Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Chapter 1 - What Do We Mean by Best Practice
Chapter 1 opens by comparing educators to doctors who do not update their practices and describes the importance of seeking out the most up to date "practices" for teaching and learning in order to give our students the very best. We have all heard veteran educators comment that nothing is really "new", but rather all things come back around in education. How do we balance the two - new "best practice" ideas and tried and true instructional strategies?
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Great first chapter. I definitely see elements of Rick Stiggins, the workshop approach, and community-building in this text, which makes me feel like we are headed in a positive direction with our school initiatives and endeavors. Of course, there are always areas that can be improved upon, and this chapter has given me some insight on what to prioritize in terms of new "things to try". However, I think it is so important to give our teachers the time, opportunities, and professional development to become experts in the goals we have set for our school. My first inclination after reading such an inspiring text is to start planning all of the ways we can make everything I read or learned about happen. Luckily, I've learned a few things over the years that have shown me the power in taking things more slowly and allowing changes to occur more systemically, not expecting them to change or become refined overnight! So, how do we balance new "best practice" ideas and tried and true instructional strategies? I believe by doing what I mentioned above (giving teachers time to become experts at strategies and practices) and being professionals in terms of seeking out the newest research-based practices and determining their place in our classrooms.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this first chapter. I agree with Heather that quite a bit of the teaching strategies in this book are already taking place at our school. I see a lot of them in the reading workshop model as well as in conceptual math. One of the biggest parts of this chapter for me was when the author discussed having students take responsibility for their own learning. This was something my team and I definitely had difficulty with this year. Because of the group of first graders we had, we found it difficult and we were honestly afraid to allow our students to become more independent and take more responsibility for their learning. Because of behavior issues and different levels of academic performance, we often did not allow students to collaborate with other students or really experiment and take responsibility for their own learning. We plan to do so much more of that this year because we know that is one of the best ways our students can learn. I believe we balance "best practice" ideas and tried and true instructional strategies by knowing our students. Our students learn best by being more hands-on and involved in their learning and by working with one another and making mistakes and learning from them. I believe as teachers we have to learn how to balance the new "best practice" ideas and the tried and true instructional strategies based on what our students need. It's up to us to differentiate our instruction to make sure the needs of all students are met and all students are learning and growing. I really enjoyed reading about the "best practice" ideas and I can definitely see how useful and effective they could be in a first grade classroom or any other classroom as well.
ReplyDeleteThe first chapter was quite an awakening! We expect our physicians to update their training and knowledge because of the constant research that is being conducted. Why should we not expect the same from teaching? The methods of teaching students must change because of the ever-changing needs of the students we service. The tried and true methods should not be quickly discarded and everything revamped. We should be willing to take the time to invest in the practicle ideas that have apparently been around for a while. These ideas keep coming back around for a reason and we need to slowly incorporate them into our teaching so that the students have the best opportunities to learn and succeed.
ReplyDeleteI really loved reading what you all had to say about chapter 1. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book so far and have really enjoyed the ideas that are being sparked. I agree a lot with what Heather was saying about not jumping to things or overloading our teachers with "new" stuff, but taking things slow and making sure we do things well. For me, a lot of times when it isn't quite and calm in my room I feel that means they are misbehaving, etc. when this actually isn't the truth at all. I need to get to a place where I am comfortable with having noise in my classroom when it comes to students owning their learning and taking responsibility for their learning.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Jodi in the sense that our teaching methods must continually change with the times. What used to work for students may not always work now or in the future. When students are engaged, I feel that means they are a part of what's going on. To make students a "part" of something means they have to be doing something instead of just sitting there and listening to the lecture. In regards to what Courtney was saying about "hands-on" stuff- I totally agree. That's what makes learning exciting and keeps their focus. This book has given me a lot of great ideas so far for social studies and how to incorporate partner things and role play.
I also liked how there were a lot of the thinking strategies mentioned throughout the chapter (and book)- it makes me feel good about what we are already doing. Using "Best Practices" I think means doing what's best for our kids, as you all have mentioned above.
Sorry for my delayed response, we are just getting back home from vacation, filming an out of town wedding, and having family in town!
I apologize for getting in late but I think it is important that I reflect on each chapter as well to ensure I am providing myself the same learning as the rest of the group.
ReplyDeleteI find it fascinating to hear how each of us are applying the concepts in some form to what we are currently doing. Whether it be workshop model, Stiggins work, or what Garden Springs is currently engrossed in Kagan Cooperative Learning. I do not think that is inherently a bad thing, though we I need to be sure that I am not reading this book through a lense of, “What I do is already good,” the bigger learning is that for us to learn what we are working through we naturally must make connections to what we are already doing. The chapter discusses that relevant piece and as I read through each persons reflections I found it fascinating to see how our learning mirrors that need. We all connect it to what we already know in order to form the new learning. But we are advanced learners. We have to teach our kids to do that and provide them the background to make those relevant connections! As it says in the job, our brains never are able to just memorize, they always are seeking the connections. Memorization only comes when we provide or have the areas in the brain to connect the knowledge to.
Further, I find it refreshing to hear again that we truly do have 90%+ of education “figured out.” We get lost sometimes in the conversation and differing opinions, but all of the research money poured into education has truly resulted in us knowing how to teach and learn, we just have to listen.
Again, I found myself connecting the learning in this chapter to Kagan Structures, from the focus in the chapter on collaboration and student dialogue, to the importance of teaching social skills, to the need to let students reflect. I think all of us have been through at least day one of the training and as I learn the more I see the unmatched potential in its implementation to make it what we need to make it for kids.
I also am in love with the little chart on the front cover. My next venture is to find that poster.