When it comes to transforming education, it is suggested we must narrow the knowing-doing gap. For those who have yet to hear of this idea, it is the notion of utilizing what we KNOW- often from research studies, into what we DO in our classrooms. Sadly, this implies that we KNOW exactly what we need to do for all students and that teachers simply just don't DO it. As an educator, I take offence to this line of thinking.
Recently I have been thinking that it is not a matter of teachers suffering from the knowing-doing gap, but rather a DOING- KNOWING gap. Teachers KNOW a lot about teaching and learning. We live it, breathe it and many of us spend thousands of dollars learning more about it. Living in the information age, we are inundated with new resources and "best practices" that we learn to help us DO better for our students. Add to this wealth of information, district and school in-service, professional development opportunities and like our curriculum, teachers are trying to incorporate learning a mile wide and an inch deep.
Take Language Arts for example. Has there been a subject that has such swift and large pendulum swings? Guided reading, whole language, phonics, balanced literacy have all been made "priority" in my short career and all areas I have had to KNOW. Teachers have been told to DO all of these evidence-based practices but, how do we KNOW which pieces should still be practiced and which are best to stop DOING?
Recently, I have been reading "Daily Math Investigations" by Sandra Ball and Carole Fullerton (2013) in which they challenge a widely practiced learning routine in most Kindergarten and Grade 1 classrooms- Calendar time. Calendar time is often done daily in kindergarten and grade 1 classes to develop among other things, numeracy and patterning skills. Ball and Fullerton note however:
"The abstract nature of a calendar- the repeating 7-day pattern of days in a week, the recursive aspect of the chart itself and the random number of days per month- makes it virtually undecipherable for young students.
For many of us, calendar time (and all the activities associated with it) is ingrained in our script for primary teaching. It's important however to consider carefully the purpose of these tasks- and more importantly, their effectiveness." (p. 5)
Is this to say that K/1 teachers are purposely DOING practices that we KNOW are ineffective? Of course not. What I am saying, is that our push for student aptitude in all areas, may have resulted in losing sight of why we do what we do. Maybe, reading resource after resource of "how [best] to do calendar time" has blurred what we KNOW is the main role of this time in our classroom?
Before we start DOING more in our classrooms, let's review what we KNOW is working and why through varied and valid assessment. Grounding what we DO to what educational research KNOWS may just be the best way to move teaching and learning forward while respecting the integrity and learning of teachers.
As always, thoughts or comments welcome.
Recently I have been thinking that it is not a matter of teachers suffering from the knowing-doing gap, but rather a DOING- KNOWING gap. Teachers KNOW a lot about teaching and learning. We live it, breathe it and many of us spend thousands of dollars learning more about it. Living in the information age, we are inundated with new resources and "best practices" that we learn to help us DO better for our students. Add to this wealth of information, district and school in-service, professional development opportunities and like our curriculum, teachers are trying to incorporate learning a mile wide and an inch deep.
Take Language Arts for example. Has there been a subject that has such swift and large pendulum swings? Guided reading, whole language, phonics, balanced literacy have all been made "priority" in my short career and all areas I have had to KNOW. Teachers have been told to DO all of these evidence-based practices but, how do we KNOW which pieces should still be practiced and which are best to stop DOING?
Recently, I have been reading "Daily Math Investigations" by Sandra Ball and Carole Fullerton (2013) in which they challenge a widely practiced learning routine in most Kindergarten and Grade 1 classrooms- Calendar time. Calendar time is often done daily in kindergarten and grade 1 classes to develop among other things, numeracy and patterning skills. Ball and Fullerton note however:
"The abstract nature of a calendar- the repeating 7-day pattern of days in a week, the recursive aspect of the chart itself and the random number of days per month- makes it virtually undecipherable for young students.
For many of us, calendar time (and all the activities associated with it) is ingrained in our script for primary teaching. It's important however to consider carefully the purpose of these tasks- and more importantly, their effectiveness." (p. 5)
Is this to say that K/1 teachers are purposely DOING practices that we KNOW are ineffective? Of course not. What I am saying, is that our push for student aptitude in all areas, may have resulted in losing sight of why we do what we do. Maybe, reading resource after resource of "how [best] to do calendar time" has blurred what we KNOW is the main role of this time in our classroom?
Before we start DOING more in our classrooms, let's review what we KNOW is working and why through varied and valid assessment. Grounding what we DO to what educational research KNOWS may just be the best way to move teaching and learning forward while respecting the integrity and learning of teachers.
As always, thoughts or comments welcome.