Welcome to a new school year, AVHS! For
those of you new to our building, the AVReading Newsletter is a monthly
publication dedicated to promoting literacy. Each year, the newsletters
focus on a specific theme, and while I had one picked out this summer, I chose
to change it last week, in response to an activity we did as a staff. In
that activity, we identified topics that we-- as a staff-- were most interested
in studying, and instrustructional strategies was one of the most popular. So for this year, the AVReading Newsletters
will examine a wide range of instructional strategies. This month’s
newsletter, then, will focus on a general overview of what is to
come.
Before doing that, however, it is important to
put instructional strategies within the wider context of what we do as teachers
and as a school. For example, an emphasis on instructional strategies
assumes that we are constantly working to connect our content areas to the
lives of our students. Additionally, (as our administrative leaders this
year have emphasized), a focus on the technique of instruction also assumes
that we are working hard to foster healthy relationships with our
students.
Finally, working on instructional strategies assumes
that teachers are working on the culture of their classrooms, thinking
carefully about how our race, class, and sexual identity influence the way that
we see others, as well as how we might be seen by students. This is
important because instructional strategies can be culturally bias as well. Take
for example the way we like to turn lessons into fun games that fuel friendly
competition. While these might be fun at times, not all students come from
families or communities that thrive on competition. So, continually
incorporating a strategy like that within the classroom might actually do more
to marginalize some groups of students than to engage them. Without these other pieces-- building
relevance, fostering relationships, studying culture--, not even the most fail
proof instructional strategy will do much to meaningfully transform students.
Within that context, the power of making good
instructional decisions is extremely important. I remember having a
student teacher a few years ago, and as I watched him take those initial steps
into teaching, I became overtly aware of how much nuance there is effective teaching.
Watching him struggle, I wasn’t even sure where to really begin with my
suggestions. There are just so many potential questions to ask. How do I start a class? Should I sit or
stand while I teach? Who should I call on? What types of questions should I ask? How often or how long should I lecture? How do I find a good reading? And how should
I assess a student’s understanding of those readings? The questions go on
and on. And frankly, they can be overwhelming at times. This is in part due to the fact that we tend
to think of instructional strategies as either good or bad. While educational research has certainly
helped us determine that some strategies are certainly better than others
(paired reading is definitely better than round robin reading for example),
there simply is no magic wand of instruction that will be universally
effective. Instead, it is better to remember that all teachers are
different, and all classes have unique qualities, which means that it takes
time for teachers to find instructional strategies that fit their particular
personalities and levels of risk aversion, as well as the given circumstances
of any given set of students.
Each month, I will offer a variety of strategies
within a given area, starting in October with engagement checks and taking on class
management in November. In December and January, I’ll move to small group
activities and stations. Movement will
be the focus of February, while we will look at reading strategies in
March. Behavior, differentiation, and questioning will close out the
year. Obviously, taking on so many different types of strategies means I will
only be able to scratch the surface of each one of these. However, doing so
increases the likelihood that everyone should be able to find something useful
at some point in the year.
As Drew mentioned in his opening remarks to the
staff, teaching is immensely complicated. It falls somewhere between an
art and a science. It is a vocation and
a calling. A perpetual search for
improvement and balance, rigor and relevance, technique and relationship.
Having a well-stocked toolbox and a rich pallet of strategies can guide us
along the path.
Find the entire newsletter here.
