Holly Hanna - Blog Post #4 - Routman, Chapter 4: Teach with a Sense of Urgency

Teaching with a sense of urgency is definitely part of my day, every day.  Students are expected to master such a large amount of material in the course of a year, so there is no time to spare with fitting in necessary curriculum each day.  Elementary teachers are charged with teaching every subject every day and fitting it all into the daily schedule - along with recess, lunch, related arts classes, and restroom breaks.  It is a real challenge!  I have learned that we have no time to spare, which can leave little time for fun or just those daily moments with students that help me get to know them as the wonderful little people that they are.  I think that's the true challenge of being a teacher today.  How can we get it all done with such little time and still be effective?  Routman noted that "we need to keep our expectations high."  I couldn't agree more!  It is so important that we show students that we believe in their abilities by expecting higher-level thinking skills across all curriculum and especially in reading and writing.

Routman tells of the effectiveness of the Optimal Learning Model in Chapter 4 - "With expert assistance and encouragement, learners gradually move from dependence to independence."  The model has four parts:  1. demonstration, 2. shared demonstration, 3. guided practice, and 4. independent practice.  Demonstration and shared demonstration are lead by the teacher, but gradually add students into instruction with practice or discussion.  However, guided practice and independent practice start the process of students applying what they have learned and later progress to displaying skill mastery.  Using this model helps teachers better understand their students as they learn from the problem-solving that will be required of students in the second half of this instructional process.  This type of instruction helps teachers understand what students have actually learned.  This helps guide further instruction and planning.  With our school movement into STEAM activities and project-based learning, I can see the value in using this teaching model/tool as it moves students towards working independently.  Routman states that "students who remain dependent on a teacher or program for all their feedback are limited in how much they can learn."  Students must be able to use reading, writing, or problem-solving strategies independently or with a partner, without the constant guidance and help of a teacher.  This requires a great deal of encouragement and support from the classroom teacher.  Allowing students to take more responsibility for their own learning can lead to more engagement and further reflection of how they can build upon their knowledge in future assignments.  This type of learning can truly be meaningful to students who are building confidence in their own abilities.

Another concept that Routman mentioned in the text was Interactive Reading.  This is a practice I use regularly in my classroom.  Interactive reading is when the teacher reads aloud and invites students to ask questions or add comments while the teacher is reading.  This happens daily with a class full of 7-8 year olds.  Students love to "add" comments or share experiences when they are making connections with the text we're reading.  You can learn so much from students by allowing this to happen and once it's over, you feel that you've shared the reading experience with them.  At one of our recent D6 University sessions with Shawn Wootton, she discussed how we could access multiple Depth of Knowledge (DOK) levels through a read aloud in the classroom.  The level of questioning we use during a simple read aloud can make all the difference in helping students think critically while comprehending texts.