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Running head: TEACHING IN K-12 SCHOOLS: A REFLECTIVE ACTION APPROACH

Teaching in K-12 Schools: A Reflective Action Approach

Literature Review
Gordon Pate
National University

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TEACHING IN K-12 SCHOOLS: A REFLECTIVE ACTION APPROACH

Abstract
Teaching in K-12 Schools: A Reflective Action Approach is a book to help new teachers learn to
be great teachers. As the title would suggest, much of the book is about reflecting on one's
teaching to improve. Eby, Herrell, and Jordan talk about taking risks and being willing to make
mistakes to learn and improve from. Their book addresses classroom management, child
development, learning styles, content and curriculum, and much more, but for this review, I will
focus in on their section on learning environments. Eby has a great section in the book devoted to
setting up an effective learning environment for students of any age. She talks about her first year
teaching and how she took what seemed like a failure and, after working with a mentor teacher,
turned it into a self-motivated independent learning Kindergarten class.

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TEACHING IN K-12 SCHOOLS: A REFLECTIVE ACTION APPROACH

The book I decided to use for domain E is Teaching in K-12 Schools: A Reflective Action
Approach. This book could be used in pretty much any one of the domains, especially domain F,
but I like what it has to say regarding the TPEs in domain E. Eby starts this section of her book
by talking about her experience as a new teacher. She says she took the traditional approach with
all of the desks facing the front of the room and she used direct instruction to teach her students.
It didn't take long for her to notice that her students were not performing as she would have
liked. At her school there was a mentor program that allowed new teachers the opportunity to
watch and learn from experienced teachers. She chose to observe a K-1 combo and she was
immediately intrigued by what she saw. This classroom was not the picture of a traditional class.
The desks were not grouped together all facing the front, but instead they grouped in what the
teacher called stations. After returning to her own class, she decided to take a risk and completely
reorganize her room into separate learning centers.
Eby knew that an effective learning environment is not all about the physical arrangement
of the room, but also the attitude of the teacher and students. At the school where Eby was
teaching, most of her students were second language students. She decided to work on an add a
CLAD credential to be as effective as possible for her students. She also realized the need for
adults in the classroom who spoke the native language of her students which included Spanish
and Laotian. To help her students she requested the help of parent volunteers fluent in both the
native language of the students as well as English. When parents were not available, she
requested the aid of older students at the school. This was a great experience for the older
students helping to teach them responsibility and it helped the younger students learn as well.
This also built the confidence of the upper grade children and ended up being just as positive a
learning experience for the older students as it was for Eby's Kindergarten class.

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TEACHING IN K-12 SCHOOLS: A REFLECTIVE ACTION APPROACH

Eby started by creating four learning stations: Guided reading, a reading basket, journal
writing, and the activity center. She used the assistance of an aid at the activity center so she
could focus most of her time and attention on the guided reading. She found it difficult to focus,
at first, to implement this plan because her students were conditioned (by her) to sit quietly and
await instruction making them reluctant independent learners. It took about two weeks for
students to transition from waiting to be told their every move to guiding their own instruction.
So, did this strategy work? Personally, I would have thought kindergarteners would be a hard
bunch to have working independently, but her experience was overwhelmingly positive after the
first two weeks.
Eby does give some tips on how to implement this style of teaching, or others like it such
as cooperative learning, without it devolving into chaos. The simplest way to explain her strategy
is to say planning, lots of planning. When students are unaware of what they are supposed to be
doing, or do not understand instruction, they will quickly get off topic. However, clearly defined
goals and specific tasks for students to complete, they can successfully work independently or in
small groups. This style of teaching, especially cooperative learning, has proven beneficial for
typically lower-achieving students.
Eby goes on to explain how cooperative groups and peer tutoring can be used to help
students in all kinds of areas not just normal curriculum. She explains how learning stations can
be designed to help students in social areas like anger issues and conflict resolution. Students in
groups have to work out their own issues and learn how to get along with others, something that
happens far less frequently in direct instruction classrooms.

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TEACHING IN K-12 SCHOOLS: A REFLECTIVE ACTION APPROACH

To sum everything up, Eby advocates for small group instruction or learning centers
(stations) in classrooms. The benefits include more engagement, social benefits, and students
become independent learners who do not have to wait for instruction before they can begin
learning.

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TEACHING IN K-12 SCHOOLS: A REFLECTIVE ACTION APPROACH

Reference
Eby, J., Herrell, A., Jordan, M., (2006). Teaching in K-12 Schools: A Reflective Action
Approach. (4th ed.). Pearson. Upper Saddle River, NJ.