2.3 Pedagogical Policies

 

The key to generating critical thinking and organization among students lies in our ability and our students’ ability to be good questioners, note takers, and writers. The following are some points on how to promote effective classroom practices to improve student achievement:

The development of lesson plans by and for the use of the teacher is a professional responsibility vital to effective teaching (UFT Contract). Every teacher must have a written lesson plan for every lesson, organized and arranged at his or her discretion.

 

One of the most important processes that occurs in a learning environment is that of asking and responding to questions. Many teachers inadvertently use questioning techniques that are highly exclusive of numerous children in the classroom. Effective questioning is a tool with which teachers develop logical thought, stimulate the imagination, bridge the gap between previous learning and new learning, and give direction to the learning process. When skillfully phrased and strategically used, questions become one of the teacher’s most flexible instructional tools. One the other hand, poor questions, and poor questioning technique interfere with learning by creating confusion, discouraging pupil involvement and inhibiting the sequential development of concepts. Therefore, it is important to update our skills and increase our repertoire of effective questioning strategies that are inclusive of all our students.

Typically, teachers are unaware of their own pattern of questioning and are surprised, even appalled, when they monitor themselves as to who is or is not being called on, and with what frequency. Students are very quick to pick up on the teacher’s style and to assess the probability of their being called on; and, consequently, their need to participate and respond in that classroom. Below are effective questioning strategies and

techniques for today’s classrooms. They encourage high response opportunities for students, student accountability, critical/divergent thinking, and active participation – with everyone having a voice that is heard and respected. These are all strategies that are inclusive of every student in the class

 

 

Teachers sometime develop ineffective questioning habits that are difficult to break unless conscious examination in precisely what kinds of questions they have been asking takes place. Ineffective questions come in many varieties, and are ineffective for various reasons. We have all heard them, and have perhaps used some of them. Here is a brief compilation of the “dirty dozen”:

 

Related to the art of effective questioning is the skill with which the teacher reacts to, or accepts pupil responses. Pupils can be encouraged to formulate their responses in such a way as to make them of value to the entire class. Teachers can further encourage pupil involvement and enthusiasm in the learning process by the ways in which they use pupil responses. Here are some general guidelines.

This section presents another way of looking at questioning in the classroom. It is based on a workshop given by Rob Bocchino, Change of Heart Associates, to Manhattan High School principals in the fall of 2001. It is one aspect of an approach to teaching called The Essential Elements of Instruction.

The premise of this method is that the usual method of questioning, even at its best, usually results on only about one-third of the students responding on a regular basis. This being the case, how does the teacher know if the rest of the students have learned the material?

The heart of this method is simple to state, hard to implement: Students often do not raise their hands to respond to a question. This goes against all past practice and the ingrained habits of both students and teachers.

Instead, Essential Elements of Instruction suggests the following method for asking questions:

The advantage of this method is obvious: Every student is engaged with every question. Simply put, there is nowhere to hide. When responses are called for, there is a high probability that a student will be asked and not “hands up” to hide behind. This method promotes student sharing and peer-mediated instruction. It makes every lesson student-centered. Finally, educational research has shown that this method tends to elicit more correct responses, more creative responses, longer responses and responses on a higher level of thought. Students also tend to retain information better and score better on assessments.

For more information: www.heartofchange.com.

When working for the New York City Department of Education, you come to realize that over the years, educational practices change. One year’s theme is forgotten the next, to be replaced by a different set of theories and ideas. When Standards-Based instruction and testing became part of our educational practice, they were based on The Principles of Learning, developed by the Institute of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh (1998). In the late 90’s, these principles were part of every workshop to help all staff learn about the theoretical underpinnings of standards-based instruction. Today, the Standards remain, but the Principles of Learning are rarely discussed. However, they have substantial value. By having a general idea of them, we can better reflect on our practice and improve our instruction. The following summary of these Principles is adapted from Getting Started in Standards-Based Planning (UFT, 1999).

 

Principle 1: Organize for Effort
Effort, not aptitude, determines student achievement. Student effort pays. Schools encourage it by setting expectations that can be reached through effort and by showing students their progress toward meeting the standard.

 

Principal 2: Clear Expectations
Students must understand what they have to know and be able to do in order to meet the Standards, and these expectations must be the same for all students. To insure that all students have a fair chance to meet the Standards, they must be provided with a common, challenging curriculum and sufficient time and resources to meet the Standards. Students, parents, school and community must know the targets at each stage of learning. Students should participate in the setting of goals and evaluation of progress.

 

Principle 3: Recognition and Accomplishment
Student work must be celebrated at regular progress points. Peers, teachers, friends and families are invited to recognize student performance.

 

Principle 4: Fair and Credible Evaluations
Assessments are not based on the normal curve, but on absolute standards. The assessments are connected to the curriculum and to instruction.

 

Principle 5: Academic Rigor in a Thinking Curriculum
In a thinking curriculum with academic rigor, students must demonstrate deep understanding of challenging content and apply this knowledge to solve problems. Students are expected to create high quality finished work and be able to explain how what they learned enabled them to find solutions.

Commitment to a Knowledge Core

 

High Thinking Demand

 

Active Use of Knowledge

 

Principle 6: Accountable Talk
When students are accountable, they take responsibility for their learning by listening carefully, building upon the statements of others and applying solid reasoning and rules of evidence to make and justify statements. With teachers in the role of coaches, students learn to recognize and challenge confusing or inaccurate information and request clarifications, evidence and additional explanations when they do not understand.

 

Principle 7: Socializing Intelligence
We teach intelligence. When we teach intelligence, we help socialize intelligence; i.e., we give students the confidence to act capably and intelligently. This includes a set of Beliefs, Skills and Dispositions.

 

Principle 8: Learning as Apprenticeship
The teacher is the “guide on the side” not the “sage on the stage”. This principle affirms that students learn best when they work with experts who continually model, coach, encourage and guide them. The learner learns by doing in the class apprenticeship model and the teacher consciously models the processes that build skills.

 

In recent years, significant changes have been made (and are still being made) in the laws and policies that govern the instruction of students with special needs. It is anticipated that you will receive future revisions in the policies below which you can add to this Handbook.

The history of the education of children with special needs over the past twenty years is based on the growing realization that most children, regardless of needs, learn better in “the least restrictive environment.” In accordance with federal law, this is a requirement, not a choice. Experience has shown that children with special needs gain skills at a faster rate in general education classes, when provided with the appropriate supports. We are trying to use different educational models to best meet the unique needs of each student. Any of your teaching assignments may include the following:

 

 

 

 

• Students in this program are classified as general education students. All of these students receive their instruction in general education classrooms but have the additional mandated support of one period of Resource Room per day. The Resource Room teacher works on remediating deficit areas identified in the student’s IEP and reinforces specific academic strengths. The Resource Room teacher utilizes classroom textbooks, subject specific assignments, and exams from each student’s program to support instruction given in general education classrooms. A cooperative effort between the general educator and Resource Room teacher is critical to the success of the student. Test modifications may be administered in the Resource Room for these students as well as for all other special needs students mandated to have such test modifications.

 

• We are all teachers of all children, whatever model or method or theory. Students with special needs may require designated supports, additional time, and creative instruction to succeed. It is the responsibility of all of us to provide these so all students may meet graduation requirements. The more we provide for different learning styles in our instruction, the more students with unique needs will succeed.