A Master Teacher Talks About LEARNING-FOCUSED

Denise Burson
Mar 30, 2009

The support you can gather from good friends and a master teacher is formidable. The encouragement you can give them in return (Yes, even Master Teachers need a little encouragement at times) is substantial. ~ John-Roger

I consider Dale MacArthur a Master Teacher. She teaches in a self-contained special education classroom with students in grades 3, 4 and 5 at Floral Avenue Elementary in Bartow, Florida. I had the privilege of meeting Dale while I was presenting the Learning-Focused Strategies: Transforming Standards into Learning and Learning-Focused Strategies: Connecting Exemplary Practices in Acquisition Lessons trainings. She was very skeptical of implementing Learning-Focused and did not believe it would work with her students. I encouraged her to try the strategies and not to get in a swivet! With a little encouragement Dale began implementing Learning-Focused.

She shares her experiences with us:  "Learning-Focused actually works in a special education classroom. My principal, Sheila Dyer, developed a timeline for Learning-Focused implementation for the school...the ENTIRE school K-5, no exceptions! I began by downloading the district Student Learning Maps and set about to re-design our bulletin boards into Student Learning Maps. The first day after I put them up, I began to have students comment: "Hey, you did all new boards." "We didn't have them last year" "Why did you take the other stuff down?" "What do they say?" and "What does that mean?", etc. So, I decided that, while I was answering their questions, I would try and convince myself that there might be something to this "stuff". I began by telling them that the bulletin boards in the entire school, regardless of the grade level, would all look similar to those in our room. They all liked the idea of "sameness" for the format! I went over what each of the headings was and stressed that they were called Student Learning Maps. I explained that they were designed to help keep us all focused on what we should be learning and to show us ways to learn besides just reading books, listening to me talk, completing workbooks and taking tests. They all seemed to be listening now!

I have used many types of Word Walls, but for some reason the students seemed to really take note of the vocabulary terms listed on the Student Learning Map. My students enjoyed learning the terms and concepts as opposed to simply reading a story and remembering what the story was about so they could get a good grade on the comprehension test! They were now talking about main idea, plot, author's purpose, summarizing, etc. It did not take them long, on their own, to be able to use these skills in all content areas. They knew they were learning and were quite proud. So, maybe I was quick to judge Learning-Focused. Now it is my turn to encourage other teachers. Relax and don't get in a swivet. Give it time. Learning-Focused does work! First, you have to open your mind to change, ignore the 'If it isn't broke, why fix it?' philosophy and be willing to ask for help! I am blessed with very encouraging and knowledgeable administrators and a fantastic staff that truly believes in teamwork.

I realize that it may take my particular students longer to grasp the standards, but they will. Learning-Focused teaches you how to plan and deliver instruction so that your students learn. My students are learning, and they take pride in knowing they are learning. YES, LEARNING FOCUSED STRATEGIES WILL WORK IN A SPECIAL EDUCATION CLASSROOM!"