Commitment to Invitations #2

Treating content as clumps of clay…

Invitational classrooms respect learners with an agreement—an equation—in which teachers engage in a learning exchange with students (and their families). When we decide mainly to talk and deliver, we distort the equation; what students “receive” from us we require them to “give back.” They know they must regurgitate what they’ve “learned” if they are to get an “A,” let alone a passing grade.

It’s no surprise, then, that students feel increasingly dissatisfied sitting detached in “delivery” classrooms, particularly as they move into middle and high school. Fewer do homework or study for tests. In one school, ninth-grade math teachers told me none of their students would have studied for the mid-term unless the department required a review project. Increasingly, students are not willing to put effort into their work, nor do they care to. As far as most are concerned, school is irrelevant.

When we decide to implement a balanced-equation classroom, we commit not only to bring material to students but also to bring students to the material. We treat content as lumps of clay. We shape opportunities to engage and invite students to re-form it in terms of their understandings. Together we complete the shaping in a deeply creative process. Not only do we develop an understanding of our teaching, but our students also develop their own understandings, which they can take into future learnings. No more constant studying for tests, striving to pass them, and then forgetting everything the next day, as was true for most of us as students.

For more about the key role of invitations in teaching see Chapter 4 in Teaching from the Middle of the Room: Inviting students to Learn from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Middle-Room-Frank-Thoms/dp/0615358918.

Unmotivated students: a teacher’s responsibility

All teachers need to understand…

As much as we might like to disagree, unmotivated students are our responsibility. We cannot give up on any of them until we’ve done everything possible to intrigue their brains. Some of them come to us already defeated, having given up hope, believing they are less than smart. We know these kids the moment they walk through the door and watch where they choose to sit. If we give up on them, we put another nail in their coffin, impart another confirmation of their inadequacy, and add another step in their trip towards the street. Rather than appear stupid, they misbehave.

We need to begin every beginning—every lesson, every unit, every year—with a commitment to invite students to learn. We not only need to make these invitations intriguing, but also we need to believe in the invitation and its potential. We need, too, to recognize the invitation as our most powerful tool. Threats and coercion have no effect on any student who is convinced that learning in school has no value.

Keating’s invitation in Dead Poets Society [see previous bloodspot] does not focus on learning content (although he employs Robert Herrick’s “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” as his text) but on the deeper lessons of life he wants his students to pursue in his literature class; he concludes by pointing to old photos of former students and says, “You, too, will soon be pushing up daisies. Carpe Diem, boys. Seize the day!”18 His students certainly want to return to class the next day, and the next and the next, as Keating’s invitation lets them know of his commitment to them and to what they will learn…

Teachers love John Keating’s foray into the trophy room, but few take time to emulate him. Invitations to learn, after all, take time and require creative juices. Given the pressures to cover material as fast as possible, such invitations cut into teaching time, and losing time creates anxiety…

“Inviting students to learn” is the sub title of Teaching from the Middle of the Room. Invitations are the key to successful teaching. Find out more from the book by purchasing it from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Middle-Room-Frank-Thoms/dp/0615358918

Dan Hilliard weighs in again

It’s the doing in the end that makes the difference. In this Reflection, Dan and his friend and colleague Angela Bernardi recognize that their students do not know how to use highlighters. They take action immediately to remedy this deficiency.

Reflection

Dan Hilliard used to underline in books and write notes in the margins. Recently, however, he decided to use a highlighter and Post-it notes and flags. He particularly likes the flags to indicate key pages. When he realized his students were not using highlighters properly, he decided to create lessons to teach them how to use them well. He also tried out some of his ideas in class about using Post-its and flags. His students seemed to become more curious about what they were reading.
He shared his thinking with Angela, and together they brainstormed other approaches. They also realized that they needed to integrate learning content while introducing these skills. They wanted to be sure students knew what they were learning and why.

Points to Pursue [Examples of ideas for teachers to try. Each chapter in the book offers such suggestions.]

• Periodically survey your students’ knowledge and understandings of how you conduct your classroom, for example, how to prepare for tests, do homework, write papers, discuss, etc. Chances are you will discover misconceptions that you can correct.

• Find a one-sheet lesson that appeals to students and use the two-highlighter approach or a variation of your own. Do the exercise several times until students understand how to use the technique well.

• Try homework assignments requiring highlighters, Post-it notes and flags. Assess the homework the following day to reinforce using them well.

• Invite students to create a rubric for assessing the use of highlighters, Post-it notes and flags. This is an excellent way to assess their understanding.

Praise for Teaching from the Middle of the Room: “Congratulations! I did read the ‘Dan Hilliard’ story, which continued throughout the book in the “Reflections,” and enjoyed it very much. Well done! I passed the book around to my colleagues. I wish you all success with the book.” ~Carolyn Pool, Acquisitions Editor, ASCD

Find numerous tools for teaching in Teaching from the Middle of the Room: Inviting Students to Learn that you can buy from Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Middle-Room-Frank-Thoms/dp/0615358918

Teachers as Carpenters

A carpenter needs to know the tools of his trade. And, so do students. Teachers cannot assume students have the necessary skills to learn the required subject matter. Hence, they must take time to assess and teach skills, especially literacy that includes close reading, writing/rewriting, and discussion/argument.

We can create similar exercises by introducing Post-it notes and flags: Ask students to search through a textbook (which they are usually not allowed to mark) and flag answers to questions or search for particular examples, opinions, or ideas. We can set up a scenario like the highlighter example [previous blog], by having students working alone, with a partner, and with the whole class, or using different colored flags for different purposes. Remember, we want to teach students to use tools they find appealing and enable them to learn essential skills at the same time.

We can also enrich learning with highlighters, Post-its, and flags by incorporating rubrics to define expectations. By listing categories with varying levels of expectations, rubrics provide specific targets, especially when we include examples. Once students internalize these targets and understand how to seek evidence in a reading, they will be better able to self-assess their progress. Rubric thinking empowers students to know themselves and reduce dependence on feedback from teachers. And, rubrics invite dialogue between teacher and students and thus improve opportunities to learn.

Whenever we take time to teach students how to learn, we smile when we succeed: when we see that they are learning effectively. Sometimes, however, we can feel overwhelmed, thinking we should take on more responsibilities or feel guilty that we have not done enough. Yet, we have to teach our students how to learn: As carpenters need to learn how to use the tools of the trade, so, too, do students. We have the obligation to teach them how to use these tools well.

Find numerous tools for teaching in Teaching from the Middle of the Room: Inviting Students to Learn that you can buy from Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Middle-Room-Frank-Thoms/dp/0615358918

Teaching how to use a highlighter

Students use highlighters. Yet, most do not know how. This blogpost offers an approach for teaching highlighting. See what you think about it.

Before asking students to use highlighters as a learning tool (at the upper elementary, middle and high-school levels), I would do the following:

1. Create or find a thoughtful and provocative one-page piece of writing that will hook students to want to read it.

2. Give each student two highlighters, each one a different color, for example one yellow and one blue.

3. Put a question on the board and ask them to use the yellow highlighter to search for information to learn the answer and to support their thinking. Tell them to highlight words or phrases and not sentences or paragraphs.

4. Have the students take two minutes to compare their highlighting with a partner in preparation for a class conversation.

5. With the whole class, seek consensus about what should have been highlighted, then have students write out their thoughts and further questions they may have.

6. Put a second question on the board and ask them to use the blue highlighter to underline words and phrases in the same article. If they highlight the same words as they did with yellow, the words will appear green, which can stimulate further conversation.

7. Again have them compare their highlighting with a peer and hold a class discussion, and have them write out their thoughts and conclusions.

8. An option at this point is to have students meet in groups to write a common statement in response to one or both of the questions.

9. Finally, hold a whole-class discussion to flesh out further questions and assess understandings.

When we focus our intention on using highlighters, we have the opportunity to put ourselves in our students’ shoes, as we not only demonstrate how to highlight but also sit alongside them and provide feedback… Another approach that uses two highlighters in a one-page exercise is to have students use one color to mark what they think is significant and the other for what they find confusing…

Discover other such ideas for teaching literacy in Chapter 3, “Instill Skills” in Teaching from the Middle of the Room: Inviting Students to Learn that you can purchase from Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Middle-Room-Frank-Thoms/dp/0615358918

Teach Students how to do school

It’s ironic that teachers spend little time teaching students how to learn. I was fortunate to co-teach with a teacher who did [see previous blog post]. How can we change this?

Teaching students how to do school is largely ignored, as the chuckle from teachers at the opening of this chapter indicates [see previous blog post]. As students move through school, we assume they learn basic skills and procedures from their teachers in earlier years. Since almost everyone assigns homework, we believe students know how to do it. When we ask them to read a chapter, we assume they know how. After all, they’ve have had years of reading already. And when we say, “Take out your notebook,” we take it for granted they know how to take notes. Besides, because we have so much content to cover, we feel we need to teach it as quickly as possible.

If we took time to interview students about their skills, their differing competency levels would probably astonish us. When they fail at homework, for example, we often attribute it to lack of effort or unwillingness to try when, in fact, they may not have a clue as to what we want. When they take poor notes, we wonder about their motivation. Few students willingly speak out in class to ask for help for fear of appearing incompetent. And, when we see them highlight whole paragraphs and pages, we too chuckle.

Praise for Teaching from the Middle of the Room: “I am enjoying your book and have found it quite powerful––accessible, concrete, helpful. Job well done!” ~Ben Klompus, Principal, BArT Charter School, Adams MA

Discover other such ideas for teaching literacy in Chapter 3, “Instill Skills” in Teaching from the Middle of the Room: Inviting Students to Learn, which you can purchase from Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Middle-Room-Frank-Thoms/dp/0615358918

Teach students how to study (2)

Here are other strategies that Ron Schultz might have used to teach his Sherlock Holmes piece––i.e., to engage his sixth graders so they learn in class (an essential ingredient in every lesson).

To continue with this Sherlock-Holmes example [previous blog post)], what if Ron had asked students to create a play, casting detectives as historians? Or asked them to make pamphlets or posters? Or asked them to create a Holmes-Historian journal? They could have drafted a letter to convince their textbook publisher to include Holmes in the section, “What is History?” In the end, he could have asked all of them to write reflective essays and taken time to help them edit and rewrite in class. Eventually, the essays would make a class book, “What is an Historian?”

Or, he might have invited them to create public service announcements (PSAs) to persuade a younger audience to regard historians as detectives. The level of technology used to produce the PSA would depend on the sophistication of the students, and might include Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, iMovie and Movie Maker, and digital still camera or digital video camera. How exciting for them to use “their media” rather than exclusively paper and pencil!

This example ultimately demonstrates how Ron could have actively engaged students in learning in the classroom—and the endless possibilities available in the process. If, on the other hand, we teach assuming that students have all the tools necessary for learning, we miss opportunities for developing all-important literacy skills, a necessary prerequisite for success in the future. And, we miss engaging their minds.

What intrigues you about the approaches expressed here and in the previous blog? Have you used any of them? Would you like to try? Make a comment to begin the conversation.

Discover other such ideas for teaching literacy in Teaching from the Middle of the Room: Inviting Students to Learn that you can purchase from Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Middle-Room-Frank-Thoms/dp/0615358918

The challenge of change

Change is difficult, very difficult. Teachers enter their own classrooms after having sat in classrooms in which their teachers stood at the front and did most of the talking and assigned seatwork to be done alone at desks. It’s a pattern that spans generations. The way out is to take small steps with the extraordinary skills teachers have. Even then, it’s very difficult.

As teachers, we develop extraordinary skills. We instruct, organize, analyze, synthesize, create, articulate, observe, evaluate, write, initiate, study, plan, communicate, persuade, motivate, process, prioritize, problem-solve, meet deadlines, use technologies, negotiate, relate, listen, remember, reflect, adapt, diagnose, advise, counsel, coach, empathize, follow through, and so on. We call on any and all of these skills throughout the day. It is common knowledge that in the number of mental tasks we need to perform in a given day—up to three thousand—we are second only to air traffic controllers. We keep an eye on the big picture and pay attention to minute details at the same time. And, we do it alone.

No wonder, then, we balk when told to drop what we are doing (and may be doing well) to change to a new approach, new curriculum, or new method. The act of being told what to do and when signals that we are inadequate and builds resentment within us. Hence, the basic premise of this book rests on respect for the hard work we as teachers do every day, and invites us to reconsider our current practices in light of the needs and demands of today’s students, culture, and global world.

We will do well to build on what we already do well by reframing, restructuring, and reorienting common practices in new directions to improve learning in the classroom. This shift will have an enormous effect on the motivation, involvement, and success of our students and will deepen our satisfaction with the important work we do every day.

 

See Part I in Teaching from the Middle of the Room: Inviting Students to Learn (Stetson Press, 2010) on Amazon.com to learn about accessible and proven ways to teach from the middle of the room, steps that we can implement immediately if we choose.