A ringing new debate is shaping up thanks to the proposal this week to extend both the school day and the school year. Since the proposal has come from the White House, there will be plenty of political histrionics both pro and con. Let's ignore that element of the debate and focus on the real issues.
To me, if the education students are receiving is of a high quality, then the amount of time they are currently spending in school is likely sufficient. If it is not, it is hard to believe that doing more of the same will bring positive results. Kids who embrace learning are working hard, and I fear that adding more hours and days will bring diminishing returns.
This is not to say that the current school schedule is ideal for everyone. To have extended day and year schools as an option would be a wonderful benefit to students and families who want more academic time and structure, as would shorter, better spaced breaks than the nearly quarter of the year students are off in the summer. The operative word here is option - we have seen what the 'one size fits all' approach has done in education. There is just too great a disparity between high-achieving and low-achieving schools and students to offer a single plan.
We have traveled this path before, where a simple solution (in this case, extending the day and year) is applied to a complex problem (achievement gaps), and unintended consequences will inevitably follow - and I didn't need extended time to figure that out.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Student Bloggers II
I am happy to report that my students have begun publishing on their collective class blogs. You can find them at http://literacy7.blogspot.com/ and http://literacyeight.blogspot.com/.
In addition to writing, students are also performing proofreading tasks. My only input has been to set the sites up and let them know how to use it.
In addition to writing, students are also performing proofreading tasks. My only input has been to set the sites up and let them know how to use it.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Process Over Product II
One of my favorite early-year activities is to create rubrics with my students. While there are plenty of pre-published rubrics available, I find that they are primarily written for teachers and not students. For example, here is the Pennsylvania Writing Assessment - well meaning, but not particularly well written.
When students are involved in the creation of a rubric, I find that they are better able to understand and apply it. It is a process that is certainly worthy of the time investment needed to complete it.
This past week, both classes created a rubric for answering questions, such as the type typically found at the end of a textbook chapter. First, they wrote answers (anonymously) to two sample questions. Next, I selected five responses for each question and displayed them on-screen to the class. We thoroughly critiqued them and created a list of qualities we look for in an answer - this list was able to be collapsed into three general categories. Then, referring back to the examples, we created a four-point range of criteria from Great to Poor to complete the rubric. I typed and printed it and distributed them to the class (two copies per student - one for the language arts binder and one for the social studies binder).
Now the rubrics are ready for self-evaluation as well as for teacher evaluation. I am happy with the product, but I see the real value coming from the fact that the students created them from the ground up. They will have a sharper sense of what to look for in their writing and better understand what I am grading them on. Had I simply handed them a rubric, their investment level would be much lower.
It is a great process, and can be adapted to create rubrics for any task.
When students are involved in the creation of a rubric, I find that they are better able to understand and apply it. It is a process that is certainly worthy of the time investment needed to complete it.
This past week, both classes created a rubric for answering questions, such as the type typically found at the end of a textbook chapter. First, they wrote answers (anonymously) to two sample questions. Next, I selected five responses for each question and displayed them on-screen to the class. We thoroughly critiqued them and created a list of qualities we look for in an answer - this list was able to be collapsed into three general categories. Then, referring back to the examples, we created a four-point range of criteria from Great to Poor to complete the rubric. I typed and printed it and distributed them to the class (two copies per student - one for the language arts binder and one for the social studies binder).
Now the rubrics are ready for self-evaluation as well as for teacher evaluation. I am happy with the product, but I see the real value coming from the fact that the students created them from the ground up. They will have a sharper sense of what to look for in their writing and better understand what I am grading them on. Had I simply handed them a rubric, their investment level would be much lower.
It is a great process, and can be adapted to create rubrics for any task.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Process Over Product
Education has (at least) one great luxury over business - the luxury of an extended learning curve. By definition, business depends on the bottom line, where one must produce or hit the pike, but school is a place where management has the option of being reasonably patient.
As teachers, we love to receive a great product when a student hands in an assignment and slap that 'A' on the top of the paper. But there is a critical next step to take that is often overlooked.
If the student doesn't understand how she created that product, then how confident can we be that she will be able to duplicate similar results the next time? Or that she can apply her skills to new and different situations?
This is where a determined focus on process comes in. After an assignment or activity is completed, teachers should debrief with their students and give them the opportunity to genuinely consider what worked well, what was a challenge, and what they learned from the experience. It is through this kind of metacognition that a student can gain a greater understanding of himself as a learner and approach his education in an active rather than passive way.
Let's take advantage of the extended learning curve the education laboratory allows us. It may be nice to develop producers, but it is even nicer to create producers who can think and lead.
As teachers, we love to receive a great product when a student hands in an assignment and slap that 'A' on the top of the paper. But there is a critical next step to take that is often overlooked.
If the student doesn't understand how she created that product, then how confident can we be that she will be able to duplicate similar results the next time? Or that she can apply her skills to new and different situations?
This is where a determined focus on process comes in. After an assignment or activity is completed, teachers should debrief with their students and give them the opportunity to genuinely consider what worked well, what was a challenge, and what they learned from the experience. It is through this kind of metacognition that a student can gain a greater understanding of himself as a learner and approach his education in an active rather than passive way.
Let's take advantage of the extended learning curve the education laboratory allows us. It may be nice to develop producers, but it is even nicer to create producers who can think and lead.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Student Bloggers
One of the Language Arts requirements for my 7th and 8th graders this year will be to contribute to a class literacy blog. Unlike many assignments, they actually seem eager to do it.
There are several desired features:
- students will be writing for authentic publication
- each poster will have two peer editors to work with, so there will be practice with proofreading and constructive criticism
- because they will have considerable flexibility in topics, students may discover new areas of interest they would not have otherwise explored
- we will have an archival record of the growth and progress of the classes
Digital natives are typically quite comfortable with technology, and Blogspot provides a great free service - it makes sense to tap into these two realities to promote literacy. Once the sites are active, I will publish links.
There are several desired features:
- students will be writing for authentic publication
- each poster will have two peer editors to work with, so there will be practice with proofreading and constructive criticism
- because they will have considerable flexibility in topics, students may discover new areas of interest they would not have otherwise explored
- we will have an archival record of the growth and progress of the classes
Digital natives are typically quite comfortable with technology, and Blogspot provides a great free service - it makes sense to tap into these two realities to promote literacy. Once the sites are active, I will publish links.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Some People Call it . . .
Language Arts, English, and Reading are often used interchangeably when discussing that block of literacy instruction that takes up a good chunk of a middle-schooler's day. I suspect that people tend to use the term most familiar to them.
Personally, I prefer Language Arts because I see a diverse set of goals for the class. Certainly, there is plenty of reading and writing and literature. But I believe it is also critical to help students develop good listening and speaking skills, to be able to process verbal information and speak with clarity in formal and informal situations.
When I polled students the other day, they believed that success in 70% to 95% of their school day depends on good listening. And while I will become more acquainted with their writing, the lion's share of what I have learned about my students so far has come through verbal interaction.
So call it what you will . . . as long as speaking and listening are components of language emphasized in the class. These are skills, and like other skills they can be strengthened or they can atrophy. To me, it's a clear choice.
Personally, I prefer Language Arts because I see a diverse set of goals for the class. Certainly, there is plenty of reading and writing and literature. But I believe it is also critical to help students develop good listening and speaking skills, to be able to process verbal information and speak with clarity in formal and informal situations.
When I polled students the other day, they believed that success in 70% to 95% of their school day depends on good listening. And while I will become more acquainted with their writing, the lion's share of what I have learned about my students so far has come through verbal interaction.
So call it what you will . . . as long as speaking and listening are components of language emphasized in the class. These are skills, and like other skills they can be strengthened or they can atrophy. To me, it's a clear choice.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Underway
Students returned to school today and we have begun the long journey through the school year. Realistically, it is much longer for them than me - at my age, a school represents less than 2 percent of my life. To an 8th grader, it's more than triple that percentage.
An objective for today was to survey the reading enjoyment level of the students, and I found that over 60% of the responses to survey items indicated a positive disposition towards reading. That's a nice start. But there was some discrepancy between how some students viewed their ability to read and their desire to do so.
One of the duties of my job this year is to help enhance the perception of literacy of those students who would rather not read. Today's survey was completely anonymous, but it provides a group baseline. My hope is that there will be a significant increase in the percentage of positive responses at the end of the year.
An objective for today was to survey the reading enjoyment level of the students, and I found that over 60% of the responses to survey items indicated a positive disposition towards reading. That's a nice start. But there was some discrepancy between how some students viewed their ability to read and their desire to do so.
One of the duties of my job this year is to help enhance the perception of literacy of those students who would rather not read. Today's survey was completely anonymous, but it provides a group baseline. My hope is that there will be a significant increase in the percentage of positive responses at the end of the year.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Glogging
That's not a misspelling.
Thanks to one of my Cabrini students this summer, I became acquainted with the Glogster Education site. This is a place where students create online posters that can include text, graphics, photos, animation and embedded video. It's a great, free site that sets up perfectly for teachers - secure accounts for up to 200 students and easy-to-use controls for the budding website designer.
Initially I will be offering it as an elective choice for 5th - 8th graders. As the year progresses, I hope to incorporate Glogster into an option for classroom projects.
Thanks to one of my Cabrini students this summer, I became acquainted with the Glogster Education site. This is a place where students create online posters that can include text, graphics, photos, animation and embedded video. It's a great, free site that sets up perfectly for teachers - secure accounts for up to 200 students and easy-to-use controls for the budding website designer.
Initially I will be offering it as an elective choice for 5th - 8th graders. As the year progresses, I hope to incorporate Glogster into an option for classroom projects.
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