Results Now
In his latest book, Mike Schmoker exposes some ugly, unspoken truths about education:
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. Catching students learning the most vital reading and writing standards is heartbreakingly rare. And in defiance of what every educator has learned, there is a glaring absence of the most basic elements of an effective lesson: an essential, clearly defined learning objective followed by careful modeling or a clear sequence of steps, punctuated by efforts during the lesson to see how well students are paying attention or learning the material. In most classrooms, half or more of the students are clearly not engaged or paying attention. (16)
In the second section of the book, the author makes the case for authentic literacy in schools - “...intellectually engaging reading, writing and discussion.” (49) Nobody would argue that we need to focus on tasks that move beyond basic knowledge comprehension. Certainly reading, writing and discussion can be powerful to propel us toward what we would hope to achieve. As I was reading, however, I couldn’t help but think about how powerful blogging is in helping us to achieve more, “...intellectually engaging reading, writing and discussion.” Blogging is a technology with affordances that I don’t think most educators even realize. Used well, a blog can engage students in writing of all kinds, obviously reading and also allow thoughtful discussion to continue beyond the confines of the classroom. Additionally, the very nature of blogging allows for more than an audience of one. The affordances, and others, engage students and get them excited about reading, writing and discussion. Blogging is not a replacement for face-to-face discussion, but rather a supplement - and a powerful one at that. I dare say that most people reading this book won’t even be thinking about how any 21st century tools can help us bring about school improvement.
That is my concern. While the book speaks little to the actual pedagogy necessary for achieving results, I fear that educational leaders who are getting excited by this book will look to the old ways of teaching these authentic literacy skills. While there may be noticeable improvement from some tried and true strategies, how much more powerful can the instruction be with the use of some 21st century tools. It’s important to remember that these are the tools - yes, technology tools - of our clients, our students. If we want to fully engage them, speak to them, and have them achieve to their fullest potential, we cannot overlook the role of technologies in the development of these authentic literacy skills.
Randy, great post. I will have to pick up this book. I meet with educators all the time about how to use technology (computers, Internet etc) in their classrooms. Rarely can the person I am working with answer this questions, “what is the objective?” I always start out by asking what they want their students to be able to do or know. They usually say, I want them to use the computer to learn more about XYZ. That is not an objective.
We need more backwards planning. Start out with what you want the end result to be, and work your way backwards to the lesson. An essential lesson for anyone who wants to help teachers intergrate 21st century tools - know the teacher’s objective first, then help them achieve it.
Posted by arvind on 11/26 at 05:03 PMI agree with arvind, great post Randy,
Randy, you wrote:
“Used well, a blog can engage students in writing of all kinds, obviously reading and also allow thoughtful discussion to continue beyond the confines of the classroom.”I’d love any thoughts on what “used well” means, and how teachers could encourage “thoughtful discussion” using blogs as supposed to say a discussion board or a class email list. I agree with this statement, but I’m still searching for concrete reasons to why blogging is inherently innovative versus traditional methods such as paper journals or regular short reflection papers.
For example, do we value engagement with a wider audience? Then we should explicitly assign our students to go comment on a related blog, link to a related post, and engage someone in the web. Do blogs promote better dialogue? Then we need to say under what conditions they do so better than a wiki or a discussion board. What do you think?
Posted by june on 11/28 at 09:55 PMJune
I think your example is one of blogs being “used well” because the task takes advantage of an affordance of the technology, providing a benefit that could not as easily be achieved without the use of the technology.
I believe that when it comes to blogs, it is the teacher and the questions posed to students (and students posing questions to each other) that marks the difference between effective and ineffective uses. In “Results Now,” Schmoker cites Deborah Meir’s and Ted Sizer’s “Habits of Mind.” (55-56)
The ability to
*Critically examine evidence in a text
*See the world from multiple viewpoints
*Make connections and detect patterns among ideas and perspectives
*Imagine alternatives (What if? What else?)
*Understand relevance (What difference does it make?)What we do with students in terms of reading, writing and discussion should focus on these habits. Blogs (and any technology) can be used poorly if the teacher does not understand the affordances and instead has students using the tools for things that could just as well be done on paper. (Schmoker talks about “inane practices” such as, “learning arcane literary terms, overanalyzing metaphors, and identifying elements such as climax, plot, or rising action (as though anyone ever reads that way).” (56)
Can those habits of mind be addressed without tools like blogs? Sure. But teachers that do focus on those habits may do that by having students working in isolation. Blogs, as you mention in your example, naturally open thinking up to a wider audience (and beyond the class period). If we believe learning is a social activity, then blogging is a technology that can assist our efforts.
Posted by Randy on 12/02 at 06:13 PMRandy,
Our district staff are now reading this book. I was looking for discussion on the web about it, and came across your blog post. I’m just beginning to read the book, and wanted to find what others thought. I think that blogging could be a powerful tool in the classroom to engage students in reflective reading, writing, and discussion. Often, not a thought is given to new tools that can engage students in new ways. Hopefully, I can make a case to district leaders for using new tools like blogging in the classroom. Even for teachers, it would be a great way for them to reflect on their teaching practices and the learning that is going on in their classrooms.Posted by Janice Stearns on 04/04 at 07:10 AMJanice
Our administrative team is also reading this book now. We have used a wiki for “book notes” and taken advantage of the “comments” tab to share thoughts. http://salisbury21.pbwiki.com/Results-Now-Book-Notes
If you’d like to see the comments section, email me for the password. My email is .
Thanks for reading!
Posted by Randy Ziegenfuss on 04/05 at 03:30 AM
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