One of the goals of the course is to investigate how technology can enhance instruction. We will experiment with the blog spot to determine whether blogging might add new dimensions for student learning. More information will follow.
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I do not currently use a blog, so it will be interesting to see how they are used in this course.
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ReplyDeleteMy group chose to read Schooling by Design. One of the chapters I read was called “What’s the Teacher’s Job When Teaching?” There are three roles that the teacher can take on. They are direct instruction, facilitation of learning, and coaching performance. It is important that teachers logically derive which method they used based upon what they want their students to achieve. We have heard about direct instruction and facilitation but coaching is something that is not discussed as much. Coaching performance “seeks to support the learners' ability to transfer their learning to succeed in complex and autonomous performances. The teacher/coach establishes clear performance goals and then supervises the development of skills and habits through ongoing opportunities to perform, accompanied by specific feedback and modeling.” (Wiggins and McTighe) The article mentions that there is no one correct way of teaching.
ReplyDeleteOne example of the teacher as the facilitator would be to hold a Socratic seminar. The teacher questions and probes but does not provide their own opinions. I found one insight really thought-provoking. A teacher can tell if the students realize there is a change in the classroom dynamic by watching where their eyes go after somebody makes a comment. Do they go to the teacher or to the student? I know exactly how this feels. One day in my classroom the students were giving presentations on famous scientists. After each presentation the students were allowed to ask questions. Many of the students would wait for me to call on them, I simply said to the presenter, it is your turn to call on students and answer questions. Then the students realized that I was not giving direct instruction (even though students had been presenting at the front of the room). Do any of you have experiences like this? I highly recommend looking at this article and scrolling down to Figure 5.1. This shows which methods of teaching lead to what type of student results. http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/107018/chapters/What_Is_the_Teacher%27s_Job_When_Teaching%2b.aspx
The other chapter available in this book is called “How Should Backward Design Apply to Schools?” The chapter begins by saying “Effective people in all walks of life (including education) not only have a clear vision of what they want to accomplish, they think strategically about the means to reach their goals.” So teachers as well should have a goal in mind and then think strategically about how to reach that goal. To plan backwards there are three stages to consider. In stage 1 the teacher needs to identify the desired result (what should students know). Stage 2 the teacher determines the acceptable evidence (assessment). Then in stage 3 the teacher can plan learning experiences and instruction that match stage 1 and 2. I use this approach in planning. I decide the area of science we will study. Next, I look at the standards and write objectives for the unit. I make an assessment based on the standards and objectives. Finally I decide what student activities and instruction I will use. When I first started this I found it very difficult to make assessments. It was hard to write test questions or performance-based assessments without teaching my students first. It gets easier every time. Now I use some of my assessments from last year but revise them and then plan my instruction. My students go through backward design every day. I always have a student goal written on the board. They know what they are supposed to learn during the class period. Then at the end of class we either have a discussion, an exit slip, or response cards to see if they met their goal. Students can monitor their own learning by re-reading the goal throughout class. Do you as teachers use the backward design method? What are some things you find difficult? What are some things that are successful? Have you seen a change from not using backward design to using backward design?
I thank you group for being brave enough to be the first one to post about your book!
ReplyDeleteIn response to your questions, I have never held a Socaratic seminar and do not have experience having the students be the leaders of instruction and looking to the teachers as facilitators of it.
I am a teacher who tends to use the portions of the backward design. I plan in units, and I think of activities that I like to do in it. For instance, in the unit that we do right before Winter Break, I want the students to be able to sing the song, "Mi Hombre de Nieve" or the English equivalent of "Frosty the Snowman". In order to do this, the students need to be taught the vocabulary words in it and have activities that go with it to enforce the words. With using the backward design, I like having the end goal in mind, and I like being able to tell the students up front that, in the unit, we will be doing A, B, and C. Sometimes this gets them really excited, and they want to jump straight into the activities without learning the words. However, I would rather have a group of students who are too excited about learning than some who are too bored and do not want to learn.
Very nice analysis of this reading. I appreciate your comments. At this point in my teaching career I very much teach backwards. It is interesting to see if we reach the point of understanding and comprehension I want my students to have. Sometimes I have to implement a few more lessons because I think they still some clarification. When I first began teaching I don't believe I taught in this manner but after some years I have reached this point. Students react well when you describe what your plans are and what you hope they get from the unit of instruction.
ReplyDeleteAs far as having students be the leaders of instruction, I have not done something to that extent. In the Advanced Computer courses it is interesting to pose the project or problem and see the different approaches students will take to get to the end product. They all should have the knowledge and ability to assimilate the various information needed to complete the project but some will want to jump in and start doing while others develop a plan first and explore possible problems that might arise. You can guess which approach is more successful.
I think that I use a form of backward design in my projects. In my computer based classes I give the students the entire project that they are suppose to complete. I let them look it over and even start to work on it. When I see that there are challenges I do what I like to call "workshops or seminars" to troubleshoot where they are having problems. I have them all stop right where they are and for simply 5-7 minutes I discuss and demonstrate the skills they need to know in order to complete the project. I think this makes them more in charge of their learning. If I don't see any problems (which is unlikely) I allow them to work on their own.
ReplyDeleteI definitely use backwards design..it's hard to just plow through something if you do not know where you are heading first. I look at my goals and standards and then begin writing lessons. FI often begin the lesson plans for an instructional unit with the assessments then plan around those. For instance, if I am teaching the difference between preterit and imperfect, I begin first by planning the story book that stuents will write and illustrate then choose lessons that teach the difference between the 2 tenses. I've not found any problems with the backwards design and find it works best in my case.
ReplyDeleteI think I use the coaching method most often in my teaching. I often state the goals of the project in computer apps and then turn them loose. If I see an area that many are having difficulty with, I stop the class and demonstrate, typically via the overhead projector, the necessary procedures and skills to accomplish the task and move the mass on. This then affords me the opportunity and time to work one on one with student who need extra attention. I utilize this same method in my accounting class as well.
ReplyDeleteDesigning schools backward is also something that I've seen and done as well in my experience setting up a Charter School. While Charter Schools very much HAVE to accept any students that enroll, they differ in that since they haven't "always" existed they have to justify their opening. This is done by, typically, finding a target population that is being underserved by the local schools already there and creating a vision of that population's new experience at the charter school. Many educational leaders in the field might balk at having to come up with a mission statement--compared to the burden of making AYP that seems like so much busy work, however, if you are approaching your school as a "new" school, one that needs to justify its existence and the philosophy behind it, having a clear vision of what the typical day looks like or, the skill a typical teacher at the school is supposed to have needs to be articulated, well, like a mission. And doing this backwards--starting at an end point of what the finished school day will look like is how we constructed our school, and from the passages you mentioned seemed to be a staple of designing other public schools as well.
ReplyDeleteI have been wanting to try a Socratic Seminar for a few years now but have not yet. I have noticed that when I do current events with my 8th grade social studies students I like the students to ask questions about the articles that were shared. So often when a student asks a question they will look to me for the answer instead of the person that shared the article! I thought this was so strange but it makes sense now.
ReplyDeleteI have slowly started to use the backward design now that I am in my 5th year. I definitely could not have done that my first or second year but I see the benefits. What I normally do is lay out all of the activities for a unit/chapter and purge which ones I do not think are necessary and add ones that have been left out. I had not thought of this as backward design but I think that's what it is. I really like your idea of the goal on the board and then an exit slip, etc, to see if they achieved the goal. What a great idea! Thanks for sharing!
I have used a Socratic seminar technique in my literature/composition classes with some success. I typically pose a few big questions and assign a small group to lead the class discussions. It is easier when I actually put them in front of the class, like a talk show panel. When they comment and look to me for affirmation, I usually restate what they have said and then throw another question back to them. The students seem to enjoy the ownership of the discussion.
ReplyDeleteAlso, reading about backward planning makes me think of one of Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, "Begin with the end in mind." It's always nice to know where we're going before we get in the car!
ReplyDeleteOur principal encourages this type of thinking - we should know what we want them to learn, and then prepare our lessons and assignments around that.
ReplyDeleteWhen we were writing curriculum, he encouraged us not to look at the textbook samples until we were done - the text should not determine the material we teach!
Dusty, I agree with you about using the coaching method in computer classes. In classes like this I find it easier to teach, have them do, and then re-teach when/if needed! (usually they all have the same questions!)
I also agree that using the backward design is difficult when you first begin teaching! You are trying to keep your head above water, teach the standards and prepare daily plans!