Accelerated Learning

This article provides 5 ways to promote learning new information. I especially like the idea of mind mapping since there is no right or wrong way to do it. While the article focuses on educational technology to help with learning new information, none of these strategies require the use of technology.

Do you have a favorite method? Do you use any of these techniques in your classroom?

Implementing Differentiated Instruction

Differentiated instruction remains one of the prominent theories in education today. Progressive education promotes individualized learning, and therefore, differentiated instruction has taken root in our educational system. No longer just a strategy that applies to special education classrooms, differentiation aims to meet the learning needs of everyone and has become the standard in many education programs and schools. Kelly Hedrick (2014) describes how the Virgina Beach City Public Schools included differentiated instruction as part of teacher evaluations district wide.

            Adopting a standard of differentiated instruction is often met with resistance, especially if teachers have been successful teaching by “traditional” methods. The resistance is not due to a lack of knowledge on the topic but in a struggle of how to implement it effectively (Hedrick, 2014). Powell & Kusuma-Powell (2015) refer to implementation struggles as adaptive struggles. Adaptive struggles force teachers and administrators to reevaluate values and assumptions about learning. In other words, information on instructional strategies is not a sufficient solution; teachers and administrators must participate in transformation learning and reevaluate their subconscious beliefs about teaching.

            The Virgina Beach City Public Schools prepared their teachers for effective differentiated instruction through transformational learning that focused on the curricula, assessments, and pedagogy. The first step was the clearly define the curricula. In the wake of No Child Left Behind and Common Core Standards, teachers became consumed with meeting the standards; not developing a curriculum. Hedrick (2014) points out that standards are not designed to be a result, but rather a jumping-off point for curriculum. The curriculum must adapt to students’ needs and interests. This adaptation can be part of the planning stage, but it also occurs in the moment as the teacher identifies learning needs that were not planned for. (Parsons, Dodman, & Burrowbridge, 2013). Teachers who are willing to adapt material are more effective in their instruction. Hedrick (2014) also stresses the importance of a strong curriculum to effectively differentiate, pointing out that weak curriculum leads to “multiple versions of that same weak curriculum” (p. 396).A strong curriculum relies on assessment In order to adapt curricula during instruction, teachers must constantly be gathering formative data (Doubet, 2012).  By predetermined points to gather formative and summative data, studying the data, and adapting the material and instructional strategies as appropriate, differentiation becomes the foundation of the curriculum (Hedrick, 2014). Differentiation is more than an instructional strategy; it is an integral part of the curriculum.

            Since I teach small classes, differentiation is easier for me now than when I taught large classes. I have much more freedom to adapt the curriculum and can quickly analyze formative assessments. I could volunteer to teach a session at the beginning of the school year to inform the other teachers how to adapt their instructional strategies to address the technical struggles and encourage the principal to closely examine our school values to promote differentiation.

Although differentiated instruction is a philosophy closely tied to progressivism, I think that it is especially important for Christian educators. By differentiating instruction, teachers are acknowledging the diversity that God created. The body of Christ has different parts, and this can be applied to how individuals learn. Talents and interests are recognized outside of class, but they should be acknowledged inside the classroom as well.

References

Doubet, K. (2012). Formative assessment jump-starts a middle grades differentiation imitative: A school focuses on formative assessment to support its efforts to differentiate instruction. Middle School Journal, 43(3), 32-38.

Hedrick, K. (2014). Differentiation of instruction: A strategic response to student needs. School Administrator, 5(69), 26-30.

Parsons, S., Dodman, S., & Burrowbridge, S. (2013). Broadening the view of differentiated instruction. Phi Delta Kappan, 95(1), 38-42.

Powell, W., & Kusuma-Powell, O. (2015). Overcoming resistance to new ideas. Phi Delta Kappan, 96(8), 66-69

Professional Learning and Student Achievement

When student achievement steadily declines, a teacher can become less motivated. But what happens when the whole school district is underachieving? Teachers feel helpless and lose confidence in their ability to make a difference and kids are not able to learn. Myers and Rafferty (2012) describe a similar situation from their school district in Illinois. Their district began implementing professional learning communities, or PLCs. Over a period of seven years, their school district has seen a steady rise in student achievement.

            Myers and Rafferty (2012) describe PLCs who are dedicated to student success.These teachers set high expectations and were committed to helping students reach the goals the PLCs created. Leane (2014) also worked a with a fellow math teacher to create a PLC to raise math scores. They began using the advisory period for math remediation and tracked student progress. Every student in the grade knew what was expected of them, and Leane and his fellow PLC teacher worked together to help every student meet those goals by the time state testing was administered.  Myers and Rafferty (2012) also acknowledge that successful PLCs constantly review student achievement data and plan the next steps and strategies that will be used to meet the goals. Leane (2014) followed this model and tracked student progress individually and across the grade. Grade-level data was displayed outside the classroom. By displaying this information, students were able to take responsibility for their learning and see how it affected the grade-level data.

            By forming PLCs, Myers and Rafferty (2012) point out that teachers can build a shared knowledge of not only content but also the students they are working with. By collaborating together, members of PLCs are able to better meet their students’ needs.  Teague and Anfara (2012) found similar results in Miami; members of PLCs were able to improve and strengthen their instructional strategies and direction their own professional development by working collaboratively to resolve struggles each teacher faced in his or her classroom.

            Strong and effective PLCs do not form overnight. Myers and Rafferty (2012) acknowledge that in order for PLCs to be successful, all educators must believe that all student can learn and be willing to commit to helping every student succeed. It also requires measurable goals and support from the school leadership. Poekart (2012) emphasises the important role that school administration bears when implementing PLCs saying that it is the duty “as visionary leaders” to develop an organized change process for collectively building 'community' in the organizational structure of the school” (p. 58).

            Although my school only has five teachers, I would say we still form an informal group of collaborative learning. Since our school is small, we all have a shared knowledge of the students we are working with, and following the advice of Myers and Rafferty (2012) and Teague and Anfara (2012) we work together to solve situations as they arise in our classrooms. I think I will suggest to my principal that next year we give up one staff meeting a month and use that time for a formal PLC. If we were to set school-wide goals for student achievement and discuss strategies to meet those goals, the experiences of Myers and Rafferty (2012)  and Leane (2014) prove that student achievement would increase.

References

Leane, B. (2014). How I learned the value of a true PLC. The Phi Delta Kappan, 95(6), 44-46.

Myers, N. & Rafferty, E. (2012). Moving up from mediocre. School Administrator, 1(69), 21-26.

Poekert, P. (2012). Examining the impact of collaborative professional development on teacher practice. Teacher Education Quarterly, 39(4), 97-118

Teague, G., & Anfara, V. (2012). What research says: Professional learning communities create sustainable change through collaboration. Middle School Journal, 44(2), 58-64.

Standardized Testing

It's that time of year again. While spring means Easter activities, spring break, and lots of flowers (and all the pollen that goes with them), it also means it is time for standardized tests. Once again, parents and students across the nation are protesting the number of tests that students take. This article presents the challenges that Georgia lawmakers are having in finding a national test to replace their state test in order to reduce the number of tests students take each year.  Do you think students are over-tested?

Personalized Learning

This article from The Atlantic discusses a personalized learning program in Rhode Island that has had great success. The article points out that with the national recognition the program is receiving, education could potentially migrate to personalized learning across the board. "Personalized learning" and "individual instruction" are buzzwords in education right now. Do you think this is a fad, or do you think this is the path education is heading towards?

Learning Styles

Everyone prefers to learn in a different way. Educators hear a lot about making sure we are creating lessons that appeal to a variety of learning styles, but what does that look like in an ELA classroom? More specifically, what does that look like in a grammar lesson? Here is a quick guide I have created demonstrating a few ways grammar can appeal to different learning styles.

The Problem

My Junior High English students struggle differentiating between the eight parts of speech. I am not sure why this is a problem, but I have had to think outside of the box to get them to understand this basic knowledge.

The Solution

I created multiple actives that each engage different learning styles. I figured the more ways my students could interact with the material, the more they would understand. They might even enjoy learning a little along the way.

The Aesthetic Learner

First, we listened to many different songs that focused on each of the parts of speech. Then, we learned a few of them together, and we would sing them everyday in class. When It came time for the test, I could hear students humming trying to remember what was in the song. We also took a class period for students to write their own song that summarizes the function of each of the parts of speech

The Spatial Learner

Students were to create visual representations of each of the parts of speech without using any words. The pictures describe what each part of preach does or how it relates to other parts of speech. All of the drawings were hung on the “grammar wall” to reference throughout the remainder of the year.

The Verbal Learner

Each student created a presentation to teach the eight parts of speech. They then taught a lesson to other students in their grade or to students in the elementary school. Each presentation needed to be 10-15 minutes long.

Incorperating Discussion in the Classroom

In the webinar “Questioning for Classroom Discussion: Developing Students as Thinkers and Learners”, Jackie Walsh and Beth Sattes highlight the importance of discussion to the learning process. Discussion differs from questions and requires planning in order to be successful. Discussion implies collaborating with peers and sharing text-based ideas in order to deepen understanding.  As a skills-based activity, discussion requires higher order thinking skills such as speaking, collaborating, connection-making, and using knowledge. These skills are emphasized in the Common Core Standards, and discussion is a good way to meet many of the standards. An often-forgotten stage of a discussion is incorporating a time for reflection. In order for students to process what they have learned, they need to have time to reflect on the discussion.