Chapter 9 Teaching Worthwhile Content Overview of Prominent
- Slides: 28
Chapter 9 Teaching Worthwhile Content
Overview of Prominent Philosophies § Idealism Development of the - Mind Truth through great ideas § Realism Development of well-defined body of knowledge - Mastery of facts § Essentialism Basic Skills training in reading, writing and math (very similar to realism) § Perennialism Development of Intelligence focus on mental processes (very similar to idealism)
Overview of Prominent Philosophies § Progressivism Development of problem-solving skills – Learn by doing § Reconstructionism Schools should create a new society – teach people to address societal problems (war, injustice, poverty, environmental concerns) § Existentialism Development of the individual through conscious awareness of choice and consequence – Learners free to make choices
Sources of Curriculum Four Different Perspectives § Schools should teach fundamental universally applicable knowledge § Schools should teach content based on the natural development and interests of the child § Schools should teach concepts and skills that will prepare students to fulfill adult roles society § Schools should teach about social policy issues to combat social injustice and promote change.
Content Selection § Curricula and Instructional Guides tend to emphasize breadth of knowledge at the expense of depth § They representation of a series of ministeps toward acquisition of a large body of knowledge (A “Parade of Facts” approach) § Researchers contend that disconnected facts without relevant context or connections are not very meaningful or useful to students
Content Selection (Cont. ) § Scholars tend to agree that content should be taught in greater depth as networks of connected knowledge § Powerful ideas: Essential Understandings, Guiding Questions, or Generalizations should guide the selection and presentation of content § Note: The Powerful Ideas approach is illustrated in ELED 4220 Integrating Instruction
Where Can I Find Big Ideas? § Introductions to state curriculum guides Look at the NCSCOS Introductory sections for each subject and grade. These provide thorough overviews of the concepts that should be developed during instruction. See: www. dpi. state. nc. us/currriculum § Introductions to most teacher manuals provide similar information
Professional Decision Making § One role of a teaching professional is to make sound judgments about how to balance breath versus depth when planning instruction § A clear understanding of the nature of the students in the class should guide these decisions § Such things as developmental stages, background experiences, ethnic factors, community characteristics and curriculum sequence should be considered when deciding instructional content
Common Elements in Teaching for Understanding What a Teacher Should Do § § Activate students’ prior knowledge Scaffold and respond to students’ learning Help students construct meaning Engage students in problem solving and critical thinking § Stimulate higher order thinking as a natural part of lessons § Create a learning community that features: discourse or dialogue to promote understanding
Knowledge Networks § Traditional curriculum theory emphasized hierarchies of knowledge that must be presented in a linear instructional approach § Modern curriculum theory suggests that most curriculum content is better approached using the NETWORK OF KNOWLEDGE approach
Knowledge Networks Include: § Facts, concepts and generalizations § Opportunities to begin learning within the network at almost any point (non-linear hierarchy) § Procedural knowledge (implementation skills) § Conditional knowledge (when and why to apply the knowledge network)
How to Use Knowledge Networks § Focus on the most important ideas and concepts § Limit breadth to allow time to explore ideas and develop Essential Understandings § Emphasize application of Essential Understandings and Powerful Ideas to the students’ world § Emphasize application of Essential Understandings and Powerful Ideas to life-long learning and problem solving
Types of Activities to Create Networks of Knowledge § Simply replacing “parade of facts” worksheets with “better” worksheets will not work § Good and Brophy argue: – Much seatwork is busy work – Frequently, assigned seatwork is either too easy or to difficult for most students – Most seatwork is poorly coordinated with what is being taught at the time and unlikely to help students achieve the desired learning objectives.
Teaching Toward Big Ideas § The “Big Ideas” approach lends itself to more Authentic Learning experiences – Using what is learned for accomplishing some sort of real life application – Constructing knowledge that has value beyond the classroom – NOTE: See p. 287 (Good and Brophy) for overview of Authentic Activities
Guidelines for Seatwork (Osborn 1984) § Tasks should be related to current instruction § Some tasks should provide systematic review § Tasks should focus on the most important concepts § Instructions should be brief and clear
Guidelines for Seatwork (Cont. ) (Osborn 1984) § Tasks should be accompanied by a brief explanation of their purpose § Response modes should require sustained reading and writing (as opposed to circling, drawing, underlining etc. ) § Cute, non-functional, space and timeconsuming tasks should be avoided
Subject Specific Recommendations Reading § Research suggests students should learn to: – Summarize the gist of a passage – Identify main ideas – Construct images to visually represent what the text is describing – Use mnemonic devices to remember word meaning
Recommendations Reading (Cont. ) – Analyze story grammar – Construct story maps for narrative passages – Generate questions about the meanings and implications of text
Recommendations Reading (Cont. ) – Answer questions in the text to check for understanding – Activate prior knowledge and make predictions – Compare events in text to one’s own experiences
Recommendations Writing § Writing instruction should focus on writing for application § Students should learn to organize and communicate their thoughts through writing § Students should learn to write to different audiences § Student should learn to write for different purposes
Writing Recommendations (Cont. ) § Writing composition should focus on: – Effective communication – Personal craftsmanship – Developing an outline – Developing drafts – Revising drafts – Polishing the final form of the written product Note: Word mechanics and editing are taught in addition to the items listed above
Mathematics Recommendations § Current trends call for emphasis on concepts – not computational operations § Instruction emphasizes authentic applications over isolated skills practice § Research about this approach shows students exhibit better higher-order thinking and problemsolving and as-good-as or better lower order mathematical knowledge and computational skills
Science Recommendations § Blumenfld (1992) found the most successful science teachers emphasized thoughtfulness. They: § Focused on key ideas in depth § Made presentations highlighting main points and critical information. § Scaffold students to develop metacognitive and problem-solving strategies
Science Recommendations (Cont. ) § Checked for understanding and added higher level questions § Helped students make connections between key ideas § Simplified problems by breaking them down § Gave models and examples § Promoted self-regulation and independence
Social Studies Recommendations § The general emphasis is on Thoughtfulness § Key indicators of thoughtfulness: – Sustained examination of a few topics – Coherence and continuity of classroom activities – Sufficient time to think
Social Studies Recommendations (Cont. ) – Emphasis on clarifying and justifying one’s view – Teacher models thoughtfulness during instruction – Students generate original and unconventional ideas
High Stakes Testing Dilemma How a teacher can use these research validated teaching strategies in an era of high stakes testing and focus on test scores?
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