During week 3 I have completed my readings and put my thoughts and ideas in to the Action Research Plan below. I'm sure that I will have many changes as I become more familiar with this document and process. For now, I think it works. WE SHALL SEE!
One of the things that our principal has done to approach closing the achievement gap has been to institute a faculty-wide book study. We are reading a book titled "How to Teach Kids Who Don't Look Like You", the main point of which is to take teachers and place the mirror of bias, categorization, and prejudicial thinking before them in order to bring underlying issues about race, gender, culture, SES, and so forth to the forefront. It's been very illuminating for many members of the campus regardless of race, culture, upbringing, etc. It's caused many of us to step outside our comfort zone and confront the reality that we all approach life by compartmentalizing the world around us, that that compartmentalization includes the people we meet, and that that compartmentalization leads to biases that we often overlook. I thought of this unique approach of hers because you mention professional development and this has been an inexpensive (when compared with outside presenters and so forth) means of PD that has woken many people up to one of the sources of difficulty regarding the gap.
I think your plan looks interesting Kerstin. Tell me how the walk throughs will help you get your data...will the classrooms be observed for a length of time also? What kind of things will you be looking for, specifically, during the walk throughs? I will be interested to see your findings.
I hope to see some of teaching styles and strategies that I have been reading about in others research. Our district walk throughs are broken down into various categories. One of those categories is instructional strategies. That category is broken down into sections based on the book Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement. This is brain-based research, but I'm seeing some links with diverse learners as well.
One of the things that our principal has done to approach closing the achievement gap has been to institute a faculty-wide book study. We are reading a book titled "How to Teach Kids Who Don't Look Like You", the main point of which is to take teachers and place the mirror of bias, categorization, and prejudicial thinking before them in order to bring underlying issues about race, gender, culture, SES, and so forth to the forefront. It's been very illuminating for many members of the campus regardless of race, culture, upbringing, etc. It's caused many of us to step outside our comfort zone and confront the reality that we all approach life by compartmentalizing the world around us, that that compartmentalization includes the people we meet, and that that compartmentalization leads to biases that we often overlook.
ReplyDeleteI thought of this unique approach of hers because you mention professional development and this has been an inexpensive (when compared with outside presenters and so forth) means of PD that has woken many people up to one of the sources of difficulty regarding the gap.
That was smart! I think I will take a look into the book you mentioned. Our campus is very diverse so it could be very helpful to us.
DeleteI think your plan looks interesting Kerstin. Tell me how the walk throughs will help you get your data...will the classrooms be observed for a length of time also? What kind of things will you be looking for, specifically, during the walk throughs? I will be interested to see your findings.
ReplyDeleteI hope to see some of teaching styles and strategies that I have been reading about in others research. Our district walk throughs are broken down into various categories. One of those categories is instructional strategies. That category is broken down into sections based on the book Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement. This is brain-based research, but I'm seeing some links with diverse learners as well.
ReplyDelete