ACHIEVING MASTERY IN THE CLASSROOM

Watching the video on Rick Wormeli’s “Defining Mastery”, got me thinking on how I improve the creativity of my students, at the same time having high expectations for my students. Yes, as teachers we need to use the Common Core Standards as toolbox to make sure our students have mastery, and are prepared and ready for the next grade/college. Rick Wormeli said, “so many times standards and outcomes are really generalized” which I understand to mean that the standard is not specific on what evidence the students need to provide to show mastery of the content. The students can actually identify, create and revise “facts or opinion” to make it more “factual or opinionated”.

Asking students to “Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well- structured event sequences” (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.3), is generalized because it did not say the exact technique and also if a student decides to write a narrative by creating his/her technique, would it be wrong? Giving room for students to be in control of their own work, and setting an example with a text model to show what elements is needed in their writing (just as Christensen said in her writing)  produces better outcome. Students will actually derive joy in their writing and achieving mastery at the same time. This affirms what Rick said, “grading is all about communication” and not bargain, having a conversation with the students to determine what would be tolerated as an evidence for mastery and gaining an A in the content/concept. Also, modeling what is expected of the students and making the students know they can do it, make them actually create their own masterpiece, create their own narrative on a life experience accompanied with imagination, just as Moshin Hamid, who his novel “Exit West” with a combination of his life experience and imagination of what the future would be like.  This is really a food for thought for me as a new teacher in the Providence Public School district.

As a teacher, my first attempt with the Common Core Standards, made me think, “so every students in my class has to have mastery in the grade level standards to move up to the next grade, and that is all that is to be done.” Then, being in the classroom with different diversity and needs of the students, I began to wonder the ‘what’ and ‘how’. What do I have to do and how do I accommodate the different needs of the students in the classroom and at the same time having high expectations for them? I also ask myself the same question Rick asked, How do you unpack or unwrap standards” to make my students have mastery in their learning process? Having read Michelle Kenney’s “The Politics of the Paragraph and reading Christensen’s Teaching for Joy and Justice, gave me the tool that can help my students not only derive joy in their work, but also achieve mastery of content.

The Standards, which Kenney described as “Formulas” doesn’t give enough room for students to be creative and express their thoughts. I am actually impressed with the NCTE 10 that stated, “Students whose first language is not English make use of their first language to develop competency in the English Language”, because that’s the only they can learn, which is what I practice with my EL students. I can also say that listening to Wormeli’s talk, also made me realize that to achieve mastery, I need to discuss with my students and make up the standards alongside the CC Standards on what the expectations are, thereby making the students part of the curriculum and grading . It is believed that student in the said grade level should be on the same knowledge level, which as a teacher in public school, I see opposite of that. They’re a lot of barriers that affect students, and not been able to recognize that and consider that is what makes the standard faulty.

I believe that promoting authentic collaboration among teacher and students is what it takes to achieve mastery. This occurs when students are applying knowledge or skills to solve problem, jointly analyzing or evaluating each other’s work, or creating a product, can actually help all students to build and improve their skill and mastery, as they work together as peers and also with the teacher. This is characterized by the teacher involving and accommodating the different diversity and needs of the students, showing one or more models to let students know what is expected to achieve mastery, and students exchanging points of view, persisting to question each other and understand versus acquiescing, contributing original ideas and completing assignments that reflect their thinking and ownership.