How We Teach....Did We Throw the Baby Out with the Bath Water?

Madeline Hunter? That was so 30 years ago!
Marilyn Burns? That was so 15 years ago!
Robert Marzano? Again, so 15 years ago!
Whole group or small group; whole language or basal readers;  heterogeneous classes or homogenous classes; Venn diagrams or bubble maps; retention or placement; ability tests, basic skills tests or achievement tests;  A/B/C/D/F, O/S/N or MS/LS/AC on report cards? That is so my entire career!!

Is it any wonder that teachers are confused about how to teach?  We had it right and then we didn't have it right and now....

Setting Gaurantees and Focusing on Them

-What We Teach
I have been a long time proponent of establishing academic guarantees in every grade level and using those guarantees as the basis of common formative assessments and interventions.... a long term, back-to-basics, common instructional goal. When I first started using CFA's, RTI and attending PLC meetings (years ago in another school and system) we meet as a grade level and established one essential and critical math and reading guarantee for every student in the grade. For example in September we established that every first grader should know the first 100 Dolch sight words by December; we then pretested and came up with an instructional plan based on the results. The lowest students went to Title I and RTI. We made flashcards (using labels and index cards) for the bottom and middle groups; the bottom group was pulled out student by student by the teaching assistant for 5 minutes everyday to review the flashcards.  We also made basic sight word books and sentences for the bottom and middle groups. Those books were sent home, reviewed during RTI and Title I and used as independent readers both with the instructional assistant and parent volunteers.   We re-tested the students every 3-4 weeks to monitor progress and realign groups. A simple check list was sent home to parents to let them know what words had been mastered and what did needed to be practiced. At the end of our goal period we gave a final assessment and if I remember correctly the pass rate was about 90%.  Imagine if almost every first grader knew the first one hundred Dolch words by Christmas!!

Back to Basics?

I like the idea of going back to the basics....reading, writing and arithmetic, but then where does ancient Mali fit in? Does China have a place in an elementary school when students are reading below grade level? Should students memorize words like Appalachian Plateau when they have not yet memorized all of the basic sight words? I think we know answers to these questions, but  the VA DOE isn't asking us, they are telling us, so are these really questions at all?

Focus

By simplifying curriculum framework, students will be more confident, engaged, and eager to complete assignments because the objective is clear and manageable. If common curriculum, sound lessons, and authentic literacy is the common goal,we can celebrate successes as a team and our SOL score will increase naturally. My goal is to to be more like a hedgehog. "With their simple, singular focus, they succeed because they commit entirely and exclusively to what is essential and ignore the rest" (Collins, 2001a, p.91). I will strive to focus on "simple tasks" to promote speaking, writing, and listening.

OK... So I love the message of this book: simple basics/cut the excesses/get positive results, but I am struggling with exactly how this can play out in the "real world" where we teach. How can we teach only the most important SOLs when they all might be on the tests in May? How can we stop doing the projects and extra things that many parents see as the challenge they seek for their kids? How can we spend more time on simple good lesson planning when we have so many other things pulling on us and being expected of us from so many sources? Are we really free to "just say no," or will that not realistically be an option? I do believe there might be strength in numbers... that if we as a team or as a school ALL adopt this philosophy we might stand a better chance of making it happen. I hope we can and do  because as I said I love the message of this book!!!

I found Schmoker's book very eye-opening.  I love the simplicity concept and hope to make that my number one goal for this year.  This may be stretching the idea a bit, but I spend so much time after school doing all the "things" I think I'm supposed to be doing, I look at the clock and realize it is late in the afternoon and I haven't even started planning for the next day yet!  I want my new focus and time spent to be on planning good "sound" lessons and "ignore the rest."  I hope my colleagues will help support me on this.  Sometimes I feel like the fox in Jim Collins' example and wish to be more like the hedgehog! 

Simplicity, Clarity, and Priority

Simplicity, Clarity, and Priority

Chapter 1 begins to lay the foundation of the book  Focus to help schools create a climate and culture conducive to implementing changes that will result in increased student achievement.  Simplicity is the answer for any organization wanting to make improvements according to Schmoker.  The chapter addresses many of the reasons schools today fail to make significant student achievement gains in the public schools.  Basically, schools are trying to do too much and much too quickly. 

Schmoker talks about “first things first”.  All schools, according to Schmoker, should focus on three elements with “simplicity and diligence” until they are implemented and understood by everyone in every subject area.  The first thing that schools must focus on is “what we teach”.  Curriculum should be clearly defined, coherent, and topics and concepts that are actually taught.  The second area that schools need to pay attention to is “how we teach’.  This is simply teaching with sound pedagogy that teachers have known for centuries.  Incorporating some of these basic aspects of good teaching  will  increase student learning.  The last aspect that schools must address before doing any other initiatives is “authentic literacy”.  Authentic literacy must be incorporated into every subject area.  According to Schmoker, “authentic literacy is the spine that holds everything together”.  We must have our students engaged in meaningful reading, writing, listening, speaking, and viewing activities. 

Simplicity is the key to any school wanting to make significant changes.  Schmoker parallels it to a football team who does not have the basic skills of blocking and tackling but the coach decides to implement a new offensive system that is very complex.  In reality what the players need are an understanding of the basic skills necessary to play the game.  Our schools are trying to do the same without some fundamental understandings and skills of basic teaching and learning.