Chapter 14 page 320
Problem 14.4. Evaluating teaching: Hints
In each of these problems, evaluate the teacher’s hint.
Problem A. A second-grade teacher, Derrek, has been
working with his students for five weeks on learning to
plan when writing. In particular, he has worked with
students on brainstorming ideas and then selecting the
most important ones. The students have had extensive,
varied practice with a procedure in which they (1) list
their ideas, (2) discuss which ideas they want to write
about the most, (3) circle the best ideas, and (4) decide
the best order. Only then do the students begin to write.
Now Derrek has given his students the assignment to
write a travel brochure that will attract tourists to a
desert habitat. This is the culminating activity in a three-
week unit on deserts. Five minutes after the assignment,
most of the pairs are busy at work on the planning
procedure they have learned. But Derrek notices that two
students—Tina and Madison—seem to be having some
difficulty. The two girls are both talking about the desert and about the brochure, but they are not
brainstorming reasons to visit the desert or trying to decide which reasons are best.
Derrek approaches and says, ““Remember we’ve talked about planning when we start writing.
And when we plan, we need to start brainstorming ideas. Now, we need to put reasons to visit the
desert in our brochure, don’t we? So let’s write at the top of the page: Reasons to visit the desert. And
let’s put a line under that. And we’ll start writing our reasons here. What would be the first reason?”
Evaluate the hint that Derrek has given.
Problem B. A teacher is working with seventh graders who are working on summarizing each
paragraph in a text they are reading. The teacher has joined them and is listening in.
Table salt is made by the third method--artificial evaporation. Pumping water into an underground
salt bed dissolves the salt and makes a brine that is brought to the surface. After purification at high
temperatures, the salt is ready for our tables.
Ben: To summarize: After its purification, the salt is put on our tables.
Angie: I agree.
David: So do I.
Teacher: That was a fine job, Ben, and I appreciate all that work, but I think there might be something
else to add to our summary. There is more important information that I think we need to
include. This paragraph is most about what?
Angie: The third method of artificial evaporation.
Teacher: How do you know that?
David: The first sentence says that artificial evaporation is the third method, and the rest of the
paragraph tells the details of that method.
Teacher: So, what is the summary? Ben?
Ben? Um... Artificial evaporation is the third method to produce salt.
Teacher: You’ve all hit it right on the money. The first sentence says that the paragraph is most about
the method of artificial evaporation and then everything else in the paragraph is telling us
about that process. Okay, next teacher [meaning the next student leader]. Adapted from
Palincsar et al. (1986)