Welcome back and welcome to our new study group members. I am looking forward to learning more about assessment with you this year and thinking about how literacy is important in all areas of students' lives. Thank you for being willing to go on this journey with me.
Our first post will be based on our discussion of what we already know about ourselves as learners and readers and on the E. Keene article you received in class.
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Paula this is just a test message.
BCSCRI September 8, 2008
The Essence of Understanding
With “curriculum obesity” that teachers face how do we make sure that students understand before moving on to new concepts? A weekly quiz tells whether a student is reading and can recall facts. But what determines actual understanding?
I believe understanding is determined through application. If a student can apply a concept, they more than likely have learned the concept. A good example is the student Jane Gregory was teaching. She did not understand that a football team has to gain ten yards before making a first down, so she could no work the math problem that was on the test. Once Ms. Gregory explained that the Bearcats had to get 10 yards to achieve a 1st down, the young lady was then able to apply what she learned and do the math. Kudos to Jane for using a real life application!
I am thankful for the list of “Way-In” titles for the Holocaust and the Civil Rights struggle. It has been a goal of mine to purchase books to help teachers to introduce issues. I hope to spark the same interest in students that the author did with Remember:The Journey to School Integration.
The dimensions of understanding need to be shared with all teachers. CDSMEDCF. Concentrate on the subject. Dwell in the issue or problem. Struggle with the issue or problem. Meditate, meaning manipulate, explore and discuss. Then create and feel for what you created. What a way to lead to understanding!
Wow, Lendy! You really got us started off in the right direction. Great question, "Does passing a quiz equal understanding?"
In my short time as a teacher I have noticed that a lot of teachers are curriculum obsessed. I think it is sad. I see people rushing in material just so they can say they taught what the students would need for a state test. I have decided to go a different route and I believe it works best for me. My class is a little less curriculum based and more conversational. I have seen kids who can't stand reading take a different look at the concepts that I am trying to teach them. I am not saying I know everything but I agree with the methods that were outlined in the reading.
In response to "The Essence of Understanding", I agree that increased reading comprehension comes with greater understanding of student's "moment of insight."
The author noted that "determining importance" and students' connection to the text are essential. A student commented that: "It has to do with emotion. If I can feel it, I can remember it." It is important for students to connect to text and identify with it. The author suggested that talking with students' about levels of understanding help. Students and I discuss different points in the selected text. One point that the author made that I plan to implement in my classes is the one to allow students to select the text.
You mention something about selecting text in reading. Lex 5 is piloting a program where students can select reading on a computer program according to interest and lexile. This enables the teacher to see what they are reading and to ensure understanding of the material. So far, my wife is crazy about it. This program has also done away with reading logs. Mitch
Blog 1 due September 22 The Essence of Understanding Jane Gregory
I especially like the quote, “if we could just focus on one thing and really have time to talk about it, we’d really understand it more.” I found myself agreeing with all the author said, but when I try to apply the concepts to mathematics, I have some major problems. How can this work with EOC objective lists and EOC tests? But I feel strongly that students must learn together so in my class they work in groups. They are encouraged to explain problems to one another and actually be responsible for each other’s learning. I provide many opportunities for students to work problems on the board and explain. The mistakes they make are sometimes very helpful in getting them to understand the algebra. When I taught upper-level precalculus, it was great to have them do some independent study and share with the class, thus not all students were studying the same thing at the same time. It seems unrealistic to do this with the time schedule I am on in my algebra classes this semester. Algebra is a struggle for many. It helps develop persistence. Students need to learn and practice not giving up! We must certainly analyze complex problems and did this just today as we wrote mathematical models for verbal situations.
As I read the article this morning, these are the things that went through my mind. In theory I do agree with all the author shares, but for the mathematics classroom, not all suggestions are realistic.
I've attempted to do what Sadie has done--be less worried about sticking to the text book. I don't know if this is a better way of teaching, or perhaps it's the only road I know. My academics focused on education that is experimental, theme-based, and less traditional than what's been done in the past. I don't think using the text book is bad, but I feel treating it as the bible (the only literal course) I could cheat my students out of valuable/meaningful experiences in a language arts classroom. That said, in a world fraught with standardized tests, I feel the pressure to take traditional routes. Therefore, I worry that while my students may enjoy the "conversational" "theme-based" way of teaching, that I am setting them up for failure when it comes to more rote knowledge they are expected to know in the future....????
Robin Anderson
9/8/08 The Essence of Understanding
I can certainly relate to the problem of students trying to learn something just for the test and not being able to tie their learning to anything else. In a math class we don’t often get to ”focus on far fewer concepts over a much longer period of time”. We do make adjustments as much as we can for the classes. While letting students work together and discuss their work is valuable, we also need to remember the suggestion to have class time for focused, silent time for the students to concentrate. The suggestions related to making emotional connections to the learning is difficult to relate to math classes.
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