Teach Effectively!

Snippet from DCPS framework

A sad note sounded in a document that has many otherwise valuable suggestions: The Teaching and Learning Framework of the Washington (DC, US) Public Schools (DCPS) recommends incorporating learning styles into instruction. Why the developers of this document included the rather-thoroughly debunked learning styles idea eludes me, but it is very clearly there, appearing on the front cover and receiving three pages of coverage starting on page 24 (see image at right).

The impact of the recommendation remains to be seen, but it caught the eye of at least one reporter who covered it. Bill Turque of the Washington Post noted its presence in his story under the headline “Rhee’s 200-Page ‘Framework’ Spells Out Teaching Guidelines.”

According to the system, master teachers and principals who conduct observations will be able to recognize teaching that meets this standard by looking for markers of excellence. The Framework describes excellence as looking like this:

Teacher purposefully targets the auditory and visual learning styles throughout the lesson AND purposefully addresses 1 other learning style (e.g., tactile, kinesthetic, interpersonal) throughout the lesson or 2 other learning styles at some point in the lesson.

In a way, my concern should be muted. Perhaps I should even applaud the DCPS for not going whole hog on the learning styles path. At least the authors didn’t recommend differentiating instruction on the basis of learning styles.

Indeed, the recommendation might even be benign. Imagine a teacher who is working on reading fluency and, appropriately, having students read aloud. The teacher would have engaged the students’ visual and auditory modalities and, if that teacher had them following along with their fingers as they read, why—eurika— they would be employing the kinesthetic modality, too.

Link to download PDF of the DCPS Framework. Link to Mr. Turque’s story.