In the Effective Reading Instruction article the point was made that many teachers assign a worksheets. Only children who already know the correct responses can do the worksheets. And they do not need the practice. Why do teachers keep defaulting to worksheets? This article and Chapter 2 in the text outlined many characteristics of effective teachers. Nowhere did it say that effective teachers choose and use the best or most worksheets. Fast forward a little over a year to my first year teaching. Will I find myself in the work room copying worksheets for the week? Scary thoughts...
This is something that stuck out to me in the readings as well. At one of my placements during my pre-service interning I felt like all I did was make copies of worksheets and grade them. I would have felt better about spending my time doing this if I thought it was helping the students, but they did not even get the worksheets back or review them. It seemed more like busy work than practice to me. I don't think worksheets are necessarily a bad thing, but they should be used in the right way!
ReplyDeleteGreat thoughts! I also wonder if it is realistic to forego worksheets all together, especially in my first couple years of teaching. However, I think that Allignton (2002) makes a great point about the assign and assess model of teaching. These worksheets help neither the high achievers, who dont need the extra practice, nor the low achievers, who do not have the information to answer the worksheet questions in the first place (744). I agree with you... VERY SCARY!
ReplyDeleteJennifer,
ReplyDeleteI think that your question can truly only be answered by asking a school teacher who uses worksheets on a regular basis. However, I THINK a large reason that teachers use worksheets is to keep up with curriculum pacing guides and because they don't have the knowledge and/or time to do meaningful activities.
I completely agree with you, why worksheets? I remember as a student dreading worksheets because it seemed like that's all we did all day every day. They get boring very quickly and they don't provide any excitement. I think it would be much more effective to do hands on classroom activities that are engaging and enjoyable. I've seen so many arguments against using worksheets and I just don't understand why teachers still use them today, other than convenience I guess.
ReplyDeleteVery scary thought! I believe (like most things in education) that worksheets can be helpful when used appropriately. I took note of the same issue when reading because we've heard this before: "If you can do the worksheet, you don't need it. If you can't do the work sheet, you don't need it."
ReplyDeleteI think it is our job to take that lifeless piece of paper and give it meaning!
I had a very negative experience with worksheets in my early years of school. For my Kindergarten and 1st grade year I went to a very progressive school who's curriculum focused mainly on the project approach and never assigned worksheets. In 2nd grade, when my family moved to Tennessee, I was thrown into a classroom that used them daily in every subject. I had a very hard time adjusting to them. I had never been asked to represent my knowledge that way before, and it did not fit with the framework of how I learned the concepts. In general, I do not believe that worksheets are an extremely useful tool for teaching but I do believe it is important to include some in your classroom so the children will have experience with them. Worksheets and standardized test ask children to represent their knowledge in similar ways and the ability to accurately display your knowledge on these types of assessments is essential for success in the current educational system.
ReplyDelete