MMM Feb 8

“Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for the rest of his life.”

--Ancient Chinese proverb

^“Teach a child content and he will pass a test. Teach a child HOW to learn all content and he will pass ALL tests.”

--Beth Richardson

"A good teacher teaches students how to become their own teacher."

--Some Random Guy

 

Remember that the highest level of learning is evidenced by being able to teach someone else. This is why some kids and adults are successful and some aren’t. Some know how to teach themselves (learn) whatever needs to be learned; others don’t have that skill.

You and I share a great and honorable mission in life. We are here on the planet to help people ^“learn how to learn” and, in effect, become teachers. Now, I know all of our students aren’t going to major in edu­cation, but can you honestly say that as an adult they will live even one day without having to be ^“the teacher^” in some way for them-selves, their own children, their colleagues, their family, or their friends?

Do you remember these?

·         Prior knowledge

·         Defined purpose

·         Active learning

·         Active reading

·         Discussion

·         Writing

·         Reorganization

·         Metacognition

 

Some of you are saying, “Oh no, here we go again...^” Yes, they have something to do with CRISS (Creating Independence for Student-Owned Strategies).

 

Even Marzano goes down this road and uses a checkoff of four ideas from the learner:

1. How do I feel?

2. Am I interested?

3. Is this important?

4. Can I do this (Marzano, R. J., & Pickering, D., 2010)?

 

The list above spells out the key elements of learning (Project CRISS, 2005, http://www.amazon.com/Project-Creating-Independence-Student-Owned-Strategies/dp/0787280992). These are elements that need to be present in a goodlearning or studying activity if you want the information to stick in the brain. Think of them as the solid foundation for real learning—learn­ing that stays with a person and can be recalled when needed.

As teachers, we deliver the knowledge. We usually dispense the knowledge to our students in a fancy package or ^“learning strat­egy.^” Many of us use time-proven CMCD strategies and strategies from other reputable, reliable sources including Dr. Feldman, Marzono and others.

However, the light bulb moment for me (and I mean the light bulbs they use in the major league sports arenas) occurred when a CRISS trainer said that our job is only half-done when we use these great strategies in our lessons each day. Really, my mouth was hang­ing open. How dare she? What did she mean, half-done? I re-searched, planned, prepped, and delivered with glorious flair. What did she mean, half-done? What more could I do? I couldn^’t pour it into their brains!!!

But then the trainer explained. After using a strategy with the kids, we must communicate to the students why we chose that strategy and point out the areas it hit in the Key Elements of Learning chart. We then have to encourage the students to think about how it worked for them (this is metacognition, or thinking about your own thinking).

To me, this is the missing piece in education today. This is why I got so excited when it finally clicked in my brain (as I, an 11-year veteran teacher, was sitting through a CRISS class for not the first time). We are teaching our hearts out delivering the content, but what we are forgetting is teaching them how to learn the content. Some of our brightest students are making all As, but they are not learning how to learn material when it becomes challenging. (I wish someone had taught me how to learn and study before I went to college.)

Guide the students in asking themselves the following questions:

    ~Did I make the grade I wanted?

~Did the learning stick? Will I really remember this six months or a year from now?

~Do I need to do something else for myself to make the knowledge stick?

~Could I use this strategy myself at home (even if the teacher didn^’t tell me to do it) when studying for a Social Studies test? Science test? English test?

 

Ask the students these questions:

~Are you studying at home but then not doing as well on the test as you would like?

~Do you know what to do for yourself at home when the teacher doesn^’t give a specific assignment but just says to study your notes?

~What are some of the things we do in class that really help you toremember material?

 

After discussing the answers to these questions, encourage students to do something that hits several areas: talk about what they learned with someone, reorganize it a different way, make a visual organizer, and so on. Remember, it^’s a good learning or studying strategy if it hits several elements.

To me, this is teaching students how to be lifelong learners! This is teaching them how to learn anything that comes their way in the next 50 years, some of which we can’t even imagine. This is what it means to be a teacher—not a deliverer of facts, but someone who shows them the way no matter what a future teacher or boss (good or bad) throws out to them. 

How many of us have seen a Key Elements of Learning chart? Possibly had it on our wall to refer to sometimes. Maybe even showing the students the how and why of what we are doing and what they should be doing for themselves at home when it is study time? I’m embarrassed to say that I went several semesters in Idaho teaching the whole first nine weeks without teaching kids how to study and how to make it stick. 

 

Please take the extra five or even 10 minutes to address the how and why you “do it this way” with your students. Don’t think of it as losing time for content. Think of it as giving them a better future—a way to survive without you. You will be bestowing on them a gift far greater than a high score on a standardized test (which, for the record, will improve anyway with this approach). You will be giving them the gift of HOW to learn and teach themselves the unbelievable amount of content that awaits them in the future. You will be fulfilling your great and honorable mission in its highest form.

Eric

adapted from J Zhoul MMM

Videos you might want to check out:

Articles you might want to check out:

Top 3 Questions Teachers Ask About Classroom Tech

Sacred Cows in Education

All Around The World, Girls are doing much better than Boys Academically

Calendar of Events:

Feb 10--Learning Walk at Slater Elementary
Feb 13--Division 22 Standards Report Due--see EXECUTIVE NUMBERED MEMO: 
004-2014-15 DIVISION 22 ASSURANCES 2014-2015 
Feb 13--Alice Nine @ Harney ESD--register with J. Caldwell 541-573-4834
Feb 26-27 K and Early Literacy Summit
March 9-11 CCSS Regional Trainings
March 10--Jo Robinson

April 10--Harney County Tech Conference 2015 @ BHS
April 30-May 1--Kevin Feldman Learning Walk and Training info to come soon
May 14--County-wide Spelling Bee at Harney ESD