Saturday, March 15, 2014

Modeling as a Blueprint for Redesigning Instruction

Have you thought about how different teaching is from other professions?  In the giant Venn diagram of jobs, teaching has many characteristics that fall only within its sphere.  One of them is the experiences teachers bring to the profession.  Unlike other professionals, teachers take on their role having had considerable experience as recipients of the service they are about to provide.  Although a new lawyer may have had some interactions as a client in the legal system, and certainly doctors have been patients multiple times in their lives, teachers have far more experience in the “customer’s” seat, having spent at least 17 years in school prior to entering the profession.  This experience is what Lortie (1975) called an “apprenticeship of observation.”  Although there are some benefits to this vast experience, it comes at a cost.

Throughout their years in school, most teachers’ experiences have included examples of less-effective instructional practices.  Modeling is a fruitful way to redesign these pedagogical approaches.  For example, testing in recent decades has focused some teachers’ instruction on acquisition of facts as a learning goal.  This goal may manifest itself in the use of fill-in-the-blank worksheets and closed discussions with teacher as dispenser of knowledge.  If you are working with a teacher who has inherited such practices, it’s time for an instructional remodel!

First, find a thoughtful way to call attention to the practice that needs replacing.  Think like an architect.  What is it that’s ineffective in the current set-up?  Why?  Be able to describe it.  Be able to back the concern with more than a logical explanation.  Acknowledging the impact of past experience and then drawing in the voice of an outside expert by using an article or citing research can diffuse the finger-pointing feeling.  Then help the teacher to see the redesign you’re envisioning.

Modelling can serve as a blueprint for redesigning instruction.  It can help a teacher overcome less-effective practices absorbed through their “apprenticeship” and apprentice them into more effective instruction.  As you model, encourage the teacher to look for the differences – specifics ways in which she can remodel what she’s been doing to update instruction.  For example, to remodel the less-effective teacher-as-dispenser and student-as-fill-in-the-blanker routines, the teacher might notice your open-ended questions and the ways in which you use graphic organizers to support student thinking. 

Remodeling can be overwhelming as a DIY project, but with a coach for support and modeling to provide a blueprint, the teacher you are working with can move forward successfully with their redesign project!

Lortie, D. (1975).  Schoolteacher: A sociological study. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

This week, you might want to take a look at:

A video about revising a lesson:



A collection of articles about elementary math instruction, including teaching fractions, understanding spatial skills, and the role of gender in math instruction:


An article from the coach’s perspective about purposeful guided reading lessons and grouping students for instruction:



An article from Teen’s Health on test anxiety (includes an audio link to have the article read aloud):



Using the internet safely:



That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!

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