ENGAGING the learner

This week I brought a writing done a couple of years ago our of the file cabinet. It talks about ENGAGING the learner.

I hope you enjoy and find new motivation in this previous writing.

 

 

Essential Question

How does one teach so that every student is valued and can develop a meaningful understanding?

As I try to write meaningful thoughts for the Friday Focus, oftentimes I’m confronted with writers-block; a common ailment for many would-be writers.  To forge through this dilemma, I began to formulate the above Essential Question on which to focus my reflections.  Essential Questions are used in most of your classrooms and serve in much the same way as I’ve used this one – to focus the instructional message.  Writing a quality question is almost an art form, but it goes to the heart of the issue of projected outcomes for the instructional lesson.  While this is not quite to the level of a “backwards design” as described by Wiggins and McTighe in their book, Understanding by Design (a must read for lesson/unit development), it does set the expectation for the learning outcome.

To address this Essential Question, I turned to Dr. Paul Vermette, Professor at Niagara University, author, and Constructivist Conference attendee.  As many of you know, Paul is an expert at developing meaningful understanding and valuing the learner.  I have taken a number of workshops and classes from him, and always come away with furthering my own personal knowledge.  In a recent publication, he states that teachers can tap into student interests, strengths, passions, and concerns by focusing on eight factors.

Entice effort and build community.  We should take every opportunity to motivate, encourage, and support students.

Negotiate meaning.  Students must develop their own understanding of important ideas; they are never expected to memorize without meaning nor are they to claim understanding without their own examination.  This “constructivist” ideal has been supported through much of the current brain-based research.

Group collaboratively.  Students work in and out of partnerships; consequently, they must be respectful of everyone else and accept the responsibility of honoring a community of diverse individuals.  Brain-based research also indicates that a social component strengthens the permanency of a learned concept.

Active learning and authentic assessment.  Learning is seen as the result of thinking and is demonstrated by a performance of understanding.  Learning is doing and is always visible and audible; “tests” mean providing evidence of understanding by skilled use of ideas in a new and realistic situation.

Graphic organizers.  A simplistic but powerful tool, these are used regularly to examine information, record thinking, and to document relationships.  Students think visually on a regular basis and keep these as other people keep computer files.

Intelligence interventions.  Diversity is the norm, so differentiated instruction has also become the norm.  Teachers and students utilize a myriad set of strategies, ideas, and practices to find ones that work for specific individuals.

Note making.  Unlike most classrooms in which every student is expected to develop a set of “notes” that are identical to the teacher’s, note making expects each student to record his or her own ideas as they happen and as questions are being answered.  Like a “captain’s log,” those notes explicate the musings, the analogies, the partial answers, and the insights gathered as students navigate the realities of their investigations.

Grade wisely.  Grading practices stand as the real belief system of a teacher.  In every case, the teacher should give the benefit of the doubt to the thinker-learner and use the grades as motivators for continued work.  The approach to grading a project, and assignment, a homework, or an interaction becomes the vehicle by which a teacher defines his or her philosophy and sends messages to students about their own expectations for success in that class.       

In a way that speaks volumes about the teaching style of Paul Vermette, he has produced a simple and easy to understand message.  ENGAGING the learner in the content is critical in developing meaningful understanding.  During the past two summers, I have had the opportunity to sit and talk with Dr. Vermette about AAK.  We’ve discussed many of the factors which led to his message of the ENGAGING classroom.  I think he would be proud of how AAK teachers conduct their learning activities.  In each classroom, I see components of his philosophy.  We have students that are constructing their knowledge and feel valued by the teachers and their classmates.  AAK is more than just another middle school…for that…thank you.                                                                     

                                                                        Have a great weekend.

                                                                                               

Source:  Engaging Students in Their Own Learning, Paul Vermette.