Deborah Dean really hit on something very important with this article. I believe teaching what the state says has to be taught, or what the curriculum says has to be taught gets in the way of actually teaching students. There are some activities that need to be taught even though they are boring, but I believe it is the teacher's job to make the topic interesting. Children will not learn if the subject is not taught in either an interesting way or a way that appeals to the students. I liked how she took constructive criticism from the parents of the students. The parents were upset because they felt like Mrs. Dean was spending too much time on teaching pointless grammar exercises. She took this criticism and actually turned her ways of teaching around. It is so refreshing to hear of a teacher who will not just stick with the same boring routine even if she knows it is not sinking into the student's heads.
When she started applying grammar in a different way; the students actually picked up on the information and began to learn. Even though they did not fully understand the fact that they were learning sentence structuring and grammar; it did not matter because they were getting the concepts. Students are not dumb. They were younger in this particular instance, and they needed a refreshing approach to learn how to become better writers. By Mrs. Dean stepping out of her comfort zone and finding a new way to teach grammar; these students eventually became better writers.
A hands on learning technique is the best way to retain the information that you have learned. Mrs. Dean realized that and ha d her students making up sentences as the lessons went along. this tactic was a great way for these students to become better writes, which is exactly what ended up happening.
What I learned from this article is that grammar is very important. It is the fundamental skill to possess to be a great writer. I think it is sometimes taught in a boring way, and it can come off as pointless to students. I believe if teachers would take an approach like Mrs. Dean; more students would learn grammar without even knowing and eventually become better writers.
Being an English Education major, I am interested in learning new methods that will engage students in the learning process. Deborah Dean’s idea of teaching grammar without grammar sounds extremely interesting and beneficial to the writing styles of students. Of course, a purpose of grammar instruction is to improve writing skills; however, these students will not have the language necessary to describe their sentences in technical terms. They may be learning without knowing they are learning, but they are also not learning the language of grammar. This does not seem problematic until applied to other areas of studies, for why does one need to identify noun, verb, phrase, or clause? Biology, for example, is constructed on basic technical words such as cell, organ, mitosis, and domain. Students could be taught the function of cells in the body and how to identify cells under the microscope without ever learning the word cell. Yet, these efforts would seem pointless and unconnected. If you do not know the word cell, how will you verbally identify that shape under the microscope or the diagram in your book? You would have to greatly describe its function or draw a diagram yourself to communicate the word. Students have the knowledge but not the means of language to communicate that knowledge with others.
ReplyDeleteWhile grammar and its various function becomes an innate portion of their written communication, the lack the terms to communicate these ideas with others. This being said, I can accept and would like to practice her concepts in my classroom; however, I think that this should be utilized only as a tool to assist grammar instruction. Eventually, I think that students need to apply their knowledge of grammatical terms to their created sentences. Without these terms, students lose the ability to communicate their knowledge with others. However, the application of these terms could be gradually introduced after students have accepted and learned grammar, without grammar.
This article would have been very useful to my survey project.Although I am an avid supporter of learning material without actually realizing that you are "learning" I find it hard to believe that grammar can be taught without addressing key components like noun, ad-verbs, and sentence structure.That being said, it has to be taught to students in a way that is engaging. Students should be able to see and understand the usefulness and importance of grammar without it being taught in a mind-numbing way. Inevitably, students should become better writers through good teaching, but how that teaching is done is debatable.
ReplyDeleteNormally I would think that grammar and composition need to be taught together. However, if a student is bored with the subject or doesn't understand it, they will not get anything out of the class. It was interesting to see the ways that Deborah Dean tried to change up her teaching routine. Her students actually felt like they were learning something instead of the lectures going in one ear and out the other.
ReplyDeleteI think it is good for teachers to receive input from the students and parents. This will help the teacher create teaching methods that are most beneficial to the students. I think the students will also appreciate the fact that the teacher is interested in what they have to say.
ReplyDeleteI feel that it is very important for teachers to address the issues that parents and students have with the teaching methods. Having said that, it is encouraging to see a teacher who has changed her methods up due to the comments parents had. I feel that English grammar is one of the trickier subjects to be taught, because it still requires, as John stated, the key facts to be taught through grammar. However, in high school most students feel that grammar is one of the more boring subjects to learn, and therefore teachers need to teach in a way that grabs the attention of students. This, I feel is a more difficult part of teaching grammar for some teachers. Yet, there are some teachers who keep strictly to the rules of grammar and others who incorporate a more exciting way to learn grammar. I feel it is important to incorporate both accurately when teaching in the classroom, because students respond to different types of teaching.
ReplyDeleteA teacher that actually listens to criticism and tries to change their ways of teaching to benefit who they're actually teaching is very refereshing to hear. I think all teachers should ask for criticism from parents and students. I agree that it is a lot better to learn things when you don't realize you're actually learning it. Trying to teach grammar to students is always going to be difficult just because the topic is so dry. If teachers can come up with fun ways, like games, to teach kids the subject matter kids will actually enjoy learning it and remember it better.
ReplyDeleteI think that it's cool that this teacher actually went out of her way to get criticism from teachers and students on what would be more interesting ways to teach students so that they would actually learn the material that is being presented instead of learning if for the test and then just dismissing it after wards. I am an English Education major myself, and she gives some helpful ideas that will might make it a little easier for me to figure out how I want to present my information to a classroom.
ReplyDeleteNational and state learning standards are necessary. They are in place to endure that every child is learning what they should be learning. Teachers do need to make their lessons appealing though. Teachers also need to be organized and have good time management skills so that they can teach students everything they need to learn. This is difficult because the standards require the teachers to teach a lot in a short amount of time. Teachers know what they are getting themselves into though.
ReplyDeleteGrammar is important and because it has a bad reputation of being boring and useless teachers do need to be creative with their lessons and explain to students and parents why grammar is important.
This article is interesting, considering I am an English Major. Grammar is extremely important for a child to learn, and I feel several children get left in the dust because it is complicated, they are learning to much at once, and they simply get bored. It is important for teachers' to make sure their students learn the subject regardless of how boring or difficult it is. Although I find it hard to believe for grammar to be taught without relizing it, as long as the students learn it, that's all that matters.
ReplyDeleteLiked how Mrs. Dean was able to take criticism from her student’s parents. Criticism is always a good thing because it makes one reflect. Although I really liked Mrs. Dean’s new approach to teaching grammar, students should always know exactly what it is that they are learning. For instance, lets say that one of my teachers is teaching me something that I’m not aware I’m learning, once she is certain that I understood the concept she should explained to me the concept that I have learned. If she doesn’t do this then the teacher runs the risk of her student’s forgetting what they learned because they don’t know they learned something to begin with.
ReplyDeleteI thought that this article was insightful and that many teachers should take this type of approach to so that the students actually learn and understand the things that they are being taught, and allows them to become better writers. Maybe if more teachers take this teaching method to heart more and more students will become better writers do better in school.
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ReplyDeleteI personally think the best way to become better at anything is to accept criticism and make yourself better. For this instance, Mrs. Dean did a good thing by going out and asking parents, teachers and other students to figure out how she could teach better for students to understand better. I applaud her for trying to become a better teacher, I wish more teachers were doing this and trying to become better.
ReplyDeleteToo often these days it seems like children do not get the education they deserve. Personally I have for the most part always had good teachers in my education, but I know that is not always the case. It is commendable that this teacher changed her whole approach to teaching to better suit her students' needs. It is the job of the teacher to make sure that students are grasping what they are teaching and this teacher did exactly that.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mrs. Dean, because I feel that its a great concept for students to learn while having fun at the same time. I think that students should be interested in what they're learning for them to fully grasp what is being taught. However, I don't think that a teacher should proceed with this method if the students aren't learning anything.
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