Digging Deeper
education, schools, students, teaching, tyler,
With an online curriculum tool and a new way of presenting in the classroom, the Tyler Independent School District is ramping up its efforts to engage students and improve the learning experience.
After about a year of classroom observation, district administrators decided to implement the 5E model of teaching – engage, explore, explain, elaborate and evaluate.
The system has been used with much success elsewhere and will eliminate the old standard of having a teacher deliver information, students write it down and then repeat it back at test time, says Kim Tunnell, director of curriculum, instruction and staff development.
“We were making small, incremental steps in our student scores, but it wasn’t keeping pace with our expectations,” Tunnell says. “We began to look at what was going on in our classrooms, and looked at things from the students’ standpoint instead of the teachers’ view. We found that even though we have excellent teachers, they were doing most of the work, and the students weren’t fully engaged in the actual learning process.”
The 5E model was settled upon after looking at various instructional methods that would tie students more closely into the learning process rather than just being recipients of information. Chief among the new approach’s tools is CSCOPE, which is a lesson-delivery style that incorporates the curriculum the ISD now is using throughout its schools. Following some training during the summer, the new methods were rolled out in fall 2008 and so far have been very successful, Tunnell says.
“The CSCOPE lessons were optional, but using the 5E method was nonnegotiable,” she says. “If teachers want to develop their own lessons, they are allowed to do so. Most are using it, because it gives them all the tools they need and covers everything.”
Many faculty members say it’s like their first year of teaching, which is exciting and challenging at the same time. Officials know that this kind of major change is difficult, so classroom monitoring and assistance along the way are the norm, as are ongoing evaluations to see how the new system is shaking down.
“We’re seeing a lot of things that we can quantify, such as improved attendance and decreased discipline referrals,” Tunnell says. “There are a lot of other variables in play, but the early numbers are good. Now that the teachers are really embracing and accepting it, we think we’re going to see more and more positive improvements.”
At the end of the day, she says, it’s all about the students.
“They’re our customers. It’s not about us, it’s about doing what’s best for them,” Tunnell says. “This is definitely a step in getting them more engaged in the learning process, and that’s really what we’re all about doing here.”
Story by Joe Morris
Photo by Antony Boshier
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