https://padlet.com/MrsKannekens/io3wjfwoxn3x
While chapters 2 and 3 are full of tidy little strategies that seem to say to me, “You can do this!”, chapter 4 gets into the realm of needing to find that ‘just right’ conceptual question, at which point I get overwhelmed.
The part of the chapter that really struck me was the MIRROR on page 89 (Secondary):
“ many teachers worry about the amount of time that instruction for conceptual understanding takes, especially compared with traditional instruction. We used to think that the depth of study into a concept and corresponding topics inevitably meant that we had to spend more time with fewer topics, which was scary. But the better we got at teaching this way, we realized students learn more factual content because they actually remember what they’ve learned and are able to make insightful connections throughout the year demonstrating a depth of understanding.
Page 89 (Secondary)
The authors then talk about confronting the myth that if we cover the material (eg. tell students something or go over it in class), they will learn it. And I do agree that as a high-school teacher I have often, when students can’t seem to grasp or remember, fallen into the false thinking that the answer is just to better break it down step-by-step. This, of course, leads students to not be real learners but instead to become reliant on spoon-feeding. And perhaps because it looks like learning has happened when the pages look so well thought-out and put together in the students’ binders that we convince ourselves to carry on in this manner. Shifting direction and jumping (or falling) into the abyss of Concept-Based learning seems so uncertain and risky and messy.
Yet, as I am convinced that we really need to shift to teaching our kids to really think, instead of just regurgitate and recall long enough to spit back out for a test, we need to jump into that messy bog. Since I don’t currently have my own classroom, I have been fortunate to have this conversation around planning and implementing Concept- Based shifts with colleagues across the district. For some it is implementing the chapter 2 and 3 strategies (easier) but for other brave souls, it has been working together to try and implement a Concept- Based shift.
One such example has been with Ingrid Dekker’s grade 8 Social Studies class in Burdett. Our provincial grade 8 Social curriculum circles around the big concept of “World View”, which certainly does lend itself to conceptual framing. Although it has felt boggy and messy at many points, there have been some incredibly engaging conversations as we connect Japan to Russia to the Middle Ages – beliefs, customs, connections to the environment, political power… And then there is this somewhat related side project where we’ve been researching Man Made Wonders of the World for a writing and research project ~ and wouldn’t you know, there has been so much linking and cross-over because we’ve been asking precise questions (see image below) and having the big discussions, not just memorizing definition and gathering facts.
What I learned today... 