You know, I'd have to say (in my opinion) that we greatly diminish our
possibilities of teaching for understanding when we departmentalize. Maybe
that's why, in my entire career, I have NEVER seen any studies that show that
departmentalization increases student learning. It is certainly not
developmentally appropriate for 3rd or 4th graders. And it goes against all
the research about learning and transfer in content integration.
I am the technology instructional specialist at my school. I almost became a
reading specialist early in my career which is why I have read To Understand
and have such a passion for reading. I am seeing that Departmentalization is
becoming more prevalent. In my school 3rd, 4th and 5th grades are all
departmentalized. I understand that this is easier on a teacher. A teacher can
become a MATH specialist and focus on just teaching math. Preparation is much
easier. I know it is NOT because teachers are slackers because even so my
classroom teacher friends work extremely hard. However, I wonder how CAN anyone
really teach anything in depth in the time that you have when you
departmentalize? Can't science and social studies be taught in the context of
teaching reading and writing or does everything really have to be so separate?
It just doesn't seem like things are that separate in the real world. Janice
_________________________________________________________________
Color coding for safety: Windows Live Hotmail alerts you to suspicious email.
http://windowslive.com/Explore/Hotmail?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_hotmail_acq_safety_112008
_______________________________________________
Understand mailing list
Understand@literacyworkshop.org
http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/listinfo/understand_literacyworkshop.org
