Brandi Gibson I think that when we think about experienced teachers, we think about the number of years the teacher has been teaching and when we think about expert teachers we think about teachers who change and adapt to a child's different learning needs despite their number of teaching years. I think that sometimes we tend to get into a teaching rut, and forget that we need to adapt and change our lessons and teaching style based upon different learners needs. I always try to move my kids to deeper learning, by asking them, what do you think, why does this work, and expanding the lesson to connect learning in different ways. I try to have the kids take responsibility for their own learning, and ask them about how the author was feeling, what they are feeling, and ask them to explain why they are thinking what they are thinking.
Student led learning is so valuable for both teacher and student. I think that by learning with them we can grow our knowledge and expertise. I would agree about a teaching rut; that is why I think these book blogs and other PD are so valuable. We need to always be learning.
I think that is so important to get the students thinking about how they are thinking, and ask those questions that make them want to think even deeper.
Experienced teachers have time on their side. They have been teaching long enough to draw on past experiences to be able to continue to teach, sometimes successully and sometimes not. However expert teachers do not have to be experienced, they do not always have to have the decades of teaching experience behind them to be an expert. The main difference between the two is HOW they are teaching. Experience teachers, according to the book, often do not move their students beyond surface level learning. Whereas expert teachers are able to move their students into the deeper levels of learning. You can be both, experienced and expert but you can also be just one or the other.
The 2 areas of KESA that my district has decided to work on is relationships and rigor. The rigor piece is not demonstrated by the students but by the teachers! How am I teaching with rigor? This involves moving my students into those deeper levels of learning. I do have the years of experience behind me but this section has me thinking if I am also an expert??? I think there will be alot of reflection here and change!!
I think in education right now expert teachers are becoming more and more rare of a find. Every time a teacher turns around there is always something to add to the ever growing list of things to do in the classroom. Which can make it a little overwhelming to teachers and then they can more easily justify the surface learning style instead of that deeper learning style.
Carol, I have never felt like I was an expert. I do have a lot of experience and numerous strategies to use. If I were an expert, wouldn't I be able to have all of my students be successful? Unfortunately, they are not all successful!
I think the book is correct in that being an experienced teacher is not necessarily an expert teacher. I think it is difficult to be an expert teacher. Expert teacher level is hard to reach because there are so many factors that we have to take into consideration with each student. Each student is different and each of them is always changing to to be an expert teacher we have to have many different strategies to be successful.
I like your statement about teachers can be both experienced and experts...or they can be one or the other. I feel like I am definitely an experienced teacher, but I feel like I fall short of being an expert. How does one actually achieve that status? And do they achieve that status every year? So many questions... :)
An experienced teacher has been teaching for a giving number of years. It does not showcase their abilities, it is just a certain number of years they have been in education. I would say though that anyone under three years of teaching is not experienced. When I think of experience I think of teachers that have been teaching for longer than I currently have.
Now an expert teacher is someone that no matter where you are in your teaching career, you can learn from them. An expert teacher looks beyond the basics of their lessons, they go into the deeper levels of thinking with their students asking more of those abstract questions and being more of the student lead-learning type. They also will try new methods in teaching that no one else has tried before or are not very common yet. They know how to adapt and focus to make sure each student feels like a valuable member of their class. These teachers are not afraid of change and able to have positive relationships with students in an engaging way. Students want to be in their class and are excited about being there.
In my classroom, the students do projects that are student lead. They get three weeks to complete the projects and the topic (with my approval) is something of interest to them. They pose a question they want to know more about and after my approval they can begin putting their project together. In the end I get a video explaining everything to me and showcasing the final results.
I think that by giving the students the time to work on these projects, it allows them to want to learn and be excited by learning. These projects also allow my students to take their learning into their own hands with little teacher guidance. In my daily lessons I always ask my students their opinions and to explain themselves. I am not a fan of disagreements without a reason and “I don’t know” is just ridiculous to me at the high school level.
My understanding is that the critical difference between experienced teachers and expert teachers are time and type of knowledge. In my opinion, an experienced teacher is one who has a significant number of years in the classroom whereas an expert teacher is one who has extensive knowledge in their content and/or craft. A desirable teacher would be one that could fill both categories.
My preferred method of moving students to deeper levels of understanding are leveled reading guides and structured discussions. Hands on activities (with appropriate support) can also be a valuable learning method. In my classroom, socratic questioning and deep discussions reign supreme. The kids love getting to pose different scenarios and playing different outcomes. The best part is that they have no idea they are learning or problem solving.
I love your comment about a "desirable teacher!" I had never thought of the idea of the two intermingling to create a "super teacher!" But I also think that new teachers can sometimes be more desirable than expert ones because of the new strategies some of them come with.
I believe experienced teachers are those who are veterans of the professions. They have many years of experience which is not a reflection on the quality of instruction they provide. Expert teachers adapt instruction to meet the needs of students that enhances knowledge acquisition. Expert teachers are not defined by length of tenure in the profession. Use of Bloom’s Taxonomy higher level verbs in questioning helps move students to deeper learning. Last year I kept a copy of Bloom’s verbs on my desk as a reminder to use those words when I asked students questions. It helped remind me that higher level thinking could be accomplished through questioning techniques.
All the teachers in my school have to submit weekly lesson plans to our principal by 8am every Monday. In our plans we have to identify which level(s) of Blooms we are using in our lessons. This serves 2 purposes; one for teachers to teach with more rigor and two to push our students into those deeper levels of thinking. I use the Blooms verbs in my student friendly objectives daily.
Jerrie, I see you as being a person who is on the path to being an expert teacher. I say on the path because you continually try to get better, so that next year may be an even better year for your students. Wouldn't it be great, if we had expert teachers in a professional development group from the same building? What awesome teaching would take place and how great would be student growth?How fulfilling would it be to be recognized by your peers and administration? Though recognition would be great, I think most expert teachers thrive on the self-satisfaction of doing a job well-done and aren't satisfied to rest on their laurels.
I think of experienced teachers as teachers who have been on the job for a number of years and have a lot of experience under their belts. I think of expert teachers as teachers who are knowledgeable about what they are teaching, how the students in front of them learn, and the best strategies for all learning types. Expert teachers adjust their teaching each year to fit the needs of the current class. To move students into deeper learning I like to have conversations. I'm amazed at what background knowledge some of my students have and had I not taken the time for a discussion I never would've known. It is much easier to move into deeper learning when the students have prior knowledge to tie the learning to.
Shaina- I like your idea of just having conversations with students. Not only are you gaining a better understanding of their background knowledge (like you mentioned), but I also think it facilitates the relationship building process with our students, and may additionally uncover student interests that could be used in helping to plan future instruction.
The book says that expert teachers can drive students into a deeper thinking and experienced teachers are more focused with the surface learning. I had a principal tell me a few years ago that she became a principal because "she had mastered teaching and there was nothing she could get better at." I think that this is an incorrect statement because as teachers we never master teaching. We have kids that are all together different every year and sometimes every day and we never fully master the teaching profession. There is always something we can improve on.
I think it is harder for the teachers on the SPED side to get deeper levels of thinking out of our students. I think that I like to use higher level thinking in my class by showing them first of all how this will be used in life. If they can find a purpose for it they will take greater pride in it and attempt to learn how to use it at a deeper level. Questioning the students also helps to get them thinking at a deeper level of understanding.
Dustin- Unfortunately your story of the principal I think happens. I know that I have people say to me they are all the way on the pay scale so what more can they do and they won't get paid anymore. I guess I feel that teachers are life long learners and are always able to learn something no matter how far they have already came.
What is the critical difference between experience teachers and expert teachers? How do you move students to deeper learning? What strategies work for you?
Experienced teachers has the time behind teaching and a expert teaching has the knowledge behind teaching. Whether they are a experienced teacher or expert teacher I would hope they are guided by both their experience and expertise to guide them in their teaching/instruction. I do not like to claim the term expert because I believe that when you are a teacher we are life long learners/experts and each year brings new experiences to our teaching methods. I believe that as we are teachers, the kids we work with also are teaching us how to be better teachers. Reflection of your day is huge while helping teachers to understand what worked and why and what didn't work and why. I think this is something that all teachers should use in a attempt to be better teachers.
In order to move students deeper we have to expose students through surface learning and then apply it. For example: When a child is learning to ride a bike, a parent introduces what a bike is and what it does. They may sit their child on the seat practicing balance and if you pedal forward then this makes you go, if you push backwards then you will be able to stop. You would not put your child on a bike and say okay now show me how you can ride without first introducing them to the features of the bike and how to use it. It is the same in education, you can not expect that a student can write their name without first introducing them to a pencil or writing utensil and showing them the correct way to hold it. So in order to move to a deeper understanding you must understand what a writing utensil does, what we use them for and proper grasp. Exposing them to the writing utensil is the foundation of moving on to deep levels such as writing their name or forming letters/numbers. Within Education today I think we assume that kids are exposed to certain things before entering our room and forget they can not do a task because they have not experienced the task first therefore exposing them to the task is the first step before digging to deeper learning.
I feel like things that work for me in my classroom is to make sure that students are exposed to a task over several different settings and several times to make sure they have been exposed in different ways and different settings. So in order to do this I ask back ground knowledge when expecting them to move deeper. I also ask teachers, have they had experience doing the task and how many times would you say they have had exposure to the task. Sometimes this gets teachers thinking deeper in their teaching and say well I introduced the task a few times this week and then they expect them to complete the task in independent group when in reality the child has not been exposed enough to do the task with complete independence . I also ask so was the skill taught whole group or small group? Because often times the task is introduced whole group and kids are spaced out not really paying attention to the task. Working in Early childhood I sometimes just have to ask the teachers themselves in order to understand the child and abilities and how deep I can take the concepts.
Experience teachers have taught for x number of years, but they might not be an expert at teaching a given topic. An expert teacher takes the experience they have and uses flops or failures to change critical instruction points. An expert teacher maximizes growth - both student growth and personal growth, even if it means being stretched outside their comfort zone. The books lists some strategies as planning, investigating, and elaborating on their learning. It involves having students consider what they know and being flexible with that to add to or subtract from what they “know.” I encourage students to connect learning, and plan activities that are driven by questions from students. For example, when a student wanted to know how to find the area of a circle, instead of telling him it’s pi times radius squared. We did activities to find pi so he had an understanding of what pi is and why we use it. I also find that discussions with students help them think about what they know, and add to it or subtract from it.
-What is the critical difference between experience teachers and expert teachers? I believe an experienced teacher is a teacher that has had lots of exposure to teaching over numerous years and with many different kids. When I think of an expert teacher, I think of someone who knows how to problem solve and meet the needs of all learners. I see them as a person who is always willing to grow and research to find the best ways to help kids. I see them as a person who is able to effectively apply what they know. -How do you move students to deeper learning? I think to move students to deeper learning you need to teach them how to apply what they know the the real world. They need to apply what they learned in different situations and in different ways. Students need to show mastery in the skill through multiple ways. A strategy that I use to deepen learning is through asking questions and expanding upon those questions. This is a way to learn students misconceptions about things and then to help them understand what is true and not true.
Teaching students to apply what they know to the real world is essential to effective teaching. If a student cannot apply what they have learned outside of the classroom, it's my opinion the lesson was not effective or useful.
In my mind, an experienced teacher is someone who’s been in the business a long time, and the focus is more on their years. An expert teacher is someone who’s bringing a high level of expertise to the table, and the focus is more on the strategies they’re implementing and how they’re teaching, regardless of the number of years they’ve actually been in the profession. According to our reading, though, “a critical difference between experienced and expert teachers lies in their ability to move students from surface to deep learning.” I think students are able to move towards deeper learning when they understand how they could apply what they’ve acquired through surface level learning to their own lives. I’ve seen this more from secondary students when they start questioning the why behind the skills they’re being taught (i.e. When am I ever going to need to know this anyway?). If they don’t understand the purpose of the surface learning, I don’t think they’re as motivated to push through to deeper learning.
An experienced teacher has had a lot of opportunity to learn from their successes and mistakes and the successes and mistakes of others. An expert teacher gets results, and moves students into deep learning - the kind they can apply to future situations.
An experienced teacher has many years in the teaching profession and has taught a wide range of students and curriculum. An expert teacher is not defined by how long or what they have taught, but by the success of their students. When a student leaves an expert teacher's class he/she will be able to question, analyze, and delve into learning without the guidance of a teacher. I rarely have the opportunity to move students to deeper learning, but believe I can guide teachers to analyze their practices through effective consultation skills. Effective consultation often involves asking the right questions to guide teachers to think deeply about their instructional practices.
Expert teacher are usually experienced teachers, meaning they have been doing the job for a long time. In addition doing the job for a while expert teachers have used their time as teachers to try different strategies and through these trials have developed an understanding of what works and what doesn't work.
Getting students to a deeper understanding starts with the teachers mindset preparing the lesson. When I want my students to develop a deeper understanding of a certain subject, I make sure to focus more on why question than what questions.
Planning is such an important part of teaching! It reminds me of the adage, "Failing to plan is planning to fail." I have found this to be true. When I fail to sufficiently plan a lesson, I spend most of my time working on "What questions" rather than the "Why's."
As many have said, an experience teacher has spent years in teaching. Unfortunately, some with 25 years of experience have taught the same things in the same ways for the last 20 years. They have not necessarily grown. Expert teachers will continue to grow and constantly search for new ways to better teach their students. I have had the fortune to be married to a person whom I feel is both experienced and expert. After 41 years of teaching, her masters degree, and multiple hours past her masters, she continues to be at school early, continues to work into the evening on her teaching, and continues find new and better ways to help her students. She has used technologies, such as the iPad and Pinterest, to find new information to improve her teaching. She has been very good about incorporating new information into her teaching while not throwing out was was good for something that was merely new. She has continually taken and recorded data to see how her students were doing and if her teaching has been successful. She has used questioning strategies such as Bloom's Taxonomy and has brought Mindset into her classroom in the form of inspirational posters encouraging students to not fear their mistakes, but to learn from them.
For our expert teachers, merely good is not good enough. They are constantly trying to better themselves for the good of their students. Teaching is not their job, it is their profession.
Experienced teachers are teachers who have been teaching for a number of years and could be considered leaders in their buildings. Expert teachers may have been teaching for a number of years, but maybe not. According to the book, the difference between experienced teachers and expert teachers lies in their ability to move students from surface learning to deep learning. I think that an expert teacher is one that changes their strategies each year to meet the needs of the students. They are able to take ALL students from surface learning to deep learning in their own way. They are able to differentiate instruction to make that happen.
I like to think that I get students to deeper level thinking, but sometimes that is hard for me based on their needs. Blooms is an excellent source, and one that I feel like I should probably be using more frequently to challenge all of my students.
An experienced teacher can be measured by number of years while an expert teacher is measured by depth of learning and lives influenced. This is far harder to measure. Test scores are important, but fail to show the depth of learning students achieve (especially in SPED). Test scores, academic achievements, and graduation rates are evidence of an expert teacher, but do not show the whole picture. Expert teachers are usually experienced teachers, but many experienced teachers are not expert teachers.
In order to help deepen student learning, I start with surface learning. I utilize explicit instruction to start and then move on to activities, games, and real-world application. I have used token economies with decimals, money, and percentages. I have also used army men and chess pieces to cement integer concepts. Student have also made their dream homes to work with area, perimeter, dimensions and volume. Students seem to respond well to competition, games, moving around, and constant change.
Brandi Gibson
ReplyDeleteI think that when we think about experienced teachers, we think about the number of years the teacher has been teaching and when we think about expert teachers we think about teachers who change and adapt to a child's different learning needs despite their number of teaching years. I think that sometimes we tend to get into a teaching rut, and forget that we need to adapt and change our lessons and teaching style based upon different learners needs. I always try to move my kids to deeper learning, by asking them, what do you think, why does this work, and expanding the lesson to connect learning in different ways. I try to have the kids take responsibility for their own learning, and ask them about how the author was feeling, what they are feeling, and ask them to explain why they are thinking what they are thinking.
Student led learning is so valuable for both teacher and student. I think that by learning with them we can grow our knowledge and expertise. I would agree about a teaching rut; that is why I think these book blogs and other PD are so valuable. We need to always be learning.
DeleteI think it is very important to ask the students what they think and what they know to help deepen their understanding.
DeleteI think that is so important to get the students thinking about how they are thinking, and ask those questions that make them want to think even deeper.
DeleteExperienced teachers have time on their side. They have been teaching long enough to draw on past experiences to be able to continue to teach, sometimes successully and sometimes not. However expert teachers do not have to be experienced, they do not always have to have the decades of teaching experience behind them to be an expert. The main difference between the two is HOW they are teaching. Experience teachers, according to the book, often do not move their students beyond surface level learning. Whereas expert teachers are able to move their students into the deeper levels of learning. You can be both, experienced and expert but you can also be just one or the other.
ReplyDeleteThe 2 areas of KESA that my district has decided to work on is relationships and rigor. The rigor piece is not demonstrated by the students but by the teachers! How am I teaching with rigor? This involves moving my students into those deeper levels of learning.
I do have the years of experience behind me but this section has me thinking if I am also an expert??? I think there will be alot of reflection here and change!!
I think in education right now expert teachers are becoming more and more rare of a find. Every time a teacher turns around there is always something to add to the ever growing list of things to do in the classroom. Which can make it a little overwhelming to teachers and then they can more easily justify the surface learning style instead of that deeper learning style.
DeleteCarol, I have never felt like I was an expert. I do have a lot of experience and numerous strategies to use. If I were an expert, wouldn't I be able to have all of my students be successful? Unfortunately, they are not all successful!
DeleteI think the book is correct in that being an experienced teacher is not necessarily an expert teacher. I think it is difficult to be an expert teacher. Expert teacher level is hard to reach because there are so many factors that we have to take into consideration with each student. Each student is different and each of them is always changing to to be an expert teacher we have to have many different strategies to be successful.
DeleteI like your statement about teachers can be both experienced and experts...or they can be one or the other. I feel like I am definitely an experienced teacher, but I feel like I fall short of being an expert. How does one actually achieve that status? And do they achieve that status every year? So many questions... :)
DeleteAn experienced teacher has been teaching for a giving number of years. It does not showcase their abilities, it is just a certain number of years they have been in education. I would say though that anyone under three years of teaching is not experienced. When I think of experience I think of teachers that have been teaching for longer than I currently have.
ReplyDeleteNow an expert teacher is someone that no matter where you are in your teaching career, you can learn from them. An expert teacher looks beyond the basics of their lessons, they go into the deeper levels of thinking with their students asking more of those abstract questions and being more of the student lead-learning type. They also will try new methods in teaching that no one else has tried before or are not very common yet. They know how to adapt and focus to make sure each student feels like a valuable member of their class. These teachers are not afraid of change and able to have positive relationships with students in an engaging way. Students want to be in their class and are excited about being there.
In my classroom, the students do projects that are student lead. They get three weeks to complete the projects and the topic (with my approval) is something of interest to them. They pose a question they want to know more about and after my approval they can begin putting their project together. In the end I get a video explaining everything to me and showcasing the final results.
I think that by giving the students the time to work on these projects, it allows them to want to learn and be excited by learning. These projects also allow my students to take their learning into their own hands with little teacher guidance. In my daily lessons I always ask my students their opinions and to explain themselves. I am not a fan of disagreements without a reason and “I don’t know” is just ridiculous to me at the high school level.
My understanding is that the critical difference between experienced teachers and expert teachers are time and type of knowledge. In my opinion, an experienced teacher is one who has a significant number of years in the classroom whereas an expert teacher is one who has extensive knowledge in their content and/or craft. A desirable teacher would be one that could fill both categories.
ReplyDeleteMy preferred method of moving students to deeper levels of understanding are leveled reading guides and structured discussions. Hands on activities (with appropriate support) can also be a valuable learning method. In my classroom, socratic questioning and deep discussions reign supreme. The kids love getting to pose different scenarios and playing different outcomes. The best part is that they have no idea they are learning or problem solving.
I love your comment about a "desirable teacher!" I had never thought of the idea of the two intermingling to create a "super teacher!" But I also think that new teachers can sometimes be more desirable than expert ones because of the new strategies some of them come with.
DeleteI believe experienced teachers are those who are veterans of the professions. They have many years of experience which is not a reflection on the quality of instruction they provide. Expert teachers adapt instruction to meet the needs of students that enhances knowledge acquisition. Expert teachers are not defined by length of tenure in the profession.
ReplyDeleteUse of Bloom’s Taxonomy higher level verbs in questioning helps move students to deeper learning. Last year I kept a copy of Bloom’s verbs on my desk as a reminder to use those words when I asked students questions. It helped remind me that higher level thinking could be accomplished through questioning techniques.
All the teachers in my school have to submit weekly lesson plans to our principal by 8am every Monday. In our plans we have to identify which level(s) of Blooms we are using in our lessons. This serves 2 purposes; one for teachers to teach with more rigor and two to push our students into those deeper levels of thinking. I use the Blooms verbs in my student friendly objectives daily.
DeleteI love that idea of keeping Bloom's on your desk.
DeleteJerrie, I see you as being a person who is on the path to being an expert teacher. I say on the path because you continually try to get better, so that next year may be an even better year for your students. Wouldn't it be great, if we had expert teachers in a professional development group from the same building? What awesome teaching would take place and how great would be student growth?How fulfilling would it be to be recognized by your peers and administration? Though recognition would be great, I think most expert teachers thrive on the self-satisfaction of doing a job well-done and aren't satisfied to rest on their laurels.
DeleteI think of experienced teachers as teachers who have been on the job for a number of years and have a lot of experience under their belts. I think of expert teachers as teachers who are knowledgeable about what they are teaching, how the students in front of them learn, and the best strategies for all learning types. Expert teachers adjust their teaching each year to fit the needs of the current class.
ReplyDeleteTo move students into deeper learning I like to have conversations. I'm amazed at what background knowledge some of my students have and had I not taken the time for a discussion I never would've known. It is much easier to move into deeper learning when the students have prior knowledge to tie the learning to.
Shaina-
DeleteI like your idea of just having conversations with students. Not only are you gaining a better understanding of their background knowledge (like you mentioned), but I also think it facilitates the relationship building process with our students, and may additionally uncover student interests that could be used in helping to plan future instruction.
The book says that expert teachers can drive students into a deeper thinking and experienced teachers are more focused with the surface learning. I had a principal tell me a few years ago that she became a principal because "she had mastered teaching and there was nothing she could get better at." I think that this is an incorrect statement because as teachers we never master teaching. We have kids that are all together different every year and sometimes every day and we never fully master the teaching profession. There is always something we can improve on.
ReplyDeleteI think it is harder for the teachers on the SPED side to get deeper levels of thinking out of our students. I think that I like to use higher level thinking in my class by showing them first of all how this will be used in life. If they can find a purpose for it they will take greater pride in it and attempt to learn how to use it at a deeper level. Questioning the students also helps to get them thinking at a deeper level of understanding.
Dustin- Unfortunately your story of the principal I think happens. I know that I have people say to me they are all the way on the pay scale so what more can they do and they won't get paid anymore. I guess I feel that teachers are life long learners and are always able to learn something no matter how far they have already came.
DeleteWhat is the critical difference between experience teachers and expert teachers?
ReplyDeleteHow do you move students to deeper learning? What strategies work for you?
Experienced teachers has the time behind teaching and a expert teaching has the knowledge behind teaching. Whether they are a experienced teacher or expert teacher I would hope they are guided by both their experience and expertise to guide them in their teaching/instruction. I do not like to claim the term expert because I believe that when you are a teacher we are life long learners/experts and each year brings new experiences to our teaching methods. I believe that as we are teachers, the kids we work with also are teaching us how to be better teachers. Reflection of your day is huge while helping teachers to understand what worked and why and what didn't work and why. I think this is something that all teachers should use in a attempt to be better teachers.
In order to move students deeper we have to expose students through surface learning and then apply it. For example: When a child is learning to ride a bike, a parent introduces what a bike is and what it does. They may sit their child on the seat practicing balance and if you pedal forward then this makes you go, if you push backwards then you will be able to stop. You would not put your child on a bike and say okay now show me how you can ride without first introducing them to the features of the bike and how to use it. It is the same in education, you can not expect that a student can write their name without first introducing them to a pencil or writing utensil and showing them the correct way to hold it. So in order to move to a deeper understanding you must understand what a writing utensil does, what we use them for and proper grasp. Exposing them to the writing utensil is the foundation of moving on to deep levels such as writing their name or forming letters/numbers. Within Education today I think we assume that kids are exposed to certain things before entering our room and forget they can not do a task because they have not experienced the task first therefore exposing them to the task is the first step before digging to deeper learning.
I feel like things that work for me in my classroom is to make sure that students are exposed to a task over several different settings and several times to make sure they have been exposed in different ways and different settings. So in order to do this I ask back ground knowledge when expecting them to move deeper. I also ask teachers, have they had experience doing the task and how many times would you say they have had exposure to the task. Sometimes this gets teachers thinking deeper in their teaching and say well I introduced the task a few times this week and then they expect them to complete the task in independent group when in reality the child has not been exposed enough to do the task with complete independence . I also ask so was the skill taught whole group or small group? Because often times the task is introduced whole group and kids are spaced out not really paying attention to the task. Working in Early childhood I sometimes just have to ask the teachers themselves in order to understand the child and abilities and how deep I can take the concepts.
You make a great point that students need to be comfortable with a task before they can use that task and apply it somewhere else.
DeleteExperience teachers have taught for x number of years, but they might not be an expert at teaching a given topic. An expert teacher takes the experience they have and uses flops or failures to change critical instruction points. An expert teacher maximizes growth - both student growth and personal growth, even if it means being stretched outside their comfort zone.
ReplyDeleteThe books lists some strategies as planning, investigating, and elaborating on their learning. It involves having students consider what they know and being flexible with that to add to or subtract from what they “know.” I encourage students to connect learning, and plan activities that are driven by questions from students. For example, when a student wanted to know how to find the area of a circle, instead of telling him it’s pi times radius squared. We did activities to find pi so he had an understanding of what pi is and why we use it. I also find that discussions with students help them think about what they know, and add to it or subtract from it.
-What is the critical difference between experience teachers and expert teachers?
ReplyDeleteI believe an experienced teacher is a teacher that has had lots of exposure to teaching over numerous years and with many different kids. When I think of an expert teacher, I think of someone who knows how to problem solve and meet the needs of all learners. I see them as a person who is always willing to grow and research to find the best ways to help kids. I see them as a person who is able to effectively apply what they know.
-How do you move students to deeper learning?
I think to move students to deeper learning you need to teach them how to apply what they know the the real world. They need to apply what they learned in different situations and in different ways. Students need to show mastery in the skill through multiple ways. A strategy that I use to deepen learning is through asking questions and expanding upon those questions. This is a way to learn students misconceptions about things and then to help them understand what is true and not true.
Teaching students to apply what they know to the real world is essential to effective teaching. If a student cannot apply what they have learned outside of the classroom, it's my opinion the lesson was not effective or useful.
DeleteIn my mind, an experienced teacher is someone who’s been in the business a long time, and the focus is more on their years. An expert teacher is someone who’s bringing a high level of expertise to the table, and the focus is more on the strategies they’re implementing and how they’re teaching, regardless of the number of years they’ve actually been in the profession. According to our reading, though, “a critical difference between experienced and expert teachers lies in their ability to move students from surface to deep learning.” I think students are able to move towards deeper learning when they understand how they could apply what they’ve acquired through surface level learning to their own lives. I’ve seen this more from secondary students when they start questioning the why behind the skills they’re being taught (i.e. When am I ever going to need to know this anyway?). If they don’t understand the purpose of the surface learning, I don’t think they’re as motivated to push through to deeper learning.
ReplyDeleteAn experienced teacher has had a lot of opportunity to learn from their successes and mistakes and the successes and mistakes of others. An expert teacher gets results, and moves students into deep learning - the kind they can apply to future situations.
ReplyDeleteAn experienced teacher has many years in the teaching profession and has taught a wide range of students and curriculum. An expert teacher is not defined by how long or what they have taught, but by the success of their students. When a student leaves an expert teacher's class he/she will be able to question, analyze, and delve into learning without the guidance of a teacher. I rarely have the opportunity to move students to deeper learning, but believe I can guide teachers to analyze their practices through effective consultation skills. Effective consultation often involves asking the right questions to guide teachers to think deeply about their instructional practices.
ReplyDeleteExpert teacher are usually experienced teachers, meaning they have been doing the job for a long time. In addition doing the job for a while expert teachers have used their time as teachers to try different strategies and through these trials have developed an understanding of what works and what doesn't work.
ReplyDeleteGetting students to a deeper understanding starts with the teachers mindset preparing the lesson. When I want my students to develop a deeper understanding of a certain subject, I make sure to focus more on why question than what questions.
Planning is such an important part of teaching! It reminds me of the adage, "Failing to plan is planning to fail." I have found this to be true. When I fail to sufficiently plan a lesson, I spend most of my time working on "What questions" rather than the "Why's."
DeleteAs many have said, an experience teacher has spent years in teaching. Unfortunately, some with 25 years of experience have taught the same things in the same ways for the last 20 years. They have not necessarily grown. Expert teachers will continue to grow and constantly search for new ways to better teach their students. I have had the fortune to be married to a person whom I feel is both experienced and expert. After 41 years of teaching, her masters degree, and multiple hours past her masters, she continues to be at school early, continues to work into the evening on her teaching, and continues find new and better ways to help her students. She has used technologies, such as the iPad and Pinterest, to find new information to improve her teaching. She has been very good about incorporating new information into her teaching while not throwing out was was good for something that was merely new. She has continually taken and recorded data to see how her students were doing and if her teaching has been successful. She has used questioning strategies such as Bloom's Taxonomy and has brought Mindset into her classroom in the form of inspirational posters encouraging students to not fear their mistakes, but to learn from them.
ReplyDeleteFor our expert teachers, merely good is not good enough. They are constantly trying to better themselves for the good of their students. Teaching is not their job, it is their profession.
Experienced teachers are teachers who have been teaching for a number of years and could be considered leaders in their buildings. Expert teachers may have been teaching for a number of years, but maybe not. According to the book, the difference between experienced teachers and expert teachers lies in their ability to move students from surface learning to deep learning. I think that an expert teacher is one that changes their strategies each year to meet the needs of the students. They are able to take ALL students from surface learning to deep learning in their own way. They are able to differentiate instruction to make that happen.
ReplyDeleteI like to think that I get students to deeper level thinking, but sometimes that is hard for me based on their needs. Blooms is an excellent source, and one that I feel like I should probably be using more frequently to challenge all of my students.
An experienced teacher can be measured by number of years while an expert teacher is measured by depth of learning and lives influenced. This is far harder to measure. Test scores are important, but fail to show the depth of learning students achieve (especially in SPED). Test scores, academic achievements, and graduation rates are evidence of an expert teacher, but do not show the whole picture. Expert teachers are usually experienced teachers, but many experienced teachers are not expert teachers.
ReplyDeleteIn order to help deepen student learning, I start with surface learning. I utilize explicit instruction to start and then move on to activities, games, and real-world application. I have used token economies with decimals, money, and percentages. I have also used army men and chess pieces to cement integer concepts. Student have also made their dream homes to work with area, perimeter, dimensions and volume. Students seem to respond well to competition, games, moving around, and constant change.