17,000 Classroom Visits Can t Be Wrong: Strategies That Engage Students, Promote Active Learning, and Boost Achievement

198 Pages·2015·2.09 MB·English

by  John V. Antonetti

Most educators are skilled at planning instruction and determining what
they will do during the course of a lesson. However, to truly engage students
in worthwhile, rigorous cognition, a profound shift is necessary: a shift in
emphasis from teaching to learning. Put another way, we know that whoever
is doing the work is also doing the learning—and in most classrooms, teach-
ers are working much too hard.
Authors John V. Antonetti and James R. Garver are the designers of the
Look 2 Learning model of classroom walkthroughs. They’ve visited more
than 17,000 classrooms—examining a variety of teaching and learning condi-
tions, talking to students, examining their work, and determining their levels
of thinking and engagement. From this vast set of data, they’ve drawn salient
lessons that provide valuable insight into how to smooth the transition from
simply planning instruction to designing high-quality student work.
The lessons John and Jim have learned from their 17,000 (and count-
ing) classroom visits—and which they share in this book—can’t be wrong.
Features of the book include stories of successful practice and practical tools
ready for immediate classroom application. The authors also provide oppor-
tunities for reflection and closure designed to help you consider (or recon-
sider) your current beliefs and practices. Throughout, you will hear the voices
of John and Jim—and the thousands of students they met—as they provide
a map for shifting the dynamic from teaching to learning.
$28.95 U.S.
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CLASSROOM VISITS
CAN’T BE WRONG
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Antonetti, John V.
17,000 classroom visits can’t be wrong : strategies that engage students, promote active learning, and boost
achievement / John V. Antonetti & James R. Garver.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4166-2008-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Teaching. 2. Active learning. 3. Motivation in education.
4. Academic achievement. I. Garver, James R. II. Title.
LB1025.3.A55 2004
371.102—dc23
2 014042384
23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
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CLASSROOM VISITS CAN’T BE WRONG
Strategies That Engage Students, Promote Active Learning, and Boost Achievement
CHAPTER 1 Focus on Learning ..................................................................3
CHAPTER 2 How to Use this Book ..........................................................16
CHAPTER 3 Thinking and the Brain ........................................................24
CHAPTER 4 Learning Targets ...................................................................44
CHAPTER 5 Know Your Learners .............................................................62
CHAPTER 6 Engagement ..........................................................................78
CHAPTER 7 Instructional Strategies ........................................................97
CHAPTER 8 Differentiation ...................................................................116
CHAPTER 9 Learning Pathways .............................................................127
CHAPTER 10 Closure................................................................................141
CHAPTER 11 Refl ection ............................................................................150
CHAPTER 12 Putting It All Together ........................................................162
CHAPTER 13 Final Thoughts ...................................................................178
References ..................................................................................................180
Index ..........................................................................................................182
About the Authors .....................................................................................187
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One’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
If we are not careful, teaching can become an isolated profession.
If we are lucky, we become part of a team that works together and shares best practices.
If we are truly blessed, we fi nd colleagues who help us refl ect on our practice, stretch our
thinking and force us to recognize our weaknesses and refi ne our strengths.
This book is dedicated to coauthor Dr. James R. Garver, who worked tirelessly and
courageously to see this manuscript fi nished. He will not be physically present as the book
is published, but I can promise you that his words will live on to provide wisdom, humor,
and a unique look at the students who enter our classrooms every day.
To Jim: my friend, mentor, business partner, and brother.
You will forever be my Colleague.
—John Antonetti
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September 5
Okay, so I GET to write whatever I want. What if I
don’t want to write anything, because I don’t. She
says it doesn’t matter what I write and that she
won’t get mad at anything I write. As long as I write
MY thoughts. Its supposed to be about thinking.
Okay, so Daniella just asked how long it has to
be. Mrs. Garcia said length is not a trait. What
does that mean? Long or short? I can’t believe
I’m in the same class with Daniella for English and
Social Studies. Double block. yuckl!!!! two hole hours
together.
So for eight minutes every day we’re going to write
whatever we are thinking about. What I’m thinking
about is how come seventh graders have to write a
diary anyway?
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Curtis says his English class doesn’t have to do
this. Who gets to decide this stuff anyway? If Mrs.
Garcia says we have to but Ms. Miller’s kids don’t
have to, it’s not fair. Nobody asked me!
Nobody ever asks kids about how to run school and
we’re the only ones who have to come every day.
It’s not fair.
1 more minute to write. Right? Right! Write. write
writewritewritewritewrite.
Mrs. Garcia, if you read this, you have to say I did
it RIGHT, cuz I wrote about what I was thinking.
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1
Focus on Learning
These frustrated ramblings in a 7th grader’s journal are all too familiar to most
educators. Teachers spend time planning lessons, basing them on standards
and guided by curricula and instructional materials, only to be met with resis-
tance and apathy. We try to keep up with developments in instruction—you
wouldn’t be reading this book if you didn’t—but the pieces often seem to
remain disparate and not come together. Perhaps it’s a matter of changing our
focus. Have we considered what our lessons might look like from the other
side of the desk?
As the authors of this book, we have looked at instruction in more than
17,000 elementary and secondary classrooms. During this experience, we have
come to recognize the power of shifting the focus from teaching to learning.
This realization has come both over time and in a few blinding moments of
clarity.
A few years ago, we hosted our fi rst annual Engagement Conference in
Las Vegas. On the eve of that conference, like expectant parents, we carefully
reviewed our plans for the following days, ensuring that every detail was cov-
ered. Finally, at about 10:30 p.m., John said, “I think we’re ready, but you don’t
seem very happy.”
“What’s the ‘big idea’ for our conference?” Jim asked.
“That kids need to be more engaged . . . actively involved in learning
activities.”
“And how are we starting?”
“With your 90 minute keynote speech . . .”
And at that point, we both realized that wouldn’t work. So, we set about
designing a new conference opening—one in which participants would be 3
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