5. Activing learners as the owners of their own learningThe central premise around this chapter is the idea that teachers do not create learning, but students do. Because they’re the ones that learn. A lot of this can be helped with metacognition and motivation. Here’s some key learnings:
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4. Activing learners as instructional resources for one anotherThis chapter looked a lot at cooperative learning, and ways we can make sure that students are working AS groups, not just IN groups. The strategies were not new (I am happy to elaborate should you be curious – there was about 15!), but it was mostly a reminder to be careful in execution. Here’s my key learnings:
3. Providing feedback that moves learning forwardThis chapter looks at how feedback can be issued in such a way that students are actually thinking about it. Simply put, this means holding off on showing scores until the last possible moment, because once students see scores, a whole lot of bad stuff happens. For one thing, your written feedback is ignored (high score – why should I read it if I did good?; low score – it’s just gonna tell me all I did wrong). For another, learning stops. Another: students become more concerned about their self worth and self esteem than about growth. Here we go with my key learnings:
2. Engineering effective classroom discussions, activities, and learning tasks that elicit evidence of learningWhat this involves is thinking about how we can shape formative assessment in such a way that we can discover misconceptions. Again, not new, but our approach certainly needs to be adjusted. Here are my key learnings for this chapter:
1.Clarifying, sharing, and understanding learning intentions and criteria for success What this involves is giving students a clear sense of where to go and how to get there, without criteria being so prescriptive that they tell students what to do. They should have a “nose for quality work,” while also understanding how to get there. Here are my key learnings from this chapter:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” – Marianne Williamson I just recently got hired in Westwinds School Division No. 74 (yayyyy!), and when they hired me, they gave me a pretty great welcome package: I suppose that for some, on their summer, that is probably not the most exciting thing. But for me, it absolutely is. I mentioned in a couple of posts about how my first year as an international teacher at Green Hills caused me to have some doubts about my ability to be an effective teacher (and if I wasn’t an effective teacher, could I really morally and ethically stand by a decision to stay on as a teacher?). When I got back to Canada, after the jet lag wore off, and after I’d finished visiting with all the people I had loved and missed during my time away, I got down to work and research for my own peace of mind. I started with assessment. I read a huge chunk of what Anne Davies has to offer. Let me tell you, that lady has some of the simplest and most effective suggestions in the most efficiently packed books I’ve seen to date. I re-read all the assessment books and notes I’d collected during uni (my hoarding paid off! Yay! I’ll have to write to mom about the benefits of hoarding). And today, I just finished what is now, hands down, my FAVOURITE book on assessment. Here you go: In a nutshell, I love this book because it has a lot of research for when I ask “why?” and “how?”; it’s attentive to a variety of cultural, social and linguistic backgrounds; it doesn’t forget the reality of teaching in a modern-day classroom, and all the demands and responsibilities and frustrations that entails; and finally, because it develops a case for teaching growth mindset (in the minds of students and practicing teachers) and developing grit. I really love this book, and I’m gonna tell you all about it, in case you don’t go out and buy it yourself (YOU ABSOLUTELY SHOULD!). Buckle down and get some popcorn. So here’s the premise: Schools need to teach a general education, and especially how to learn and continuing learning, because otherwise, students will not be equipped for the society they graduate into after 12+ years of education. This isn’t new. In fact, as Wiliam notes, it was this tendency to not try and predict the future, but to equip students for a range of possibilities, that made students successful when this idea was promoted through 1910-1940. There’s that saying about educational cycles floating around… The research-y bitsAnyway, Wiliam went on to say that this sort of thing kind of stopped happening, so students were ill-prepared for the world they graduated into. He disbarred the argument that a change in curriculum would fix the problem – essentially, it takes too long, is met with too much scepticism and too few opportunities for professional development, and teachers are not given a lot of flexibility to become proficient in the new curriculum while juggling state/provincial standards and a million other things. Sound familiar? Yes? Yes. In any case, he pointed out that even if you moved beyond new implementation, “a bad curriculum well taught is invariably a better experience for students than a good curriculum badly taught.” Basically, he argues, it’s on teacher quality and capability. But, whoa?! How do we fix teacher quality? He outlines a few scenarios:
Before I go into the strategies, I want to share this reminder that Wiliam writes of, because I think it can cause a bit of insecurity in a lot of teachers: Many teachers have had the experience of creating an effective group discussion task in which the students engage completely in a really tricky challenge that they must resolve. The only problem is there is nothing for the teacher to do. He feels a little bored and a tad guilty that he is not doing anything, so he disrupts a group’s work. This is one version of what I call the teaching-learning trap: I’m not doing anything; therefore, the students can’t be learning anything. The other version of the trap was discussed earlier: I am working hard, so the students must be learning something. The strategiesBecause I learned so much, and because this blog post is already a little bit crazy, I've put each of the five strategies into it's own blog post. Read them, and then at the end of this blog post, I have a few final words. Here's the links:
Conclusions and last wordsJust to be clear, none of this is my own, but I really wanted to share some important stuff Dylan Wiliam has written about assessment. THIS WORK IS DYLAN WILIAM’S!!! He leaves teachers with one final reminder: When teachers try to change more than two or three things about their teaching at the same time, the typical result is that their teaching deteriorates and they go back to doing what they were doing before. My advice is that each teacher chooses one or two of the techniques in this book and tries them out in the classroom. If they appear to be effective, then the goal should be to practice them until they become second nature. If they are not effective, then they can be modified or the teacher can try another technique. I am currently completing my third practicum in a Catholic school. I completed my second practicum in a Catholic school. But I am not Catholic. In truth, I don't practice any faith.
Admittedly, I was apprehensive of teaching in a Catholic school for my second practicum. Was it drastically different from a public school? Would I have to do "Catholic things"? What if I terribly offended the religion, or those that practiced it? What if I had to teach "Bible stuff"? (P.S. - Before that experience, I really had no understanding of how religion worked at all.) I spent that practicum learning a lot about how religion and education could be combined. In a nutshell, I learned that:
So that practicum taught me the basics about being in a Catholic school. When I received the news of my placement for my third practicum in a Catholic school, I was glad to know I was somewhat prepared for what would happen here at Our Lady of the Assumption School. There would be prayer several times a day, religion classes that I certainly would not have to teach, and occasionally, church services which I would respectfully attend. Okay, I thought, I can do that. I was thrown for a bit of a curveball when my administrator asked me during the development of my Professional Goals to include a faith-based goal. What was I supposed to do? Discover a faith for myself? If not a faith, then discover some sort of spirituality? Learn for myself the grand understandings of religion as a typical cultural/social foundation? Let God into my heart? I panicked. The first draft of my goals very much reflected some sort of amalgam of all of the above questions. And I hated it. Because it was not true to myself, and I really couldn't see myself pursuing it. I didn't want this area of my professional development to be a chore, because I really, really love professional development. I am not Catholic, but ... I wrote a set of goals which aimed to look at what life lessons from the Catholic rituals I observed in my school could teach me even if I am not a Catholic. You can view those goals here. This week, I would like to focus on one key learning from the Catholic Faith: Gratitude. Every morning, and before each recess, our entire school says thank you. Sometimes, it is expressing thanks for the weather, for a restful weekend, for the food we are about to enjoy. Sometimes, it is for support, guidance and love. Other times, it is for exciting learning opportunities, good friends and family, or the very basic fact that we have the privilege of attending school. Gratitude is such a simple thing, but such an incredible one, too. Taking time to acknowledge the good things in our life is rarely emphasized, but incredibly important. For one thing, it is very good for our health to be able to bring such positive thoughts into our hearts, especially in such a rushed and stressed society. For another, showing appreciation for how others touch our lives builds upon our relationships with those people and enriches our life. Expressing gratitude regularly shows us not to take advantage of things. It teaches us not to overlook niceties, etiquette, goodwill and well-wishing. It demonstrates that yes, there is a bright side of life, if only we take a moment to look at it. Alright, stop blathering, bring it back to the classroom! What has expressing gratitude taught me in working with my students? It has shown me that praise for concerted effort, neighborly assistance and good cheer, and positivity should not be overlooked in my classroom. It has helped me work with students who struggle to see the silver lining by helping them to realize the good things around them and practice expressing gratitude as well. Practicing gratitude reminds me to always be smiling and laughing, because even at the end of a bad day, I have so many things that are good in this life, and those things can be celebrated with my students! What does gratitude look like in your classroom? I would love to hear your thoughts! As part of a class assignment, I want to take some time to answer the following questions about parent involvement in classrooms:
In all of the teacher preparation work I have done so far, the topic of how to work with parents effectively has only come up recently in class. During my PS1 and PS2 experiences, I had the occasional opportunity to work with parents, but I hadn't had much time to really think deeply about what dealing with parents would "look like," how to best go about it, or how truly important it was. In the past, we had simply discussed parents as one of many contextual variables we must consider for every student in the classroom; textbook readings relied on a average, yet nondescript student whose parents were unfailingly attentive and supportive. In other words, there wasn't a model for my own behavior, and there hadn't been any discussion about its true significance. I personally felt that this was quite an oversight, and ended up doing some research on my own (that's a link to my pinterest board), as well as attending a three-hour PD Workshop on the topic. In my Behaviour Disorders class recently, I was asked to write about which Teacher Variance Approach I feel best represents what I currently believe about children with behavioural or emotional disorders. For anyone who knows me well, they will know that I often end up sitting on the fence, or saying "it's a mix of A and B" ... and I almost regret to say that this is the case again! I have 300-500 words to make my case.
The Teacher Variance Models my professor had us consider were the following:
While my first inclination is to say that each student is motivated differently, and so we might employ the strategies and understandings of a particular model to assist that student, it is very likely that answer, while perhaps appropriate, really does not constitute the completed work of an assignment. Of course the considerations surrounding each student are inherently situational. What I think my professor is trying to ask is, "what is your general understanding, a blanket understanding, if you will, of children with behavioural and emotional disorders?" For that, I feel that it lies on some point of a combined spectrum between Psychodynamic/Interpersonal and Ecological/Systems. Human beings are inherently social creatures. We construct knowledge socially, we depend on others (especially in early years) for our survival, and we crave a variety of different relationships with any number of people in our lives. This, of course, shapes the personality of the individuals who come into our class (the phrase "contextual variables" might be running through your head at this point). More directly, and perhaps more noticeably, it is likely these relationships which would directly affect exactly how students walk into our classrooms each day (i.e.; the parent who spends the morning with their child and drops them off at school versus a child who missed breakfast because mom had already left the house for work). Because of this, I think we would be very much remiss to consider the Psychodynamic/Interpersonal Approach as a factor which influences student behaviour. Furthermore, it is to this sort of model that we can attribute at least some aspects of a student's motivation in class. Depending on the sort of relationships a student has, and the life experiences shared as a part of those relationships, a student might be driven to succeed in whatever they pursue, or, on the flip side, driven to attend school as a safe space because home is not such a place for them. Closely tied to the above model, in my belief, is the Ecological/Systems model. This model relies partially on interpersonal forces, but it also lends some consideration to the sort of learning environment a student is in. Perhaps too optimistically, I think a positive, safe and inclusive learning environment can bring a student above and beyond whatever barriers they might otherwise face in their quest for education. Following that, I think a teacher who creates a classroom community that is inviting, accepting of difference, strengths/weaknesses and inclusive to all backgrounds and walks of life offers each and every student the chance to relax, find support and ultimately focus on doing their best work. In conclusion, I think the best approach we can take is one that addresses the immediate factors influencing a student's behaviour: interpersonal events and ecological climate. Among the plethora of things educators must think about as they prepare their classrooms for a new group of learners, the creation of a safe, supportive and productive learning environment should be of top priority. But what exactly is a “learning environment”? How do we make such a thing safe, supportive and productive? Why should this be top priority?
For me, the term “learning environment” describes not only the physical space a class takes place in, but also the emotional and psychological climate a teacher fosters and maintains throughout the school year. When these two aspects of learning environment work together to produce a space conducive to learning, growth, inclusion and support I believe the potential for student success is maximized. Firstly, on the topic of learning environment as physical space: the importance of this as an aspect of inclusivity in a classroom is incredibly important. A teacher must strive to create a physical space that looks inviting (in terms of décor, desk arrangement, and the like), fosters interaction with the material (i.e.; in an elementary classroom, you might find an interactive word wall or reading centre), allows for ease of movement and transition (for students in wheel chairs, students who are blind or visually impaired, or for other students who experience difficulties with moving), and recognizes the diverse population that constitutes his or her classroom (i.e.; décor which includes aspects of individual cultures, motifs, and interests of each student). As if these factors were not enough to carefully configure, a teacher must also think of the students who might become easily distracted or overwhelmed by all that the classroom can offer: is there a clean, well-lit, minimally decorated area where students can work with a clear mind? Additionally, should the teacher wish to change the layout to his or her classroom during the school year, he or she must consider the impact this might have on some students; specifically for students who are blind or visually impaired, a change in layout means unpredictability, meaning that student is at risk of getting hurt when, say, a bookshelf has been moved into a path they once knew to be clear. A teacher who can diligently attend to the carefully crafted composition of his or her physical environment demonstrates that she can address the very basic needs of a learner: to be in a clean, decluttered environment where the focus is truly on learning. Students understand they can move safely, access learning in different forms, and share their interests with their peers; most importantly, this is something they can discover as they discover the classroom itself. Secondly, on the aspect of learning environment as emotional and psychological climate: this might be perhaps the most important of the two aspects of learning environment, because as many studies have shown, the negative emotions a student might feel (such as feeling unsafe or unincluded) shut down the areas of the brain for higher order thinking, preventing the student from learning. Attending to the emotional and psychological climate requires a teacher to lay down rules and expectations for a classroom community of learners who are accepting of difference in ability, strengths and weakness, and interests, among other things. It also requires a teacher to be prepared to address the contextual variables each student comes to school with every day (this from KSA #1). Additionally, approaching teaching, and having students approach learning, with the belief that everyone can learn allows for each individual in the classroom to take the risk of learning in a safe environment (this from KSA #5). This requires a teacher to meet each individual’s needs (KSA #7), while maintaining their dignity (KSA#8) and differentiating instruction and approaches to learning based on those needs (KSA #9). As you can see, this is a lot of responsibility and a lot to balance, especially with increasing class sizes. However, I believe this aspect of learning environment is the key to students’ success, because it directly attaches to the concerns that I think most students have. These are things such as: “What if I’m no good at it?”; “What if I get it wrong?”; “What if other students in the class see I need a special tool to do my work?”; and other such inquiries. Removing a student’s need to worry about how they learn allows the student to focus on the learning itself. |
Meagan Fullerton-LeeMeagan is an aspiring teacher, voracious reader, tentative motorcyclist, and passionate gardener. In all things she sees education. Here she shares her passions. Archives
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