Chapter Three: Pursuing High Expectations in an Era of Accountability

One of the most important issues any teacher faces is the necessity to have high expectations for our students. Our students are only going to give as much as we expect from them. Thus, we should set high, but achievable goals for every student in the classroom. We cannot only expect the high achievers to do well. This sort of expectation will give the teacher a mindset to encourage all students to do their best.

Furthermore, school is becoming a place where students learn how to learn as opposed to filling their brains with as much content as possible. It's more important that students come away from their education with the ability to find out anything they need to know. Students need to know concepts, not necessarily content. Actually, when concepts are taught correctly, the content will follow, both naturally and meaningfully. We want to create lifelong learners, people who can problem solve and synthesize information, allowing them to be successful in any path they choose.

Here are the main points I got from this chapter:

• All students must improve, not just the school overall.
• We must teach Big Ideas and look to the standards for our curriculum. The textbook alone is not enough.
• Good literacy skills are necessary for learning in a Standards-Based Big Ideas curriculum.
• Students must be assessed on Big Ideas.
• Assessment should guide instruction--teach where the students are.
• Teaching strategies used should be backed up with scientific research.
• Students must be taught comprehension strategies.
• Set high expectations for ALL learners.
• We don't read every text in the same way.
• Try to connect the lesson with the students' lives so that it becomes meaningful for them.
• It's important to teach students how to learn (learning strategies) and not just the content.

Lingering Questions:

• How do we teach the Big Ideas in a school where the curriculum is focused on the textbook and direct instruction?
• Where are some good places to find research-based teaching strategies?