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Am I an Effective Teacher?

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Do we, as teachers, have the courage to stop and ask ourselves this question: Am I an effective teacher? Are we teaching in a way that is truly effective, or do we try our best and leave it at that? According to Harry and Rosemary Wong, in their column entitled “Effective Teaching“, it is not only possible to  identify and define teaching effectiveness, it is a practical term which can be associated with your teaching.  “Effective Teaching” is  not a mysterious title that school administrators tag on some special teachers  based on their popularity amongst the students. It is not an unattainable talent gifted to some and out of reach for others. If you are not already an effective teacher, you can become one.

Am I already an effective teacher? Effective teachers are always associated with 3 distinctive elements: student learning, growth, and achievement. Where student learning is happening, you will find students who are successfully acquiring basic knowledge and skills. Are your students successfully acquiring knowledge and skills? Progress over time equates to growth. Do your students exhibit measurable progress? Achievement, the act of accomplishment, always follows the learning and the growth. Are your learners also achievers?

“Effectiveness Defined: It’s not a Mystery” by Harry and Rosemary Wong stimulates us, as teachers, to ask the following questions:

Am I an exceptionally good classroom manager?

Do I teach lessons that yield not only student learning, but also mastery?

Do I have positive expectations for the success of my students?

If you answered yes to all three these questions, you share the primary characteristics of other effective teachers. If you didn’t answer all three questions in the affirmative, don’t despair. The good news is that effective teaching is a skill that can be taught and learned. Every teacher should aspire to become an effective teacher, and help is available to reach that goal.

For more information about developing effective teaching skills, visit:  http://www.effectiveteaching.com/

 

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Stop blaming the parents and teachers for students’ choices.

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Peter Hilts, in his article  “Is it time to blame the students?”  addresses an issue that many educators feel uncomfortable expressing opinions on.  In this “politically correct” time that we live in, everyone is afraid to step on toes.  Responsibility is commonly shifted from one person to the next, so no-one has to feel too bad for too long.  Hilts boldly looks at that the statement “all students are all good all the time” and critically evaluates it from the perspective of the teacher.  If students are not just to acquire knowledge as they grow in years, but are also expected to “grow up“, shouldn’t they be taught to shoulder some responsibility for their learning?

“If attendance, effort, and integrity are part of the problem in education, it isn’t fair to hold teachers, parents, reformers, unions, politicians, or the tooth fairy responsible,” says Hilts.  He is to be commended for making such a bold stand on a sensitive educational issue.   “Students who give partial or no effort to classwork, exams and standardized tests are mostly or exclusively responsible for their behavior.  When a student who can attend skips instead, that student is responsible.”  Certainly any education system has some disinterested teachers, or teachers who simply hate the work they do but refuse to leave it.  Every society has some parents who actively discourage the educational growth of their children, or who simply don’t care enough to encourage it.  But is it always the teachers and the parents fault when children don’t succeed at school?

As Hilts so insightfully points out, “responsibility has two faces”, and this is as true in the classroom as it is anywhere else.  When a teenage student is offered the opportunity to learn and CHOOSES not to, shouldn’t they be the ones to accept responsibility for that choice?

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Parents are the reason that students cannot hack the Math in Physics?

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High school kids cannot use fractions.“Another physics teacher told me that students cannot hack the math in physics,” says Stewart Brekke in his article entitled, “Urgent Math Crisis in our Nation: Basic Math Deficits Affect Student Performance in High School Physics and Chemistry“.  Is this an unusual observation for a Physics teacher?  Brekke estimates that the USA “may now have over 100,000 high-school students who do not know fractions and decimals well enough to do high-school physics and chemistry successfully, let alone go on to college and pass a physics or chemistry course.”

There is clearly a problem on our hands – many teens cannot do basic mathematics.  Where do we find the source of this problem?

Stewart Brekke speculates that part of the problem may be attributed to the elementary schools placing too much emphasis on reading skills and not nearly enough on basic arithmetic skills. Japanese elementary school students typically spend two to three times as much time on developing mathematical skills as their American counterparts. The result of this shift in priorities is evident.  Stewart also believes that the “lack of a proper foundation at home” is also a significant contributor to the poor arithmetic skills observed in high school students. Sadly, many children enter first grade without being able to count to ten, and their progress in arithmetic skill development is severely hampered.

“It is not that parents do not care, for, on the whole, I have seen them show deep concern about their children’s education, but that many of these parents do not take the time to teach their children number facts nor reading skills. These parents must be informed early that their child’s success in school means that they must start educating their children before they enter kindergarten,” says Brekke.

Education systems all over the world invest vast sums of money into remediation of high school students struggling with poor basic skills. Yet high school Physics and Chemistry classes continue to shrink in size as teenagers avoid confronting the issues that stand in their way of understanding these subjects.  Are we trying to solve a problem instead of preventing it?  What would happen if more of the national or state education investment was used for programs aimed at educating the PARENTS of pre-school children, thus effectively equipping them to help their children develop the basic skills needed for future success at school? 

 Can parents make a difference at home?  All indications are that if parents do not participate in the education process BEFORE their child enters the school system, they may in fact be contributing to their child’s future scholastic failure.

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Does withholding knowledge stimulate or stunt learning?

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Does refusing to share knowledge truly stimulate learning? I love to learn new things, and am constantly on some mission of discovery.  Over the years, I have tried to share my enthusiasm for learning with my students, and anyone else who will allow me to indulge my love of learning.  I have just as eagerly shared what I have learned as I have shared my enthusiasm for learning.  One of my greatest thrills as a teacher is to see curiosity light up the eyes of a student, and watch them begin their own journey of discovery. I don’t believe we are ever too old to learn new things.  I do believe that as soon as we choose to give up the quest for knowledge and understanding we limit our relevance to society.

Earlier today, I interacted with an intelligent, interesting individual who often writes some thought-provoking articles.  A recent article of his stimulated some study on my part and raised some questions, so I addressed those questions to the author, in the hope that he would help me understand his thought process better.  He responded in a rather unexpected way.  He indicated that he did indeed have the answers to my questions, but felt that sharing what he knew would discourage me from thinking independently and stunt my ability to aquire or generate knowledge.  If he answered my questions, that would somehow make him guilty of spoon-feeding me. 

How often has an intelligent, educated, and seemingly-wise teacher with a vast and valuable knowledge- and understanding-base quenched the desire that a student may have to learn simply by not embracing a desire to share?  How often is the learning process retarded, because those who have the knowledge will not share it with those who do not have it?  I have, at times, experienced this “what is mine is mine, and I will not share” attitude in the highly competitive research environment where it is believed by some that withholding knowledge grants power, and sharing knowledge weakens your position to dominate as a researcher.  How often does this attitude seep down into the classroom environment where the goal should be to encourage everyone to learn as much as they can?

Are there teachers who withhold answers just to ensure that the students do not grow to know more than they do?  Is this restricted sharing environment comforting for the teacher, and effective in stimulating the students to seek their knowledge elsewhere?  Are there teachers who are not motivated to take up the torch of lifelong learning?  Do our formal learning environments still accommodate teachers who have no interest in growing and developing, so they always have something new to share with their students?

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Is kindergarten too young to study Physics?

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Studying Physics in a kindergarten classMany parents of young children have vague (and sometimes not so pleasant) memories of studying Physics during their high school years.  These same parents with their somewhat patchy memories of what matter and energy are, and how these “Physics things” interact, would be astounded to learn that their kindergarten-age children are in fact ready to study Physics.  But isn’t Physics terribly complex with lots of formulae, obscure calculations, and plenty of abstract concepts to glue it all together?  How can a kindergarten-age child possibly study Physics?

 [1]Marxen in her article “Push, Pull, Toss, Tilt, Swing: Physics for Young Children”, explores the role of Physics in the learning process and problem-solving skill development of young children.  Marxen comments that there are “similarities between how children think and learn and how scientists work. Children, like scientists, are theory builders. When children are allowed to construct knowledge by acting on their environment, they expand their understanding, which in turn contributes to their intellectual development.”  So your children are little rocket scientists in disguise, how exactly are they learning and building these theories?

Marxen explains that young children’s Physics experiences usually involve the movement of objects.  For most parents and teachers, “movement of objects” is synonymous with play.  The action is primary and the observation is secondary. Children typically make discoveries about matter and energy through creative play and simple discovery activities in the classroom and at home. For example, something as simple and inexpensive as some small balls and a few sheets of cardboard (that can be folded into ramp-like structures of varying steepness) can invite children to explore concepts that will only be translated into detailed formulae and complex concepts many years down the road for them.  Playing and learning to ask the question “why does that happen” gives these children the opportunity to acquire valuable learning experience.  This experience can be built upon to create a practical knowledge base which will later provide a sturdy foundation to which more complex, abstract Physics knowledge can easily be added.

Are kindergarten children too young to study Physics?  Absolutely not!  Teachers and parents alike can introduce young children to Physics discovery and learning with play-based activities without fear that the children may be overwhelmed or turned off Physics.  Plan playtime or classroom activities that focus on getting the children to experiment and make observations about the world they live in, and you will be well on your way to stimulating a life-long interest in, and appreciation for Physics.

[1]        Carol E. Marxen; Childhood Education, Vol. 71, 1995.

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Teaching Creative Problem-Solving to Children

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Bob Eberle and Bob Stanish agree that creative problem-solving is a basic skill and a good sense approach to modern day living and learning. As a practical style of learning, creative problem-solving has significant transfer value.

CPS: Creative Problem-solvings for Kids In their book, “CPS for Kids: A Resource Book for Teaching Creative Problem-Solving to Children”, Eberle and Stanish share their 6-step approach to creative problem-solving. They show how to start with becoming more alert and developing an awareness which stimulates recognition of situations or conditions that need improvement or correction. From this starting point of becoming more observant, the reader is led to the point of generating creative ideas with potential solutions to the problems at hand. But the process doesn’t end with an idea. No, it takes the reader all the way through to a final step that is often omitted when problem-solving techniques are taught. Solution-finding is only part of the end product. Implementing a workable solution is the rest of the end product, and the final step in Eberle’s and Stanish’s process. The reader is taken all the way from waking up to the call for solutions, to developing the final plan to implement their best solution.

While this book emphasizes application in the elementary school environment, its value in teaching at all levels should not be under-estimated. Students need to be challenged to think, and this book helps teachers, parents, and students alike to seek out those challenges and to embrace them enthusiastically.

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Engaging the reflective mind

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The image of a good problem solver is one of an intelligent person. But years of teaching Physics to intelligent young people has convinced me that intelligence isn’t the only criterion for a successful problem solver. Common sense is perhaps more critical than many have recognized. Without it, an intelligent individual may have a lot of knowledge  and the capacity to make complex connections, but may simply lack the practical wisdom to apply it appropriately. Unfortunately, recognition of the fact that common sense is critical to effective problem solving is where most people stop. Possibly this resistance to dig deeper is due to an underlying belief that if you don’t have a whole lot of common sense to begin with, you are never going to get more.

Daniel Willingham, in a recent article, raises the question of whether common sense can indeed be taught. Willingham debates this question from a psychological perspective and eloquently references psychologist Keith Stanovich who, in his new book What Intelligence Tests Miss, offers a way to understand the difference between intelligence and common sense.   Stanovich sticks to a more traditional definition of intelligence that focuses on the ability to solve problems and make effective decisions. Stanovich suggests that there are three components to the cognitive system that handles these functions: the autonomous mind (which engages in quick thinking based on simple associations and past experiences), the algorithmic mind (which processes information by making comparisons and combining concepts), and the reflective mind (which interprets goals and beliefs and determines appropriate actions to achieve those goals). What most people don’t realize is that typical intelligence tests measure the efficiency of the algorithmic mind, but fail to consider the moderating effect of the reflective mind.

To problem solve effectively, you don’t only need to decide which facts should be combined to generate a solution. You have to test and adapt that selection (made by the algorithmic mind) to the situation at hand. In other words, the solution needs to fit into the environment of the problem, or the solution will never be practical. And this is the job of the reflective mind. According to Willingham, “You need to see your environment for what it is, you need to set realistic goals, and you need to select actions that move you towards those goals.” Intelligent people (categorized this way by typical intelligence tests) don’t always successful engage their reflective minds (the source of common sense) to determine the appropriateness of their solution. The result? Intelligent people are not always naturally good problem solvers. But could they become good problem solvers? To the critical question, “can common sense be taught?” Willingham’s response is “To some extent, yes. With sufficient practice, people can come to recognize the types of errors the reflective mind makes, and learn to avoid them.”

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Common sense – the stepping stone to successful problem solving

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“My kids seem to have no common sense.  What do I do?”

 Before we consider whether common sense is something that can be acquired through exercise or practice, a curious reader may well ask, “But how do we know if we (or our children or students) have enough common sense?”  How much is enough?  Was I born to struggle with issues that require common sense?  Is my lack of common sense just the result of my genetic coding?  And why is problem solving hampered by the absence of common sense?  Can’t I find a way to become good at problem solving without growing my common sense?

These questions introduce complex topics that promise to weigh down the most athletic mind.  It’s easy (and extremely informative) to get caught up in the theories and debates that psychologists and educators invest themselves in.  My experience, however, is that most parents and teachers need practical solutions that will make learning easier for the children, and not a bunch of theoretical textbook quotations.  So here, we will rather focus on the practical issues, and how to overcome real-life hurdles that keep students from succeeding.  Parents and teachers may find they identify a little better with their children and students if they first challenge themselves to a fun, common sense test (an example is found at http://www.kathimitchell.com/commons.htm).  The score doesn’t matter nearly as much as the insight this test will offer us into recognizing why common sense is so very important in the problem solving process.

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How do we challenge and motivate students?

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Every teacher knows that getting our students excited about learning is not always easy.  There are, however, some successful ways to engage learners and raise their excitement levels.  Elena Aguilar describes one such approach in the article, Do Your Final Projects Challenge and Motivate Students? | Edutopia.  Give students a clear goal, a practical way to express what they have learned, and you will encourage learning.  Aguilar describes how “dangling” the final project in front of the students actually lures them into the learning process.  For the students, “the purpose of learning discrete skills” becomes apparent.  “They see how the learning will be applied, they know that there’ll be an audience at the end, and they anticipate the fun.”

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Taking arithmetic exercises out of the classroom

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Most kids dread mathematics homework, but won’t mind playing a game.  The LPN Game is a very simple, fun, number-based activity suitable for the whole family.  The game, which is customizable in difficulty, can be played by all the members of the family, play group, or students in the classroom, and is a great way to introduce very young family members  or students to the process of combining numbers in a fun, non-threatening environment.  Without realizing it, your children or students will soon be “doing arithmetic” exercises outside of the classroom without the need for books or pencils.

The LPN Game (available in print format) will soon be available as an affordable download from www.drpearllewis.com.  The low-cost download version is ideal for teachers and parents on a tight budget.

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