Inquiry Update 2

My students have been very responsive to the added student engagement activities that I have implemented in D.I. They have been reinforcing letter sounds with the use of hands-on manipulatives and combining sounds to begin fully understanding the early stages of the writing process using the white boards. It has been successful in raising the level of student focus and understanding, and I don't think they dread coming to D.I. nearly as much as before.

My next focus in the process has been comprehension. My students are to the point where they can sound out words, and even sentences...but do they actually understand what they are reading? Is it making any sense to them? In order to provide engaged practice in this area, as well as be able to observe each student individually, I decided to implement an activity my students now refer to as Scramble. After each lesson, I hand each of the students a small stack of index cards (approx. 6 or 7). Written on each index card is a word that was practiced during the lesson, as well as one index card that has only a period. The combined cards create a sentence. The student is to take the cards, sound out each word and put them in an order that makes sense in the form of a sentence. The student then places the period at the end to show me that he is finished. Once I see the period placed, I check his response. If the student is incorrect (the sentence does not make sense or he is unable to read the sentence to me) I tap his shoulder and he knows to try again. If he is correct, I hand him a beginning reading book and he can read and illustrate the meaning of the story while he waits on the rest of the class to finish the Scramble.
The students have responded very positively to this activity. They seem to really enjoy being challenged and it has definitely improved their comprehension levels in D.I.

Fortunately, my students are beginning to see the importance and need for reading and are utilizing these skills outside the D.I. classroom. As hoped, my students seem to realize these are fundamental skills in their everyday reading and writing. The skills taught and learned in D.I seem to no longer be getting left at the D.I. door.

Inquiry Update

I have been slowly, but surely, increasing the amount of active student engagement in D.I. for a little over a week now. I had been noticing that the more recently learned sounds were getting confused by the students, so they have now been learning new sounds with the help of wikisticks (bendable, stickable wax sticks). The sticks have really helped the students feel the shape of each sound and to concentrate a few more minutes on the sound, rather than me just telling them what it is and them repeating it back to me. This has been very effective as the students are more firm with the new sounds, and it has also added an edge of excitement. Before, when I would announce that we had a new sound, the students would groan because they felt that that meant we would be reading harder words. Now, they get excited and ask me when we are going to learn another sound!

I have also changed up the protocol a little bit in D.I. and have strayed from the script. The students are very bored of me holding the book, pointing to a sound and them saying it. So...to continue firming up sounds and help the students to identify the connection between sounds and writing, I have been taking about 10 minutes per class to use white boards. Each student has a white board and I call out a sound and the students write it. They then hold it up for me to check for understanding. The students get excited about the "new" manipulative and I let them play teacher by saying "I completely forgot what /th/ looks like. Can any of you remind me?" The students love to correct me!

My entire goal for adding more active student engagement to my D.I. lessons was to increase excitement in reading, establish a hands on connection between saying sounds and writing words, and to teach each sound and lesson to mastery. Based on weekly assessment scores and student attention, I feel that this is being accomplished. To continue this pace, I intend to add more active engagement activities that accomplish these goals.

Student Engagement

As discussed in the article How to Keep Kids Engaged in Class by Tristan de Frondeville, student engagement is such an important role of our professional careers. If the students aren't engaged, they're not learning. If they're not learning, we're not doing our jobs. Though some students can suffice on learning through linguistics (reading, writing, lectures)...many struggle in this atmosphere and are bursting at the seams for something that their minds can grasp and hold tight to. I have chosen to focus on student engagement (rather than questioning) due to the fact that questioning can be a form of student engagement, but is not all inclusive as such. Student engagement is more of an umbrella to the many ways that we can keep our students focused and on task in pursuit of becoming a life long learner. I have also chosen student engagement due to the fact that I know that I need more work in this area. I see the benefits of it and want to make it a priority in my classroom.

Student engagement relates (or lack there of) to my work in the form of our school's curriculum. I struggle to engage my students in the scripted programs that I am forced to teach. We use a scripted program called Direct Instruction for our reading development which is taught in kindergarten for 70 minutes and first and second grade for 100 minutes a day. While it has been deemed successful at the lower level grades, it seems to produce a generation of students who HATE reading. The reason behind this is clear: the students sit in rows and repeat what I say to them. They all answer simultaneously on cue. They read out loud together. When one misreads a word, they simultaneously correct it. It's almost scary how in sync every student is. However, I can teach it in my sleep, and they can do it in their sleep. They might be reading at the end of the year, but they don't enjoy reading at the end of the year. I have tried to spice up reading in other avenues of academics, and they love that but they do not associate it with D.I. and then struggle to transfer D.I. knowledge into other areas to aide them in reading. My students find D.I. to be boring (as do I) and thus there is 70 minutes of teaching time that I have lost. As mentioned in the blog Teaching- Keeping the Classroom Exciting, I want my students to be excited about reading. By being able to use student engagement, my students could not only be reading and comprehending...but more importantly, they could fall in love with reading and all that it has to offer.

The video that I viewed pertaining to student engagement was called Five Year Old's Pilot Their Own Project Learning on edutopia.org. A main point that was brought up in the video is how important authentic purposes are to students. With authentic purposes, students are able to apply their learning to everyday situations or areas that interest them. I have always felt that the best way to learn is when you don't realize you're learning at all. When you are so completely absorbed in the product or end result, that you don't realize all of the knowledge that your brain is soaking up. Authentic purposes provide this for students of every type of background. This is one avenue that I would like to further navigate in my classroom. Sometimes I get so caught up in the curriculum, that I don't stop to think about how I can authenticate it for my students. By creating authentic purposes, not only am I taking my students interests seriously and pertaining it to the material, but I am opening up a way for my students to grasp the curriculum on their own terms.

In order to fit student engagement and authentic purposes into my inquiry plan, I need to do more research. I also need to take what I have learned through this module and begin utilizing it in my classroom immediately. By experimenting in this area I will have a better understanding of what my strengths and weaknesses truly are.

Domain Three

The focus of Domain Three is Instruction. I chose to focus on this Domain as I feel it is the most important aspect of education, and by effectively implementing it into my classroom, I will be benefiting my students most.

The component of Domain Three that I am most comfortable with is 3a, Communicating with Students. I have made it a focus in my class for my kindergartners to be able to communicate with each other and others the clear learning goals and expectations of each content area. My clear learning goals are not only posted, but discussed and revisited throughout a lesson. Behavior expectations are noted prior to each activity and procedures are clearly posted, discussed and reviewed. My students are not only able to tell a visitor what the objective is for a lesson, but also why that objective is important. Delving further into communication, I have the unique experience of working in an inner-city school where the English language is used in multiple different facets. Many of my students have a different version of the English language that they use at home then they are taught to use at school. And trust me...it is taught. At our school, we call it a "code switch" where students have to switch from what is appropriate at home, to what is appropriate at school. This goes beyond language and into behavior, procedures and expectations, but it is most noticeable in language.

I think the component that most strongly ties with instruction is 3d, Assessment. Assessment is a driving force in academics as it helps me determine if I was successful in my teaching and if my students are prepared to move on, or if I need to task analyze at a more defined level. Daily assessments are key in the form of exit slips, the output in a content notebook, observation, discussion, and flash backs. With the effective use of daily assessments, unit or theme assessment results should be at a higher level, or at least unsurprising.

The component that I struggle the most with and would like to focus on is 3b, Questioning and Discussion. I tend to struggle with this component greatly in my classroom. When using questioning with kindergartners, I have found it hard to dig deep into content that is typically knowledge based. Some students are able to give further explanation or discussion of things, but the majority seem to only answer with the knowledge based-content. As for discussion led by questions of the students...whoa! I spend most of the year getting my five year olds to recognize that a question is not a statement. It's always that moment of panic when a guest speaker says the dreaded "Does anyone have any questions?", because every kindergarten hand in the room will pop up, but all will be statements and if there is a question it is typically "Can I go to the bathroom?".

So the question that I pose to anyone reading: is there any advice as to provide lessons that are question and discussion based, that is not only appropriate for five year olds, but also the most effective form of instruction? I would really appreciate any responses!

Assumptions in Learning

Do all students have a capacity to learn? Absolutely! Does our education system provide the most effective form of instruction? Not always. Teaching at a struggling school, it is very easy for many teachers to assume that the students "just can't do it". I find this to be a completely unfair judgment of so many of our students. I KNOW that our students can succeed. I have to believe that, or I wouldn't be able head to work each morning. The question is whether WE, as the teachers in our building, have the tools to help them succeed. Are we providing them with the best education? Are we motivating them to WANT to succeed? Are we giving them authentic material that they can see pertaining to their life? I would love to say that we are, but the results are not reflecting this. Our methods are not working. So is that the fault of the students? No. As the teachers, adults and guides for our students, it is our responsibility to discover what does promote active learning in our school. The students take what we are giving them, but is what we are giving them right?

While reading Socializing Intelligence, I was able to completely relate to and see the effectiveness of the Asian cultures' ability to create learning-oriented environments rather than performance-oriented environments. Students in learning-oriented environments are motivated to ask questions, discover learning and simply "want to know more". This in turn leads to a higher level of ability, which in the end results in higher levels of performance. The public education system that I know of tends to begin with performance-oriented environments in hopes that "being successful" will spark motivation and ability. However, if the students are hindered early in the process, they will not be motivated and their ability will be stifled. That outlook on education was such an eye opener. At my school I have often said, "the students are doing everything we ask them to do, but are we asking them to do the right things?". To me, the answer is quite clearly "no".

As any important step in change, admitting the problem is the most difficult but necessary avenue to success. As teachers, we sometimes have to admit that as hard as we work, we may not be working on the right things. Though it may be hard to swallow, failure is not the result of our students, but the result of a process gone wrong. If the students are not learning, it's because we are not teaching it in a way that is most appropriate for them.

Curriculum in My Classroom

Some may not see it as such, but I have had the unique experience of working in a struggling district. I have spent the 3 years of my teaching career seeing the change from a lack of an effective curriculum to instruction completely driven by a well-planned, fully implemented curriculum.

When I first started, my district was struggling to keep our heads above the NCLB/CATS waters, however there seemed to be little change occurring in order to offer up some form of organized success. Within the last two years, administration at both the district and school levels have changed over and the effect was immediately felt. Before, our curriculum was designed around state standards as "End of Primary" and then Fourth, and Fifth. There was little to look at in terms of activities or what was expected at each specific grade, we just knew what was expected overall. Being a kindergarten teacher, it was difficult for me to rationalize what was being taught at the other grade levels. As kindergarten teachers, we would find that while teaching "patterns", the first and second grades were doing the exact same activities. Not at all what you would call an effective curriculum. This soon led to our school pushing to "unpack the curriculum". We would meet in core content areas with a representative in each grade level. We would determine what part of the core content or state standard was appropriate for each grade level, as well as the appropriate taxonomy to be used by each. We began building a system where each grade level would dive deeper into the content than the previous grade. This helped our teachers to establish what we exactly needed to be focused on at each grade level.

While our school was busy breaking down the "curriculum barriers" of our district, the powers that be at the district level were beginning to do the same. Our district is primarily considered a Title I district, which has allowed for government funding to be used in the form of content coaches that are available to every school. Over this past summer, our content coaches took core content and state standards and completely broke them down into objectives, congruent activities, vocabulary, and possible forms of assessments for each grade level. This new curriculum guide has become an extremely valuable resource to all of our staff. I use the term "guide" lightly as we are required to follow it as this is enforced by district walk throughs where the coaches and principals evaluate lesson plans to see that they are all aligned to the curriculum. While this may seem to have taken the creative juices away from the teachers, the coaches considered that as well. Once a month, every teacher attends a "collaborative planning" in a specific content area across the district. At these collaborative plannings I am able to meet with the content coaches and other kindergarten teachers from across the district to discuss what worked in the curriculum, what didn't and how we plan to implement the upcoming weeks of curriculum. The coaches listen to us, learn from us and then add our ideas onto our interactive web-based curriculum guide. We then return to our schools and share out with our grade level teams. These collaborative plannings have not only given us an outlet to express concerns and joys, but also great partnerships with other teachers in the district. We are often emailing each other tools that we are finding successful and sharing ideas on a more daily basis if necessary.

The newly created curriculum guide designed by my district seems to fall right in line with Backward Design as we focus on rigorous assessments and task analysis (prerequisite knowledge and skills) prior to instruction. Our district has also acknowledged the issue of teacher implementation as discussed by Morey Schwartz but mandating district walk-throughs where we are scored by our "proficiency" levels in following the curriculum guide, among other school related needs and concerns. An aspect that our curriculum does lack, however, is application and transferance. In the days of state testing and NCLB, the concept of "post school" seems to become lost. There are times when I feel that I am forced to teach a student to properly take a test and answer the Open Response question with the adequate amount of bullets and graphic organizers instead of focusing on "do you know the content?", "do you understand the content?", "do you relate to this content?", and "will this content help you become a productive and self-assured adult?". As much as I break down "power verbs" in order for a student to properly answer a question, I'm not so sure that they will be quizzed about power verbs in a job interview. Hopefully, in the time to come the need for application tasks and transferance will be considered and applied. Till then, I will continue to shut my classroom door when I am focusing on an application task. :)

Modern Curriculum

Curriculum is the necessary evil in terms of education. Many teachers feel that it is a barrier to their creativity and individuality, while others see it as a guideline and road map on the trip of academics. While I see the necessity of a coherent curriculum, I also see that our country's concept of an effective curriculum is grossly outdated.

While reading Task 1's articles, I initially thought that I had a "favorite". However, the more I read and the more that I evaluated each suggested curriculum structure's philosophies, I realized that there isn't really a "favorite". While each author was waving the flag for their concept, as an objective outsider, I was able to see the valid points of each and realize that usually the best answer is one that is a compromise.

In a "perfect" curriculum, I could see William Wraga's suggested Connected Core Curriculum as a baseline. A curriculum could be established that grants common goals for each subject. My teaching team has a similar structure, where we attempt to combine "themes" across the curriculum. We choose a topic and use it in all core contents, using writing as a connector for each. This is often easier said than done, so a curriculum designed around the Connected Core Curriculum would be very useful. While I understand the philosphy of Arthur Applebee's Conversational Curriculum, I do not think that it would be effective in all areas of teaching at all grade levels and for all students. Intrinsic learners come to mind as being the most negatively effected by a complete curriculum in this format. However, I do feel that the ideas of Conversations could be used within a Connected Core Curriculum. In the same mindset, Grant Wiggins proposal of a curriculum designed to make students more responsible for their education in the form of questions is a much needed concept, I do not see it playing out as the only form of curriculum. A lot of educational programs now are used in this manner, allowing students to reach an understanding on their own terms through manipulatives, questioning, and research.

A curriculum design implementing all three of these philosophies could be the most accurate and effective way to progress in education as the world progresses around us, creating what could truly be termed a Modern Curriculum.