A sense of resistance to change.

Six principles to guide effective teaching

As I begin to read chapter two, Principled Practices for Effective Reading and Learning, many things start to resonate.  First it is the idea that literacy and content-area learning strategies can only be effective when they are applied in a meaningful way, not as a “one-size-fits-all.”  So it is not difficult to view the following principles as independent yet interconnected.  In other words, the following principles may be employed as one, some or all at once.

Principle ONE reminds us that reading is a social act.  It reminds us that effective teachers connect the everyday life with the academic.  It calls for teachers to make effective use of the students’ funds of knowledge.  I particularly find lots of truth on the following statement the author makes, “Learning the content of the disciplines, such as history, science, literature, and math, is as much about learning to read, write and talk about the content as it is learning the concepts and facts.”  A few weeks ago while working on curriculum for next year, a few of my co-workers had an “interesting” discussion on teaching vocabulary in a Spanish Heritage Class.  They felt that since for most student Spanish is their first language the need to teach vocabulary was not necessary.  I have always believed that vocabulary is an essential part of a Spanish class regardless of the students’ backgrounds.  I would even argue that many of this new vocabulary words are essential for students to have discussions, arguments pertaining to the discipline. 

Principle TWO titled “use assessment as a tool for learning and future growth” takes me again to a few weeks back during curriculum days.  My department agreed to the fact that “assessment practices offer students ongoing reflections of their literacy processes.”  However, something I remember from the heated conversations was that without proper training and “sampling” evidence, grading continues to be nothing but an arbitrary game.  The Spanish department at my school is moving into “portfolios” for the honor classes.  The idea behind is that it will provide immediate feedback to the students and also show continues growth or the lack of it.  As you can imagine there was lots of resistance.  Many veteran teachers felt the “old way”—using multiple choice and common unit exams—was the only and best way.  I believe part of their resistance is rooted in part lack of training.  Teachers should embrace the notion that “empowerment through assessment come in the form of teachers having a broad and deep understanding of students’ abilities, need, and learning potential—and students having an equally full understanding of their own abilities, needs and potential.”  If my entire department would agree to that they would know that endless possibilities of assessment.  For example, “everyday informal checks for understanding, interviews and conferences, portfolios, performances and demonstrations, and, yes, even standardized achievement test (common unit exams?)”  I also feel that the standardized achievement tests would be good indicators or student grown as a Type 2 assessment. 

Rubrics

Principle THREE Motivation, motivation, motivation, is the key to student learning.   This principle explores the possibilities of allowing students to showcase their previous and new understandings.  Teachers need to implement classroom practices with students’ interests, needs, and goals in their thinking as their plan their lessons/activities.  Students are reminded that they are “active co-constructors of meaning.” 

Principle FOUR calls for questioning.  It informs us that when teachers encourage and model exploration of disciplinary content from various critical perspectives the students will be better prepared for the challenges of navigating their “information-laden” and “media-saturated” worlds.  As a result students are able to create printed, visual and aural texts that critically express their understandings of concepts and information as well as their experiences inside and beyond the classroom walls.  The creations will be a reflection of their deep and meaningful understandings. 

Principle FIVE labeled “Gather and organize print and nonprint sources for increasing understanding of information and ideas” points out that notetaking, summarization, and graphic organization skills are essential to today’s adolescent learners.  The chapter mentions how is it that this students come into contact this this skills.  For example, the teacher models, practices and reflects.  For me the reflection part holds so much power.  It really sets the tone, reasoning behind the application of this skills in class.  It makes them meaningful to the students.  Some might think that the skills of notetaking, summarization and the use of graphic organizer is a low level activity.  The argument would be that it is in the process of making all of them come together for a final product that they become complex. 

Teaching Students to Do Online Research

Principle SIX claims “our wired and increasingly wireless world presents unparalleled challenges and opportunities for teachers and youth.”  Many teachers, especially veteran teachers, resist on the idea of allowing new technologies in the classroom.  It is this notion that it will interfere with the “true” learning.  I question that, and feel a better alternative would be for teachers to find ways to incorporate using information and communications technologies (ICTs) in a multiple genres and media as the book points out, “ICTs offers youth engaging ways to bridge outside-and inside-of-school literacies.” 

I would like to conclude with a dejected yet true assertion the author makes, “Changing teaching practices is rarely easy, however.  Even when policy makers enact the laws, administrators supply the pressure, teachers themselves make the decision to change or not change the ways they teach.”