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- Education leadership review
- Gresham, g. (october 2011). a
- Lesson focus shifted from teacher to students. Student-centered instruction was the predominate theme that emerged from reviewing the teacher survey responses, the curriculum documents, and the observation notes. Prior to implementing the study, the researcher(s) observed that lessons were teacher-directed with most of the talk coming from the teacher. Students passively listened while the teacher displayed PowerPoint presentations, modeled lab experiments, and lectured. By the end of the study, observations revealed that the teacher focused on students constructing knowledge, and he used questioning techniques to foster student understanding. Multiple observations revealed that the teacher posed questions. Then, he let the questions just "sit" while he waited a minute or two before calling on students to respond. If the student called upon did not respond accurately, he would call on additional students. Later, he would come back to the student who did not answer correctly to allow him to answer the question after the correct answer was modeled by another student. The teacher never answered questions for students; he allowed them the opportunity to locate the answers from text, etc. This was a major shift from when little questioning was utilized. The teacher survey responses documented his shift from teacher to student. These sentences and phrases indicated his shift, “My classroom is no longer a place where I, as the teacher ("expert"), pour knowledge into passive students, who wait like empty vessels to be filled;
I function as a facilitator who coaches, mediates, prompts, and helps students develop and assess their understanding, and thereby their learning; arrays of strategies were used to assist students in constructing knowledge…; based on student needs, I used strategies and scaffolding…; furthermore, the involvement in learning requires possessing skills and attitudes that allow students to seek resolutions to questions and issues while they construct new knowledge.”
- The teacher’s role shifted to that of facilitator. At the beginning of the study, the researcher(s) observed that lessons were very teacher-directed. Most of the work was completed by the teacher while students were passively involved. Observations indicated that near the end of the study, the teacher served as a guide and supported student learning. Survey responses indicated that the teacher saw his role as that of a guide for learning. He stated, “I function as a facilitator who coaches, mediates, prompts, and helps students develop and assess their understanding, and thereby their learning.”
- Planning moved to a process of alignment. During the study implementation, the teacher engaged in extensive curriculum development where he aligned the district curriculum, state Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), strategies, resources, and assessments. Weekly observations and lesson plan review indicated that his understanding of alignment drastically improved over the year. He posted weekly learning objectives that included the TEKS studied. Daily, before students would enter his classroom, he would orally review the TEKS to be studied and refer to the TEKS that was posed on a bulletin board outside of his classroom. He described alignment in his survey responses that indicated his deep understanding of curriculum alignment, “For the planning process, I first look at my scope and sequence in my district science curriculum for that week. Then I will look at the TEKS and focus on the verb in that SE (student expectation) to match the thinking level required by the content. From there I will find resources and activities that align with the verb and content.”
- Integrating reading and writing into science content instruction enhanced student learning. Curriculum document review and observation showed that reading and writing were seamlessly integrated throughout the teacher’s science instruction. Daily students read text and used writing skills through graphic organizers and reflections. Students maintained science journals that served as the “holding place” for their thinking. The survey revealed the teacher’s belief that integrating reading, writing, and science content knowledge was important for learning. The teacher revealed, “My format for teaching science is immersed in the planning model method in which I integrate reading and writing strategies to teach the science content.”
Read also:
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Hunt, j., grivetti, j., & Morford, l. (october 2011). your turf, my turf, or our turf: the redesign of a state’s principal preparation programs Online Chapter
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Goduto, l., babo, g., & Leake, d. (october 2011). a proposed statewide system of principal evaluation for new jersey building principals Online Chapter
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Education leadership review Online Course
Source:
OpenStax, Education leadership review special issue: portland conference, volume 12, number 3 (october 2011). OpenStax CNX. Oct 17, 2011 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col11362/1.5
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