As I read Chapter 11 of D&Z I was suddenly overtaken by a memory. It was one of my first courses at RIC so I was really nervous. I wasn't sure I would able to handle the coursework at a real college, I wondered if I was smart enough and if I would be successful. The professor handed us our very first assignment. It was to read a theory on discourse by Mikhail Bakhtin. Our professor asked us to approach the forthcoming assignment as if we were "Masters" students thinking of our future dissertations!! I had no idea what it was like to be a student in a masters degree program and I had no idea what a dissertation was. I just knew it was a really long paper. I got home and poured over the reading...with my tears. It was like reading another language. I felt frustrated, incompetent and for lack of a better word, stupid. I was reassured that I was not capable of completing this class. However, inside of me there was a voice that said "just keep going, you'll figure it out!' I have no idea where it came from or how I acquired an inner dialogue that pushed me forward, but somewhere along the way I did. Chapter 11 showed me that I knew what it felt like to be a struggling reader. To think of myself as a struggling reader is strange. I've always been a great reader but what chapter 11 reminded me of was the background knowledge required to not only read the words but comprehend the text as a whole. In order to know where our students are we need to "focus on essential process of building trust"(236). The importance of this cannot be measured. D&Z go on to quote a psychologist educator, William Glasser who states that "people who have repeatedly failed at something usually cope by focusing their lives elsewhere to avoid still more failure"(237). If we build trust with our students in a way that they can come to us and let us know where they are struggling, not just in reading but in any subject, it offers us the opportunity to help them succeed.
D&Z also stress idea that being "supportive is not the same thing as easy"(237). This is something that I really let sink in this semester. So often when a student struggles a teacher will just let the assignment slide or lower their expectations of a student. This sends a message to the student that says "You really are incapable" or "In the future make sure you tell people you are struggling so you don't have to do the work". Both of these messages are equally as dangerous. they will no doubt hold the student back from reaching their full potential and that is our main goal. By the end of our time with each student we want them to reach their potential and be prepared to build on what they know. The whole idea of UbD is about teaching to those bigger ideas, not just teaching the content, but focusing on the lessons they learn as they master the content and engage in it.
The third and final thought about Chapter 11 is on Modeling Thoughtful Reading on page 238. We often teach through repetition and mimicry. We teach a child to speak, walk and read by repeating a specific action. When it comes to thought processes and critical thinking strategies we assume people learn it naturally because we don't "see" it. However, this is not the case. This is a skill which must be taught. I read a strategy for teaching this on mage 102 called a "read aloud" that I will absolutely use. It requires the teacher to perform a soliloquy. They read a text out loud and stop to share what connections they are making and describe how they are understanding the text internal. essentially "showing" their thought process.
Taking into consideration the needs, abilities and background knowledge of each student requires a lot of effort. However, it is likely the most important thing we will do, when the end result we are looking for is a student who has progressed as much as possible in 180 days!
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