Resource
The Purposeful Classroom: How to Structure Lessons with Learning Goals in Mind
By: Douglas Fisher & Nancy Frey (2011)
The Purposeful Classroom: How to Structure Lessons with Learning Goals in Mind
By: Douglas Fisher & Nancy Frey (2011)
This resource is available online in a number of ways, including:
- http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/112007.aspx Chapter 1 is available for FREE as a preview, as well as the study guide.
- http://www.amazon.ca/The-Purposeful-Classroom-Structure-Learning/dp/1416613145 (New: $27.30)
Summary
The Purposeful Classroom, written by Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey, serves as a guide to help educators differentiate instruction and structure lessons based on learning targets and goals, which students are able to identify and connect. Fisher and Frey address various aspects of lesson development, distinguishing the difference between a lesson objective and a lesson purpose. The lesson objective is defined as what the teacher understands and knows, whereas the lesson purpose is about communication; helping students recognize what the objectives are in a clear and concise manner.
The authors discuss establishing purpose for the facilitator (teacher) and the students, the importance of Learning Targets vs. Tasks, ensuring relevance of purpose and student voice, or “owning the purpose.” The final chapter explains how to identify when a learning target has been met, including numerous exemplars of self and peer assessments to help guide the evaluation process for a variety of grade levels and content areas. The Purposeful Classroom is a pertinent read, designed for all educators who strive to engage and involve students in their own learning in meaningful and inclusive ways.
I have selected this resources because of its relevance and accessibility to daily teaching and lesson planning. As a classroom teacher, I am always looking for new ideas and resources to help support my evolving practice in practical and significant ways. With the abundance of professional literature available to educators, I often find my bookshelves stacked with texts I rarely, if ever, refer to. The Purposeful Classroom is not one of these volumes. This resource provides a sensible approach to support inclusive learning environments and is a valuable addition to my personal collection, which I will return to time and time again.
Affordances
An accessible and relevant read, the simple and straightforward style of this book presents the ideas and objectives in meaningful and applicable ways. The book is organized into chapters that can be read independent of each other, which is especially helpful when approaching this resource as a tool in the classroom. The information presented in Chapter 4, for example, is as relevant and helpful on it’s own as it would be having read the previous three chapters.
The Purposeful Classroom also includes many applicable organizers, charts and assessment exemplars that are readily available and can be implemented directly into your teaching practice, across grade levels and content areas. Examples of pre-assessments that I found particularly useful were: Word Sorts, Cloze Assessment Passages, and Opinionnaires. Having used KWL charts as quick background knowledge pre-assessment for many years, it was refreshing and exciting to learn of new and purposeful strategies that I could immediately implement throughout my teaching practice. Additionally, a Bloom’s Taxonomy table (p. 39-40) identifies six categories, offers key words associated with each category and a wide selection of prompts for questions that link to the various levels. For example, “Knowledge” based prompts cover the general who, what, where, when, how information, whereas “Analysis” based prompts ask “What other ways could…” and “What caused _____ to act the way he/she did?” I found the clarity and accessibility of resources embedded into the book to be extremely beneficial.
Chapter 5, Inviting Students to Own the Purpose is perhaps one of the most valuable sections of this resource. The focus on student involvement in their learning and ownership of the targets they are striving to achieve spoke to what is most relevant in my current teaching practice, and arguably that of many of my colleagues. In this section the authors address topics including Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Motivation, Fixed vs. Growth Mind-sets, “I Can” Statements and Goal Setting. Although all are themes that I have previously explored, the realistic and candid examples, at times derived from the personal experience of the authors themselves, are presented in authentic ways that bring meaning to topics that infuse our daily practice. Alongside these specific anecdotes are valuable examples of the tools that they describe, all of which can be easily revised to fit the individual reader’s specific need.
Constraints
The Purposeful Classroom discusses many topics surrounding Inclusive Learning Environments such as: meeting the various academic needs of our students, enabling learners to identify and understand what they are learning and why, as well as promoting student voice and ownership of “the purpose”. However, what the book does not address is how to engage those students who do not identify or value the purpose of a learning target or goal. What about the students who cannot recognize or are unable to connect to the purpose, despite the facilitator's efforts to engage the learner through differentiation or various motivational and interest based strategies? As the demographics of our classrooms continue to diversify and the abilities of our students become stretched further along continuums, how are we to create the “purposeful classroom” for those whose needs are most challenging?
I would like the book to have explored, in some capacity, the challenge of helping students understand what they are learning and why when they must first overcome behavioural concerns. Furthermore, is there a connection between the student who cannot control his/her impulses and the inability to see or find purpose in their learning journey? Perhaps the students who need to find purpose in their learning the most, are those who struggle to self-direct, manage their bodies, choices and reactions. A reactive student is not one who easily reflects on and assesses what they are learning and why. Which strategies can I use to facilitate establishing purpose for those who are fogged by impulses and various attention disorders? If at the core of creating inclusive learning environments our goal is to meet the needs of all learners, any time, any place, in any way and at any pace, then a discussion surrounding how to invite our most vulnerable students to “Own the Purpose” would be an appropriate addition to this resource.
Effective Use in a School Setting
In order to implement this resource effectively, the teacher must first have a moderate understanding of inclusive learning environments as well as the flexibility and willingness to promote change within the classroom setting. First and foremost, a supportive administration that encourages personal growth by allocating time, collaboration and PL opportunities to support and educate new and experienced teachers on the topics of inclusion and differentiation is critical. Secondly, one cannot simply pick up the book, flip to page 152 and use the “smiley-face” self-assessment exemplar and label it “purposeful”. To establish a truly purposeful classroom, we need to determine what is meaningful in our own teaching philosophies and develop confidence in our understanding of what students are learning and why. I believe the most appropriate use of this resource is to infuse its examples of assignments, lesson development and assessments into established, inclusive, student-centered classrooms where the teacher is comfortable in the role of facilitator. A learning environment built upon a solid understanding of these elements is critical in order to effectively implement the guiding principles of The Purposeful Classroom.
References
Frey, N., Fisher, D. (2011). The Purposeful Classroom: How to Structure Lessons with Learning Goals in Mind. Alexandria, VA; ASCD