ANY METHOD OR STRATEGY CAN FAIL
Methodology is very important at the moment of teaching. There are different styles and strategies for plenty different goals. But what happens when a great plan fails?
Many people would feel frustrated or worst could give up, but even the greatest plans may not work as expected.
According to Paul Johnson, 2002, there are 5 main reasons to explain why plans fail, and they are: Communication problems; Lack of Leadership skills; Absence of a plan behind the idea; Passive Management; and Motivation and Personal Ownership. This was posted on a web-page called "http://www.businessknowhow.com/manage/splanfail.htm" but can be well applied to any classroom by any teacher.
How can this be useful?
Students’ understanding depends on many aspects such as: Classroom environment, the organization of contents and students' aptitudes and willingness, just to mention some of them. All of them are closely related to the 5 reasons mentioned previously, such as communication, motivation, and personal ownership.
Paying attention to all these aspects can help teachers to feel more at ease and confident at the moment of performing a lesson, and when things go wrong, it will be necessary to review and re-plan so not to make the same errors or mistakes. Even though it is necessary to never forget that it is not always the teacher's fault.
sábado, 4 de diciembre de 2010
domingo, 21 de noviembre de 2010
Chapter 9
Teaching and Learning
It is well known for many teachers that the current approach for education is Learning Centered, leaving out very important teachers' matters, which had been the central part of the former "Teacher Center Approach". However they both have in common a very important issue in any type of personal relationship: "Feedback".
In my opinion, what happens most of the times is that when looking for the truth is taken as a race where everybody competes and everything mentioned by my opponent is wrong. Politicians do it; the Parties do it; and Researchers do it. They all forget that what happens in a classroom involves teachers as well as students. Feedback and everything that happens in a classroom affects and is necessary for both Teachers and Learners.
Finally, it is important to care about learners need, I agree, but teachers do not perform great classes when they are overloaded with problems, and they certainly have problems when schools overprotect students and leave the whole responsibility to teachers. To create a balance and to take the best things of both "Teaching and Learning" is in my opinion what we (Teachers and students) need. Let's remember that when approaches were teachers centered students did not behave so badly.
It is well known for many teachers that the current approach for education is Learning Centered, leaving out very important teachers' matters, which had been the central part of the former "Teacher Center Approach". However they both have in common a very important issue in any type of personal relationship: "Feedback".
In my opinion, what happens most of the times is that when looking for the truth is taken as a race where everybody competes and everything mentioned by my opponent is wrong. Politicians do it; the Parties do it; and Researchers do it. They all forget that what happens in a classroom involves teachers as well as students. Feedback and everything that happens in a classroom affects and is necessary for both Teachers and Learners.
Finally, it is important to care about learners need, I agree, but teachers do not perform great classes when they are overloaded with problems, and they certainly have problems when schools overprotect students and leave the whole responsibility to teachers. To create a balance and to take the best things of both "Teaching and Learning" is in my opinion what we (Teachers and students) need. Let's remember that when approaches were teachers centered students did not behave so badly.
domingo, 7 de noviembre de 2010
Chapter 6 "Crafting Understanding"
Am I Teaching or Training?
I work in a private catholic school called "San Ignacio de Loyola Alonso de Ovalle". The programme of English as a Foreign Language is presented to students in a way that they can learn skills to communicate in another language (English). The complete syllabus and lesson-plans are structured and designed to fulfill the communicative goals such as: Oral and Written production, as well as Reading and Listening comprehension. To reach these goals, the school provides teachers of 5 hours (45 minutes each) from pre-school to 10th grade, and only 2 hours a week for 11th and 12th grades. In addition, the use of Materials such as: the students’ book, the workbook, and the extra audio-visual material such as listening and videos, is compulsory for students and teachers of this matter. The problem is that all the assessments, except for 1 each semester, are focused on grammar, reading and listening comprehension, and there is almost no written or oral production as the assessments or tests are “Objective Questions” only. Students are just learning to fill in the blanks so my question is: Am I Teaching English as a Foreign Language or just Training students to answer certain types of Tests?
This year, The SIMCE has included and covered the subject English as a Foreign Language and has been taken to all students of 11th grade. The news was confirmed at the beginning of the second term, so schools and teachers of English had little time to prepare their students for this test, which is an international certification test called "TOEIC-BRIDGE" that covers "Reading Comprehension" and "Listening Comprehension". My students feel that the test, which was taken last October 26th, was not very difficult, as it just included “simple forms” and did not include the most difficult grammar tense for them “Present or Past Perfect”. In addition, the types of questions were very similar to what they have always answered so it is probable that the school get good SIMCE results in English.
My students tend to say that they just do not know how to communicate in English, but on the other hand, it is not difficult for them the comprehension of it. I agree. Just few of them can use the language for communicational purposes, and the rest just possess a great amount of vocabulary and grammar rules.
The idea of this post is not to show off nor to criticize the English programmes, but to re-consider the idea of communicational purposes for English at schools and in the National Curriculum and claim straight-forward that we have been preparing students for tests like this one, and others that will certainly come in the future like P.S.U. If school departments focus on the true idea of Training instead of Teaching, More schools will be prepared to face tests like the SIMCE and more students will also be prepared and confident to take them as the curriculums, syllabus and lesson plans will be designed to reach goals like this, and not other ones.
Why are all these statements important? Real understanding is based on truth and not ideas. Students may not have the same instruction as we teachers have, but they certainly are able to understand and to identify things when are not coherent. More than that, they are always interested in specific points that would be considered in the different evaluations, so they are prepared to criticize when the type of evaluations are not in the same line than goals or objectives. And as far as I know, “Understanding for Communication” has been the most important goal ever since I began to work as a teacher.
I work in a private catholic school called "San Ignacio de Loyola Alonso de Ovalle". The programme of English as a Foreign Language is presented to students in a way that they can learn skills to communicate in another language (English). The complete syllabus and lesson-plans are structured and designed to fulfill the communicative goals such as: Oral and Written production, as well as Reading and Listening comprehension. To reach these goals, the school provides teachers of 5 hours (45 minutes each) from pre-school to 10th grade, and only 2 hours a week for 11th and 12th grades. In addition, the use of Materials such as: the students’ book, the workbook, and the extra audio-visual material such as listening and videos, is compulsory for students and teachers of this matter. The problem is that all the assessments, except for 1 each semester, are focused on grammar, reading and listening comprehension, and there is almost no written or oral production as the assessments or tests are “Objective Questions” only. Students are just learning to fill in the blanks so my question is: Am I Teaching English as a Foreign Language or just Training students to answer certain types of Tests?
This year, The SIMCE has included and covered the subject English as a Foreign Language and has been taken to all students of 11th grade. The news was confirmed at the beginning of the second term, so schools and teachers of English had little time to prepare their students for this test, which is an international certification test called "TOEIC-BRIDGE" that covers "Reading Comprehension" and "Listening Comprehension". My students feel that the test, which was taken last October 26th, was not very difficult, as it just included “simple forms” and did not include the most difficult grammar tense for them “Present or Past Perfect”. In addition, the types of questions were very similar to what they have always answered so it is probable that the school get good SIMCE results in English.
My students tend to say that they just do not know how to communicate in English, but on the other hand, it is not difficult for them the comprehension of it. I agree. Just few of them can use the language for communicational purposes, and the rest just possess a great amount of vocabulary and grammar rules.
The idea of this post is not to show off nor to criticize the English programmes, but to re-consider the idea of communicational purposes for English at schools and in the National Curriculum and claim straight-forward that we have been preparing students for tests like this one, and others that will certainly come in the future like P.S.U. If school departments focus on the true idea of Training instead of Teaching, More schools will be prepared to face tests like the SIMCE and more students will also be prepared and confident to take them as the curriculums, syllabus and lesson plans will be designed to reach goals like this, and not other ones.
Why are all these statements important? Real understanding is based on truth and not ideas. Students may not have the same instruction as we teachers have, but they certainly are able to understand and to identify things when are not coherent. More than that, they are always interested in specific points that would be considered in the different evaluations, so they are prepared to criticize when the type of evaluations are not in the same line than goals or objectives. And as far as I know, “Understanding for Communication” has been the most important goal ever since I began to work as a teacher.
domingo, 24 de octubre de 2010
Chapter 5 Essential Questions: Doorways to Understanding
“The important thing is not to stop questioning” Albert Einstein.
This chapter gives great importance to what we know is the beginning of any research: A question! But is it possible that a question can change the course of anything?
People who have made their own researches can tell the great importance of a proper question. So after writing about it, my question is: How do I make an essential question? Or maybe: How do I know that my question is really essential?
According to Wiggins and McTighe, an essential question leads people to big ideas by staying focused on goals - Let’s recall that we must always stick to the goals.
In my opinion, simple questions can lead students to answers, and teachers or researchers to great projects, as well as great and extremely well designed questions. The most important thing to consider is to be creative enough to make the best, most accurate question.
Teachers do not give answers to students. A teacher leads students to let them find their own answers.
This chapter gives great importance to what we know is the beginning of any research: A question! But is it possible that a question can change the course of anything?
People who have made their own researches can tell the great importance of a proper question. So after writing about it, my question is: How do I make an essential question? Or maybe: How do I know that my question is really essential?
According to Wiggins and McTighe, an essential question leads people to big ideas by staying focused on goals - Let’s recall that we must always stick to the goals.
In my opinion, simple questions can lead students to answers, and teachers or researchers to great projects, as well as great and extremely well designed questions. The most important thing to consider is to be creative enough to make the best, most accurate question.
Teachers do not give answers to students. A teacher leads students to let them find their own answers.
sábado, 9 de octubre de 2010
Chapter 3
“There is no improvisation without practice” Jorge Drexler
Flexibility, experience, and creativity, may allow teachers to understand day by day, class by class the way students behave or react. People may change the way they behave, the way they think or they way they see things from one class to the other. This mean that what worked perfectly today, may not work in the same way tomorrow, or the explanation we give today may not be accurate for students of the same level but from a different class. The reason for this unfortunate situation is not students only (as you may be thinking), teachers also change. In the end, we are all people.
Teachers ought to be flexible to adapt to different students states. This means that the strategies prepared and thought from the beginning might be completely modified or adapted at the very moment of getting into to classroom - The goal remains in teachers mind. The job has to be done and the lesson has to be understood by at least most of students, no matter what! - Observation is the first step in the scientific method, not chosen randomly, but is obviously the first stage in analyzing a situation. Teachers’ creativity has been built by experience among other reasons, and it would be very helpful at that moment of despair, when at first sight, students’ class is a complete chaos – But it has to be remembered that the goal is above everything.
The teachers are not academically prepared to solve those kinds of issues (which unfortunately seem to be more common than we would like to) but the experience may give a teacher the tools for it -As the Uruguayan musician Jorge Drexler says: “there is no improvisation without practice”.
Finally, flexibility, experience and creativity would allow teachers to adapt to new and unexpected situations. But now new questions emerge into my mind: Do teachers have one goal in education only? And if that is so, what is more important. Teaching or educating?
sábado, 25 de septiembre de 2010
Understanding by Design. Chapter 1 "Backward Design"
Do I focus on effective instructional practice or the results?
Backward Design
Backward Design
In education both teacher and learners are equally important, so learning and teaching strategies must be well-managed by every teacher. But when designing a curriculum it is necessary to organize the process correctly in order to be coherent. Method, approaches, activities and goals must be well-connected, otherwise, the goals or objectives will never be achieved.
An essential element the "Backward Design" considers for planning is the objective. Goals or objectives must be clear from the beginning to achieve them more easily and effectively. The Backward Design is a 3 stage approach that enhances results improvement and ensures that decisions are made after collecting relevant data. The three stages are:
1.- Identify desired results: to establish the objectives or goals to be achieved.
2.- Determine acceptable evidence: To collect relevant information to know exactly the starting point.
3.- Plan learning experiences and instruction: The planning process
The framework outlined in "Understanding by Design (Wiggins & McTighe, 1998) can be applied in both curriculum design and school and district improvement effort. Under this conception of planning, it is possible to identify priorities based on relevant and truthful data.
The effective instructional practices are equally important, but in order to make the correct decisions they need to be thought secondarily.
An essential element the "Backward Design" considers for planning is the objective. Goals or objectives must be clear from the beginning to achieve them more easily and effectively. The Backward Design is a 3 stage approach that enhances results improvement and ensures that decisions are made after collecting relevant data. The three stages are:
1.- Identify desired results: to establish the objectives or goals to be achieved.
2.- Determine acceptable evidence: To collect relevant information to know exactly the starting point.
3.- Plan learning experiences and instruction: The planning process
The framework outlined in "Understanding by Design (Wiggins & McTighe, 1998) can be applied in both curriculum design and school and district improvement effort. Under this conception of planning, it is possible to identify priorities based on relevant and truthful data.
The effective instructional practices are equally important, but in order to make the correct decisions they need to be thought secondarily.
martes, 21 de septiembre de 2010
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