Learning from what does not work: What is your opinion on each of the following
instructional practices. Do you foresee
any changes in these practices in the near future?
Retention
Ability grouping
Matching instruction to learning styles
Homework
Brandi Gibson
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don't see any changes to these practice in the near future, unless you get a whole new group of teachers/administrators that are all on the same page, and are open-minded when it comes to new practices and ideas. I personally, believe too much time and effort is spent in using these types of instructional practices. I believe more instructional time needs to be spent with STEM practices, and catering to the individual learner. I believe the core concepts can be taught in many ways and different modalities-without resorting to the same practices we've had in place for hundreds of years.
Retention is a topic that’s been debated and researched for many years and if one looks into enough articles both sides of the case can be found. ASCD proposes extra instruction before and after school with intense support during school. I, personally, favor this idea. Without having done actual research, I can say some of the students I taught who were retained seemed to have lower self-esteem. When asked what grade they were in, they always qualified it by saying they were ‘held back’ in such and such a grade. It seemed to be an important event in their education career, and retention wasn’t associated with a positive experience.
ReplyDeleteI’m also not in favor of ability grouping. When only the brightest and best work together will they develop empathy for those who learn differently than them? I see friendships develop when groups of mixed abilities work together. I believe school is about more than just learning academics, I believe it also includes learning social skills and teamwork.
As special educators, I would hope we are matching learning styles with our teaching. I see more and more teachers utilizing different strategies that impact different learning styles in the classroom. I believe this is on the rise!
Homework is tough. Some students are fortunate enough to come from homes where an education is important and homework completion is supported. Some families are struggling to put a roof overhead and don’t have the time nor energy to help their child. It isn’t that they don’t care about education, it’s a matter of survival. I just observed in a kindergarten class with 24 students, none of which spoke English. Their families could offer no help for their children, even to listen to beginning reading. Their parents value an American education for their child, but do not have the skills to help. Unfortunately, I think the students whose families are the best equipped to help with homework may be the students that need the extra practice the least.
Retention is new discussion every spring. It's hard for teachers to see past their own experiences of how well a student may do the second year in a grade, and look ahead to how it will effect them later in school.
ReplyDeleteI worried at first, that we would be encouraging ability grouping with the MTSS structures, but when intervention groups are fluid, and don't occur during core instruction, I've not seen that to be the case. There remains a nice mix of students in the small groups during core.
When I think about matching instruction to learning styles, I wonder if we need to change the pull down next step on our IEP cognitive next step, or word it so that that is not the interpretation:) I don't think the intent was ever to limit students instruction to only one learning style, more to raise awareness about student's strengths and what was working well for them at the time.
I'd agree with others that homework is a tough one. The elementary school here has set a policy to avoid homework as a regular practice - instead encouraging students to read and practice basic facts for a few minutes in the evening. It has been positive, but implementation has not yet been 100%. In some classes, they haven't adjusted the work expectation or given up any paper/pencil, rote practice assignments, just have students doing them during recess instead of taking them home. I doubt this will get the effect we were looking for.
Retention is something that in some cases I agree with but in other cases is it truly going to change the learning of the student. I would question are we asking kids to do skills their body and mind is not ready to do. I held my son back in preschool because he was a boy, summer birthday, speech concerns, developmentally a little behind his peers. Now he will be 18 in May and a junior in high school and I am fighting him constantly to finish school. This may not be the case for most kids but I feel like we don't look at high school and their age when they graduate from high school. I don't see to much positive in retention and I don't see changing school's mindsets on this issue.
ReplyDeleteAbility grouping is something that when use properly can be positive but when kids see it as high, medium and low then this sometimes shut kids down. I think that if the groups have a mixture of high, med. and low then kids do not feel like failures. I have also seen it work where kids know they are in the low group and they want to be in the higher group so they work harder to achieve that goal. I don't see this as changing for districts.
Matching instruction to learning styles, I think this is something that I see some teachers do a really good job of doing and others do not do a good job. I think sometimes they take their learning styles into affect but they don't always change instruction to meet the needs. I think this is something that some teachers may be able to change or look at differently but not all teachers.
Homework is something that has changed since our Superintendent came. He does not see that homework is affective for our students when there is diverse learning. He said that most of the time the kids don't have the support at home in order to make homework affectively used. I know that Kindergarten used to send NY engage math family homework home but they would never get them back.One reason was that most of the parents did not know how to complete the homework. Even if you are educated the way they do math is totally different than what we learned. Our superintendent said look at this, is homework more hassle on teachers and aren't we teaching what we think they need to know in the classrooms. So teachers at the elementary quit sending homework home and stressing about it. So this is one thing that has changed and I see it staying like this.
Retention
ReplyDeleteI don’t think that retention is the best answer to student issues, in most cases. I’m certain there are instances when it is the best choice, but once a student has a determined class or track, retaining that student is not the best choice, academically or socially. If a student is so far behind academically that it warrants retention, other strategies should be considered, especially if it means that a student will be placed with the same teacher a 2nd year in a row.
Ability grouping
I think there are instances that this is best practice, especially when MTSS is concerned. Data is used to create a small group to work on very specific skills for a short period of time to improve a skill in general. A static group for a semester or year won't be as effective.
Matching instruction to learning styles
This, like ability grouping, can be misconstrued. I don’t think it’s bad to allow students to learn in the way they learn best. However, they shouldn’t be pigeon-holed into learning in only that manner. We want students to be well-rounded and able to access information in many different ways, which includes different styles of learning.
Homework
I think that the additional practice of a skill they already know is a good thing, but many times homework isn’t extra practice of a skill students know. It is introduction of a new concept or practice on a concept that is still unfamiliar and difficult. The practice of scaffolding effective, but if students are given the task to do on their own too soon, they become frustrated and shut down to learning. These students are then punished for not being able to teach themselves effectively (through homework), usually through a lowered grade or through missed recess or detention.
Retention is something that has been talked about for a long time and honestly I think it needs to be used more often. I am not sure how long it has been since I have seen this used. We tend to just pass kids on to the next grade level whether they pass English and Math or not. I think that we need to use it more and maybe kids would believe the school when they tell them they will have to stay in the same grade another year.
ReplyDeleteAbility grouping is a concept that I think has positives and negatives. We use this to get students to work in groups with the same ability which is great for helping students self-esteem. On the other hand some students could use the motivation of being pushed to work harder if they are in a higher group.
Matching instruction to learning styles is also a great idea if we had the personell. This may not be as easily attainable as in previous times because the staff numbers arent where they used to be. Each student learns in a different way but it is hard sometimes for the teacher to hit every instructional method on every lesson.
Homework is a hard topic. I am a teacher who likes to give students a chance to finish assignments in class, especially on math. I think it is different when students are younger and learning basic skills but when they reach the high school math it gets to the point where many parents cannot help their student. For this reason I think that the students should have time during school if possible and if they use the time to finish the assignment.
I dont see any changes in the future on these. We as teachers tend to use the methods that work. I also think many of us attempt to use methods that reach as many of the students as possible.
Unfortunately, as more and more pressure is placed upon educators, I do not see many of our current practices changing. Schools do not like to retain students because that dings them and places a stigma on the child, grouping by ability can be deemed inappropriate because it is labeling a child or the teacher is being biased, matching instruction to learning styles takes extensive time and planning (to be done well), and homework will continue to be assigned. I am all for flipped classrooms and project based learning, especially since that allows children to learn at their own pace. It takes much time and effort to establish quality materials, and I have found that many teachers who put this effort in are either met with complaints from students and parents over change, or some form of adversity because they are breaking away from "how things have always been done." Some are applauded and encouraged, but most eventually put their time and effort into one unit they are passionate about, or they burn out. I would love to see more celebration and collaboration for these things... but, the universal concern is "when."
ReplyDeleteRetention: I think that retention is not used near enough if at all anymore. Parents and society are two concerned with what everyone will think and will not even ask a teachers opinion about it. I can say from experience that being retained in a grade early on is one of the best forms of intervention. If a student struggles in first grade, why should we let them struggle for every grade after? Not to mention how much of the social awkwardness and immaturity would be helped by this.
ReplyDeleteAbility grouping: I have mixed feelings on this. On the one side, it is good for support staff to help our students in a group. Sometime depending on the subject I almost prefer it. On the other side, though for students to be grouped by ability could potentially mean that they would not learn as well from their peers. The argument for not grouping students together by ability is that students learn better when they teach material to someone else; this does not happen in groups where there is peers grouped together by ability level.
Matching instruction to learning styles: I wish more of the teachers in my building did this for my students. I know that as a general education teacher it is hard to do every day but teaching the same way everyday has got to be boring at some point too. However I don’t think we should do this all the time, since the adult world will not always cater to the needs of our students based on their learning styles.
Homework: Practice makes permanent. Making sure the students have meaningful homework they know how to do is important. In math homework is important for concept mastery, but in English is it important to look up 20 vocab words a night? Homework is important as long as it is the right kind.
I hope at least one of these practices would change in the future but honestly, I do not see that happening. To many people from the community would start to question why these practices have changed, and to many administrators are afraid to take a stand and break the cycle.
Retention- In our district, since I have been teaching, there has been only 1 student who did benefit from retention and a big piece of that puzzle was the family! Our superintendent does not support retention so we have conversations about what to do when students fail a grade. How can we help them be successful without retention? Not sure there is a great answer out there but it is a continuing converstation! I am not a fan of the practice but like others I'm unsure of how to handle it otherwise. This is where RTI comes in and how schools create a structure that supports those failing students.
ReplyDeleteAbility Grouping- I do not support this at all! The negative consequences far outweigh the positives ones! I think students learn best in a mixed ability group environment! I do know a sped teacher who ability groups and I have asked her to rethink that practice and come up with other ways to group her students, I know sped classes are unique but I still don't support it even in our environment (DLM excluded).
Matching Instruction to Learning Styles- I think it is important to keep students learning styles in mind through-out the year but I do agree with the author that it can be limiting if we instruct based on their learning styles only! I don't think that really prepares them for life, life really does not care how you learn!!
Homework- I am surprised that homework has a high effect in the middle and high school levels! I do not have a homework based class and have a tendency to get frustrated with my son's homework, as he does too!! I think there is a place for it but I also think it gets abused, giving homework just because that's what schools do is not a good reason!
I think there will be continuing conversations regarding homework, that is one practice that teachers have definate opinions about! I think retention, teaching to learning styles, and ability grouping are practices that come down from admin and teachers may not have much influence regarding those in the classroom. We do not retain or ability group at my middle school. We are encouraged to review our students learning styles and keep those in mind as we teach but not for it to be the crux of our environment.
Retention: This is a practice I am absolutely against, as I don't believe it works. True the student might look better the second time they receive the instruction at grade level, but these same students are often just as far or farther behind a year or two later. Many of the students I get as new referrals have been retained, which obviously did not solve their reading deficit. I also believe it has a long term lasting negative impact on a student's perception of themselves as a learner.
ReplyDeleteAbility Grouping: This is the norm in the elementary building I work. Students are ability grouped at the beginning of the year in both math and reading, and whatever group students are placed in seems to be where they stay. This was a frustration of mine as a parent too, as my youngest is very shy and would always perform below his ability level on placement tests the teacher would give the first week of school. He would then spend 6-12 weeks in a group below his level.
Matching instruction to learning styles: I think a teacher needs to use a variety of styles and a student needs to be exposed to variety of styles. Seldom does the work place adapt instructional materials, so students need to be taught how to transfer knowledge or adapt the materials to a method they can process and understand.
Homework: In the district I work, students seem to have more homework in elementary school (especially 1st and 2nd grade) than any other time. As a parent, it has been a source of frustration for me and often seems like busy work. When looking at the effect size, it seems the time teachers spend developing homework sheets and checking to see if it was done each morning could definitely be better spent.
The elementary school I currently work in heavily uses and relies on three of the above four strategies. Sadly, I don't see that changing anytime in the near future.
Retention: I personally think retention is a wonderful option that many parents don't use for fear of their child being the kid who "was behind" their peers. My fiance and I held back his child last year in first grade because she was scoring 48ish out of 55-58 kids. We didn't think that she was mature enough to go to second grade and she was only 6. We made the choice and this year she has scored in the top 10! I feel like it is an option more parents should consider. If a child doesn't have a good foundation how can we expect them to be successful?
ReplyDeleteAbility grouping: I'm in favor of ability grouping to a certain extent. I don't think it is appropriate to have a sixth grade student in a class with first grade students. I think it's acceptable up to two years difference. I say that because I worry about the kid's self esteem.
Matching instruction to learning styles: I think teachers need to use a variety of styles to meet the needs of all students. This also helps the students adapt to new styles and be able to learn through multiple modalities.
Homework: I'm on the fence about homework. Homework should be practice of something kids already know how to do. I think 2 hours of homework is ridiculous! 10-15 Math problems and 20 minutes of reading seems like more than enough for an elementary student.
I do not see these changing any time soon. I think there are so many other things that are going to need to change before any of these have the chance.
Even though the book pointed out the negative effect size of retention, I can’t honestly say that I’m 100% for or against it. I think this matter needs to be viewed on a case-by-case basis, especially taking into consideration (among numerous other factors) what is going to be done that’s significantly different for the kiddo if he/she is retained. Also, in regard to changes in practice, it seems like I’ve seen this option being promoted more and more by schools. Maybe I’m just imagining this upswing, but I was also talking to a teacher this morning about retention, and she mentioned something about it being talked about recently in principal’s council??? Am I way off base??? Does anyone else have any idea about what I’m talking about??? Haha!
ReplyDeleteI have a JH who does ability grouping for all of their core classes. There’s a group A and a group B. I’ve always thought this was a good thing because the lower kiddos were getting instruction at a different level, different pace, etc., but… I guess maybe it’s not everything I thought it was, haha! I feel like the school thinks what they’re doing is beneficial too, because in their mind, they’re differentiating. I feel like it’s more in a sense of what the book talked about, though, in regard to overgeneralizing ability grouping. What they’re doing is definitely fixed and not flexible, but I’m not sure they see the difference in outcome. I think I’m going to share this information with some of the teachers to get their thoughts, but I’m sure it won’t change their future practices and the set-up they have going on. Maybe it will at least make them more aware of what’s actually going on, and maybe they could try doing some more needs-based instruction within their grouping???
I liked when the book said that matching instruction with a perception of a learning style isn’t going to radically raise achievement, because my first thought was, “Well… Exactly. Because what if your perception’s wrong?” I think using various instructional methods to play to students’ strengths isn’t a bad thing at all, but I can definitely see where limiting a kiddo to 1 specific strategy might not be the best idea.
I feel like I’m completely on the same page as the authors in regard to their views about homework. I think the extra practice that homework provides can be beneficial for students who are already beginning to master the concept, but if a student’s being assigned something that they’re completely clueless about, it’s just not going to produce the same type of outcome. I also think more and more people are coming around to this idea (at least maybe in the buildings I work in), because it seems like homework is being much more limited, or even non-existent, especially in the earlier grades.
Learning from what does not work: What is your opinion on each of the following instructional practices. I have never been at a school before now that sees retention as a positive thing. I feel like everyone wants to retain students here without truly understanding the negative effects it plays on students. It is very odd and frustrating to me to see. I feel like with homework more people are starting to understand that most likely it may not get done or that parents may be helping with it at home. I think people are starting to understand that the time that we have with the kids at school is very valuable.
ReplyDeleteRetention - The middle school I am at has traditionally not retained students. It believes that students that are struggling do not necessarily need to repeat grades, but rather receive interventions and opportunities to regain credits through alternate routes. Students that are held back tend to have worse attitudes, bad labels, and face a higher drop out rate. I understand that we do our students, staff, and districts a disservice when we pass them along to the next grades without the skills required to be successful, but retention, especially pre-high school, does not seem to hold the answer.
ReplyDeleteAbility grouping -This is a tough one, because it seems so natural and logical. The text did a good job differentiating between ability grouping and needs based instruction/intervention. In special education, there seems to be a fine line between the two. I have separated students into needs based interventions, only to realize that in time, the group has transitioned to ability grouping. From my own experience, I don't believe the education system is close to getting rid of this. Until we can change our logic, ability grouping (formally and informally) will continue.
Matching instruction to learning styles - I feel that this area may evolve positively with time. While matching instruction to perceived learning styles is not helpful, varying activities, projects, and assignments to help students transfer and learn at deeper levels is helpful. It is a lot of work for teachers to plan these. If students are not meeting success, teachers will look to modify their practices. I don't believe any administration would like teachers to revert back to copying down dictionary definitions or added worksheets, so I think teachers will begin to plan better, more successful activities.
Homework - I have heard much debate over this in my district. It seems as though the district philosophically is opposed to homework, but is practically for it. I have heard teachers of low grades assigning students homework to "teach them about responsibility." This is unfortunate as the effect size is very limited in the elementary school (.10). As the grade level grows, so does the effect size of homework. I feel that homework can be done away with at the elementary level and should increase with each grade level. However, the homework given should align with what is being taught and help students pursue mastery rather than include a great deal of student-led learning.
I spent approximately an hour and a half answering this question with many insights. When I clicked Publish, the system lost everything that was written. I feel that I have received the benefit of reflective thought, though no one will be able to read the results of my reflection, so I will try again.
ReplyDeleteThe effect size for homework is 0.29, but if we dig deeper into the book, homework is an intervention that yields greater results with older students. For elementary students, it is a paltry 0.10 and for middle school students it is 0.30, but if high school students are involved, the effect size is 0.55. In other words, it is effective to have high school students do homework. However, homework is best when it is a reinforcement for skills that have been learned, but need repetition and practice to reach mastery. It should not be used for new material as is so often the case. If perfect practice makes perfect, homework regarding new material leaves room for mistakes to be made without the proximity of a teacher and, if students practice their homework imperfectly, their mistakes could become habits and wrong thinking that could be hard to break.
The effect size for retention is actually a negative -0.13. It is only slightly above students who watch a lot of television -0.18 and students who are highly mobile, moving from school to school, -0.34. In the first year after retention, students typically do better because the information is, after all, review, but three years later, these students are typically at the same point they would have been without retention. However, they have lost a year and their self-esteem is likely worse than it would have been. The effect size for positive self-concept is 0.47.
I've seen some students in middle school who were retained who looked like the Marlboro Man. We've actually grade skipped some of these students who have been retained, but then there were gaps in their educations with concepts that had been taught in the skipped grade level. It would be good if our early elementary teachers projected ahead. We don't need students who turn 18 as juniors or sometime sophomores with the right to drop out of school with a good solid sophomore education behind them.
Ability Grouping has an effect size of 0.12. If we think about it, our groups would likely fall along lines of poverty or ESL factors and wealth. This could also fall along the lines of segregation. Some students might be lower, not because of ability to learn, but because of lack of exposure. They need exposure to how higher level students reason and think. They may need exposure to social skills. We do them a disservice if we separate them into groups.
I ran out of room, imagine that, so below are the rest of my comments.
DeleteIn Southwest Kansas, we are fortunate that there is not a lot of access to private schools and that the distance between communities is great enough that school choice does not make as much sense. Typically, our community school is a reflection of our entire community, from the poorest to the wealthiest. There is great learning that can take place with a mix of cultures and economic means. Students from lower socio economic status might learn the attitudes needed for success, while students from wealth might learn empathy for others of far fewer means.
Jefferson and the founding fathers supported public education for all because they knew that the country needed educated individuals to make decisions in a democracy. They wanted to create a society where all men were equal. Separation does not lead to the creation of this ideal and Ability Grouping and Matching Learning Styles 0.17 are forms of separation. It is good that students of differing learning styles are in the same classroom and it is good when teachers use multi sensory instruction in which students see, hear, and do to learn from each other. This might be why Cooperative Learning 0.59 is so effective. It is good to have the artistic kid, the kid who is good with math, and the kid who is good with words on the same team. They can bring differing strengths to the team and create a better final product. Meanwhile, they are learning from each other.
I am not a fan of retention. Our school just started a retention program at the middle school. This is the first year so we don't have any results yet. My fear is that when students are held back behind their peers they will lose interest in coming to school.
ReplyDeleteResearch shows that ability grouping is ineffective. It has been proven that students work best in a mixed ability environment.
Like the book says we can't always match instruction to learning styles. In the real world students are going to have to understand things through multiple mediums. I do however think it is important to understand how our students work and accommodate them when appropriate.
I don' think homework is appropriate for my students. If they are in my room that means they are struggling academically in most cases and need that support when practicing skills.
Retention: This is something that is currently being discussed in our building...and not something that I am super supportive of. I see too often that retention is used as an intervention. If a student needs intervention...then give them intervention...don't hold them back! I also wonder if a teacher is going to teach the same content in the same way, is this really going to help a student?? I think that if we are going to retain a student, we need to be able to almost guarantee parents that they will be on grade level by the end of the second year. If we can't, is retention really the answer?
ReplyDeleteAbility grouping: I think this is almost a necessity during MTSS groups. This is how targeted intervention works the best. The data shown during MTSS demonstrates that this is a successful strategy. I don't think that every group that is created in a classroom should be ability grouped, however. I do feel that there is a time and place for it.
Matching instruction to learning styles: In an ideal world, this would be amazing! However, we teach in the real world, and I don't think this is very practical. It is important to incorporate learning styles into instruction, but to match all instruction to a student's learning style seems almost impossible.
Homework: This is also a topic that has been debated and debated in my building. Some teachers are so for it and others (including past administration) are so against it. I personally think it has it's rightful place. Homework, however, should be something that a student is doing to practice a skill they already know how to do. Parents, unfortunately, are unable to help a student with their homework these days. If it is something that a student is going to need help on, it should be done in the classroom. I feel that all students can and should have nightly reading homework. It helps increase their fluency and comprehension when they read nightly.