Book Review: Teach Reflect Learn

Book Review: Teach Reflect Learn

– Building Your Capacity For Success in The Classroom

by Peter Hall & Alisa Simeral

In Teach Reflect Learn, Peter Hall and Alisa Simeral provide teachers with the opportunity to assess their current self-reflective tendencies and offer strategies for moving them through the stages of the authors’ self-reflection continuum.

Chapter 1 provides teachers with some feel-good images of teachers as heroes and “centers of the solar system” of their students.  It also includes evidence of the enormous impact that teachers have, including a reference to John Hattie’s meta-analysis of educational research which determined that “… 9 of the top 13 influences on student achievement were teacher-or teaching-related.” (4)

In Chapter 2, self-reflection, as it pertains to the teaching profession, is defined, and the doing-thinking gap is discussed.  For teachers, self-reflection involves the following 5 behaviours related to the reflective cycle:

• Growing awareness of the instructional core (knowledge of every student’s individual learning style and needs, the content, & pedagogy);
• Deliberate planning and intentional action (precision in the selection of learning goals, instructional strategies, and student groupings);
• Assessing of the impact of pedagogical moves;
• Making adjustments  based on feedback from assessments; and,
• Engaging in iterative reflective cycles.

Hall & Simeral's Teacher Reflective Cycle

A doing-thinking gap occurs when teaching strategies are used in classroom situations without sufficient thought regarding the particular context.  Hall and Simeral indicate that this gap can be eliminated “… by identifying and pursuing a specific purpose”. (19)

The authors’ reflective self-assessment tool for teachers is outlined and explained in chapters 3 and 4.  It consists of 10 scenarios – each with four possible responses.  Each response is assigned a score. (from 1 to 4)  The higher the score a teacher receives on the self-assessment, the further along the Continuum of Self-Reflection he/she is placed.  The continuum consists of 4 stages: Unaware Stage, Conscious Stage, Action Stage, and Refinement Stage.  Teachers will reach the Refinement Stage when they demonstrate, to a high degree, the 5 aforementioned behaviours of the Reflective Cycle.

Hall & Simeral: "What Makes a Great Teacher"

In Chapter 5, Hall and Simeral discuss the characteristics of and strategies for teachers in the Unaware Stage of the self-reflection continuum.  Such teachers, “… have not yet learned about certain teaching strategies, [and] aren’t yet attuned to the finer details of their class and students.” (46)  Unaware Stage teachers are comfortable and set in the way they teach, rely often on textbooks and teacher’s guides, put the onus on students to alter their work habits and behavior, and rarely engage in reflection on their teaching practices.  Strategies suggested by the authors to enable teachers in this stage to grow along the self-reflection continuum include the use of:

·        the WOW!/YIKES! strategy whereby, at the end of the day, the teacher writes down one success and one challenge or surprise;

·         Give One, Get One by which teachers exchange favourite strategies related to a specific topic; and,

·         An instructional coach teaching a lesson in the teacher’s classroom.

Give One; Get One Teacher Sharing Strategy

Characteristics of and strategies for teachers in the Conscious Stage are offered in 

Chapter 6.  Teachers in this stage are stuck in the knowing-doing gap – They are aware that they must create meaningful and differentiated learning experiences for each of their students; however, they fail too often in their planning and practice to provide these experiences.  In order to grow as reflective practitioners, teachers in this stage need to become more intentional in their planning and practice.  Some suggested strategies for teachers in this stage include:

• Setting short-term achievable goals (The authors provide, as an appendix, their Quick-Win Goal-Setting Form for this purpose.); and,
• Participating in capacity-building activities such as book studies and article reviews that focus on an important instructional strategy, and then trying out specific elements of that strategy in their classrooms.

Chapter 7 deals with the Action Stage.  Teachers at this stage have plenty of technical competence “in the science of teaching but need to connect it with the art of making necessary alterations.” (97)  In other words, they know and can apply many effective instructional practices but lack the observational capacity and analytical skills to know when exactly to apply these practices.  Effective strategies for Action Stage teachers include:

·        Having one-to-one conversations with struggling students during which the students are asked to explain their thinking;

·        Analyzing video of their teaching and focusing on specific moves the teacher made that led to student learning and on actions that blocked learning; and,

·        Observing other teachers’ classrooms to note how they respond to specific learning needs of students.

In Chapter 8, the authors describe teachers in the Refinement Stage.  They are teachers who:

·        “…think critically throughout their day, continuously reflect on their practice, and dial in to the learning.” (123)

·        “…make immediate, fluid adjustments to a lesson, responding directly to student questions, struggles, thinking, and actions.” (130)

Advice for Refinement Stage teachers includes finding opportunities to take leadership roles in their school and offering “… to open up [their] classroom to a colleague’s visit.” (143)

The 15 Indisputable Laws of Growth

Book Review: The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth

by John C. Maxwell

John C. Maxwell’s purpose in The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth is to provide the reader with an understanding of how personal growth is achieved.

1.  The Law of Intentionality emphasizes that “No one improves by accident.” (3)  To grow, one has to ask the big questions – “Where do you want to go in life?” and “What direction do you want to go?” (10)  Once you answer these questions, you have to commit to moving forward immediately with a plan to grow, facing the associated fears, such as the fear of failure or insecurity.  A concrete way to start is to, “Rework your calendar so you have an appointment with yourself for personal growth” every day or week. (15)

2.  The Law of Awareness is simple: “You must know yourself to grow yourself.” (16)  You must know both where you are now and where you want to go.  Knowing what you want to do is only possible when you “Listen to your heart” (21) You must also be aware of what you are good at and of your limitations, in order to match your goals with your abilities.    

3.    The Law of The Mirror states that you need to see value in yourself and invest in adding further value to yourself. Low self-esteem always holds you back because “People are never able to outperform their self-image” (40) and because other people will equally under-value you.  Advice for bolstering your self-esteem includes becoming your own encourager through positive self-talk, not comparing yourself with others, taking small steps forward each day, celebrating small victories, and helping others value themselves.

4.    The Law of Reflection suggests that, “Learning to pause allows growth to catch up with you.” (53)  Indeed “evaluated experience” that comes only through reflection is the best teacher. (54)  Having a regular time and place for reflection is essential.   Maxwell states, “A minute of thought is worth more than an hour of talk.” (56)  Ask yourself tough questions such as,“What are the roadblocks that are keeping me from growing?” (64), and write out your answers.

5. The Law of Consistency states that “Motivation gets you growing, but discipline keeps you growing.” (69)  The key to growth through discipline is the Compound Effect – “the principle of reaping huge rewards from a series of small, small choices.” (78)   In other words, by disciplining yourself each day to take small steps forward, you will end up taking great leaps forward.

6. The Law of Environment is simple: “Growth thrives in conducive surroundings.” (98)  In order to grow, you need to immerse yourself in greatness: “… spend time with great people; visit great places; attend great events; read great books.” (90)

7. The Law of Design holds that “To maximize growth [both in your career and your life], you must develop strategies.” (102)  Maxwell recommends “multiplying everything by two” (106) when it comes to planning the amount of time, money, and effort you devote to meeting personal goals because growth can be slow and difficult.  Whatever systems or strategies you choose to plan your growth, they must include ways to measure your results.

8.The Law of Pain reads as follows: “Good management of bad experiences leads to great growth.” (121)  Choosing a “positive life stance” (128) – an optimistic outlook – is the best way to see your way through disappointments and suffering and grow.  Creativity is also a tonic.

9.  The Law of The Ladder indicates that “character growth determines the height of your personal growth.” (143)  In other words, real success is only possible when the foundation is integrity.  According to the author, the mistake too many people make is focusing “… too much on competence and too little on character.” (144)  The rungs on the character ladder are honesty, altruism, humility, gratefulness, and never-ending commitment to character development. 

10. The Law of the Rubber Band states that “Growth stops when you lose the tension between where you are and where you could be.” (156)  Hence, you always need to keep stretching yourself beyond your comfort zone, which includes taking risks.  By stretching yourself, you will move into your capacity zone.  Unfortunately, according to Maxwell, far too many people don’t stretch themselves.  As proof he offers this fact: “A third of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives.” (161) 

11.  The Law of Trade-Offs works as follows: “If you want to grow up to your potential, you must be willing to give up some things you value.” (176)  Maxwell cautions that the losses associated with a trade-off are normally felt long before any gains from it are realized, so the “in-between periods of transition can be a real challenge.” (181) However, he also contends that you need to keep making trade-offs if you want to continue growing. 

12.  The Law of Curiosity Curiosity is a driving force in growth.  Maxwell offers several suggestions for cultivating curiosity:

•  Have a “beginner’s mind-set”, which means “being open and vulnerable” and asking why frequently;
•  “Seek out other curious people”; (198)
•  Start every day determined to learn something new;
•  Don’t look for “the right answer” and focus on more than one solution; and,
•  Think outside the box.

13.  The Law of Modeling stresses the importance of mentors and coaches for personal growth.  Although the author acknowledges that some mentors can be found “in the pages of books” (from reading), he states that “… at some point, you must find personal models.” (212)  Criteria for an appropriate mentor include:

          -   Integrity

          -   Willingness to help

          -  Suitably positioned to help (ie. not too far beyond your current situation)

14. The Law of Expansion emphasizes that you need to change both your thinking and actions to build your capacity.  By valuing effectiveness over work ethic and shifting from thinking Can I? to How can I?, you will expand your capacity. (230)  As well, “Stop thinking one door and start thinking many doors,” (231), which means considering many possibilities or options instead of limiting yourself to just one answer or course of action. 

15.  The Law of Contribution is as follows: “Growing yourself enables you to grow others. (244)  Maxwell’s challenge is to “Think of yourself as a river instead of a reservoir.” (246)  By this he means that your purpose for growing shouldn’t be just to pool the learning inside yourself, for your own advantage, but rather, to share your learning with others, letting it flow to them in order to allow them also to grow.  Ultimately, the “measure of success is not the number of people who serve you, but the number of people you serve.” (250)