What You Talkin' About

There are multiple ways in which we communicate with one another.  Having different forms of communication is useful and needed for us to express our thoughts and opinions comfortably within the different areas of our lives.

And having an appropriate form of communicate at school is no different.

Academic language is the "oral, written, auditory and visual language proficiency required to learn effectively in schools and academic programs -- i.e., it's the language used in classroom lessons, books, tests, and assignments, and it's the language that students are expected to learn and achieve fluency in." Furthermore, "academic language includes a variety of formal-language skills -- such as vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, syntax, discipline-specific terminology, or rhetorical skills while also successfully navigating school policies, assignments, expectations, and cultural norms (Hidden curriculum, 2014).

It is essential that students develop academic language as the skills associated with the developed vocabulary extend to all facets of life.  Such as: foundational academic skills (organizing, planning, researching), cognitive skills (critical thinking, problem solving, interpreting, analyzing, memorizing, recalling), learning modes (questioning, discussing, observing, theorizing, experimenting), and working habits (persistence, self-discipline, curiosity, conscientiousness, responsibility), in addition to other forms of literacy (technology, online, media, or multicultural literacy) required to succeed in modern schools (Hidden curriculum, 2014).

Comprehension is dependent on a student being able to understand the words used. A recently development in the academic community is the practice of tiering language. 

Using tiered academic language allows teachers to help their students learn and develop their skills and achieve standards.  

But sometimes students need a bit of help to get there.

The short video by Uncommon Schools takes a look at Mr. Bartz's 9th grade math class in which he incorporates different methods to push his students to use a higher level of reasoning and wording.  Mr. Bartz asks his students to explain why an equation is correct and the process they used to determine the answer. When his students are not able to produce an answer that meets the standard of vocabulary and explanation, he allows the students to work in pairs to discuss the problem and use collaborative efforts to reach a successful answer. Mr. Bartz does not accept wrong or incomplete answers from his students; instead he keeps redirecting their efforts, attempting to realign their reasoning and explanation to a "college level answer." Once the correct answer has been reached, he asks if there are any misunderstandings and confusion that need to be readdressed.

Pushing our students and requiring more from them sets high expectations and pushes the learning standard higher.

"Extensive research shows that expectations exert powerful influences upon student behavior" (Miller, Nov. 2014). Miller quoted Schilling and Schilling (1999) in his article stated their findings that expectations are vital to education:

the literature on motivation and school performance in younger school children suggests that expectations shape the learning experiences very powerfully.  For example, classic studies in the psychology literature have found that merely stating an expectation results in enhanced performance, that higher expectations result in higher performance, and that person with high expectations perform at a higher level than those with low expectation, even though their measured abilities are equal.  

Harvard Professor Robert Rosenthal, said it plainly - when teachers expect their students to increase their IQs, students do. 

High expectations not only need to be required of our students, but also of our teachers to help children achieve greater accomplishments in their education. 

With everyone working hard and striving for the best, good things are sure to happen.

References:

Hidden curriculum (2014, August 26). In S. Abbott (Ed.), The glossary of education reform. Retrieved from http://edglossary.org/hidden-curriculum

Holding High Expectations. (2012, September 19). Retrieved September 24, 2015.

Miller, R. (2001, November 1). Greater Expectations to Improve Student Learning.  Retrieved September 24, 2015. 

Tyson, K. (2013, May 26). No Tears for Tiers: Common Core Tiered Vocabulary Made Simple. Retrieved September 24, 2015.