David Faris said, on September 19th, 2008
“Recently Carroll High has at one point or another seen a push for High Schools That Work, 6 Plus 1 Writing, Co-operative Learning, Protocol Groups, Reading Logs, and Curriculum Mapping. This year sees us continuing those practices and placing a greater emphasis on Reading, the new 21st Century Skills, Big6, and AIW! Add to the list preparing for new classes that haven’t been taught, planning for existing classes, and coaching/directing opportunities throughout the year. Excellent chances to improve our teaching! With such resources at our fingertips, should each of these be mastered before moving on to the next ? And while “infusion” is the new catch word in education, what does that really mean? One new technique per lesson per class, per week, until it becomes easier? More? Less? Do you use The Big6 to teach The Big6? Finally, does the length of a class (ie a blocked 90 minute class vs a 45 minute class) have an impact on The Big6 methods?”
Mike Eisenberg responds: Dave, I really do understand that teachers can be overwhelmed by new approaches as well as everything else we have to do. That is one reason that I emphasize that the Big6 does NOT need to be an add-on. It does NOT require you as a classroom teacher to change your assignments or the baseline content of your instruction. I’m nut exactly sure what others mean by “infusion,” but to me it means using the Big6 terminology, approaches, and techniques as part of what you are already doing.
The Big6 can certainly be eased into your lessons and units, probably best done when you are introducing new assignments or reflecting on them (with your students) after completion. Adding one approach or emphasizing one of the Big6 skills per week – tied to a lesson and assignment – would certainly work. I always like to quickly (1-2 min) remind students of the overall process and then let them know which of the Big6 skills or sub-skills (e.g., Big6 4.2 – Extract) we are going to discuss, use, or emphasize. It’s useful to keep track of which skills/sub-skills and techniques, tools, or approaches you are using in a chart or table. We offer the “Skills by Unit Matrix” for this. It should only take a minute or 2 to fill this in every week.
Turning back to your point about the other educational practices, I’m sure you find some of these to be valuable and others to be less so. Also, some are easy to implement and integrate with what you are already doing, while others are more effort- and time-consuming. Personally, I would keep using those of high value and impact and also hopefully not too much additional effort. That’s what we aim for with Big6.
For example, I have been doing curriculum mapping since the 1980s. There is a elaborate, time-intensive way to do it vs. a more streamlined approach that still gets the job done. I opt for the latter–not aiming to map all of the curriculum, just part, and documenting certain key variables of curriculum in an efficient manner. The bigger questions are, “why do curriculum mapping? Is it useful? Is it worth my time and effort?” I use curriculum mapping for 2 reasons (1) to help identify curriculum units for Big6 integration and (2) to keep track of what teachers are doing (using the Big6) for coordination. I can do this while thing in less than 1 hour per month.
Regarding the length of a class – the Big6 can be used in any instructional setup. But, when teachers have a little more time and flexibility, it might be easier. The 90 min block sometimes can offer that time and flexibility. I find that short lessons (15-20 min) on the Big6 in context (e.g., focusing on one skill or subskill, say “information seeking strategies” for an assignment on an earth science topic) are very effective. I often introduce the Big6 skill, give an example or some exercise, let the students try on their own, and then debrief.
Lastly, here’s a simple but powerful “quickie” on Big6 #6 – evaluation, more specifically 6.2 – evaluating the process.
Looking back on a recent assignment or test, ask students, “what was the most difficult part of the assignment or test?” “Where did you have the most trouble?” “If you could do it again, what would you do differently?” Listen carefully to their answers – from a Big6 perspective. Are they talking about problems with understanding the task? finding sources or information? comprehension and use of information? writing, decision-making or other forms of synthesis? Once you narrow the difficult areas, then brainstorm alternatives with the students.
Hope this helps.
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