link to article about teaching texts and their readers

Below is a link to the article, W

http://www.heinemann.com/shared/onlineresources/0540/chapter2.pdf

ORKSHOP Teaching Texts and Their Readers by Sheridan D. Blau. If you preview the chapters, you might find something that would work for you in the classroom.

Good YouTube links related to the chapter summaries- and they are short!!!

"All you really do in school is play guess what the teacher knows"-Jeffrey Wilhelm

Jeffrey Wilhelm, Associate Professor of English Education at Boise State, reaffirms some of the concerns Donald Finkel discusses in his book in this YouTube presentation:
http://youtu.be/62Ic21-0Q9k

He also does a nice job of explaining how inquiry based learning can work in the classroom, an idea presented in Finkel's book.
http://youtu.be/3x-pTBZw8mg

*Plus they are short, only 1:48 and 1:35!

Chapter Two Summary

Teaching with Your Mouth Shut, by Donald L. Finkel

Chapter 2

Significant Points in the Chapter

Creating a classroom where books become the instructor is a worthwhile teaching activity.  They can provide a valuable learning experience without the teacher’s need for explanation.  If you can trust the book to move the student, the student will become curious as to what moves them, thus creating a personal learning experience.

The Parable

Parables are useful learning tools that should be considered for classroom use. They have used throughout time in many diverse cultures and religions; Christianity, Buddhism, and various native cultures just to name a few. Typically, a parable is a “story trying to tell us something” and they possess the following characteristics: they are little stories, they seem profound (have some bit of knowledge), and they are somewhat opaque.

Learning from Parables

These three features are what make parables so useful in the classroom: “Their concreteness, specificity, and narrative organization capture our attention” (p. 13).  When students are permitted to ponder the questions in parables and formulate and test their responses against their own life experiences and knowledge, it sets the mind to increasing its understanding. The question then becomes “Who taught me” (p. 14)? Most of the time, the teacher was a collaboration of several people; the author, the reader, and another person who is present. The teacher becomes a shared effort because a parable has no set agenda and the reader must teach themselves from it while others help him/her problem-solve. Parables are not considered to be teaching by Telling because they set an engaging problem, the reader encounters a problem they must solve, and the teacher did not interpret, or tell, them the correct response. Once again, it is important to remember that if we view learning “as the creation of those circumstances that produce learning in others” then teaching has taken place (p. 15).

Let the Parable Do the Talking

An educator can be an effective teacher regardless if they know, or don’t know, the “answer” to the parable: “The existence of the parable as a teaching device presumes that certain things can be learned only by figuring them out for yourself” (p.15). In addition, the skills a learner develops from examining parables can be transferred to other kinds of material.

Puzzle and Paradoxes

Puzzles are similar to parable in that they encourage discussion and provoke learning. However, puzzles are more effective when used collaboratively with the teacher and a group of students. The similarity these two teaching tools share is only meant to demonstrate methods for encouraging discussion and learning; it is not meant to be a universal model for all subject matter.  

Teaching through Great Books

The three features of a parable also apply to books. Books, though, provide a sequence of many situations to examine, as opposed to one problem. They can present a more complex process of problem-solving when the teacher lets the students attack the content directly. This does not mean the teacher is passive in the process; he/she must create the structure and activities to approach the book. There are several ways a teacher can stimulate learning through books and many specific examples are provided in this chapter ranging from Homer’s Iliad to Toni Morrison’s Beloved. Lastly, it is crucial to recognize that not all books have profound things to communicate so it is necessary to find exceptional books that can provide an educational experience without the teacher’s need for explanation.

Let the Books Do the Talking

When selecting a book there are several steps to consider. First, it is important to select the right book so you can “let the book do the talking” (p. 30). Teachers must learn to refrain from describing the significance of the book and trust the students to respond to it.  Second, you must get the students to read. Third, the teacher needs to arrange the circumstances and activities to examine its significance so that students can “read it well” (p. 30). It is this last part that truly tests a teacher’s “good teaching”.  

Finkel, D. L. (2000). Teaching with your mouth shut. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook.

TAKE SIMPLE TEST HERE

Simple test:

Think back over your whole life, what were the two or three most significant learning experiences you ever had? That is, list the moments (or events) in which you discovered something of lasting significance to your life.

After you have listed two or three moments, answer the following questions:

1.       Did it take place in a classroom?

2.       Did it take place in a school?

3.       Was a professional teacher instrumental in making the learning experience happen?

4.       Was a teacher-like figure (coach, minister, counselor) instrumental in making the learning experience happen?

5.       If the answer to 3 or 4 is “yes” , then what did the teacher (or other person) actually do to help you learn?

6.       In general, what factors were instrumental in bringing about the learning?

Ch 1 Summary

Teaching with Your Mouth Shut, by Donald L. Finkel

Chapter 1

Significant Points in the Chapter

Fundamentally, teachers instruct through telling; lecture, talking, informing, directing, or in other words, telling the students what they need to know. The first chapter discusses this traditional approach and posits other methods for defining “good teaching”.

What Do You Do?

When you identify your profession, how do you introduce yourself?  Many people “have a set of ready-made assumptions about what a teacher does” (Finkel, 2000, p. 1). Sometimes this includes being an actor, lecturer, professor, presenter, performer, etc. Regardless of the title, all of them profess that you do something with your mouth open; Teaching is Telling. But how often does the learner retain information from even the most brilliant lectures? Finkel suggests that we need to revisit the definition of learning and consider the idea that learning is “knowing something we didn’t know before” (p. 1).

Teaching as Telling

Our natural inclination when teaching is to tell; “to carefully and clearly tell students something they did not previously know. Knowledge is transmitted through this act of telling” (p. 2). Given that telling is the natural way to teach, what is wrong with it? Finkel discusses a scenario to illustrate the difference between telling and learning by using the example of providing directions to your house to a friend. Did they learn anything from this that will be retained years from now or was it simply transmitting specific information? The same concern is expressed with exams; “how many could pass those same exams five years later?” (p. 3).

Even though research demonstrates that discussion is preferred over lectures as an instructional method for the retention of information, many do not practice it with the same regularity. Finkel suggests that “education should aim at long-lasting learning that forever alters our grasp of the world, deepening it, widening it, generalizing it, sharpening it.” (p. 4). When something has been internalized, it cannot be unlearned. As educators, we should strive toward the development of understanding, unless the person does not possess the cognitive or emotional means to do so. Even though Telling is popular and frequently used, is it really “good teaching” or are there other forms?

The Great Teacher

What make a good teacher great? Think about the characteristics of someone you admired. Most of the time, they will possess similar traits: enthusiastic, knowledgeable, captivating, asked probing questions, and had enlightened answers. These characteristics are usually included in our engrained cultural ideal of a great teacher and it is not easy to consider another image. However, the purpose of this book is contemplate other forms of great teaching and, if you can let go of the traditional ideal of good teaching,  realize there are many types of great teaching.

**PLEASE TAKE THE SIMPLE TEST LOCATED ON MY BLOG AT THIS TIME**

Simple Test

          Most of the time, significant learning does not occur in the classroom; significant learning is discovered. This fact does not mean that teaching is not important but rather that the learning did “not take place as a result of intentional teaching” (p. 7).  However, this is not to imply that significant learning cannot take place from teaching, especially if  it “were undertaken in the best possible manner” (p. 7).  The most important thing to ponder is that in moments of great learning, the teacher probably “got out of your way, gave you the opportunity to make your own mistakes, or failed to rebuke you when you expected a rebuke” (p. 7).

Good Teaching Leads to Significant Learning

Finkel describes “good teaching” as “creating of those circumstances that lead to significant learning in others” (p. 8). Naturally, we tend to evaluate our efforts through our immediate emotional responses, in that, “wow they loved me today” or “they were really into it and receptive”.  However, our primary goal is learning, not teaching, and “teachers must never forget that end when devising ways to teach” (p. 8). Our purpose is to create an environment that is conducive to learning.

Different Images of Good Teaching

If we can give up our ideal image of a great teacher, then we can be open to creating a multitude of activities that will enhance student learning. Once we reconsider what actually constitutes teaching, “we can expand and diversify our notions of “great teaching” (p. 9).

Finkel, D. L. (2000). Teaching with your mouth shut. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook.

sparse postings

I am trying to get into the flow of blogging and have decided I need a scheduled time to keep everyone updated on my processes and thoughts.  Therefore, I will attempt to blog a little thought or reflection on the readings every other day.  Today, I will begin my chapter summaries on the book, “Teaching with Your Mouth Shut".

While prepping this summary, I had a call from a new teacher that will be coming into our district next year. We spent quite a bit of time discussing one of the major themes of this book; inquiry-based learning. The idea of letting students discover the answers/concepts on their own is certainly intriguing but can it work with secondary students , where most of them seem to possess a sparse experience/knowledge base?

Something to ponder…

Hope you enjoy the summaries and find useful tips in them.

Pertinent info before summarizing

Greetings!

Before I begin posted chapter reviews, I thought it would be beneficial to summarize the foreword and some basic observations. The author of this book, Donald L. Finkel, taught at The Evergreen State College from 1976 until his death in 1999. Evergreen is a unique school in that “you often find yourself studying across several academic disciplines – all at once – and all in the same class. Imagine exploring psychology, environmental studies, math, history and economics and how they all interrelate”. In addition, students are “evaluated in detailed narratives…instead of letter grades (Curriculum Overview, n.d.). For this reason, the author’s recommendations for teaching are nontraditional and he attempts to design activities that produce experiential learning and teaching. He also wants to challenge the traditional view of “Great Teaching” as well as explore basic structures such as; power vs. authority, the psychoanalytic view of learning, the teacher as a silent observer, democratic classrooms, and the inclusion of lectures. Each of the chapters are presented as a case study or a story to illustrate his ideas and to help the reader investigate the experience of learning and teaching. 

Personally, I found his point of view refreshing, enlightening, sometimes perplexing, and worthy of investigation and trial. But this book might not appeal to traditionalists or people who subscribe to a strict behavioral or liberal arts philosophy (i.e. the teacher is the "expert" /transmitter of knowledge/controller). For anyone teaching in the field of language arts, Finkel does provide in-depth conceptual workshops and lessons that are ready to use in the classroom. Even though I do not teach in this subject area, I found myself making side notes for future classes, reflections of my classroom presentations, and essential questions. Nevertheless, I think you will discover he has some original thoughts that might change your perception of teaching.

Dawn

Link to Power Point

I will be posting chapter summaries as we proceed in the course, but until then, I have created a Power Point for you to familarize yourself with some of the concepts in the book, Teaching with Your Mouth Shut by Donald L. Finkel . Please follow the slideshare link:"http://www.slideshare.net/dawndeming/powerpoint-summary-of-inquiry-based-teachingfinkel"