Madeline Hunter's The Mastery of Teaching offers four techniques that make material meaningful, but I'd like to focus on the technique that I've personally seen to be extremely effective in the classroom: providing a function. "Providing a real function for the material to be learned also builds rationale and meaning for the student".
My girl, Maddy, couldn't be more accurate. One of the most rewarding learning experiences I've had the pleasure of witnessing was watching a 10th grade journalism class create their school's first ever newspaper. What began as a lesson on non-fiction writing eventually turned into a project that spanned twoclasses, a collaboration across all curriculums, and evolved the learning process from extrinsic to intrinsic all the while nurturing team work, empowerment, and helping students find an individual voice as they filled the roles of the editor-in-chief, section editors, and the many journalists that supplied the rich material for the creative endeavor.
Honestly, this group of students hardly realized that they were learning the mechanics of journalistic writing such as AP style, form, research, and proper citation. "The human brain learns almost effortlessly when there is a sensible reason to learn" (Hunter), and this 10th grade class, without a doubt, effortlessly put together a sensational school newspaper. I think I even saw a spark or two in some eyes as they realized their calling in life.
To read Hunter's three other techniques on making content meaningful, I highly recommend picking up her insightful book. Happy reading!
(Note: I get absolutely no kickbacks from the sale of Ms. Hunter's book...unfortunately).
Did you watch the video above? Pretty funny, right? Let's suspend disbelief for a moment and forget that it's a parody of a real-life classroom. Sort of on point, isn't it? Obviously, classrooms don't come together in matter of seconds simply because David Spade lays on the schtick just before the network cuts to a commercial so they can rake in the millions from sponsors (if only it were that easy! And funny!). What's important here is that the underlying message is drawn from real classroom situations and carries with it a sense of validity.
Let's face it, classroom management is a key ingredient to creating an effective learning environment. I don't think any teacher will argue that. There are many parts that make up the whole, but when thinking about how the classroom environment - and by environment I mean the spatial quality of the actual room - affects student behavior, designing the classroom setting in an effective way is paramount for effective teaching and learning.
During a recent observation, I quickly realized how the physical arrangement of the classroom inhibited the teaching and became a breeding ground for unruly behavior. The desks, or rather conference tables, were incredibly bulky, heavy, and literally absorbed 60% of the classroom space by their sheer size alone. There was little room for mobility and any work stations at the perimeter of the class where impossible to sit at without having to get up every other minute in order to let someone pass. Only but so much of the blame can be thrown to the teacher, he was, after all, working with what the school provided. But could he have been more clever in his arrangement? Or simply removed some of the office furniture posing as desks? By my count of the number of students vs the amount of tables in the room, the teacher could've tossed out at least five of the fifteen conference tables. This would've had a dramatic impact on student behavior, attentiveness, accessibility to technology, learning stations & equipment, movement, safety (don't even get me started on safety!)...you get the point.
Whether it's organizing seats in traditional rows or in a circular pattern which facilitates class discussion (or any other plethora of ways as demonstrated in the image above), desk arrangement should be flexible, void of any potential congestion areas so the teacher and students can move freely, and, as Robert J. Marzano suggests in The Art and Science of Teaching, "provide access to any student within four steps from where the teacher spends most of her time".
As I said, this is just one element of creating effective and successful classroom management. Check back soon for three other suggestions that I think will help improve the environment and begin to nurture what is most important in the classroom - LEARNING!
Digital Native, Net Generation, New Millennials - these are just a fewmonikers for people growing up in the digital age. Let's face it, technology to todays youth is as normal as eating, walking, BREATHING. With that in mind, shouldn't technology be thoughtfullyinfused into the classroom? The operative word here is "infuse". In the article "Saving Time with Technology" Kristine Gullen & Holly Zimmerman shine a spotlight on a few ways that technology can be used to produce positive results.
Here is what every teacher needs to keep in mind: technology needs to be used as a tool to enhance instruction and build engagement, not replace a lesson or practice which could cause students to lose focus and get off task. Perhaps this is why some teachers are wary to embrace technology. That, or they're daunted by the seemingly complex nature of certain programs and/or they're intimidated and burdened by having to learn something new when they find the blackboard will suffice. Either way, there is a great disparity between those for and those against technology in the classroom.
I, for one, am for it. There are a variety of apps and websites that assist teachers with organizing class activities, creating group projects, and assessments. Gullen and Zimmerman point out a website, Socrative.com,that gives a teacher a quick way to formatively assess what her students' comprehension is on, say, the previous nights reading assignment, by having the students answer a few questions and send them to her electronically (through phones, laptops, tablets). A spread sheet is generated by those answers and immediately gives the teacher a clear indication of what her students didn't understand and therefore is able to focus the day's lesson accordingly in order for her students to be able to "synthesize" and think critically about the material.
"Flipping" is another approach, but I'm not entirely sold on it. It requires a good amount of time and is, in essence, doing double the work because the teacher is teaching the lesson twice (once in the classroom, and also pre-recorded and posted on YouTube or a private website the students can access). I do, however, see how this could be beneficial for lower learning students, or students who didn't understand the lesson the first time around.
I'm a huge fan of Google Docs for feedback and editing sessions. I use it in my professional writing work because it's simple, direct, efficient and fast. How could this not benefit students and teachers? Also, with the enormous amount of illegible handwriting that would make a doctor's prescription pad blush - by teachers and students alike - it's far more efficient for both to read typed notes and papers. You can even offer extra credit for typed papers! Now, you tell me that isn't motivating for students and makes grading easier?
So, back to our operative word: infuse. In order for technology to be successful in the classroom, teachers shouldn't replace their lessons with it but rather "find new ways to enhance practices, leveraging technology's ability to help them connect, collaborate, and enrich".
The best way to design a lesson plan and unit is, drum roll please...THERE IS NO ONE BEST WAY! Robert Marzano made this astute observation (sans the yelling) in his comprehensive book The Art and Science of Teaching (a must read if you want to practice being, well, effective). Although all roads lead to Rome, most teachers will agree on a few simple foundational steps.
Marzano offers six easy to follow "Action Steps", sort of like a recipe, that help educators plan well-structured units. First and foremost, every unit needs a focus. Notice I said "unit". Why is this important you ask? Well, because a cohesive unit determines what the individual lessons will be, and there are "at least three basic areas of focus for a unit: (1) knowledge, (2) issues, and (3) student exploration". In basic terms all this means is (1) incorporating standards and learning goals, (2) central questions (i.e. values, moral code, etc.), and I think (3) is transparent enough, although Marzano suggests constructing tasks that encourage students to explore and form their own questions.
Action Steps 2-4 are, in a sense, a series, or what Marzano calls "segments". All three address this idea of having a "flexible lesson design"...
• Step 2 is to plan segments that will be part of every lesson, namely: rules and procedures, learning goals, assessments, and celebrating successes.
• Step 3 involves lesson segments that address academic content by implementing "knowledge practice and deepening understanding"such as in-class activities and homework;"critical-input experiences" which include lectures, reading materials, demonstrations, videos/presentations, and field trips; and"hypothesis generation and testing tasks"like library or internet research.
• Step 4, the final lesson segment, handles actions that must be taken on the spot. These are an important part of any lesson design because it helps teachers with "activities and behaviors that can be required at any point in lesson" specifically, engagement (implementing varied techniques), consequences for rules and procedures (keeping an equal eye on both positive and negative consequences), relationships (monitoring the balance between guidance & control and concern & cooperation), and expectations (for high and low level students).
Action Step 5 is to create a "draft of daily activities". In other words, don't be so hard-set on one procedure. Who knows what the day will throw at you, so it's best to stay loosey-goosey and remember the focus, or goal, of the lesson. Who cares how you get there as long as all your students joined along for the ride.
Action Step 6, the final step, is a reflection - not on the students, but rather yourself. Make sure you review "critical aspects of effective teaching" to insure that your lesson and unit plans are providing what is essential for "deepening students' understanding of content". Think of this like a checklist.
Now, the above being said, this is just one of many strategies to get your planning off on the right foot. Ultimately, just like in the classroom, the decision lies with you which process works best in order to achieve optimum results.
Since I'm a visual learner, below are a couple videos I found helpful...
This video offers what teachers called "useful" and "practical advise". (I don't know about you, but I wake up everyday and meditate on how I can complicate my class to the fullest extent.)
New Teacher Survival Guide: Planning
Other pointers to consider, but only if you like to finish on time and meet your objective.
