Week 5 Term 2: Vocabulary for the Rest of Us

In this week's post you will find:
- Reading for the Rest of Us Part 2: Vocabulary (A non-expert guide for other non-experts)
- Learning Styles Revisited: The Baby in the Bath-water
- Some Tips on Behaviour Management
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VOCABULARY FOR THE REST OF US:

While the idea that ALL teachers are teachers of reading - not just those in English and Social Studies faculties - had some lively and humorous debate this week, I suspect that few will argue about the use of specialised language in their subject area.

So we really are ALL teachers of vocabulary.

Vocabulary is one of the four essential components to reading effectively for meaning as unknown words provide stumbling blocks that interrupt, or even derail, a reader's comprehension.

Teaching vocabulary involves 4 aspects:
- introducing and familiarising new words
- inferring meaning for unknown words
- gaining deeper understanding of words
- practising the use of new words correctly

INTRODUCING AND FAMILIARISING NEW WORDS:

How can we make unfamiliar words familiar?  At the beginning of a unit - or even BEFORE a unit starts - we can start introducing the new terms to our learners.

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/
studentsuccessthinkliteracy/gallery.html

* Word Walls - Word Wall examples - put up the next units words on cards in large letters in your classroom(s). Add definitions as you learn them or simply have 2 areas for New Words and Known Words  and move the labels as you progress through the unit

* Clustering -  Clustering instructions - put all the key words onto cards and ask the students to group them into four categories based on what they think the words mean.  Discuss the different methods that students/team used as groups.

* Before and After Grids Before and After grid example - students make a chart with 5 or 6 key words in the first column and two more columns beside the first for "What I think the word means" and "After Reading/listening/viewing".
* Flash Cards and Class Building Games - write out flashcards with the word on the front and the definition on the back.  Then use these flash cards as you play class building games with your students such as quiz-quiz-trade (Kagan Structure).

INFERRING THE MEANING OF UNKNOWN WORDS:

* Using Context Clues:
    - investigating how we infer meaning from contexts
    - using cloze activities to practice inferring

* Word-Attack Strategies for decoding unfamiliar words


GAINING DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF WORDS:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/talus/
4291436915/in/photostream/

*Vocab Squares - Use of four square grid to add/collect more information on the term.  What the four square categories are can change to better suit the nature of the words.  In physics, I often put the word in the centre and then make the four squares: defintion, diagram, related formula, examples.  See other examples below.

* Clines - students place words on to a diagonal line to order of their severity or strength of meaning.  For instance, you might ask students to put the words  whisper speak call shout scream on a cline, or hypothesis, model, theory, law.

* Hyerle Thinking Maps - particularly the brace, tree, and bridge
map can challenge students to look more deeply at connections and relationships between words.

Examples from: www.edu.gov.on.ca/en/studentssuccess/thinkliteracy/

PRACTISING USING WORDS CORRECTLY:

* Barrier Activities - Set up a grid of 16 - 20 squares on two sides of a "barrier" (three pieces of cards taped into a triangular sign-card)  Have a mixture of definitions and terms in the squares on one side of the barrier and the corresponding defintions and terms in corresponding squares on the other side.  Students take turns guessing the words and definitions whilst the team mate verifies their answer.

* Timed - paired - talks - have students lined up either in two rows or in an inner circle/outter circle such that each person is face-to-face with a partner.  Have the students on one side of the row talk about the term an definition for one minute - then reverese - but nothing can be repeated!  Then shift one side of the rows down or rotate one of the circles - so everyone has  new partner to share their ideas.

* Quiz-Quiz-Trade and Mix-pair-share (Kagan Structures) are simultaneously good class building and vocabulary building activities.  Find-some-one-who / people bingo that you might use at the beginning of the year as an ice breaker can be adapted to have vocab terms and/or definitions that the students have to mingle around the room to find the ones that they don't know themselves.

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LEARNING STYLES RE-VISITED: THE BABY IN THE BATH-WATER

In a recent post, I labelled the Theory of Learning Styles as an "enduring myth" and I stand by that label still (and so does this man).  It was one of the more popular PD movements that did not survive the scrutiny of evidence-based-teaching.

Matching the method of teaching to the learner's preferences has a negligible effect size.

So is that it then?
Has the past 30 years of PD promoting visual, auditory, tactile and kinesthetic activities in the classroom been a colossal waste of time?

No, not entirely.

Consider what Differentiation Guru Carol Ann Tomlinson has to say about Learning Styles [Link].
(Here's some of the discrediting Carol is refering to: UK report on Learning Styles

The Dunns' study showed, indisputably, that students have preferences for different methods of learning.  Students do have strengths, weaknesses, and preferences in their learning.

So teachers who have applied the Learning Styles Theory to their classrooms have exposed students to a variety of new study strategies.  Grouped to their preferences or not,  this is a good thing.

It is still valid, worthwhile even, to cater to the different styles in your lessons. Adding variety and approaching material through different modalities with improve student interest, engagement and therefore understanding.

Implementation of the learning styles theory - whilst not perhaps not all we had imagined pedagogically - has still improved practice in many classroom environments.

What is now, arguably of course, invalid is the surveying and matching of student learning styles to teaching methods. There is no conclusive evidence that this has any effect on student achievement.
In terms of teaching, the implementation of new lesson planning strategies necessitates greater attention and energy be placed into the planning. This, along with the heightened confidence and energising effect well-planned lessons have on the teacher - this can hardly be seen as a waste of time!

So don't pull the plug on your VAK lesson strategies just yet!

An other good resource for understanding what is and isn't based in sound research about Learning Styles and how to best use them in the classroom is:
 What the research says and how to use it to design e-learning. - Les Howes, University of Wisconson

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SOME TIPS ON BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT

I recently went to a fantastic workshop run by Joseph Driessen on Behaviour Management that I would HIGHLY recommend to anyone in teaching - PRT or seasoned veteran alike!

It made me reflect quite deeply about my own practice. 
Joseph points out that students need consistency in their teachers.  Knowing what to expect gives them a sense of safety and security.  The key to handling difficult situations with difficult students is to maintian non-emotional, matter-of-fact and supportive reponses.  I liked Joseph's repeated phrase, "it's just another day at the office for me - it isn't personal".

In this post from the ASCD's inservice blog, Pete Hall reflects the same idea in his resolution to "Be The Duck".

A couple of quick pointers to help remain calm is offered in the article: Calm is strength; Upset is Weakness

And a thorough HOW TO from wikihow on: Staying Clam in Stressful Situations

Most importantly, I see that when I am tired and moody it has an impact on my students.  So it is essential, as I have mentioned before, to take good care of myself - rest, relaxation, exercise, and good food!

Term 1: Week 10 - EBT and Enduring Myths in Education

I have my qualms with Evidence Based Teaching, given the level of scientific literacy required to properly control variables, avoid confusing correlation with causality and consider the validity of conclusions appropriately. It is, however, one of the only tools we have to separate effective teaching and learning methods from the multitude of well-intentioned-but-ineffective ones. So, while it may have its flaws, EBT remains essential to the pursuit of better teaching. Without EBT we rely on the mythologies of "common sense" and anecdote.

Group Brainstorming and Learning Styles are two examples of false-truths that persist in the educational folklore. For more on these enduring myths, here are a few articles:
"Think You're An Auditory Or Visual Learner? Scientists Say It's Unlikely"

"The Myth of Learning Styles"

"Learning Styles: Concepts and Evidence"
"The Brainstorming Process is BS but can we rework it?"

"Why Brainstorming Doesn't Work"



Where to start with EBT?

Step 1. Find out what the research says:

John Hattie's book, Visible Learning, is a thorough but monotonous, read. The introduction is definitely worth reading and then you can pick the sections that you feel are relevant to your classroom.

Geoff Petty's workshop booklet, kindly made available from modellearning.com is a short, directly-to-the-point read. It covers a lot less, but has some very good advice and resources. Geoff has also written his own books and produced some DVDs. More info on these here.

Robert Marzano's Research: the meta-analysis synthesis report available from his homepage.

Step 2: Implement your own inquiry

Once you seen what the research recommends, then it's time to take on the "Teaching As Inquiry" model from the NZ Curriculum. The success of a teaching strategy depends not only on what is done, but also how it is done. Some strategies will be a better "fit" for some teachers than others. So EBT in your individual classroom is also essential to improve teaching.

Marzano has written a cautionary article about the importance of school-level EBT inquiry processes, called "Setting the Record Straight on "High Yield" Strategies."