Grappling with Understanding

This week's reading poses some interesting hypotheses about enduring understandings for teachers. One of the them is that teachers must grapple with a student's misconceptions and background knowledge in a content area. One such example was Newton's Law of Gravity. Students may perceive that a larger object will hit the ground before a smaller object, but that is not the truth. The fact is that objects fall at the same rate. That was an enduring understanding that students must be able to transfer into application of that knowledge.

Another facet that teachers must grapple with are the six facets of understanding, which are explanation, interpretation, application, perspective, empathy and self-knowledge. Each facet takes the teacher through another step in the transfer process for students.

Another area that a teacher must grapple with is the "expert blind spot" This was reiterated in this chapter even though it was talked about in previous chapters. The enduring struggle for teachers in getting students to truly understand a subject is to understand that as a teacher "expert" in their content area, that the students may be learning this material for the first time. Overcoming the expert blind spot is a big key in determining if students truly understand the material.

And finally, teachers grapple with finding truly enduring questions to ask students. These come in two forms, one is the big ideas and the other are topical questions. The big ideas are those essential questions that probe the student's thought process. The topical questions should be used as a stepping stone to further understanding. Teachers need to sequence topical questions so that students follow along the necessary understandings to the larger overarching questions and big ideas.

If teachers can accomplish all of these aspects of enduring understandings with students it can foster true learning for the students.

Novice Teacher Traits

I found a website through my research that talks about the characteristics of new teachers. When I conducted my year-long field experience, I also learned a little about what a good teacher looks like. Some of the things that I learned were, classroom management skills, lesson design, and differentiated instruction. My field experience was in a school for disabled kids, so these skills were vital to survival in the classroom.
But the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory also lists these as characteristics of successful new teachers: Setting up a classroom, responding effectively to behavior and discipline problems, motivating students and engaging them, creating a community of learners, working effectively with ELL students, assessing student performance, understanding the CCCS, Learning to communicate and involve parents, developing time management skills, continuing to develop professionally, connecting theories in college to classroom practice.
Im sure that some of these will be included in our group project for teaching new teachers how to be successful. Take a look at the link if you have the time, it was very informative about providing support to beginning teachers.
http://nwrel.org

Politics and Curriculum

From the SCI readings about politics and public policy, it seems that creating a curriculum is not that much different than our government trying to create a law. There is a committee process, a drafting process and a passing process.

Having worked in state government for a number of years, I understand the constituent interests that must be addressed in order to draft and pass a bill into law. It sounded like putting a curriculum in place is much the same way with different special interest groups, some with larger voices than others all weighing in on the process.

It always amazed me how our state government ever passed any laws with strong partisan politics at work, but now I can see how difficult it must be for educators, and administrators to put into place a new curriculum.