According to Wiske, Franz and Breit (2005) there are four basic questions which need to be addressed when teaching for understanding. What topics are worth understanding?, What exactly should students understand about such topics?, How will students develop and demonstrate understanding?, and How will students and teachers assess understanding?
They state that educators should choose topics that they find interesting or want to know more about. These topics should be cross-curricular with research tools easily accessible. Like PBL, they should be questions that have infinite answers or research ability. Student's understanding should go beyond rote memorization and rehearsed skills. They need to go past the who? what? and where? questions and work with deeper mean questions such as how? and why?. Students should be able to analyze and draw conclusions, basically they should be tapping into the higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. In order for students to explore these topics, units and activities should be planned for longer periods of time. Teachers should create and plan activities that introduce basic elements of the topic and later expand and build on that introductory information. Activities should start out teacher oriented and gradually give students more and more freedom to explore the topic, until finally they are independently searching for answers. Wiske, Franz and Breit suggest using rubrics to assess the level of mastery of the topic. These rubrics should be presented to the students beforehand so students understand what the teacher is looking for.
In an ideal world this would be a great way for students to learn but several factors can impede this philosophy. A few of these factors could be, standards based instruction, a class's ability/behaviors/dynamics and resources. I have noticed, especially with elementary there is a feeling of urgency when planning for units. We do not have the luxury of planning three or four week units on one topic. Sometimes we are lucky if we get two weeks to teach a unit. Some groups of classes do not have the maturity and/or social abilities to function in small group or individual inquiry. I do agree that we as teachers should be posing more how and why questions to our students.
Wiske, M.S., Franz, K.R., & Breit, L. (2005) Teaching for understanding with technology. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
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3 comments:
Melanie-
I was reading through your entry and I found it interesting that your comments about elementary school unit planning echo that of my own wife. She teaches fourth grade and has some of the very same children you are describing-those that cannot handle working in small groups. While I do not have a class of my own yet, I generally go into her classes once or twice a year and give a lesson on the Civil War, and I'll be honest....I don't know that I want to do it this year. We generally have a "reenactment" using paper wads, and this year it is going to be a little scary for me!!!!
Enough about me-in discussing my classes with my wife-she has decided that she doesn't use technology enough to supplement lessons(they have computer lab once a week and have three computers in the classroom). Do you have any suggestions of ways to work in technology-so it fits into our readings(because she just shoots me down-I'm kind of kidding)
Planning does take time. The more you work on a lesson in a classroom the better it gets and the easier it gets. It is the same way with technology. Technology should not be used just to use it but instead be planned and fit into a lesson. There are many ways that this can be done. But yes, the teachers must be willing to take the time to make it work – otherwise, it will fall flat before it even starts!
Good posting!
So true - so often we move around from school to school and the technology (& integration) is completely different. And often times, there is only one (JUST ONE) ITRT to help us and familiarize us with the programs and devices available. Not to mention that ONE ITRT is often traveling to different schools, trying to familiarize other teachers with the technology available.
Wouldn't it be nice if there was a universal program for all of us. Say, community members or political leaders mandated funds for technolgy in their community schools? Then we know the materials donated would not sit in a corner, those who donated the dollars, would make sure it was used and used well!
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