Have you ever watched a horse race
of thoroughbreds? The horses charge
forward with boundless grace and speed, intent on the stretch ahead and,
ultimately, the finish line. The horses wear
blinders, devices that channel their view to their own course and block their vision
of how rivals are progressing. They move
ahead, running their personal best, urged on by the jockey who has become one
with their movements.
It’s easy to make a connection
between the horse race and the classroom.
When the objective is clear, learning is enhanced (Marzano et. al, 2001). Students know where the finish line is. Unpacking that objective helps students see the
learning progression they will follow in pursuit of their goal. A differentiated progression makes the path
their own and increases determination.
Differentiation also channels students’ views toward their own course,
and they become less concerned with how their efforts compare with the efforts
of other students and more concerned with how they will navigate the path
toward their objective. The teacher
provides direction as the race progresses.
In a similar way, teachers’ own learning
is enhanced when a clear objective has been set and when the learning path is
differentiated. Teachers can then
channel their energy toward following the learning path that leads to the
instructional improvement they’ve targeted.
As a partner in the process, the
instructional coach guides progress down that unique learning path, perhaps
even providing blinders to focus the work.
Using the GIR model, coaching follows a path unique to the objective that
is determined by the needs of the teacher.
The coach occasionally reins in when an approach is clearly not working,
but more frequently the coach provides gentle guidance, urges the teacher
along, and affirms and praises as the finish line comes into view.
This
week, you might want to take a look at:
A
blog about setting goals with students:
Education
Week’s “Spotlight on Deeper Learning,” a free download that contains 6 articles
on skills and knowledge for our changing world:
An
article about modeling rigorous thinking during peer conferences:
A video about reasoning with
division:
An article about deepening literacy
thinking through close reading:
That’s it for this week – Happy Coaching!
Marzano, R. J., Pickering, D. J., & Pollock, J. E. (2001). Classroom instruction that works: Research-based strategies for increasing student achievement. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Marzano, R. J., Pickering, D. J., & Pollock, J. E. (2001). Classroom instruction that works: Research-based strategies for increasing student achievement. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
