“Teaching, like any complex cognitive skill, must be practiced to be improved.” (Willingham, pg. 189) Willingham refers back to the cognitive requirements for students to think effectively and states that we are no different from our students. He asks if teaching is a cognitive skill then how can we increase space in our working memory, relevant factual knowledge, and relevant procedural knowledge. (Willingham, pg. 191)
Willingham goes on to stress the importance of practice. He talks about driving and having plenty of experience driving but not practicing to improve his driving skills. Teachers need practice too. Data shows that teachers improve during their first five years and then are no better or worse after twenty years of experience than a teacher with ten years of experience.
Willingham than discusses a method for getting and giving feedback. He says to find another teacher you can work with and then tape yourself and watch the tapes by yourself. Then with your partner watch other teacher’s tapes and then watch each other’s tapes. Finally bring back to the classroom what you have learned. Willingham suggests keeping a diary, having a discussion group and even observing students in other settings.
In conclusion, Willingham reviewed the cognitive principles and stated the purpose of Why Don’t Students Like School? His final statement “Education makes better minds, and knowledge of the mind can make better education.”
In Chapter 9, Willingham answered one of the questions that I had been asking throughout the entire book: Do these strategies apply to me and my thinking/teaching? Willingham things so. "Teaching, like any complex cognitive skill, must be practiced to be improved. Teacihng is indeed a cognitive skill, and everything I said about students' minds applies to yours (p. 189). I would agree with this statement. The goals that we have for our students should be the same goals that we, as adults, have in our own lives/jobs. Just like our students, we need to continuously work to improve.
ReplyDeleteI too found the data on teacher improvement to be interesting. Willingham stated that "data show that teachers improve during their first five years in the field, as measured by student learning. After five years, howeve, the curve gets flat, and a teacher with twenty years of experience is (on average) no better or worse than a teacher with ten" (p. 192). As educators, we obviously need to put in effort (practice) to improve. Willingham states that there is a difference between experience and practice. "Experience means you are simply engaged in the activity. Practice means you are trying to improve your performance" (p. 192).
It is easy to put ourselve on auto-pilot and 'do what we always do.' In order to show improvement in our teaching and not become stagnant, we must WORK at it...just like our students.
Willingham's suggestions for improvememnt are ones that I have heard in other classes that I've taken on being a cognitively guided coaching. These classes have also focused on the importance of peer coaching and feedback. It is not easy to seek out feedback from peers. It IS nervewracking! However, it is possibly the most important thing we can do to improve our teaching. We have to rememeber that the feedback is not meant to criticize, but to be supportive and constructive. In the last few years, I have had the opportunity to both receive and offer peer feedback. These experiences have helped me think about my teaching in ways that I don't get to on a regular day.
I thought that Willingham's final quote was most powerful: “Education makes better minds, and knowledge of the mind can make better education" (p. 213). If we all think like this, imagine what we can do!
Jolene, Your post is very well organized and your observations made the summary interesting to read. I also appreciated your personal notes. Great job!!
ReplyDeleteI think Willingham is correct in that teachers get stagnant after the five years in the field and need a change in grade level, subject or need to re-educate ourselves by taking a college level class to renew our skill. I also liked his observations/points that we as teachers need to practice to continue to be good at our craft or we are just getting experience. I find this to be true with myself as I have been in many levels (from gifted education, middle school special education, rural school experiences, a general education classroom, and presently at the elementary level of special education) of education and find new discoveries during the first years working in that field. I think moving levels is a tough change but when you make the choice for yourself it is refreshing, and a good self evaluation of your own classroom skills.
I found the last part of the book, to be refreshing to reflect over my experiences in the past 26 years in the education field. I like the idea of self evaluation, videotaping, as it is a good idea that is presently being addressed at our state level with the take one opportunities and will carry on to the rest of the districts as education continues to evolves in our country.
This section of our book was an excellent finale to what we have read up to now. Everything he has told us about the students’ minds applies to ours (teachers) as well. (pg.189) Knowing about a topic or subject and knowing how to teach it is totally different and I appreciate that he pointed that out. So many people think just because they know about a topic in detail automatically means that you can teach it. Not true.
ReplyDeleteUnder the heading; Teaching as a Cognitive Skill, Willingham describes the working memory as a mental place where we can juggle several different things at once and if we try to juggle too many things, one or more things will be dropped. (pg. 190-191) I can so relate to this! So many times I find myself trying to juggle too many things and I definitely lose at least one thing or more. :(
I learned that practice and experience are different. Practice means you are trying to improve and experience simply means you are merely engaged in the activity; therefore if you want to become a better teacher, you cannot be satisfied simply to gain experience as the years pass. You must consciously practice to improve. (pg. 195)