Open Roads: Reading Singapore Theatre - A Blog Resource

http://www.readingsingaporetheatre.blogspot.com/

Hey everyone - below is a self-explanatory account of a quandary that one of your classmates is in right now. What advice would you give her/him? And what kinds of questions related to pedagogy, research, and the politics of teacher-student relations does this case raise for you? Feel free to post on this blog! **** Dear Warren, Just need some advice from you. My current school, XXSS like my methods in teaching and how I teach, my classroom management and so on. My CTs also are supportive and like my lessons and the way I conduct my activities. I have been getting a "proficient" from my CTs and some "acceptable" for some sections. However, my supervisor ... stated that I was mediocre at best and need moderation for a pass. She emailed my SCM and my CTs stating her point. Thus, my SCM and CT sat in for my lesson and told me it was a good lesson as I held a debate session for the students, and they were thoroughly engaged in the lesson. I did the same thing when the supervisor came in previously. She felt that the class had low energy, my classroom management skills were totally zero and I needed a lot of help from my CTs which was untrue. My SCM and CTs has disagreed with her and has stated that a moderation for a pass is not necessary and she thinks otherwise. For her observation with me, she told me (and the other girl she is supervising) that she put '+' on the APT form only in the 4 last boxes under classroom management. She also told us that she did not need to put "+" for the other sections and that it did not need to tally with the "Acceptable" which she ticked for every box except Classroom management which she marked as "Good". In her recent email to us however, she has stated otherwise and used it against us, stating that she did not find any "+" for our classes. Her email below: "Hi Please note that I’m likely to visit next week if not the week after – some times we do have meetings that do run over time unfortunately. Please ensure that you do have practicum file with you including all APT forms to date. Anything less will be deemed to be less than professional. And if I turn up and class is not on, that will be deemed to be unprofessional too. As it was the lack of notification about Sports Day was unprofessional to say the least and I have kindly overlooked that in ATP form but will not do so in summative form in there is any further lapse. And I did tell you both VERY CLEARLY that this is the first time in all my years of practicum supervision (since the 1970s) where I did not mark any + in any competencies and I am not sure why this message is NOT clear to you as school has told me that you both think you are doing well. PLEASE STUDY your ATP forms – is there any + for any competencies other than in professional attitude? I did spend time to explain processes and competencies. And I did also say that I did not mark any ‘–‘ when I really should as I am trying to ENCOURAGE you but certainly did not indicate that you are fine – did you see anything other than acceptable and acceptable can be borderline? In effect, I did say that I have concerns and that you should work closely with CTs – and I do remember what you said…which I won’t repeat. And I did spend time going over classroom management, CL (if you need to refer to anything simple, I have written a book on that with others published by Corwin) and other stuff. Please note in all schools, CTs usually ask trainees if s/he can sit in – for this 2nd visit, please advise CTs that I prefer that s/he doesn’t. In all my years, most CTs don’t and when they want to, I have always said yes. But in this instance, I prefer that s/he does not. In some instances, I have had CT and others sitting in with me for various reasons and we have always come to the same conclusion. Since I am making a surprise visit which is encouraged, it is best that I see you myself. And please note that for the two of you, I may do a 3rd visit or more as is encouraged if we have concerns. That is something I’ll advise you if and when it is necessary. Kindly acknowledge receipt of this email so that you are clear about expectations. And kindly, reflect on your own practice and how you could improve – as you know, if you have concerns, you can always email me.  I do help students as necessary – like I met some of my M Ed students today till 8 pm as they were kind enough to wait for me and in effect told me to drive carefully and not rushed over – and they are top students, MOE scholars, who just wanted clarity in their final assignment. XXX" I would appreciate and advice on this matter as this woman is trying to ruin my career in teaching. She has never been a teacher before, as per what she informed us and is condescending in her emails towards us (her supervisees) and my CTs and SCM. I really do wonder what I can do in this case. Apologies for loading this on to you. Just that i really need some advice on how to deal with this person. Regards, YYYY

Discussion vs Lecture 1

Our theories of teaching demand principles of both exposition and discussion. If you look at most of the pedagogies emerging from the seminal research on student concept learning, you will find that some form of dialogue, exchange, conversation, or alternating argument – some kind of social manifestation of the understanding – is central. Therein lies the enormous pedagogical complexity that derives from this work. That complexity is the reason why, even though we know discussion is necessary, the dominant form of pedagogy is the lecture. Lecture is relatively simple, and it reduces much of the technical and economic complexities of teaching. (Shulman, 2000, pp. 132-133)

Another reason for its difficulty is that teachers typically face not a one-on-one clinical interaction, but responsibility for 30 or 35 or 40 students. What pedagogy do you as a teacher use in a classroom when you want this inside-out, outside-in process to happen and there is only one of you and so many of them? That is why group-based strategies like the varieties of cooperative learning, reciprocal teaching, learning communities, and other types of collaborative groups have become very important in this current round of school reform efforts. They are not just a fad. We are trying to determine how, in a classroom of 35, to create an environment where more than five children per hour have the experience of bringing the inside outside. Then, with the help of others, they are able to wrestle with it; they do it for one another. They need not depend on waiting for the teacher’s intervention alone. (Shulman, 2000, pp. 133-134)

This type of teaching is difficult because of its incredible complexity, which is apparent if you compare the lecture, one source of transmitting information to a large, physically passive group, with a classroom, in which students do not have the same prior theories but are trying to wrestle concurrently with complex ideas. How does a teacher manage to create that kind of situation—to hear, to monitor, to know when to intervene and when not? We sometimes hear students communicating actively, but unfortunately exchanging misconceptions. (Shulman, 2000, p. 134)

The power of art (popular or otherwise)...

Saved by Pop Culture

"The suicidal music I desperately needed"
"How "Ghost World" made me brave"
"Snooki cures my OCD" 
"The healing power of Philadelphia"
"How gaming made me social"

Comments & Reflections

Some observations and exhortations for the teachers I was privileged to observe in action:

1) I appreciated how many of you tried to marry language and literature learning outcomes - for example, by building vocabulary, correcting grammar errors, providing opportunities for writing WHILE encouraging personal responses and reflections, discussing social issues, analyzing metaphors and symbols, and appreciating the effects of rhyme and rhythm. The challenge, of course, is to do it consistently without making literature "play second fiddle" to language teaching. To study literature, after all, is to invite students to exercise critical thinking and to engage sensitively and sympathetically with issues and themes of human concern.

2) Remember that literature not only engages Bloom's taxonomy of cognitive skills, but also his taxonomy of affective processes. And to invite affective engagement in literary texts, we need to give students both time (especially wait time) and a safe space to reflect, feel, and share their responses. The sharing part may be more difficult for students who seem quiet, shy, or less confident of their speaking abilities. As enablers, we teachers need to think of ways to give these students equal and equitable opportunities to speak and share their thoughts, whether verbally or in writing. Sometimes, without fully realizing it, we give more attention and affirmation to the students who are more vocal and assertive in class (especially the boys). Sometimes, because of lack of time, we tend to round up a discussion prematurely without allowing everyone a chance to speak.

3) Research has shown that discussion and debate are the most effective pedagogical strategies for developing critical thinking. However, studies by NIE researchers have shown that teacher-dominated talk and didactic instruction are the norm in Singapore classrooms. “Instruction tends to be focused on mechanical or procedural skills rather than on literacy or cognitive dimensions of the tasks” (Kwek, Albight, & Kramer-Dahl, 2007). In their observations, students were often expected to produce answers or knowledge that confirms what the teacher knew or expected them to know. Many teacher-controlled lessons provide insufficient opportunities for students to engage in SUSTAINED and SUBSTANTIVE debate, deliberation, and discussion. Seldom in these classrooms were students empowered to lead and facilitate class discussions by themselves.

We can reflect on how far these observations also reflect the discussion culture in our own classrooms. When conducting whole-class discussions, how far do we allow our students to discuss and debate with one another? Are we too often tempted to step in and provide the "right" answers? Are we uncomfortable with departing from our lesson script and allowing students to steer the conversation in alternative paths? Remember, after all, that in Literature, "right" and "wrong" interpretations depend on how well they are justified. And often, extended talk is necessary to allow for that process of justification. For more ideas on this, see this website on Socratic Questioning. 

4) This brings me to a point worth testing: Students ARE able to think at a critical level, even though they may not have the linguistic sophistication to articulate their thoughts accurately and convincingly. Sometimes, we underestimate their willingness and ability to respond critically to literary texts based on our assessment of their linguistic competence. How can we empower ESL learners (especially in "neighborhood schools") to participate in meaningful discussions despite their lack of English language skills?

5) Informal, “idle” talk among pupils isn’t antithetical to language learning. A "rowdy" classroom (within reasonable boundaries) can mean that students are actively engaged in the use of the target language. Sometimes, allowing students to converse in their first language can be a legitimate teaching strategy. Bilingual approaches to language-learning suggest that students need to build an "interlanguage" as a scaffold for mastering the target language. As teachers, we need to encourage students to use their native language to understand the English language. And by emphasizing  "accuracy" over "fluency," we may be unfairly silencing students who sincerely want to speak but just need the extra personal attention to build their linguistic skills on their native language resources.

6) Don't shortchange your students with low expectations. The most stimulating experiences capitalize on learners' potential to succeed in the "zone" between what they can and what they can't. According to Lev Vygotsky, the zone of proximal development "is the distance between the actual development level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers." It includes all that a learner cannot yet understand or perform on her/his own yet, but is capable of acquiring/doing/ mastering with guidance from a more capable peer or mentor (see Table 1 for a more complex representation of this process). That more capable person is usually the teacher working with individual students privately in and outside the classroom. "Scaffolding" in this case involves more than just advance organizers and worksheets with guided instructions on well-drawn "fill-in-the-blanks" tables. Scaffolding becomes a complex relational process in which learner and teacher dialogue, negotiate, and challenge each other to be better than they are.

Table 1. Four-stage model of the Zone of Proximal Development by R.G. Tharp and R. Gallimore (1988). Rousing minds to life (p.35).

On a less individualized level, consider also the ways in which a diligent, caring teacher strives to differentiate lesson processes and assessments to cater to different students' different abilities, interests, and skills. Educators call this differentiated instruction (see this  YouTube video for a quick intro).

7) Some classes I observed seemed less "disciplined" and "orderly" than others - which isn't a bad thing. Some researchers suggest that "noisy" classes are often those whose students enjoy a more personal relationship with the teacher. Of course, there are also noisy classrooms where the teacher doesn't care about students or teaching, but these clearly don't apply to any of you ;-) Teachers have different ways of interacting with students and establishing effective rapport. And a lot of meaningful teacher-student interaction happens outside formal lesson time. 

Ultimately, of course, how tolerant you are of students being free to be themselves is entirely a matter of teachers' individual beliefs and personality. As Parker Palmer famously explained, we teach who we are. We just need to understand, too, that students respond differently to different teachers' teaching styles. But teachers don't understand - because they don't see - what happens between their students and their colleagues. What I recommend (a recommendation supported by many researchers) is for teachers to share their teaching experiences AND beliefs and teaching styles with each other, especially if they're teaching the same students. This means that schools should strive to foster a collaborative, collegial culture in order to enhance the professionalism of their teachers. Easier said than done, of course, given the stress of busy schedules that include more than just classroom teaching (sigh)...

Finally, I thought we should all clarify some of the concepts and theories that I thought were superficially referenced (or vaguely alluded to) in the lesson/unit plans. Refresh your memories at the following websites:

- Background and Key Concepts of Jean Piaget's Theory

- Lawrence Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development

Have a good break and good luck for the new semester!

Saving the Best for Last - Marc Cohn

Got into a cab in New York City
Was an Oriental man behind the wheel
Started talking about heaven
Like it was real
Said "They got mansions in heaven
Yeah the angels are building one for me right now
And I know...

They're saving the best for last
Look around this town
And tell me that it ain't so
They're saving the best for last
Don't ask me how I know
'Cause it must be
Saving the best for last for me

You can go a hundred miles a second
Don't have to drive no lousy cab
Got everything you want and more man
And the King picks up the tab
You walk around on streets of gold all day
And you never have to listen
To what these customers say and I know...

(Chorus)

I remember when I was a child
Lost in the streets of Chinatown
My mother had a vision and I was found
(Saving the best for last for me)
Oh-oh -- saving the best for last

And when I finally take this journey
I'm gonna wave goodbye to Earth
Gonna throw this meter in the ocean
And prove what I was worth
And I don't care who tries to flag me down
They're gonna have to find another ride uptown
And I know
They're saving the best for last...

Teaching - don't quote me

"Teachers are potentially the single most important asset in the achievement of the vision of a learning society. It is the kinds and quality of the training and development opportunities throughout their careers, and the culture in which they work, that will influence their own promotion of life-long learning values and their ability to help students to learn how to learn to succeed. Teachers are at the ‘cutting edge’ of change. It is they who hold the key to students’ growing or diminishing self-esteem, achievement and visions of present and future possibilities for learning through their own commitment, knowledge and skills." - ? Day (2002, p. 431)

"To be a passionate teacher is to be someone in love with a field of knowledge, deeply stirred by issues and ideas that challenge our world, drawn to the dilemmas and potentials of the young people who come into class each day – or captivated by all of these. A passionate teacher is a teacher who breaks out of the isolation of a classroom, who refuses to submit to apathy or cynicism." - Robert Fried (1995, p?)

"There is little or nothing in the organization and culture of schools that spurs a teacher to regard change and development as necessary, personally and intellectually rewarding, and safe. I emphasize safe because in the culture of the school the teacher who seeks help or coaching from others is one whose competence is called into question." - Seymour Sarason (1999, p. 63)