Possible Changes

As I read Results Now by Mike Schmoker, I was astonished at the facts that point to teachers doing so little of what is essential in a classroom to further the education of the students that turn to us to gain the knowledge they need to be successful. It is time to put Schmoker's ideas to practice! I am taking on the role of the English supervisor in all of the following changes I'm hoping to implement.

Quote #1 (from Barry's list) “If we leave virtually every instructional choice up to individual teachers who work alone, then inferior practices will dominate in most schools." (Haycook, 2005)

In order to improve the above situation it is essential that teachers create professional learning communities that meet several times a month to collaborate on instructional plans and projects that will be assigned in the classes. I would propose that teachers of the same grade level would meet to ensure that they are all asking the proper essential questions and that they are all requiring similar assessments that are meaningful. Additionally, it is important that the teachers share rubrics and the requirements necessary to attain a certain grade, so that the same work is not scored differently based on the teachers' personal preferences. Also, I would ask them to work in collaboration with history since it would be fantastic to see interdisciplinary lessons. There are many ways to tie English and history together. In teaching certain novels, the history teacher could teach about the historical period, whereas the English teacher could teach about characterization and theme, etc.

Quote #2 "In most cases, neither teachers nor students can articulate what they are supposed to be learning that day. They can describe only the activity or assignment, which is often chosen because it keeps kids occupied. Irrelevant worksheets and activities often predominate." (Schmoker 16)

I can see it now, a parent asking a student what he/she learned that day and the student responding with a shrug of the shoulders. Such a response could be avoided if the teachers' goals would be more concrete. As a supervisor I would expect my teachers to have examined the big picture that they want the students to learn and from there to work backwards with expectations of what the students should learn from the lesson. In turn, the teachers should create assessments that would show that the lessons being taught are ones that will be meaningful and retained for years. It's not just a matter of listing the activities of the day, but the goals that are going to be taught. I would expect the learning objectives to be listed on the board as students walk into class, so they know what it is they will be learning. Of course no lesson would be complete if the teacher did not model what was expected and check for understanding, not only from the few who raise their hands, but also by questioning others at random.

Quote #3 "Even 15 extra minutes of reading per day can lead to three months of additional growth - enough for a considerable amount of students to catch up or exceed grade-level expectations." (Schmoker 97)

As a supervisor, I would look to revise the curriculum and implement a Reading Day. Since statistics show the above to be true - then I would hope the superintendent would approve my curriculum change of allowing one day a week to be simply a day of reading in the English classroom. Of course this wouldn't just be a sit, read, write activity. I would hope that by allowing students to pick their own novels (teacher approved, grade level appropriate) the students would be more interested in reading. I would instruct the teachers to read a book of their choosing as well, so as to model what is expected. In turn, halfway or so through the class, the teachers would call on several students to discuss something meaningful or thought-provoking and even ask other students (that have not discussed their novels that day) to ask questions and have some dialogue between the presenters and their peers. For homework that night students would have to write in a journal reflecting on their reading. The journal would be graded every other week, so the teachers would make sure that they are reflections of higher order thinking, not just summaries of chapters. This might be a difficult thing to get approved by the superintendent since so much needs to be taught during a school year, so obviously there isn't time for reading random novels. But if the statistics show that reading is so crucial, then why not try a method that might encourage reading and promote students to excel?