Educators are always looking for ways to "cover" the curriculum. Even when we know that we are accountable to the Overall Expectations the draw the ensure that all Specific Expectations are touched on is strong.
But not all expectations are created equal.
Are they?
On Friday I made my way down to a classroom to speak to an educator about a specific student. We had crossed paths in the hallway that morning and I had said that if he was available later in the day would he be able to come and sort through the LEGO station? This was an arrangement we had in place before the pandemic when the library was wide open at all times to all students. This student required frequent breaks and was always eager to be helpful and take on a leadership role in the library so his homeroom educator and I worked out a plan where he had his own set of library tasks on a checklist. When he felt that he needed a break from the classroom setting he would advocate for his needs by asking to come to the library. Often, I would deliberately mess up the LEGO station when I hadn't seen him for a few days knowing a visit was probably imminent.
But what does this have to do with the curriculum?
Well, nothing really. But when I arrived in his classroom his teacher felt it necessary to tell me that they were letting the students talk because they just seemed to need it. They said "I know I should get them on task and doing work but if I let them talk it out for awhile they will settle down later. I promise we will do work!"
Now, I am no one's supervisor and there was no need to justify anything happening in the class to me. However, I find that many educators do this- they try to provide a rationale for their actions in the classroom to other educators when it doesn't appear as though a direct lesson is happening.
I quickly assured the educator that I was not judging her and in fact listed off what I saw happening in her class:
- I saw an educator who was being responsive to the needs of the students.
- I saw students who were engaged in social conversations with their peers. They were making eye contact, they were facing the speaker and there was a back and forth exchange of ideas.
- The noise level was on the higher side but that's because every table group was talking. No one group was dominating the space. It was a happy hum of discussion.
- I saw students being given time to re-connect with their peers after 2 years of separation and uncertainty.
- I saw humans re-engaging with each other and learning social skills that would serve them throughout their life.
An excellent blog. And you are exactly right! Not every class session needs to be a formal lesson. However having said that I do believe that it is wise for a teacher to have a clipboard and some sort of rubric ready during times like this. The first page of the report card is all about learning skills and many times teachers do not take the time throughout the term to collect data, to watch and observe their class during times like this make specific notes. Which students are initiating the conversation which students are the supporting. Are there students who are always oppositional in a conversation? Are there students whose patterns have changed - they have been very talkative in the past but now are rather quiet and pensive, why might that be? If a teacher does not have some sort of method to collect this kind of data during these informal times then during report card time they depend on their memory and often their memory only goes back two or three days. Or if the parent asks for an interview, how has my child been doing? Data collection sheets like this are invaluable as now the teacher can relate to specific examples of exactly how that student is doing. There is so much information a teacher needs to collect during these informal times. Through our collective agreement teachers in Ontario particularly, have a good number of minutes which are called preps - time for them to be alone and prepare mark and other administrative duties. But teachers are also masters of creating preps for themselves. Letting kids just talk without actively collecting data could be one of those times. Taking the class to the library where now the librarian takes over the lesson and the teacher just watches on. Taking the students to the gym and just letting them play King's Court. The last half hour of the day letting the class pack up their backpacks and go outside and play on the tarmac until the bus arrives. Taking their class down to the computer lab and just letting them "explore" various websites or pieces of software without any formal lessons - teachers can create little mini preps for themselves throughout the day. And some days those are really important to a teacher's Mental Health, but if they become a pattern & the teacher is not actively finding ways to collect important observable data and recording it on a rubric or a checklist, in a sense they are doing a disservice to themselves and a disservice to their students. Of course every lesson does not have to have a formal lesson plan, but every session with your students is an opportunity to collect information which will better help you observe and assess your students, whether antidotally on paper or digitally on your cell phone, the wise teacher is always there actively involved with their class.
ReplyDeleteCliff,
DeleteWhile I see merit in some of your points I think this is the exact type of thing that makes teachers second guess themselves and worry they aren't doing enough. Allowing time for students to be humans and interact without a formal rubric in sight is a necessary and important part of education. Most teachers are actively assessing without the need to write it down every time and to assume they should always have a rubric at hands creates the type of situation where students are constantly worrying about their grades instead of their learning journey.
Beth
Beth, this speaks so much to how the Kindergarten Program Document works. Being responsive to students always makes sense to me, and when we dig down, we'll often find expectations that connect. Hey, depending on the grade of the student with the LEGO needs, sorting the LEGO, counting the different groups of LEGO pieces, comparing the sizes, and even making lists of the items could allow for some other links to expectations too. I also see lots of links to the Learning Skills ... don't you?
ReplyDeleteAviva
Aviva,
DeleteAbsolutely! And I often try to covey anecdotal observations I see to classroom teachers so they can use these as part of their assessment.
Beth
LOL - I certainly didn't mean to leave the impression that teachers should be walking around with a clipboard hovering over a group of students talking making obvious checks on some rubric. Teachers who actively do this are much more subtle. And they don't make notations on every student in the class every time. Some use the FreshGrade app or SeeSaw - and make quick notes, take pics which become a collection of ongoing data which becomes a part of that student's learning portfolio. And there would be nothing wrong with - at the end of that apparent free time to just talk - the teacher had a quick exit ticket where the kids would be asked some survey questions (see Bono 5 Hats https://mgrush.com/blog/debono-six-thinking-hats/) which would get at some aspect of their learning. And this would not be intrusive or un-usual because such a teacher does this all the time. A teacher with this mindset and practice would never feel awkward should an administrator walk in during a non-formal time. Aviva made a good point about Kindergarten teachers. All day can seem like a non-formal time but we know they (the ECE and the teacher) are constantly gathering information documenting it in some way and tracking. Report card time doesn't have to onerous - doesn't have to be a stressful time because you're trying to think back about what to say about each of your 25 students - because you have tons of data to organize your thoughts.
ReplyDelete