SMART (which explains why I thought I had it memorized incorrectly).  Having the different words for the ‘S’ (specific, stretching, etc), helps to customize the goal setting process for each groups individual needs.  Laying out the Action steps in accordance with the SMART goal template helps to cement the goal and help make lofty ideas a reality through the metacognitive process of ‘How will we accomplish this?’