Instruction

When I was in the interviewing process to find a teaching job, I was constantly asked, "Do you believe all students can learn?" The answer that they were looking for of course was, "Absolutely!" Sometimes though, in my classroom I find myself wondering if all of my students can actually learn the content I am teaching them. So I think the answer to the question is somewhat tricky. Yes, all students can learn. Can all students learn and apply the concepts from my Algebra class? I don't know. For the most part they can all at least regurgitate back to me the processes that I teach them, but I don't think they would be able to apply these skills out of context.

I think that this is why Laura Resnick and Sharon Nelson-Le Gall wrote the article "Socializing Intelligence". They suggest shifting the focus of intelligence studies from what academic content do students know to what skill sets can students acquire and use properly in the right contexts. This means less focus on assessing content and more focus on assessing a student's learning process. They also suggest that effort can lead to good learning skills which in turn leads to understanding. Putting this all together, I see their theory as a way to redefine intelligence as more of the process of being able to ask the right questions and solve problems with skills that have been acquired.

This new way to think about intelligence also redirects some of the focus from WHAT the teacher is teaching to HOW the teacher is teaching. The Four Domains of Teaching Responsibility is a great tool for teachers to use to 1)plan and prepare lessons that are meaningful and have specific learning goals for individual students, 2)create a classroom environment that is the most conducive for student learning, 3)implement methods of instruction that engages all students, and 4)exhibit professional responsibilities such as reflection and continued professional development.

Working in an Ohio school where the Four Domains are almost as important as the Bible, I have a certain level of familiarity with implementing the components of the domains. Before beginning work in Ohio though, I had never heard of the Four Domains and didn't realize how important they were to the schools I was applying at. I was amazed when some of my colleagues had binders dedicated to the domains and knew each component by heart (Ohio colleges have classes dedicated to the domains). See, in Nashville where I went to school, they teach the concepts that are presented in the Four Domains of Teacher Responsibility, but not in such a formatted way. It was taught as common practice or common sense that we should just use everyday. So when I was a beginning year teacher at Lakota West High School, I was at a major disadvantage to those that had gone to an in-state university. Though I knew that I needed to know what kind of student I was teaching (1b), demonstrate that I know what I am teaching (1a), manage classroom behavior (2d), know how to organize my classroom (2e), clearly communicate with students (3a) and parents (4c), and be flexible and respond appropriately to any given situation (3e), I had no idea there was an organized system to categorize each of those actions (which were common sense to me).

I did struggle a little bit my first year. It wasn't because I didn't know the domains (not that I'm knocking them, they are great for assessing and reflecting on your own teaching), it was more because I hadn't learned yet how to connect what I knew about my subject to things that my students could understand and relate to. I had to deal with the initial question I posed, "Do I believe that all students can learn?" After having a few years under my belt now, I can definitively say, "YES!" A lot of it though is up to me and how I present the content that I want my students to learn.