Driven to Understand

“We humans long to understand.” (44) This quote by Keene caught my attention. Humans understand in a variety of ways. Some things that undergraduates in education learn, some people learn better in a visual or auditory sense. I personally have always been a visual learner. I have noticed that as a visual learner, my teaching revolves around that technique. I like to show movies, slideshows, maps, pictures, etc. Of course I know as a teacher, I need to make sure I teach in a variety of other ways to make sure all of my students, not just my visually enhanced learner’s get the most out of the lesson.

Keene discusses crafting sessions on pages 55 and 56. I have used these crafting sessions in the classrooms I have taught in. One of my favorites to use is, “A time for teachers to invite students to apply what they’ve learned in composing. Crafting sessions end when readers and writers transfer their attention to independent reading and writing.” (55) Using background knowledge in crafting sessions, I believe, is extremely important. Background knowledge can bring forth connections from text to self, text to world, and text to text.

Besides crafting sessions, Keene also goes in depth about other techniques of teaching, which I found to be extremely useful. However, on page 66, Keene displays a puzzle that shows the “elements of a classroom culture that fosters fervent learning.” This definitely caught my attention. The first stage is known as rigor. “Teachers probe for deeper, more thoughtful responses.” (66) I think this is a huge difficulty teachers have every day. Teachers want more meaningful and thoughtful conversations, but sometimes students are not willing to go into depth about a passionate topic. The second stage is inquiry. “Students’ questions and passions drive their work.” (66) I am very passionate about inquiry, and I believe all students should inquire on a daily basis. Whether it is through ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies, Health, or even Physical Education. Inquiry helps students challenge idea’s being taught. The third stage is environment. “The classroom environment is comfortable and uncluttered, and provides clearly delineated spaces for large-group, small-group, and independent work.” (66) As an undergraduate I was taught in almost all of my educational classes that the environment a student works in is the most critical. Now that I have had the joy of teaching, I completely agree with this statement. The final stage is intimacy. “Rigorous, in-depth work is balanced by a pervasive sense of respect, trust, and freedom to take intellectual risks. The teacher holds positive beliefs about each child’s capacity for intellectual engagement.” (66) The teacher and students need to have a bond between them, once trust and respect is developed, I believe the classroom will run smoothly and learning and fun will happen on a daily basis.

I enjoyed this chapter of reading and I believe Keene had some amazing ideas that I will definitely be using in my own future classroom.

Keene, Ellin Oliver. (2008). To Understand New Horizons in Reading Comprehension. Driven to Understand, 41-70.