8 EOdCATlONAL LEADERSHTP/APUIl. 2 0 0 ^

to Teach ThemFour bigh school teachers show that teaching adolescentsis about relevance and challenge, affection and respect.

Carol Ann Tomlinson and Kristina Doubet

Two observations from teachers of adolescents areso prevalent these days that they sound liketheme music. The tnore recurrent refrain saysthat there's no time for covering anything in highschool classes other tban curriculum or stan-

dards: There's no time for discussion, for student interests,for products beyond mandatory quizzes and tests, or foractivities. Teachers are under relentless pressure to preparestudents for higfj-stakes tests and for advanced placementor International Baccalaureate exams. The amount ofmaterial to cover simply exceeds the time available forcovering it.

The second refrain has to do with the impracticality—if not impossibility—of really knowing one's students in ahigh school setting. There are too many of them, and theyare indifferent—or ill-behaved. Combined with theavalanche of pressure for high test scores, these factorsmake it unfeasible for teachers to know their studentsmore than superficially.

Snapshots of four high school classrooms challengethese two pervasive beliefs. We profile four teachers whoconnect with their students and who persevere in makingleaming a process that engages the minds atid imagina-tions of the adolescents they teach. These teachers' profes-sional work centers on knowing their students wellenough to make leaming interesting and on knowingtheir content well enough to shape it to their students'needs. These snapshots serve as an antidote to the veryreal pressures that can make us forget what lies at thecore of transformational high school classrooms.

Katie Carson's Classroom:

A Labor of Love

Katie Carson, a fifth-year teacher at Fauquicr HighSchool in Warrenton, Virginia, teaches English to9th and 11th graders. She is a young teacher whospends some of her free time acting in anddirecting a comedy improvisation troupe in Wash-ington, D.C. But teaching is her labor of love.

With tlie exception of a few overachievers ineach class, says Carson, kids in high school "havezero desire to leam more about grammar, literature,and punctuation." The magic of early experienceswith reading and writing is gone. \So unless I createa class in which they discover one another's giftsand challenge one another, or unless they have arelationship with me," she adds, "students have nodesire to leam those things."

Getting to Know One AnotherCarson creates an environment in which studentsleam about one another and get to know theirpeers' strengths. She places students in groups inwhich they'll work for a quarter of the year. Oncea week, on a randomly selected day, she gives thegroups five-minute challenges, such as building thetallest tower in the class out of bits of paper andpaper clips. You caji hear .students saying amongthemselves, "We need Steven for this job. He's theman!" This kind of focus is particularly importantfor students who are not initially seen us^icademiccontributors.

The room is set up to welcome sttidents. whocan sit in armchairs, on a couch, or at tables.Carson also studies leaming preferences and givesstudents opportunities to leam in ways that meettheir various needs. 'It's part of showing respect,"she says.

Attendance-taking begins with an "attendance

A S S O C I A T I O N FOB SiiPERvisiON AND C U B R I C U H M D E V E L O P M E N T

Katie Carson has her students verify the credibility of a science fiction Web site that promotes the use of aluminum hats as ameans of preventing mind control. Activities that engage students while teaching them the content are common in her class.

question" as soon as the bell rings. AsCarson calls their names, studentsrespond to the day's question, providinga brief justification for their responses.

"OK, people, this is a big one today.Definitive answer. Coke or Pepsi?" Onanother day, she begins, "OK, folks,you've just been given a sampler box ofRussell Stover candy, but the map ismissing. You bite into a piece andmuch to your dismay, find you've

chosen a ." Students answerby filling in the blank. Before long,students bring her slips of paper, whis-pering, Here's an attendance question.It's really good!"

Sharing StoriesCarson encourages students to tell theirown stories. "I'll even delay a test for a

few minutes for a good story," she says,"but it has to be a good one." On thefirst day of class, she puts on the boarda story arc. which contains sevennumbered lines:

1. Once upon a time . . .2. And every day . . .3. Until one day . . .4. And then . . .5. And then . . .6. Until finally . . .7. And ever since . ..This is her way of teaching students

about exposition, rising action, conflict,climax, and denouement. Teacher andstudents use the academic words intheir conversations about stories, butthe story arc serves as a barometer forassessing the stories that they sharewith one another. "Yon all have experi-

ences that make good stories," shereminds the students. "But it's all inhow you tell them."

Mastering the ContentCarson embeds the required contentstandards in her instruction, but thestudents fee! that she's teaching them,not just "covering material." In a recentUtopia project, neariy all her juniorssaid that they would do away with statestandards if they could. 'Wliat's thepoint?" they asked, and they lamentedthe number of times their teachers say,"Now you'Q need to remember thisbecause it's on the standards test."

Carson reminded those juniors thatthis was, in fact, a standards test yearand that in three weeks, they would betaking the standards test in her class.

10 EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP/APRIL 2005

"Yeah, bul you don't bring it up all thetime," they responded. "You prepare uswithout teaching tt) the test "

This is evident in a unit on 19thcentur)^ American p(K"tr\'. As thestudents compare various poems withartwork and photographs, Carsonpresents a quotation from a Britishauth(jr indicating that Americans liavcno literature. The students argue heat-edly against ihe auihor's sentiment,using works that they have read asevidence to the contrary, and they askwhether they'll be able to "critiquemore artwork" after lunch.

Making Writing RelevantWhen her class discusses a golden ageof literature, Carson asks students todescribe golden ages in their own livesand uses their descriptors as a segueinto a serious discussion of literature.She notes.

My job is to make sure the kidsknow that I eare, that I appreciatetheir sharing the truth about theirlives, and that I value their opinions.When we have that personal trust,it's not so horrifying for them towrite and tum that writing in to me.

Too often, she says, writing in highsch(H)l is an exercise of turning in apaper to get it back covered with redmarks. We forget, she suggests, howimportant it is tor students to know thatthey have stories to tell and that thosestories are full of discoveries abouthuman nature.

Ned, for example, was a low-achieving student who did not—wouldnot—write. Then he made the juniorvarsity football team. Carson told himthat she was impressed because she'dnever understood football. "Gosh," hesaid, "you must be dumb." For the restof the year, he wrote about football inhis joumai, and she wrote back ahoutfootball. In passing, she would mentionin class that she had watched part of aganie on TV or at school. "I understoodwhy the flag was thrown. Thanks somuch, Ned!" His stories had helpedsomeone—and he was proud. •

George Murphy's Classroom:

It's All About Inquiry

As Students enter Geoi^c jMurphy's lOlhgrade biology class, he chats with themindividually about their reading andexperiments. Murphy is science depart-ment chair at Fauquier High School inWarrenton, Virginia, and has taught for24 years. Wlien class begins, heproclaims, "Welcome to your favoriteclass of the day!" Students grin as helaunches into the daily agenda postedon the board. There's a sense oftirgency and excitement about the class:Important work is waiting, and there'sno time to waste.

Demonstrating UnderstandingThe current science unit centers onenergy and respiration. Murphy hasembedded the key understandings in anexploration of diet and energ). Hebegins the unit with an Interactivedemonstration thai introduces the key

concepts of energy, action, and reac-tion. Sludents observe a new piece ofequipment—an empt>' fermentationapparatus—and they hypothesize aboutits possible use. Their ideas initiate ademonstration of a basic workingfermentation setup. (!)nce students areclear about what is required f(jr fermen-tation, they launch into an inquiryprocess to determine what cau.sed thereaction they witnessed in the demon-stration. Murphy carefully guides theprocess to be sure that students "get it"before they design their own experi-ments, in which they will pose and testa hypothesis about the nature of energy.Murphy's students demonstrate theirunderstandings about energ>' both bycompleting a lab report and by creatinga product that they choose from a list ofteacher-provided and student-designedoptions.

In George Murphy's biology class, students construct concept maps or metaphors as aunit summation activity. Murphy's instruction emphasizes inquiry and community.

ASSOCIATION FOR SUPERVISION AND CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT 11

Students select one of three tasks tocontinue learning about energy: Somestudents finish their experiments; somework with a study guide on the topic;and others work on laptops tocomplete a diet planner, an exercisethat helps them analyze energj-consumed and energ>' expended intheir own lives.

Tliere is no class textbook. Instead,Murphy guides students in findingautlientic and reputable informationsources, in print or on the Web.

Very real pressures can

make us forget what lies

at the core of

transformational

high school classrooms.

Making It Retet>antInquiry is at the root of Mtirphy'sinstruction. "1 think everytliing inbiology should be relevant to whatstudents experience in their own lives,"he says. "It's the study of life, so astudent should be able to comiectbiology with everything we do."

He tells his students that if they can'tsee how a given topic connects to theirlives, they probably shouldn't bestudying it—either because it's notbiolog)' or because he hasn t clearlycommunicated the essence of the topic.He realizes that he must sometimesreteacli material in new ways to helpstudents find that connection. "We cantalk about the ATP cycle, photosyn-thesis, and respiration, but that doesn'tgrab kids," Murphy says. Whiit doesrotise their curiosity is analyzing thefoods they're eating and burning andfiguring out the caloric content.

Murphy teaches his students on ahalf-year block schedule. That constrictsthe time he has t<J get to know them, sohe makes his curriculum and instniction

compelling from the start.He explains,

it's not the standards thiit will makeschool relevant and vital for students.I want to get them interested in whatthey're doing. I'm not up front todance for them. I want to present thestudents with a chullenge. sec themrise to the challenge, see them wantto leam. I want to dare them to havea good time with science.

Probing Student TJjinkingMurphy moves among the students asthey work with absorption on theirtasks. Two girls who are usingcomputers and the Body Mass Index(BMD instniment to work on their dietprofiles commiserate with him abouttheir results, declaring that switchingfrom whole to low-fat milk is doable buttliat giving up cookies in exchange forfruit is asking too much. A sturdy foot-ball player tells Murphy. That's twopieces of bad news today. I liave tolower my carbs—and I love carbs. I alsohave to lower my fat, and that stinks."Another boy is searching on theIntemet for a formula that he believescould call into question the figuregenerated by the BMI device. Two girlsdiscuss the feasibility of "fooling" theinstrument by combining tlieir weights.

Two boys in the design phase of theirexperiment explain their hypothesi.sand how they arrived at it and thenreturn to a discussion about whatamount of glucose and water will workbest in their experiment. A boy workingwith the study guide talks with Murphyabout his topic, his research, and theIntemet itself.

That Muqihy engages both theinterest and trust of his students isevident in the purposefulness of theclassroom, in the respectful exchangesbetween Murphy and liis students, andin the spirit of cooperation among thestudents themselves. As the studentsleam about biology, they discover itscapacity to reveal life and to help themdevelop as thinkers. His instruction hasnothing to do widi coverage—it's aboutinquiry and community. •

Chad Prather's Classroom:

Making Connections

Chad Pnither is a second-year teacherwho teaches 9th graders world geog-raphy anti world liistory at Char-lottesville High School in CharlottesviUe,Virginiii. Most of his world geographystudents read well below grade level,and they have little motivation to leam.Says Prather,

These students haven't been cele-brated throughout their education,'llicy'vc gotten used to tracking andvery used to worksheets. Whenteachers give them something chal-lenging, the suiUents rebel becausethey're so used to worksheets tliat[the new assignment] just seems toohard.

Prather finds this situation tragic andis determined to show the studentstheir untapped potential.

He's discovered that success lies inmaking two kinds of connections:coimecting students with importantideas and establishing his own cotmec-tion witli students as individuals.

Connecting With IdeasPrather organizes curriculum aroundkey concepts rather than memorizationof facts. Too much of what goes on inschool, he believes, is focused onknowledge rather than on imder-standing. Knowledge, he says, may getstudents to answer who" and what"questions on a state te.st, but it fallsshort of helping them answer the moremeaningful "how" and "why" questions.He adds.

Teachers have given these kids work-sheets over the years in the hope thatthe worksheets would pound kno^vl-cdgc into their heads, that repetitionwould create memory. It doesn't. Noone expects these students to under-stand. 1 tell them that I won't givethem what they re used to. Theyneed to step up to the challenge ofunderstanding. Then the knowledgewill take care of itself.

12 EDUCATIONAL LEADI;R>IHIP/AHKIL 2005

In Chad Prather's geography class, students play a vocabulary game that requires teamwork butalso rewards individual success. Prather strives to connect students with important ideas.

Prather's students work with unitsthat niise important ideas in geography.The unit on spaee and interaction, forexample, probes how humans adapt toand alter the environments in whichthey live. He explains.

When I prepare a lesson, f tn' toimagine niysclC AS one of mysludents. :ind I ask myself—asthough 1 wcR" that student—Is thisan engaging use of my time? "Ihen 1ask myself—as the tcacht-r now—Isthis an ciTeclive way of demon-strating meaning?

Connecting With .SludentsPrather says that connecting with liisstudents is even more important than hissustained worit to connect his studentswith the curriculum. "1 had the ideaeariy on." he says, that if I wereassertive and hard-core with the rules,then the students would work Iiard forme." That's not proven to be ihc tase.What does work is connecting withstudents. Not only does it more success-fully get them to work, but it alsoencourages them to accept living withinthe classroom rules, "llic curriculum

that I write has to come from a placethai the kids are comfortahlu with." saysPrather. "/Vnd that obviously starts withthe teacher-student relationship."

The world geography class beginswith a review that prepares students fora brief Jeopardy-like game. "1 don't hearall of you rc\ itwing." prompts Prathcr,"and that gives me great displeasure. Myheart is breaking as though it were theHarthscnist during plate tectonics."Students grin and begin reviewing indi-vidually, in pairs, or in small groups. Inthe l()-minute JetJpardy game thatfoUows, excitement builds to a pinnaclewhen an unlikely student st-lccts andcorrectly answers a l.(H)()-point ques-tion. The class erupts in whoops of joyand praise.

Prather quickly transitions to a slidepresentation designed to give hisstudents images of the Ranh's power.He understands that the process of ahurricane fomiing over an ocean meanslittle to his students hecause most havene\ er seen the ocean. He gives themcues about what matters most for themlo understand, and he emphasizes the

relationships, causes, andeffects among the ideasdepicted in the images.

Students move next lo their" Thtfg Nasty Big Eanha"projects. For the unit's fmalprotiuct. students are asked toassume the role of leadproducer of a new CD andselect a project from :t numberof options that demonstratethat the Earth is a "thug nasty"niace. Some students choosein write tliL" lyrics for the hitMiiglc. "Hig Eartha's House";otliers may ch(M>se lo designthe CD cover. All productoptions focason the Earth'spower. 'It's hard-core," saysPrather. it doesn'l backdown.' Students look at waysin which the Earth exerts itssupremacy, especially in termsof extrc me weather andclimatic forces. Students tise

teacher-provided grids to take notes on'molten hot iJcribmiers." such asTwisted Sister (tornado), Dr\- Bones(drought), and (inmd Rapid (floml).Each prtKluct choice has a checklist lorsuccess, and all choices focus on theimportant information and ideas fromthe unit- Product options address \ariedstudent interests and leaming modes.

In class, students work on their prod-ucts as their teacher walks among them,coaching them. Because many ofPrather s students have difficultycompleting schoolwork at home, he;uid some colleagues provide a place inschool in the aflemoons for the manystudents who need time, space, andsupport for their work.

Prather knows he has much to leamabout his students and about how bestto connect them with ideas that theythought were out of their reach, but hisstudents send him signals that he'sworking in the right direction: They talkwith him about issues related to raceand school, write him thank-you notes,and come by his classroom to sharetheir successes. •

A S S O C I A T I O N F O R S i i P t K v i s i o N A N D C I R K I C I I . I M D E V E L O I ' M F N r 13

Lori Mack's Classroom:Making All Students Count

Lori Mack, a veteran teacher with18 years of experience, teaches12th graders human anatomy andphysiology at CharlottesviUe HighSchool in CharlottesviUe, Virginia.Her culturally diverse seniorshave var) ing reasons for takingthe class but, according to Mack,share a lack of science back-ground and skiUs.

Affection atid RespectAs students filter into class. Mackchats with them about their dayin an easy but businesslike way."Are you ready?" she asks thestudents, with a hint of fun in hereyes as she finishes taking atten-dance.

"Ready." they respond withcertainty—aU but one of them.Mack addresses her: "1 knowyou're tired, but try to hang withme, will you?"

"I wUI, Ms. Mack, I'mlistening," the student respondsearnestly.

The teacher nods and explainsto the students that her plans forthe day have changed. Tlieir previousday s work indicates a need to revisitsome of the unit s key concepts. They'Uwatch a brief film to help them thinkabout tlie concepts in a different wayand then work in gn>ups to create a skitthat demonstrates the concepts in action.The students are clearly interested.

"Guess what we 11 be talking about iiithe video and skits," the teacherprompts enthusiastically.

"Diffiision?" offers one suident."Yes, diflusion!" Mack exclaims with

relish."Osmosis?" suggests another."Osmosis!" she affirms with an almost

reUgious fervor—arms flung in the air,face turned upward.

Students grin and keep guessing."Homeostasis?"

Lori Mack teaches a lesson that connects genetics to herstudents' lives. Her teaching shows her passion for science.

"Yes! Homeostasis! It s a beautifulthing!" Mack exclaims.

As students interact with her, shecirculates around the room, patting onestudent on the back, encouragingothers, and never missing a beat withthe discussion. "Im a person to mystudents," says Mack. "Making myselfpersonable allows them to be a personback. There has to be an exchange ofperson hood."

"The video," she continues in a hushedvoice, "is called TPje Magic afCellsV

Mack prompts students to look forthe important things as they watch thevideo. "Don't write down stupid littlefacts. Rise above it!" Tliroughout thefUm, she coaches students on their note-taking skiUs. "Don't get so caught up inwriting that you miss the cool stuff. You

need to see what it means!" Then,"You can do this! You can dothis!" She draws students' atten-tion to a demonstration on thevideo. "See, this is what semiper-meable looks like. Do you under-stand better now?" She sighs withlove every time homeostasis ismentioned. The students chucklebut never stop paying attention tothe mm.

As the film ends, the teachergives her students a "two andtwo"—two minutes to check theaccuracy of their notes against thenotes of two other students. Asthey do this, she again walksamong them. Her language isendearing. "You gotta get with it,"she says playfully to a studentwho has forgotten sometliing."Think you can hang?" she asksanother. Her affection for thestudents is returned to her inkind. She also shows respect,persistently expecting—anddemanding—high-quality work.

Mack then divides the studentsinto teams and writes the namesof the members of each team onthe board. She deliberates aloudabout who should be in whichgroup. In truth, she has already

developed the teams as part of her plan-ning, but she has found that when thestudents hear her musing about herdecisions, they understand herreasoning and don't question thecomposition of the groups. This processencourages their trust in her. Also, shesays, it gives them time to adjust toworking with whoever is on their team,removing the element of surprise andthe balking that can follow.

A Community of LeamersThe students are absolutely "into"their group work. They exchangeideas, revise those ideas, and build onone another's thoughts with ease.Comments indicating serious thoughtare evident around the room: "So, howare we going to demonstrate this part of

14 EDtlCATrONAL L E A D E RSH I P/APR I L 200' i

the process?" "Am I supposed to movein and out constantly, or does some-thing trigger my movement?" "Oh, sothat's when we'U flip our signs tobecome the vacuoles!" "No, look atpage 417. That's not what it says."

Students rehearse their presentationsand revise them as the teacher probesand sharpens their thinking. One grouphas their demonstration as finely chore-ographed as a dance and asks, Ms.Mack, can we present today?" MackteUs them that presentations wUl beginduring the following day's class. Satis-fied, one student in the group replies,"OK, then we'll practice again."

As announcements signal the end ofthe period. Mack reminds her studentsto clean up because it s not her job todo so. She uses a chance exchange toexplain the difference between mayand can. When one student becomes abit loud, she holds up a ruler and says.

"Let me measure how much you'reticking me off right now." He smilesand settles down.

As the bell rings, the teacher standsin the doorway and makes a personalcomment to each student. Somecomments are playful and some areserious, but it's evident that eachstudent appreciates the connection.

"My forte, my passion, my love iscreating a learning environment inwhich everybody feels safe, able tosucceed, and important," says Mack."In this class, nobody gets to beinvisible." •

Lessons Taught and LearnedIn a time when its easy to reducecurriculum to coverage and to seestudents simply as takers of tests, thesefour teachers remember the importantlessons about teaching and leaming foradolescents. It's difficult for us as

teachers to engage adolescents with acurriculum that has little impact ontheir lives. It's difficult to makecurriculum relevant to Uves that wedon't understand.

"It's the best job in the world. Ofcourse, it frustrates me to no end," saysMack. "I scream and rant and rave. 1 getexhausted. But what an incredible ride,to be able to hang out with these kids,to be able to watch the transformation."

And transformation is reaUy whatteacliing is all about. El

Carol Ann Tomlinson has 34 years ofteaching experience and is currentlyProfessor of Educational Leadership,Foundations, and Policy at the Universityof Virginia in CharlottesviUe, Virginia;cat3y@virginia.edu. Kristina Doubet hastaught for 10 years and is currently adoctoral student in Curriculum andInstruction at the University of Virginia;doubet@virginia.edu.

If you want students to have unlimited 3.CCeSS

to learning, then w h y l imi t yOUrS ?We all want students to leam as much as they can.But it's much easier to provide them with teamingopportunities when you have access to ideasand strategies that have been proven to work inschools and classrooms like yours. Educators ofall kinds, aiound the world, choose to join ASCDto keep current with ideas that car; influencestudent achievement, such as

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