On August 13th, 2009 I read the title of this Toronto Star article and sighed as my stress level returned. Are my kids not engaged? I asked myself. Forever trying new things with my students I took this article very seriously and decided to try a strategy recommended by the Canadian Education Association (CEA) called "Collective knowledge building." It was described as a strategy that would improve intellectual engagement. According to research by the CEA, letting kids talk, debate, question and collaborate would give students a voice and some choice over what they are learning in the classroom. In October, I taught my grade four students how to have a conversation. They loved it. We followed strategies suggested by Harvey and Daniels in their book, "Comprehension and Collaboration"- sharing ideas, disagreeing politely and asking questions. Things were going great. Everyone got involved, the volume rose and you could hear the passion in my students' voices- challenging each other and adding on to each other's ideas. I decided that it was working, engagement must be happening. The next question I sought to answer was if this engagement affected the work my students completed. At that time we were working on persuasive writing. Our conversations and collaborative work was on the topic of Medieval Times. I set out to see if the conversations influenced and improved my students' written work. After several weeks of practice and a few persuasive texts later, I assessed how the conversations changed my more reluctant students' work. Expecting fireworks, I was surprisingly disappointed! They had obviously learned from their peers. They had demonstrated a passion towards a topic. They were full of ideas... but, when it came to write them down, these students froze. Each of them struggled to complete ideas on paper, they didn't prove their ideas and didn't really know what else to say. I was disheartened but encouraged by a question asked to me, "what is more important?" If a child is engaged is that not enough? Is our priority not to get kids hooked in so they eventually discover their own interests to pursue in more depth? If someone is engaged in school and continues to be so over the years of their educational experience, is that not success in itself? Does our current focus on academic success dampen the energy and spirit of our curious students?
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Engagement vs. Academic Success
On August 13th, 2009 I read the title of this Toronto Star article and sighed as my stress level returned. Are my kids not engaged? I asked myself. Forever trying new things with my students I took this article very seriously and decided to try a strategy recommended by the Canadian Education Association (CEA) called "Collective knowledge building." It was described as a strategy that would improve intellectual engagement. According to research by the CEA, letting kids talk, debate, question and collaborate would give students a voice and some choice over what they are learning in the classroom. In October, I taught my grade four students how to have a conversation. They loved it. We followed strategies suggested by Harvey and Daniels in their book, "Comprehension and Collaboration"- sharing ideas, disagreeing politely and asking questions. Things were going great. Everyone got involved, the volume rose and you could hear the passion in my students' voices- challenging each other and adding on to each other's ideas. I decided that it was working, engagement must be happening. The next question I sought to answer was if this engagement affected the work my students completed. At that time we were working on persuasive writing. Our conversations and collaborative work was on the topic of Medieval Times. I set out to see if the conversations influenced and improved my students' written work. After several weeks of practice and a few persuasive texts later, I assessed how the conversations changed my more reluctant students' work. Expecting fireworks, I was surprisingly disappointed! They had obviously learned from their peers. They had demonstrated a passion towards a topic. They were full of ideas... but, when it came to write them down, these students froze. Each of them struggled to complete ideas on paper, they didn't prove their ideas and didn't really know what else to say. I was disheartened but encouraged by a question asked to me, "what is more important?" If a child is engaged is that not enough? Is our priority not to get kids hooked in so they eventually discover their own interests to pursue in more depth? If someone is engaged in school and continues to be so over the years of their educational experience, is that not success in itself? Does our current focus on academic success dampen the energy and spirit of our curious students?
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Hi Jenn,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post! I can sense the passion you have for your students in your writing. Thanks for sharing.
As you explained in your blog, it is really challenging for us to understand how to measure success - should we measure it using the "products" children generate (e.g., written texts) or should it be measured based on their overall interest in their own learning and in learning skills we cannot easily assess (e.g., having an intelligent conversation). I believe that with all the pressure on educators to "prove" that students are learning and meeting standards set out for them (i.e., achieving level 3s on EQAO tests), teachers feel an immense need to ensure that their students are ready for this type of testing. As a result, a lot of their teaching is driven by these tests.
I read a really interesting article in the Toronto Star last weekend about an educator at Berkeley who believes that we are miserably failing our students. As you shared in your post, she also believes that we should ignite the passion in our students and encourage them to pursue their interests. But how do we do this? It sounds ideal but is it achievable given all the pressure on educators to ensure that students become and remain competitive. It really is hard to know how to strike this balance - giving students an opportunity to develop their own interests while meeting the curriculum expectations.
What you are doing in your classroom is commendable. You are giving your students opportunities to learn the skills that will help them succeed in anything they choose to do. As you explained, it is not always easy for students to transfer the skills they are learning from task to task. Although they can have a conversation where they can easily persuade their listeners about something, it may not be easy for them to achieve this same goal in their writing. I think this skill will come with practice but I do not believe that we should sacrifice teaching them how to have these conversations to exclusively focus on their writing.
Keenjal
I can certainly relate to your frustrations, Jenn, as I too have had very similar experiences. Years ago I read a book by Gloria Ladson-Billings, in which she discussed culturally relevant instruction. Her message resonated with me and I have made a concerted effort to ensure that my curriculum instruction is infused with real world issues that the children could easily relate to and perhaps even exhibit some passion for and I have (on occasion) witnessed this engagement. However, it does not always occur, but when it does happen it makes this profession extremely rewarding! I often use my experiences as a student in AQs to inform my practices as a teacher and I asked myself: "Am I always engaged as a student?" The answer? Well, it is not always yes and yet I feel all those AQs and workshops were worthwhile because I could take many things from those experiences to make myself a better teacher and person. So, I agree with you let's work at keeping our instruction meaningful for our students.
ReplyDeleteIfeoma