Inflating the tires, not reinventing the wheel ®

 

  • Home

  • Focused Instruction

  • Services

  • Resources

  • About Us

  • Blog

  • Contact us

  • Blog

  • More

    TESS

    Total Education Systems Support

    Sorry Students, There's No Time for Dialog!

    October 5, 2015

    |

    Janae Tovar

    Last week, I wrote about the importance of effective lesson planning because of known physiological constraints that affect how much a student can learn in a given episode. But we know there are other reasons why it is wise to plan for effective instruction. A particularly important reason in the context of today’s standards is that if we are going to ask students to engage in the behaviors of college and career, namely academic discourse, then we cannot waste time with poorly planned instruction.

     

    I have a habit of attending college. I can’t get enough of it. It’s probably one of my more expensive habits, but I love it. I love the campus environment. I love to learn and read about new topics. I love the relationships developed over a shared endurance of the assignments and projects. And I absolutely adore class discussions.

     

    Growing up, I was a kid made for the new standards, which focus on active participation in a community of learners or colleagues. I have many memories as a young student of my class being scolded for being too chatty. In my memories though, we were more often than not talking about whatever we were learning. If a compelling question was posed bringing the new learning into the context of my lived experience, watch out! My mind lit up and my mouth got going. I was an enthusiastic participant in classroom dialog.

     

    As a student and professional today, I am still this way. I am able to:

    • Participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners,

    • Build on others’ ideas

    • Express my own ideas clearly and persuasively

    • Adapt my speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks

    • Demonstrate command of formal English when appropriate

     

    But here’s the thing about all that dialog, it can easily eat up class time. I can imagine my elementary teachers who were exasperated by students talking were simply mindful of everything they knew they had to accomplish that day. More recently in my graduate courses, a seemingly simple prompt can send the class into a rich and enthusiastic discussion of the assigned reading (very on topic), leaving the teacher with no time for the planned lecture and video. This highlights the very real apprehension teachers can feel about incorporating more student-driven collaboration and dialog into their schedule.

     

    This is why we educators need to plan the most efficient and effective lesson we can with the time we have.

     

    The ability to communicate and collaborate is not a nice-to-have set of skills. It is essential. Not only do we need to plan for authentic class dialog knowing it will, at first, be messy and time-consuming, but we most definitely need to explicitly teach the discrete skills of effective participation. Student application of new learning requires time. A lot of time. Therefore, if we can plan for focused lessons that teach the new concept or skills without wasting instructional minutes, finding the time for application becomes easier to do.

    Tags:

    application

    21st century

    planning

    lesson plan

    effective instruction

    focused instruction

    Please reload

    RSS Feed
    Join Our Newsletter
    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Featured Posts

    "But, where should we start?"

    December 6, 2016

    Multiple Initiatives, Multiple Rabbits Leave You Disappointed

    September 2, 2015

    "Who says? Compared to what?"

    February 1, 2017

    1/10
    Please reload

    Recent Posts

    Simple rules save lives and student motivation

    February 24, 2017

    "Who says? Compared to what?"

    February 1, 2017

    A simple idea, elegant execution

    January 17, 2017

    Why Students Achievement is Not Soaring: A Shocking Secret

    January 11, 2017

    "But, where should we start?"

    December 6, 2016

    Sorry, Not Sorry

    November 29, 2016

    Who said this was a good idea?

    October 25, 2016

    The order makes a difference, for words and for school improvement

    September 9, 2016

    Students avoiding the task? The solution might be smaller chunks

    August 17, 2016

    This too shall pass, be it muscle soreness or stress

    August 1, 2016

    Please reload

    Archive

    February 2017 (2)

    January 2017 (2)

    December 2016 (1)

    November 2016 (1)

    October 2016 (1)

    September 2016 (1)

    August 2016 (2)

    July 2016 (1)

    June 2016 (3)

    May 2016 (4)

    April 2016 (2)

    March 2016 (4)

    February 2016 (2)

    January 2016 (1)

    December 2015 (2)

    October 2015 (3)

    September 2015 (2)

    August 2015 (2)

    June 2015 (1)

    May 2015 (4)

    April 2015 (4)

    March 2015 (1)

    February 2015 (3)

    January 2015 (2)

    November 2014 (2)

    October 2014 (2)

    September 2014 (3)

    August 2014 (2)

    Please reload

    Search By Tags

    10000 hour rule

    15%

    21st century

    BOB time

    CCSS proficiencies

    Celebrate

    Choice Theory

    Dr. William Glasser

    Grit

    January to January

    Morale

    OWL time

    Professional Development

    Reflection

    SDC

    Symptoms

    TOTS

    Teacher Support

    Trainer of Trainers

    accountability

    accountability data

    analysis

    application

    art of teaching

    balanced approach

    be a student

    bike whisperer

    boss of the book

    buzz

    buzz words

    check for understanding

    chunking

    clarity

    classroom hacks

    close reading

    cognitive load

    collaboration

    collaborative learning

    common core

    complex tasks

    concept development

    concept maps

    critical thinking

    curriculum

    data and research

    dialog

    differentiation

    direct instruction

    discipline

    educational research

    educationese

    effective instruction

    enjoy the ride

    evaluate the research

    expensive purchase

    expert

    expert tip

    feedback

    first grade

    first instruction

    focus

    focused application

    focused instruction

    growth mindset

    homework

    humility

    implementation fatigue

    improving

    independent practice

    inflating the tires

    initiatives

    inspiration

    instruction

    instructional framework

    instructional leadership

    key ideas

    kwl

    language frame

    leadership

    leading with vision

    learning

    less is more

    lesson plan

    lesson steps

    lesson videos

    manageable chunks

    manipulatives

    meta-cognition

    modeling

    neomania

    new assessment

    new curriculum

    new name

    notes from the field

    parents

    planning

    planning tools

    prescription for success