The Beginning of the Year - setting up for learning
Hi everyone
I hope you all feel refreshed after the holidays and are as excited about 2012 as I am. Over the holidays I read a book that I think all teachers should read called Never Work Harder Than
Your Students & Other Principles
of Great Teaching by Robyn R. Jackson. The content ties in really well with what we talked about yesterday - encouraging and guiding students to manage their own learning and lives much more effectively.
For the first seven weeks of the year I will summarise one chapter per week and then if you want more information you can refer to the book - which you can borrow from me.
Jackson, Robyn R. (2009). Never Work Harder Than Your Students &
Other Principles of Great Teaching. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Summary
This book encourages and guides
teachers in adopting eight mastery principles:
1.
Start where your students are
2.
Know where your students are going
3.
Expect your students to get to their goal
4.
Support students along the way
5.
Use feedback to help both yourself and your
students to improve
6.
Focus on quality rather than quantity
7.
Never work harder than your students
The book outlines each principle in
more detail and explains how you can better practise the principle with your
own classes.
Website for more information: www.masterteachermindset.com
So this week the focus is Start where your students are
Principle 1: Start where your students are
(Chapter 1 – pp. 27-53)
·
Getting to know you activities may be useful
but they are not sufficient to really understand who students are.
·
Knowing your students means recognising what
currency (behaviours that students use to acquire understanding and skills)
they have and value and using this to help them acquire the understanding and
skills that lead to high achievement (including both content and procedural
understanding).
·
There is often a disconnect between student
currencies and our expectations. We should reshape our approach to teaching so
that we capitalise on what students bring with them to the classroom. To do
this we should first examine our own beliefs about what is acceptable in the
classroom, what makes a “good student”, and what constitutes learning.
Try this
idea: (pp.
33-34)
Choose one class that you teach.
1. Create a T Chart.
2. On one side list the behaviours and
characteristics of your ideal student. This list will help you to see what
currencies you value.
3. Place a star next to each characteristic that
is necessary in order for the student to master the learning objectives of your
subject.
4. On the other side, list the characteristics,
behaviours and values of the students in your class.
5. Compare your lists to see what currencies your
students are spending and what currencies you value.
·
What are
the similarities?
·
What are
the differences?
·
How many
of the starred characteristics do your students already have?
·
What can
you do to help your students acquire the characteristics that they need that
they don’t have already?
·
In his book Beyond the Big Test (2004) Dr William Sedlacek argues that student
mastery of eight non-cognitive characteristics and skills are more likely to
predict academic success than other measures of intelligence. These
characteristics are:
1. Positive
self-concept
2. Realistic
self-appraisal
3. Successful
navigation of the system (e.g. how to access resources and how to use these
resources to achieve goals)
4. Preference
for long term goals
5. Availability
of a strong support person
6. Leadership
experience
7. Community
involvement
8. Knowledge
acquired in and about a field of study
These
characteristics align with the Values and Key Competencies of The NZC (2007). Values: Excellence; Innovation, inquiry and curiosity; Diversity; Equity;
Community and participation; Integrity.
Key Competencies: Thinking,
Relating to Others, Using Language, Symbols and Texts, Managing Self,
Participating and Contributing.
Try these ideas: (pp. 36-37)
1. Which of these non-cognitive characteristics
do your students already have? Discuss the characteristics with your students
and help them to see which they already have and how these characteristics will
help them do well in your class. Look for ways to help your students develop
the characteristics in which they are not strong while doing the normal work in
your classroom.
2. Enable students to share their own stories not
only to learn more about them but also to make the curriculum more relevant.
When giving an example in class, ask students if they have had a similar
experience. When teaching a new concept, ask students to explain how the
concept may be relevant to their community and own lives
3. Early in the year ask students to identify at
least three areas in which they consider themselves to be experts. Compile a
list of classroom experts. During the year use student expertise to add to what
you are teaching.
4. Model for students different thinking
processes used in completing a complex task. Ask students to come up with
alternative ways to complete the same task using their own individual learning
style and needs.
·
What can we do about students who have
positive characteristics but refuse to use them in our classes? We need to make
sure that students believe that what we are teaching them is relevant and worth
the effort. We can do this by creating a classroom community of learners (use co-operative learning strategies to do
this) and helping students connect what they value to classroom learning (differentiation strategies are useful
to use for this).
·
Unfortunately not all students are motivated
by the appeal of good grades so we should also aim to reward students in a way
that is consistent with what they value.
