I really enjoyed reading Chapters 8 & 9 in Best Practice (Zemelman et al., 2005). As I read through the seven structures of best practice teaching, I learned just how creative one can be with implementing these strategies. As a new teacher, I don't have a lot of experiences to relate to these different structures; however, I think it will be beneficial for me to learn about these various techniques and methods prior to becoming a head teacher. In my classroom, I find that small-group activities are quite effective. Although, it doesn’t take long for students to realize that there is an unstructured element to small-group work. The head teacher and I will walk around the class and listen to the conversations, answer questions, and at times suggest an idea or topic to help, but I can see and hear other groups slacking off when they know there is no teacher around. I liked the idea of small-group activity centers because it gives students an opportunity to visit and explore ideas in an organized sequence (pg. 230). I wanted to see a 'center' in action, so I recently observed our kindergarten classroom where the students were participating in literacy centers. Two tables read the story independently, two tables do structured phonics work from the curriculum, two tables work on phonemic awareness and ‘word work’ activities (i.e.: word families, site word memory). One head teacher is in the classroom facilitating the centers, and the other head teacher is working with a small group outside of the classroom with reading out loud. The day I observed, the students knew exactly what to do. I was impressed how seamless the process appeared to be; however, both head teachers said it has been a work in process. Similar to the example of Delois Strickland in Ch.9 (pg. 269-273) implementing new strategies within a classroom takes time. The kindergartners at my school have been working in these centers all year and now they’ve finally mastered the process. You can see the confidence in their faces as they work because they’re comfortable in this learning environment.
Chapter 9 'Making the Transition' was an interesting read for me, because I don't really feel like I am in a place where I need to transition from one way to another. As a new teacher, I can observe other classrooms and teaching styles, but I'm not going to know what works and doesn't work in my classroom until I am actually teaching. It takes the effort of the entire faculty and staff to really bring about a change. It won't work if I'm using the seven structures of best practice in my classroom, but the teacher in the grade level ahead of me is not. Zemelman et al., made me realize just how important it is to work together in a teaching community to create student-centered classrooms at every grade level.
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In some ways, I envy you because you are at the beginning of your career as a teacher and have not fallen into the "bad habits" that many of us fall prey to in the classroom. Observing a successful center driven classroom is really great for a new teacher. Obviously the teachers in that classroom spent time with the students talking about expectations, behavior and consequences for the experience to seem seamless. The work up front and the constant monitoring of the teacher made that experience successful. I have found (in most cases) that if the teacher clearly outlines the expectations the students will rise to the occassion, but the teacher must remain involved and vigilant in the learning process and not see "group work" as an opportunity to correct other papers or check their email. It sounds like you are on your way to being a great educator!
ReplyDeleteI want to reaffirm what John says about consistently setting clear outlines and expectations and not using group work as an opportunity to kick back and do something else. Students tend to learn best cooperatively but it can't happen without teacher effort. Continue to take this and other pieces of advice from books like Best Practices and it will indeed help in making your transition to becoming a fabulous lead teacher!
ReplyDeleteold paradigm is hard to change as we have learned in our class. thanks be to God, that we have the opportunity to learn new paradigms in teaching. Most of the times we get into conflicts with our seniors but I believe, that is a requirement for change. Zemelman is talking also about the balance between teacher-directed and student-centered activities, beautiful. Balance is what creates harmonious relationship. But who is going to blend both sides to obtain a smooth transition favorable to the students?
ReplyDeleteHi Bridget,
ReplyDeleteLike you, I did grad work with teachers before entering into the classroom myself as a "head" teacher. For me, it was important to hear the "real deal" from those who were in the daily practice of teaching, rather than the typical pre-service program where you do all the "learning" in a vacuum and then enter the classroom for student teaching. It sounds like you have the best of both worlds because you also get to see teaching in action while being able to learn in a more supportive role. Soak it all up! You're going to have so many tools in your belt when you are in the lead role . . .
Hi Bridget,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your thoughts. You've reinforced my belief that innovation is possible so as students may benefit of it. I'm still wandering, however, about the time a teachers has to spend when preparing every class where children will work in small groups.
I am looking forward to my next opportunity when I may try out some of these strategies and learn from my own experience. Surely, an innovative community of teachers would make my learning faster and would help me avoid some of the mistakes that may occur in the firs year.
Bridget, I smiled at your comments about group work and students slacking off when the teacher is no longer in hearing distance. I can assure you that the same applies in high school unless outcomes are clear and there is a link to an assessment task! I found that small group work was beneficial in a subject like Religion with senior high school students, but had limited appeal and application in a Mathematics class. It is a matter of adopting a style of teaching that fits in with one's personality and the 'chemistry' of the class. I appreciated your comments about a team approach to teaching, but trying to get agreement from teachers in a high school on such a subjective matter is usually an insurmountable task, even within a subject area!
ReplyDelete