[etni] Fw: more on HOTs

From: "Ask_Etni" <ask@xxxxxxxx>
To: "ETNI" <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 26 Jun 2009 07:35:33 +0300
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Sharon Tzur" <sharontzu5@xxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2009 5:12 PM
Subject: more on HOTs


Despite my "slogans" about HOTs leave me cold - the truth is that I am not
against HOTs, and I definitely feel they have a place in education. The
question is where, how, by whom, etc.

Implicit teaching of HOTs is already a part of the English curriculum - most
specifically in the way we teach reading comprehension. When we have
students fill in cause and effect charts, sequence event, contrast the
findings of two researchers, etc., we are stimulating HOTs. Indeed, the new
bagrut, especially at the five point level is infused with HOTs - some of us
would even argue to an exaggerated degree.

Should HOTs be made explicit in teaching? There is much to be said in favor.
Again, the question is where, to whom, etc. I would argue that HOTs should
be introduced in a student's native language in disciplines in which one
reads non-fiction texts - first and foremost in reading comprehension
programs in the student's native tongue. Contrary to what some people have
been writing, I think that the explicit learning of HOTs is probably has
more to offer the average and below average student (and certain types of
learning disabled students) than the top students. Highly intelligent
students probably have an instinctive grasp of HOTs and making them explicit
probably won't add much to their functioning. For the challenged students,
conscious focusing on HOT strategies can be part of a general education
program and/or remedial education. (The most recent ETNI journal has an
article on teaching HOTs as part of an individualized remedial program.)

Of course it makes sense to begin with texts which are fairly straight
forward - where it is not to difficult to identify the HOTs needed to
understand the text. After the student has internalized the use of HOTs on
easier texts in his/her native language, it can be applied to increasingly
more difficult texts and eventually to texts in a second language. (Of
course, one can't apply HOTs to an L2 text before attaining a level of
language proficiency sufficient to deal with the target text.) One teacher
who praised HOTs in a letter to Etni said how she is anxious to see how the
students will now apply HOTs to other areas of their lives - and I say - the
order is  backwards. HOTs should be taught in L1 and then applied to L2
texts and not the other way around. Moreover, literary texts are probably
one of the last places where HOTs should be applied - if at all -  and only
after students have attained proficiency at applying HOTs in non-fiction
texts.

Sometimes I think that the ministry seems to think that we are working in a
vacuum and that the poor English teacher has to carry the entire burden of
curing all the ills of the Israeli educational system on his/her back.
Students need to learn how to do research? Put it in the English program.
Students need to learn basic computer skills - how to find information?
Students don't know how to summarize? How to integrate information? How to
write a bibliography? Put it in the English program. And now HOTs. Really -
perhaps we should consider ourselves fortunate that we're not being asked to
introduce derivatives and integrals in the English classroom.

This is not just a problem for the English teachers who do not have enough
time to deal with all these tasks. It is not fair to the students - and
especially not to the students whose L2 language skills are not that good.
Not only do they find that the teacher can't spend enough time helping them
acquire basic skills in the second language - they are also at a
considerable disadvantage trying to pick up other skills which are being
taught to them in a language in which they are not yet proficient.

In addition, I would argue that HOTs have a limited place in dealing with
literary texts. Literary texts are different from non-fiction texts in that
they have a different way of conveying the message. A good non-fiction text
will take the short, direct road to meaning whereas literary texts take a
different route and are often deliberately ambiguous. To understand a
literary text beyond simple comprehension, one needs to be familiar with
literary tools. (This is even more true of poetry!) Trying to teach
literature with HOTs is like trying to fix a watch using the tools of a
piano tuner. It's not the right set of tools. You can't understand "Walking
Away" without understanding how metaphor can convey meaning. You can't
understand, "Because I Could not Stop for Death" without understanding
personification. Fortunately, as we do not teach in a vacuum, I have found
that students are familiar with these devices from their Hebrew Literature
classes. In fact, their eyes light up when I "introduce" personification and
they knowingly say, "Oh, HaAnasha!" This is true of four pointers as well.
(We sometimes forget that many of our four pointers are top students in
their L1 classes).

Refael Gefen - the former Mafmar of English -  used to argue that literature
in L2 should be taught mainly for variety and enrichment and that one
shouldn't get too caught up in the literary devices. I believe he would
remind teachers that we are not teaching college level literature courses. I
believe he had a point and we shouldn't get too carried away with our
literary analysis. Still, I have had good experience relating to some of the
outstanding tools of literary analysis - in small doses -  when teaching
literature in English because of the students' prior knowledge of this
field. I'm convinced that the traditional literary tools give students a
deeper understanding of a literary text that HOTs - and when one applies
these tools, HOTs are being used as well! You can't apply the various tools
of literary analysis without using your brain.

I know that some people will say that I can't express an opinion about HOTs
until I've taken the course. To them I'd like to say the following. I have
never had any training as a Math teacher - I have never read up on the
didactics of teaching Math, but when I first laid my eyes on Cuisenaire
rods, I instinctively knew that it was the wrong way to approach Math. The
problem with Math is how to help students understand abstract ideas - how to
make them concrete - and my instincts and experience said that number are
about counting things and not about length (and certainly not about color).
Experts today talk about a lost generation in Math as a result of the
misguided use of Cuisenaire rods - naturally the weakest populations
suffered most. Today, I have more confidence in my own life experience,
intelligence and instincts. Still, I'm very encouraged when I hear people
who have taken the course expressing some of the same misgivings that I
have.

A word on choice. When the new curriculum came out and there were complaints
that it was not explicit enough, we were told that teachers should have the
freedom to teach the way they want. I say that we need to be given more
choice within the literature program. There is room for choice even in a
national program where there must be standards - even if it ends with an
exam. Offer teachers a choice - HOTs OR traditional literary devices. Give
the students an appropriate choice of questions on the exam. In the log,
offering such a choice poses no problem. Instead of seven mandatory "steps",
list ten "steps" and allow teachers to choose any five or six for each
piece. (One "step" should be a task which relates to the language of the
piece - we can't teach a piece of literature in L2 without relating to
vocabulary!)

It's not too late to make changes! The ministry has taken a second look at
the "reflection" task partially in response to teacher input. By all means -
write to the Etni list - but also send your suggestions / misgivings to
Judy. (I have).



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[etni] Fw: more on HOTs

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