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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