Week Five: Continuous Improvement Techniques

As teachers, how do we make sure our students are not only able to pass a test on the subjects we teach them but are able to gain knowledge in the subject to use later on in their lives? In this weeks readings Classroom Assessment and Grading to Assure Mastery by James P. Lalley and J. Ronald Gentile and Backward Design by Amy Childre, Jennifer R. Sands, and Saundra Tanner Pope I was able to gain an understanding of how to educate our student’s not just for my own class but also for classes they will have in the future.

In article 26 Classroom Assessment and Grading to Assure Master I was able to read and develop a better understanding of teaching for mastery.  I have heard of this type of teaching before but have never had an opportunity to see it done. It makes me happy to read that people understand that our students are going to forget the information that we teach them.  Teachers throw a great deal of information at their student’s everyday and expect them to remember it all.  Let’s be honest, this is impossible for most.   I remember too many times my teachers becoming frustrated with my classes because we couldn’t remember something we learned the year before. Was the reason we couldn’t remember the information our fault or was it the fault of our pervious teachers?

I think most students are not given the opportunity to master information.  “Learners who do not achieve mastery in the initial phase of learning show none of these benefits.  Instead, they show considerable forgetting within hours or days, little (if any) savings in relearning and no overlearning (by definition), because practice makes perfect only if the practice is essentially correct” (Lalley & Gentile, 2009, p. 122).  I believe there is not enough time for teachers to allow their students to master their work.  Teachers are forced to rush their lessons in order to fit all the material into the school year.  I understand we want our students to gain the most knowledge that they can from their time in school but if we are rushing the process are they really gaining any knowledge?

Allowing students to master information also allows for all of your students to work together.  All of our students learn, understand and process information at a different rate. “The faster students are doing enrichment projects, including helping the slower ones, because they would never be permitted to settle for the lowest passing grade in the course” (Lalley & Gentile, 2009, p. 125).  This gives your students the chance to help each other learn and take pride in their education.

I believe developing a teaching style that focuses on teaching for mastery with the utilization of backward design would be the ideal way to ensure your students understanding of their studies.  While reading Backward Design: Targeting Depth of Understanding for All Learners I was fascinated by this style of teaching.  I have never heard of this style of teaching before, however after reading the article I can see the advantages of such a technique of teaching the youth.  “Curriculum design is at the center of developing students ability to construct understanding.  Without appropriately designed curriculum, instruction can be ineffective at scaffolding understanding” (Childre, Sands & Pope, 2009,p. 127). 

“Teacher understanding of the difference between students knowledge and student understanding is critical to implementing a backward design approach” (Childre, Sands & Pope, 2009,p. 128).  I enjoyed how this article laid out the steps to follow in order to develop this type of teaching in your classroom.  These steps include identifying learners, Identifying curriculum priorities, designing assessment framework and finally creating learning activities.  This type of teaching does not seem easy, however the results seem well worth the effort. 

The step that stood out to me, as the most important was step one; identifying learners.  I believe this is the most important part of any teacher’s job.  We cannot educate our students if we do not know what type of learners they are.  This would be a great time to use the Keirsey Temperament Test in order to determine the types of personalities in your classroom.  Teachers must take a great deal into account when planning their lessons in order to reach all of their students.  If this step is over looked or not taken seriously it can throw off the rest of the planning for your lessons. 

Developing the perfect way to teach your class is impossible.  Some students are going to fight you, some will never get the information and some will exceed with flying colors.  It is up to us, the teachers, to develop a plan that will allow all of our students the chance to understand what they are learning.  It is also up to us show our students the importance of their education.  If we prepare them for the future they will have a greater chance of success.                 

Reference

Cauley, K.M., & Pannozzo, G.M. (Eds.). (2013). Annual Editions: Educational  Psychology 12/13 (27^th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. 

Childre, A., Sands, J.R., & Pope, S.T. (2009). Backward Design: Targeting Depth of Understanding for All Learners, p. 6-14.

Lalley, J.P., & Gentile J. R. (2009). Classroom Assessment and Grading to Assure Mastery, p. 28-35

Links:

http://www.huffenglish.com/?p=352 (backward Design)

http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/planning-a-class-with-backward-design/33625 (planning)

http://www.education.com/reference/article/mastery-learning/ (Mastery Learning)

http://www.lauracandler.com/strategies/masterylearning.php (Mastry Learning)