Also in terms of practice, I agree that Shor's questioning method is the absolute best way to foster real learning and meaningful dialogue between students in the classroom. "The participatory classroom is a "free speech" classroom in the best sense, because it invites all expressions from all the students. An empowering class thrives on a lively exchange of thoughts and feelings. The way students speak, feel, and think about any subject is the starting point for a critical study of themselves, their society, and their academic subjects"(22). I regularly use the Socratic Seminar/Accountable Talk method in my classroom. I present students with a thematic focus question, a text, and ask them to prepare a double-sided journal with textual evidence and personal responses. They are also asked to come to the discussion with five questions (different types) to pose to the group. Students are then placed in an inner and outer circle and are given a set amount of time to work through the text. In my experience, this type of discussion yields unbelievable results. Students are able to work with each other and develop a type of internal understanding that I would never be able to lecture to them. Questioning as a methodology WORKS...IT JUST DOES. Thank you Socrates.
HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF A SOCRATIC SEMINAR IN ACTION
On a side note, I don't agree with Shor's suggestions about Hirsch's Dictionary of Cultural Literacy. He sees the volume as "material selected by those with the power to set standards"(32). Someone gave me this volume as a gift and I see it more as a helpful reference in the English classroom. To truly understand literature, the reader has to be made aware of the references and allusions in the literature. If a student can't look up the reference, much of the meaning behind the work can be lost on the student. I think he is making this volume too important. Shor is suggesting that the dictionary is "exclusionary rather then inclusive"(32). I see it as just another tool in my literature toolbox, not the be all end all reference book for all time! Who uses dictionaries now anyways??
Melissa,
ReplyDeleteIt was funny that you used "duh" in your response to "She or he helps students develop their intellectual and emotional powers to examine their learning in school, their everyday experience, and the conditions in society"(12). I completely said the same thing, especially because it's a book from 1992. Many things in kept me thinking about what I already do in the classroom, too. I like how you use the Accountable Talk method because, not only does it get every group member involved, but you also have to pay attention and listen to what others are saying within that group. It's a great quick informative assessment and you can gather so much data in a short amount of time.
I questioned this article (a lot) because I kept thinking in the back of my mind, are there lots of teachers who are still using rote learning and direct instruction as the main premise of the classroom? I was taken back because a bit-- I completely agree, l think that students should be interacting with one another. In my classroom it is always 4-5 minutes of quiet time doing a warm-up, 2-3 minutes of talking process and checking if answers make sense, then back to 4-5 minutes of sharing out with the entire class on what we discovered. I facilitate the discussion, students are then required to explain and justify their answers. Meaningful learning keeps always keeps the class moving in the right direction, I am also not saying that direct instruction needs to never happen, but it should not be the focal point of a classroom, EVER!
Melissa, like I just commented on Brittany's blog, I totally agree...duh, Ira, that's what we're working on here! However, I think there are still a fair number of teachers that do still use rote learning and direct instruction as the main premise in the classroom....a teacher in seventh grade that makes his students recite (word after word) punctuation and grammar rules, and meticulously read one novel all year long will certainly have drilled those rules into the students' minds, but he will have made them despise English by the time they get to eighth grade. I know because it happens. Here, today, in 2014. When that teacher is also a veteran teacher...new teachers that embrace the values of empowering pedagogy are stuck picking up the pieces and turning the inquisitive minds of students back on. Sometimes, that's easier said than done. So while I agree with you, what do we do with people who don't? Is it our place to say something to a teacher that has been teaching longer than we have been alive? Or do we wait it out, just a couple more years until he retires....but how many students will grow to hate learning in just those several (so very important) years?
ReplyDeleteMelissa, I think that we are already set on the right path, we are teachers that are seeking out improvements, we are so fully emerged in teaching that we have decided to devote a large chunk of time over the next 2.5 years just to continue our study. So to us this reading probably did have a lot of 'duh' moments, but I try to think of the teachers I had growing up or maybe other teachers in the building I work in that do not think that student questions is important, but to memorize and regurgitate facts is showing learning. It is great to hear about your Socratic circle, I used to do the same thing but I called it a Fish Bowl discussion. I loved these moments too and I was amazed at how much the students got out of these types of discussions. I think that it is so important to foster critiquing, reasoning, and a student's ability to construct viable arguments. I do this in math class by having students explain their process, defend their answer. In my class we use a lot of logical thinking to persevere in solving logic puzzles and real-life (word-problems).
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