Despite the fact that I had a few issues with some of the ways in which Lemov presents material previously in this chapter, he ends the chapter with good sentiments.
Technique three, 'Stretch it', talks about how to challenge students to think deeper when they are answering questions. This can be done by asking students how they got the answer, how to change that answer into a different unit, etc. There are many ways to get a student to stretch their answer and their thinking. All teachers should be doing this on a regular basis because a correct answer is not enough; educators must make sure that students are thinking critically, and that they are not just remembering facts that they spit back out when context clues steer them towards that answer. Students do not have a true mastery until they can reframe, think critically, and evaluate the answers to questions in order to conclude whether they make any sense. Again, this is kind of Teaching 101 in my opinion, but many educators don't practice this already. (If you don't do this, you really really should! It's so valuable! And I think it's intriguing to find out how my students are thinking!)
His fourth technique, 'Format Matters', is somewhat of a soapbox moment for him. He complains about teachers who use rap songs in lieu of classical poetry in the classroom (or other substitutions in order to get students to relate and engage). He doesn't seem to have a problem with the use of colloquial materials, just when other materials are not also used in order to help students discover unknown academic passions from these experiences. Honestly, I think it depends upon the goal of the lesson and the students that are in the classroom.
In his fifth technique, 'Without Apology' Lemov overtly describes how teachers can negatively frame some material for students by saying, "This is boring, so let's get through it," or "I know you guys will hate this, but..." and rather describes how many students may respond well to materials in positive ways... if we let them by framing everything we present in the most positive light, and by exposing them to a full array of material instead of watering down materials. Please note, when I say watering down, I mean diluting or throwing out for the purpose of making teaching easier. Using scaffolds or gradually easing students into a topic or task is not diluting, that may be knowing your students well and setting them up for success.
Introducing materials in an engaging way, regardless of how a teacher feels, is hard, but it is opening up the possibility of being surprised by your students. Some students may love classical poetry or the historical facts surrounding an event, but if a teacher never gives the student a chance to explore and discover due to a preconceived notion about the students' demographics or background experiences, then the teacher may cause a student to miss out. Notice, I said notions about a student's demographic information, not a student's background knowledge. This must be enhanced for some students to access the content, and this takes extra work. But the work is well worth the effort, when done thoughtfully.
For example, this semester I am in a classroom that has 50% native English speakers and 50% native Spanish speakers. Think about the vocabulary enhancement needed for these students to all be able to engage with each other, regardless of whether they choose to engage in Spanish or in English (they are receiving instruction in Spanish half the day, and English the other half). The content requires the use of specialized words that students need to know, and that is the challenge for all of the students in the classroom. Do we choose to not teach these words, because we don't think the students can understand? Of course not. We scaffold instruction, act words out, use videos and visuals, create hands-on experiences, and try to get students to talk to each other. Not only does this allow them to practice academic dialogue, but the students who can explain what they have learned are true masters of the content.
Reference:
Lemov, Doug. (2010). Teach like a champion. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Technique three, 'Stretch it', talks about how to challenge students to think deeper when they are answering questions. This can be done by asking students how they got the answer, how to change that answer into a different unit, etc. There are many ways to get a student to stretch their answer and their thinking. All teachers should be doing this on a regular basis because a correct answer is not enough; educators must make sure that students are thinking critically, and that they are not just remembering facts that they spit back out when context clues steer them towards that answer. Students do not have a true mastery until they can reframe, think critically, and evaluate the answers to questions in order to conclude whether they make any sense. Again, this is kind of Teaching 101 in my opinion, but many educators don't practice this already. (If you don't do this, you really really should! It's so valuable! And I think it's intriguing to find out how my students are thinking!)
His fourth technique, 'Format Matters', is somewhat of a soapbox moment for him. He complains about teachers who use rap songs in lieu of classical poetry in the classroom (or other substitutions in order to get students to relate and engage). He doesn't seem to have a problem with the use of colloquial materials, just when other materials are not also used in order to help students discover unknown academic passions from these experiences. Honestly, I think it depends upon the goal of the lesson and the students that are in the classroom.
In his fifth technique, 'Without Apology' Lemov overtly describes how teachers can negatively frame some material for students by saying, "This is boring, so let's get through it," or "I know you guys will hate this, but..." and rather describes how many students may respond well to materials in positive ways... if we let them by framing everything we present in the most positive light, and by exposing them to a full array of material instead of watering down materials. Please note, when I say watering down, I mean diluting or throwing out for the purpose of making teaching easier. Using scaffolds or gradually easing students into a topic or task is not diluting, that may be knowing your students well and setting them up for success.
Introducing materials in an engaging way, regardless of how a teacher feels, is hard, but it is opening up the possibility of being surprised by your students. Some students may love classical poetry or the historical facts surrounding an event, but if a teacher never gives the student a chance to explore and discover due to a preconceived notion about the students' demographics or background experiences, then the teacher may cause a student to miss out. Notice, I said notions about a student's demographic information, not a student's background knowledge. This must be enhanced for some students to access the content, and this takes extra work. But the work is well worth the effort, when done thoughtfully.
For example, this semester I am in a classroom that has 50% native English speakers and 50% native Spanish speakers. Think about the vocabulary enhancement needed for these students to all be able to engage with each other, regardless of whether they choose to engage in Spanish or in English (they are receiving instruction in Spanish half the day, and English the other half). The content requires the use of specialized words that students need to know, and that is the challenge for all of the students in the classroom. Do we choose to not teach these words, because we don't think the students can understand? Of course not. We scaffold instruction, act words out, use videos and visuals, create hands-on experiences, and try to get students to talk to each other. Not only does this allow them to practice academic dialogue, but the students who can explain what they have learned are true masters of the content.
Reference:
Lemov, Doug. (2010). Teach like a champion. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
No comments:
Post a Comment