Pre-teaching vs. Re-teaching

We spend so much time as educators trying to fill in gaps when students are not performing at mastery levels. It really makes me question why we aren't thinking about this in a different way - why aren't we investing our time into pre-teaching instead of re-teaching?

Let me clarify - I do not mean "teach to the test." I definitely mean teach to the standards.

When we re-teach something, we think about our students differently. We think about different ways that individual learners could reach mastery more efficiently and more effectively. Why don't we do that in the first place? Why aren't we spending our considerable time that is spent planning instruction thinking about the learners that we have, the standards that they must master, what the data tells us about our students' learning, and ways that would be the most effective and efficient for our students? If we are willing to invest hours on Pinterest or Teachers Pay Teachers, then why don't we invest those same hours into developing effective questions that will engage our students as deep thinkers or hands-on experiences that involve our students in solving real problems?

Robert Marzano explains in his article on Teaching for Rigor (read more here), "If the majority of instruction is spent at lower levels of complexity, it is unlikely students will perform to standard on state assessments written to test cognitive complexity." Marzano goes on to explain that "strategies that are more student-centered and demand sophisticated levels of analysis, hypothesis testing, synthesis, and collaboration in the service of applying knowledge to authentic, real-world problems" is seen fewer than 3.2% of the time in classrooms that he observed. Marzano concludes that "instruction focused on achieving rigor is rare." He states that "the lack of such instruction amounts to a crisis" because our students are unable to experience the kind of instruction that will prepare them for achieving higher standards. Marzano identifies 13 Essential Strategies for Achieving Rigor in classrooms.

There is no doubt that instructional planning to increase rigor and increase student achievement is time consuming. However, it is essential in order to ensure that our students experience the kind of foundation for learning that will prepare them for college and career readiness. The next generation of innovators, creators, problem-solvers, and leaders require that we prepare them to embrace the endless possibilities that their futures include. To do that, we need to give them rigorous experiences and opportunities to connect with the real world and empower them to become curious and question everything. You won't find that on a worksheet.