As an educator of students of all ages, I have come to understand that content soon forgotten was never truly learned. Recognition of the challenging task of teaching and learning has driven me to teach for mastery. I am convinced that retention and transfer of knowledge, skills, and dispositions depend strongly upon learning experiences being sensory rich, personally meaningful, mentally challenging, and applicable to life. For this reason, my classroom (whether bright-eyed grade school students or eager preservice educators) is an active and enjoyable place. I draw students into the process of learning by an engaging atmosphere, an active participatory role, and regular collaborative tasks. Then, I lead them to success with positive, caring support. Since it takes time to learn, classroom time cannot be wasted; each activity, inquiry, instructional strategy, or assessment must be selected with intention. Such expertise and effective teaching requires a solid and current philosophy of teaching and learning. Mine is built upon a thorough study of the literature and years of developing my craft inside the classroom.
The Nature of Learning
I have come to believe that learning occurs when brain structures are modified by growth and restructuring. Neurologically, this is the creation and strengthening of synaptic connections. Practically, it is the dynamic process by which lasting change takes place in thinking and behavior. Blending the scientific with the practical, I describe the process of learning as the assimilation of new knowledge, skill, and disposition with the schematic structures of prior knowledge. This process of individual mental integration is facilitated by both teachers and peers and occurs as new information collides with existing knowledge through meaningful, sensory rich experiences in life.
Learning has occurred when both new and old have been consolidated in long term memory. This change is made evident by the ability to transfer and apply information into new situations and solve new problems. The consolidation of learning also facilitates the task of further learning. The relatively permanent changes in schematic structure work as a conceptual framework minimizing the cognitive load demands of yet more new information. Far removed from the passive, stimulus-based claims of behavioral theories, for me, lasting learning will only occur when life experience is meaningful enough, stimulating enough, rich enough, and challenging enough to cause the development and restructuring of strong brain networks.
The Work of Teaching
As with the dynamic process of learning, teaching is a complex task with a number of important considerations. I define teaching as guiding students through meaningful learning experiences that have been designed with intention. In other words, teaching begins before instruction; it begins with planning. For quality learning to occur, I must plan in detail and with learners in mind. Then, through the best instructional practices, I fulfill the essential role of facilitation while carefully and constantly monitoring success. The central elements in my work of teaching—spanning both planning and facilitating—include (1) personal mastery of the content to be learned and its application to the real world, (2) thorough knowledge of the students’ preconceptions and misconceptions, (3) solid understanding of the modalities used in accessing information, (4) dedication to the inclusion of multiple intelligences in the sense-making process, (5) recognition of the crucial role of collaboration in learning, and (6) a dependence on assessments that accurately and seamlessly track student understanding.
The first two central elements form the foundation from which quality teaching can occur. Mastery of the knowledge and skills to be learned has far reaching implications for planning and instruction. From an effective learning progression to appropriate activities and investigations, thorough understanding of the content is essential to the planning and facilitating of meaningful learning experiences. Likewise, prediction and rapid assessment of student prior knowledge is critical. Students do not learn in spite of their preconceptions and misconceptions, but rather, because of and through them. As a teacher, I must understand what likely prior knowledge will exist, and be able to further establish that through effective diagnostic assessments.
The third and fourth central elements of my teaching practice concern the delivery and processing of content. The delivery of content is providing students access to knowledge and skills which can involve a range of methods, including but not limited to: text, inquiry, exploration, discussion, experience, and media. Each method of delivery involves one or more of the primary modalities (visual, auditory, and tactile) as well as a range of other sensory inputs. It is vital to provide students with opportunities to access new information in a variety of ways. The use of a variety of modalities maximizes potential for assimilating new information into current schemata by mediating cognitive load—a phenomenon referred to as the “modality effect.” Sense-making through the processing of new knowledge and skill is most effectively facilitated by activities that span the range of Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences and Benjamin Bloom’s taxonomy. It takes time for students to construct knowledge; this effort improves in efficiency when all areas of the brain are involved. It is also important for students to begin with guided practice before attempting to process knowledge or skill independently. At the same time, with higher order thinking being paramount, each successive activity should increase in level on Bloom’s taxonomy.
Collaboration is a key to success in life for a number of reasons. Clearly, few occupations exist where teamwork is not vital. Students who understand this and work towards being strong collaborators are better prepared for life. I also have come to understand that the construction of knowledge is always influenced by the involvement of others—both instructors and peers. Therefore, the importance of collaboration is a central element in my teaching practice.
The last critical aspect to discuss is assessment. When done with intention and expertise, assessment functions to maximize success in all other central elements of my practice. Understanding student preconceptions and misconceptions hinge mightily on quality diagnostic assessment. While most of these must be formal assessments, monitoring student understandings during learning—formative assessment—needs to be a healthy mix of formal an informal. During instruction and student sense making activities, observation is a key formative assessment that I am constantly employing. For the best decision making data, these informal observations need to be coupled with timely formal assessments. Keeping differentiation in mind during the planning and execution of each of these assessments is vital to accurately capturing a complete picture. Students need to have the opportunity to demonstrate understanding through various intelligences and at multiple levels of Bloom’s taxonomy. Assessments involving collaboration are valuable as well, however, not at the expense of demonstrations of individual success. Each of these needs must be considered at the end of instruction so that summative assessments are valid and reliable. Such an integration of elements usually requires assessments that are performance based. This means that, in my classroom, when traditional tests are used, they never stand alone. Students are given multiple ways to express mastery of knowledge and skill. When my assessment plan supports and increases success of the other central elements of teaching, it fulfills its role as an indispensable component of teaching and learning. In addition, such assessment, gives me confidence in making data-driven decisions.
Conclusion
A great model for instruction which effectively addresses my convictions about the nature of learning and the work of teaching is the 5E Instructional Model. This inquiry-based framework for teaching and learning was developed by the Biological Science Curriculum Study in the late 1980s. Planning around the 5Es meets the needs of learners by engaging them in the content and providing opportunities for exploration which are key features in a meaningful learning process. The model also tasks students with explaining their understanding while still allowing for the clarifying and informing role of technical text, teacher direct instruction, or other means. Then, with consolidation of new and prior understandings still in process, the 5E model takes students deeper in their understanding by expecting transfer of knowledge during the elaboration stage. As should always be the case in teaching, evaluation through varied and frequent assessment is critical to the model. Thus, the 5E Model of Instruction is an excellent framework for my own teaching, and a great model to pass onto my preservice teachers.
