From the desk of Carol C…

“Don’t kick that wall again!”

“Why can’t you walk in a line without talking?”

“What is it about ‘clean up your room’ that you don’t understand?”

“You don’t even try.”

Anybody who has dealt with children of any age will recognize the statements above or something like them.  We’ve all asked rhetorical questions, been critical/sarcastic, and overused the word “don’t” with children.  Really it’s no wonder we keep seeing the same behaviors repeatedly.

So what should we do to extinguish inappropriate behavior with at least some success?  Be reasonable but leave as many negative words out of our vocabulary as possible when we’re talking to our children.  Go for the positive and tell children what behavior we are expecting.  Many times they know what not to do but are unsure of what to do.  We take for granted they know.  They have to be taught and see the behavior modeled.

Look back at the reprimands at the beginning of this blog.  Here’s how they might be changed into constructive statements.  “Greg, please keep your feet still, so we can keep the wall clean.”  “Marcia, please walk down the hall silently, so we can get to playpark on time.”  “Peter, please clean up your room, so we’re able to read Love That Dog tonight.”  ”Jan, please put forth your best effort, so you’ll be able to master equations more quickly.”

What a difference in the language!  When we address children by name and say “please”, we are showing them respect and explaining why.  Children who hear numerous negative remarks about their behavior tend to tune us out and continue the undesirable behavior.  This makes us angry, the children resentful, and the situation turn into an argument; all of which we want to avoid.  Again focusing on the negative gives too much attention to the unwanted behavior instead of the desired one.

Of course there must be consequences for inappropriate behavior.  Sometimes it can be as simple as redirecting.  At times, however, redirection may not be enough or appropriate.  It is then we have to take a step further.

When disciplining children we need to “make the punishment fit the criminal’s age”.  In other words take the child’s age into account.  Different levels of maturity and children’s development stages dictate what appropriate disciplinary action is needed.  When we do decide on the consequence for a behavior, the consequence needs to be reasonable and realistic.  “You’ll not watch TV for the next six months.” In most all cases this is neither reasonable nor realistic.  We know along with our children that these are empty threats which will never be enforced.  A more effective consequence might be:  ”You are not allowed to watch TV from Friday morning until Monday morning.”  This is reasonable and realistic, and we have temporarily taken away something that matters to our child.

The other really important part of giving consequences for an action is consistency is the key.  When we let down our guard and give in, (so easy to do when we’re tired) we send mixed messages to our children.  The possibility of a consequence becomes akin to spinning the roulette wheel.  Maybe it comes up on the number we want and maybe it doesn’t.  Most children think it’s worth the risk…that is continuing the same behavior.

In addition to all of the above, we need to enhance our children’s intrinsic motivation.  How?  By encouraging them to take an active part in our family.  This might mean including them in decision-making and giving them responsibilities  which demonstrate their capabilities.  At school teachers need to explain the value of an activity clearly and succinctly.  Children are more apt to tackle unappealing tasks when they understand the significance of them.

Now that’s a payoff for us and our children!

From the desk of Carol C…

You have the opportunity to go to Hawaii, and everything for you is free.  Would you take it?  What about Paris, London, Rome, or southern Germany free of charge?  Pearl Harbor, the Louvre, Tower of London, or Bavaria.  Of course you would.  It would be the opportunity of a lifetime.  You would explore part of the world, learn about a different culture, and grab some time at the beach.  Ah, what a life!

Opportunities to learn are everywhere.  Take a walk around your neighborhood or someone else’s for that matter.  When you have the desire to learn more, you take in so many things you never have before.  The question comes then, “Why can’t we look at staff development the same way?”

A few summers ago I went to a writing staff development led by Lucy Calkins and her colleagues.  Oh my.  It was informative, uplifting, and gave me ideas to think about.  Eventually these ideas led me to change some of the ways I had been teaching writing.  Did it make me overhaul my entire program?  No, it didn’t, but I didn’t want it to do this.  I wanted my writing program to be bettered, and it was.

Many years ago I attended a huge staff development program called Confratute.  It was aimed at becoming a more effective teacher of gifted students.  One of the classes which I attended was one on teaching math.  Now this woman completely changed the way I taught math.  Why?  For the first time I began to see math as something more than algorithms.  I went back to school after those two weeks with her and began to change my thinking about teaching math.  The transformation didn’t take place over night.  It would take several years to arrive at a place I was comfortable teaching the math behind the algorithms.  But between reading books and talking with my colleagues, I made the transformation into a new type of math teacher.  It came through implementing one or two ideas at a time.  It’s like losing weight.  You lose a few pounds at a time and finally realize your goal.  That’s what I did.

These are just two examples of powerful staff development I have attended through the years.  Why were these different from what I received in my own school system?  Well, there are several reasons.  School systems are limited, most of the time, to providing workshops and not staff development.  Workshops are centered around attaining knowledge or skills for a definite purpose.  Think about Learning Focus, Write From the Beginning, and attendance procedures.  All of these were set-up to teach us how to implement a specific program or system.  Workshops by definition require uniformity and a reduction in choice.  Sometimes these are necessary, but to grow as a professional and feel like we have a say in what goes on in our classrooms,  we need more than what workshops have to offer.

In comes staff, or professional, development.  Staff development provides an opportunity for continuous growth.  Teachers often choose staff development because they want to learn more and become more effective teachers.  It provides food for thought, so you are in charge of how, when, or if you implement any part of it.   What a difference!

Information through staff development is usually delivered by the originator of the ideas or someone who is a disciple of him or her.  Good staff development is not a series of ideas that have come through multiple people, so the person teaching is someone new to the philosophy and methods just as we are.

We do have an opportunity this summer to take advantage of what should be outstanding staff development here in Winston-Salem.  Kelly Gallagher is leading it.  For those of you not familiar with him, he is a full-time high school English teacher who, also, writes books about ways we, as teachers, can bump up our growth and our instruction.  What do I like best about him?  It doesn’t matter if I read an entire book he’s written or part of one, I always come away with practical specific ideas to improve my teaching and something to think about which I hadn’t before.  I devoured several of his books and found his suggestions useful for me as a third grade teacher even though he didn’t teach 3rd grade like me.  (I’ll have to say Deeper Reading is still my favorite.  It was the first one I read.)    To find out more about his July 29th workshop in Winston-Salem, click here.

PS-I did not write this blog to promote Kelly Gallagher even though I’m a great fan of his.  I wrote this blog because I am frustrated with the wide gap between what we are told we have to do to raise test scores and what we want to do which is receive realistic and valuable information which gives us choice and enables us to grow as professionals.  That’s how we raise text scores!  Seize the opportunity!

“Gentlemen, you are the top 1% of all naval aviators — the elite, the BEST of the best. We’ll make you better. Fly at least two combat missions a day, attend classes in between, and evaluations of your performance. Now in each combat sequence you’re going to meet a different challenge. Every encounter is going to be much more difficult. We’re going to teach you to fly the F-14 right to the edge of the envelop, faster than you’ve ever flown before — and more dangerous. Now, we don’t make policy here, gentlemen. Elected officials, civilians, do that. We are the instruments of that policy. And although we’re not at war, we must always act as though we are at war.” ~ Commander Metcalf (Viper) from the movie Top Gun

I love this movie.  There are so many classic quotes from it that run through my mind on occasion and what I love about this particular speech is that Viper validates the incredible talent he has in front of him and reminds them that their experience at Top Gun can make them better.  And it’s not going to be a cake walk.  I feel this way about teachers in at-risk schools.

One very talented teacher recently talked to me about his frustration of working in an at-risk school because he was overwhelmed.  He didn’t have parental support.  He didn’t always have administrative support.  He didn’t think his colleagues were as committed as he was.  He had to spend time on paperwork when he wanted to be teaching kids. He felt like he worked harder than others and wasn’t always appreciated.  He ended our conversation with, “but I love the kids.  The kids are the best part.”

I hear this same theme in many, many schools and this time of year seems to exacerbate feelings of hopelessness.  My response to this teacher (who could be in the Top Gun of teaching) was that all those reasons are EXACTLY why we need the Best of the Best working in our at-risk schools.  With all the variables these particular students are dealing with, who better to teach them than the most elite teachers, the very BEST?

Many of you know my passion is working with these students and I understand it’s not for everyone.  However, I want you to consider a few key ideas.  When I switched from a traditional school to one that was 100% at-risk it changed everything for me professionally.  I had to dig deeply into pedagogy in order to reach students and constantly work on staying connected to my students in a way that stretched me and challenged me each and everyday.  I don’t think I have ever done anything as demanding or rewarding.  I became a better teacher because of my students.  It sounds crazy, but the challenges they presented required me to evolve right beside them.  I felt empowered in a way that I had never known before as a teacher.

If you are currently working in an at-risk school, I challenge you to consider what would happen to your students if you weren’t there.  If you are not currently working in an at-risk school, I challenge you to consider it.

By coming to work each day in a more at-risk school and working to be the Best of the Best, you are changing lives.  You are showing students how to be professional, how to communicate, and how to be a life-long learner.  The results of your work may not be evident right now or even a few months from now.  You have to trust that your work is real and that rewards will come.

In the meantime, that student needs you.  They need you more than ever if they don’t have parents to guide them, books at home, can’t make sense of the world, and generally can’t see the purpose of education.  Who else will fight for them and not against them? They need to see how the elite do it.  How do the elite teachers create success?  YOU may be the only way they see it.

Remember, we don’t make policy.  Elected officials do that.  We are the instruments of the policy.  If you are the Best of the Best, where do we need you the most?

From the desk of Carol C….

I was hoping for warm weather.  I was ready for it.  After all it was spring break.  Instead, the weather was cold.  It snowed.  All was not right with my world.  Then late in the week I noticed daffodils sprouting, tulips blooming, and iris stalks peeking through the dirt.  Spring had begun to poke its head up through the ground.  My world suddenly smelled sweeter.

Coming back to work after a break can be difficult.  You may need to get back into a routine, and on top of that face unpleasant tasks before you.  In classrooms across the country educators are back to spending long hours on schoolwork and facing the new, inevitable end of year testing based on the Common Core.  Once again all is not right with our world.  But I wonder if we find the equivalent of daffodils, tulips, and irises, our world will smell sweeter.

What should we notice?  Where do we look?  We only need look at the students we teach.  In them we will find new growth.  Our students are able to do now what they could not do at the beginning of the year.  Think about all we have taught and students have learned.  How to read, multiply, analyze poetry, and problem solve.   How to jump rope, respect people’s differences, speak in front of a group, and accept failure as a natural part of learning.   Our students have absorbed tons of information and changed some unacceptable behaviors.  They are more self-reliant.  Now is the time of year we need to take stock of the gains our students have made.  If we look we can see our students poke their heads up through all of the hard work they and we have done.  And just like the spring flowers, with further nurturing they will continue to thrive.  We owe it to our students and ourselves to recognize these achievements and take pride in them.

What else have we missed seeing?  How essential we are to making our world smarter.  Without educators less students would learn to read and write at a proficient level.  These students would not be able to read a newspaper, menu, unfamiliar street signs, and written information on the job.  Math?  Without an understanding of math principles, students would not be able to “to do the math” behind constructing buildings or writing computer animation programs.  Finally, fewer of our leaders would be able to analyze our past in order to move peacefully and successfully into the future.  What might happen in North Korea?  What’s ahead for our nation?  None of us can predict, but there’s a greater chance of moving into the future with peace and success when our students of today are well versed in history and its implications for the future.

There are numerous ways we, as educators, greatly influence the paths our country takes.  What a tremendous and awesome responsibility to help shape the future!  So take in and smell the flowers.  Spring is here.  “Accentuate the positive”.    Enjoy the many reminders of how lucky we are to be educators!

P.S.  The inspiration for this blog came from Kelly Gallagher and his book Reading Reasons. Gallagher is a classroom teacher and widely published author. All of his books are clear, concise, and extremely useful to other educators.  Check out them out.  I learn something new from him every time I pick up one of his books.

How can you register?  Go to the ERG website for registration forms. Grab school funds while they’re still available or be the first to receive 2013-14 funds.  See you there!

After the Newtown shootings in December I kept thinking I would find some words to put in a blog.  The words never came.

After Monday’s tragedy in Boston, I just couldn’t land on any other blog that seemed to say the right thing.  As I scanned my files and the internet, I couldn’t find anything that seemed right to post because I am still not sure what to say.

Instead of finding what I was looking for, I was reminded of other tragedies from what has become the historical week from hell.  The cities of Waco, Oklahoma City, Columbine, Blacksburg, and Boston have been forever changed during this week of April.  What is there to say that hasn’t already been said?

I still don’t know what to say so I just started writing in hopes that the process would settle my mind and bring clarity to my thoughts.  There were children and/or students involved in each tragic event of this week across the years and as an educator (and parent) I almost throw up when I think about the reality of it.  Is it society?  Is it bullying? Is it too much government? Is it too little government? Is it religion or lack thereof?  Is it a mental health issue or some other hidden issue that we haven’t recognized yet?  Who knows.

All I know is that on this day, I want to be kind to each child I encounter.  On this day I want them to feel safe, believe in humanity, and see themselves as a part of it.  On this day I want them to know that they have gifts to share and it is important that they learn what they are.  On this day, I want to look children in their eyes and help them feel connected to others so they won’t turn around and blow us up.

On this day, I also want to be kind to educators.  On this day I want to take a deep breath and stop worrying about saving the entire world.  On this day, I want to take time to enjoy  students, classrooms and colleagues.  I want to celebrate the smiles and laughter and funny things that happen in a school that make them the best places on earth.

It’s going to take effort to be nice and kind in the wake of crazy, tragic events that happen that make no sense.  It’s going to take even more effort to be nice and kind as the shock of those events fade away and we fall back into our familiar routines and lose our patience over broken rules, crazy politics, and upcoming standardized tests.  Do it anyway.  Your reach is much larger than you realize.

“Do not wait for leaders.  Do it alone, person to person.” ~ Mother Teresa

Fluency is coming to the forefront again.  Schools, school districts, and states have bought kits, systems, and reading passages to assess students’ fluency rates.  The problem?   By the time professional development is offered to teachers the message is akin to what is heard at the end of a “Whispered Message Around the Circle” game.  A garbled bit of nonsense.  The result is  misinformation, a lack of understanding, incorrect implementation  and unreliable results.  What a dreary picture!  However, fluency is one component on the path to becoming a successful reader.  With proper training and implementation the picture is a bright one.  Below are examples of the widespread confusion that surrounds the topic of fluency.

Misunderstanding #1:  Fluency means to read as fast as you possibly can. 

In one word “no”.  Fluency is the ability to read text with accuracy, appropriate rate, and good expression.  This does not mean supersonic speed as fluency must be paired with comprehension.  If students read rapidly, it doesn’t mean much if they don’t know what they’ve read.

Misunderstanding #2:  Fluency assessment is just another assessment we have to do when we need to be teaching.

Fluency does involve assessment.  However, this assessment is quick and gives teachers important information that will drive their instruction.

Misunderstanding #3:  Fluency assessments tell me nothing.

The results of fluency assessment will give you the average oral reading rate which is normed for your grade level.  If some students score significantly below grade level, usually there is an underlying reason their fluency isn’t where it should be.  These students could struggle with decoding, a lack of specific vocabulary, and/or limited background knowledge.  A weakness in any of these areas may contribute to a low fluency rate and difficulty with comprehension.  Students with one or more deficits need to receive targeted instruction to address their areas of need.

Misunderstanding #4:  Independent silent reading is the best way to help students improve their fluency.

Many studies show that independent silent reading is not effective when it is the only method used to strengthen fluency. Other methods have been proven to be more effective.

Misunderstanding #5:  There are no proven strategies that help develop fluency.

There are several strategies.  At the top of the list would probably be

Choral Reading.

• This strategy involves the teacher reading a passage or part of it to one student or a group.  As the teacher reads the audience reads along with her mimicking her expression, phrasing, and rate.  Even when the passage is too hard for some of the students, they are expected to follow along and join in when they are able.  All students are expected to track with their fingers or a bookmark.
• Poetry-It’s  great for choral reading.  Many poems have a natural rhythm that students understand.  Teachers read the poems and follow the same the choral reading pattern as above.  Students can practice alone or with each other.   In addition song lyrics  and speeches lend themselves to choral reading practice.
• Readers’ Theater- In reader’s theater every participant has a script that is either on grade level or is multileveled to allow students of differing reading abilities to perform together.   Readers’ Theater provides time to practice oral reading with other students and then gives them the opportunity to perform as part of a group in front of an audience.

Guided Oral Reading.

• With this technique a teacher, parent, or another student reads a passage aloud while modeling fluent reading.
• Then independently students read the passage to themselves quietly.  Usually students need to do this step several times at one sitting.  The text should be at the students’ independent reading level.
• Lastly the students read the passage aloud twice.

There are other scenarios that can complement the general technique above.  These scenarios could include:

• Reading out loud to an adult after the adult models reading the passage fluently.  While the student reads aloud the adult encourages and provides feedback on errors.
• Another possibility would be students listening to a tape of a book being read at her independent reading level.  Then she would read along with the tape several times until she could read the passage fluently.
• Finally, two students could pair read taking turns reading sections of the text.  A more fluent reader would be paired with a less fluent one.  Then either reader could provide feedback and encouragement to the other.

Fluency is a vital component of reading.  Less fluent readers have to struggle with the words they encounter.  Phrasing is not natural for them, and expression is out of the question.  Reading is long and slow giving readers little time to connect words with meaning.  Comprehension can become limited.    Students who struggle to recognize words, learn phrasing, and use expression, typically don’t read as often as fluent readers.  As these students age, more reading is required, and unfortunately they are not equipped to create meaning from the text.  When teachers approach fluency as a necessary skill that must be taught, students can grow into successful readers.

Have a good week!

I’ve thought a lot about the role of questioning in our classrooms and its effect on students.  Questioning, if used to help students think more critically is a vital part of any high achieving classroom.  Lately though I’ve started thinking about the answers we give children.  Whether kids are preschool age or in college the answers we give them open the door to learn more or shuts it and closes the discussion.

I wanted to find out how answering questions encourages curiosity and a desire to learn.  I started on the internet and found some interesting research by Robert Sternberg.  He states that there are seven levels of answers to questions.  While Sternberg doesn’t believe that every question must be taken to the seventh level, he does believe that we need to answer children’s questions by providing scaffolding to reach the higher end of his scale.  Below are the levels of answers along with examples of each.

Level I:  Adults don’t answer the question.

Examples:

“Why do I have to eat my green peas?”     Because I told you to.

“Why is McDonald’s fish square?”       I don’t have time for that.

“I’m 15.  Why do I have to have a curfew?”   You just do.

Level II:  Adults give a quick uninformative answer.

 Example:

“Why is it cold outside?”    It’s winter

“Why is that man bald?”     He doesn’t have any hair.

“Why do we have proofs in geometry?”   To help you prove something.

Level III:  Adults may say they don’t know or give a simple answer.

 Example:

“How does the rain wash away my chalk?”  I don’t know.  That’s a good question though.

“Why do some bikes have gears?”   Gears keep your speed the same.   

Level IV:  Adults should encourage a child to find the answer by using a reliable source.

Example:

“What is a tortoise?”           Let’s look that up in the dictionary.

“Where does pepperoni come from?”  Let’s look in the encyclopedia.

“What will the earth look like in 100 years?  Do we know someone who would help us with the answer?

Level V:  Adults should brainstorm with their child.

Example:

“Why do dogs lose hair?”  Maybe they get hot.  They don’t like it. They are made that way.  It’s heavy and cold.

OR

“Why does Edgar Allen Poe write such melancholy pieces?

Maybe he was clinically depressed.

He made not have thought they were depressing.

He was paid more money for morose subjects.

He had a horrible childhood that continued into adulthood.

Level VI:  Adults should steer their child toward finding the answer(s) to questions and try to evaluate these answers using reliable sources.

Example:

How can we find out why dogs lose their hair?

(Adults ask in this case.)

The child may or may not suggest the computer or a special book she has.  If not, the adult may. The adult would want to read the information to the child.  Even if the adult has to find the information it serves as a model for children who will use the method as they get older.

OR  THE POSE QUESTION:

Now how are we going to evaluate the possible answer of depression?

Where would we find that information?

Level VII:  Adults help their child follow through with finding the answers to number VI.  (This step would most likely be for older children.)

Example:

How do I know my information is right?

Okay, let’s go find the information for a few days – we’ll search through the encyclopedia and the internet, make phone calls, conduct interviews, and other things.  Then we will get back together next week and evaluate our findings.

These levels may seem idealistic for a classroom teacher who has a prescribed curriculum and no extra time during the day.  One way to quickly and easily “push” your students to look for answers to their questions is to take advantage of a teachable moment in class.  One scenario might be your student(s) wants to know what base 3 means.  You answer saying that it’s a great question and then asking for ideas. After accepting these (best to write them down), ask what sources could be used to find the answers. (Level VI)  Encourage students to go home and see if they can find the answers or find some good sources they could use.

The next day you would briefly have the students share what they learned and the sources they used.  The other alternative would be to let the students share with each other.  If a few attempted to find the answers they could meet with each other and share what they found out.  If more than a few attempted then they could be divided into groups and share.  This could be done before class starts, snack time, or whenever there are a few minutes the students can get together.  Take a few minutes of math time to have them share what they found out and how they located the information.

A much larger endeavor could involve an area of your curriculum.  You might pose several questions and either assign or have your students choose which one to research.  One question in science could be, “How do your muscles move?”.  At home or at school students could start at Level V and proceed from there.

These levels of answers aren’t just for schoolwork.  Parents can help their children explore topics that are of interest to them.  If their children love dinosaurs, then parents can explore dinosaurs with them or guide them through their own exploration.  When children, young or old, are encouraged to investigate an interest or passion it may ignite a spark that leads them to create, discover, or make the earth a better place as they continue to pursue what they love.

Just think of Bill Gates, Steven Hawkins, or Marie Curie.

I was in a kindergarten classroom last week and a student came up to me and asked, “Where did you get your eyes?” Hmmm. I wasn’t quite sure how to answer but it didn’t matter because she was quickly shooed off to do her seat work. She promptly got busy working on sheets laying on her desk. As I left the room, I winked at her and softly mouthed, “we will talk later.” She winked back and shook her head as to say, “ok”.

This scenario just keeps playing over and over in my mind. I really wanted to talk with this little girl to find out more… What was on her mind? Did she really mean she wanted to know where my eyes came from or was she trying to communicate something else? I plan to go back and try to find out more about her curiosity.

This bring me to what I have been thinking about lately – “curiosity”.  A strong desire to know more is a beautiful thing but is it getting lost in our educational system?

If you haven’t noticed lately, children are born curious (and they stay curious under the right conditions). They are constantly trying to figure out the world in which they live. I have my own little curious creature in my house who is fourteen and is, thankfully, still curious. Admittedly, all his questions and energy to know more and more and more drives me crazy at times. I try hard, however, to promote his love of  “knowing” because I realize that life long learning is critical.

Of all the learning outcomes to promote in students, one of the very most important outcomes, if not the most important, has to do with helping students to want to learn more. Think about how easy teaching would be if you had a room full of curious students. As the new standards find their place and new assessments follow, don’t lose sight of the children. They want to know things and have questions – like, “Where did you get your eyes?”

In her essay, Children’s Need To Know: Curiosity in Schools, Susan Engel insists that curiosity is both intrinsic to children’s development and develops through social interactions. Thus, it should be cultivated in schools. She argues that interactions between teachers and students can foster or inhibit children’s curiosity.

Something to think about…

I will close with this quote by Ken Robinson:

“Education doesn’t need to be reformed — it needs to be transformed. The key is not to standardize education, but to personalize it, to build achievement on discovering the individual talents of each child, to put students in an environment where they want to learn and where they naturally discover their true passions.”

Teachers have always asked questions.   It is a natural part of any lesson, but questioning in 2013 must be different.  Today in order to meet the rigorous demands of the Common Core Standards we must approach questioning from a different perspective.   Now questions must be preplanned and deliberate just like lessons plans.  Questions can no longer be used solely for recall and comprehension.  They are to be used to promote critical thinking.  So how can we ask these kinds of questions?

Questions to Promote High Level Thinking and Discussions

Combine background knowledge with new information

• Based on what you learned today and what you already know, why do you think the balloon stuck to the wall ?
• How can you support your conclusion that the tiger was imaginary?

Observe and describe an event or object

• Tell me about the 1963 march on Washington D.C.
• What do you see when you look through the microscope at the paramecium?

State an idea or definition in their own words

• What idea did Macbeth have about justice?
• Tell me your idea about making the multiplication of fractions easier.
• What would you say the meaning of “paradigm shift” is?

Provide a solution to a problem

• Tell me how you would solve the problem of oil spills in the ocean while still maintaining our supply of oil.
• How would you solve the friendship problem between Ramona and Henry Huggins?

Compare two or more objects, statements, illustrations, or demonstrations so that a pattern can be seen

• How is 2+3=5 like 3+2=5?          4+8=12 like 8+4=12?      6+9=15 like 9+6=15
• Compare the writing style of Edgar Allen Poe to Stephen King.

Responding Effectively

Now we’ve asked these thought provoking questions, how do we respond to the students’ answers?  Our responses are important as they show the students what they are asking and saying are worth our time thinking about.

1.  Wait Time:  Teachers must give students time to think before responding.

2.  Eye Contact:  Establish eye contact with the speaker and listen to what is said.  Listen without interrupting.

3.  Accept Answers:  Accept all students’ answers, whether right or wrong.  If a student gives a vague or wrong answer, ask a follow up question that will help that student see the more defined or accurate answer.

4.  Respond:  Respond to students’ answers by asking questions or making statements that keep students thinking.

The “what, where, when, why, and how” questions have been around since the first word was uttered.  The questions below are the same principle but with a twist.  They are the 4-P and 1-I questions.  These questions can promote higher order thinking and can allow for creativity in answering.  I am using the book Hatchet by Gary Paulson for the examples.

Possibility – What can…                    What can happen if Brian can’t make a fire?

Probability – Which would…             Which would be worse:  winter or the moose?

Prediction-Why will…                        Why will Brian go back to the plane?

Imagination – How might…               How might this story be different if Brian had a friend                                                              with him?

Most higher level questions don’t have a right answer.  They are open-ended questions that require students to process then combine information to arrive at an answer or an opinion.  Why should we ask open-ended questions?

1. To assess learning.
2. To help students see an idea from another point of view.
3. To teach students to support their assertions and interpretations.
4. To ask students to predict possible outcomes.
5. To give students questions that require them to connect and organize information.

Happy Questioning!

Let’s be honest- why do we suddenly care about rigor?  Most of us would say “because it’s in the new Common Core”.  Understandable.  After all, how often was that word mentioned before the introduction of the CC?  Almost never.  So are there reasons besides the CC that we should care about rigor?  The answer is “yes”.

Rigor is important because current research shows that students need to be able to think critically, communicate (written and oral) effectively, and analyze accurately.  (There are more reasons, but I’ll stick with these three right now.)  Business leaders agree with this research.  The demands of college and the future workforce will require these skills in order to be successful.  The world is changing quickly.

There have been lots of definitions of rigor, and I think I’ve written about some in this blog.  I’ve found one recently though that applies just to education and states the meaning quite clearly.

Rigor is each student:

• being expected to learn at high levels.
• supported so she can learn at high levels.
• must demonstrate her learning at high levels.

Now an important question that needs to be asked is “What does rigor look like in a classroom?”.  Should we be asking high level questions?  Absolutely.  However, we have to make sure that we only accept high level answers.  We cannot let students get by with weak answers.  High level questions serve little purpose if we don’t expect the same type of answers.

What should we do if students give us less than satisfactory responses or don’t understand what we’re asking?  That’s where the second part of the definition comes in…support all students so they are able to learn at high levels.  We have to continue asking questions.  Sometimes this means moving on to higher level questions, but sometimes it means backing up and asking lower level questions and scaffolding up to high level ones.  No matter where a student is academically, it is our job to raise the level of our questions and their thinking.  Are you wondering if  AG/HAG and AP teachers have it easier because their students already think at a high level?  Whatever the level of the students, it is our challenge to raise their thinking to a more complex level.  The same type of teaching should be going on in every classroom to meet the needs of the diverse learners.

The last part of the definition of rigor is giving students the time and opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.  One of the best opportunities comes through increased student interaction with us and with their peers.  Teamwork is one of the seven skills business leaders have identified as necessary to become a contributing member of society, succeed in the work world, and help solve the problems of this 21st century.  Through teamwork students have the opportunity to communicate with partners, write what they learned/understood through, provide the class with their findings, or take a test .  These tests should have free response questions that require students to analyze and/or synthesize information.

Now let’s see what rigor looks like in an actual classroom.  In an Algebra II class the teacher gives the students a type of problem they have never seen before.  He states that the class will work in groups to find two solutions to the problem.   Then after every group finished, one person (teacher’s choice) from each group would present the solutions the group found.

The problem the teacher gave was complex and multi-stepped.  It required the use of critical thinking  and problem solving skills.  Additionally, solving the problem necessitated using information from previous courses.  Students had to communicate both in oral and written form with the groups they were in.  Since the students didn’t know who would have to present, all of the student were held accountable for their learning.

Look at the underlined parts in the scenario above.  These are the elements that make this lesson rigorous.  How did this teacher give support to his students?  By asking questions.  Questions to help them think through their roadblocks.  When students asked questions the teacher answered with questions of his own aimed at helping his students figure out on their own how to remove the roadblocks.

Finally rigor is more than the lessons you plan, the educational strategies you use, or the curriculum you teach.  Rigor encompasses the atmosphere you create in your classroom.  This atmosphere must be one where students know high levels of thinking are required, support is provided, and demonstration of learning is expected.  The classroom has to be a place where we not only expect high levels of thinking from our students but also from ourselves.

(Math classroom lesson was observed and reported by Tony Wagner, Harvard Graduate School of Education.)