One of my favorite teaching quotes
is “A teacher is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary” attributed to
Thomas Carruthers. In the classroom,
whether it is PreK-12 or higher education, it is my goal to help students
become, as Kate and Maggie state “DIY warriors of
their own learning” (pg. 2). Like the authors of DIY Learning, I believe that introducing various tools to students
allows them to “do more, better work on their own” (pg. 2). This is why I’m looking forward to reading DIY Learning with the community of
#CyberPD so I can learn about new tools that I haven’t used to introduce them
to my own students.
Several years ago, I took a
graduate course entitled “Tools for Thought” and it focused on the use of tools
for thinking. One of the first tasks we had in class was to define a tool. This isn’t as easy as you would think. Try using a Frayer Model to complete this
task. Think of all the various tools you use in everyday life and fill in the
graphic organizer (which, BTW, is a tool).
Frayer Model
|
ToolsEssential Characteristics
|
Non-Essential Characteristics
|
|
Examples
|
Non-examples
|
As a class, we spent most of the
semester grappling with how to define a tool. Tools generally help people accomplish tasks,
such as a ruler measuring an object more accurately than eyeballing it, or a
ramp allowing a person to place a heavy object at a higher level. When thought
about in this way, almost everything could be categorized as a tool. The definition of a tool that I finally
arrived at is this:
Tools are objects, ideas,
beliefs, institutions and/or processes that are designed, adapted or utilized -
which allows one to accomplish a task faster, easier, better, or more reliably
than doing the same task without the tool.
But we mostly tend to think of
physical tools such as a hammer or paper clip.
There are also tools for thought.
These tools allow people to remember, compute, reason or create ideas.
So my definition of a tool for thought is:
Tools
for thought are objects, ideas, institutions and/or processes that are
designed, adapted or utilized - which allows one to recall, reason, create
and/or communicate in ways that are faster, easier, better, or more reliably
than doing the same task without the tool.
DIY
Literacy is all about teaching tools that “help
kids work hard and do better” plus, “help
kids meet and match our deepest hope for them” (pg. 3). In addition, the
tools should help organize and bring clarity to all the various reading and
writing strategies that are introduced to children. The authors state that they feel that using
tools help learning stick because the tools are 1) Visual, 2) Making the
abstract more concrete, and 3) Encourage repeated practice.
In chapter 2, the authors categorize
their tools into various categories:
·
Teaching Charts
·
Demonstration Notebooks
·
Micro-progressions of Skills (I would call this
a Storyboard)
·
Bookmarks
As a classroom teacher, I’ve used
several of these tools with my students and found they are useful. I have
posted charts of graphic organizers, how-to directions, and illustration of
process. My middle school students frequently used the bookmarks to prompt
their thinking when reading and reacting to their independent reading. With my
undergraduate students, I use presentation software, rather than a notebook for
demonstration, but the idea is the same.
I believe in the power of tools.
Have you ever checked out the
professional bookcase of a teacher? I wonder if you would agree with my
observations. I have found it interesting that I can estimate how long a person
has been teaching based on the books in their bookcase. A novice teacher tends to have more workbook-like
books that will provide photocopy-able versions of the bookmarks, strategy
lists, and graphic organizers. A teacher
in their 3rd-5th year tends to start collecting books like the ones mentioned
in the Bonus Chapter – books with more narrative and DIY-style practical suggestions
that are meant to be contextualized.
One of the things that I am appreciating
with DIY Literacy is that it is
bridging the path from “I need a solution NOW” with the “I can mine my own work
for strategies.” As a veteran teacher and teacher educator, I’m using the ideas
to re-think how I’m working with pre-service teachers and how I can better
illustrate my own thinking as a teacher to new teachers using some of these same tools.
I like this type of reflective post. :) I, too, love the idea that tools are in us if we are being proactive in our observations of students. I think I am better at this in my math instruction because math was not something that came easy for me as a kid. I am more aware of the process and strategies I use and marvel at the new ones I learn from students. Over time, I think I have become better at this micro-progression type of thinking in math because of this. Reading and writing, on the other hand, are so automatic for me, and always have been. It's harder for me to name the tools I am using. At a time when so many people rely on Pinterest for their teaching strategies and then replicate the charts exactly, I think this book brings an important voice to the topic. It's not about reinventing all the tools, but about being really sure that you are spending teaching time using the right tool for the job.
ReplyDeleteLisa - I would agree. As teaching professional, we need to trust our own ideas and not depend on curriculum packages to do our work for us. There are lots of great lesson plans and tools, but they were design in a particular context. We need to think about how our context, students and materials impact the use of pre-created tools and lessons.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea to consider your definition of what a tool is... especially a tool for thought! I usually go with something that makes work easier, but I like your definitions much MUCH better! Tools are powerful. I consider the professional texts I read invaluable tools; and after 17 years, my professional shelf has definitely evolved from the simple hammers and screwdrivers of my early years to the table saws and nail guns I fill my shelf with now...
ReplyDelete