November 20 , 2007

WHAT WE ARE LEARNING

Michael Tally and Sarah Jordan, WCPSS Instructional Services
CReating Independence through Student-owned Strategies, or CRISS, is designed to help our students learn more effectively throughout the curriculum.

Through the use of the CRISS project, students learn flexible ways to organize information from both narrative and expository texts. These ways include main ideas strategies such as power thinking, selective underlining, two-column note taking and concept mapping. 

When students become skilled in how to approach a piece of literature or a writing assignment, they will obviously be more successful. CRISS strategies were initially designed for teachers in the content areas as practical approaches to help their students learn.  They have become widely used in all subjects because of the effectiveness of the activities. 

Often the strategies are familiar to teachers but with a unique twist.  Templates, modifications and suggested teaching techniques are all part of the training.  Many teachers throughout the county have been CRISS trained. 

In 2004 a research study was done using an experimental and a control group in an elementary school, a middle school and a high school. Those students that were exposed to CRISS strategies showed great improvements in their ability to learn from text. These results held true regardless of the subject area. 

Teacher Kate Ewing of Sanderson High School mentions CRISS strategies in discussing instruction and inquiry learning in her science classroom.

Kate Ewing - Sanderson High

Kate Ewing teaches biology at Sanderson High School and was a 2007 finalist for Wake County Teacher of the Year. Ewing has been at Sanderson for six years and has been teaching for seven years. Ewing is Science Department chair, a leadership team member and mentor. She has trained teachers on reading and writing across the curriculum and worked to start professional learning communities at her school. She has worked as an assistant athletic trainer, class council advisor, stadium manager, Saturday school teacher, summer school teacher and a ninth grade academy teacher. She has worked with Warmth for Wake, delivering firewood to keep families warm in the winter and organized through her church a monthly breakfast for homeless women.

 Ewing

IN MY CLASSROOM

Choosing one instructional activity in any teacher’s classroom is difficult.  Various CRISS strategies seem to come to mind when first asked the question.  However, there are several CRISS strategies and many teachers use them often.  In my classroom, I do use CRISS strategies, but the frequency of one CRISS strategy varies.  When thinking about the strategies I use in my science classroom, the one teaching strategy I use on a daily basis is inquiry.

In my science classes, students can expect a high level of questioning.  By doing this the students are allowed to discover a fact or idea about science instead of me reiterating a set of facts.  We all know how facts have changed through time and if I do not teach students the deductive reasoning behind how facts are created, I am not teaching students an important skill in today’s world. In the beginning of the year, several students usually have a difficult time with this concept, because they want to know the correct answer, but I want to talk them through the right answer instead. 

In any given class, I ask my students questions to link prior knowledge to the current area of study.  I learn so much from questioning students in my class.  I can see where the missing link is for some, while with other questions I can find that the student is missing a major concept.  Through questioning, I am able to assess my students quickly and re-teach where needed. 

I love engaging my students in inquiry learning.  Everyone has heard the phrase "Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember, involve me and I understand."  The later portion of this phrase is crucial to inquiry learning.  Being a science teacher I have several procedural experiments at my disposal.  Though procedural labs are excellent in some cases, in many other cases students should be expected to come up with their own plan of action.  Of course, this does not occur until I educate students on the basic skills needed to complete the task and then they are required to use those skills to enrich their level of knowledge and learn through inquiry.  It is through inquiry that students are introduced to a problem, asked to research their problem, hypothesize about a possible outcome/solution, test their hypothesis, gather data, and report.  Giving students an opportunity to make the idea their own, allows the student to have ownership with the experience.  Problem solving is a fact of life and through the inquiry process, I am able to facilitate students to comprehend and analyze critical thinking skills. 

Giving students the freedom to develop an experiment based on something they want to learn about engages and motivates the students to learn and knowledge is attained.  I believe that through inquiry, teachers are able to assess their students on a frequent bases so modifications can be made and learning is achieved with all students. 

-wcpss-

The Classroom Connection is published electronically monthly for everyone interested in the Wake County Public School System. Is what you read in this edition helpful? What information would you like to see in future editions? Contact me by calling 850-1829 or e-mailing bposton@wcpss.net.

Bill Poston
Wake County Public School System
Communications Department
3600 Wake Forest Road
Raleigh, North Carolina 27611

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