Weekly Vitamins: The supplements to teaching techniques

Weekly Vitamins: The supplements to teaching techniques

Periodically, we have readings about various topics relating to education. These materials are meant to give us the extra information and promote further research or discussion about the topic. They give us the extra boost we need to strengthen our teaching bones and energize our brain. This week we read:

Warnick, B., Straquadine, G., Elliot, J., Knight, J. A., Rudd, R., Deeds, J. P., Swortzel, K. A., Nevin, N. A., Knobloch, N. A., Miller, G., Whittington, M. S., Connors, J., Boone, H. N., Boone, D. A., Gartin, S. A. (2005) The Science of Teaching. Agricultural Education Magazine, 77:4, 5-28.

Vaugh, P.R. (n.d.) Effective teaching: Notes for the Beginning Teacher. Retrieved from

http://www.casnr.unl.edu/aps/teachman.pdf

Wong, H.K. & Wong, R.T. (2009). The first days of school: How to be an effective teacher (4th ed.). Mountain View: Harry K. Wong Publications, Inc.

Structure makes the world go 'round

These sources were a compilation of multiple articles expressing the need for teachers do perform various different tasks or portray certain characteristics. For the most part, the articles provided a reassurance to what I have learned in my classes previously. However there were a few that sparked my interest. 

steelstructures.co.za

One of the points I made note of was structure. In The Science of Teaching, it said that having structure makes students be more on-task and keeps them focused. Learning goals and objectives are good ways to give students structure. Doing something that is familar to them and getting into a routine will not only ensure better classroom management, but will get their minds going in the right direction as they enter into the classroom and begin to learn.

Along with this, the article also says that teachers should use motivation and praise (of course). They talk about criticism and how researchers observed that praise usually is met with better scores, better understanding, etc. while criticism is met with lower scores and less motivation. I was about to argue (in my head, of course) that criticism can be a good thing when I saw the next line talking about how teachers should still give "academic direction". I thought that was brilliant. The word criticism is usually seen as a negative word, but giving academic direction means doing what is needed to keep students focused and on track with their learning. I think it brings a whole new meaning to what people have always termed as "constructive criticism".

Problem solving methods

businessenglishhq.com

Just telling me that I should incorporate problem solving skills in my classroom is great but how? With such a broad and over-used term as "problem solving", I think people assume that everyone knows how to use it, or even how to teach with it. So when I read about it in The Science of Teaching and saw specific examples on how to use it, I made note of it all. There were several so I won't  explain them all, but it made me realize that just like there may be more than one solution to a problem, there may be more than one way to go about solving the problem as well. Perhaps its comparing your current state to the goal you wish to reach. How do you get to your goal? Maybe the method is choosing between choices and deciding on which choice is more important in that moment for what you are trying to accomplish. I would like to incorporate these methods into my teaching but I want to use the appropriate type of problem solving method for what I want my students to eventually understand.

Growth for student learning

I loved reading about the two questions for opportunities for student learning in The Science of Teaching. The first one asks "Did the teacher give equal opportunity based on learning styles and needs?" and the second one then asks "Did the student show the teacher what they learned?". These two questions coupled together bring the whole lesson full circle. Not only does it focus on whether the teacher was adaptive, variable, and patient, but it also checks whether or not at the end of the day did those methods and adaptations work and can your students walk away saying that they learned something new?

I also really liked in Wong's The first days of school article how Wong made a point that there is a difference between efficient and effective teaching. Efficient is doing things right. Effective is repeatedly doing the right thing. We can teach our students to be effective in what they are doing and how they can continue those skills even after they leave the classroom.

Top ten

Rosenshine and Furst was a pair that I recalled learning about previously and was mentioned a lot of out the three articles. Vaugh takes the time to go through each of their top ten characteristics of teachers. After participating in our RTL experiences, I find it funny how many of these same traits we mentioned we could improve on were in this list. 

1. Clarity

2. Variability

3. Enthusiasm

4. Task-oriented/ Business-like behavior

5. Positive reinforcement

6. Student opportunity to learn

7. Avoid criticism

8. Structuring comments

9. Effective questioning

10. Humor

Most of these were stated in the other articles that were read above, but I liked how they were a little more drawn out in Vaugh's article. I also thought it was interesting as I reflected on the order that Rosenshine and Furst placed the traits. Clarity being the number one trait of effective teachers means that students really value when assignments, deadlines, key information, and more are made clear. I can completely understand this being a top frustration. When I walk out of my classes and don't know what the teacher expects of me or wants me to do, or when I am still unsure of deadlines, it creates a frustrating situation. It will be something for me to keep in mind that I should spend extra time on complex subjects, or take a few extra minutes to go over the project guidelines. I shouldn't assume that students understand what I said or that a rubric will be enough explanation for them to start a project.

Related resources

On one of my favorite sites (Pinterest) I came across this fun little pin about icebreakers to do on the first day of school. There are some really good ones in here that students will be more eager to do (they're not your typical 2 truths and a lie.. yuck!)

http://www.cultofpedagogy.com/classroom-icebreakers/

These could also be useful for other activities throughout the year!

pitt.edu

I was really interested in the problem solving parts of the articles for this assignment, so I tried to do a little more exploring. 

http://edtechreview.in/trends-insights/insights/771-great-ways-to-teach-skills-like-critical-thinking-and-problem-solving

I came across this article which shares some neat things about teaching critical thinking and problem solving. But I loved the probing Einstein example towards the end which explains that given an hour to solve a hard problem, Einstein would spend 55 minutes figuring out solutions and alternatives, and 5 minutes to actually solve it. I am eager to see what that kind of mentality would look like in a classroom and how much more it would benefit students. It would force them to not just try and solve the problem and get it done with, but figure out whether there was more than one way or if the initial solution would work all the time and if there were alternatives. Something to chew on!