This year our staff went through the process of evaluating and aligning our beliefs about teaching reading and writing and it was a very valuable experience for us. I really appreciated Regie's quote on p. 37, "Because common beliefs create a coherent vision that in turn drives coherent teaching practices across the grades. Without that synchronicity, it's like hearing an orchestra warming up as opposed to playing a Stravinsky symphony.
Unfortunately, many teachers get caught in the rut of teaching the same way they have been teaching for many years even though they have been through extensive professional development that tells them it is no longer best practice. I did agree with Regie that it is partly because we are overstressed and a lot is put on our plates, but that can't continue to be an excuse. I also agree that it is our job to use our common sense and judgement when implementing new practices, materials, and procedures into our teaching. As Regie says, "we need to be the gatekeepers for sane and sensible practices."
Finally, we MUST conserve our time and energy if we are ever going to continue and thrive in education. By asking these essential questions, we can save ourselves a lot of struggle and exhaustion:
1.) How is what I am expecting student to do helping them become more proficient, confident, and independent learners?
2.) What are students learning? How do I know?
By becoming strong leaders and and advocates for our children, we can revolutionize the education system and change students' lives for the better.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Reading the chapter “Focus on Meaning First” made me re-examine how I have taught reading and writing in the past. Regie talks about having students read and write for a specific purpose. Embarrassingly, I admit that I have taught reading and writing for the purpose of covering standards and getting through the material, and have not approached it or planned with the “end in mind.” Reading the examples of how Regie worked with students provided some concrete instances of how I can use the Optimal Learning Model in my everyday teaching. I found the section “Know and Apply the Standards” to be powerful in explaining how it is imperative to “start with meaning” even if the state focus is on skill acquisition. The point that teachers have to be informed and willing to discuss “best practices” with other professionals resonates through all of the chapters of this book.
ReplyDeleteI think growing professionally every chance you get is the key to great teaching whether it's attending a conference, school and district collaboration, or reading a professional text. I am attending a reading and writing conference in Perry, GA this week and getting to hear great presenters such as Katie Wood Ray, Tim Rasinski, Deborah Wiles, and Debbie Miller. I went last year as well and am guilty just as Regie said about ending the week with high energy and how that quickly fades in a couple of months. These conferences can be overwhelming, but I learned to take one aspect of reading and writing at a time and work on that each year. Last year, I concentrated on unwrapping the read aloud and being more intentional in my read aloud choices. This year, I'm thinking about concentrating on word study! I see this as a way for my professional development opportunities to help my future students more because I'm choosing to go deep with one curricular structure instead of covering the surface of all of them.
ReplyDelete@Erica: I agree wholeheartedly, and what Regie says in Chapter 3 "Professional development must help students learn more" sounds like common sense, but how often does professional development lead to helping the teacher understand material better or finding a teaching activity that seems like it will work or is simply more interesting to use?
ReplyDeleteIf we always come back to Regie's question about how student achievement is improved, our focus will stay on student learning. I agree with Regie that so often we attend professional development and get re-energized and maybe even add activities to our curriculum, but real impact on student achievement is made when "the sense of a professional school community enhances student achievement." In other words, it takes a long-term focus on a goal within a collaborative learning community focused on student achievement as exhibited by data analysis in order to find real improvement. Wow! Difficult, right?