The Power of Not Knowing

I've always had trouble putting my feelings about education and the goals of education into words. I have all these strong feelings and beliefs but yet I find that I struggle to convey these thoughts effectively. I find that when I do put them into words, the words do not do them justice.

For an on-line class I am taking, Advanced Teaching Strategies, we were asked to read a chapter from Instruction: A Model Approach written by Gunter, Estes, and Schwab. As I read the introduction to Chapter 7, Inquiry Models, I found myself agreeing with every word, every sentence. These authors were able to put exactly how I feel into words and not just any words, but powerful words. Below is an excerpt that was truly powerful:

“ Remember when the world was full of questions to ask rather than answer to learn? Somewhere on the way to adulthood, children inevitably get the idea that becoming a grown-up means leaving the world of questioning for the world of knowing. Schools institutionalize the departure from questions to answers as success becomes measured by putting the right answer into the blank or circling the correct response, knowing positively what is true and what is false. Almost all questions in school one right answer and questions for which there are no answers do not often arise. True wisdom, however might better be defined as the realizations of how little one knows in contrast to how much one knows." 

 Inquiry Models chapter of Gunter, M. A., Estes, T. H., & Schwab, J. (2003). Instruction: A models approach (4th ed.). New York: Allyn & Bacon.
powerful: As a teacher, I believe in the power and the practice of inquiry learning. As human we were born curious beings. I can remember asking a million questions as a child, and I can't help but wonder why don't I do that still today? My education was a system of here is the answer, learn this fact, your textbook knows all. I do not want my students to think that way. I do not want them to rely on their textbook. Instead, I want them to know how to use resources available to them, but more important I want them to learn how to ask questions, how to take ownership of their knowledge and their learning. Too often as teachers we are afraid of "not knowing" the answers and in return do not seek out questions from our students. I pledge to  never be fearful of not knowing, but rather to embrace it. The beauty of not knowing comes in the journey of knowing ... in the process of asking the question, seeking out the information, and constructing our understanding ... and I cannot wait to join my students on this journey.

Upper Elementary

Day in Fourth Reflection

Going into today, I was a little nervous. The highest grade level experience I had prior to today was third grade. I was anxious to see how the day is different for fourth graders as opposed to pre-school. I was excited to get to know the students, their interests & their feelings towards school!

·         The students come in and get to work on their morning work (unpack, pencils, planner, rainbow spelling)

o   While I agree that all are housekeeping items that need done, I’d like to look into a more meaningful morning routine, such as a time period for student driven inquiry or writer’s workshop

·         Students are sitting at tables instead of desks

o   As a supporter of collaborative environments, I love this: They had crates to store their items that were kept in the front of the room and then moved beside during the day

·         During math note taking, T was giving definitions and S asked if they could do it in their own words, T told them to write it in her words but then they could talk about it in their own

o   Maybe as an assessment piece, T could have S generate their own definition in their own words to post on way out the door and then if correct could be given back to them to use in notebook instead of T definition

·         Had a review on line, line segment, and ray by having students one a time come to board to draw

o   Could have done this in a gallery walk by groups and each group having a different color marker

o   Or, could have made a human ray/line by being given the card and finding their counterparts

·         Learned new division technique, by taking what you know, looks that the dividend as a whole number instead of the parts

·         Snack time

o   I wonder if this is school wide or county wide, have they seen a difference, what do you do for those students who do not have any – can you keep them from feeling left out

·         Science Lesson Reflection

o   I found the natural resource went very well, with some support through questioning and prompting the class was able to define natural resource, renewable, and non-renewable. We even engaged in an “spur of the moment” deep conversation on the difference between renewable and non-renewable. Groups were able to provide examples saying, if you kill an animal you cannot use it again, but another one will be born but if you mine coal, that coal will not be replaced.

o   The lesson in its entirety took the entire afternoon, I feel if time had not been an issue, it would have been beneficial to split the lesson up across two days at least. I feel groups could have used extra time to design their presentation and maybe with extra time they would have been more apt to be more creative – all groups chose posters

o   I do wonder what impact students using the text as only a reference and defining words as a class had on their understanding and retention; would have been interesting to compare the two strategies and/or stick with the class over the week to see understanding develop and unfold more

Strategies used:

1.       3, 2, 1 quiet strategies

2.       Movement during morning announcement – school wide

3.       “Read definition, tell me in your own words”

4.       Math notebooks – used to take notes & then as student reference book

Overall, I really enjoyed the day in fourth. While the students are much more independent than younger students, I find that they are still dependent on the teacher. They rely on our feedback, support, and direction. They responded so well to my role as the facilitator during their science lesson and I loved making it a student-centered learning environment. Today has changed my feelings of upper elementary, for the better.

I am not a banker

Recently, I've found myself being angry over the education I received as a child. Don’t get me wrong, I attended a great school system, had some great teachers, and did very well in school. However, I realize now I was good at the “game of school”.  Looking back, I find that so much knowledge I should have been given, I wasn't. I almost feel like I was robbed of my education.

 “The student records, memorizes, and repeats these phrases without perceiving what four times four really means…”. Lately, I've had many conversations about the education I received, specifically math lessons. I never realized how much math knowledge I was missing until I took my math methods course last year. It was then I finally learned why four times four means sixteen or why when I multiply fractions the answer is smaller rather than greater like when you multiply whole numbers. And, it was then my feelings of wrong-doing and basically anger towards my education began to grow. Reading this chapter (Chapter 2: Freire), I found those emotions surfacing again.

So much of education, majority of all practices I've observed, fall into this banking style.  Teachers are observed providing students the facts or having them read the facts instead of discovering them on their own. Especially now in the age of accountability, teachers are teaching to the test. Requiring students to memorize the facts that will be seen on the test and not focusing on the information or skills they could benefit from or find relevance. The biggest problem with the banking method is the lack of critical thinking and the lack of application. Once students leave the banking educational setting, they do not have the skills in which to succeed. They have these facts of knowledge floating in their head, but they do not know what to do with it or how to apply the knowledge to new situations.

I think the biggest obstacle to moving to the problem-posing model of education, is resistance to change. We were taught through the banking method, it is what is comfortable, it is the “norm”, and it is what we know.  I realize the need for the change and that is what fuels my practice to be of the problem-posing model. 

 In our science methods course, we learned how to take science content and design a learning cycle, in which students engage in discovery learning. I designed and taught a learning cycle on mixtures and solutions to third graders. Instead of having them read the chapter, write the definitions provided, and “prove” their understanding through matching terms on an assessment, I had the class develop their own definition after working with mixtures and solutions. They were given an array of materials and specific directions to guide them through the discovery process. In short, they made their own solutions and mixtures and from those experiences, developed their own definitions for the terms. As a class, we continued building on this knowledge of mixtures and solutions through working with, making, and experimenting with our own real-life mixtures/solutions in class. While this instructional method was completely different than what the students had previously received, I found that all students were engaged during the lesson and more importantly retained the information. They all performed extremely well on an authentic assessment in which they independently identified and explained mixtures and solutions. As the teacher, I was able to gauge their level of understanding through this discovery process. If I had used the typical “banking approach” the only information I would have gained about my students’ understanding of mixtures and solutions would have been how well they can memorize and regurgitate definitions.

But, ask some educators who have been teaching for 15+ years and I bet they would have a different view than my own and a different approach to teaching, aka the banking method. It is imperative that we realize our jobs as educators, is not to “fill the empty vessel” but rather to be the active facilitator that helps students take ownership of their own learning, to guide their learning process, and to aid them in filling their own vessel of knowledge.

I believe the entire education system needs to re-align our priorities. Are we just teaching to the test? Or, are we going to take an approach to education in which we develop and improve our instructional models and practices so that we captivate the interest of our students and keep them engaged through the discovery/inquiry process instead?

I truly believe that if we do our jobs as educators and provide students the education they deserve, the problem-posed model, they will learn the knowledge that they would through the “banking model” BUT unlike the banking model, they would learn how to apply that knowledge in other situations.  If we do our job effectively, the students will be successful. If they are given the opportunities to engage in inquiry/problem-based/discovery learning and are given the opportunities to practice transferring and applying the knowledge gained, they will pass the “test” without being “taught the test” but more importantly, they will be given the education they deserve.

Freire, P. (1993). Pedagogy of the oppressed (20th anniversary edition). New York: Continuum Publishign Company.

Number Talks

As an entire school, Winfield Elementary has seen drastic decrease in their mathematics standardized test scores. In hopes of finding strategies and techniques to help increase the scores, the school has decided to implement Number Talks school wide.

                The teachers were given the Number Talks text and asked to read the introduction chapters as well as viewed parts of the classroom videos during faculty meetings in the morning. To begin the process of implementation, I was asked to provide a professional development to the teachers, providing more insight and understanding in how to implement number talks, how to understand number talks, and to explain the need and value in using number talks.

                I found the professional development presentation to go very well. I feel the teachers responded very positively to the idea of number talks and through the presentation gained insight as to the value and power number talks can and will have on students and mathematical understanding. Throughout my presentation, I saw a lot of teachers nodding in agreement, some sharing their own stories and thoughts in agreement to the need for number talks, and I heard great conversations among the teachers. I found that by the end of the presentation, the majority if not all, agreed number talks need to be an integral part of mathematics instruction. That teaching the “standard algorithm” is not enough.   

I received all positive feedback on my evaluation sheets and received praise from teachers.  Hearing teachers, who have been in the profession for many years acknowledge not only my understanding of number talks, but also the need, was very rewarding. One of the most touching praises I received was from a teacher who I had volunteered with while in high school; she said: “Your passion for teaching and for number talks was truly evident through that presentation. Not only was it evident, but contagious, thank you”.

While planning for the individual number talks in all the classrooms, I was a little nervous. I had only previously done a number talk in a first grade classroom, I was apprehensive with how the students would respond to number talks at the various levels. I was pleasantly surprised to find that overall, all students in all grades, seemed to enjoy the number talks. Many of the number talks ended with students asking if I was coming tomorrow to do them again. I found number talks in kindergarten went exceptionally well. The students, despite their age, were able to articulate their thought process very well, some in fact, better than the older students. I wonder if this ability to articulate thoughts becomes “cloudy” in the older grades because they are blinded by the “standard algorithm” and are unsure how to communicate their method effectively.

Through implementing the number talks in all the classrooms I began to realize how powerful of a tool it really is when used properly. It allowed me to see student misconceptions, student understanding of mathematical content and mathematical flexibility, and allowed me to learn new techniques too! I found throughout all the grade levels a large amount of students were reverting to the standard algorithm in their head. Even when shown that it is hard to do your head and even when majority of who chose this method got the wrong answer, when I asked what strategy students would try again for the same problem, they all still responded with doing it vertically. I wonder if over time and practice, if students would begin to see how inefficient that strategy is and begin to search out and try the different strategies shared by their peers.

Overall, I think the most telling component of implementing number talks occurred when I spent the day in fourth grade. On this day, I did a second number talk with the students that morning, then taught a science lesson in the afternoon, with co-teaching with their teacher in between. At the end of the day, their teacher was going to begin a new chapter book for a read aloud. I saw one little girl raise her hand and when her teacher called on her, I almost couldn’t believe what came out of her mouth. She said, “Mrs. Payne, do you think instead of a read aloud that maybe Miss Dill could do another number talk with us?”. Quickly, the majority of the students joined in, saying “yes, please, please, please!” And sure enough, the students ended their day doing another number talk with myself.

Motherly Instincts

Spending seven hours a day, four days a week with the students, allows for a lot of quality time. Especially with three, four, and five years old the nuturing side of any teacher would begin to show and strengthen. I can't describe why it happens or when it happens or even how it happens, but it seems with every teacher there were always be a student or two, with whom the bond created is deeper, the trust is stronger, and the understanding is crystal clear.

Looking at all of my students, I feel like the mother to them all. I worry about them, I care for them, I love them, and I want each and every one to succeed. I know each child. I know how he/she thinks, what he/she likes, what he/she thinks is "cool", what he/she enjoys doing outside of school, I know the names of their pets, their dolls, their action figures, and I know what they need - emotionally, socially, and academically.

The three year old in my class has created a stronger bond with me than some of the other students. The level of trust I have gained with this child is nothing short of extraordinary ... considering that for the first couple of months of school, he would scream and cry and sleep his way throughout the day.

I know this child is independent. He doesn't want to hold your hand as he gets on the bus. I can understand this child. I know what he is trying to say when others cannot understand his speech. I know this child wants to participate but at times is intimidated by the other students. I know he will come to circle if he gets to sit on my lap, sit near me, or have a "helper" task. I know that when others try to force him to do something, get stern, or are intimidating, he will lash out. I know that when he has a "fit" for not getting his way, it will last no longer than three minutes. I know that in order for him to go to sleep he will need the bean bag down off the shelf.

... As I know this child and know how fragile he is, my motherly instincts take over. When I see another adult who does not understand him, become frustrated when they can't understand him, or when he isn't "listening" to them, I can not help but to step in - I want him to be successful. I want him to enjoy school, not to become afraid.

As I reflect back, I see so many large gains in him. From now sitting with the other kids in class, to lining up among them, to sitting in his own spot at circle, I know his trust in the school is building. But, as I think about the bond I have with this child, I can't help but worry. What will happen to him next year? Will someone else be as understanding and patient as myself and his other two teachers have been with him?

I worry about all my students, for they have become my children, and my motherly instincts are in full force.

Full Time Teaching

This week finished out my full time teaching. I cannot believe how quickly the time came and went. I truly enjoyed every single day, and along with the kids, I was learning something new with every day.

The ball study ended up lasting five weeks, with a little bit of Halloween and Fire Safety activites mixed in along the way. I believe the students enjoyed the ball unit, as every day at least a couple of students would always write, "I want to play at balls" on their play plans. Using the ball study allowed for an almost seamless integration of my action research of incorporating physical activity/gross motor skills of catching and throwing as well.

My initial beliefs were the ball study would be much like the science learning cycle I did last semester in third grade but much more in-depth. Wereas everything would be centered around balls and students would really be into the discovery and inquiry focused on the different essential questions: Who uses balls? What are the purpose of balls? What are balls made of? What makes them bounce? What makes them roll? etc.

However, reflecting back, I realize my initial "beliefs, hopes, ideas, etc." were not developmentally appropriate. Preschool Philosophy revolves around three central statements: Instruction is embedded in play. Major focus is to facilitate peer social interaction and concept development. Instructional activities are very brief and concrete.

The students utilized the balls at various times throughout the day. But, the dramatic play area was used for more than a ball store. The blocks were used for more than building ramps and science was used for other activites besides looking inside and outside of balls. But, through having the balls available for play in any areas at any time, I found the students did learn through their play,with or without the balls. Just because their day didn't revolve 100% around balls, like my initial thoughts on conducting a "study" would, did not mean they weren't learning.

In fact, I found as the weeks progressed, students were relating back ideas they had learned the previous weeks. I was amazed when one student used the term "circumference" to discuss the balls. I could not believe that word had stuck with him. The students enjoyed "playing with the balls" and through their play, they learned crucial math, science, and literary ideas. Such as size, weight, circumference, force, energy, simple tools and a wide variety of new vocabulary terms.

While planning, I found having one or two critical questions of the week really helped to focus on specific workstations and discussions and helped to "build" each week upon the other.

During teaching, I found pre-k is not much different than the older grades. They love to be active, their attention span is limited to 10 minutes, and when that time is up, it's time to move on - it's not at ime to "punish" them for not being able to sit still any longer, their little bodies can't take it!

In fact, I believe teaching pre-k has taught me critical ideas that will be beneficial and almost needed in the older grades. Every student, no matter the age, deserves the patience, love, and understanding that makes up a pre-school teacher.

The rewards

It is no secret, that anyone who decides to teach is not in the profession for the pay. For teacher, the rewards are not monetary, but still they are heavy in worth.

This semester has been trying for me. After spending 500+ hours gaining experience in the classroom, I have confidence in my ability and my knowledge to teach. At times during this semester, I step back and have to laugh that I am full time teaching, including all of the responsibilities but instead of getting paid for my hard work, I am paying to do it all. Paying for the late nights spent planning, paying for the late evenings preparing materials and the classroom. I found myself getting caught up in the notion that "I'm doing this for free as part of my education, even though I feel like I'm ready to do it 'for real'".

Tonight, at parent teacher conferences, I realized I'm not doing this for free. I'm still getting the rewards of teaching, and that is worth all the late nights, all the stress of juggling school, full time teaching, and a part time job. In fact, I'm beginning to wonder if I've done enough? Do I deserve it all?

Earlier this week, out of no where a little girl pipes up with, "I love you Miss Emily." Every single day, I get more hugs than I can count. Every afternoon, someone has written me a piece of mail and placed it in the mailbox for me to find. Last week, I had two parents thank me for something I had done for their child.
A child who at the beginning of the school year, couldn't get through a single day of school to the point where he would sleep it away and who wouldn't talk to anyone, wouldn't play, would do nothing ... well, today he went to a workstation, did the work, and lined up IN LINE AMONG HIS PEERS.

Another student, who at the beginning of the year, could not listen, could not share, and struggled with learning and engaging in the routine - became engaged in the workstation, was determined in his play, ENCOURAGED HIS PEERS TO MAKE A PLAN, sat a circle like a perfect student, and SHARED THE BALLS with others. Being able to reflect on his accomplishments and his growth with his mother at parent teacher conferences really hit home for me. It was the eye-opener, the refresher I needed - the reminder of why I do, what I do. Seeing his mom bask in his accomplishments, become emotional when talking of his growth, and share the wonderful things she's been seeing, was worth more than any pay check - especially when knowing I shared a part in all of this.

To many, these occurrences I write of, may sound petty - some may laugh and say, "so what if the kid lined up", "so what if the kid shared the ball" ... and to them, I would say - you just don't understand. You don't understand the hard work and the deliberate and purposeful planning and conversations that have occurred about and around the students to get them to that point.  You don't understand what these children are coming from and you surely don't understand how large of an accomplishment these "petty things" are, and you certainly don't understand that that one child lining up among his peers deserved a celebration today. Because, you simply don't understand these children like I do.

Reflecting on the accomplishments on the growth of the children over the course of these two months is amazing. I can only imagine where they will be at the end of this semester, let alone the end of the year. I don't know what it was about this week - but I saw so much growth that has rekindled my fire - my need to continue to grow myself in order to continue to challenge and better these students, every single one of them. It was as if this week was a sign - coming to me, when I needed it and serving as a reminder of what really matters, the students.

I'm still in awe of the week that we had. The minor daily occurrences that were HUGE ACCOMPLISHMENTS for individuals - the satisfactions of knowing that what we are doing, IS working. You just can't get any better than that.